Disclaimer: see previous chapter.

Chaos peeked out of his prison, longing for the silver-haired queen. His dark fingers ran along the barrier that housed him. That woman was the one who had locked him away, almost 1000 years ago. She was just a child, then. Now, she was a beautiful woman.

He wanted her. He wanted to spill his seed deep down in her, plunging roughly into her until she screamed and bled. He then wanted to do the same with his sword. One day, he vowed, he would destroy everything she worked for. Everything she created would fall to ruin by his hand.

One day. Until then, he lay in wait.

Makoto stopped walking and crossed her arms. Frowning, she turned around and punched the air behind herself. Out of the air fell the person she was looking for: Rei.

"Why are you playing games with me, Martian? I've been looking for you for hours!"

Rei smirked and leaned against the wall beside her. "I haven't played a trick on you since you moved into the castle. It was long overdue."

Makoto frowned and contemplated knocking the smirk off of her friend's face. Unfortunately, she had more important matters to address so the Martian's ass whooping could wait. "Fine. But I still need to talk to you."

"About what?"

"You. You're in love."

A dark eyebrow lifted. "With who?"

"Minako."

"What makes you say that?"

"You didn't let me talk about your past to her. You don't want her to know because she might leave you. And you kissed her at the meeting. And you let her sleep with you-"

"You're insane. I don't like anyone talking about my past. And what does a kiss have to do with anything?"

"You've never kissed a girl in public before."

"I'm trying something new."

"Something like love! You're in love with her. Just admit it."

"I cannot make such a claim."

"Oh, come on. You know you love her. You let her spend the night in your bed."

"That means nothing."

"Has she seen you naked?"

"No."

"Maybe you don't love her, then... Do you plan on letting her-"

"No. Mind your business. I'm not in love."

"Rei-" Makoto didn't have a chance to finish her statement before Rei disappeared. "Stubborn miko."

Usagi bounced around the courtyard, thoroughly enjoying her ice cream cone, and not really paying attention to where she was going. Tripping on a small pebble, she expected her face to hit the ground when strong arms wrapped around her waist and steadied her balance. Turning, Usagi saw the grinning face of Minako. "Thanks."

"No problem. I see you still can't walk upright after all these years."

Usagi frowned and took a big bite of her ice cream. "Yes I can! Don't be mean to me!"

"I'm sorry, Princess."

Usagi finished the ice cream on top of her cone and threw the rest in a trash can. "I've actually wanted to talk to you for a while."

"About what?"

"You and Rei."

Minako frowned, not really understanding. "What about us?"

"How much do you know about her?"

"Not much. Why?"

"How do you feel about her?"

"I don't know... She's a great warrior-"

"That's not what I meant. Don't tell me facts, Mina. Tell me how you feel about her."

"I respect her."

"Is that all?"

"What else is there?"

"Mina, do you love Rei?"

"Of course not!"

"Mina."

"Yes?"

Sighing, Usagi walked toward the chairs in the garden, motioning for Minako to follow. "Mina, I know my senshi. You two love each other."

Minako scoffed audibly, taking a seat beside Usagi. "That's ridiculous."

"Whatever you say. But let me say this: Rei won't be easy to tame. She's been through a hell of a lot."

"What do you mean?"

"I can't tell you now, but have you ever fucked Rei?"

"Well, yeah. Of course."

"No, I mean have YOU fucked HER? I mean, have you ever touched her? Or seen her naked?"

Minako thought back; she couldn't remember ever seeing Rei naked, let alone touching her. "I don't think so."

Usagi nodded; she believed as much. "And you've only ever seen her at one ball." Minako nodded, but let Usagi continue. "And she hasn't told you much about her past, either." Again, Minako simply nodded.

Usagi put her hand on her friend's knee. "Rei doesn't do anything, at all, ever, without a good reason for it. If she's hiding something, it's very important to her. All I'm saying is be careful.

"When you play with fire, you will probably get burned."

Rei opened her eyes and jumped when she saw blue staring back at her. "Mina?"

Minako grinned. "Good morning, love. It's about time you woke up."

Rei's head was pounding. "What time is it?"

After taking a quick glance to the right, Minako answered. "It's 4:23 A.M."

"Why are you awake?"

"Because I wanted to see you when you woke up."

Rei smiled. "Go back to sleep. I'm not going to get up for a few more minutes."

Rei closed her eyes and thought about going back to sleep, but Minako wouldn't stop poking her in the side. Without opening her eyes, Rei grabbed Minako's hand. "Stop poking me and go to sleep."

"No. Wake up, Rei. I never wake up this early. I want to spend the morning with you."

"I'm still tired. I didn't plan on waking up for another hour. Go back to sleep. I'll spend the day with you when you wake up."

Minako pouted. "No, Rei! Wake up now! I want to spend the whole day with you!"

"Why?"

"Because I do!"

"I like being alone in the morning, Minako."

"Can you make an exception just this once? Please?"

