Drops of Starlight

Chapter 14: Chasing Her Way Through the Constellations

💫 Drops of Starlight 💫
By Strawberry Moon Rose
🍓🌙 🌹

I don't always get the chance to reply to reviews, but I wanted to say I do read them all and they're greatly appreciated! Thank you.

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Chapter 14: Chasing Her Way Through the Constellations
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"I can't believe you just did that." Seiya's words hung in the darkness, each syllable laced with disbelief and amusement. "She's gonna lose it. How I'd love to see her face right now..."

"I know," Usagi whispered, not surprised to find her hands shaking. She tucked them under her arms. Somehow a giggle fizzled up and escaped her lips. Before they knew it they were both suppressing fits of laughter. Usagi slapped her hand over her own mouth. "Shh! Chibi-Usa...!"

"Oh, right." Seiya remembered the crib across from the foot of the bed. She cautiously navigated the room, arms extended before her, until her fingers brushed against the bed's edge. Gently crawling over the gathered sheets, she reached for the nightstand. Her fingers sought out the lamp's chain, a quick tug illuminating the room with a warm radiance.

"It won't wake her, will it?" Seiya motioned to Chibi-Usa.

Usagi shook her head. Suddenly the sight of Seiya sprawled across her bed sent her into a panic. The lamp with its burnt-out bulb - a minor task she neglected for years - had transformed the ambiance into an intimate, romantic glow. Usagi silently cursed her laziness.

Flashbacks flickered in her mind of when Seiya planned on taking her dancing at a club, but she read all the signs wrong. Just the two of them. The leaning in. Even now, Seiya's voice from the past echoed in her mind. "It's your first time, huh? Don't worry, I'll lead..."

"Um..." Usagi picked at her fingernails. Wasn't this time different though? With Haruka just down the hall and Chibi-Usa right in the room?  

As her imagination ran wild, each passing moment added tension to the room.

"You okay?" Seiya sat up, revealing a fleeting grimace that she tried to conceal.

"I'm okay, are you okay?" Usagi crossed the room and settled onto the edge of the bed, trying her best to act natural.

"This really is nothing. I've had much worse. Being a sailor guardian, I'll be healed in no time."

"I sure hope so..."

A gentle knock on the door pierced the moment. "Kitten, please, just open up," Haruka's husky voice implored from the other side.

Usagi pouted and stuck her tongue out in the direction of the door.

"I'm just trying to protect you, it's for your own good."

Seiya smirked. "Maybe she's right, Bun Head. Maybe I am dangerous."

"Don't be ridiculous."

Haruka's last knock was met with an audible sigh of exasperation.  Her footsteps eventually faded into the distance.

Fatigue tugged at Seiya, her voice colored by a stifled yawn. "Are you tired?"

Usagi shrugged. The clock on her bedroom wall read after nine.

Seiya's eyelids drooped, the exhaustion from the day becoming increasingly apparent. "I am. Must be the painkillers. Do you mind if I turn in early?"

"Not at all. You need to rest up."

Seiya rolled to her side, propping herself up on an elbow. "Which side is yours?" she asked.

"Um, well I usually sleep in the middle."