"Stop looking at me like that." Minako grinned from her seat on the floor. "Like what?" Rei glared at her. "Like that." "Why Rei, whatever do you mean?" "I'm serious Mina. I told you already, we just can't today." Mina pouted. "You don't have to be so mean about it..." "I'm not being mean!" Rei paused and sighed. "And stop pouting." Mina pouted more and her bottom lip began to tremble. Rei just shook her head and gave in; first making sure the door was closed, then gently putting her arms around the blonde. Mina grinned, pressing her body deeper into Rei's. "You're such an actress." "Mmm hmmm... Rei, look at me." The miko reluctantly peered into Minako's eyes. "I love you." she whispered before pressing her lips firmly against her best friend's. The squeak and slide of an opening door reminded the two that their time together was limited. Rei cursed under her breath and pulled from Minako hurredly, inadvertedly pushing the girl to the floor. She just lay there as three other teenagers and two cats entered Rei's room. "Hi Rei-- Oh Mina! I almost stepped on you, why are you lying on the floor?" Usagi asked, alongside Ami and Makoto. Mina's eyes were closed and she sighed deeply. "I dunno. Maybe I'm tired." "You should take a quick nap if you're that tired." Makoto suggested. "Maybe... Excuse me." she said, rushing out of the room. Ami, Makoto, and Usagi, turned from watching Mina's back to staring at the top of Rei's head. The miko's head was ducked and she was concentrated on a spot on the floor. "Rei..." Her head snapped. "What? Are we gonna study or just stand around?" "Sure, sure Rei, I'll just get some snacks for us okay?" Makoto said, turning worried eyes towards the direction Minako left in. Rei huffed and glared at the other two, left awkwardly standing with their books in hand. Usagi and Ami gave each other concerned glances and sat down with Rei to study. Minako stiffened and brushed away errant tears from her eyes nonchalantly, as soon as she felt Makoto coming up behind her on the front porch. "Mina-chan..." The blonde's head turned slightly to face her friend, but her eyes still focused on some far off object. "Hey Mako-chan." "Ummm, what's up?" "Same old, same old." she half-whispered, with some bite in it. Makoto sighed, and looked towards the far off object. "So you're not gonna tell me what's bothering you?" Mina finally broke her stare and looked at her friend. "There's nothing bothering me." "Y'know it hurts when you lie to your best friend." "Mako-chan... I've just been in a bad mood, that's all." Makoto scratched her head, trying to piece together things in her mind. "That's just the thing, Mina-chan, lately you've been in a bad mood a lot. Well, a lot more than we're used to from you." Makoto chuckled. "We expect these sorts of mood swings from Rei." The way Minako's eyes darted into Makoto's seemed to shake her soul. She had to blink a few times before she continued. "I mean, you've been so up and down lately, it's becoming kinda concerning. For instance, yesterday when I talked to you on the phone you said you slept over Rei's house and you two had a great time and then when you came to the Crown that afternoon you looked, I dunno, kinda dejected." "Dejected?" Mina thought back to why she would feel like that on that particular afternoon. "Oh, yeah..." She and Rei had a slight contradiction during the walk there. "Can't even hold hands..." she spat under her breath. "What?" "Nothing." "No, you said something about hands." "No I didn't." "Yeah, sure. But do you get it? What's been going on?" Minako furrowed her eyebrows and looked at Makoto and then out to the distance. "Mako-chan, you've been in a serious relationship right?" Makoto was a bit thrown by the question. "Wha? Uhh, yeah, actually I have. My old sempai was--" Minako cut her off. "Suppose you were in a relationship with a person who you care deeply about. Suppose that you had to keep this relationship a secret. Suppose that this made you very unhappy, although it kept you with the person you cared about indefinitely, opposed to if it wasn't a secret, where there would be a chance, a slight chance, that you may be kept apart because of the, ummm, nature of this person you cared about. What would you do? Keep the secret to keep the person happy for a silly reason or spill and make the person unhappy and maybe risk everything for a damn good reason. Hmm?" Makoto blinked a few times. "Aino Minako... Are you seeing a married man?" Minako slapped her forehead. "No, I just... Just answer the question." "Well I guess it would depend on the 'reason' that you speak of." "Suppose the reason, in your mind, wasn't good enough to keep the secret." "I guess I wouldn't keep it anymore then." "Risking making this person unhappy and blowing the entire relationship?" "Well when you put it that way, then I'd keep