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Chapter 30
I awoke to the smell of her hair. It was comforting and I smiled inspite of myself. I was cuddled around her back, my hands wrapped around her smooth belly. I let my hand wander up a little bit, but fought that instinct. Deciding to prevent any future opportunities, I began to extract myself from the bed as delicately as I can. 'With a little luck, I won't even wake her'
A muffled voice came from the other side, "Don't even think about it."
'And there goes that plan.' I kissed her on the shoulder, "Think about what?"
She turned around, wrapping the bed sheet around her for some semblance of modesty, "The wandering hands I can deal with. But if you get up and leave me, you die."
I smiled innocently and Rei leaned forward to kiss me, "Mmmm, well I suppose I can survive staying in bed for a little while longer."
"You better." Rei scooted over in bed a little more and held me in her soft grip again, "About last night..."
"Hmm?" I had closed my eyes for a moment, merely reveling in her presence.
"What happened last night?"
I opened my eyes curiously, "Well, we had sex....something I've never done with you before. I'm surprised that you don't remember."
She smacked me on the shoulder, "Shut up. I know we did that But I just wanted to know-"
"Whether I loved you back?"
In a small voice, "Well, yeah. It's a valid question."
I pulled her closer to me and kissed her forehead, "Rei, if you had asked me that last night, I don't think you would have liked my answer. But today, when I woke up beside you, I realized that you are someone that I would be happy to wake up next to for the rest of my life. I think that that is an admirable life goal."
"So that's a yes."
I rolled my eyes, "Yes, Rei. That is a yes."
She leaned forward to kiss me again, "I'm glad."
With closed eyes, "Me too. Of course, that means you have to quit your job."
Rei punched me playfully, "You're such a killjoy. Here we are having a romantic moment, and you have to bring that up."
"Hey, I'm just being responsible. We would have had to talk about it anyway."
She shook her head, "And here I was thinking I might be able to convince you to quit. I mean, yes, I'll tender my resignation when I get back to work."
"If you want romantics, let's talk about you moving into here."
She looked a bit shocked, "You want me to move in?"
"You once commented that this place needed a little more life, I was hoping that you might be willing to take a vested interest in it."
Rei smiled, "How could I refuse an invitation like that?"
"Good." I pulled away and stood up to stretch. Rei looked at me admiringly and I rolled my eyes, "Hentai."
"Is it such a crime to take pride in one's posessions?"
Wrapping a towel around my body, I gave her a stern look to which she only responded with another innocent smile.
Shaking my head, I moved towards the adjoined bathroom only to stop and comment, "You know, the shower is big enough for two."
Rei rubbed the last bits of moisture out of her hair and was startled by the sudden trill of the phone.
"Ryan, phone!"
"Alright, alright." He trotted back into the room and picked it up, "Hello?"
"Hey, Ryan. It's Minako-chan."
"Hi, Mina-chan. What can I do for you?"
"We were wondering if you had seen Rei. We dropped by the temple earlier this morning, but she wasn't there. We were wondering if you had seen her."
I looked at Rei for a moment and she shrugged and reached out, "Gimme."
Glad to be off the hook, he picked out a plain pair of khaki pants and a black cotton dress shirt and left for the bathroom to change.
"Hey, Minako-chan!"
"Rei, what are you doing there?" The tone of her voice made it clear that it wasn't a real question.
Rei looked around and whispered conspiratorially into the phone, "Well...I like him."
"Kami-sama," Minako squealed, "I knew it, I knew it! So what's he like? Is he good? Spill it!"
"Umm, not now. I'll tell you everything later. Anyway, what's up?"
"Well, we dropped by the temple to pick up you up for lunch before we headed out to wish Mamoru and Usagi well on their honeymoon. But you weren't there. I had a hunch. I think it panned out pretty well. And Mako owes me lunch after losing our little bet."
"What did she say?" "She said that you guys hooked up in the temple."
Rei slapped her head and filed away instructions to yell at Mako later. "Anyway, do you guys want to meet anyway? We were about to head out anyway."
"Definitely, we have to talk to the lovebirds before they leave. Both pairs!"
She shook her head, "You're terrible." "I know, but I predicted it so you can't yell at me."
I came in, fully dressed this time and mouthed to Rei, "Where are we going?"
Rei mouthed back, "Lunch with friends."
I nodded and went into the kitchen to brew some coffee. As I surveyed the living room, I saw underwear and clothing strewn all over the place, a testament to the actions of the night before. It offended my military sensibilities but I let it slide. I was in far too good a mood to be brought down by something as mundane as cleanliness. Besides, it made the place a little more homey, especially since much of the clothing wasn't mine.
