Pairing: Tsukino Usagi (Sailor Moon) x Seiya Kou (Sailor Star Fighter)

Fandom: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon

Theme: #23. candy

Rating: G

Disclaimer: Tsukino Usagi, Seiya Kou, and any of the other characters that may turn up in this drabble do not belong to me, but to the terrific Naoko Takeuchi. If I did own them, there'd be a lot more screentime between these two. Heck, even filler episodes, just as long as they get together somehow. :P

Sugar Spice

She'd never really liked salty foods before.

She had always preferred the softly spun webs of cotton candy, the delicately frosted slices of cake, the carefully scooped bowls of ice cream, to the salty bitterness of other foods. Sometimes the others called her out on it, but she would only laugh and reach for another doughnut, the powder of the last decorating her lips like clouds adorning a vivid sunset sky.

Mamoru never complained, of course. Sometimes he even encouraged it, gifting her with the occasional sweet treat. She would always open the tissue-wrapped packages with all the eagerness of a child on Christmas morning, her eyes brightening in delight upon finding the delicious confection that lay within, which she would quickly consume after many fervent thank-yous and a grateful kiss or two.

Salty, sour, bitter ... These were things Usagi never really liked to venture into. After all, sweetness was what she liked - had always liked, and if she was perfectly happy with sweetness, why bother trying out the other flavors?

"Because they're good," Seiya insisted one day, pushing some odd golden-brown balls at her one day. Usagi immediately recoiled - salty, spicy candy? Such a thing couldn't exist! And if they did, she certainly didn't want to taste them. Too weird for her tastes.

Seiya rolled his eyes, grabbing one of her hands and forcing a few of the strange candies into her grip. "Just taste them, Odango. You might be surprised," he told her. She regarded the little balls suspiciously, but made a face when he implied that she might merely be too scared to taste them, and quickly popped one into her mouth.

A burst of sour spiciness filled her mouth and she scrunched her nose up, unintentionally imitating her namesake. But Seiya merely laughed, and asked her if it was good.

Chewing experimentally, she found that she did like the taste of the candy a little ... Beneath the initial sourness, there was an underlying sweetness, nothing at all like what her precious cookies and chocolate tasted like, but a different kind of sweetness. Unique and delicious in its own way.

Seiya smiled triumphantly, bragging that he knew she would like them. The girl resisted the urge to thwack him, instead choosing to quietly finish off the ones he gave her before asking for more. He handed her the entire box.

Don't get her wrong - Usagi still loved her cotton candy, her cakes, her ice cream. But she learned to try out new things - salty, sour, bitter foods weren't so intimidating anymore, and she grew to appreciate these flavors for each of their distinctive tastes, even finding a few new favorites among the new dishes.

And though the family pantry remained stocked with all sorts of sugar-laden treats, she always made sure to keep a package of those sweet, salty candies secretly stashed away - just in case.

Review Replies:

LittleGirlInLove - Aw ... I'm so glad you think so! It's always a challenge for me to try and describe the scene without overdoing it, so I'm glad you still think it's good! X3

Suki - Even though there are a whole bunch of comical moments in the anime, their love is essentially a sad one. Perhaps Seiya would try to do so ... Then again, he might not want to touch the thing anymore. .. Seiya always seems to come out the worse, ne? Usagi's making the choice, but it's always him who ends up waiting for her. :( Ah, angst comes out so easily with these two ...

Teruna Hime - Mm ... That's pretty much how I intended the story (hence why Seiya hates the ring so much), but every one of my stories is open for interpretation, so really, it's up to you how you take it. Sorry for confusing you a little, though, but thanks for reading. :D

KibaInu - Aw ... I'm so touched! And it's so shiny, too ... XD Thank you very much for continuing to read my stories!