CHAPTER 6 – Not Exactly As Planned

Minako was pacing around the room, anxious like never before. She and Rei started dating about a month ago and she had a feeling that tonight would be the night. But as much as she wanted that to happen, she was feeling a bit insecure about it. The idol had never been intimate with anyone before, so she didn't know exactly what to do and that terrified her. What if Rei found it weird? Or... what if she couldn't please Rei?

Minako then shook her head to get rid of those thoughts and she tried to calm herself down. She kept repeating mentally that she shouldn't worry that much about their first time, because she knew Rei wanted that to happen too, maybe as much as she wanted. In fact, she and Rei had been close to take their relationship to the next level a couple of times, but, much to their displeasure, every time someone ended up interrupting them when their kisses and caresses were getting more... intimate.

Once, it was because of Artemis. The poor cat was peacefully sleeping on the couch when two half-naked girls stumbled and fell onto him while making out. Rei's cheeks got bright red and Minako couldn't find words to apologize for almost crushing him to death. Artemis had just sighed and left the room, mumbling that from now on he had to find safer places to sleep. And, after that, even though Artemis was nowhere to be seen, Rei and Minako were too embarrassed to resume what they were doing before.

Then it was Usagi's turn to interrupt them, showing up at Minako's front door after she had a fight with Mamoru about some silly matter the idol couldn't quite recall right now.

But, most of the times, it would be her manager who would interrupt them, calling Minako on her cell phone at the most inappropriate hours to talk about business.

Well, but not tonight. Minako had made sure that tonight there wouldn't be any interruptions. She had sent Artemis over to Usagi's, she had told her friends not to show up at her front door unless the world was about to end and she had already turned off her cell phone.

So there she was, checking herself in the mirror for the umpteenth time. She was wondering if Rei would like this lingerie she had bought especially for that night. She blushed as she imagined her girlfriend taking it off, leaving her completely naked, only to cover her body with long, passionate kisses.

Trying to hold her excitement and chiding herself for being so naughty, Minako put her dress on and started to place the candles around the room. She knew Rei liked the fire and she wanted to create a romantic environment for them. She had waited for that night for so long and she wanted everything to be perfect. Minako felt her heart starting to beat faster and faster as she thought that, after a thousand years, she and Rei would finally-

So the bell rang, pulling Minako out of her thoughts and she tried hard not to hyperventilate. She ran to the front door and inhaled deeply. Minako took another look at herself and undid a button of her dress, just to show a little bit more of her skin. The bell rang again, impatiently, and she promptly opened the door with a huge smile... but when she noticed who it was, her smile fell off her face.

"Shachou?! What are you doing here?!" She asked, perplexed, as the man simply walked inside, uninvited.

Saitou sat on the couch and put his papers on the center table, apparently ignoring Minako's annoyance. "You turned off your cell phone, missy, and I needed to talk to you about the interview you are giving tomorr- Hey, wow. You look gorgeous! What's the occasion?" He asked, taking off his glasses and staring directly at the idol for the first time.

"Rei is coming," she replied, still holding the door open, visibly impatient, "which means that you are leaving. I told you, I'm not working tonight!"

"But this is really import-"

"I don't care! Not tonight, Shachou!" She hissed and then she walked to where he was sitting, grabbing his arm and pulling him off the couch.

Shachou widened his eyes as he noticed that Minako was definitely stronger than he had ever thought.

"Tomorrow I'll deal with whatever you want me to deal!" She said as she shoved him towards the door.

Saitou could only blink in astonishment. "Hey, at least let me get my papers-"

"No. Take the rest of night off, Shachou. I'll give your papers tomorrow so you won't work tonight! See ya!" Minako sang in a forced cheerful voice, finally managing to kick him out of her apartment and slamming the door behind her back.

A few seconds later, though, the bell rang again.

"What now?!" Minako barked as she opened the door and she saw Rei standing there with an amused expression.

"Now I see why Shachou seemed so scared when he bumped into me. You look like you are about to murder someone." Rei noted, giggling as Minako sighed. Then Rei took a step forward, holding the idol close and whispering in her ear. "I missed you, Mina."

Minako smiled, soon forgetting about Saitou while clinging to Rei. "I missed you too. It's amazing how you make me feel better so easily, Reiko. I just need you here, in my arms." The idol said and she moved so she could stare at Rei. She felt that familiar sensation burning inside of her when their eyes met and that reminded her that she still had to light the candles in her bedroom for what would hopefully be the first of many nights they would spend together.

