Astronomy Lessons at Hikawa Shrine
The sound of something scuffling around on the roof of the shrine awoke Rei from a sound sleep. She sprang to her feet, thinking momentarily that it might be a Youma, before she remembered the absence of the transformation bracelet on her wrist.
It sounded entirely too large to have been a bird. Besides, Phobos and Deimos were highly territorial ravens. They had been known to scare off even people from time to time. Rei smiled, thinking of her first meeting with Usagi, years before.
She moved slowly towards her open window, intending to close it, in case whatever the creature was decided to acquaint itself with her room.
"Hello, Reiko."
"Jesus!" Rei stumbled backwards and tripped over a stack of laundry. She swore when her elbow connected with the floor.
Minako's upside down face was amused. "You flatter me. I'm just Aino Minako. Not the son of God. Even so, you still shouldn't use that kind of language."
Rei glared at her unexpected visitor before turning her attention to her arm. It was too dark to see, but there wasn't much doubt in Rei's mind that there would be a nasty bruise there in the morning.
"Don't I even get a hello?" Minako's smile was insufferable. Worse still, was the fact that Rei was immensely glad to see her. Not that she'd ever admit that out loud.
"How'd you even get up there, Ve—Minako?"
"My superpowers, of course."
Rei held up her bare wrist. "Um, you don't have any. Not anymore at least."
Minako scowled. "Okay. Fine. I had some help from a tree. You're a spoilsport, Reiko, y'know that?"
"What're you doing here?"
"Stargazing. You should come up!"
"What?"
"Come up, I said! All the blood's rushing to my head talking to you like this. C'mon!"
Rei was tempted to simply shut the window when Minako's head disappeared from it, but the idea of stargazing with the often absent idol was very appealing. Something else she'd never admit out loud, Rei thought, as she tied her sneakers.
It was a beautiful night, Rei had to admit as she stepped outside. The air was pleasantly cool, and the sky was clear and bright. The shrine was far enough away from the central city that Rei could often see a number of constellations on a cloudless night.
She closed the door carefully behind her, not wanting to awaken anyone else. Rei had the feeling that Minako had been as stealthy as a ninja until she was sure she was above Rei's sleeping quarters. Rei supposed that she could have climbed out her window and saved herself the trouble of finding her way around the shrine in the dark, but privately, she was grateful to have a few minutes of quiet and fresh air before coming face to face with Minako again.
Rei had had no idea that the idol was even back in town. The last she'd heard, Minako was touring the Greek Islands. Whether it was for work or pleasure, Rei didn't know, but she had greatly enjoyed the photo Minako had sent of herself posing in front of an ancient image of Aphrodite. She looked like she was having fun, a fact which Rei was slightly envious of, having spent much of her life devoted to the shrine and to her studies. The furthest she had ever travelled was to Kyoto, and that journey had been for the purposes of study as well.
Or perhaps she was jealous of whoever had snapped the photo, Rei thought, and promptly shook the idea from her head. It was ridiculous to even entertain the notion. On the rare occasions that she and Minako spent together, they would be at each other's throat more often than not, constantly bickering, each determined to outshine the other. There was genuine affection beneath the exchanges, Rei knew, but Minako was a world famous celebrity. The idol could have anyone she wanted, so why would Rei even dare to hope that Minako might—
"Maybe I'm still asleep," Rei murmured. That could explain why her errant thoughts continued, no matter how hard she tried to silence them.
A whisper made a her look up.
"This way, Reiko!" Minako peered over the edge of the shrine roof, and directed Rei towards a sturdy Japanese maple tree before disappearing again. Several branches hovered just above the shingled building, making Minako's appearance at Rei's window seem far less implausible.
"You're really something, Minako," Rei said under her breath, and latched onto a low hanging branch. She thanked her lucky stars that she didn't have a fear of heights. She dropped easily onto the shrine's tiled roof and made her way slowly to the apex where Minako was perched, watching Rei's progress.
"That was impressive! Have you done this before?"
Rei smiled sheepishly as she sat next to Minako, careful not to cut herself on the tiles' sharp edges.
"I used to do it all the time. Different tree though. The, uh, elders had a few branches removed after I broke my arm one time." Rei pointed at the elbow she had bruised in her room only moments ago. In the moonlight, she could nearly make out the faint scar that the impact had left when she'd fallen way back then.
"I didn't know you broke your arm," Minako said, sounding genuinely surprised.
"You don't know everything about me, Minako," Rei replied, harsher than she'd intended.
The idol smiled wistfully and looked at her knees. "No, I guess I don't."
