Work Text:
With a Commonplace Melody
Written by: なのぷこ・Nanopco
We often hear about the average starting salary for university graduates, but to what extent is that a meaningful indicator? It’s only a measure for those who run the business, and for those who receive a salary. It’s neither a loss nor a gain to know about it.
“Long time no see!"
Mamoru placed his folded coat over the seat next to him. It was a chair with an angular backrest, the kind of chair you might expect to find in a popular pub.
It was a weekend night, and the restaurant was crowded with young, corporate-looking men and women.
Motoki looked up. “It's been six months. How's it been lately?" he asked as he put the menu list back on the stand on the corner of the table.
“I don't know. I'm doing okay. Well, even. How are you doing over there?"
“Same as ever. How are you and Usagi? Good food?" Motoki joked.
“It's delicious. It's getting better every day.” Mamoru answered with a challenge. “Like the food we served the last time you came to our house, because it's regularly supervised by her mother."
The server arrived with alcohol for two. Mamoru received his glass, and on the ring finger of his left hand shone the symbol of eternal love in a subtle way.
Motoki grinned at this.
“Heh. Your family over there must take good care of you, son-in-law."
“...I've made a lot of effort to make people think that way. Otherwise, I might not have been allowed to get married when I had just started working."
“Ha, if that had happened, we wouldn't have had that wonderful wedding. I'm really happy for you and Usagi. Let's have a toast anyway."
Motoki lifted his glass. So did Mamoru.
“Cheers."
“Cheers."
After a week's work, a cold sip worked well on a tired body.
Motoki, in front of him, was much faster paced. In contrast to Mamoru, he drank thirstily. His glass was almost empty.
Don't fly too fast, seniors, Mamoru murmured in his mind.
They were the same age. However, Mamoru took five years to graduate from university, thanks to his former study abroad and the subsequent mess he had to go through. Plus, he went on to do a master's degree, so there was a difference of about three years in his working career compared to Motoki’s, who left his undergraduate degree after four years and started working.
As Mamoru was more enthusiastic than most about his studies, he was not without a desire to go on to get a PhD. However, it never came to that. In the end, of all things, it was because of Usagi’s presence in his life that he decided against it.
...you've all grown up so much, haven't you?
Usagi had been due to graduate from junior college just as he was completing his master's degree.They’d been together and in love since the time when she was in her mid-teens. She had always believed in him and has been there for him at all times.
He could not turn away from his desire to be with his beloved as soon as possible, and Usagi wanted that too. As a result, and as was the custom, they chose to put an end to their academic path to become socially independent.
On June 30th, soon after Mamoru started working, they submitted their marriage certificate, and the wedding ceremony took place on August 3rd.
“Can I ask for a second drink for us? It’s my treat today."
“Okay,” Mamoru said with a frown. “I've earned my own money in my first year in the workforce."
"Look, if you're a husband, you should be pampered from time to time,” Motoki said. “It's not the same for me, a bachelor, as it is for you, with Usagi. You melt your earnings faster." Motoki's mouth was lightly agape.
That was certainly true. The net value of a family member and a non-family member is not necessarily the same, even if they have the same wages.
“I'm doing my best to feed Usagi and myself.” Mamoru shrugged his shoulders as he said this and smiled with a deliberately troubled wry smile.
While it was perfectly reasonable for a reasonably priced restaurant to be full in this way, at least in the case of the two men who were now sharing a glass at this table, their livelihoods cannot be held to the same standard.
Averages are still not a great measure, although there are differences between postgraduate and undergraduate degrees. Speaking of which, what kind of academic field does this kind of phenomenon fall into? Behavioural economics, perhaps?
Mamoru also emptied his glass, thinking vaguely about this.
“But it was a good ceremony and reception.” Motoki recalled in good spirits.
“Oh... thank you for saying that.” Mamoru said. “I was originally going to ask you to make a speech, or something like that.”
