Elevator Music

I don't own Sailor Moon. What a shame.

michiru

I nearly tripped while leaping over the books, papers, clothes, as well as other junk that seemed to cover every inch of my apartment's floor. I'm late, too late. My body's flexibility was pushed to the limit as one hand would blindly reach over the couch, searching for what should be the car keys, the other hand busy fixing my clothes so that I would appear somewhat decent for the meeting, one foot was trying hard to slip itself into a shoe, and who knows what my other foot was doing...hopefully something productive. It took a good five minutes until I finally got my act together and leaped over the obstacles that separated me from the door.

With one hand resting on the doorknob, I gave a quick glance at a nearby mirror. Before I could assess my appearance, the phone rang loudly. I know already, gahh! I knew who it was, alright. She, too, has realized my tardiness. I gave up on the mirror and instead flew out of my apartment. I didn't even bother locking the door; too much was at stake, and time at this point was too precious. With the way I was running down the stairs, I'm surprised I didn't try out for the track team back in high school. I would've made one heck of a sprinter. I thought to myself as I ran down each flight of stairs, getting closer and closer to the ground.

"Finally!" I said happily as my feet touched the pavement of the sidewalk. I rushed towards my car and nearly slammed into it. Luckily I wasn't wearing heels...I really would've slammed into it. I tried to pry open the door without realizing it was locked. My hands dug into my bag, searching for the keys that I had found earlier on the couch.

"Aha! Come on, come on..." I muttered as I felt an object with a shape of a key, and attempted to pull it out of my bag. Only one could imagine the number of emotions that invaded my face as I pulled my "car keys" out of the bag. Overwhelmed with joy, I finally pulled them out, and then became dumbstruck when I noticed the keys were unusually pink. Yes, pink. Pink as in, the pink key that opens my piggy bank pink? Yeah! That's the one! I had no idea how I looked like, but I imagined my face contorting in all sorts of ways...ways that revealed the amount of anger I felt towards these pink keys.

"GAHHRHHAHHH"

Frustrated and tired, I threw the pink keys to the side, and slumped down to the floor against the side of my car. My head fell lazily to my knees, and rested on them as my arms hugged my legs. It's over, it's over. I sobbed in my mind. Perhaps I was overreacting, but it's hard to believe that I'd be overreacting when I missed the chance of a lifetime...all from taking the wrong set of keys.

How the hell did my piggy bank keys get to the couch anyway? I asked myself, thinking about how ridiculous the whole situation was.

"I'm so stupid! Damn it..." I screamed again and pounded the pavement underneath me with my fists.

"You're the one that said it. So I can only assume it's true."

My ears perked. There was someone brave enough to challenge my frustration with such dry humor accompanied with unwanted sarcasm. I lifted my head in curiosity. I wanted to see the face of my first victim of the day. My eyes darted back and forth until they fell on a figure who was sitting on a set of stairs, the same set that I had sprinted down earlier. I didn't notice passing her. Teal eyes, covered slightly with blond hair strands, met my own. I scanned the body of my mocker. A man? I wondered.

No.

At first sight, I suppose you could mistake her for a man.

...but no matter how I look at it, that's a body of a woman.

She was dressed very sloppily. Black dress pants, possibly once part of a suit. On her feet were worn-out sneakers. She was wearing a white, long-sleeved blouse; it was unbuttoned, revealing an undershirt underneath. I suppose the outfit may have looked attractive in the past when the clothes were clean, but right now they seemed rather filthy. Her shirt wasn't ironed, there were stains here and there, making the white shirt seem more...non..white..? There were holes and tears in her pants as well. The hair, messy as well, not much to my surprise. It was fairly shaggy...yet it managed to make her eyes seem dangerous.

Her eyes...it felt like behind her eyes, tons of emotions were present. But which one? Sadness?...feeling of being lost?

"You sure can concentrate." So she caught me staring. I straightened my face and began walking in her direction, towards my apartment...where my car keys were waiting. Damn car keys. I figured I might as well try to attend the meeting, even if I was running a half-hour late.