"No."

"Can we at least take a shower together?"

"No, go to sleep."

Minako frowned and rolled to the far edge of the bed away from Rei. "Fine then. Be mean."

Rei sighed and opened her eyes. She looked at the back of Minako's head and sighed again.

"Mi-chan. Come here."

"No."

"Come on. Come here."

"No, Rei. I don't want to talk to you right now."

"Why not?"

"Because you're a meanie pants and I don't want to talk to you."

"I'm sorry, Mi-chan. Please come here?"

Hopeful blue eyes turned to her. "Can I spend the day with you?"

"Sure, but only if you go back to sleep."

"Will you wake me up when you get up?"

"Of course."

Smiling, the blond scooted over to Rei and cuddled in her arms. Closing her eyes, she allowed herself to fall back asleep.

When she woke up – alone – she pitched a fit. She calmed down when she heard laughter.

"What's wrong, Minako?"

She turned her head toward the sound of the voice and glared. "You didn't wake me up!"

Rei smirked and sat on the edge of the bed beside her irate friend. "I tried."

"You didn't try hard enough!"

"I tried to wake you up but you pushed me off the bed. I decided that it would be best to leave you alone."

Minako blushed. She had heard she was aggressive in the morning, but she had no idea. "I'm sorry."

Rei laughed. "It's fine. I waited for you to wake up, though. I didn't go anywhere so even though you were sleep we were still together."

"Rei you are the sweetest person in the world."

"I know."

"Take a shower with me, Rei."

"I already took one."

"Take another one, then."

"That's superfluous."

"You've been spending too much time with Ami."

"It's unnecessary, Mina."

"But I want to take a shower with you."

"I- Mina..." Rei looked at the pout on her lovers face and sighed. "Mina, stop pouting."

"Why won't you take a shower with me?"

Minako's lower lip trembled and Rei frowned. "Don't you dare cry."

"But Rei!"

"No! I'm not taking another shower!"

"Fine, then. Meanie." Minako stuck her tongue out and gasped in surprise when Rei kissed her.

"Calm down and hurry up. I'm already late because of you."

"Alright, alright. Fine. I'll be ready in fifteen minutes."

Almost 45 minutes later Minako walked out of the bathroom and looked around for Rei. She saw her lying on the bed with her feet hanging off the side. "Rei?"

"You're so slow."

Minako smiled. "Sorry. My hair takes forever to wash."

"Are you finally ready?"

"Yes."

"I'm not going to have time to meditate now."

"I know. I'm sorry."

Rei sat up and looked at Minako, frowning when she saw the top of her blond head. "Hold your head up. You're a warrior."

Minako squared her shoulders. "Yes, ma'am!"

Laughing, Rei stood up and walked to Minako, grabbing her hand. She started for the door, but Minako didn't follow her. She turned to look at her.

"Rei?"

"Yes?"

"Why wouldn't you take a shower with me?"

"Because I already-"

"It's because you don't want me to see you naked, isn't it?"

Rei frowned. "What makes you say that?"

"I've never seen you naked before."

"So?"

"So? Will you ever let me?"

"Mina-"

"No. Answer me, Rei."

"I don't know, Minako. Why are you asking me this all of a sudden?"

"Because we've been sleeping together for months, Rei, and I've never seen you naked."

Rei frowned and let go of Minako's hand. "No one has seen me naked."

"Why not?"

Minako's voice was gentle, and Rei wanted to trust her enough to tell her, but she wasn't ready. "I don't want to talk about it, Mina. It's complicated."

"I don't care how complicated it is. I'll listen."

"I don't want to talk about it. We'd better get going before we're late."

Minako sighed. She hated when Rei was right.

"Rei, where are you going?" Rei had taken an unexpected right turn and was walking away from Minako.

"I'm going to meditate before the meeting starts."

"Without me?"

Rei sighed. "Come on."

Minako grinned and ran up to Rei's side, grabbing her hand.

"I'll probably only be in there for 15 minutes, so you shouldn't get too bored. It's really hot though, so don't get too close."

"It's hot?"

"Yeah. I meditate in front of the fire for an hour a day, usually."

"Wow. That's intense, Rei. Don't you ever get tired of it?"

"I do, but I can't afford to miss a day."

"Why?"

"Well, because of a lot of things. If I don't meditate, I'll have terrible nightmares. Meditating helps me to relax and take control of my mind, body and soul. It also gives me insight into the future, although not with much clarity. If I don't devote a specific time to reigning myself in every day, the fire will punish me for weeks after."

Minako's eyes widened."I didn't know it was so serious."

"It is, but it doesn't bother me anymore. I've been doing it religiously since I was about three."

"Three?!"

Rei nodded her assent. "Pretty much. I took a break for a few months when I was in a fight with my mom and living in the wild but it was torture. I couldn't sleep, I had cold sweats during the day, and I couldn't focus my mind on anything because all I could see was fire."

"You lived in the wild?"

