Note to all: This may not have any immediate consequences, but notice how I phrased, “chance in hell of convincing me to go into the music industry with you like that... “ can imply that there may be another way...? --waggles eyebrows suggestively--
--Frown-- I just realized that if Minako came for Usagi's wedding FOUR years after everything happened... she would have “set foot” in Japan again... no? --sigh-- oh the woes of time and forgetfulness. Well... let's just say... the same thing happened as with the special act... but since she didn't get to spend much time with Minako due to being in the hospital and Minako leaving again... Rei doesn't count that as “coming home”. --shrug--
Okay, all done!
With the snap of her fingers, Rei had completely turned a happy moment into a hopeless one.
“Come on inside, it's getting cold. Partner or not, I don't want to be held liable for a sick singer. Besides, we can talk of better things while you stay over tonight.”
Minako blinked in surprise. She's letting me stay over anyway...?
Rei turned to look back at her after taking a few steps towards the shrine. “What's wrong? Are you coming or aren't you?”
“I am, I am!” Minako hurried to catch up to Rei, walking side by side with a childish grin. “Thank you... Rei-chan.”
Rei sighed, continuing her walk. It wasn't until they reached the patio that Rei remembered. “Oh... right. Minako.” Minako looked at her questioningly as she stepped onto the familiar wooden surface. She was startled beyond all words when Rei turned to face her, her hair floating around her like a sheet of softly falling snow, and gave her an equally soft, small smile. “Welcome back.”
In that moment, if only for that one moment, Minako felt all her other thoughts melt away. Nothing else mattered but that single moment in time. Not singing. Not what her manager wanted. Nothing of convincing Rei away from her home. Nothing of the loneliness she had felt while on tour. Nothing else. Nothing else but her sweet, wholesome Rei.
A furious blush rose up to Minako's cheeks the moment that thought had entered her mind and effectively snapped her out of her daze. Why did she think that? Rei wasn't hers... never was and never... no, and never would be. Rei was a free spirit, and that was what Minako lo- She had to stop again, shaking the thoughts away forcefully.
She half turned away, a confused, but still happy smile on her face. She responded in kind, “I'm home.”
And she felt like she had never spoken truer words thus far. Minako glanced up, seeing Rei's mildly addled expression, and couldn't help but let out a giggle. Her characteristic frowned returned, and Minako smiled.
This was home... with Rei.
“I bought some new tea today, would you like to try it?”
Minako blinked and smiled again as she followed the shrine maiden. “What kind is it?”
“... Strawberry... vanilla.”
Minako stared amazed as Rei seemed to pointedly avoid looking at her. That's my favorite! But... doesn't Rei-chan hate that kind? She said it was too sweet... Did she... did she buy it just for me?
“You don't want any?”
Minako giggled, protesting again, “I want it, I want it! Of course I want it! Thank you, Rei.”
Rei grunted without really saying anything else. They made their way to the kitchen, which was surprisingly close to Rei's room, and they had their tea at the coffee table in the latter.
Rei watched quietly as Minako took a large sip from her cup and sighed gratefully afterwards. She took a sip herself, inwardly blanching again at the sweetness, still watching the singer.
Minako was looking around the room, and as she did, Rei did too, just to make sure she hadn't forgotten to stow any... private treasures away.
When Minako gasped and grinned, Rei realized she had missed at least one. Oh great... here it comes...
Minako got up and went to Rei's dresser. Following her with her eyes, Rei breathed a sigh of relief. Oh, just that. Good. I thought it'd be...
“You have such a funny expression in this one, Rei-chan,” Minako giggled.
Rei frowned, trying to remember exactly which group picture that was.
Minako brought it back to the table. Rei looked, and inwardly groaned. She remembered now... “It couldn't be helped. Usagi... was being Usagi again.”
Rei hoped Minako wouldn't realize that she had actually been looking at Minako, on the other side of Usagi, when the picture had been taken. She fought down the blush that was threatening to surface.
