Rei parked the car in font of Abyss and got out. When Serena joined her, the two of them headed for the large metal door that was the entrance to the underworld hotspot. After a solid knock, the peephole opened and a pair of hardened eyes stared at the women. "Raven, ya know dere ain't no visitors 'lowed in here wi'out the Boss' permission." The beautiful assassin growled and narrowed her eyes. "You think I'd bring someone she doesn't know? Of course she approves, or else she wouldn't be here with me. Now open the damn door, you bastard." "No way, Raven. I gotta check wit' da boss first." As the slot slid shut, Serena heard her companion curse softly under her breath. Nothing to do but wait, it seemed. The cool breeze by the docks where the bar was located made it a lot colder than in the heart of the city where they'd come from. The blonde shivered and pulled her jacket closer to her petite form. She suddenly felt an arm wrap around her waist and pull her to a lean, but warm body. Her eyes opened and gazed at Rei, who just looked as impatient as she had when the slot closed. Serena blushed softly, but snuggled closer to the warmth the younger woman provided, wondering how on earth she was so hot wearing nothing but a T-shirt and a duster. The peephole slid open again, this time to reveal Haruka's blue eyes. She took one look at the annoyed expression on her friend's face and opened the door. "Rei, Serena," she greeted with a grin, which grew once she saw the way the assassin was holding the blonde. Rei glared and walked inside. "Is it policy to freeze your customers to death?" The owner of Abyss took one look at the shaking Serena and apologized. "Why don't you two come upstairs and we'll try to get you warmed up, Serrrrrrrr...ene?" Rei's glare worsened at the slip. But she managed to keep down the urge to pound her friend when Haruka successfully (somewhat) stopped and made up a random name. That and the fact that the captive in question was snuggling against her side for warmth. A couple pairs of eyes followed the three as they walked up the stairs, but none of them dared to say anything what with the owner of the bar around. They had no interest in getting on the woman's bad side. "Let's see, I know there's some hot chocolate around here somewhere." As Haruka looked for the powdered goodness, Rei turned her attention to Serena, who was still shivering a bit. "Are you all right?" The blonde nodded and smiled as she began to warm up, what with being inside and Rei's warmth seeping into her. A cup of hot chocolate was placed in front of her. After a couple of minutes, the owner of the Abyss turned to her fellow assassin. "What brings you two here?" "Boredom," the younger woman drawled. "You don't usually come here for entertainment." Rei shot her a glare when the blonde licked her lips meaningfully. Serena, figuring out what the taller woman said thanks to her time with Minako, blushed. "You're here to see Makoto, right?" The assassin known as Raven nodded to the question. "So, you heard she's back." "Big news like that's hard to ignore." "Not really big news." Rei took a sip of her beer, regarding Haruka with a hooded gaze. "To me it is." The tall woman smiled affectionately, ruffling her patron's hair, to which there was a violent protest. The dark-haired assassin swore and slapped the hand away. Serena, meanwhile, continued to drink her hot chocolate. "So, when do you think she's showing up?" "Well, her flight landed this morning, so I'd think it's about time she showed." "And how would you two know when I'd show?" The three women at the bar turned around at the amused voice to find a brunette standing by the stairs. Her green eyes sparkled with mirth, a smirk tugging at her pink lips. She looked like your average girl next door, dressed in jeans and a windbreaker. Serena, however, completely ignored her and stared at the woman standing next to her. "Ami?" Blue eyes met across the room. Within seconds, Serena was off her stool and running toward the blue-haired genius. Ami, meanwhile, stared at the blonde blur moving toward her with wide eyes, though she had enough sense to open her arms wide. The three confused women watched as the other two women hugged, one of them exclaiming things so quickly they couldn't quite make it out. The calmer of two was just silent and in a permanent state of shock, it seemed. "I take it they know each other," Haruka said dryly. "And the Nobel Peace Prize goes to Tenoh!" The brunette teased. When the two pulled away from each other, Rei had finally had enough of being left in the dark, her finger itching to shot something. This woman knew Serena, and she'll be damned if she lets her ruin this whole thing, even if it meant she'd have to piss Makoto off. "What's going on here?" The kidnapped blonde knew that tone of voice meant danger and pulled away from Ami, a grin on her face. "This is Ami, one of my best friends." Rei mumbled something inaudible and slumped in her seat, waving for Haruka to get her something stronger than the beer she was having. Shit, did this complicate things. "Really now? Ames, you never mentioned having such a cute friend." Serena blushed as she turned to the brunette, who had an easy-going, but flirtatious smile on her pretty face. Ami seemed to remember her companion. "Oh! Serena, this is Makoto. Makoto, my best friend Serena." Makoto smiled widely and shook the blonde's hand. "Who are you here with tonight?" Ken Tsukino's only child pointed at Rei, who was watching the scene with a hooded gaze. Makoto arched a brow while Ami's face darkened. 