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Usagi was so nervous about attending Mamoru's university dance (he called it a "social") that she required every one of the Senshi to approve of her outfit, and in the end, it wasn't even her clothes. After ransacking her closet and wondering why every single dress she owned had some kind of ribbon or bow or flounce on it (she knew why), she'd begged Minako to loan her something to wear.
The Senshi of Love loved embellishments as much as Usagi did, but her wardrobe also had more range. Together they picked an outfit that was more understated than Usagi's usual look—a soft cream sweater dress that hugged her curves just enough, and suede pumps in a rich teal color that seemed straight out of the pages of a fashion magazine. Usagi had to shove a bunch of tissue behind her heel to make up for the half-size difference between them, but the outfit was perfect and exactly what she was going for—chic, sophisticated, mature.
If she could just get through the evening without spilling anything on the pristine cream cashmere…
On the day of the event, she began doing her hair and makeup early, just in case, and it was a good thing she did because even her usual makeup wasn't right. The bubblegum pink lip gloss and cherry blossom blush seemed too immature, and after putting on too much of everything in an attempt to make it work, she ended up looking like a clown and called Minako once again to beg for her help.
The entire Senshi team was there when Usagi answered the door, and they plied her with compliments (well, except for Rei) while Minako redid her makeup with the patient indulgence of an older sister. She wiped Usagi's face clean and replaced the pinks with peaches and corals, and even added the teeniest hint of a wing at the outer corner of her eyes, something that always—always—ended in disaster whenever Usagi tried it.
When Minako was done, Usagi gazed critically at herself in the full-length mirror, pleased with the look, yet feeling like an imposter. But that was what she wanted, wasn't it? She didn't want to be regular, loud, couldn't sit still, school bag full of candy wrappers Usako tonight. She wanted to be someone who looked like she belonged at Mamoru's side while he mingled with his new university friends.
She looked at her hair, which was up in its usual buns, and asked tentatively, "Should I…do something else with my hair?"
All four Senshi exchanged looks in a way that she hated. She didn't like being left out.
"What?" she demanded when none of them spoke.
"Usagi-chan," Makoto said gently, "Mamoru-san loves you the way you are. You don't have to change yourself tonight."
"Or ever," Ami added.
"I know," Usagi said, but did she? "I just—I don't want to embarrass him. He said his professors would be there, and other important people."
"I wouldn't worry about it," said Minako. "He probably invited you so he could show you off."
"You think?" Usagi glanced at her reflection skeptically.
"Positive," Minako said. "Now—" She looked Usagi over from head to toe. "Are we missing anything?"
Usagi looked to the other Senshi anxiously, and they all shook their heads in unison.
"You look great, Usagi-chan!"
"Stunning."
"Clean."
Usagi stuck her tongue out at Rei, then stared hard at her reflection again. "Um. Jewelry?"
"You wanted to keep it simple tonight, didn't you?" Minako said.
"Yes? I don't know!"
Minako pursed her lips, then rummaged around in the two suitcases of supplies she had brought, eventually pulling out a small brown purse on a gold chain. She hung it over Usagi's shoulder and stepped back to appraise the result for a full minute before nodding in satisfaction.
"There."
Usagi held up the small bag dubiously. "Brown?"
"It's russet!"
"Looks like terra cotta to me," said Makoto.
"It's brown," Rei said, looking bored.
Usagi looked around at everyone in a panic until Ami spoke up. "It's nice. It goes very well with the dress."
Usagi loved Ami-chan, but she was not the most fashion-conscious person. Her idea of nice tended to be, well, a little dull.
Usagi frowned at the mirror, not at all sure how she felt about the outfit anymore, but Minako suddenly clapped her hands and pointed at the clock. "Usagi-chan, you need to go!"
She was right. If Usagi didn't leave now, she'd be late in meeting up with Mamoru, and mature sophisticated girlfriends didn't do that. They were responsible and on time.
