La Lumière d'Amour by Kihin Ranno

Part Three: L'Amant

Alan didn't appear to recognize her immediately. Actually, it was probably more appropriate to say that he couldn't see her immediately. Minako felt that the look on his face when he finally looked at the person at the door was like someone straining to look through thick fog. It seemed he was struggling to shake himself awake, and this was so unsettling that she nearly did it for him.

A second later, he blinked and it all became clear. His eyes seemed their normal shade, widening in surprise. He reached forward, his hand shaking slightly. Alan stared at her in utter disbelief as he laid a hand on her cheek. "Mi... Mina?" He had never called her by her full name.

At first, she was thrown by his gesture. Then she remembered that the last time Alan had seen her had been just before she and Katarina had left for the docks the day she faked her death. Even though she knew Alan had been told that she was alive, it was one thing to hear and another thing to see.

"It's me," Minako whispered.

Alan stared at her for another moment longer before enveloping her in the second warm embrace of the day. He sounded like he was half-laughing and half-crying, trying to decide which would reign supreme.

Minako hugged him back without hesitation. After all, friends hugged. There was absolutely nothing wrong with two friends hugging each other after a five year separation. Particularly when one of them was in a rather deadly line of work.

There was, however, something wrong with Minako inhaling his familiar scent and allowing the thirteen year old in her go a little weak at the knees. It was then that she broke away, chastising her inner child.

Alan wouldn't stop staring at her, not that Minako could blame him for a variety of reasons. "God, I... I can't believe you're here."

"Sometimes I can't believe I'm here either," Minako joked, playing with the strap of her shoulder bag a bit more than necessary. "Can I come in?"

"Oh, right!" Alan said, embarrassed that he hadn't offered in the first place. He was only slightly more mortified by the state of the apartment. "Sorry about the mess. Katarina doesn't have much time to clean and... Well, you remember my old room."

Minako feigned a shudder as she stepped inside. "Don't remind me. Artemis got lost in there once for three days."

Alan noticed Katarina coming up the walkway and his demeanor seemed to change immediately. He tensed up just as Katarina had in the restaurant, erasing any doubt over the severity of the argument. He quickly excused himself, going out to meet Katarina and shutting the door behind him.

This left Minako alone to explore her surroundings a bit. The apartment had a very small, unremarkable foyer, with the same gorgeous hard wood floor and plain white walls that ran through the rest of the apartment. There was a set of double doors just to her left which were already slightly ajar, so Minako saw no harm in peering inside.

She had found the kitchen, and it was then that she realized that Alan had not been exaggerating about the state of the apartment. Minako was no immaculate housekeeper herself, but even she had not allowed her kitchen to look this bad. The sink was overflowing with dishes waiting to be washed. She didn't want to think about how long they'd been left there. The tiled walls, microwave, and stove tops also looked as if they could all use a good scrubbing. The limited counter space was filled with things that could have very well fit in the cupboards. Minako was certain of this because most of those doors had been left open, allowing her a full view of the space inside them. Of course, things were piled so haphazardly in them that it would have been impossible at the moment, but some organization would have made it possible. There was a sizeable pile of clothes by the window. At first, Minako wasn't sure what they were doing there, but upon closer inspection saw a very small ironing board. The mid-size refrigerator was covered with wanted posters and newspaper clippings about local criminal activity. Minako also saw that there were a few pictures of Alan and Katarina on there, but they were mostly obscured by the other papers.

Minako decided to venture into what was hopefully safer territory before she felt the urge to actually straighten some of this up. She walked out into the living room and discovered that she might have been safer in the kitchen.

The room itself was gorgeous. It had light wicker furniture, an entertainment center made of the same wood as the flooring, a fantastic beveled ceiling, appealing pictures, and an elegant faux marble table to her immediate right. It must have looked very nice before Katarina and Alan lived there.