"Who are you anyway," I began talking, with slight irritation in my voice, as I approached her. Yep, that's me, trying to start a conversation that will end in 30 seconds. "I've never seen you around these apartments."

All I got was a lazy smirk and a turn of the head. And there you have it, end of conversation. Guess that was less than 30 seconds...

"Aren't you forgetting something? You seemed to be in such a rush earlier."

God. Again, that mocking tone. This is what I get for trying to be social.

"You're right. Excuse me." I said firmly as I marched up the stairs. I reached for the door.

I blinked. What's this?

There was something bulky in my pants jabbing the side of my thigh. I reached into my pocket, and behold, my car keys. Raising my fist towards the sky, I cursed silently at the gods. No person should be subjected to this kind of torture. Well, I can think of one...I thought absentmindedly, remembering the haughty blonde.

I rushed down the stairs again. This time, the blonde was nowhere in sight...not that I cared.

So in the car, I sped for my life.

haruka

So this is what it has come to. All is lost, or so at least it seems.

it hurts

I wandered away from the apartments and let my tired and sore legs take me wherever; I could care less where I ended up. I guess I've become so worn out and tired of everything. Tired of crying, worrying, caring, thinking, breathing. Everything I've been working for, everything I've been looking forward to...it all seems so unreal. Just a cruel dream, laughing back at me, all the while saying, "what an honest waste of time and effort." It's amazing...thinking how a single person can have this much of an effect on one's life. And I feel stupid, for letting something like that get to me in the past...and for letting something like this get me now. How blinding.

I rubbed my face with my hands. My cheeks had gone puffy...probably from all those days crying.

I hate crying. The worst feeling in the world, the ultimate sign of weakness. It leaves you vulnerable, feeling humiliated by showing such a display of emotion.

Drops of water hit my face, and I raised my head to look at the sky. It was incredibly gray and gloomy. Rain. How even more depressing. I continued walking, letting myself become soaked.

"Haruka..."

I sighed heavily. Damn voice won't leave my head. Just keeps spinning and spinning, like a broken record. Perhaps it's some sort of curse that's meant to haunt me...

My legs continued to move.

I closed my eyes...letting them take me wherever they wanted to take me.

michiru

Holy crap. I am the luckiest woman on the face of this planet. I knew I was grinning like an idiot. I didn't care. All was well.

"Congratz kiddo. I'm surprised myself. They must've been really impressed by your work if they were still that eager to hire you, even when you were...oh...an hour late for this very important meeting." I rolled my eyes at my manager's teasing words. Leaning back into the comfortable chair, I took in the nice atmosphere the empty room had given. What a chaotic day. I better have a beer in the fridge. Hearing some shuffling noises, I see my manager collecting all the papers lying on the table. She moves in and out of the empty chairs and empty tables, trying her best to clean the room.

"They would've been sorry if they hadn't hired me. With the day I've had, that's for sure." I said tiredly. My manager chuckled.

"Damn straight. I would've killed you if you missed yet another opportunity. Finally someone decided to take your ass in." Finishing cleaning the room, she slumped down into an empty chair and lifted her feet onto the table. I did the same, and rested my head onto the back of the chair so that I was gazing at the ceiling.

"You should go home. I can see the tired look in your eyes." I looked at my manager in the eye. She was right, I was feeling a little sluggish as of late.

"I might want to enjoy daydreaming about my future possibilities as a Gary Kiss writer a little longer." I grinned at her. She grinned back.

"Yes, yes. We both have been sitting around daydreaming about your success as a writer under Gary Kiss Inc. for the past two hours. It's getting late, go on home. I'll finish cleaning this place up." She got out of her chair and began pushing me to the door. I put up little resistance, and let her shove me out of the room.

It was hard to notice how hard it was pouring outside when I exited the building.

No umbrella.

I sighed as I prepared myself for a quick dash to the car. I used my car keys to unlock the car doors from where I was standing, and made a mental countdown for when I was to start sprinting again.

3,2,1...

