SEVENTEEN
(c) rikki-chan (lady bundtcake) 2004
CHAPTER ONE - PREPARATIONS
===
"Minako-chan, I don't often say this, especially not to you, but I've got to hand it to you. You're a regular genius."
The senshi of Venus looked up from a tangled pile of crepe paper streamers and gilded wrapping paper. She flashed her friend a huge, toothy grin. "Thanks, Rei-chan."
"Here, I brought some cookies," Makoto said, emerging from the kitchen. She set the laden plate down on the coffee table and popped one into her mouth. "We've got chocolate chip and peanut butter, and a few oatmeal. I was kind of low on ingredients, so I just made all different kinds."
"They smell wonderful, Mako-chan," Ami said, inhaling the warm fragrance. She picked up a peanut butter cookie and began to eat it delicately, while attempting to wrap a large present with her spare hand. "It really is an incredible idea you had, Minako-chan," she said to the blonde girl.
"Oh, are we talking about the big secret?" Makoto said, grinning happily. "I'm just amazed you managed to pull this off. In fact, what's even MORE amazing is that THEY agreed to host the whole thing!"
"Especially when you consider who else is invited," Ami added, placing the final pieces of tape on her wrapped gift.
"Of course, we all know why Minako-chan made up the guest list," Rei smirked. "So she could hang all over THEM."
The girls all laughed, but Minako just tilted her head up with a look of mock indignation. "Rei-chan, I would never stoop to such levels as that!"
"Oh, sure you wouldn't!"
"Anyway," Minako continued, flipping a long blonde lock over her shoulders. "It took some definite persuading, but they finally agreed to host it, even if it meant housing the guests of honor for the week. After all, you know they would do anything for Usagi-chan."
"Especially Haruka-san," Ami added.
Minako grinned. "Yeah, Haruka-san would do anything for her little kitten, wouldn't she? And once Haruka-san agrees to something, you know Michiru-san won't hesitate to follow suit. Setsuna-san is always willing to oblige if it's for the future Moon Queen, and Hotaru-chan just loves Usagi-chan. And as for pulling it all together and getting the guys to come along, too…"
"Oh, please, allow us!" Rei interrupted.
"Never underestimate the network of Aino Minako!" the three girls chirped before collapsing in a fit of giggles.
Minako put on a pained expression. "You guys are so cruel."
===
Haruka was supposed to be vacuuming, but Haruka hated vacuuming. Plus, she knew that if she vacuumed now, Michiru would only find something else for her to do, like cleaning out the rain gutters or sweeping the drive. And Haruka hated doing that, too.
She wanted to be out in the garage, tinkering with her car, but it would be entirely too easy for Michiru to know what she was up to and go looking for her. So she had taken refuge in little Hotaru's bedroom, whispering to the tiny soldier of silence that she must live up to her title and not breathe a word about the location of her papa.
Hotaru had only been too happy to oblige, particularly after Haruka-papa had offered her a cookie (Michiru-mama didn't believe in snacks between meals), and now the younger girl had ventured downstairs to do her homework at the kitchen table. Haruka, on the other hand, was holed up in the small bedroom, occupied with Hotaru's PlayStation.
Downstairs, Michiru was busy dusting the woodwork while Setsuna had put up the ironing board and was starching the living room drapes. Hotaru sat in the breakfast nook, her feet swinging from her chair as she pored over her math assignment. She wanted to get it all done before the big event; Usagi's seventeenth birthday party was in a week, but Michiru-mama had told her that the guests were coming to stay tomorrow, and would be there until the party.
Setsuna turned the heavy curtain over on her board and fluffed it, smoothing out the wrinkles. "I should really add a lace trim to these someday. They would look much nicer."
Michiru looked up from the cabinet she was dusting and pushed a sweaty lock of hair out of her face. She smiled. "I think they look really nice as they are. You did such a fantastic job on them. Now that we've had this past year to live normal lives without the pressures of being senshi, I always thought you would pursue designing more."
Setsuna blushed. "They really aren't anything much. I can sew much better now. And I have been pursuing it, but I've also been keeping up with work at the lab." She laughed a little. "Honestly, normal life is so busy that I can barely remember how we used to manage, balancing our supposedly 'normal' lives and being soldiers for the galaxy."
"I like it. I've got more time to spend with my friends, and Haruka-papa likes being able to work on the car and play video games," Hotaru chimed in, glancing up from her homework. She immediately realized she almost gave away her papa's position, and her cheeks went red as she quickly bent back over her homework.
