Hello again, everyone!

I saw a meme that was like "first company to start an email with 'shit's getting real out here ain't it?'" has me as a customer for life", so….shit's getting real out here, ain't it? In all seriousness, I hope everyone is doing as ok as possible, all things considered. I'm incredibly grateful to have this community as a source of support all the time, but especially now. I've been quiet on Tumblr lately, but I'm still around to talk if anyone needs me or if you're just bored.

Anyway, I wrote this story for spider-momo as a part of the Usamamp Spring Exchange 2020 on Tumblr hosted by the lovely UglyGreenJacket. After some stalking and a whole host of weird anon asks (some of which I incorporated, some of which I didn't), I found out that she likes variety, Stars, a little bit of jealousy, and Mamoru being friends with the senshi, among other things.

I've taken a few creative liberties with canon, and, just to make things easier, this takes place with today's technology, rather than 1996's.

Also, it's a multichapter, which is a little bit off-brand for me. I hope you all enjoy the ride, and spider-momo, I hope this story lives up to everything you hoped it could be!

Massive thanks as always to my wonderful beta, Kasienda, for both her brilliant edits (seriously she makes everything so much better), and for helping me keep my sanity and just generally being one of the kindest people I know.

Huge thanks also to UGJ for hosting this exchange; I know it's a lot of work, and I so appreciate you doing this for us!

And really, thanks to the whole fandom? I feel like I've gotten to talk to more of you during this whole thing, and it's been lovely getting to know you all better.

So, without further ado, please enjoy and let me know what you think!

Belonging
Written for spider-momo in the Usamamo Spring Exchange 2020
Chapter 1

Mamoru couldn't help the smile that pulled at the corner of his lips at the groggy, mumbled "Mamo-chan" that sounded from the phone in his hand, the screen still dark. "Good morning, Usa," he said softly. "Sorry to wake you."

The screen lit up as Usagi clumsily reached for her bedside lamp. Squinting, she lay back in bed holding up her phone, hair jutting every which way, and pulled her purple moon and bunnies comforter closer.

"You know, Mamo-chan," she grumbled. "We didn't talk about this whole time difference thing enough before you went to Harvard." She let out an enormous yawn.

"I know. I'm sorry. Do you want to talk later today instead? I'll be up late."

"No!" Usagi answered firmly, sitting up straighter. "I like waking up to your voice."

They had done this dance almost every weekday morning since Mamoru had left for Boston. Mamoru would call, waking Usagi up, and they'd chat, usually as he cooked dinner before she had to get ready for school.

Truthfully, it still amazed him that she was regularly willing to give up sleep just to talk to him. This was Usagi, after all. His heart swelled with affection, remembering a conversation they'd had while watching the last Olympic Games on TV, when she'd proclaimed that if sleeping were an Olympic sport, no one would stand a chance against her.

"What are you making tonight?"

"Spicy miso ramen."

Usagi's lips drew into a pout. "That sounds delicious. I miss you cooking for me, Mamo-chan."

Mamoru laughed. Gourmet chef, he was not. However, he did have a few tried-and-true recipes up his sleeve. This was a useful skill to have when his significant other was prone to random food cravings at any given moment. Before senshi meetings. While playing video games. After finishing a tub of ice cream.

He snapped his phone into the case that doubled as a stand, set it on his kitchen bar, and rolled up his sleeves before getting a cutting board and a knife from the cabinet above him.

It had taken them a few weeks to get into this now comfortable routine. Mamoru had felt particularly unmoored at first, given that he'd spent his entire flight to Boston kicking himself for botching the proposal.

Usagi had been so happy when he'd presented her with the ring. Her face had lit up and she'd launched herself into his arms. She'd kissed him with her usual enthusiasm, and, for once, Mamoru was barely even aware that they were in public. He'd poured all his emotions, everything he felt for her, into that kiss.

As he drew her closer, he'd thought of every time he'd watched her save the world, every time she'd fallen asleep in his arms, every time she'd adorably wrinkled her nose in irritation with him. Her lips had trembled against his as he'd increased the pressure and she'd shivered as he stroked the tears off her face with the pad of his thumb, swallowing hard as he fought back his own.

The kiss was a promise. Just like the ring. A promise that he'd come back to her, a promise that they'd be with each other forever. The same promise they'd made to each other over and over again. But he'd gotten so caught up in the kiss, so caught up in her and the ring he'd slid onto her finger and their emotional goodbye that he hadn't realized until after he was past security that he hadn't actually verbalized the words "Will you marry me?"

