A/N: I totally stole Rei's nickname for Minako from another author, but I can't remember who it was... Well, I'm being honest about it at least.

Disclaimer: see previous chapter.

Minako awakened first, and upon seeing the still sleeping face of her lover, smiled. She had to find out where she learned all of that. She was simply amazing last night.

Minako ran her hands through Rei's hair gently until the miko woke up.

"Morning."

"Morning. What time is it?"

"I honestly have no idea. You should get a clock in here."

Rei shrugged. It was past time for her to get up anyway. She started to get off of the futon, but Minako wouldn't release her.

"Let go of me. I have work to do. I'm late as it is."

Minako just shook her head in reply.

Rei sighed. "Minako." The blond arched an eyebrow. "Let go." She received another head shake. "Stop being difficult!" Her friend didn't even respond. "Minako!"

"I'm not letting you go. Not yet. Tell me something first."

Rei sighed again. Everyday spent with Minako was a long one. "What?"

"Who is it that you like?"

Another sigh. "Why won't you let it go? I'm not telling you."

"Please, Rei. You can trust me. I won't say anything. I just want to know."

"Your wants get you into trouble, Mina. Let it go. And let me go."

Minako shook her head and closed her eyes. "Until I get what I want, I'm not letting go of you."

Rei thought hard about her current situation. She was naked in the arms of an equally naked Minako. She didn't have to do anything to stay there but keep her mouth shut. So she did. Rei closed her eyes as well, and soon found herself asleep.

After Rei didn't respond, Minako opened her eyes. She saw Rei had fallen back asleep. That little fucker was cheating! Going to sleep wasn't fair! When she heard Rei start to snore lightly, she shook the older woman.

"Stop cheating, Rei! Answer me!"

Cheating? What? Who is cheating now? Rei blinked the sleep out of her eyes and glared and her friend. "What are you on about?"

"Rei, wake the hell up and answer me."

"I'm awake. Wide awake, but I'm not answering you. I'm not going to tell you. Stop pestering me."

The blond was getting angry. "Rei, we're best friends, and I know almost nothing about you."

"That's not true, you know my blood type, my address, my age, my middle name, my family, my fears -"

"Stop it! You know what I mean. I don't know any of your secrets. You know all of mine."

"I never asked you to tell me anything. You did that of your own accord. If I choose to tell you something, it will be because I want to. Not because you begged me."

Minako pouted. She hated how difficult the miko was. However, she was not above begging. "Please, Rei."

Rei simply shook her head. "I'm not going to tell you."

Minako was getting tired of this. She seperated herself from Rei and went to the bathroom.

When she came back, her friend was gone.

She found her sitting in front of the fire, meditating. Knowing better than to disturb the woman while she was focused, lest she find herself fuel for the fire, she went to take a shower and set off the make them lunch. It was too late for breakfast.

By the time Rei met Minako in the kitchen, the blond had had a long time to think. If Rei had known, she never would have left her friend alone.

"Did you make this, Minako?"

"No the little fairy of the shrine made it. Of course I did. Are you hungry? I can make more if you are."

"No, this should be fine. Thank you."

The two ate in companionable silence for a while, until the blond had finished her meal.

"Rei, when are you going to tell me."

"Tell you what?"

"Who you like."

Rei sighed. She couldn't seem to get away from this argument with her friend. "I'm not going to tell you. We discussed this already."

Minako had a look of sympathy for her friend. "Oh, Rei."

Now the miko was confused. What did that mean? "What?"

Minako reached across the table and put her hand on top of Rei's.

"You love me." It wasn't a question and both knew it.

"What?" Rei's expression now was a mix between confusion, shock, and disbelief.

"You heard what I said. Don't deny it. I've known for a while now. I was just wondering when you would do something about it, and what you would do. You took too long, so I'm pulling the confession out of you."

The miko shook her head. "You're completely out of your mind."

"Maybe so, but nothing I said was untrue."

"You're too cocky for your own good, Minako."

"Again, I don't disagree with you, but your words do nothing to deny the truth of mine."

"Nor have I agreed to your insane conclusions."

