Hello good people! I've wanted to write a PGSM Rei/Minako story for a while and this idea just sort of happened one fateful day. I'll update when I can because working out how to get these two blockheads to admit their feelings for each other gives me the best kind of migraine.

Hope you enjoy it.

CRAB APPLES

CHAPTER ONE

Hino Rei did not understand. Not even a little bit. She was sitting in a restaurant opposite her father at their usual monthly meeting, speechless with rage, her blood edging its way to boiling point.

Back at the graveyard that day, she had thought the two of them had reached a new understanding, a different phase of their relationship. For all her priestess duties, she had humoured him over the years that followed: agreed to his lunches, even attended the occasional interview or appearance with him. All in all, she had tried not to cause him needless trouble in spite of her desire to remain out of his spotlight… so to ask this of her? After all she had done? She stared at the business card in disbelief, her thumb and forefinger gripping it so tightly that its corner crumpled.

"You can't do this," she said.

"Kaidou-san is a young up-and-comer in the LDP," Hino Takashi explained evenly. "It would benefit both of you to consider a relationship."

"You mean it would benefit you," Rei accused lowly.

"Rei," Takashi said, "you are an unattached eighteen-year-old woman. To go on one date with an associate of mine – a rich, intelligent, good-looking man widely regarded to be a good catch – is not much of a request. Any other daughter would beg me to set this up."

Rei rocketed up from the table. She felt the eyes of other diners upon her and the restaurant hushed like someone had hit the volume button. "I refuse to prostitute myself for your career," she hissed.

"It is not prostitution," her father said sternly. "It is a date, and it is non-negotiable. Kaidou will collect you at six on Friday. Wear the white dress."

Rei cast him a betrayed glower and stormed out. When she reached the pavement outside she yanked the conservative grey cardigan from her shoulders – yet another shackle he had bought for her – and slammed it into the nearest waste bin.

"Bastard," she muttered under her breath. The streets were busy; she had to keep it together. It wouldn't do for her to lose it in public. Besides, she was due to head to Crown. With Makoto's business, Minako's music career, Ami's work and Rei's visits to Kyoto, the former senshi didn't get together as often as they used to. In fact, these days seeing Ami was almost as rare as seeing Minako. As such, for all five of them to be together was a particularly lucky turn of events, and Rei refused to let her father's antics ruin her evening.

When Rei arrived she found she was the first one there. Thankfully Makoto and Ami were next through the door so she sought their advice, praying they would be done talking about the whole thing before Usagi arrived and spontaneously combusted with the news. Who knew what she would do? Dress her up? Give her dating tips? Rei didn't want to find out.

"A date?" Ami said. Her eyes said it all: bafflement. A small part of Rei was pleased she had made her opinions so abundantly clear over the years that even the world's youngest practising doctor thought her father's request was a mathematical impossibility. Sometimes Rei wondered what Ami's esteemed colleagues would think if they found her sitting in a karaoke suite at seven on a weekday, yet Ami never expressed discomfort over juggling her two very different worlds. As a priestess, Rei supposed she had much the same clash, but these meetings gave her a different kind of solace to her life at the shrine. Rei imagined Ami felt the same way.

Presently, Ami shook her head. "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know yet," Rei sighed. "I know it's… only a date, but…" That phrase sounded like an alien language coming out of her mouth. If Rei truly deplored romance, should she consider it a serious personal affront or a tedious, but ultimately meaningless, inconvenience? Surely the latter adhered to her principles more. It meant this was not a big deal, even if it did highlight her father's perpetual failure to understand her.

"It would be thoughtless to stand Kaidou-san up," Makoto decided. Blunt as always but considerate as always; Rei love-hated that streak of common decency in Makoto, not least because it often goaded Rei into doing things she didn't want to do. "He could have been dragged into it as much as you were."

"I don't want him to think I'm interested," Rei protested. Ami covered her mouth and Makoto snorted. "What?"

"I don't think you need to worry about that, Rei-chan," Ami said, struggling to keep a straight face.

"Why?" Rei frowned.

"Rei, you're not approachable at the best of times," Makoto said. "Let alone for a date."

"Rei-chan has a date?!" Rei's cringed in horror at the sound of Usagi's voice. She turned to find their wide-eyed princess on the stairwell, Minako following behind. Usagi bounded down the steps and stopped in front of Rei, slapping one hand to Rei's forehead and the other to her own. "Are you sick?!"

"Get off," Rei deadpanned, batting her away. "It's no big deal. My father set it up. I don't even want to go."

"What's his name?"

"None of your business."

"Kaidou-san," Makoto unhelpfully supplied, fielding Rei's glare with a grin.

Usagi's face turned dreamy. "Kaidou Rei… Wait, 'kaidou' as in 'highway' or 'kaidou' as in 'church'?" She gasped. "Your name would mean 'church spirit'! It's so right for you."

"It's neither," Rei griped.

"Probably 'kaidou' as in 'crab apple'," Minako breezed, slowly descending the stairs. Rei looked up, unsure whether Minako was supporting her or teasing her – quite possibly both at once – but Minako's expression gave nothing away.

"Don't say that," Usagi pouted. "You're ruining the romance of it."

Minako didn't reply. Instead she addressed Rei directly, something that wasn't quite amusement crossing her face. "I thought no-one could make you do anything. With the possible exception of me."

"No-one's making me," Rei retorted, "but it's not worth fretting over. It's only an annoyance."

"Is that so," Minako remarked. She walked behind Rei, out of her line of sight. Rei felt a tingle close to her backside and whirled to find Minako had removed Kaidou's business card from the pocket of her trousers.

"Hey."

"You're still a senshi. You should have expected that." Minako's eyes roamed over the card as she said it, her admonishment coming out so casually it sounded irritatingly like a reflex. "'Ocean', huh?" she said, noting the first kanji. She handed it back to Rei. "With the fire senshi. That'll end well."

Rei felt strange talking about this with Minako but couldn't place why. "I didn't intend it to end well anyway," she said and settled for shooting their former leader a suspicious look, though whatever was going on in Minako's head had at least dampened Usagi's enthusiasm, for which she was grateful.

Nonetheless, Rei wished Minako would just say what was on her mind sometimes. Even after the world had reset, even after they had shared each others' weapons… even though they no longer had any powers, a transparent film always seemed to exist between them, preventing them from being closer. The illusion of rivalry persisted, at different turns fun and irksome, though she supposed that, between Minako's many international tours, their past lives' mission being completed and both of their egos, time together was both hard to secure and hard to request. Rei always seemed to leave their unlikely encounters feeling she had forgotten to say something important, and Minako – in spite of her second chance – was as opaque as ever.

One thing Minako did do, however, was make more effort with their princess and, following her odd behaviour upon arrival, she spent the majority of her time winding Usagi's mood back up to hyperactive with karaoke duets. The evening passed smoothly from there, companionable, familiar… easy. Across the room, she and Minako would exchange smiles, catch each other's eye and share prolonged glances, perhaps trying to project the things they never spoke aloud. After a while Rei grew satisfied that Minako was back to normal and dropped her defences a little, all but forgetting her imminent blind date.