This one is on AO3 too, since it’s over 1K

—

“So then she leaned over, and said—“

“Mina, I really don’t have time to listen to this.”

But Mina would not be deterred form her plan so easily. “Aw,
come on, Rei, you’re great at listening while you work. And this girl is so perfect,
I—“

“I don’t think she sounds that great.” Rei grabbed a broom
and headed out to the front of the shrine. Mina followed with a huff.

“Well you wouldn’t, no one’s good enough for the almighty
Rei Hino.” Rei swept faster. Mina trotted along. “But for me, she’s wonderful, an
absolute ten.” She extended her arm in an arc for emphasis, like this girl had
all the goodness in the whole world.

Rei merely flicked her eyes over. There were days when her
fire burned close to the surface, threatening to consume everything, and other
when she buried it deep under an affected coldness. Mina was unsure if it was
lucky she’d caught her in the latter or not. “So what you’re saying is you’re
settling.”

“That is the opposite of what I’m saying, actually.” Mina
grabbed the broom from Rei and spun it around in a dance. “I’m saying I like
her a lot. More than I’ve liked anyone before.”

“Oh please.” Rei snatched the broom back. “You’re not going
to stay this happy with her. She’s flawed like everyone else.”

“Well, Rei, the thing is, it’s actually possible to see
someone’s flaws and like them anyway. We do it all the time. Look at Usagi, we
love her to pieces, and she’s got flaws the size of an ice cream truck.”

“That’s different. Usagi is good.”

“And my animal-shelter volunteer hottie isn’t?”

Rei made a non-comital noise and moved to the stairs. Mina
followed, her own temper starting to flair. “Nuh-uh, don’t just walk away. I
want an answer. I want to know what your problem is with someone you’ve never
met and who you literally only know good things about.”

Sweeping the steps apparently took all of Rei’s focus.

“While we’re at it, let’s also throw in your problems with Yomi
and Torako and Mik—actually, I’ll give you a pass on him, being a man and all.
But everyone else.” Mina slid down the rail a little ways to land in front of
Rei. “I want to know.”

“I actually liked Miki best,” Rei said, with all the disinterest
of someone considering different toothpaste brands. “He just wasn’t right for
you, like all the others.” She skirted around Mina to get to lower steps. “And
you can’t disagree with me, because you
broke up with them all in the end.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Like a preschooler, Mina was
overcome with the urge to yank Rei’s long black hair. If they hadn’t been so
precariously arranged on the stairs, she might have done it. “You know why I broke up with them. I was stupid
enough to think you had a reason to dislike me dating. But you kept proving me
wrong.” She wanted Rei to turn around so badly, to take this face to face. “So
today I thought maybe you really were holding my partners to high standards, and
I made a girl up. A lovely, perfect girl. But you couldn’t be happy for me
then, either.”

“So you’re mad your lie didn’t work.” As she spoke her voice
lowered to a growl, anger breaking through her cool act.

“I’m mad because I can’t do it anymore. Either give me a
reason, or stop fucking doing this.”

Rei paused, but still did not turn. “Fuck you or fuck off,
then?”

There had, of course, been times in Mina’s life when she’d
felt this angry. She’d faced true evil with all the hatred Usagi could never
muster. But this was worse, somehow, in that she’d expected something else. “That’s
all you see in me then. Fine.” She would not let Rei invoke her inner demons. Mina
ran down the stairs without care, the childish thought that if she did fall,
Rei would feel as bad as she deserved to, occasionally running through her mind.
Fortunately, perhaps, she was too sure-footed for that. She arrived at the
bottom upright and out of breath. Part of her wanted to look back, the rest of
her urged her to keep going.

But something clattered down the stairs behind her. Rei’s
broom rolled to a stop against her heels.

Mina took a breath and waited. The sound of Rei’s footsteps
soon drew near, uncharacteristically hesitant. She stopped short of picking up
the broom.

“You and I also have truck sized flaws.” Rei paused, but
Mina wasn’t ready to give her anything, not even acknowledgement. “It’s easy
for me to focus on that. You’re loud, and ridiculous, and sometimes you test
people in stupid ways, because you can. And…”

She went quiet for a long while. Mina waited. Rei’s softer
feelings were like a deer hiding amongst barrels of gunpowder, a wrong move could
do much worse than scare them off for a bit.

“And worst of all, you know all my flaws better than anyone.
And maybe they’re more of a semi than an ice cream truck, and if you’re
standing so close it must be impossible for you to see anything else.”

Mina felt the real crux of the matter still coming.

“Maybe I don’t want you to see anything else,” Rei said, her
voice barely above a whisper. “Isn’t it easier if we don’t?”

“I don’t quite have your talent for that.” She tried to
judge if now was the time to turn around, but decided not to risk it. “I don’t
think it’s easy at all.” Mina could feel how close Rei was. The distance
between them felt electric, though if it was a current drawing them together or
a fence keeping them apart she couldn’t tell.

“Maybe I can work on it.” Rei picked up the broom. “Maybe I
will.”

Mina finally turned to look back as Rei started up the
stairs. In spite of everything, she found herself smiling.