"You haven't, but that isn't necessary. I'm doing this for your own good. It's not good to pine for someone for years in silence, Rei."

"I'm not pining, Minako."

"You're very disillusioned. Or you don't know what pining is. I'm not sure which at this point."

"I'm well aware of the definition of pining, and I'm not disillusioned. You're the one who seems to be out of your mind."

"I'm perfectly sane. Stop running away from your feelings! Just admit it. Tell me."

"There's nothing to tell."

Minako had a feeling this would be an uphill battle. She extremely underestimated it. It was like sword fighting while mountain climbing Mt. Everest.

Standing up and walking to stand beside the miko, the blond reseated herself in the lap of the raven haired woman.

"I never took you to be an easy lay, Rei."

Since Minako had made it impossible to avoid eye contact anymore, due to their proximity, Rei looked her in the eye. It made lying a little harder, but it wasn't impossible.

"That's because I'm not."

Minako shook her head in affirmation. "And I didn't think you were a one night stand type of person, either."

"Again, because I'm not."

"So why?"

"Why what?"

"Why didn't you let me leave last night? Why did you come on to me? And why did you stop yourself, simply to see if I was okay with it? You should have been the uncomfortable one, but you spent most of the time in control."

Rei knew some of the answers to those questions, but none of her responses would have satisfied her friend while letting her feelings remain closeted.

So she didn't answer a single one of them.

Standing up with Minako in her arms, she walked back to her room and threw her friend down on the futon.

"Minako, you ask for too much information. What I decide to tell you, is what I decide to tell you." The miko put strong emphesis on each "I." "If I don't want to talk, you of all people know that I won't, so stop prying. I told you this before, and I hope I won't have to say it again."

Rei walked away and began her training in the woods. She needed to vent, and she doubted that setting Minako on fire would be good for the sanctity of the shrine.

Minako, as well, was quite frustrated. Not having trees on which to take out her frustration, she went to the bathroom and stared at herself in the mirror. She had come to terms with how Rei felt about her, but how did she feel about Rei?

The sun had started to set, but Rei still hadn't come inside. Minako started to get worried. Having long since come to terms with herself and gotten over her anger with her friend, she went outside in search of the miko.

"Rei!" She screamed, hoping that she would get an answer.

"Rei!" She called out a little louder.

"R-" A strong arm wrapped itself around Minako's waist, and a hand covered her mouth.

She was afraid, but visibly relaxed when she heard Rei's voice in her ear. "Do you see why I worry about you? I could kill you right now and you couldn't do a damn thing about it."

Minako frowned, but still couldn't reply due to the hand over her mouth.

Rei continued speaking. Her voice lost it's teasing quality. "Don't come out here yelling. There are things in these woods that you wouldn't want to disturb."

Minako tensed again. Was Rei joking? "Be glad you came this way and that I was making my way back to the shrine. Had you gone another direction and our paths not crossed, you may not have come back."

Rei released her hold on Minako and grabbed her hand, pulling her in the direction of the shrine. "Come on, let's go back inside. And a word of advice, if I'm out here, don't come looking for me. You don't know how to survive out here."

Minako gulped and picked up her pace behind Rei.

When they got inside, Minako found her voice again. "Were you joking about outside, Rei?"

"No. It's actually kinda scary at night, even for me. I usually don't stay out this late, but I was pretty vexed. During the day I don't have much of a problem any more, though."

Minako gulped again. "Anymore?"

Rei nodded and walked in the direction of her room. Minako followed closely. "Yeah. When I first got lost out there a few years ago, I had a hell of a time getting back here. I was pretty badly wounded and extremely exhausted, but I made it back alive. Took me a while to recover, though."

Minako was never as afraid of the shrine as she was in that moment. Considering that the sun had fully set, she knew that she wouldn't be getting out of here if Rei had her way, and she didn't know how she felt about sleeping surrounded by things that had almost killed Rei. Strange how knowing the danger makes you fear. She had no qualms about being there before that night, and she had spent more than half of her teenage years in the room she was now terrified to stand in alone.

"Are we safe?"

Rei nodded. "Of course. You have nothing to worry about in here. Especially not with me here, but the creatures don't ever venture out from beyond the trees. There's nothing to worry about."

