Author Note: So it's been...what? About 2 years since I last updated? Wow…

Lots has happened since I last updated this story, but literally not a day goes by that I don't think about it and continue to develop it in my head.

The overall story in my mind has remained the same, but it's in the details of how I want to achieve the results that keep changing and causes me to second-guess how to continue. It's maddening sometimes. Because once it's written, it's very hard to un-write it to fit a different direction that might work better. Perhaps it's the cowardice thing, forever avoiding solidifying the ideas. But, on the other hand, the story then can be forever anything and everything without the constraints or permanence of the written word. The struggle is real...

Nevertheless, to be clear, unless something out of the ordinary happens, this story will have an ending, I assure you. Where I want this story to go, we're not even close to halfway through yet!

Thanks to all who have been supportive in your favorites, reviews, and comments. It's been very encouraging these past two years.

Itterasshai = [Japanese] "See you later" or "Have a good time"

Okaeri = [Japanese] "Welcome home"

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 18:

"I had a lot of fun today," Minako said as they walked through the modest lobby of her apartment complex to the elevators. She wore her hair up with her signature red bow and decided on flip-flops, jean cutoff shorts, and a fitted, green tank-top. The straps of her white bikini top peeked out from underneath her tank-top straps. She even expertly covered the bruise on her neck with make-up so well that even Rei forgot it was there.

Rei had opted to wear flip-flops with a flowing white skirt that went to her knees and an off shoulder, red, short-sleeved shirt that showed off the straps to her black bikini that tied around her neck.

They had gone window-shopping by the pier, walked on the beach, took photos in a photo booth, and had a quick dinner at a fast-food restaurant before they arrived at Minako's apartment complex at 9:20pm. All the while, they spent most of the time holding hands, stealing kisses, and enjoying each other's company.

"Mmn, me too," Rei replied with a smile. Not quite ready to leave her side, Rei had offered to help Minako bring her bags up to her 2nd floor apartment, which Minako quickly accepted, also not wanting their time together to end.

"Oh!," Minako exclaimed softly as Rei pressed the call button for the elevator. When Rei turned to look at Minako, the smaller woman had pulled out her phone and was quickly typing a few keys, "I almost forgot to text Usa-neechan," Minako explained. She closed her phone once the sound of a text message being sent was heard, "She turns into a hot, blubbering mess when I don't let her know I got home safe and she starts thinking of the worst."

She giggled as returned her phone to her purse, "She actually almost called the cops when I stayed over at your place on Friday because I didn't text her that I got home after working so late."

Rei chuckled, "You're right, she is like a mother."

At her own words, Rei's chuckling abruptly stopped, "Ah crap," she cursed to herself as she pulled out her phone and tapped a few keys until the sound of a text being sent came from the device. She let out a sigh as she closed her phone and threw it back in her purse, "Thanks for reminding me, that could have been bad."

When her violet eyes looked back at Minako, the gorgeous blonde had a delicate eyebrow raised, "And who's keeping tabs on you, Hino-san?," she asked teasingly.

"…my bodyguard," Rei replied bashfully.

"You have a bodyguard?," Minako responded with surprise.

"Y-Yeah," Rei replied with a shrug as she brought a hand up to rub the back of her neck, "He's like a mother on steroids. Once, in college, I didn't tell him I was planning on studying late in the library and my phone died. He got his team and the campus police to lock down the school while they did reconnaissance. I just happened to be finished studying and walked out of the building right before he tear-gassed the place."

"Wow," Minako giggled as Rei blushed from embarrassment, "And, here, I thought Usa-neechan was bad!"

Ding!

The elevator arrived and both women walked in with Minako's bags. Minako pressed the button for the second floor and the door closed, allowing the elevator to ascend to Minako's floor.

Wrrrrrr….

As they rode the elevator up, both facing the door, Minako blushed.

"I will never be able to look at an elevator the same way ever again," Minako muttered just loud enough for Rei to hear. Rei chuckled,

"I was just thinking the same thing," Rei said softly. She reached out her hand and intertwined her fingers with Minako's.

Minako looked down at their intertwined hands and up to Rei's face, How could this beautiful person be real?, she thought to herself as she studied the taller woman.

Rei, sensing a question in Minako's aura, turned to look at the smaller woman and was met by those sapphires that never ceased to capture her very being.

How can someone like her be real?,she thought to herself. She found herself needing to confirm that the gorgeous blonde standing next to her wasn't a dream and brought her other hand up to touch Minako's cheek.