"For a while. I told my mom I wanted to be a senshi and she didn't want to hear it. So I left the castle and lived rogue with my people."

"How did you survive?"

"The same way everyone else on Mars does. You hunt for food, you fight for your life, and you run like hell when you're about to be killed. I could have lived that way forever if I didn't have a commitment to Usagi and my people."

"You had to hunt?"

"Yep. For about 17 months I killed everything I ate."

"Goddess, Rei! You're amazing."

Rei grinned. "I know."

Minako punched her in the arm and laughed.

Rei's smile dissipated when she stopped walking. She slowly reached out her hand and grabbed the doorknob to the fire room. It was perpetually warm.

"Try not to move too much while I'm meditating. I might accidentally kill you."

Minako gulped. "Are you serious?"

"I wish I wasn't. I'm not me when I'm in here. Are you sure you want to go in here with me?"

Minako nodded solemnly. "I do. I won't disturb you."

They entered the room silently. Rei walked directly to the fire, kneeling mere inches away from it. It danced in her face, but she didn't flinch. Minako found a corner as far away from the fire as possible and sat down, crossing her hands in her lap. The room was scorching. Within seconds both of them were wearing a layer of sweat like a second skin. Minako watched Rei from the back as she meditated. Her hair danced around her, coming dangerously close to the fire in front of her. Occasionally, Rei would mumble a few words and scowl, but her face was peaceful most of the time.

Before she knew what was going on, Rei stood and looked at her. "Come on, Mina. It's time for our meeting."

Minako blinked a little and tried to stand, almost falling on her face. Rei caught her and smiled. "Did your legs fall asleep?"

Minako looked down. "I think so."

Rei reached down and picked Minako up, bridal style. "It takes a while to get used to sitting on the floor for so long."

Minako blushed. "Do your legs ever fall asleep?"

"Not anymore unless I get caught up and forget about the time."

"You know what time it is when you're meditating?"

"Not exactly, but just like you have a general idea of what time it is when you're awake, I have the same when I'm unconscious. That's why I can wake up the same time every day."

"I hate saying this but you're kind of amazing."

Rei looked into the eyes of the girl in her arms. "So are you." She smiled seeing Minako's blush. "I'm serious. I train for hours on end to be only half as good at what you do naturally."

"I'm just really lazy..."

"No, Usagi is really lazy. You're gifted, Mi-chan. I wasn't sure what to think when I first heard I had a Venusian as my leader, but I'm glad to follow you, Mina." Rei stopped walking and put Minako's feet on the floor. "Can you walk into the room on your own?"

Minako, who was still blushing from the chivalrous way Rei had carried her and the compliment she had just received took a minute to compose herself before nodding. Rei nodded back to her and they entered the room where Makoto and Ami were waiting for their habitually late Queen and Princess.

After that day, there was almost never a moment when Rei and Minako weren't together. They trained, ate, studied, and slept together unless one of them was busy with work, in which case the other found different ways to occupy her time.

"Who was she?"

"What?"

"Who was the girl you were just with?"

"Which one?"

"The one that was in your room."

"Melissa?"

"I guess."

"What about her?"

"What is she to you?"

"Why?"

"I just wanna know."

"Why do you care?"

"I don't. Just answer me."

"She's some girl from Mars that I met through a friend."

Minako crossed her arms and frowned. She looked the epitome of pissed. "'Some girl from Mars that you met through a friend'? Did you fuck her?"

Rei blinked a few times. "So what if I did? Why does it matter?"

Minako let her hands fall to her sides. It shouldn't have mattered, but it did. It matter a lot. A hell of a fucking lot. "It doesn't. I was just curious."

Rei grabbed Minako and pulled her close, smelling her hair. "You don't have to worry about anything. I didn't fuck her."

Minako sighed. For some reason, she felt much less stress after hearing those words.

"Rei. Rei! Rei, stop!" Minako grabbed the hand Rei had under her shirt, but couldn't manage to move it. Rei's finger's were deliciously distracting.

"No."

"Rei. I'm serious."

"So am I."

"I'm not doing this here!"

"Yes, you are."

"No I am not!"

"I'm not stopping."

"Rei!"

"Minako."

"Reiko!"

"Who?"

"You!"

"That's not my name."

"That's what I want to call you."

"You're giving me a nickname?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Really."

"I've never had one before."

Minako didn't notice Rei's hands had removed themselves from under her shirt. "Really? I've had lots."

Rei grabbed Minako's hand and started walking down the hall. "Like what?"

"I don't want to tell you."

"I already know one of them; the one I gave you, Mi-chan."

Blushing, Minako looked at her feet. "What made you think of that?"

"What made you think of Reiko?"

"I don't really know."

"Me either."

After walking in companionable silence for a while, Minako got restless. "Where are we going?"

"Does it matter?"

Minako took a moment to seriously contemplate her answer. She didn't respond, but silently told herself that if she was with Rei, it really didn't matter where she was going.