A/N: I'm so sorry for the late update! Again, I have no intention of dropping this story. I DO have an ending planned, and so it may take a long time, but this story will end properly. Thank you guys for being so patient, and for all the wonderful comments/reviews 3

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Enjoy!

Beryl let out an exhausted sigh before taking a sip of her espresso. Usagi was fifteen minutes late, despite the fact that she told Beryl she would meet her at the ice cream shop rather than at her apartment. Beryl wasn't too content with the change in plans, but she accepted it as she preferred to walk alone anyways.

Her phone buzzed against the marble countertop and she slid past the lock screen, tapping on the "1" hovering over her messaging app.

-hey hey! ts a few blocks down of central, right?

She sighed and typed back. -Yes, the red and white building. I'm sitting in one of the booths.

-alrighty! i'm on my way! :) :) :)

Beryl blinked. She was on her way? Now? At 3:17, when they had decided to meet at 3?

She groaned and fell back onto her chair, running a hand through her long hair. When Usagi was first introduced to her as Mamoru's girlfriend, the redhead had believed it wouldn't have lasted too long. Given Zoisite's worried expression to her quiet response, she knew that it wouldn't be long before Mamoru's friends told Usagi about her, the girl who had liked Mamoru first, the girl who had her feelings shot down.

The lab partner.

A bell suddenly rang as the shop's door swung open, interrupting Beryl's thoughts and revealing a cheerful Usagi. She waved at Beryl and plopped down in the booth seat across from her, rubbing her hands along her arms.

"It's so cold outside!" she exclaimed, shuddering slightly before turning around, waving at the cashier. "Can I get a peppermint hot chocolate, with lots of whipped cream?"

"It's nice to see you." Beryl said, and the blond turned to face her, beaming.

"You too!" Usagi unzipped her puffy blue jacket and pushed it to the side of her seat. "How's your week been?"

"It's been rather chaotic, what with finals coming up," Beryl took another sip of her coffee, watching the blond smile slightly as her drink arrived. "How about you?"

Usagi hummed as she twirled her red straw in her peppermint hot chocolate, watching the foam bubbles on top of the whipped cream emerge and pop. "Switching to political science classes hasn't been the easiest transition, but it's okay! My professors are super cool."

Beryl nodded and looked down at the table, gently setting her drink onto her coaster. "Usagi, there's a reason I wanted to meet with you."

Usagi glanced up at the girl across from her. "What is it?"

"I wanted to talk to you about Mamoru."

Her head tilted slightly. "Mm?"

"I just wanted to let you know that we have history."

"Oh!" Usagi shifted, now sitting up straight and hands crossed politely. "Go ahead."

"We met during freshman orientation and discussed classes and futures over the summer. We're both research assistants for the same lab and we formed study groups with a few of our mutual friends," Beryl hesitated, unsure if she should go on, but Usagi nodded quietly. "I told him I wanted to be more than friends, but he said that he wanted to focus more on his future."

She looked up at the blond across from her, who was quietly sipping her hot chocolate. Usagi didn't say anything, and Beryl shrugged. "I just wanted to let you know - the life of a premed can be rather….demanding."

Usagi lowered her cup and tapped on her chin thoughtfully. "Well," she said slowly, "if he wants to focus more on his studies, then that's fine by me."

"What if you two break up because of it?" the redhead leaned in, eyes narrowing. "Won't that make you upset?"

"It's his future to decide!" Usagi smiled. "I don't want to be the reason he doesn't get what he wants. I know Mamo-chan works hard, and if he wants to keep going for his dream, it'll hurt to break up but I'm not gonna stop him."

Beryl blinked for a few moments before she leaned back into her seat, a small genuine smile on her lips. "You're a very kind person, Usagi."

"Thank you!" the blond grinned and drank some more of her hot chocolate, letting out a hum of satisfaction. "I like to think I am."

The two sat in silence before Beryl took one last sip of her coffee and pat her mouth dry with a napkin. Usagi glanced up at the redhead as she stood up and extended a hand to the blond.

"Thank you for meeting with me today. I really appreciated it, Usagi."

"No problem!" Usagi took her hand and shook it enthusiastically, both of her hands covering Beryl's, "Good luck with finals, I'm sure you'll do great!"

Beryl's small grin widened into an actual smile. "Thank you, good luck to you as well. I'll see you later."

And with that, Beryl waved goodbye as she left the ice cream shop. Usagi leaned back in the booth seat and let out a sigh. She was kind of surprised that she had managed to tell Beryl that she was okay with Mamoru's career choices. It was true that she loved him, but she wasn't sure if she would feel alright with just letting him go like that if she had to.

'If we had to break up because of his career….' Usagi unconsciously tugged on a ponytail before shaking her head. They would be able to get through it together. She loved Mamo-chan and he loved her, so they could do this.

They would do this.

Minako was having a terrible day.

First of all, her iced tea that she had waited in line for twenty-three minutes had been unsweetened when she clearly asked for sweetened, no sir I am not giving you lip, all I want is my damn iced tea.

