Chapter Three
Usagi sat on the dark red leather sofa, head cast downward as she picked at her nails; Rei though it was perhaps one of the sadder sights she had seen in a long while. Chibiusa, on the other hand, was enjoying herself immensely as she played with a sailor V doll and a grey plush cat that suspiciously favored Luna. The two odango heads were on opposite ends of an emotional spectrum… odd to say the least.
"Where's Luna," Rei asked, hoping to break the sad silence.
Usagi still wouldn't look at her, "Probably at the park. Chibiusa doesn't really give her a break and Luna likes to escape when she can." A fond smile graced Usagi's features, probably remembering a torture session the feline guardian endured at the hands of the baby.
"And Mamoru?"
Watching the many emotions play across Usagi's face always fascinated Rei. Usagi was the most vibrant person she knew. Never holding secrets, always wearing her emotions on the ends of her sleeves. In a way, she found it brave. Personally, and in harsh contrast to her bubbly friend, Rei kept her emotions bottled. She only allowed them to show after careful consideration and scrutiny.
"He had to fly to Osaka to seal some business deal. I'm so proud of him, Rei." Usagi glanced at her before going back to her neurotic behavior. "He's really been working hard on this deal and if everything goes right, he could make partner. I don't want to bother him, so I try not to call him during the day…" Usagi trailed off. She had no idea what the other girl's thoughts were drifting to, but Rei felt she was understanding why Usagi so desperately wanted her to stay here. The poor girl was lonely and there was only so much company a baby could offer.
"Ah," Rei acknowledged. "Partner… That's quite an accomplishment at his age." Then again, maybe not, she thought, seeing as he is the soon to be King of Earth. Another silence transpired between the two.
Rei made her way to the matching armchair placed only a short distance away, carefully maneuvering around the numerous plastic and plush baby toys littering the carpeted floor. She sat cross legged on the oversized chair and examined her depressed friend once again. She looked absently at an ornately decorated vase, holding what seemed to be fake lilies. Something told her a real plant was sitting there at one point before a certain someone forgot to water it after a while.
After a moment, she pretended an aggravated sigh, "If you don't cheer up, I'm going to have to ask somebody else to lead my welcome home party."
Shifting uncomfortably, Usagi's blue eyes darted to where she was sitting and glared daggers at her. Rei fought a small smile, Ding! Slowly but surely…
"I'm sure Makoto would be a better choice anyways. Unlike someone I know, she can cook." Rei continued, trying to get a rise out of the girl while at the same time making sure she didn't step too harshly on her toes.
"Don't even think about it!" Usagi snapped, clearly offended at the prospect of losing her position as party planner number one. "Makoto owns a shop that takes up almost all her free time!"
"Well, I'll just have to take what little time she has left." Reasoned Rei, having to put forth a little effort to keep from laughing at the now fuming Usagi. So many years had passed, and she felt out of practice when it came to teasing her.
Usagi crossed her arms over her chest and grumbled to herself. She again, would not meet Rei's eyes but Rei was sure it was due to petty anger now, and no longer shame. Small victory that it was, she could no longer hold up the charade and chuckled. "You know I'm sorry, right?"
"Yeah, you're sorry alright." Grumbled Usagi, not quite catching up to speed on what Rei was referencing.
"Not about teasing you." She tried to guide the oblivious girl, "I'm sorry for having you house me in secret."
"Oh…" Usagi was getting uncomfortable again.
"I shouldn't have placed that burden on you." Rei continued calmly, "I don't even remember why I asked you to do that to begin with. I must have been too tired to think clearly." Truthfully, she knew exactly why she didn't want to meet up with the others. There were questions she didn't want or know how to answer; the main question being what exactly she was running away from and other smaller questions she refused to address altogether. The small lie; however, should be enough to smooth things over with her childhood friend.
"So… You're not mad I couldn't keep the promise?" Usagi asked timidly.