She supposed the apparent lack of food made the living room a better option than the kitchen, but Minako couldn't help but feel that the larger room had created a need for the couple to make a larger mess. The desk built into the corner was covered in books and papers and what appeared to be a man's gym sock. She also saw a number of empty tea cups that hadn't been put away, but that seemed to be an on-going theme throughout the room. There were still more papers piled on to the table as well as some half folded laundry. It also appeared that Alan and Katarina had purchased a cheap couch during their short time there. It was powder blue and looked entirely out of place with the rest of the apartment. It was covered in blankets and pillows. There had been a stack of magazines sitting next to it, but it seemed that someone had knocked those over. Minako noticed that they were all in English. Minako also noticed that several of them were the sort of magazines Minako's mother was deathly terrified of her daughter one day appearing in. To spare the three of them from any more embarrassment than was necessary, Minako pushed the magazines around with her toe until the offending ones were covered.

Minako was suddenly very glad Makoto was not with her. The girl would have surely dropped dead at the sight of all this, and not even the power of the Ginzuishou would have given her the ability to recover.

"Would you just listen to me for one minute!"

Minako jumped slightly, spinning around to see Alan and Katarina standing in the courtyard. They were arguing in English, no doubt to mask whatever it was they were saying from the neighbors. Of course, Minako could understand them quite clearly.

"Alan, I already told you. I am not going to apologize for what happened this morning," Katarina snapped. "You're the one who created the situation in the first place. There's no reason to be upset with me just because of your regrets."

"I did not create the situation, Katarina," Alan ground out, clenching and unclenching his fists. Minako could tell that meant that he very much wanted to yell, but he wouldn't let himself. "You are the one who--"

"Do we have to have this argument now?" Katarina asked wearily. "Minako's inside, and I don't want her to be dragged into--"

"I am trying to talk to you about this because I don't want Mina to be dragged into this," Alan interrupted. "I don't see why we can't just clear the air and make this a pleasant evening."

Katarina regarded him for a moment and then shut her eyes, walking past him to the door. "If that means apologizing for something that isn't my fault, then I'd rather have an awkward evening."

Katarina walked out of view from the window. Alan shortly followed after her, but the fight was hardly over. In fact, it was escalating. Minako decided to slip into the bathroom, which would hopefully muffle the noise enough so that she could pretend she hadn't heard any of what had just transpired.

She slipped in through the door at the back of the living room, locking the door behind her. Minako exhaled deeply, slumping against the door. She had pictured Katarina and Alan's life a lot after she'd received the letter that they were getting married, when she’d been fifteen. Of course, she'd been up to her ears with the Deathbusters and the impending Silence at the time, so she couldn't attend the sudden wedding, but that didn't stop her from thinking about how things went with them. It usually involved Alan's spontaneous but simple romantic gestures that Katarina had loved, like pulling her away from her papers for an impromptu tango. Or Katarina slipping away from the office early to meet Alan at their favorite restaurant for their anniversary, where she would turn off her hated cell phone for a few hours in order to be with her husband. It certainly didn't involve them having rows in the courtyard outside their flat.

Of course, this was nothing compared to her parents' relationship. Minako thought of all those mornings when Kaida would be shrieking at her father, Hisoka, her face turning colors and her hair standing on end. And her father would just sit there without registering her presence and continue to peruse the business page. The fact that Katarina and Alan were still talking reassured Minako that this was just another one of those ill-timed lovers’ spats. It would no doubt be resolved within the few minutes Minako had given them by locking herself in the bathroom.

Minako finally looked around and saw that they had managed to mess up this tiny room as well. There was a clothes line strung up in the shower, where Katarina's panty hose, as well as a few items that couldn't be placed in the dryer, were hanging. Damp towels were slung over the side of the tub, sink, and every other surface except, of course, for the towel bar. They'd even left the door to the medicine cabinet open.

She considered this another invitation to snoop. She leaned forward, glancing over its contents. Alan did own a razor, but it obviously had not been touched in awhile. There was also some nail polish remover, face wash, aftershave, and a few prescriptions lumped together on the bottom shelf. They seemed to be the same bottles everyone had in their home. Some cold medication they'd never used up, Katarina's prescription for her migraines, and painkillers kept around for emergencies. There was only one that she didn't recognize. It was something called Nestabs FA. It looked as if it had barely been touched.

Minako was about to see if a closer look would reveal its purpose when there was a knock at the door. Judging by its gentle authority, it was Katarina. "Minako? Are you in there?"