After a moment, Rei nudged her. "Hey. The stars are the other way, y'know."
"I'm aware, thanks." Minako turned her eyes to Rei. "You still haven't even said hello to me."
Rei blinked. "Oh, uh, sorry. Hi, Minako."
"I don't get a hug?"
"Uh—o-okay." Hesitantly, Rei leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Minako, trying valiantly not to notice the other woman's wonderful scent, or how shivers ran up her spine as the gesture was returned.
"There. That wasn't so hard, was it?" Minako said, grinning as she pulled away. Rei fought to regain control over the sudden storm of butterflies in her stomach. "Look," Minako pointed at the sky. "There's Mars."
Rei turned and stared at the reddish point of light. To think that in another life she had lived on that world. As its princess, no less! She nearly laughed at the thought, despite the truth in it.
"What's so funny?" Minako asked.
"Oh, I'm just imagining what I must have been like in my past life. I expect I was a spoiled brat, being a princess and all."
Minako smirked. "Well, you weren't spoiled, but you were definitely a brat. At least when we first met."
"Huh. You sure you're not thinking of you? In every incarnation? Ow!" Minako had jabbed her elbow into Rei's ribs. "I thought idols were supposed to be nice!"
"Kuroki Mio."
"...Touché." Rei rubbed at her throbbing side and looked upwards again. At the rate she was going, she was sure to spend the next day in the hospital. "So where's Venus?"
"Sitting next to you."
"Har har. Really. Where is it?"
Minako pointed towards the horizon. "It's early yet, but it should appear around there just before sunrise."
Rei gaped at the idol. "Sunrise? Exactly how late were you planning on keeping me out here? It's not like I have chores or anything important to do in the morning!"
"I'm not keeping you here, Reiko. You can leave anytime you want." Minako stared haughtily, but the corners of her mouth were twitching as she fought back a smile.
Rei scoffed, but was secretly glad that she had no obligations the next day. No need for Minako to know that though.
She froze as she felt Minako's hand clasp her own.
"I've really missed you, y'know. Travelling around Europe would have been more fun if you'd been with me."
"I-I didn't know you wanted me. Er, to come. With you!" Rei cringed as the words spilled out of her, complete with their possible double meanings. Her cheeks grew fiery hot at the sound of Minako's quiet giggling.
"Well, in your defence, I didn't exactly ask you to join me when I had the chance. Of course in my defence, I was a bit distracted by saving the world in time for Usagi's wedding." Minako's fingers wove themselves through Rei's. Rei shut her eyes, hoping to reduce the fiery sensation she could feel travelling through her.
"You'd have liked Greece, Reiko. It was so beautiful."
"Not as beautiful as you, I bet," Rei murmured. Her eyes flew open. Had she really said that out loud? She dared a furtive glance at Minako. The idol's face was the picture of astonishment. Rei swore under her breath and aimed her eyes determinedly at her feet.
"Um—th-thank you, Rei."
Rei shrugged noncommittally, and made to stand up, but Minako had a strong grip on her hand. She glanced again at Minako, who was now looking at her with a shy smile.
"What? D-Don't you hear those kinds of remarks all the time?" Rei asked.
Minako shook her head, blushing. "Not from you." She pointed towards the horizon suddenly with her free hand. "There, that's Venus right there."
Rei shifted to match her line of sight with Minako's, and easily spotted the golden point of light.
"I think I can see your house from here," she quipped.
"Actually, it was a palace." Minako laughed when Rei rolled her eyes. "But sometimes I think I can see it too, if I look hard enough."
Rei grinned and then realized they were nearly cheek to cheek as they contemplated the far away planet. Minako must have noticed too, as Rei swore she could feel warmth coming from the idol as they both continued to stare determinedly forward. Or was that heat coming from herself? Rei clenched her jaw, trying to decide whether or not to turn and brush her lips against Minako's skin.
"Rei." Minako's voice whispered next to her ear. Rei's heart sped up to a hum as she slowly turned and met Minako's eyes. The two women regarded one another for a moment, as if unsure how to proceed.
Then, with a daring that she didn't know she had, Rei leaned forward and pressed her lips to Minako's.
She felt, rather than heard, the idol's soft gasp. Rei very nearly broke away to apologize for being so forward when Minako's hand wrapped around the back of her neck, pulled her closer and deepened the kiss.
The fire that had been kindling inside Rei since Minako had arrived, erupted into an inferno.
~O~O~O~O~O~
Whether it was the cry of Phobos or Deimos that distracted them, Rei could not say, but she made a mental note to feed the two ravens the hardest, mouldiest bits of bread she could find later on.
