Rustling sheets, soft pants, and heavy breathing filled the room that was already being painted with morning sun. The two forms under the covers finally eased their activities into a murmur of slow kisses and mild touch. They lay there after they parted, soaking in each other's sensation, but with very different thoughts in their heads. Rei closed her eyes and resolved to keep them shut. Maybe after the first time she supposed it was a mistake, chalking it up to tumultuous and unsure emotions. The second time, it was probably only pure lust. But this was the third time. So what was this? She felt the bed shift in weight and opened her eyes to the girl rising from the bed, nude except for the sheet partially veiling her front. Rei was reminded of another such scene stored in her memory from countless times of repetition. On that note she closed her eyes again and asked herself the same question she's asked herself since that infernal night by the sacred fire. 'What the hell am I doing?' A pair of lips came down on her forehead, she opened her eyes reluctantly. The shrine robes were now on and she looked as if she transformed. Rei blinked. Somehow she looked different in the morning light. She watched her leave the room, presumably to meditate or help prepare breakfast. As soon as she left Rei rose from the bed and put fresh clothes on. She brushed her long, thick hair out, watching herself in the mirror, a thin line where something resembling a smile used to be. She turned the frame down on her dresser that housed a photo of a day at the beach, the two happy people clinging to each other in swim suits, grinning for the camera. She then turned to her bed and pictured in her mind what last night must've looked like. Her eyes closed again, a lump began to form in her throat. She let out a shaky breath and sank to the floor. Pulling her knees to her chest, she rested her head on them and sobbed. "Okay, it's like this," Makoto attempted to explain her "ankle-breaker, soul-shaker" basketball move to Ami. "Okay, defend. Oh come on you can do better than that Ami-chan." Makoto dropped the ball and went over to her. She took Ami by the waist and moved her, positioned her arms in the proper defensive arrangement, and finally took each leg and bent them individually. If not for the utterly mystified expression on her face, she would've looked like a pro. "So... I stay like this?" She questioned apprehensively. "Yeah, except you move in front of me when I try to drive to the hoop." Makoto laughed as she watched Ami. "Jeese, you look like Jordan himself." "Don't make fun of me yet." She thought of a phrase she heard in a movie once. "Um... bring it on." Makoto laughed outright. "All right little girl, let's hope your delicate little ankles hold up." She quickly head faked, trying to throw Ami off, but the smaller girl defended with surprising ferocity. "Take it easy, Ami-chan, you're fouling me!" Ami smirked. "Tough. Come on Mako-chan, 'shake my soul'." She taunted, putting her hand on the taller girl's hip and taking a swipe at the ball. Makoto grinned, loving this competitive, physical Ami. "Brace yourself, little girl." The way she said it made Ami's spine tingle, just before she got dropped on her butt. Makoto crossed-over, spun, and laid the ball neatly in the basket, while Ami was still lying on the gym floor. With a big self-satisfied smile, she leaned over Ami and pulled her up with one hand. Slightly dazed, Makoto was grinning at her, a peculiar glint in her eyes. Ami's ankles may have been intact but her soul was definitely shaken. On the other side of the gym Minako was similarly helping Usagi get off her butt. "I told you Usagi-chan, you can't just receive one of my spikes. The best teams in Tokyo can't even dig my spikes." "Dig your what? I just wanted to learn how to play." Usagi whined, rubbing her nose, where Minako's power kill had landed in her face. "Well, sorry, I'm not the best person to learn from. I put a little extra on that one... I do that sometimes, relieves stress." "Stress? What do you mean?" Usagi followed Minako to a bleacher where the blonde slumped down lethargically. She sat down next to her, sensing that something was not right. "Is something bothering you Mina-chan?" Minako tossed the volleyball she was holding up and down. She shook her head. "No." Usagi gave her an unconvinced look. She sighed. "Maybe. Just some stuff that's been on my mind lately." "Like what?" Usagi prompted, although she had a pretty good idea. "Rei." She said it simply, pushing her bangs back and staring in to space. Usagi watched her tune out, only guessing what she was thinking about. She put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "I'm not gonna try to get you to tell me whatever it is you're thinking