Title: The BIG Wish -- Chapter 6 By: Lilac Summers Rated: Pg 13 salaices@leland.stanford.edu VERY SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT! Lady Mirage, a very great pal o' mine, has FINALLY deigned to post her most awesome story, "S Addiction." It's really really really beyond good and puts me to shame. She's got twists and turns in that thing that you wouldn't believe! I urge you all to read it because it's just great! Okay! So, after my two week break, I got rolling again. Let me tell you straight up that this chapter is a setup chapter. I'm getting everything in place. I hope I don't bore you. To make it good for you, though, I added some good ol' fashioned Usagi mayhem. Enjoy! Ooh! MUCHAS GRACIAS to Sidnei. The wacky, wacky writer who lets me rant and rave all my ideas and adds a few of her own. Bunched of oats to all of you who continue to write to me. I love you all! You keep me going. And you might not believe it, but this section is actually PG! Oh, I hope it doesn't turn some of you naughty people away. Believe me, I'm saving up all the naughty stuff for the next chapter. (Still gonna be PG 13, peoples! No need to panic.) Disclaimer: Sailor Moon does not belong to me, but to Naoko Takeuchi. By the way, got MILK? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @>---;---'--- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The BIG Wish by Lilac Summers Chapter 6 I doubt Mamo-chan heard my flippant question. He was too immersed in sorrow to do much more than just stare sightlessly. He stood silently in the darkness over the black bulk that was the couch. Random intervals of lightning lit the room just long enough to throw the scorch marks on the fabric into stark relief, as the scent of burnt polyester fibers wafted through the air. I flinched at every bolt and rumble, but stubbornly kept by the door, hesitant to intrude on Mamo-chan's moment of mourning. However, I couldn't help myself from gripping the door-frame tightly as the thunder got louder and the wind higher. The only plus I could find in this hell of a storm was the fact that the loss of light kept Mamo-chan from seeing the complete destruction of the couch. The lights flickered weakly and then proudly turned back on, showcasing the scorched couch in glorious detail. Damn the stupid maintenance guy. When I'm Queen, he'll be the first to go. At his first clear, honest to goodness glance of the couch, which was generously adorned with large, black, ashy splotches and drooping soggily from the water, to boot, Mamo-chan buried his head in his hands and groaned. I think he was about to cry. It scared the hell out of me. "Mamo-chan . . ." I began, stepping softly over the thresh-hold. His head whipped up and he looked at me in horror, as if I held a time-bomb in my hands. "Don't move! Just. Don't. Move. My god, you are dangerous!" I stopped, stricken and so very very hurt. I hadn't meant it! I really hadn't! It was an accident! Slowly, I backed up until I could clutch at the doorway again, drawing a little comfort from the solid feel of the wood. I could feel my eyes start to water and tried to blink away the tears. "I-I'm so sorry, Mamo-chan. You know I didn't mean it, right? Right?!" At his dubious look, I felt myself crumble just a little more. Oh god, I could feel my lower lip trembling. I bit down on it to keep the rebellious thing still. "I know it's all my fault. If I weren't so clumsy . . . I know I'm a klutz. Gomen, Mamo-chan! Gomen . . ." I kept my eyes down, not wanting to look at him. He'd never forgive me for this . . . The sky exploded into white electricity, booming through the city. I stifled a shriek and clung to doorway, pressing against it and hoping that Mamo-chan wouldn't see . . . Staring resolutely at my feet and clenching the mouldings, hearing the soft thump of footfalls on the carpet, I didn't blame him at all if he wanted to go to his room and get away from me. I was a menace. It seemed that everything I tried to do went wrong. I couldn't even seduce my own boyfriend! One tear slipped by my defenses. I clenched my eyes shut to keep the other ones in. When I opened my eyes, I noticed I had four feet. I frowned. Wait, that's not right. I'm no whiz at anatomy, but I do know I don't have four feet. Slowly, my gaze traveled up, beyond the other pair of feet before me, past long legs, slim hips, and broad shoulders, to settle on Mamo-chan's face. He stood before me quietly, waiting until I met his eyes. It took all my courage, but I did it. And then he smiled. That warm, beautiful smile that he reserves only for me. "Hey, Usako," he whispered, "it's okay. I can always buy another couch. I'm sorry I snapped at you . I'm just a little . . . *stressed*." I smiled back, not quite sure I deserved such an easy reprieve. "No, Mamo-chan . . . you're right. I *am* dangerous. I'm always breaking things." The thunder rolled again and I dug my nails, as inconspicuously as