Every time Rei turns to watch Usagi, she feels like she's underwater, holding her breath. She feels as though she is watching her princess fall apart from afar, and that she can do nothing but wait beneath the waves, the sunlight pouring down in rays that do not even have the power to warm her. She holds her breath, and she waits for the princess to break.

And she cannot save her.

"You're tense."

She turns, and is surprised and not surprised to see Taiki standing there, his eyes like trampled lilacs not-quite-glaring down at her behind his glasses clean of fingerprints and scratches. She stares at him for a moment, her eyes as hard as his. She wonders why she never realized that Taiki's gravity so complimented her own, but in the back of her mind, she knows it's because she falls for arrogance and confidence before seriousness.

She refuses to remember that Mamoru had all of these qualities.

"If you listen to Minako, I'm always tense," Rei finally answers, retreating to easier ground. She might admire Taiki for his music and his fame, but she does not trust easily.

Taiki does not smile wryly or raise an eyebrow. He is nothing short of condescending when he says, "I find it best not to listen to Minako on serious matters."

Rei might agree with him, but she does not appreciate his passing judgment, however righteous. Her mouth sours. "You don't even know her."

"Of course not. She's too busy putting on a performance." His lilac eyes flick towards the other blonde. "She's not the only one, but Minako is undoubtedly the better actress."

Rei's mouth feels suddenly dry and no amount of swallowing can remedy the dust gathering in her throat. "She misses him."

"That much is terribly obvious."

Rei grits her teeth. She might find arrogance attractive, but that doesn't mean she likes bearing the brunt of it. "Do you have a point, because if you don't, I have better things to do."

He raises his eyebrow. She wants nothing more than to tip it from his face. "What? Watching her?"

"Yes," Rei snaps before she can stop her mouth.

He raises the other eyebrow. If he had a third, it would be equally arched. "Why?"

She doesn't know him well, but in an instant, she knows he will not leave her unless she gives an answer of some value. She cannot say that good friends watch out for each other. She cannot simply confess her worry. She cannot say anything less than the truth, but the truth is so complicated and so veiled and so desperately important that for a moment she does not think words can convey it well enough. But then she speaks.

"I have to save her when she falls. I have to be there to put her back together."

Something in his gaze softens a fraction. She feels tempted to remark that the world must be ending. "Because you can't keep her from going to pieces."

"I can't," she agrees, surprised at her candor.

"You're too busy holding your breath."

Rei swallows her gasp with difficulty, but she knows he will not miss the way her spine goes straight as a board. She holds herself so tense her muscles tremble at the effort. She does not answer, and she waits until he walks away, attracted by some new stimulation or simply bored with her lack of response. She does not release her stress even when she knows he's not looking. She holds her breath, refusing to exhale.

And she wonders how he knows.