From now on, I'm really going to work on shortening these things
So this is a story that spiraled out of control (and word count). I'll be much better about these things in the future. I've got a few ideas for shorter, more amusing and original drabbles, I just wanted to finish this set.
This is really long.
# 75 My Soul’s Shelter
“…And Lead to Happy Endings”
2420 words
As Mamoru wrestled with angst and self-doubt in the living room, the object of his consternation was fairly deep in thought as well, and no less confused. I’m pretty sure that he was about to kiss me in there, Usagi thought absently, reveling in the heat from the hot water. It was nice to actually feel her extremities again. Stupid sneeze! I couldn’t have timed that worse if I tried. But since when have I wanted Mamoru to kiss me? And just when did I drop the ‘baka’? She sighed, and tilted her head back to let the shower wash over her scalp and through the silky lengths of her hair. “Okay, so we established that he was hot ages ago,” she said, not realizing that she had begun to speak aloud. “Maybe it was the way his hair falls into those deep blue eyes of his. Or that sexy grin he gets when he’s teasing me. Or the way his shirt ripples across his chest when he’s not wearing that stupid jacket. Hey wait, where was I going with this again?” She paused to gather her thoughts, and as she did, there was a knock on the bathroom door.
Mamoru’s muffled voice came through the door, “Usagi, mind if I come in to drop off the towels?”
“Okay,” she called, trying to be heard above the water.
She had put her entire head under the shower spray, so she missed Mamoru’s strangled noise when he accidentally discovered her bra and socks tucked discreetly in her skirt pocket. She’d shifted position in time to hear her communicator beep stridently on the floor next to the tub, however. By the blessing of fate, kami, and all the gods in the world, Mamoru had closed the door behind him, so there were no witnesses as Usagi dove out of the tub and lunged for the communicator. In true form, however, she overshot and landed badly, wedged between the side of the tub and the toilet. She wasn’t injured, but her dignity was certainly bruised, and she still hadn’t been able to answer her communicator, which was now lodged in her lower back. With the way her luck was going, Mamoru would have heard all the commotion and come barging in to make sure she was okay, just in time to find her naked and prone on the floor, with an inexplicable beeping noise coming from her…unmentionables. She couldn’t even imagine how she’d talk herself out of that one.
In his defense, Mamoru certainly would have hurried to check on Usagi, if his own personal crisis wasn’t currently distracting him from all outside stimuli. Like the muffled thumps and curses coming from the bathroom, or the kettle on the stove starting to whistle.
With many contortions and muttered words that her mother would have crimsoned to hear issuing from her daughter’s mouth, Usagi managed to unfold herself and rescue her communicator from it’s incredibly uncomfortable location. Understandably, she was not in the best of moods when she flipped open the top. “What?” she hissed, trying to keep her voice quiet, lest Mamoru hear her talking to an otherwise empty bathroom.
A worried-looking Luna appeared on the screen, though the worry was immediately replaced by irritation as soon as she saw Usagi was all right. “Where are you?” she demanded. “I’ve been frantic for almost an hour now, waiting for you to get home. If Ami-chan hadn’t called looking for you, I would have started to worry you’d been kidnapped and brought back to the Dark Kingdom. Do you have any idea how selfish and irresponsible you are--”
“I just don’t have to take this right now, Luna,” Usagi said coolly, assuming the most mature and distant expression she could. A tiny part of her mind pointed out she’d stolen that exact expression from Mamoru, but she stifled the urge to giggle. “All you really need to know is that I am safe and out of the wet. We can discuss this later, when I get home, which will be when I’m ready to go and not a moment before.” She shut the lid with a decisive snap! and put it on silent. Almost immediately the lights began flashing, signaling that Luna was trying to contact her again, but she ignored it. Feeling much better, she wrapped her hair in the second towel, quickly dried herself off, and put on her borrowed clothing. “I can’t see you, Luna,” she told the communicator as she dropped it into the pocket of her pants, followed by her transformation brooch. “Maybe being ignored will teach you to be nicer to me.” And with a haughty sniff, she skipped out of the bathroom.