“When you told me you had a favour to ask, I thought that was what it would be. Do you remember? When I was a freshman in college…”
“You were all, ‘I'll do anything when you and Usagi get married!’ You were so excited."
This conversation had taken place when Mamoru installed a computer in Motoki's room and opened the network.
“Yeah, yeah. So, you know, when you told me you wanted me to be in your wedding party with Unazuki, too, I was like, 'There! I was like, 'Now’s the time! I was happy that you were relying on me. But a reception without speeches and long ceremonies? That's good. It seems to be what Usagi-chan thinks of."
Usagi was not someone who was bound by formalities.
‘Everyone who celebrates with me and Mamo-chan is equal! It's not like someone is giving us away or representing us or anything.' She’d developed her own ways and persuaded Mamoru and her family, who were a bit more reluctant to agree than he had been.
As a result, their unique wedding style was extremely well received by those in attendance, and the bride and groom were very happy with the reception, chatting with everyone present at ease.
“She'll be glad to hear you said that."
Mamoru, too, smiled and thought about the celebration their friends had painstakingly helped prepare. With their particular experience, the Furuhata siblings had been the only ones who had been able to take on a number of particular reception duties. Without them, it would not have been possible without staffing. But as it was they had been able to entrust the Furuhatas with the management of their money with the greatest peace of mind. In addition to the fact that Mamoru and Usagi agreed on this, Mamoru, who had kept the earlier exchange in his mind as a gratifying memory, also wanted his best friend Motoki to take a big part in their wedding.
Usagi being Usagi, though, it seemed that behind her desire to request Unazuki, too, was a very profound and meddlesome thought: 'Who is the friend that I can entrust with this kind of work along with Motoki-oni-san? Someone who works well with him but not too well with him that it would cause trouble?
“With her, it's always an eye-opener. Even after all these years."
Mamoru's tone became heartily sullen. In his mind's eye, he unconsciously saw the smirking face of his lovely wife.
“So what have you told Usagi today?” Motoki asked.
Mamoru came to himself as a soap bubble popped in his head.
“Eh? I said Motoki invited me to dinner, so I'm going."
“Wasn’t Usagi disgruntled after all those late Friday work nights?”
“If it had been a business outing again, she might have had a different reaction, but it was you. She said yes willingly."
“Right. Good then." Motoki expressed relief.
Mamoru, on the other hand, laughed. He never had this sort of trouble with Usagi. In fact, Usagi was definitely rather enjoying today's girls' day out with her usual members for the first time in a long time. She wasn’t someone to wait around at home alone.
“She asked me to tell you to come over and visit soon."
“Six months ago, I was treated to a meal in the name of thanks for the help with the reception... but I don't feel comfortable bothering you out of the blue.”
“Nonsense. She said Reika-san should come with you, too."
Motoki was momentarily taken aback by the mention of Reika.
Not noticing anything off, Mamoru carried on. “How are you these days? How are things with Reika?"
Reika was on a long, long study-abroad trip of ten years. She seemed to return home from time to time, but simple arithmetic suggested that she must have a few more years' worth of overseas commitments left.
A short pause spread between them. While scratching his slightly flushed cheeks with his index finger, Motoki only slowly started to speak.
'...No, actually... that's why I asked you to make time for me today.'
“Really?" Usagi raised her high-pitched voice.
“Yeah. He said that Reika is coming to stay here for a month or so. He’s going to propose while she's here."
“Oh, my God! Congratulations, they've finally made it! Those two have been together longer than we have."
It was a Saturday morning, even when the clock said it was already close to noon.
Mamoru stood in the kitchen making a cup of coffee for himself while his wife sat on one side of the dining set, painted in muted colours, munching away at her extensive brunch.
Usagi returned from her girls' night out last night in a state of intoxication that was close to, if not out of, consciousness. ‘Everyone told me that I should ask Mamo-chan to pick me up, but I said Mamo-chan is having a good time drinking with Motoki today, so I'm fine! Leave it to me! I said! Kyahahahahaha!’ So cackling, she returned home with Ami, who lived close by, lending her a shoulder to lean on.