the secret." "But it made you unhappy and put a strain on the relationship..." Makoto shook her head and flailed her arms in the air, attempting to knock away the brainteasers. "Jeese, I dunno Minako, shouldn't you know all this, Ms. Goddess of Love?" Minako's face became thoughtful. "You're absolutely right. I am the Goddess of Love. Thanks a lot Mako-chan." Makoto became confused as she watched the blond waltz back to Rei's room. "Hey! Wait! What was all that about?!" Rei watched her girlfriend attentively throughout the study session. She had realized what she did and guilt compressed her heart. She had been inadvertently hurting Minako lately and although it seemed like she didn't realize it, she did, and it hurt her as much to be doing that to someone she loved. She tried to will Minako to make eye contact with her, but the blonde would only briefly meet her eyes before fluttering away teasingly. Rei knew she deserved this at least, but it annoyed her to be left wondering if Minako's suddenly bright mood was only a facade. She'd have to wait. "See you tomorrow Rei-chan!" Usagi waved as she and Ami and Makoto prepared to leave. "Hey Mina-chan, aren't you coming?" "In a minute Usagi, I can't find my notebook..." "It's in the kitchen. I'll get it for you." Rei offered. "Okay." Rei took one step and realized Minako wasn't following her. "Are you coming?" "For what?" She smiled innocently at Rei who in turn gave her an agitated look. "To make sure it's your notebook." With that she grabbed the blonde's hand and pulled her into the kitchen. "Jeese Rei. It's just a notebook..." "No it's not just the notebook." The miko sighed and ran a hand through her thick hair. "I'm sorry, okay?" "Sorry for...?" "Mina. You know what I'm talking about. And I'm sorry. Alright? That's the last time I'm going to say it because I promise it'll never happen again." Minako looked away and considered Rei's apology. The fact that she was getting an apology at all from Hino Rei was incredible. Her hand found Rei's and she decided that was all she needed. "It's okay. It's just that... I dunno. Sometimes it feels like you..." "Like I what?" "Mina-chan! Didya find it, we're ready to leave!" Minako shook her head and gave her girlfriend a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'll talk to you tomorrow. Love you." Rei watched her leave and started to miss her already. "Love you too." She said to no one. The tossing and turning she had done all night wasn't the kind Rei appreciated, and her friends could tell she hadn't woken up on the right side of the bed, if such a thing existed for the temperamental miko. So they wisely avoided eye contact and mumbled their greetings, only hoping that the storm in her eyes would pass, as they took up their customary walk to school. Minako slowed her pace to walk beside her, trying to get her attention somehow without the others noticing. Rei was normally grumpy in the mornings, but today it seemed like her petulance was aimed in her direction. Her arm casually brushed against Rei's, causing the miko to visibly stiffen. Without thinking her eyes snapped on Rei's and she glared at her. "What is your problem?" she whispered harshly, at this point not caring if the others heard. Rei's deep eyes shifted around uncomfortably, certain that at the least Usagi's ears were perked up and listening. She faced in front of her and stared at the back of Makoto's head, knowing Minako was burning a whole in to the side of her face with her eyes. "What are you talking about?" she replied nonchalantly, trying to focus her eyes on Makoto's ponytail swaying in front of her. She didn't want to look at Minako at the moment. Minako's eyes narrowed and her mouth moved as if she wanted to say something more, but wouldn't say it. Usagi, Ami, and Makoto stopped suddenly, causing Rei to walk smack into Makoto's back. "Oof-Wha?" "Bye Rei! See ya after school!" Usagi said waving, as did Ami and Makoto, making Rei realize they had arrived at her school. "Oh yeah... Bye guys." She weakly waved back, noticing Minako already walking in the opposite direction. With furrowed eyebrows and stress already apparent on her face, she stalked into T&A, glowering past meek underclassmen who yelped as they got out of the way. Minako grew more and more upset each minute that she thought about her girlfriend's behavior that morning. She had no idea where the sudden and uncalled for attitude had come from. Just the thought of how Rei acted made her screech and pound her fist on the desk. Unfortunately no one could sympathize since they were all in the middle of a math lesson. "Aino?" the elderly algebra teacher questioned, giving her a puzzled look, along with Usagi and Ami and the entire class. She put on her best pseudo-smile and laughed nervously. "Sorry Sensei! This, " She quickly looked at Ami's notebook