Without missing a beat, Minako threw the door open, a wide smile on her face. "No, Minako decided to go ahead and fly back to Tokyo after being left alone for so long. I am merely a holographic projection to help you deal with the loss."

"Very funny," Katarina chuckled, smiling back at her. Minako noticed the subtle strain around her eyes where some crow's feet were developing very prematurely.

"No need to tell me what I already know," Minako teased, all but bouncing back into the living room. She glanced around at every seat in the room and finding that none of them were currently available to be sat upon. But Alan was already hard at work getting the room to look liveable. "It really is a nice apartment," she complimented, setting her purse down on an end table. "You guys were lucky to get it."

Alan looked up, seemingly startled again by her voice. Minako smiled and nodded knowingly. "Yeah, Katarina kept doing that when she found me in Tokyo."

He laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry, I just... I mean, I knew you weren't... But seeing you..." he trailed off.

"Glad to know you haven't lost that ability to articulate your feelings," Minako quipped. "I told you it would come in handy."

Alan rolled his eyes and threw a sweater at her head, which she caught and folded dutifully. She walked it over to the pile of laundry on the table, acutely aware that he was watching her the whole time. Of course, Katarina had also done that when she first met her after her "death." She also couldn't stop touching her, reassuring herself that Minako was real and not some horrible illusion.

Alan seemed to become aware of it when she turned back around. He shook the cobwebs from his head and went about his business. At the same moment, Katarina walked into the room.

"I really am sorry about how this place looks," Katarina apologized. "I'm not usually so messy, but things have been so busy lately--"

Minako scoffed, waving her hand at Katarina flippantly. "Please. This is nothing compared to my apartment," she lied, glad to see that Katarina seemed relieved by that bit of information. "Artemis keeps telling me that we have a roommate hidden under the filth."

Both Katarina and Alan gave her a strange look at the mention of Artemis saying much of anything. Katarina was the first to remember that he was hardly an ordinary feline. "Talking cats," she marveled. "I never thought I'd see the day... And that is putting it mildly, I'll tell you that." She glanced over at Alan and then looked away, clearing her throat. "Well, I'm going to start on dinner. Nothing special tonight, Minako. Just whatever I can throw together."

"Then do you really need to start now?" Alan asked.

Katarina came to an abrupt halt at the sound of his voice, but responded pleasantly enough. "First, I have to find the kitchen and wash everything. Then, perhaps, I can actually start the cooking."

Alan laughed uncomfortably, watching as Katarina exited the room. He relaxed a bit after she'd gone. Actually, Minako thought it was more like he relaxed a lot.

"So," Alan said, continuing with his and Minako's possibly useless attempt to straighten up the room. "How is that going?"

Minako blinked, unsure of what he was talking about. "How's what going?"

"You know," Alan continued, waving his hands about. "Saving the world and all that."

"Well, you're still here," Minako informed him, just in case he didn't know it. "So, I'd say we're succeeding."

Alan shook his head at her, throwing some other piece of clothing in her direction after checking to make sure that it wasn't offensive in any way. "You know very well what I'm getting at. Give me some details! You're always so vague in your letters, and even more so when you’re on the phone."

"I have an overdeveloped sense of paranoia," Minako admitted genially. "Standard in my business."

"I’ll say," Katarina called out from the kitchen. "If you're going to give details, you need to speak up. I want to hear all of this."

Minako laughed. "Katarina, I never thought of you as a busybody!"

"There is a difference between snooping and a healthy interest in another person's life," Katarina countered, and Minako decided to file that away in her brain for later, in case either of them caught her looking around (because really, it was bound to happen again). "I promise I won't tell my superiors..."

"No sense worrying them over what's already been handled," Minako said, tossing a folded shirt over to Alan and receiving another one in return. "Well, let me see... Would you like to hear about the Dark Kingdom; the aliens; the time travelling; the almost apocalypse; the other Sailor Soldiers… or the circus?"

Katarina immediately came out of the kitchen, a smile on her face and a dish rag in her hands. She set it down and began to help straightening up the living room, taking a place right next to Minako. "You know, we can always order out."

Minako giggled at her, but Alan was too busy gaping to notice. It was a few moments before he managed to force out, "The circus? There was an evil circus?"

Minako looked over at Katarina and pouted. "I was so sure I made the other things sound more interesting."