With one last round of "You look great!" from all her friends, Usagi was packed off onto the train towards KO University. Normally she met Mamoru at his apartment and they would go off together on their date (wait, did this count as a date?), but today he was busy with something at school and had asked if she'd be okay with meeting him on campus instead. He'd told her which station to get off at and even drew her a little map of where to go after that. The piece of paper, with an adorable heart encircling her destination, was tucked safely in her russet terra cotta brown purse.
Whenever the train entered the tunnels between stations, all the windows became perfect mirrors, and the closer she came to her stop, the more she fretted about the person she saw reflected there.
What would Mamoru think of this subdued, flounceless Usagi? Would he love it? Hate it? Would he think she was overdressed or underdressed? She felt all of those things at once and started to wish she could go home and change, never mind she had nothing she could change into.
The train reached the KO University station, and she was glad to not have to look at herself any more. She pulled the map out from her purse, wanting the little piece of Mamoru for reassurance, then walked through the station with her chin held high, as if she weren't thinking about every click of her too-big shoes, or the unfamiliar cloud-like feel of her dress against her skin, or whether she should have done something different with her hair after all.
She thought she was following the map correctly, but not five minutes out of the train station, she was already lost. One of the streets was blocked off for some kind of repair, and when she tried to find a different way around, she ended up walking through a park and losing track of which direction she was headed in. Whenever the path forked, she paused to worry her lip, then chose the one that looked the most like it went straight. When she finally made it out of the park, she found herself out around the back of a building where there was more road than walkway. The road was empty, but it looked like some kind of delivery lane, which was all the more reason to cross it as quickly as she could before some truck came flying around the corner.
The buildings, in addition to being drab and unfriendly-looking, were packed tightly together like guards around their charge. She teetered along on the tiny curb of a sidewalk before reaching a narrow alley she could slip down, not liking the look of it but hoping it would lead her back to civilization. It did, sort of. Now she was in a wide square that was at least meant for people rather than cars, but there was no one around. The buildings facing the square were all dark, and the sky was getting that way too. Everybody must've been away getting dinner or drinks or otherwise enjoying their evening.
She kept walking, growing more nervous as the sky became too dark to be called day anymore, but was still too bright for the street lamps to come on yet. She was thirty seconds from breaking down and using her communicator to call Mamoru for help when a sandy-haired man came walking down the path in her direction. Something in her face must have given away her distress because the guy stopped to ask her, "Can I help you?"
It was clear from his expression that he was interested, but she wasn't so foolish as to refuse perfectly good help when she needed it.
"I'm looking for—" She glanced down at her map, and only then did she realize that Mamoru had written in street names, but not building names. He'd drawn their shapes, fuzzy pointed gables and a bell tower here and there, but none of them looked like the buildings around her now.
"I'm looking for the first year medical student dance—I mean social," she said, hoping that didn't sound too dumb. "Can you tell me where that is?"
"Sure! I can walk you there if you like."
She would have preferred just directions and the chance to find it on her own, but she didn't know how to refuse him when it was so obvious she was lost.
"No, that's okay—" she began, but he interrupted her.
"It's no trouble."
She gripped her purse tighter, uncertain why she felt so uncomfortable. She'd never been anxious being on her own like this before, not without good reason anyway. This guy was probably a perfectly nice person, not an evil youma in disguise or anything like that.
Not that one could ever be completely sure.
She was about to ask if he could just point out the way when someone else spoke first, in a deep, beautiful, familiar voice, the best voice in the world.
"Usa."
With that single word, everything was set right again. The relief that filled her was so strong, it felt like a literal weight lifting off her shoulders, and she responded happily.
"Mamo-chan!"
Mamoru came ambling down the path behind the other guy, having seemingly appeared out of nowhere, which, considering his alter ego, he may very well have. The sandy-haired man certainly looked surprised, whirling around and regarding Usagi's boyfriend like he was a ghost.
