Voices of the Heart
They pretend it never happened, but really they all know that it did. A
simple parting of ways that forces them to move from forward to back
once again and they have no idea what they're doing once more.
Perhaps it is better this way, for the memories of the past have only
served to hurt everyone far more deeply than they'd ever thought
possible.
And the memories of that night are better left untouched.
It's too painful.
Still, the planes come in and out of the airport every day like
clockwork, and just this once, fate has decided to intervene.
Aino Minako catches sight of the tall, stunning woman standing near the
baggage claim conveyer belt as soon as she disembarks from the plane.
She's back in Tokyo for a few days now, in from a show in Kobe, and she
was hoping that she could finally get in touch with the rest of her
friends for a well-deserved and long-needed get-together. Still, she
does not expect to see her of all people tapping her foot impatiently as
she waits for the baggage from her flight to come in.
Minako hides a smile and makes her way towards the baggage claim,
telling herself that she needs to go there anyway, to collect her own
bags. This is so typical of their relationship, a non-descript and
entirely random meeting that will only serve to amuse one and aggravate
the other.
They're standing next to each other, carefully not looking at each
other. A subtle tensing of the tall woman's shoulders tells Minako that
Mars has sensed her presence. Perhaps it is not so much that they are
not looking at each other, but rather that they are, with careful
scrutiny born from years of practice. Mars will not make the first move;
Minako has to do that, for Hino Rei is far too stubborn, too proud, to
bend to the pressure of social graces.
"Where are you coming from, Mars Reiko-san?" Minako asks quietly, her
voice low, intimate. It was her manager's grand scheme for her to travel
like this, in business class and alone, for she was safer when she was
on her own. When she was alone, she could blend with the aid of
sunglasses and a few changes in the way that she arranged her hair. Now
it was done up in a sloppy bun that drew attention away from her face
and to her hair. No one would look twice at this girl with the frumpy
hair and old sundress.
Rei exhales quietly, as if to calm her nerves. "I wish you would stop
calling me that," She turns to face Minako then, an annoyed look - a
grimace really - crossing her face. It doesn't suit her, Minako thinks,
for she's far too beautiful for her face to look so angry. "It's not my
name."
Minako smiles, for they're beginning their game as though it had never
ended. She likes it when that happens, for it's easier to forget that
they've fallen apart and out of touch over the years. "Reiko-san, you
know that I will always call you by that name." Her baggage, a small
black suitcase comes around the circle and she steps forward to pull it
off the circular conveyer belt. She sets it down on the ground and
adjusts the strap so that she can pull it behind her. "It suits you,
Mars."
Rei shakes her head, her shaggy hair cut falling into her eyes as she
tries to hide an annoyed smile. Her hair is longer now, falling down her
back and playing around her neck as though it's caught in the wind.
Minako rather likes it like that, and she has to resist the urge to lean
forward and brush Rei's bangs out of her eyes. There was a time and
place for that, and it was not now. "You always insist on your way,
don't you, Venus?"
Minako's grin widens, "I wouldn't be me if I didn't."
Rei's hand shoots out and her fingers close around a small duffle bag's
shoulder strap. She slings it over her shoulder and they fall into pace
beside each other, without even thinking about it.
"So you're back?" Rei asks after a few minutes of silent, easy
companionship, "For good this time?"
"I don't know." Minako says, shrugging. "It all depends on this new
record and the accompanying tour." Her gaze and smile turn devilish as
she turns to stare at Rei, "Did you miss me, Reiko-san?"
Rei huffs and looks away. "Don't ask such foolish things."
Minako looks at Rei and wonders where her Reiko is under all that
awkward girl - beautiful woman - who doesn't remember the past life. It
would do Rei well to remember the past, Minako thinks, for Rei is always
confused by Minako's actions towards her. The memories from then would
help to make the actions seem worthwhile and not completely random to
Rei.
They continue on in silence, reliving the happy and the painful moments
of their shared interaction. Rei's heels click on the airport's floor
and Minako's sandals tap against the soles of her feet in time.
This is their own music.
They pass through another security check point and Minako finds herself
thinking back to the events of the long-forgotten past. Not the past
life, but just the past. The memories of the nights where she'd insisted
on spending far more time with Rei that was perhaps socially acceptable
were some of her most treasured, and Minako knew that she would never
feel for someone the way that she felt for Rei on those nights.
Especially when their one moment of weakness had shoved them head first
into almost three years of limited (at best) communication.