I smiled in remembrance and then loaded the percolator with freshly ground beans and then let it perk for a while. I then proceeded to bring another kettle to boil on the stove for tea.
After a little while, Rei entered the kitchen and began to rummage around for tea. She was wearing my clothes, but oddly didn't look any less feminine for it. She had managed to find a pair of pressed white dress pants that looked rather mannish, but tied it together with a fashionable belt and the red heels from the night before. She finished the look with a plain white tucked in tee shirt over which she wore a blue striped dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up.
I whistled appreciatively and she gave me a kiss in return. "So when do we leave and where?" "Minako said that she would pick us up. Be ready for an interogation."
"Seriously. Did you know she's been hinting at us having a relationship for about three weeks now?"
"I'm not surprised. She's incredibly good at predicting these things." Rei set out a pot for the tea and tossed in a couple of dried chrysanthemum flowers before covering it and letting it steep for a while.
I took a sip of my coffee, "I was. I never expected to get you out of the deal."
"Stranger things have happened."
"Yeah, I suppose so." I pulled her close for another kiss and she smiled happily.
"I could get used to being doted on like this."
"Well, I haven't had a girlfriend since college, so you may have to bear with such things for the interim until I remember how to actually treat a woman I'm sharing a bed with."
"Hmmm, I will do my best to make sure that you never remember." An insistent honking forced me back into reality, "That must be her."
I grabbed my coat and shrugged it on, "How do I look?"
"Handsome as always." Rei picked up her handbag and threaded her fingers through mine. I smiled amusedly through the elevator ride down.
A red convertible with the top down sat out front and a blue haired girl in the passenger seat waved to us.
"Well look who it is." Ami laughed, "The lovebirds finally made it down."
Rei glared at her and I smiled and wrapped my arm around her, "We were detained. You'd be surprised how preoccupied one can get."
Ami immediately turned red and looked away. Rei blushed. And I grinned shamelessly. A blonde in the driver's seat yelled out at us, "Hey, we can talk about your exploits later, but now we need to get going."
I snickered and Rei gave me a love tap in the gut, "Hentai-baka."
I looked pained and Minako spared me a glance through the rearview mirror, "If she's abusing you already, it must be love."
Chapter 30
I awoke to the smell of her hair. It was comforting and I smiled inspite of myself. I was cuddled around her back, my hands wrapped around her smooth belly. I let my hand wander up a little bit, but fought that instinct. Deciding to prevent any future opportunities, I began to extract myself from the bed as delicately as I can. 'With a little luck, I won't even wake her'
A muffled voice came from the other side, "Don't even think about it."
'And there goes that plan.' I kissed her on the shoulder, "Think about what?"
She turned around, wrapping the bed sheet around her for some semblance of modesty, "The wandering hands I can deal with. But if you get up and leave me, you die."
I smiled innocently and Rei leaned forward to kiss me, "Mmmm, well I suppose I can survive staying in bed for a little while longer."
"You better." Rei scooted over in bed a little more and held me in her soft grip again, "About last night..."
"Hmm?" I had closed my eyes for a moment, merely reveling in her presence.
"What happened last night?"
I opened my eyes curiously, "Well, we had sex....something I've never done with you before. I'm surprised that you don't remember."
She smacked me on the shoulder, "Shut up. I know we did that But I just wanted to know-"
"Whether I loved you back?"
In a small voice, "Well, yeah. It's a valid question."
I pulled her closer to me and kissed her forehead, "Rei, if you had asked me that last night, I don't think you would have liked my answer. But today, when I woke up beside you, I realized that you are someone that I would be happy to wake up next to for the rest of my life. I think that that is an admirable life goal."
"So that's a yes."
I rolled my eyes, "Yes, Rei. That is a yes."
She leaned forward to kiss me again, "I'm glad."
With closed eyes, "Me too. Of course, that means you have to quit your job."
Rei punched me playfully, "You're such a killjoy. Here we are having a romantic moment, and you have to bring that up."
"Hey, I'm just being responsible. We would have had to talk about it anyway."
She shook her head, "And here I was thinking I might be able to convince you to quit. I mean, yes, I'll tender my resignation when I get back to work."
"If you want romantics, let's talk about you moving into here."
She looked a bit shocked, "You want me to move in?"
"You once commented that this place needed a little more life, I was hoping that you might be willing to take a vested interest in it."
Rei smiled, "How could I refuse an invitation like that?"
"Good." I pulled away and stood up to stretch. Rei looked at me admiringly and I rolled my eyes, "Hentai."