to see what they were supposed to be learning, "this remainder theorem is killer." "Well, you'd better find some help before the test." The teacher turned back to the blackboard and continued with his lesson, allowing Minako to release a relieved sigh. She dismissed Usagi and Ami's questioning looks with quick thumbs up and put her chin in her hand and tried to focus on the remainder theorem for the rest of the period, lest she start thinking about Rei again and work herself into a rage in front of the whole class. "Where's Minako?" Rei asked immediately upon noticing only Usagi, Ami, and Makoto arriving at the shrine. "Hello to you too," Makoto's sarcasm served to embarrass Rei, but she answered her question, "She said she wasn't feeling well, and thought she'd be better off skipping today's meeting." "Which is unfortunate, since she was having trouble with the remainder theorem in class today," Ami said, scratching her chin thoughtfully, "But she did seem very distraught over something." Rei remained quiet as they took their seats at the table in her room. It wasn't beyond her that she was a bit too unkind to Minako in the morning. But the feeling Minako left her with the night before seemed like a good enough reason to be a little cross with her at the time. But now she knew she was in trouble, and this time her usually merciful girlfriend would not be so gracious. There was only one thing she could do to make things right, and she cursed gently under her breath as she realized what had to be done. Running a shaky hand through her thick hair, she inhaled and exhaled deeply before addressing her friends. "Listen you guys," her serious tone caught the attention of her three fellow senshi quickly, "There's something you need to know." Artemis purred and rubbed his coat against her ankles with all his might, but he could not get his master out of her miserable state. She just continued to sigh deeply and stare out the window. "Oh come on Minako!" he yelled, jumping up onto the window sill. "You can't sit around like this all day. At least tell me what's bothering you." Minako picked him up and scratched his head, grateful that she had him around when she couldn't talk to anyone else. "It's Rei," she finally told him. Artemis tried not to roll his eyes. He truly did sympathize, but it seemed like lately those two were fighting everyday. And since he had disagreed with the whole thing in the beginning, it became more difficult to suppress the urge to blurt out "I told you so!" But he only shook his head and jumped out of her arms. "I just hope you're not getting hurt. It wouldn't be ideal to have you grieving a broken heart or being emotionally torn by someone you have to protect and be protected by everyday. Above all else, you have to remember that first you two are senshis and then..." he said the word slowly and with obvious distaste, "girlfriends." "Lovers," she corrected him with a grin. Underneath all that senshi talk, she knew Artemis was concerned the most with Minako and not Sailor Venus when it came to Rei. Resuming her aimless habit, she put her chin in her hand and gazed through the window once more. A person approaching her house caught her eye. "Kami, "she sighed, "Is she serious?" She got up suddenly and left the room, causing Artemis to sigh as he left his comfortable position and follow her. For the fiftieth time Rei asked herself what she was doing and for the fiftieth time she rationalized with herself. She smiled meekly when Minako swung open her front door and glared at her. Minako was the first to speak since Rei couldn't find her voice. "What are you doing here?" There was just a hint of anger in her voice. Rei raised her eyes from her feet to look at Minako, for the first time that day. "We need to talk." Her own voice was steadier than she imagined it to be. "Oh? So now you want to talk? This morning you completely blew me off and now we need to talk?" Artemis padded silently beside her and upon seeing Rei nudged her with his head in an attempt to soothe her oncoming anger. Rei sighed and tried not to become impatient. "I'm sorry about that. I had a lot on my mind." "That doesn't make things any better, Rei." "I know, but hear me out. I was thinking about a lot of things last night, including you and me," Minako tilted her head as she listened to Rei, wondering where she was going with this. "I know what you want to happen, and for a long time I wasn't ready for it to happen, and I'm still not. But it's for the best, so..." "So... What do you mean?" Minako asked cautiously, not willing to get her hopes up, even though she took a few steps closer to Rei. Rei smiled, hoping she was doing the right thing, and seeing Minako's face she knew she was. "I mean," she took out her communicator and opened it, showing Usagi, Ami, and Makoto, all gathered and