Gravity of Love
There were many things Serena wanted to accomplish before she turned 25: ride a roller coaster (well, maybe just a kiddy one), become an elementary school teacher, watch the sunset on the Eiffel Tower, finally try whiskey, and marry Mamo-kun, of course. She'd only been planning her wedding for the past four years. A big wedding with all of her family and friends in a beautiful old church…
But driving the getaway car for her injured kidnapper while being chased by the police was not on the list. Either way, though, it seems as if Fate had other plans in mind for her.
A grunt of pain shook Serena from her thoughts as she glanced over at the passenger seat. Rei was pale, far too pale and the smell of blood was almost sickening. Panic seized her, and she gripped the steering wheel even harder in an attempt to stay calm.
The assassin was hurt, badly hurt, and needed medical assistance as soon as possible. But Serena was sure that the police have already alerted the hospitals to note any gunshot victims. There was no way she is going to let them take the dark-haired woman that easily.
Serena swallowed hard, her mind desperately trying to think of something to do. There were no squad cars behind her as of yet, but she did not know how long that would last. Tears started welling up in her eyes and she wiped them away angrily. She couldn't cry now. Rei was hurt and needed her help, and getting them into an accident certainly did not qualify as such.
"Hey," came the wounded woman's soft voice. "Don't worry… we're going to get out of this."
The blonde shook a little as she bit down on her lip. To say she felt weak at that moment was a gross understatement. The woman who just got shot was trying to reassure her. Her, the reason Rei was shot in the first place. Serena took a deep breath, trying to feel the calm she desperately prayed for. Rei gasped softly as they drove over a pothole, jarring her battered body.
"Where am I going?"
The assassin was silent for a moment, trying to collect her thoughts and push away the pain. She reached into her pocket, pulling out her cell phone and handing it to the blonde, her hand shaking badly. She could feel herself starting to lose consciousness as everything got a little darker.
"Call… call Haruka… she's the second speed dial… tell her… tell her everything and she'll… tell you what to do."
Serena took the phone, glancing over to see Rei's eyes starting to close. Fear and panic settled in the pit of her stomach, along with the urge to vomit. How was she supposed to do this without the assassin? She's not meant for this kind of thing!
As if sensing her fear, the wounded woman smiled and reached over, placing a hand on Serena's thigh. All the blonde could do was swallow and offer a weak smile in return.
"Everything… will be… ok, Serena…"
As the hand on her thigh went limp, the kidnapped woman restrained the urge to cry. Instead, she flipped open the phone and called Haruka. Each unanswered ring was another blow to her already shot nerves, and the blonde desperately clung to her waning hope that they would get out of this alive.
"Rei! What the hell is going on?!"
It wasn't the greeting Serena had been expecting, but she didn't have time to dwell on that at the moment. Her main concern was getting Rei the medical attention she desperately needed.
"Haruka, it's Serena. Rei's… passed out."
"Serena? Damnit, what's going on? The police are all in a frenzy, something about you and Rei all over the police radio – you know what, it doesn't matter. What's the situation?"
Though she wanted nothing more than to pour her heart out to the handsome woman on the phone, Serena knew now was not the proper time. Instead, she gave a quick but detailed summary. Haruka was silent for a moment before speaking.
"All right, there's an old abandoned warehouse a couple of miles from you, down by the old pier."
"The one where they have raves occasionally, right?"
Despite the gravity of the situation, Haruka couldn't help but chuckle a bit, wondering how in the world Serena knew about that. The blonde assassin cleared her throat, feeling guilty she was laughing when her friends were danger. With the efficiency her profession demanded, she told Serena exactly what to do.
Under Haruka's guidance, Serena was able to get the car into the warehouse and down to the underground level. The car Rei had hidden there was another SUV, but of a different make and color. Then came the difficult task of moving the very injured assassin.
"Serena," Haruka murmured softly. "Be careful when moving Rei. You're going to have to put her in the trunk and pull the canvas cover over it…"
The longhaired blonde swallowed before tucking the phone into her pocket. She looked at the prone, unconscious body of the assassin; the smell of blood enough to make her stomach churn in protest. She forced down the urge to vomit as she reached over.
Her hands hovered over the still body. She could still get away and go back to her life. Rei needed medical attention anyway. One little call was all that's needed to end this crazy dream. One little call and she can be back with her family and friends. One little call and Rei could be in a hospital getting her wounds treated.