She did not remember that Mamoru, who had returned home earlier than she had and was already waiting for her, politely thanked Ami for her help. But she did remember that Mamoru had spoiled her with a sticky-sweet "Welcome home♡" and that he had managed to get her ready for bed in his arms before falling asleep. She was still feeling groggy after a good night's rest - although she was about to eat a whole table-top breakfast and lunch - when the unexpected news from Mamoru sobered her up instantly.
“Oh my God, Mamo-chan... if you’d contacted me as soon as you found out yesterday, we would have all rushed over to congratulate them!”
“From the looks of things last night, Usako, and how quick you seemed to have been a goner, you weren’t in a fit state to join anyone for important news."
Mamoru's mind reverted back to the image of a wild, intoxicated Usagi in that same heebie-jeebies state, interrupting a discussion on relativity and explaining how to make pudding at a party at Edward’s mansion quite some time ago.
That unexpected fruit punch that time had been effective, yes. Either way, it was very usual for his Usako to become more unrestrained than ever when she drank.
“Mmm! Mamo-chan's mean."
He smiled. “Yes, yes. My bad."
Usagi turned to the side with a pout. Mamoru returned the apology as usual, whether he intended to appease her or not. Then, with a single sigh, he stood and gently sipped his hot black coffee.
...how many times have we had this kind of exchange before?
Muttering this in his mind, he thought back to his dialogue with Motoki the previous night.
“I'm getting married.” Motoki had said this with a determined look on his face even as Mamoru gave him all the smiles and congratulations he could muster.
Motoki responded shyly but honestly, thanking him. But Mamoru couldn’t help but be a little surprised. Reika was still living abroad. Even if they got married now, wouldn't they still have to live far away from each other for a while yet?
In response to this question - one which everyone would naturally have, right? - Motoki chose his words carefully.
“I can only say this frankly because it's you, Mamoru,” Motoki began, “but me and Reika? We, well, you know, we've always been jealous of you and Usagi-chan.”
Mamoru blinked at that in surprise. Looking obliquely into mid-air, Motoki continued.
“You see each other every day in a way we would want to see each other. We are in love with each other like when we first started dating, like you are, but we also talk lightly to each other, unlike you. You can understand each other beyond words, like a couple that has been together for many years. Because we're so close, we can't help but compare ourselves.” Motoki's mouth turned up at the corners. He looked once at Mamoru's face, who was listening with a puzzled, half-ambiguous expression, and went on.
“It’s selfish, right? On the surface, we’re just fine no matter how far apart we are! I'm not going to let it get to me. Oh, but don't get me wrong. It's not that I'm stressed about you two or anything.” Motoki anticipated and firmly dismissed any concerns Mamoru might have had.
Mamoru felt like patting his chest.
Motoki spoke while turning his soft eyes on Mamoru, as if to express such goodness in people.
“For us, getting married now meant…”
"...mo-chan, Mamo-chan! Hey, are you listening?"
The voice reached his ears as if drowning out his thoughts, and Mamoru realised that Usagi was calling out to him.
“You seem lost in thought.”
“Oh, sorry. I was. What were you saying?"
Usagi made a grimace at Mamoru, but regained her composure, and this time she looked up and made a gesture as if she was trying to remember, and said, “I thought they were going to wait until they finished their studies before they got married”
Mamoru nodded.
“I kind of felt that way myself."
“Reika is going back to Europe in a month, isn’t she? I wonder if the two won't miss each other... just when they've finally got married and become husband and wife, they're going to be separated again."
Usagi’s expression turned a somewhat sad colour, perhaps thinking of their own circumstances.
For her, it must be painful just to think of a situation where two people who love each other by marriage cannot live together under one roof.
“Hmmm. But, look, I think every couple has its own way to go about their relationship, you know? Like us." Mamoru put down his cup, walked up close to Usagi and her drooping shoulders as he admonished her.
