'For something that I had planned just to distract Hotaru from her romantic problems,' Minako thought with amusement as the blonde girl walked happily towards the Outer's home, 'it certainly has become a distraction to me.' The practices for the Cosplay contest were fun, with the rest of the Senshi dressing up as the Evangelion pilots but more and more she found herself focusing on Hotaru, what the younger woman said, did, or even looked like. Even giving herself firm reminders that she was straight didn't help, not to mention that Hotaru was jailbait. 'I've never had this kind of attraction towards another girl before,' Minako thought, then with a blush had to admit that was a bit of a lie. Back when she had been adventuring as Sailor V she had been persued by the intense police woman Natsuna, and there had been a spark of... something, between them. If Minako hadn't been so focused on a boy she had been chasing at the time, there was no telling where things could have gone. Similarly there were times when she almost thought she was attracted to Rei, but the intense young Miko only had eyes for Usagi. 'I guess I know I can feel things for girls,' Minako admitted as she reached the door, 'but why can't I get Hotaru out of my mind?' She knocked firmly, only a few moments passing before Haruka Tenoh answered it. With a faint blush she thought, 'And here's another woman I was atracted to.' Haruka flashed a smile, the boyish young woman's sandy blonde hair falling into her eyes. "Hey Minako," she waved her inside casually, "you and Hotaru going to practice again?" Slipping her shoes off at the door Minako felt a bit of a blush appear on her cheeks and answered, "Something like that." "Have I said thank you lately?" Haruka said as they walked inside, "Over the past two weeks Hotaru has been getting steadily better." "The feeling's mutual," Minako answered honestly. "Welcome," Michiru waved, the green haired woman sitting there in the living room along with Setsuna and Hotaru. Minako casually noted that with a nod but her eyes were drawn to Hotaru, her face smiling asllmost unwillingly. The black haired girl's own face lit up with a smile, rising gracefully to her feet. "Right on time," Hotaru said, walkiung over to meet Minako. "We only have a day or so until the cosplay show," Minako smiled, "and personally I need all the practice I can get." "You''re a natural actress Minako," Hotaru answered, chuckling softly. Minako blushed slightly, "Thank you." A bit hurredly she added, "Let's get started, all right?" "Let's go," Hotaru agreed, taking Minako's hand and leading her from the room. "Well, well," Setsuna said with a mysterious smile on her face. Haruka looked over at Setsuna suspiciously, "You know something, don't you? Some kind of foreknowledge from the future?" "No," Setsuna shook her head, "just looking at them tells me all I need to know." Haruka fought back a smile as she tried to look serious. "To bad," she sighed, "I always thought that Minako was cute, too." Michiru walked by and casually smacked Haruka on the back of the head, "No speculating on making it with other girls in my presence." "Owwe," Haruka winced, rubbing the back of her head. She looked over at Setsuna curiously, "And what has you so bouncy?" Setsuna smiled contentedly, "I'm in love." Both Michiru and Haruka looked over at the ordinarily serene Senshi of time in surprise. "May I ask who...?" Michiru recovered enough to ask. "Makoto," Setsuna drawled, "is remarkably mature for her age." Minako and Hotaru exchanged surprised looks then quietly slipped away from where they were hiding around a corner. They hadn't really meant to overhear, but the temptation had just been a little too great for the young women to resist. "Setsuna and Makoto?" Minako said as they went into Hotaru's bedroom. The lamps scattered around provided a soothing sort of light, offsetting the sombre decorations. Hanging off a hood on the closet was the white plugsuit, shining in the dim room. Hotaru looked thoughtful, "You know, I think Makoto might suit her." "Guess I'd better stop throwing Makoto and Ami together in their scenes," Minako noted as she sat down on the side of the bed, kicking her feet nervously. "You really are a shameless matchmaker," Hotaru surprised her by sitting down beside her, "I noticed you putting Rei and Usagi together, too." She looked over at Minako curiously, "But what about Mamoru?" Minako made a face, "Mamoru is in the United States studying, the same place that he has been for months." She paused, "And Usagi may not admit it, but she's miserable alone." "As miserable as I was a few weeks ago?" Hotaru asked, smiling slightly. "Well, maybe not that bad," Minako said. Hotaru chuckled softly, then she reached out to tentatively rest her fingers up against Minako's and asked, "And what about you?" "What about me?" Minako blinked, feeling oddly warm all of a sudden. Hotaru gave her a gentle smile, "I mean, are you happy being alone?" Minako gave her a thoughtful look, studying the younger girl carefully. "I'm not alone," she answered finally, "I have the other senshi, my family...." "That's not what I mean," Hotaru answred firmly, "what about love?" "I've never been lucky in love," Minako answered then confessed with a smile, "but there is someone that I like." "Oh?" Hotaru asked, feeling a bit nervous. "I finally decided that my bad luck with dating has been because I'm dating boys," Minako admitted shyly, "it's a girl I like." "I live with Haruka and Michiru," Hotaru reminded her, "that's something I don't really have an issue with." Minako chuckled nervously. "She's intense, really inteligent for her age," she said softly, "and lately my heart skips a beat whenever I'm around her." "You've... fallen for Ami?" Hotaru asked. Minako looked at her then broke into a fit of giggles, surprising Hotaru. Smoothly Minako bent forward, heart racing with fear and gently pressed her lips to Hotaru's, a chaste little kiss that lasted... a few seconds. Then Hotaru reached up to wrap her arms around Minako, pulling her close, and the kiss deepened with passion. "Does that tell you who I love?" Minako finally asked breathlessly. "Oh yes," Hotaru rested her head on Minako's shoulder, "me, too." She laughed suddenly, "Remind me to tell you about a certain dream I had....." "What sort of dream?" Minako asked. "You'll see," Hotaru purred. Afterward... The group cosplay preformance didn't win first place, but they did make quite a respectable showing. Minako and Hotaru drew lusty cheers dressed in their plugsuits, but of special note was the interaction between Rei and Usagi. More than one audience member commented on the romantic intensitry between the two who were playing Ritsuko and Gendo, the electricity they had. But that was a story for another time....
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