peering into Ami's communicator at the shrine. "This is what I couldn't tell you guys. I have to show you." Before Minako could react Rei was kissing her and there was gasps emitting from the communicator. This kiss was gentle and affectionate, made sweeter when Minako finally realized what Rei was doing. She was outing them. They clung to each other while catching their breath, then remembered what the point of it was. Apprehensively they turned their eyes on the communicator and braced their selves. Not one of them uttered a word. They seemed as if they were petrified and were unable to move. All of their eyes were wide, two mouths hung open, and one bore a slight smile. Makoto found her voice first. "Ho... ly... shi-" "Implausible..." Ami muttered. "I never would have guessed..." She seemed to still be grasping the concept of what had just occurred. "I can't believe it, " Usagi finally murmured. "I always thought Rei had a thing for me." Minako and Rei did all they could to keep from falling over, while Ami and Makoto turned their shocked gazes on her. "What? Don't tell me you all didn't think so too?" Rei balked. "I didn't!" "I can see what you mean Usagi," Minako ignored the look Rei gave her. "But she's mine." Usagi giggled at the scene on Ami's communicator. "I don't think Mamo-chan would appreciate that very much... or maybe he would? I did find these really ecchi magazines under his bed one day-" "Usagi!" Rei cut her off. "No one wants to know. But Mina and I, you guys are okay with it, right?" Usagi's smile took up the entire communicator screen, easing the anxiety in Rei's chest. "Why wouldn't we be? I'm perfectly fine with it, and Ami-chan and Mako-chan," she elbowed Makoto to get her and Ami out of their dazed stupor. "Oh sure, sure, sure," Makoto assured them. "At least you're not with a married man, Mina-chan." Minako had to ignore the inquisitive look Rei shot her after that comment. Ami took a minute to collect her thoughts before speaking. "It will take some time to get used to. But I see no objection." "Good. I'm glad you all have no objections," Artemis said, jumping onto Minako's shoulder and addressing the communicator. "Then it'll be easier to explain it to Luna." "Oh stop ruining the moment Artemis," Minako said, shaking him off. "We'll have to get back to our studying," Ami informed them, always the one to bring up schoolwork. "Rei, are you coming back or should we move to another location?" Rei looked at Minako, who smirked at her. She took the communicator from Rei and answered, "You should definitely move Ami-chan." With that she shut down the communicator and with an impish smile pulled Rei by the front of her shirt in to the house, slamming the door in Artemis' face. "As long as they're in there, I'm glad I'm out here." He sighed and settled down to take a nap in the sun. "Okaaaay," Makoto rubbed her face and paced around her living room, where the three of them had relocated to. "That was a bit of a shocker." Ami tapped her chin thoughtfully with the end of a pencil. "It's fairly obvious when you think about it. Their behavior lately was rather unusual. This morning, for example." "You're right Ami-chan!" Usagi piped, spewing crumbs of Makoto's home baked cookies. "It sounded like they were having a fight or something this morning. That's why Mina-chan didn't want to come to the meeting today!" Makoto plopped down on the couch and put her feet up on the coffee table. "I bet they're not fighting anymore," she chuckled, making Usagi almost choke on her cookie and Ami's ears turn red. Usagi's eyebrows furrowed as she became contemplative. "Mako-chan do you mean... They don't actually do... that stuff... do you think?" Makoto grinned as she watched Ami turn progressively more crimson. "Who knows? But I think we should cut this talk out, they'd kill us. And Ami-chan might die if anymore blood rushes to her head." Ami startled when she heard her name. "It's just a little inappropriate." "But would you have guessed?" Usagi exclaimed excitedly. "Mina-chan's so boy crazy and Rei's so... not a lesbian." Makoto and Ami looked at her with perplexity. "How do you figure? I mean, you thought she liked you!" Makoto pointed out, with some amusement. "Well she went out with Mamo-chan, so it would make sense that she'd like me! It's something they call it..." "Displacement." Ami clarified. "I don't think that's what happened." "Is it so hard to believe that they just fell for each other?" Makoto asked seriously. The three of them looked at each other and pondered the question. Usagi shrugged. "They'd have pretty babies." Neither Makoto nor Ami bothered to comment. The dark eyed beauty practically kicked up her heels as she walked home from Minako's house, much spring in her step. She was lighter, untroubled, generally happy, since revealing their secret to their friends