'So,' the blue-haired woman thought, 'that's Raven.' "Well, Rei, you've certainly never brought a date here before. You must really like her!" The lavender-eyed assassin twitched, contemplating whether or not to jump the brunette, though she admittedly missed her. Makoto made her way over to the bar, taking a seat. Ami sat down next to her and Serena beside her. "Hey, Haruka, long time no see." The bartender smiled, punching her friend on the arm. "It's been a while since you've been back. And you brought a friend too." "More than a friend, actually," the tall girl said with a proud grin. "Ami's my girlfriend." The young doctor felt herself flush as she lowered her gaze, feeling Serena's eyes on her. "You're her girlfriend? When did this happen? How come I didn't know about this?" Rei watched the exchange with interest. Okay, if she's got the whole thing right, then the new girl was Serena's best friend, but she's also her friend's girl. So, she can't just pop her if she leaks something. That also meant she can't exactly threaten her, unless she wanted to get on Makoto's bad side. "W-well... we've known each other since we were children..." "Really? You've never mentioned her," the kidnapped blonde murmured. "You haven't? I'm disappointed!" Makoto pulled Ami over and nuzzled her neck from behind, causing Serena to coo softly as her friend's blush darkened. "W-well... you never really came up..." "Course, I was just the girl that saved your ass in school." "This sounds interesting," Haruka said, leaning over the bar. "Oh, it isn't much. We went to the same elementary school and kids used to pick on her. I helped her out, that's all." "Bet you sent every one of 'em to the nurse's office." Makoto shrugged, the smile on her face answering the blonde's question. Silence descended over the group for a while, and Rei felt her anxiety grow. This was just plain awkward. She didn't like the way Ami was sending her glares every now and then, though no one else noticed. She had an urge to just grab Serena and leave, but the blonde seemed to be beyond happy to see her friend. "I'm going to dance for a while." "Without your date?" The hotheaded assassin wanted nothing more than to wipe that smile off her friend's face with physical force, but settled for a glare instead. Haruka looked between the two. "You mean you don't know Mako? Don't you ever watch the news?" "Am I missing something?" Serena squirmed in her seat, eyes darting to Rei, who just mumbled something under her breath. "Serena isn't my date," the raven-haired assassin growled. "I kidnapped her." The group fell silent. Rei was standing, no emotion on her face, and ready to go dance downstairs. Serena was looking at everyone nervously, not quite sure how to break the silence. Ami was seething quietly, her blue eyes dark. Haruka was waiting for someone to talk while Makoto just sat there. "Okay, now that's cleared, I'm going dancing." The assassin known as Raven walked down the stairs and disappeared into the darkness of the club below. Her brunette friend simply shook her head and chuckled. "Well, I guess I was way off." Serena smiled, feeling the tension, or at least some of it, disappear. Haruka shook her head before asking Makoto and Ami what they wanted. "A beer for me and tea for Aim." Haruka paused and scratched her head, looking adorable, in Serena's opinion. "I don't think I have tea..." "She'll have a Rum and Coke then," Serena said, jumping in and giving her friend a wide smile. "It's Ami's secret passion." The young doctor blushed and tried to hide it behind her hand, which did nothing to stop the laughter of her girlfriend and best friend. "All right. Beer for the annoying one and Rum and Coke for the cute one." Haruka winked at the now almost purple genius, leaning on her elbows on the bar. Ami stuttered a 'thanks' before sipping on her drink. Serena just grinned while Makoto chuckled. "I think I'm going to hit the dance floor and keep Rei out of trouble." The brunette stood, kissing her girlfriend on the cheek and winking at Serena. Haruka told her to stay out of trouble herself as she disappeared down the stairs. Left alone and given enough time to get over her embarrassment, Ami turned to her blonde companion, who was happily drinking the soda Haruka had given her. "Serena." "Hmm?" "Is she treating you well?" Serena sighed and looked into the intense blue eyes that almost twinkled with concern and anger. She pushed away all her doubts and smiled. "She's treating me really well, Ami. A lot better than you'd think." "Are you sure?" Ami asked, a frown on her face and her brows furrowed. The blonde smiled and shook her head, reaching over and pulling her friend into a somewhat awkward hug with one arm. "I was so worried and scared when I found out you were..." Serena felt tears building up, but kept smiling. "It's really okay. Rei seems like... well... a really cold-hearted assassin and sometimes, yeah, she is. But most of the time she's really nice." "Has she hurt you?" "Well, except for that one slap-" "She slapped you?" 