possible, into the wall. Slowly, as if afraid he might spook me, he unclenched my hands from the doorway and settled them on his shoulders. As if on cue, lightning clashed outside the windows and I instinctively sought refuge in his arms. "Usako," he murmured against my hair, "that's not what I meant when I said you were dangerous . . ." I was too comfortable to do more than raise my head so that I could look up into his eyes, thoroughly confused. "What do you mean?" He looked down at me, trying to figure out if I was kidding. I wasn't. His last comment had gone completely over my head. Smiling slightly, he settled my head firmly against his shoulder once more. "Nothing, Usako . . . don't worry about it. That's gonna be my job, it seems . . ." I kept quiet, not sure of what he meant. But then it hit me, and I understood. I grinned against his throat. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ He cooked a small dinner and we ate it in companionable silence before the TV screen, watching the weather man go on and on about the storm, discreetly trying to adjust his toupee all the while. "Mamo-chan, this is boring." He grimaced as the weather man gave another vain pull at the recalcitrant hair piece. "You're right. But there is nothing else to watch at this hour." That drew my attention to the clock on the mantel. It was 9:45. Too early for my regular bedtime. However, who said I need to sleep? So you thought I'd forgotten? Well, of course not! But I hadn't been about to try my luck after I had gotten through that couch mess without a scratch! And yes, I had felt awful when I had burned his couch. You can't expect a girl to launch into a plan of passion when she feels like the lowest member in the food chain, right? But, Mamo-chan had been a real sweetheart about it, and had been trying to make me feel better since then. So now I wanted to repay his kindness . . . if the bull-headed man would just give me a chance!! But this was a chance in a lifetime. The soggy, steaming couch was out of the question, and that only left Mamo-chan's bed. I looked at Mamo-chan furtively as he took our dishes to the sink and began to wash them. Oh, he was just so cute! When I first met him, I would have never thought that that cold, collected upperclassman was so domestic at heart. Now, the only thing missing from this warm, domestic household was the wife. Woohoo! I'm ready to apply for the position, Mr. Chiba! One eensy, teensy little problem, though . . . One thing stood between me and sharing a bed with Mamo-chan . . . One vast, flat, carpeted thing. The floor. Goodness, THINK, Usagi, Think! This is a once in a life-time opportunity! You can't waste it! And even Mamo-chan won't be able to put up much of a fight if he is trapped in the same bed . . . Umm, heh heh, I mean, er, he won't be so *obstinate* if he *shares* the same bed. Can't have you people thinking I was taking advantage of poor Mamo-chan! Believe me, everybody, this was for his own good. He'd thank me afterwards! Wouldn't you? But, anyway, how to get rid of the floor. Well, I suppose an explosion could do it, but seeing how upset Mamo-chan got about the couch, I don't think he'd take his floor going up in flames as kindly. Hmmm, gnats and fleas? Not in Mamo-chan's apartment. I blinked owlishly as Mamo-chan came to join me in front of the TV again. Goodness, for a moment I'd forgotten he was even here! Now if that isn't ironic, I don't know what is . . . *click* Mamo-chan turned off the TV and stretched out on the floor beside me, crossing his arms behind his head. He looked too comfortable by half. Any moment now he'd tell me-- "Okay, Usako. I think I'll turn in now. You can take the bed, I'll be more than comfortable on the floor." Aaargh! Too soon! Not enough time to plan things out! "Er, are you sure, Mamo-chan? I don't want to force you to sleep on the floor..." Take the hint, you stubborn man! "I'll be fine. I'll just go get some blankets." For an instant I thought of brazening it out and just telling him we should share the bed, but he would never break the proprieties so blatantly when he could so easily sleep on the floor. Ooh, this was all gonna get ruined . . . Mamo-chan levered himself off the floor and disappeared into the bedroom. Meanwhile, I fixed my gaze on the storm outside and commanded myself to think of a plan. ANY plan would do! Really, I'm not picky! The rain hit the windows like miniature bullets suddenly, a particularly hard gust of wind driving them into the window. Startled, I spilled the glass of water I had been sipping on, and it splattered on the carpet. Stupid water seemed to ruining everything today . . . And then, it hit me. An idea -- NAY! An epiphany! It was brilliant, sheer brilliance! And if this worked . . . I dove for my purse, leaving the water to soak into the carpet. Soon, it wouldn't make a difference. Rummaging around I threw lipstick, compact, and tissue over my shoulder. Where