1144/V-Day For Venus

V-Day For Venus
Date of Scene:	14 February 2024
Location:	Penguin Park
Synopsis:	CW:Adorables. May cause cavities. Rei Hino and Minako Aino meet at the park on Valentine's Day... And they seem to have the same thing on their minds...
Cast of Characters:	Rei Hino, Minako Aino

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Rei Hino has posed:
    Valentine's Day. Not a holiday generally celebrated by Rei Hino. But... This year is different. Now she actually has someone to spend it with. She has asked Minako to join her at the park, but hasn't given much detail about why or what's going on. Partly for it to be a surprise, and parly because she's too nervous to even type it out. How she's going to say it is a problem she's still trying to find the solution to as she paces up and down the sidewalk like a weirdo, dressed in warm clothes, and puffing out breaths of steam as she tries to work off the excited energy running through her.

    It's not too late, but late enough that kids probably won't be on the playground. The perfect time for a walk with someone special. A r-romantic walk, even. Rei's face gets flushed all over again after her texts, and she covers her cheeks with her wool mittens. 'Guh. What am I doing. She's going to think I'm a freak if I don't get it together.'

    She has a left-over shopping bag from one of the mall trips that Usagi dragged her on hooked over her arm. But it's not just clothes inside of it.

Minako Aino has posed:
To be fair, even for someone like Minako who was literally the guardian of Love and Beauty, all her time as Sailor V had kept her busy. It had made her (or that version of her) famous, but also alone save for Artemis. Now she wasn't alone, she had the other Senshi, she had friends...and she had a crush.

That last one was why her heart was currently beating nearly out of her chest, her own hands holding a shopping bag with the hard-won prize inside. All these valentines store only sold plush doves! Finding a raven? Well...she'd had to take the plush heart and sew it to a completely different toy herself...she still had a bandage on one of her fingers for the amount of times she'd jabbed herself in the process, but it had worked.

That wasn't even counting the youma she'd had to fight to even make it through the shopping trip!

Rei had messaged her first! It was exciting, even if a little nagging voice suggested it could just be the miko wanting to hang out. Still, she had to be brave, right?

Wrapped in her own winter clothing, Minako arrived in the park and quickly her eyes fell on Rei waiting nearby. Her feels like it does a little flip, but she lifts her hand to signal the other girl.

"Rei-chan!"

Rei Hino has posed:
    Even though she had been expecting Mina, Rei startles as though surprised to see her there when she hears that voice call out to her, and spins around to face her. She has a bit of a goofy grin on her face, though she doesn't realize it. "Mina-chan! I hope I wasn't too hard to find?" Stupid question. Rei had this whole thing planned, a script she was going to follow, to help her get out what she wanted to say, and it has already flown out of her mind. Like a raven. Who was in her mind for some reason.

    "So, uh... H-Happy Saint Valentine's Day!" she says cheerfully, but with a slight stammer. Rei is the brave one. The cool one. The one whose passion flares as easily as it dwindles. But even though she's fairly aware that they both feel the same way about each other, what with the hand-holding everywhere, and... And basically every other interaction between them... There's still that nagging doubt.

    "So, um..." She hefts the bag hanging on her arm as she looks at the one Minako brought, and giggles a bit. "I see we had the same idea."

    She's trying very hard not to just stare with heart eyes at Minako. She's always so cute. So beautiful. Even in winter wear, the blonde manages to look good in it. And her heart hurts to look at her. And it hurts when she doesn't.

Minako Aino has posed:
Rei Hino, beautiful, dignified, cute...and right there. Was it any suprise that Minako's hurt practically fluttered when she say that smile. She opened her mouth to return the greeting, a nervous 'Happy Valentines~' actually making it from her lips before she trailed off with a deep blush. Minako Aino, the self-proclaimed 'goddess of love' who'd shipped and helped others reduced to a nervous wreck.

And then Rei pointed out they'd had the same idea and it was light a shock, enough for her to give a little quiet 'gasp' at that realisation.

The same idea? The -same- idea!

Her arms extend, offering the bag with her little plush Raven holding a heart in its wings, its slightly rough stitching suggesting the homemade modification.

"Rei-chan," she offers, still flushed bright red. "I...wanted to tell you you're really pretty. You're really wonderful, coming with me to things like the modeling audition even though you thought it was silly and the youma attackedd and..." she trails off, exhaling a breath to find more confidence than she'd ever managed as Sailor V facing down monsters and criminals.

"I really like you..."