"No." Rei replied with a sense of finality. She wanted to squash any reproachful thoughts Usagi may be having.
Usagi nodded in comprehension, "Then, I accept your apology." Then added slyly, "But only if you let me throw your party."
Rei rolled her eyes, knowing she hadn't a snowballs chance in hell of escaping the festivity. "Who else could I trust to ensure every cake known to man makes it on the menu?"
Usagi grinned happily and, to Rei's dismay, briskly crossed the room and hugged her excitedly. Rei had to squint her eyes against the invading blonde strands of hair as Usagi's cheek slammed against her own. Usagi looked teenaged all over again, rambling on and on about snack options and, of course, karaoke CDs. Rei expended a large amount of effort to not push the girl away, knowing it would be better to let Usagi have her little episode rather than fight it altogether. The excessive amount of attention she was receiving was causing a rising blush to speckle itself across the bridge of her nose and cheeks, and, oh, she hated it. She wished Usagi would just hurry up and get… whatever this was… out of her system.
After a small eternity, Usagi plopped next to her and shifted Rei to the far side of the chair. Then, while grabbing a pink and white smartphone from her jean's back pocket, she began announcing dates and times. The chair emitted a light creaking sound, protesting against the sudden shift of weight it was experiencing. Slightly overwhelmed and trying not to resemble a scared animal, Rei listened with feigned interest.
"We should have it tonight," Usagi bounced at her great idea, causing the chair to creak again. Rei stayed very, very still and gripped the armrest for emotional support.
"It's Thursday—", she started but was soon interrupted.
"Tomorrow's Sea Day! Ami is sure to be off and Makoto will probably close her bakery for the day." It was hard to focus on her words, as Rei was sure if she breathed hard enough, the recliner they were sharing would surely collapse, "So it's not like they have to wake up early tomorrow or anything." Usagi's eyes widened, lost in her fantasy and planning.
Usagi then scrambled and leaped from the recliner, driving the chair to drastically rock forward. It was all Rei could manage to not face plant into the carpet next to Chibiusa, who was clapping her hands, delightfully watching her mother's crazy antics.
"It's settled! I'm calling my mom and dad now. I'm sure they'll watch Chibiusa for just one night and surely Minako will be taking the day off…"
Recovering from her close encounter of the Usagi kind, Rei tucked a loose strand of her hair back behind her ear. "Ah, about Minako…"
Usagi returned from her daydreaming, "Yeah?"
"You, uh," Please don't make a big deal of this. "You don't have her number by any chance do you?" Rei asked.
Her friend's normally big, round blue eyes turned to slits and Rei felt that oh so familiar annoyance returning to her at the other girl's smug smile. "Why d'ya need it?"
Rei chose to ignore any hidden remarks Usagi was insinuating about the pop idol. "Because, Usagi, I need to speak with her." Rei said with as much patience as the gods would grant her.
"You need to, Rei-chan?" Usagi mocked, her cheeks puffing up as they do when she's having far too much fun.
"Please, won't you just—"
"Have you called her at all recently?"
"No. I didn't keep in touch with anybody, as we discussed already." Rei rattled off again. She was really starting to get tired of being scrutinized for her hermit ways.
"I mean, I just assumed you would. You two were pretty close." Usagi continued in a whimsical voice, "All the times her hand would linger on your shoulder and sometimes on your ass…"
Rei stood up, not caring about the damn chair anymore, and blushed furiously. "She did that to everyone!" she defended vehemently. "There are photos she took with you that shows her hand creeping up your thigh!" It was true, the entity that is Minako Aino could be described as walking, living, and breathing sex appeal. Whether it was boy or girl, Minako appreciated beauty whenever and wherever she could find it.
Usagi looked offended that Rei would suggest she felt that way towards anyone other than her beloved Mamo. "Purely platonic!"
"Exactly!" Rei shouted.
