Her Happily Ever After

Chapter Four:

It was the worst day that he had had in a long time.

A frown marred his face, and he closed his cell phone for the seventh time that evening. Usagi wasn't answering his phone calls. Finally he had turned in the last of his two large term papers and wanted to take out his girlfriend for a nice evening. It felt like ages since Mamoru had last seen his Usa.

His eyes glanced over to a picture on his bookshelf of the happy-go-lucky girl, who had been his girlfriend for the past five years and he couldn't help the smile that tugged at his lips at the mere thought of her.

His thoughts were broken by the chiming of his doorbell. He got up from his couch and made his way to the door, hoping it was Usagi. He had gone to her house but her mother stated the young girl was out, and she wasn't sure where she was.

After checking the arcade, the cafe where she and the scouts frequented, the park, and a couple other spots, Mamoru was fresh out of ideas. He had shuffled his way back to his apartment, a little downtrodden at not being able to find his girlfriend, yet he remained hopeful all the way to the door of his room, keeping an eye out for the familiar hairstyle that was Usa's signature look.

Another buzz at his door quickened his steps. He flicked the lock and opened the door, a smile crossing his face and lit his eyes when he looked down at Usagi. "Hey Usa-"

"Mamoru, we need to talk." Her voice was serious, causing Mamoru to pause and double take at his girlfriend. Her usually open blue eyes were strangely flat and emotionless. Slightly worried at her face, he nodded and ushered her inside.

He hoped that it was nothing too serious. They had been having these talks more frequently as the enemies became stronger and started to threaten their world at increasing rates. He still remembered with the whole circus fiasco...

"Do you want some tea?"

"No thanks," Usa quietly said, folding her hands in front of her and resting them on her knees. Mamoru took a seat on the couch beside her.

Usa took a deep breath and Mamoru's worry drew even a bit more. "Are you alright, Usagi?" He questioned, leaning towards her, only to have her draw back slightly from his presence.

"You know, there's this new boy at school." Mamoru frowned at her statement. He wasn't quite sure where she was going with this. She continued, refusing to look at his face, "And he's been really nice, always asking me on dates, even though he knows I have a boyfriend." Mamoru felt fire race through his veins and his hands clenched at his side. Why was she telling him this?

Ignoring any reactions she was drawing from her boyfriend, Usa stared at the wall. "He's noticed I've been really sad lately and offered to do something to cheer me up. He even asked me what was wrong..."

"What's wrong, Usagi? What can I do to help?" Mamoru placed his hands on top of Usagi's. He felt hers twitch at the contact but he refused to draw them away.

"I know you've been really busy lately, and you have a lot to catch up on what with all the enemies messing with your deadlines and schoolwork... But Mamoru, I haven't seen you in so long-or heard your voice other than your answering machine-!" And damn, she didn't mean to say that last line-she wasn't so desperate to feel the comforting presence of the man she knew would be King beside her that she resorted to calling his apartment to hear his recorded voice. "I've missed you so much, and these past few weeks and you've been too busy to even noticed!"

A pain seared through Mamrou's chest as his mind flashed back to all those brief instances, and those times when he had been too wrapped up in school work to even notice the warm presence of Usagi by his side.

Mamoru bowed his head and dug one of his hands into his hair, gripped the roots in frustration. "Usagi, I..." his throat seemed to close and he struggled for a moment, "I'm so sorry, I didn't even realize-"

This time his girlfriend turned to look at him, tears pooling in her eyes. She blinked and the damn broke, spilling crystalline tears down her cheeks. "I came over here to break up with you." Her simple statement made Mamoru's heart skip a beat and his mind ran a mile a minute-all the images of the future, from their daughter, to their kingdom, and their unending love-shattered like a mirror before his eyes. Usagi placed a hand gently over one of his hands and clenched it. "But it's just so hard-after everything that we've been through and how I feel about you-that feeling will never leave me, I know it." She sobbed, "I still want to be your girlfriend and stay by your side and live with you until we get old, but Mamoru I don't know if I could take being ignored like that again." She had felt so hollow. She questioned her worth and her very being.

"We've been together for so long, Mamoru, and I want it to continue forever, but..." I'm scared.

Mamoru let out a shaky breath, and pulled the blonde into a hug. "Usa... I love you. I always have and I always will. I'm such an ass." He closed his eyes and then released her from his embrace. He stood and made his way over to one of the pictures on his bookshelf of him and Usagi. He reached behind it and pulled out a small black box.

He turned back to the now semi-composed blonde on his couch. "I should have done this a long time ago, to let you know I never want to lose you-to anything." Mamoru walked over to Usagi and her eyes grew wide as he knelt down at her feet.

"I'm so sorry for anything I've put your through, and I hope to learn from my mistakes-I don't ever want to let you go-not to some other guy or an enemy. I would die from you again and again." Usagi raised trembling hands up to her mouth as he popped the box open. Her shocked eyes met his and there she saw all the answers she was looking for.

"I already talked with your parents and asked for permission, but your mother and father well, they were so excited that your father suggested I not come over until I popped the question. He said something about your mother's control if she saw the two of us together." He chuckled lightly and took a deep breath.

"We've been together for so long I took it for granted, but never again." He gently grabbed her hand. "Usagi, will you marry me?"

Tears spilled over her eyes and suddenly everything made sense. Everything clicked. This was how it was supposed to be. "Yes. Yes, yes, yes!" She threw herself at her boyfriend-no, fiance, and cried tears of happiness into his shoulder as he gently placed the ring on her finger.

She stared at it in awe-a custom design of a flower, a crescent, and a large diamond-

"So what is this about a guy who knew you had a boyfriend and kept asking you for dates?" The jealous and irritated look on Mamoru's face made her burst out laughing and she pulled him in for a kiss.

OWARI