Unruffled, Mamoru glided by him to stand beside Usagi, looming in a way that made him seem to surround her without actually touching her.
"Ready to go?" he asked solicitously while giving the other guy only the barest of glances.
Usagi held in a giggle as she wormed her hand through his elbow. Whatever Luna and Minako said about being strong women—the most powerful in the world in Usagi's case—she enjoyed it when Mamoru got territorial. He didn't do it often, partly because he knew how strong she was, and partly because their most frequent company was the Senshi and none of them were the least bit intimidated by Mamoru.
But Usagi didn't want to be rude to her would-be savior, so she offered him a smile and a sincere, "Thank you for offering to help me."
"Of course." The other guy still looked confused and a little wary of Mamoru, but they left him behind to sort it out by himself.
Now that Usagi didn't have to pay attention to where they were going, she took the opportunity to admire how good Mamoru looked. He had on neat black slacks, a navy shirt, and a grey jacket that made his eyes look so very blue.
"Are you trying to impress someone tonight?" she asked in what she thought was a coquettish manner, but in typical Mamoru fashion, he didn't get what she meant, so she let her eyes roam up and down his body very deliberately.
"Oh." She couldn't always predict how he'd react to a comment about his looks. Sometimes he liked it and sometimes, like now, it made him uncomfortable. "The Dean of the School of Medicine is supposed to be there, to meet the incoming class, and I guess I just wanted to make a good impression. Not that I expect him to remember every single one of us."
That wasn't exactly what she had meant, and if she were honest with herself, she had been hoping for a little compliment in return. But Mamoru was obviously preoccupied, and it made her start to feel nervous all over again. But it wasn't like she could just go home now.
"You look very handsome tonight," she said, deciding it was best to just be plain with him. "I don't see how anyone wouldn't remember you."
He smiled at her. "They may not if you are there beside me."
She was pretty sure she knew what he meant, that it was the compliment she'd been hoping for—but she also wasn't completely sure. "Do I…look okay?"
"Of course." He answered too quickly for her liking. "You look beautiful, as always."
She sighed inwardly, not sure she could explain the significance of tonight's look. To him, a dress was a dress, and shoes were just to keep you from being barefoot. What he would want to know was whether she was warm enough, or if her feet hurt. Neither of those were a problem yet.
She stopped walking, and when he looked at her questioningly, she tilted her face up towards his, her signal that she wanted a kiss. He obliged readily since there was no one around to see them. His arm came around the small of her back, and they stood close enough that she could feel the warmth of his body, but it was a sweet comfort kiss, a kiss of reassurance and gentleness. He probably would be even more demure the rest of the evening with his fellow students and professors watching, so she savored what she could now, inhaling the smell of his cologne and running her fingers through his hair at the nape of his neck. When they resumed walking, they did so hand in hand.
The social was being held in the old library, a huge brick building that looked like a castle on the outside, a church on the inside, and haunted either way. Luckily the event was just inside the exterior doors, through a pointed dark wood archway to the left of the foyer. A few dozen students were already there, mingling in small groups around the bright and stately hall. Many of the men were dressed in jackets and collared shirts like Mamoru, and Usagi was curious about the women present before remembering that the university was co-ed. It wasn't like she hadn't known, but she'd gotten used to Mamoru's previous school being boys only.
It was stupid to be jealous just because women were there, but she couldn't help sneaking a look at him through her eyelashes anyway. "See anyone you know?" she asked lightly.
"Sort of." As his gaze swept the room, she felt a little reassured when it didn't linger on anyone in particular, man or woman. "It's been a busy month getting used to things, learning where things are. I haven't had time to socialize much."
Usagi knew it wasn't just for lack of time that her introverted boyfriend didn't socialize, but here he was tonight making an effort, so she decided not to tease him about it.
