:: Where Do We Go From Here? ::

By: dreams-of-mist

Summary: -COMPLETE- Mamoru receives a letter that may change his whole world. Usagi finds it accidentally and confronts him. What will he choose: his dreams or his love?

Author's Note: Hiya everybody! It's been a long since I've updated and I'm very sorry. Second university is so incredibly hard and I've been lucky to get more than 5 hours of sleep each night. Only 4 or 5 weeks ago, I had midterms, and next week, I'm already going to be writing finals. Life can really suck sometimes. So I thought to post this last and final chapter before I cram my head full of weird and wacky knowledge. I have more stories in my head so hopefully by the time school starts again in January, I'll have a new story started and posted on the site. Please enjoy this epilogue and look for my new works during the holidays!

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or any of the characters in the anime. To the people who do own the rights and trademarks, please don't sue me – I'm a poor, stressed out university student, I'm also incredibly freaked out about exams. Would a person like that really have had the energy or time to come up with Sailor Moon? I think not! The story below, however, is mine, and I can only ask that no one plagiarizes it; but then again, who would?

'…' – thoughts

"…" – spoken

Where Do We Go From Here? – Chapter 5 (Epilogue)

Dinner had been delicious. It was rare to find such a good Italian restaurant in the middle of Tokyo. Usagi gorged herself on zesty lasagna and shrimp penne with cream sauce, saving room for the final piéce de resistance: dark chocolate tiramisu with strawberry icing on top. Needless to say, she was in dessert heaven. Mamoru couldn't help but be amused by how much she ate, considering it was almost twice as much as what he ordered for himself.

'Lucky for her, being Sailor Moon keeps her fit," he thought bemusedly. She had a slim and petite figure and her curves were starting to really show. He had noticed a few other gentlemen in the restaurant take notice of this and made it his personal duty to glare straight at them while keeping a possessive hand around her waist. The offending gazers had quickly turned away and Usagi hadn't seemed to notice his slightly darkened mood. If anything, she snuggled closer towards him.

'Sigh…sometimes she is a little too oblivious. She didn't even realize Seiya had feelings for her until well after he had returned to Kinmoku.'

They were now walking hand in hand through the park. He left the car back at the apartment and decided to walk her home instead. While he didn't enjoy the fact that Usagi's father now had a better chance of catching him or shooting him with a long-range rifle, he wanted to spend a little more time with his Usako, and surely his many years as Tuxedo Kamen would come in handy.

"Mamo-chan?"

"Yes, Usako?"

"What are you thinking about?"

'I'm thinking that when we get married, we'll have to tie your father to the pew and keep sharp pointy things away from him.'

Mamoru just smiled and said, "Nothing in particular; just that it's a beautiful evening and I'm lucky to be spending it with the most beautiful woman from any millennium in any galaxy."

Usagi blushed, knowing full well what a corny and sappy compliment that just was, but she honestly couldn't care less. He said it because he loved her and that was more than enough.

"What are you thinking about Usako?"

'I'm thinking of how sad I'm going to be in three months when you leave. How the roses in the park will bring equal moments of happiness and sadness. And how scared I'm going to be with you so far away from me.'

But she only looked up at him and beamed. "I'm thinking about all the things we're going to have to do these next months before you leave. All the places we'll have to visit and all the foods we've got to try." A sobering thought occurred to her. "You'll have time won't you? I mean, I know you'll be busy packing and finishing up your studies, but I thought since it IS the summer you would have some extra time. Maybe not everyday, but maybe at least on the weekends we could see each other? I mean, if you don't have time, I completely understand. Your studies are important and –"

Mamoru placed a finger on her lips, silencing her ramblings. She had become increasingly distressed looking and it pained him to see her like that.

"Usako, nothing is more important than you," he replied tenderly, "Yes, I have a lot of things to do in the next few months, but I will ALWAYS have time for you. While I can't go out with you everyday, I'll definitely have time to try out a new restaurant with you each week and to walk amongst the rosebushes with you. And on the days that I can't come out to see you, you can come visit me at the apartment right? Or we can call each other. We'll make this work, ok?"

