A/N: Oho look! It's a fic! And it's a fluffy one too! I wrote this for my secret santee on Tumblr's tuxsexcretsanta blog and now that it's been posted there, I'm free to post it here. Just a short and sweet Christmas fluff piece. Hopefully (internet providing) I'll have another one up soon based off the fanart I got from my Secret Santa. Hope you all had lovely holidays!
It was an odd feeling. Coming home. That very thought made her pause every now and then.
Home.
Not a concept she had been expecting herself to get used to. To understand and come to cherish.
It was a few days before Christmas and the group was over at their home. Decked in shades of red and green, with furry white trim and patterns of prancing reindeer their home was filled to the brim with holiday cheer.
Makoto was in the kitchen, as usual. Haruka didn't know what exactly their personal chef was making, but whatever it was it smelled delicious. And clearly was getting a certain moon princess in trouble.
"Not until they've cooled!" Mako-chan's scolding voice echoed through the house.
"But I want one nooow~!" Usagi replied with a slight huff.
"Mako-chan it's no fair! You've been cooking all day and not letting us taste anything!" Minako joined in on the pouting. "We're starving!"
"I'm almost done. Just a little while longer."
"That's what you said last time!" The blondes replied in unison, earning chuckles from those gathered inside.
A typical scene. They'd all gathered for the holidays before, but this time was different. It was in their home.
Perhaps the purchase wasn't the most modest. They didn't really need all the extra room. But they reasoned it away easily. Their group was large and a smaller house wouldn't have given them enough beds for everyone to stay the night. And they did like playing host to the younger senshi.
And between just the two of them they had more than enough money to pay for the lavish quarters. Add in Setsuna's share as well and really there wasn't anything that was beyond their budget.
But they'd been reasonable. A nice home, with big windows and a fireplace. A lawn so that Setsuna could have a garden, and a private practice room just for Michiru.
The bathrooms were done in shades of teals and blues and plush, cream carpets found themselves used as platforms from impromptu tickling fights. Their kitchen always smelled of coffee and some heavenly baked good or another. Laughter was more frequent a soundtrack to their lives than yelling.
The house was perfect.
And the people inside were what made it home.
"Haruka-san watch out!" Rei yelped, flailing a bit on the ladder to try and catch an ornament before it could drop out of reach.
Reacting just a second too slow—curse those drifting thoughts—Haruka blinked as a heavy metal bell hit the top of her head.
"Geeze. Why'd we buy this?" Muttering, she turned the thing over in her hands. "It could take someone out."
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Rushing down the ladder, Rei turned to the older woman. "It slipped right out of my hand!"
Soft chuckling from behind Harkua made the blond turn and give her lover a dirty look.
"Don't worry, Rei. Haruka has a hard head," Michiru smirked, reaching to ruffle the short blond locks fondly. "She's had much worse before."
"You would know," the taller woman said pointedly, giving Michiru a look that was filled with innuendo, making Rei cough.
"You sure I didn't draw blood?" Standing on tip toes, Rei leaned high as she could to make sure she couldn't spot any red peeking through the blond. "That was pretty heavy."
"I'm fine." Haruka grinned easily, running a hand through her hair and pulling it away clean to show the fussing teen.
Frowning, but satisfied Rei nodded. "Alright Hotaru, Ami. Let's try to put the lighter ones up top. If that landed on Usagi's head we'd be heading to the emergency room…," she muttered, scaling the ladder again to continue decorating the tree.
And so their day went. Decorating. Baking. Laughing. Making last minute runs to the store for things they'd overlooked. There were only a few more mishaps, in the form of two burnt tongues, one twisted ankle, and a paper cut.
Dinner and dessert had been eaten, followed by more dessert and hot chocolate. Now the group was settled down around the television, a Christmas special playing quietly as the girls struggled to keep their eyes open.
Haruka returned from setting Hotaru into bed, glancing around at the nodding heads. "Quite the day," she smiled, her arm finding its way around Michiru's waist.
Nodding in agreement, Michiru settled herself against Haruka, smiling. "It's good to have everyone together." Things had been quiet, but they never knew when that would change. They had to savor their precious moments while they could.
"Ne, Haruka," she spoke softly, not wanting to wake their sleeping friends. "Did you hang this?" Aqua eyes glanced up, to a strategically placed bough of mistletoe hanging from the doorway.
"No…it wasn't me," she replied, confused who could have done it. A quick scan of the supposedly sleeping faces helped her find the culprit.
Nudging Michiru lightly, she nodded towards their princess, doing a fantastic job of feigning sleep minus the impossible to hide grin she was wearing.
"Well, I guess someone put it here for a reason," Michiru mused, playing along. "Be a shame to waste it."
"Someone did go through the trouble. Probably someone very clumsy too."
"And not very graceful on ladders…"
"To hang it."
By then Usagi's grin had evolved into quiet laughs, her eyes still squeezed shut in a poor attempt to look like she was sleeping.
Wrapping both arms around Michiru, Haruka tugged her closer, pressing her body tightly against hers. "Merry Christmas, Michiru."
One blue eye peeked open from the couch just in time to see lips touch gently. Smiling, pleased with herself, Usagi snuggled down more deeply into her blankets, tugged the sleeping Luna closer to herself, and closed her eyes.
