usamamoweek

[usamamoweek]

UsaMamo Week 2024 - Master Post

Thank you to everyone who participated, reblogged, commented, liked and gave kudos. Thank you to everyone who was a beta / cheerleader behind the scenes. It was so great to see creativity from the community. (And don't forget about our "Meet the Creators" series, to learn a little more about people in this fandom)

To make sure none of the amazing works that have been created for this UsaMamo Week have been missed, we have compiled them all into this master post (in alphabetical order by the creator):

Stories:

@caelenath:

A Prince Comes Home - Contribution for Day 2 of @usamamoweek 2024, "Meet the Parents", is a companion piece to On This Day, a Prince Was Born, and also subtly references All the King's Children.

Day 3 - Inspired by a Song - Summary: Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?

Day 5 - Stargazing - Serenity and Endymion spend some time beneath the night sky.

@chocolaspring:

A Late Gift - In the midst of a thunderstorm, Mamoru clears the skies for Usagi. Usagi gives him a present.

Her Husband, the Coffee Addict - Usagi writhes under the exhaustive heat wave, and bemoans both the heat and the potential of Mamoru giving himself heat stroke over coffee.

In The Star That We Both Share (Look For Me, I Will Be There) - "After many long, long years…and in the interim of many long years that may yet to come… They're still together, and will forever remain so."

Priceless - Mamoru watches Usagi after giving her a new piece of jewelry, and thinks of the priceless nature of her presence in his life.

Tea, Toast, and Second Chances - Meet the parents prompt story for Mamoru, his parents and his "secret" boyfriend

The Split Meaning of Compound Words - "The Great Outdoors (but barely, blink and you will miss it) / Lifeguard"

When I First Saw You - "It was funny, in an ironic sort of way, that Usagi's first glance as Masked Lady's bare face would be at a masquerade ball."

@daikon1 - Like I Like My Coffee

In a scalding heatwave, for once Usagi has something to teach Mamoru.

@goddessalthena:

Day 3/6 Inspired by a Song / Coffee - "Mamoru wants a cup of coffee."

First Glance - Aged up, Friends to lovers UsaMamo Non-Senshi AU told in a series of snapshots. Part 1

Second Chance - Aged up, Friends to lovers UsaMamo Non-Senshi AU told in a series of snapshots. Part 2

Free Day - Aged up, Friends to lovers UsaMamo Non-Senshi AU told in a series of snapshots. Part 3

@lilliebellfanfics:

Free Day - Secrets AU Chapter 1 - Check out how the the story starts. You can read previous snippets HERE

Masquerade - SilMill masquerade flash fic

UsaMamoWeek - Coffee - The first morning after Usagi moves in. She's brought her clothes, her makeup, and a very interesting assortment of coffee mugs.

UsaMamoweek, Day 3 - "Raw, unedited, unhinged break up arc one shot based on Olivia Rodrigo's Bad Idea Right? 😂"

UsaMamoWeek - Meet the Parents - It's the start of the Tsukinos family traditions and the first competition for Team UsaMamo. With perfect Mamoru at her side, Usagi is certain she will win. As long as no sees through their rouse.

@master-ray5:

Innocent Royal Affairs - Chapter 3: The King's (Chibi) Crisis - Latest installment in the series

Sheltering In A Love Hotel - Mamoru just wanted to do a favor for a friend but one thing led to another and he finds himself alone with Usagi in a love hotel.

@riverlethe - The Way We Was (Chapter 1)

"We know how Princess Serenity and Prince Endymion's relationship ends. Let's see how it began."

Art:

@iiyasbssmdoodles - Masquerade

Images / Moodboards:

@random-mailbox - Day 1 - Masquerade, Day 2 - Meet the Parents, Day 2 - Second Chances, Day 3 - Inspired by a song, Day 4 - Free Day (Road trip), Day 5 - Stargazing , Day 5 - Thunderstorm, Day 6 - Coffee, Day 7 - Great Outdoors Day 7 - Lifeguard

[usamamoweek]

Meet the Creators - Master Post

We wanted to make sure that there was an easy way to find a bit more about all your favorite creators, adding in foods some would like to eat for the rest of their lives. All the posts we have done with their Q&As are linked below in alphabetical order:

Al Evans - @sailormoonandme - post link

AReptileDysfunction - @areptiledysfunction1107 - post link

C.A. Elenath - @caelenath - post link

Curseofroses - @curseofroses - post link

Daikon - @daikon1 - post link

Goddess_Althena - @goddessalthena - post link

IamCharlotte88 - @crystal-chiba-the-grumpy-bunny - post link

Kaito Scarlett - @kaitoscarlett - post link

Lillie Bell - @lilliebellfanfics - post link

Master-Ray5 - @master-ray5 - post link

Mhanevision - @mhanevision - post link

Midnightdrops - @midnightdrops - post link

MochiBuni - @mochibuni - post link

Moon-Daisuki - @moon-daisuki - post link

Oshioki Yo! Podcast - @oshiokiyopod - post link

Random Mailbox - @random-mailbox - post link

Reioki - @reiokiscorner - post link

RiverLethe - @riverlethe - post link

Smokingbomber - @smokingbomber - post link

Wishwars - @wishwars - post link

[usamamoweek]

Gorgeous pictures😍😍 makes us want to sing...