Holding Rei's hand, she guided them to the living room and asked if the miko could wait there for a minute. Rei knew Minako pretty well and she was positive sure the idol was plotting something, but, letting Minako have her way, she just smiled and gave her a quick kiss on the lips, sitting on the couch to wait for her girlfriend.

Minako lit the last candle and smiled to herself as she took a look around. It was perfect, just like she had pictured. Then she put on her perfume, the one she knew Rei liked, and she inhaled deeply several times to try and calm herself down.

She was still very nervous, but she hoped that, being the Senshi of Love, making love would be as natural as breathing. With that thought in mind, she left the bedroom.

But, as soon as she stepped in the living room, her empathic powers sensed Rei's distress.

"Rei?" Minako frowned, staring carefully at the miko, who was standing with her back turned to the idol. "Reiko... What's the matter?"

"I- I found... this." Rei replied quietly, holding a magazine in her hands.

Minako blinked, wondering where that had come from, since she hadn't bought any magazines lately. Then she recalled that that was probably one of the things Shachou had left there. She approached Rei and looked at the cover of the magazine. There was a picture of her, smiling charmingly while hugging a handsome actor. In capital letters, she read the article was about her supposed affair with this guy, who happened to be one of her best friends from the show business, and the release of her new album. For a brief moment, Minako was extremely disappointed, thinking that Rei had actually believed what she had seen.

"Rei, you know that's a-"

"I know." Rei said before Minako could finish her sentence. "I know it's a lie and I know you would never cheat on me."

The idol let out a small sigh of relief, but when she noticed Rei's mood hadn't gotten any better, she took the magazine from her hands and forced the miko to stare her in the eyes. "So, if you know it's a lie, then why are you so upset about it, Reiko?"

"It's not the fact they are publishing lies about you that bothers me." Rei muttered and Minako's frown deepened. "What really bothers me is the fact that you are not telling the truth. Every time people ask you whether or not you are in a relationship, you are always evasive."

"I'm always evasive when it comes to my private life, Rei. I have always been." Minako stated calmly.

Rei sighed, shaking her head slightly and avoiding Minako's eyes. "Never mind. I really shouldn't be-"

"No." Minako insisted, forcing Rei to look at her again. "Please, Rei. If this bothers you so much, we need to talk about it."

"Maybe I'm being silly, but..." Rei paused, staring at the ground, "I feel like you're ashamed of me." Her head was still low and she did not see Minako blinking a couple of times, astonished by what she had just heard. "I feel like I'm not part of your life, not completely, since we can only act as a couple behind closed doors. I can't even kiss you, at least not before you make sure we are all alone, because you are too afraid someone might see us. I just... I wish you didn't have to hide me from the world, that's it."

For a moment, Minako remained silent. She had agreed with Shachou that it would be better if she didn't let her relationship with Rei become public, but she had never thought this would make her girlfriend feel that bad.

"Rei... I'm not ashamed of you. It's just that... it's complicated. You know, I have to think about my career and the public's opinion matters to me. I can't just tell everyone I'm in a relationship with another girl."

"But this is who you are, Minako!" Even before Rei knew, the words were out of her mouth. "And people have to like you for who you are. By hiding the truth, you are selling a fake image to your fans. You're not being honest."

"So you are calling me a liar?!"

"No! I just said that you're not being honest! There's a difference!"

"I see no difference, Rei!" Minako's voice was louder than she had intended, so she paused and ran her fingers through her hair. It didn't help that much, because when she spoke again, her tone was low, but it was also bitter. "So this is what you want, Rei? You want me to tell everyone that we are together?"

"No!" Rei cried out, frustrated. Then, she sighed and answered after a moment of silence. "Actually, Minako, yes; you're right. I do want you to open up about our relationship, since I'm asking you to tell the truth!"

"I can't, Rei! I can't risk my career like that; my career is the most important thing in my whole lif-" Once Minako registered what she had just said, probably because of Rei's devastated expression, she stopped herself. "Hey... That's not what I meant, Reik-"

But the damage was done.

"I see." Rei muttered, cutting her off. "I should have never asked you something like this. I'm sorry."

