Sort of Happened
Chapter One
--
We don't really know when it started, all we know is that nobody really saw it coming. To be honest though, I think the two of us always knew it deep down but just never thought about it hard enough to realize the truth. We were always so much closer then we should have been. Thinking back it's actually surprising that it didn't happen sooner. But like I said, we're not really sure exactly how it came to be... it just sort of happened.
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The Unspoken Non-Challenge
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-Usagi-
“Rei-chan?” I asked for the third time. She didn't budge even though I know she heard me. 'Well if you want to play, Fire-hime, then we can play!' “So Rei-chan, what did you think of this top I'm wearing?” Still nothing, I'd have to take things up up a notch. “I love this top, but the darn thing really pinches right below my bra strap.” There it was, a tiny flicker of movement near her eyebrow, it was time to finish this. “It just feels so good to take it off and let the ladies breath a little...” It worked like a charm.
“Jeez Usagi-chan you're such a hent...” she started as she turned to face me, her eyes growing as wide as could be. “Usa, put your shirt back on!”
“Rei-chan, that look on your face!” I shouted, falling onto my back and rolling around in a fit of giggles.
“Think it's funny, do you?” She fumed. I nodded vigorously, continuing to giggle like an idiot until I saw that sly smile forming at the corner of her lips.
'Oh crap...'
With predatory ease she pounced on me like some type of jungle cat, her hands instantly finding their way to my most ticklish areas, bringing a long series of squeals and gasps to my lips as I struggled to get free. “What's that you're saying Usa? I can't hear your little hentai comments over your squealing!” She was loving every second of my torture and I knew it was about to get a whole lot worse because she started to slide up my body. The jungle cat was moving in for the kill.
I waited as patiently as one could while being tickled without mercy. 'Wait for it... wait for it... wait for it... THERE!” I raised my hips at just the right time to catch her second lunge, locking my legs around her waist and preventing her from completely pinning me down, thus averting certain tickle death. Her full mount thwarted, Rei went for the next best thing and pinned my wrists down behind my head before leaning in so close that the tips of our noses were almost touching.
“Give up?” she asked, the pure joy in her eyes accompanied by a huge lopsided grin.
“Yes! Yes! I can't take anymore!” I rasped, noticing with some pleasure that Rei was also breathing hard from the effort. “Oh my gosh Rei-chan, I swear you know my body better than I do, that was incredible!”
The sound of something shattering behind me nearly made me jump out of my skin and I probably would have bucked Rei clear off of me if my legs hadn't been so firmly wrapped around her. I arched my head back as far as possible for an upside down view of mom standing in the doorway holding an empty tray to her chest, a mess of glass and spilled tea pooling around her feet. She looked terrified.
“You okay mom?”
“Are you alright Mrs. Tsukino?” Rei chimed in. A few tense moments passed before she seemed to gain a little composure.
“U-Um, I'm s-s-s-sorry for interrupting girls, I'll c-c-clean this up later!” she stammered out, slamming the door shut and running downstairs. I shrugged and returned to my nose-to-nose position with Rei.
“That was weird, Rei-chan, what do ya think scared her?” Rei propped herself up on her hands an chewed lightly on her bottom lip.
“I don't know, Usa, but she looked pretty spooked...” From my position I noticed that the top two buttons of Rei's blouse had popped off in the struggle, revealing a very ample amount of cleavage covered only by an incredibly skimpy piece of fabric masquerading as a bra. An evil grin instantly began tugging at the corners of my mouth.
“Wow Rei-chan, you have GOT to tell me where you got that bra!”
“What are you talking about?” she looked down to see her nearly exposed breasts. “USA, YOU HENTAI!” Distracted by her outrage, she left herself wide open. I was able to use my still wrapped legs to roll her over, putting me on top in a fully mounted position. Eyes gleaming with mischief, I leaned down so that my lips could brush against her ear as I whispered...
“My turn...”
--
-Mrs. Tsukino-
“Where are you going dear?”
“Oh, just taking the girls up some tea.”
“The girls? Oh, is Rei over again?”
“Yeah, her and Usagi are practically inseparable lately, it almost feels like we have two daughters, doesn't it?”
“Yeah... two daughters,” he said, trailing off into an uneasy laugh.
I studied his reaction a little before deciding not to question it, mostly because I didn't want the tea to get cold. I happily made my way up the stairs, relishing in the simple joys that motherhood brought. Everything was just so calm and easy going at the moment, I simply couldn't imagine things being better than they were now. I made my way to Usagi's room and, using skills honed from years of mothering, perfectly balanced the tray on one arm and turned the doorknob with my free hand without so much as rattling a mug.
