Exhausted

Mars staggered through the dark and down the alley as a curtain of red swept over her left eye. She scowled, swearing under her breath and rubbing the cut over her brow with the back of her hand. She just knew that she would have a raging headache later.

A strong arm steadied her from behind, and she gave Jupiter a thankful nod.

"Almost there." the brunette declared cheerily, but it did little to hide her own weariness.

"Seriously." Venus scowled, obviously favoring one leg as she limped along beside them. Mars glanced down at the wound on her commander's upper thigh and winced. The gash was long and deep, but it appeared to have started to close on its own, thanks to accelerated healing. "I can't remember the last time we got our asses so thoroughly kicked."

"We won," Jupiter replied evenly, "and that's what matters."

"That's what we get for taking it easy after Galaxia's defeat." Mars muttered. "We all got soft."

"Speak for yourself!" Venus cried indignantly. "You may have gotten soft, and put on a few pounds, but I'm still the beautiful, wonderful…"

"Shut up." Mars grumbled, noting the way Venus stumbled once more. She shook her head briskly, grabbing hold of her friend's arm and hoisting it along her shoulders. "Just lean on me. We'll get there quicker."

"Mars…"

"I said shut up. The sooner we get to Makoto's, the sooner I can take a breather. It would take us all night just to get down the street with your leg in that shape."

"Maybe we should have called Mercury and Sailor Moon."

"No." Jupiter replied firmly. "We handled it just fine. Let them enjoy their peace, as long as they can."

"Woman after my own heart."

As they neared closer to Makoto's apartment complex and let their transformations melt away, fatigue seemed to kick in tenfold.

"I have never been so fucking happy to see an elevator."

"Minako." Rei muttered, shifting their combined weight across her shoulders. "Language. Some people are actually trying to sleep right now."

"Fuck them, and their sleep."

"Minako!"

"What?" she questioned innocently, catching Rei's eyes. "You let Makoto swear."

"Yeah, well, Makoto is a big girl."

Minako blinked. "Good point. She's built like a tank. I suppose you'd have to be suicidal to tell her what she can and can't do."

Makoto coughed into her fist. "Standing right here, you know."

The group burst into giggles.

"Hey, thanks for letting us bandage up here." Rei grunted, as she and Minako hobbled through the front door.

"No prob." The brunette sighed, digging through her kitchen for her first aid kit and gesturing towards the bathroom with a quick nod of her head. "You know where the stuff is."

"Do you really think I can get her to sit still for that long?"

"I like the way you talk about me like I'm a wounded puppy."

"Stop whining." Rei muttered as the blonde eased herself up onto the countertop.

"I will, if you go sit down." Minako winced, shifting around in an effort to get comfortable and consequently kicking Rei across both shins.

"Sit still." Rei muttered with a frown, struggling to mop up the hot mess that was her face with an old towel from the pile under the sink. Yup. Throbbing already.

"I will, if you go sit down." the blonde repeated with a smirk, grabbing a towel of her own and wrapping it around her leg in an effort to slow the bleeding. "Captain Cranky Ass."

"Language."

"Yeah, well, your face."

Rei blinked. "That doesn't even make any sense."

"No. Seriously." Minako sighed, leaning forward from her perch and taking the towel from the dark haired woman. "Your face. It's still bleeding."

"Oh."

Gentle hands dabbed at her forehead, and Rei scrunched up her nose before making a half-hearted attempt to take the towel back. "I can do it myself."

"Shush." Minako murmured. "Looks pretty nasty." Rei opted to remain silent as she watched her flip open the top of the disinfectant bottle with her thumb nail and splash a good portion over a cleaner section of the towel. Rei flinched at the sting as the cloth was pressed back to her brow and Minako giggled.

"Aw, did that burn?" Impish blue eyes fluttered. "Want me to kiss it?"

Rei scowled. "What do you think?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"Probably not."

The blonde leaned back, eyeing her handy work. "It'll probably scar."

She received a light shrug in response. "I wasn't looking at picking up a date anytime soon anyway."

"Too bad." Minako replied, lips quirking up into a grin. "I hear chicks dig scars."

