1811/A Leaning Tower of Closeness

A Leaning Tower of Closeness
Date of Scene:	15 July 2024
Location:	Hotel in Paris
Synopsis:	The day after Beryl's defeat, Usagi and Chiyo find a quiet moment together.
Cast of Characters:	Usagi Tsukino, Chiyo Sakai
Tinyplot:	Dark Kingdom Finale

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Usagi Tsukino has posed:
It's the day after the night they killed Beryl. Usagi's made some of the rounds - she had breakfast with everyone, a peaceful morning, and then she got pastries with Setsuna and had a brief shopping trip, enough to prove to her parents if they ever found out that they had a lovely little time -

And now she's back in the hotel room. Mamoru's with Tamaki, and maybe Kazuo, but she's having a quiet moment to herself, sitting in the hotel room's sitting room with an authentic espresso, wincing at the bitterness because authentic doesn't make it less bitter.

"I should have just gotten another hot chocolate," she sighs to herself.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai had been... Where HAD she been? She was certainly here that night prior, and this morning when she grabbed a much-needed shower. Even if she was as clean as she was going to get already it still felt nice to have the heat of water over her while in a brightly lit room after the damp and dark of the catacombs.

After that had been going out to meet up with Phantom. Philip. Who ever he really was. They'd had a talk, and then that left her with far too much free time on her hands to walk, and think, and maybe swing by a patissiere because of *course* she was going to check out authentic French sweets when she had a chance. It was normal. Normal was nice at the moment.

This is of course why she has a box filled with goodies when she comes back in time to hear Usagi bemoan the espresso she'd chosen. A little grin twitches over her lips.

"I hear it's sweeter with cream. Still not too sweet, but you can actually taste the flavors of the coffee more and not just the bitterness." She wasn't a huge coffee fan herself, really, but that didn't stop her on occasion.

A little glance around what she can SEE of the expansive rooms has her questioning, "Everyone else out?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Chiyo-chan!"

The espresso is abandoned to the table as Usagi hops to her feet. She'd given Chiyo an enormous hug, the moment she found her alive and well and in the catacombs, but now? Now she's doing it again - hopping up and coming in for a hug, though with effort made to try not to crush the box between them.

"You must have found something good, if you brought a box - and I mean, I tried some croissants at a cafe earlier - I ran into Setsuna-san, she's here too."

Another tight squeeze, and then Chiyo is released.

"Yeah! Well, no, Mamochan is here, he's upstairs in one of the other rooms with Tamaki-kun. Minako-chan and Rei-chan are still out, I think Mako-chan and Ami-chan are out, Nephrite stepped out... I'm not sure about Zoisite... Kazuo-kun might be up with Mamochan too..."

She looks back at her espresso with distaste. "You want that?"

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
"A few things. I wanted to contribute to everyone being here as well with some snacks," Chiyo admits as she deftly sweeps the box to one side balancing it on her hand like a waitress would. It left one arm free at least to wrap around Usagi returning the hug firmly.

Hugs were good. She was not going to refuse hugs at this point in time after everything.

"I just needed to move around for awhile. I had a chat with... Uh, someone, too." Here she just looks a bit confused, and conflicted, at having to not explain what she meant exactly. Maybe Usagi would get it. "I figured everyone needed some time to work things out, too. I just..." She trails off glancing down to the floor a moment, eyebrows drawn together in a pensive expression.

"... It was a lot. To go through."

The offered espresso gets a wry grin, and shake of her head. "No, I think I like the idea of hot chocolate better. I think I saw some mix packs in one of the little fancy coffee stations around here."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"You don't have to," Usagi says, "But I know everyone's going to love these, so thank you. I bet anything you picked out is going to be absolutely delicious."

This isn't just flattery - Chiyo and Makoto are second only to her mother in cooking, and even then her mother very rarely makes desserts like this.

Chiyo mentions her chat - and there's that conflicted look on her face, and it's recognizable, familiar even, and of course, there had been that portal, and that boy.

"I know what that's like," Usagi says quietly, "Those chats can definitely be interesting, huh?"

She squeezes Chiyo, just a bit more, and then releases. Let's go and steps back a little.