'Not the best way to convince her...' "Well... I did punch her first..." "You punched her?" Ami blinked several times, trying to wrap her mind around it all. When Serena told her the assassin had slapped her, well, she was seeing red. Given that she was a doctor, she was sure she could hurt Raven very badly. The woman was an assassin hired to kidnap, something that didn't sit well with the woman. She had looked up Raven's record, or as much as she could find, and asked Makoto for any information her girlfriend was willing to tell her. And from what she'd learned... she was terrified for Serena. Raven first appeared five years ago, at least solo. Before that, she had worked for her mentor it seemed, or at least a partner. Whoever it was died, and from that point on, she's been working alone. She was known to take jobs with a very large payday, anything lower than a five million job shouldn't even be offered. Her results, though, were more than worth the hefty price tag, it seemed. Nothing could be traced back to her, unless she left a nametag, like she had in Serena's case. Actually, almost all of what she had discovered was told to her by Makoto, who seemed very hush hush about Raven. That in itself wasn't unusual, but she seemed to take the questioning personally. And now Ami finally knew why. But to the present, though. Serena punched her? Serena doesn't punch anyone! She's a pacifist! "Well... yeah... I kinda went a little... nuts and I um... punched her." "And you're still alive?" Serena blushed at the uncharacteristic question from her best friend, not wanting to admit she had wondered the same thing. "Heh. But she really is very nice." Ami sighed and rubbed her eyes. She hadn't expected to see Serena when Makoto told her she wanted to introduce her to a couple of her friends. She hadn't even thought Makoto would be friends with someone as... merciless, as Raven. Her girlfriend was a mercenary. She dealt with everything from hacking to stealing to playing bodyguard. But the one thing she did not do, however, was kill. Makoto was a network of underworld sources, the person you called on if you needed to flee the country or information on a target. While Ami wasn't foolish enough to think Makoto's hands were clean, she knew they weren't stained with blood. At least... not blood that ended in death. Now that left her with much to be desired. Namely, what does she do? Should she go to the police and tell them she'd seen Serena here? No, that would mean the police will bust every single person in the bar and connected with it, including Makoto. And if she did do that, it was certain that neither she nor her girlfriend would live for very long. Besides, she had promised Makoto when she asked the brunette to share her whole life with her that whatever she saw would stay with her to the grave. Frustrated and angry, both at herself, Raven, and the whole situation, Ami did the only thing she could think of. She reached over and pulled her blonde friend into a tight hug. "I missed you so much." Serena smiled softly and returned the hug, feeling the calm that radiated from the young doctor soak through her very being. She closed her eyes, letting herself bask in the embrace. "I missed you, too." The kidnapped girl pulled away, plastering on her trademark grin. She wiped away the tears on Ami's face. "Come on, Ames. No need for tears! We're gonna see each other again! Especially since your girlfriend seems to be Rei's friend! Speaking of girlfriend..." Ami felt her face flush as Serena proceeded to ask a series of questions, some normal, some strange, and the rest... inappropriate and embarrassing to say the least. But it was good to talk about something so important with her friend, something she's been dying to tell her since Makoto asked her out three months ago. "She seems really nice! And flirtatious, too," the blonde said, winking at the last part. "Well, she is a bit... boy crazy at times." "Who cares if she's boy crazy, as long as she belongs to you!" Serena smiled when she saw her friend blush and sip her drink. Her blue eyes wandered over to the stairs just in time to see Rei reappear. Whether it was because of the physical exertion or the heat of the bodies all dancing, she didn't know. But what she did know, however, was that the woman looked amazing. Her normal pale cheeks were flushed, the rosy pink simply adorable on her. Her bangs were plastered to her forehead with sweat, the raven strands framing her eyes. The eyes which seemed to twinkle with pure joy and relief. A small smile played on her lips as Makoto talked animatedly beside her. "Yeah, so we're at this club Lexi took us to-" "Lexi's still hanging around New York?" "Yeaaah, I know right? She says her house in LA's being used by Pierre, but who knows." Rei took a seat next to Serena, waving Motoki over. Makoto slipped back into her seat next to Ami, wrapping her arm around the doctor's slim waist. "Miss me?" The blue-haired woman rolled her eyes and continued her conversation with Serena. Rei smirked. "Well, looks like you're not as important as you thought you were. A surprise, isn't it? Her world does still turn, even if you're not around." The brunette stuck her tongue out at the raven-haired assassin, which earned her a roll of the lavender eyes. "So mature, Mako." "Oh please, Rei. If anyone has a big ego, it's you." Serena and Ami