Cat Onesies and Compromise
Thanks to VenusUnchained for checking my ideas in regards to the fic's conception and Minako x Kunzite dynamic. For AdriannaSharp who's a good friend and going through a rough time. I enjoyed writing this! I hope this fic cheers you up.
Ever since junior high, Minako had always thought matching couple outfits were tacky, but she always enjoyed couple costumes. Although Halloween was months away, taking a page from Ami's book and doing early planning didn't seem to hurt. Had Ami been there, she would've argued that this kind of planning was frivolous and not productive in any kind of way. Minako didn't care. It was the start of the weekend. She wanted a fun distraction. While she was scrolling through Amazon for couple costumes, she came upon a cute identical pair of light blue cat onesies.
Minako's midnight blue eyes lit up at the sight of the couple onesies. She looked over at her husband, Khaled, who was engaged in watching the news on the other side of the black leather sofa as he was dressed in a white t-shirt and gray sweatpants, and his left leg was bent over his right. His left arm was propped over the arm of the sofa and his fingers were held in a loose fist that touched his cheek as he stared intently at the big, flat television screen.
Minako's eyes looked over Khaled's figure. Her significant other had a bronzed complexion, eyes as silver as molten coins, white hair that went down to his shoulders with silvery highlights. Part of his charm was that even though he was a man that lived his life by the book, his silver ring earrings and his slightly long hair suggested otherwise. With the t-shirt he was wearing, it revealed his chiseled figure nicely.
The blond woman tilted her head in his direction with a mischievous look as she said "Khaled?~" in a whimsical tone.
"…Khaled?"
"Khaled?!"
"What?!" He gave a booming response as he looked back at her.
Minako was taken aback for a minute, but her brain inappropriately thought regarding his loud, husky voice. "Oh, God, he's so sexy…"
She shook her long, golden locks and her red bow tying back long strands of her hair fluttered in the air as she did so to pull herself together.
The silver-haired man raised a questioning brow as he wondered what could be on her mind for her to shake her head so vigorously. Another inappropriate thought about him perhaps?
She gave a bright smile to him. "Anyways, look what I found."
She raised her orange phone before his face, and he flatly replied. "No."
"But I haven't even asked you yet!"
"I know what you want to ask me Minako, and the answer is no."
She immaturely puffed up her face despite being an adult and leaned back her hand as both arms were bent but her right hand held her phone while the other was in a fist. "Oh, come on, lighten up! Don't you think this is cute?"
"No, I don't think this is cute. Forcing me to wear this is an unbearable farce."
Minako knelt on the couch to passionately plead her case. "Oh, come on! We always wear mature stuff around Halloween, why not change it up, I'll be wearing it with you.~"
Khaled suddenly imagined his close friends: the black-haired, blue-eyed Mamoru, Nicholas otherwise known as "Nick", the wavy-haired brunette whose hair went down to part of his shoulders with reddish brown eyes, the blond, blue-gray eyed Ji-Min, and the sandy blond with apple green eyes who had his hair in a ponytail that went down to his upper back, Zacharie laughing at him in a light blue cat onesie.
He sweated at the imaginary scene. "No."
She knew him just as well as he knew her so even without knowing what he imagined, she added "Why are you so worried about what people think of you?!"
"Minako stop, you're getting too loud over this trivial matter. This conversation is over." Khaled replied curtly.
Minako pouted but didn't retort given his firm tone.
"Hmmph!" She then began stomping off away from the couch.
It was moments like this that proved that they were a rather odd couple. She was so exuberant while he was so serious. Their differing natures led to some little spats like these at times.
She grinned mischievously as an idea came to her. Just because he refused to wear it doesn't mean that he could prevent her from buying it. She put in her shopping cart on her Amazon Prime account, and it was due to arrive tomorrow.
~Sunday~
Khaled was displeased when he saw an Amazon employee deliver him a package addressed to Minako. He knew exactly what was in that box. She had just gone ahead and bought the cat onesies even though he wasn't willing to wear the other one. By buying the damned onesies, she was plotting to make him wear the accursed thing in a roundabout way.
Khaled could just see it in his head. Minako would give him big puppy eyes and ask "Please wear it? I bought it with my own money! I know you probably think it's a waste of money but if you wear it then it doesn't have to be!"
He sharply inhaled through his nostrils before yelling "MINAKO!"
The ends of the tendrils of Minako's hair curled up out of fear. She wasn't planning to leave her spot on the couch any time soon.
Khaled held the package in his hands and while the sight would've made her happy. The chilling, stern expression on his face terrified her to her very core.
"…Minako. I told you I did not wish to wear this imbecilic thing."
Minako cheerily retorted even as she sweated. "You never said I couldn't buy it!"
"What is the purpose of the second one in the package then?"
"How do you know if you haven't opened it yet?" Minako continued speaking in a cheery tone.
"Do not take me for a fool, Minako." Khaled's somber tone became more chilling.
Minako huffed. "Ok, fine! I'll open it up!"
However, this was only delaying the inevitable… Once Khaled saw the matching pair of cat onesies, he was going to be so pissed at her…
After she grabbed the box cutter, she opened it up in front of him then lifted one of the cat onesies wrapped in plastic with a grin, but he investigated the box then he furrowed his brows. He glared at her with a cold intensity that made her visibly start to shiver.