It was nearly impossible to see the road as I drove back to my apartment. I thanked God I didn't crash. After parking my car, I grabbed all of my belongings and tried my best to stuff them under my shirt, with the hopes that they'd be spared from the rain. I dashed towards the stairs which led to my apartment, then raced all the way up and burst through into my apartment... and embraced the dry environment.

"Still, I really need to clean this place up." I mumbled to myself as I visually absorbed just how messy my apartment was. It doesn't even look like an apartment. Just a sea of random clothing and materials.

"I wonder if some of these things are even mine." I laughed, wondering if I'd find treasure underneath these piles of nothingness.

As much as I thought that the place should be cleaned up, I just headed straight to my room as usual, leaving procrastination to do its work. Why clean when it's gonna get messy again anyway right? I nodded to myself tiredly as I made an attempt to close the curtains to my windows.

My windows were oddly raindrop free. Maybe some of the walls hover over my floor or something...to shelter it. I shrugged it off. I didn't care, I was going to have some good sleep tonight. It was then, as I reached for the curtains, that in the corner of my eye was a figure. My eyes widened in surprise.

I didn't know exactly why I was so shocked to see her again, this time soaking under the pouring rain.

I stared at her for quite some time. She was absolutely drenched as she continued to sit there, against the wall. It's almost as if she didn't know it was raining. She looks like an abandoned puppy. I thought to myself. She really did.

Before I knew it, I was rushing down the stairs yet again, this time with an umbrella in hand.

"Stupid stairs. Why can't humans fly? It would be much more efficient, and it would totally help the economy." I said to myself while trying not to slip.

She didn't seem to notice me when I slowly walked up to her. I put my umbrella over her so she wouldn't get more wet, as if that seemed possible.

Then those teal eyes rose and met mine. I could've sworn I felt my heart stop for a second, or maybe two even. Something about the look she gave just made me feel so incredibly sad. I shook the thought out of my head.

I reached my hand towards hers.

"Come on, you'll catch a cold!" I had to shout. The rain was pouring so hard that it was deafening.

No response.

She simply kept staring at me, with such empty eyes. I tried to think of something else to say. The situation was awkward enough.

"Follow me, you can get dried up in my apartment!" I shouted again. When she made no attempt to even bother moving, I bent down and grabbed her hand. I was practically dragging her up the stairs. Now that I was involved, there was no way in hell I was going to be blamed for this girl dying from pneumonia or some other illness, all because I decided to let her be. Not with my career on the line.

At least, that was the reason spinning in my mind at the time.

haruka

My wrist hurt. She didn't seem that strong at first sight. Or maybe it's me that has become so weak. My, my. What a Samaritan. I thought as she pulled me out of the rain.

Maybe it was the rain.

Maybe it was just some illusion in my head.

Maybe my hunger was getting to me.

...I thought I saw a goddess. A goddess pulling me from the depths of despair.

How corny. I thought.

I didn't even realize that she had already taken me inside her apartment. I looked down at the floor to find a large puddle of water. My guess, created by me. My eyes were so tired, it took a while before I was able to focus them under the bright lights of the room. I quickly scanned the new area I was being forced into. What is this? I stared blankly at the abyss before me.

Out of the mess returned the aqua-haired woman. In her arms were a bunch of towels. My guess, for the great Me. Man I really felt pathetic, receiving all this care. I must have looked really pitiful if a total stranger was willing to take me in.

"You can go change in the bathroom. Here, I got you four towels. If they're not enough, just shout and I'll bring some more. Don't worry about where you put your clothes, I really don't care. You can just leave them on the floor. If you need anything, I'll be right outside!" she said cheerily as she shoved me into the bathroom. I gave her a blank stare before my gaze met with a shut door. Odd. She seemed pissed last time I saw her. Maybe something good happened.

I looked at the clothes she offered to me. A shirt and boxers? I wondered if she was going to make me stay the night.

"Probably," I sighed. "If she put all that effort into getting me in here, I doubt she'd just let me leave." I said to myself as I stripped.

"What was that?" her voice was muffled as she shouted through the door.