Chibiusa, who Rei had forgotten about during her flustered moment, chose just then to make a very loud and abrupt sound. The child obviously did not want to see her mother getting yelled at, and in turn, yelled at Rei with narrowed eyes and a little furrowed brow. The priestess couldn't help but feel she and the little monster were getting off on the completely wrong footing.
The cheese grinning Usagi stooped to pat her child on the head, "Look! You're being a bad influence on her, Rei."
Rei made a move to grab the other woman's phone, but missed. "I swear, when I'm through with you, Mamoru will be a single parent."
Usagi giggled, continually dodging Rei's half-hearted attempts at snatching the phone away, "That goes against your senshi duty, Rei-chan." She said in a sing-song voice.
Rei ceased her attempts to grab the phone and sighed, trying to regather her patience. "Michiru plays the violin, you eat cake, Minako flirts, Usagi. That's just what she does and that's all she did." She stressed further, "Now can I please have her number? It's important."
Usagi, no longer having fun with her little game, tossed Rei the phone and then picked up a still glaring Chibiusa. It was most likely approaching the small lady's lunch time. "Be sure to use my phone. She won't pick up if she doesn't recognize the number."
Rei looked at the pretty, bedazzled phone with apprehension.
"Oh, and Rei?"
"Hmm?"
"Be nice, ok?"
Rei stared at Usagi and Chibiusa's retreating form and felt puzzled by what Usagi meant. Yes, she teased the girl, relentlessly sometimes, but did people actually consider her to be mean spirited?
Rei scrolled through Usagi's contacts and quickly found "Aino Minako". After gathering her courage, she pressed the call button, holding her breath… counting down the rings…
"A'ight baby, that's good." Minako heard the English man's voice over the loud speaker announce smoothly. She slid the puffy headphones down her ears, only to have the bulky headset rest on her bare shoulders. The pop idol had long discarded her button up blouse. After many years of working within the isolation room, she had to dress in layers. The temperature could very well be freezing outside but still have the ability to fry an egg on the mic. Unfortunately, today it was hotter than hell in the booth; there were no fans that could cause static during the voice recording.
"Try saying that again, but in Japanese this time." Minako called out sweetly, knowing her sound engineer far preferred his mother tongue. The intercom emitted a mumbling she assumed was Japanese. A waft of cool air immediately surrounded her once she left the smaller room, and she smiled triumphantly at the small band of peers she had grown to call family.
"One English phrase isn't going to kill my knowledge of Japanese, ya know?" The engineer's voice was like listening to a cellist play.
Minako had originally met the man a few years back during one of her tours in America; a Winter Jam if she remembered correctly. After the concert, she was booked to attend an after party and while performing some amateur DJ session - a publicity stunt that did wonders for her western ratings - the two ran into each other at the club's bar. Marco Laufner, she learned, was also a visiting artist but from the UK. He was finally calling it quits after experiencing only a few years in the music industry, and he was on the last stretch of his final tour.
The two artists got to talking and after hearing the melodic genius the man was capable of, Minako convinced him to consider a consultation position, and left the tall slender man her manager's card. Months after her return to Japan, Minako's lead sound engineer angrily stepped out during recording, leaving them all high and dry. Weeks transpired and the Japanese idol couldn't satisfy herself with any potentials, as they called them, and she feared the team would not meet their upcoming deadlines. Suddenly, like a godsend, her manager burst into the studio, tripping over her PR lead, only to shove his PDA into her hand.
Marco had heard rumors of the disgruntled employee and was temporarily offering his services. Relieved, Minako immediately flew Marco to Tokyo and, after catching up to meet the upcoming deadlines, convinced him to make the temporary setting a permanent one. Marco took a little convincing, but eventually gave in, as the idol offered him a handsome package including health benefits and Japanese language lessons – which she has been paying for a little over two years now. The two dated only briefly, mutually deciding to break off the relationship to avoid breaking their professional balance that had been working so well thus far.
