Title:  The BIG Wish -- Chapter 5
By:  Lilac Summers
Rated:  PG 13 (I think I can, I think I can, I think I can . . .)

  Hiya!  Got nothing to say this time around.  I hope you enjoy it.
Still PG 13.

  Thanks to all who continue to support me!  Specially to Sidnei
who was my sounding block for this chapter.  It's freaky how
much we think alike . . .

  READ AKIN Z's detailing of my "Daddy on a Rampage" Scale.
He took the idea and just RAN with it.  Really funny. I included it
at the end of the chapter.

Disclaimer:   Naoko Takeuchi owns Sailor Moon.  She really,
really does.  You think I'm lying?  I'm not.  Really I'm not.
Ask her!

* * * * * * * * * *  @---;---'---  * * * * * * * * * * * *

The BIG Wish

by Lilac Summers

Chapter 5


 Mamo-chan was out of commission for the rest of the night, to my
everlasting disappointment.  The knock on the head he'd received from
Pluto must have been pretty harsh, because he only stirred long enough to
give me a bleary look and say "I'd like the spaghetti and meatballs,
waiter . . ." when I covered him up for the night.  On the good side, the
issue of who slept where was irrelevant, and I was able to snuggle into
the warm comfort of his bed.  Hopefully, I wouldn't be in there alone for
long . . .

  The next morning, he was gone.  I woke up to an overcast day and empty
apartment.  The note he'd left on the kitchen table claimed that he'd gone
grocery shopping.  I couldn't begrudge him that because, well, frankly I
thought we needed more food around the house.  If *I* was going to stay
here, he'd *need* a well stocked kitchen!  And although I immediately saw
the foray as what it was-- and escape -- I had already decided that I
would let Mamo-chan rest for the day.  I admit, I was a little shaken by
the multiple close calls we had had the day before.  Two knocks on the
head and one near drowning . . . you can't get any unluckier than that!

  He was gone for most of the day.  I, myself, had not woken up till close
to noon, so that wasn't saying much.  (But ahh!  The joys of being able to
wake up whenever without your household pet screaming in your ear, "Usagi!
Get up!  You gotta do this, you gotta do that . . .!"  I love Luna, but
I'll be the first to announce that she can be a royal pain in the a$$.
And I *know* all about royalty!).  Meanwhile, I wasted away the hours
watching TV and eating Mamo-chan out of house and home, though I prefer to
think that I was making room in his pantry for the new groceries.  The day
was getting murkier and murkier, so that at around 5 PM the sky had
darkened into a premature night.  And then the thunder started . . .

  Now, anyone who knows me at all knows that I'm deathly afraid of
thunder.  I don't ask nor presume to know why, though my friends have
tried to  come up with multiple reasons.  They don't seem to get that I
just don't like it!  Easy as that!  It's loud and sudden and scary.  How
Mako-chan can put up with thunder and lightning (heck, she *bonds* with
the darn things!) is beyond me.  It positively gives me the willies, and
makes me so nervous that I can concentrate on nothing else.

  When Mamo-chan walked in at 6:30, laden with bags and wet from the
downpour that had begun an hour before, I was practically climbing the
walls.

  "Mamo-chan!" I wailed, relieved, as I ran to throw my arms around him,
"where have you been?!"

  He juggled the bags precariously as I snuggled up close to him and tried
to pat my back awkwardly.

  "I'm sorry, Usako.  I tried to hurry home as soon as I heard the thunder
start up, but the traffic was terrible!  It seems people lose all driving
skills when a little rain falls."

  He tried to step back from me, but I wasn't about to relinquish my safe
little spot by his side.  Mamo-chan has the awesome ability of being able
to take all the fear out of thunder and lightening.  Somehow, I always
feel secure when he's with me. So, seeing as I wasn't going anywhere, he
ended up carrying both me and the groceries to the kitchen.

  I suppose my vulnerability at the moment took both our minds off what
had happened the day before and the sexual tension that seemed to simmer
below the surface nowadays.  He saw me as his frightened little bunny that
he had to cheer up and I was more than willing to let him try and get my
mind off all the freaky noise rumbling right outside the windows.

