"That's it!" an exasperated blonde cried as she flopped herself across the tatami mats. "He doesn't love me! Our relationship is doomed! Wait!" Minako jolted upright, knocking into the low table and causing several glasses to rattle back and forth, much to her friends' annoyance.
"I take it back. You can't doom what you don't have!"
"What are you going on about now?" asked the stern, raven haired priestess from the doorway, bearing a tray of cookies in her hands, "And how many times have I told you to watch where you're flailing your arms?"
"Jeez Rei, my life is only withering away in front of me but I'll try my very best not to inconvenience you!" huffed Minako, a roll of her eyes showing exactly how she felt about that.
"That's all I ask."
"Why you—"
"I'm sure it's not that bad," Ami interrupted hastily, "didn't you feel this way last week when he didn't answer his phone after falling asleep?"
"That's different." Minako scoffed, "I've never known that man to sleep."
"A man's gotta rest sometimes," Makoto chuckled.
"So wha hapmfhd mis mie?" asked a sympathetic—but hungry—Usagi as she inhaled the treats Rei had set out.
"Well he…" Minako hesitated for just a moment, "…he doesn't get jealous."
And she knew that for a fact. After all she had tried every move in her repertoire and nothing seemed to phase the guy. Normally she wouldn't let it bother her but Keisuke could be so very…undemonstrative when it came to emotions. Half the time she wasn't even sure they were dating or if they were merely comrades who sometimes found the other physically appealing.
Minako paled.
Oh goddess! Could she handle being merely a booty call? Of course there had yet to be any booty or calling but…then again, why hadn't there been any booty calling?
"Why is that bad? Men can be downright brutish when jealous," Ami reasoned, snapping Minako out from her thoughts.
Rei tsked, "Please, men are idiots all the time."
"I dunno guys," Makoto frowned, "Isn't it only natural to be jealous when you love someone?"
"Thank you!"
"Isn't it more that he just trusts you?" Usagi smiled, her eyes growing large and misty as the cookie in her hand became forgotten. "He knows you would never betray him!"
"Yeah but…" Minako frowned, taking in her fellow blonde's starry-eyed expression, "Mamoru still gets jealous over you and all you ever think about is him."
"Hey!"
"Well, it's true," Rei smirked.
"Not that you're not totally justified," Makoto winked, making the smaller girl blush.
"Well he is incredibly dreamy," Usagi mumbled under her breath. In a louder voice she added, "But you're right, he does get jealous. Like I still don't understand his problem with Seiya."
"And that's okay," Minako cooed, patting the back of her friend's hand, "but it only serves to prove my point. Kei—" she paused, needing to take a deep breath first. "Keisuke doesn't love me."
All at once the girls broke out in denials, hasty accusations and not so idle threats and it was in this state that Artemis and Luna found their five charges. Sharing a look, they decided Luna could handle this best and so she bravely stepped into the fray while Artemis remained on the sidelines.
"Girls, girls. What's all this fuss about?" she asked them once she had gained their attention.
"The thing is—"
"Minako thinks—"
"Luna!"
"Oh for pete's sake," Rei huffed, cutting off all the others. "Minako's just overreacting because she thinks Keisuke doesn't love her."
"Oh? Why is that?" Red eyes swiveled in Minako's direction and the blonde felt herself blush under the sudden scrutiny of Luna's no nonsense gaze.
"Because he doesn't get jealous?" Minako answered, ending her sentence more like a question than a statement.
By the door, Artemis ears twitched at this bit of information. He jumped to his feet and moved closer, stopping only a moment to stretch before hopping on to the table. "I'm glad to hear he's been listening."
Six pairs of eyes suddenly turned to focus on him.
"Listening?" Luna repeated, "Listening to what?"
"Yeah Artemis," Minako added, her eyes narrowing in suspicion, "Listening to what?"
Artemis flushed, not meaning to have let that bit slip, and stepped backwards only to run into a frowning Usagi blocking his way. A quick glance around showed he was surrounded and suddenly he felt like he was sweating even though he knew that was impossible for a cat.
"Uh huh…" Artemis attempted to smile but failed and swallowed as he glanced all around him, "You see what happened was…"
Three months ago…
"Shouldn't you be somewhere chasing rats?" Keisuke murmured, keeping his eyes on the papers in front of him and otherwise ignoring the white feline who'd just appeared on his window sill.