"Nothing." I raised my voice. It cracked as I did so. It's been a while since I've even tried shouting. My voice sounded coarse and dry. After a few minutes of silence, other than the noises of wet clothes hitting the bathroom floor, she once again shouted, "Sorry I couldn't get you better clothes. I tried to find clean ones. As you can tell from the looks of my apartment, it's rather hard." she laughed.

I could tell it was one of those nervous laughs right away. The kind that seemed forced. Trying to start a conversation huh? Well, doesn't hurt to try.

My new set of clothes were on and I was completely dried up, except for my hair which I kept rubbing furiously with a towel. I opened the door to find the woman working hard at trying to clear the floor. She seemed to notice me exit the bathroom and greeted me with a curious look.

"So, uh, you're not feeling sick or anything right? Cause if you are--"

"I'm fine." I cut her off firmly. I wasn't keen on receiving too much hospitality. As soon as I said it, she fell quiet, but continued to look at me with that same curious look...eagerly waiting for some kind of response from me. I cleared my throat.

"Sorry if I didn't sound grateful. I'm just..." My eyes fell on the floor, trying to find words to bring up without touching on any...certain memories. "Do you, uh, need help...?" I pointed towards the mess on the floor. She gave me a confused look before realizing what I meant.

"Oh this? Don't worry about this. It's always like this here." She said as she scratched the back of her head. She seemed a bit embarrassed by the untidiness. It didn't really bother me. A lot better than the places I've been staying at lately.

...Again, that awkward silence. I gazed at her, waiting for what was to happen next. All I could do was stand there and watch after all.

"Um," she said uncomfortably. I looked at her attentively. She seemed suddenly reserved.

"So what's your name?" she asked. I looked into her eyes. Anyone could tell she was dying for information. I guess I'm mysterious enough to spark her curiosity. Oh, well. It's not like it was an unexpected question. It would be even more awkward if we didn't know each other's names.

michiru

"Haruka." She said slowly. Maybe with a little uncertainty as well. She didn't say her last name...I suppose she doesn't need to.

Haruka...

I absorbed the name as I gazed once again into her deep teal eyes. Anyone could get lost looking into those eyes for too long. She had such an wild look, one that challenged you, as if daring you to ask what was going on in her mind.

"Haruka's a nice name." I told her softly. She shifted uncomfortably.

"I'm Michiru." I said strongly, earning a curious look from the blonde. She looked at me through those blond strands of hair, with a hint of amusement in her eyes. There was yet another silent moment between us, as if we were studying each other. This time, it didn't feel as awkward.

haruka

"Are you hungry?" The question caught me off guard. It's not that I didn't expect it, but rather my mind was focused on...other things. Am I hungry? Ugh, if you only knew... I wasn't about to beg her for food, screaming "Yes I'm hungry! Feed me now!" though.

"No, I'm okay." I said firmly. However, my stomach betrayed me as it let out a strong growl. I scowled and glared down at my stomach. I heard a soft giggle and quickly looked up to see Michiru trying to suppress a laugh. I didn't find it funny at all. But my aggravation died down when she announced that she'd prepare some soup.

She disappeared into the kitchen. Or at least I think it's the kitchen. It's hard to tell which rooms are which in this place besides the bathroom. Michiru seemed to be busy preparing the meals...so I wandered off trying to find a place to sit. The only area not covered with junk was her couch, which I plopped down onto. It was comfortable, not sitting on pavement for once. The things you appreciate in life, ah.

I made myself comfortable by leaning back into the couch. It was kind of hard to sit still though. I guess the idea of being in the home of a stranger still made me nervous, even if Michiru didn't seem like she would cause any harm.

Michiru.

It was weird. It had been a while since I've said someone's name. Or had proper contact with anyone really.

I looked at the contents on the table in front of the couch. There were stacks of magazines...books...papers, and such, scattered around. I then noticed a small book, maybe a novel? Well whatever kind of book it was, what caught my attention was the name Michiru Kaioh.

"She's a writer?" I said to myself, flipping through the pages. I looked at the back of the book jacket to find a summary. Romance novels. She's a romantic. I frowned. Hah. I've had about enough of romance in my life. My thoughts were interrupted by the sweet smell of food. My stomach started to growl again.