"You did," Katarina soothed. "But you forget that Alan is afraid of clowns."

Minako looked over at him and pointed, laughter bursting out of her mouth even as Alan looked rather insulted. "I am not afraid of clowns. I merely find them to be creepy and disturbing."

"Even so, be sure to speak of that one in extra detail," Katarina insisted, looking over at Alan in a way that was probably just teasing him. "I want to smell the grease paint."

Minako shook her head, saying, "All right, we'll get to the evil clowns. But I really need to start in order." She glanced upward, trying to think of how best to begin the story. "Let me think... Oh, Luna is so much better at this than I am." Minako took a deep breath and said, "It all started a thousand years ago--"

Katarina nodded. "Ordering out was definitely a good idea."

"Oh, hush," Minako said, hitting her with a nearby pillow.

-----

As it turned out, telling Katarina and Alan about everything that had happened to her over the past five years or so took Minako a lot longer than she would have anticipated. It was now approaching midnight and Minako was only just now getting to the end of the story of the Silence. Of course, it probably would not have taken her so long if she hadn't had to keep stopping to mull over the details. For one thing, she had to constantly consider if Alan and Katarina had to be told the entire truth about everything that had happened. For example, she had seen no reason to tell them that she had actually been killed in the final battle with Beryl, but because she'd excluded that detail, she'd had to come up with an alternate story (in this case being that all four of the Guardian Senshi had been kidnapped and then executed a daring escape, led by her of course) that had to sound plausible. Unfortunately, sometimes that took awhile.

Luckily, Alan had suggested breaking out the wine about halfway through the Silver Millennium discussion, so at least Minako had something to blame her pauses and tangents on.

In addition to that, Minako was also prone to adding certain embellishments to most of the stories. She saw no reason not to make herself appear a little bit better than she had actually been, crediting herself with a few more saves than her associates would have found prudent. She never would have dared to go on like she was if Alan and Katarina were residents of Tokyo, but there was little to no chance of the two of them ever actually meeting the other Senshi. If they did, she'd just have to make sure they didn't talk about this subject.

"So then, Uranus launches another one of her World Shaking things at poor, defenseless, possessed Hotaru," Minako lamented sadly. "Naturally, I had no choice but to make a daring leap and push her out of the way, putting myself at great personal risk might I add. Because her World Shaking things hurt like a bitch and a half, let me tell you."

Katarina laughed a little too loudly at Minako's joke, but it was Alan who reached over and plucked the wine glass from Minako's hand. "All right. No more for you."

Minako pouted again, saying, "Alan, I've only had three, and I ate a lot, besides."

"Yes, dear," Alan said patronizingly, poking her on the nose. "But you see, you've told us that part of the story four times now."

Minako blinked, attempting to remember. "I have?"

"Admittedly, you keep getting distracted by shiny things," Alan joked, earning him a punch on the arm that Minako was a little too tipsy to restrain. He flinched in a way that made Minako's arm hurt in sympathy.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Minako said a little frantically. "I forgot to--"

"Well, I know the world's safe in your hands," Alan ground out through clenched teeth. "As for my body parts..."

Katarina found herself laughing again, and in the course of doing so, happened to look over at a clock. She gasped and said, "Oh, Minako, I'm so sorry! I had no idea it was so late!"

Minako gave her a strange look. "My God, you've gotten old. I hate to remind you, Katarina, but this is early for me."

Alan shook his head tragically. "It's true. Youth really is wasted on the young."

"Watch it, or I'll kick you," Minako threatened with a giggle. It was enough to make Alan skitter away, taking the empty glasses into the kitchen. Though where he could possibly fit them, Minako had no idea.

"Oh sod it, I have work tomorrow," Katarina fretted. "I have to be up in six hours, and I am going to have an awful hangover, I just know it."

Minako nodded, taking the less than subtle hint. "Well, I should head back to my hotel then." Minako paused, her arms poised to help pull herself to her feet. She blinked, frowning, and added, "Although, it occurs to me that I haven't the faintest idea about how to get back to my hotel."

"You could stay here," Katarina offered, though Minako could tell from her tone that she would rather come up with an alternative solution.

