A/N: In this story Minako and Rei are in their 20s.
Minako was a little tipsy.
She could see Rei casting annoyed glances in her direction, but she hardly cared. She was feeling particularly restless on this Saturday night, and it just so happened to be the night of the Sanno Matsuri festival in Tokyo. The Azabu-Juuban district was modest in its celebration, but Rei was forced to work on behalf of the shrine at a restaurant downtown. She served drinks and offered charms to the customers as they came in for refreshments after participating in the parade of paper-floats. Minako would normally be out with them, frequenting the many booths that had been set up along the sidewalks, but the lure of a dark restaurant where Rei was running around in a fine kimono peaked Minako’s curiosity.
And so she sat there at the bar, ignoring the miko’s eyes, which were burning into the side of her face, taking drink after drink of sake.
Rei tried her best not to watch her. She wasn’t watching her thin wrists dancing as she relayed a story to some sap sitting next to her. She wasn’t watching her eyes, which were already alight with the spell of alcohol. She wasn’t even watching her fascinating body, which seemed to bend and mold in the shadows of the small restaurant. She was, however, watching her mouth.
There was something about the way Minako was grinning.
Goddamn the line of her jaw.
Goddamn those perfect teeth.
Goddamn, especially, the way her lips seemed to pull into a small pucker whenever she was holding in laughter.
Her grin was fearless and inviting. It could knock anybody to their knees if she tried hard enough. It was gorgeous and dangerous and made Rei think about sucking on peaches in the summer time.
She couldn't fucking stand it.
Rei knew she was grinning to annoy her. She was flirting with the men at the bar, leaning over them to take delicate drinks from their glasses, casting quick glances in Rei's direction every now and then. And then her melodious laugh would float within ear shot and Rei could feel every inch of her bunch up and tighten, like a pack of wild wolves were about to jump out of her throat and devour the entire room. The tricky blond knew exactly what effect her actions would be having on Rei, which is why she got such enjoyment out of it. Never mind that she was a little drunk and couldn't quite keep her surroundings in focus. It was all just part of the game they played. And Minako was an expert at it.
Rei finally passed the bar, heading back towards the kitchen. She refused to look over at Minako or her skirt—which seemed to curl under her thighs and slide whenever she decided to lean. But once Rei was behind the swinging doors of the kitchen she braved a peek through the thin slice of light between them. The priestess tried to quiet her shallow, ragged breaths as she watched the golden woman at the bar, little pin-pricks of fire starting at the base of her neck and working their way down her arms into her fingers. There was anger there, but there was also something exhausting inside of her. How much longer could Rei keep pretending that this blond vixen didn't eat up all of her resolve? She clenched the rounded serving tray in both hands tightly, feeling the thunderous frustration hammer her into a familiar state of uncertainty.
Why the hell was Minako here? What right did she have to do this, to come here when Rei was supposed to be working? What right did she have to wear that skirt? Was she loitering here in the hopes they would go home together?
The raven-haired beauty started biting her lip, hating herself for thinking that Minako would be here for her. She had to stop herself from traveling down that path. She had to stop herself before falling.
The night wore on, and Minako was more than a little tipsy now, sipping warm gulps of sake, the rest of the bar now abandoned by her former distraction methods. She was slumped on one elbow, cheeks rosy and her limbs warm, and she was openly watching the miko now. Rei was cleaning up the remaining tables, the long sleeves of her kimono tied up above her elbows as she wiped the surface with a dirty rag. She was tired. She was always tired. She had given up trying to figure out Minako's actions almost an hour ago, and now she had nothing but the hollowed out feeling that graced her late at night. It was the same feeling that often times led her to the cherry blossom tree out behind the shrine when she should be sleeping.
And she had told Minako about this secret spot, despite her better judgment. There was something else there that made her do it. Something pleading. Something.
They had met there a few times this summer, when insomnia had taken them both. Sometimes they would talk. Sometimes they would laugh. But mostly they would be quiet together, the way only two friends who had known each other so long could. And the air around that cherry tree was alive with all the things left unsaid after dark.
Rei stood and surveyed her work, hands on hips and a small ring of sweat lining her neck. There were a few people still lingering, talking in the dim lantern light, but most of them had left at midnight, to catch the trailing ends of the parade. She knew that Minako was still sitting at the bar, legs swinging off of the stool, making the fabric of her short skirt sway. Rei did not know why her irritating friend remained, but she was determined to avoid that question.
She walked up to Minako, finally looking at her close up, hating and loving the way the light caught her unusual golden hair. She caught a brief fragment of that familiar scent as she neared her best friend—something like orange groves and sunlight and warm summer evenings. Minako did not turn to see her, rather finishing the rest of her sake in one gulp and landing the small porcelain cup down in front of her with a definite smack.
