Together
‘These late nights are killing me.’ Rei groused even as the mid day winter sun kept her warm while she swept the courtyard. She’d been four hours behind in her duties, thanks to her late night and subsequent late morning with Minako.
It sounded scandalous though it really wasn’t.
‘Not yet, anyway.’ She considered.
Whatever she and Minako had kicked off the night before was nothing official or binding, and Minako was smarter than to try to put terms around what seemed like a relationship they were starting. Still, Rei couldn’t help but admit that it was something she thought she wanted.
The moody miko blushed at her thoughts and poured her excited energy into sweeping the courtyard.
She wasn’t aware of the slightest of grins that tugged at her lips, and if she knew that the smile she’d worn all day had been the talk of the shrine, she’d surely have died of embarrassment.
But that was when Rei sensed the object of her thoughts before she even saw her. A shiver ran down the miko’s spine, the hair on her arms stood on end, and that familiar strong aura that was so distinctly Minako tingled at the edge of her senses.
And there she was; heralded by the click-clack of high-heeled boots, Minako strutted across the courtyard, heading towards her. Wearing an outfit that called attention to itself, in only the way an incognito outfit could, it left Rei to wonder how the singer didn’t attract more attention to herself, considering the ridiculously large sunglasses, stupidly huge hat, frustratingly concealing heavy jacket, and yet a teasingly short skirt.
And just what was she doing here anyway? They were supposed to meet at Crown later that afternoon. And why was she heading from the direction of the shrine’s gift shop instead of from the steps? What was that in her hand?
‘And why is she totally ignoring me?’ Rei growled to herself as the idol strutted right past her.
‘The hardest part is ignoring her,’ Minako thought as she marched past the gawking miko, ‘but this’ll be worth it.’
Having confessed her feelings, having poured her heart out the night before, and having gotten an even better reaction out of her best friend than she’d hoped for, Minako had decided to forego the subtle approach. After five long years of pining for Rei, she felt she was entitled to allow herself to lightly tease the somewhat skittish miko. But… at least she planned to do so thoughtfully.
Feeling Rei’s inquisitive eyes burning a hole in her back, the singer knelt before the stone chozuya basin in the middle of the courtyard. Dipping the bamboo ladle into the water, Minako poured a small amount of the cold water into her free palm and then studiously washed both hands with the purifying liquid. Next, in an effort to call the attention of the shrine’s Kami to her intentions, she clapped her hands twice, folded her hands closed at chest height, and then closed her eyes before dipping her head low.
The intensity of Rei’s stare dimmed, replaced with quiet wonder as the miko watched the singer’s formal request for a prayer to be answered. It seemed almost silly, to see this Catholic girl perform a Shinto ritual, but it really touched Rei that, perhaps as a result of their conversation the night before, her best friend seemed to be making an effort to honor her roots.
And that was when she realized, with no small amount of surprise, what the object Minako carried was.
The singer approached the shrine’s ema stand; a wooden rack filled with rows of hanging wooden votives, similar plaques all emblazoned with a rearing horse on one side, and a handwritten wish on the other. Tucking an errant lock of caramel highlighted hair behind an ear, Minako held her ema by its string and considered its placement on the board with the utmost care. Finally, she nodded, hung her votive, bowed once more, and with an air of finality, stepped back.
Slowly, the singer turned and finally allowed herself to look at Rei. She smiled broadly, as though she’d never ignored her in the first place, as though she’d just arrived. “I know I’m a little early, but thought I’d pick you up. You know, we could head to Crown together?”
The miko frowned and glanced at a delicate watch that clung to her wrist. She hadn’t realized how late it’d gotten, and she was already running behind. She’d have to forego the shower she’d planned. “I’ll have to change at least.”
