So, a nice round chapter number (ahem, excluding the prologue, of course) for a chapter I'm sure you've all been anticipating. I know I've been itching to write this for a while. I know it's taken forever, so I hope it's up to scratch! Forgive me explaining this plotline again in dialogue, but it's been a while since we've touched on it, and most people probably need a refresher. I know I did! Also I thought that, given we've spent so long without any scenes with Rei and Minako together, it would be nice to maintain the intensity of this meeting by not breaking the narrative, and by seeing Minako's reaction in full.

Floodgates: Chapter Twenty

It was two in the morning, and wearily Rei climbed the moonlit steps to the jinja. It was strange – she had been doing this for most of her life, and yet tonight she could barely stand to think of the jaunt as an entire stretch, instead focusing her attention only on each step as it came. Her head was bowed. Kami-sama, she was tired. Today had been stressful to say the least, and now the adrenaline and emotional highs had collectively worn off to leave nothing but a shell poised for nothing more than a long night's sleep. Admittedly, that was kind of what Rei had wanted – that's why she had resolved to walk instead of take the bus home with Makoto. There was nothing worse than being too wired to sleep. Being awake and yet too tired to be useful just didn't sit well with her. That was half the reason why she barely bothered going to bed during the approach of Silence.

It seemed to take forever, but finally the ground flattened out and home was but a moment away. The moon disappeared beneath the canopy as Rei trudged to the front door. She took out her keys and started fumbling blindly with the lock in the pitch dark.

As soon as she entered it hit her – the smell of perfume, of familiar but foreign presence as of late as the silvery light glimpsed off fair hair, a stillness to its bearer to which Rei had rarely borne witness.

"You'd rather I lived hating you?"

Rei's body tensed all over in spite of her. She responded with avoidance, her voice quiet, looking straight ahead, always ahead, and not at her.

"How did you get in?"

"Your grandfather." Perhaps the comment stung Rei because it sounded so much like the blonde had gone cold to anything associated with her – even a friendly, if perverted, old man. "He decided to go out for a while."

Decided to escape before all hell broke loose, the miko mused, though she was grateful for his intuition over the matter. Silence settled over the scene, Minako sat coolly on the floor with her back to the wall. Slowly, she stood.

A long pause. Finally, for the first time that evening, their gazes met. The power behind them, the heat, the turmoil, the anguish, rushed back to each of them at full force, and secretly they welcomed the cover of darkness to lessen the impact so they didn't just combust on the spot.

Silently they shared a feeling, and in spite of the fact that no-one else resided within the house at that time, Rei turned and walked towards her room, the blonde taking her cue to follow.

As usual, Minako thought, unsure whether the notion was of lingering affection for the miko or annoyance with herself for still bending to the other woman's will so easily.

Their footsteps seemed loud in the quiet of the jinja, so often filled with laughter and chatter over the past few years that it seemed loud and intrusive to walk its echoing wooden floors without it in the background. Or perhaps that chatter was truly what made this place holy to them.

Presently, Rei had opened her bedroom door and turned on the light, suddenly illuminating the blonde's hair from mere silvery glints to an explosion of gold shimmering in her wake. Stunned once more by the mere image of her, and yet having truly only just seen her as heart-stopping rather than arousing, Rei mutely stood aside to let her through.

Minako stalked past her, feelings about their separation rushing back to her at their close proximity. The smell of her perfume lingered behind her and settled in the air, unlike its host, who fidgeted wildly, eyes ablaze as she clutched sharply, almost instinctively, at her heart through the fabric of her shirt, her other hand tightening into a twitching fist at her side. She spun back to face the miko.

Rei eyed her warily. She was too tired to have an argument, and she was semi-convinced that if she tried to explain herself in this state it would only come out wrong and lead to an even greater misunderstanding. But she was past having rights to demand anything from the girl before her. Instead she quietly complied.

"Minako, what do you wa-"

"How dare you decide what I should die for?!" the blonde erupted suddenly. Rei, for the first time in her life, was scared into silence.

"How dare you be so damned arrogant?!"

