Not Today

Minako leaned against the open doorway that led out to the terrace of the Grecian villa, watching Rei and listening to the waves echoing beneath the starry sky. There was an expression of deep contentment on Rei's face as she stared down towards the sea, oblivious to her lover's presence. Strange, really, that someone so linked with fire would have such a fascination with water. Minako's lips quirked into a smile.

Rei straightened suddenly, and directed her gaze at Minako. "You're the only person I've ever met who can still sneak up on me," she said, chuckling softly. "How come you're all the way over there?"

"Just enjoying the view." Minako grinned salaciously and passed gaze her over Rei's body. Even in the low light, she could tell Rei had gone red. She crossed the terrace to close the distance between them and pulled Rei into a hug.

"You've been having a good time, Reiko?"

Rei returned the embrace, kissing the idol on the cheek. "This has been absolutely incredible, Minako. It's no wonder you wanted to come back here. Thank you so much for bringing me."

"Thank you for coming. Um, with me, I mean." Minako mentally slapped herself for the double entendre as Rei giggled quietly.

"What are we going to do tomorrow, Mina?" she asked. "Maybe we can visit another temple and annoy some more tour guides."

Earlier, when they had been exploring a popular site, Minako decided it would be fun to begin an elaborate explanation in English about the history of a particular structure, just as a group of North American tourists were passing. The group stood riveted, for a solid ten minutes before their guide had realized his audience had disappeared, and returned looking quite livid. But soon enough, he too was listening to Minako with rapt attention. Then, later on, Rei casually steered them into another visiting group, and began firing off questions that even a professor of ancient history might have had some trouble with. Rei confessed afterwards that some of what she'd asked were the most common queries received while working at Hikawa Shrine.

Minako laughed at the recent memory and raised her head from Rei's shoulder to look her in the eyes. "I thought we might explore around the village tomorrow, actually."

Rei smiled. "We've been pretty busy, haven't we? I wouldn't mind a day to relax a bit—"

"Who said anything about relaxing? I said we're going exploring." She smirked when Rei groaned. "I did warn you what you were getting into when I invited you, Reiko, remember? There's someplace special I'd like to show you. I found it the last time I was here—you'll like it."

"Yeah? What is it?" Rei looked intrigued.

Minako kissed her lightly and laughed. "You'll see when we get there." With that, she began pulling Rei back inside the villa, upstairs towards the bed they had been sharing since the night they had arrived.

O~O~O~O

"Are you sure we're not lost, Minako?" Rei asked, pushing her damp bangs back from her forehead. "These trees are all starting to look the same to me."

They were clambering through what was becoming a very warm forest on the rolling hillside that bordered the village they were staying in. The idol was still refusing to share just what the mysterious something they were looking for was, and so Rei could be of little help finding it.

"We're not lost, Reiko—it's just a bit further than I remember. And hotter." Minako made a face and glanced around. Grinning, she strode through the ferns towards a cluster of branches, and pushed them aside. "This way."

Rei adjusted the shoulder bag Minako had coerced her into carrying, and followed. They'd packed a small lunch, given that they weren't sure when they'd be getting back to the villa. Rei just hoped they'd brought enough water. She was getting rather thirsty. Up ahead, she heard a cry of triumph from the idol.

"Success! Come on, Reiko!"

Rei felt her jaw drop when she pushed through the shrubbery and a lagoon came into view. She had never seen water look so blue and inviting.

"Wow, Mina. This is great!" She put down the shoulder bag and hurried to stand beside Minako at the edge.

She realized a second too late why Minako had just snickered. Rei was not quick enough to keep herself from falling into the lagoon when the idol pushed her, but she did manage to latch onto Minako's arm and pulled her in as well.

They both shrieked as the water enveloped them. It was wonderfully cool after walking around in the day's heat. Rei laughed breathlessly as she broke the surface and saw a thoroughly-soaked Minako scowling at her.

"Aw, did I spoil your fun?" Rei flicked a few droplets towards her face.

Minako's scowl morphed into a grin. "You're in big trouble now, Reiko." She spread her arms and swung them down into the water, sending sizeable waves at Rei's head.

Rei returned the favour, splashing Minako with wild abandon, both of them giggling loudly in the quiet of the forest.

The mood shifted from amusement to something else entirely as they grasped onto the other's arms, bringing a stop to the splashing.

Rei felt her pulse quicken as she clutched one of Minako's wrists, and realized how close they had become. She was suddenly reminded of the time they had been caught in a violent thunderstorm back in Japan. Minako's shirt was clinging to her skin much as it had then, soaking wet, and revealing. Rei swallowed, remembering what had happened next.