In the living room, she found Mamoru sitting on the couch, so deep in thought he wasn’t even registering the teapot whistling shrilly on the stove. When she tapped him on the shoulder, he flung himself backwards on the couch, as if her touch had burned him.
“Sorry,” she said.“I didn’t mean to startle you. Why don’t I get our cocoa in exchange for scaring you?” Heading into the kitchen, she removed the offended teapot off the stove and poured it into the two mugs waiting on the counter, several generous scoops of cocoa in each. While she spilled about equal amounts of water on the counter as she got into the mugs themselves, by concentrating, Usagi managed to avoid scalding herself, and with a triumphant grin, walked back into the living room carrying their cocoa. “Made it out here without spilling a dro-oops!”
With instincts and speed born of his time as Tuxedo Kamen, Mamoru had noticed Usagi heading straight for the table, heedless of his backpack that he’d slung to the ground and promptly forgotten about. He leapt for her, and caught her just as she was starting to fall forward. Some of the hot cocoa sloshed over the sides and landed on his arm, but he gritted his teeth and ignored it. “You okay?” he asked, looking down at her. She nodded; eyes wide.
“That was an impressive jump,” she told him, as he helped her stand up and judiciously took the mugs from her hands.
“I’m an impressive guy,” he answered flippantly.
“So I’m starting to see,” she murmured. Mamoru heard, and had to fight to keep a goofy smile from overtaking his face. He couldn’t help the happy surge of his heart, though, so in true Mamoru fashion, he chose to ignore it instead. Returning to the couch, Mamoru struggled to find something to say, something to address the awkward position they found themselves in. Of course, the only thing that came readily to mind was the image of Usagi in the shower, and he certainly wasn’t going to mention that.
“Mamoru-san?” Usagi broke the silence that had sprung up between them. “I just wanted to thank you for everything you’ve done for me tonight. Not to be mean, but you were the last person I ever expected to come rushing to my rescue. But that’s exactly what you did, and I really appreciate it. It let me see a side of you I never thought existed.”
“I know exactly what you mean,” Mamoru replied. “And if you ever need rescuing again, just let me know, okay? I’d hate to find you outside in the rain when you could be in here, letting off steam where it’s warm and dry.”
She nodded shyly, and looked away. “I will. Hopefully I won’t have to very often, but it’s nice knowing that there’s a safe place for me if I ever need it. You know, when you’re the one protecting everyone, it’s easy to forget that sometimes you need protection too. But who protects the protectors?” Usagi’s eyes were distant; Mamoru knew she was talking more to herself than him, but had to respond anyway. It was like she was speaking directly about his life as Tuxedo Kamen.
He stroked her cheek with a delicate knuckle, drawing her attention back to him. “I’ll always be here to protect you, Usagi. Whenever you need to, just lean on me and take shelter in my strength. I’ll never let you down.”
“I believe you,” she whispered, and looked up at him through golden lashes. “Would you believe me if I promised you the same?”
“What do you think I need protection from?” Mamoru’s question was curious rather than sarcastic. Solemnity and reflection were not traits he’d previously assumed the bright and evanescent Usagi possessed.
“Well, everyone needs protection from something,” Usagi faltered, clearly hesitant to continue.
“But you’re not making this promise to everyone, you’re making it to me. And you clearly have something in mind. Share it, I won’t get mad.”
“Loneliness. Sometimes, I see you, and there’s something in your eyes, your face…it’s like you hold yourself apart from everyone and everything, even Motoki, and he’s your best friend. I know I’m not as smart as Ami, or a priestess like Rei, but there are times when it looks like you’re drowning and there’s no one around to throw you a rope. I guess I’m volunteering to be that person.”
