Author Note: Guess who has two thumbs and a 101.5' fever from strep throat? -_-;; Figured I should make the most of my sick time while I'm stuck at home. I apologize for how small this chapter is.
I don't own Sailor Moon or any songs and have tried to the best of my ability to site my references.
Takeuchi, N. (1991). Sailor Moon. Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan: Kodansha Ltd.
Mayer, J. (2009). Half of My Heart [Recorded by John Mayer ft. Taylor Swift]. On Battle Studies [CD], New York, New York and Nashville, Tennessee: Columbia Records and Big Machine Records.
Dodd, A. and Watts, A. (2004). Beautiful Soul [Recorded by Jesse McCartney]. On Beautiful Soul [CD], Burbank, California: Hollywood Records.
Chapter 25:
- Lonely was the song I sang, 'til the day you came. Showing me another way and all that my love can bring. Oh, half of my heart's got a grip on the situation. Half of my heart takes time. -
Minako's eyes fluttered opened at the soft sound of music playing overhead. She was lying on her stomach, per usual to how she slept. She arched her back, stretching the sleep from her muscles. As she stretched, she inhaled deeply and took in the familiar scent of…Coffee?
She lazily rubbed the sleep from her eyes and she turned, only to find Rei's side of the bed unoccupied. She blinked a couple times as she brought herself to sit up and look around. She smiled to herself when she found her clothes neatly folded on the table at the end of the room. Though the bedroom door was closed, she could hear soft clanking and movement from beyond in the living room. Guessing that's where she would find her raven-haired beauty, she crawled out of bed and began her morning routine.
When Minako finished, was dressed, and opened the bedroom door, she was met by a pleasant aroma. As she opened it wider, she found Rei placing a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast with butter and jam on the dining table with a small bowl of cut fruit and a cup of coffee. The beautiful archer was wearing boot-cut jeans and a dark-yellow tanktop.
Rei turned as she heard the bedroom door open and smiled at Minako, "Perfect timing," she said cheerfully, "Breakfast is ready."
"You made me breakfast?," Minako asked with surprise.
"Actually, it's more like brunch," Rei replied with a smirk as she pulled out the chair for her, "It's almost 11:00am."
"Oh, wow," Minako said with slight astonishment as she walked towards the table. She sat down in the proffered chair and scooted herself closer to the table as Rei took a seat next to her to read her newspaper and have her morning green tea.
As Minako ate, she watched Rei adoringly, remembering how the beautiful raven was doing the exact same thing their first morning together. Both continued enjoying the comfortable silence between them.
"So you're still hanging out with Odango later today?," Rei asked casually as she continued to read her newspaper.
"Mmn," Minako replied with a nod as she finished her meal, "We're having a girls' night with some friends." She began talking aloud to herself as she thought, "Which reminds me, I need to run a couple errands before then so I should probably leave soon. I didn't realize how late it was."
She giggled softly, "We usually go until all hours of the night so I have to go get some provisions." Realization hit her and she sighed disappointedly. She looked to Rei apologetically, "That probably means we won't be able to hang out later today."
"That's ok," Rei replied as she looked up from her newspaper with a sincere smile. She folded up the paper and set it aside, "I actually have something I need to do later today so that works out. How about tomorrow, are you doing anything?"
"Hmm," Minako thought, "I don't think I have anything planned."
"Ok," Rei replied warmly, "I text you tomorrow then." Her eyes landed on the locket that was hanging from Minako's neck.
"You kept the necklace on all night," Rei said endearingly.
"Mmn," Minako replied as a warm smile graced her lips. She looked down and reached up to touch her necklace, "I love it, I don't ever want to take it off."
"I'm glad you like it so much," Rei replied contently.
Minako sighed and pouted slightly as she looked up to the beautiful archer, "I'm a little sad I won't be able to see you until tomorrow." A smirk pulled at the corner of her lips as she winked, "But maybe it'll be a good thing. I don't want you to get sick of me or anything."
Rei's face turned serious at Minako's playful words. She reached out and cupped Minako's cheek, her thumb stroking it gently. Her clear, intense, amethyst eyes looked deep into Minako's sapphires,
"I could never get enough of you," Rei whispered.
Minako blushed and felt like she was going to melt under Rei's gaze. She leaned into Rei's warm touch, "Baby," she whispered with concern, "Are we…Are we ok?"
Rei searched Minako's face, trying to read her aura, but it was becoming difficult due to the multitude of emotions that were coursing through it, as if struggling to make sense of each other.
"Mmn," Rei nodded softly, trying to comfort the smaller woman, "I want us to be. Like you said, we're still getting used to each other. We'll take it one day at a time, ok? Whatever you need, I'm not going anywhere."
"But, Rei-chan," Minako whispered, "What do you need?"
"You know what I need, Mina," Rei said softly. She lowered her hand to find Minako's and brought it to her lips, "I need you. I just want you to be happy."
Minako let out a long sigh as she shook her head, "Always so stubborn." She turned to glance over at the stove clock, which read 11:25am, "I should get going."
"Ok," Rei replied quietly. She released Minako's hand and stood up to collect the dishes and walk them to the sink, "I put your purse by the door. And don't worry about your dress, Nobuo-san's coming over later to pick up yours and mine to take to the dry-cleaner."