Minako snatched a cool bottled water from a discrete mini-fridge tucked underneath a table which currently doubled as a napping spot for her snow colored cat guardian and giggled at the engineer, "You have to stay disciplined! Don't make the mistakes I did when I first lived abroad."
She recalled how his dark brown skin looked fabulous beneath the club lighting when they had first met and appreciated the dark stubble on his upper lip and chin; however, not a scrap of hair was to be found on the man's noggin. Curiously, Minako noticed he wasn't wearing a single piece of designer clothing, just a simple off colored white button up and dark jeans. No jewelry, either. Perhaps he didn't end his career due to a lack of passion for music, but a disdain for the frivolities that came with the industry.
Marco waved her off, and began playing with the numerous buttons and levers on the mixing consol. She shuffled towards the sofa occupying the far wall, picked up one of her beloved trash magazines from the nearby coffee table, and began fanning herself. She loved her job, but recording during the summer was a bitch.
"Mina! That was great! You really shined during the chorus…" A short haired Japanese woman said while plopping down next to her. Minako ate up the compliments her hairdresser, Choco Kibe, was feeding her. She knew very well there was no need for a hairdresser in the studio but the sweet girl's personality mixed well with Marco's lax aura and her manager's, Sugao Saitou's, more serious attitude, providing a wonderful emotional balance in the room. Also, the girl's compliments were like sweet pieces of candy that only caused her an inflated ego instead of cavities.
"Oi," Minako asked to no one in particular. "Where's Saitou-san? Wasn't he dead set on finishing up the vocals before Sea Day? I thought he'd be here when we wrapped it up."
"He took off after a call came in. Didn't say much 'bout it." Marco replied without breaking his concentration away from the board in front of him.
"Saitou-san said to give you his best regards." Choco chimed in. "I guess he didn't plan on being back before we all took off for the holiday."
Minako nodded absently while sipping her water. Sugao was such a blessing. The man had been working twice as hard to ensure they could all take the holiday off and have a rare three-day weekend. She ordered him to take some time off as well, and sincerely hoped he would comply; the overachiever could be such a workaholic sometimes…
"Well, dear companions," Minako tossed her now empty plastic bottle into the recycling basket. "I say we call it a day." Noon was early to call it quits, she knew, but she had spent all morning dishing out vocals without any breaks so she could leave earlier than planned.
"Oh, let's go dancing tonight, Mina!" The hair stylist announced. "There's a new club that's just opened on the strip. Last week, I ordered the cutest wig that I know you would just kill—"
"I have plans." Minako stated smugly, imagining exactly how she planned on starting off her small vacation… "But Marco might be available."
"Not a chance, little lady." Marco announced before Choco could begin begging. "I'm really feeling this beat right now so I'm gonna hash it out here for a few more hours and get a head start on next week's lineup. Then it's straight home for me. I got a date with some leftover pizza, beer, and my playstation."
"You two are so boring…" Choco sighed.
"See you on Monday, girlie." Minako grabbed her bag and scooped up an unsuspecting Artemis, rudely awakening him. "Marco." She said in departure. The man gave a small wave without turning around, diving back into his project.
The drive home took the black, indiscrete Prius shorter than usual to weave through traffic; there were significantly less cars on the road now compared to her usual clock-out time at five p.m. Though happy for the expedited trip, she was sure the elderly woman driving her appreciated the lack of aggressive drivers more than she could imagine. She idly wondered how long Noriko-san had been her faithful chauffer…
The car smoothly pulled up beside the primped sidewalk in front of her flat's building and she wished the old woman a happy holiday, assuring her that, no, she would not need her on call and, yes, she had plenty of groceries in her fridge – which she certainly did not because it was a rare occasion for her to cook at all.
"You did really well today, Mina." Artemis said after hopping out of the car. A quick glance assured them both that nobody was around; her building didn't have a doorman until after seven p.m., thankfully. She always felt horrible when her feline friend was forced to remain non-vocal but was nonetheless glad he continued joining her during recording sessions.
