A/N: Inspired by Paramore's CrushCrushCrush :)
Amethyst eyes shot open, meeting dim light coming in through her window. Hands rubbed her eyes as something between a sigh and a growl escaped her. Rei, having no need for blankets despite the somewhat chilly nights due to the damn cold nights of Mars, swung her feet off the bed as she moved into a sit. It crossed her mind that she could meditate, but she wound up glaring at the fireplace. Given her dream, though she figured it could count as a nightmare, Rei would likely fail at successfully clearing her mind.
Such a thing never happened to her until recently.
"Damned Venusians," she grumbled as she lightly dressed.
Considerate despite her foul mood, Rei gently shut her door. While padding down the hall, she fitted her gloves onto her hands and stopped at a window to listen. No one was at the training yards.
Rei leaned out the window, judging herself to be too high for an easy drop. A chuckle sounded in the hall as she made her way to a flight of stairs. The first time she visited the Moon, people freaked out when the Martian simply vaulted out a window in her rooms. Apparently, people on the Moon didn't do that. It was dangerous. Rei mostly wanted to try it out because the height was out of her comfort zone. That was only a few months ago.
Only a few months. The thought made her grimace. It was then that her mind became clouded. That frivolous girl, Minako, objected to the event while incorporating flirtation. Honestly, who expresses "concern" by asking what would happen to "such a pretty face" and what she would do without the opportunity to see it every day? That girl was madness. Stupid madness.
A smirk came to Rei's face as she remembered Minako's face when she told her that she simply hadn't jumped from such a height before.
Now a floor lower, she peered out a window. With no one to observe, the Martian hopped onto the windowsill and dropped over the other side. She landed in a crouch, the faintest of smiles crossing her features.
Already feeling more at peace, Rei strolled toward the training yard. Along the way, she stopped to pick some fruit from a tree. As a Martian, or at least, her idea of a Martian, she adapted well. The soft fruit of the Moon was odd at first and odd still, but Rei didn't mind. It seemed to fit, given the nature of the place.
Upon arriving at the training yard, she made her way to the shed. Normally, Rei would use her custom bow and arrows, but there weren't any materials on the Moon to mend her bow or fletch her arrows. As such, she used one of the stock Martian bows. Rei paused before selecting a rather full quiver, admiring the weapons native to each planet. When she initially arrived on the Moon, there hadn't been any weapons of Martian design. The flicker of a smile crossed her face at the memory of the weeks spent creating some stock weapons- a few bows, swords and daggers, not the entire array of weaponry.
As quickly as the ghost of the smile came, it was replaced by a scowl. Minako. She had never-ending problems with almost everything Rei did. That's why she couldn't understand why the blonde wouldn't leave her alone. Crafting weapons wasn't bothering anyone and Rei dutifully trained with the others when required, so why did she have to partake in frivolous activities or spend extra time with the others? As a soldier, she understood the importance of a fluid team, but the blonde just seemed absurd.
Rei stalked off to the archery range. The nerve of that woman. Always flirting, always insisting more time be spent together, always linking their arms together, always smiling that bright smile. A muscle in Rei's jaw twitched and she shot off an arrow, not taking time to aim. Amethyst eyes tracked it until it buried itself in the training dummy's chest. In that moment, all that she held in since coming to the Moon clawed its way to the surface.
As if to keep back an army, Rei fired off arrows mechanically. She didn't aim, didn't stop. One arrow after another left the quiver. Eventually, her hand met air when she reached back for another arrow. She lowered her hand and stared at her handiwork, stared and thought about her problem.
A strong but cheerful voice that somehow managed to be serious at the same time cut through her reverie. "Care to go again?"
Rei turned to discover the source of her problems, there holding up a quiver of arrows. "No."
"Are you sure?" Blue eyes filled with mirth stared over her shoulder. "It might still be alive."
The Martian simply rolled her shoulders.
"You've got great endurance to shoot like that."
"Do you ever stop talking?"
Minako tossed the quiver in her companion's general direction. "I talk as much as you do."
Amethyst eyes narrowed as she grabbed the quiver before it hit her.
Laughing, she disappeared into the shed. "See? You just reprimanded me for that and questioned if I fell on my head or something for stating that you converse with me."
Rei looked down at the quiver in her hand and back to the shed.
"Right about now, I'm willing to bet you're thinking about how infuriating I am."
The training dummy suddenly caught fire.
Holding a scimitar, Minako wandered toward the arena. "Better put that fire out before we duel."
Rei grumbled something as she stalked to the shed for a sword and followed after the Venusian while the fire died out.