Minako also noticed that right after Katarina said that, a very loud crash came from the kitchen.

"Alan, are you all right?" she called, getting to her feet to make sure that he hadn't hurt himself.

"Is anything broken?" Katarina added.

"Yes and no," Alan responded. "But why don't I just drive her back? I'm well enough to drive."

"Ah yes," Minako said, remembering. "I remember hearing about your obnoxious tolerance for liquor."

Alan shrugged casually. "University was fun. Where are you staying, Mina?"

Minako had to think about it for a moment to remember. "Hotel Losserand."

"Do you know where that is?" Katarina asked as Alan emerged from the kitchen.

He nodded in response, reaching over to grab the keys off a low table. "I think so. It's about a thirty minute drive each way."

"Oh, that means you won't get home until one," Minako observed apologetically.

Alan shrugged, putting his finger through the key ring and twirling them about for a minute. "It's no bother. I have nowhere to be in the morning."

"You most certainly don't," Katarina muttered, perhaps a bit louder than she meant to. Alan and Minako exchanged a somewhat awkward glance afterwards, and Alan abruptly stopped his movements in time for Katarina to continue. "Well, I'd better head off to bed," she said, this time at a normal volume. She quickly moved over and wrapped Minako in a tight hug, kissing her on both cheeks as was French custom. "You be good. Don't go crashing through any windows or jumping off buildings or any of that rubbish."

Minako turned back to Alan and said, "Well, there goes all of my suggestions for the rest of the evening."

"You mean the morning," Alan reminded her. He looked back up at his wife who was already heading back to their room. She hadn't even bothered to bid him goodbye. "I'll be back a little after one then."

"All right," Katarina called, shutting the bedroom door behind her.

Alan stared after her for a moment, somewhat wistfully, but with his jaw clenched in a way that made Minako wonder about just how bad that morning spat had been. She almost asked, but quickly decided against it. Alan would no doubt get touchy about the subject, and that was the last thing Minako wanted.

After a moment, Minako sighed loudly to attract his attention, bending down and gathering her things. She smiled as she stood up again, and said, "Well, we'd better get going if you want to make it back in time for your curfew."

Alan looked at her for a moment before chuckling and rubbing the back of his neck. He turned to go, beckoning for her to follow. "I very much doubt Katarina will be awake enough to notice, but I might as well, right?"

Minako nodded in as perky a manner as she could muster and followed after Alan, the usual spring in her step a little more pronounced to fill the somewhat awkward mood.

The pair walked out to the car quickly, Minako wincing quietly as her shoes were still being terribly disagreeable. Her expression didn't change until Alan moved in front of her, holding open the door. Then she raised an eyebrow and said, "I thought you were only chivalrous to women you wanted to date." Minako thought back to how Alan had opened doors open for Katarina to the point where it stopped being cute and started being annoying. She also thought back to how he had never done it for her.

Alan shrugged and said, "It's become something of a habit now."

"Well, I certainly feel special," Minako drawled, earning her a light smack on the back of the head. Once she was inside, she held out her hands to stop him from closing it. "Just so you know, you hit like a girl."

"Then what do you hit like?" Alan asked, leaning against the top of the car.

"A superhero of course," Minako said, a little insulted that he hadn't come up with that on his own.

Alan snorted and shut the door on her, eliciting a little squeak as she hadn't been expecting it. He circled around and climbed into the driver's seat, wincing a bit as his legs were crammed up a bit too close to his body. "Oh, wonderful. An hour of this."

Minako looked at him inquisitively. "Why don't you just adjust it?" she asked as he turned the key in the ignition.

"Because," Alan began, waiting until the engine had turned over to continue his sentence. "We'd be sitting out here for twenty minutes waiting for me to get it right, and then Katarina would have to right it in the morning. She drives it more than I do." He exhaled and craned his neck over his shoulder, making sure that nothing was in the way.

Minako gazed at him for a moment, her mouth thinning into a small line. "That's nice of you."

"I suppose you could see it that way," Alan said cryptically as they pulled away from the flat and onto the Parisian streets.

They sat in silence for a minute or to, giving Minako an opportunity to look at Paris at night. She sighed dreamily, leaning her head against the window. "It's beautiful," she said softly. "Don't you think?"

