Chapter Text
The full moon coated the mist-covered steppe in a soft, ethereal glow. The air was heavy with the scent of damp dirt and decaying leaves. In the distance, the soft rustle of greenery and chirps of restless crickets vied for her attention, but she disregarded the mundane sounds. Instead, her senses honed in on the rhythmic pulse of a human heart, like a siren’s lure, beckoning her closer.
A figure stood in the clearing. The features were hazy, only noting bright golden locks that grazed her lower back and deep cerulean eyes that drew her in.
Unable to resist, she silently glided toward her. The closer she came, the stronger the scent of her blood enveloped her, overwhelming her senses and stirring a frenzy within her. She hovered just inches away, able to feel the warmth radiating from her body, the steady metric of her life force echoing in her ears. The thirst nearly brought her to her knees, a relentless ache that could only be sated by the sensation of warm, red liquid coating the back of her throat.
Her fangs elongated as she leaned in, her lips hovering over the exposed skin of her neck. Just one taste, she thought, just enough to quench the relentless thirst that had been tormenting her for so long –
The burst of clarity washed over Rei as the alarm blared in her sensitive ears. Her hand balled up into a tight fist, smashing the clock beside her and miraculously hitting the correct button first try to silence its wail.
She stared up at the ceiling, willing herself to move. Her mouth felt like it was lined with cotton and she sneered at the sun peeking its way between the sliver of the blackout curtains. She clasped a hand over her forehead, still trying to shake off the dream. Though undead, she was not free from occasionally slipping into unconsciousness and facing the burden of visual hallucinations.
She glanced at the clock. 7:15 AM. She definitely needed to make moves.
Begrudgingly, Rei stood from the warm confines of her futon and started over to the dresser. Looking up at herself in the mirror, she wasn’t surprised to see the flesh around her eyes trailed with thin, dark red veins. Her usual amethyst eyes were turning a dull black by the second. While her hunger became more aggressive the past few months, the dream had certainly provoked her, and she knew exactly who her subconscious conjured up despite not ever getting a good look at the mystery woman.
A human. A particular human that had caught her eye the last few months.
Aino fucking Minako.
Something about her lured Rei in, no matter how much she tried to keep her at a distance. She was drawn to her; every glance her way, every laugh and small gesture. It filled her head with heightened thoughts of desire, something she couldn’t so easily tame, especially in her current state of mind.
She knew she was encroaching on dangerous territory. It was the most basic jurisdiction her kind had to adhere to; not to mingle in human affairs or relationships. Rei wasn’t one to bend the rules, so she did her best to push aside any kind of feelings she may harbor for her, platonic or otherwise. It was the best way to keep them both safe.
Rei shook her head, dismissing the thoughts and grabbing the unmarked pill bottle in front of her. She opened it hurriedly, feeling a slight tremor in her digits as she did so. There were only five left.
Cursing, she tossed a bright red capsule into the palm of her hand before tilting her head back and downing it in one motion. Relief washed over her almost instantly, feeling her eyes return to normal with her bloodlust temporarily satisfied. She wasn’t going to be able to last much longer just on these. Her body required more than a blood capsule, but given that she has yet to fully complete her vampiric transformation with her first kill, she tried to ration them out as best as she could.
It was becoming increasingly more difficult for Rei to push the inevitability of her Legacy transition any more. Her 21st would mark the beginning of this new phase of life, one that has been passed on for centuries within her family. With that day rapidly approaching and no kill to show, she was beginning to wonder if there was a part of her that even wanted any of it.
Her phone went off just then on her bedside table. Making her way over, Rei swiped at her screen to see a text from her father.
Five days left.
Rei frowned. It was as if he knew she had just taken a dose. She didn’t need the verbal reminder; her physique did it enough through random moments of weakness throughout the day. Sometimes she would black out completely for several minutes. She knew she had to face the reality of the situation at some point, and it had to be within the span of only a few days.
Perhaps, she thought, it won’t be so hard to accomplish.
After all, it was college. There were opportunities at every corner.
The dorm room was a cozy mess of posters, textbooks, and scattered clothes. One side of the room was bathed in the warm morning sunlight while the other side remained dimly lit. Two single beds sat against opposite walls; one uninhabited yet unkempt and the other still harboring a figure, sound asleep and whistling in a snore every other intake.