Minako's lips still burn with the memory of that night. She raises a
hand to touch them, wondering why Rei's foolish, drunken wonderful kiss
still manages to evoke such feelings within her.
"Where are you staying?" Rei asks suddenly as she glares at the security
officer who's currently taking far too much time passing her carry-on
though the x-ray scanner. He scowls back at her and sends it through,
Rei collecting her cell phone and keys from the little plastic tray and
her bag from the conveyer belt.
Minako thinks that she looks the part of the harassed, and yet stunning
CEO; her suit is clinging to her in such a way that the strap of her
duffle bag over one shoulder just seems to draw attention to the very
feminine figure hiding under the black linen suit jacket. Minako taps
her chin thoughtfully as they continue on their way, it was never really
a question that they would be leaving together, and sharing a taxi, most
like. Spending the night together, however, seems a little forward, even
for Mars Reiko. "I'm sure my manager booked me a hotel," she responds at
length, her tone and face as even as she can make them. She cannot let
it slip that she wants to spend the night somewhere other than the
pristine and sterile beds that she usually sleeps in.
She doesn't want the unfamiliarity and the cold shoulder right now.
"Cancel it."
"Mars?" Minako responds more out of habit that actual implication.
Whenever Rei does something like this, the lines between herself and the
girl that Minako remembers from the past life seem to blur to the point
of where it's impossible to tell who is speaking to her. Minako cannot
trust herself to say anything else, for any other name would fall out of
her lips the way that a lover says a name. It's not a risk she wants to
take, just yet.
Rei pauses, annoyance flickering across her face before the stony mask
of no emotion at all falls back into place. "You don't need a hotel in
town, you have friends here." She looked uncertain for a moment, before
adding, as if for emphasis, "I'm here."
Minako doesn't say anything for a moment, and watches as Rei flips her
hair over her shoulder and stares at her expectantly. It was as if her
Reiko was back once more, expecting her to rise to the challenge.
Still she hesitates, for the first time in a long while feeling very
uncertain. She could go along with Rei's plan and simply crash on Rei's
couch. She's done it in the past, staying with Ami or Makoto; and no one
seemed to mind that much, but this is Mars who's asking her. The added
complications are almost too much for her. She can't stand the idea that
she might be caught off guard, that she might have to hold herself back
and prevent herself from making a fool of them both.
"I don't know, Rei," she says, not meeting Rei's expectant gaze, "Given
our past record, this could be a very bad idea."
Rei glares at her, and reaches out to take Minako's hand in her own.
They're almost out of the airport now, and no one thinks to look twice
at the two women as they carry on their conversation. Minako is grateful
that no one has noticed her so far, for her powers of disguise are not
that great. She usually encountered a few more observant fans on these
trips through the airport, but this journey had been thankfully silent.
Perhaps it is because Rei seems to ooze an aura of distant,
unapproachable beauty. The aura that says that if you come near her, or
her companions, that she will hurt you.
"You're coming with me," Rei grunts, her palm sweaty against Minako's.
Minako wonders how nervous she is, for Rei never, ever, gets flustered
about anything.
She sighs and shrugs, interlacing her fingers with Rei's. "Alright then,
Rei, let's go." She's gong to have to call her manager later, but she's
sure he'll understand. He usually does when it comes to her friendship
with Hino Rei.
Rei's smile is entrancing, and Minako finds herself unable to look away.
There is something dancing just behind her eyes that puts Minako on
edge, something that she almost doesn't dare to hope for, the tell-tale
glint of stormy emotions that Minako herself is plagued with. If Rei is
feeling them too, then perhaps they can finally get to the end of these
long, drawn out conversations, and finally talk about something
important. There is something in that storm of emotions that makes
Minako think that Rei wants to say something more and she waits
expectantly for the words to finally work their way out of Rei's thick
skull.
"I don't know Mina," Rei says with a drawl and a drawn out wicked smile,
"it could be fun."
Minako starts, almost losing her grip on her suitcase, wondering when
Rei started calling her by that very private nickname. It wasn't
something that Rei had ever remembered - or done - in the past, and
during the battles, Minako had been hard-pressed to get Rei to call her
anything other than 'Venus'.
How far we've come... Minako thinks to herself, pushing back the private
memories of the past that only she remembered. Artemis had told her that
the chances of Rei and the others ever fully recovering their memories
of the past life were slip, and Minako had long since given up hope of
ever having someone to talk to about what had happened then. There was
still so much left unresolved, and Minako hates being forced to pretend
that everything was alright. "Like old times, ne?"
