Author Note: And here is Chapter 6!
Ecchi = [Japanese] A slang for "dirty" or "naughty"
I don't own Sailor Moon and have tried to the best of my ability to site my references.
Takeuchi, N. (1991). Sailor Moon. Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan: Kodansha Ltd.
Chapter 6:
Once inside, Minako took off her shoes and placed them to the side while Rei closed and locked the door.
"So, do you make it a habit of memorizing clients' addresses, Aino-san?," Rei asked with a teasing smirk.
"Please, I'm not at work anymore. Call me Minako," Minako replied, "And, no, this is a first for me so you should feel very special, Hino-san," she added coyly with a wink.
"Rei, please," Rei said as she approached the intriguing blonde, "And, yes, I do feel special. It's definitely a pleasant surprise."
"Not much of a surprise if you knew I was coming," Minako said sarcastically with a playful tone.
"Well, usually towards the end of the day, my ability to focus or control my senses weakens," Rei explained, "I felt a presence coming but I wasn't able to pick up that it was you until you were near my door."
"That's still pretty impressive, Rei-chan," Minako complemented matter-of-factly as she held up the velvet pouch to Rei.
Rei…chan?, Rei noted to herself with a raised eyebrow. In all her 22 years, no one has ever referred to her with that honorific before. But she found herself quickly taking a liking to it since it was coming from the gorgeous blonde. She shrugged and took the velvet pouch Minako offered and pulled out the bottle.
"It was a gift from a friend," Minako explained, "I've never had it before, but I heard it's good."
"It is. Your friend has good taste," Rei said, examining the bottle in her hands, "It's actually one of my favorites also. I'll put it in the freezer so it can chill and we can enjoy it in a bit. Please, come in."
Minako followed Rei into the living room and was pleasantly surprised to find Rei's place simple and modest, save a huge television over her fireplace that seemed oddly out of place while, simultaneously, fitting right in. She leaned against the breakfast bar of the kitchen while Rei went to the fridge and put the bottle in the freezer. Minako admired the raven-haired woman from behind and the way she moved her body so smoothly and elegantly. Minako continued to study her as Rei shuffled to the left and pulled out two, ceramic sake cups from a cabinet.
"So," Minako said once Rei had turned around and set the cups out on the breakfast bar in preparation, "Can you show me around?"
"Ummm...sure," Rei said hesitantly, "I mean, there's not really much to show. This is the kitchen and...behind you is the living room," she then gestured to her left and followed the room along the wall, clockwise, as Minako followed her explanations and looked around the condo from where she stood, "That's the dining room...balcony...that door to the right of the fireplace is my bedroom...guest bathroom...my office...and the door in the entry-way near the front door is the laundry room."
"You have a really nice place," Minako nodded once Rei finished. Returning her inviting, cobalt gaze to the taller woman, she said in a low, suggestive tone, "Would you mind…showing me your bedroom? I'd really like to see it."
Rei's eyes widened slightly and her cheeks turned a slight shade of pink as her heart began racing nervously. Being a private person by nature, and partially due to her career, not only was this the first time she allowed anyone other than those she considered family into her place, it was the first time anyone she found remotely attractive was in her place, And she's asking to see my bedroom!? Shit! What the fuck do I do!?
Minako, seeing the slight panic in Rei's eyes, let out a small, melodic giggle, "Don't worry so much, Rei-chan!," she teased, "I just want to see your place, that's all. What were you thinking, ecchi?"
Rei, realizing she was again the butt of Minako's teasing, was relieved and subtly released the breath she didn't realize she had been holding. She quickly recovered and, feigning annoyance, flicked her hair behind her shoulder with her hand and began marching confidently towards her bedroom, "Whatever. It's just a bedroom. Nothing special."
Minako giggled at Rei's attempt to act nonchalant and found it to be absolutely adorable. She quickly followed the beautiful woman for the bedroom tour.
Given the décor of the rest of the condo, Minako was surprised to see the massive, four-poster bed in the bedroom, I don't remember seeing anything other than women's shoes near the door, she thought to herself, Hmm...I wonder…
"Wow, your bed is huge! It looks so comfy," she said cheerfully as she quickly left Rei's side and walked over to sit down casually on the edge of the bed, "It's really soft, too!," she said as she looked towards Rei, who had crossed her arms and was calmly leaning against the doorway. Though her exterior was calm, Minako could see a hint of nervousness in her intense, amethyst eyes that were trained on Minako warily,
"So, would your boyfriend be upset that another girl was in your bed, or would he be into that?," Minako asked teasingly.
Rei rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Though men are generally tolerable, I find them to be highly irritating."
"I see," Minako replied as she giggled at Rei's reaction. She smiled inwardly, Well, at least I can cross 'boyfriend' off the list! But such hostility! I wonder if she had a bad breakup with some jerk recently.