Mamoru stared at her in shocked silence. Just when had Usagi, the world’s top candidate for bubble-headedness, become so perceptive she could read him in a glance? She’d described it perfectly, those times when despair threatened to tear him in two, when the isolation grew too much to be borne, but he lacked ways to overcome it. “How did-I’m-You-”
“I’m smarter than everyone thinks I am,” she said simply, cutting off his incoherent stammering. “Not about school things, but other stuff. It’s just that people only see my lousy grades, and think that’s all there is to me.” Usagi shot him an amused glance, and her mouth was upturned in a wry smile. Mamoru couldn’t help but notice that it brought out a perfectly kissable dimple in her left cheek.
The dryer dinged, cutting off his response, and Usagi rose to retrieve her clothing. “It’s getting late,” she said. “Well, later. I should get doing home.” Mamoru nodded, unwilling to say anything, for fear that he’d ask her to stay instead. There was so much to her that was familiar and yet new and exciting. He was both fascinated and surprised by this mature, insightful side; he could listen to her talk for hours, get to know the woman that existed within the girl he’d thought she was. He wanted to dance with her around his small living room and marvel at how perfectly she fit next to him. He wanted to bury his face in the golden, unbound wealth of her hair and breathe in the faint scent of cherry blossoms that always clung to her. He wanted to unburden himself to her, tell her who he was, his secrets and fears, tell her of his dream princess who demanded so much and revealed so little. Mostly though, he wanted to wrap her in his arms again, and kiss her until daylight.
Silence reigned during the ride home, save the times Usagi had to give directions to her house. Though she tried to maintain a serene exterior, she was writhing inside. While Mamoru had tacitly agreed with her assessment of him, he hadn’t said anything about her suggestion. He hadn’t said much to her at all after that, actually. She was worried that she’d said too much, or gone too far, or had otherwise ruined the precarious friendship that had been springing up between them. She wasn’t sure if she should apologize or just act like the whole night had ever happened. And there had been times when he looked at her, and his eyes had just smoldered and she’d been tempted, so tempted, just to lean in and kiss him. But she’d always lost her nerve. What if she’d been misreading him? What if he got mad? Worse yet, what if he laughed?
As he pulled up to the curb outside her house, Usagi braced herself for the uncomfortable goodbye. She’d hop out of the car, say farewell and thanks as dispassionately as she could, and then run away before he’d have a chance to say anything. The next time they met, she’d be polite and friendly, but no more than that. She wouldn’t force her friendship on him if he didn’t want it.
“OkayMamoruthisismyplacegottago,” she said as quickly as she could, reaching for the door handle before his car had come to a complete stop. “Thanksand goodb--”
“Usagi, wait.”
The quiet intensity in his voice made her stop and look at him. His eyes were dark and fathomless, his face pale and tired in the dim streetlight. “Back at my house, you offered me something very precious and I…” he trailed off for a moment, and closed his eyes. “You have no idea how hard this is for me, I’ve been practicing what to say for the entire car ride.”
Usagi’s heart crumbled. “No, I understand. I’m just a dumb kid, and you’ve got every right to laugh at me. I just appreciate that you’re trying to handle this so delicately.”
“Is that what you think I’m about to say?” He reached for her and effortlessly pulled her against him. “My silly Usako. You have no idea how much your offer means to me. I’ve never really opened up my heart or soul to anyone, out of fear that it would just backfire in the end. But with you…but with you, I don’t have to worry.” He gently kissed her forehead. “If you’re still willing to act as my protector, that is.”
“Yes!” she cried vehemently. “You can trust me, I’ll never let you down. Just call my name, and I’ll be there for you.” Leaning up, she kissed him full on the mouth. Quicker than a heartbeat, the kiss was over and she was dashing from the car, leaving Mamoru, dazzled, his fingers touching his lips, as if seeking proof that their kiss had just happened.
“I believe you, Usagi,” he whispered. He still wasn’t entirely sure where this night left them, or what that brief, burning kiss had meant, but he was sure of one thing. That golden, angel-souled girl now stood guardian over his soul. He’d have to make sure it was worthy of her keeping.