"It was a lot. I'm - so glad you're back with us, Chiyo-chan." She doesn't say she's glad Chiyo is okay. She doesn't know if Chiyo is, because Usagi isn't, and Mamoru isn't, and who else could be? "The mix is pretty nice. I thought the espresso would be nice and fancy, but it's not. Well, okay, it's fancy."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai glances up at the reassurance of knowing about those kinds of chats. All she can really do is nod a little in response. With the hug gone she reaches up with her free hand to touch the necklace she was wearing. It was new. Half a heart. That meant someone else had the other half!

"Before we left, Philip asked me to officially be his girlfriend," she explains with a soft smile that deepens just a bit.

"Phantom, ah. I ... He was injured after a fight once and I ran into him. While I was Chiyo," she explains, indicating she wans't in henshin at the time. "I know what he's capable of but I couldn't just leave him bleeding in the street. I took him to an abandoned house until he was well enough to leave. Still, I was surprised to see him show up when I ..." When she died.

"That's where I was when you put things right again." At least that explains why she hadn't been further in the catacombs!

It's as much explanation as she can give right now as she was still figuring things out. So she turns to place the box down, dust her hands off on her hips, and glance around until she spots one of those little mini-bar areas. Striding over to it she flips on the kettle and grabs a few cups there to begin making drinks. Of the sweet kind.

"It's probably really good, I'm just not into bitter drinks. I don't think you are either, Usagi-chan. And I'm, well. I'm here. I'm getting better. I'll be better," she assures.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
There's only one thing that a half-heart necklace means, and so Usagi is not surprised to hear that Phillip of the good date actually asked her cousin to be his girlfriend - she's happy for her, even! But... where does that leave things with -

"He must have wanted to return the favor," is what she supposes, "I'm glad he - came for you. And I'm really glad he brought you back, running around all over Paris to find where he took you wouldn't have been fun."

Left unsaid is the obvious fact that she would have done it. That there's no world where she wouldn't have come after Chiyo.

She pauses... she considers. She wonders if she should try to lighten the mood -

"I definitely don't like bitter drinks. But I thought it would be sweeter! Naru-chan drinks it all the time..." Lighten the mood attempt, fire away! "Is this where I ask you if you're dating two boys now?"

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai fiddles lightly with the necklace a moment more. Her attention has turned to heating up some water though to mix the hot chocolate packs that they both would likely prefer. The light discussion of the coffee was at least something that can bring a smile to her as she glances over her shoulder at her cousin with amusement.

"Coffee has a lot of complex flavors, few of them 'sweet', but it tastes different with cream and sugar. Some people like it black though." Not her. It was just that coffee was also a common flavoring in more modern sweets a bit.

The kettle goes off so the mixing of hot chocolate continues. By the time she turns around to carry the mugs back she looks just a bit awkward again. "I wasn't in Paris. He brought me to the... The graveyard where he stores the mirrors." THAT part was unnerving to say the least. "I mean, I guess it was safe there at least, but it was creepy to wake up to. Thankfully as soon as I did he showed up as well," she explains with a dry chuckle. One mug is offered out to Usagi.

The last question causes her to pause, lips pursed together, before letting out a single breath.

"Only in the same way *you* were dating two guys."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Well, I didn't think an espresso was ALL coffee," Usagi laments. It's fair, she thinks. Most fancy coffee is not all coffee!

And then things get a little awkward, as Chiyo explains where she was, and Usagi quite literally bites her lip to prevent a shout of HE WHAT from escaping. Mamochan is resting probably. Mamochan is resting. If anyone hears you scream they will come running powers at the ready -

"He took you where," she finally hisses out, looking horrified, imagining her poor cousin waking up in a graveyard of all places, surrounded by mirrors like poor mysterious mirror-chan -

And then her jaw drops.

Philip... is... Phantom...?

"Maybe I should ask Mama what Papa was like when he was young," she says eventually, sitting down. "Maybe it runs in the family?"

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai sinks down to sit as well with a little shake of her head at the entire situation. "I think he was just... working with what he had? I guess? I remember just before--" Before she died. A quick sip of the hot chocolate is taken as her hands wrap around her mug so that she doesn't pull a face. Other than the hashafrasha blowing she has to do between pursed lips so that she can cool the drink she took a bit too early. It's gulped down finally.