was it? Had I left it at home? It *had* been so peaceful lately. Maybe . . . NO, there it was! I held up my communicator like a trophy, until I realized that if Mamo-chan saw me he might get a little curious. Stealthily I crept to the bathroom and barricaded myself in. "Ami!" I whispered into the tiny clock-face harshly. "AMI! Come in, Ami." The clock-face wavered until it became a tiny screen, showing an alarmed Ami-chan. "Usagi? Usagi-chan, what's wrong?!" "SHHHH! Not so loud! Ami-chan, I need your help." "Oh my god, what happened? Youma attack? I'm on my way . . . and why are you whispering?" "No! Look, just listen, okay? There's nothing wrong, no attacks, I just need you to do a little something for me." Ami-chan's teeny, concerned face turned suddenly suspicious. "Help with what? And why didn't you just call on the phone?" "Look, Ami-chan, things aren't going as they should. Well, they are, or they *will*, if you just do this one thing for me . . . I need you to flood Mamo-chan's apartment." Her gasp came in clearly through the communicator. "USAGI, ARE YOU --" I shushed her furiously, "insane? Why on earth would you want to ruin his apartment?" "Not ruin it! Just wet it. Slightly. Enough. You just have to drench the floor of his apartment, Ami-chan." "I most certainly will do no such thing! And a shame on you for even asking, Usagi-chan! Why *would* you even ask?" I wasn't about to tell her it was because I wanted Mamo-chan in my bed! She would never help me then. "Ami-chan, the less you know, the better you will be. As Minako would say, what you don't know, won't give you indigestion." "Usagi, that's Ôwhat you don't know won't hurt you." "I know. Look, Ami-chan, it would only take you a second, and then you can forget this little conversation ever occurred," I pleaded. "Absolutely not. No way. Never." She turned her nose up at me. Oh my, time to bring out the big guns. "Okay, Ami-chan, if that's the way you want it. I didn't want to do this, but . . . Ami-chan, if you don't do this teensy eensy little favor for me, I'll tell the girls what you and Taiki were doing at the park right before the Three Lights left." Ami-chan's usually placid face turned murderous. "YOU WOULDN'T!" "I would. Desperate times, Ami-chan, call for the big guns." "That's Ôdesperate times call for desperate--" "I know." I heard Mamo-chan's footsteps come towards the bathroom and knew I had spent too much time in there already. "Ami-chan, just get over here." "But how am I going to flood his apartment? Usagi, you shouldn't be doing such foolishness, it's not important! And I was going to call to tell you--" "I'm leaving that up to you. See ya in a few, and DON'T let Mamo-chan see you! Come through the balcony!" I closed the connection on her furious sputtering. "Usako, are you okay in there?" Mamo-chan knocked discreetly on the door. Thinking quickly, I splashed water on my face and grabbed a towel. I opened the door, hiding my communicator beneath my sweater. "Fine, Mamo-chan," I said, breezing by him, "just washing my face." I made a show of patting it dry and then walked into the living room, noticing with disgust the blankets arranged on the floor. He'd pushed the coffee table aside. Striving for nonchalance I walked idly to the kitchen, rummaging around for nothing. "A-are you going to sleep then, already?" "Yeah, just going to get ready for bed. I moved your bags into the bedroom, Usako. They're on top of the bed." I nodded weakly as he made a beeline for the bathroom. How long did I have? Ten, fifteen minutes, perhaps? I ran for the balcony in the bedroom, pacing before it. Hurry, Ami, hurry . . . . Five minutes later a bedraggled, drenched, exhausted, and thoroughly pissed off Sailor Mercury vaulted onto the balcony. I dragged her inside. "When I'm through with you, Usagi, you are going to wi--" "Shh!" I clamped a hand over her frowning mouth and pulled her into the living room. "Quiet! I don't have much time! Hurry up and flood it!" She grumbled and stalked to the kitchen. "Well, with all the *notice* you gave me," she whispered sarcastically, "I thought up a plan as I ran here, IN THE RAIN, at your behest, princess." She continued to mumble as her head disappeared beneath the sink. Creeping over to her I murmured in her ear, keeping one eye on the hallway lest Mamo-chan enter the room. "What are you doing, and can you HURRY IT UP?" Mercury fiddled with the valves of the kitchen sink and explained through gritted teeth. "I'm increasing the water pressure going through the pipes, and using a little bit of magic to manipulate the water. Then I'm going to freeze it as quickly as possible. When water freezes, it expands. Hopefully, with an added bit of my own magic, I can make it burst through--" "Okay, okay. I get it. Kinda. Whatever. Just do it!" I commanded, wringing my hands. After a few more seconds, she stood up. "It's done." I looked at the faucet expectantly. Nothing