right now." She paused, waiting for a response, only receiving a blank stare. "I'd sure like to know, though." Minako looked at her suddenly, desperate for some clarity for her cluttered mind. "You know when you're in love with someone?" Usagi sighed, and attained a far off look. "Oh, yes." "You know how it feels to be with them? To be touching them, talking to them, even just looking at them... You get a nice feeling, right?" Usagi nodded vigorously. "It's like... being warm. Safe." "Safe." Minako repeated. She dropped the ball she had been tossing and let it roll to Makoto and Ami's feet, who were approaching them. Usagi waited for her to say something else, but realized she wasn't going to. She squeezed her shoulder, understanding what might be going on inside her friend's head. "It'll be okay." She whispered encouragingly. Minako smiled at her, getting up suddenly. She stretched her arms over her head and sighed. "I'm think too much sometimes. You're right Usagi-chan. It will." "What will?" Makoto asked, handing the volleyball back to Minako. "Nothing. Hey, we should get going. You can't be late for your own party Mako-chan." Makoto groaned as she remembered. "Don't remind me. How did I let Freddy talk me into this?" "Oh I can think of one way," Minako wise-cracked. Makoto herself chuckled, as Ami attained a pensive look and turned pink. The blue-haired girl smiled to herself, earning strange looks from the other three. "What?" She realized herself finally, "I was just thinking about... Sternberg's triarchic theory of intelligence and its relative applicability to a contextual setting." Their totally puzzled expressions satisfied her enough. Minako's doorbell rang and she scrambled to put her clothes on faster. "Damn it, that's probably Rei, and I'm not even dressed yet. Artemis, can you get it?" Artemis sometimes wished he could throw something at her. Instead he sighed and said, "Minako, do you really think that I'll be able to stand on my hind legs and turn the knob with my paws?" Minako laughed at herself, as she hurriedly fixed her bow, "Sorry, I forget that it's only talking you can do, I figured you'd be able to pull off some of the other stuff too." She turned her attention to her bedroom door which was opening. She smiled. "Hey." Rei greeted her, a sweet smile on her face. Minako practically melted at the sight of her, she looked extraordinary. "You can close you mouth now." Minako laughed. "Kami, you look-" "Not nearly as good as you." An engaging silence ensued as their eyes took each other in, smiling lecherously at each other, the sound to break it being Artemis' derisive snorts. Rei chuckled and went over to the blonde, putting her arms around her waist. Minako nuzzled her neck, enjoying having her so close. "Why does it feel like I haven't seen you in forever?" "I love you." "What?" Minako was thrown by the sudden statement. Rei held her tighter; she was starting to breathe heavier. "I love you. A lot. You mean everything to me. You know that right?" Minako blinked at her. "Are you okay? Is something wrong?" "Everything's fine. Can't I just tell you how I feel?" "Yeah, of course. I love you too Rei." She held Rei closer to her and wondered where all that had come from. She took Rei's face in her hands and looked at her. "Rei- are you crying?" "No." The miko turned away from her girlfriend and discreetly wiped her eyes. Minako was a little more than confused. "Are you sure?" "Yes! Ahem, sorry. I'm fine." She let go of Minako when she realized the girl was looking at her strangely. "It's just stuff... with my father." She ran a hand through her hair, realizing she was lying and that it was only a small one compared to the enormous one that she was living. "Well, you should hurry up so we can get to the party on time; Akako-san is meeting us there. Can't have her there by herself." Before she left the room she kissed Minako deeply and thoroughly. "I love you." "I love you too," Minako said to her retreating form. She turned to Artemis and laughed admonishingly at herself. "What was I worrying about?" Makoto closed her eyes so she wouldn't see the dirty boots of someone she didn't know, and didn't want to know, on her newly polished coffee table. She turned the other way only to catch a grubby-looking kid about to pluck a leaf from her baby Australian ficus. "Hey, get away from that!" "Sorry, but you ran out of toilet paper." She just gave him a disgusted look and picked up her plant and headed to the bedroom, throwing him another disgusted look on the way. She opened the door to find two total strangers getting familiar with each other on her bed. "Get out!" "Hey man, this is Freddy's party-" "And this is my apartment; now get out of my bedroom!" Sighing as they left she put her plant down safely in