"Perhaps," Rei's smile is mysterious and her tone hints that she knows
more than she's letting on. Minako wonders what she's thinking briefly
as they fall back into step again. She's so out of touch with everyone
now that she wouldn't be surprised if there was something more that Rei
was trying to say.
They leave the airport and Rei hails a cab with the ease of one who has
done it more times than she can count. Minako just stands passively by
as Rei takes her baggage from her and shoves it into the cab's trunk.
She throws her own bag on top of Minako's suitcase and helps Minako into
the car almost without seeming to think about it. Minako is not used to
this image of Rei; the quiet, gallant type doesn't really suit her.
Perhaps it did once, long ago, when Minako was in desperate need of
saving. Rei had been her knight in shining, fiery armor then too,
telling her to live for herself and not for Venus, just this once. To
get the surgery that would kill her on the off chance that she might
actually be saved.
Minako missed that Rei.
She didn't know this new Rei very well, just little fragments of
interaction here and there at events and reunions. They never really
talked other than that, it was just too painful for them both to
remember everything that had happened to them. Yes, Minako told herself
quietly, that is it.
Rei clambered in behind her and slammed the door shut before the cab's
automatic door could close it. She ignores the driver's odd looks in
their direction and barks out an address and the route to it.
"We're not going to the jinja?" Minako asks with a note of confusion
creeping into her voice. She doesn't remember a time when Rei didn't
live in that place, so far removed from the city around her. She'd been
a young shrine maiden back then, when they'd first met, and Minako had
always assumed that she would continue on that path.
What did Rei do for a living now, anyways? Minako thinks that Usagi, in
one of her many letters, might have mentioned that Rei was working for
the government like her father, but that didn't seem right. From what
Minako had seen of that relationship, there was no way that Rei would
follow in his footsteps without a fight.
Rei shakes her head, "I don't live there anymore. I moved out when I
finished college." She has a strange look on her face, and Minako cannot
read it.
"Oh." She says, looking foolishly at her hands. They're clenched in her
lap around the loose straps of her purse. "I didn't know." She's been
out of touch for too long and the fact of that matter is suddenly very
apparent to her. How can she not know something like that about Rei,
perhaps her closest friend?
They fall silent again, the city flying by outside the window as the cab
driver's quiet sports broadcast chatters harmlessly in the background.
Minako chews her lip, wondering how to break the ice, to say that she's
sorry for being insensitive. She doesn't know how to tell Rei that she's
sorry for neglecting their friendship, but she has to say something. The
silence is making her nervous.
"What are you thinking?" Rei asks quietly, her gaze intently focused on
the window. Minako wonders if she's mad, or if Rei is just trying to
break the ice and start conversation in the only way they seem to be
able to. Direct, curt demands, followed by a concise answer; it's no way
to talk to people. Minako knows that she'd trained Rei to do it since
their first meeting, but she never thought that Rei would continue to
adhere to the strange pseudo-friendship that they'd formed all those
years ago.
Minako looks away from Rei before she answers; she doesn't that it would
do her well to stare. "That I was just rather rude."
Rei turns to look at her, confusion crossing her face in one of those
adorable faces that Minako always finds herself teasing Rei for making.
Her face is so expressive, she can't hide her emotions nearly as well as
she thinks she can, and Minako loves to point that flaw in Rei's
otherwise impenetrable defense to her as often as she can. "Oh." She
shrugs, "I hadn't noticed."
"You're too hard-headed, Mars Reiko-san." Minako grins. Her face turns
serious as she meets Rei's gaze as evenly as she can. She thinks that
she might be blushing, but her cheeks don't feel nearly hot enough for
it to be noticeable under her tan and make-up. "I've been out of touch
with you all for too long."
She is the leader of the Sailor Senshi, and she knows that one day they
will be called to arms once more. Still, Minako maintains the fact that
she wants to live her life to the absolute fullest that she can. She
does not think that Rei, nor Usagi if she really thought about it, would
ever forgive her for not making the absolute best of the second chance
at life she'd been given.
Still, living has taken its toll on Minako's personal life. Her letters
to and from Usagi are few and far between, and she can count on one hand
the number of times that she's actually been able to spend time with her
friends in longer periods than just a quick get-together for dinner
someplace fancy. Usagi's wedding, Makoto's wedding, Ami's medical school
graduation, that time they all went to the beach, Christmas last year...