And when he fell into an exhausted sleep that night, the blue eyes that haunted his dreams did not belong to his mysterious princess.
This is really long.
# 75 My Soul’s Shelter
“…And Lead to Happy Endings”
2420 words
As Mamoru wrestled with angst and self-doubt in the living room, the object of his consternation was fairly deep in thought as well, and no less confused. I’m pretty sure that he was about to kiss me in there, Usagi thought absently, reveling in the heat from the hot water. It was nice to actually feel her extremities again. Stupid sneeze! I couldn’t have timed that worse if I tried. But since when have I wanted Mamoru to kiss me? And just when did I drop the ‘baka’? She sighed, and tilted her head back to let the shower wash over her scalp and through the silky lengths of her hair. “Okay, so we established that he was hot ages ago,” she said, not realizing that she had begun to speak aloud. “Maybe it was the way his hair falls into those deep blue eyes of his. Or that sexy grin he gets when he’s teasing me. Or the way his shirt ripples across his chest when he’s not wearing that stupid jacket. Hey wait, where was I going with this again?” She paused to gather her thoughts, and as she did, there was a knock on the bathroom door.
Mamoru’s muffled voice came through the door, “Usagi, mind if I come in to drop off the towels?”
“Okay,” she called, trying to be heard above the water.
She had put her entire head under the shower spray, so she missed Mamoru’s strangled noise when he accidentally discovered her bra and socks tucked discreetly in her skirt pocket. She’d shifted position in time to hear her communicator beep stridently on the floor next to the tub, however. By the blessing of fate, kami, and all the gods in the world, Mamoru had closed the door behind him, so there were no witnesses as Usagi dove out of the tub and lunged for the communicator. In true form, however, she overshot and landed badly, wedged between the side of the tub and the toilet. She wasn’t injured, but her dignity was certainly bruised, and she still hadn’t been able to answer her communicator, which was now lodged in her lower back. With the way her luck was going, Mamoru would have heard all the commotion and come barging in to make sure she was okay, just in time to find her naked and prone on the floor, with an inexplicable beeping noise coming from her…unmentionables. She couldn’t even imagine how she’d talk herself out of that one.
In his defense, Mamoru certainly would have hurried to check on Usagi, if his own personal crisis wasn’t currently distracting him from all outside stimuli. Like the muffled thumps and curses coming from the bathroom, or the kettle on the stove starting to whistle.
With many contortions and muttered words that her mother would have crimsoned to hear issuing from her daughter’s mouth, Usagi managed to unfold herself and rescue her communicator from it’s incredibly uncomfortable location. Understandably, she was not in the best of moods when she flipped open the top. “What?” she hissed, trying to keep her voice quiet, lest Mamoru hear her talking to an otherwise empty bathroom.
A worried-looking Luna appeared on the screen, though the worry was immediately replaced by irritation as soon as she saw Usagi was all right. “Where are you?” she demanded. “I’ve been frantic for almost an hour now, waiting for you to get home. If Ami-chan hadn’t called looking for you, I would have started to worry you’d been kidnapped and brought back to the Dark Kingdom. Do you have any idea how selfish and irresponsible you are--”
“I just don’t have to take this right now, Luna,” Usagi said coolly, assuming the most mature and distant expression she could. A tiny part of her mind pointed out she’d stolen that exact expression from Mamoru, but she stifled the urge to giggle. “All you really need to know is that I am safe and out of the wet. We can discuss this later, when I get home, which will be when I’m ready to go and not a moment before.” She shut the lid with a decisive snap! and put it on silent. Almost immediately the lights began flashing, signaling that Luna was trying to contact her again, but she ignored it. Feeling much better, she wrapped her hair in the second towel, quickly dried herself off, and put on her borrowed clothing. “I can’t see you, Luna,” she told the communicator as she dropped it into the pocket of her pants, followed by her transformation brooch. “Maybe being ignored will teach you to be nicer to me.” And with a haughty sniff, she skipped out of the bathroom.