Minako’s smile slipped into a suggestive smirk, and with an exaggerated sway of her hips, she closed the distance between herself and Rei, “Oh? I could help you-“
“Eh!?” Rei choked, her mind swimming between memories of what their past personas had shared, and certain dreams she’d been having…
The singer smacked her lips and crossed her arms over her chest. “I was going to say I could help you choose an outfit. I don’t know where your mind is,” she leaned forward and pinched Rei’s cheek, “hentai.”
The miko’s face flushed bright red - the accusation was worse than her original assumption - and she sputtered for words, looking entirely offended but completely unable to form a comeback.
Minako winked and retreated a few steps. Over her shoulder, she called between laughs, “Meet me down at my car when you’re ready. I’ll be waiting for you. ”
Rei fumed until Minako was out of sight, her bouncing form disappearing to the crest of the hill. She’d gotten her good, but Rei vowed to return the favor. She clutched her broom and began heading back towards the living quarters when she paused and looked back over her shoulder to the rows of ema behind her.
Slowly, Rei approached the board, examining the rows of wooden votives hanging amidst each other, each wish hoping to be answered by the shrine’s resident Kami. The plaques clicked against each other as her fingers glanced across wishes for high scoring test grades, wishes for fertility, and even a wish for a new pet turtle, until she found the votive she was looking for.
Rei picked up the plaque Minako had hung. The ink was still wet in the cold air. ‘What would she who already has everything wish for?’
The small grin Rei had worn all day turned into a full fledged smile. Her voice was a whisper as she read Minako’s negai-goto, or wish words;
“Happy future… together.”
OOO
Three heads turned when the door to their secret meeting room opened to produce not just one of their two late friends, but both at the same time. Completely entranced with one other, Rei and Minako could have been in their own world; standing practically on top of each other, it was a wonder they didn’t tumble down the steps in a tangle of limbs. Three blank expressions slipped into furrowed brows and open mouths as Aino Minako, clinging tightly to Hino Rei’s elbow, slung a snarky comeback to a previously unheard barb,
“Well if you weren’t such a hentai, maybe we would have gotten here sooner.”
Bristling, Rei snapped her head back to glare up at Minako. “Would you stop taking that out of context? I told you, you got that all wrong!”
Usagi set her soda down with a clatter, Makoto stuck the end of her pen in her mouth in wonder, and the slightest of blushes warmed Ami’s cheeks. The three women examined their other two friends as though they were complete strangers.
It would be the beginning of an interesting night.
OOO
Beneath a loud and colorful homemade banner announcing, ‘Congratulations on the success of your super awesome Encore Finale Concert!!!!!!’ (Makoto and Ami had suggested a shorter phrase and fewer exclamation points, but Usagi had insisted), Minako distractedly toyed with a bouquet of yellow roses her friends had presented her with. Smiling lazily, she observed the animated discussion those same three women were engaged in, as they decided each others fates in the next round of karaoke.
And that left Rei, who, for all her attempts at disinterest in karaoke, was looking rather intently at Minako.
‘Ha! Gotcha.’ The singer thought to herself as she caught Rei’s gaze, resulting in a quickly turned head and a rising blush at having been caught staring.
Minako’s lazy smile slipped into a mischievous smirk as she examined the brooding miko, and slowly, she reached her foot under the table. When her toes slid along a muscular calf, she could only hope she’d gotten Rei and not Ami, but when her best friend’s gaze shot up in panicked surprise, she knew she’d hit her target.
The singer feigned innocence, even as under the table, she slowly dragged her toes up past Rei’s knee. Her eyes were locked on the miko, though her comment was directed to the others, “Rei wants to sing this round.”
“I do not!” Rei barked, perhaps a little too vehemently.
Usagi pouted and rested her chin in her palms, “But Rei-chan, you have such a nice voice!”
Minako’s wandering toes slid along Rei’s slender thigh. It took all the miko had to reign herself in, though from what; be it scooting her chair back abruptly, breaking Minako’s toes, or leaping across the table and kissing the hell out of the damnable woman, she wasn’t sure. Her teeth ground together in frustration, “I’m not singing.”
