Disclaimer: see previous chapter.

A/N: because I've been gone forever and my muse is on cocaine or some other hyper-active equivalent, I figure I'll go ahead and post this. If you're still reading at this point drop me a review. Let me know if I'm terrible :P

A few hours later Makoto found Rei glaring at the carpet and marched up to her.

"What the fuck is your problem, Martian?"

"You wanna leave me alone?"

"Fuck no. You're gonna talk to me and you're gonna talk to me now."

Rei glared up at the Jovian swearing at her and didn't say a word.

"What the fuck did you do to Minako?"

Rei said nothing, determined not to respond.

"Fine, don't talk. I can stare at you all day. Your glare dosn't scare me."

Rei frowned and teleported to her room. She crossed her arms when she saw Makoto was waiting for her. "Leave me alone."

"No. You fucked up, Rei. You need to apologize to Minako."

"I will do no such thing!"

"Yes the fuck you will!"

"I said I won't and I won't!"

Makoto balled her hands up. "You will to apologize! She's in my room crying her goddamn eyes out because of you and you're in here being a dick!"

"You don't know any fucking thing that happened!"

"Then tell me!"

"I don't wanna talk about it!"

Makoto growled and punched the wall behind Rei. "Goddamn it, Rei. You're going to do something to get that crying girl out of my room and make her happy again or I'll beat the living shit out of you."

Rei sidestepped the angry woman and reached for her door. Makoto put her hand on it. "You heard me, Martian. You hurt her and you're going to fix it."

Rei didn't turn to face Makoto. "Do you think she's the only one hurting?"

Makoto didn't move her hand off the door, but her eyes softened. "Tell me what happened, Rei."

Sighing, the raven walked over to the red couch in her room and fell down onto it. Makoto sat across from her in a chair. "What happened?"

"I heard her and Usagi talking about me so I went to talk to her about it."

When Rei didn't continue, Makoto leaned forward, urging for more information. None came. "And?"

"And we got into a fight."

"What did you say to her?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"I don't care. What did you say?"

"I said I don't want to talk about it."

"And I said I don't fucking care! Answer me goddamn it or let her cry on your fucking bed!"

Rei stood up in frustration and grabbed her hair at the root. "I need some time to think! Give me some space!"

"Fuck. No. Tell me. Now."

"I led her on, okay! I shouldn't have because I know it's impossible! I should never have slept with her when we first met! I shouldn't have held hands with her in the hall! I shouldn't have let her sleep in my bed! I shouldn't have let her close to me at all because I knew I would hurt her! I'm no good for her but I wanted her and I got her and now I lost her because I'm a shit hole and no one will ever love me because I don't deserve it!"

Makoto stood up and punched Rei in the chest, knocking her down onto the floor. "Fuck you, you selfish little shit."

Rei held her chest in pain and looked up at her friend. "What the fuck?!"

"Stand up so I can knock you down again."

"No!"

"Someone has to knock some sense into your idiot head."

"What the fuck is your problem?"

"You're the one with the problem, Martian."

"Wha-"

"Rei, you're one of the best people I know. Anyone would be lucky to have your love, but you refuse to give it to anyone because you're fucking scared out of your mind. I didn't have a problem with it before, but you hurt one of my, and more importantly, Usagi's, best friends. Now I have to beat the shit out of you. Stand up so we can have a fair fight. I want to beat your ass legimately."

"What the hell? No!"

"Fine." Makoto stretched her long limbs and cracked her knuckles. "I'll beat your ass with you laying on the floor."

Rei stood up and backed away from her crazy comrade. "I'm not going to fight you."

"Then you had better go apologize for being a dick."

"It's better this way."

Makoto didn't drop her fighting stance as she moved closer to the raven. "It's better for her to be crying her eyes out in my room? Try telling that to Usagi when she finds out."

Rei sighed. Makoto didn't care. Taking the last step she needed to be in range to hit Rei, she gave her final warning. "Rei, go talk to Minako and make her feel better, or I will beat you until you wish you were never born."

Angry purple eyes looked up in defiance. "Try me."

"Reeeeeeeeeiiiiiiiii!"

Makoto stopped puching Rei when she heard Usagi's wail. Rei took the chance to land a final hit on her. Makoto was about to resume her fight when an angry 5 foot princess barged into her room, her face red with anger.

