When Minako and Artemis reached the house, Minako raised her hand to knock on the door.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Artemis whispered harshly. "You don't want your parents to find me out, do you?" Minako turned around with her finger on her chin.
"You're right." She tapped her chin lightly, looking around to find a way to sneak Artemis inside. After a while of pondering, Minako felt a light bulb switch on in her head as she suddenly snapped in eureka.
"That's it!" She exclaimed.
"What's it?" Artemis plainly asked. Minako turned back around to Artemis.
"Artemis, you can climb, right?"
He unsurely looked down at his human arms and legs and put a hand behind his head.
"I-I think so?"
"Great! Here's what we're gonna do..."
"Almost there...Almost there..." Minako croaked, pulling a distressed and stuck Artemis through her bedroom window. With a final pull, Artemis plopped on top of Minako's bed, inhaling and exhaling heavily.
"Never...Doing...That...Again." He breathed. Minako frowned and folded her arms as she childishly pouted.
"But Arte! How am I supposed to sneak you in and out of the house?!" Artemis shifted to sit towards the edge of the bed.
"I'm no longer a cat, Mina. I can't...Fit through very small places anymore. And besides, you said you couldn't let me out of the-" Artemis stopped in mid-sentence, afraid of reminding Minako of the horrid idea.
"Oh, you're right! I did say that, didn't I?" She giggled as she walked to her bathroom. "Now we know that's impossible." She mumbled as she came back with a towel to throw on Artemis's head, for it rained outside.
"Hm. You don't have to tell me." He grunted quietly. Minako let out a small chuckle as she sat down next to the wet and angry man. Looking up at him, Minako rested her head on her hand as she felt blood rush to her cheeks.
What...What is this feeling? Sure, there's a hot guy sitting in my room, but this hot guy used to be my cat! This...Hot guy...Used to...Be-
"MINAKO! COME DOWNSTAIRS RIGHT NOW!" A screaming voice interrupted Minako's thoughts.
"Ugh, what did I do this time?" Minako groaned as she begrudgingly got up to walk towards the door. Before leaving, Minako grabbed Artemis's hand and led him towards the bathroom.
"Hey, what're you-" Cutting him off was a slam of the door, a turn of the nob, and a click.
"Sorry, Artemis! If I were to go, I'd be leaving you here alone-in my room-and I'm not taking any chances. Hopefully, my mom won't keep me for long!" She cheerfully declared as she crossed her fingers behind her back, despite the fact that Artemis couldn't see her.
"MINAKO!"
"I'M COMING MOM! Sheesh, gimme a chance to breathe before you go screaming your head off..."
"EXCUSE ME? DID YOU SAY SOMETHING?"
Minako paused in her tracks, sweat trickling down her face.
H-how did she hear that?! This must be pretty serious... She mused.
Once Minako arrived downstairs, her Mom aggressively pulled her by the arm and sat her down at the edge of the couch to where her dad was surprisingly still sleeping on.
"Minako Aino." Her mom deadpanned.
Uh-oh. Full name is never good.
"May you please explain to me what is happening on the television?" Minako's mom pointed to the TV as Minako stiffened up. On that very screen was her laying on the streets with Artemis on top of her.
"T-t-t..." She stuttered. "T-the news?"
Her Mom folded her arms, looking even angrier than before.
"This isn't the time for your funny little jokes, Minako." She scolded. "Maybe I should rephrase my question. What are you doing on the news lying on the street?" Minako went numb, trying to find some sort of reasoning to this situation. As she looked back at her mother, she sheepishly shrugged and chuckled.
"Minako Aino..." Minako's mom sternly repeated her full name. Minako cringed, waiting to get the lecture of a lifetime; whatever it was about. The long and silent pause didn't help either.
"...I thought I told you to look twice before crossing the street!" Cried her mother, lightly tapping Minako's head and pulling her into a sudden embrace.
"I don't know what I'd do if you got hit by a car, or bus, or truck. Thank goodness you're alive!"
W-w-wait a second... Minako thought. My mom actually CARES about me?!
As her mom continued to hug her and tell her how worried she was, Minako laid eyes upon an unexpected and nerve racking sight. There Artemis was, standing behind the wall and peeking through as if he wasn't the slightest bit of visible.
Dang it! I didn't know Artemis would figure out the lock of the door so quickly, considering he had a cat sized brain!
Minako gave Artemis a troubling look and waved at him to go away.