Minako greeted her companion with a smile upon her arrival. She sauntered over to the ring and waited. "I saw you jump. Nice landing."
Clenching her teeth, Rei knew her feelings betrayed her. It was written in the grip on her sword, the fist at her side, the purpose in her stride. Worst of all, the source of all her turmoil just stood there. Smiling.
"So then, you know you're infuriating." Mentally, the proud woman couldn't help but grimace. Her voice was awash with frustration.
"Of course." A hand rested on her hip as she shrugged, gesturing with her scimitar. "What better way to elicit a response from you?"
Amethyst eyes narrowed. Rei placed her feet and bent her knees slightly, flicking her sword out.
"Are you attending the ball tonight?" Her voice was as casual as her stance, but Rei knew better.
Minako shot forward with a thrust that Rei deflected easily. Given their prior duels, she expected as much and used her initial momentum to spin rather quickly, bringing her scimitar around in a horizontal cut.
Rei's sword was already there, waiting, and before her opponent could recover, she swept her feet out from under her. "No," she replied evenly.
On the ground, Minako deflected Rei's blade and slashed at her legs, causing the woman to jump back. A pout made its way onto her face as she cried out, "Why not?"
The urge to smile came to her, but she arched an eyebrow instead. "That's more of anyone else's category." She flicked her sword out again.
Minako tilted her head as she rose to a crouch. "What if I win?"
The Martian's shoulders relaxed slightly and the frown on her face expressed the question she didn't voice. When Minako smiled, Rei tensed, which proved to be wise because the Venusian leapt forward.
Her smile widened as their blades interlocked. "If I win, you're going to the ball."
Troubled eyes stared into cerulean ones as their blades twitched, still interlocked, neither of them truly fighting for dominance. "And if I win?"
"I'll never bother you about spending time with me again."
She felt the scimitar press harder against her own sword. "Tch, I doubt you're capable of such a thing."
Before Minako could form a reply, her opponent dropped her sword. She immediately felt a firm hand grip her wrist.
Instinctively, the Venusian released her own blade and twisted her arm around to get a grip on Rei's. Her free hand swung around to hit the Martian's shoulder but it was caught and she found herself turned around as the grip she had on the woman's arm slipped. She found her hands pinned to opposite sides and her back pressed against Rei.
"I hope you don't think this means you win," she breathed, feeling her opponent's somewhat labored heavy breathing as well.
A chuckle sounded. "If this meant I won, you'd only be half as fun."
Minako rested against her, turning her head to stare at the face she often admired. "So you enjoy my company even when we're not dueling?"
Rei stared over her captive, a troubled expression serving as an answer in place of words.
Seeing such turmoil so clearly on the Martian's typically indifferent features led Minako's expression to soften. "I'm sorry," she murmured.
"Unnecessary," came the nonchalant reply. Troubled eyes gazed past her. "We have an audience."
"Shall we give them a show?"
"Yes."
Minako tensed her body and moved her foot to kick Rei's leg from under her, but ceased the action when she met no resistance. "You don't mean…"
A smirk.
"But I didn't win."
Rei released her captive and retrieved their blades, using them to wave at their audience. "If we dueled seriously, it'd take years to rebuild the area."
"I'm disappointed," Makoto called while Serenity nodded in agreement and Ami shrugged.
"You won't be later," Minako replied with a wave before lowering her voice so as to converse with her companion. "So how do you win?"
"We don't have forever."
A frown crossed her face. Any words she had died in her throat when Rei turned to her. The smile on her face was unlike anything Minako ever saw.
"And I'm a Martian." She began the walk to the shed with Minako's company.
They walked in silence as she waited for an elaboration, but none came. After returning the weapons, the walk to their rooms went very much the same.
Lost in contemplation over the mysterious answer, Minako was startled when her friend spoke.
"I'd like to think that Martians don't fight pointless battles."
She stopped beside Rei in front of their rooms.
Rei finally turned her gaze on Minako again. "That's more of a Venusian thing than a Martian thing."
"Hey," Minako laughed, punching her arm. "That's mean."
"What's worse is that you, the Venusian, knew better."
The smile slipped off Minako's face as she finally understood what Rei alluded to all day. She didn't get to speak, however, because Rei pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. It was over in a moment, but Minako felt somewhat dazed and surprised, only staring at Rei in disbelief.
Rei laughed for the first time that Minako ever heard. "Don't start fights you can't finish." She pressed a finger to the blonde's lips to stop whatever indignant response she had. "See you at the ball tonight."
With that, Minako was left to stare at Rei's closed door. She laughed.
A/N: Okay, that was more angst that fluff, but it's happier. I'll be back in a few days. I don't think I did too well with the ending...