Minako felt a lump beginning to form in her throat. "Reiko, listen to me. I didn't mean what I- Hey! Where are you going?!" She asked, astonished, as she noticed that Rei had reached for her purse and was walking towards the door.

"I don't know." Rei replied sincerely. "I just need to get out of here."

"Rei, please-", the sound of the door closing made Minako stop talking and she had tears in her eyes when she whispered the rest of the sentence, "...don't leave me."

But Rei never heard those words.

After she blew out the last candle, Minako sniffed and tried to wipe the tears away. The night had ended even before it had begun and it would certainly be memorable, but for the wrong reasons. That had been their first fight as a couple and, to be honest, Minako wasn't really sure if there would be another one. She didn't even know if Rei wanted to be with her anymore, not after what she had said.

She threw herself on the bed and hugged her pillow, crying harder, but Minako knew she couldn't blame Rei for being so upset. If she were on her shoes, Minako would feel the same way; she wouldn't want Rei to hide their relationship and she would certainly feel hurt if Rei had said that her work as a miko was more important than anything, Minako included. But that had obviously been a misunderstanding. Rei was the most precious thing in Minako's life, but, unfortunately, she didn't let the idol explain herself.

Minako hugged the pillow tighter and a loud sob escaped her lips. Being so utterly upset as she was, she didn't notice someone had gotten in her room.

"I think this is the first time I've seen you cry." A sad whisper broke her thoughts and quickly Minako raised her head.

"Rei?!" She cried out and jumped off the bed, throwing herself in her girlfriend's arms. Sobbing, she rested her cheek on Rei's shoulder and kept her close to her body, as if she was afraid the girl would go away any minute.

Rei sighed and ran her hands up and down Minako's back, soothing her.

"I should have never left you alone. From the moment I was out the door, I was already missing you." Rei said quietly. "I'm sorry, Mina. I was being unreasonable... And I think- I think I got a little jealous when I saw you on the cover of that magazine... in that boy's arms." She admitted with a grimace as that picture blinked in her mind. Apparently those damn gossips about Minako's love life would always get on her nerves.

"You have the right to be upset, Rei. I just wished you had let me explain that my career-"

"Please, Mina." Rei cut her off softly. "I understand. I really do. So you don't have to explain that to me; I know how much your career means to you."

"No, Rei. Please listen to me." Minako insisted and the miko just nodded in agreement, watching as the idol stared deep in her eyes. "For years, my career was the only good thing in my life. The only thing that would truly make me happy. My family was never around, I was terribly sick and, to make things worse, I had no friends. So I think I just got used to referring to my career as the most important thing for me, but you are the most important person in my life, Reiko. And a person is way more important than a thing, which means that there's nothing more important to me than you."

Rei smiled, touched, and she wiped Minako's tears away. "The same goes for you. There's nothing more important to me than you, Mina. And I'm so sorry for making you cry..." She stated, hugging Minako close to her body again. Then, brushing her nose lightly against her girlfriend's neck, Rei whispered. "Can you forgive me?"

"Of course I can, Reiko." Minako closed her eyes and sighed contently for having the girl she loved in her arms.

But, after a moment of comfortable silence, Rei spoke again. "Hey, Mina..."

"Yes, Reiko?"

"Why is there like a hundred unlit candles in your room?" She asked curiously and for the first time in her life, she saw Minako stumble over the words.

"I- uh... I just..." She didn't know how to tell Rei about her plans for the evening, so she lowered her head and said the first thing that came to her mind, blushing as she did so. "It was for you."

"For me?" Rei frowned. Then, she smiled amused as the penny dropped. "Oh."

"Yes. For you." The idol admitted, still with her head low. She was always so self-confident, but when it came to this matter, for some reason, she would always feel shy around Rei. "I know you like fire and I was hoping this would be... uh, our f-first night... t-together. So I wanted you to feel comfortable... and I... I also wanted it to be romantic and... you know..."

"I see." Rei tried to hold back a smile, thinking that Minako looked incredibly cute, acting uncharacteristically shy like that. She used her fingers to raise the idol's chin so she could look her in the eyes. "It's amazing, Mina. I loved it."

"Really?" Minako asked anxiously, but Rei could notice a bit of disappointment in her tone. "You should have seen them when they were lit... It was so pretty."

Rei cupped Minako's cheeks in her hands and softly pressed their foreheads together. "If that's what's bothering you, I can fix that." So the miko closed her eyes and it took her only a second to concentrate before all the candles lit at the same time. Then, when Rei opened her eyes and saw Minako's stunned expression, she chuckled.