UsaMamo Week 2024 - Day 7 - Great Outdoors

A day late, because yesterday got away from me. Here are some pictures of mountains, fjords and waterfalls to round out the amazing @usamamoweek. I loved reading everyone's contributions! These are just to show you how beautiful Coastal Mountains of BC are and the landscapes of Norway.

[usamamoweek]

It's the last day of #usamamoweek. We want to give a huge shout out to everyone who has contributed by saying: Thank you for your time and effort, everyone ❤️❤️

If we missed a reblog, please reach out. It wasn't intentional and we'd love to make it right.

If you're still cleaning up a few prompts post-deadline, give us a shout and we'd be happy to reblog & promote your works even if they are "late"! So, don't kick yourself for missing that one prompt--go for it even if it's a day, a week, a month, or even many months after. We're here for y'all and appreciate everything you do 😘

[usamamoweek]

UsaMamo Week 2024: The Great Outdoors / Lifeguard

Summary:

Lifeguard: An expert swimmer employed to rescue people who get into difficulty in a swimming pool or at the beach.

Mamoru knew the definition very well, but...that wasn't quite the word for was looking for, dazed and vision knocked blurry, and the distant feeling of glass against his arm and his side and his - everything, really.

No. He was looking at the definition of a Life Guard, someone who guarded everyone's lives with everything they had in their own, and she was an avenging valkyrie in a white and gold sailor uniform with wings made of crystal-cut sliver gleaming at her back like light itself brought to life.

[usamamoweek]

UsaMamo Week 2024 - Day 7 - Lifeguard

A few pool / lifeguard related photos for @usamamoweek to inspire some Mamoru saving Usagi content. Because let's be real, that's likely how that one would go?

[usamamoweek]

UsaMamo Week 2024 - Day 3/6 - Inspired by a Song/Coffee

Late again, and it's tough to say how late because this is technically two prompts in one. I was originally planning to write this as a song fic, but wasn't really feeling it leading up to the event week. Then last night I read @caelenath's awesome song fic and felt inspired to take another look at my outline.

This is not the whimsical lark that my other UsaMamo week pieces have been (which is why I was torn about writing it) but it's an idea that's been nagging at me for a while now. This is only the first part of three, but I thought it would be nice to post it for the event.

Title: Happier Summary: Mamoru wants a cup of coffee. Rating: T (for language) Words: 1722

“Thirty eight!”

Chiba Mamoru is not a melodramatic person. He is not given to histrionics. Flagrant displays of emotion are simply not his thing. Indeed, he is a calm, composed, and exceedingly rational human being. Life is stressful—his arguably more so than most—and he prides himself on his ability to ‘rise above’. But if this beanie-wearing, mouth-breathing barista doesn’t call his number in the next sixty seconds he might just lose it.

“Thirty nine!”

Mamoru stares down at his receipt and wills the numbers to change. Unsurprisingly, they remain the same. He can transform into a superhero in the blink of an eye, but he can’t change a number on a piece of paper. It may be the caffeine withdrawal talking but this seems…unfair. Unjust. Unacceptable. He is a reincarnated prince, the rightful heir to the planet beneath his very feet, and yet he cannot get a simple cup of coffee.

“Thirty seven!”

Are they counting fucking backwards now? He takes a breath and stuffs the receipt in his pocket so he can run a hand through his hair. He needs to calm down. He’s just tired. He’s had another rough night of precious little sleep and this is just a bad morning. That’s all. One bad morning. At the end of a bad week. At the end of a bad month. He just—

“Forty!”

He just really needs some coffee. It’ll be ready soon. So long as they serve him in the next—he checks his watch—four minutes he can still make it to the hospital before his shift starts. He thinks. He’s only just started at UoT and he’s still not used to the bus transfers. Getting to Keio was much simpler. He didn’t have to get up so early, and the coffee shop across the street was much faster. Not to mention better. He misses that coffee. He misses Keio. He misses sleeping. He misses…a lot of things.

“Forty one!”

Lucky number forty one strolls up to the counter to claim their prize. They walk away with a tall plastic cup full of frothy green liquid that looks like it was poured directly out of an infected nostril, and Mamoru can’t help but shudder when they take a long, noisy sip from the straw. Who comes to a coffee shop and orders…whatever that is? This is apparently a trend now—ordering non-caffeinated beverages at coffee shops—because the last ten people who have walked away from the counter have had similarly ridiculous drinks. Why does everything have to be dessert, or snot, in a cup nowadays? What’s wrong with a regular cup of coffee?

He needs to find another coffee shop.