  He sat me down on a kitchen counter as the rain pounded heavily outside.
The apartment became a cozy little haven as Mamo-chan started to put away
the groceries while we talked easily about any and all subjects.  I swung
my feet idly as I perched on the counter and, supplied with a roll of
cookie dough by Mamo-chan, alternated in feeding myself and him the sweet
confection.

Life was good.

  Of course, all good things must come to an end.

  Of course, they usually do just when you are starting to enjoy them.

  Of course, that's exactly what happened then.

The lights went off.

  The loss of light was also punctuated by a particularly vicious bolt of
lightening that lit up the heavens and rumbled all the way down to hell.

  "MAMO-CHAN!"  Instantly I performed a flying tackle that took me
directly to Mamo-chan's back, which I then clung to with all my might.

  "Uuumph!" he groaned as 117 pounds of Moon Princess landed on his back,
then "Ggggghhhhhr" as said Princess wrapped her arms around his  neck and
hung on.

  "Usako . . . ggghhh . . . honey . . . gggggghhhhheeeerrrr . .. let . . .
go of my . . . *gasp gasp wheeze neck."

  I mumbled a "Gomen" somewhere and buried my head on the back of his
neck, changing my hands to wrap head-band-style around his forehead.

  Now his head angled up as if he were perpetually looking at the ceiling.
However, he probably found this an improvement as opposed to having his
esophagus squeezed shut, so he kept quiet and began to lumber around the
dark apartment blindly like some freakish humpback.

  Thump!

  "Dammit!"

  Crash!

  "Oh, hell . .. I loved that vase."

  Stub!

  "Yeowww!"

  Finally he made it to his bedroom, managing to stumble on every
conceivable object in the way.  I said not a word, simply tightening my
deathgrip on him and wailing in his ear whenever the thunder wished to
resume.

  I heard a drawer open, the contents shuffle, and then close again.  Then
we were on our way back to the kitchen.

  Thump!

  "Shit!"

  Crash!

  "Well, that one was a gift."

   Bonk!

  "Hey, Mamo-chan!  Watch it!"

  Back in a pitch-black kitchen (at least, I assume it was the kitchen), I
heard a few more rattles and then a flare of light as he turned on one of
the burners on the stove.  Within seconds, the long white taper that he
had gotten from his bedroom cast a teeny light through the gloom.

  Armed with his teardrop of flame, he walked over to the couch and pried
my white-knuckled grip off his head, then untangled my legs from around
his waist.  I fell with a thunk!  onto the couch.

  Wheezing, he began:  "Okay, Usako.  Nothing to worry about. . . . just a
little power failure.  No doubt the landlord will fix it any minute . . ."

  The room exploded white for a second in a dramatic flare of lightning,
thunder following fast on its heels.

  "WAAAAAHHHHH!"  I grabbed the nearest pillow and pitifully tried to hide
under it.  "I don't WANT to wait for Ôany minute'!  I want the light back
on NOW!!!!"

  "Now Usako . . ."

  FLASH!  RUMBLE! . . .

  Wide eyed in fear, I grabbed the lapels of Mamo-chan's shirt and pulled
him down to my face.  "NOW, MAMO-CHAN!!!"

  He disengaged himself gingerly and sighed.  "Okay, Usako.  If you are so
scared . . . then I'll go down to the basement and check out the power
box.  I can probably find a backup switch or generator.  You stay here and
wait for me . . ."

  I shook my head vigorously.  "Uh-uh!  I'm not staying in here, in the
dark, all by myself!"

  By the eerie light of the single candle I saw him lift one sardonic
brow.  "So you'd rather go into the basement?  Into the *dark* basement?"

  Oh.  Well, darnit!  I didn't want to go anywhere near the basement.
Everyone knows basements are the favored site of evil convergence!

  "Uh, no."