In the living room, she found Mamoru sitting on the couch, so deep in thought he wasn’t even registering the teapot whistling shrilly on the stove. When she tapped him on the shoulder, he flung himself backwards on the couch, as if her touch had burned him.
“Sorry,” she said.“I didn’t mean to startle you. Why don’t I get our cocoa in exchange for scaring you?” Heading into the kitchen, she removed the offended teapot off the stove and poured it into the two mugs waiting on the counter, several generous scoops of cocoa in each. While she spilled about equal amounts of water on the counter as she got into the mugs themselves, by concentrating, Usagi managed to avoid scalding herself, and with a triumphant grin, walked back into the living room carrying their cocoa. “Made it out here without spilling a dro-oops!”
With instincts and speed born of his time as Tuxedo Kamen, Mamoru had noticed Usagi heading straight for the table, heedless of his backpack that he’d slung to the ground and promptly forgotten about. He leapt for her, and caught her just as she was starting to fall forward. Some of the hot cocoa sloshed over the sides and landed on his arm, but he gritted his teeth and ignored it. “You okay?” he asked, looking down at her. She nodded; eyes wide.
“That was an impressive jump,” she told him, as he helped her stand up and judiciously took the mugs from her hands.
“I’m an impressive guy,” he answered flippantly.
“So I’m starting to see,” she murmured. Mamoru heard, and had to fight to keep a goofy smile from overtaking his face. He couldn’t help the happy surge of his heart, though, so in true Mamoru fashion, he chose to ignore it instead. Returning to the couch, Mamoru struggled to find something to say, something to address the awkward position they found themselves in. Of course, the only thing that came readily to mind was the image of Usagi in the shower, and he certainly wasn’t going to mention that.
“Mamoru-san?” Usagi broke the silence that had sprung up between them. “I just wanted to thank you for everything you’ve done for me tonight. Not to be mean, but you were the last person I ever expected to come rushing to my rescue. But that’s exactly what you did, and I really appreciate it. It let me see a side of you I never thought existed.”
“I know exactly what you mean,” Mamoru replied. “And if you ever need rescuing again, just let me know, okay? I’d hate to find you outside in the rain when you could be in here, letting off steam where it’s warm and dry.”
She nodded shyly, and looked away. “I will. Hopefully I won’t have to very often, but it’s nice knowing that there’s a safe place for me if I ever need it. You know, when you’re the one protecting everyone, it’s easy to forget that sometimes you need protection too. But who protects the protectors?” Usagi’s eyes were distant; Mamoru knew she was talking more to herself than him, but had to respond anyway. It was like she was speaking directly about his life as Tuxedo Kamen.
He stroked her cheek with a delicate knuckle, drawing her attention back to him. “I’ll always be here to protect you, Usagi. Whenever you need to, just lean on me and take shelter in my strength. I’ll never let you down.”
“I believe you,” she whispered, and looked up at him through golden lashes. “Would you believe me if I promised you the same?”
“What do you think I need protection from?” Mamoru’s question was curious rather than sarcastic. Solemnity and reflection were not traits he’d previously assumed the bright and evanescent Usagi possessed.
“Well, everyone needs protection from something,” Usagi faltered, clearly hesitant to continue.
“But you’re not making this promise to everyone, you’re making it to me. And you clearly have something in mind. Share it, I won’t get mad.”
“Loneliness. Sometimes, I see you, and there’s something in your eyes, your face…it’s like you hold yourself apart from everyone and everything, even Motoki, and he’s your best friend. I know I’m not as smart as Ami, or a priestess like Rei, but there are times when it looks like you’re drowning and there’s no one around to throw you a rope. I guess I’m volunteering to be that person.”