“Forty two!”

He needs them to call his number.

He pulls out his phone to distract himself and scrolls through a list of notifications: weather, junk mail, update reminders—up to forty five now, he’s got to get around to doing that—and one text. His thumb hovers over the blue bubble for a moment or two before he eventually presses down.

Training session Fri or Sat ppl. LMK work schedules ASAP. No ghosting Chiba. Ur old ass is getting rusty. 👴

As Mamoru rolls his eyes three little dots appear at the bottom of the screen. He holds his breath.

“Forty three!”

He doesn’t look away from those three little dots, doesn’t blink, doesn’t breathe. He just watches them, transfixed, until finally—

I’ve got a shift at the restaurant Friday night, but I can do AM Sat wide open

He releases the breath he’s been holding in a quiet sigh. Just Makoto. Not— His thumb hits the back button of its own accord then scrolls down through the list of chats, until…there, near the bottom. Sandwiched between an old banking verification and a number he doesn’t even recognize. He reads the date to the right of the name and winces. Again, his thumb hovers.

“Forty four!”

He taps. A string of texts populate his screen. He doesn’t need to read them again, he knows them by heart. But he reads them anyway. Like he always does. He can’t help it. He’s weak; in these moments at least. When no one can see. He should stop looking now. Should close the window. Should delete the whole thread while he’s at it. But he won’t. He can’t. He can do a lot of things—has done a lot of things—but he can’t delete those words.

I love you, Mamo-chan.

“Forty five!”

I’ll always love you. Even if you’ve stopped loving me back.

“Forty five!”

I wish I knew why though. I wish you would tell me what I did wrong.

“Forty five! That’s four five, people. Four five!”

I’m sorry, I get it now, I won’t bother you anymore. Be happy, Mamo-chan. I want you to be happy.

“For the last time, forty five! Going once, going twice…”

Mamoru’s head snaps up. Forty five. Fuck. That’s his number.

He stuffs his phone in his pocket and rushes up to the counter and beanie-boy does not look happy. Mamoru begins to mutter an apology then stops as the barista shoves a large mug topped whipped cream, caramel, and chocolate shavings toward him. Mamoru looks from the mug to the mouth-breather and back again as his brain tries to comprehend what is happening. After an eternity of waiting they finally called his number and yet…this is not his drink.

The barista is staring at him with a bored, somewhat vacant expression and Mamoru can clearly see that he is wondering why Mamoru isn’t taking the mug and walking away. Apparently the barista can’t tell from Mamoru’s assumedly apoplectic expression that he has no intention of taking the mug. This mug is not his. It’s not what he ordered. It’s not what he wants. Apparently that’s just his life now. An endless string of miserable disappointments that he’s supposed to suffer through silently. But he’s fed up with being silent.

He wants his damn coffee, and he wants it right fu—

“Oh, hello, uh, hey, sorry, excuse me but…I think that’s mine actually.”

Mamoru blinks as a cheerful man with sandy blond hair steps up beside him. He points to the confectionery concoction on the counter and shoots Mamoru an apologetic smile before turning to the barista. “Yes, chocolate macchiato with caramel, right? I believe that’s mine and not this gentleman’s.”

Beanie boy looks from Mamoru to sandy-hair and blinks.

Sandy-hair glances at Mamoru and shoots him another overly apologetic look. “Right, umm, well, if it’s all right, I’ll just grab this and get out of your way.” Mamoru steps to the side and sandy-hair takes the mug and hurries away. Presumably to overdose on sugar.

Mamoru turns back to the barista.

Barista scratches his temple. The beanie must be itchy. Mamoru hopes it is.

“So…what was your order again?”

“Large. Black. Coffee.”

“Right. That’ll take a couple of min—” Beanie boy must have just learned to read facial expressions because his eyes widen and he takes a step back. “I’ll go get it now.”

Mamoru feels a little bit of the tension ease in his shoulders and he breathes a weary sigh. He’s being an asshole. He’s doing that more and more often now. He keeps telling himself it’s the long work hours and the lack of sleep, but he knows what the real problem is. It’s her. He misses her. But there’s nothing he can do about that so he needs to find a better way to cope than being rude to baristas. And co-workers. And neighbours in his apartment building.

The barista comes back with his to-go cup and Mamoru tries to smile and thanks him for the drink. The guy nods but appears otherwise unaffected and that’s fine. Mamoru’s not looking for a new friend, he’s just trying to be a decent human being. A tinkle of bells sounds as he reaches for his cup. A gust of air follows, and a familiar tingle between his shoulder blades compels him to turn. He follows the innate instinct before his mind can warn him against it.

The unmistakable sight of blond odangos makes his heart soar before the inevitable sensation of crushing gloom comes down hard upon his ribs. Just when he thought his morning couldn’t get any worse. He can’t handle this. Not right now. Not again. He’s not strong enough to face another awkward meeting, another painful interaction, another agonizing opportunity to break her heart. Why are they always bumping into each other? Why, in a city as big as this, can he not get through one single week without running into her? Why?