Minako had no doubt in Rei's abilities, but she still didn't feel certain. The miko noticed her uncertainty and stood from her futon. She put her hands on the shoulders of the smaller woman and spoke with a motherly mix of gentle comfort and persuasion. "Lay down. I know it's a lot to take in, but you really don't have anything to worry about. You can't even hear them from in here, and I can sense them long before them get any where near this building. Relax. Besides, they wouldn't dare to venture out of those woods unless I had done something to piss them off, which I haven't.

"I'm gonna go take a shower, but I'll be back in a few minutes. Try not to let your mind mess with you too much. I'll show you around out there tomorrow. You really don't have anything to worry about, and you'll feel foolish tomorrow if you stress too much tonight."

Rei walked to the bathroom and left the other woman restless on her futon. Minako didn't lay there long before she got up and walked into the bathroom with Rei, taking a seat on the floor near the shower, taking comfort in the miko's proximity.

Rei stepped out of the shower, and nearly jumped out of her skin. "Minako, why the hell are you in here?" She shreiked as she grabbed her towel, quickly wrapping it around her dripping form.

"I wanted to be near you Rei. I'm kinda scared."

Rei sighed. "I told you not to worry about anything."

"You also told me that I'm safe around you, and I believe you, so I'm staying around you."

Rei chuckled. "Minako, you're like a small child. Aren't you always telling me that you can handle yourself?"

"Yes, but I'm talking about with people. You're talking about animals that I have not idea how to fight. And if I piss them off they'll kill me. And you said they scare you."

Rei out right laughed. "I never said they scare me. Minako, you're exremely unreasonable. I said that the woods is scary at night. The creatures aren't even dangerous. It's just they get angry when you make too much noise or hit them. They can kill you, but they won't if you don't upset them."

"But I went out there screaming! They're probably pissed at me."

Rei had gotten over her initial shock and started to actually dry herself as she spoke. "They don't hold grudges, Minako. Since they didn't attack, you don't have anything to worry about. They were probably upset that you disturbed them, but you didn't piss them off."

Minako was unconvinced, and it showed on her face. Rei sighed.

"Minako, there's nothing else I can say to try to convice you that you're being paranoid. I would go show you the woods tonight, but you wouldn't see anything that I'm talking about without the sunlight. Just try to sleep and don't over think it. Tomorrow I'll be saying I told you so and you'll be playing with the creatures that you're afraid of. Trust me."

Minako didn't say a word as she followed Rei back to her room.

Rei grabbed her night clothes, throwing a pair to Minako. "Even if you do upset them, they're not anything that you couldn't handle as a senshi. Knowing you, you could probably handle them without transforming, if you could get your fear out of your mind. Just relax."

The miko lay down on the side of the futon she was generally beginning to consider hers, facing the wall. Minako lay on the other side staring at the ceiling.

Trying to calm down, the blond closed her eyes and forced her muscles to relax. She knew Rei only told her about the woods because she went out there and put them both in danger, but she would rather not know.

Hearing a crow caw outside, the blond's eyes shot open and her heart rate quickened. She couldn't make herself relax. Her comfort zone had turned hostile all of a sudden. "Rei," she called out in the darkness. Hearing no reply, she added, "are you awake?"

The miko rolled over onto her back and looked at her friend. Her features were bathed in the moonlight, making her look almost etheral. She looked most like Usagi in the moonlight. Especially without her signiture hair bow. Rei thought she looked better without it anyway.

"I'm awake. Why are you awake?" Rei asked, despite knowing the answer.

"I'm scared, honestly."

Rei sighed, she opened her mouth to reply, but Minako spoke first.

"Can you hold me?"

Rei frowned. She had no business babysitting a grown woman. Seeing the frown, Minako prepared to roll over onto her side, facing away from the miko, but arms stretched toward her, and smiling, Minako rolled into Rei's embrace.

Rei was still scowling as she placed her chin above the blond's head. "I told you to stop worrying."

Minako smiled. "I did." Looking up into Rei's eyes, her smile widened. "I'm not worried about anything at all anymore."