But she knew, right? She had to know.

But, not long after he'd settled in, he'd gotten a text from Minako that proved otherwise. It's an engagement ring, right? We tried to tell her, but she's clueless.

Of course it is, he'd responded immediately. His heart sank. How could she not know? He'd made up his mind right there that he had to redo it. In person. The day after he'd gotten to Boston, he'd sat down with all his course syllabi, picked a week later in the semester during which he'd have a relatively light workload, and booked a round trip flight to Tokyo for a surprise visit.

He was going to do it right this time. He wanted to sweep her off her feet, give her that slightly over-the-top picture-perfect romantic moment that she deserved. That moment Serenity and Endymion were never able to have. That moment that he knew would make her happy.

She needed to hear how he wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of his life with her, that nothing would make him happier. She needed to know how much he treasured her. She needed to know what that ring represented.

Usagi had actually been the one to encourage him to go to Harvard in the first place. He'd sent in his application over a year ago at his professor's insistence, assuming there was no chance he'd actually be accepted. But he was, and at the worst possible time, just days after Usagi had literally crawled barefoot through a field of thorns to rescue him.

He had already made up his mind not to go when he and Usagi had run into Kobayashi on the street, who'd outed the fact that Mamoru hadn't discussed any of this with Usagi when he'd breathlessly congratulated Mamoru on his offer of admission.

Usagi had been crushed that he hadn't included her in any of his decision-making, more crushed than she was about the idea of him going to Harvard at all. Mamoru had felt like the world's biggest jackass.

But a few tough conversations later, it was Usagi who had told him he should go. That it would be hard, and she'd miss him terribly, but she wanted him to have the experience, and what was a year in the long run, when they both knew they had a lifetime together ahead of them?

And so, with mixed emotions, he'd packed and gone, promising to call and write and text and visit, blown away yet again by what a selfless, supportive partner he had in Usagi.

"Mamo-chan, have you heard of the Three Lights?" Usagi asked as Mamoru peeled an onion.

"Three Lights?"

"They're a pop idol group! And they're transferring to our school tomorrow!" Usagi's voice rose a few decibels as she continued to chatter excitedly "I didn't know about them, but all the girls did and they played me some of their stuff and it's so good!"

Mamoru frowned. "Won't it be distracting to have idols in the class?"

Usagi pouted. "Who cares? If we become friends with them, maybe we can be famous, too!"

Mamoru chuckled. It was very Usagi to be excited about something like this and be completely unconcerned about any disruption in her learning. He felt a surge of protectiveness for her. Why shouldn't she be excited about pop idols coming to her school? She was sixteen, had experienced horrors no one should ever have to, and had saved the world time and time again. Her biggest concern should be how to befriend her new superstar classmates.

Usagi pulled her laptop from her night table onto her bed. "Here, let me play you one of their songs."

The far away sound of a soft, soothing pop ballad streamed into Mamoru's kitchen from Usagi's phone as the pot of water on his stove bubbled into a rolling boil.

They had talked about it before Mamoru left Tokyo. What was he to do if a new enemy appeared while he was gone? Just the thought of it had made him want to forgo his plane ticket and tell Usagi and the others the whole idea of going at all was reckless and selfish.

But Usagi had been the one to insist. Usagi, whose greatest fear was loneliness and abandonment, urged him to go, even though Mamoru knew it scared her. "I want you to have this experience, Mamo-chan," she'd responded to his protests.

So, despite his hesitation, he and all of the senshi had spent one long afternoon at the Hikawa Shrine discussing what they would do if a new enemy did appear while their prince was in another country. They agreed that they would miss him as a member of their team, but they could handle it temporarily. Hotaru could make up for his stealthiness. Any of the senshi were physically strong enough to whisk Usagi away from danger if need be. They could manage.

Afterwards, Mamoru had sat on the shrine's steps waiting for Usagi to finish bickering with Rei over a manga she wanted to borrow. The orange and pink sunset blazed behind him as the late afternoon breeze ruffled his hair.

"Hey."

Mamoru started at Minako's voice. He hadn't even realized that she'd sat down next to him, head resting on her crossed arms over her knees. Mamoru and Minako had grown close over the last few years. All of the senshi lived to protect Usagi, but, as her sworn protector and leader of the senshi, respectively, Mamoru and Minako shared a special understanding. And like Usagi's, Minako's sunny personality was a welcome presence in Mamoru's life.