The list seems to fall flat, judging by the fact that all of those
events have happened over the course of the almost ten years that have
passed since the final battle. They're all adults now, and Minako
wonders if perhaps they simply do not have time for the friendships
formed in childhood any longer.
Rei doesn't say anything in response to Minako's statement about being
out of touch, and Minako wonders if it's Rei's way of punishing her for
not being more active in preserving their friendship. She doesn't have
long to ponder this most recent thought, however, for the taxi pulls up
in front of a non-descript apartment complex. Rei pays the driver and
holds the door open for Minako before going and collecting their luggage
from the trunk. As the cab speeds away, Minako finds herself looking
around.
This is not the sort of place that she would expect to find Hino Rei. It
is tall - easily twenty or thirty stories - and industrial, with very
little traditional d‚cor that she'd always assumed that Rei was partial
to. A few potted shrubs were placed at the entrance to the building, and
a rather harassed-looking doorman was waiting for them to come to the
door.
"Come on," Rei says, pulling her duffle bag over her shoulder. She
doesn't take Minako's hand again, and Minako finds herself wishing that
she would. It would be nice, she thinks, to hold hands like they had in
the airport. Instead, the former fire senshi grabs Minako's suitcase and
adjusts the handle so that she can pull it behind her with ease.
Minako finds her mouth opening, trying to say something, anything, to
prevent Rei from acting like her personal servant. The words will not
come, and she stands there for a minute with her mouth open, trying to
find the right words. Rei does wait for her to pull herself together,
however, and strides towards the door.
The doorman smiles at Rei and Minako finds herself hurrying to catch up
with her friend.
"How was China?" the man asks.
"Fine," Rei says curtly, walking through the door, Minako close on her
heels.
"China, Rei?" Minako asks as they stop in front of the metal doors of
the elevator. She's finally found her voice again and she's glad for
that, for being speechless has never suited her needs. "What were you
doing there?" She's curious as to what Rei could have been up to in a
place like China, but she can't come out and say that, for her curiosity
makes Rei clam up in that adorable way that Minako finds so endearingly
frustrating.
The elevator dings and Rei steps inside, turning to face Minako with a
scowl. "Working," she says.
Minako thinks that that was obvious, but Rei doesn't want to elaborate,
and so she steps into the elevator as well. The doors close and suddenly
they are very much alone.
They're standing side by side, their shoulders just barely touching.
This is the level of closeness that Minako is most used to when it comes
to Rei, for they're always together, just a step away from being
intimate. In this proximity, Minako can see a gentle flush across Rei's
cheeks and she wonders what is bothering her friend. Rei's breath is
coming in shallow gasps, barely enough to fill her lungs, as though
she's trying desperately to calm herself down.
"Rei?" Minako asks, bringing a hesitant hand up to touch the other
woman's shoulder. It is with that touch, the simply hand on a shoulder,
that they've crossed the line from close companionship to intimacy.
Minako likes it, for being this close to Rei is soothing to her tired
mind, and Rei never really seems to mind when they cross the line in
private.
Still, this is closer than Minako has been to, well, anyone, in a long
time. She can't think straight and the quiet thump of Rei's duffle bag
falling to the floor is completely lost on her as she stands there, lost
in this feeling of being close to someone once more.
Almost as suddenly as Minako spaced out, she finds herself brought back
to reality with a jolt that she was not expecting. Rei has her pressed
up against the cool steel of the elevator wall, her lips burning a fiery
trail along Minako's neck. Minako shivers under the attention, as sudden
and unexpected as it is. She hadn't thought Hino Rei capable of doing
something so delightfully impulsive, and she's happy that Rei finally is
acting on the unspoken sexual tension between the two of them.
"Rei...ko," Minako gasps. She can't think straight. She's wanted this
for so long and now it is finally happening and she can't even work her
hands enough to pull Rei's mouth away from her neck so that they can
kiss properly. She feels Rei's hands dance lower on her back and she
grinds out; "What?"
Rei's eyes are hazy as she meets Minako's gaze, and her voice is
distant. She leans forward, closer than Minako has ever been with
another human in this life, and whispers into Minako's ear. "You are
always talking about the past life, Mina, but you haven't asked if our
memories of the past live had returned since Usagi came back."
