Title: coup d'etate
Character/Pairing: Minako, Rei, Haruka, Michiru
A/N: Written for DocHolligay's birthday. This was a lot of fun to make
Summary: History was written by the victor. Minako wondered what sort of history was written now.
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Minako: What's right is what's left.
History was written by the victor. Minako had read that once in a history book, before falling asleep in class. The winners determined everything and the losers were regulated to the dust. She was never more reminded of this than their nightly meetings.
"We just have to get them to join us!" Usagi chirped, clapping her hands excitedly. She sat on her throne, the cold marble glowing in pale moonlight. "They'll love it here, I just know it."
Ami adjusted her visor, staring at invisible figures. "It won't work; your rule isn't very popular over there."
"Why? Do they hate me?" Their queen's eyes started to water. Minako noted how tightly her hand gripped the throne, how her jaw started to set. There was a time long ago where she would have welcomed this change, this determination.
Now it just made her weary. "No, they just see you as the antithesis of everything they want."
"But why?" Usagi's wails suddenly stopped and a pout formed. "Fine, then we'll just have to convince them."
"How?" Ami asked, as though she didn't know exactly where this was leading. As though it hadn't led there before.
"They just need to see how much safer we are than they are." Her reply was simple, her smile sharp. There was something ethereal about her, sitting in the pale moonlight. Something more moon than earth.
Minako stepped away from the throne, back into the shadows. "I understand."
History was written by the victors. As she watched her friend slowly disappear, bit by bit, she wondered what sort of history was written now.
-x-
Rei: Smoke signals
The future was not set. If there was one thing Rei had learned over the years, it was this: the visions she saw were mutable. But only if they were listened to, only if they were understood.
She did not have to look into the fire to see this future. Like smoke signals, the tell tale signs were obvious. The way Usagi would smile sometimes, all teeth. How her eyes would lower as she considered their next move. The crescents dug into her skin when things went wrong.
"Did I do something wrong?" she asked after their latest meeting, trembling. "I'm not a good leader or very trustworthy, is that it?"
Even now, as she stared up with teary eyes and a warble in her voice, Rei could already see the calculations running in her mind. Usagi had never been a good liar but each day she got better and better at it.
It scared her. This girl was not quite Usagi. A spectre rose behind her, a princess that might have been more like her mother than she realized. Her features were sharper each day and one day Rei was going to cut herself on the edges.
"Rei-chan?"
The signs were there, like smoke signals.
"You're such an idiot," she replied, opening a window and dispersing the smoke.
-x-
Mina/Haruka: A clever plan
Haruka liked dives. There were few sketchy bars left after Usagi's cleanliness roundup, most of the establishments cleaned up till they were cookie cutter imitations of one another. It made it safer for everyone, she had argued and Haruka couldn't really disagree.
Still, she missed her favourite run-down spots. Mina seemed to agree, meeting her in these joints to kick back and relax. Considering how worn out Mina got these days, maybe they should do it more than once a month.
"Hey!" Haruka waved as her friend entered the bar fifteen minutes late. "I was getting worried."
Mina was sporting a new cut, her forearm wrapped up. Even her trademark ribbon looked beat up. "When are you not?"
She sat up straighter, suddenly alert. There was something off about the way Mina walked, the way she talked. Like a caged tiger, each movement was tense. "What's up?"
She blinked, taken aback before gesturing at the door. "Didn't think I was that obvious. Not here."
Haruka followed her out, dropping cash for her bill. The bartender wouldn't have charged her anyways, a perk with being of the royal guard, but Haruka had never been comfortable with the free gifts. As they exited, Mina scanned their surroundings before heading to the roof.
It was only once she determined they were safe that she spoke again. "How do you feel about Usagi?"
Suddenly, Haruka understood her behaviour. She swallowed thickly. Suddenly, they felt too exposed up here. At least the moon was hidden, the clouds blocking its light. "What are you planning?"
"Who says I'm planning anything?" Playful. Still guarded, judging the situation.
Haruka laughed nervously. "You wouldn't have come to me otherwise."
-x-
Rei/Michiru: Sweet wine
"It is an old vintage, sweet and smooth," Michiru informed her, handing Rei a glass. The view from her deck was stunning, the sun slowly setting over the water. Rei barely had time to savour it before her host's next statement. "The vineyard is gone now, thanks to Usagi's last tantrum."
The wine was a dark red, the colour of drying blood. On purpose no doubt. Rei resisted the bait, swirling her glass. "That was an accident."
"Is that what they call it these days?" Michiru took a slow sip, her eyes never leaving Rei's. "Not that I am complaining, each bottle has gone up in worth."
"Michiru," Rei warned. She stared down at her reflection in the glass, distorted as it was. "She realized her mistake, she won't do it again."
"Our gift might be Sight, but it does little good to one who chooses to be blind."
Rei took a sip. It seemed Michiru was full of lies today; the wine was bitter.
-x-
Minako/Rei: Catching Fire
Rei knew.
It took Minako half a minute to figure it out. Rei's emotions were ever on her sleeve, even in this. Especially in this. Her hands gripped Mina's collar, pushing her against the wall as they kissed. It was like she was burning, a fire that consumed all. Even the air around them was a few degrees hotter.
"I'll do it," she whispered, her breathing ragged as she pulled back. Her eyes were wild and any composure she had was lost.
Minako studied her, her hand pushing Rei's locks behind her ear. "It's Usagi."
"I'll do it," she repeated fiercely. Her grip tightened. "I mean it."
"I know you do."
"Only, we can't hurt Chibs." Rei glared at her, as though she could see right through the machinations running in Minako's mind. "We spare her."
"Of course," she lied, giving an easy smile. "We'll keep her safe."
-x-
Minako, Michiru: Alligences, promises and the truth
"You know Rei will not agree to any of this," Michiru pointed out, lounging behind Minako. While her estate was far from prying eyes, Minako didn't quite like how dependent that made her on the ice queen.
"She said she'd do it." Minako laid out a map. With Ami's monitoring, it was hard to tell what technology was safe. Best to keep it simple.
"I am sure she thinks she will." Her voice was sharp, cutting through all of bullshit Minako hid in.
"What do you want me to say?" she snarled, tired of the hints and running around. Her fingers tapped angrily on the table. "I already know not to trust her."
"Can you kill her?"
And if this was what it sounded, laid bare, then maybe she preferred to go back to the smoke and mirrors. Minako slumped forward, gritting her teeth. "It won't come to that."
Undeterred, Michiru pushed, "If it does?"
She looked at her now, more Venus than Minako. "I will do what it takes."