two weeks ago. It was apparent what the cause of her and Minako's problems had been and now that it wasn't a factor anymore, they lived in utter bliss. The youma attacks had been sparse lately, and those that happened weren't much of a challenge. Life was good. "I'm home Grandpa," Rei called out upon entering the shrine and seeing the old man in the kitchen. She smiled at him and kissed the top of his bald head. He chuckled at her, somewhat rare, exuberance. "What gives you such high spirits today, my child?" He asked, putting a bowl of potatoes in front of her to peel. Her smile faltered slightly at the task she was presented with, but shone again as she answered him. "I just feel good, Grandpa." "And what is making you feel this good?" Rei raised an eyebrow at his sudden curiosity in her mood. "Uh, I don't know Grandpa. It feels like... I'm living again." "You were not living?" "Something like that," Rei took a good look at the old man. He wasn't really her parent, but he was the closest thing she had; with her mother gone and her father, who might as well be. If her best friends took it easily, then he would too. He understood her. "Grandpa, I was at Minako's house. That's where I just came from." "Yes? Minako is the one with the bow?" He asked, but Rei knew it was a front. He used to leer at her the most. "That's her. You like her right?" "She's a nice girl. Very vibrant. And pretty, very pretty." Rei took a deep breath. "Um... I'm seeing her, Grandpa." "Mm hmm." Rei waited for a follow-up to this non-syllabic answer, but none was forthcoming. He just continued to chop vegetables and stir the boiling pot of rice. "Grandpa? Don't you have... a reaction?" The old man looked at her once and then turned back to his pot. "Reaction to what my dear?" Rei was baffled. "To what I just told you! I'm seeing Minako!" He chuckled at that, making Rei question the possibility of senility in the elder priest. "I see Minako too, my dear. We all see her. Do you mean you see her right now? Because she isn't here. And that would be a problem. But you are healthy aren't you? You don't look feverish. Perhaps if you ate those mushrooms that were leftover from last night, it would have that effect. Or..." He looked at her suddenly, "Rei are you doing drugs?" Rei looked at him blankly. Slowly she erupted. "What?! NO! Grandpa, don't you get it? I'm not seeing her right now, but I'm seeing her. Like, SEEING her. I'm with her Grandpa." "You're with her?" The old man sighed. "Rei, I didn't think I'd have to talk to you about such things. Drugs are bad-" "NO! GRANPA I'M NOT ON DRUGS!!" Rei flailed around with a potato and knife in hand, trying to get through to the old-timer. She put the vegetable and potential weapon down slowly and breathed calmly. After she was composed again, she attempted to be straightforward with him. "Grandpa listen to me. Minako and I are together, meaning I'm not hallucinating about her right now. She's my... girlfriend." The look on the elder priests face showed that he needed more explanation. Rei tried to be as simple as possible. "If she was a guy, she'd be my boyfriend. But she is a girl, therefore she is my girlfriend. Do you get it? We're... involved." Enlightenment dawned on the old man's face. "Are you telling that, you are... romantic, with this girl?" Rei closed her eyes and nodded. "Yes." He looked suddenly weaker than she ever saw him, and helped him over to a chair. He leaned his bald head on a propped up hand and shook it solemnly. "Great grandchildren..." "Grandpa, talk to me." Rei kneeled down near him and he put an encouraging hand on her head. "This is unexpected." Rei nodded and took his hand. "It's alright Grandpa." "It's not though, my child. I'm your guardian. But your father... He will not be pleased." Rei shrugged. She figured he was so far removed from her life anyway that it wouldn't matter either way. "We don't have to tell him." The old man shook his head. "I can't do that. I owe it to him and your mother. He wished for you..." "What Grandpa?" He patted her head as he frowned. "He wants you to marry soon." Rei was stunned. A skeptical eyebrow rose. "Are you kidding? He wasn't serious. I'm seventeen!" "Your mother married him when she was nineteen. He is looking for a-" Rei jumped up and put her hands over her ears. "I don't want to hear anymore Grandpa. That's ridiculous, he's ridiculous. Can't even tell me that he's planning my future, when he's not even apart of my present. It's stupid, and I don't want to hear another word about it." "Rei," She sullenly looked over at her grandfather. "Think about what your mother would want." She looked at her feet and thought about it. She arrived at the answer fairly easily as she thought about her mother. "I'm in love Grandpa. I know what she wants."
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