Minako seemed to be thinking along similar lines. Moistening her lips with her tongue, she lowered her hand from where it had been holding Rei's shoulder, down to the contours of her chest. Rei's grip on Minako's wrist slackened at the touch, and the idol used the opportunity to free herself. She grabbed hold of her t-shirt and pulled it over her head.

"M-Minako—"

"Shh." The idol flung the garment away before rapidly unbuttoning Rei's drenched blouse and removing it with ease. "There's no one around for miles, Reiko."

Rei felt Minako's hands undoing the clasp of her cut-offs and sliding them down her hips. The thin material beneath them was quick to follow. She gulped, frozen with surprise when Minako ducked beneath the chest-high water to remove the shorts entirely, running her mouth across Rei's wet skin as she knelt. There was naked lust in Minako's eyes as she stood upright and pressed their bodies together. Rei swallowed again. Apparently Minako had removed her own shorts as well. She pulled Rei's arms around her waist, and gestured with her eyes at Rei's chest.

"You're still wearing far too much." She smiled sweetly, and reached around Rei's shoulders to unhook her last vestige of clothing. "D'you think you could help me with mine?"

Something in Minako's voice released Rei from her shock. She was quick to obey the simple request as Minako brought their lips crashing together.

O~O~O~O

Quite some time later, they eventually untangled themselves from one another, and gathered up their scattered, sodden clothes. Rei made a face at the thought of putting the wet garments back on. She was glad she had decided against wearing her sneakers on the hike—wet shoes were the worst to walk around in. Her sandals at least would dry quickly. She plucked them from the cluster of reeds they had floated into after having fallen off when Minako pushed her into the lagoon.

"I brought towels, Reiko." Minako grinned and pulled herself from the water, still completely uncovered. Rei felt herself heating up again at the sight. Minako reached into the bag Rei had been carrying and pulled out a couple of fluffy towels, one of which she held just out of Rei's reach.

"You're going to have to climb out if you want this." Her eyes gleamed impishly when Rei glared. Smirking, she put the towel down next to her before wrapping herself in her own.

Groaning softly, Rei climbed out, going even redder when Minako whistled under her breath at her, and snatched up the other towel to cover herself.

"You're adorable when you're embarrassed, Reiko, d'you know that?" Minako's gaze raked across Rei, her cheeks pinkening. "And even when you're not embarrassed, now that I think about it." She reached into the bag and extracted some of Rei's clothes. Whatever Rei's expression was, it caused Minako to burst into laughter.

"You—you planned this whole thing, didn't you?" Rei accepted the clothing, feeling thoroughly stunned—and perhaps a little bit pleased. She hurriedly put it on, rather relieved to be dressed, and set about drying her hair.

Minako laughed again and dug through the bag for her own clothing. "Well, I planned on bringing you here and pushing you in, and I planned on joining you—I didn't quite plan on what followed."

"How about what followed that, then? Did you plan that?" Rei grinned, rolling her wet clothes up inside the damp towel.

"Given that you initiated it, no. But a good idea is a good idea." Minako straightened the blue sundress she had just put on, and sat beside Rei in the soft grass. She blinked suddenly and peered at something on the other side of the lagoon.

Rei pulled her hair back into a ponytail. "What is it, Minako?"

"It looks like there's a pathway over there, Reiko." The light of adventure was in her eyes. "Want to see where it goes?"

Rei smiled, knowing it was useless to resist. Besides, she was a bit curious herself as to where the path led. She got to her feet and offered a hand to Minako to help her up.

O~O~O~O

The climb was relatively easy, though a bit long, since the hillside was not steep, but still quite large. A slight breeze had picked up, albeit a warm one, making the leaves rustle above them. Minako smiled as the sound of the sea returned to her ears. They must have been near another edge of the forest.

Sure enough, they reached a curtain of creepers and branches, which Rei pushed aside to let them pass through.

"Oh, wow," she whispered when they entered a small, grassy clearing.

A number of trees clustered around a moss-covered carving, forming a natural archway above it. Flower-covered vines travelled up and around the trunks, almost completely obscuring the bark.

From the looks of the stone, it was very old—likely even ancient, Minako thought, moving to take a closer look. Rei's grip on her arm stopped her.

"We have to give an offering first, Minako. It's a shrine to a god." She reached into the bag that held the lunch they had brought and extracted a small bottle of wine. "It's not quite ambrosia, but some of this should appease whichever deity watches over this place."

