Orokid: This was one of those fanfics that I had only written two paragraphs of before sitting down and actually finishing it without a good idea how it's going to end. You know… my usual pieces. Haha. I suppose that I finished this one up due to lack of internet at my home (Nooooes) since my older sister paid for someone to move the internet to a different computer in our house… and, for some reason, my laptop can find the connection but cannot connect to it even though I've tried time and time again to get it to. *Sigh* Meh… guess I'll have to live with it for a while until then. That just means that whenever I find a wi-fi connection, I'll have internet again… which is at night between seven and eight eastern standard time- and that's when I'm at my grandfather's, stealing internet from his neighbor. X3 Moving on…

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Not even my life, but especially anything that has to do with Sailor Moon or PGSM. I don't own the characters. I. Own. Nothing.

Secrets

There are just some things that one keeps secret, no matter how close they may be to their friends. It was like how the truth of Sailor Venus's true persona was kept away from those that probably would have deserved most to know, keeping that knowledge only to herself. At first, she believed as thought she had failed to mention the truth because it had been only her who had been trusted with the information. The woman had given her the chance to prove herself as a soldier to their princess, and, since it was common knowledge how the other three members openly idolized the singer, she had chosen to feign ignorance whenever the question would linger in the air about the actual person who stood before them and dared a youma to cross their paths. No one asked why she would find herself silent over the supposedly unknown answer, having always preferred to keep her thoughts to herself over trivial matters. Out of all of the other soldiers, it was painstakingly clear that she was the most trustworthy, and she knew all too well the expectations that came with such a responsibility.

But there was something different from the political secrets that she had to keep to herself and the moment she had learned of the fifth and final member of their rag-tag team. She hadn't been sat down, asked to think logically about all the things that raged both within her heart and mind, told to hide the emotions that urged her to do what was deemed unacceptable behavior. It had been a silent agreement between comrades, but there was definitely something beneath even that, yearning to please the woman in a way that was much deeper than duty. There were words that bubbled beneath the surface, wanting to speak things that she didn't understand yet still felt, and she often found herself biting down on her tongue to keep such things to herself.

There was something within herself that she had held a secret from her friends, who knew only that she didn't hold a fascination for men as the others did- or who had figured over their time together that she was one of 'those types' and had left the idea alone and unspoken of. One could suppose that she kept it from them because her father had caught wind of his only daughter's fantasies, and he had more or less forced her to shut down such thoughts and feelings, told her that such a thing was an abomination at that she would find no one to love her if she kept such a thing publicly- and he had done it all for the career that he had left her for, all alone at the temple with her loving, doting grandfather. The old man hadn't said outright that her heart and mind sinned with each of her breaths, with each and every thought she had that her father had denied, she had listened to him speak mantra to ward off the evils of things that he believed caused her such turmoil and confusion. Every turn she had ever taken in life had told her that such a thing should be kept to herself or forgotten like her childhood, and she had taken to doing exactly what she had been taught to. She hid it all deep within herself, burying it in a place where she had laid her mother's memory to rest. She attempted to forget those thoughts, those feelings. She threw herself into a life that made her unhappy- even when it didn't.

And yet, much like everything else, the biggest secret that she had attempted to keep from the world had been all but shouted from the rooftops the weeks that she had spent getting to know the fifth and final member of their group- a young woman by the name of Aino Minako. Between them, one might guess that they had little in common, and it was often a wonder how they ever got along in the first place. Venus was playful and loud, and oftentimes revengeful whenever she didn't get her way, while she herself was bitter at the world who could never understand and rarely ever raised her voice unless in the heat of one battle or another. The young woman was an idol, a person who adored being in the limelight and enjoyed the crowds of people who seemed to enjoy the music that she brought to the world- and she was nothing more than a miko who had grown to like the quiet outdoors of the shrine, who liked making children laugh and avoiding adults unless she had to. On the surface, there was little that they held it common at all.

But, underneath the brave front both of them put up around friends and strangers, they had more in common than one might assume. They were both stubborn and envied the other for the strength that they saw in the other. Each of them found solace in the verbal games that they made with one another, saw the challenge that either issued as a past-time that neither would admit to enjoying openly.

And, lastly, they both had secrets that they were afraid to let others see for fearing their words of laughter or hatred. Neither of them felt strong enough to share their pain, their heartache, for fear that what friends they would make would leave them behind because it was too risky to remain by their sides. And even if their secrets were so different, they had become a pillar or strength to lean upon- even if they tended to be cruel and unforgiving at times.