Mamoru knows why. Because they’re soul mates.

He looks around for an alternate exit, a side door, a window, anything so he can avoid being seen. Before he can consider hiding in the bathroom he realizes she’s not approaching the counter where he stands, she’s rushing over to a table. She’s out of breath, her cheeks are pink, and she’s spouting a string of apologies. He’s seen her look exactly like this countless times before, and he can’t help the smile that spreads across his face as the memories replay.

His smile disappears as a new memory implants itself in his mind.

Of Usako, rushing up to a table where a man with sandy blond hair is standing in wait. Where a man with sandy blond hair is taking her hands. Where a man with sandy blond hair is pulling her forward. Kissing her cheek. Making her blush.

“Don’t worry,” sandy-hair says, “your timing is perfect. Your drink just came out. I wasn’t sure if you wanted a muffin, a danish, or a doughnut, so I got one of each.”

Usako laughs with delight.

Usako laughs with delight.

Usako laughs with delight.

Mamoru heads for the door like the building is on fire. He doesn’t hear the barista calling after him, telling him that he’s forgotten his coffee. He doesn’t hear the tinkling of bells as he shoves through the door or the loud rush of traffic as he hits the sidewalk. All he can hear is Usako’s laughter play over and over in his head.

When was the last time he heard her laugh? When?

Mamoru doesn't know when. He can’t remember.

***

Ain’t nobody hurt you like I hurt you But ain’t nobody love you like I do Promise that I will not take it personal, baby If you’re moving on with someone new

***

Happy Birthday, Mamoru! Sorry bud, this is a breakup fic. What can I say? I both love and hate the breakup arc. The song that inspired this fic is Happier by Ed Sheeran.

Thanks for reading! ❤️

Be sure to follow @usamamoweek for all of this year's content!

Many thanks to our awesome hosts @random-mailbox and @lilliebellfanfics for making this possible. 😘😘

[usamamoweek]

UsaMamo Week 2024 - Day 6 - Heatwave / Coffee

To help better organize everyone's contributions, we will be doing a series of master posts for each day with everything that has either been tagged with #usamamoweek2024 on Tumblr or added to the AO3 collection.

Here are latest submissions:

Stories:

@chocolaspring - Her Husband, the Coffee Addict

Usagi writhes under the exhaustive heat wave, and bemoans both the heat and the potential of Mamoru giving himself heat stroke over coffee.

Mamoru's just happy to enact justice for the chocolates she stole a few days prior.

@daikon1 - Like I Like My Coffee

In a scalding heatwave, for once Usagi has something to teach Mamoru.

@goddessalthena - Day 3/6 Inspired by a Song / Coffee

"Mamoru wants a cup of coffee."

@lilliebellfanfics - UsaaMamoWeek - Coffee

The first morning after Usagi moves in. She's brought her clothes, her makeup, and a very interesting assortment of coffee mugs.

[usamamoweek]

Tell RM these are gorgeous and not every entry needs to be museum quality 😘 love the coke bottle--a simple object magnificently on point 👌

UsaMamo Week 2024 - Day 6 - Coffee / Heatwave

I had BIG plans for these prompts for @usamamoweek and lot's of ideas but life got in the way. @goddessalthena convinced me to yeet them into the Tumblr ether anyways. So combining both with a few of my favorites.

[usamamoweek]

Such a cute one shot! Love that Mamoru is giving as good as he gets😂

UsaMamo Week 2024: Heat Waves/Coffee

Summary:

Usagi writhes under the exhaustive heat wave, and bemoans both the heat and the potential of Mamoru giving himself heat stroke over coffee.

Mamoru's just happy to enact justice for the chocolates she stole a few days prior.

[usamamoweek]

Love these moments where Usagi is more than Mamoru can handle 😍 Keep pining over your fake girlfriend, buddy!

UsaMamoWeek - Coffee

A drafty draft scene from DFD that will probably get completely reworked, but have it anyway.

Summary: The first morning after Usagi moves in. She's brought her clothes, her makeup, and a very interesting assortment of coffee mugs.

Rating: T?

The final spatters of the coffee maker heralded me into the kitchen. Two mugs sat on the counter, one near the coffee machine and the other at the base of the electric kettle. Two packets of hot chocolate tipped against the decorated surface.

All my coffee mugs were black. Easier to clean, easier to hide the coffee stains. But Usagi’s was a gorgeous mural of a geisha. Her body covered in a gold and red kimono, trinkets dangling in her hair, she was mid-dance with fans open above and below. Bamboo-printed doors and yellow tatami mats, along with a few colorful vases completed the picture.

I made up my coffee, fully expecting a careening Usagi to fly into the kitchen and then out the door. That’s how she’d been every morning I’d seen her in high school—running at the speed of light. God save what poor soul stepped in front of her (I was usually that poor soul).