"Goddamn it, Rei! I will send your ass off to the goddamn asteroid belt if you don't apologize to Minako right now!"

Makoto stood up and helped Rei up from the floor. Deciding that she had done enough for the night, she left the room, leaving Usagi to deal with Rei's stubbornness.

"Why should I apologize?"

"Because you made her cry!"

"I did no such thing."

"Then why is she crying?"

"Ask her."

"She said she's crying because of you!"

"She's lying."

Usagi slapped Rei hard across the face. "I don't care how much you've been hurt before, Rei. You will not talk bad about my senshi. Ever.

"What the fuck did you do to her?"

"I didn't do anything she didn't like."

"You obviously did because she's fucking upset."

"I didn't do anything."

"You're going to fix this, Rei. Tonight."

Rei was angry because of the fight she had just lost and her face was still stinging from the slap her princess had given her, so she was being expressly difficult. "I'm not going to do a damn thing because I didn't do anything wrong!"

Usagi didn't care about Rei's temper. Her best friend was distraut and she was going to fix it. "You are such an insensitive asshole! If I could I would beat the shit out of you! Minako is in love with you and you're driving her away for no good reason!"

"You and I both know there's a damn good reason!"

"What happened between us has nothing to do with you and her!"

"What happened between you two?"

Usagi and Rei turned to the door, surprised to find a red nosed Minako standing there. Her voice was faint and hoarse and she looked small; nothing like the warrior she was. Rei and Usagi turned to each other, not sure what to say. Minako entered the room and walked up to Usagi. "What happened?"

Usagi didn't take her eyes off of Rei, knowing how the other woman felt about talking about her past. "Rei?"

Rei had turned away from the blonds and was staring at the wall. "Tell her if you want. I don't care. It's late. I'm going to bed."

Rei immediately turned and walked into her sleeping quarters, closing the door to the social area.

Usagi sighed and looked at her friend. "It has been a long night, Minako. You should go to bed. We'll talk tomorrow."

Minako looked at the floor. "Okay."

Usagi pulled her close and held her. "She won't be easy to tame, Minako, but if you give up now, you'll never get a chance like this again."

Minako leaned down onto Usagi's shoulder, exhausted from crying. "Why should I keep trying?"

Usagi held her away and looked into her friends red eyes. "Because you're in love with Rei and she's in love with you but doesn't believe in you yet. Her trust is hard to earn and easy to lose, but it is the best thing in the universe to have." She pulled her senshi close yet again. "I know it's hard, but you're not alone in this. We're all fighting for you, Mina."

Minako limply wrapped her arms around Usagi's waist. "Thanks, Usa."

"Anytime, Mina."

Minako stared at Rei as she flirted openly with some random woman. "Who the fuck is she?"

"I don't fucking know, but I'm gonna beat the shit outta Rei when we get out of here."

Minako jumped when she heard Makoto. She didn't know that the woman was standing near her, nor that she had asked her question out loud.

"Who is it you're going to be beating the shit out of?"

Minako turned to look at Haruka when she heard her voice. "When did you get here?"

"I've been on the Moon since early this morning. You didn't know I was coming?"

"I had no idea."

"Who is Mako going to be beating the shit out of?"

"Rei."

Haruka turned to look at the back of the Jovian's head at her statement. "For what?"

"She's being a prick."

Haruka laughed. "What is she doing?"

Makoto turned to look at the oblivious Harkua. "She flirting."

The wind senshi frowned. "So what?"

Minako put a hand on Makoto's arm, indicating for her to stop talking. Makoto grumbled and turned to face Rei again.

"It's a long story, Haruka."

"I've got nothing but time."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"You fell in love with her, didn't you?"

"I did no such thing."

"Yes, you did. You're even talking like her."

Minako frowned. She hadn't noticed, but she had picked up a few of Rei's habits over the two years they had been... doing whatever the fuck it was they were doing.

"And now she's over there..."

Makoto decided to finish her sentence. "Asking for a goddamn beat down."

Ami scowled. "Watch your mouth, Makoto. And you and Rei will not fight again. It's bad enough you fought the night before a diplomatic convention."