Rei blushed despite herself, scowl falling off of her face. "You should have calmed down when I first told you to. There's nothing to worry about. If there were I would have told you long before now, Minako. You know that."

Rei was right. Minako knew. Despite how childish she knew she was behaving, hearing about scary things before bed was never a good idea. She scoffed at herself. She had fought scary things for as long as she can remember, and did so all by herself for over a year. She shouldn't be worried about anything.

Regardless to all of that, Minako didn't want Rei to let her go. She still had insecurities, and she hadn't been training like she knew she should have. Actually, she was almost sure the only one of their group who still trained probably was the miko. If you could count how Ami use her brain as her weapon, it could be said that she was training as well, but so far as physical training went, they were all slacking. They were generally too busy to find the time for it. She should really talk to her senshi about it. That should not have happened, considering the future that was uncertain. A new threat could arise at any moment.

"What are you thinking about, Minako? You're frowning."

Rei had been curiously watching her friend for a while, wondering what was going on in her mind.

Minako straightened her face, finally feeling her frown. She smiled a little, looking up at Rei again. "I was just thinking about how you've been training and the rest of us haven't really. We should really meet up again so we don't get completely out of practice."

It was Rei's turn to frown again. "You haven't been training? At all?"

Minako shook her head. "I've been too busy."

"That's extremely irresponsible of you. The rest of us have all been training. Ami comes by for breaks and goes out to the woods with me, and Mako comes by at least three or four times a month and goes out there on her own. She may even come more often, since she usually just goes on back and doesn't say anything."

Minako felt bad. She was the only one of her senshi who hadn't been training? And she was supposed to be the leader. Times like these, she saw how much more capable Rei was than herself.

"Usagi went back there with me once, but that didn't bode well for her. She can't stay quiet enough, so when she comes by, we usually just toss the frisbee around or spar a little."

Even their lazy princess was training? And here she was, touring around the world and taking a giant break.

"Rei..." the blond paused, thinking about her next words, "maybe you should take over for a while."

Rei felt her eyes widen. At a different time, under different circumstances, she may have wanted to hear those words. Time had helped her to become wise, though. She knew that Minako was a much better leader than she would ever even hope to be. "No."

Minako looked at Rei increduously. "Why not?"

"Minako, you're the best option for leading the senshi. You're better in field command, you're better in dealing with the others, and you're better at analyzing a situation.

"Look at our group, Mina. Ami is the best at analyzing a situation critically, but she's not physically as strong as the rest of us. Makoto is incredibly strong, but would rather beat the crap out of an enemy rather than finding a weak point and taking it out quickly. Usagi, while having gotten a lot better, would wail and run away from a fight, waiting for a signal to attack, rather than staying for the duration and seeing people get hurt. I'm pretty strong, but I usually fight spiritually. I can't charge in like Mako, because that would cause more damage than good. I train myself to be able to detect strange or dangerous auras.

"But you, you're the leader for many reasons. You can analyze a situation quickly and decide what needs to be done, letting Ami focus on how to best destroy an enemy. You're strong enough to hold off close range enemies on your own, taking some of the strain off of Mako in the process. You have distance attacks that work well in tandem with my distance attacks and aura sensing. And you're the only one who has an attack that can save a target and not destroy it.

"Not to mention that with your resemblance to Usagi you can easily infiltrate enemy lines and fight from the inside as we fight on the outside.

"I can't do any of that, Mina. That's why you're the leader. And despite your laziness, your hard headedness, your childishness, and your ability to drive the rest of us completely insain, you deserve the position."

Minako was touched. She had never heard such praise, and coming from her second in command, it was even more touching. Rei made a point, as far as Minako was concerned, to not compliment anyone. Especially the blond. She had never heard the miko say a single complimentary word to her.

Without thinking, she leaned forward and pressed her lips against Rei's.

Startled, the raven pulled back, looking at the blond with questioning eyes. "What was that about?"

"You've never complimented me before."

"Most people say 'thank you.'" Rei shook her head. "Just go to sleep, Minako. I have a lot to do tomorrow since I took today off, and since it was your fault, you're going to help me."