She came out of the bedroom, working the last bun into place. Her mouth was full of bobby pins as she twisted and twirled the last round and secured it with an elastic band. I held back the warning that swallowed bobby pins were an emergency room visit. I’d seen one or two in my time in residency and it wasn’t pretty.

Hair pinned and shirt flattened, she made her way to the kitchen.

“Good morning!” she said, her tone happy and light. She reached down and dumped out Luna’s water bowl before refilling it. When she pulled the lid off a can of cat food from the cabinet, the little jingle of Luna’s bell rang out as the cat galloped from her cozy spot on the bed to the kitchen.

“Good morning,” I said. My response came minutes later, when the shock of a not-rushing around like crazy Usagi wore off.

She laughed, scratching Luna’s fur as the cat dove into her food, before washing her hands and starting into the hot chocolate packets. “You don’t have much company do you?”

I was mid-sip and sputtered behind my mug. Was she asking how many ladies stayed the night or simply making an observation?

“No, I suppose not.”

She stirred her heap of chocolate powder as she added water. Then she leaned back into the sink, mug warming her fingers, and faced me. “I’m sure I’ll be in your way. There’s really no other way to be when you live with someone. But try to be patient. I’ll try my best, too. We have to make the best out of the situation, right?”

“Who knows? Maybe we’ll find something we like about each other.”

She snorted. “Yeah, right. I couldn’t even convince you to share the bed last night. You’re such a prude.”

“You never know,” I continued with false bravado, anything to change her assessment of me. “I might surprise you.”

“Sure.” She lifted her mug to tap mine. It was then I noticed the geisha was completely naked. My brain supplied the reasoning that the graphic was heat activated and the hot water changed the image to one where her entire lithe body was on display. But my libido was staring at those nipples and boobs and cooch and all, and imagining a rain-soaked Usagi whose clothes had just dissolved.

I choked on my coffee and she laughed.

“See? Prude.”

Anything but, and there was no way I was going to voice my actual thoughts.

She stepped closer, the geisha rubbing her body against my black mug, as I tried to dispel the image of wet, tangled odangos and a shivering, naked Usagi who needed me to strip down and provide her skin-to-skin contact.

I swallowed a particularly large gulp of coffee, trying to rein in my thoughts, trying to come back to the present before I had a lot more explaining to do.

She laughed. “I’ll try to cut down on the pranks. Shingo and I used to roast each other.” Her smile turns sad, and again I wonder what came between them.

Flipping her watch over, the motion dragging me from my thoughts, she spoke. “I’ve got to leave soon. I mean it, Mamoru, thanks for taking me in. I’ll try not to get in your way, but, you know how I am, I can’t promise not to be me.” She placed her mug in the sink and started again before I could interrupt. “I’ll see you tonight. Have a good day.”

“Usa!” I crossed the kitchen and was in the genkan, almost on top of her, before I stopped. Reaching up into the tray on the shelf, I handed her the spare apartment key. “Here, you’ll need a way in. I’ll let the bellman know you’re staying with me so he doesn’t give you any trouble at the door.”

“Thanks, Mamoru!” She reached around to give me a side hug. “You really are a nice guy.”

If my smile was a little brighter, my shoulders a little straighter, as she spun out the door, I don’t think she noticed.

[usamamoweek]

We're always about better late than never. And, damn, Catt, hitting us in the feels with this one 😭

UsaMamo Week 2024 Day 3 - Inspired by a Song

My contribution for Day 3 of @usamamoweek is late, but it's the one I'm most excited about because I love the song that inspired it, "Take Your Time" by Sam Hunt. It's a heartfelt ballad full of pining, and if you watch the music video, there's a poignant twist to the trope that makes me emotional every time I watch it.

My fic does not contain such heavy themes, but other parallels to the song are deliberate. For the full effect, I suggest listening to the song before or while reading. 🎵

This is an un-edited draft being released in the spirit of the event. 🌙🎩

~ * ~

Summary: Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?

They said everyone was beautiful in the dark. If that was true, then the young woman behind the bar must have been an absolute goddess in the light.

The smoky and moodily lit bar was not his natural habitat, nor alcohol his natural drink, but he had begun frequenting this place in plain hope of seeing her. His schedule, though less hellish than it had been during medical school, was unpredictable, and many nights he made this detour after work only to go home disappointed.

But other nights, like this one, he was rewarded for his persistence. There she was, gracing customers with her bright beauty, her twin streamers of hair the envy of gold, her glowing skin like backlit silk. It conjured images of expensive sheets, the richest cream.

He tried to be covert with his admiration. He didn’t want to be that guy, the creep harassing her even if it was just with wordless stares. Her job obligated her to be attentive and courteous whether or not she wanted to be, whether or not someone deserved it. He was determined not to add to the burden.