"You saw what she did to Minako!"

"I'm fine, Makoto."

"You weren't when I beat the crap out of her, and you're not now so I'm going to beat her ass again."

"Stop swearing!"

"I'm fine!"

"I will not and no you aren't!"

Ami grabbed Makoto by the sleeve and pulled her out into the hall, leaving Haruka and Minako.

Haruka shook her head and turned to Minako. "What happened last night?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Too bad. You've never kept a secret from me before and you're not going to start now." Pulling the younger woman to an empty corner of the room, she found a chair and sat in it.

Minako looked at the older woman, sitting backwards in her chair. "Michiru would kill you if she could see you right now."

"Well she can't because she's not here, and you're upset so you're going to talk about why you're upset and nothing else."

Minako sighed. Haruka was like an older sister to her; always there to listen to her problems and give her advice when necessary. Most of the time her advice was "Let me beat his ass," but Haruka was always sincere and always had her best interest at heart.

"We got into a fight yesterday."

"About?"

"About our relationship."

"You two are together?"

"No."

Haruka's brow furrowed. "I don't understand."

Sighing again - Minako noted she had been doing a lot of that lately - she tried to explain. "We're not together, but I want us to be, but she doesn't want to be, so we got into an argument about it and we haven't spoken since."

"Mina, how much do you know about Rei?"

"Not very much."

"You might want to talk to her a bit more before you try to pressure her into a relationship. She has a lot of issues."

"Like what?"

"I have no fucking clue. She just has a lot of problems and she uses women to try and distract herself from them. When she's done with one, she moves on to the next one."

"Yeah, I noticed."

"She did that to you? Let me beat her ass!"

Minako laughed, genuinely. "No, Haruka. I wasn't talking about me."

Haruka hmmed and stroked her chin, feigning thought. "So you've seen her in action, then?"

"A few times, yeah."

"She really is a horrible person. I hate her sometimes."

"Because she's more popular than you are?"

Minako was smiling, but Haruka didn't share her good mood. "No. Because she acts like she's the only person in the universe with problems. I know it's no walk in the park having the weight of a planet resting on your shoulders, but she doesn't have to treat people like shit."

The smile on the Venusian's face dissipated. "She doesn't treat people like shit."

"Then you really don't know a damn thing about Rei. Rumors don't come from no where, Mina. She's a monster."

"She is not! Don't talk about her that way."

Haruka smiled sadly. "You really do love her." Sighing, she stood up and turned to Rei. "I can't kill her because she's a fellow senshi and you and Usagi care about her, but all of that will be damned if she hurts you. I'd tell you to stay the fuck away from her, but you've already fallen in love so I guess I'm a bit too late."

"As if I'd listen to you anyway."

"You wouldn't, but then I'd get to say I told you so before I beat her ass."

"You're not going to beat anyone."

Haruka turned back to the smaller blond, seriousness written on her features. "Minako, I don't give a fuck how you or anyone else feels, and I don't give a fuck who she is. I will fight the entire planet of Mars singlehandedly to protect the people I care about."

"I know, Haruka. I appreciate it, but this isn't your fight. It's mine. I can handle myself."

"Not if you're crying about it."

"How did you know?"

"She made you cry?! I'm going to kill her!"

Minako put her hand on Haruka's arm. "No she didnt. I just-"

"Fuck that! No one gets to make you cry!"

"Haruka."

Haruka froze. Michiru wasn't supposed to be coming to the convention. "Yes?"

"Turn around, love."

Slowly, the wind senshi did as she was told. She gulped when she met the cold eyes of her wife. "Yes, Michi?"

"There will be no fighting, especially not amongst senshi."

"But, she-"

"I don't care, Haruka. There will also be no talk of such things." Michiru stepped closer to Haruka and lowered her voice so no one else could hear her. "You're at a freaking diplomatic relations meeting, and she's the sole representitive for Mars in the entire Moon Kingdom. You're asking for war right now. Remember who you are and what your job is. Calm down and we can both beat her ass later. Together."

Haruka smiled. There was a reason she married Michiru.

Michiru stepped away from Haruka and bowed to Minako. "Hello, Princess Minako. I'm sorry I had to act out of character, but sometimes Haruka gets out of line and I have to check her." She extended her hand to the smaller woman. "It's very nice to meet you again."