“This was taken... the day we were all reunited, wasn't it?” There was a small forlorn smile on Minako's lips now as she gazed upon the framed photo.
Rei smiled in the same way, still watching the singer. “Yeah... that was... a great day...” Because you came back too...
Minako looked up at her. Rei was already staring off into space elsewhere. “What are the others doing?”
“Same thing they were doing when you came for Usagi's wedding. Well, Makoto and Motoki have their flower shop; Ami is a doctor using Tokyo as her home base; and Usagi's... a homemaker.”
Minako set the frame on the table and propped up her elbow as she looked at Rei. “What about you?”
“I'm the head of this shrine.”
Minako raised an eyebrow. “You weren't before?”
Rei scoffed. “Of course not! How could I be? I was still underage and inexperienced. I just took care of the shrine; I didn't own it or anything.”
“But you do now?”
“Well... yeah. And I hired workers to help take care of the place now. People... just... keep coming...” Rei looked away again, knowing perfectly well why the shrine was busier these days.
Minako grinned, also knowing why. “You know what's amazing? Well, no, not amazing- I mean, I saw it coming and everything, but still. I saw you.” Rei blinked. “When I was in London. You were in one of the global newspapers for the total accuracy of your predictions. It said you had saved the president (Does Japan have a president? If not... the head honcho of the government, whoever that is) because you knew an assassin was coming, and you helped capture him.” Minako watched, amused, as she saw a thin blush on Rei's cheeks.
“I only did that because I knew I needed more monetary support and the fire showed it to me out of nowhere one day.”
“You're still a hero.”
Rei glanced at Minako, hearing the soft, mesmerized tone of her voice. She looked away again with a frown. “Aren't we all a little 'heroic' still? Ami saves countless lives as a doctor... Makoto finds the perfect flower arrangement to cheer anyone up... just like your songs give the kids something to... to look forward to.”
There was a silence, but it was a comfortable, easy silence.
“What about Usagi?”
Rei snorted without thinking about it. She then smiled as she answered, “Well... ditzy as she is... Usagi makes anyone around her just a little bit happier... so she doesn't have any particular audience. In her way... she's still the greatest of all of us.” Her eyes glinted as she looked up at Minako. “But you know... she spends half her afternoons at the local kindergarten, playing with the kids. I watched her a few times; the kids are always giving her a hard time. But they're all always laughing.”
They shared another daydream sort of silence.
“The tea's cold.”
Rei raised an eyebrow as Minako looked thoughtfully down at her cup. She sighed. “Maybe it's a sign that we should just go to sleep?”
Minako drank the rest of her cup anyway. She then smiled innocently. “I suppose. Where am I sleeping tonight, exactly?”
Rei looked around, as if suddenly realizing what had been meant by her offer to house Minako for the night. She sighed again, standing up to walk over to the closet with a spare futon.
“You can't stay in any other room, because one, all the others are occupied, and two, half of them are diehard fans of yours, so if they went into one of the rooms and found you there...”
Minako giggled at the look on Rei's face just then. “They won't come in here?”
“They shouldn't... not if the door's locked. Oh... do you want to take a bath first? You've been traveling... and considering you just came back today...”
Minako just noticed, as Rei gestured, that Rei had her own hallway to what she presumed was the bathroom. “Well... that actually sounds like a good idea... but I don't have any spare clothes with me?”
“You can borrow mine.”
A faint sensation bordering on a thrill of anticipation coursed through Minako's veins at the thought of wearing Rei's clothes. She shook it off hurriedly. “Really? Then okay, I guess I should...”
Rei set down the futon and went over to the dresser and picked out a folded set of clothes. She turned around and held them out to Minako as she stood up. “Take as long as you like, but try not to be too loud or anything, okay?”
Minako nodded. “Well then, I'll be back in a little while.”
As Minako left the vicinity of the room, Rei silently unfolded the futon and set it... a foot or so away from hers. She then stepped back to look at it... and felt a strong vibe of something not being right. So she adjusted it so the sides of their futons were touching. Her instincts told her it was all better now, but her mind was now having doubts, having her so close. She pulled it away again. The niggling got more insistent. She put it back. Her mind protested...
