She clutched the bouquet of blue and yellow roses tightly to her chest, as the elevator seemed to move painfully slow. Never had she felt so nervous or her heart beat so fast it frightened her, over the mere thought of being near someone, until now. She gasped softly, realizing how tightly she'd been holding the flowers, and loosened her grip. They were for Haruka and they needed to be perfect. The chime announced the elevator had arrived on her floor. 'What is wrong with me?' she wondered, as she made her way down the hall, feeling rather unstable in the high heels she was so accustomed to wearing.
She felt dizzy. Would such a masculine girl be offended by her gift? All too soon she was standing before the door of their apartment, keys in hand. She took a deep breath, and unlocked the door. She wouldn't give herself a chance to change her mind. She mentally rehearsed what she'd say, as she turned the knob and pushed the door open, the flowers held hidden behind her back.
It was getting dark and not a single light was turned on. Haruka was sitting at her usual spot near the window, still in her gym clothes, too lost in thought to notice Michiru's presence, until she closed the door behind her and turned on the light. She looked up her, brushing the blond strands away from her eyes. "Hey," she mumbled, unenthusiastically. Michiru hesitated, wondering if maybe she'd fooled herself into thinking Haruka felt the same way about her, but then Haruka's expression turned curious. "What are you hiding back there?"
Michiru's mind was suddenly blank. All the mental rehearing forgotten, as Haruka looked expectantly at her, waiting for her answer. Michiru walked shakily towards her, feeling as if she'd fall over at any moment. "Here," she said, looking away as she held out the bouquet to her.
"Flowers? For me?" Haruka asked, eyes wide. Michiru looked at her, the nervousness almost completely replaced by annoyance. 'Who else could they possibly be for?'
"Yes, Haruka." Haruka took them, a smile of gratitude and child-like delight spread across her face. Michiru couldn't help smiling herself. She loved those rare moments when Haruka seemed genuinely happy.
"I've never gotten flowers before," she said, admiring the flowers for a moment, before looking up at Michiru, "Thank you." She stood, taking a step forward to hug Michiru, who momentarily froze before wrapping her own arms around her. They stood for an awkward amount of time with their arms wrapped around each other, neither ready to let go of the other just yet. The sound of the clock on the wall announcing it was now seven O'clock was their cue to separate.
"You've been busy," Michiru observed, hands lingering on Haruka's waist. There were several crumpled sheets of paper and colored pencils scattered across the coffee table. She frowned, crossing her arms. "Were you using my coffee table to color on, Haruka?" Haruka laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her neck.
"Yeah, I was making a card for you. Sorry Michiru…" And suddenly the coffee table was the furthest thing on Michiru's mind.
"Really? Why don't you show me?"
"I couldn't finish it," Haruka mumbled, looking down. Michiru walked over to the coffee table, and picked up the one sheet of paper that hadn't yet been crumpled into a ball. It was folded in half, and covered in pink and red hearts, which had been drawn rather well for someone never drew, but the same could not be said of the coloring. Michiru looked inside. There in the center, written in large, black letters was an 'I' followed by an 'L.' She didn't need anyone to tell her what Haruka had meant to write. Those three words that she herself yearned to be able to say to the girl who now stood leaning against the wall, watching her. She smiled, holding the card to her chest.