Minako took the hand offered to her and shook it. "It's nice to see you again, too, Princess Michiru."

Michiru used the hand she was holding to pull Minako toward her. "I'm not sure what's going on with you and Rei, but I heard about the fight last night. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Good. I won't press you about it now like my tasteless wife did, but if you ever need to talk feel free to find me. I don't mind at all."

Minako smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Michiru, but I'm fine. Really."

Her smile was met with a genuine one. "I know." Looking at her wife, Michiru added, "More than you could possibly think."

Haruka shrugged. "I don't care what you say, I'm not a douchebag like her."

She looked over to see two sets of blue eyes glaring at her and, rolling her eyes, let out a half-assed apology for her language.

Their small talk was brought to a close as Queen Serenity asked for their attention. Taking their seats, they prepared themselves to listen to what she had to say. Minako did a terrible job of it. Rei was sitting beside her and the tension was destroying her inside.

By the time Queen Serenity had finished speaking, Minako felt like her brain had melted. It had only been fifteen minutes.

She looked over at the woman sitting next to her. Rei didn't seem to have done a very good job of listening either, and she was currently playing with the tablecloth in front of her.

Nervously, Minako looked away. She looked back at Rei when she heard her name.

Rei was still looking at the tablecloth, and her hand was still playing with it. "About last night..."

"Don't worry about it. I-"

"I shouldn't have said what I said."

"Neither should I-"

"You didn't say anything wrong!"

Usagi dropped her head between theirs. "This isn't the time or place for this, guys. Try to get through this without being awkward and fix things tonight when you're alone."

Usagi walked away, and, after sitting in silence for a while, they did, too.

Neither made eye contact or spoke, and, just like after their first fight, they weren't on the same side of the room during the entire event. The end couldn't come soon enough for either of them, but neither were prepared for what came after.

"What the fuck are you doing?!"

Haruka didn't say a word as she lunged for Rei.

"Haruka stop it! Stop her, Michiru!"

Rei was barely able to dodge the kick the Michiru aimed at her head, but she couldn't dodge the puch Haruka landed in her kidneys. Rei hit the ground heavily, hurting her knees on the impact.

"What the fuck is wrong with you two?!"

Neither offered an explanation. Michiru did a spin kick, this time connecting with the side of Rei's head. Haruka kneed her in the side.

Rei fell forward onto her hands, genuinely hurting. A boot came up to her chin, causing her jaw to crack. Rei tried to crawl away, but Michiru grabbed her hair and pulled her back to her kneeling position. Haruka took the opportunity to kick her in the gut.

Rei doubled over in pain, leaving some of her hair in Michiru's hand. Coughing up blood, she looked at the two irate women beating the shit out of her. "What- what did I do?"

Minako walked around the corner just as Haruka kicked Rei's other kidney.

"What the fuck, Haruka! Stop it! What are you two doing?!"

Minako ran to Rei and fell to the floor beside her. She gently pulled Rei's head into her lap. "Why the fuck would you do something like this? She's coughing up blood!"

"Let her go so I can beat her some more."

Rei whimpered and scooted away from Haruka's boot. Looking up at Minako, she asked, "Why?"

Minako looked down at her and sighed. "Because she's a nutcase." Looking up at Michiru, she frowned. "How could you let her do this?"

Michiru looked non-plussed. "I helped."

The Venusian's baby blue eyes widened. "What the hell for? Rei didn't do anything wrong!"

Haruka didn't want to hear it. "She made you cry!" Her bellow resonated down the hall.

Minako responded in kind. "So fucking what?! You can't fight someone every time I cry, Haruka!"

"Yes, I damn well can!"

"Goddamn it!" Minako looked down at the bloody Martian in her lap. "Are you okay?"

Rei smiled and gave a thumbs up. She looked creepy, smiling with blood on her teeth, but Minako was glad to see it, anyway.

"Good." She met Haruka's eyes and glared. "And I'm telling Usagi on you!"

Haruka shrugged. "I'm sure she wanted to do the same thing."

Rei grimaced. She didn't like being reminded of the fact that Usagi was mad at her.