Minako has no words, her mind has flown into overdrive and she can't
slow it down. The words, she thinks, are lost somewhere between Rei's
hot breath in her ear and the hands that are now toying with the hem of
her sundress. She tries to find a way to force the words to come out,
but they stubbornly refuse to come. Venus Minako, it seems, is finally
at a loss for words.
Aino Minako, however, will not back down from a challenge like this. She
rests her hands on Rei's shoulders and pushes her away gently. Rei is
not herself, Minako knows this, and she knows that Rei will hate herself
when she realizes what she's done. Minako has to stop this before
something happens that they both will regret.
Her tone is even when she speaks, and Minako can feel the desire cooling
under Rei's smoldering gaze. "I thought that you'd say something, Rei.
You were always running to me with your questions about the past life, I
assumed that you'd tell me when your memories returned.
The elevator tings. They've arrived on Rei's floor.
Rei backs away from Minako and picks up her duffle bag from the floor
and grabs Minako's suitcase. She looks as though she wants to say
something, but the haze is gone from her eyes and Minako can see that
Rei is suddenly back to being herself.
Together they head down the hallway and Rei fumbles for her keys. "I'm
sorry," she says quietly as she slides the key into the lock. "I...
don't know what came over me."
Minako can see that she's mortified by her actions, and the singer has
no idea how to console Rei. She's never done something like this; she
has no experience to draw on. She doesn't know to say that she liked the
attention and would love it if Rei continued it at some point in the
near future. She stays silent because she has no words, no idea what she
can say to Rei to make the situation better.
Rei pushes the door open, and allows Minako to go in before she closes
the door and slides the chain into place. Minako wonders if this is done
on purpose, of it Rei just does it out of habit.
They're walking on eggshells now and Minako can not think of a good way
to break the silence between them. She takes off her hat and sunglasses
and follows Rei's example in removing her shoes. Suddenly, they're the
same height again. Rei is out of her fuck-me pumps and has lost the
three-inch edge that she had over Minako's flat bottomed sandals. Minako
rather likes the heels, but she steadfastly refuses to say anything to
Rei about how much they accent her leg line and how beautiful she looks
in her business attire.
She sits down next to Rei on the sofa and rather pointedly, again, does
not look at her. Not looking, Minako realizes, is her way of looking
quite intently at Rei. It is when she does not look that she can finally
see what's really going on in Rei's head. She likes it better that way,
for the not looking helps her to focus her thoughts without becoming
distracted, as she always inevitably does, by the stunning beauty of
Hino Rei.
Minako remembers meeting the girl for the first time, in a church of all
places, and how Rei's beauty had struck her then as absolutely stunning.
Learning that she was Mars, and that she'd loved Mars Reiko in a past
life had almost taken a second seat to that meeting the church, when
Minako realized just how attracted she was to this girl.
"Rei," Minako starts, her gaze intently fixed on the corner of the room.
She's looking at a low chest of drawers with a few trinkets and
photographs that Minako recognizes from her few past forays into Rei's
bedroom at the Jinja all those years ago.
"Don't-" Rei mutters. Out of the corner of her eye, Minako can see that
Rei's head is turned in the direction opposite her own gaze.
Minako sighed and turned to face Rei, pulling up her legs and sitting
cross-legged on the couch. She adjusts her skirt for a moment, and the
reaches out to pull on Rei's shoulder.
Rei stiffens under her touch and Minako can barely keep the hurt from
her voice as she forces herself to chose her words as carefully as she
can. She doesn't want to scare Rei off, but she wants Rei to tell her
what the heck just happened. She goes for direct, for Rei always has
responded well to curt, military-like address. Minako guesses that it's
a carry-over from either her father in this life or the past one; she
can't decide. "I'm serious, Rei. What was that?"
"I... don't know. Her - Mars Reiko's - memories are so powerful that I
sometimes lose control." Rei won't look at Minako. "I'm sorry..."
Minako touches Rei's cheek, "I know, Rei, believe me, I know." She does
know, for when she first realized who Hino Rei was, she could hardly
control herself in her want for Rei to remember the past as well. She
tried everything she could think of, but nothing would make Mars'
memories return.
She remembers feeling powerless to fight against destiny, and her
decision to simply give up once and for all. She'd been ready to die for
their cause, but the memories of Mars Reiko only seemed to make the
situation feel so much worse. Suddenly she couldn't even interact with
her chosen comrade without being plagued with memories of that girl that
she should not have had.