"Mamoru-san!" A young woman with pretty brown (or was it russet?) hair and pearl earrings waved at Mamoru, then began walking over. Usagi's hand tightened on Mamoru's elbow instinctively.
"I thought you said you haven't been socializing much."
"I haven't." She could hear the reproach in Mamoru's tone, but his face remained politely neutral as their company approached.
"I'm Kaori," the young woman said with a friendly smile. "We're in the same Physics class, I believe."
Mamoru nodded. "I remember. It's nice to see you here."
"It's nice to see you too." She turned to Usagi, her smile still intact. "I don't think we've met?" She seemed genuine enough, but she did know what Usagi's hand on Mamoru's arm meant, right?
"This is Usagi," Mamoru said when Usagi was too busy trying to repress her jealously to remember to introduce herself. She blushed when he raised an eyebrow at her. She was not making good on her vow to not embarrass him tonight.
"Nice to meet you, Usagi-san." If Kaori had noticed their wordless exchange, she didn't show any sign of it. "What are you studying?"
Oh, did she think Usagi was a university student too? Ordinarily that might have made her preen, but as it was, her question posed a problem, namely that Usagi would have to out herself right away as an imposter.
"Oh, um, I—well, see, uh…I—I don't go here. I go to Juban High School."
"Oh." Kaori's reply was too bright, too polite, and it made Usagi cringe inside
She's just surprised. I wish I could say I go here too, like Mamo-chan.
"Maybe you'll consider KO University after you graduate," Kaori said.
"Maybe, Usagi mumbled.
On its face, the idea felt laughable. It had taken superhuman effort just to pass her exams for high school. With her grades, she had no idea what university would possibly accept her, and besides which, it had always seemed so far away.
Now though, standing here at this party, she could begin to imagine it. Walking all the way to campus with Mamoru instead of having to part halfway. Studying together in the middle of the day because she could pick her own schedule. Maybe even having a class or two with him where she would be too distracted by his beautiful face to listen to the teacher.
The more she pictured it, the more she liked it. What if the Senshi came along too? Could anything be more perfect?
"It'd be nice to have you close," Mamoru was saying, pulling her out of her daydream. "But then again, it might be too distracting for me."
His smile was affectionate, but the little insecure voice that had plagued her all night questioned whether he meant she would be too much of a bother and he didn't really want her around. They both knew how seriously he took his studies, and how she…did not.
Usagi smiled back while biting her lip uncertainly, and that probably came out really weird-looking. This was harder than she thought, trying to be friendly and confident and poised all at the same time. She never had any trouble—well, minus the poised part—when she was with her friends at the Crown Parlour. Why was this so different?
She suddenly wondered if this was how Mamoru felt whenever he tried—or was forced to—socialize. If so, he was way better at making it look easy.
"What are you studying?" Mamoru asked Kaori, and Usagi was glad to be out of the conversation. She let her attention wander and perked up a little when she found the refreshments table in the corner by the windows. Sodas and milk teas and snacks were lined up in neat little rows, scandalously underappreciated. She would have to remedy that before the evening was over.
Mamoru's elbow suddenly tugged against her hand as he tried to point at something, and she flushed when she realized how tightly she'd been holding on to him. She let go quickly, then felt even worse when he didn't even seem to notice. She tuned back into the conversation of their little group, but was hopelessly lost now. Why were they talking about jeans?
A cluster of students approached, calling Kaori by name, and another round of introductions began. Usagi hated having to admit all over again that she was only in high school, and she wasn't the least bit mollified when one of the students said his younger sister was a third-year at her school. No, Usagi didn't know her since she was only a lowly first-year, but instead of letting everyone know that, she mumbled something about having different classes.
When one of the students joked (at least, she assumed he was joking) about wanting to find the best places in the library to nap, she almost said something. Napping was a subject she knew something about, but when Mamoru gave her an amused side glance, she pressed her lips shut. She didn't want to accidentally imply anything about him when she was the one with the habit of falling asleep in school.
