I'll talk at the bottom. Hope you enjoy!

She's not sure how long she's been running around the city, but she finally slows down when the shrine's steps are in view. When she reaches the bottom, she sits to catch her breath and think of what else to do. Rei knows that as easy-going and playful as her grandfather is, this time she won't be allowed back in until he determines the dark cloud has lifted from over her. And she knows everything about her right now is a thunderstorm.

She leans back with a sigh. Her friends are out of the question, as she knows they are by now fully aware of the reason behind her standoffish and temperamental behavior. It should be comforting to know they're in on it too, but at the moment she only finds it embarrassing. She knows going to them right now would only result in pitiful looks or a bombardment of questions. Or both.

A thought strikes her, and Rei rises to climb the steps and trails off to the left when she reaches the top. She smirks to herself. The orchard on the hill doesn't count as being inside the shrine.

She's caught up in smug appreciation at finding a loophole and in tired relief at being able to rest against her favorite tree, the one with the widest trunk. So caught up, it doesn't immediately register that there is someone else sitting there beneath it. Perhaps because the scene is...was, so familiar.

Before she can push up completely to run again, her back hits the earth. Her arms are taken a hold of and pinned to her sides.

"Rei, wait. Please."

She looks up into desperate blue eyes and attempts to sneer. Instead, it's a trembling frown. She intends words to hurt, to come out coldly, cruelly. Instead, it's a shaky whisper. "I did." She struggles to move her arms, not looking back up when she says in a stronger voice, "Let me go."

"No."

Rei's eyes snap up. She thinks she sees a hint of fear in blue eyes before it's overcome by furious determination. She remembers that look.

Before she can make another protest or attempt to escape, the blond speaks again. "NO. I am not letting you go until you listen to me. I know it looks horrible and I did this all wrong and you probably hate me right now but let me explain."

Rei remembers too many situations to know that no matter how angry or hurt or upset or desperate or sad or confused or...no matter how she feels right now, she's not going anywhere until the blond speaks her mind. The look in those eyes tells her so.

Rei dares to hope. Maybe there is an explanation for this. Pride and pain tell her there is no excuse. But she is tiring of it all. Of moping around the shrine, of avoiding familiar places, of wondering why...of knowing she is so close but still so far.

She allows herself the acknowledgement: she just wants to be close again.

She relaxes her arms and lays back expectantly.

The blond speaks immediately. "We weren't really together. Me and him...we aren't. We never were." Rei knows she must look incredibly disbelieving, because she feels her arms being pressed into the grass in time with the words. "Rei, please believe me. You know I would never lie about this to you. It was just for the movie promotion."

Now Rei scoffs. "Really? That's the best you can come up with?"

"Rei, I swear! It was just for this movie and our managers and the movie people agreed it would be good publicity for the movie and for us and-"

"And what?" Rei heaves a frustrated sigh. "If that's really all it was, why couldn't you just tell me? Before you left you said all those things..."

And she trails off, afraid at how easily she is ready to open up in the blond's presence. This is why she avoided her, this is why she didn't give her a chance to speak that night in her room, this is why she ran...

"I was scared." Violet eyes latch onto teary blue. "We hadn't officially said we were together yet...and you were so afraid the night before I left. I didn't want you to think what I said then was a lie..."

"I wouldn't have. If you would have just talked to me, like a normal person would. If you wouldn't have cut me off, I-"

"I didn't want to lose you!"

Rei starts at the sudden, sincere confession, which dampens and then erases the anger she has left in her. Tears start to track down the blond's face, and Rei's hands move to wipe them. She doesn't remember when her arms were freed. "Mina.."

At the sound of her name a dam seems to break, and Minako cries harder. "No, you say now what you wouldn't have done, but I know you. You would have been upset, even at something that was pretend, and you would have felt betrayed and I...I would have lost-"

Now Rei stares up at her, completely shocked. "Lost me? What are you-" Something clicks. "You're saying you stopped calling me and texting me because you thought I wouldn't understand if you told me you were pretend-dating a guy because your job put you up to it? That instead of telling me the truth, you decided to protect yourself by cutting everything off?" The realization leaves her gaping.