“I don't think normal or average means much in life and how we live it. You and me, we are always happiest together, but you can't apply that to everyone and use it as a benchmark."
‘I've always been jealous of you and Usagi’ - Motoki’s words rang in his ears. Motoki must have meant these words. But then it was clear they weren’t talking about Motoki and Reika being unfortunate and pitiful compared to himself and Usagi as a couple. Such a notion would be nothing but prideful rhetoric.
“...Yes, it is. Studying abroad, continuing a relationship and getting married even when separated are all paths they have decided to take. We should support them rather than worry about them."
Mamoru's words - that they should simply respect the choices of his precious befriended couple - was a message quickly conveyed, and Usagi shook her head in quick agreement.
The once hot-blooded Usagi, who once scrambled to bring Motoki and Reika back together without being asked to, seemed to have grown up a lot. Mamoru smiled slightly so that she would not notice.
Immediately, like a light switching on in a dark room, Usagi's expression changed to a bright one and she asked, “So, are we having a wedding?'
This was the first time any of their friends or acquaintances were getting married. She was immediately looking forward to it and clenched both fists up and down in front of her chest wildly.
“Yeah, about that.” Mamoru sat down opposite Usagi. “It's definitely a wedding in the sense of exchanging vows... but they want to do just that, sign the document in front of witnesses.”
“Sign? Only?"
“Yes.” Their ceremony at the church in Juban had been a Christian ceremony, where they kissed and vowed our marriage in front of God. They’d invited a lot of guests.
Usagi’s expression was flustered, perhaps remembering the happiness she felt at that moment. Their mutual, quiet understanding of each other in this area would always remain the same.
“What we did is not quite what those two have in mind. They don't want to make it a big event, partly because Reika is only here for a short time."
"So you mean, only the bride and groom and the witnesses?"
“Yes. They said it would be a simple, small ceremony, a so-called 'public ceremony', where they would make their vows in the presence of trusted witnesses. In the auditorium of the university where they met."
At first, Usagi seemed to have difficulty imagining what she was hearing, but as Mamoru's explanation progressed, her big eyes began to shine.
“Wow! It's kind of nice, like a foreign film!"
“Yeah. I thought so too."
“In a place of memories, with a limited number of people... it feels so special! Ah, but…” Something suddenly occured to her, and she paused to stem one cheek in the palm of her hand and tilted her head slightly in a big pout.
“If they don't invite guests, then we can’t celebrate with them, Mamo-chan..." There was big disappointment in Usagi’s voice.
However, hearing this, Mamoru couldn’t help but chuckle. “ Don't worry about that,” he said. “Because--"
Their gazes met.
“Reika and Motoki want us to be the witnesses, Usako."
Usagi’s eyes went wide.
“Usagi-chan, Mamoru-kun. I'm so sorry I couldn't attend your wedding."
On the day of their wedding, Reika apologised as soon as the two couples met at the main gate of their alma mater, their meeting point.
“Oh, no, Reika-san! Never mind!"
“That's right,” Mamoru agreed, “At the time, both me and Usako were really happy to get a letter from you all the way from Europe."
Usagi laughed in that carefree way of hers, and Mamoru smiled next to her.
The bride and groom strongly requested that they come in their normal attire, and so they were both dressed in plain clothes, just a little bit cuter. Usagi wore a collared dress and a tweed cardigan. Mamoru wore a turtle-necked top that he often wore, but paired with a velour jacket in the same colour today.
The words seemed to reassure Reika and the corners of her eyes uncrinkled in relief. She was beautiful, dressed in an elegant cream-colored dress next to Motoki in a slim suit with a cleric shirt, who looked at her in awe.
“It’s been on Reika’s mind ever since we decided to ask you both to be our witnesses. She was worried that you might mind us asking because she wasn't able to be at your wedding. Even when I told her that I was sure you wouldn’t care, but…” Motoki explained.