As the conversation dragged on, she began shifting her weight from foot to foot, first out of boredom, then because standing in one place for so long was making her feet hurt. That made her realize two things. One, there were almost no chairs in the huge hall, which seemed odd at minimum, but in her growing discomfort felt downright rude. Two, the other women in the room, including Kaori, had much more sensible shoes on. Lower heels if any, and nothing nearly as vibrant as her teal pumps. Couldn't she do anything right tonight?
She inched closer to Mamoru, wanting the comfort of his arm but was too worried about seeming clingy. Her hand began picking at her dress instead, which maybe wasn't any better.
"Mamo-chan." She tapped his shoulder awkwardly, dismayed that she would ever be hesitant to touch him. "I'm going to see what snacks they have."
"Okay." He started to excuse them from the group, but she quickly stopped him.
"No! I mean, it's okay, I can go by myself. You stay here and—" Mingle? Schmooze? "—keep talking," she finished lamely.
"Are you sure?"
She could tell he was trying to figure out what she was thinking, so she gave him a smile, one that was probably too bright. "I'll be fine!"
"Okay." He looked skeptical, but he let her go.
She didn't actually want to leave his side, but she didn't want him to feel like he had to babysit her the whole evening either. She turned away, feeling both dejected and relieved, and not three steps later, to her complete mortification, she tripped in her heels. She didn't fall, but it took some creative arm flapping to save herself, and both her awp! and lurching stomps as she struggled to stay upright filled the room like cracks of thunder. Her face burned when she realized all conversation in the room had died, and she didn't dare look at anyone, not even Mamoru, because if she did, she absolutely would start crying. Had he nearly sprung forward to save her like he always did? Was he embarrassed to have brought her at all?
She would not cry, she would not cry, she would not cry…
Very slowly, she smoothed the hem of her dress (it was so soft and too fancy), straightened her purse strap, and walked so, so carefully to the snacks table. By the time she made it there, her lip was quivering and she was tempted to eat away her insecurities. There was so much food left (did university students not eat?), but the absolute last thing she needed was to spill something on her dress.
Sullenly she filled a plate with dry, safe foods and went to stand by the window, where she nibbled in misery without looking at anyone. Still, without even trying, her eyes found Mamoru in the reflection in the windowpane. He seemed to be fitting in okay. He didn't fade to the periphery as the groups changed shape, and once even approached a new group on his own. She felt proud of him, knowing how much he disliked crowds.
At the same time, as the number of women increased, she began snacking more furiously, not paying attention to crumbs or how hard she was chewing. If a woman tossed her hair or laughed in that pretty faux-modest way while chatting up her Mamoru, Usagi tracked them like a hawk, and if they dared stand an inch or three too close, they were sent a firm, silent "DON'T YOU DARE."
One petite blue-haired student was most certainly making moves on Mamoru, but before Usagi could Moon Tiara her with her snack plate, Mamoru himself glanced over the student's head to meet Usagi's dagger eyes. When he excused himself from the group and began walking straight towards her, the fire in her eyes transferred to her cheeks.
"Usako, you're glaring."
He was teasing, but it made her blush more furiously anyway. She hadn't meant to pull him away. She hadn't meant for him to notice.
"I'm sorry." She didn't know what else to say, and an awkward silence filled the space between them.
"Are you all right? You seem…off tonight."
Off. Leave it to Mamo-chan to use such a light word. Where should she even start? Did he mean the way she forgot how to talk to people when normally she had trouble staying quiet? Or how she'd stumbled over nothing in the middle of the room, which, okay, really wasn't weird at all. Maybe he was thinking of how she could be standing next to a table laden with free food and have eaten only a single plate.
"I'm fine," she said to his shoes.
He gently coaxed her chin up with a finger, and the gesture made her feel so frustratingly, painfully young that she pulled away from him without thinking, and hurt flashed across his face.
"We can leave if you're having such a terrible time," he said quietly.
