1197/For Just a Moment

For Just a Moment
Date of Scene:	09 March 2016
Location:	Earth Court Frat House
Synopsis:	Usagi and Mamoru get back from D-point. (Technically in Mamoru's temp apartment, not the ECFH.)
Cast of Characters:	Mamoru Chiba, Usagi Tsukino

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Mamoru Chiba has posed:
When Mamoru, carrying the unconscious Usagi, looked into the ice and asked Blue to take them home, Blue took them to the mirror that had been in Mamoru's apartment. Thing is, Homura'd emptied it and moved everything to the temporary apartment Mamoru had never been to...

...so without ever having been there, and with the lights off and nobody home, it took a lot of stumbling around in the dark while still carrying her before he found anything useful. Like a couch. To put her down on. At least the whole time he'd been patiently restoring her massively depleted energy levels, so it shouldn't take her too long to wake up.

Unfortunately, that means she probably wakes up in the dark while he's looking for a lightswitch.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Unfortunately, indeed.

The thing about passing out -- twice -- is it tends to make one disoriented.

The thing about passing out after having fought for the past few days with very little rest tends to make one panic, no matter the result.

She's warm and she shouldn't be.

The last time she was warm was--

"Mars?!" She jerks awake, eyes wide in the darkness as she flails around, feet kicking against something too soft. "Rei!!"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"She's fine!" comes Mamoru's voice out of the dark. "Close your eyes, I found a lightswitch--"

It's a moment after he gives the warning that the lights come on, and she's in the apartment that Jadeite'd been staying in for so long, on the couch where she'd watched romcoms with him in PJs, and Mamoru's standing across the room in his t-shirt and jeans--

--and covered in dried blood. Hands, arms, shirt, jeans. He seems, in all the excitement, to have completely forgotten that he literally got Takashi all over him in all three of his states of being, because he's coming over trying to look comforting and reaching for her. "Usako, calm down, everything's fine--"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
She does as he suggests, squeezing her eyes shut, even as the light comes on.

Okay. She's fine. Everything's fine.

Everything's fine.

And then she opens her eyes.

She's crying again, but it's more heart break than horror. She tries to get away, because that's what you do in a horror movie, right?

But she has about as much strength as a blade of grass. All she can manage is a slide to the floor where she curls in on herself, face buried in her knees, hands over her head, and she's rocking.

There's not much more one can say under these circumstances rather than 'no, no, no, no.'

Because obviously she failed.

And obviously this is Hell.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Usa!" yelps Mamoru-- and that is clear and familiar Mamo-chan panic voice, and then apparently he looks down at himself because it's followed by "oh my god" and "I'm sorry" and then it's Tuxedo Kamen's gloved hands and fine suit that touch her, enclose her in an embrace, practically crush her to his chest. It's Mamoru's warmth she's surrounded by, and his face in her hair murmuring reassurances, and his scent--

"It's okay, it's really okay, it worked, you fixed everything, everyone's all right-- everyone, even the people we didn't know needed saving, you saved them all..." Now he's rocking her, stroking her hair, pulling his cloak around them both. "Everything's fine, you're safe, they're all safe."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
And it's those things -- the weight, the voice, the scent -- that takes some of the panic away. It's the feel of his warm, smooth neck beneath desperate fingers.

Finally, it's wrapping herself in that warm, gentle glow that is just him that helps the most, because surely Hell could never recreate that.

She's still shaking, though. Still crying. "There was so much--" A faltering breath that hitches in the back of her throat. "It was too much, Mamo-chan."

It wasn't, of course. But it also was.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
It very much was. Just because they prevailed in the end doesn't mean it wasn't too much, doesn't mean they won't be coping with it all for a while, doesn't mean they won't carry the scars with them.

"I know, love," he says against her hair, quiet and comforting. After a bit, he shifts them around in front of the couch, detaches his cape so it doesn't choke him, takes his mask off, and pulls her into his lap. Both of his arms are around her now, making a shield, giving her a moment outside of time; the moment's thick with the assurance that she has that time, that it doesn't cost anything, that he's all right and he can hold her and keep the world outside away from her.

"You were so brave, Usa. And because of who you are, all those people love you so much. They were so determined to help you win that they managed it. You did it, and it was because of love. It doesn't erase what happened, but-- it helps, doesn't it? You made all of it worth it, for them. You kept your promises."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
She still shakes against him, but adrenaline does that. However, as her knees settle alongside his hips and her hands reach behind him, clutching tight to his jacket, at least she's able to stop crying as hard.

It's warm here, and so very safe, and at the moment its what matters most.

(When the next moment comes, which it will soon, she'll be desperate to know that her friends are all right.)

She's not shaking as much when he's done talking. Usagi nods against his shoulder. "I love them, too."

This time when she closes her eyes, it's not to keep anything out, but to keep things close and warm. And this time, her tightening grip around him is a snuggle. "You were brave, too. Always so brave, my Mamo-chan."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
There's a low laugh, deep in his chest against Usagi's ear. "I had an awful lot of help. Even with it, I definitely froze up a few times, shut down a few times."

Mamoru kisses the top of Usagi's head, then leans the side of his face against it. His voice is still warm, but it's slower, a little more matter-of-fact. "Remember when I told you being brave is when you're afraid, but do the right thing anyway?

"Getting close to the end there, I wasn't afraid anymore. For a little while, I wasn't anything. And then Rei-- and Jack-- and I realized we'd probably lose everyone. I thought I might have to leave you too, but believed with all my heart that if you could just get there, if we could all work to get you there, you'd save us. You'd come find us. I'm glad I didn't have to, but... I wasn't afraid."

His hands link low at the small of her back, and he laughs again. "So I wasn't really brave, I was just-- well. I think I quoted it to you before. 'If you're going through hell, keep going.'"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
She tightens her grip on him again. "I'm glad you didn't have to leave me." The too is unsaid but heavy in the air. She tries to think what would have happened then. Would she have been able to continue on? The answer is, of course, yes. "I still would have gotten there. But I'm so glad."

She pulls back so she can look at him, though still close to where she's still touching him everywhere she can. Her grin tries for sly and teasing, though the end result, combined with her tears, probably makes her look like she's five years old. "Well, then. I guess I was the bravest person on earth, if that's the only definition.

The shaking stops as her eyes just drink him in. Because he's Mamoru, yes, but he's also proof that they succeeded.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Well-- he got proof, anyway. He saw it happen, and he felt an unmistakeable tug on his soul while he was still carrying Usagi through Blue's hall of mirrors, and then another, and another. His brothers, waking up, looking for him.

He's probably never going to get to the end of the Looks that Kunzite will undoubtedly give him after that detour, either.

Here and now, though, he looks at Usagi's questing face and gives her the brightest smile. "Of course you're the bravest person on Earth," he asserts, the smile turning into a grin. He knew she could have gone on without him, too, but--

Suddenly he's brushing her nose with his, and he leans in to kiss her.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
And the proof is also, too, his connection to the earth. Though he doubts he'd be able to locate everyone, part of her believes if they didn't come back, he'd somehow be able to tell.

And then his lips are against hers and she sighs as she tastes him, both hands coming up to curl her fingers against his jaw.

It's slower than she'd like, probably more so than he's used to, but she just near about drained her soul.

Worth it.

Totally.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Silly bun. Mamoru would kiss her as many times as necessary to get her energy back up -- he would willingly jump on that grenade -- but he suspects what she actually needs is a good night's sleep, and her friends.

That doesn't mean he doesn't linger on this kiss, greedy and relieved.

Just a moment longer. Then he'll give her back.