This argument bore no context – after all, what say had either of them over their deaths? They had all already pledged to die for Usagi. Rei knew the moment she could register the words being shrieked at her that this was abstract – principals, the one thing Minako lived so blindly by. This wasn't about now, Rei realised suddenly, but about always. This had gone past concern about their present relationship; where they stood, all of it. It was as if this once-bubbly, seemingly air-headed blonde had come to accept the fact that the bond they shared was anything but ordinary; that there were so many red strings of fate binding them together it was practically a scarf. So where, the miko was forced to ask herself, was this going?

After a terrifying few moments, the woman before her continued vehemently onwards. She began to take steps towards her almost without realising it, her need to see and feel the impact of her anger pulling her forwards almost of its own accord.

"You left me!" she seethed. "You stuck around as long as I wanted you, but when I actually needed you? You dumped me! In a hospital, after I was attacked! Without even telling me why!"

As soon as she began, however, it dawned on Rei that Minako didn't know where this was going either. These were just words, angry, wounded words spilling helplessly from her mouth.

"I thought it was something I did. I mean, my track record's so fucking fantastic when it comes to relationships that I actually thought, 'Hey, it's just me again, doing whatever it is I do. And now I've managed to push even one of my closest friends away from me.'"

Rei took a step towards her, starting to tell her that that wasn't true, but the blonde put a hand up to stop her.

"But it's not, is it?"

Rei couldn't remember a time when an argument had been this one-sided – at least not one where she was on the losing end. She went quiet again. It was hard to tell whether Minako's voice was softening or simply returning to a normal volume.

"You're just so arrogant – so damned self-righteous - that you think you need to protect me."

Rei stared at her. Minako met her dead on, but now the look was filled with something else – the hurt and fury had given way to concern and gravity. This girl was no longer playing the role of lover, but of a grown-up, a colleague...

"I'm your leader," Minako reminded her earnestly. "Not a little girl you need to shelter. Not some dainty princess you have to save."

Rei felt small, stupid, reckless in comparison to this suddenly sober woman, her stern azure orbs boring into her. Time, Minako knew, for the final blow.

"I outrank you."

The statement hit Rei like a lightning bolt. This girl... she was so calm, so professional. She stood stricken, head low as Venus pushed on. Her words were kinder but went unheard as Rei fought with herself over what to say.

"As your superior, you have to tell me when something's this wrong. It's affecting the group." Minako's speech turned introspective, thoughts of her henshin pen still plaguing her. "Something's going on right now – it might even be a new enemy. So we need to-"

"I'll tell you." Minako's orbs refocused on the brunette, who had spoken up louder than even she herself had anticipated. Rei frowned determinedly up at Minako from beneath a curtain of jet black hair. "But it can't change anything between us. You have to know that. It's not worth it for you."

Already Minako took her statement as a challenge. At once the girl switched off the leader in her and was Rei's lover once more, sympathy and fire chasing one another in her eyes. Now fully aware of herself, she closed the gap between them. The stunned miko, her resolve weakened by exhaustion, allowed her to cup her face, to kiss her gently, deliberately on the lips. Rei knew what she meant by it:

This? How can this not be worth it?

Rei allowed herself a moment of weakness, melting into the affection for all too short a time before coming to what little sense she had at this hour and pulling away. Minako thankfully did not look hurt by the gesture, only anxious for the explanation that was to follow. Had the situation not been so serious perhaps Rei might have chastised her for being so overconfident that she could fix this. All there was, however, was worry that she would still think that by the end of this explanation. Rei's voice came out low and hoarse from remaining quiet so long. Without breaking her stare with the blonde, Rei began.

"It's my father."

Minako's eyes widened. She certainly hadn't expected that. What involvement had Rei's father had in her life before? After all, Minako had lived with her all year, and as far as she could figure there hadn't even been so much as a phone call from the man. Rei didn't speak of him either. But from the way she referred to him now; the way her jaw clenched and her eyes glazed with fury, the blonde knew that this was a very special reaction reserved for him alone.