“Because I was too busy to attend, and now the four of us ended up meeting like this for the same occasion…” Reika started, but shook her head. “Mamoru-kun, Usagi-chan, thank you so much for doing this for us. I'm sorry to put you through so much trouble, but please take good care of us.”
The polite and earnest way Reika spoke, and Motoki's positive attitude to stand by her and help her… Mamoru was sure that they had walked successfully with this balance on the road so far. Warmth filled his heart.
“Come on, let's go."
Thanks to the fact that they’d chosen a Sunday during spring break, the number of students mingling around was low as they all walked through the green, budding Keio campus.
“ Nothing has really changed, has it?”
“Yeah. Even though it's been five or six years since I went to school here." Reika smiled.
“Usako, you came to our college every now and then, but is this the first time you’ve been in the auditorium?”
“Yeah! Is that it?"
Usagi pointed to a building visible from afar. It was a rather stately building, about five storeys high, located on the west side of the campus.
“Yes. We're the only ones allowed in there today because we've properly applied to rent out the facility."
“Thank you, yes! Mamoru still attended Keio last year and so he smoothed all that out.”
“Mamoru. Really, for everything..."
He smiled, reassured them it was okay.
“Yes, yes! It's your big day, so you can get whatever you want!"
Arriving at their destination, Mamoru opened the heavy door and urged the three to enter.
“Wow...!" Usagi’s voice rose.
Thousands or hundreds of seats were neatly arranged on a near semi-circular stage, with arched windows lining the back of the balcony seats. The central part of the high, high ceiling was made of glass blocks assembled like a mosaic, allowing the spring sunlight to softly shine through even without artificial lighting.
“Amazing, beautiful...!”
“It's the work of a famous architect. It's stylish in the way it combines classic parts with a contemporary feel, no?”
Usagi looked awestruck. “It's really nice. We didn't have buildings like this at my junior college."
She did not hide her excitement a bit as Reika cut in. “Usagi. Your husband, you know, has presented and been honoured in front of many people here many times."
“!" If Usagi had grown rabbit ears, they would have instantly stood up vertically with a jerk.
Her gaze, which had been fixed on the majestic space, quickly turned to that of her beloved husband, and she hugged his arm tightly as if it were a conditioned reflex.
“Oh, Mamo-chan! He's still so cool... ♡"
"Hey, Reika, don't say that. This is you and Motoki’s day. Come on, Usako, I think you're clinging too much."
Motoki and Reika both laugh heartily as Mamoru and Usagi look the same as ever. "You are getting more lovey-dovey since you got married, aren't you?" Reika said.
“Indeed. I wish Reika could have seen how happy Usagi was to tell everyone after Mamoru proposed to her."
“I was dying of embarrassment day after day,” Mamoru murmured.
Usagi giggled a cheeky ‘hehehe’. “Oh, my God, Mamo-chan! If you proposed in such a cool way, it's only natural! All the girls would want to boast about it, right?”
Motoki let out a high-pitched whistle.
With sweat on his forehead, Mamoru managed to tease Usagi, “Oh, by the way…”
Having freed his arm, Usagi remembered something. She still hadn't heard about this one very serious matter. “ Hey hey hey! What was it like for you two? The proposal!" she shot out straight with blazingly bright eyes.
Motoki was momentarily taken aback by this gesture. Looking at Reika, but he spoke to Mamoru. “You didn't tell her?'
“Oh,” Mamoru said. “I didn't tell you."
"...!!! Mamo-chan!!! You knew and you kept quiet on purpose!" Usagi’s bunny ears stretched even more pertinently than before.
"Sorry. Actually, Motoki told me about it when he first told me about his marriage."
“Oh no!!! Then why~!"
“I was going to let them tell it in their own words. Wouldn’t that be better than hearing it from me? I knew you would ask them directly anyway, Usako, and..."
His utterance was light and a lot of it went unspoken. Usagi listened with question marks flying above her head.
“And?"
Mamoru looked at Motoki's and Reika's faces in turn, then returned Usagi's gaze. Her face morphed slowly into a wry smile.
