A/N: Ok, so this is my second attempt at writing. Well, not writing period. Writing fanfiction and then putting it out there, would be more accurate. I also honestly have no idea where this is going, but I do have ideas for chapters in mind. All criticism and comments are welcome here!

"She's getting WHAT?!"

Rei's voice exploded in the otherwise peaceful courtyard inside the Lunarian palace grounds, causing the three women in front of her to wince, as well as several others passing by.

Noting the curious stares and whispers, Haruka gently but firmly took a now quietly-boiling Rei by the arm as she quickly led the group to an enclosed gazebo, tossing suave apologetic smiles to everyone in their way. Once inside, they all settled onto the bench facing Rei, who still stood with her fists clenched. She swallowed hard before she spoke. "So just how long have you all known about this and decided not to tell me?"

This time it was Makoto's chance to look apologetic as she scratched her head sheepishly. "Well…"

"Well what?"

Makoto turned to Michiru with a helpless look on her face. She knew firsthand just how explosive Rei's temper could be. There were plenty of hastily spoken words and ensuing scuffles between the two of them she remembered that were proof of that. She also knew that of the three of them, Michiru was the least likely person Rei would blow up on.

Michiru cleared her throat softly and looked at Rei straight on. "It wasn't our decision. She asked all of us not to say anything to you if you happened to contact us until she was ready."

"When would that have been?! At the reception of the wedding I wouldn't have known about because my 'friends' weren't going to clue me in?!"

"Hey," Haruka countered evenly, "don't yell at Michiru, or any of us, for that matter! You've been keeping your distance from all of us since you and Minako ended it. Even if we tried to tell you, you were nowhere to be found these past 5 years! But how you haven't heard about it yet since you've been back is beyond me! Hell, the entire earth knows about this marriage!"

Haruka stopped to let it sink in, and when Rei didn't respond, Michiru added, "I'm very sorry you had to find out like this."

Rei sat heavily on the gazebo's second bench, deflated. Has it really been 5 years? The longer the days had turned into weeks and months, the more she had hoped that Minako would find some way to be happy (eventually), but marriage?

"Rei." Michiru's voice pulled Rei from her thoughts back to the real world. "I know it might seem like a bad question to ask right now, but are you ok?"

For the first time since the topic had been brought up, Rei didn't speak, only nodded her head mutely. Her mouth suddenly felt very dry. "I just-" Her voice cracked abruptly and she swallowed hard before trying again. "I just didn't expect her to…" What? Move on with life, like I told her to? "To marry. Anybody."

"Anybody but you, right?" asked Haruka.

"No! Yes! I mean…I don't know! I guess I just figured that we'd find our way back to each other after I made sure some things were…settled." Rei's shoulders sagged in defeat.

Haruka gave a low, short chuckle before saying, "Well, it's kind of hard to find your way back to someone when that person suddenly disappears with no way of contacting them. Honestly, Rei, the meditation moons of Pluto? It's nearly impossible to relay messages from here to those moons, especially if no one knows you're there."

"You don't know what you're talking about. I told her I needed time to myself to think, to figure things out! That wasn't her cue to just walk away and find some guy to marry!"

"You made her walk away. She never wanted to leave."

At that Rei clamped her lips together, clenched her fists and marched out of the gazebo across the courtyard towards the palace. The three women watched her retreating form with a mixture of worry, pity and frustration on their faces.

"Way to go," Makoto said, "now we don't just have to worry about an angry Rei, but an angry AND brooding Rei."

"Oh whatever," Haruka scoffed. "She was going to be pissed off and sulky either way. It's not our fault she sucks at dealing with her feelings and pushed away Minako because of it. You'd think 5 years meditating would do something for a person, but not Rei. She's still as ill-tempered and horribly inept at facing her feelings now as she was then. No wonder Minako wanted us not to say anything. Geez."

"I think you're being a bit harsh." Michiru's tone came out slightly sharper and colder than it had been when talking to Rei. Haruka's scowling look quickly wilted to one of sheepishness, and Makoto subtly flinched. Well. Haruka's in for it now. "Rei might be the biggest introvert ever, but it's not our job to decide what she did wrong between her and Minako. If anything, you just made the whole thing worse. We already haven't seen her in 5 years, do you want to make it 50?"

"But I was just thinking about Minako-"

"If you were really thinking about Minako, you'd realize that despite what she says, she's still in love with Rei. And because of that, you'd try to help Rei, instead of just pissing her off by 'telling it like it is'!"

At this point, both Haruka and Makoto were staring at Michiru, one in humble silence, the other in amused astonishment. Makoto couldn't remember the last time the reticent woman had raised her voice. Besides that one time when they were younger when Minako thought it would be funny to hide Michiru's mirror the day after she received the talisman. Michiru's scathing (and extremely boisterous) lecture when she found out had put Minako in tears; Luna and Pluto had felt so bad that they didn't even reprimand the commander-in-training. Minako never hid another item of Michiru's, and they bonded well after the matter.

Michiru's voice and face were the same now as they were then, over the same person no less, but under different circumstances. The irony wasn't lost on Makoto. She laughed out loud.

Michiru eyed Makoto. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, you just…" Makoto trailed off when she noticed a familiar looking blond figure approaching the gazebo they were sitting in. "This just keeps getting better," she muttered.