halted their conversation and listened to the two women bicker. It sounded like they were both having fun, a little too much fun, maybe. "At least I don't have to carry around a Ruger P345 to compensate for the lack of one." "Hey! I happen to like that gun!" "Yes, it makes you feel like a big, bad Makoto, doesn't it?" "At least I'm not a heartbreaker!" "No, you just break bank accounts." "I resent that!" "I know you do," Rei snickered, taking a gulp of the beer Motoki just brought her. "Fine, you win this round," Makoto relented with a pout. "Hino 4. Kino 0." The brunette made a face at the smirking assassin, which earned her yet another roll of the eyes. "You two are back together for half an hour and you've started it already?" Haruka smiled as she returned, eying the two with amusement. Serena turned to the owner of Abyss. "They do this often?" "More like all the time." "She always started it," Makoto mumbled. Ami looked at her girlfriend and then at the smug woman sitting next to her best friend and shook her head. This was ridiculous. They were more like children than underworld dealers. "Do I have to separate you two?" Haruka asked, arching a brow. Rei rolled her eyes again, something that caused Serena to poke her. "Stop that, they're going to get stuck that way. Right, Ami?" The woman in question had no idea why she was being pulled into this and opened her mouth to speak before she was cut off. "Right. So, you better quit that. I'd hate to see your eyes rolling all the time." "You'd get awfully dizzy," Makoto teased. "I'll still have better aim than you do." Rei's comment caught her brunette friend off guard, causing the woman to sputter. Haruka laughed and ruffled Makoto's hair. "Tough luck today, Mako." "Yeah, yeah. I'll get you, my pretty, and you're little dog, too." Serena watched as her kidnapper started to roll her eyes and poked her again. She smiled innocently when a glare was turned on her. "I detest dogs, remember?" Rei retorted, never taking her eyes off of the blonde batting her long eyelashes at her. "I give up." Lavender eyes turned away from Serena and to the exasperated brunette three seats down. "Hino 5. Kino 0." Makoto opened her mouth to retort when Haruka cut her off. "All right, you two, do I have to kick you out?" "I'll behave if she does." Ami gave her whining girlfriend a look before regarding the very smug looking Raven. This was going to be a strange night... Serena collapsed on the couch, unable to keep her eyes open any longer. Rei locked the door and walked over, nudging her leg with her knee. "Wash up and go to bed." "Muf potal hutam." "What?" The blonde removed her face from the comfortable pillow. "I'm too tired!" The assassin rolled her eyes and gave her companion's ass a good smack. "Ow!" Serena exclaimed, right before she rolled over... off the couch and onto the floor. "What was that for?" Rei smirked, crossing her arms over her chest. "It got you moving, didn't it?" "Oooh, you!" The infuriating smirk only widened. Serena jumped to her feet and, with her nose in the air, stormed out of the living room. As she brushed her teeth in the bathroom, the blonde smiled softly, remembering the night. It hadn't taken long before the tension broke, somewhat, the four of them were chatting together like old friends. Well, at least it wasn't only Rei talking to Makoto and her to Ami. The teasing between the brunette and her host never calmed through the night. It only became more heated, if anything. The two threw barb after barb at each other, always enough to make shut the other up for a few seconds but never enough to actually be hurtful. In the beginning, the blonde could tell Ami wasn't quite sure how to handle it all, but relaxed after a while and seemed to enjoy the bickering as much as she did. It was close to three in the morning before they decided to leave, what with Ami having to work in the morning and all. The parting was slightly less emotional than when she and her friend saw each other, though not by much. The two women stood outside, hugging and crying. Finally, whether because she was getting annoyed or pitied them, Rei said she would bring Serena by Abyss at least once a week. And if Makoto and Ami just happened to be by then, well... it'd be perfect. The blonde pounced on the raven-haired woman, engulfing her in a tight hug. She did, however, refrain from kissing her, thanks to a very heated glare. So, she was going to see Ami again in four days. With a goofy smile on her face, Serena opened the bathroom door. Only to find Rei leaning against the wall and looking quite impatient. She ignored the dark look she received, walking past the woman with a bounce in her step. "Good night, Rei!" "Night," was the gruff reply. "Oh, Rei?" The woman sighed and turned around, looking at the smiling blonde and waiting impatiently for her to speak. "Thanks." Serena wasn't surprised when a grunt was all she received as a response. All that mattered was the softening of those lavender eyes and that small smile. I hope you enjoyed that, even though it's short. Yeah, I just had to introduce Ami back into the story somehow, since Makoto's gonna be in it. I have to admit, they're not one of the couples I like writing, though they appear in almost every single one of my fics...
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