Minako took that as a sign that she needed to be examined. Immediately. After taking one more moment to glare at Michiru and Haruka, she teleported herself and Rei to the infirmary.

She left Rei in the care of Ami and went to find Haruka and Michiru.

Ami walked around Rei examining her wounds and letting out small traces of magic every once in a while. She didn't speak until Rei looked like she hadn't been in a fight.

"You've got to stop getting yourself beat up, Rei."

Rei frowned and looked at Ami. "But I didn't do anything!"

Ami frowned back at her. "You seem to be the only person who thinks that, Rei."

"You think I did something wrong, too?!"

"It's none of my business, but yes. I do."

"But-"

"Rei, I've never pried into your business or asked you about anything that makes you uncomfortable, and I don't plan on starting now. But I can't say that I'll continue healing you if you keep making people beat the shit out of you."

"What did I do, Ami? Why do I deserve this? I didn't do any of this on purpose. I didn't make myself defensive; I was born this way. I was trained not to trust anyone. Now, all of a sudden, everyone wants to beat my ass because of it!"

"You involved one of us, Rei. Had it just been a fling then no one would care, but you got emotions involved. You went too far."

"I didn't take it that far, Ami! I was trying to stop, but she didn't want to. It's not fair that I'm the only person getting blamed for what we both did!"

Ami sighed. "You need to tell her everything, Rei. Give her a chance to think. Right now you know more about her than she does about you and that's not fair to her."

"Why should I trust her?"

"Because she's your leader, if for no other reason."

Rei frowned and jumped off the counter she was sitting on. "I trust her with my life, Ami, but not with my heart."

Ami met her eyes levelly. "Then tell her that and leave her alone or get over yourself and give her a chance. You can't have both, Rei."

Rei's frown tightened and she walked to the door, seeing Minako standing there. "Were you listening?"

"A little. I didn't mean to, but-"

"It doesn't matter. We need to talk, though."

Minako looked at the floor and nodded. Silently, Rei started down the hall, and, silently, Minako followed her. Rei suddenly stopped and Minako ran into her back. Without turning around, she spoke. "Mina, what have you heard about me?"

"A lot, but I can't believe any of it."

"What have you heard?"

"That you're a heartless monster."

"What else?"

"That you're a demon."

"What else?"

"That you're a bitch."

"Anything substantial?"

"Rei, I don't care about what I hear about you. I care about what I see. You're one of the sweetest people I know."

"How well do you know me?"

"Not at all."

Rei finally turned around. "Exactly." She grabbed Minako's hands and teleported them to a part of the castle Minako had never seen before. "Mina, what you've heard about me isn't wrong."

Minako shook her head. "I refuse to believe that!"

"But it's true. You haven't known me very long and you've never seen me get angry. There's a side of me that I don't want you to ever know about."

"I want to know all of you, Rei."

Rei smiled. "I know you think you do, but it's too dangerous to get close to me, Mina."

"I don't care about that!"

"Listen to me, Minako!" When Rei was sure she had the smaller woman's attention, she continued. "When I was a kid, my mom was bitter. She hated Venusians and she hated the Moon Kingdom. My dad didn't. He was grateful to Queen Serenity for her benevolence and he passed that on to me. He taught me about the senshi and about the other planets. He taught me about the diverse universe we live in and the kindness of Venusians.

"My mom hated him for it. When I decided I wanted to be a senshi I fought her and won. She kicked me out of the castle and my dad went with me. He, along with the Martians, taught me how to survive on my own. They taught me how to make weapons from nothing and how to fight. They taught me how to hunt and when to run. They made me a warrior.

"When I went back home, my dad talked to Queen Serenity and helped me become a senshi. He taught me how to control my temper and how to focus my energy. I loved him more than anything.

"When I was fifteen, I moved into the castle. I didn't return to Mars until a war broke out almost two years later. When the war was over, I went to see my dad. My mom had shunned him and he was living in the wilderness again. He hugged me and didn't let go. In my ear, he said, 'You look so much like your mother.' I asked him if he was okay and he said he was. I thought he was crying. I was wrong.

"I felt his dick against my stomach and tried to pull away from him. He grabbed my arms and looked into my eyes. For the first time in my life, I was scared. I wanted to run, but he was too strong. I couldn't do anything but cry as he took my virginity. As soon as I got an opening I ran as fast as I could back to the castle. I told my mom what happened and she lost her mind.