Second of all, one of the assholes she was forced to daily work with had been whining during the entire shift, complaining about how the theatre club didn't deserve the funding it was given, and how the chess club was eons better. If Minako didn't know any better, she would have leaned over and throttled the guy there and then.

Third of all, apparently the girls were having a study session at her and Usagi's place this evening, which no one reminded her about, so she showed up thirty-five minutes late with an unsweetened iced tea and her three best friends looking unimpressed as she complained about her day and unlocked the front door.

Lastly, her roommate walked in the door crying her eyes out, her loud sniffles making Minako want to suddenly murder whoever had put her best friend in such a situation.

"What's wrong?" Rei asked, immediately hurrying to the blond's side, but Usagi shook her head, her usually-chipper demeanor completely dampened by her tears.

"Usagi," Makoto said calmly, "we can't help you if-"

"I-I might have to graduate late!" Usagi burst out, burying her face in her hands, "My advisor said I haven't been taking the right classes, a-and I started t-too late, and-"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down, Usagi," Minako was already gently tugging Usagi towards the living room, patting the seat next to her. She helped Usagi sit next to her as Rei went to get a glass of water, all of them focusing on the crying blond, "What happened?"

Usagi took a deep breath but faltered, thick tears streaming down her cheeks. "I talked to my advisor today, and s-she said that I can't switch to Political Science unless I want to graduate late. My parents said they want me staying here for eight semesters only, I-I can't switch unless I add one or two more classes each semester."

"One or two doesn't seem so bad!" Ami grinned as Rei set a cup of water in front of Usagi, "Usagi, one more class may seem challenging, but you can do it! You'll just have to be a bit more organized."

"What if I-I can't, though?" Usagi burst out, shaking her head. "I don't w-wanna fail, Ami, I-I don't!"

"You can do it, though," Makoto smiled at her friend, leaning over and rubbing her back, "It'll be more challenging as Ami said, but you'll get to be pursuing something you're passionate about, right?"

"I-I…." the sniffling blond glanced down at her lap. "I'm still not sure. I don't know what I should choose, both are interesting, but I'm not sure which to pick."

"Pros/cons list?" Ami piped up, holding up a notepad. She scooched closer to Usagi, flipping open to a clean sheet with a pencil at the ready. "It could help you decide which one is better?"

Usagi shrugged and sniffled. "I don't know."

"We could go out for dinner afterwards," Rei offered, a small smile on her lips. "It'd make you feel better, wouldn't it?"

Usagi let out a small laugh before noticing the papers and binders on the coffee table. "Oh, shoot, we had a study session today-"

"It's fine, Usagi," Minako waved her hand. "I was getting sick of reading about Hamlet and his daddy issues anyways."

"B-But Ami has a test tomorrow! A test over patomy and- no, anamy, n-no, anat-"

"Usagi," Ami leaned over and rest her hand on her friend's before squeezing it gently, "My anatomy test is not the only thing in my life - you're so much more important, and this is your career we're talking about."

"Not to mention Ami's probably been studying for this test since winter break," Rei added in, shrugging with a smile.

"And she's probably had flashcards made since the beginning of the last semester," Makoto laughed, and Minako joined in, bending over and clutching her stomach as she guffawed.

Ami flushed a bright pink but rolled her eyes as Usagi giggled quietly, wiping her eyes. "I'm sorry you guys have to-"

"Dude, that's what we're here for!" Minako cut her off, waving her hand again. "You know what they say - 'if you want to go far, go alone - but if you want to go quickly, go by car'!"

"That can't be right, Minako." Rei said, raising an eyebrow.

"Actually, it's 'if you want to go quickly, go alone, but if you want to go far, go together'," Ami corrected, to which Minako stuck out her tongue.

"That's what I meant. We're in this with you, Usagi."

Usagi smiled and let out a weak laugh, her flushed face finally bright. "Thanks, guys."

"Do you remember when you first stumbled in here?"

Usagi let out a small laugh, shifting slightly in Mamoru's arms. The two were sitting on Mamoru's bed, entangled in each other's arms, neither of them paying attention to the movie that was playing on his laptop. "Yeah, I do."

"You were so drunk."

"Yes, I know, Mamo-chan. I was there."

Mamoru laughed and poked his girlfriend. "It was adorable."

"You were wearing such an ugly shirt," Usagi shook her head and glanced at the closet, "Is it still in there? Can I burn it?"

"Oh, c'mon, my fashion sense isn't that bad."

"Mamo-chan, Rei says she's this close to sneaking in while you have class and cleansing your spirit by burning your entire closet."

Mamoru laughed again but stopped once he noticed Usagi didn't join his laughter. He looked down at her, eyes wide. "Was that a joke?"

"Of course it was, silly!" Usagi burst into giggles and hit him lightly on his arm, "Gosh, you're such a nerd."

Mamoru opened his mouth to reply before his phone went off, the words "7 pm - edit ethics paper" flashing on the screen in bright letters.