Alan glanced around, not looking particularly moved. Then he looked down at Minako and smiled, more impressed by her reaction than Paris itself. "It's not nearly foggy enough for me."

Minako rolled her eyes, waving her hand dismissively. "Of course, you prefer London. How silly of me to think otherwise?"

"Oh, come on," Alan chastised. "We are infinitely superior. We have Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, the Tower, better accents--"

Minako laughed, leaning back against her seat. "Better accents?"

Alan nodded, very sure of this fact. "I have heard plenty of single American girls go on and on about a British accent. But no one goes weak at the knees due to the French accent. And that is because it is ugly."

Minako giggled, shaking her head a bit. "You never struck me as particularly patriotic."

"You just like Paris because it's shiny," Alan accused, grinning when took another swipe at him. "Oh, stop denying it! That must be why you came here."

"I came to get the hell out of Tokyo," Minako said, remembering that Alan hadn't been told of what she was doing in France to begin with. "Normally, Japanese students are all expected to take English, but because I'd spent time in England, I was offered a rare opportunity to take French instead."

Alan raised both of his eyebrows, impressed. "So you’re special."

Minako nodded. "Well, I decided I might as well give the language a test run. I'm not quite fluent, but I'm good enough to get by." It was then that she remembered what Katarina had said earlier, and sat up a little bit. "Hey, did you say you're not doing anything tomorrow? Or just the morning?"

"I'm free all day, every day," Alan said with a sigh. "Didn't Katarina mention?"

Minako decided that it was best to bypass that subject for the time being. "Well, she did mention that you know your way around the city. Is that right?"

Alan nodded, saying, " I did wander around Paris while Katarina was at work, at least, at first. I thought I was so romantic and old-fashioned. Then I realized I was just pathetic and boring, so I stopped. So now I sit around at home all day, which may be pathetic and boring, but at least I don't have witnesses."

Minako laughed again, though she could sense some amount of frustration lying underneath the joke. Rather than dwell on it, she continued on with her thought. "I was just thinking, if you wouldn't mind and if you didn't have anything better to do, maybe you could take me around the city tomorrow? You see, I'm... somewhat hopeless with directions, and--"

It was Alan's turn to laugh, letting out a quick bark that made her jump a little in surprise. "The superhero can't read a map. Oh, that's wonderful."

Minako stuck her tongue out at him. "Don't make fun of me. At least I can finally tell my right from my left without doing the L-thing." In case he had forgotten about that idiosyncrasy, she held out both hands in front of her, making her thumb and index finger stretch out to form the letter 'L.' "See, left is the one that actually looks right."

"Left is the one that looks right?" Alan repeated, grinning at her in the dark.

It took Minako a moment to figure out what he was driving at. Once she did, it sent her to scowling again. "Oh, shut up, you."

Alan chuckled, shaking his head at her. "Anyway, how did this conversation start? Something about you asking me to show you around?"

Minako folded her arms across her chest, grumbling quietly. "Well, if you didn't want to do it, you could have just said so."

"Don’t sulk," Alan said, chastising her lightly. "Of course I'll show you around."

Minako perked up immediately, almost bouncing up and down in her seat. "Really? You will?"

"Yes," Alan reiterated, sounding a bit surprised that he might have said otherwise. "I will show you around and make sure you don't take a wrong turn and end up in Belgium."

"That would be a feat," Minako observed.

Alan nodded in agreement. "And yet, I would not be surprised if you somehow managed it."

Minako shook her head, considering the possibility of hitting him again, but then deciding against it. Instead, she settled back into her seat, a smile firmly planted on her face. She turned her head back towards the window, watching the lights and the people move past her at an amiable pace.

They fell back into silence for a few minutes, completely comfortable with each other. Normally, silence had a tendency to make Minako jumpy. It gave her the opportunity to think, something that genuinely wasn't one of her favorite pastimes. She had a tendency to think about unpleasant things and unwanted memories. It forced her to examine parts of her life that she would have otherwise preferred to leave alone.

But with Alan, things were different. She wasn't sure if it had more to do with him or the alcohol, but for once, Minako didn't find herself panicking about things she had no control over or remembering the past and making herself ill with memories. She found that the silence was full and relaxed. She felt no reason to break it immediately, and that was something she hadn't felt in a long while.