  "I didn't think so.  Look, it will only take a second.  I'd give you
another candle, but I don't have another, and only God knows where the
flashlight is.  Just sit tight and remember that you are absolutely safe.
Thunder can't do anything to you."

  Before I could start complaining, he had left the apartment and taken
the only source of light with him.  The apartment seemed instantly
ominous. Pitch black until the sudden brilliance of lightening, so each
shadow danced and swayed to the beat of the thunder . . .

  "I am absolutely safe . . . I am absolutely safe . . . Thunder can't do
anything to me . . .  I am absolutely safe, thunder can't do anything to
me . . . unless it's a drum-wielding youma that's out to find me  . . .
and electrocute me . . . and did that coat-rack just move?  I'm sure it
wasn't there a second ago . . . NO, Usagi.  Get a grip.  It didn't move .
. . see, it can't move, because coat-racks don't move, and anyway, that
chair over there is blocking its path.  See?  Nothing to it . . . And boy,
ever notice how much that chair looks like a gnome?  Like a human-eating,
pitch-fork carrying gno . . . MAMO-CHAN!"

  So how scary could a basement be, anyway?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Somehow I maneuvered down the ten flights of stairs.  Yes, the stairwell
was  as dark as the belly of a dragon, but the thought that safety and
Mamo-chan awaited me downstairs  gave me strength.   With little "Eeks!"
and "Aaaaarghs!" at different, thunderous intervals, I stumbled all the
way down until I saw the glimmer at the very last door of the very last
floor.    I skid to a halt before the door that would no doubt be marked
"Basement" were there enough light to read it.  It was opened a crack and
the flickering light of what would no doubt be Mamo-chan's candle flared
like a beacon in my proverbial night.

  "Mamo-chan!"  I yelped in relief, swinging the door open and rushing
through.

  The second before I tripped over some mysterious object, I saw Mamo-chan
lift his head in surprise and yell at me with dawning horror, "Usako!
Don't trip over the  . . ."

  TRIP!  I kissed concrete, as I so often do, and skid face-first into the
room.  In the silence following my fall came the soft "click" of the
basement door shutting behind me, a soft draft of air from the closing
door flowing over me gently before kissing the feeble flame of Mamo-chan's
candle good-night.

  Bye-bye, light.

  Darkness fell, instantly and completely.  Black of the blackest black.
Not even the lightening could reach down here.

  "Um, Mamo-chan?  I don't suppose you have any matches on you."

  Somewhere in front of me I heard what suspiciously sounded like a sob
come from Mamo-chan, and then a dejected, "I don't have any."

  Completely blind, I struggled to my feet and, (in what I now realize was
a useless move . . . I  mean, who could see my skirt, anyway?), dusted off
my skirt.  "Oh, well!  Guess we'll have to go back upstairs and relight it
then."  Unconcerned, I made off in the direction I guessed the door to be
. . .

  click. click. click.

  The doorknob jiggled obstinately in my hand.  Nothing.

  "HEY!  Mamo-chan, I can't open the door!!"

  In the same flat, dejected voice, I heard, "I know.  That's why I had
the door propped open with that can . . . that you tripped on."  I could
just imagine him smacking his head on the wall.

  "Oh.  Uh, sorry?  Mamo-chan, you really should stop smacking your head
like that . . . it could leave a mark."

  The discreet thumping stopped, to be replaced by a heartfelt sigh.

  "Don't worry, Mamo-chan!"  I said, absurdly calm for my situation.  But,
you see, I was once more feeling safe with Mamo-chan, and you couldn't
even hear the thunder all the way down here!  "The landlord has to come
down here sooner or later, right?  We'll just wait."  Of course, neither
of us mentioned that his landlord was a lazy butt who wouldn't be bothered
to come downstairs until God himself ordained it.  The man would probably
call the maintenance manager to come do it, never mind that the man lived
in a completely different apartment complex . . .

   Oh boy.  Mamo-chan wasn't going to be at all pleased if we were stuck
in here for long.  I had to establish my innocence fast!