And after the idol's secret had been shared, and after every one of the princess's soldiers (and the princess herself) had stayed at the woman's side throughout the ordeal of her sickness and reincarnation, only one secret seemed to have remained unspoken- and the sailor of Mars was more than willing to keep it that way, her heart locked within her chest for the rest of her days. But, as usual, her hopes were to be vanquished during an evening at the idol's flat, where all five girls were sitting, chatting, playing a game that she had been forced to get into. She had all but cursed her luck as soon as their princess had asked the fiery miko one question that she wasn't sure she could answer as truthfully as she was supposed to.

"Hmm… Truth… Rei-chan, who's your ideal dream date?"

Immediately, she had watched their intelligent friend meet the eyes of the masculine young woman, interest, fear and understanding filling their eyes as they turned back to witness the scene that was laying there before them. The room had turned silent, and Rei was watching her friends with a hopeful pleading look to save her from answering such a thing- but she knew from the look in Ami and Mokoto's eyes that she was on her own. Especially…

The sailor of Venus watched her with curiosity, interest and mischievousness blanketing he dark eyes as thoughts seemed to cross back and forth through the girl's mind. It was her that she watched the hardest, knowing that it was she would would make a comment- and she merely hoped that she would not.

"Usagi-chan, you know that Reiko's ideal date is me." Minako's words were pompous and giggly, laughing as she said the things that she was more or less the truth from her lips.

"Really?" Their princess sounded surprised, incredulous as she looked at both her soldiers of Mars and Venus. Her eyes were wide, and her features showed that she was truly in belief of the idol's words as if they had come from the miko's lips themselves.

She could see each and every person turn to look at the scowling young woman who seemed to have found interest in a wall at the opposite side or everyone else, attempting to keep them from seeing the blush that was across her cheeks. "Baka… This is a foolish game. I'm done playing." Fighting off her feelings of frustration and hopelessness, she stood from where she had been sitting, deciding that it was safer to get far from the group who seemed to be digging far too close to the secrets that she had done too much to hide from them.

Behind her, she could hear the words of a particular young woman, egging her on in a way that she couldn't deny herself the comeback. "Oho… it seems I hit a nerve- or was it that I was right, Reiko-chan?" Her hands touched the doorknob to leave, but she felt soft yet firm hands move around her waist, taking hold of her even as she attempted to quickly make her escape. The young miko could feel the hot breath of the idol from behind her tickling the skin of her ear, whispering words that would have made any person melt into her arms. "Am I your dream date, Reiko?"

"Baka!" She weakly pulled at the woman's grasp, once more attempting to flee from her captor's secure arms. "Baka! Baka! Baka!"

"You're mine, Rei." Her words were much softer than before, surprising the dark haired warrior of fire into a stunned silence as she felt the other woman's hands leave her form. She was standing, blinking, unsure and confused as she turned to look behind her toward the retreating figure of the one who had spoken such words to her. Her hand fell from the doorknob, numbly following after the woman who was passively returning to her seat with the others, laughing and making jokes much like she would any other day- like she hadn't said those words mere seconds before. Their three friends remained seated, watching, listening and laughing with the idol while paying attention to the miko as well.

Slowly, the dark haired priestess sat herself down in the space that she had left moments prior, keeping her eyes on the one who had followed her nearly out the door. What was there to say, to do, when everything that she felt was more or less written all over her face?

"Rei-chan's back!" Their princess seemed excited, although seemed to have missed most of the strange looks that she was giving the Venutian soldier of love. "So, Rei-chan! Rei-chan! Who's your dream date?"

Slowly, in her firm yet wavering voice, the Martian warrior spoke as loud as she could without having to shout it in such an uncouth manner as she had before. "A baka."

Both soldiers of passion and love exchanged glances, a smirk or a soft smile across each of their faces, listening to their princess whine about how Rei hadn't given a person's name and wasn't being entirely truthful with her friends and some such. In that moment, between the planets of Mars and Venus, there was something that was formed that only the two of them had an understanding of.

An unsaid secret that they both understood.

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Orokid: Hmm… I really don't know about this fanfic, but I think it turned out well. Then again… Well, there's always that part of every writer that double and triple guesses the work and thinks everything is crap. Haha. Other than that, I really do think it turned out well. :3 That aside… I hope you guys enjoyed my fanfic. If you did, didn't, or think that purple is awesome, please tell me in a review. Thanks! X3