Minako opened her eyes slowly when she pulled away, as if reluctant to wake from a dream. Her hands gripped Rei's waist, while Rei's fingers were tangled in the idol's silken hair. Rei knew she was blushing furiously, but she didn't care in the slightest.
"You should sell those birds to a sanctuary or something," Minako muttered, and rested her forehead against Rei's shoulder. Another harsh caw sounded nearby, startling them both.
"I think they might disagree with you." Rei chuckled and stifled a yawn. The sky was beginning to grow lighter. The glowing pinpricks that were Mars and Venus had long since vanished beneath the blanket of the coming sunrise.
"Aw, you look so tired Reiko. Are you getting enough sleep these days?" Minako smiled impishly at Rei's incoherent sputtering. "Come on, I know you're not that annoyed with me for waking you."
Rei smirked and smoothed Minako's hair. Her lips were still tingling pleasantly. "I can honestly say that all traces of annoyance have been obliterated. Or shifted focus, anyway." She glared at the ravens, who were attempting to be the picture of innocence as they hopped around the roof tiles.
Minako stifled a yawn of her own, and leaned against Rei's side, looking as though she might doze off.
"Oh, I almost forgot!" She sat up and reached into her jacket pocket. "I was going to mail this, but I thought it'd be more fun to deliver in person." She handed Rei another photograph from Greece. It showed Minako gazing fondly at the image of a warrior wielding two deadly blades.
"Hey, wait, is this—?"
"Ares, god of War. Or as they call him in Rome—"
"Mars," Rei finished, admiring the photo further. Unable to hold the burning question in any longer, Rei asked, "Who, uh, who's your photographer?"
Minako pointed at a fuzzy white edge and Rei burst out laughing.
"You'd think Artemis could handle a camera if he can dial a cell phone and operate a computer, but—"
Rei cut Minako off with a quick kiss, not wanting her to know that she had been jealous of a plush cat—however sentient a being he was.
"Thank you, Minako." She smiled when she saw the other girl's cheeks turning pink, and slipped the photo into the pocket of her red pyjama pants.
Minako leaned back against Rei and sighed contentedly.
"Hey, Rei?"
"Mm?"
"Did I hear you say that if I'd asked you to come with me to Greece, you would have said yes?"
Rei nodded, feeling a pang of regret at having missed the adventure of a lifetime. "Yeah, I would've. In a heartbeat."
"Even though I would have dragged you around till you were exhausted, shoved every kind of food and drink imaginable at you, no matter how full you were—"
"I put up with that in Japan, don't I?"
Minako pouted. "Hmph. Just for that, maybe I won't ask you to join me when I go back, after all!"
"Wait, what? You're going back?"
Minako's eyes glimmered with mischief. "Maybe I'll see if Makoto's interested instead."
"Minako!"
The idol laughed triumphantly and kissed Rei's cheek.
"Baka. Of course you're coming with me. Now, we should probably get down from here before everyone wakes up and sees you up here in your nightclothes. I've heard a few rumours flying around about Hikawa's eccentric young shrine maiden—we don't need to add to them, now do we?"
"And what will they say when they find Japan's number one pop idol here too, hm?" Rei stood and led the way to the overhanging branches they had clambered up earlier.
"Oh, they'll think that we're secret lovers no doubt. The press adores throwing that one around. Of course they just might be right, for once." Rei nearly stumbled from the tree as she began her descent.
Lovers?
She dropped carefully to the ground and waited for Minako to make her way down from the rooftop.
Lovers.
Minako flipped upside down from the bottom branch and landed gracefully in front of Rei, wearing a coy smile. She darted a quick glance around the shrine before giving Rei a soft kiss and dashing away.
"I'll see you later, Reiko!" Minako called as she disappeared down the shrine's steps.
Lovers.
Out loud, Rei admitted, "I like the sound of that."
~O~O~O~O~
Author's note:
I know Rei is supposed to be very anti past life and all, but I think the main reason for that lay in all the misery it was causing for her friends. Since said misery has been resolved, I figured she might be able to laugh about it now. Seriously. If I were in her place, I'd be making jokes about how Marvin the Martian and I are distant relatives. Wouldn't that be lovely, hm? ...That's, uh, something Marvin says a lot, for those of you who didn't grow up watching Looney Tunes.
Also, for those unfamiliar with Greek and Roman mythology, Aphrodite and Venus are one and the same goddess.
Many thanks to you for reading!
Also, um, the reviews I got for my last story motivated me to write this one.
...Just saying.