'Well, maybe Usagi does eat a little too much, she's going to have some trouble keeping trim when her metabolism slows down. But then again, I'm sure she'll be fine once she finds a nice young...' My thoughts ground to a halt as the door swung open. With that single turn of a doorknob, the perfect world I'd always imagined came crashing down.
My daughter lay on the floor, covered only by a skimpy bra, with her legs wrapped around the hips of her friend. She had her arms pinned behind her head, their bodies pressed together, grinding back and forth, faces mere inches apart. Not even the hot tea that I was absentmindedly spilling onto my feet or the sound of shattering glass as the mugs hit the floor could shock my mind back into conscious thought. The girls, however, having been alerted to my presence, were now staring at me. With Rei's head lifted I had a clear view at her exposed chest where it pressed together with my daughter's own in their intimate embrace. Blue and violet orbs pierced into me, their identical gazes appeared almost questioning to my startled mind.
'It's... it's almost like they're daring me to object, like they're challenging me to interfere with their lovemaking. But... I can't do that to my little girl! I swore I'd support her through anything, and I intend to keep that vow! If this is what my daughter chooses then so be it!'
With motherly resolve burning in my belly I forced myself to stammer out some sort of apology, something about cleaning, I'm not really sure, and rushed from the room and down the stairs. I was back in the kitchen in two seconds flat, clutching the empty tea tray to my chest and breathing heavily. My husband looked up from the magazine he'd been reading and looked at me with concern.
“Is something wrong sweetie?” I turned away for a few moments to compose myself before turning to face him, my usual smile back in place.
“No, nothing at all, there is absolutely nothing wrong.”
“Oh, good,” he said, taking a long sip of his tea...
“Usagi and Rei were just making love.”
...only to spit it halfway across the kitchen.
-
Getting Closer
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-Rei-
“Damn it, Usa! This is like my favorite blouse, and you go and break not one, but TWO of the buttons!” I shouted furiously. It wasn't the first time the blonde had somehow been responsible for ruining my clothes. Like the time she'd been dreaming about nibbling on something and had bitten off half the buttons of my pajamas.
“Hey! Let's not forget who's idea it was to try to tickle me half to death! I claim self defense on this one!” she responded indignantly. I sputtered angrily for a while before something coherent actually came out.
“But you started it all!” She leaned in and flicked me lightly on the nose.
“Don't try to act all angry, Rei-chan, you know you love me!” she giggled before sticking her tongue out at me. This only brought out more violent muttering, all the while glaring daggers at her until I noticed the clock behind her and shot up to my feet.
“Oh crap, how the hell did it get so late! I have to go, Usa, grandpa's probably tearing his hai... scalp off with worry!” I quickly scooped up my backpack and turned for the door but before I could even take a single step the strangest thing happened... I couldn't move. I looked down to see what had stopped me, only to find Usagi clasping my hand. I looked from our linked hands to her face and found my confusion mirrored on her own. It was obvious that she wanted to say something, but was struggling with herself on whether or not she should.
“Usa?” I breathed, the strange sensation having taken the wind from my lungs.
“You... you should stay Rei-chan,” she managed after a while, her voice had a sort of airy quality to it. Any comeback I might have formed died in my throat as the strange feeling continued to build up in the pit of my stomach. “You should stay with me... I don't want you to go.” For that brief moment the last thing I would ever want to do is leave this beautiful girl's side. But then, just as fast as it had come, the feeling was gone. She released her grip on me and I headed quickly for the door.
“See you tomorrow morning, Usa!”
“Bye-Bye, Rei-chan!” she called out cheerfully, waving at me with a dopey grin on her face. I made my way down the stairs and towards the front door where I was nearly bowled over by Mrs. Tsukino.
“Oh you're leaving?” she asked, glancing around nervously. “I thought for sure you'd be staying the night, you know you're always welcome here, right?” she asked, almost forceful in her approach.
“No, I wouldn't want to be a bother, and I couldn't do that to Grandpa, he worries no matter where I am.” 'Okay, she's acting more than a little weird...'
“Ah, I see, well... do you want a ride home at least?”
“No that's okay, I brought my bike.”
“Really, are you sure you're not too... um... tired to ride home?” she finished carefully, obviously forcing a nervous smile onto her face.
“Oh, that's what this is about!” I said, remembering how she'd walked in on our tickle fight, I couldn't help but laugh a little. “Don't worry Mrs. Tsukino, your daughter isn't quite good enough to wear me down yet, but she's getting there. That's one of the things I love most about her, she always wants to be right up there beside me in skill, no matter what it is.”