  "Mamo-chan . . ." in my cutesy voice, "I'm sorry."

  Not a word.

  "I didn't mean to . . . I-I was just scared."

  Was that another sigh?

  Now, crawling toward the small sound, I continued, "I know I'm just a
clumsy kid."

  Aha!  Gotcha!  Ready for the coop, I threw myself at Mamo-chan.
Exuberantly I grabbed his hair for a properly repentant kiss.  His hair
was so thick and . . . I got a mouthful of it.  Mouthful?  Mamo-chan was
shorter. . . and since when was his hair so ropy?  I jumped back and he
came with me . . . my Mamo-chan the mop!  Thank goodness for pitch
blackness!  I don't think I could have lived that one down.

  All right, then, maybe in the other direction . . .  "Mamo-chan, please!
Say something!  I know you're mad, but I really was just so scared . . .!"
Where was he?  Now I really was getting to worry!  Was he not willing to
forgive my honest mistake?

  Of course, little did I know that, at the same time that I looked for
him, Mamo-chan had relented and started looking for me.  I heard an
exasperated "Usako!" somewhere to my right and then a crash of pail and
mop.  Ahh, the infamous mop had claimed its second victim!  With a grin I
turned about and retraced my steps.  Or at least, I think I retraced my
steps . . .

  "Mamo-chan!"  Oops!  That was a lawnmower . . .

  "Usako."  Off to my left now, Mamo-chan no doubt comforting the broom.

  "Mamo-chan?"  Yech!  Old raincoat.

  "Usa . . .ko?"  Nope, not me.  That's it!  No more of this.  I turned
and RAN towards the last direction his voice had come from.  To hell with
being careful in the dark!

  "Mamo-chan!?"
  "Usako!?"

  Thunk!  I crashed into something.  And from the familiar feeling of deja
vu, I knew immediately that it was my Mamo-chan!  Finally!  Reeling, I
fell back, but Mamo-chan was already reaching for me as he had countless
times before.  And as we had done, countless times before, we both ended
up hitting the ground.

  And I, my friends, was back in business.  Nothing like a floor beneath
you and your man on top of you to remind you of your priorities . . . Oh,
my.  Er, perhaps that wasn't quite the best way to phrase things.  Look,
um, do me a favor and don't tell anyone I ever said that, okay?  Luna
would kill me . . .

  Anyway,  I instantly knew what had to be done!  Usagi, my girl, this is
no time to lose your opportunity!  So, yes, I had been planning on taking
this day off, but what else could this be but a sign from God, I ask you?
Locked in a dark basement for an indeterminate amount of time, with
nothing to distract us except for . . .

  Well, I should certainly hope you can fill in the blank!

  Beginning to lever himself away from me, Mamo-chan asked, "Usako, are
you okay?"

  Ooh, dilemma dilemma.  Do I say "yes" and have him get off me?  Or do I
lie and keep him down here with me for as long as possible?  Ooh, I
wonder.

  "Ouch!"

  Mamo-chan stilled instantly above me.  "Usako?  Usako, what's wrong?!"

  I whimpered in mock-pain.  "M-my thigh.  I think I {Quick!  What can you
possibly do to your thigh?  Break?  Bend?  Sprain?  Cut? . . . Bruise! }
fell on it weird.  It really hurts."

  Mamo-chan scrambled to take his weight off me.  "Oh my god, I'm sorry
honey!  Let me--"

  "NO!  Don't move!  I mean . . . you just jar it more!"  That's it!  The
guilt trip always works.

  I could sense Mamo-chan running through his extensive medical knowledge,
trying to decide which course to take.  In the end I guess he went for the
tried and true "don't budge the injured!" credo.  With gentleness that
would have made me feel like a wretch if I were at all willing to pay
attention to my conscience, he shifted his weight off my "injured" thigh
and settled, instead, more fully against the rest of me.  This was, of
course, fine with me.

  "Where does it hurt, baby?"

  Without thought I pointed to my upper thigh, forgetting he couldn't see
in the dark.  "There," I said randomly.