"I'm going home now," Rei said, careful not to let hope seep into her tone.
"Okay," was Minako's only reply.
Rei felt the anger then.
It was familiar too, like most of her emotions when it came to the infuriating blond. And it was the type of anger that made Rei's voice tighten, made it hard for her to breath properly, and often times had her awake for hours, brewing and steaming and rolling over the same thoughts again and again.
Then why the hell did you even come?
But she wouldn’t ask that question. She couldn't. Minako would know how much she affected her if she dared to speak, so she tried her best to shrug, despite the heightened intensity that was roasting her shoulder muscles, clamping down every inch of her neck and arms and back in a stiff, angry posture. And then she turned, throwing her cleaning rag down on one of the empty tables and headed out the door and into the warm night air. She knew where she wanted to go. And she knew some part of her was hoping Minako would follow, but she hated and she abused that part of herself for being so stupid and naive about what to expect.
Minako was giggling.
She was fingering the high-stone wall to her right, trailing her hand along its rough surface until her fingers tingled. Her limbs were already buzzing with the type of electric energy she always had when she was folded into the fuzzy reality of intoxication. It made her bold. It gave her an excuse to behave badly, and she always took advantage of such excuses. Some vague part of her mind told her to go home and sleep it off, but what did she care?
There were too many goddamn stairs to the shrine. Minako stumbled along them, humming and laughing, always laughing.
"Reiiiii-chan," she sang as she reached the top, looking out at the quiet, deserted building. It was too familiar to seem creepy at night, although some of the darker corners across the property did make her breath catch. But then she was walking swiftly, trying to get to her destination without thinking too hard about what was making her go there. I’ll blame the shrine ghosts, she thought distantly.
Minako followed the winding path behind the shrine, across the small bridge that hung over a shallow stream, and towards a small cluster of trees that flourished near the back wall. There would be one string of lanterns hanging in a cherry blossom tree and there would be one stubborn girl lying beneath them. Minako knew this to be true.
"Hah!" Minako barked, as she neared Rei, who was indeed, where she had suspected her to be.
Rei instantly shot up, surprised to see her friend standing in the low light near her tree, her eyes gleaming in the darkness. But she wasn’t really surprised, was she? Minako was sporting that grin again, that goddamn grin, and she looked like a white light in the shadows.
"What are you doing here?" The miko demanded, drawing up her legs so she sat closed off from the other girl.
"Don't be coy," Minako purred, practically falling as she stumbled towards her best friend. She scooted her body close to Rei, despite her closed posture, and hooked an arm around her shoulder. "You know why I'm here." She said this right up against Rei's neck.
Rei's heart was instantly on fire, racing inside of her ribcage and making it impossible for her to think clearly, to distinguish between the desire that started in the base of her belly and the reasonable objections to Minako’s intoxicated state. But she didn't push the obviously drunk Minako away, and instead seemed to slump her shoulder, so Minako's head fit exactly so in the crook of her neck. And she didn't know why Minako was here. She didn't know why her insides were currently up in arms with themselves, firing and flaming her stomach, making it curl up in hiding. She didn't know why this girl, nestled up in her neck could make her feel like falling asleep for the first time all summer long.
"You're drunk," Rei said quietly.
"You should have stopped me while you could have," Minako declared, her breath hitting Rei's skin and making her shiver. Rei knew she was talking about the sake, she could smell it on her breath, but some part of her wished she was talking about them, about being together, about what was going to happen this night.
"I liked your kimono," Minako breathed, running her finger down Rei's now bare arm. How could Minako be so seductive when she wasn’t even trying? Or maybe she was trying. Rei refused to think about that and instead focused on her arm, which was still being fingered by the blond. She cursed her choice of clothing, a small tank top and shorts. She would prefer the stuffy, strict kimono to this, with Minako so closed to her. With Minako touching her. With Minako breathing on her.
"You weren't the one who had to wear it," Rei shot back, forcing quick breaths between her lips and out her nose. If Minako wasn't so drunk she probably would have noticed Rei's trembling.
"Well, I liked it," Minako said softly and then a small laugh escaped her lips and Rei felt them pucker against her neck. That goddamn pucker of a laugh.
Suddenly Minako and the warmth she had was gone, as the young blond flattened herself along the bumpy grass, bending her knees so her skirt flew right down her thighs. Rei's eyes darted hungrily there, to the soft skin right where her legs met her hip, and she could see the peak of Minako's underwear between her legs. Rei knew she should have the decency to tell her intoxicated friend that she was showing parts of herself that should remain hidden but instead she found her eyes running up the line of her leg and back down, until she reached the rise and fall of Minako's stomach. Rei imagined her hands there, imagined them under her skirt. Down her legs.