“O-oh, I see...” she said, swallowing hard and casting her eyes downward only to land on my chest. “But... if you stay, I could sew your blouse buttons back on for you,” she said, laughing nervously.
“Nah, it's not the first time this has happened, she can be a little wild sometimes, but you probably know all about that.” The look the woman gave me was akin to my having a giant rat perched on my shoulder. “Well, I should really get going, thank you so much for having me!” I ran to my bike as fast as I could, wanting to get out of that awkward situation as quickly as possible. 'What the hell was that all about?'
The ride home was rather uneventful and my worries, I discovered, were completely unfounded as Grandpa was on his futon and snoring away when I arrived. As I readied myself for bed, images of all the fun Usagi and I had during the day came flooding back to me. Not even the broken buttons on my blouse could spoil the good mood I was in. I made a mental note to thank Usa in the morning as I pulled the covers up around me.
I was far too close to sleep to remember it but that same exact feeling from when Usagi held my hand had returned as I was drifting off... now nestled a little closer to my heart.
--
-Usagi-
I awoke to find that I was starving, groggy, and from the reading on the clock, right on time to get up for school. Or as Rei always put it, ten minutes late.
“Rei-chan?” I asked, lazily searching the bed next to me. A hint of worry forming in the pit of my stomach when I couldn't find her. I raised up to a sitting position to look for her, the movement managed to wipe away the cobwebs of sleep and I remembered that Rei-chan had gone home last night. The all too familiar dread of what I was about to do quickly replaced the worried feeling, but it simply had to be done... I dragged myself out of the comfortable confines of my bed and got ready for school.
Just like every other day, Rei-chan was waiting impatiently at the front of my house. Just like every other day she gave me the same rant about being lazy and undisciplined. And just like every other day she managed to shake the last of the sleepiness out of me and get me moving in the general direction of our schools. However, very much unlike every other day I could remember, she took my hand in hers as we walked... and she never let go. I found it a little strange at first but by the time we were greeted by our friends, it felt as natural as breathing.
The walk towards school seemed to pass almost too quickly though, and when I noticed exactly where we were an empty feeling crept through my body. There, just one block away, was the corner where Rei-chan would turn to go to her school while the rest of us continued forward. My eyes nervously darted from the corner, to our clasped hands, then finally to Rei's eyes. The look she was giving me told me she was as scared as I felt and that she obviously didn't want to part ways either.
“Rei-chan... don't go...” I pleaded. We were standing still now, barely a few steps from where she'd leave me. She brought our clasped hands to her chest and stepped a little closer.
“Usa, I have to, I'm sorry...” she murmured, reaching out to stroke my hair in a soothing manner.
“I don't want you to leave me, Rei-chan...” A single tear began to roll down my cheek but she quickly brushed it away.
“I'll see you as soon as I can, Usa, I promise.” Her voice was barely more than a whisper but it held such strong resolve that I believed it with every last bit of my heart.
She took a slow step away, then another, and another. We were barely holding on by our fingertips and soon even that small measure of comfort was lost as she broke away. She took three more steps with her eyes locked with mine before turning away and happily strolling off down the street.
“Um... Usagi-chan?” I turned towards our friends, all of them were staring at me like I had a couple of big ugly rats sitting on my shoulders.
“You girls okay, you look like you just seen a ghoul or something,” I said, a rather large grin forming on my face as I started off towards school. I made sure to add, “but none of you have your mirrors out so that can't be it,” as I passed.
--
-The Girls-
“Um, Mako-chan?”
“Yeah Ami?”
“Are you seeing what I'm seeing?”
“I think so... how bout you Mina?”
“Well, if you're both seeing Rei and Usagi walking towards us, holding hands and chatting like a couple of love birds, then that's a big yes!”
“Maybe they're just playing a joke or something, you know how Rei-chan is?” Ami questioned, sounding pretty unsure of her own theory.
“Yeah, maybe... hey Mina, you can usually see things like this, can't you?”
“Well I am the self proclaimed Goddess of Love, I'll check em out.” The blonde waited a bit until they were within earshot, watching them with an almost eerily Un-Minako like focus. “Hi girls!” They walked right past her without even noticing, completely enraptured with each other.
“Well... what do you think?” Makoto asked nervously.
“Oh yeah, they're definitely doing it,” the blonde said confidently
“Minako!” Ami squeaked, her face turning bright red. Minako ignored the blushing blue haired girl and continued with her deduction.
“I mean, I always kinda suspected Rei would be into girls, since she's surrounded by 'em in those cute little skirts all day at her school.”
“Minako!” came a second, even higher pitched squeak. The blond ignored her yet again.
