Hi! :) About this chapter...I thought I knew what the ending was gonna be, but I changed my mind, and then I had a major case of writer's block for this one, so please forgive me if this is seriously messed up (gramatically and plot wise) ^_^'… **************** To Exist… Chapter 6 By April Rayne Rated G **************** The blazing light dimmed, and in its place stood the Crown Prince of the Earth. He was in the middle of an ornate room, the silver, gold and jeweled columns and walls fading in beauty against the majestic tower that stood behind him. Slowly arising to full consciousness, Endymion was puzzled at the way he felt. It was if he had gone somewhere, and left something behind… The insane little concept ran away from his mind as soon as he looked forward, and focused on the ground. There she was, a beautiful angel clad in white, lying on the ground with her blond hair pooling around her. He knelt down beside her, taking her lithe form into his arms and checking her breathing. Serenity, tired, energy spent, had fallen asleep-he could tell from her nearly impossible to hear mumbled words, common when she was having a nice dream. Amused, he bent over and brought his lips to hers in a gentle kiss. Her heavy eyelids lifted, her vision temporarily blurred from the intense light. There was a warmth upon her lips, and strong arms supporting her. A sea of concerned deep blue eyes roved her face, and her soul. Disbelief clouded her thoughts. Those eyes could only belong to one person. The smile that he sent her only helped to prove her right. Elated, her arms went around his neck as he cradled her, her tears falling freely onto his shoulder. "Endymion…You're back!" "Serenity…" Unable to let go, they remained in their intimate embrace, Serenity's happy sobs dwindling as his arms gave her more comfort. She reveled in his presence. "Endymion…I'm so happy that you're back…After all that happened…" He froze as realization dawned on him. "Serenity…the Duke…he-" She put a finger to his lips and silenced him. "It's all right. He's gone…" She didn't want to have her thoughts directed back towards the evil she had encountered, but the love she felt just now. After a few moments of contemplating her words, he nodded in understanding. For timeless minutes, they simply continued to hold each other. She rested her head against his shoulder. "Endymion…the vortex…what was it like?" A vision came to his mind, of a beautiful girl with blond hair smiling at him with teary blue eyes as he moved away from her. It faded just as quickly as it had appeared. "I don't really remember…" Her concerned blue eyes gazed up at him. "It doesn't matter, as long as you're here…" She snuggled further into his embrace, and froze as she realized something. "The surprise-it was ruin-" Her hand strayed to the side of her dress, looking for her hidden silk pouch. His hand caught hers and brought it to his lips. "Don't worry about that." A knowledgeable smile danced at the corners of his lips. He seemed to be smiling at some inner thought, or secret. "The surprise can wait for now-We have a whole future together." Serenity smiled, and they both looked up at the sky opening above the pillar. They gently kissed again, missing a single shooting star as it whisked past the twinkling lights. *********** When Usagi opened her eyes, the light was gone, and so was Endymion. She felt a tear slide down her cheek. "Endymion…" A smile formed as she recalled his words. "Right," she said in hushed tones. "Arigatou, Endymion." She wiped the tear away with her sleeve and exited the balcony, walking towards Mamoru's room to check up on him. She never noticed four sailor senshi watching her from the top of a nearby building, relieved. Hidden in shadow, they silently glided from the building to the balcony where Usagi was. "Do you think that we should check up on her?" Mercury queried. The others looked inside, speculating what they had just seen. Sharing a knowing glance, they all nodded and jumped off the balcony, disappearing into the night below. He was still sleeping. Usagi walked up to his bedside again, turned on the nearby lamp, and sat down on the bed next to him. She didn't want to disturb him, but she couldn't help lightly running her fingers through his hair. In a bold move, she positioned herself to lie down next to him, and laid her head on his chest. Usagi could hear his heartbeat clearly, strong and competent-just like him. She smiled. 