"Shouldn't you be somewhere getting brainwashed?" Artemis replied snippily, "Or were you just such a coward that you willing became Beryl's minion?"
Keisuke didn't bother to reply. The Beckett project he'd been working on had hit a snag and if he didn't fix it immediately there would be multiple phone calls each a good fifty minutes long—forty five of which would be dedicated to his clients posturing about taking their business elsewhere—all while taking up precious time that he could be using to fix the issue.
"Are you just going to ignore me?"
"Yes."
"B-but," the feline spluttered, "You can't do that!"
The uninterrupted scratching of pen against paper indicated Keisuke could and would do just that.
"Well fine. I was going to offer you advice on Minako but clearly I'm just wasting my time."
That got Keisuke's attention but not because he felt he needed any help. He resumed his writing.
"As if I would trust you."
"Well you should, I know Minako better than anyone."
Keisuke stopped what he was working on and turned to stare at the annoying creature.
"True or not, that still doesn't explain why I would be foolish enough to trust you." By nature, Keisuke was wary of most things and an offer of aid from a talking cat that had hated him in every lifetime was suspicious at best.
Artemis' tail flickered in agitation, frustrated that nothing was going the way he had planned. "It's not for your sake," he hissed, "I'm here for Minako."
Keisuke raised one silver brow pointedly, " Correct me if I'm wrong but I seem to recall that Minako could handle herself."
"As similar as they are, Minako is not Venus," Artemis replied tersely, "But you of course knew that."
Keisuke's fingers flexed around the back of his desk chair as he wondered briefly why he hadn't throttled the cat yet, it's not like anyone would miss him. Maybe Minako would prefer a pet who couldn't talk back.
Artemis whiskers appeared to perk up at his silence, a smug display of victory if Keisuke ever saw one.
"I'll tell you this once and only once," Artemis continued, "Minako is not the woman you remember. Despite all appearances and inclinations, she is still a high school girl whose rarely had time for a date, let alone a boyfriend." At this he glared in Keisuke's direction before turning back towards the window. "She's young and inexperienced. So perhaps you can try to go slow and be a gentleman for a while instead of the jealous oaf I know you to be." That said, the white cat leaped out the window leaving Keisuke to dwell on his thoughts alone.
And dwell he did. He had to admit that Minako was young, especially in the eyes of the law…and this would be the first time he could court her without all the secrecy… Had there ever been a time she'd been courted properly? Venus had always had plenty of admirers but there was a reason none of them had lasted very long.
That thought decided him. He would woo his woman the way she deserved, taking things slow and making sure she got to fully enjoy every minute of it. It would be the only time she'd get to experience it since he wasn't planning on losing her to anyone else. No, he would do this right. He would treat her like the princess she was and make sure to behave like a proper gentleman for as long as it took. After all, they'd have all the time in the world soon.
Decision made, Keisuke turned back to his paperwork with renewed energy. The sooner he finished it, the sooner he could begin courting his golden princess.
.
.
.
"K-kun would do that for me!" Minako squealed, swooping Artemis into a bone-crushing hug before dropping him unceremoniously to the floor. "Oh isn't he just the best!"
"Satisfied now?" Rei huffed, although her smile negated her tone.
"Very!"
"Does that mean you forgive me?" Artemis called up from where he had landed.
Minako's smile grew even wider if possible and she shook her head, her blonde hair flying all around her. "Not a chance. You're getting nothing but the driest, nastiest cat food I can find for a week! And don't you even think about going to Usagi's." she warned. A punishment was a punishment after all.
Makoto shook her head, feeling only a little sympathetic for the now miserable looking cat. It's not like he hadn't know who he was dealing with.
"So what now?" she asked, turning to Minako.
Minako blinked and tilted her head to the side, "What now?"
"Yeah, you know, are you gonna talk to him now that you know what's going on?"
"Oh." Minako grinned, twirling a lock of her long hair around her finger. "Oh no, I have something much better planned in mind." Like seeing how long he could stay a gentleman as she actively tried to seduce him. Her grin widened. Oh yes, she would certainly have fun with this.
A few miles away, working diligently in his office, a silver hair man sneezed before looking around in confusion. Seeing nothing amiss, he resumed his work but was unable to completely erase the sense of foreboding.
Found this old thing in a neglected folder and thought I'd finish it. Originally it was much longer but I like the condensed version. Do you? Til next time!