"He thinks I should be dating a 'respectable gentleman'," the brunette spat harshly.

"Fuck him!" Minako blurted impatiently.

"It's really not that simple."

Rei closed her eyes, trying to form words she had long been in conflict over saying.

"He says me being with you is reflecting badly on his political image."

Minako stared at her thoughtfully. Then she shook her head adamantly. "That makes no sense. We were never caught, except by Haruka and Michiru. How-?"

"Not how. Who." Rei scowled and looked away in frustration. "My father knows a lot of the right people. Or at least enough to have eyes in a lot more places than I would have thought. Gaining backing from zaibatsu and other corporations to sway voting means you can never stay entirely on the right side of the law, but he's not stupid enough to get his hands dirty himself. Whatever he's been involved with, the police trail never makes it back to him. With supporters like that, it means if things ever get in his way, he just..."

Rei met Minako's blue eyes meaningfully. "...Makes a call."

The blonde's orbs widened as she began to understand.

"When I was attacked... That was him, wasn't it?"

Rei closed her eyes in confirmation. Minako's gaze turned inward, shock jarring her as the pieces fell into place.

"So when you left me at the hospital..."

"I was terrified," Rei admitted. "I couldn't stand the thought of losing you."

Minako was silent, waiting for something. Rei smiled thinly, the first time that evening. In a long time. "That really is my only defence."

"But why didn't you just tell me?" Minako asked urgently.

"I..." Rei faltered. "I don't know," she lied.

Minako assumed the vague reasoning to be true, however, and went on full steam ahead. "Well... Well it's okay. We'll fix it. It's out in the open now, so-"

"You'll get hurt."

"I won't!" Minako insisted, exhilarated by the rush of closure Rei's confession had given her.

"You will!"

"Come on," Minako cracked, coming closer. "We're senshi, Rei, I think they built us a little stronger than that-"

Her hands closed over Rei's shoulders, but Rei threw her off. "NO! This! This is why I didn't tell you, okay? Because I knew you'd do this!"

Minako stared at her, bewildered. Rei carried on, starting to pace. "I knew you'd fight for me! Because that's what you do when..." she trailed off. "You just don't think when you're like this!"

Minako shrugged helplessly. "I'm just in love with you."

"And I love you!" Rei responded automatically. They both hesitated at the realisation that this was the first time they had said that to one another. Minako in particular was in no state to argue. Although she had heard Rei's explanation as to what had actually happened to cause the rejection, she had still been unsure as to Rei's true feelings for her. And so unlike for Rei, this was a total bombshell. She could only listen, stunned into silence, as the miko continued.

"And that's why I have to do this," she said quietly. "For you. To protect you... from loving me."

Minako noticed tears in those violet eyes. The blonde still had yet to regain the power of speech, but she was too moved by what the miko had said to think straight. And so in direct violation to those words, she shook her head loosely in a kind of resistance and disbelief and fully closed the gap between them once more. She cupped Rei's face in both hands and pulled her into a deep kiss. In spite of her better judgement, Rei didn't try to stop her. She just waited out the few long, incredible moments until it was over; until the blonde had rested her forehead against hers, one of her tears now transferred onto Minako's face.

"He'll kill you," she whispered hoarsely.

"He won't," Minako whispered back again. Her hands slipped away from the other girl's face so she could wrap her arms around her, resting her chin on her shoulder. "He won't."

They remained that way for a few moments, before Rei pulled slightly out of the hug, and their gazes met once more. The air was thick with tension, a decision hanging between them. Then, at the same time, they leaned in, and their lips met; a kiss finally returned properly by the miko, her need and relief at having finally shared her secret screaming louder than the protests in her mind. It was tender, desperate and pleading. And when they finally pulled away, they looked deep into each other eyes, and something unspoken passed between them. Wordlessly, Minako slipped her hands under the brunette's shirt, the brunette raising her arms in compliance. Together in that moment, as Rei reached over to turn off the light, they shared one thought:

This.

This was it.

So, opinions? Thanks for sticking with this! XD