happened. "Ami-chan, maybe you better pick up those physics books again cuz nothing is happening." She glared at me, daring me to question HER over sciences and, particularly, HER element. "It'll work. It's gonna take a bit, though." We stood here for a bit, and then I thought to ask, "why wre you gonna call me?" She bared her teeth in a caricature of a smile. "Jeez, I forgot." And then, horror of horrors, I heard the bathroom door open. I shoved Mercury under the sink again and vaulted over the counter, dashing madly towards the hall. Just in time to ram into Mamo-chan. "OH! *There* you are, Mamo-chan! I've, uh, been looking madly all over the place for you!" As madly as anyone can search a three room apartment. "Oh?" he said, confused. "What do you need me for, Usako?" Hmm. If you only knew, darling. But, for now: "I, er . . . uh, I . . . . uh . . . . need you . . . to look at . . . .at . . . .uh, oh! I need you to look at my thigh!!" WAY TO GO, GIRL! What a save, everyone! Admit it, that one was good. Mamo-chan blanched. "Your thigh?" he squeaked. "Um, what is wrong with your thigh?" "I don't know. I did something to it down in the basement. Remember, silly? Now, come into the living room where there is more light." I turned around and quickly dug my nails into my allegedly hurt upper thigh, scraping lightly and praying to the gods that it would leave *some* mark. I walked over to the coffee table and plunked myself down on it, looking at him expectantly. A tad dazed, he walked over to me hesitantly and kneeled before me. I heard him swallow. GULP! "Okay," he began, no doubt chanting his mantra of control. "What happened to your thigh?" Enjoying myself now that I had his undivided attention, I pulled my skirt up high on my thighs, to the very last step before indecency. "Well, you tell me." SNAP! Wood cracked. Looking around in surprise, I noticed Mamo-chan had gripped the coffee table so hard he had cracked the wood edging. His eyes were riveted on my thighs (at least, I think it was my thighs ^_~). On the top of my upper right thigh, a tiny reddish splotch appeared, thanks to my impromptu mauling. I waved my right hand in a shooing motion at Sailor Mercury, who stood open-mouthed by the sink. She looked in disbelief at Mamo-chan's head, which had lowered minutely to inspect the raw, red patch of skin on my thigh, and then raised her eyes to me with new respect. She gave me a thumbs up sign. I almost keeled over. Who would have known Ami-chan had it in her? With no further prompting she streaked by my engrossed soulmate and went into the bathroom, mouthing "You owe me BIG." A couple of minutes later I heard the balcony door open slightly, and then shut. Okay, time for me to enjoy my "inspection," then. I looked down at Mamo-chan's head just when he was raising his, eyes slightly unfocused. He shook his head slightly and managed to clear them. I heard him mutter "dangerous" ever so softly under his breath before he met my eyes. "Well, it seems like you just scratched it on something. I don't see how it could have hurt you all that much when it first happened, though." Er, oh, yeah. I had made it sound just a tad more life-threatening down in the basement, hadn't I? "Oh, well, you're the doctor. I must have struck a nerve or something, huh? It still hurts a little." He ran his fingertips lightly over my skin and I managed to turn an "Ooh" into an "Ouch." Just barely. He cleared his throat and stood up abruptly, moving away from me quickly and turning his back to me. "The skin wasn't broken, so I don't see how infection could set in. You might develop a bruise if you banged it up when you stumbled into whatever it was that scratched you, but that's it. Make sure to wash the scrape with soap and water, and it will be fine." So clinical, my Mamo-chan can be. I would have been fooled were it not for the fact that his hands trembled when he scraped his hair back. And then all hell broke loose. It started with an audible "PING!" as the valve underneath the sink exploded loose and flew into the wall. Next thing I knew, water began to gush out from under the sink as the pipe that fed the sink exploded open. More than a little surprised, even after expecting it, I leapt atop the coffee table. Mamo-chan had already turned and looked in disbelief at the widening pool of water that was quickly flooding the kitchen floor. "What the... oh, F(edited for younger viewers)K! What now?!" He slipped and slid over wet linoleum to the sink, vainly trying to cover the leak with his fingers. The water continued to gush steadily, as if someone had turned on a waterhose inside the apartment. In a matter of seconds the water spread beyond the kitchen and moved on to the living area, where the carpet soaked it up greedily. "Usako, my tools!" Amazed by my what I had asked for, and more than a little daunted by the quantities of water that gushed forth, I swung about and stepped down from the table, running