"Minako? What're you doing?" Her Mom asked as she finally let go of Minako to look at her.
"Oh, well... It got really smelly all of the sudden." Fibbed Minako, now waving at her nose. "Maybe Dad farted in his sleep or something. Wonder what he's dreaming about."
Artemis, still hiding behind the wall, found Minako's response rather amusing and made a very loud hiccuping sound as he tried to hold in his laughter. But that only made Minako give him the most painful and frightening death stare a human could give, causing him to finally retreat and head back towards her room.
"What was that?" Her mother's head suddenly shot up, looking towards where the strange noise came from. "It sounded like a...Hiccup?"
"Probably the...Air vent." Minako chokingly replied. Her mother shrugged, then put her fingers to her chin.
"Anyway, what was I talking about?" She thought out loud. "Oh yeah! MINAKO AINO!" She hugged Minako once more. "Don't you ever scare me like that again! You're lucky that nice man was there to save you." Minako smiled and blushed.
"Y-yeah. I am pretty lucky." She mumbled.
"But, unfortunately for him, he had to deal with meeting such an idiot like you!" Her mother forcefully pushed Minako off of her. "I don't want to see such a disgrace right now, go to your room!" Minako, not very surprised, slowly turned towards the stairs.
"Yes, mother." She deadpanned. "Aaand she's back." Minako muttered to herself once she reached the door of her room. When she opened it, Artemis was going through a drawer full of her clothes.
"Dah! Minako! I-I was just-"
"Save it, Artemis. I'd expect such tomfoolery from you anyway." Minako growled as she fell face first on her bed with an exaggerated sigh.
"Why so cranky, Mina? What were you and your mother talking about?" Artemis asked as he sat next to her. But all Minako did was let out a muffled grumble.
"...Minako? Mina?" Artemis repeated Minako's name over and over again as he constantly poked her head and tried to move her hair from her face.
Ugh. Why is Artemis acting so annoying? Pondered Minako. He's like a...Brother. The bothersome brother I never had. It's actually kinda cute...
"Ugh, fine I'll tell you, just stop poking me already!" Minako grunted as she shoved Artemis's hands away.
"Okay...So the thing is..." Minako slowly sat back up, giving Artemis a serious look. "...We were caught on the news. Now I'm positive all the girls are going to be chasing after you when we go outside." Artemis scratched his head.
"Why were we on the news?"
"Why do you think, stupid? You pushed me away from near death and carried me off into the distance! It's like a fairytale!" Minako emoted as she mockingly laced her fingers and fluttered her eyelashes. "Except the part where you dropped me in a nearby alleyway."
"Don't forget the kicking and screaming and threats of getting viciously whipped with the chain of love." Artemis jokingly added. Minako giggled, then stopped and frowned.
"Wait...Why did you carry me away?" Artemis shrugged and twiddled his thumbs awkwardly.
"I'm not sure what came over me, actually...I just felt like...A hero, you know?" Artemis gushed as he fell backwards on the bed. "As if I could do...anything. But you did get a little heavy after a while, so I had to cut my heroics short." Minako gaped jokingly and punched Artemis in the arm.
"Ow!" He exclaimed. Minako stuck her tounge out in response, then laid down beside him.
"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I think I overheard the news reporter talking about how much of a dream boy you were, and how lucky I was." She said as she chuckled to herself. "How such a dunderhead like you ended up so handsome I'll never know."
Artemis looked at Minako with her head turned the other way, but he could still detect a slight blush in her cheeks.
I never thought I'd come to the day...Where I'd see Minako blushing because of ME. Artemis mused to himself. I... I love it. But with all the teasing she's done to me from my own personal experiences? They are just BEGGING for payback. She needs to feel what it's like to get teased herself, even if it might seem "unintentional" or "out of love." Let's see if I can play around with her some more.
"Ended up?" Artemis blurted out. "Pfft, I was always handsome. Just ask Luna!" As Artemis finished his sentence, he saw Minako uncomfortably roll farther away from him and smirked to himself.
"I mean, she can tell you all of what she thinks of me, even as a cat!" He continued. Minako's eyes widened as guilt rushed through her spine. Just the mention of Luna made her stomach turn.
Oh...Right. Luna. Thought Minako. Should I tell her I found Artemis? No, no, she'd just want to see him, and I don't want her finding out about this...Uh, new form of his. But would that be keeping Artemis all to myself? No, of course not. He'll always be Luna's man-or, cat-or...mate, no matter what the circumstances. I mean, who could forget Diana? It's dead obvious. Well, since it's clear as day that my relationship with Artemis will pretty much remain the same, let's see if I can play around with him some more.