"Thanks, baby," Minako said as she stood up and tucked her chair back into the table. She walked to the door and began slipping her shoes on as Rei came over to see her out. Minako turned around to wrap her arms around Rei's neck. She rested her forehead on Rei's and giggled softly,
"This feels like déjà vu. Reminds me of our first morning together," Minako said fondly.
"Mmn, me too," Rei chuckled as she placed her hands on Minako's hips, "You're not planning on going to any weddings later today, are you?" she joked.
Minako laughed, "Nope, not that I know of. You?"
Rei leaned in and softly kissed Minako on the lips, "Not without you."
Minako blushed slightly as she looked up at the beautiful, raven-haired woman, "Text me, ok?"
"Of course," Rei replied. She closed her eyes and leaned in to kiss Minako again on the lips, who also closed her eyes and returned the kiss.
As the kiss slowly deepened, Minako's tongue gently stroked Rei's bottom lip, sending delightful shivers through Rei's spine. Rei responded by sliding her hands up Minako's back, pulling her closer as she parted her lips and met Minako's tongue with her own. They kissed for a while, becoming absolutely lost in each other, until Minako reluctantly ended it. Both women were panting softly as they slowly opened their eyes, amethyst meeting sapphire. Rei took a deep breath,
"I hope that'll be enough to last me until tomorrow," Rei sighed, "But I'm pretty sure it won't be."
Minako blushed slightly and smirked, "Good, I'm glad I won't be the only one suffering then."
Rei smirked as she kissed Minako's forehead. She hugged her tightly before pulling away, "Now go so I can suffer and miss you in peace," she said playfully.
Minako let out a melodic laughed as she stroked Rei's cheek lightly with her fingers. She smiled softly as she turned, collected her things, and opened the door. As she walked out, she looked over her shoulder and gave a small wave before walking down the hall towards the elevator.
Once Rei shut and locked the door, she turned and leaned her back against the door.
- You might need time to think it over, but I'm just fine moving forward. I'll ease your mind if you give me the chance. I will never make you cry. C'mon let's try. I don't want another pretty face. I don't want just anyone to hold. I don't want my love to go to waste. I want you and your beautiful soul. You're the one I wanna chase. You're the one I wanna hold. I won't let another minute go to waste. I want you and your beautiful soul. Am I crazy for wanting you? Maybe do you think you could want me too? -
Rei had almost forgotten she turned on her music while she was making breakfast for Minako. She sighed as she listened to the song and sank to the ground, curling into herself, bringing her knees to her chest.
"What am I going to do?," Rei whispered aloud to herself, almost hopelessly. She had already come to terms with the fact that she had fallen hard for the gorgeous blonde. Why else would she be ok making a promise to always be with her? She didn't expect anything in return, like how Minako didn't expect anything in return physically from her. They wanted to be with each other, but they just weren't ready in their own ways regarding certain things…simple as that.
She thought back to their date the night before and a soft smile came to her lips. The way Minako reacted to the jet, the dinner, the necklace…she looked so happy…which made it all so worth it.
A chuckle escaped as she remembered Minako's experiment in touching her for the first time. She was slowly getting comfortable with the idea of having Minako so close, closer than anyone before. Though it was terrifying, Rei couldn't deny that she, to some small extent…liked it…wanted it even. She trusted Minako, knew in her mind Minako wouldn't hurt her. Now, it was just a matter of making her irrational subconscious align with her logical mind. She wanted this to work. She wanted to work on conquering her fears for them, for Minako, and for herself.
The smile slowly slipped from her lips when she remembered the discussion that immediately followed. Her face turned pensive, she almost didn't know what to make of it all. Minako didn't make sense. Her heart ached as she remembered how scared Minako was when she questioned her about her feelings, Kami-sama, to be so disconnected…so emotionally removed...and yet be able to have such a caring heart…It's no small miracle that she's not sociopathic!
She absently tucked a stray hair behind her ear as she chuckled mirthlessly to herself, "Maybe I'm crazy, falling for someone who might be emotionally unavailable." She sighed and let her head fall back against the door with a soft 'thud'. She stared up at the ceiling as she reflected on the past week. Minako was so willing to trust Rei when it came to her body, with no hesitation.
"What about your heart, Mina?," Rei whispered to herself.
Beep Beep!
Rei's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a text message being received on her phone. She straightened her left leg, pulled the device out of her pocket, and flipped it open to read the message. A small smirk appeared on her lips as she typed a few keys.
As the sound of a text being sent was heard, she shut it and slid it back into her pocket. She sighed deeply and picked herself off the floor to go to her breakfast bar and pressed a button on her small, white remote, turning off the music in her condo. She headed towards her bedroom to her closet and pulled out a black duffle bag, which appeared to be fairly weighty due to whatever was inside. She headed back to the front door, found a pair of casual sneakers to slide on over her feet, and opened the door,
"Ittekimasu," she called over her shoulder into the condo.
She paused briefly, a touch of sadness tinting her intense, amethyst eyes as she was only met by silence. She sighed as she closed the door softly, locking it behind her, and continued down the hall to the elevator.
Author Note: Rei's got a lot to think about.
Constructive feedback/reviews would be greatly appreciated.
(updated 06/2015)