"I think this next album is really going to be a huge hit." She said excitedly. "Marco's outdone himself this time."
"Yeah, but you're really getting into the music too, ya know? You're a lot more involved with the songs' compositions this time around." Artemis encouraged. Minako loved his words, but unlike Choco's lovely compliments, she always took note of her guardian's comments. The white cat had known her since the beginning of her career and arguably knew better than anyone when she was excelling or shortcoming.
Not really wanting to change the subject, but feeling it was necessary as they approached the building's revolving glass door she asked. "So how's Luna doing?"
Artemis scowled. He knew she was using their code phrase that meant: You should get lost for a while. "She's fine. Is he here again?"
"Oh come on now, it's not like we're dating, and it's not often I have him over."
Artemis was referring to Keisuke, of course. The cat wasn't fond of the dancer at all. The two had met while practicing for a music video that was to be released simultaneously when the album would drop and Keisuke made a snide remark about Minako allowing alley cats on the scene. Minako instantly chewed his ass out and the twenty something year old man stated sheepishly he was just trying to get her attention. One thing lead to another and they made out in her dressing room. What could she say? The guy had charm. To top it off, he was constantly gifting Artemis with jingling cat toys that she, admittedly, had to keep throwing away as her guardian had zero interest in the good will, and was probably interpreting them as further insult.
"Whatever, Mina," Artemis grumbled, turning his back to her and raising his tail high in the air as he walked away from her. "Just send a signal when mating season is over."
Minako, feeling disappointed that Artemis still hadn't let the slight go, toyed with the idea of drugging him with catnip on his return. Though never actually succeeding before, the idea was gathering more and more merit in her mind.
She entered the building and zoomed up the elevator to the upper level penthouse, anticipating the guest she had awaiting inside. Once opening the door, Keisuke was waiting, no shirt and unbuttoned jeans. Yet he was still wearing his nose ring, ear ring, and chain. The man was simply gorgeous with his pale skin and dyed light green hair.
"I see you found your way in," Instantly her voice became sultry, ready to start their little game.
"Well, I figured you gave me a key for a reason, right?" His voice wasn't as deep as Marco's, but still enough to be considered masculine.
Minako immediately connected with his flesh, their lips meeting hungrily, all the while her hands running over his body. The two were stumbling into her bedroom and somehow between the front door and her bed Minako's skirt disappeared. She dropped her bag on her nightstand once the two were on the bed and lifted her tank top slowly, high above her head, letting it fall where it may and absently remembered she had left her button up blouse at the studio…
"I love seeing you in the sunlight like this, Mina." Keisuke always knew what to say during their game, and she thought she could maybe love him for it if she tried hard enough.
She bent down to resume kissing him and right when she was fumbling with the top trim of Keisuki's jeans, her phone interrupted them harshly. They both paused, and sighed, knowing that it could very well be the entertainment industry calling – and when they called it was unthinkable to not answer. Minako grudgingly shuffled through the contents of her bag, bringing out her phone and scowling at the glowing digital letters spelling "Usagi" across the glass surface.
"It's Usagi." She muttered.
"Can't you just ignore it?" Keisuke muttered, placing an arm behind his head and hooking his right index finger in the front of her panties. He had a devilishly scrumptious smirk dancing over his features, enticing her more.
Minako shook her head "no" and answered the phone. She had a duty to the future queen of Earth, to guard and protect her as well as provide emotional support – especially when Mamoru was not around to do the job. The still sexually active man pulled the thin cloth down lower, causing her to accidently giggle and mutter "stop it" into the receiver.
"Am I interrupting something?" The deadpan voice that was most certainly NOT Usagi's replied to her unintentional greeting.