a corner and collapsed on her bed. Freddy stuck his head through the door, a can in hand. "Hey babe, what are you doing in here? The party's out here." "I'm taking a break." She sat up and saw him standing unsteadily in the doorway. "What are you- Freddy, are you drinking?" "No. Maybe. Yes." He laughed sheepishly. "Everyone else is, so why not? You should too, it'll loosen you up." Makoto was infuriated. "I'll loosen you up, you-" The sound of the doorbell got him off the hook for now. Makoto just scoffed and pushed past him. She threw open the door to find the rest of the senshi plus Mamoru and one other. She sighed, an immense amount of relief overcoming her. "Thank God. I was about to go crazy." They cautiously entered the apartment they were used to seeing spotless and organized, now filled with a mass of strange people doing particularly nothing, unmelodious music blaring, and cans, bottles, and general junk everywhere. Rei laughed at the irony of Makoto's apartment being in such a state, due to her very own boyfriend. She then frowned at her own irony, which she had brought with her. She turned to her friends. "Hey everyone, this is Tora Akako. Akako-san, that's Kino Makoto, Mizuno Ami, Tsukino Usagi, and Chiba Mamoru. You probably remember Mina." "I wouldn't forget her." She smiled charmingly, earning a blushing smile from Minako and a dismayed glare from Rei. She turned to Makoto. "You're place is... nice, Kino-san." "It never looks like this!" Makoto tried to explain, "My boyfriend got me in to this. I didn't think this is what he meant by 'party'." "There are a lot of guys." Mamoru commented nonchalantly. He realized they were all looking at him and added, "Maybe Ami-chan will find someone she likes." "Eh?" This suggestion obviously caught Ami off guard. "Don't be ridiculous." Makoto piped, standing with her arms crossed next to Ami. "Not from this crowd." Ami looked at her, a small and very un-Ami-like idea forming in her head. "I don't know, Mako-chan. Maybe something different will be good for me." "W-what? Are you serious?" Makoto looked shocked, as well as the others. Usagi laughed, "Go Ami-chan! Do your thang!" Mamoru cringed. "Sweetheart, please don't say 'thang'." Ami giggled at her friends, but noticed Makoto's reaction. She was surprised, looking at Ami strangely, then turning away and smirking to herself, looking back at her once or twice. "Whatever you want Ami-chan." Ami had trouble hiding her own smile. She looked around apprehensively, then with slight hesitation and to the complete surprise of her friends, sauntered to Makoto's sofa and coyly took a seat in between two very captivated strangers. The one on her left greeted her first, followed by the one on her right. Her friends' mouths hung open as she first modestly took her jacket off, revealing a very, un-Ami-like top, and then shook each of their hands with an amiable smile. Makoto with her eyes wide, and her face pink, turned to Usagi. "Who is that? Are you sure you brought the right Ami-chan?" "I kinda like her more," Minako laughed. She took Rei's hand. "Come on, let's join the party!" The six of them diffused in to the revelry, Makoto to check on Freddy, Mamoru and Usagi to the balcony, and Rei, Minako, and Akako to the kitchen. "This punch tastes funny." Rei commented, after gulping down a cup. She felt the need to say something after several agonizing minutes of silence. Minako was leaned in to her side, trying to get Rei to do more than hold her hand. Akako simply held her drink to her lips, hiding an interested smirk behind her cup, her eyes never really leaving the couple. Thoughts were abound in her head; she evened chuckled to herself a few times. Rei herself was at the height of discomfort. She cursed herself for having the brilliant idea of bringing Akako, and with Minako obviously ready to jump her bones, cursed her own stupidity. "You look exquisite." Rei's eyes shot to Akako's in an instant. She lifted an eyebrow, realizing she was not the one being spoken to. Minako blushed, "Thank you, Tora-san." She smiled at Rei's arm pulling her closer. "She always does." Akako almost grinned at the contempt Rei was showing in her eyes. She looked away from them and sipped her drink slowly. "Such a good couple." The smug smile she wore irked Rei to no end. "Freddy? Who are those two guys on the sofa?" Makoto asked, forced in to a slow dance to a fast song by her tipsy boyfriend. She kept one eye on him and the other on the sofa. Currently they were offering her a drink, fighting over which she would take. Somewhat enjoying their bickering, Ami finally stopped them by taking both cups and taking a sip of each. Freddy glanced over to where his girlfriend was staring intently. "Oh! Those are my buddies from the soccer team." He