Minako heaved a sigh and migrated to stand over her roommate’s bed who remained oblivious to her presence.
“Usagi-chan, it’s time to wake up,” when the other woman didn’t so much as stir, she reached an index finger out to poke her exposed arm. “Usagi!”
She rolled over to her stomach and groaned in response. The other pursed her lips, tossing her long, golden locks behind her shoulder before snatching one of the nearby pillows and whalloping her in the back of the head.
Usagi cried out, shielding herself from further attacks. “Minako-chan, stop!”
Minako let a satisfied grin settle on her lips before abandoning the fluffy material on the bed. “Oh good, you’re up.”
“No thanks to you,” Usagi’s words were muffled as her face remained buried in her pillows.
“You’ll thank me when you aren’t marked late again for psych class,” Minako said, rummaging through the closet and grabbing what she thought would be a suitable outfit for her best friend. She was far from an early riser herself, but Usagi’s antics put her slothfulness to shame.
Usagi slowly rose to a seated position in the bed, rubbing her eyes and looking as if she were a bear emerging from hibernation. She barely had time to readjust to the morning light before clothes were being thrown at her. Her slightly darker shade of blonde looked disheveled but still somehow maintained its signature pigtail structure. Minako clocked freshman year how scarily similar the duo was. Usagi was the closest thing she had to a sister and with that came an innate desire to ensure she was taken care of.
“Better hurry up or we won’t have time for breakfast.” That was just the right phrase to motivate her.
The pair made their way to the closest dining hall, immediately greeted by the hoard of students already preparing their own food or taking it to go. Despite the busy atmosphere, the seating area was spacious with a mix of communal tables and smaller ones for individual study or casual gatherings. After surveying the options briefly, Minako grabbed a muffin and banana while Usagi scored a tray of pancakes and tamago gohan.
Minako placed her belongings at one of the smaller tables with Usagi following suit. She dove right in, suddenly very awake.
Minako lazily peeled back the wrapping around the base of the muffin and picked at the top, popping small bits into her mouth. Her cobalt eyes scanned the sea of students, noting some she knew from classes and acquaintances through other friend groups. The searching ceased when they landed on a distinctly familiar figure that caused Minako to choke on the cakey texture. It was concerning enough to snap Usagi away from her food.
“Are you okay?” she asked, patting her back in an attempt to help dislodge the food caught in her throat.
Minako nodded, collecting herself. Her face was red between the choking incident and catching a glance at whomever was across the room. “Yup, all good,” she rasped.
Usagi’s eyes trailed over to where her friend was looking moments ago, eyebrows shooting up in recognition at the young woman casually reading a book with a steaming cup of black tea beside her.
Her appearance was striking, shrouded in an aura of alluring mystery that left Minako utterly spellbound. With features that held an air of delicate grace, her face seemed sculpted by the hands of the gods themselves. Tips of raven hair reached her hip bone and framed her flawless porcelain skin like a halo.
Her eyes were the most mesmerizing part of her presence – pools of velvety lavender that pinned Minako down, rendering her immobile. They seemed to beckon, inviting her to dive into their depths and get lost in them for eternity.
There wasn't a single word that could accurately encapsulate her. Minako was tempted to say beautiful - radiant, even - but they seemed too dim, almost offensive for such a rare and stunning countenance.
When Usagi looked back at her roommate, she had returned to staring at the young woman again. Her face was still just as flushed as it was several minutes ago.
“ Sooooo ,” the shorter blonde drawled, sporting a shit-eating grin that went unnoticed by Minako. She knew about her crush on this enigma of a person since the start of the semester over a couple of months ago. “Have you talked to her yet?”
Minako finally regained control of her senses again and snapped her gaze back to Usagi. “Of course I have. I’ve said hi a few times, asked about homework, and I even purposely dropped my pen in front of her so I could bend over and pick it up.”
Usagi tilted her head, brows laced in confusion. “How would that help?”
“I had just wrapped up a volleyball game and was wearing black spandex shorts and a tank top. I was sweaty and delectable,” Minako’s voice carried a hum.
The other blonde’s eyes widened in realization as she wagged a finger at her. “Well played.”
“Apparently not,” Minako muttered, disgruntled. “I don’t think she even noticed.”
Usagi’s eyes drew to the ceiling in thought. “Well, maybe you need to do something to leave an impression.”