But then what? Could she actually stand by and watch Rei go to trial for her kidnapping? Not to mention her various other crimes – who knows how many people Rei has killed? More than likely, the still woman before her would be given the death sentence – could she really allow that to happen?
No, not after everything they've been through.
Not after everything she's made Serena feel.
Taking a deep breath, Serena eased one arm under Rei's knees and the other under her back. She swallowed before picking the assassin up as gently as possible.
She was a lot heavier than the blonde had predicted. Her arms protested painfully, unused to such manual labor. But the load was far too precious for her to even consider dropping. After making sure Rei was in a safe position and pulling the canvas over the cargo area, Serena jumped back into the car and sped out of the warehouse.
Waiting was something Haruka has never been very good at. Sure, she did when she had to and understood the importance of it, but it didn't mean she liked it. Waiting when someone she cared about was in danger and hurt? That was fucking unbearable.
The blonde took a seat, running a hand through her now messy hair. She smiled weakly when Michiru placed a glass of whiskey before her, which she quickly downed.
"It'll be ok."
The blonde sincerely wanted to believe the violinist's words, but experience has taught her to always expect the worse. In this case…
'No, have faith in them.'
But faith was difficult in this case. Serena, though a kind-hearted young woman who seemed to care genuinely for Rei, has so much more to gain by turning her back on the assassin. After all, Rei hasn't done anything to earn Serena's loyalty, speaking from a logical perspective.
'She wouldn't have called you if she wanted to turn Rei in.'
Haruka motioned for Michiru to pour her another drink. Though reluctant, the beautiful woman obeyed the silent command, watching with growing concern as her girlfriend down the drink yet again. She was in no better condition, yet held it together for the blonde sitting across from her.
The situation Rei and Serena were in was perilous and precarious, to say the least. One wrong move – even the smallest misstep – could lead to disaster, or worse, death. Judging from the panic in the blonde's voice when she called, things were looking grim. Rei's injuries alone were enough to worry about, but add the fact that the police were now on their tail and everything depended on Serena…
It's not that Michiru thought poorly of the blonde. No, far from it. The musician absolutely adored her, though she was admittedly at times perturbed and annoyed by the almost insane naivety and innocence Serena still possessed. It's one thing to think about the rarity and preciousness of such a fact, but it was really very difficult to deal with in real life.
Part of it came from Mayor Tsukino's obsessive sheltering of Serena. He was so busy molding her into the perfect daughter that he controlled almost every aspect of her life until very recently. Tsukino was a manipulative bastard and Serena was innocent and unsuspecting, so she never knew what her father was doing. But everyone else could see it.
What resulted is Serena's lack of understanding of the world and real life experience. There was only so much she could learn from behind the glass walls her father constructed for her and through stories told to her by Minako and her various friends.
And now to suddenly thrust her into a situation where the life and death of another person – one she's come to like, it seemed, despite the overwhelming odds – was in her hands. It was so very cruel of life to deal Serena such a hand.
Michiru shook herself from her thoughts and focused on the situation at hand. Haruka was no good to anyone in the state she's in, and seemed bent on drinking herself unconscious before Serena and Rei could even get there.
"Ruka, why don't you make sure we have everything we'll need when they get here."
It was still odd for Michiru to see her lover change; blue eyes, warm and open with her would suddenly close off, as if a black hole had appeared within her mind and sucked out every trace of emotion and life. What remained was a cold, calculating and efficient killer.
Sometimes, the violinist would remember that the hands that so tenderly touched her were stained with the blood of countless men and women. The face that she saw every morning was the same one that many saw in the last few seconds of their existence. The ears that listened to her every word and every note had heard countless pleas for mercy and screams of pain and anguish.
It was hard, the musician would readily admit, to reconcile the woman she loved with the merciless assassin. She loved Haruka no less for her past deeds, but that was not to say they had not overcome their share of difficulties because of the seedier side of things, the world her blonde lover had been so deeply steeped in for so long.
Haruka checked and rechecked all the supplies she had, desperately wishing she could call in one of the many doctors they employed from time to time. But it was too dangerous. Too much hung in the balance and the fewer the people who knew, the better.
She kicked a box of napkins Motoki had left laying around, sending it across the room. The blonde bit down on the inside of her cheek, using the pain to clear her mind. She did a cursory glance of everything before grabbing her cell and making a quick call.
The call was picked up on the second ring.