“I gotta admit though, Usagi's a bit of a shocker. But I'll tell ya, Rei does look pretty fine herself in those little skirts. I probably wouldn't kick her outta my bed either.”
“MINA...” Makoto clapped her hand over the girl's mouth to prevent another ear splitting squeak.
“Let's just watch 'em and see what happens.”
“Okay, but I'm tellin' ya, the Goddess of Love is never wrong.” Makoto just rolled her eyes and set off after Rei and Usagi, dragging the still blushing Ami along with her. Minako eyed the two of them for a bit, her eyes dancing as an almost wicked smile formed on her lips. “Yep, the Goddess of Love is NEVER wrong.”
--
It took Minako jumping on Usagi's back to finally get the two potential lovebird's attention. Even that didn't really get much of a reaction, they just sort of turned and greeted them before disappearing off into their own little world.
Makoto leaned down to whisper in Ami's ear. “I'm starting to think Mina's right Ami, just listen to them.”
“It was so weird Rei-chan, when I woke up this morning I was really scared because I couldn't find you in the bed next to me!”
“You're kidding me, Usa! I did the exact same thing! I was scared to death that something had happened to you...”
“Well that settles it then, no more sleeping apart from each other!”
“Hey! I was gonna say that!”
“Wow, maybe they really are doing it! That's kind of sexy...” Ami said in wonderment. Makoto stopped walking, totally stunned. “What is it Mako-chan?”
“Did... did you really just say that?”
“Say wh...” it dawned on her that she had indeed and in two seconds flat had turned beet red from head to toe. She opened her mouth to speak then promptly shut it before turning and marching off stiffly. Makoto stood there for a moment, staring at the blue haired girl and chewing on her lip until Minako came by and punched her lightly on the arm.
“Don't worry about it, she'll come around sooner or later,” the blonde said, eyes shining with mischief.
“What's that supposed to mean?” the tall girl called out but the blonde simply stuck out her tongue before running off to catch up with the others.
--
-Usagi's School-
“What's wrong Usa? Do you have a stomach ache or something?” Ami asked, noticing that the twin tailed blonde's lunch was still in existence after two minutes of being opened, something that was practically unheard of. The girl in question let out a long sigh and turned away from the direction of Rei's school to look at the blue haired girl.
“No... I'm just not hungry.” The three of them looked like they'd just been electrocuted. “What?”
“Call for an ambulance! It's worse than we thought!” Minako shouted, moving behind the other blonde to check her temperature.
“Ami, you fetch the nurse, I'll go..”
“Knock it off you guys. I... I just...” tears started rolling down her cheeks, “I miss Rei-chan so much!” she wailed, turning and burying her face into Minako's shoulder, sobbing bitterly. Minako's eyes softened as she wrapped her arms around the girl.
“I know it hurts, Usagi, but I promise you that this is a really good thing.”
“How can this be good when it hurts so much?” Usagi sniffled.
“Correction, hurts so much when you're apart.” This caught the crying girl's attention.
“What...” she sniffled and hiccuped several times. “What do you mean?” Minako smiled.
“Imagine how good it's going to feel when you're with her again.” This put the sparkle back in Usagi's eyes.
“How do you know so much about this stuff Mina-chan?”
“That's easy!” Minako exclaimed, her grin widening. She hopped to her feet and twirled around before flashing a V symbol with one hand and winking. “The Goddess of Love is never wrong!”
“Shouldn't that be 'self proclaimed' Goddess of Love?” Makoto jeered, trying to get a little payback for Minako's teasing in the morning. Minako leaned over towards Makoto and signaled her closer with one finger as if to whisper something.
“Do you want me to tie you and Ami together with a Love Me Chain or should I let you two just... figure things out slowly?” she asked loudly, making sure the blue haired girl was well within in earshot. Usagi was oblivious to the chaos that followed, simply staring off in the direction of Rei's school, counting down the minutes.
--
-Rei-
It had been the longest, most painful, day of school I'd ever been through. The ache that had settled in my chest sometime around lunch was becoming unbearable as I tried and failed to tear my eyes away from the clock. I could of sworn it had stopped moving or something just to torture me. That's what this was, torture. Being away from Usagi was the most horrible form of torture I could imagine at the moment. It wasn't long before the bubble of heartache and impatience burst.
“God damn it! Would you just hurry the hell up already!” I shouted angrily at the clock. I sat there, glaring at the machine and fighting down the urge to clutch at the pain in my chest for several moments before I noticed that everything had gone quiet... and that everyone was looking at me.
“Well young lady, if you're that unsatisfied with my lesson then you can take it up with the Head Sister!” the teacher I'd been ignoring shouted indignantly.
“Oh crap...”
-
To Be Continued...