Staring into Rei's eyes, Minako felt as though the archer was looking right through to her soul. The world around them disappeared and all that existed in that moment was the sound of her heart racing and the beautiful raven-haired woman before her whose eyes reflected all the adoration in the world.

Rei moved in slowly and allowed her eyes to close as she captured Minako's lips in a gentle kiss that echoed the deep emotions she felt for the gorgeous blonde. As their lips touched, Minako closed her eyes and lost herself in the devastatingly beautiful woman.

Wrrrrrr….Ding!

The kiss ended softly and Rei rested her forehead on Minako's, "I believe this is your stop, Mina," she whispered as she caressed Minako's cheek with her fingers.

"Mmn," Minako nodded softly, "Come inside for a bit?"

"Mmn," Rei replied. They opened their eyes and reluctantly let each other go to grab Minako's bags. Minako fished out her keys from her purse and stopped in front of a door with the numbers 212 on it. She unlocked the door and walked in.

Minako's studio apartment was moderate in size with a russet-colored, low pile loop carpeting that covered from wall to wall except in the kitchen and bathroom, which had white, marble-patterned, tile floors. To the left was an open entrance to a small kitchen with chocolate cabinets, white appliances, and a white marble counter-top that matched the floor. A breakfast bar jutted out of the far wall, perpendicular to the front door, separating the kitchen from the rest of the apartment on the right. Two, chocolate barstools were neatly tucked under the breakfast bar and out of the way. In the far, right corner of the apartment, on the same wall from which the breakfast bar came out of, was a wide, white, arched, box sash window with tinted glass that gave a view of the street and the storefronts across the way while simultaneously preventing the outside from looking in, allowing for privacy. The window was half the length of Minako's queen-sized bed, which was pushed into that corner. Covered in white Egyptian cotton sheets and a dark, burnt-orange comforter, the bed sat on a low, chocolate-colored box spring on top of a large, olive-green area rug that framed her bed along with the simple desk and chair that sat at the foot of the bed and had a laptop and small desk lamp. On the wall between the breakfast bar and the desk was a large corkboard that had an artisticly arranged collage of photos and concert ticket stubs tacked to it. The rest of the wall on the right next to the head of Minako's bed consisted of Minako's closet. Across from her bed, closest to the closet, was the bathroom and next to that was a low, wide bookshelf that spanned the rest of the wall towards the front door, which housed various fashion, hair, and makeup magazines with some personal trinkets interspersed between the organized magazines. On that, closest to the bathroom, rested a small, 20" television along with numerous framed pictures, votive candles in small, square, glass vessels, and a cute, white, cat plush doll which leaned against the television.

"Tadaima," Minako called into the apartment as she opened the door.

"You say that when you come home, too?" Rei asked as she shut and locked the door behind her.

"Mmn," Minako nodded as she took off her shoes and continued into her studio apartment, "It's an old habit. When Usa-neechan and I were younger, most of the time our mom would still be at work and the house would be empty when we would leave and come home after school. So we used to take turns on saying 'ittekimasu' and 'itterasshai' when we left or 'tadaima' and 'okaeri' when we came back."

She chuckled softly to herself, "Now, even though I know no one's home, I still find comfort in doing it-ahh!"

Minako yelped softly in surprise as a pair of strong arms wrapped around her midsection from behind, pulling her into a warm embrace.

"Okaeri," Rei whispered in Minako's ear as she rested her head on Minako's shoulder. She nuzzled her face into Minako's hair, breathing in the scent of strawberries. She felt Minako's aura tint with longing and nostalgia and held her tighter.

"Mataku, Rei-chan," Minako sniffed as she brought a hand up to wipe a stray tear from her eyes. She shifted in Rei's embrace to turn and face the beautiful raven-haired woman. Rei couldn't help but become captivated by Minako's piercing sapphire gaze. Minako wrapped her arms around Rei's neck and placed a gentle, lingering kiss on her lips.

"Thank you," Minako whispered sincerely when she ended the kiss. She slid her arms in between them and wrapped them tightly around Rei's body. She nuzzled her face into the crook of Rei's neck, breathing in the scent of vanilla, as she brought the taller woman into a closer embrace. Rei brought one of her hands up to stroke Minako's silky, gold tresses.

"Stay," Minako whispered, "Please…stay with me tonight. I don't want to be apart from you."

"Mmn," Rei replied softly, "I'll stay until you fall asleep. I know you have to get up early tomorrow."