Guilt and anger rolled through her in equal measure, guilt that she was ruining his attempt to fit in, to be normal, but angry that he might have just implied she was being unreasonable. Which she wasn't. She was trying!
"Did you get to meet this dean person yet?" she asked.
"No, but don't worry about that."
"We just got here."
His brow furrowed in confusion. "So you….want to stay?"
"Do you want to stay?"
His frown deepened. "It's not usually this hard to get you to say what you're thinking."
She sighed and started picking at her dress again. "Why did you invite me here tonight, Mamo-chan?" she asked in a small voice. She expected the question to confuse or exasperate him, but instead he looked sheepish and even turned a little pink.
"What if I said I wanted people to know that I have a beautiful girlfriend?"
She stared at him. "What?"
His face grew redder. "I'm sorry. I should have asked you first. But you seemed so happy when I asked you to come, I thought maybe you would enjoy yourself anyway."
She had no idea what he was apologizing for, and she had been excited when he first asked her. He was so busy with his new school, they didn't have their partial walk together in the morning anymore, and her parents, as much as they approved of Mamoru, didn't think it was proper for her to spend every evening at his place, even when she said he was helping her with her schoolwork, which wasn't a total lie. They limited her to three evenings a week (not including weekends, thank goodness), and the whole days she had to go without seeing her Mamo-chan were torture.
"I don't feel beautiful," she said, talking to his shoes again. "I feel like someone's little sister playing dress-up. Everybody here is like you, so smart and mature and—why are you laughing?" His reaction stung.
"They're 'dressing up' too, I promise. They—we are just students pretending very hard like we don't care that we don't know each other." When she didn't look convinced, he added, "Do you know what we were talking about just now?"
"What?"
"Dating." The look on Mamoru's face said exactly how mature he found that topic, but she couldn't help thinking of the blue-haired woman. Before she could stop herself, she asked him who she was.
Mamoru raised an eyebrow. He knew exactly why Usagi cared. "Her name is Sana. She wants to be a cardiologist."
"See? Smart."
"I love you, Usako." He brushed her cheek with his thumb, and this time the warmth from his touch spread through her whole body.
"And there have been far too many guys looking in your direction," he added.
"Really?" Immediately she peered around him at the room as if she could identify her admirers by sight alone. It was honestly more out of curiosity than glee—the compliment didn't please her as much as it should have, especially when Mamoru sighed. She ducked her head guiltily.
"Sorry."
"Maybe we can both keep each other's admirers away?" There was that hint of territoriality that sent a delicious shiver down her spine, and two seconds later, she realized this was what he had meant about wanting people to know he had a girlfriend.
"Mamo-chan, do you need me to protect you from the women?" she said with a giggle.
"Don't you usually?" His tone was wry, but his eyes were full of affection.
"That's a job I can do, even if I don't look it."
"Usa." He searched her face as he spoke. "Are you truly worried about how you look tonight?"
Her mood deflated again. "Yes. I didn't want to embarrass you."
He gazed into her eyes with such fervor that it made her blush. "You are stunning." Each word came out like its own sentence, quiet but emphatic. "Do you really not see that?"
She glanced down at the outfit her friends had so cheerfully helped her with. Mamoru's attention was making her feel better, but her insecurity clung on stubbornly. "I want to. It's what I thought I wanted, and all the girls said it was great, but..."
"But?"
"But it feels boring." There, she said it. All that time and all that panic wasted. It had been a terrible idea from the start to try to be something she wasn't.
"Boring is something you will never be. You leave that to me." He winked, making her giggle again.
"Come on." He took her hand. "I have an idea."
He led her out of the room and down the main hallway towards the deeper, darker part of the building. Nobody was wandering around down here, and when he stopped outside a random door, she hissed, "What are you doing?"
He pressed a finger to his lips, and the mischievous look in his eyes disarmed her. He pulled something out of his jacket pocket and used it to pick the lock before she could even see what it was.