Minako huffed, leaning back in her chair. “So my perfectly sculpted ass didn’t leave enough of an impression?”
Usagi offered an incredulous look. “No way, you have a great ass,” Minako snickered before the other blonde continued. “What I mean is, you really haven’t said much to her,” she waved her fork at her before using it to shove a piece of pancake in her mouth, spewing bits as she spoke. “If you like her you need to make a move. She doesn’t seem like the type to initiate.”
Minako toyed with the muffin crumbs absently as she thought her friend’s advice over. Even without knowing really anything about her, it was evident she was more of a reserved person. Not to mention she had no idea if she was into women, so even if Minako did approach her, she may very well end up scaring her off. After all, Minako tended to come on a bit strong even without nerves affecting her demeanor.
She threw Minako’s game off – badly. The blonde was normally very charismatic and bold when it came to flirting, but this woman both enthralled and intimidated her in all the right ways – and the wrong. One look at her and Minako knew her normal antics weren’t going to charm her, though that didn’t stop her from at least trying. She needed a new approach. At this point, she mostly just made a fool of herself attempting to get her attention, and instead of her usual confidence, she was rather coy around the dark haired woman.
“Do you even know her name yet?” Usagi’s voice broke her musings.
Minako nodded, keeping her eyes trained on her breakfast. “Rei.”
In the opposite end of the dining hall, a pair of amethyst darted up from her book to the blonde’s direction at the sound of her name escaping pink lips.
With Minako’s persistence on getting Usagi out the door that morning, they made it to class with plenty of time to spare. The lecture proceeded as normal with the pig-tailed blonde starting to doze off sitting up while Minako forced herself to pay attention to the content that she was sure would be on the exam next week. Eighty grueling minutes went by and finally the professor concluded the lesson by assigning a few chapters to read by the next class. At the sound of the students shuffling to put away the contents of their supplies, Usagi blinked rapidly back to reality and did the same as if she wasn’t just half asleep.
As Minako stood and looped the strap of her cross-body bag around her, a tall brunette with hair pulled in a neat ponytail started over to them. Two stray locks by her temples tossed side-to-side as she lightly jogged toward her friends, emerald eyes lighting up with excitement.
“Hey you two,” she greeted, adjusting what appeared to be a gym bag hanging over her shoulder.
Minako smiled and spoke for both of them as Usagi was evidently still groggy. “Mako-chan! Congrats on the huge win last night! I caught the last half of the game. You are an actual Olympic goddess.”
Makoto laughed sheepishly and waved off the compliment. “Hah, it was nothing.”
“You’re being too modest,” Minako chided with Usagi nodding emphatically beside her. “I don’t think anyone else in the history of softball has left a dent in the bat after a homerun.”
“Well, I don’t know about that …”
“Did you all celebrate after the game?” Usagi piped up eagerly as the trio started out of the lecture hall. Her petite frame was swallowed by Makoto, who stood five inches taller than her.
“Actually, that’s what I wanted to talk to you both about,” she started. “The team’s having a party tonight at Home Plate House, I wanted to see if you would come.”
Minako’s eyes lit up at the thought of a house party. While she prided herself knowing most of the happenings on campus, Makoto had an in with the baseball and softball teams which gave her and Usagi a huge leg up in the social hierarchy. Though Minako played volleyball for the university and – quite frankly – was the best member on the team, they weren’t regarded in the same light. Even the football team couldn’t hold a candle to Makoto’s.
“Home Plate, huh?” Minako’s eyebrows rose. “Never thought I’d see the day us lowly people got to step foot in there.”
The brunette blew a raspberry. Usagi snorted. “They’re not that bad.”
“Mhm,” she murmured, a devilish grin suddenly slipping on her lips. “So, I guess that means you invited Ami?”
Makoto sputtered and turned her head away from the audacious giggling blondes. “Y-You don’t know that.”
“Oh, but I do. And you’re an awful liar,” she snickered. Makoto bristled, emerald eyes suddenly catching a glimpse of someone up ahead, her flustered display morphing into a simper.
“Then I guess it’s only fair to invite your star crossed lover.”
“My star crossed – what are you–?” the inquiry was abruptly interrupted by the taller woman snatching her psychology book from the crook of her arm and tossing it on the floor. It slid a couple of feet ahead and grazed the boot of someone in front of her.