"Is it such a crime to take pride in one's posessions?"
Wrapping a towel around my body, I gave her a stern look to which she only responded with another innocent smile.
Shaking my head, I moved towards the adjoined bathroom only to stop and comment, "You know, the shower is big enough for two."
Rei rubbed the last bits of moisture out of her hair and was startled by the sudden trill of the phone.
"Ryan, phone!"
"Alright, alright." He trotted back into the room and picked it up, "Hello?"
"Hey, Ryan. It's Minako-chan."
"Hi, Mina-chan. What can I do for you?"
"We were wondering if you had seen Rei. We dropped by the temple earlier this morning, but she wasn't there. We were wondering if you had seen her."
I looked at Rei for a moment and she shrugged and reached out, "Gimme."
Glad to be off the hook, he picked out a plain pair of khaki pants and a black cotton dress shirt and left for the bathroom to change.
"Hey, Minako-chan!"
"Rei, what are you doing there?" The tone of her voice made it clear that it wasn't a real question.
Rei looked around and whispered conspiratorially into the phone, "Well...I like him."
"Kami-sama," Minako squealed, "I knew it, I knew it! So what's he like? Is he good? Spill it!"
"Umm, not now. I'll tell you everything later. Anyway, what's up?"
"Well, we dropped by the temple to pick up you up for lunch before we headed out to wish Mamoru and Usagi well on their honeymoon. But you weren't there. I had a hunch. I think it panned out pretty well. And Mako owes me lunch after losing our little bet."
"What did she say?" "She said that you guys hooked up in the temple."
Rei slapped her head and filed away instructions to yell at Mako later. "Anyway, do you guys want to meet anyway? We were about to head out anyway."
"Definitely, we have to talk to the lovebirds before they leave. Both pairs!"
She shook her head, "You're terrible." "I know, but I predicted it so you can't yell at me."
I came in, fully dressed this time and mouthed to Rei, "Where are we going?"
Rei mouthed back, "Lunch with friends."
I nodded and went into the kitchen to brew some coffee. As I surveyed the living room, I saw underwear and clothing strewn all over the place, a testament to the actions of the night before. It offended my military sensibilities but I let it slide. I was in far too good a mood to be brought down by something as mundane as cleanliness. Besides, it made the place a little more homey, especially since much of the clothing wasn't mine.
I smiled in remembrance and then loaded the percolator with freshly ground beans and then let it perk for a while. I then proceeded to bring another kettle to boil on the stove for tea.
After a little while, Rei entered the kitchen and began to rummage around for tea. She was wearing my clothes, but oddly didn't look any less feminine for it. She had managed to find a pair of pressed white dress pants that looked rather mannish, but tied it together with a fashionable belt and the red heels from the night before. She finished the look with a plain white tucked in tee shirt over which she wore a blue striped dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up.
I whistled appreciatively and she gave me a kiss in return. "So when do we leave and where?" "Minako said that she would pick us up. Be ready for an interogation."
"Seriously. Did you know she's been hinting at us having a relationship for about three weeks now?"
"I'm not surprised. She's incredibly good at predicting these things." Rei set out a pot for the tea and tossed in a couple of dried chrysanthemum flowers before covering it and letting it steep for a while.
I took a sip of my coffee, "I was. I never expected to get you out of the deal."
"Stranger things have happened."
"Yeah, I suppose so." I pulled her close for another kiss and she smiled happily.
"I could get used to being doted on like this."
"Well, I haven't had a girlfriend since college, so you may have to bear with such things for the interim until I remember how to actually treat a woman I'm sharing a bed with."
"Hmmm, I will do my best to make sure that you never remember." An insistent honking forced me back into reality, "That must be her."
I grabbed my coat and shrugged it on, "How do I look?"
"Handsome as always." Rei picked up her handbag and threaded her fingers through mine. I smiled amusedly through the elevator ride down.
A red convertible with the top down sat out front and a blue haired girl in the passenger seat waved to us.
"Well look who it is." Ami laughed, "The lovebirds finally made it down."
Rei glared at her and I smiled and wrapped my arm around her, "We were detained. You'd be surprised how preoccupied one can get."
Ami immediately turned red and looked away. Rei blushed. And I grinned shamelessly. A blonde in the driver's seat yelled out at us, "Hey, we can talk about your exploits later, but now we need to get going."
I snickered and Rei gave me a love tap in the gut, "Hentai-baka."
I looked pained and Minako spared me a glance through the rearview mirror, "If she's abusing you already, it must be love."