The fire soldier flushed brightly as her companion burst into laughter.

"Shut up." Rei grumbled, gesturing to Minako's leg with a nod. "You'll probably scar too."

"Eh, got enough of those already. My modeling career is pretty much shot."

Now Rei smirked. Minako's earlier jab had not been forgotten. "Thought you had to be thin to be a model."

From the kitchen, Makoto heard the beginnings of a fierce squabble. She sighed wearily, rolling her eyes towards the ceiling. Their voices grew louder by the second, and she really wasn't in the mood to take anyone to the hospital. With an irritated huff and one arm full of fresh bandages, she threw open the bathroom door. Her anger, however, quickly melted away when she caught sight of the scene before her.

The great soldier of Mars had been reduced to cowering in the corner of the tiny room, stifling her laughter as Minako tried very unsuccessfully to snap the ends of a towel at her from her spot on the countertop.

"…the hell?"

"It's okay Mako." Rei declared with a wide grin, holding up one arm to fend off the weak assault. "She hits like a girl."

"Come stand over here and say that!"

"Good lord." Makoto sighed, stepping between the pair quickly and giving Rei a gentle shove towards the living room before her bathroom transformed into a warzone. "You. Out."

"She started it."

A green eye twitched. "And I'm going to finish it. Out."

Minako leaned forward. "Hey Rei?"

Rei looked back over her shoulder, only to have the towel whipped at her face.

"Hey!"

"Come on now!" Makoto growled, slamming the bathroom door shut and turning to face the blonde troublemaker. "How old are you?"

"Too old to be dealing with her crap." Minako laughed.

"I heard that!" Rei barked through the door.

Now Makoto felt a headache coming on. "Rei, I swear to God, when I open this door, you better have your ass planted on that couch."

"Whatever."

As footsteps retreated, Makoto let out another weary sigh as she massaged her temples dramatically. "You two. You will be the death of me."

"Sorry." Minako offered sincerely, flashing her a sheepish grin.

Makoto removed the towel from Minako's thigh and eyed the wound critically. "Why do you have to push her like that?"

"I can't help it. She's so cute when she's angry."

"She's always angry." the brunette deadpanned.

Her leader winked. "I know. Isn't it wonderful?"

Makoto's brows knitted together in something quite akin to horror. "There is something seriously wrong with you."

Minako shook her head. "Being with her like that, and with you, like this, doesn't it make everything just a little bit easier?"

Her friend didn't answer.

Minako yawned drowsily. Her leg was throbbing, and right now, she wanted nothing more than a soft bed and fluffy pillows. She was relieved she hadn't required stitches, and had gratefully accepted Makoto's offer to crash for the night. Just as she was about to make her way to the spare room, kept for just such emergencies, she spied Rei passed out on the couch, seemingly dead to world. She paused there in the living room, hand on her hip as she mulled over thoughts of petty revenge before grinning wickedly.

Rei awoke from a deep sleep to a very warm weight settling on her chest. Alarmed, she struggled to sit up blearily, fumbling through the haze of drowsiness when arms gently pushed her back down. She caught a flash of blonde hair, brows furrowing confusion as the lithe figure curled up around her. "Minako? What the hell?" she mumbled grumpily, half tempted to shove her onto the floor.

"Stop it." Minako replied groggily, settling back down against Rei's chest and tucking her head under her chin. "I'm tired, my leg hurts, and now I'm comfortable. Deal with it."

Rei almost fought back, but it was comfortable, and as her eyes drooped once more, she huffed to show her displeasure, though her arm snaked around Minako's waist.

Makoto wandered back into the kitchen, arms full of bloody rags and gauze packaging. After dumping them into the waste bin and washing up, she stretched wearily, fully intent on passing out in her bed as soon as humanly possible. As she passed through the living room, she paused, emerald eyes blinking through the pre-dawn light at the unconscious pair snuggled all into her couch and each other. 'Easier, huh?' She bit back a laugh, rolling her eyes at the ridiculous scene, and fetched a blanket, gently draping it over Minako and Rei.

'Goodnight, idiot couple.'