Her eyes followed the trail of the book, looking up to find Rei leaning against the wall of the fairly vacant hallway, stationed just outside a nearby classroom waiting to go in. She glanced down at the book, rather unbothered by its appearance. Minako’s jaw went slack and she pivoted to look back at her friends, who were now pretending they didn’t notice her. She made a note to get Makoto back later.
Rei bent down to pick up the fairly hefty item as Minako approached, flashing a smile and maintaining a collected presence despite the sputter of her heart. “Uh…Hi!”
Straightening back up, Rei met her charming grin with a small one of her own. “Hey.”
“I’m sorry about that, my friends were messing around and…” she shook her head, blonde locks tossing side-to-side. She stuck her hand out expectantly. “I don’t know if I’ve ever properly introduced myself. I’m Minako.”
Rei eyed the gesture before relenting and taking it in her paler one. “Rei.”
“I know – I mean, I’ve seen you in classes. Uh – my classes,” she huffed, frustrated by her inability to get a sentence out. “We have a class together,” she clarified.
She caught one end of Rei’s lips quirking into a slight grin at her fumbling words. “You’re in Professor Morimura’s class.”
“Right, yes!” Feeling eyes on her, she peered just beyond Rei’s frame to see Usagi and Makoto motioning her to ask about the party through waving arms and obscene gyrations. Minako gritted her teeth and snapped back to the other woman, feigning a smile. “So there’s this party tonight. I mean – it’ll probably be lame and full of drunk people, but I was wondering if maybe you’d want to come? My friend is on the softball team and she’s begging me to go.”
A dark brow arched upward. “So it’s a sports team party?”
“No – I mean, it’s at Home Plate but anyone can go,” the blonde shifted on her feet. “So, would you be… interested?”
Raven tresses slipped off her shoulder as she tilted her head thoughtfully. “Are you giving me a good reason to go?”
Minako raised an interesting brow. She wasn’t sure if Rei meant for it to come out suggestive, but even if she didn’t, the woman’s enthralling gaze was certainly enough to spur her advances. “I’d say me being there is a pretty good reason.”
She suppressed a smirk, continuing with their game of mildly provocative handball. This was more her style, and she was getting a better feel for Rei the more they interacted.
There was a knowing glimmer in those amethyst eyes. “Then I guess I’ll see you later.”
Minako licked her lips absently as she maintained her doe-eyed, demure disposition. Oh, this will be so much fun. “Great, looking forward to it.”
She started to brush past her but was halted almost immediately by her voice breaking her concentration.
“Hey,” Rei called. Minako whipped around quickly, wondering if in that timeframe she had already reconsidered. She came on strong and rather ineloquently, after all. “I think you need this.”
She extended her psychology book out toward her. Minako breathed out a laugh at the sight, rolling her eyes and tapping a finger on her temple to emphasize her forgetfulness. She took it, attempting to regain her suave composure that had faltered due to her lapse in memory.
“I’ll see you later,” she said melodically. Rei only nodded, supplying a small smile.
Turning on her heel, she walked in the direction Makoto and Usagi were waiting. She approached, making sure to give the brunette a good whack on the arm with the book she was given back. Makoto winced and gripped her hand on her bicep.
“Ow! Watch it, that’s my pitching arm!”
“Oh, is that what you call it?” Minako snickered as the taller woman gaped at her foul comedic audacity.
“So, what did she say?” Usagi inquired eagerly, pointedly ignoring the bickering, albeit playful.
Minako turned to the odango-haired blonde with a haughty grin. “She’ll be there.”
Makoto jabbed a finger in her face. “Hah! See, a little nudge in the right direction helped.”
“Great, apply that same philosophy with Ami then,” Minako was quick to counter. Usagi hid a snort behind her palm while Makoto gave her the finger.
The moon hung high, casting a silvery radiance over the sprawling campus. The thumping bass of music echoed through the house, drawing in a crowd of students. The entrance was adorned with colorful streamers and fairy lights, creating a festive ambiance; though, there were already several empty beer cans and cups decorating the lawn. It was evident what kind of party they were entering, no matter how much aesthetically pleasing lights the housemates decked the banisters with.
Minako stood a few feet from the door with Usagi to her right, stunned by the sheer amount of people filtering in and out.