"They won't want the whole thing?" Minako smirked.

"Well, if it's a shrine to Dionysus, yes." Rei smirked back. "God of wine and parties. Among other things."

Minako lifted an eyebrow as Rei began to remove the cork. "I didn't know you knew Greek mythology, Reiko."

"English project for school. I actually did an assignment on—um—" Rei suddenly turned red.

"On what?"

"The—um—the love affair between Ares and Aphrodite." There was a loud popping sound when Rei successfully opened the bottle. Her face was positively glowing.

Minako giggled, feeling her cheeks get warm. "Was this before or after we met?" She took Rei's free hand and they walked towards the aged rock.

Rei knelt to pour a measure of the red liquid onto the ground before replacing the cork. She stood again and faced Minako.

"N-not long after. I had to compare different versions of their story, talk about which one I liked best."

"So which is your favourite?"

"Ours." Minako's jaw dropped and Rei smiled shyly. She reached up to run a fingertip across Minako's cheek. "Though I couldn't have used that one for the project, given that I hadn't realized yet what was even happening. Or hadn't admitted it, anyway."

A noise nearby prevented the blushing idol from replying. Simultaneously, she and Rei turned their heads towards the sound.

Minako hadn't noticed the stone stairs that led down the hillside at the forest's edge. At the top of them stood a small woman who looked quite ancient herself. She didn't seem all that surprised by the presence of the two young women. In fact, she smiled broadly at the sight of them and spoke softly to herself in Greek.

Having been fluent in English already as a young child, Minako had been allowed to choose a different language to study for school. Motivated by an interest in the mythology, for reasons she wouldn't be able to explain until she was older, she had settled on studying Greek. Even when her fame had exploded into life, she continued to learn it on her own time.

As such, Minako perfectly understood every word the old woman said, and felt herself turning redder.

"What did she say, Minako?" Rei asked in a curious voice.

"Sh-she thinks we're here to get married!" Too shocked to even think of laughing at Rei's bordering on terrified expression, Minako turned to the old woman and replied in her language.

"Why—um, why do you think we're here to get married?"

The woman's eyes widened briefly. Her smile was delighted. "Your Greek is excellent, child. One would think you were born here." She gestured towards the shrine. "This is a Shrine to the goddess of love."

"Aphrodite," Minako murmured, largely for Rei's benefit. "The shrine," she added.

The woman continued. "I am Thais, the priestess of this shrine. Lovers from all over have passed through here since ancient times, to be joined as one before the eyes of the goddess."

Minako inclined her head respectfully and nudged Rei, indicating that she should do the same.

"She's a priestess, Reiko."

Interest flickered in Rei's eyes as she imitated Minako's gesture.

"Okay. But why does she think we're here to get m-married?" she whispered. She still looked faintly terrified.

"I'm working on that," Minako murmured back. "T-Tay-iss, was it? We found this place by chance. We're—we're not here to get married."

Thais smiled mysteriously. "Not today, perhaps." She stepped forward and placed her wizened hands around the couple's clasped palms for a moment. Minako swallowed a gasp at the sudden feeling of another presence with them in the clearing.

"Not today," Thais said again, releasing their hands. She moved to kneel before the stone, mumbling softly. It was ancient Greek she spoke now, and Minako understood no more.

"Mina?" Rei was gaping at their joined hands. "D-did she just—are—are we mar—"

Minako tugged Rei away from the Shrine to head down the stone steps, presumably towards the village, leaving the old woman to her prayers.

"Would it be a problem if we were, Reiko?" Minako giggled as Rei gulped audibly. "We're not, love. Relax." Her heart gave a strange flutter as unmistakeable disappointment flashed across Rei's features.

As they descended further, Rei looked lost in thought. Every now and then she would glance backwards and bite her lip, as though she was trying to make some sort of decision.

"Rei?" Minako squeezed her hand. "Something wrong?"

Rei shook her head. "No—I just—I think she—the priestess, might have been a seer. When she touched our hands I just had the feeling that she—knows things." From the way she spoke the last two words, with a sort of quiet reverence, Minako knew Rei wasn't talking about the knowledge found in books.

Not today, Thais had said.

She couldn't possibly have meant that—

Minako shrugged the question away, afraid of getting her hopes up. She and Rei hadn't even been together very long. What on earth would people think if they returned to Japan and declared that they had gotten married while they'd been away?

She bit back a snort. The press would certainly love it. They didn't even know she was in a relationship. They speculated constantly, forever pairing her up with the latest male idol sensation...

