[Rei stiffens at the hand on her cheek, but looks up at the older woman with something of a blank expression, truly stunned by the gesture.
She's never had a mother before. -- well, she did, when she was young, and Rei has vague memories of her, before her death, but she was forced to grow up without one. And, most of the time, Rei doesn't feel like a fifteen year old high-school student, just because she hasn't been a fifteen year old high school student for a very long time.
But it's times like these -- the nature of this place, the constant pressure upon her to keep Usagi happy, the threat of disappearance and memory loss peeking around the corner at every given opportunity -- that Rei, not for the first time, but certainly with regret, wishes she could be normal.
A lump is lodged in her throat as she fights down the tears -- because even with that horrendously guilty thought, Rei still refuses to cry.
Or, at least, she gives it an excellent shot, before one or two leak out.]
[Offline]
She's never had a mother before. -- well, she did, when she was young, and Rei has vague memories of her, before her death, but she was forced to grow up without one. And, most of the time, Rei doesn't feel like a fifteen year old high-school student, just because she hasn't been a fifteen year old high school student for a very long time.
But it's times like these -- the nature of this place, the constant pressure upon her to keep Usagi happy, the threat of disappearance and memory loss peeking around the corner at every given opportunity -- that Rei, not for the first time, but certainly with regret, wishes she could be normal.
A lump is lodged in her throat as she fights down the tears -- because even with that horrendously guilty thought, Rei still refuses to cry.
Or, at least, she gives it an excellent shot, before one or two leak out.]