Michiru narrowed her eyes and looked at Hotaru suspiciously. "Speaking of your darling papa, where is she? I told her I needed her to vacuum this floor, since Setsuna-san and I were both busy with other chores."
"She's…she's…maybe Haruka-papa is in the garage?" Hotaru stammered.
"Too obvious. She would know I would find her," Michiru said.
"If I know Haruka-san, she's probably doing exactly the opposite of what you asked her," Setsuna said wisely, sprinkling starch on a drape panel.
"I think I have an idea," Michiru said, a hint of a smile on her lips.
Haruka was playing a racing game, and was beating the pants off the computer. She was feeling pretty smug about this, thinking that if even a computer couldn't beat her, she really must be a champion racer. She was just about to upgrade her car again (she wanted one with a yellow paint job this time) when her keen ears picked up the sound of the doorknob rattling.
Throwing caution to the wind, the sky senshi flung out her arm to turn the television off and dived beneath Hotaru's little bed. She neglected to pay attention to the fact that her daughter's bed was considerably shorter than she was, and so didn't notice several inches of her muscular legs hanging out the bottom of the bed.
Michiru entered the room and flicked on the light switch, and at once a dozen luminescent lamps lit up the room with a gentle, purple glow. She immediately saw Haruka's legs and feet poking out from beneath Hotaru's small bed, but decided to torment her dear lover for just a few minutes. Behind her, Hotaru was peeping around her mama's skirts.
"Well," Michiru said loudly, "I don't suppose she's in here." She made a gesture of putting her finger to her lips to indicate to Hotaru not to mention Haruka's feet. Hotaru suppressed a giggle. Michiru wheeled the vacuum cleaner into the room. "Since your papa won't help, I guess I'll have to do this room all by myself."
Haruka flinched. Nobody could guilt trip like Michiru.
Michiru plugged the vacuum in and turned it on. She hummed a little above the dull roar of the cleaner, whisking it across the floor over to Hotaru's bed, where she lifted up the sheets in order to vacuum beneath it. The vacuum came into contact with Haruka's t-shirt and made a horrible choking noise.
Michiru gave the vacuum cleaner a mighty yank and pulled both the vacuum cleaner and a half-strangled Haruka out from under the bed. She turned off the switch, and the vacuum made a gurgling sound and quickly died. "Well, well," she said softly, bending down. "What have we here?"
Haruka gave a small gasp as she twisted the remains of her shirt out of the vacuum cleaner's grasp. "Not funny," she wheezed.
"Not nearly as unfunny as your attitude. Haruka, we're having people stay with us. The least you could do is lift a lazy finger and help."
Haruka looked grumpy. "I don't want them staying here."
"Haruka, you were the one who agreed to this in the first place," Michiru said with mild surprised. "I'll admit, it was a bit unexpected coming from you, but I think it will be really good for us all and especially Usagi-chan. You know she's missed them. Him."
"That's what bothers me," Haruka glowered. "Michiru, do you really think she SHOULD be missing him? She has a life. She has a lover. She has a whole destiny planned out, for crying out loud. And after all we've done for her, all the preservation of that destiny, why should we go out of our way to help screw all that up?"
"Haruka, I said she missed him, not that she wants to run away and have his children!" Michiru exclaimed. Her face softened and her eyes grew warm. "And anyway, destiny has a funny way of becoming remarkably unimportant when it comes to things like friendships…and love."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, when I met you, for example," Michiru said, running her fingers through Haruka's sandy hair. "I thought I could never have you. I thought my destiny was something else, a destiny to protect and serve a princess. I never imagined I could do that and love you at the same time. But destiny bent a little for me, and allowed me to experience the most important person in my life."
Haruka relaxed momentarily beneath Michiru's gentle caresses, but then her brow knitted. "But Michiru, we already know the outcome of this. It's not an open book; the future is already set."
"Maybe it is. But we don't necessarily know what is to happen between now and the future," Michiru pointed out. "And anyway, this is Usagi-chan we're talking about. She's always been a bit of a challenge as far as destiny is concerned. How many times have we felt in our heart of hearts that we she was doing was wrong, but in the end it turned out to be the best solution of all?"
"Maybe you're right," Haruka sighed, leaning forward to nuzzle Michiru's neck. "I think I know what the best solution right now would be," she whispered, nibbling on Michiru's soft earlobe.
"Not a chance," Michiru laughed, pushing her lover away. "You already owe it to me to vacuum downstairs. And you should probably change your shirt and throw that one into the wash. Don't forget we're going grocery shopping this afternoon to get things for this week, while they're here. And for heaven's sake, clean up the extra bathroom. I'm sure the last thing anyone wants to see is a pile of your dirty socks."