"Wow, Rei! How-"

"Fire is my element, remember? And after all these years of training, it's quite easy to control it." Rei smirked while Minako stared around in awe.

Then, as their eyes met and locked together, both instantly felt the change in the atmosphere. And much to Minako's surprise, Rei didn't seem nervous at all. Actually, she was confident as never.

"There's just one more thing..." Rei removed her arms around Minako's waist and walked to the door, "...I think the candles will look even prettier if we turn the lights off. Don't you think?"

Minako gulped and nodded weakly. Then, once Rei flicked the switch, Minako glanced around and parted her lips. Indeed, it was even more breathtaking with the lights off.

"Rei..." The idol muttered her name as she looked at her girlfriend again. Rei was stunning, bathed by the firelight, and Minako's knees almost gave in when she noticed the way Rei was staring at her. That familiar way... so fiery... so passionate.

Walking slowly towards the idol and never breaking their stare, Rei got closer to Minako until their bodies were mere inches away. "Don't worry." Rei whispered, caressing Minako's cheek and, apparently, reading her emotions as if she were the empathic one. "It's going to be perfect."

"H-How do you know, Reiko?" Minako felt her own lips trembling as she spoke. Then she widened her eyes when she saw Rei's steady hands had found the buttons of her dress, slowly undoing them, one by one.

Rei stopped what she was doing and stared at her again. "Because it's going to be with you." She said sincerely and, with her eyes still lingering on Minako's, Rei's hands resumed their task.

Minako felt a shiver run down her spine while butterflies danced madly in her stomach. She glanced at Rei's hands that were now gently sliding the straps of her dress down her shoulders. The dress seemed to fall to the ground in slow motion and the next thing Minako noticed was Rei staring at her half naked body with lips slightly parted.

The idol felt her cheeks warming at the look in Rei's face when her eyes fixed on her lingerie.

"Uh, this is for y-you too. I mean... I bought it for me... to wear it for you." Minako said quietly, looking down at herself. "I wanted to... to look beautiful for you."

Forcing herself to take her eyes off Minako's body and stare at her face, Rei breathed. "You look... amazing. You always do. You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen, Mina."

The idol smiled shyly and she gasped softly as she felt Rei's arms slowing wrapping around her waist, bringing her closer.

With their lips slightly touching, Rei whispered. "I think I never said it before, at least not with words, but I want you to know that I... I love you."

Minako was stunned. She felt her heart fluttering at Rei's statement, but before she could answer properly, she felt Rei's lips claiming hers in a soft kiss. Minako returned it immediately, closing her eyes and wrapping her arms around the miko's neck. Apparently Rei didn't want a verbal answer for her declaration of love.

So as the kiss heated up, Minako started to pull Rei's t-shirt up, reluctantly breaking their lips contact. It was when their eyes met again.

For one second, they just stared intently at each other, both aware of what was about to come. Then, with a burning desire neither had ever felt before, they resumed the kiss, even more passionately now, instinctively finding their way to the bed.

Minako let herself fall onto it when she felt the back of her legs touching the mattress and, from where she laid, she stared unabashedly at Rei's topless body. But desperately needing to feel Rei's skin on hers again, Minako moved until she was sitting on the edge of the bed.

Mesmerized, she touched Rei's flat stomach with the tip of her fingers. The miko shivered as she felt Minako's hands running over her skin and then slowly pulling down her skirt. Rei's eyes were filled with passion and she leaned forward, kissing Minako's lips and pinning the idol on the bed.

"Reiko..." Minako breathed as Rei's lips met the sensitive skin behind her ear. She gasped as she felt her girlfriend's body deliciously and rhythmically pressing between her thighs, while Rei's lips were trailing kisses from her neck to her breasts. How Rei seemed to be everywhere at the same time, Minako would never know. And, frankly, all coherent thoughts had already left her mind from the moment Rei had started her ministrations.

As she heard Minako's moans of pleasure, Rei thought that those were the sweetest sounds she had ever heard coming out from the idol's mouth. And, definitely, she would make Minako repeat them... over and over again.

Definitely.

Author's note:

So... you remember I said there would be some drama later on in the story, right? Well, I wasn't talking about the events of this chapter. This was just a lovers' quarrel; the drama is yet to come.