Notes: Episode 108, "Usagi's Dance, In Time to a Waltz". Or, "The one where Usagi freaks out about the English party and gets drunk."

Episode 108

"And how are we this morning?"

One bleary eye cracked open and Usagi tried to focus on her friend. "Depends. How many of us are there supposed to be?"

Rei chuckled and sipped her tea. "Two total. Only one is me."

Usagi scrubbed at her face and tried again. "Ah. There we go. We're good."

Violet eyes considered Usagi with careful nonchalance. "So how much do you remember?"

"I'll have you know I have absolute crystal clear memories of the entire evening," said Usagi with an indignant sniff, "except for the parts where I don't."

"Which would be all the middle parts."

The waiter arrived with breakfast and the conversation was put on hold. Rei quickly waved the huge stack of pancakes off on Usagi, who seemed to spring to life with the promise of food. She began drenching them in syrup while Rei tried to ignore every crime happening at the table and just focus on her omelet.

"I remember PLENTY. I remember some amazing dancing," Usagi said. She cut a huge wedge of syrupy goodness and gazed upon it lovingly before shoving it into her mouth.

Rei nodded, intentionally not watching Usagi eat. "Sure, after you threw up."

"And I remember the— Wait, I threw up?"

"You completely threw up."

Usagi lowered her knife and fork. She leaned forward and dropped her voice. "Did I … Did I throw up on someone? Was it someone Mamoru knows?" Her shoulders thumped against the booth as she sat back. "Oh god."

"Over the balcony. On some roses." Rei was all facts. This did little to reassure Usagi, who was turning paler by the second. "I suppose Mamoru MIGHT be on a first-name basis with those, you know how he is." She shrugged. "Of course he was probably too busy worrying about his face."

"What's wrong with his—"

"Where you punched him."

Rei's expression was neutral, but Usagi got the distinct impression she was enjoying this.

"No way."

"Totally laid him flat."

Usagi buried her face in her hands.

Rei carved off another hunk of omelet. "So Ami says, anyway. I missed it." She waggled her fork at Usagi, expression stern. "Next time you decide to get completely hammered and beat Mamoru up, get me first, okay?"

"I didn't DECIDE to THIS time!" Usagi protested. Her voice was muffled, coming from somewhere within the protective folds of her fingers. "It just HAPPENED."

"As is usually the case when you drink booze."

"I thought it was juice!" Usagi protested, beseeching the ceiling for precious understanding. "All I wanted was some nice calming juice!"

This caught Rei's full attention. "Juice calms you? Mental note: never be without juice."

Usagi narrowed her eyes at Rei. "Are you sure there aren't two of you? You're twice as mean today."

The barb went ignored. "Why did you need to be calmed anyway? It was just a party."

"It wasn't JUST a party. It was a FANCY party." Usagi flapped her hands, as though this somehow indicated everything there was to know about the word "fancy". "With MAMORU. And ENGLISH."

Rei wasn't getting it. "Okay, and?"

"AND, and I didn't want to embarrass him."

"So you got drunk." Usagi glared, causing Rei to roll her eyes. "Accident, right. But why would you embarrass him?"

Usagi didn't answer. Instead she pushed her pancakes with the back of her fork and watched syrup ooze out.

Rei frowned and dipped her head to try and catch her friend's eyes. "Usagi?"

The fork chinked softly against the plate as Usagi let it drop. "He's so smart and so sophisticated and I'm not. I'm just stupid me."

"You're not stupid, Usagi, you're lazy," Rei gently chided. "You just need to work harder."

Usagi shrugged. "I guess."

"And Mamoru doesn't care about that anyway," Rei continued, finishing off her eggs. "If he wanted to be with someone smart, he'd still be dating me."

The glare was immediate and intense.

"Which nobody wants and would never happen because he loves YOU," Rei said. "If you can't see that, then you really ARE stupid."

A smile broke across Usagi's face. "Thanks, Rei-chan."

Rei returned the smile for a moment before it turned into a smirk. "Your English IS terrible, though," she said, waving her fork again. "Why don't we get Ami to give us an extra lesson every week?"

"'Us'?" Usagi repeated, dragging her precious pancake bounty closer.

"We'll do it together," Rei said with a wink. "You think I like that Minako is better at something than me?"

Usagi laughed at that, before her mouth became occupied with the enthusiastic act of chewing and swallowing. The two friends sat in companionable silence for several moments, then:

"Did I really throw up?" Usagi asked in a tiny voice.

"It was so disgusting."

The embarrassed groan was loud enough to attract the attention of nearby patrons. Usagi repeatedly drove her forehead into the table while Rei patted her hand and enjoyed the rest of her tea.