But he sure wished he knew what color her eyes were. Whenever she was close, or when she brought him his drink, he’d been too afraid to look, not just because he was shy, but because the longing he felt for her was so intense sometimes, he was sure it would show nakedly on his face no matter how polite he was or how little he said. It'd be like a fever, burning bright in his eyes and spoiling the air between them. He didn't want to scare her away with it, because frankly it scared him sometimes.

Still.

He wished it wasn't so painful trying to connect with others. He wished he were better at knowing what to say. He wished he were braver. And he had never wished for those things as hard as he had when he first laid eyes on her.

She was laughing with another customer four seats over as she refilled their beer, and he dropped his gaze straight down into his glass, trying to smother his envy and the ache in his heart. He tried to make himself smile, in case she came closer, and sit as if he were actually comfortable here, nursing drinks he didn't want while appearing to ignore the thing he did want.

A flash of gold made him look up slightly, and his heart immediately sped up. She was only one customer away now, her prodigiously long pigtails swinging as she prepared their drink. He took a swig of his whisky to cure his suddenly dry mouth, and then the smell of strawberries cut through the alcohol-laden air. Surely he had imagined that?

Movement in front of him now. She would notice his drink was almost empty and inquire about it. It would be rude to ignore her. He drained the glass in one final swallow—he'd yet to experience the supposed liquid courage effect, that was how bad his innate reticence was—and cautiously raised his gaze.

Her eyes were blue. Not just blue. Summer sky blue. Forget-me-not blue.

His heart beat even faster, he stopped breathing, and his skin tingled all over—yet at the same time, he felt removed from his body entirely. His medical training hadn't covered this at all. He wondered, not so unseriously, if he had died. Like, just for a moment.

"You look very far away," the hostess remarked.

"I…"

Here it was, that inevitable moment when he had to speak before he had something to say. Scrabbling for words felt like clawing at the edge of a cliff he was destined to fall from anyway, so he ended up blurting out the only thing he was thinking.

"You're beautiful."

Her face fell, and with it, his heart. So this was how it would end then. He wasn't surprised that it was his mouth that had gone and ruined things, but he was disappointed by how soon it had happened. Already he was envisioning himself crawling back to his dark apartment, where he could console his pining heart privately, never to return to this place again. He refused to trouble her even the slightest, and besides, he was the stranger here, the one who didn't belong. Someone else who actually enjoyed the atmosphere and knew how to converse like a normal person could warm the seat he was taking up.

At least he would have his memory of her, this angel in the Ebisuminami district. It would hurt for some time to come, but he knew how to carry such heavy aches. He had done it his whole life.

"I'm sorry," he said, quickly glancing back down at his empty glass. His face was warm with embarrassment.  "I didn't mean to…to be weird. Please forgive me."

He started to inch his chair back, face still firmly pointed at the bar top. Mentally he was already halfway to the exit when she stopped him.

"Wait."

He stilled, made himself take a slow, deep breath in. In his haste to not offend her, he might have inadvertently been doing it anyway. He should at least let her reply. He owed her that dignity.

"I forgive you," she said, not without reservation. "I'm sure you just meant to be kind."

His head snapped up. She was smiling, but it didn't quite reach her eyes, which he understood completely. She was a bartender in a room full of sodden men whose motives rightly should be suspect. He was no exception.

"Yes, but…I meant it also. I'm sorry if it made you uncomfortable."

She nodded, and he was glad to see her shoulders—those tantalizing slopes—relax a little.

"It's okay." Her smile finally reached her eyes, and it made her more radiant than ever before. "You're beautiful too."

His face went from warm to burning, and he seemed to lose control of every muscle in it. Luckily, his involuntary impression of a deer caught in headlights just made her giggle, and he thought, well, at least his reaction was doing the talking for him. It was almost worth being flustered if it didn't drive her away like using actual words might have.

She gestured at his empty glass, likely about to ask if he wanted another, when someone at the other end of the bar called for her attention. She acknowledged them with an easy reply over her shoulder, then, in a move that surprised him, she took his glass unprompted, refilled it, and set it back down in front of him with another smile.

Then she was gone, off to attend to the other customer. He regarded his new drink, unable to decipher it. Was it a gift? A consolation? A thank you?

He lifted it to his lips and decided she was just doing her job. To try to read anything more in it was a road he was not equipped for.

Her musical laugher floated over the din of the crowd to torment him, and his sip turned into a long swallow. There was no point in it, he would find neither courage nor eloquence at the bottom of a glass, but at the least he wouldn't be wasting her efforts.

If she did return, if she gave him the time of day he so deeply yearned for, she would find out he had the conversational skills of a houseplant, and that was unbearable. He would rather remain her shy admirer than become a letdown she wished would leave.

This time when he moved his chair back, he didn't stop.

He wouldn't see the disappointment on her face when she came back to find him gone, replaced by a carefully folded napkin beneath his glass, on which a single heart had been drawn, rotund and earnest and as childish as the hope he tried so hard to kill.