  "Uh, Usako  . . . I can't see a thing.  You have to show me."

  Well, well, well!  What have we got here?  Looks like this fabrication
was working better than intended.  Ask and you shall receive . . .

  Ooh, decisions decisions again!  Life's so shock-full of Ôem, huh guys?
Well, I might as well make this good.

  I tentatively took his hand, miraculously finding it on my first try,
and gave a martyr's sigh.  "Mamo-chan, I'm not sure this is proper . . ."
HA HA HA!

  "Don't worry, Usako.  I just need to see if it's broken."

  God, I love the way doctors think!

  Now, the question is, do I have the guts to do this?  Hmm . . .

  I eased his hand to the high curve of my thigh just an inch above the
hem of my miniskirt.

  Guess I do have the guts for this.  Was there ever any question?

  Mamo-chan's hand stilled at once.  I heard him take a deep breath.
Hell, I took one, too.  And then he began to kneed . . .  Now, I don't
know if all doctors do this or what, but I have a feeling those of the
medical profession would be much more popular if they all touched like
this.

  "Does that hurt?" queried Mamo-chan huskily.

  I think I had lost all possible power of speech.  Let's assume, for the
sake of history, that I said yes.  The truth is, Mamo-chan wasn't
listening and I wasn't talking.  Capicce?

  I'll leave off any details for any youngsters out there.  I can only
assume that Chibi-Usa will one day hear this story  and . . . My, would
that be embarrassing or what?!  For those of you, however, who still need
some information, let us refer back to the ever popular "Daddy on a
Rampage" Scale.  I'd rate this a magnum with full clip stage.  Yes, most
definitely a magnum . . . or perhaps, just perhaps, it had progressed to
the hunting rifle stage . . .

  Well, all I know is that the fact that we were stuck in a dark, dreary
basement was long forgotten.  In fact, the darkness had receded into a
hazy mist . . . and then I was seeing lights, and so was he!

  A flashlight, to be exact.

  "Goshdarnit!  How'd you two get down here?  Don't you people have an
apartment for that sort of thing?!"

  Mamo-chan and I fought our way back to the realm of the thinking and
blinked at the jump-suited man illuminating us, in our ignoble position,
with his high-powered flashlight.  Slowly, while I turned five different
shades of red, Mamo-chan inched his hand off my thigh and moved off me.  I
think poor Mamo-chan had, for a terror-stricken second, thought the man
was my father.  He'd no doubt been wondering just how long he had to live.

  The portly man at the door went off on a tirade, spouting prophecies of
hellfire and brimstone as he jammed the door open and marched over to the
long-forgotten power box.  Mamo-chan and I tiptoed carefully to the door.
Ahhh, freedom . . .

  "And in MY day, we sure didn't go around breeding like rabbits . . ."

  Mamo-chan choked on that one.   I helpfully pounded on his back.  I
wonder what set him off?

  "We had MORALS!  Yes ma'am, MORALS!"  He turned a baleful eye at
Mamo-chan.  "And you got a ring on a lady's finger before you went
dragging her off to some basement!"

  Just creep along . . . maybe he won't notice.  Yes, just a few more
feet. . .

  "But you youngsters never listen to your elders nowadays.  Don't seem to
realize that you people aren't immortal, that there are responsibilities
to be met before it's all fun and games.  AND, by golly, if you are going
to go sneaking off, don't go without a light!  No doubt break your necks
on those stairs!"  The maintenance manager picked up Mamo-chan's candle
and flicked out a lighter, setting the tiny flame and handing it to
Mamo-chan with a disgusted "Hmmph!"

  Sensing our reprieve, we turned and dashed for the door . .  .

  "WAIT!"

  Oh, so close!  We turned dutifully.

  "If you aren't going to listen to me, then at least be careful!  Can't
be too careful nowadays."  He dug into one of the multiple pockets on his
suit and came up  with a wrapped square, tossing it at Mamo-chan who
caught it by reflex.

  "Remember, it's not right sex unless it's safe sex."