'If I can have just one moment before he wakes up and reality kicks in again, let me have this.' Seconds passed, and her eyes strayed to the stars twinkling brightly outside the window. She yawned, the rise and fall of his chest acting like a lullaby. "Mamo-chan…I wish I could hear you call me Odango Atama again." "That can be arranged, Odango Atama." "Eh?" She shot straight up, her face turning even deeper shades of red with each passing second. She valiantly resisted the urge to throw her arms around him. Had he heard her call him…? "Mamoru-san! You're awake!" He sat upright, taciturn. So he hadn't heard her. She almost passed out when his eyes met hers. She immediately looked down at her lap, embarrassed about putting herself in such an awkward position. "It's good to see that you're okay. I guess I'll be going now-BYE!" She got up. "You're not going *anywhere*, Odango. He sure had a thing for holding her back by her arm, didn't he? She groaned inwardly. Boy, was she gonna get it. He wasn't just going to let her get away *again*. How could he, when one specific question seemed to come to mind? He smiled wryly to himself. How long had she been calling him 'Mamo-chan'? This time, he pulled her down gently and she sat on the bed. He looked her squarely in the eye. His grasp on her arm remained, but instead of letting go, his hand snaked down her arm until it reached her hand, which he held onto lightly. She jumped a little, and he moved his hand away from hers and brought it to his lap, suddenly appearing guilty. The air was thick with tension, and Usagi swore she couldn't hear anything except for her heart doing jumping jacks in her chest. Seconds passed by in silence, each one seemingly slower than the last. Finally, Mamoru spoke with deliberate quietness. "I blacked out… I don't know what's going on, but I know it has something to do with you. I could feel it. You were here beside me, waiting. I have no idea how you knew, but you were here." The gentle tone of his voice didn't prevent a slight gasp from escaping her mouth, as much as she tried to hide her surprise. She fidgeted with the bedsheets, bunching them up in her fists. Noticing her slight agitation, he tried to get more out of her. "Odango Atama, *how* did you know that I was in trouble?" She stayed quiet. What was she supposed to say, that she envisioned him? That was just about as bad as telling him that the Easter Bunny came by and whispered it in her ear. "I came…because…I can't explain." Usagi began to think back to when she first found him on the ground, and her vision became blurry with tears. She looked up and away from him to prevent them from falling. He noticed her change and moved closer to her, putting a finger under her chin to have her face him. Before they could make eye contact again, she shut her eyes tight. "Please, Mamoru-san, I can't do this, I have to go home." With her eyes closed and her mind focused on getting out of there, she couldn't see the strained expression on his face, or hear the way he inhaled sharply. This time, he didn't restrain her when she got up and back to the door. 'He must think that I'm insane…' "Sayonara-" "You promised." She stopped in mid footstep and turned around slowly. "What are you-" "You promised me that you would answer 3 questions. You never did." Mamoru, watching her leave him again, decided that this was the last straw-if he couldn't do what he had planned to now, when she was so close, he wouldn't forgive himself. "But…" "Odango, you either answer them now, or I'll just bother you even more until you do," he added with a menacingly playful smile. She gave up. That familiar smile gave her too many goosebumps. Moving back to him, she avoided eye contact. "Okay. Shoot." He didn't answer immediately, just searched her face, as if looking for something. "Why have you been so sad lately, Odango?" She'd forgotten about that one. "Like I said, it's *you*." "I'm not sure if I can believe that." He didn't *want* to believe it. He had been hurting her all this time, and with his idiot barriers and his cold attitude, he had only made everything worse. He grimaced. "Believe me, it's you," she said more sarcastically to herself. He froze, not sure whether he should keep on going with the questioning, or take her tone as a joke and forget about it. He didn't want to stop, but he hoped his next attempt would get better results. "Fine. I won't continue with that," he finished quickly. Usagi wasn't cooperating with him, and it was driving him nuts. Lately, she was closed, and would just stick her tongue out at him when they met, and walk off. Not that it was an unusual occurrence, but he was even worried about the amount of…*enthusiasm* that went into her fights with him. It unnerved him, even driving him to the point where he thought he was