She growled slammed them almost forcefully together, stepping on the nearest corner as if melding it so without any room for more protest.
Her minds inhibitions trailed away...
And the secret part of her intuition made her blush fiercely, looking down at the two-now-one big futon. Closing her eyes to it, she brought the spare pillow over and set it down smack dab in the middle of the spare futon. It looked so lonely...
Rei growled in frustration and just flopped down between the futons, neither here nor there.
So lonely...
Shut UP! Rei scrunched up the edge of the futon blanket in her fist, squeezing her eyes shut in much the same way. Peer pressure in a sense- if her hand was shut tight, as were her eyes, maybe her mind would catch a clue and shut up too.
Why would you separate her away from you like so...?
Rei moaned, muffled by the futon. No luck.
Fine! You stupid little voice... She sat up and moved the pillows together so that they were touching in the middle of it all. There! Happy! Can I go to sleep now
Rei looked at the array... and blushed again. Would Minako... would Minako mind? She said she didn't want to be alone anymore... but that didn't mean she wanted Rei to... to...
The pillows were forced apart.
The little voice came back.
Meanwhile... Minako found herself lost in thought as she slowly stripped away her clothes, setting them in the basket provided, and started to scrub away the dirt of her travels. Well... since she had last bathed anyway. Which was... last night, actually. Before the plane ride. But that was beside the point.
Separated from Rei's direct presence, Minako found herself trapped with her manager's proposition. It... it hadn't gone exactly as she had told Rei... but... at least she had told her the way it was as she saw it.
Minako sighed, remembering her manager's words, that night before they left.
“It's really your decision, Minako-chan. These last years have been great, and you've left your mark on the music industry. But... I've noticed how... unenthusiastic you've been becoming... and that's no good. Go to Japan. If you can't find more inspiration for continuing to sing... then use the time to find an alternative lifestyle. We both know you can't sing forever, Minako. It just doesn't happen in the entertainment business. Not for most, anyway. It's just as well we pull you out while the going's still good. You don't deserve to just fade away in people's memories. This concert in Tokyo... you decide if it's going to be your last. Your happiness is most important now.”
Minako eased into the electric heated bathtub, biting her lip in her indecision. The proposition had been all her idea. She didn't want to lose her singing career, no matter what anybody said. But... but with Rei's support of what her manager had said, her resolve had begun to falter. What... what would really make her happy? She had started out singing, and she had loved every minute of it, hadn't she? Hadn't she been happy doing that?
Her mind traveled back to the moment when she had first seen Rei again, sitting there on their bench. Waiting for her, seemingly. Minako closed her eyes, lying back with a long exhale. Her heart had been beating faster than it ever had during her biggest concert at the peak of her career. She remembered the feeling, no matter how strange, that had come over her when Rei smiled at her and welcomed her back.
She sunk a little lower in the tub. She had missed Rei- there was no point in denying it, if she ever had.
She likely couldn't leave again, not with the tug pulling her to Rei being stronger than ever.
It almost made her wish she had never stopped by the shrine, never given herself a chance to hold back.
Hold back...? Was Rei really holding her back? Minako frowned. No... no, she wasn't, at least not intentionally. She... she just wanted her to be happy... to not hurt... to not hurt herself like the way she had...
Minako let out another sigh.
She eventually stepped out of the tub, as unresolved as ever. After drying off, she bent to pick up the clothes Rei had handed her... and stared as it unfolded.
It was a lavender slip.
A rather short one at that.
Minako blushed furiously, looking at the other contents of the small stack of clothes. Well... there were shorts too... maybe Rei had mistaken the lavender piece for... a shirt of a normal kind?
Minako's eyes traveled past the walls to where Rei was waiting.
She grinned with the innocence that her fans did not know her for.
Tonight would be fun... in one way or another.
She set about putting her borrowed “clothes” on.
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