"I returned to the moon the next day, but I heard that he had been killed. The thought of being with a man has terrified me since.

"I eventually started sleeping with women. I enjoyed pleasing them. As much as they wanted to touch me, and as much as I wanted to be touched, I couldn't bring myself to do it. I still can't."

Minako felt an odd mixture of saddness, relief, and hope after hearing Rei's story. "Rei?"

Rei looked at her. "Hmm?"

"Come here."

Rei walked over to Minako's arms and laid her head on the blond's shoulder. She blinked when she realized she was in her room. "Why did you bring us here?"

"Lay down, Rei."

Rei sat down on the edge of the bed. "What are you doing?"

"Lay down." Minako had removed all of her clothes and was climbing onto Rei's bed. "Come lay in my arms, Rei."

Rei obliged, but looked confused. "What are you doing?"

Instead of answering, Minako kissed Rei. Parting, she lustfully looked down at her. "Let me love you."

"Mina-"

"You need this more than I do, Reiko."

"I don't think-"

"Stop thinking! You can't live the rest of your life being terrified to love someone, Rei."

"I'm not terrified!"

Minako smiled. "Then let me love you."

"I- I can't..."

Minako shifted so she was on top of Rei. "I need you to trust me, Rei."

Rei went into a panic. "I can't, Minako. I'm not ready for this."

The blond pecked her on the lips. "Relax, Rei. Don't you want to feel good, too?"

"I-"

"You don't have a choice, Rei. I don't want to scare you, but it's not fair for you to not know what you to do me."

"Mina I am not scared-"

"Then what's stopping you?"

Rei frowned. "I'm uncomfortable."

"Do you need a pillow?"

"I need you to move."

Minako pinned Rei's hands above her head. "I can't do that, Rei."

"Minako!"

"Rei."

Rei growled.

"Admit you're scared and I'll move."

"But I'm not!"

"Rei, look at me." Minako waited until Rei's purple eyes met hers. She could see the trepidation there. "It's okay to be afraid. It's not okay to run from your fears. And I'm not going to let you drive me away because of them. I'm going to help you deal with this."

Rei looked at the wall. "I'm not ready."

"You've had almost 300 years to prepare!"

"And I'm still not ready yet!"

Minako would have screamed back at Rei, but the Martian was crying. Instead, she rolled onto her back and pulled Rei against her side. "Finally, you're being honest with me."

They laid there in mostly silence until Rei's breathing evened out. Minako thought she was asleep until she heard a small voice. "When are you going to give up on me?"

"I'm not, Reiko."

Bloodshot eyes looked up at her. "How can you say that?"

"Easily. I'm this close to earning your trust. Why would I give up now?"

"What will you do if you get it?"

"I'll cherish it - and you."

"Mina-"

"Rei, you're a goddess. You're amazing. You deserve to be loved and I'm going to give you what you deserve."

"We have to have children, Mina."

"That doesn't bother Michiru or Haruka."

"But-"

"There are lots of reasons we can give for not getting together, but I want to, and you want to, so why not?"

Rei smiled, remembering when she had said those words to the blond two years prior. "This isn't the same."

"The only difference is the person being seduced."

Rei chuckled. "That's not the only difference."

"You're much more defiant than I was, for sure."

Rei scoffed and laid her head on Minako's bare chest.

"Besides, you owe me."

Rei raised her head to look at Minako. "Who says?!"

"I say. You lied to me."

"When?"

"You told me I wouldn't regret being with you."

"Do you?"

"Sometimes."

Rei looked away. "Sorry."

Minako smiled. "It's fine. I'm just as responsible as you are, like you said."

"How much of that did you hear?"

"It doesn't matter. What matters is here and now."

Rei closed her eyes and listened to Minako's heartbeat. "Did you ever talk to Usa?"

"No, we never got a chance."

"So you still don't know about what happened?"

"Nope."

Rei sighed. Trusting someone was hard for her. "We were together."

Minako sat up, not caring that Rei had gotten comfortable. "What? When?"

Frowning, Rei repositioned her head in Minako's lap. "A little after I first got here. I told her about my past and we made love. She eased my pain."

