The subtle sound of the door clicking shut is what awoke Usagi. It was softly closed, but the hotel's door latch was loud no matter how one shut the door. Sitting up, she noticed she was on an oversized couch with pillows and blankets galore. There were several warm bodies surrounding her in multiple locations near and far. Some were on the sectional couch she was on and others were on the couch across from her. They were located in the presidential suite which had a wide open-floor plan for plenty of room to comfortably host many people. From the looks of it, she was one of the first to awake. Usagi did notice a certain person missing from her observations.
Once she oriented herself, she remembered where she was and the previous night's events. A smile graced her features as she thought back to the festive-filled night of dancing and singing, eating and drinking, and watching fireworks. The room conveyed the lively and enjoyable party they had had with confetti and streamers strung about in various whereabouts, along with champagne flutes, wine glasses, and assorted bottles placed throughout the tabletops around the room.
As was usual, she had the sudden urge to pee after first awakening. Usagi untangled herself from the sheets and blankets wrapped haphazardly around her. This caused some of her companions to stir. Mina, it seemed, was located right next to her and beside Mina was Kunzite. Both of them opened their eyes and adjusted to the sun's rays already high in the room, indicating it was much later than she normally would mumbled an apology as she made her way to the closest restroom.
While washing her hands, Usagi glanced at her reflection in the mirror. The bouncy curls that were painstakingly and time-consumingly created for the evening were long gone and the mascara that once lifted and colored her eyelashes was smeared under her eyes. All of the effort put into being dolled-up was definitely worth it and the lack of that image did not bother her one bit for her night was a magical oasis that she never wanted to forget. The memory of Mamoru's hands threading through her curls throughout the night and the joyous tears that ran her mascara was pure heaven. A rosy blush colored her cheeks at the thoughts that vividly played out in her mind. 'Speaking of Mamoru..where was he?'
When she emerged from the restroom, Ami was waiting to go in. Usagi apologized and looked about for Mamoru. Everyone was either in the process of waking up or in a state of acute awakeness.
The door sounded, causing her to turn and look that way. Mamoru came through the entry door carrying bags of food from the local bakery. The aroma was delicious-smelling and made her stomach growl at its emptiness. He smiled brightly at her, looking completely put-together and devilishly handsome as ever. Mamoru kissed her temple as he passed by her, making his way to the kitchen area. Usagi followed him and noticed that there really wasn't any room to place the bags down from the mess they made the night before. She quickly made room on the countertop by removing some glasses and placing them in the sink.
"I figured we would need fuel to have the energy to clean this place so that Motoki could get his deposit back." Mamoru explained of his absence while he unpacked the boxes of food.
"Excellent thinking!" Usagi praised as she slid herself into Mamoru's embrace before they started on breakfast. She was surprised at how much she missed him in his short time away. It wasn't as if she were worried he just left her there. No, she just knew how crushing it was to not have him around and she never wanted to experience that heartache ever again.
Mamoru almost understood her concern as he held her close, squeezing her tighter to him and latching onto her like a desperate lifeline. He pulled her back a little so he could press their lips together in a comforting kiss. He nodded to her and she nodded back, signaling that she was okay now.
It was almost midday when everyone was finally awake and they finished brunch. They all thanked Mamoru for getting food and coffee.
Motoki expressed his gratitude for having the foresight to make sure they had a late checkout time. "Thank goodness for late checkouts! There's no way I would have been able to get this all cleaned up before eleven A.M.!"
"We would not have allowed you to do this alone!" Ami quipped as she started sweeping up the glitter on the floor.
Makoto agreed as she was scraping the candle wax left on the hardwood floor. "Yeah, we knew what we were getting into when we agreed to attend your famous New Year's Eve party!"
"Great party, by the way!" Nephrite added as he helped Makoto.
"My favorite kind of party!" Rei chimed in as she and Jadeite cleaned and dried the flutes and glasses before putting them away.
Everyone was cleaning up in some way or another, whether it was sweeping up confetti, wiping countertops, straightening cushions, folding sheets, throwing away bottles, etc. Usagi had been helping Mamoru by collecting the bottles, but then she came across the Polaroids scattered about near the photoshoot booth.
The photos showed all of them from the night before at numerous times during the party. Most of them she remembered with a few she didn't even realize happened. They all revealed good, happy, and fun times had by all. One photo was particularly her favorite and so she immediately pocketed that one to glance at later when they were done.
It wasn't long after when they finished cleaning and checking the hotel room to make sure it looked how it did when they first arrived. They made their way to the elevator, the girls carrying their shoes down in the lobby. No one planned for a change of clothes or shoes with how much excitement they had for the party. No one drove either due to the copious amounts of alcohol and liquor that would be consumed, so it wasn't like they had any way to bring baggage. No one wanted to carry anything anyway. Check out was bittersweet because it would probably be another month or so before they could all get back together again like this. Everyone was busy with their adult lives and living in different parts of the states. So their departure from each other lingered longer than normal, but eventually, two by two, everyone left by walking, an Uber, the subway, or some other way.
Mamoru and Usagi were making their way to their parents' houses, lost in their thoughts. He squeezed Usagi's hand three times in the back of the taxi, gaining her attention.
"Penny for your thoughts?"
Usagi smiled coyly at him, happy to have him with her. "Mamo, I want your midnights."
He laughed quietly, "You have them all, my love."
"Whose laugh I could recognize anywhere…" She glanced down where their hands held each other's. "I can tell that it's gonna be a long road for us. I know we will have difficult times, but please don't ever become a stranger to me." Usagi looked up at him then, pleading with him. "I don't want to go through the pain of losing you ever again."
With his free hand, Mamoru cupped her cheek. "You won't. I promise. I'll stay when it's hard, or it's wrong, or we're making mistakes."
Using her free hand, she placed her hand over his on her cheek and replied, "And I'll stay when you're lost, and I'm scared, and you're turning away."
He interrupted, determined sapphire eyes focused on her watery blue ones. "I won't ever let you leave me again, Usako."
She nodded and continued. "I'll be there if you're the toast of the town, babe. Or if you strike out and you're crawling home." He picked up their joined hands and placed a lingering kiss to the back of her hand.
"Mamo, our story isn't finished yet and it won't be for a while yet – we are starting a new chapter – so don't read the last page."
Mamoru scooted closer to her, pulling her to him so he could wrap her up in his embrace.
Usagi pulled out the Polaroid she held in her pocket and handed it to him. It was the two of them, holding each other while Usagi showcased her left hand with a sparkling diamond ring on her left ring finger. The caption at the bottom read, 'You and me, forevermore.'
"Hold on to the memories, they will hold on to you, and I will hold on to you."
