A present for Michiru: A Sailor Moon Christmas story
By Mangaka-chan
Author's Note: I wrote this for goddamnrey on Tumblr as part of the Sailor Moon OTP Secret Santa exchange. This story is set between the SuperS and Stars arc of the original 90's anime. As such, some of the references are specific to 1996, the year the SuperS arc ended and the Stars arc began.
Haruka scanned the various shops around her, her eyes searching the signs and windows with purpose. Many of the stores were decorated with Christmas themed paraphernalia, everything from wreaths to Santa statues, beckoning for shoppers to come and examine their holiday offerings. Judging by the people around her, heavily laden with shopping bags, Haruka thought the businesses have been quite successful in their commercial campaign.
However, the sight of other people's Christmas purchases only pointedly reminded the racecar driver of what she has so far failed to find: a Christmas present for Michiru.
Haruka had already bought and wrapped the presents for the other half of her family. Hotaru was the easiest to shop for. She and Chibi-Usa have been obsessed about a new video game called Pokemon ever since it was first released, and the girls could not wait to get their individual copies and start playing together.
Setsuna was a little trickier, but one evening when Haruka walked in on a frustrated Setsuna on the verge of unleashing her Death Scream attack on her slow, half-dead desktop computer Haruka knew exactly what to get for her housemate.
Michiru on the other hand…
Even though she'd known Michiru for years, what the violinist would—or might want—was a mystery to Haruka. Except for groceries, diapers for Hotaru, and the occasional item for the house, Michiru had never asked for anything material from Haruka. It certainly didn't help that neither of them had exchanged presents before, as they had been too busy saving the planet, first from the Death Busters then the Dead Moon Circus, to be thinking about celebrating a foreign holiday.
But now that the threats have passed and life was peaceful, it was time to enjoy their time together as a couple, and as a family. Still, with Christmas less than a week away, Haruka was running out of time. When Hotaru said they should put up Christmas decorations, Haruka took advantage of the opportunity to secretly look for a gift for Michiru.
But that was three weeks ago. Now with the house fully decorated, Haruka was running out of good excuses to visit the shopping center. Earlier this morning, claiming they do not yet have Christmas themed napkin rings, Haruka made a last ditch run to the mall. She knew it was only a matter of time before Michiru guessed the real reason—if she hadn't already—for her sudden enthusiasm for shopping.
The thought that she might fail her partner this year weighed heavily on Haruka's mind, so much so that she almost didn't hear a familiar voice calling out to her from the crowd.
"Oh hey! Haruka-san! Haruka-san!"
Once the voice in her ears finally registered, Haruka stopped abruptly and turned around. Behind her a golden blonde with a bright red bow in her hair was waving her arm at her.
"Hi, Minako," Haruka smiled at the guardian of Venus, three large shopping bags swinging from each arm, as she made her way through the crowd. "Buying presents today?"
"For myself!" Minako grinned unabashingly. "There's still a week left before Christmas, and besides, the sales they have today are just to die for! You know what they say: 'some times you just gotta put yourself first'!"
Haruka cocked an eyebrow at Minako's unique take on the saying. But before she could say anything in response, the golden blonde piped cheerfully, "Are you also buying presents?"
"Looking for something for Michiru, actually," Haruka admitted, which came as a surprise to herself, as she had not always been the most forthcoming person, especially toward the Inner Senshi. Maybe peacetime has made her more easygoing, and for Haruka, that wasn't a bad thing.
"Oh! I can help!" Minako chimed in enthusiastically, which wasn't the response Haruka had anticipated.
"Er, no, it's all right…" Haruka began, but the idea of helping someone else with their Christmas shopping was evidently very appealing to Minako, who seemed not to have heard her.
"Don't worry, Haruka-san! As the Goddess of Love I am the best person to turn to for gift advise for the people closest to your heart! I know all of the sales going on today in Tokyo!" Minako winked confidently. "So tell me, what kind of thing does Michiru-san like?"