"What happened?"

"I couldn't let her touch me. I tried, but I couldn't do it. She got upset and we started fighting. I hurt her pretty badly but I caught myself before I could kill her.

"For a long time I couldn't look her in the eyes, but eventually I grew to trust her more than anyone else I know."

Minako grinned. "If you try to fight me I'll beat your ass, Rei."

Rei smiled, knowing it was true. Minako was one of very few people who could beat her without really trying. "I don't want to fight you, Mina."

"I don't want to fight you either, but if it means that I'll get to see you naked I'm not above it."

Rei looked up at the blond, grinning. "That's all you want from me? To see me naked? You Venusians really are perverts."

Minako let her fingers get lost in Rei's hair. "That's not all I want from you, silly. You need to overcome your fear and I want to help you. As your lover and as your friend."

Rei closed her eyes. "I'm still not ready, Mina."

"When will you be?"

Rei simply shrugged.

"Reiko, I told you I would wait forever if you need it and I meant it. That doesn't mean that I'm not going to fight with you about this the entire time, though."

"Then we'll just have to fight."

"Or you could relax and try to trust me."

"I am trying, Mi-chan."

Minako sighed and rearranged herself so she was on top of Rei. "Reiko, close your eyes."

Rei didn't say a word as she closed her eyes. They opened when she felt Minako's lips on her neck. "Mina..."

"Relax, Rei. Close your eyes." Minako's hands grabbed the sides of Rei's hips while her mouth sucked on Rei's collarbone.

"Stop, Mina."

"No."

The blond's hands moved slowly upward; taking Rei's shirt with it. Rei's hands grabbed hers.

"Reiko, I'm trying to do this slowly. I will chain you to the bed if I have to."

Wisely, Rei let go of Minako's hands. "I don't want to do this."

"I don't care."

Minako silenced Rei's protest by kissing her. Breaking the kiss for air, she looked into Rei's eyes before pushing her shirt over her breasts. "Before I see anything, tell me if you really want to do this. If you're really scared, then I'll stop."

Rei knew Minako was trying to trick her by attacking her pride, but she couldn't help it. "I'm not scared."

"Good." Minako's eyes fell onto Rei's bra encased breasts. They were larger than she had thought. Slowly, she moved to kiss the top of them. "Sit up, Rei." As Rei obliged her, she pulled her shirt over her head and unclipped Rei's bra before pushing her back down onto the mattress. Rei didn't say a word, but looked uncomfortable.

"Do you want me to stop?"

Silently, Rei shook her head. Minako pulled her bra straps down her arms and tossed the item to the side. "You're beautiful, Reiko."

Rei blushed, but still didn't say a word. Minako's hands found Rei's hips again as she brought her lips down to an erect nipple, sucking on it gently. Rei wiggled, but didn't say anything. White teeth grazed lightly over the nub and Rei released a small moan.

"Are you okay?"

Rei nodded. "I'm fine."

Minako smiled gently and switched breasts, teasing it for a while before switching back. Her hands came up to play with Rei's breasts while Minako leaned up for a kiss. After seperating, Minako looked at Rei seriously. "Do you want me to keep going?"

Rei looked away, unsure what to say. Minako stopped her movements and waited. Eventually, Rei looked back at her and nodded, but grabbed her hands. "I don't want to hurt you..."

Minako smiled gently. "I trust you, Rei. If you get nervous, just tell me to stop and I will."

"I'm not nervous."

"I know, love."

The blond gently pulled her hands from Rei's grasp and pulled on the button of Rei's pants. She looked into Rei's eyes after pulling down her zipper, checking to see if she was still okay. Seeing no sign of protest, she slid the raven's pants down her legs, tossing them away as she had done her bra and shirt earlier.

She paused again, waiting for Rei to stop her. She didn't. She kissed her way down Rei's stomach, taking her time and letting Rei relax. She smiled when she heard Rei sigh.

Feeling more than seeing Rei's muscles contract, Minako looked up at the older woman. Seeing her face frowning, she stopped her ministrations. "Are you alright, Rei?"

Rei nodded, but looked as if she were almost in pain. "I can stop if you want."

Rei's eyes opened wearily and she smiled softly. "There's no need. I'm fine. Really."