"Mamo-chan! Do you always carry that with you?"
"No, not always," he said impishly. He pulled her into the room and shut the door behind them.
If the hallway had been dark, this room was pitch black, and she gripped Mamoru's hand tightly until her eyes adjusted. There was just the barest sliver of light peeking in through a part in the curtains at the far side of the room, and in some ways that was worse than complete darkness. Lighter shadows layered on top of darker ones to form uncomfortable three-dimensional shapes in the gloom. When Mamoru tried to pull away from her, she wouldn't let him. Didn't he know nothing good ever came of sneaking into dark corners? (Or maybe he didn't since he also used them to his advantage quite a lot.)
"I'll be right back," he promised before she could ask him why he was being so weird (or why they couldn't turn on a light) and slipped out of her hand.
He melted into the darkness, and there was an odd flash of black light followed by an even odder sound. She couldn't have described them, but put together, she knew they were the signs of a transformation. Why was he transforming?
"Mamo-chan?"
She gasped when another sound rent the air, this time the hissing, cringe-inducing ssssssrrrrrp! of rich fabric being torn.
"What are you doing?"
He reappeared—in civilian form—with something dark and silky draped over his arm. "Turn around."
She did so suspiciously, craning her neck as she turned so she didn't have to take her eyes off of him. He didn't seem to mind and proceeded to wrap the dark silky thing around her waist, tying it in the back and taking his time perfecting the bow. He then did something similar with one of her hair buns.
"You're being very weird," she said, but she had to admit, she liked the feeling of the sash around her waist. It was like having his arms around her, ridiculous as that was.
"It might be a silly idea. But that's why I thought you might like it."
"I can't like it if I can't see it!"
"So impatient," he chided. "Here, now you can look."
He turned on a lamp—the room turned out to be a large study—and led her to a heavy decorative mirror beside a bookcase. Over her cream dress, she now sported a stark black sash with the biggest, most dramatic black and red bow ever. The legitimately magical fabric fluttered with supernatural elegance no matter how she moved, but more startling than that was the bow tie he had affixed to her odango. It was strange and not quite right and hopelessly adorable—like Mamoru.
"Are they…okay?" he asked, suddenly nervous.
She turned her delighted smile on him and his shoulders visibly relaxed. "I love it! But how could you do that to your cape? You murdered it!"
"It'll regenerate."
"You know, everyone's already seen what I was wearing tonight. Won't this seem a little odd?"
"A little," he conceded. "I can make it disappear if you want." He put his hands on her waist, but she immediately grabbed them.
"No! Leave it. I like it." She twirled for effect, and couldn't resist teasing him. "Have you always wanted a bow like mine instead of that big dramatic cape on your tuxedo? I bet you did!"
"You love that big dramatic cape."
She did, but she could never wear it like he did. With her luck, she'd probably get it stuck in a window or a tree.
"Besides," he went on, "I have a bow. Technically." He touched the one he'd tied around her hair and her eyes widened. She had never ever thought of that before.
"Oh my gosh, you're right! And since Serenity's skirt was at least as big as your cape, maybe we can think of my skirt as like a little cape?"
He looked very amused by her logic. "Sure."
She twirled in front of the mirror one more time, feeling lighter than she had all evening. No, all week. Her new accessories didn't "go" with the outfit as Minako would say, but she felt cute anyway. Comfortable. Like herself. Maybe she only liked the way they looked because they belonged to Mamoru, but did that really matter?
She pulled him down so she could kiss his cheek. "Thank you, Mamo-chan. They're not silly. They're perfect."
He looked so pleased that she finally stopped worrying about whether she should have come tonight. And when he kissed her forehead in return, she no longer minded feeling like the younger one.
"How about some more snacks?" he said, eyes bright with affection.
"Yes!" She took his hand and gallantly tucked it in her elbow. "I'll lead the way!"