Disclaimer: I don't own Haruka and Michiru.
I know it's been a while since I've written a story, so I hope you like this one. Let me know what you think.
Secrets and Lies.
Chapter 1: The Paparazzi.
Michiru walked to the railing and looked out over the sea. "It's so beautiful."
"Not as beautiful as you." Haruka replied. Michiru turned to face her lover. "Could you BE a little more cheesy? Where does all that come from anyway, some bad 1950s movie?"
"No, I just love you." The blonde leaned down to kiss the smaller girl, but stopped when she noticed a camera peeking out of a bush just beyond them. "Shit". Michiru pulled back. "What is it?"
"Paparazzi."
The aqua-haired girl sighed and turned back to the ocean.
"Come on, let's go home" Haruka said, turning and heading back towards their car. She got about ten feet before she noticed the smaller girl wasn't following her. "Michi? Are you coming?" Michiru didn't answer, she simply turned on her heel and walked briskly to the car, purposely avoiding the blonde's eyes. Haruka sighed, but followed.
Two years ago the paparazzi had succeeded in getting a picture of the couple kissing in public. The tabloids had gone out and Haruka's popularity immediately dropped. It turns out that sponsors don't want to put their name on the car of a reported lesbian. It had turned into a huge scandal and Haruka's publicist advised her that if she wanted to continue racing, she would have to keep her relationship a secret.
Michiru had been very understanding at first. They could still go out on dates, they just couldn't do overt things like kiss or hold hands. But when Haruka started having to introduce her as her "friend", things took a turn for the worse. Michiru simply didn't like the idea of hiding who she was and she couldn't understand how Haruka could stand it. Haruka generally just shut her mouth and let the smaller girl calm down on her own. It usually only took a couple hours and it was a lot easier than talking the whole thing out.
They arrived home having spent the entire drive in complete silence. Michiru quickly got out of the car and slammed her door. Haruka tried to catch up with her, but ended up having to take the stairs as Michiru had made sure that the elevator door closed before Haruka could get in. Luckily, the runner had no trouble bounding up fourteen flights of stairs and got to the top just as Michiru was entering the apartment. She wanted to reach out to her, to hold her and remind her that no matter what she had to say for the cameras, she did truly love her, but she knew that Michiru would not be receptive to that at the moment, so instead she took up her usual spot on the couch with her book and waited for Michiru to come out of their room as she always did and head towards the pool.
But twenty minutes later Michiru still hadn't come out. Haruka was confused. Usually when things like this happened, Michiru would go into their room for about five minutes, change into her swimsuit and then head down to the pool for a couple hours. In fact, that was generally what Michiru did anytime she was depressed or angry. It cleared her head and helped her relax in the same way that running did for Haruka. So it was strange that she hadn't come out yet.
Haruka put down her book and walked slowly towards their bedroom door. "Michi?" There was no answer. She knocked. "Michiru?" Again, nothing. She tried the door, but the smaller girl had locked it. A muffled whimper came through the wood and Haruka knew this was more serious than it had been before. "Michi, open the door." She pleaded. "Come on Mich." Again, no answer. Haruka sighed. "This is gonna cost me" she groaned, before stepping back and sending her foot directly into the doorknob with enough force to splinter the door and knock the lock out of place. There still wasn't even a sound from Michiru. Haruka pushed open the now broken door to find her lover curled up in a ball on the bed facing away from Haruka. She was sobbing uncontrollably into one of their blue satin pillows and her swimsuit lay abandoned on the floor. Haruka walked over and laid down behind her weeping figure. She slipped her arms around the smaller girl's waist and planted a kiss on the top of her head. She could feel Michiru tense up as if she wanted to pull away, but didn't have the energy to do so. "I love you Michi." Michiru softened and allowed Haruka to turn her over and gently wipe the tears from her eyes. Michiru wanted to talk about it, but she didn't have the emotional energy to speak. Instead, she buried her head in Haruka's chest and cried herself to sleep.