Minako watched for Rei's expression to change, and was elated when she never saw an ounce of fear enter her comrade's features. Deciding it was safe to move on, Minako settled herself between Rei's legs. She glanced up once more and decided to tease the blushing Martian.

"Are you embarrassed, Rei?"

Rei averted her eyes and frowned, determined not to let the blond bother her.

Minako smiled and decided to tease her lover's shy bout later. She lowered her eyes to Rei's panty covered crotch and gulped. She had never touched a woman before and she didn't want to ruin Rei's first time. "Rei..."

Rei looked down at Minako and waited. When she was assured that she would only be met with silence, she spoke. "It's okay to stop if you're unsure about this, Mina. I know you've never done this before either."

Minako looked up, eyes hopeful. "I do want to, but I don't want to ruin your first time."

Rei smiled. "You'll be fine. I trained you."

Minako slapped Rei's leg and looked to the twitching organ in front of her. After taking a steadying breath, she reached up to the top of Rei's panties, pulling down only slightly. She took a confirming look that Rei was okay and slowly eased them off of Rei's legs.

When she had thrown the offending item off to the far side of the room, she looked at Rei, slightly surprised to see her blushing with her hands covering her crotch. "You really do get embarrassed easily."

Rei frowned and looked away again, only to turn back when Minako grabbed her hand. She looked down into serious blue eyes.

"Are you completely sure about this?"

Rei nodded, but didn't move her hand. Minako moved it for her.

The blond moved her face forward so she was just not touching her lover. Rei shivered when Minako's breath caressed her. "Are you sure, Rei?"

Rei shivered again when Minako spoke; her lips would rub against Rei ever so slightly with every word. "I'm sure."

Minako looked down and swallowed again. Tentatively, her tongue licked the length of Rei's crotch. Rei squeaked with the first contact between Minako and her pussy, and arched off of the bed when her tongue grazed her swollen clit.

Minako took a moment to savor her first taste of Rei, but not enough time for the raven to miss her. Her tongue quickly resumed what it was doing: driving Rei crazy. Wrapping her lips around the Martian's clit like she had felt Rei do on her numerous times, she sucked it gently. Rei moaned loudly and buried her hands in Minako's hair. The blond removed her lips from Rei's clit and flicked her tongue over it quickly.

Rei's hands tightened in her hair and Minako doubled her efforts into getting the woman off. Rei's eyes suddenly shot open and she pushed Minako away from her, sat up and curled into a ball.

Minako looked concerned. "Rei...?"

Rei didn't move. Her face was tucked into her knees so Minako couldn't see her expression. Carefully, she put her hand on the other woman's leg. "Rei?"

Shy purple eyes looked up at her, but the Martian still didn't say a word.

"What's wrong?"

"It felt weird."

"Good weird?"

"I- I don't know..."

Rei tucked her face back into her knees; Minako smiled at her. She was adorable. "Can I keep going?"

Rei looked back at Minako and shook her head. Minako grinned. "Scared?"

When she received no reply, she leaned forward and rested her face on Rei's knees. The older woman tentatively glanced at her before looking away. "Rei, kiss me." When the Martian didn't move, Minako moved closer. "Kiss me, Reiko." Minako frowned when Rei ignored her. Deft fingers darted between the space in Rei's legs, attacking her clit. Rei gasped in surprise and looked at Minako.

"Stop it, Mina."

"Then kiss me."

Rei frowned and grabbed Minako's hand. The blonds free hand came up into Rei's view, chain hanging threateningly. Grunting, Rei released the Venusian's wrist and moved out of her reach. "You're not being fair."

"Neither are you!"

"What did I do?"

"What did I do?!"

Rei frowned again and laid down on her side, purposefully keeping her crotch away from Minako. "You're violating me."

Minako gaped. "I can't believe you just said that! Is that how you feel?"

Minako poked Rei a few times when she didn't get an answer. "Do you really feel violated?"

When Rei still didn't move, Minako leaned down over her curled up body and stared into her face. For a while they stared into each other's eyes with Rei curled into a ball and Minako leaning down over her.

Eventually, their lips met, their eyes fluttered closed, and, for the first time in her 347 years of living, Rei had sex.