looked at them carefully and laughed loudly. "Looks like they're trying to pick up your friend." Makoto's eyes darted in to his. "Hey, don't worry about her. They're good guys, they're in a band. What more could a girl ask for?" He put his head down on her shoulder while she rolled her eyes and mumbled, "How about someone who pays their half of the rent..." The full moon's luminous light reflected in Usagi's pure blue eyes was enough to make Mamoru's head spin with its perfection. He concluded that this would be his only chance for the night; he closed his eyes and puckered his soft lips, slowly moving in for a leisurely kiss. "It's cold out here. I have to use the bathroom." "Wha?" Mamoru opened his eyes to see his destiny-bonded love leaving him. "Damn. Usako, wait up!" Usagi opened the door to the bathroom and was immediately enveloped by a cloud of smoke. Coughing, she fanned the air around her and peered through the smoke to see six people in Makoto's bathroom. "Yo, close the door!" Usagi did so hurriedly but in her haste ended up on the wrong side, only to inhale more of the horrible smelling smoke. Suddenly she felt like sleeping, and leaned against the door with a lazy smile on her face. She fell haphazardly in to Mamoru when he opened the door. "Usako?" Mamoru sniffed the air and shook his head. "Better find Makoto." "What's the problem?" Freddy asked, seeing Mamoru practically dragging Usagi. Makoto pushed him out of the way and took a look at her friend. She turned to him with fury in her eyes. "I'm going to kill you." Freddy put his hands up in surrender, taking her words very seriously. She turned to Mamoru. "You should probably take her home. I'll get the others to help you if you need it." It was a front and she knew it, but she had to find some way to check on Ami. After all, they were friends and she had to look out for her. Ami's face was starting to hurt from smiling so much at the two gentlemen who were keeping her company. She smiled more from politeness, rather than actual enjoyment. Her eyes were constantly looking elsewhere, to see if another pair of eyes was looking at her. They never were though, so she resolved to be entertained by the two, who were obviously only telling her lies. "Oh? An heir to a fortune? That's nice." She finally saw what she was waiting for. She smiled. "Hi, Ami-chan. Having a good time?" Makoto asked almost sarcastically. "Oh yes, a great time. And you?" "The time of my life." They were teasing each other, and Makoto knew it. Ami's eyes gleamed with a certain mischief that she never saw before. She shook her head; she never saw it because she never looked for it, and she didn't need to look for it, she had a boyfriend. A wonderful, loving boyfriend. She didn't need Ami's remarkable intelligence, her softness, her warmth, her amazingly sexy legs, and she definitely didn't need the smoldering look she was giving her, that was making Makoto's blood rush like waterfall through her veins. "Mako-chan?" Minako waved a hand in front of her friends face. "Mako-chan, this is no time to be zoning out. Mamoru is going to take Usagi home, and Freddy-san is crying like a baby. And I think someone may have spiked the punch, because Rei had some and her face is really red." "What?!" Rei yelled from the kitchen. She spat the red liquid out and wiped her mouth indignantly. Akako racked with jeering laughter. "Well, the punch is spiked, but I don't think that's why your face is red." Rei huffed and turned her back to the girl. Noticing that they were alone for the first time, Akako meandered to her and put gentle hands on her hips. Rei jumped away from her. "ARE YOU-are you crazy?" She started to yell, but lowered her voice. She ran a hand through her hair and shook her head. "What... What are you trying to do to me? I need you to just, lay off." "Lay off?" Akako chuckled. "You should think things through sometimes, Rei-san. Or at least learn to control yourself." She took a few steps toward Rei, backing her in to the kitchen counter. "It's because of you, I can't control myself right now." Her lips were centimeters from Rei's. She grinned. "And neither can she. She wants you right now. Only because she has no idea..." She laid a feather light kiss on Rei's lips, lingering there. "Damn it, she's in the other room," The complaint came out with less protest in her voice than Rei wanted. Her eyes were closed and she succumbed, letting her hands go to Akako's waist, slipping underneath the blouse for a touch of her soft skin. "Not here, not here..." The mandate was ignored completely and Akako's lips were suddenly pressed in to hers with excitement. When Makoto opened the door to her kitchen she found Rei and that girl Akako standing a couple feet from each other, Akako laughing to herself, and