“I guess word got out,” Minako commented dryly. She took Usagi’s hand so the shorter of the two wouldn’t get lost in the crowd. “Come on.”
They stepped inside and were immediately met with a sensory overload of sights and sounds. A makeshift dance floor dominated the center of the room, bathed in the striking glow of strobe lights. Bodies moved in synchrony, laughter and shouts blending with the infectious beats of the music.
“We’ll never find Mako-chan in here,” Usagi’s voice battled for dominance against the song.
“I texted her when we came in. She’s in the kitchen,” Minako said. Usagi looked relieved.
The pair made their way through the hoard to where Makoto was stationed with a few of her teammates. The dining table had been transformed into beer pong as people tossed small plastic balls into red solo cups. The cheers of the onlookers formed a rowdy audience as the crowd eagerly awaited the outcome of each toss.
At the appearance of her friends, Makoto’s attention shifted from the inebriated group, smiling as she grabbed the adjacent cups and handed them out. Minako took it enthusiastically while Usagi sniffed the mystery liquid before scrunching her nose at the stench.
“Glad you two made it!” she wrapped her toned arms around the blondes’ shoulders. Minako could practically taste the alcohol on her breath. She wondered just how much she’d had within the hour.
“So what have you been doing? Talked to Ami yet?” Minako waggled her eyebrows before bringing the cup to her lips to hide her smirk.
Makoto gestured to the can in her hand. “Working up the nerve.”
“I don’t think you need liquid courage to talk to someone,” she chuckled.
“That so?” Makoto took a sip of her beer. “Well, we can’t all be like you.”
“Some of us are born naturally charming, Mako-chan,” Minako batted her lashes at the taller woman with a smug smirk.
The brunette arched a challenging dark brow, nodding slowly. “Uh- huh . Let’s see that charm be put to the test, then.”
Minako followed emerald eyes behind her to where Rei stood amidst the crowd, peering at passersby and pointedly ignoring visibly drunk frat boys who attempted to converse with her. Her outfit was a simple black crop top and skinny jeans, but both pieces of attire accented her frame perfectly. Her presence was intoxicating even across the room.
“Oh God, she looks good,” she uttered, whipping back around to the group. “What do I do?”
Usagi shrugged. “You invited her, she’s probably looking for you.”
“Right, yeah,” Minako smoothed out her shirt with the hand unoccupied by the cup. She grabbed the one in Usagi’s grip, the shorter blonde weakly protesting as Minako started toward the dark haired beauty. She weaved her way through the hoard of people, careful not to bump into any oblivious inebriated 20 year-olds.
Minako appeared before her, smiling eagerly. “Hey!”
“Hi,” Rei replied coolly. “Been here long?”
“Given my extremely sober state, no. Which reminds me…” the blonde offered the half filled cup to her. Rei eyed it warily. “Here.”
She took it in her paler hand. “What’s in this?”
Minako took a swig from hers, wincing as the alcohol burned down her throat to her stomach. “Some kind of tequila. Or vodka? I don’t know, but whatever it is you don’t have to drink it–”
Minako’s words trailed off as Rei tilted her head back and downed the drink with not so much as a grimace of distaste invading her features. She swiped her thumb against her bottom lip, removing any traces of the clear liquid that remained. Cerulean eyes stared in open infatuation and mild arousal, finding herself imagining licking that finger clean with her tongue. For that, she wouldn’t mind the taste at all. Her lips parted at the thought.
“Tequila.”
Rei’s voice broke her trance. Minako sucked air back into her lungs. “What–?”
“That’s what’s in it,” she clarified.
Minako laughed lightly, suddenly very thankful for the ill lighting in the house so the other woman couldn’t see her face syncing with the shade of the cup. “Great, mystery solved.” In a quick effort to change topics, she gestured behind her. “My friends are over there if you want to meet them.”
Rei shrugged casually, offering a nod. Minako smiled and led her to the kitchen where Usagi and Makoto still were. Usagi had obtained another beverage and within just the few short minutes Minako was with Rei, had become reacquainted with the drink she had so readily dismissed prior. Despite her default setting generally being effervescent, she was even more so after a drink.
“Hey you two,” Minako approached with Rei in tow. “I wanted to introduce you to Rei. This is Usagi and Makoto.”
Rei supplied a small yet genuine smile. “Nice to meet you.”