"One sec," he reached out and turned the alarm off before leaning forward to pull his laptop forward. He paused the movie and opened up his ethics paper in a side window, grabbing his glasses from his bedside table and putting them on before scrolling over his paper. Usagi watched as he read through his paper and smiled. It was these quiet moments she loved, admiring the way he worked diligently, his dark blue eyes determined. Although she preferred him smiling and laughing, watching him be serious was just as lovable. It wasn't long until she sat up and sighed.

"I promise, I'll be finished super soon-"

"No, no," Usagi shook her head and shifted, resting her head on Mamoru's shoulder, "it's not that. I talked to my advisor."

"And? Is your switch official?"

"No," the blond sighed again and nervously twisted the end of a ponytail around her finger. She could feel her heart sinking as she thought about it and tugged on her ponytail. "I haven't been taking the right classes to start out, and if I wanna switch to Political science, there's a slight chance I'll have to graduate late unless I add an extra class or two each semester."

"Oh." Mamoru typed a bit and saved his essay's word document and turned to her. "Do you still want to switch, then?"

"Yeah," Usagi nodded but then scratched her head. "Well, maybe. I'm not exactly sure. I've talked to the girls about it, and-"

Usagi was cut off by Mamoru's phone, and he held up an index finger to Usagi, his expression apologetic as he brought his phone up to his ear. "Hello? Oh hi, Dr. - oh yeah, definitely!" he mouthed the word "research" at Usagi before nodding. "Yeah, of course."

Usagi could barely make out what was being said on the other line, and she glanced at Mamoru's computer, where his paper was open on the screen. She pursed her lips slightly and turned to Mamoru, who seemed a bit frazzled.

"I- isn't Zoisite supposed to be in today?" he asked, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "He's not? My mistake, I must have missed the schedule this morning, I'm really really sorry about that."

"I just wanted to let you know - the life of a premed can be rather demanding."

Usagi gulped and picked up her phone, pressing the home button to check the time. It was already evening, and Mamoru had spent the entire Sunday with her, distracted by her and not even noticing that he was supposed to come into research today. A pang of guilt struck Usagi and she grabbed her purse, rummaging through for her keys. Was she the reason Mamoru forgot?

"Yes, yes of course. I'll definitely come in next time. Again, I apologize. Thanks." Mamoru hung up and let out a huge sigh of relief. "Phew, that went well."

"Yeah?" Usagi smiled weakly. "I'm sorry you missed research."

"Oh no, it was fine." Mamoru smiled at her and leaned back on his bed. "Turns out, Beryl showed up and took over. I just have to remember to come in next time," he let out another sigh of relief. "Alright, so what were we talking about? Your major?"

"Actually, I gotta get home," Usagi pointed at the door, "Minako said she wanted me home by 7:30 because she needs someone to watch Luna and Artemis while she goes on her date with Kunzite."

"Usa, when have you ever been on time for anything?" Mamoru chuckled, pulling her gently. Usagi flinched slightly and Mamoru immediately let go, frowning.

"Usa?" he asked, "Usa, I was joking-"

"I know!" Usagi laughed weakly, "I know."

"If you need to go, I won't stop you," Mamoru gave a small smile, "I was just suggesting you stay for five more minutes."

"I think I'm gonna go, actually. I'll let myself out," Mamoru leaned in to kiss her, but she turned and pecked him on the cheek, "Love you, Mamo-chan."

"Yeah, sure," Mamoru nodded and frowned, keeping a hand over his cheek, "Love you too, Usa."

An hour later, lounged on her bed with Luna purring on her lap, Usagi heard her phone vibrate on her nightstand. She reached over and swiped past the lock screen, tapping on the "ONE NEW MESSAGE" blinking at her. Mamoru's contact information popped up, his message highlighted at the bottom of their conversation.

-Hey, I feel like I didn't actually get to talk to you about the whole graduating thing. I'm sorry that towards the end I was swamped with my paper and research, but I really want to hear you talk about your coursework. Let me when you're free next, we'll talk about it then. :-)

Usagi pursed her lips, unsure. She didn't want to burden Mamoru with this new problem, especially when it was evident that he had enough on his plate already. She could just go talk to the girls about it again, but just the thought of bothering them about it again…

Artemis let out a loud meow, interrupted her thoughts. He leapt up onto her bed and curled up by her legs, meowing. Usagi laughed lightly and reached over, scratching him under the chin.

-nah its all good, we can talk later! :) :) :)

-Are you sure? I really want to help out, Usa.

-sorry mamo-chan i gotta go take care of smthn, i'll ttyl

-Okay. Love you, Usa. :-)

-:)

Mamoru blinked at his phone. Usagi always replied with a kissy emoji or heart-eyed face, or three thousand "love you more!"s when he texted her "love you". He ran a hand through his hair and sighed, lying back onto his pillow. Usagi had seemed a bit off when she was over - when he joked about her being late, she usually would have just smacked him on the arm, but today she seemed to actually be uncomfortable - was that his fault?

He took a deep breath and plugged his phone into the charging cable before facing his laptop, focusing on the page of his ethics paper he had been stuck on for the past hour.

A few miles away, in her bedroom, Usagi wiped her eyes and sniffled.