The blond didn't protest, but didn't fall asleep either. Her eyes fell onto the long neck in front of her, more specifically on a noticable mark she left there the night before. A side of her mouth curled upwards. She had never imagined Rei would be such a vocal lover.

Speaking of lovers... "Rei."

Rei's eyes remained closed. "Go to sleep, Minako. We can talk in the morning."

"This is important, Rei."

"It can wait until I after sleep. I'm tired."

"No it can't wait. Rei!"

Sighing in defeat, Rei opened her eyes. She looked down and saw only the top of a blond head. "What is it now?"

Blue eyes looked up at her. "Can you admit it?"

"Admit what?" They were whispering, and though Rei didn't know why, she found herself speaking as softly as her friend.

"Admit to your feelings. Tell me you love me."

So this was why they were whispering. The blond wanted to hear a secret. "I have nothing to admit, Minako."

"Rei, I already know. I just want to hear you say it. Please?"

"Knowing whatever it is you know should suffice. Go to sleep, Minako." Closing her eyes, the miko was officially done with this conversation.

"Can you be honest with me, Rei?"

"Go to sleep."

"Why did you have sex with me last night?"

"..."

Dark purple eyes opened again, and her gaze fell on soft blues.

"Answer me, Rei. Tell me why."

"I don't know."

"Be honest with me. It's because you love me, right?"

Rei sighed yet again. "What will me saying it do for you, Minako? You don't seem to want to let this go."

Minako smiled. A genuine one, not mischevious or guilty like many of her others. "I want you to admit it. Not for me, but for you."

Rei closed her eyes. "There's nothing to admit. Go to sleep."

Minako's smile fell. "Rei, who hurt you so deeply that you can't admit your feelings, even when they are already known?"

Rei didn't move, save the slight motion of her lips as she spoke. "Have you considered for a moment, that maybe you're wrong, and I'm not in love with you?"

That gave Minako pause. She hadn't considered it for a moment. "In that case, I should be yelling at you."

At that, Rei's eyes did open. "What on Earth for?"

"'You have no business sleeping with someone who doesn't hold your heart.' Oh, and 'How could you just give you virginity away to someone like that? Don't you value yourself more than that?' You know, when you said all of that, I knew that you were trying to protect me, but I really didn't know how much you cared all of this time."

The miko glared at the blond. How dare she throw her words back at her?

Minako was unphased. That glare had long lost its effect on her. "Since I know that you're not that much of a hypocrite, there's only one other option. You know what that is, though.

"It's funny, had you told me that you were gay earlier, I would probably have figured it out much sooner than I did."

Rei seperated herself from the blond and rolled back towards the wall. She didn't know what she hoped to do by moving, but she needed space.

Minako felt cold as soon as Rei's arms left her. "Rei, don't be like that."

"You first, Minako."

The blond blinked. "Me first, what?"

"Tell me who you love."

Minako frowned. She had never thought about it.

Silence reigned over the two for a while, but neither were able to sleep. Both were too lost in their thoughts.

Minako's voice rang out in the darkness, breaking the silent spell that had fallen over the two. "You."

Rei didn't move. Minako sighed. "You still can't admit it, can you?"

Rei rolled over and pulled the blond back into her arms. "Go to sleep, Minako. We'll talk in the morning."

Minako looked at Rei. If she didn't know better, she would think the woman was sleeping. "Just say it. Tell me. Please."

When she still received no response, she spoke again. "I've never slept with someone who loved me before."

Rei opened her eyes and looked down at Minako, face carefully void of expression.

"Let this mean something to me, Rei. Let this be my first time actually loving and being loved by my lover. Please."

Rei's eyes softened. She ran her fingers through soft honey colored hair. "Minako, close your eyes, relax your mind, and rest. I promise we'll talk in the morning." Seeing the tears in her lovers eyes, she continued. "I care more for you than anyone else does on this planet Mi-chan."

Minako didn't know if she was crying because she didn't think Rei would say it, because Rei did say it, or because Rei didn't say it. She was so confused. She never heard "I love you," but what she heard and had heard over the years meant so much more. Figuring that was the closest she would come to a confession that night, she willed her tears to stop and fell asleep in a strong embrace.