Makoto slapped a hand on her shoulder. Rei tensed at the action. “You too! Glad you could make it.”
“Yeah! We’ve heard a lot about you,” Usagi piped in, Minako’s eyes darting to her. “Minako has been gushing about you forever ! I told her to finally talk to you since she likes y–”
“Usagi!” Minako snapped hurriedly. The smaller blonde’s mouth closed with a click. She gave Makoto a pleading look.
“U-Uh, hey! Let’s go see what games people are playing now,” the brunette piped in, urging Usagi to move with a hand on her back. She glanced back at her, mouthing an ‘I’m sorry’ as Minako sighed, nervously tucking her hair behind her ears. She turned to Rei, who appeared mystified but mildly humored by the encounter.
“Sorry about that, she was just…”
“Drunk?” she offered.
“Lightweight,” Minako muttered through gritted teeth, mentally noting to furiously scold her roommate later.
Minako’s lack of eye contact allowed Rei to unabashedly grin. “Wanna see what’s going on over there?”
Relief washed over her when she didn’t press on what Usagi had said. Maybe the music drowned the words out, or maybe Rei was just too nice and avoided embarrassing her further.
Minako nodded and followed Rei out of the kitchen into the living room. A small group, along with Makoto and Usagi, had claimed the room as the game area. They sat in a circle, a mosaic of pillows, empty beer cans, and cups occupying the floor. In the center sat an empty glass bottle perched on its side, letting its neck serve as the decisive pointer. The bottle remained stationary while smirks and giddy smiles passed between the participants as they wondered whose fate would be sealed by its whims.
At the sight of her friend, Makoto waved her over and patted the vacant spot beside her. Minako carefully stepped over everyone on the floor before taking a seat next to the brunette. Rei found a spot across from her on the couch.
“Spin the bottle? What are we, 14?” Minako hissed in her ear. “What happened to pong?”
Wordlessly, Makoto’s verdant eyes flicked from her to Ami, who sat a few people down. She looked a little pale and mildly horrified, and Minako wondered if her friends put her up to this against her will.
“Lady on the streets, freak in the sheets,” she hummed teasingly. Makoto glared before nudging her with her elbow.
“Since you’re so talkative tonight maybe you should do something to shut up ,” she leaned in to grab the bottle and handed it to the blonde, whose smugness didn’t falter. She snatched up the glass in the hand unoccupied by what Rei had previously deduced as tequila.
“Fine, then.” With a mischievous grin, she gave it a swift and fervent spin, sending it into a dizzying twirl. It whirled around, its fate uncertain – that is, until Makoto decided to become the hand of god and halt the bottle’s movement in dramatic finality.
Minako followed the neck, which led her to the pair of amethyst eyes she loved to adore. Rei met her gaze as a ripple of laughter and whistles cascaded through the room.
Reality finally crashed down on her after a few seconds of disassociating from the situation, unsure whether to wrangle Makoto’s neck or kiss the ground she walked on. This was the push she needed – it’s what she wanted – but more importantly, was it something Rei wanted?
“Oops,” Makoto shrugged in feigned innocence. “But hey, you gotta follow the rules. The bottle has spoken.”
Minako stared wide-eyed at her friend, somewhat daunted by her brazen behavior. “You son of a–”
Her sentence was interrupted by Rei standing from her seat and walking a few steps over to her. She extended a hand out for her to take. “Let’s give the people what they want.”
Any remnant of pigment on Minako’s body soaked up to her cheeks like a sponge. She swallowed, attempting to coax her dry throat to speak. Though wonderstruck, an eager grin crept across her lips as she took her waiting hand in hers before disappearing down the hall with her.
The closet was dark and cramped, as expected. The pair stood before each other with only a few inches separating them. Minako watched as Rei carefully closed the door, muffling the music and crowd outside. For the first time all night, she could finally hear herself think and the full clarity of the situation she was in suddenly hit her. She looked in front of her, trying to make Rei’s figure out in the dark as her eyes adjusted. She took in a calming breath, letting out a soft chuckle.
“I don’t think this is where you thought the night would end up when you agreed to come with me earlier.”
Rei shrugged, the ill-lighting covering up her smirk. “I’m not sure what I expected out of a house party, but I’ve definitely had weirder nights.”