"Mmn," Minako compromised. She placed a chaste kiss on Rei's neck and pulled away, "I'm going to get ready for bed then. Make yourself at home, ok?" She brought a hand up to stroke Rei's cheek with the back of her fingers. Rei closed her eyes and leaned into the touch. She felt Minako's fingers and aura slowly leave her as the gorgeous blonde gently broke out of the embrace and headed towards the bathroom. Rei opened her eyes as the bathroom door closed. She sighed and looked around the apartment.

Other than the knick-knacks and framed photos that made the apartment distinctly Minako's and reflected her personality, it reminded Rei so much of her room back at the shrine and she felt a strong sense of nostalgia and comfort from its simplicity, I wonder if Mina would want to come with me to visit the shrine, she thought casually.

She turned and knelt down to peruse the framed photos Minako had on the bookshelf. Most of them had a younger version of her and Usagi in what looked like blue and white sailor outfits, obviously uniforms for the high school they attended. In some of them, Ami made an appearance with the same high school uniform. Rei smiled, thinking of how they all looked so happy and young in those photos. What caught Rei's eye attention was that Minako's hair was down in all of them and she would more often than not flash a confident 'V for Victory' sign with her fingers in her photos.

She stood up and casually turned around to walk towards the corkboard on the opposite wall. These photos had a more mature-looking Minako, how she was now, with the signature red bow she always wore in her hair and in white blouses and black pleated skirts, which was her college uniform. These photos mostly had Usagi and Michiru in white blouses and navy pencil-skirts, signaling a different college uniform. Haruka also made appearances in some of those photos wearing a forest green suit, white dress shirt, and maroon tie, also signaling a different college uniform. She smiled at how happy Haruka and Michiru looked together in the photos and with their friends.

After looking at the photos, she decided to lie down on the queen-sized bed to wait for Minako. She layed on her back, hands folded behind her head, and closed her eyes, deciding to pass the time by meditating.

Rei continued to wait patiently for Minako to come to bed as she heard her come out of the bathroom and shuffle around the apartment. She soon felt the bed shift and legs straddling her, while a warm aura hovered over her body. Soft strands of hair tickled her face as she felt Minako lower herself on top of her, lying the length of her body, and gently kissing her on the lips. Minako's lips coaxed Rei to deepen the kiss, which Rei gladly did. Their tongues danced gently together, feeling every sensation, and Rei could feel Minako's aura slowly turn into a gentle, low flame. Not an urgent flame of passion or desire, but something softer, meaningful, deeper. She brought her arms up to wrap around Minako and was surprised to find soft bare skin underneath her fingers.

Rei ended the kiss gently and opened her eyes to look at Minako. She smirked playfully, "You usually go to bed naked or am I just lucky?"

"Both," Minako replied with a playful wink, "I actually prefer to sleep without clothes. I like being free to move around."

"Naked child," Rei teased as she playfully smacked Minako's behind.

"You like me this way, ecchi," Minako teased back as she yawned softly. She gently rolled off of Rei and climbed under the covers to lie on her side, her back towards Rei. Rei stayed on top of the covers and waited for Minako to settle in before shifting closer to envelop her in a spoon.

"Mmmm," Minako sighed contently. Rei watched Minako's aura dim slightly as all auras did when its owners were falling asleep.

"I like you a lot, Rei-chan," Minako said, though Rei could tell she was quickly slipping into slumber. "I really like you," she continued, her speech slurring slightly from drowsiness, "I don't want to lose you. Please, don't leave me."

Rei kissed her lightly on the shoulder, "I'm right here, Mina. I'm not going anywhere."

"Hmm?," Minako said sleepily. Her aura brightened slightly, "Did you say something, Rei-chan?"

Rei chuckled softly, "Good night, Mina."

"Mmn, good night, Rei-chan," Minako whispered before falling asleep, her aura dimming. Rei watched Minako for a bit silently.

"Mina?" Rei whispered after a while. When Minako's aura didn't change, she cuddled closer.

"Mina, I promised I'd be honest with you," Rei whispered softly, "The truth is, I don't know if I like you. In fact, I'm pretty sure that I don't."

She took a deep breath to steady herself, "If…If I'm being totally honest, Mina…I…I think I'm…I think I'm falling in love with you."

Minako continued to fall further into a deep peaceful sleep in Rei's embrace.

Author Note: It's small, I know. But I hope it's to your liking. I'll try to update a little sooner!

Fun Fact:

2nd Floor – Which planet is 2nd from the sun? ;)

Apt 212 – Shortened version of the word most associated with Venus.

Constructive feedback/reviews would be greatly appreciated.

(updated 05/2015)