Deciding it was easier to go along with it than to try to dissuade Minako, Haruka scratched her cheek sheepishly, and admitted, "That's the problem. I'm not sure what Michiru would want. She never asks for anything, and if she does want something, she just goes and buys it herself."
Minako nodded sagely, her hand tucked contemplatively under her chin as the two of them walked side-by-side. "Yes, I see…Well, Michiru-san is very elegant and classy, so we ought to get her something along those lines, right? Mmm…"
The golden blonde's eyes lit up as they passed by a boutique store. "I know! How about a nice dress?"
Haruka pursed her lips. "You haven't seen her closet, have you? She has enough dresses to wear a different one for everyday of the year."
"But what about a really nice one?" Minako emphasized. "Like a Chanel or Versace gown? Personally, Versace is my favorite and, okay, they are pricey, but you said the two of you have sponsors, right?" Minako said cheekily.
As much as she hated to burst Minako's bubble, Haruka replied, "The price tag isn't a big problem, but half of Michiru's dresses are designer gowns anyway. Just last month she performed in New York City wearing a new designer dress specifically purchased for the occasion. For her, it's not really something all that special."
Minako's shoulders hunched. But her dour mood didn't last long when a high-end make up store caught her attention. "What about make up then?"
"Michiru has one of, if not the largest, collection of lipsticks in Japan," Haruka said dryly. "Chances are, whatever we find, she already has one, if not two, of the same thing already."
"Oh," Minako mouthed quietly, her brows knitting together.
They continued walking for a while longer. The idea of lingerie, musical instrument, art supplies, food, and even puppies were brought up, but none were deemed satisfactory (or appropriate) as a Christmas present for Michiru.
Then, just as Minako was in the middle of listing the merits of getting a saltwater aquarium, the cell phone in Haruka's pocket began to ring.
"Sorry, give me a sec," Haruka turned away from Minako and tapped the green answer key on her phone.
"Haruka?" Michiru's voice inquired from the other end of the phone.
"Hey, what's up?"
Michiru sighed, and Haruka wondered what could have possibly flustered her partner. "I'm thinking about making eggplant parmesan for dinner tonight, using the recipe I got from the chef I met in New York. Hotaru-chan loved it the last time I made it and insists on having it today, but Setsuna absolutely refuses to eat it. Neither is willing to budge, so we're at a bit of an impasse."
Haruka chuckled. "Really? Setsuna is the one being stubborn? It's usually our little princess who refuses to eat half the things we give her."
"You have no idea! Hotaru-chan has been hanging onto Setsuna's shirt hem all afternoon, trying to convince her to give the eggplant a try. With the way Setsuna is staying steadfast against the idea you'd think she's being asked to turn back time or something. At this rate I'm not sure we'll ever eat dinner tonight," Michiru concluded with another deep, exasperated sigh.
Evidently this was a little more serious than Haruka initially thought. All jokes aside, a solution needed to be reached. "How about this, I'll get some chicken on my way back. It won't be too much work to make a second dish in addition to the eggplant, would it?"
"I already have the bread crumbs, cheese and tomato sauce, so I could make chicken parmesan. Dinner may be a little late though," Michiru warned.
"Don't worry about it. I'll also help you once I get back."
"Thanks, but Hotaru-chan is being my little helper today." Here Michiru sighed again, but her voice was lighter, and she said with a joking tone in her voice, "Oh, how I miss the days where it was just the two of us, and we never had to argue over what to eat for dinner."
"Nope, back in those days we did just made do with whatever we had in the fridge, or ordered take out," Haruka smiled. "But that comes with having a family, right? You have to learn to compromise."
"And I wouldn't have it any other way," Michiru answered, and Haruka mirrored her partner's smile. "By the way, did you find the napkin rings you're looking for?"
"Er," Haruka blinked with a start. Trying to redirect the topic, she said, "Not yet, but I did run into Minako today."
"Oh, say 'Hi' to her for me." In the background Haruka could hear Hotaru's voice calling for Michiru. "Yes, Hotaru-chan, I'm coming! All right, I'll see you later, Haruka."
