"Anomaly"
~Chapter 2~
She had not said anything the whole time, but this laconicism had not elicited great surprise in any of the Sailor Senshi gathered in Rei's bedroom; after all, the man she loved was only hours away from stepping on a plane to America. It was only natural, then, that when Tsukino Usagi finally did open her mouth on this sunny Saturday morning and revealed something earth-shattering, the girls reacted with more than a little shock.
"We did it last night."
Minako, who had been leaning over to ask Ami a question about her homework, toppled bonelessly to the floor. Makoto dropped the pencil she'd been nibbling on, Rei's jaw went slack, and Ami's book slid from her pale fingers.
"You WHAT!?"
Usagi turned an unpleasant pink at the sudden intense attention. "I- I'm not a virgin," she admitted in a whisper, fiddling with her fingers in embarrassment. As much as she hated the newfound focus, it just didn't seem right to keep something so life-changing from her best friends.
Minako shot up from the ground. "Please tell me it was with Mamoru-san?"
Everyone glared at the effervescent blonde.
"Minako-chan, of *course* it was with Mamoru-san... um, it *was* with Mamoru-san, right, Usagi-chan?" Makoto sought for confirmation, grinning sheepishly.
"So little faith," Usagi grumbled, rolling her eyes. "What do you think I do, hang out on street corners all night?"
"Point taken," the brunette chuckled, and Rei narrowed her eyes at Usagi.
"You did use protection, didn't you?"
"Well, no, but-"
"Usagi!"
"You're still in high school, Usagi-chan! How can you be so thoughtlessly irresponsible? Think about the future ahead of you," Ami lamented, shaking her head sadly.
"I swear, if there's a bun in the oven...!" Makoto threatened, cracking her knuckles. Minako reached over and gave Usagi's flat abdomen a sharp- and rather painful- poke.
"I'M NOT PREGNANT!" Usagi hollered over the din of her friends, curling her mouth in consternation and swatting Minako's curious appendage away. The room went quiet, waiting for an explanation. Usagi took a deep breath and laid a hand over her stomach. "I'm not. I'm just coming off my period, and besides, I think I would know if there was a life growing inside me. Maybe it's Senshi intuition, or the Silver Crystal keeping me attuned to the processes of my body, but... I would just *know*. Okay? I'm not pregnant." There seemed to be a collectively relieved intake of air following this reassurance.
"Man, I never thought I'd lose to Usagi-chan," Minako pouted, irately blowing the bangs from her eyes. She tucked her chin into her palm and sighed. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised, though. She *was* the only one with a boyfriend around here."
"Don't remind me," Makoto brooded in equal abjection. But, she perked up rather quickly and turned to Usagi with a smirk that stretched from ear to ear. Usagi gulped. "I hope you like to kiss and tell, Usagi-chan... otherwise, there's a hefty thunderbolt with your name on it."
"Think of it as informing your poor, uninformed comrades," Rei leered, also straightening up in interest. Ami just hid her flushed face behind a physics textbook, though no one doubted she was listening intently. "What was it like? How did he start?"
"He... it started like it usually would, I suppose," Usagi mumbled, peeking over at Ami and imagining how red she was in comparison. Minako groaned.
"You've got to elaborate more than *that*, Usagi-chan!"
"Well... that's how it went! We kissed a bit, got a little adventurous with our hands, and then suddenly he took me into his room. I mean, it did hurt a little when he- you know-" The girls cringed and nodded sympathetically while Usagi cleared her throat, awkwardly continuing- "but after that, it was... beautiful. There really aren't any other words. It was the perfect way to say goodbye; to show each other how much we loved each other. I feel like we've never been closer."
"Gosh, I'm jealous," Minako moped again, twisting her countenance petulantly. Then she started, staring at Usagi's bare hand. "Hey, your ring!"
"Oh, yeah," Usagi tittered self-consciously, looking down and wiggling her fingers. It felt strange to no longer have the band circling her skin after so many months of its comforting presence. Despite the convenience of not having to worry about getting it dirty, she missed the ring terribly- it was as much a piece of Mamoru as it was a reminder of their future; their union. "Mamo-chan's going to give it back before he leaves. Tradition, or whatnot." She shrugged, but the girls all exchanged gleeful expressions.
"Usagi-chan, that's so sweet!" Ami practically crooned, resurfacing from her book. Usagi eyed her skeptically.
"Really? I just sort of thought Mamo-chan was being silly or something. He gets these crazy ideas sometimes-" Usagi started to say, but Makoto shook her head.
"Ami-chan's right. This sounds serious," she contemplated sagely, tapping a finger to her lip.
"Serious?" Usagi gasped, glancing from Senshi to Senshi in part-worry, part-confusion. Unfortunately, they all decided to ignore her in favor of what appeared to be delirious rambling.
"Must be close, now," Rei commented lightly, and Minako nodded vigorously.
"And after...? Hey, do you think..."
"No, surely not yet, it's too soon-" Ami protested, but she was interrupted by Makoto's cheerful,
"You never know!"
"Guys! What? What's serious? Is Mamo-chan okay?" Usagi pleaded, but they all smiled at her blithely.
"Finish your homework, Usagi-chan," Ami said gently, gesturing to the stack of books beside her blonde friend. "It would be awful having to think about math problems right after Mamoru-san left."
"What's serious?" Usagi repeated, with the merest hint of her idiosyncratic whine. "Tell meee!"
"Wouldn't want to jinx anything," Minako countered, waving her hand nonchalantly as if the whole strange telepathic conversation had been nothing. Usagi scowled. "We'll have to wait and see."
"Wait and see *what*?"
"If you can do this equation by the time we have to leave for the airport," Rei drawled sarcastically, jabbing her finger at a particularly nasty linear inequality. "Virgin or not, I think I preferred you sulking silently in the corner."
Usagi stuck her tongue out at the raven-haired priestess, grabbing up a pencil. Well, if they weren't going to cooperate, she would need *something* to distract her from Mamoru's impending flight- even if it was homework, which just stressed to the girl how desperate she was.
To Be Continued...
~o~o~o~
A/N: I intended on writing more, but it's sooo late and I'm going to be busy for a while. A little is better than nothing, right? Please review, and I hope everyone enjoyed this filler! Haha.
AngelMoon Girl