The memories were a curse, a burden that Minako would not have wished on
anyone. She begged Rei and the others to remember, but she could feel
that her heart was not really in her words. She knew that she would not
wish horrors of the past life on anyone, for the memories, it seemed
where hers alone to bear.
Still, the idea that Rei has remembered the past life is an intriguing
concept. Finally, Minako will have someone to talk to about what
happened back then. There are so many things that she has stored in the
back of her mind that she does not really understand. There are some
incidents where the past life that make about as much sense as some of
the more idiotic things that Usagi says when she gets excited about
something.
The silence is growing unbearable, but Minako will not pull her hand
away from Rei's cheek. She can't, for there is a force holding it there
that Minako had quite forgotten about in the long months that have
passed since she last saw Rei. There is an almost electric sort of
magnetism between the two of them, and Minako will not deny her
instincts when it comes to chancing physical contact with the one she
loves.
They're staring into each other's eyes, and Minako can see the
uncertainty and worry in Rei's gaze. There are no words that Minako can
say to Rei to make the uneasiness go away - for Minako knows that the
same uncertainty is clearly written across her own face. Minako has
gotten good had hiding her emotions over the years, but she knows that
she's somewhat of an open book when it comes to Rei. Especially now,
when emotions are running high and Rei has already surprised her once
today.
Rei sighs, "How do you combat that?" She leans into Minako's hand, a
slight blush on her cheeks.
Minako pulls her hand away slowly. She's not sure who she's talking to
again, and she doesn't want to risk doing anything to potentially
alienate Rei further.
"You get used to it. That's all I can really tell you. The memories fade
in intensity until they sort of just meld together with your own
memories from this life." Minako chews on her lip and tries to think of
something more that she can say. Nothing comes to mind, and she knows
that this is probably because her own memories still flare up at random
times. She doesn't know what comes after acceptance.
Silence. The minutes tick away and Minako finds herself squirming again.
She wonders why Rei won't say anything, but she knows that the silence
is just another part of their relationship. They don't have anything to
say to each other, so they don't talk. It's the rule of their friendship
that they've both been adhering to since the past life, thousands of
years ago.
"I'm going to go change." Rei announces, standing up suddenly and
leaving Minako alone on the couch.
Minako smiles brightly at Rei, and she doubts that the other woman knows
the window for teasing that she's just created. The contented smirk
crosses Minako's face like it is second nature, and Minako leans back on
the couch, stretching her legs out in front of her and wiggling her
toes. "Must you?" she asks.
The confusion in Rei's eyes is completely worth the lecture she's about
it get, and Minako feels her smirk slowly turning into a full on smile.
"Eh?"
She is a shark, Minako realizes, slowly circling her prey. Toying with
it, almost, if one were to carry the metaphor that far. "I like you in
that, Rei-chan." She draws out the honorific, as they usually don't
bother with them except for when Minako is teasing with false flattery
and politeness that has never existed in their relationship. She taps
her chin appraisingly and looks Rei up and down, making sure her eyes
linger in all the right places to make Rei blush. "It's quite sexy."
Rei flushes bright red. She splutters out nonsense for a few seconds
while Minako laughs quietly. "Idiot! What are you saying?"
Minako shrugs. "Nothing really." She's winding Rei in circles, and she's
starting to realize that she loves doing this far more than anything
else in the world. This was better than being an international pop star,
better than being a sailor senshi, better than anything that Minako
remembers from the past life. It was just a pure act of love, and she
was pretty sure that Rei knew it to be the same thing. They play this
game with each other because it is the only way, really, that their
personalities can mesh without them wanting to kill each other.
She rests her chin thoughtfully on her hand, tapping her fingers against
her cheek and grins widely at Rei. She is moving in for the kill now,
and the panicked expression in Rei's eyes told her that the former fire
senshi is very much aware of the fact. "Just that I like looking at you,
Reiko-chan. Business attire can be quite sexy." She raises her eyebrows
suggestively.
Rei's eyes are like fire, burning a path into Minako's own, piercing
holes in Minako's steady resolve as she struggles to react to Minako's
statement. Minako can see her searching for words, tossing possibilities
around in her head as she struggles for the perfect way of telling
Minako exactly what she thinks of her.
"Don't call me that," Rei snaps. It's almost like a knee-jerk reaction,
a carry-over from the old days when they were still unsure of what
exactly it was that they felt for each other. Rei's hands clench and
unclench, and she steadies herself to start to unbutton her suit's
jacket. She shrugs off the garment and tosses it over the arm of the
sofa. "I'm not her."