Rei breathing heavily and wiping sweat from her brow. With a raised eyebrow she dismissed whatever oddities that may have been happening, and spoke to Rei. "Hey, Mina-chan's leaving with Usagi and Mamoru." "Why?!" Rei's heart raced and sweat formed on her brow anew, desperately wondering if she'd been caught. "Probably to make sure Usagi-chan's alright." "What's wrong with Usagi?" Makoto rubbed the back of her neck, embarrassed by the accidental incident. "You don't wanna know. Come on, you don't wanna miss them." "Where is she?" Rei demanded of Ami, the only one they found in the living room. "They left a few minutes ago. Mamoru-kun and Mina-chan felt it was urgent and left right away." "Damn it!" Makoto and Ami shared concerned glances. "Take it easy Rei, you'll see her tomorrow." Rei swallowed and looked at them, knowing that they didn't understand. "I just needed to see her; I didn't get to say I love you." Ami and Makoto smiled. They turned a strange look on Akako who chuckled behind a hand. She blinked at them. "Isn't that sweet? Well, I have early morning duties tomorrow..." Rei nodded. "I guess we're going too." She gathered all the cheer left in her and gave Ami and Makoto a smile. "See you guys later. Sorry I can't stay and help out." "Don't worry about it; I still have Ami-chan." Ami smiled, glad for this fact. Her smile faltered though as she was forced to help Makoto with the daunting task of throwing everyone out. Finding Freddy first, sobbing and whining, they coaxed him in to falling asleep, then locked him in the bedroom, while they made every one else disperse. The hardest part was getting six people, who were half asleep, off the bathroom floor and out of the apartment. Makoto clapped her hands an hour later as she looked around her apartment, again at the level of sanitation and purity she was comfortable with. Sniffing the air in her bathroom she frowned, but submitted that it would take a few days for that smell to air out. "Finally back to normal," She said, and then realized she was talking to herself when no reply came. "Where's Ami-chan?" She found Ami on the balcony, looking up at the moon in the clear black sky. She smiled at the sight. Silently she snuck up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. She was mildly disappointed when Ami didn't jump, only looked at her, then back at the full moon. She cleared her throat lightly, "It's late. You can stay here tonight." Ami looked at her again and she looked back. Makoto had to keep blinking to keep from falling in to a trance. Ami smiled. She felt suddenly very peaceful with the comforting way that Makoto was looking at her. She reached up and took Makoto's face in her hands and brought their lips together, kissing her slowly. She pulled away, smiling, and opened her eyes. Then jumped back, realizing what she just did. Makoto looked at her strangely. She licked her lips. Ami felt like she was dying. Swiftly she grabbed an arm and pulled Ami to her, and kissed her with unrestrained lust that she never knew, or never acknowledged was there. A few heated seconds and she pulled away with a small smile, their forehead's touching and their breath gone. Ami broke away suddenly, putting her hands to her face. "I'm sorry... I..." Unable to finish, she dashed to the door leaving a dazed and confused Makoto standing alone on the balcony. She closed her eyes, shaking her head. She leaned on the railing of the balcony and put her head in her hands. "What the hell just happened?" "You're home early." Artemis commented, raising his head from his rested paws to see Minako enter her room. She stood in the middle of the room looking at her feet, clenching and unclenching her fists, breathing very hard. "Mina? Is something wrong?" The worried cat asked. Tears dripped on to her shoes. Suddenly she went to the dresser, picking up a framed photo and giving it a disgusted look before flinging it against a wall. Artemis yelped and covered his ears with his paws. "Minako, what's going on?!" His voice had no impact on her as she started destroying every single photo on her dresser that contained Rei's face. She grunted and ground her teeth through tears as she ripped each one to shreds. Her trembling hand landed on a recent picture, taken last week at the shrine. The priestess was smiling, her eyes appeared to be somewhere else other then the photographer. Minako looked carefully at the figure intruding in the picture, the irony was perfect. Slumping to the floor, she crushed the picture in her hand, and brought her knees to her chest. Artemis cautiously nudged her with his head. "Minako. What happened?" Her body rocked with sobs, and her hand gripped harder on the crumpled photo. "I hate her."
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