(c) rikki-chan (lady bundtcake) 2004
CHAPTER ONE - PREPARATIONS
===
"Minako-chan, I don't often say this, especially not to you, but I've got to hand it to you. You're a regular genius."
The senshi of Venus looked up from a tangled pile of crepe paper streamers and gilded wrapping paper. She flashed her friend a huge, toothy grin. "Thanks, Rei-chan."
"Here, I brought some cookies," Makoto said, emerging from the kitchen. She set the laden plate down on the coffee table and popped one into her mouth. "We've got chocolate chip and peanut butter, and a few oatmeal. I was kind of low on ingredients, so I just made all different kinds."
"They smell wonderful, Mako-chan," Ami said, inhaling the warm fragrance. She picked up a peanut butter cookie and began to eat it delicately, while attempting to wrap a large present with her spare hand. "It really is an incredible idea you had, Minako-chan," she said to the blonde girl.
"Oh, are we talking about the big secret?" Makoto said, grinning happily. "I'm just amazed you managed to pull this off. In fact, what's even MORE amazing is that THEY agreed to host the whole thing!"
"Especially when you consider who else is invited," Ami added, placing the final pieces of tape on her wrapped gift.
"Of course, we all know why Minako-chan made up the guest list," Rei smirked. "So she could hang all over THEM."
The girls all laughed, but Minako just tilted her head up with a look of mock indignation. "Rei-chan, I would never stoop to such levels as that!"
"Oh, sure you wouldn't!"
"Anyway," Minako continued, flipping a long blonde lock over her shoulders. "It took some definite persuading, but they finally agreed to host it, even if it meant housing the guests of honor for the week. After all, you know they would do anything for Usagi-chan."
"Especially Haruka-san," Ami added.
Minako grinned. "Yeah, Haruka-san would do anything for her little kitten, wouldn't she? And once Haruka-san agrees to something, you know Michiru-san won't hesitate to follow suit. Setsuna-san is always willing to oblige if it's for the future Moon Queen, and Hotaru-chan just loves Usagi-chan. And as for pulling it all together and getting the guys to come along, too…"
"Oh, please, allow us!" Rei interrupted.
"Never underestimate the network of Aino Minako!" the three girls chirped before collapsing in a fit of giggles.
Minako put on a pained expression. "You guys are so cruel."
===
Haruka was supposed to be vacuuming, but Haruka hated vacuuming. Plus, she knew that if she vacuumed now, Michiru would only find something else for her to do, like cleaning out the rain gutters or sweeping the drive. And Haruka hated doing that, too.
She wanted to be out in the garage, tinkering with her car, but it would be entirely too easy for Michiru to know what she was up to and go looking for her. So she had taken refuge in little Hotaru's bedroom, whispering to the tiny soldier of silence that she must live up to her title and not breathe a word about the location of her papa.
Hotaru had only been too happy to oblige, particularly after Haruka-papa had offered her a cookie (Michiru-mama didn't believe in snacks between meals), and now the younger girl had ventured downstairs to do her homework at the kitchen table. Haruka, on the other hand, was holed up in the small bedroom, occupied with Hotaru's PlayStation.
Downstairs, Michiru was busy dusting the woodwork while Setsuna had put up the ironing board and was starching the living room drapes. Hotaru sat in the breakfast nook, her feet swinging from her chair as she pored over her math assignment. She wanted to get it all done before the big event; Usagi's seventeenth birthday party was in a week, but Michiru-mama had told her that the guests were coming to stay tomorrow, and would be there until the party.
Setsuna turned the heavy curtain over on her board and fluffed it, smoothing out the wrinkles. "I should really add a lace trim to these someday. They would look much nicer."
Michiru looked up from the cabinet she was dusting and pushed a sweaty lock of hair out of her face. She smiled. "I think they look really nice as they are. You did such a fantastic job on them. Now that we've had this past year to live normal lives without the pressures of being senshi, I always thought you would pursue designing more."
Setsuna blushed. "They really aren't anything much. I can sew much better now. And I have been pursuing it, but I've also been keeping up with work at the lab." She laughed a little. "Honestly, normal life is so busy that I can barely remember how we used to manage, balancing our supposedly 'normal' lives and being soldiers for the galaxy."
"I like it. I've got more time to spend with my friends, and Haruka-papa likes being able to work on the car and play video games," Hotaru chimed in, glancing up from her homework. She immediately realized she almost gave away her papa's position, and her cheeks went red as she quickly bent back over her homework.
Michiru narrowed her eyes and looked at Hotaru suspiciously. "Speaking of your darling papa, where is she? I told her I needed her to vacuum this floor, since Setsuna-san and I were both busy with other chores."
