Minako sighed as she sat on the stairs to the home she lived at, flipping her wrist up to look at her watch again. 5 P.M. on the dot. It was amazing, really, that she had bothered to sit in the same exact spot since 2 P.M. or so. She wasn't really known for being patient or able to sit very still, but this had become a tradition and it was one she hated.

October 22nd had been the very same for many years, ever since she had left for London and come back. Looking down at her hands, Minako felt she could understand why and yet felt like she didn't exist at the same time. Life had been hard for her, but she had to follow what destiny dictated for her, and that was to become Sailor V and travel to London to stop the spree of Youma that had come to rise.

Perhaps if she had known the burden that came with such a task, she would have changed her mind on following destiny. It wasn't just the entire dying for your princess front that was the issue at hand. It was the fact that while overseas, she had no choice but to kill those turned in Youma. She didn't have the magic to heal them. And every day she could tell you're their names, find the photos of them, see the families on the news begging for their missing child or husband or wife to come home.

Minako shut her eyes hard when she started to see her hands turn red. This was something she tried not to linger on. She had no choice at the time. Kill one and save thousands, or let them all perish on her watch. It never failed that seeing Usagi able to heal people made her both jealous and just the tiniest bit of spiteful that she had been unable to do it herself. Initially, when she grouped up with the others, she resented Usagi for her ability to do that, but had to keep it to herself. This was the Princess. This was who she was to protect by both destiny and her own consciousness.

However, killing people hadn't been the only fate Minako had suffered. Even though she claimed to go overseas for University, which she did attend and become fairly fluent in the English language, her parents hadn't liked her for doing it. They had told her not to go. However, they woke up to nothing more than an apologetic note. Minako had come home to an empty house and two people who pretended her existence wasn't actually there. Maybe that's what being a ghost was like? At least they were kind enough to cook her food.

It also meant disregarding their daughter on her birthday every single year. And yet every year found Minako waiting on their stairs of their home for them to arrive from work and tell her Happy Birthday. And right on cue, 5:13 P.M. the car pulled into the driveway and they got out. And went right past Minako and into the house. No hi. No how are you. No Happy Birthday.

At this point, she didn't even try to fake a smile for them. She had already learned her lesson that it wasn't worth the effort. She simply lowered her head at hearing the door shut and let the tears start to fall. One could only hold up the façade of being this great leader for so long and some things just got to Minako easier than others could. If destiny would allow it and be so kind to her, maybe she could disappear forever.

Suddenly there was a handkerchief in her vision and she jolted, looking up into a pair of amethyst eyes that looked so worried, so scared.

"R…Rei?"

"Here." Without waiting, Rei reached forward and carefully cleaned Minako's face. "How long this year?"

"I..uh.." Her brain was too short wired by Rei to comprehend the question. How long had she been in front of her?"

"And just so we're clear, I'd be pretty upset to see you disappear."

"You heard that!?"

"You kind of mumbled it, but yeah. Destiny or not…I'd like to think we still would have crossed paths some day."

"You don't even like destiny…" She gently took the handkerchief from Rei's hands and held it tightly, looking at it. It was a Sailor V one and she had to smile a little. Right, closet fan.

"No, I don't." Rei shifted to sit beside her on the stairs. "But without each other, I think we'd both have a lot harder of a life, you know?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean…" Rei sighed. "Can we go to the shrine to talk? Rather than here?"

"Oh uh..let me just get some clothes."

"You have enough at my place already. Come on. I don't like you being here right now." Standing up, Rei gave her no room to argue as she pulled her along.

Once they were settled at the shrine, sitting outside of Rei's room with a hot cup of tea, Rei continued her train of thought.

"What I meant at your place is that..we've both had it bad. You worse than me any day of the week—"

"I still have my parents, Rei."

"Those aren't your parents, Minako." Her eyes turned dark and she tightened the grip on her tea. "They just ignore you all the time and I hate it."

Suddenly it clicks in Minako's mind for the first time in her entire life. Rei hates this situation because it's like her Father ignoring her Mother's existence even beyond death. Only Minako is actively trying to be there in her parent's life and they aren't having any of it.

"So…I talked to Grandpa. I didn't give him any details or anything like that, but…" She saw Rei swallow and fiddle with her cup. Her eyes cut up to Rei's face. Rei doesn't fiddle with anything unless she's extremely nervous about something. "He said you're welcome to move out here to the shrine."

"What." The word is out of her mouth before she process what she said or what Rei just said.

"I just..Sorry. It's not my place." It's clear Rei was uncomfortable about it all, feeling like she had crossed a boundary she didn't deserve to be at.

"I…" Minako fumbles for words. "What all did you say?"

"That your parents are never home and don't really help you out. So you have to find time to cook, clean, and all that stuff while balancing school and it's hard on you. You needed to be away from all that and that I thought the shrine would be a good place because it's peaceful and you can even help out as payment."