It was quite some time before Minako sighed in contentment and said, "Do you know how long it's been since I haven't said anything to someone for that long?"

Alan smiled softly. "I remember that you always hated silences. Sometimes you'd make it so we repeated conversations so you wouldn't have to endure it."

"It was better with you than most people," Minako insisted. "Then again, you had a tendency to get into those moods where there was no talking to you, yet you insisted on company. I seem to recall that I was one of your favorite witnesses to your brooding."

"Sometimes I'd have to threaten physical violence just to get you to shut it," Alan recalled. "I'm surprised you let me get away with it."

"I had to restrain myself from thoroughly kicking your butt on numerous occasions," Minako assured him. "But I'm being serious. I haven't felt this... content in a long time."

Alan glanced at her quickly, his brow furrowing a bit. "Is that why you left Tokyo? You weren't happy?"

"I wasn't unhappy," Minako clarified. "But I... I don't know. I have issues with my friends, with my career, with my mother--"

"As I recall, you always had issues with your mother," Alan reminded her.

Minako nodded in assent. "True. But my point is that I haven't been able to relax around the girls - the ones I fought alongside for years. The ones I would give my life for. I've been tense and secretive and... a lot of other things. It's a relief not having to do that here."

"You'd give your life for them?" Alan asked her, his voice suddenly quiet. "Really?"

Minako nodded without hesitation. After all, she'd done it before, but he didn't need to know that. "In a heartbeat."

Alan pondered this for a moment, the corners of his mouth drooping a bit. A few long moments passed before he responded, his voice so close to a whisper that Minako almost didn't catch what he said. "It must be nice."

Minako stared at him, blinking a few times in succession. Something was clearly bothering him, and she was quite certain she knew exactly what it was about. She opened her mouth to ask him, when Alan suddenly came to a stop, throwing Minako forward a bit.

"Sorry," he said, still a little distracted. "I forget how sensitive the brakes are. We're here."

Minako glanced out the window and saw that he was right. They'd made it back to her hotel, though glancing down at the clock, they were a few minutes ahead of schedule. She could have kept him and troubled him into talking about whatever was wrong, but she decided against it. After all, she was going to be in Paris for some time. There was plenty of time for that, and it was best if he went home to his wife rather than stay out any later with her.

She turned to face Alan, smiling as if she didn't think anything was the matter. "Thanks!" she chirped, gathering up her purse.

"Not a problem," Alan assured her.

"So, you'll be here tomorrow morning for the grand tour?" Minako asked, slinging her purse strap over her shoulder.

"Yes," Alan promised reaching over for what Minako assumed was going to be another hug. She was surprised when he planted a kiss on each cheek and found herself blushing a bit when he pulled back. After a moment, he grinned and said, "I will say one thing for the French. They have an excellent greeting system."

Minako laughed, trying to keep it steady so as not to betray anything. She nodded a bit and said, "Well, the Japanese have you all beat."

"Do they?" Alan asked, quirking an eyebrow as Minako climbed out of the car.

Minako nodded, quite assured of her position, and bowed to him after she had shut the car door. She looked up to see him return it respectfully, a smile on his face. She did her best to return it, trying very hard to ignore the unpleasant feeling in her stomach. "See? I win."

"If you say so," Alan said, giving her one last wave before pulling away from the curb. "I'll see you in the morning."

Minako watched him go, her fingers wrapped tightly around her purse strap. She stood there for a few minutes, trying to force her heart to stop beating and her head to stop thinking about how he'd just kissed her for the first time. She was failing rather miserably on both fronts.

"Stop it," Minako ordered herself, wondering how obvious it had been when she blushed or if he'd just assumed it had to do with the wine. "You're being utterly stupid. He was just teasing you, just like he always does. Get it out of your head."

Minako continued to tell herself that all the way back to her room, but it didn't change the fact that her inner thirteen year old could barely contain herself. It stayed on her mind from the time she walked into the hotel to the time she climbed in to bed. Even as she started to fall asleep, it stayed on her mind and made her blood warm her body in the chilly room.

After all, a first kiss was a very important thing.






Coming Soon: Part Four: La Tentation

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