Rei looks so vulnerable, standing in stocking feet and an angry
expression in the middle of her own living room. Minako wants to reach
out, to touch her and tell her that everything is going to be alright,
for that's all that she can do, really. She cannot fix Rei's almost
irrational fear of the past life, and she will not allow it to rule
their relationship in the present day.
She is not the girl that she once was, so obsessed with the past because
she had no future. She is Aino Minako, and she could be there for a
friend who is having trouble accepting the fact that her memories are no
longer wholly her own.
Minako stands up and walks to stand by Rei. They're facing opposite
directions, as they've done so often in the past, for facing the same
way would hurt them so much more than this. They're diametrically
opposed; they need to be apart in order to be together. She can't bring
herself to touch Rei, she's almost afraid of what might happen if she
does. "It's a nickname, Rei," she says simply. Minako turns to look at
Rei and smiles as she can see realization dawning in Rei's eyes. "A
nickname that I've given you in two lifetimes now, you should just
accept that it's a part of you."
Rei crosses her arms over her blouse and frowns. "I don't like it."
Minako laughs. "I don't think you like anything."
Rei stares at her, open-mouthed. "I like..." she trails off and Minako
gives her an expectant look, as if daring her to finish her sentence.
"Some things." She's giving Minako an appraising look, as if she's
trying to show just how attracted to each other they both are.
Minako reaches out and touches Rei's shoulder then. "You like stalking
me," there's a smile in her voice now, and Minako hasn't felt this happy
in a long time.
"I do not," Rei retorts, leaning into Minako's touch on her shoulder. "I
just like knowing where you are."
Minako thinks that she can accept that reality. Their heads are almost
touching now as Rei leans into her even farther. "What are you doing,
Rei?" Minako asks, knowing that they're dangerously close to that
forbidden territory once more.
Rei doesn't say anything for along moment. Their faces inches apart.
Minako can feel Rei's breath on her face and she wants desperately to
lean in and kiss those beautiful lips. She checks the reflex and waits
for Rei to make the first move. She knows that in order for this to
work, Rei has to make the move.
"I ... want to kiss you, Mina," Rei breaths, her eyes shut tightly and
her face screwed up as though she's expecting Minako to do something
awful like slap her.
Minako sighs quietly and smiles as brightly as she can. Rei's still got
her eyes shut, but Minako knows that Rei can feel her smile. Rei's
always been good with that sort of thing, seeing people and being able
to read their auras. Minako's talents - perhaps leftovers from the past
life - lay in reading the emotions of others. "Then do it."
Rei's eyes snapped open and Minako can see none of the haze that had
clouded them earlier in the elevator. "Are you sure?" she asked, her
tone hesitant and her body already starting to move backwards and away
from the closeness that they'd been enjoying.
Minako reaches down with her free hand and grab's Rei's own, leading her
back to the couch. She's not going to let Rei kiss her again in a
location where Rei can bolt if it doesn't go off exactly as planned.
They sit down side by side once more, this time much closer to each
other. "You talk too much, aren't Martians supposed to be the stoic,
silent type?" Minako says, falling back into the teasing pattern once
more.
"Says the brooding Venusian," Rei shoots back without leaving time for
their usual insult, beat, insult style of interaction.
Minako leans in and wraps her arms around Rei's neck. Their noses almost
touch and she knows that this time that the make up and tan will do
nothing to hide her blush. It mirrors Rei's own, bright red and
beautiful. "Shut up and kiss me," she says, kissing Rei's nose with an
impish grin.
The position is awkward for kissing, but it's a lot like their
relationship - all strange angles and odd looks. Minako allows Rei to
take the lead once more, the former fire senshi slipping her arms around
Minako's waist and pulling her in even closer as she finally allows
their lips to meet.
The kiss is chaste, but everything that Minako remembers from that night
all those years ago, the promise of things to come, and a good deal of
something that Minako knows has a name. She will not call it that,
however, for there is something oddly off about using that term to
describe what she and Rei have.
Rei leans in once more and Minako allows herself to get lost in this
newest form of competition between the two of them. What starts as a
gentle probe of Rei's tongue against her bottom lip soon escalates into
a kiss quite unlike anything that Minako has ever experienced in this
lifetime.
She decides that she quite likes it.
Perhaps this time, they will finally achieve happiness.
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