Hey everyone! I'd like to thank Spike and Prime for all the encouraging and insightful reviews. =-) Just would like to inform you that this chapter and the next few chapters will be "lying low", so to speak, and more centred around the senshi and, maybe, even random "filler" events. Probably character and relationship-based more than anything else. But, don't worry! It's all leading up to something exciting! I promise that the overall plot will come into play soon. I hope you won't be disappointed.

I also plan on actually finishing this story. Surprisingly, I've got a lot of built-up Sailor Moon muse. Once I'm done with this one, I probably won't be far behind on updating my other fics.

And, please, don't be afraid to Read and Review! I like feedback so that I know how I'm doing, what I may be doing right or wrong, and I like to know what you guys think as a whole. So, those of you reading this, reviews are always appreciated. x


Her head rested against the wall as azure eyes gazed up at the ceiling.

Her blonde pigtails had been raised higher than normal, each one fixed into a loop on either side. Bubbles were superfluous and up to her collarbone, like floating white foam above the still, warm and soothing bath water that sat below. And, although the routine was normal, something different had her deep in thought this time. Something she usually folded away and tucked in the back of her mind for lonely nights.

But, she couldn't help it. Rei was on her mind.

She was only in the bath because Rei had insisted, come to think of it. Though, only after Mama and Papa had had their share of hugs and concerns. All was well once they found out that her fever was nearly gone, and upon the mention of her best friend staying at their home, her mother was far more delighted than she would have expected and told Rei she could stay anytime she wanted or needed to. Rei had been all grins and thank-yous, but Usagi knew she had been exhausted. She vaguely wondered where she'd sleep tonight, and how her grandpa and Yuuichirou-san were doing. Where they were staying. She bet Rei would get in touch with them and know, one way or another.

But, more importantly, she kept replaying the scenes from earlier that night. How they had made her feel. How close, how intimate she had actually been with the black-haired girl. Even if she had been saving her life and merely carrying her.… it still brought slight warmth to Usagi's cheeks whenever she thought about it or thought about Rei in that way in general. A warmth that didn't derive from the bath water.

But, of course, this wouldn't be the first time she had blushed while thinking of her best-friend. The first time had been…

[Flashback]

Episode 10.

A small, bald elderly man dressed in the formal priest attire approached Usagi, Naru, and their other friend with an energetic gleam in his eye and a mischievous grin.

"Wanna work as a part-time shrine maiden?!"

Whaaat?

He seemed to be hitting on them! What a dirty old man!... But, at least, he was being nice… The Hikawa Shrine must have been visited all of the time for its charms… as well as the rumoured handsome blonde man that sold them... The short priest must have been used to young girls coming and going, right? It was only natural that he greet them, greet anyone that came. But, Usagi wondered if he really should be saying such things to her and her friends… what was she to say back?

"Grandpa! Stop hitting on young girls! There are bad rumours about you going around the neighbourhood!"

Like a dark angel, a miko in traditional shrine dress appeared. Long, lustrous locks of black hair, soft and shiny like a raven's feather, cascaded down below her back and mysterious, midnight eyes the colour of pansies glared down at the small elderly man from behind. And, when she spoke, even in such a scolding manner, her voice seemed soft like silk.

"Wow! She looks cool! And so pretty!" Usagi thought aloud, blushing at such renown beauty. "So, this is a shrine maiden… I wouldn't mind working here part-time." The blonde's blush grew, and she laughed nervously as her friends turned to gawk at her. Surely, no one would mind working with someone that stunning and alluring! At first glance, she was the picture of perfection.

The shrine maiden, apparently called 'Rei', continued to bicker with her ojii-san. That is… until she suddenly turned around with a protective disposition, claiming an 'unusual aura' or 'evil spirit' had come to plague her shrine.

The girls stared at the miko and blinked in confusion. This 'Rei' was suddenly ready to attack.

"Evil Spirit, Begone!"

Then, the ravenette knocked The Rabbit unconscious with an ofuda, only realizing too late that she had targeted the wrong person.

[End Flashback]

Usagi giggled at the memory. Even then, it seemed like the attraction had been there. It had always been there.

Of course, it had been there more prominent with Mamo-chan - which was why she had always usually and casually dismissed her feelings for Rei-chan. She hadn't even recognized them until recently. A small, hidden crush that replaced 'day-dreams' with teasing and 'flirting' with fighting. She always tried to push it away, to make it disappear so she could fully be devoted to Mamo-chan whole-heartedly.

But… her and the ravenette… they were close, so it was hard. Rei-chan was her best-friend, afterall. Of all of the senshi who had become her friends, Rei was the one who understood her the most. Rei was the one that was always there for her, no matter what. There was no way she could ruin their friendship just because of some silly crush she had developed in the last few years. Plus, there was no way Rei would feel the same way. She had Yuuichirou, just like Usagi had Mamoru. Sure, they weren't dating yet like her and Mamo had been… but… it was obvious that they cared for another.

And, besides… even if by some miracle that Rei did like her back… even if they wanted to date… what then? How would they start such a relationship? How would she break it to Mamo? How would he react? She couldn't drop him like a riceball! And, what about their friends – Mina, Mako, Ami, and even the outers? What would they think? And…what if, while dating Rei, she discovered that she loved Rei more than even Mamo-chan? What if she never wanted to go back to him ever again?

She couldn't do that to him. She just... couldn't.

Her and Mamo-chan had a life together. They had a whole future together... not to mention Chibiusa-chan, who she also cared very much about.

And, most of all, she loved him.

She stood up and stepped out of the bathtub, reaching for a light pink towel that she had set out on a nearby shelf. She wrapped it around her torso and pinned it with her hand to keep it from falling and turned to stare into the square mirror above the bathroom sink. To stare at her thoughts… her decisions… her goals, and face them head-on.