going to just kiss her silly until she told him *everything*. He'd always loved *that* idea. But no, he couldn't do that, as much as he'd wanted to. He'd get a sure smack across the face, but no answers. For now, all he could work with was his demand for her to answer a few questions for him…He couldn't jump headlong into anything, but he wanted to face something that had been plaguing him for a long time now… "Do you know anything about my past?" She looked startled, and her grip on the bedsheets increased, until she let go. There was no point in lying to him. If he bothered to ask a question like this, he was probably 99% sure that she did know something. She nodded slowly. "Yes, but…it's not something I realized until a while ago." His eyes urged her to continue. "You see, I had my own bout with amnesia, up until a little bit after we first met at the hospital. We knew each other…" she hesitated. "Pretty well." "And I knew you from…" "Ummm…I threw a test paper at your head." The corners of his lips turned up in a wry smile. "Lemme guess. I made fun of you because you failed." "Miserably. I got a 35." He laughed. "Figures." She grinned. It felt good, to let out a little bit of what she had been keeping inside for so long. And the fact that he didn't insult her after bringing it up was a big plus too. It was as if a weight had been lifted. Mamoru didn't need to prod her to continue. "We'd meet up at the game center sometimes, just like we do now." The smile on her face brightened, and the faint hint of a blush began to form on her cheeks. "Motoki-onisan used to laugh at me about it. We could never end up seeing each other without getting angry, or insulting each other, huh?" He stopped, as if realizing something, and swinging his long legs to the side, got off the bed and out the door. Mamoru walked back into the room, hands behind his back. When he came up in front of her, he drew out a gift bag, black with a red rose emblem, in front of him. "Here. A thank you for your time at the hospital." She froze in disbelief. She was a sucker for presents, but this was… "You shouldn't have." She gingerly took the bag from him, unable to meet his gaze. He sat down to her right, never seeing they way she quickly sat up at attention, and pulled a stray hair behind her hear. "Yes, I should have," he continued, "-a long time ago. Usagi-chan." She looked up at the use of her real name. She was startled as another realization came to her mind. She didn't like hearing him say her real name. Not that his use of her real name was totally horrible or anything, it was just that…It made her seem like she was just like another, normal person to him…just…a friend. When he called her Odango Atama…there was something more to it. Or at least, that's what she had hoped. "I really value our…friendship. Next to Motoki-kun and Reika, you came to visit me…And then I left without telling you." She looked down at the gift bag she had taken from him, which was now in her lap. "That hurt." He raised his hand a little, but then dropped it. "I'm sorry, but I had to leave then." He smirked. "Besides, you were late." "I had extra detention!" "Something that came naturally, I'm sure," he teased. Then he grew quiet. "I wasn't sure if I was ever going to see you again…" Usagi's heart skipped a beat. Did he actually sound…upset at that idea? That hopeful little voice inside her chanted, "Yes, he did. Yes, he did…" "But we did see each other," he persisted. "At Crown, just to end up arguing again…" Not wanting to dwell on that thought, or the idea of never seeing her again, he changed the subject, ever so subtly. "Open it, Usagi-chan." He said blatantly, drawing her attention back to the bag. There. He'd gone and done it again. Hesitatingly putting her fingers in the bag, she slowly pulled away the folds of red tissue to reveal something…fuzzy. Tugging on it, a set of long white ears appeared, followed by a cute little face…Eyes widening, she pulled out a white stuffed bunny, complete with blue eyes, a heart shaped patch over it's chest, holding a silk red rose. Her finger made a path outlining the heart, then trailing up to the pink blush on its face. A small squeal escaped her lips and she turned to him, the blush rising on her cheeks. "A…Arigatou…" "At a loss for words? This is a first, Usako." "Eh?" she said, inaudibly. "That's what the bunny reminded me of. You, Usako." They stared at each other, a small sense of confusion settling in edgewise. Her nearly mute reaction was a total surprise for him, and he wanted to get something more out of her, to know the truth. Her expression, and that giveaway blush, should have told him something, but he wanted to be completely *positive*…"Okay, Odango Atama, time for question number three…" He called out, as if announcing on a game show. 