Here's a first season fic for you. Perhaps I should include a little warning. This one's pretty dark, and it deals with suicide, so if that kind of thing truly upset you, you might want to screen out certain scenes. Hope you like it. Standard disclaimers apply. Aimee-chan sailor_moon89@hotmail.com http://www.geocities.com/moonlit_eclipse/ ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Numb By Aimee Prologue "Coffee?" "Yeah." "Cream?" "Black." "Comin' right up, kiddo," the elderly waitress with the blue hair announced, scribbling some such nonsense on a greasy notepad with a pitifully chewed up pencil. Chiba Mamoru cocked an indignant eyebrow. Kiddo? Rolling his eyes, he forced himself to hold back the snide comment that was on the tip of his tongue. He watched the waitress saunter away with a little more than annoyance in his heart. No...it was a lot more than annoyance. He was angry. Furious, even. Rage boiled and churned like a firestorm within him, and for the life of him, he had no idea why. Sure, it had been one of those days that some might describe as the epitome of eternal damnation and the fiery pits of hell, but there was no real reason for anger of this sort. At least, that's what he thought... The young man exhaled slowly, letting his eyes close and his head rest in his upturned palms. He wanted to cry. Badly. Tears stung his eyes, but he clamped them together so tightly, they had no chance of escaping. he inwardly chided himself, trying to swallow the huge lump in his throat. But each time he did that-shove the emotion inside-he felt a little piece of himself die...until he was emotionally numb...deadened...cold. "Here's your coffee," the waitress announced, plopping the steaming cup in front of the man. "Anything else, kiddo?" Mamoru's head lifted slowly from his palms, and two shards of blue ice glanced up at the waitress with a gaze that was steady and strong, no hint of pain or emotion in them. "No thank you, ma'am," Mamoru said calmly. "That will be all." The bill fluttered slowly to the table, and the waitress walked away, disappearing into the depths of the kitchen. Mamoru stared absently at the small piece of paper as he picked up the hot cup of coffee, drinking deeply. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ "The walk will be worth it in the end. I'm telling you, their milkshakes are the best in town!" "But I wanted go to the arcade..." "Usagi, we *always* go there. Don't you enjoy an occasional bout of multiplicity?" The petite blond who stood in the doorway of the diner scratched her head in perplexity. "Multiplicity?" she echoed, searching her memory banks for the definition of the foreign word. "Does that have to do with cloning...or something?" Rei rolled her eyes towards the heavens, while Ami offered a weak smile to Usagi. "Not exactly, but a good guess." "Can we get some service around here?" the raven-haired priestess wondered aloud, clicking her nails impatiently on the "Please Wait to be Seated" sign that stood before the entrance of the diner. Usagi peeked over Ami's shoulder into the diner to see if she could spot the waitress, but the only other person in the diner was a dark featured young man in the far corner sipping some coffee...a seemingly attractive young man, at that. "Pssst...!" Usagi hissed quietly to her companions. "Hottie at three o'clock." Ami and Rei glanced in the direction Usagi indicated, and both simultaneously stifled amused giggles. "Since when do you think Mamoru is a hottie?" Rei teased with a smirk. "Nani?!" Usagi squeaked, her gaze once again flying to the young man. "But...that can't be Mamoru..." she continued, her brow creasing in perplexity. "Of course it's him. You fight with him everyday, Usagi. I'd think you would remember what the guy looks like," Rei chided playfully. "But he looks...different somehow..." Usagi responded absently, unwittingly taking a step towards Mamoru's table. "Maybe he's tired," Ami suggested, smiling at the waitress who had finally emerged from the kitchen to seat them. "It's finals week at his university, you know." Rei and Ami moved to follow the elderly waitress to their table, but Rei paused when she saw that Usagi's feet remained rooted to the floor, her gaze still fixed upon Mamoru's quiet form. "Are you coming, Usagi?" she asked, putting her hand on her friend's shoulder. Her gaze fell upon Mamoru as well, and she instantly understood what Usagi was concerned about. Mamoru looked...different. Troubled. Like he was simultaneously calm yet worked-up, content yet enraged, awake yet fatigued. Rei bit her lip in concern, wanting to speak with him, herself, but something inside her told her that it was not her place. "Why don't you go talk to him, Usagi?" she hinted quietly. "I'll order for you while you're gone, all right?" Two uncertain blue eyes drifted to her face. "I...I don't know what to say to him. He just looks so..." "The words will come," Rei spoke softly, letting her hand fall from her friend's shoulder as she left to be seated with Ami. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ "Mamoru...?" Two shards of blue ice narrowed at the sound of the hesitant but familiar voice. "What do you want?" Mamoru asked without bothering to turn around to properly address his visitor. Usagi slowly lowered herself to sit in a chair across from him. "Um..." she fumbled for words, feeling awkward and foolish for being where she was. "A-Are you okay?" His eyes slowly traveled from the cooling cup of coffee on the table before him to reach her face, and she had to restrain herself from gasping at the intense coldness of his gaze. "Didn't know you cared, Odango," he said quietly without a trace of emotion in his voice, yet somehow it still felt like a direct slap in the face to Usagi. She blinked in concern, seeing how his hands were trembling slightly as they absently handled the cup of coffee before him. "You didn't answer my que--" "I'm fine," was the blunt answer that cut her off. Usagi's gaze faltered as her courage weakened. With a heavy heart, her shaky hands reached into her purse, pulling out one of many cards she had made with her phone number and e-mail address on it. Tentatively, she placed it before him as she rose to her feet. "If you need to talk, just call." Not knowing what else to say, she turned on her heel and quickly departed, unaware that the young man she'd left behind was glaring at her back with fiery intensity. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ "Is he okay?" Rei immediately asked when Usagi returned to their table. "I...I'm not sure," she responded uncertainly, eyes drifting to her hands, which rested on the table. "He wouldn't really talk to me." "I'm sure he's all right," Ami spoke up. "Probably just stressed with his studies. I can certainly relate." "Yeah..." Usagi echoed emptily, noting silently that Rei seemed as disturbed as she did. Feeling a strange tightening in her chest, Usagi's uncertain and partially frightened gaze turned slowly back to the table where the sullen man had been seated. Mamoru was gone. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Onward to chapter one, dear readers! Aimee-chan sailor_moon89@hotmail.com