"Luna!" She suddenly exclaimed. "Luna, of course! The cat you're madly in love with? Right, you see, I forgot for a sec that you were my cat! My CAT!" Minako giggled as she peeked to see a frown grow on Artemis's face.
"And no matter what anybody thinks, or how gorgeous of a man every girl says you are, I'll always be the one to know that deep down inside...Your true self..." Artemis's frown grew even more as Minako continued.
What does she know about my true self? He pondered. Minako rolled towards Artemis and looked down on him.
"My..." Minako murmured into his ear. "Pe-" Before Minako could say any more, Artemis's hand was covering her mouth.
"Don't you dare say it. Don't you dare use that word." He demanded. Minako scoffed in victory and moved his hand away.
"Hmph. Looks like Minako's the winner of this round!" Artemis cocked his head in confusion, then plopped back down on the bed in realization.
"H-how did you-"
"How did I know you were playing games with me?" She finished as she fell down right next to him. "It's because I know you, Artemis. And apparently more than you know me." Artemis scoffed as well, turning his head away.
"...Y-You can't make that judgment." The two just remained silent after a while as Minako proceeded to grin at Artemis. At first it bothered him, but it wasn't long before he just gave up and looked her in the eyes. There she was, still staring at him with a lighter smile as she slowly twirled his long, silver hair around her fingers. The sight of this gesture made his heart pump so hard that he felt like his chest could burst at any second. He was beginning to melt, and he suddenly felt as if he could do anything for her.
"M-M-M-Mina..." He quietly stuttered. Minako moved a strand of hair away from his face as she gave Artemis a soft and loving gaze.
"Hm?"
"W-Was my face fully shown on the news report?"
"Uh-huh. Why?"
"Well... I was thinking..." Artemis's cheeks were now red as a tomato, and he felt no shame. He already knew that Minako won the battle and that he was practically surrendering, but he didn't care at the moment.
"Since I've already been s-somewhat exposed to the public...R-remember that favor you asked me?" Minako's eyes sparkled at Artemis's as she stopped playing with his hair and propped her head up.
"Yes?"
"Well...I'll..." Artemis closed his eyes and inhaled, nervousness building up in his stomach. "...I'll do it!" He finally yelped. "I'll be your...fake...celebrity...boyfriend." Minako hopped up and laughed, grabbing Artemis's hands to pull him right side up.
"You really mean it?" She perked, still holding Artemis's hands.
"Well...Yeah. I mean, now that I think about it..." Artemis rubbed his thumbs on Minako's hand. "There's no real reason to deny." Minako grinned and tackled Artemis, ruffling his hair up in the process.
"Ugh, I love you!" She enthused as she gave him one more ruffle on his hair before falling into a deep embrace with Artemis. Although this wasn't the first time, there was something about that hug that differed from any other they've ever had. It was so surreal, so amazing, that they held on for what seemed like an eternity.
"Woah." She breathed. "This feels so...Different." Artemis smiled as he squeezed her tighter.
"I was hoping it would." He whispered. Suddenly, loud footsteps appeared to be approaching the door. Minako gasped and begrudgingly let her arms down, not wanting to let go.
"Sorry, Arte. Looks like we're going to have to hide you again." Artemis gave Minako an understanding look and headed to the bathroom. When he shut the door, he immediately heard Minako's mother come in the room and start lecturing Minako about "acting out her romantic fantasies quieter." Of course, Minako always had a comeback, and it wasn't long before the two were arguing with each other once again. Artemis, still in the bathroom and trying his best to block the noise out, slowly slid down the wall with a dreamy sigh.
"I've always wanted to hold her like that." He gushed. "And it's only been the first day. I have an entire month of situations where I can just wrap my arms around my beautiful princess. I think things are finally looking up for our relationshi-" But then, a troubling thought raced through his mind as his dreamy expression quickly turned into a regretful one. Just a few moments ago, Artemis was in such a trance with Minako that he didn't even realize he agreed on breaking one of the main rules he was given before turning into a human, and it was all just because of her manipulating yet...Soft and lovely gestures that's enough to make a guy melt like butter. Well, at least a guy like Artemis.
"Oh no..." He muttered as he ran his fingers through his hair. "What did I just get myself into?"