She would just have to try harder to ignore her feelings for Rei-chan. To forget them. They would probably only get in the way of her and Mamo-chan's love. They were bound to go away eventually… right?

- x -

Rei fell freely, backwards, onto Usagi's bed. Clad in a knee-length, silky red night-dress with the bottom half of her hair neatly dangling in a matching ribbon and Usagi's white scarf rewrapped around her arm.

She had just changed into the nightwear and treated her wound, having trekked over to the Shrine with permission from Usagi's parents to see how Gramps and Yuuichiru were holding up. They had thankfully been out 'training' or grocery shopping at the time the structure had been torn up by the youma, and were out of harm's way. As her grandfather had pointed out, PakuPaku had only ripped apart her part of the household – even moreso after her and Usagi had fled, leaving the walls with giant, round holes the shape of large boulder, boards dented and skewed here and there, and most of her furniture smashed. He said that him and Yuuichiru could still sleep there. She asked them not to, to go somewhere else and stay. It would be a damned shame if the youma returned the one time she wasn't there to protect them. However, her crazy Ouji had assured her they would both be okay, and sent her on her way back to Usagi's after she had retrieved what clothes and accessories she could find or had left.

She closed her eyes, and inhaled the scent of her best friend's room. It smelt like rice ball dumplings and cakes, mostly. As to be expected from the ever eating Odango-atama. Sleeping here wouldn't be so bad…

…. But, she would have to share a bed with Usagi. And, if she slept like she walked – clumsily and lopsided – then there was absolutely no way the ravenette would be getting any sleep. Though, truth be told, she had always wanted to see Usagi's room. She knew it would be messy, sure… but, it was just the curiosity of what else the princess liked that Rei wasn't aware of. To be such good of friends, Rei and Usagi didn't know each other too well. They may have understood one other and knew the basics and what they had been through together, but Rei knew nothing about the little things. Little things like collectibles and pajama wear that seemed to irk her every now and again, but could never find the words to ask about.

Suddenly, she heard the pitter-patter of footsteps. Not wanting to seem rude by lying down on a bed that wasn't her own, she jerked herself to a sitting position quickly, and pretended to be interested in a poster of a boy-band on the nearest wall. She was surprised when Usagi stopped in the doorway and blinked with a strange look on her face.

Rei glanced over at her when she didn't say anything, staring at the blonde inquisitively with a raised eyebrow. "What?"

"I just thought you'd be asleep by now," Usagi answered simply.

"Oh," How simple. Rei relaxed slightly and crossed her arms. "Yeah, well… I just wanted to make sure you were okay." She replied earnestly.

Usagi gave her a smile of reassurance. "Thanks, Rei-chan… but, I'm okay now. Promise!"

She watched as Usagi took careful steps into her own room, stopping in front of her dresser and drawers. Now, it was her turn to gawk.

"Rei?" Usagi asked innocently after a moment.

"Yeah?"

A sweat-drop formed on the side of the Rabbit's head. "I need to…uhm… get changed…" For a second, Rei thought she noticed her friend's cheeks turn rosy. Then, she saw her loosely gripping onto the towel as it began to slip down. It took the miko a moment to catch on.

"Oh!" She swiveled around quickly to face the other side of the room, her own face heating at the implications. "Usagi, you baka!" She snapped in embarrassment as she heard the towel drop to the floor.

"I didn't do anything!"

"You almost flashed me!"

She gasped. "D-Did not!" Usagi's face was red now.

"Did too!"

"You're such a liar, Rei-chan!"

A few drawers were pulled open and she deciphered the rummaging of clothes. "Whatever," Rei dismissed, rolling her eyes and attempting to think of other things besides the blonde's naked body behind her.

Usagi had just slipped on her pink, crescent moon pajama top and bottoms, and was now letting her hair down. She felt guilty. "Sorry, Rei-chan," she mumbled, swallowing her pride. "You can look now. I… I think I need help."

Rei glanced over her shoulder to see what the problem was, and was taken aback by how extremely long Usagi's hair really was. It was longer than her own, scraping the floor. It was beautiful, and she noticed The Rabbit struggling to comb a brush through it.

Finally, the ravenette transitioned to the side of the bed nearest to Usagi and patted the spot beside her. She couldn't stay angry at her. Not when she needed help. With soft features, she beckoned her friend with words. "Come here."

The Princess did as she was asked, strolling over to hand over the brush and sit beside Rei-chan. It wasn't long until Rei was tenderly brushing long, delicate strokes through each and every strand. She smiled, enjoying this small moment between them. It seemed like they rarely had peaceful moments like this, and she was persistent on making this one last.

Usagi winced and whimpered every now again whenever Rei came into contact with a tangle, but tried not to gripe about it. She knew these moments were few and far between, too.

Either of them hesitated to speak, fearing that they would ruin such a mood, so they sat like that in silence. Usagi, with a brush raking through her golden, Rapunzel locks, facing her back to Rei, and Rei focused on running the hair item through Usagi's tresses over and over, determined to get it soft, smooth, and perfect for the next day.

When she was done, Usagi finally broke the silence with a genuine "Thank you, Rei-chan."

Rei smirked. "Don't mention it, Usagi." Afterall, that was what friends were for.

And, with that, they both crawled into bed and under Usagi's covers. Rei on the right side, and Usagi on the other.

"Goodnight, Rei-chan." Usagi whispered.

"Goodnight, Usagi."

Usagi turned her lamp out, leaving the room to be enveloped in darkness and leaving the rest of the night to be lost in magnificent dreams and glorious hopes for the future.