“Hm, that makes me feel a little better at least,” Minako replied. There was a silence that fell in between them. The vibrations from the bass filled the air instead, the humming echoing in the blonde’s head.
“You know, we don’t have to do anything. It’s not like they’d know,” Minako spoke up again, referring to her friends and the other party goers. “We could just… talk.”
For the first time, Rei genuinely laughed. It was a beautiful sound that reverberated in the close quarters. “About what?”
“I don’t know. Like, what your favorite color is or what music you listen to,” she suggested weakly, grimacing at the words. “Okay you’re right, that’s stupid.” She brought a hand up over her forehead in slight exasperation. “Look, I like you – if that wasn’t already made apparent to you given the situation we’re in now, then Usagi’s blabbermouth definitely gave it away earlier. I don’t want you to feel like we need to do anything just because of a stupid game or because of my feelings towards you. I’m so okay being friends.”
Minako waited, searching the other woman’s face in the dark for any indication that she was repulsed by the confession. Instead, there was a hint of… intrigue? Rei’s body was slowly gravitating impossibly closer in the already confined area.
Unsure if Rei meant to migrate, Minako went to take a step back, but her heel hitting the wall of the closet indicated that she was as far as she could go.
“You can just tell me what you want to do,” she said breathlessly, scanning every inch of her face to discern the damnable woman.
Rei halted her movements as Minako locked eyes with her. “I could ,” her voice was low, unwavering, “or we could play the game.”
She leaned in, lips brushing against Minako’s. It was the lightest of touches, almost like a whisper, but even its gentleness shot a shiver down her spine. Their eyes met for a brief moment, only serving to amplify her nerves that felt like static electricity between them.
Minako’s lips parted, sucking in a gasp of air in her lungs in one last attempt to calm her racing heart before Rei’s were against hers. It wasn’t hard, but it carried with it a mild sense of urgency that made Minako wonder if the other woman harbored feelings for her as well.
The warm, inviting sensation caused blue eyes to slip shut as their mouths moved together in a tentative dance of lips and tongues. Rei’s hands rose to cup her cheeks in her palms while Minako’s own digits tangled within the hem of the other woman’s shirt. They were impossibly close, the blonde’s sweet scent filling Rei’s lungs.
Ruby lips inadvertently trailed down to her neck, feeling the throbbing pulse just beneath. The touches were so faint – almost unsure – that Minako, in her hazy lustfulness, urged Rei down with a firm yet gentle push behind her head.
The dark haired woman’s mouth collided against her exposed flesh as Minako let out a satisfied sigh at the sensation. The warmth pulled Rei in, coaxing her to toy with the sensitive area, lightly nipping and gliding her tongue to soothe the now raw spot.
Minako’s shaky breath was in her ear. Each kiss and nip caused the blonde’s heart rate to accelerate with every passing second. The gentle thump of blood sounded like a war drum in her head; she was at her breaking point.
Blinded by hunger she could no longer quell, Rei’s fangs elongated, revealing their ivory sharpness. They pierced her skin in one quick blur as a mixture of undefinable pleasure and searing pain rippled through Minako’s body. She swallowed her gasp as the world around her moved in slow motion. The taste was intoxicating to Rei, a deep crimson elixir that surged through her veins, rejuvenating her with every precious drop.
Regaining her senses after the initial shock, Minako pushed Rei off with an impressive surge of power, effectively unhinging her teeth from her neck. Rei stumbled back, unable to fathom how the pain from that quick motion didn’t incapacitate Minako, but more so how she was able to maintain an iron grip on the front of her shirt.
“You’re –”
“How –”
The pair spoke at the same time, Rei looking more appalled by the second while Minako stared back tempestuously, steady clutch keeping her locked in place. The woman matched her strength, if not surpassed it.
The sound of a police siren wailing outside the door snapped them from their stare down for only a moment, but it was enough of a distraction for Rei to break free and slip out of the dark closet, leaving the door ajar. Minako lunged forward but was too slow for her swift movement.
She cursed, bringing a hand up to her bloody neck to feel the puncture wounds, only there weren’t any.
Minako fervently felt the area, finding nothing but dried blood. It didn’t even hurt anymore; it was as if nothing had happened.
Slowly bringing her hand back down to her side in a frozen stupor, she took a moment to collect herself before slipping out undetected amidst the chaos.