"Ah. A-anyway I don't remember anything after that. He said I was too weak to put in a mirror because they slowly drain power over time." An unsettling thought. What's more unsettling though is the last bit.

Eyes widening she stares a moment at Usagi only to blurt out, "Then that means MY dad could be-!" Her face contorts some looking very confused. "I have no idea who he is to begin with. That would. Be more complicated though. I just found out anyway," she adds with a shake of her head. "I caught a glimpse of the other half of our necklace on him. So ... I know HE knows who I am, I had to change in front of Philip once, but I don't know if he knows I know who he is." Such complications.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Well... I hope he was at least there and you didn't wake up by yourself in some scary place."

A huff and she looks at Chiyo with maximum concern, as she asks this, and she is so, so tempted to hug her again, when she cuts herself off and drinks too fast, but, would that be for her, or Chiyo-chan? Her cousin knows that she can get a hug whenever she wants, right?

She does.

The explanation also softens her opinion. If he didn't put her in a mirror because they drained people, he must have thought about her safety...

And besides, there's other concerns. A hand is dragged down Usagi's face, as she tries to imagine her papa - her silly, kind, goofy papa, who she'd been in a fashion cold war with for two years now, as a bad boy -

"Maybe my mama was the bad girl," she says, doubtful, before refocusing. "But your dad... huh. I wonder if we could figure it out? I mean, if you wanted to but, we've got more recent found out things to - I mean. He doesn't know? You... should probably tell him. When you're ready, I mean, it's not like you're in a rush..."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
"Maybe. I could try sometime, but digging up my father might be harder than it seems. I just know he was a photographer, supposedly." For all Chiyo really knew that was a lie. It didn't matter at the moment anyway -- Just a passing thought. Her head shrugs a little, and she shifts where she sits to lean in against Usagi's side. Shoulder to shoulder.

"I'll tell him I know, just right now isn't the best time it seems like. This means that some of those others that work for Mirage know who I am too, now. There were three of them at the mall on one of our dates when I had to change because they'd summoned a Kindabad." And she promptly beat the crap out of it.

"Really rude to interrupt our date," she mutters only to grin a bit after. At least she was having some good thoughts and memories?

"He might be in trouble too. Mirage is supposed to be about despair and lack of love or something. I'm worried for him."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"If he was a photographer for, idols and stuff, my papa might know him," Usagi suggests quietly, leaning against Chiyo in return, the two of them and the couch now making a little leaning tower of affection. When the conversation changes, she moves along with the flow -

"Mirage is his boss, yeah? And the others... wait, is that girl who made everything candy one of them? The one who was asking - ohhhhhh," suddenly it all makes sense. That girl had been after Chiyo because they suspected that Phantom liked her! And he did! And now they knew who she was! "That's not good."

A beat.

"This is terrible of me, I know, but I am so glad someone knows my suffering now, Chiyo-chan! Mamochan and I's dates are always getting interrupted, I mean, what's up with that? Don't our enemies know that we just want to enjoy a quiet night out sometimes?"

Don't they know how rude that is!? ...But she's glad the memory is making Chiyo smile.

"If he's in trouble... well, he's your boyfriend. So we'll help him, if he'll let us help with something besides draining energy and kidnapping people."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai pauses in her sipping of cocoa to consider Usagi's point about her father knowing people. That might work. "I... Hadn't thought of that." Her mother was horrible, but was her father? She really didn't know. For all she knew, he didn't even know she existed. Her lips purse together a moment considering it only to murmer, "I'll think about it. Maybe it's worth asking him about." Even if it would have been a long, long time ago.

Interrupting dates though, she could indeed understand that and is nodding along in agreement. "Right? We haven't been on many. I asked Wako to join us for our first dinner so that they could meet him. Rashmi acted as our server. Just in case he was a jerk like the last two." Pausing she adds, "Though we did manage to find a quiet spot in the woods by the school later." Ahem.

A little nudge is given to Usagi's side with her elbow. "You guys should get some quiet time together after all of this at least." They'd better!