"See you, bye." Haruka hung up her phone and trotted back to Minako, who had been distracted by something in the display window of a nearby jewelry store.
"Sorry, Minako, but I need to go. I'll see you later!"
"Oh, hey wait!" Minako grabbed Haruka's hand and pulled her back.
"I really need to go, Minako," Haruka stressed. But Minako was determined to show her something and pointed to something in the display window.
"What do you think about that one?" the guardian of Venus asked.
Haruka looked from Minako to the object pointed out to her and the sandy blonde woman's eyes lit up.
"It's beautiful. It's perfect for Michiru," Haruka whispered.
"What did I tell ya'! Minako would never let you down!" the other blonde winked proudly.
"But do you think she'll like it?" Haruka hesitated, still unsure about her choice.
"She'll love it, I'm sure of it!" Minako nodded confidently.
Haruka frowned. "Yeah, but…"
"Haruka-san," Minako threw her hands up imploringly, "I'm willing to bet my entire idol merchandise collection that Michiru-san will love it. In fact, I'm willing to bet that those will be her exact words once she see it!"
Hearing this, an amused Haruka smiled at the younger woman. "Alright, I'm game. What would I have to wager for this bet?"
Minako grinned.
On Christmas morning, after Hotaru was done ripping through her presents and Setsuna was absorbed in her new laptop computer, Haruka pulled out a small ribbon wrapped jewelry box and presented it to Michiru.
Michiru gave her partner a bemused smile and accepted the box. Hotaru and Setsuna looked up from what they were doing as Michiru gracefully pulling the ribbon loose and opened the box.
Resting on white silk cushions was an oval pendant made of polished abalone shell and silver. Swirls of iridescent green, violet, and cobalt blue shimmered under the light.
"Pretty!" Hotaru cooed as Michiru picked up the pendant and chain from the box. Looking to Haruka, Hotaru beamed, "It matches Michiru-mama's eyes!"
"Very nice," Setsuna said quietly, giving Haruka an approving smile.
Seeing her family's reaction, Haruka couldn't help but grin. "Oh, but that's not all," the sandy blonde said mischievously.
To Michiru, she said, "Open it."
Michiru arched her brows. Turning the pendant over, the violinist realized it was in fact a well-concealed locket, with the hinge built into the outline of the pendant. Gingerly, Michiru pried open the pendant to reveal a miniature photo of herself with her family.
"A token, for those days on the road," Haruka smiled, then more playfully, said, "and for those days when we can't agree on what to eat for dinner."
Michiru chuckled at those words. Raising the pendant to Haruka, she said, "Help me put it on?"
While Haruka helped her partner fasten the chain, Michiru whispered, "Did you have some help from Minako?"
Haruka's hands froze. Sheepishly, she looked down at Michiru. "How did you know?"
"I had my suspicions when you, of all people, said you wanted to buy Christmas themed napkin rings." Michiru turned around. By now Setsuna and Hotaru had turned their attention back to their respective presents, and in their moment of privacy Michiru pressed a kiss to Haruka's lips. "I love it, Haruka. Thank you."
When she pulled back, Michiru was surprised to find Haruka's smile accompanied by furrowed brows.
The racecar driver laughed softly, and shook her head. "Darn it, you really did say that…"
"Say what?" Michiru wondered, completely confused.
"You were right, Minako did help me pick out your present. She and I also have a uh, small bet, going about the present…"
"And that would be?" Michiru eyed her partner warily.
"I wasn't sure at first if you'd like the pendant, but Minako insisted you would. In fact, she put down a bet that you would say 'I love it' after you see it."
Hearing this, Michiru giggled. "And her prize from winning this wager would be?"
Haruka sighed and wrapped her arms around Michiru's shoulders, the mother-of-pearl pendant winkling in the sunlight as the wavy haired violinist reached up and rested her hand contently on her partner's arm.
"She said if she wins, I owe her a Versace dress."