On her knee.
And then just as suddenly, Rei lied down next to her, her breathing now so labored that she felt if she kept on looking at her friend she would suffocate. So she settled on closing her eyes, trying to calm the rush of images that flooded her mind as she did so: Minako's skirt flung up, Rei's head hovering over that soft skin and running her mouth along the cloth of her underwear that she had seen, wetting it with her tongue, her mouth, her teeth...
"Rei-chan?"
Goddamn her.
Goddamn her skirt. Her legs. Her knee.
"Mmm?" Rei murmured, noticing suddenly that their elbows were touching.
"Do you ever fall asleep out here?"
Rei did not tell her that the only time she felt like sleeping was like this, laying next to her, in the soft light of the lanterns over their head, and the warm summer breeze making the air seem sticky and sweet.
"No."
"It's because the ground is too rough," Minako said knowingly, like all of Rei's reasons for not sleeping could be cured with a futon.
"Mmm," Rei responded.
And then she felt Minako move and suddenly the heavy weight of her friend's head was on her stomach. Rei opened her eyes and wished she hadn't. Minako blond hair was spilling over Rei's body, and she saw it moving with the in and exhale of her every breath. Minako's skirt was still bundled near her hips and her lips were puckering again, in that way they did.
"This is much better," she said, and the laughter was laced in her voice, floating high above them into the darkness, out into the thick, summer air. Rei couldn’t breathe when she thought about that voice.
And the miko hated Minako for doing this to her. For coming here drunk and in that skirt. She hated Minako for touching her, for laughing, for being solid and heavy on her stomach, making her dizzy with the idea of what could happen if they were this close. But most of all she hated herself—for waiting out here in the dark, knowing Minako would come—for thinking there would be something, anything between them. And especially for reaching down and running her fingers through Minako's hair, playing with the loose ends simply because she wanted to. Rei should know better. She should know better than to succumb to her impulses.
But still she threaded her fingers through her friend’s hair, watching in fascination at the way it fell and caught the dim light. And then she was getting bolder with her touches, running them towards her scalp and down onto Minako's face.
Minako's breath hitched somewhere in her throat as she felt Rei touching her. She liked it. She closed her eyes and let the sensation take over her mind, but soon she was imagining much more than Rei’s hands in her hair. And what was stopping her? There was no fear of rejection now, when she could feel the quickened pace of Rei’s breathing under her head. She knew that Rei was thinking it too, so what did Minako have to lose? Her stomach was doing flips of excitement and she felt herself grinning fearlessly again. As Rei's finger passed across her cheek, Minako turned and bit the offending digit.
Rei froze, her finger in her best friend's mouth, and she felt the wet curve of Minako's tongue on the underside of her finger, while those goddamn perfect teeth clamped down on either side. And then there was the smallest suck from Minako, before releasing Rei's finger into the summer air, now feeling colder than it had before. And Rei knew she should stop it now, before anything else happened, but she still dared to run that slick finger along the rim of Minako's bottom lip, leaving a path of saliva in its wake.
When Rei finally withdrew her hand, her heart hammering in her ears, her breathing becoming more difficult to control, she watched Minako carefully. The blond still sat with her eyes closed, face dimpled with the light from above them. And then her pink tongue swept out of her mouth and along her bottom lip, before folding back into the dark cave of her mouth.
Rei felt something aching inside of her.
Goddamn her. Goddamn her. GODDAMN HER.
How dare she lick her lips, the same lips she had just touched with her fingers?
Rei roughly sat up, pushing her best friend off of her stomach. Minako cried out at the sudden movement but recovered quickly, sitting upright and turning to face Rei. Minako's eyes were questioning, wondering why their comfortable arrangement was being disrupted. They were also filled with the blurriness of too much alcohol, of already starting to forget these moments between them. But Rei couldn't look at her, couldn't stand anything about her dangerous, beautiful, perfect mouth or knee or hair…
“You're drunk. Go home," Rei said sharply before standing up and turning away from her.
“Rei,” Minako whimpered.
It was too pathetic. It was too needy. It was too much of everything Rei wanted to give to her but knew she couldn’t. It was Minako's goddamn fault for getting drunk and she'd have to deal with the consequences because Rei couldn't deal with them anymore. Not tonight. Not after feasting her eyes along the lines of her legs, not after imaging running her mouth over her knee, not after feeling Minako’s tongue on the underside of her finger.
"No," came the curt reply.
No Minako. No. Let me love you in secret, but don’t love me back. Let me hate you for a while. Love me only after dark when I can’t love you back. Don’t let me.
Then she turned and walked away from her.
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