"She's…she's…maybe Haruka-papa is in the garage?" Hotaru stammered.
"Too obvious. She would know I would find her," Michiru said.
"If I know Haruka-san, she's probably doing exactly the opposite of what you asked her," Setsuna said wisely, sprinkling starch on a drape panel.
"I think I have an idea," Michiru said, a hint of a smile on her lips.
Haruka was playing a racing game, and was beating the pants off the computer. She was feeling pretty smug about this, thinking that if even a computer couldn't beat her, she really must be a champion racer. She was just about to upgrade her car again (she wanted one with a yellow paint job this time) when her keen ears picked up the sound of the doorknob rattling.
Throwing caution to the wind, the sky senshi flung out her arm to turn the television off and dived beneath Hotaru's little bed. She neglected to pay attention to the fact that her daughter's bed was considerably shorter than she was, and so didn't notice several inches of her muscular legs hanging out the bottom of the bed.
Michiru entered the room and flicked on the light switch, and at once a dozen luminescent lamps lit up the room with a gentle, purple glow. She immediately saw Haruka's legs and feet poking out from beneath Hotaru's small bed, but decided to torment her dear lover for just a few minutes. Behind her, Hotaru was peeping around her mama's skirts.
"Well," Michiru said loudly, "I don't suppose she's in here." She made a gesture of putting her finger to her lips to indicate to Hotaru not to mention Haruka's feet. Hotaru suppressed a giggle. Michiru wheeled the vacuum cleaner into the room. "Since your papa won't help, I guess I'll have to do this room all by myself."
Haruka flinched. Nobody could guilt trip like Michiru.
Michiru plugged the vacuum in and turned it on. She hummed a little above the dull roar of the cleaner, whisking it across the floor over to Hotaru's bed, where she lifted up the sheets in order to vacuum beneath it. The vacuum came into contact with Haruka's t-shirt and made a horrible choking noise.
Michiru gave the vacuum cleaner a mighty yank and pulled both the vacuum cleaner and a half-strangled Haruka out from under the bed. She turned off the switch, and the vacuum made a gurgling sound and quickly died. "Well, well," she said softly, bending down. "What have we here?"
Haruka gave a small gasp as she twisted the remains of her shirt out of the vacuum cleaner's grasp. "Not funny," she wheezed.
"Not nearly as unfunny as your attitude. Haruka, we're having people stay with us. The least you could do is lift a lazy finger and help."
Haruka looked grumpy. "I don't want them staying here."
"Haruka, you were the one who agreed to this in the first place," Michiru said with mild surprised. "I'll admit, it was a bit unexpected coming from you, but I think it will be really good for us all and especially Usagi-chan. You know she's missed them. Him."
"That's what bothers me," Haruka glowered. "Michiru, do you really think she SHOULD be missing him? She has a life. She has a lover. She has a whole destiny planned out, for crying out loud. And after all we've done for her, all the preservation of that destiny, why should we go out of our way to help screw all that up?"
"Haruka, I said she missed him, not that she wants to run away and have his children!" Michiru exclaimed. Her face softened and her eyes grew warm. "And anyway, destiny has a funny way of becoming remarkably unimportant when it comes to things like friendships…and love."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, when I met you, for example," Michiru said, running her fingers through Haruka's sandy hair. "I thought I could never have you. I thought my destiny was something else, a destiny to protect and serve a princess. I never imagined I could do that and love you at the same time. But destiny bent a little for me, and allowed me to experience the most important person in my life."
Haruka relaxed momentarily beneath Michiru's gentle caresses, but then her brow knitted. "But Michiru, we already know the outcome of this. It's not an open book; the future is already set."
"Maybe it is. But we don't necessarily know what is to happen between now and the future," Michiru pointed out. "And anyway, this is Usagi-chan we're talking about. She's always been a bit of a challenge as far as destiny is concerned. How many times have we felt in our heart of hearts that we she was doing was wrong, but in the end it turned out to be the best solution of all?"
"Maybe you're right," Haruka sighed, leaning forward to nuzzle Michiru's neck. "I think I know what the best solution right now would be," she whispered, nibbling on Michiru's soft earlobe.
"Not a chance," Michiru laughed, pushing her lover away. "You already owe it to me to vacuum downstairs. And you should probably change your shirt and throw that one into the wash. Don't forget we're going grocery shopping this afternoon to get things for this week, while they're here. And for heaven's sake, clean up the extra bathroom. I'm sure the last thing anyone wants to see is a pile of your dirty socks."