Chapter Text
Prologue
It wasn't an easy decision.
Hell, he'd been wracked with grief about it for weeks on end before he had come to a breaking point. At the time, they'd been hanging with her friends- the other four of the friend group- when something so innocent as Makoto handing him some tea and him smiling at her was what caused this latest bout of tears and accusations.
"He's mine!" Usagi had tearfully pouted, "I'll pour him some tea!"
"Uh... Okay?" Makoto had been rightfully confused, and a little hurt. "I'll just get the cookies."
It's not the first time nor the second or even third that Usagi had accused one of the girls of trying to steal his attention away from her. One would think after everything they had been through together- the deaths, the pain, the sacrifices they made because they believed in her and had thought she believed in them- that this wouldn't be an issue.
And yet...
The true last straw was a blow out fight between her and Rei, then Minako joined in, then Ami and Makoto trying somewhat to mediate it all. Once more, it was over something so insignificant that it sounded ridiculous for her to be jealous about. Rei had merely told him about an acquaintance she knew of in the US. That if he needed someone to talk to or help, that he could reach out to them and had given him their number.
Usagi had taken it wrong.
Then after that...
After that, she'd asked him to do the unthinkable.
"Why don't you just stay in Japan for your studies?" Her voice edged with hope and tears. "You don't need to go there to finish them, right?"
"I don't." He didn't. However, "But they have the best schools and it's only for a year at most. They were generous enough to allow my transfer for that time after missing out on registration."
Her eyes glistened with tears, "But you don't need it, do you, Mamo-chan? You can just stay here! Stay with me!" Where I can see you. She thought silently. "You don't need to be an ocean away-!"
"Usako, it's my dream." He told her evenly, "I've worked hard to get here. It wasn't easy. I ...Are you telling me I have to choose between my dream of being a doctor and staying with you?" The pit of his stomach dropped. A clawing of uncertainty, disbelief ate at him as he studied her face. Alone in his apartment, normally would've been the most comfortable thing in the world to him. Yet, with each passing second, he felt anything but that.
The words came before she had time to stop them.
"We already know the future." She said blithely, "Why are you trying so hard to be a doctor when we both know we'll become king and queen in the future?"
Silence descended between them. It encased the entire room. Quietening even the soft drip of the faucet in the kitchen. Nothing moved. Nothing stirred. Time stood still as everything seemed to hold its breath in that moment. A moment that felt like an eternity before either one of them dared to speak.
"...Usako...." He began, gaping at her. The person he knew as his beloved would've never have said that. She wouldn't have told anyone who'd worked so hard to achieve a goal to give it up. Not even for her sake.
Standing there felt so surreal as he said, "I.. I think you should go home." His throat tightened. "I have a lot of packing to do."
Usagi blinked then covered her mouth for a moment until she dropped her hand by her side. "Mamo-chan, you can't still be going, are you?" Her heart thudded loudly in her chest. " You can't be serious!"
"I am." He turned from her, trying to ignore the burning in his eyes. The tears that he willed to stay hidden for a while longer, " I think .. I ..." The words were failing to come. Dying in his throat before he had a chance to even form them in his mouth. "We...We should..rethink this."
"This?" Usagi stepped forward, "Mamo-chan, don't- don't be like this. Don't-!"
Finally, he looked at her. Steeling his resolve as he said the words he didn't want to say again. That should've never been spoken..and yet...
"I think we should break up."