Minako sighs. "Not just me, I was trying to protect you too...it was just so new...and you're so much more sensitive than you let on..."

Rei huffs, knowing she can't quite argue that point. Still, she doesn't know whether to feel touched by the blond's desire to protect her or angry at her assumption that she needed protecting, at the cost of being cut off.

Minako pulls herself from Rei's hands on her cheeks and sits on the ground beside her. She looks up wistfully towards the night sky. "I thought...I thought it might be easier if you just didn't know. I know my reasons were stupid and dumb and I never should have stopped talking to you and that nothing I did makes any sense now. It did at the time when all I could think of was how you might react if I told you...I'm so sorry, Rei. I never was trying to hurt you."

Rei sits up next to Minako and looks out over the trees. Silence surrounds them, but Rei's thoughts are anything but quiet. Her logical mind protests at the almost comically farfetched reasoning that's been laid out before her but...this is Minako. When has anything concerning her ever been completely logical?

"I can't-this is just...wow." Rei tries to put words together, but is still having a hard time deciding how exactly to respond. "How exactly did you think I wouldn't find out even if you didn't tell me? You're an international singer, Minako."

Now the blond looks slightly embarrassed, as if just now realizing the flaws in her reasoning. "You're always so out of touch with entertainment...you don't read magazines or own a TV...you usually never listen to Usagi when she rambles..."

Rei lets out an exasperated breath. This is definitely Minako.

She wants so badly to just forget the last year and a half ever happened, to pretend that nothing has changed...but it can't be done. "What am I supposed to say?"

Minako shifts uncomfortably and brings her gaze back down to her lap. "Say you'll forgive me?" She raises her eyes to meet Rei's, and Rei can see the desperation. "Say we can start from where we left things? Please?"

Rei herself is desperate to lunge forward and wrap her arms around Minako, to just forget about everything except the way she feels against her. She's been dreaming of it for so long.

But she also knows she needs time to completely process this before officially starting anything. Her conflicting emotions are making this very apparent. And it would be unfair to let Minako think anything different.

So she sits still instead and delivers her words evenly. "I can forgive you. But everything else...it's going to take a little time. I don't want to you hurt you either, and I know right now I'm too...mixed up to try to start anything, Minako."

The hurt in the blond's eyes is almost palpable as she sniffles and slowly nods. Rei turns her eyes back to the trees below them.

*W*W*W*W*

Rei isn't sure how much longer they sit there against the tree caught up in their thoughts, but by now she knows it has to be past midnight. Her grandfather is normally sleeping by this time, so she raises herself up.

"Good night, Minako."

She doesn't get too far before she feels a cool grip on her forearm. "Rei."

Rei stops, but keeps herself from looking anywhere but straight ahead. "Yes."

There is a moment of silence, and Rei is just about to pull her arm away to continue back to the shrine.

"Do you...do you still love me?"

Rei drops her head and feels her shoulders tense. She turns around fully to meet Minako's eyes. "I've always loved you. I never stopped, and I don't think I ever will. Right now is just...I need...please." She stops speaking, feeling a tidal wave of emotions threatening to completely crash down over her.

Minako looks intensely into her eyes, and Rei feels as if she is searching through her soul. Slowly, the blond releases her hold on Rei's arm. With a sort of grim acceptance, she nods and quietly speaks, "Ok. I'll wait for you." She wraps her arms around her body as she continues to gaze at Rei.

The priestess stares for a moment at earnest eyes before tearing herself away. She forces herself to keep walking even when the wind carries the sound of heartfelt weeping to her ears.

A/N: So...this was interesting. I feel like I lost focus a bit...but I did my best to keep on track. I was trying to get at the internal conflict a person can feel when someone they love has hurt them, whether intentional or not. There's the usual onslaught of mixed feelings...and then you know...even though you love them and would love to just jump back in, sometimes it just can't be done that way. Doing that can ultimately hurt you and them if you don't deal with everything properly. Hmm. Well, in any case, I hope you guys enjoyed and/or connected! Thanks for reading!