He framed her face with his warm hands, and touched his brow to hers. The two lovers closed their eyes for a time, savouring the intimacy of the moment. They leaned into each other and both felt steadier when he lifted his head and placed a soft kiss on her brow. He feathered kisses over her face, smiling as her face scrunched up when he kissed the tip of her nose. Finally, he kissed her lips, softly at first, as if he was afraid to scare her. But Usagi would have none of that and put more pressure against his lips. The heat of her and the taste of her were like a punch to his system and their lips came together more greedily.

When they finally pulled apart, their breaths were ragged, their hearts pumping hard and fierce. Usagi's lips were reddened and looked almost bruised. Mamoru's eyes were darker, almost black, and full of passion, lust, and love. Both their faces were flushed and their arms still tightly wound around each other.

"Mamo-chan, I –"

Mamoru softly cut her off. "I know Usako, you don't have to say it. We'll wait until you're ready. We've got all the time in the world."

"Are you sure? I mean, you're much older than me and I know that men at your age have…um…certain urges or needs… I don't want to cause you any pain or discomfort…" The sentence trailed off and if possible, Usagi looked even redder and was clearly embarrassed.

"I love you, Usako. When we make love for the first time, it'll be because it's perfect for both of us, because we both want it, and because we're both ready. I could never force you to do this against your will."

"How long would you wait?" she asked shyly.

He grinned. "I'll always wait for you. Forever and day," he whispered warmly.

Usagi giggled and threw herself into his waiting arms and squealed with delight when he twirled her around. Once she was back on her feet, he gave her one last peck on her lips and smiled rakishly.

"Shall we be going now? I'm sure your Dad is worried by now, wondering why you're not home yet."

Usagi looked confused. "What are you talking about Mamo-chan?"

He looked back at her with amusement. "Don't tell me you've gone back to being the old Odango Atama I met almost three years ago. I was walking you back home from my apartment, remember?"

"Um…I know Mamo-chan, but…we ARE at my house."

Mamoru froze and really took a good look at his surroundings.

'Oh man, we ARE in Usako's neighbourhood. In fact, we're standing on the sidewalk, just outside the small metal gate in front of the main doors. The main doors that have windows. Shit!'

He gazed frantically at the door, but saw no movements behind the clear glass. He nearly fell to his knees from relief.

'Thank God her father didn't see us just now. 'Cause he would've been out here with a shot gun so fast that –'

A sudden movement caught his eye. He could have sworn that the curtains in the family room had just shifted. Two seconds later, he heard loud yelling, and faster than someone could say 'Tuxedo Kamen', the image of Kenji Tsukino appeared behind the front door windows, his face already bright red with unrestrained anger. He saw glimpses of blue hair and knew that Ikuko Tsukino was trying desperately to keep her husband in line.

Mamoru gulped visibly and quickly turned back to Usagi who was beginning to look a little worried herself. "Usako, I have to go RIGHT now. Um…I love you, I love you, I love you, but your father scares the hell out of me. Call me tonight, alright? Bye!"

With a final glance over his shoulder towards the door that Mr. Tsukino was still trying desperately to reach in order to kill and/or maim him, Mamoru dashed off as quickly as he could, fearing the older man would try to run him down with a car if catching him by foot proved impossible.

Usagi watched the retreating back of her boyfriend and couldn't help thinking how funny it was that the future ruler of Earth, one who had faced youmas, demons, and dark forces of all shapes and sizes, could still be fearful of a normal, over-protective father.

'My hero,' she thought amusedly.

When she could no longer see Mamoru, she turned on her heels and walked towards her house. 'Let's see if I can help Mom knock some sense into dear ol' Dad. I'm going to need him to walk me down the aisle when the time comes. Hmm…I wonder if I could use the Silver Crystal to make him like Mamo-chan…'

:: end of chapter 5 ::

THE END

Finally! My first completed fanfic! I'm very proud of myself, hehe. I hope to have a new fanfic started this holiday season and I hope you all read it! Thanks to all those who gave me such wonderful reviews up till now – it's truly appreciated. Happy holidays and good luck to all those with exams! Ciao!