Suddenly she arrived with two bowls filled with hot and fresh soup. I tried organizing her books and magazines so that there would be room on the table to eat. She put the bowls aside and simply said, "No need." and she shoved it all onto the floor. I stared at her. What a messy person.

She wasted no time and began eating as soon as the table was clear. I chuckled. Despite her appearance, she doesn't act very ladylike. She gave me a what's so funny, and why aren't you eating look after a while and eventually I gave into my stomach's plea for food. The soup was absolutely delicious. Or maybe it's just that I haven't eaten in so long, anything tastes good. Even though I was the hungry one, I couldn't help but notice she ate at a much quicker pace than me. Her aqua colored hair was tied back, revealing more of her face. She frowned as she ate her soup furiously. The way she looked made me want to laugh. It was kind of cute. I guess.

It wasn't too long until she finished. I still had half a bowl to go, and I was already getting full. The bowl was rather large. No longer able to take any more food in, I pushed the bowl away. My stomach got a little pudgier. I fell back against the couch, bloated.

michiru

I watched as she fell back onto the couch, obviously full.

I wasn't full.

I gave the half-empty bowl of soup a hard look before I grabbed it and continued eating. Like hell I'm letting this go to waste. Every now and then I would stop eating to get in a few gulps of air. During one of those pauses I looked up to see Haruka looking at me in disbelief.

"I've never seen anyone eat so much." That better not be her way of telling me I'm a pig or something. I growled mentally. Taking in every last drop of the soup, I set the bowl down.

"Yeah, well, now you have." I replied as I began to yawn. "What a day." I breathed out. She threw me a questioning look. I smiled and waved it off with my hand. "A lot happened." I reach to my right to grab a long-awaited, and well deserved beer. I gulp it down.

"I see you're a writer." Haruka brought up. I don't know how she found out, well then again, with my work all over the place, it might not be that hard to figure. I nodded lazily in agreement as I continue filling my stomach with the much-welcomed alcohol. She gave me a questioning look, as if telling me "Should you really be drinking alcohol right now?" I drink it down anyway.

"Yep." is all I say.

I was becoming very sleepy. I must endure it. Sleeping after you eat is bad. You musn't gain weight! I gave myself a mental slap.

"Do you write a lot?" she asks right after I give her my reply. Opening up? Well that's progress. I decided to think about my answer for a bit before giving it. Well, it's more like I had to think about my answer before giving it. The alcohol was getting to me.

"Yeah I guess you could say I write a lot. Most of it's just for my eyes only though. I've only started writing professionally. Like today, I just got hired by a new publicist." I try hard to stifle a yawn. It failed, and I gave a loud one. I set the empty beer can aside. I'm surprised I didn't give a loud burp to accompany that yawn.

"I see." She falls silent and her gaze falls on her hands, which are rested on her lap. I'm guessing she doesn't know what to do. I don't know what to do either. I just really want to sleep. But I can't. I whined in my thoughts. The weight on my eyelids became heavier, despite my efforts.

haruka

I bit my lip, not knowing what to do next as I sat there awkwardly, watching her fall asleep. If there was a time to make an exit, this would be it. I thought in the back of my head. I debated on whether to stay or not. It would probably be a lot easier to just leave. She'll wake up tomorrow morning, wonder where I disappeared to, but later I'll be forgotten. Like always. But leaving without giving at least a "Thank you," was just a bit too rude to me; she did after all give me shelter and food. God, I sound like an abandoned puppy she found on a street. But then again, staying would make it all the more awkward. Cause then I'd have to deal with her in the morning...and then it'd be even harder to just "disappear without a trace."

Hugging my knees, I continued to watch her sleep peacefully. I tilted my head, lost in thought. She was extremely trusting. Or rather, she simply didn't care. It amazed me how she was able to sleep so soundly in front of a stranger, who in any other case may have well been a murderer or a thief.

Michiru shuffled a bit, and turned over to find a more comfortable sleeping position. It scared me a bit; I almost jumped. Sighing in relief that she hadn't woken up, I stood up and looked around the room. I spotted a clock in the corner of my eye. 1:39. It was late.