Rei Hino has posed:
    Rei simultaneously offers her bag to Minako. A hand-made frame around a picture of Rei and Minako. Possibly taken at the modeling try-outs, maybe it was some other time that Minako was in a volleyball outfit and Rei was leaning an arm on her shoulder and looking very satisfied with herself. The astrological symbols for Venus and Mars, in a mix of gold and red paint on an orange background compose the frame. There's also a very fluffy and soft yellow scarf with white cat outlines along its length.

    Rei takes the bag offered to her in turn, and digging out the raven and just about melting, especially when she sees that Minako also did some personal crafting work on it. Then her violet eyes are drawn up to look into Minako's blue, and her heartbeat is suddenly very loud in her ears. Enough that she almost thinks she may have misheard what the loveliest of the Senshi said. But no. "There are two girls in my life who light up a room when they enter it. But you're the only one who makes me feel light on the inside. I'm always happy when I'm with you. Even during frustrating or dangerous moments... I feel like as long as you're there, I... We can do anything."

    The miko steps forwards, and awkwardly reaches out a hand. "I was... Originally going to just ask if you'd... 'Be my valentine'." Rei's face is super red as she laughs at how corny that sounds now. But then she continues with, "I really like you too. I think you already knew that. And... I'd like to ask if you'd..." Heart in her throat, heart in her throat, finish it, Rei, you can't chicken out now!

    "...Would you be my girlfriend?" she asks, much louder than she intended to, and now very glad the park is mostly empty where they are. Oh, boy, now she is as red as Mars, so to speak.

Minako Aino has posed:
If she felt any more light-headed, Minako would wonder if she'd found her energy being drained. But this wasn't the darkness of a youma attack, this was the brightest and happiest moment she'd had in a very long time. If she was any redder she'd be matching Rei's Senshi skirt and her heart was thundering in her chest, but Minako's own fingers move towards the Miko's hand, claiming that touch.

Fingers interlace, that question rings in her ears and the poor blonde couldn't help but wonder if she was about to wake in her bed from some dream.

"Rei-chan..." she practically whispers, unable to put her thoughts, feelings into words in the slightest.

Well, senshi were all about action anyway.

The blonde steps in, her hand moving with Rei's own still held and she attempts to give her answer with a light, sweet peck of a kiss.

Rei Hino has posed:
    Rei is stunned. Surprised, but very happy, and momentarily unable to react or respond beyond very wide eyes as Minako leans in close and gives her a light peck of a kiss. The shrine maiden holds Minako's hand a bit more firmly, and pulls it up between the two of them, right alongside the Raven that she reflexively hugged to her chest out of a mix of fear, excitement, and utter shock when she saw Minako look at her like that, and speak in that tone, and then lean in close... Not fear about Minako, but about what this meant. The change in their relationship that she herself had asked for, and a future she had no idea how to handle.

    She felt like she was falling. Right into Minako's arms. Rei returns the sentiment, despite being an amateur at this sort of thing... Soon her lips are fluttering on Minako's, soft and excited and uncertain but also so sure that this is right.

    Then she rests her forehead against Mina's and starts giggling to herself in awkwardly in embarrassment and happiness. More the latter than the former.

    Opening herself up, making herself vulnerable... That's something she learned a long time ago not to do.

    Now she has learned to do it again, and it has led to this moment of uncertainty about what comes next, and the desire to find out. "I take it that's a yes?" she asks jokingly.

Minako Aino has posed:
The kiss lingers a moment, the soft and gentle embrace of the two of them was sweet, comforting and gentle. It was wonderful, beautiful, the stars were brighter, the world was spinning, her eyes were closed and then as they lean into each other. Forehead's touching and hands clasped together, the blonde finally giggles despite herself, that hand giving a squeeze as she bites her bottom lip.

"I uh...yes. I think that's safe to say it's a yes..."

Rei Hino has posed:
    Exhilarated, but uncertain, but also SO HAPPY and light-headed but also HAPPY, Rei asks with a great big smile on her face, while looking into Minako's eyes from so close by that she wasn't sure she'd ever get, "So what comes next? I've never... You know... Dated anyone before. Do we get matching love charms or... Um... Or more of what we were already doing?" She realizes belatedly how silly her question is. They were already very close. There's nothing new, is there? Well, the kissing, that's new, and very nice, and she looks forwards to more of that, but her sheltered brain is trying to remember what she read in the manga that Usagi foisted upon her and got her addicted to.

    No, not the Sailor V ones, that would just be weird when she has the real Sailor V right here! The real Minako Aino. Then she thinks for a moment and asks, "Want to go get some milkshakes?"