Lonely Christmas - A Sailor Moon Fanfiction

Chapter 6 - Surprise

Let's see how many times I can hit my head on the wall before it starts hurting, shall we?

One!

Two!

Three!

Ouch. Okay. Three's enough... though the pain to my head doesn't equal half of the pain weighing in my heart. It’s the next day and I’m back in my lair again, sighing as I watch more snow fall outside my window. Each flake flutters quickly past the panes of glass, and for a moment I find myself entranced in their unique little dance as they combine into one pile below my windowsill. I slam my head into the structure of my apartment one last time, my forehead leaning on the window as I look at the scene below. Again, children playing. What are they so happy about all the time?! It really chaps my...

...Motoki?

Through the window, I catch a quick glimpse of his eyes underneath the huge hat he's wearing. I highly doubt he can see, but if it's keeping him warm, all the more power to the idiot. I can't make out his expression underneath that ridiculous striped scarf he's wearing, either. After all, I really didn't stick around the arcade yesterday to find out what happened. Half of me knows that Motoki and Usagi, if they aren't together already, would be sometime in the near future. However, there's still that other half that's hanging on for dear life that it didn’t work out, and I am not about to let that go.

I watch him intently, looking for any signs that could tell me what happened. There's no hop to his step, but he's not walking defeatedly, either. He's not swaying back and forth, which, knowing Motoki, meant he wasn't humming happily. I can see no dimples or any sign of smiling over that blasted scarf, nor can I tell anything by his eyes.

'He would be happier if he had asked Usagi out,' I think. So, wait… he didn't ask her out? Or he did, and something happened? My heart skips a beat as my eyes widen. Usagi… where could she be now?! Maybe she's upset? In need of comfort? Motoki hurt my Meatball Head?!

I grab my coat and dash out the door.

~*~*~

I evaluate the situation as I violently swing the door to my apartment complex open. Something was wrong with Motoki. He was headed in the direction of both his house and the arcade, so he could be headed to either. He came from the direction of Usagi's house. Usagi was not with him.

I walk very quickly past the large crowds of people hopping from store to store. I keep my eye out for either of the two, glancing in store windows and around the sidewalks. I could really use a homing device for them.

I pass Motoki's house, but there's no sign of life inside. The lights are off, the driveway isn’t shoveled, and there are no footprints leading to his front door. I turn around and begin walking back, heading toward the arcade. I still don't know what happened. If I find Usagi and begin to comfort her now, she may not know what I'm talking about and think I'm a lunatic… so I'll find out the details from Motoki first, comfort little Meatball Head later.

On my way to the arcade, I pass a small gift shop with a few stuffed animals and tiny collectables pleading to be bought in the front window. I would have passed it right by if it wasn't for the little rabbit, similar to the ornament we got, sitting there and staring up at me. It had the same goofy smile mine did, and wore a very similar Christmas hat, but was clutching a small stuffed crescent moon in its paws.

Usagi has to have it.

~*~*~

Walking out with the bunny in a red gift bag, my adrenaline rushes through my veins. I'm getting really anxious now, dying to find out what happened between my two friends. I break into a sprint, pushing my way through oblivious shoppers, though keeping a protective arm around my present. As I can see Crown Arcade is seen in the near distance, I stop my running. No need to show Motoki I'm antsy or in a hurry, right?

Playing it smooth, and by that I mean stumbling through the doorway, I enter Crown Arcade. Lo and behold, Motoki is waiting behind the counter waving like an eager puppy as I make my way to my usual stool. I set the bag down by my feet; there's no reason to show him what I got for Usagi.

We greet each other, and for a moment or two there's an awkward silence between us that I've never experienced before. We both know what’s on each other's minds, but neither want to be the one to ask.

He clears his throat, turning away for a brief second before setting down an iced tea in front of me. Hmph… I want hot chocolate, but that's the least of my concerns. I become the one to break the ice.

"So what happened? Did you ask her?"

"Yeah, I asked her," he replies composedly. There is no grin, no light chuckle, no smooth raise of his eyebrows. He doesn't flinch.

"...and?" I ask, a bit too hastily than I would have liked.

His eyes shoot up to meet my own. "And," he continues, his eyes falling back onto the counter. It's then the grin spreads across his face, and my heart takes another nosedive onto a bed of spikes. I know the answer before he can utter the words. "Usagi and I are officially a couple!"

"That's great!" I exclaim, my heart groaning.

Motoki smiles, his chest rising and falling quickly. A sigh of relief? "Yeah, I'm really happy about it," he says. Yeah, right. I'd be riding around on freaking cloud nine, and this kid waited a whole day before he even smiled about it, for Christ's sake. "We went to the movies just a little while ago, I took the whole morning off work, and I dropped her off at her house afterward."

"And how'd that go?"

"It went great. Really great!" he bragged. I wanted to punch him.

"I'm glad you two had fun," I said through grit teeth I formed into a fake smile.

"Yeah! You wanna come out with us later and celebrate?" he inquired. I looked up at him, eyebrow raised. He really was naive to my feelings, wasn't he?

"Eh, it's okay, I..."

"Come on Mamoru, this'll be fun, I promise."

"Yeah, but I..."

"Come on, Mamoru! What do you have to lose?"

I blink, pondering this for a moment. I look down at my iced tea, then up at him, and for some reason my heart told me to accept.

"...What time?"