Chapter 7: The Kiss

The grip around her wrist tightened when she didn't answer him. Her lips trembled while she held in a yelp of pain. She knew he didn't mean to hurt her and he probably wasn't even aware of how tightly he was holding onto her. Her eyes clenched tightly in hopes that this situation would disappear. Her heart wasn't ready for this type of confrontation; she wanted to plan out how she would bring this up to him. Her ideal scenario included inviting him over for dinner, sitting him down and explaining everything to him. Would he consider her crazy had she done that? Would he even believe her now if she told him?

Why wouldn't she answer him? He knew this whole time that she was hiding something from him, but he let her play it out. Now, out of all times, he needed to know. He crouched down to make her feel more comfortable, but didn't let her go.

"Mamo-chan…you're hurting me…" she whimpered.

As if it were instinct, he released her that moment. The guilt rushed through him to know he caused her pain. He never intended to inflict any harm on her. He combed his fingers through his hair and groaned in confusion. "Mamo-chan" …she just called him that and he responded to it so quickly that it didn't even register. If they used to be on a nickname basis, he must have meant a lot to her or they had a much deeper relationship than what he thought. Why did he forget her? Was there a particular reason?

The Prince exhaled a sigh of confusion and gently took her hand, "Look, I'm sorry for hurting you. I didn't mean to do that," his eyes softened, giving her a glimpse of the Mamoru she loved and remembered. "Please…just tell me the truth."

Usagi bit her lower lip as she felt a new batch of tears threatening to fall. She blinked several times to hold them back while she stared back at him with flushed cheeks. Where was she even going to begin? He wouldn't believe anything she had to say. Taking in a deep breath of air, she asked, "You promise to fully hear me out? You're going to think I'm crazy, but I need you to believe me, no matter what."

An eyebrow of confusion rose at her remark. This was going to get weird and he could already tell from her request. He merely nodded to play along and took a seat on the swing next to her. "Alright, go on."

The explanation began with the Moon Kingdom, Queen Serenity, Princess Serenity, and the Senshi. She told him about the Negaverse, Queen Beryl and the Shittenou. She went through every villain they ever fought, their hardships, their love life and their identities. She even made the connection between the news broadcasts about them to show that she wasn't faking any of these stories. Finally, she talked about Chaos, Sailor Galaxia, their engagement, Chibi-Usa, Crystal Tokyo and his death. She closed her eyes, ready for the criticism because she could see his skepticism when she spoke. He was having a hard time differentiating between what he was considering to be real and what would be a fairy tale. However, deep down, he knew she wasn't lying to him. Something in him undoubtedly believed her.

"…I...wow. This is a lot of information to take it. I don't even know what to say…" he spoke quietly. He used to be a prince – or rather, he was still a prince and of Earth and they were meant to be together. All of that explained why he felt such a strong attraction to her and the need to be with her. The look on her face was pleading with him just to absorb everything and agree to it.

"…What about that Seiya guy?"

Usagi remained silent. The earlier events of the day replayed in her head and guilt washed over her. She could feel her cheeks starting to blush from the thought of the kiss, but she just couldn't return his feelings. "…It's nothing. I tried to forget about you, but it didn't work."

It irked him to know that she attempted to leave him behind in her life. If they were supposed to be together, then why would she try to do that? The corner of his lips tightened with annoyance as he asked, "Why? Does this mean that you went out with him?"

She nervously played with her fingers as a method of distraction. The princess nodded her head up and down slowly, answering his question. Before she could open her mouth and say anything, Mamoru cut in, "If we are supposed to be together, then why wouldn't you try harder to talk to me? To get me back?!" he asked, the tone of his voice becoming harsh again. The thought of Seiya doing anything to her was beginning to boil his blood.

"That's not fair of you to say, Mamoru!" she replied, the hurt expression evident on her face. "You forgot me. You got a girlfriend. Do you know how much pain I was in all those years?! While you had the opportunity to be blissfully unaware of someone named, 'Usagi' in your life, you had the chance to move on because you had no clue who I was. You couldn't even remember that I was the girl who visited you at the hospital when you first woke up! All I ever wanted you to do was look at me and just call out to me, tell me, "Usako, everything will be alright. I'm here for you,' instead, all I got was a blank look of a confused man who couldn't even recognize me anymore!" she choked out as the tears began to pour down her face again. She tried to wipe away the tears as fast as she could, willing herself to be strong in front of him.

…Then there was silence.

He knew she had a point and he was being unfair. She deserved to be happy, even if it was by having Seiya at her side. He closed his eyes and hid his face in his hands. If he was being insensitive, he didn't care, he wanted to know. "Did he kiss you?" he asked, his voice muffled by his hands.

"W-what?" she hiccupped.

"Did. He. Kiss. You?" he asked more sternly.

The situation between the two was starting to get worse and worse. It was something the both of them could foresee before the conversation started. Despite the awkwardness of the question, Mamoru needed to know immediately. He lifted his head and his eyes were full of determination and something else that Usagi couldn't identify; it was like a raw emotion.

"…Yes…" she softly answered, her eyes cast downward at her feet. She got up and stood in front of him, as she prepared to defend herself, "but why does it matter to you? I'm sure you and your girlfriend have done so much mo—"

"Because the thought of someone else touching you drives me insane!" he yelled, cutting her off. "I know I have no right to ask, but it makes my blood boil!" he got up and found towering over her again. He was pissed off and he didn't know what to do. He never thought he would ever be the possessive type – never. Without thinking, he cupped her chin and bent down, pressing his lips against hers, trying to rid of any type of influence Seiya had on her. She had responded to the kiss on instinct, pouring in all the emotion she had as something sparked in between them. Mamoru had never kissed anyone like this in his life before, like a parched man thirsty for water; his other hand wrapped itself around her lower back while the one on her chin entwined itself to the back of her head, angling her for a deeper kiss.

They both parted from the kiss as their lungs cried for air. Her cheeks were flushed and her lips were swollen, but everything about her seemed like perfection in his eyes. That was when he remembered Ayumi. He felt so bad for what he just did, but he didn't know what else to do.

"God dammit…I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me." He apologized as he backed away from Usagi. Her eyes reflected the heartbreak he had just caused her and in desperation, she reached out for him, but he moved away from it.

"I can't do this to Ayumi, I'm sorry. I need to go home and think about this." Mamoru whispered as he looked away from her.

He was such a coward.