  We drew our eyes to the little package in Mamo-chan's hand.  With eyes
wide as saucers we looked at each other, only to look away in  horrified
discomfiture.  Then we turned and ran.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  We climbed the stairs in silence.  The rain still pounded on the walls,
but if lightening blasted and thunder screamed, I was unaware of it.
Instead, I cursed my rotten luck.  What were the odds?  I mean, really!
H-How is it possible that seduction can be such hard work?  I had the
time, I had the motive, I had the moment all set up, and I STILL couldn't
succeed!  And now, to make matters worse, I had to walk up ten flights of
stairs with a faked limp.  (I'd seen Mamo-chan cast a dubious glance at my
thigh and had remembered my "injury."  I hope he bought it.)

  Of course, by the time we reached the tenth floor I had begun to
remember the whole cause of my little trip to the basement.  Here, up so
high in the building, I could almost FEEL the electricity crackling in the
air.  I only prayed that any really loud displays of "nature's grandeur"
would wait until the lights had been turned on again  . . .

  Mamo-chan carried the  flame of the candle high in the air as we
approached his apartment door.  He grasped the handle and shoved it open
as I waited quietly right behind him.  Well, at least we'd made it *this*
far without mishap.  Perhaps things were going to start looking up.

  FLASH!  RUMBLE!

Thunder and lightning, very very frightening . . .

  "EEK!"  Witness my flying tackle onto Mamo-chan's back . . .

  Witness Mamo-chan's graceful nose-dive into the carpet!

  Witness the magical flying candle, able to soar multiple feet across a
room to land . . . to land . . . in all its fiery splendor ... on
Mamo-chan's old, highly-flammable couch.

  Oh!  What a pretty little blaze!  Mamo-chan, grab the marshmallows!

  Mamo-chan and I lay in a heap on the carpet of his lightless apartment.
Perhaps I shouldn't say "lightless."  I mean, the flaming couch was giving
off pretty good light.

  "AAAHHH!  My couch!"  Delayed reaction kicks in.  Mamo-chan bolts from
underneath me to the kitchen and the couch gets a good dousing with a
pitcher of water.

  It was a sad Mamo-chan indeed that stood by the charred, soggy couch.
I, myself, gave a moment of silence to the ruined couch that had seen me
through many cozy moments.

  But then I, of course, turned to more practical matters.  "So, Mamo-chan
. . . Where are you gonna sleep tonight?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To be continued . . .
Don't forget to read "Daddy on a Rampage" Scale below

BWA HA HA HA!  That's all I can say.  Poor, poor Mamo-chan!  Anyway, I
have a treat for you all!   It has come to my attention that perhaps some
of you may need a full guide to better understand the beauty of the "Daddy
on a Rampage" Scale, or "DOARS", for short.  Akin Z has been kind enough
to detail it out for us all:

"Daddy On A Rampage" Scale  --  DOARS
As outlined by Akin Z

0.- Glare - Barefist:   He's a stranger who's asking for the time.

1.- Baseball Bat (iron):   He's a friend who's holding your
hand to help you get off the bus.

2.- Hockey Club (sharp):   He's a very good friend who's giving you a
birthday hug.

3.- Small Gun (.33):  He's a very, very good friend who's kising you in
the cheek (the friendly way!).

4.- The Family's Sword:   He's kissing you. On the lips. He's
your boyfriend. He's doomed.

5.- Shotgun (single barrel):   He's kissing you, you are kising
back. Very intimate.

        (double barrel):  Watch your hands you two!

6.- Magnum (.45):   He's not watching his hands. Neither are you.

7.- Hunting Rifle (for rhinos):  Phew! It's getting hot in here!

8.- Tommy Gun (classic design): It's getting TOO hot in here!

9.- Chain Gun (doom like):   Last warning...

10.- Bazooka:   

11.- Satellite Beam:  That's gross!!!  AND DADDY SAW IT!!!

XX.- Tuxedo Suit:  Oh well... It happens in the best families... ^-^
(Happy ending!)

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