“ I was moved by the meaning behind this marriage, Usako. I was so moved by the meaning behind this marriage that I was afraid you’d be jealous if you heard about it."
For us, getting married now means…
The light that poured down illuminated the area. Looking up, there were a number of small rainbows shining between the intricate reflections of the glass stars.
It's not about comforting each other about the loneliness of not always being together physically. Because that's something we've accepted for a long time, and no matter how dazzling Mamoru and Usagi-chan’s relationship seems, we're still us.
The certificate itself, and the intricate white pen, tucked into an indigo bi-fold cover, Reika had found at a traditional market during her studies abroad.
The bride and groom stood in front of them on the podium, their faces bashful.
I tried to make it simple... as a token of my gratitude. When I tried to give form to my feelings of gratitude towards Reika, this is how it naturally turned out.
The sound of a pen running across paper echoed faintly in the quiet room.
Mamoru and Usagi’s faces watched over them in infinite kindness.
Because... Well, Reika told me this story one time. An old European folktale that says that a man and woman who have been together for a long time will be possessed by a good fairy who makes them say thank you all the time. Because if the couple is not possessed by the fairy, they will forget to say thank you to the other person. And without gratitude for one another, they will not last as a couple.
After finishing their signatures in turn, starting with Motoki, Reika put down her pen.
A look full of meaning passed between them before they stepped back from the dais, making room for their witnesses to fill in the form for them.
Reika's now-husband had jokingly laughed and said, 'I wonder if that fairy will come to us.' When I heard that, I immediately thought...
Blank columns were quickly filled with familiar letters.
Chiba Mamoru, Chiba Usagi.
The names of both of the bride and groom's most trusted friends were softly inscribed at the bottom of the deed.
I’m not gonna risk the fairy not coming to us. I can do it without her. I can express my constant gratitude, and thus guarantee our relationship in the future. I can say the words that only I can say'... Then Reika would ask, 'What word is that?' And I ask, 'What's that word? And...
A warm atmosphere spread across the stage, enveloping them.
Usagi broke out in cheers, started clapping, and soon all four of them were celebrating the completion of the symbol of Reika and Motoki’s vows with applause, smiling at each other with just a hint of bashful embarrassment.
'Let's get married' - that's what I said out loud when I realised.
Thank you for meeting me.
Thank you for being with me all this time.
Thank you for being with me now.
Thank you for continuing to be with me.
What came out of his mouth was a special proposal that seemed to be a common phrase, but which was combined with all the gratitude he felt.
It bound their wishes together like the two ends of a ribbon.
When Reika was telling me about the legend, I was thinking to myself. 'When the day comes when we can really be together, we can say that it was thanks to fairies and laugh at each other about it...'. But to achieve that, to ever get there in the first place, I thought I would express my gratitude to her more and more from now on. Then, what do you think? WIth such a wonderful story, told without a second thought? Well, I was blown away. I was in a romantic mood. And I wanted that future with Reika. And so it just came out.
Time was a passage from the past to the future.
The auditorium, which looked as if it witnessed and embodied time, encapsulated an atmosphere exclusively reserved for the bride and groom on this day.
"But, you know, I was happy. Maybe I had a premonition somewhere in my mind that she would say 'yes'. So I just said, 'Thank you. I said, "Thank you for telling me this."
"Someday" --.
It is the act of giving gratitude, saying thank you that has protected and nurtured me on every day that has made this dream of mine come true. It is nurturing today that makes someday come to be.
The uncontrollable feelings that cannot be held have now become a form that can be held, connecting them together.
Words aren't the only way to express feelings... but isn't it wonderful to have words that make you feel happy every time you say them? Even if it's in the middle of a silly, joking conversation.
Things that remain the same no matter how long and far apart they are.
Proud to have nurtured it day after day, and determined to do so in the future.
If we have put everything into one promise, let us trust its guidance and walk with it.
“Congratulations!!"