Having tuned herself out to what seemed like another quarrel between the singer and the miko, Makoto looked up from the song selections animatedly. “Ooh, Ami, why don’t you sing your rendition of Lonely Heart?”
Usagi latched onto this idea, and as she and Makoto pushed an only semi reluctant Ami onto the stage, Minako retracted her teasing foot and turned to Rei with a merciless smirk, “You’re so easily flustered, Reiko.”
Rei frowned and Minako winced, realizing her mistake too late. It was the same slip up that had caused Rei to retreat once already. She may have reconciled herself with her past life, but the miko felt strongly that her past persona had no influence on her present, and as such, didn’t like to be compared against it.
No sooner did a hushed, “I’m sorry,” escape Minako lips, than Rei was shaking her head. “It’s okay,” she said demurely, both of their quiet voices unheard by the others who were clapping as the musical score of a popular ballad poured through the room’s speakers and Ami launched into song.
The miko could feel the singer’s soft and questioning gaze, but as Rei feigned interest in Ami’s performance, she chose to ignore it. If Minako could honor Rei’s Shinto background, then Rei could respect the fact that their past lives were equally important to her best friend.
Finally, a small but thoughtful smile touched Rei’s lips, and this time, it was her toes that nudged her best friend’s calf. She leaned across the table, and drawing herself closer to Minako, she whispered, “I never had a pet name for you back then, did I?”
The singer shook her head, but then lit up with a sudden idea, “Make one up now!” She raised an eyebrow suggestively, “you could always go back to calling me your Princess. I rather enjoyed that one.”
A furious blush colored Rei’s face and she backpedaled, pushing herself back into her chair. “Leave it to you to twist a misunderstanding!”
The miko didn’t realize how loud her voice had been in the suddenly quiet room as Ami’s song had ended, and as Minako met the barb with one of her own, the two seemed entirely oblivious to their other three friends.
Setting the microphone down before stepping off the stage, Ami glanced at Makoto knowingly. The gesture didn’t get past Usagi, and she rushed over to her two friends, eager for their gossip. She looked to Ami for answers, and the small woman simply nodded to their tall friend.
“It’s just like at your wedding, when you threw the bouquet,” Makoto hazarded quietly to the real Princess in the room, “you know, that spark of rivalry that hides too much…”
Usagi stilled for a moment. Trying to decipher Makoto’s cryptic words, she stared at the arguing Rei and Minako blankly. She saw her two fiery and easily provoked friends and former senshi doing what they did best; being in a well tried and tested argument. Even still, just like the picture before her, Usagi remembered that at the height of their rivalry five years ago, even when they were at odds with each other, those two were always right next to each other.
Inseparable.
But the more she watched the minute body language they displayed and the distant, far off, longing looks the two women would cast in each others direction, the more she listened to what could have been double meanings laced into the barbed comments…
“Oh my god!” Usagi choked, and as the argument between Rei and Minako suddenly ground to a halt and the two women turned to see a very sheepish Ami and Makoto, each with a hand clasped over Usagi’s mouth, the goofy woman who had once saved the world backpedaled.
“Nefermind.” She managed between her friends’ restraining hands.
OOO
The sun had long set. The moon was getting ready to call it an early night. And after the five friends had called it quits an hour before midnight, Rei and Minako found themselves wandering the downtown Juuban strip after the singer had insisted she walk the miko back to her shrine. Maybe they were taking the scenic route. Maybe they were just stalling. But neither woman seemed to be in a rush to part.
Despite the late hour on a Thursday night, there was plenty of commotion on the city streets; businessmen scrambled to the subways after a night of drinking with coworkers, college students gathered around coffee shops and convenience stores, but despite the slight competition for space on the sidewalk and the noise in the air, the two women found the atmosphere comfortable enough.
“Do you think… they suspect anything?” Rei asked haltingly, finding the sidewalk interesting. The ‘they’ she referred to remained unspoken, but her reference was obvious after their night at the Crown.