"Ok then, how about your girlfriend?," she continued to tease playfully, "She'd probably throw a fit knowing you let a gorgeous blonde into your bedroom, huh?"
At this, Rei blushed slightly and suddenly found the floor interesting to look at.
Oh no, Minako thought as her heart sank. Though she was known for shamelessly flirting and enjoyed the company of men and women alike, she did have moral standards and being 'the other woman' or a 'home-wrecker' was definitely not one of them. She sighed disappointedly, Of course she'd have a girlfriend. How would anyone as beautiful as her not?
She stood up, intending to apologize to Rei for coming over and say she should be heading home.
"I-I…," Rei managed to utter through her embarrassment as she continued to look at the floor, catching Minako's attention, "I don't…I don't have a girlfriend."
"…O-Oh?," Minako attempted to go for 'surprised' since she was having a hard time hiding her elation over this new piece of information, Sweet! Game on!
Regaining her confidence, Minako softly cleared her throat and composed herself. She sauntered towards Rei and placed a finger below her chin, tilting her head up until their eyes met, "I find that really hard to believe, Rei-chan."
Rei could only stare into the oceans of sapphire that were only inches from her, almost hypnotized by their beauty, until a realization came to her. Was it just her imagination or was Minako…moving closer? Her eyes widened ever so slightly as Minako slowly tilted her head to the side, her eyes slowly closing as she moved closer. Rei's heart began pounding in her ears and her breath became shallow.
At the last second, Minako avoided Rei's lips and, instead, went to her ear, "I think the sake's ready now," she whispered. She giggled softly as she stepped back from the flushed, taller woman.
After a few seconds, Rei caught her breath and smirked as she shook her head, "You are such a tease," she said to the blonde who was still giggling to herself.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Rei-chan," Minako said innocently as she stuck her tongue out playfully at Rei, "But if I was teasing you, I think it would be really fun. You're really cute when you blush."
"M-Mou, Minako!," Rei couldn't help but whine with slight exasperation. She knew people called her many things: attractive, cold to most, graceful, athletic…But cute!? Rei huffed at Minako's teasing and turned to head towards the kitchen, Mataku, this woman! We just met and she already knows how to push my buttons!
Rei smiled slightly to herself though, unable to deny that she was actually enjoying the gorgeous blonde's company and not just her looks.
A pair of arms gently wrapped around Rei's midsection from behind. Rei hesitated as she felt the smaller woman press up against her back in a soft embrace, resting her head on her shoulder. Rei could only stare distantly forward, eyes wide and glazed over as Minako's intense orange-gold aura coursed through her with a soft warmth of...Honesty? Sincerity? She was becoming lost in the warm emotions that were being emitted from Minako's heart.
It…It almost feels like her warmth, Rei absently thought to herself before falling into it, surrendering to its intensity.
Minako smiled as she noted that Rei didn't use an honorific on her name. She had always had an honorific attached to her name, no matter how close the person was to her. Even her sister, her twin sister, called her 'Mina-chan' their 21 years together. She found herself liking the sound of her full name, free from social regulations, especially coming from Rei's smooth voice.
"I'm sorry, Rei-chan," Minako said kindly, "I didn't mean to make you upset. I know I sometimes have a tendency to tease too hard. But I really mean it, you're cute when you blush. It makes you seem…human. I mean, what I'm trying to say is you're so beautiful that it's almost unreal. I…I kind of like seeing that side of you."
It was Minako's turn to blush slightly. Her usual m.o. was teasing and flirting and usually never shared her feelings so honestly and openly unless it was with those closest to her like her sister or Karin.
Huh...I wonder where that came from, she causally though to herself. Though she was slightly perplexed by her actions, it felt…right…so very right. As she embraced the taller woman, she noted how their bodies fit together so perfectly, almost as if they were made for each other. They stayed that way for a little bit until Minako felt something wet hit her arm.
"Rei-chan?," Minako asked. She quickly released the taller woman who stumbled forward as if just catching herself from tripping.
"Rei-chan! Are you ok?," Minako asked with worry. She quickly grabbed Rei's shoulder to help steady her and felt the taller woman stiffen. She stepped around to look at Rei and was surprised to find a wet trail leading from one of Rei's violet eyes down her cheek.
"Rei-chan! What's wrong!? Did I-," Minako was silenced by a finger Rei brought up to rest lightly on her lips.
Minako was shocked when she finally took in Rei's appearance. Her eyes were dull and slightly glazed as she looked blankly at the smaller woman. But even then, Minako could see something deep within them. It was almost as if Rei was struggling somehow to fight the haziness from her eyes.