[usamamoweek]

UsaMamo Week 2024 - Day 5 - Thunderstorm / Stargazing

To help better organize everyone's contributions, we will be doing a series of master posts for each day with everything that has either been tagged with #usamamoweek2024 on Tumblr or added to the AO3 collection.

Here are latest submissions:

Stories:

@caelenath - Day 5 - Stargazing

Serenity and Endymion spend some time beneath the night sky.

@chocolaspring - A Late Gift

In the midst of a thunderstorm, Mamoru clears the skies for Usagi.

Usagi gives him a present.

@master-ray5 - Sheltering In A Love Hotel

Mamoru just wanted to do a favor for a friend but one thing led to another and he finds himself alone with Usagi in a love hotel.

Images / Moodboards:

@random-mailbox - Day 5 - Stargazing , Day 5 - Thunderstorm

[usamamoweek]

Be still our heart ���️❤️ This was such a cute one shot 🥰

UsaMamo Week 2024: Thunderstorms/Stargazing

Summary:

In the midst of a thunderstorm, Mamoru clears the skies for Usagi.

Usagi gives him a present.

[usamamoweek]

What a lovely story about Steve. We all love Steve. We need more Steve northern lights.

UsaMamo Week 2024 Day 5 - Stargazing

This was 100% inspired by @random-mailbox 's stunning photographs and @goddessalthena 's infectious need for an UsaMamo fic to go with them.

Also 100% pantsed and yeeted without a backward glance.

~ * ~

Summary: Serenity and Endymion spend some time beneath the night sky.

"That's not a star, Princess."

"It's not?"

Her tutor sighed. "No, Your Highness, it is not. We've been reviewing this lesson for weeks! How can you hope to rule the kingdom one day if you can't tell one planet from another? Or a planet from a star from an asteroid?"

By now, Serenity was used to her tutor's disapproving tone. It was a bit of a novelty really, when everyone else she treated with only ever spoke to her with the utmost deference.

"It's no trouble at all, Your Highness."

"No, no, clearly I was the one mistaken, Princess. I will remedy this at once."

"I'm so sorry, Your Highness! I was not expecting you, else I would make sure your favorite cakes were on hand. Please pardon this inexcusable lapse of duty."

Being above reproach had its usefulness, but more often than not, it just stultified conversations and made them barely worth her time. And that was a disappointment because she enjoyed good company, sincere company who knew her for who she was—not just the Crown Princess of the Silver Millennium, but a girl who loved sweets, daydreaming, and apparently could not remember her constellations even if they bit her beneath the skirts.

To be fair, however, she was not accustomed to seeing the stars from her current vantage point of Mars, where she and her mother were visiting for the season of fire festivals. How could she be expected to identify all those tiny little dots if they were moved all about?

Ignoring her tutor's exaggerated tsking, Serenity pointed at the blue pinprick of light that had caught her eye and asked, "What is it then if not a star?"

"Do you really not know?"

Serenity frowned, thinking her tutor was admonishing her again. There was really no need to rub salt into a wound. "I would have not asked if I did."

"That is your beloved Earth, Princess."

~ * ~

Clearly she needed more practice in hiding her true feelings. No one was supposed to know about her infatuation with the bright blue jewel of a planet that came to be perfectly framed in her bedroom window every night like a living tableau. She didn't understand why it must be kept at a distance when it was naturally so close, their literal celestial neighbor. When she was younger, she had simply accepted the Law. Perhaps there were unfriendly terrors there, like the monsters she believed were beneath her bed. Earth was so big, after all, compared to the Moon. A place like that could hide all sorts of horrors.

Of course, as she grew older, she realized there were no monsters beneath her bed, and there was no more reason to think they were on Earth either. But more than that, something else was drawing her eye to that planet, something more than just its beauty. It was like a tug on her soul, a compass in her heart yearning for North.

It would be many more years before she discovered what it was that compelled her so. Or more rather, who.

~ * ~

"You're glowing."

"Am I?"

Serenity lifted their shared blanket to peek beneath and saw that she was indeed emitting a soft white light, just bright enough to reveal the tartan pattern in the blue wool. Everything else was dark in this place they had stolen away to. That was exactly the point, so that they could see the stars in all their glory without any obstruction.

The sky seemed much more expansive here on Earth. She would swear the stars were more numerous, the celestial bodies more varied, and the patterns they made more brilliant. What she had once struggled to memorize, she could now name with ease. Endymion was a much better teacher than her old tutor had been. He was more patient, and kinder when she asked too many questions. Perhaps most importantly, he clearly loved the subjects that he taught. Pestering him to teach her everything about Earth had been as much about listening to him speak with that deep, ardent voice of his as about learning anything useful .

"You're going to make some stars turn away in envy if you keep that up," he chided her lightly. He was worse than her courtiers, the way he could turn a rebuke into a compliment. She supposed she should expect nothing less from a fellow royal.

"Stop making me so extraordinarily happy and perhaps I may leave the dark undisturbed."

"Is that what your light means? It may be more difficult than I expected to be discreet should we wish in the future to disturb the dark."