"You offered my services as payment?" Well clearly Minako wasn't feeling her best given that didn't even come across as some awful joke involving a bed.

"Sorry."

"No..it's…it's fine." Minako sat her empty cup down and stared at her hands in her lap. Outside of London, she had always lived with her parents. She had a lot of good memories in the house, but the past several had been her not existing. Years of holiday's uncelebrated. No Christmas gifts. No birthday gifts. Would they even care that she left school? God the tears felt like they were coming back.

"Mina…" Rei gently put her hand on Minako's before pulling her into a soft hug.

"D..Don't…" Minako tried to pull away and shake her head. She didn't need this, she was fine. She had dealt with all these burdens this long, what was the rest of eternity to matter? Rei's arms tightened against her and it broke everything. The tears started followed by the shaking and the sobbing. Every pent up emotion was unleashed against Rei. It would be forty-five minutes before it stopped and she laid there, content in Rei's arms.

"3 hours this year…"

"Huh?" Minako pulled back to rub at her eyes.

"You waited three hours, right?"

"How do you know?"

"…I…I had a vision two days ago about it. The time you stepped outside and then another one of you looking at your watch at 5."

"And what do you mean this year?"

Rei smiled a little before getting up and going inside before returning with a small box wrapped up with a bow on it. Minako was really fucking dumbfounded by that one.

"Here."

"What's this?"

"Your birthday gift."

Minako stared at the box in silence. She had never told the girls when her birthday was just to avoid them seeing her as the disaster Rei had seen today. Yet Rei had known. Even with them dating she never told Rei what day it was because it wasn't something that ever came up.

"How?"

"Ami's pretty good at figuring things out, you know. I asked her."

"Why not ask me?"

"Because you wouldn't tell. I tried last year and you walked so far around that question I'm amazed you stayed in orbit."

Minako blinked slowly. She didn't even recall that happening.

"So are you going to open it?"

Minako was very hesitant. What would Rei even get her as a gift? Sure Rei knew her very well both before and after they had started to date, but what would she know to get her as a gift? Her tastes always changed and the box was way too small to be some form of clothing. Maybe a perfume? Or a gift card was a pretty smart idea too.

Reaching up, she carefully undid the bow and was even careful removing the wrapping paper. Sure she had gotten gifts from the girls at Christmas, but a birthday gift like this was unique and she didn't want to ruin any bit of it. Then it was the actual box in front of her. Just her fingers sliding the lid off in the way of seeing what her girlfriend could have possible gotten her. She wasn't sure which one was more anxious, her or Rei.

Finally, taking a deep breath, she pulled the lid off and was met face to face with a key. "What the hell is this?" She looked up and followed Rei's hand, which lead to Rei's door and two and two didn't click. "I'm confused."

"It's your key."

"Key to what?"

"..Are you being serious or are you fucking with me right now?"

"Serious."

Rei seemed a touch startled at that answer. "Mina, I meant it about you moving in. Grandpa had a talk with your parents already and they don't care. That's why I didn't want you going up to your room." Standing up, she pulled Minako inside and opened her closet. Half held Rei's clothes and the other half held Minako's. "We'd already been by your place early in the morning while you were out of the house to get all your stuff."

"What about Artemis." Apparently she was too startled to think about anything else.

"He's over at Usagi's place with Luna. He's welcome to stay here too when he wants to." Rei turned to look and was met with Minako just staring into the closet. "Earth to Mina?"

"You…"

"Hm?"

God hadn't she cried enough today? The tears were back as she sank down to the ground, her hand coming up to her mouth to try and stifle the sob. "Why?"

Slowly Rei sat down next to her, pulling her into another hug. "Because for one, I love you. And for two, we have enough burdens to carry in our life time. You don't need another one. Here you'll be seen and not ignored. You'll be able to relax more, focus on school, and maybe have some fun for once in your life."

Minako hit her in the shoulder. "I have fun you jerk!"

"I let you move in and you call me a jerk!?"

"Shut up and let me just cry!" Another ten minutes and she was okay, pulling back to wipe at her eyes again. "Thank you…"

"Of course. I'd do anything for you, Mina."

"What were you going to do if I said no? To moving in, I mean."

"Not like you really had a choice. But..I'd have handed you your stuff and helped you move it back, even if I hated it."

"Would…would you have hated me too?"

"No. I'd have been mad for a long while, though."

It was still hard to believe. For the first time in many years, Minako could feel the tension in her shoulders go away and it was like a wave of exhaustion hit her from holding the act up for so long.

"Come on. We can take a hot shower and then get some rest. The others want to hang out tomorrow."

"Together?"

"Huh?"

"You say take a shower together?" Rei went red in the face immediately. "Besides, we won't need hot water. We can make it steamy enough." Minako waggled her eye brows and was met with a towel to her face.

"It's going to be cold water by the time you get in there if you don't hurry up!" Rei stomped off and Minako grinned, standing up to follow her.

Maybe destiny wasn't so bad after all.