Chapter 17 (Saturday week 3)

"Geez, hold your horses," Mamoru mumbled, stumbling from his bedroom, having pulled on some sweatpants, to answer the door. At yet another impatient knock, he jerked the door open. "Do you have any idea what time it…?" he started, but was cut off by a body crashing into his. "Buns?" he questioned, staring down at the sweaty girl in running shorts and a tank plastered to his chest.

"I'm so sorry," she kept repeating, hugging him closer.

"Oh, Buns," he murmured. He wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her farther in so he could close the door. "Hang on just a second," he said, leaving her in the living room and ducking into his room long enough to grab a t-shirt. He returned and settled himself on the arm of the couch to watch her pace. As she came close again, he gently grabbed her arm and turned her to face him. "Talk to me," he told her.

"I…" Usagi started, but unable to get any more out.

Mamoru tugged her closer and hugged her as she folded herself into his body.

"It worried me," she quietly admitted, head tucked in the crook of his shoulder. "You never answered, so I thought you were mad at me."

"Never answered what?" he questioned softly, rubbing soothing circles on her back.

"My texts last night."

"Oh, baby," he sighed. "My phone died when I was out with Motoki and some of the guys last night. I plugged it in last night when I got home, but I bet I never turned it on. I hadn't meant to ignore you."

"Really?" she questioned, pulling back enough to look him in the eyes.

"Definitely. How are you feeling about things?"

"I was scared," she admitted, snuggling in again. "It's so much more real than things with Seiya - stronger too - and that hurt bad enough already. I don't know if I can deal with that."

He felt warm tears wet the skin of his neck. As she started to cry harder, he held on tightly and lay his head on top of hers. Mamoru swayed their bodies slowly, but let Usagi cry; he figured she needed to get it out of her system. As the tears slowed, he had to smile when she began to hiccup.

Usagi blushed, embarrassed, as Mamoru ducked his head to catch her eyes. With a smile, he lifted her chin with his finger. "How about a quick shower so you can clean up and a change of clothes while I figure out some breakfast?" he questioned.

She nodded, almost shyly, and allowed him to lead her towards a guest room.

"Let me grab you some clothes and a towel so you can clean up, okay? Feel free to lock the door if it makes you more comfortable," he instructed. Turning to enter his room across the hall, he tossed a look over his shoulder and observed as she leaned against the doorjamb.

Usagi only had to wait a few moments before Mamoru was handing her a t-shirt and some sweatpants with a towel on top. "I just keep some plain shampoo, conditioner, and soap for when anyone visits. It may not smell the best, but it works. Let me know if you need anything else," he told her. She nodded agreement before entering the room slowly and gently clicking the door shut behind her. It was a bare room, one she hadn't seen before. It wasn't hard to see the bathroom - plain, but nicely decorated. Closing the bathroom door behind her, she didn't lock it like he had assured her would be fine. Running the water until it was hot enough, she stepped in and washed quickly before scrubbing her face of her tears.

Climbing out of the shower and quickly dressing in the oversized clothes, she had to pull the drawstring as tight as possible to keep the shorts up and pushed the sleeves of the long-sleeved shirt up so she could use her hands. She finger-combed her sopping wet hair as best as possible and tried to get as much of the excess water out as possible before twisting it up into a messy bun. She hung the towel over the top of the curtain bar and headed out to find Mamoru again.

It wasn't hard to find him in the kitchen and she took one of the island barstools to watch as he made quick work of some pancake batter and sipped some coffee.

"Feel better?" he questioned.

"Much. Thank you," she answered.

"Go for a morning run?"

"Yeah. Couldn't sleep last night after the girls headed home. Finally, decided to at least do something productive. I'm sorry I woke you."

Mamoru moved around the counter and spun Usagi on the stool to face him. "Never apologize for that. I'm here whenever you need me; I hope you know that."

"I do," she affirmed with a nod as he headed back around the counter to turn the pancakes. "I didn't mean to just show up, but I started running, just paying attention to my feet hitting the ground, and looked up to find myself outside your building."

"And I'm glad you came up. Any problems getting in the building?"

"No, the doorman recognized me apparently."

"Good."

"I think I ended up here because I have something to say to you."

"Okay," he agreed. "One second and then you'll have my undivided attention." He finished the pancakes already cooking, moving them to a plate and turning off the pan, removing it from heat. He took the seat next to her on another barstool and angled his body towards her. "What's up?"

"I…I really am sorry about yesterday. I just couldn't deal with things yesterday. I slept until early afternoon and then Minako swept me out the door to meet the other girls at the spa. We only split up long enough to head to my house and throw together something for supper until Ami and Makoto arrived. It was great to spend the night just talking with all three of them - and they had plenty to say."

"You told Ami and Makoto?"

"Was I supposed to keep it a secret?" she questioned, looking surprised.

"Not at all. I just didn't know when you would want to do that."

"Oh, okay. Well, they want to meet you some day, but are content to wait - in the meanwhile, they had plenty to say about me since I met you."

"Really?" he asked, a hint of smile on his face.

"Apparently, they think highly of you for it. Plus, they had some interesting things to say about Rei. I didn't realize exactly how they felt about the situation before that."

"How do you feel about things now? About…us now?" He hesitated to voice the word, unsure how she would react to the idea of there being a them.