Beneath the blanket, she felt his hand trace her body from her shoulder to her waist and over the crest of her hip before coming to rest on the side of her thigh. Nothing too improper, and yet it felt so very intimate.

She reached for him in return, but it wasn't the same with his sturdier man's clothing. She pressed her palm to his chest instead. His tunic wasn't so thick as to prevent her from feeling his heartbeat through it. She wondered if all Earth men were as warm as Endymion was, at least in body. She doubted there could be another whose spirit was as warm as his, the very essence of love for all things good—life, beauty, and knowledge.

A bloom of light in her peripheral vision startled her, but Endymion turned towards the sky with obvious anticipation.

"What's going on?" she asked. She followed his gaze to where, just a few hands above the horizon, a greenish light was beginning to spread. "What is that?"

"You're about to meet your match, my radiant Moon Princess."

Serenity frowned, for Endymion usually made more sense than this. "What are you talking about?"

"Just watch. I have no explanation for it, but it is one of the most extraordinary things I have ever seen."

The reverence in his voice finally quieted her questions, and she did as she was told.

As they looked on, the green light grew broader and brighter, and was soon joined by streaks of yellow and purple and pink. Together they filled the entire sky, dancing in patterns that sometimes resembled smoke and other times water. Occasionally they ballooned upward, colors swirling and squiggling like the surface of an immense cosmic soap bubble.

It was indeed the most breathtaking thing Serenity had ever seen.

She watched in pure rapture, forgetting everything around her until Endymion very gently touched her face and brushed away tears she hadn't even realized had fallen.

"Are you all right?" he whispered when she spared him a glance.

"Oh, Endymion. When I thought your planet couldn't be any more beautiful, you prove me wrong. This is—" She looked up at a pink arc undulating overhead. "There are no words for this."

"Not yet," he said. "At least, as far as I know. Such beauty deserves a name, don't you think?"

"I agree. And I can't think of anyone more fit to name it than the Prince of Earth."

"I can think of one other."

"Oh?"

"Yes. This other has also been known to shine with a light that steals both wit and breath away. It seems to me only fitting for the luminous to name their kin. What say you, Princess?"

His silver words made her blush from her collar to the roots of her hair. Though the darkness likely hid her coloring well enough, it was pure reflex that made her pull the blanket over her face, which prompted a chuckle from Endymion. It took several moments before the fluttering in her stomach settled down enough for her to give a dignified answer befitting her station and the import of the task he had proffered her.

"I accept," she said primly.

"We are honored by your acceptance," Endymion replied, his mouth twitching as he struggled to match her tone.

She ignored his jest in favor of starting on her task. Such an empyreal marvel required a worthy name, something melodious yet august. Something divine. She called to mind all the myths and legends she had been taught, after which much of her kingdom was named.

"We have a story," she began slowly, "about a goddess who brings the first light of every day. It's described as the most beautiful sight, with more color than brightness so as not to hurt the eyes of the world which is just waking. Our dawns on the Moon are nothing like that. But this—" she gestured at the sky. "This is like how I've always pictured her light in the stories."

"We have a similar story about dawn as well," Endymion said. "Though ours is much more fiery."

Serenity smiled. "Yes, ours is much gentler. I think it would be a good name for your ethereal lights."

"What is your goddess's name?"

"Aurora."

Endymion nodded approvingly. "Very well." He turned his gaze skyward, where the lights were beginning to fade. "Upon thy beauty, we bestow this name, a divine and good name that is a gift from Her Royal Highness, the Princess Serenity of the Silver Millennium. If you accept, please give sign. And if you would, please keep her presence here a secret." He turned to wink at her, and Serenity giggled.

"Are you like this at court?" she asked. "All pretty words and grand decrees?"

"Heavens no. My court would be thrilled if I said half as much."

"Truly? I have not realized then how lucky I am to have so many of your words all to myself."

"I am the lucky one," he said. "But perhaps you aren't too far behind."

She rolled her eyes at his false conceit, but before she could reply, a renewed streak of bright green rippled across the sky.

"I do believe she has accepted your gift," Endymion said, his delight clear on his face.

"Which you have yet to speak. Come, let us hear you, Prince."

Endymion took her hand in his and boldly gave it a kiss before addressing the heavens.

"I dub thee, the aurora."

[usamamoweek]

A cute little one shot that is absolutely spot on 👌👌☕

Like I Like My Coffee

In a scalding heatwave, for once Usagi has something to teach Mamoru.

My contribution for @usamamoweek 2024!

[usamamoweek]

Ooo la la! You had us at love hotel 😂😂 what a fun premise!

Sheltering In A Love Hotel

Finally, I have written a non-power AU Sailor Moon story. I can't believe it took me this long to write one with this theme. Still, thanks to  @random-mailbox and @lilliebellfanfics for putting on UsaMamo Week 2024 and creating the prompts which made finally get off my butt and write this story. Enjoy.