"Yeah. I'll ask him. I think this is kind of new to him too but I do feel like he's honest about his feelings with me, and he does care. Just a bit rough around the edges otherwise. Taro really dislikes him as Philp," she remarks with a chuckle only to pause as she recalls with a wince, "Ah, I asked Taro-kun to watch Ojiisan and the shop while I was away. I should text him to let him know the world isn't ending."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
A little squeeze is Usagi's only response to that 'I'll think about it'. She doesn't want to put any pressure on Chiyo, not about a situation she can't ever properly understand.

Dates, on the other hand? She can understand those all too well. "That was smart - Wako-chan and Rashmi-chan would have been great if he turned out to be evil - well, I guess he did turn out to be evil but not that evil maybe ? Either way - oh ho ho, quiet spot in the woods huh?!"

Chiyo-chan, you dog! She gets a cheeky grin and a little nudge with Usagi's elbow in return -

"We're going to try. I mean, we've been getting some; except for going out earlier, I've mostly been here. I think I'll stick with Mamochan for the rest of this time - I know it's not the city's fault, but I kind of... don't feel like having fun here."

Paris is going to forever be a city of nightmares, which sucks for Paris, but there's so much of the world to discover. It's going to be okay. They'll fall in love with other cities.

"As long as he cares and he's honest, that's what matters, right?" She considers, "Taro-kun is kinda awkward, so... I'd like to meet him. Phillip. See what he's like, since you like him... and oh, shoot, you should definitely text him! Make sure he knows you're... coming home soon."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Caught! Due to her own remark! The grin and nudge earn a bright blush from Chiyo though it doesn't stop her grinning in that big, goofy way that sometimes happens when you're not willing to outright ADMIT that something awas awesome. But it was. Clearly.

The expression softens more with talk about the city. "Yeah. Yeah, I get that. It's a really pretty place but right now it's not got a lot of good feelings about it. You two should enjoy some time together." Looking around the massive rooms they were in she suggests, "Even if it's just in here with room service maybe. I think when I get back I'm going to soak in a hot spring for awhile though." Ah, she was getting spoiled getting to hang out at Sugata's place with Wako in the mornings on occasion.

At the urging to text Taro she nods firmly, and adds, "I will, I will. After my cocoa at least. He was really worried about me but I just need a minute." To get her thoughts together. To decide if she was going to tell him or not about everything they went through.

She leans into Usagi again though. Just a moment longer. "Are YOU okay, too? You did so much. I know you're probably trying to keep it together for everyone... So you should definitely visit him and get things off your chest when he's done with the guys." Pausing, she adds, "Did you even see the size of the tubs here? They're huge! Europeans must be so tall on average!"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
That bright blush earns another grin, and if Usagi could whistle quietly, she absolutely would - but as it is -

As it is, she lets it go, looking out over the hotel room. "Yeah, we were definitely talking about room service... I think just laying around and having fancy room service and knowing we're okay-ish is going to be good."

"...I want to go to a hot spring too! Chiyo-chan, you've gotta take me with you next time," she has no idea where her cousin goes for hot springs without breaking the bank, but she wants to know. Oh, she wants to know!

"Yeah, once you're ready. I don't want to rush you! I just bet that.. we've both got people worried, back home." She has not told her parents anything, but their friends? The ones who stayed behind, to protect the city? "...I'm not sure what to tell them, though."

A long breath, and an exhale. "I'm - going to be okay. I mean... it was a lot. It was... but we've got term finals when we get home, and once we're through with that, we'll be on summer break, and maybe we'll even get a break, for a while!"

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai considers it all for a few long moments before just saying, "Success. Just say 'Mission success' or something. For now we don't need to do more than that, right? It'll get them to stop worrying and we can still relax a bit more."

It wasn't a bad idea after all. The mug is swapped to one hand to pull her phone out so she can take her own advice at least. A quick text shot off, and the phone is dropped back to the couch for now.

"I'll ask Wako if you can join us. It's kind of her place. Well, her fiance's place. It's really nice though. Like SUPER nice." She smiles softly adding, "And we can all use a bit of nice after this. A break. Maybe a short trip somewhere... er. Not Paris, clearly. Just somewhere relaxing." Speaking of relaxing, she starts to yawn and covers her mouth with her hand.

"I think I'm going to catch a nap myself for a bit. Let me know if you do decide to order room service though."

Her arm slides around Usagi to give her a quick hug. "Thank you, by the way. For getting us all back."