from the room. "Right!" I called. Then stopped. Turned. Backtracked. "Uh, Mamo-chan? Where *are* your tools?" "In the . . . in the . . . OH, F(again edited for younger viewers)K! I don't have any tools!" He swore and opened a kitchen drawer to expose the extent of his "tool set". Two screwdrivers, a pair of pliers, and a wrench. The wrench was too big to fit around the pipe. Looking past me, he jumped up and grabbed a soggy blanket from the floor, running with it through the hall and to his bedroom door. He slammed it shut and shoved the blanket in the crack left beneath. "Well, maybe that'll keep the water out of--" A distinctive "PING" came through the door. Ami had also tampered with the sink from the bathroom. Eyes wide, Mamo-chan undid his handiwork and flung the door open, to see water pouring from the bathroom into the bedroom. We stood there, shell-shocked. Well, he was shell-shocked and I was just thinking, "Man, when you give Ami something to do, she sure does it right." The carpet was squishy beneath our feet when, for no reason whatsoever, the water stopped coming out of the burst pipes. It just STOPPED. Man, when you give Ami something to do, she really really *really* does it right! "Erm, Mamo-chan? It's stopped." I said gently. He looked around slowly, walked over to the bed (his feet making a sucking, squishy noise on the carpet) and collapsed on it. "Why me?" he groaned. You might wonder if I was feeling guilty. Maybe. A little. I mean, it's one thing to envision something, and it's quite another to see that something actually happen. So guilt? Maybe just a tad. Okay . . . not really. This was war, I tell you. And Mamo-chan *was* on the bed. Just had to keep him there now. I made my way to the bed and sat beside Mamo-chan, patting his head softly. "It's okay, Mamo-chan . Tomorrow I'll have Rei the Pyro come and dry everything up. Hey, maintenance might even have to give you new carpet! See? It'll all work out. None of your stuff was ruined." He opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. He sighed. He sighed again. Then he brought me down to lay gently beside him, stroking my hair. Really, this was TOO easy. "Ah, Usako, you're good for me. You always manage to make me see the bright side of things. What would I do without you?" Probably have a usable couch and dry carpet. Oooookay, *here* was the guilt. A LOT of the guilt. A way, WHOLE LOT of the guilt. Now I couldn't live with it. "Oh Mamo-chan, you are really gonna hat--" He pulled me closer and buried his face in my hair, hugging me tightly. Okay, so maybe I could live with the guilt a little longer. I wiggled in closer, feeling myself relax in his warmth as the minutes ticked by. Maybe now was the time to bring sleeping arrangements into the scene. Subtly, of course. "I'll get ready for bed," I said. "I'll be back soon." He nodded sleepily and let me go. I was getting my shirt (not that I'd need it if everything went right) when he processed everything. He sat up abruptly. "WHAT?!" Innocently clutching the white shirt of his that I had purloined from the day before, I waited. "What what?" "What did you just say?" I repeated it. "I said, I'll get ready for bed. Wait here, I'll be back soon." "Y-you'll be back soon . . ." he repeated. He stared down at the soaked floor and then at me. The floor, then me. The floor, then me. "I think I have some more dry sheets in the closet. I'm sure it can't be all *that* wet on the floor." He marched for the closet. Oh no he wasn't! "Oh no you don't! I'm not about to let you sleep on the wet carpet! You'll get sick!" And I'd go postal. He sputtered a protest as I pulled him away from the closet. "No, really Usako, I'll be fine! Anyway, t-the bed isn't big enough for . . . uh, for both of us." It would be the way *I* planned to use it. I folded my arms beneath my chest and put on my "resolved" expression. "If you are sleeping on the floor, then I am too. It's not fair for you to sleep on the soaked floor in YOUR apartment!" Now, of course he would never let me sleep on the floor . . . "Usako, I would never let you sleep on the floor! Don't be silly--" "NO! Don't *you* be silly! Now, that bed is just fine for the both of us. Really, I don't see why you are making such a fuss." I was just DARING him to admit he was afraid he'd lose control. Come on, Mamo-chan, say it! Silence. I thought so. Mamo-chan's shoulders drooped in defeat. I pushed him towards the bed and left him staring at it as I retreated into the wet bathroom to change into his shirt. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To be continued.... What shall happen next?! Will they? Won't they? You do the hokey pokey and you turn yourself around, that's what it's all about! . . . Oooookay. Stay tuned for next week, when we find out just what Mamo-chan is REALLY made of ! BTW, I prefer to use the anime version of Mamo-chan's bed where it is a single, for, er, *storyline* purposes.