If they only knew. Minako wasn't quite ready to give up their secret to the public just yet, because once it was out, Rei would be put under a microscope of constant scrutiny.

Rei often insisted that she was aware of what their being together meant, yet Minako knew the loss of privacy would be difficult for her. The idol was used to it, having been famous for close to ten years, but Rei wasn't, in spite of her father's notoriety as a senator.

Still, Minako knew it would take more than a few reporters to frighten Rei off.

But at least here, in the quiet Greek countryside, they could be more open with their affection. Minako blushed, thinking of the lagoon. She could never have even considered doing something like that had they been in a hot spring back home, delightful though it would be. Perhaps they would have to look into a private one sometime—

"Look at that, Mina." Rei paused on stone stairs near a rocky outcrop that doubled as a barrier by the cliff's edge, interrupting Minako's thoughts. Rei gestured towards the late-afternoon sky, mirrored in the sea below them. The waves made the sky's reflection dance as a cluster of dolphins dove and swam their way across it, splashing a few indignant seabirds in the process.

Minako released Rei's hand and slid her arm around her waist. Smiling, she pressed her lips to Rei's cheek.

"Beautiful," she said quietly.

"It really is." Rei nodded in agreement.

Minako wrapped her other arm around Rei's waist and turned her so they stood face to face. "I was talking about you, Reiko." She could feel the heat coming from Rei's flushed cheeks as she leaned forward to kiss her.

She halted at the sound of something rumbling, and looked around nervously.

"W-was that thunder?" The sound still made her a bit anxious, despite the wonderful diversion Rei had created during the last thunderstorm Minako experienced. She had been quite disappointed later when the rainy season eventually came to an end.

Rei, looking sheepish, clutched her stomach and laughed. "We never did have lunch, Minako. Maybe, uh, we should fix that?"

Minako's own stomach was quick to voice its agreement.

They sat down in the soft grass that grew next to the rocky outcrop and listened to the waves as they ate their late meal.

Neither seemed to notice that every few minutes the other would glance in the direction of the ancient shrine and sigh quietly.

O~O~O~O

"Have I thanked you yet for this trip, Minako?" Rei asked as they lay entwined in the sizeable bed, slightly breathless from their recent activities. She raised herself up slightly on her forearms, still keeping their bodies pressed together—Minako could feel Rei's heart pounding against her, and her own positively thrilled to the gentle sensation.

It was the final night of their stay in the villa before they had to head off to Athens to catch a flight back to Tokyo. Minako was nearly dreading the return, given how incredible their time in Greece had been. Despite that feeling, she smiled. Running her fingers through Rei's hair, she drew their lips together.

"Yes, but I like it when you thank me. You should thank me again after you catch your breath. And maybe again after that." She giggled against Rei's mouth and kissed her. "Actions speak louder than words, Reiko."

"I don't know about that, Mina—you were calling my name pretty loudly just now."

Minako blushed wildly at the remark, and pushed Rei onto her back, straddling her hips. Rei was shaking with laughter and looking very smug.

"That sounds like a challenge to me." Minako leaned down until their faces were only millimetres apart. Rei's eyes widened in surprise. She swallowed visibly when Minako grinned deviously at her. "We'll see who's calling whose name the loudest, Reiko."

She tasted the sensitive skin of Rei's chest before her mouth descended lower. Rei gasped loudly at the contact.

Oh yes, Minako thought. They would see.

O~O~O~O

"We'll have to come back again since we didn't see everything, Reiko," Minako mumbled against Rei's bare shoulder. She struggled to keep her eyes open. Going to sleep meant the morning would come sooner, and so would the end of their trip.

"Not for lack of trying on your part, Mina. But yes. Or we could just stay longer." Rei's lips pressed against Minako's temple.

"You, my love, are a temptress—not that I'm complaining." The idol sighed, cursing her obligations. For the first time, she wasn't particularly looking forward to her next tour. She wasn't sure she could stand to be away from Rei for long. At least her next few appearances and concerts were domestic. Perhaps Rei could be convinced to accompany her for some of them.

"So we'll definitely come here again, then?" Rei's voice was laced with a hopeful tone.

"Definitely." Minako tightened her hold around her lover.

"Some-someday we could visit that shrine again," Rei said, yawning. "I'd really like to."

Minako's tired eyes flew open, remembering again what the aged priestess had said. Tentatively, she lifted her head to gaze down at Rei. Her lover appeared to be sound asleep.

Not today, perhaps.

But—

She laid back down and curled up against Rei, smiling to herself.

Someday.

o~o~o~o

Author notes: I like reviews. Thanks for reading!