He turned to face her. "Do you think I'm doing the right thing?"

"I don't think it's as simple as the right thing versus the wrong thing."

Mamoru frowned.

"I know that's not the answer you're looking for." Minako sighed. "It's complicated, trying to be normal and trying to be a superhero at the same time. And you know Usagi has always wanted to have a regular life, even when she realized she still wanted Sailor Moon's powers to help people. She really does want you to do this, even though it'll be hard for both of you. But in the end, I think it'll only make your relationship stronger."

"I can't protect her from America."

"No. But we can." Minako reached up and to place her hand on Mamoru's shoulder, her cornflower blue eyes piercing into him. "Mamoru-san, we will protect her. I will protect her. If we have a new enemy, I'll call you after every single battle, no matter what time it is here or there."

Mamoru swallowed the lump in his throat. "Promise me something, Minako?"

"Anything."

"You'll tell me if I need to come back?"

"I swear it."

They had talked about it. And yet, when Mamoru, sitting in a freezing lecture hall, felt the telltale tingling at the base of his spine that signaled Sailor Moon's transformation, he'd nearly cried out, his stomach flipping in terror.

He jumped up from his seat, hastily gathered his belongings, and, before he could stop himself, automatically darted into the nearest alley and transformed so he could get to his apartment as quickly as possible.

Once he was home, he ripped his hat and mask off as he paced through his living room, his heart beating wildly. What the hell had he been thinking? He literally lived to protect her. He felt her, her transformation, her adrenaline, her apprehension. And there was nothing he could do.

He swallowed the tears building up in his throat and braced himself against the wall with his hand as he dialed Minako's number. No answer. Of course not; they were in battle. His tuxedo shimmered away.

His palms went clammy as his gaze fell to the frame on his end table that Usagi had given him before he'd left. The front of it was a collage of pictures of the two of them, Tsukino Usagi and Chiba Mamoru - at a picnic, at a party, at the Crown. There was another one hidden in the back of the frame - newspaper clippings of Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen.

A strangled cry escaped Mamoru's throat. He needed to do something. So he dialed again.

And again.

Each ring taunted him, making him feel like he had been a selfish jerk to come here at all. He balled his hands into fists at his sides. His chest constricted. He couldn't breathe, panic and guilt equally overwhelming his senses.

He answered the phone breathlessly when it rang. "Minako!"

"Ten missed calls, Mamoru!" Minako sounded exasperated, but Mamoru could hear a tinge of sympathy in her voice. "She's fine," she said before he even had the chance to ask the question.

Mamoru let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding.

"She was great, Mamoru. Focused. Powerful. Usagi. It's not the same without you, of course, but we managed."

His anxiety had shifted from acute panic to a dull ache in his gut. A new battle meant a new enemy. "What was the enemy like?" he asked.

"Eh, unclear as always," Minako answered nonchalantly. "Seems to be of the 'turns a human into a monster' variety instead of the 'tries to steal dreams or heart crystals' variety. The weirdest thing is that whoever sent the youma calls herself a Sailor senshi. Sailor Iron Mouse."

Mamoru frowned. Their new enemies were senshi?

"More importantly, though," Minako continued. "Some other new senshi showed up to the battle. They call themselves the Sailor Starlights."

More new senshi? Mamoru sank into his couch, the beginnings of a headache creeping up his temple.

"It's a little unclear if they want to be allies or not. They had no qualms about letting the actress who had been attacked die. But you can guess who refused to let that happen."

Mamoru couldn't help a small smile. Of course, Usako would find a way to win without any casualties.

"I'll keep you posted, of course. We've got it all under control right now. Anyway, we did miss your poetry. I expect a lot of that when you get back. Like, classic extravagant Tuxedo Kamen shit. With some wild entrances. Maybe you can try to think of something to top that Santa Claus on a blimp one."

Mamoru chuckled. "I'll work on it. And Minako?" He bit his lip. "How is she, really?"

"Well, she misses you of course. I swear half the time her head is in the clouds as she stares at that ring you gave her or writes you letters."

Despite all the advances in technology available to them, Usagi still insisted on hand-writing him letters every day. Mamoru treasured them, and kept them in a neat stack on the side of his desk. He read them whenever he was homesick and couldn't talk to her.

"Anyway, it's three in the morning here. I'm going to bed. And don't worry. I promise you she's fine. We've got it all under control."

Hope you enjoyed Chapter 1, and hope to hear from you if you did!