The only time Minako felt the way she did now was when her mother had caught transfer student Trista Mackrel making out with her and fondling her breast during senior year of high school. Essentially, that's how her bisexual nature was discovered by her parents and they had beautifully handled it by grounding her for a month and discussing safe sex procedures. It was the second most awkward time of her live… followed by this, naturally.
She hurried off of the half-naked male beneath her, using the poor guys face for leverage and scooted to the edge of the bed, her free hand covering her mid-section as she was positive Rei's second sight could see her partially naked and horny self right now. She pictured the smirking girl… and fought a fierce blush.
"N-no!" she squeaked. "Uhm… Rei?" She needed to verify that it was actually her on the other end of the line… but who was she kidding? It was impossible for her to mistake the voice of the enigma that was Rei Hino…
"Usagi said you wouldn't answer if I called from a weird number." Was the only reply Rei awarded her.
Silence passed between the two and Minako prayed to every deity she knew, hoping Rei couldn't hear her harsh, uneven breathing. Nervousness; however, soon turned to annoyance and then, thereafter, replaced by a feeling of just being plain pissed off. Her sexual buzz was gone, and she felt cold while sitting half-naked on the edge of her plush bed.
"What…" she paused to control her growing temper, "What brings you to call?"
Somehow she could feel the hesitation in the other woman's voice, "….I wanted to speak about when I left… four years ago…"
"To apologize?" Minako answered sarcastically, not at all feeling apologetic for putting Rei on the spot.
"… Should I?"
Minako then felt rage, and she silently wondered if the fire she felt creeping up her spine and heating her heart and mind was comparable to the same fire Rei teased and controlled so easily. She blocked all memory of their terrible last encounter from her mind. "We shouldn't do this over the phone." She bit out.
"R-Right." The voice stuttered. "When would be an appropriate time for us to meet?"
"I dunno." But upon quick contemplation, Minako threw out, "I'm free later today." She wouldn't run from the girl, she decided, but that didn't mean she had to like the idea of speaking with her, either.
"I actually have an appointment later today but –"
"Well then how about you pen me into your schedule then, ne?" She almost shouted and quickly added, "Look, I'm busy right now. Gotta go." Minako hated that she was incapable of hanging up on her that moment, no matter how badly she wanted to.
"Yeah… another time." She knew Rei was getting annoyed with her by the way she vocalized her goodbye and all the more did that fuel her fire.
Both parties disconnected and Minako was left sitting nearly naked and exposed on her bed, the edges of the titanium phone biting in to her palm as she gripped it.
"Hey," a gentle voice said behind her and soft lips kissed her neck. If she were honest with herself, she would admit that his lips no longer seemed electric but invasive… but then she would actually have to be honest with herself.
Minako looked over her shoulder to see Keisuki, looking concerned and troubled. "Mina, I don't want to intrude on your business, but if you already have someone…"
The thought lingered in the air and it took her a second to realize what the boy was insinuating. They both had established rules when they were first trying to label what… this was. The two had come up with only two rules: no strings attached and no partners hiding in the midst.
"Just an old friend," Minako said softly and contemplated why she hated how the words tasted in her mouth, "nothing more."
"Yeah." Keisuki muttered and tossed his green hair, obviously not entirely believing her… but then again, Minako hardly believed the denial herself. He arose from the bed and pulled a form fitting yellow tee over his torso. It must have been lying around close, for when he had to leave later for some rehearsal he was a part of. "I'm gonna head out."
"Right." Was her trite reply. She didn't have the energy to feign disappointment – her thoughts were elsewhere…
"Catch ya later, Mina." Keisuki left the bedroom and shortly after, she heard the soft click of the front door shutting behind him.
Minako rolled back onto her ruffled bed, arms and legs sprawled out, making her resemble a star fish. She glowered at the ceiling. Great. Just great, she thought, cursing the phone call that blindsided her. Rei fucking Hino is back…
A/N: Again, thanks everyone for sending in some encouragement! See you next Friday ;)