'All right, Chiba. This is it. Just do it now. Besides, Motoki-kun called you 'giddy'! You have it *that* bad. Just go for it.' Even his rational side kicked in to help him a bit. 'Remember, whatever doesn't kill you only makes you stronger.' "Or makes you completely miserable," he grumbled. "What did you say?" He shook his head. "Nothing. Ready, Odango?" She gulped, much louder than she had intended to. 'Third question, huh?' Taking her hand in his, Mamoru brought her hand to the silk heart pouch on the bunny. She felt a slight bulge, and after a little bit of prying, found a small opening at it's top. He took his hand away, leaving her to do the rest. Curiosity getting the best of her, she put her fingers in, pulling out a small, black velvet box. Immediately looking up at him, her eyes practically yelled at him, 'This has *got* to be some mistake.' Shaking his head, he leaned in towards her, slowly taking in the flowery scent of her hair. After taking in a long, deep breath, he began murmuring in her ear, making her spine tingle. "We may have known each other in the past, and I'm so sorry that I can't tell you that I remember any of it… but I *can* say this." He paused slightly. "My dearest Usako, would you laugh at me if I told you that I want to create more memories with you, in the future?" You could practically hear Usagi's heart screech to a sudden halt. Her eyes widened and she was breathless and still, unable to look at him. There was no turning back for either of them after this. Taking the initiative, he took the tiny velvet box from her hands and gently pulled out its contents. Before she could say anything more, he placed a necklace around her neck, his fingers lightly brushing her back of her neck to lock the clasp. She tried to suppress a shiver, but to no avail. The cold chain and the warmth of his hands made her skin tingle, as the pendant at its end suddenly felt heavier. She slowly turned to face him, her eyes following his gaze to rest on the pendant. She gasped. A small, beautifully sculpted white gold rose hung upon a filigree chain of the same material. At its center lay a small diamond, glinting in the lamp's light. "My dearest Usako, would you love me if I told you that I love you?" Usagi's grasp on the bunny became lax, and it fell onto her lap, face forward. Shaking, her hands moved to her mouth, lips parted slightly in shock. Their eyes told one another the truth. She barreled into him, her arms going around his neck. She began to cry with joy. "Mamo-chan!" His arms went around her waist and then moved up and down her back. "Usako…" Her tears made dark spots on his blazer as she clung to him. As they subsided, she whispered, "Those were *2* questions." Those were two questions he happily knew the answer to. He laughed. "So I can't count. Neither can you," he teased. "So sue me." She giggled. "I think I will. And right now, you owe me…" her voice trailed off as her face, upturned to his, traveled closer to his. Finally, their lips met. At first, it was a quiet, tender brush of lip to lip, but as they got caught up in the emotions they were feeling, the kiss became stronger, more ardent. Mamoru could feel his heart finally be freed from his fears, his constrictions, and he tried to put all of himself into that one kiss. There was another spark. This time, Mamoru knew exactly what he felt. Now that he was finally free emotionally, all the memories that had been locked within him emerged and came out into the light. Breaking apart, breathless, he clasped her to him, as tightly as he could. In her ear, he whispered, "I'd be a fool not to fall in love with you, Usako." His tone, his words were… She froze, and then pulled back from the embrace. "Impossible… Endymion… Mamo-chan…" Showering her with a brilliant smile, and a butterfly kiss to her forehead, he corrected her. "Not impossible, Usako, if your heart's in the right place." Moving forward, he whispered again, "Or, when you decide to truly exist." 'To exist…to live for today…' As their lips met once more, that's exactly what they vowed to do. @>-->---- Disclaimer: I only *wish* that Sailor Moon belonged to me. 'Nuff said. ^_^ Well, there it is. My first completed story. Yeah, yeah, I know, I know. Impossibly CORNY ending. Gomen, I'm no good with endings. (Which is why I don't have any of my other stuff posted yet^_^' heh...) Should I revise it? Anyways, *pleeze* tell me what you think! E-MAIL! E-MAIL! To Exist…12-99…1/2000