Rust
He knew her all too well.
Even now, as faint footsteps echoed down the hall and before keys jingled in the lock, he knew it was her. The tips of his ears flickered towards the sound as the doorknob turned, and as she entered the apartment, he could tell that they were in for a long night.
Noiselessly, the white cat jumped down from the window sill in the living room and padded over to the doorway of the kitchen, and watched his charge unceremoniously drop her purse on the table, her expression unreadable. Weary hands poured a glass of wine in the dark, and Artemis could only watch from behind concerned blue eyes.
She was stronger than this.
He could remember, years ago, chasing after her through the rolling countryside and crowded cities of England, guiding her and helping her grow into the hero she was today. He had seen it all, through trials and tribulations, and the very first stinging sense of loss. He thought back to her first battle, fought on unsteady feet, and remembered that brilliant grin she had flashed him when she had emerged victorious.
But she doesn't smile like that anymore.
Through the years, he had been her constant guardian, through each apocalypse and discarded boyfriend, sneaking in to every volleyball game, and biting back tears each time she returned from the dead.
He was always just watching, chest full of a warm sense of pride as she blossomed into someone beautiful, waiting for her to find some well-deserved peace and happiness.
Such things are fleeting.
It was late now, and she was leaning into a corner of the couch, long legs tucked beneath her, blue eyes vacant and lost as they gazed at a television with no sound. There was a very different feeling in his chest now as he studied her, sharp and suffocating, and it only intensified when he recognized the old t shirt she had pulled on as Rei's.
He felt his ear twitch. He had been against any sort of relationship between the soldiers from the start for this very reason, but he quickly stomped such thoughts down. They wouldn't help now.
Minako had fought so hard to keep it a secret.
But he knew. He always knew.
He remembered how she would come home then, humming mindless little tunes, nearly waltzing around the apartment as she fussed over what to wear for far longer than usual. The random giggles and light blushes as she texted frantically on her phone, the endearing way she would argue with herself in the bathroom as she carefully applied eye shadow and sprayed perfume, agonizing over her hair; all dead giveaways.
She was in love.
But time passes. People grow older, they grow up, they move on.
Rei had changed, and so had Minako.
Her phone no longer rang, and the laughter had been sucked out of her gaze. Gone were the near daily visits from the fire soldier, and gone was the part of Minako that Artemis loved most.
He watched her now, lump in his throat as tears swam in her eyes. Moving swiftly, he jumped onto the couch beside her and nuzzled his face into a limp hand. Wordlessly, the girl he had practically raised scooped him up in her arms and held him close, tears splashing onto his whiskers and into thick fur.
He let her hold him as long as she needed, purring as her shoulders shook and she cried her heart out, trying his best to comfort her. He knew she was so much stronger than this, and he only wished he could find the words to tell her.
As Minako drifted off into a restless sleep, bathed in the blue glow of a television channel long since signed off and dried tears, he wondered if he would be scolded for biting Rei that next time he saw her.