Rei slowly brought up her free hand and rested it on the hand Minako had placed on her shoulder. Gently, Rei slid Minako's hand off her shoulder. Almost immediately after Minako's hand was removed, Rei closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. She shook her head slightly and opened her eyes again to look at the blonde. The haziness had disappeared and her eyes returned to their intense, amethyst color. A soft smile pulled at the corner of Rei's lips as she slowly allowed her finger to fall from Minako's lips.
"What…What happened?," Minako whispered with concern.
"You," Rei said softly, "You…happened to me."
Minako looked at Rei with a mix of worry and confusion as Rei took a breath and let it out slowly. A small chuckle followed as Rei brought her hand up to wipe the wetness from her cheek and rub her eyes, "Wow...that was like a perfect storm of coincidences," she said mostly to herself.
"Rei-chan?," Minako said cautiously, "I don't understand."
"Sorry," Rei replied, "Ummm...Remember how I told you that close proximity or direct contact allows me to tap into someone's aura easily?," Minako nodded, recalling the conversation they had at Kirei.
"Well, when it comes to direct contact," Rei continued, "The wider the area of contact, the more intense the connection is between me and someone's aura. Usually I can still function while it's happening and I still have my own thoughts and emotions, but I also end up experiencing the emotions of the other person in addition to my own. Sometimes it can get really overwhelming and draining for me. When it comes to new people I just meet, their aura's are especially strong for me and I need time to adjust to them. Because of that, I don't usually allow others to get that close to me. I mean, a hand resting on my shoulder or something like that at first is ok while I adjust to someone new."
Rei blinked a few times once she was finished rubbing her eyes and looked up as if deep in thought, "How do I explain it? It's almost like…trying to get into a steaming hot tub. If you just jump in, you could burn yourself. But if you slowly get in, you body can adjust to the temperature."
Her gaze returned to the smaller woman and she smiled softly, "So, because you hugged me and we just met, the connection was intense from the start. And it just so happens that your aura is…especially intense. On top of that, because it's late, I couldn't really control myself. So, while you were hugging me, I couldn't help but…fall into you, so to speak, and I got…caught up in you."
She averted her gaze to the floor and scratched her cheek absently, "When you let go and put your hand on my shoulder after that, the connection was still intense enough that even that was overwhelming. So, I had to break it to come back to myself."
She smiled apologetically as she looked at Minako sheepishly, "I don't know if any of that made sense. But, anyway, I'm sorry for scaring you and brushing your hand away."
"N-No…I'm the one who should be apologizing, Rei-chan," Minako said in a concerned tone, "I'm really sorry, I…I didn't know."
"Of course you didn't, Minako. How could you?," Rei said comfortingly, "Don't be sorry, please. I…I actually really enjoyed feeling your aura. It was nice, just…intense."
Mesmerizing, actually. Like freefalling into warm sunlight, Rei thought fondly.
"But I…I hurt you...I made you cry," Minako said as she bit her lip and hung her head guiltily. She heard Rei take a deep breath and felt a hand gently caress her cheek. Minako's eyes widened and quickly looked up at Rei with concern. Rei's eyes were closed tightly, her brow was furrowed, and she was taking slow and deep breaths.
"Guilt…sadness…concern…fear," Rei whispering softly in between breaths. Minako was confused at first but then it quickly dawned on her: Rei was vocalizing Minako's emotions, "Confusion…realization…," Minako's eyes softened as she watched the beautiful, raven-haired woman's face begin to calm and relax. She closed her eyes and leaned into Rei's touch, focusing on Rei's hand. Though Minako couldn't see it, a smile crept on Rei's face, "Understanding…compassion…kindness." Rei reluctantly let her hand drop slowly from Minako's face. Both women opened their eyes at the same time.
"Looks like you understand how it works," Rei said with a soft smile. She spoke slowly, trying to formulate words to explain herself, "Yes, I did tear up from our connection, but…they weren't tears of sadness. Actually, I was…touched by what you said…and what you were feeling. The tears just came on their own."
"Mmn," Minako said softly, "I think I get it now." She smiled sincerely, "You really are fascinating, Rei-chan."
"I'm glad you think so," Rei replied with a hint of flirtation, "Because I find you exquisitely intriguing. Come, let's continue in the kitchen. I'd like to get to know you more…Minako."
"Mmn," Minako nodded. She followed Rei to the kitchen where Rei grabbed the now chilled bottle from the freezer and the two sake cups from the breakfast bar. The two women situated themselves at a corner of the dining room table, toasted, and began getting to know each other.
Author Note: Another fairly small chapter.
This entire scene in Rei's condo is pretty long. Chapter 5 and 6 seemed to be easy, natural break-points for chapters even though it did end up making the chapters kind of small.
But, for now, constructive feedback/reviews would be greatly appreciated!
(updated 09/2013)