"Ten minutes."
Haruka hummed an acknowledgement, Makoto's voice echoing in her brain. Serena needed at least another thirty minutes to get to Abyss driving within the speed limit to avoid attention.
"Can you do it faster?"
"No."
The two fell silent for a moment, which the brunette didn't really mind since it just gave her more time to do what she had to do. But she had no idea what Haruka was cooking up in her mind.
"How does the car look?"
Makoto knew the real question: how much blood was there?
Taking a deep breath, she switched the phone to her other hand.
"I'm sending Ami over."
The two fell silent again, Haruka processing what she just heard and Makoto trying to come to terms with what she just said out loud for the first time.
It was bad, they both knew. No, not just bad. It was fucking disastrous.
"Move faster," Haruka growled, hanging up.
Michiru frowned when she saw her lover stalk out of the backroom they had set up. Before she could say a world, she was pinned by those cold, dead blue eyes.
"Ami is coming."
The violinist could only nod as Haruka stormed upstairs to wait for Ami.
Ami practically flew out of the hospital and into her car, glad she had allowed her friends to persuade her to get a fast little sports car as a splurge. She tossed her stuff into the back seat, pulled out of the parking lot and drove towards Abyss.
She gripped the steering wheel tightly, fighting back the tears from the utter panic and fear she felt. Makoto called her fifteen minutes ago, telling her that Serena and Rei had exchanged gunfire with the police and were headed for the black market bar. From the rough quality of the brunette's voice, it was safe to assume that someone had been hurt. But her girlfriend refused to give her any more details, causing her frazzled state of mind.
The only coherent thought the doctor could form at that moment was the hope that Serena was safe and unharmed.
Ami swallowed and sped down the streets. The tall buildings that have become her home and always gave her comfort was suffocating now. For once, Ami wanted to see the sky, and pretend that everything was fine.
Michiru sipped her tea, watching the television intently as she flipped through the channels. Every major news network was reporting the firefight at the docks. But strangely, none of them mentioned Serena. Even stranger, the only people being interviewed were police officers and people who had heard the gunshots. There were no civilian eyewitnesses at all.
The musician put down her cup, a bad feeling stirring in her. There was something very wrong about the entire incident. True, the police could be covering up their inability to rescue Serena. But something told Michiru that that wasn't it.
"This just in," came the shocked voice as the reporter at the docks was suddenly replaced by the anchor in the news studio. "A warehouse has suddenly exploded. Calls are coming in of a massive fireball that engulfed an abandoned warehouse out of nowhere. Firefighters and police are on their way to the scene. Reporting for us live is Trisha Takanawa."
Michiru could only stare at the blazing inferno that was once an abandoned warehouse. The building seemed to have collapse in on itself after the explosion, fire trucks all around while trying desperately to put out the blaze.
"Makoto did a good job."
The violinist did not bother turning around and merely nodded at her lover's satisfied tone. As police cars surrounded the scene, Michiru was at least glad that Serena would have an easier time driving over.
"Where is Ami?"
"Checking over everything."
Michiru nodded again wordlessly as she stood. She glanced at her watch. Twenty-five minutes since Serena first made that frantic call. How so much could change in such a short amount of time was beyond her.
Makoto brought her car to a screeching halt just short of the entrance to Abyss' underground parking garage. She waved Serena to go ahead of her. Through the windshields of their cars, she could see the tears making their way down the young blonde's face.
'Rei, you damn bitch, you better be ok…'
The brunette followed Serena closely into the parking garage, happy to see Haruka, Michiru and Ami already waiting. She wanted nothing more than to go bury her face in her girlfriend's hair, but knew that this was hardly the time.
Makoto jumped out of her car before it even made a complete stop, noticing that Haruka ran toward the SUV Serena drove the second it stopped. Michiru hurried to the driver's side and helped a shaking and blood-covered Serena out as Ami rushed over to the blonde.
"Ames! Rei needs you!"
As Haruka made her way to the back of the SUV and opened the trunk, the sickening smell of pooled, warm blood reached their noses. The brunette felt her stomach retaliate. Not because of the smell; no, she had killed too many people to get sick from that. It was from the fact that this time, it was Rei's blood, and clearly a lot of it.
Makoto soon realized that Haruka was tending to Rei as best as possible, assessing her condition. Her girlfriend, however, was nowhere to be seen.