"MINAKO!"
Khaled pinched the bridge of his nose as he started to breath in and out to help him calm down. Minako sullenly looked at the box because of how angry he was at her.
After the intensity of Khaled's breath work started to audibly lessen, he looked at his wife and said "You knew I wasn't going to wear this idiotic…"
"It's not idiotic!" Minako protested.
"…And yet, you still decided to waste money in an attempt to rope me into wearing this thing." He furrowed his white brows.
"It's my money and I wasn't going to rope you into wearing it." Minako retorted stubbornly before pushing the pads of her index fingers against each other as she pouted and said "I was going to convince you to wear it for me…"
He exhaled. "Still, didn't you think about my feelings? I told you; I'm not planning on wearing this thing for Halloween!"
"You haven't even given it a try and you're making such a big deal out of it!"
"Because you are also making a big deal out of it!"
"What about my feelings huh?"
"Minako, you are doing this just to make me look like an idiot."
Minako was taken aback at that statement. After recovering, she replied "No, I thought the cat onesie was cute and that it would be cute for you to try this and to shake things up a bit, what's wrong with that? You're not someone who cares about how others think of you."
"Not everyone enjoys having others laugh at them."
That did it.
The blond woman raised her hands in the air as she exploded. "FINE! If you just wanna be a stubborn jerk who doesn't care my feelings, then I'm LEAVING!"
She stomped off to their bedroom and locked the door.
Ugh, she couldn't stand him. She couldn't stand being anywhere near him. Why did he have to be so selfish? Why couldn't he see things from her point of view? Why couldn't he just laugh along instead of being so worried about how others viewed him? Naturally, her husband was someone who dressed to impress but why couldn't he just lighten up?
Minako sat cross-legged on her king-size bed which was red with matching pillows and the blanket the same color as she went through her phone and tried calling her friends to see if any of them would hang out with her. She didn't want to bother Ami who was probably working at the hospital and Makoto was working at her bakery and flower shop. Usagi usually had free time or at least always made time for fun.
She tried calling Usagi, but her call went right to voice mail. She then tried calling Rei. The call went through, so it gave her a glimmer of hope.
~At the Supermarket~
A raven-haired woman whose hair was done in a bun with amethyst eyes dressed in a white suit dress and wearing a pearl necklace picked up her red cellphone as she stood behind a red shopping cart next to the aisle for frozen goods. "Hello, Minako, what is it?"
"Oh Rei-chan, do you have free time? Do you think we can hang out today?"
"I'm sorry, I'm at the supermarket right now. Why don't you call Usagi-chan?"
Minako pouted which made her cheeks puff up. "I tried but the call went to voicemail."
"Ah, that means she's on a movie date with Mamoru-san, right?"
Rei looked contemplative as her eyes looked up while speaking. "Mmm. Then, why don't you spend some time with Khaled, he should be at home with you, isn't he?"
"I DON'T WANT TO BE WITH HIM RIGHT NOW!" She yelled at her orange cellphone held in her right hand.
Minako angrily hung up right after her outburst.
Rei closed her eyes and indignantly pouted as she remarked out loud. "Hmph, they must've gotten into an argument."
Minako screamed loudly at her orange phone placed on her bed with her arms bent and hands balled into fists. "You can't just keep canceling on me!"
Not that she had made any plans with her friends in the first place.
~Later~
Hours passed but Minako was still lying on her side, in her green pajamas with a sunflower pattern and yellow trims on her sleeves, and continued to sulk. Khaled was in the living room but the time apart from each other had given him some perspective. He had been concerned about his own dignity and persistent on having things his way that he didn't really think about her feelings at all. He exhaled, knowing that there was only one way to make amends…
Minako heard a knock on the door. "Go away Khaled." She stared at the cream bedroom wall.
Khaled exhaled as he lowered his eyelids and softly said. "…Minako, can we please talk? You can't stay in there forever, it's almost dinner time."
Minako slowly opened the door and her eyes got big at the sight before her. Her husband was actually wearing the light blue cat onesie! Her lips curved up before bursting into giggles with her eyes closed as she held her stomach.
Khaled looked up at the ceiling as he replied in an impassive tone. "See, people are going to laugh at me."
But his lips also curved into a small smile because the sweet sound of her laughter was worth it.
Minako straightened her back, reopened her eyes, then vigorously shook her head. "No, no, it's really cute. But it's ok, cause' we'll be matching right?"
The smile hadn't left his face as he replied. "As you wish."
She pulled her husband into an embrace. "Oh, Khaled, you're the best."
He put his hands over her lower back then chuckled. "Even when I'm being a stubborn jerk?"
Her smile grew wider, and her cheeks blushed as she looked at him. "Only because this stubborn jerk loves me and takes care of me like no other."
She looked a bit somber. "Will you forgive me for buying the thing to make you wear it and calling you a jerk?" Minako cheekily added. "It was still worth buying the cat onesies though."
Khaled chuckled. "Of course, as long as you forgive me for not considering your feelings and being stubborn about the whole thing."
Minako held him a bit tighter. "There's nothing to forgive."
After a moment, Khaled said "Well, if you'll excuse me. I hate to break this up, but I should get changed so I can cook dinner. We wouldn't want this to get dirty so soon."
Minako smirked. "Oh? Why don't we get dirty then."
Khaled smirked. "We can do that later."