"Like I should trust this; trust you. You're not him and there's no reason for me to be scared," she said, obviously repeating back part of what her friends had said.

"But, you know that here," he commented, tapping her forehead softly. "And, are having a hard time accepting it there," he added, pointing towards her heart. "I understand, seriously," he said, stopping her when she tried to comment. "Look, I fell head over heels for this girl I met junior year. She was a transfer; quiet, sweet girl. Or at least that's what it seemed like. I finally got up the courage to ask her out and we had a few dates before a little more came to light about her. Our entire class was surprised to learn she was quite the party girl at her previous school and continued on like regular there while living a second, completely different life around us. I felt betrayed. She never showed me that side; I didn't even have the opportunity to get to know the real her before it felt like I had been lied to. I started to doubt everyone I met besides those I had known for years. It takes a while to get over the hurt and trust again. It's not the same exactly, no; but, it happens to all of us. Remember what just happened with Minako and that baseball player recently? I bet that hurts. She's probably taking some time to get over it personally, whether she admits it or not. You never admitted to this troubling you, but she knows it all the same, right?"

"How do you always know just the right thing to say?" she questioned, slightly exasperated, but smiling.

"It's a gift," he teased, willing to let her lighten the subject. "What can I say? I'm good."

"Does that extend to pancake making skills? Because, seriously hungry girl who ran a long, long way this morning."

"Of course, ma'am," he said rising.

She grabbed his arm as he moved back to the other side of the island again to where the stove was situated. "Are we okay?" she questioned, quietly.

"More than okay," he assured, continuing on.

"Did you get much more sleep last night than the night before? I know Minako said you didn't sleep much that night," Mamoru questioned as they headed to the living room.

"No, probably a little less even," she admitted.

He waved her on to the couch and pulled the curtains closed, dimming the room. He grabbed a movie and popped it in before lounging back on the couch. Usagi curled into his side, grabbing his hand, but looking to him to make sure it was okay. He squeezed gently and then started the movie.

"What's this?" she questioned as credits began.

"TV show; it's called Fringe - a scifi show. You might like it; I'm not sure."

"I guarantee I'll probably be asleep pretty soon. Finally being able to not worry about stuff will be a nice change."

He grinned and pulled the blanket off the back of the couch to cover her. "Just relax then," he encouraged.

She woke to the soft sound of the menu playing in the background and feeling much more refreshed. Sitting up with a yawn, she turned to see Mamoru had started to doze as well. Considering the cursor sat by the menu option, she figured he had watched all four episodes shown and she had been out for quite a while. Standing quietly, she snatched her phone from pile of sweaty clothes folded just inside the door. She went into the kitchen and filled a glass with water before sending a quick text to her mom that she was at Mamoru's and would probably spend most of the day with him. Deciding nothing sounded better than crawling back onto the couch with Mamoru, she returned to the living room to find him stretched out across the whole couch. She had to smile as she set the water on the coffee table and looked down at him.

She started to move over to overstuffed chair beside the couch, but was stopped when a hand grasped her wrist. "I can share," he told her and pulled her down to lay between his body and the back of the couch. Laughing at his sleepy behavior, she couldn't help but snuggle in.

Mamoru woke to a loud growling noise, realizing moments later that the sound had come from his own stomach. The morning nap he encouraged Usagi to take had turned into sleeping all morning for the both of them and it was now one o'clock. Sliding off the couch without waking Usagi, he headed to the kitchen and grabbed his phone. Turning the device on, he hit speed dial for Motoki. Putting in a request for some food, he returned to the living to wake his 'sleeping beauty.'

She could feel eyes on her and she finally opened her own once she felt fingers gently smooth hair off her face. "Hey," she greeted.

"Hey," he returned. "Think you could go for some food? Motoki's going to have some stuff ready for us in about 20 minutes."

"Sounds good," she agreed, sitting up.

"Your clothes should be dry now. You want to get changed?"

"Into my shorts, yes. These pants are way too long." Following him to retrieve said shorts, she quickly headed to change and meet him back at the door.

He had to repress his smirk as he took in how great she looked in his clothes. "Ready?" At her nod, he continued. "Motorcycle? Or would you prefer car?"

"Motorcycle is fine, if that's what you want," she answered.

He grabbed the right keys off the table by the door and led her out, intertwining her fingers with his.

"Hey, Motoki!"

"Mamoru! Usagi! Grab a table or some stools and I'll have your food right out," he told them.

The two headed for some stools at the end of the counter, away from the other customers. Facing each other, they visited quietly while they waited on the food.

"Here you go," Motoki said, sliding a pizza and a couple plates in front of them. "Let me grab you a couple colas."

"Thanks, Motoki," Usagi said, smiling brightly at him. Upon his return, she asked, "How have you been?"

"I've been good, but I'm assuming Minako told you that," he answered, leaning against the counter to chat with them.

"Why ever would Minako talk about you?" she teased. "And, she actually did bring you up last night. You are treating her well, yes?"

"Oh, yes."

"Good. Let's just say, it would be best for all if it continued that way."

"I'm not sure if I should be laughing or completely insulted," Motoki returned.

"Just be happy I think you're worth the effort to threaten," she answered with a smile, turning her attention back to the food.

Mamoru just chuckled as Minako was called away help another customer. "Oh, Buns…"

"What?" she questioned, looking at him wide-eyed, then winking.

Thoughts?