Mamoru stared at her in shocked silence. Just when had Usagi, the world’s top candidate for bubble-headedness, become so perceptive she could read him in a glance? She’d described it perfectly, those times when despair threatened to tear him in two, when the isolation grew too much to be borne, but he lacked ways to overcome it. “How did-I’m-You-”
“I’m smarter than everyone thinks I am,” she said simply, cutting off his incoherent stammering. “Not about school things, but other stuff. It’s just that people only see my lousy grades, and think that’s all there is to me.” Usagi shot him an amused glance, and her mouth was upturned in a wry smile. Mamoru couldn’t help but notice that it brought out a perfectly kissable dimple in her left cheek.
The dryer dinged, cutting off his response, and Usagi rose to retrieve her clothing. “It’s getting late,” she said. “Well, later. I should get doing home.” Mamoru nodded, unwilling to say anything, for fear that he’d ask her to stay instead. There was so much to her that was familiar and yet new and exciting. He was both fascinated and surprised by this mature, insightful side; he could listen to her talk for hours, get to know the woman that existed within the girl he’d thought she was. He wanted to dance with her around his small living room and marvel at how perfectly she fit next to him. He wanted to bury his face in the golden, unbound wealth of her hair and breathe in the faint scent of cherry blossoms that always clung to her. He wanted to unburden himself to her, tell her who he was, his secrets and fears, tell her of his dream princess who demanded so much and revealed so little. Mostly though, he wanted to wrap her in his arms again, and kiss her until daylight.
Silence reigned during the ride home, save the times Usagi had to give directions to her house. Though she tried to maintain a serene exterior, she was writhing inside. While Mamoru had tacitly agreed with her assessment of him, he hadn’t said anything about her suggestion. He hadn’t said much to her at all after that, actually. She was worried that she’d said too much, or gone too far, or had otherwise ruined the precarious friendship that had been springing up between them. She wasn’t sure if she should apologize or just act like the whole night had ever happened. And there had been times when he looked at her, and his eyes had just smoldered and she’d been tempted, so tempted, just to lean in and kiss him. But she’d always lost her nerve. What if she’d been misreading him? What if he got mad? Worse yet, what if he laughed?
As he pulled up to the curb outside her house, Usagi braced herself for the uncomfortable goodbye. She’d hop out of the car, say farewell and thanks as dispassionately as she could, and then run away before he’d have a chance to say anything. The next time they met, she’d be polite and friendly, but no more than that. She wouldn’t force her friendship on him if he didn’t want it.
“OkayMamoruthisismyplacegottago,” she said as quickly as she could, reaching for the door handle before his car had come to a complete stop. “Thanksand goodb--”
“Usagi, wait.”
The quiet intensity in his voice made her stop and look at him. His eyes were dark and fathomless, his face pale and tired in the dim streetlight. “Back at my house, you offered me something very precious and I…” he trailed off for a moment, and closed his eyes. “You have no idea how hard this is for me, I’ve been practicing what to say for the entire car ride.”
Usagi’s heart crumbled. “No, I understand. I’m just a dumb kid, and you’ve got every right to laugh at me. I just appreciate that you’re trying to handle this so delicately.”
“Is that what you think I’m about to say?” He reached for her and effortlessly pulled her against him. “My silly Usako. You have no idea how much your offer means to me. I’ve never really opened up my heart or soul to anyone, out of fear that it would just backfire in the end. But with you…but with you, I don’t have to worry.” He gently kissed her forehead. “If you’re still willing to act as my protector, that is.”
“Yes!” she cried vehemently. “You can trust me, I’ll never let you down. Just call my name, and I’ll be there for you.” Leaning up, she kissed him full on the mouth. Quicker than a heartbeat, the kiss was over and she was dashing from the car, leaving Mamoru, dazzled, his fingers touching his lips, as if seeking proof that their kiss had just happened.
“I believe you, Usagi,” he whispered. He still wasn’t entirely sure where this night left them, or what that brief, burning kiss had meant, but he was sure of one thing. That golden, angel-souled girl now stood guardian over his soul. He’d have to make sure it was worthy of her keeping.
And when he fell into an exhausted sleep that night, the blue eyes that haunted his dreams did not belong to his mysterious princess.