“What is there to suspect?” Minako asked coyly with a hopeful wag of her eyebrows.
“Hmm,” the miko shrugged and fought back a grin, “let them wonder.” She concluded.
Pleased with her best friend’s response, the singer smiled that trademark smirk of hers that seemed to say all at once; screw off, but come hither. The expression was a contradiction, not at all unlike Minako herself, and it sparked a fire deep within Rei that she had never before allowed to ignite. It scared her. It excited her. It left her breathless.
It also left her distracted, for she hadn’t realized that Minako had stopped walking. Rei frowned and took the few steps back to Minako’s side, looking at her in askance. When the idol pointed to the left, the miko’s questioning frown only deepened. The convenience store? The department store? The couple making out between the two?
Minako sighed. “The photo booth, dummy.”
Only after punching her best friend’s shoulder lightly for the insult did realization dawn on the raven haired woman. Minako pulled a well worn photo strip from her purse. Showing a gradual progression between the two women from hesitant, to comfortable, and finally, to friendly with each other, it was a strip to which Rei held its twin. The miko smiled knowingly, the singer nodded, and together, they dashed to the photo booth.
Amid a couple of stares, for the sight of two full grown women clambering into one small photo booth was odd enough, Rei and Minako pushed, shoved, elbowed, and giggled their way onto the narrow seat and slid the curtain shut.
Great minds think alike, and it was by unspoken agreement that their first picture mirror the last photo they had taken only about a year prior. Flashing the victory sign with one hand, Minako had her other arm around Rei’s shoulder, her head tipped into Rei’s. Rei did her part as her best friend’s mirror image, and the smile on her face had never felt larger or more honest.
After the flash of the first photo nearly blinded her, the miko turned her head to look to the singer for guidance in their next pose. She was met with Minako’s mischievous grin, and when she felt Minako’s soft fingers dance along her jaw line, the raven haired woman’s dark eyes widened in surprise.
The bright light threatened to blind Rei once again, but she wasn’t so blind as to catch the subtle tilt of her best friend’s head, and though she hadn’t realized she was holding her breath, she was conscious of canting her own in response and leaning in, ever so slightly, so that she felt the singer’s warm breath on her lips.
Rei didn’t see the next bright flash, for when the last photo was shot, her eyes were shut, and her lips were pressed against Minako’s in a gentle, yet firm kiss.
OOO
The neon glow of the city streets ebbed away slightly as they left the shopping district behind and walked through neighborhood streets. A light blush dusted Rei’s cheeks where she trailed tiredly alongside Minako. Midnight had passed and though she’d had her fill of late nights, she heavily debated the consequences of yet another.
“Ne, were you really serious about being interested in the work I’m doing for my charity division?” The question was a valid one, but Minako used the inquiry as an opportunity to tug at Rei’s jacket sleeve.
Rei shook herself from her thoughts. “Eh?”
“Thinking about our photo strip kiss, hentai?” Minako asked scandalously.
The miko rolled her eyes. “I don’t assume you’ll ever let me live that down?”
Minako chuckled evilly, “No, I don’t assume I will.”
When her best friend smacked her lips, she found the excuse she was looking for to slide her hand down from the other woman’s sleeve to twine her fingers with Rei’s. “As I was saying, if you were really serious about the work I’m doing with my charity division, you should stop by my office tomorrow.”
Rei pointed to herself with her free hand, a questioning expression on her face. “Yes, you,” Minako replied testily, “I have a radio interview at ten, to talk to the media about my next album. Maybe we can meet after that? We could bounce some ideas off each other, you know, join forces on it. You’ve been doing community works for a long time. I could really use your input.”
The miko visibly puffed up with importance. “I think I can make it,” she said casually, even as her thumb caressed the top of Minako’s hand.
Winding through a dimly lit park, they took a detour, bypassing the residential streets. To the right rose the hill that the Hikawa Shrine sat atop of. They were nearing their destination and both women slowed their pace subconsciously.