Blessings and thanksgivings spring from Usagi and Mamoru’s mouths, and Reika and Motoki’s too. Exchanging all the gratitude hanging in the room.
A space with no decoration or staging. Yet it is as if gentle music could be heard echoing through the space.
“Thank you."
It was a wedding ceremony for just the four of them that brought a joy to their hearts that was akin to loving a bud that is about to blossom.
“It was such a lovely wedding, Mamo-chan.”
Back at home, his wife talked in a calm tone of voice, as she carefully hung up the jacket she slipped out of.
“It was."
Her husband's voice, in his short reply, also seemed to be somehow more softly rounded than usual.
As it is, a calm silence spread between them.
“Usako.” “Mamo-chan.”
They spoke at the same time. It was so unexpected that a fter a moment of surprise, they both cringed in amusement, but Usagi motioned for Mamoru to continue.
'What? Mamo-chan."
Usagi’s soft blonde hair swayed and her big blue eyes shone with a smile when he started to speak.
“Thank you, Usako. Thank you for always, always being with me, Usako."
At his words, she started. "Mamo-chan..." she gasped. Tears sprung to her eyes as easy as ever. As she caught his smile in her blurred vision, Usagi also squeezed out a shaky voice. “I was just about to say thank you, too…”
The feeling in her chest became so unbearable, it jumped.
“...Thank you, Mamo-chan, thank you, Mamo-chan...!” she babbled, emotion flooding her.
“Thank you, Usako,” he replied, calm to her storm. “I love you."
“Thank you, Mamo-chan, thank you... I, I love you too. I love you too, Mamo-chan...!"
With that, their two bodies embraced tightly. Mamoru gently stroked Usagi's head and kissed her wet cheek.
“You said that every couple is different…”
When he relaxed slightly, Usagi’s eyes looked up at him straight from within his arms.
He always tried to spin his words just to bring light to those eyes, which were like haunting, cloudless crystals.
“But we can imitate and adopt what we like. I want that.”
Mamoru's expression as he said this was supremely soft and warm.
Touched by his honesty, Usagi also giggled, then sniffled and smiled to show her reaction for him to read.
“Is that so I don't get jealous?"
She asked the question in a deliberately mischievous manner and rested her forehead on Mamoru's chest with a thump.
“Hmm? Yeah, yeah. Maybe."
How many times had they had this kind of exchange? Selfishness and sarcasm were just pleasantly flirtatious now. It was precisely because they were able to say anything to each other that the passing of a few casual words could seem so endearing. He could see that clearly now.
They giggled in the same tone, arms around one another.
"Hey. Say that one more time." Usagi begged, whispering in a sweet tone. As if she had known beforehand, her long arms were quickly untied.
If both hands were placed onto her slender shoulders, it was always a signal to close her eyes. A dance they knew by heart. Gently, their lips met.
It was a sublime, sweet kiss that even felt like an eternity, like the one they exchanged in the presence of God that day.
He couldn't seem to think of anything, and yet he couldn't stop being flooded with thoughts.
Eventually, after slowly pulling away, Mamoru narrowed his eyes and said, “ Thank you. For everything you've done, for everything you'll do. Me and my Usako, always."
Usagi smiled back even when a single tear slipped past her cheek. After gently wiping the drop away with his thumb, Mamoru made a wish.
“Usako, do you feel the same?”
Their gazes tangled. Their fingers shone with matching rings laced together.
'...Mamo-chan. Thank you, Mamo-chan. You've always been my Mamo-chan, and I’ll be yours...! Always, always...!"
Mamoru to Usagi.
Usagi to Mamoru.
The desire to give and be given to each other again and again.
To reach the depths of each of their hearts, they continued to communicate instead with the warmth of their lips doing the talking instead.
Thank you...
Perhaps the true reason for the loveliness of the sound was that it was a beautiful chord played by two hearts layered as one. He was determined to feel that unstoppable tone in his heart, always and forever.
"Thank you."