The brunette turned, wondering if Ami had not heard her the first time and found Ami standing nearby, staring at the trunk area of the large SUV. As their eyes met, Makoto felt a chill go down her spine.
It was stupid, Makoto realized, to ask her girlfriend of all people to come help Rei. Rei, who had kidnapped Serena. Rei, who had held a gun to Ami's head and threatened her.
Oh, of course they thought they could hide how much they despised each other from her. But the brunette was hardly a fool, and she certainly didn't survive that long by not noticing things. She'd been keeping an eye that night, knowing the tension between her lover and her friend was reaching a dangerous level.
The two had been throwing looks at each other all night. Correction, Ami had been willing Rei's sudden demise with the frosty look in her eyes while the assassin tried to ignore her, giving her an occasional warning look. With Michiru and Serena constantly around to keep their tempers and behavior in check, Makoto thought it safe to just let them be.
But when she returned from the bathroom to see Serena and Michiru dancing downstairs, and the two nowhere to be seen, panic was too weak a word to describe what she was feeling. More like utter blood-freezing fear.
After a quick conversation with Motoki, she'd discovered that Ami and Rei had gone downstairs to the basement to "discuss" a few things. Knowing the basement was reinforced with steel and soundproof; Makoto knew that that was the perfect place for things to get ugly, and quickly followed.
The sight that greeted Makoto when she got downstairs made her reach for her gun instinctively. Rei had Ami pinned against the wall, her strong body pressed against the doctor's to cage her in and control her movements. Even in the dim lighting, she could see the familiar shine of a barrel pressed against Ami's forehead. Before she could even demand that her long-time friend step away from the woman she loved, she heard the familiar, cold voice.
"You're Makoto's girl, and I respect that. But if you fucking think for a minute I'm going to let you keep getting away with your attitude and blatant disrespect, you've got another thing coming, doc."
The brunette stopped, keeping in the shadows. She wanted to step in, to tell Rei that she had stepped over the fucking line, but she kept herself in check. For better or for worse, this was her life. Rei was dangerous, but their relationship had also been forged through pain, grief, joy and hardships. The dark-haired woman would never actually harm Ami.
But she had to know if Ami could handle a life with her. Even if she tried to get out of the business completely, it's something you never wash your hands of completely.
"Now let's make one thing clear, I kidnapped Serena. Yeah, it's my fucking job. But if you get in the way of that, I don't care if you are sleeping with Makoto, I'll put a bullet in your pretty little head. And if Makoto gets in the way, I'll deal with her, too. I'll deal with the entire city if I have to to finish this job. And don't you forget it."
Makoto watched as Ami's jaw clenched, her blue eyes narrowing and filled with hatred. She prayed that her girlfriend would let her logic rule her emotions, because one wrong word and she may very well put her life in grave danger.
"Well?" Rei hissed, pressing the gun harder into Ami's temple. And though the brunette's heart screamed for her to go deal with the threat against her love, she held herself in check. Rei, she believed with the desperation of a dying man, would never risk Makoto's happiness.
When the doctor remained silent, the raven-haired assassin took it as an admittance of defeat from the determined young woman. With her gun still trained on Ami, Rei stepped back smoothly, giving the woman one last hard look before turning and heading up the stairs. Though her steps did not change, lavender eyes flickered over to meet Makoto's in the shadows. The message in the purple orbs was clear: 'Only for you.'
Now, staring at her unmoving girlfriend, Makoto desperately wished she did not have to make the decision that was painfully present since the beginning of the whole mess. As her eyes went over to the beautiful face of the woman she loved, she was attacked by the smell of the blood of her best friend, and one of the few people she has been able to trust for many years.
How was she supposed to choose? Between the person who has kept her alive, and the one for whom she now lives? How does one make a decision between someone who has been a pillar of her world and the person who now holds her heart?
Makoto felt her mouth go dry as she clenched her fists. Ami's eyes turned to her as if sensing her confusion and struggle. As their eyes met, the doctor became painfully aware that the next few seconds would determine the course of their relationship.
Hey, sorry it's taken so long for me to update. Work is getting in the way, and is a lot more draining and exhausting than I thought it would be. Kids, what are you going to do with them?
I also want to give credit where it's due, so a big thanks to my new beta, Yuki.
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I realized that things were getting really one-dimensional since the Serena and Rei relationship was taking over everything. I hope the snippets of the other couples added a little something to the story.
What will happen to Rei? Stay tuned to find out!