Somewhere between the swings and the monkey bars, Rei chuckled.
“What’cha thinking about?” Minako prodded gently.
The miko looked up to where the slightest sliver of a crescent moon broke through the cold and cloudy sky. “I can’t believe our first kiss was in a photo booth.”
“How about this,” Minako suggested, “our second kiss was in the park by your shrine.”
When Rei turned her head back towards her best friend, she found Minako already waiting for her, and for the second time that night, their lips met.
But with the moon as their witness, this kiss wasn’t all innocence and gentle askance. Their hands still laced together, Rei raised her free hand to brush past Minako’s cheekbone and threaded her fingers through the idol’s caramel highlighted hair. And it was the miko who deepened their kiss, her hungry tongue playing along the singer’s bottom lip, requesting access, which was readily granted.
When Minako’s free hand grabbed at Rei’s jacket, just above her breast, she pulled the slightly taller woman even closer to her, eagerly learning her best friend’s mouth, her tongue struggling for dominance even as she felt the edge of Rei’s thumb tease the corner of her mouth gently.
And when the two women were forced to part for air, they breathed each other’s breaths, personal space all but forgotten between them.
But it was late, and if Minako didn’t leave Rei hanging, her game of cat and mouse would have been for nothing. Winking boldly, the singer grinned and spun from Rei’s grip, her fingers holding on to the miko’s until the last possible second.
“See you in the morning!” She called over her shoulder as she aimed her shaky legs in the direction of her apartment building.
Stunned at Minako, stunned at herself, the miko’s fingers touched her lips as she watched her best friend’s retreating form. Throwing her fears, her worries, her expectations out the window, Rei smiled broadly, and turned and headed for the shrine.
OOO
Author’s Notes:
A little fluffy filler, yes. But it was fun, ne? I mean come on, I’ve got to allow them a little happiness before I complicate their lives again! What did ya think?
Despite the fact that they’d come to terms with their feelings in the previous chapter, they still hadn’t shared their first kiss yet. It seemed more fitting on Rei’s part to hold off just a little longer. But now, hehe, she’s grown much more comfortable with the idea. And the ‘Call me Princess’ bit is such an alluring thought to me. I mean, how long did Rei/Mars run around calling Minako/Venus Princess? Perhaps Minako grew accustomed to it? Anyway, I’m guilty of using it in my next fic that I’m working on, too. I’m bad.
And now, what you’ve all been waiting for:
Preview(s), Chapter 10:
Anxious eyes scanned the crowd.
It was nothing out of the ordinary. A calculated sweep of those gathered told Rei there were about a hundred in attendance, to include the media. For the most part, the fans were well behaved, if overly excited; some touting large signs, others wearing tour t-shirts, and many carrying those damnable plush unicorn mascots, Nako-Nako.
So why was she so on edge?
‘Something… something’s wrong here.’ She couldn’t smell it, she couldn’t see it, but she could sense it. And while she didn’t feel an overwhelming sense of danger, Rei knew her presence would be needed.
OOO
And here is a second preview, because you guys are so awesome and that was short:
She looked at her watch and frowned, “It’s almost midnight. What is it with you and staying up so late?”
Minako let the moment slip away. Leaning back in her swiveling chair, she pointed to the other woman accusatorily. “Afraid you’ll turn into a pumpkin?”
“Keh. I’m not tired,” Rei was quick to defend herself as her pen jotted a few more notes, “I’m just getting started.”
“Well if that’s the case, I have some more documentation we can look at back at my apartment…” Minako offered brightly, a not so innocent smirk gracing her delicate features.
Rei’s pen stopped in mid stroke. She raised one, lone eyebrow. “A likely story.”
“Hey, you’re the one who jumped me under the stairs earlier.” Minako said with a shrug.
Rei’s brows met in a challenge. “You’re so going home alone.”
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