"What to do now..." I mumbled. I proceeded to walk past the couch when I almost jumped a second time, this time from a noise that escaped her mouth. I clutched my chest. I'm gonna get a heart attack one of these days. I turned around to glare at her, and found that a smile rested on her face. With an expression like that, how can you get mad at her? I sighed in defeat.

Losing my resolve to make a sudden getaway, I decided to explore the place a bit. It wasn't that great of an apartment. Or rather, it would be if it hadn't been so sloppy. This girl really needs to get a maid or something if she can't keep it tidy herself. Beer cans cluttered on coffee tables, dirty clothes and other junk scattered all over the floor so that it's almost impossible to set your feet on the actual floor, I could go on and on about how the mess here isn't an exaggeration at all.

Somehow, I end up in what I think is her room. It was miraculously cleaner and more kept than outside. I walked over to her bed and sat down, visually taking in the details of the room. The room was fairly big. Walls were pure white, as was the carpet, and the sheets to her bed. Every other piece of furniture was a deep shade of brown, so deep, at first glance it could be mistaken for black. To the side of the bed was a drawer, which on top were a few photo frames. I picked one of them up and observed. It appeared to be a high school photo. I assumed the girl with the aqua-colored hair was Michiru. Come to think of it, I've never see anyone with hair quite like hers before. In the photo, she was smiling or laughing, with two other girls, friends likely, hanging on her shoulders. I smiled weakly remembering my own high school days.

"Mmm...BUT I TOLD YOU!"

This time I really did jump, catching the photo which I had almost dropped. It was Michiru. I quickly ran out of her room and back to the living room to find her still passed out on the couch. I remembered the beer she had earlier. She gets this bad after one can?

"mmm...I WON'T...I..I WON'T SETTLE FOR ANYTHING LESS THAN 60 PERCENT OFF!" she slurs as she shouts, still asleep. I watch her, half amused, half startled at how loud her voice had become.

"DAMN STRAIGHT I'M NOT BUYING THAT!" she continues. At this point it was hard to fight off a laugh. Is she shopping in her dream?

I watch her shift from left to right, as if she's struggling or trying to shrug someone off of her. I stood there waiting for her to eventually fall off the couch and wake up, but it never happened. Michiru drifted into a deep sleep once again.

I return to her bedroom, pick up the blanket that lay on her bed, and returned to the living room. Michiru was sprawled all over the couch, looking very comfortable. I shake my head. Who's taking care of who again? I think to myself as I start to put the blanket over her. At the touch of the blanket against her skin, I notice her curl up, as if to get warm. Again, it was cute. Kinda.

Retreating to an adjacent couch, I carefully watch her, so that I don't become startled by any sudden outbursts. I lean back into the couch, hugging my legs. They were still a little sore from walking around. I rest my head against the couch, still watching Michiru. Her chest was rising and falling at a slow pace; my breathing soon matched hers almost automatically. It felt peaceful, just being here. My vision slowly blurred, and my eyelids slowly fell. And before I knew it, I joined Michiru in a sweet slumber.

AUTHOR'S NOTE//

So, how is it so far? This is going to be a long fic, as you can tell by my already lengthy first chapter. Well, it's lengthy to me at least. I was tempted to cut it in half at first, but then I was like, ehh what the heck. Anyway, while it may seem like a lighthearted fic at the moment, this story WILL be a sad one. Expect the drama. At least that's what I'm aiming for. It won't be anything too tragic (Ruka and Michi won't die or anything...I don't think ), but I'm going to try my best to make it heart-wrenching so that you'll be crying into the pillow you're hugging. Don't worry though, there'll be happy/peaceful moments as well. This is my first fic in a very long time, so any reviews are welcome. Even flames are welcome, they feed my soul :D. Just don't get too nasty. I'm aiming for weekly updates, but they may be more or less frequent depending.

If you're sitting there, wondering, why the heck is this named Elevator Music? oO. Well, don't worry. Everything has a reason and a purpose, and all will be explained when the time comes . Till then

-Refrain