To Love the Light
Focus: Chibiusa/Hotaru.
Timeline: Parallel Universe. Both characters are in the tenth grade.
Summary: Chibiusa finds out that doing homework in a dark room isn't the best idea in the world, especially when Hotaru happens to be there as well.
Disclaimer: I do not own Bishoujo Sensei Sailormoon or any of the recognizable characters in this fiction. Said characters belong to the copyright owner, who should be Takeuchi Naoko in this case.
"Have you considered replacing this bulb? I'm having trouble reading this." Tsukino Chibiusa tipped her chair back and motioned towards the scattered sheets blanketing her wooden workplace. They hid in the darkness and she arched her neck to indicate the speckled ceiling and, more specifically, the bulb against which she was filing complaint. The night sky peered through the naked window and it only served to darken the room―a moonless night. Pink hair managed to escape their odango binds as she glanced back and smiled. "I won't be able to finish."
The confession earned her a scolding look from her older companion. "Papa's gone out for a replacement so just try to do what you can see for now. Besides, you know that I won't let you leave it unfinished; that would be irresponsible of me."
"You're being unfair, Hotaru-senpai," Chibiusa groaned, falling back onto level ground. "You didn't tell me that one of the desks had terrible lighting. If you had, I would have been in your room faster than you could say 'go'." She was referring to the race her friend had proposed as soon as they had set foot in the Tomoe residence. With their current seating arrangement as evidence, it was obvious which one of the two had emerged victorious.
"If you had, you would have won through cheating; 'go' signals the start of a race."
"You know that's not what I meant."
"Do I?" The harsh expression from before disappeared and in its place was an angelic smile, a rarity in public and reserved only for those most important. Chibiusa's heart warmed at the sight and she quickly answered with a smile of her own. However, Hotaru's had already transformed into laughter and the younger girl was left to belittle herself for not moving to secure those upturned lips within her.
"You're mean, Hotaru-senpai," she muttered under her breath.
If Hotaru had heard, however, she made no such indication. "Get back to work, Chibiusa-chan."
Chibiusa sighed in despair and reluctantly retreated to the worksheets, disturbed again that their contents were no more visible than before. It wasn't that she didn't want to do the work, but when forced to choose between that in the dark and her friend in the light, she could not resist the latter. The pink-haired girl granted her eyes full permission to wander over to that single lit corner and temporary entertain her with the sight of her senpai hunched over her desk. As Hotaru continued to scribble down answers, her dark hair refused to break position and so effectively outlined her pale visage. For a brief second, Chibiusa was compelled to wonder how the other girl had managed to maintain that same shade of alabaster throughout the years of common acquaintance; the thought disappeared immediately when, obviously stumped on a question, Hotaru put a pencil to her lip and made the cutest little pout. Chibiusa couldn't control herself and jumped up. "Hotaru-senpai!"
Her voice cut through the silence like a scythe, eliminating all traces of that adorable face and forcing the one so loudly named to look up in her direction. The voice that echoed back betrayed the speaker's annoyed state. "Yes, Chibiusa-chan?"
The oldest daughter of the Tsukino family was oblivious to the tone. "I really can't work in the dark. Why don't we take a break until until your father comes home? I'm sure that he'll understand."
"We can't be fooling around all night; I promised your parents that I'd help you with any problems and I intend to follow through on that promise." Hotaru sighed and a breath was all that it took for her to return to her former glory. "If you're really bothered by it, we could always change places. The dim light shouldn't bother me too much, but you really need to concentrate."
"But Hotaru-senpai, don't you see that my concentration is poor because you insist on sitting so far?"
"No, I think it's the light."
"Then maybe I can share yours?"
"That'd be difficult considering how the computer chips prevent all furniture from moving more than three centimetres in each direction."
In the process of standing and collecting her homework, Chibiusa now paused to properly process the new information. Slowly, a hand reached down to grab the back of the recently occupied chair and test the truth of that statement. The chair tipped as easily as it had a few minutes ago but when extra force was applied, the back legs refused to move more than those three units. She stared blankly in the dark.
"Do you remember when I told you about that break-in a few weeks ago?" asked Hotaru, having waited several seconds of stunned silence before speaking. Receiving what she perceived to be an affirmative answer, she continued. "Well, after having his lab table stolen from him, Papa developed a slight case of paranoia and became obsessed with the idea that everyone wanted to take his stuff. He set up this system a few days ago."
"...Your Dad's weird."
"That's not a very nice thing to say; his equipment is pretty expensive, you know."
Chibiusa grinned. "Well, I'm coming over there anyways. If I can't take a chair with me, I'll just sit in your lap."
"In my lap? And how do you propose we're going to work like that?"
"You worry too much about the future, Hotaru-senpai," the pink-haired one insisted with a dismissing hand wave. She gathered her homework with her other hand and started to make her way over to the lighted area. "You have to learn how to smile for the here and now every once in a while, or you won't ever experience life as it was meant to be experienced. Now, if you may excuse me..."
"H-Hey! Wait! Chibiusa-chan!" There was a degree of squirming involved as the fifteen-year-old tried to settle on her thighs, throwing her arms around Hotaru's pale neck in an effort to maintain her balance. Despite her complaints, Hotaru surrendered quickly to the new weight and the smile in her sigh prompted a mischievous one from Chibiusa. She'd won and Hotaru knew it. "Now you're just being mean. If your homework doesn't get done and your parents get angry at me, I'm blaming you."
Chibiusa laughed and nuzzled her briefly before breaking the leash. Keeping one arm draped over her shoulders, Chibiusa positioned herself so that her legs swung freely off the side and shifted to get more comfortable. "Actually, Ihave a problem with one of the questions," she admitted, No matter how many times I do it, I can't get the answer to match."
"Are you sure you're not skipping a step?" Hotaru questioned with an amused smirk. "You have a habit of missing the fine details."
"I haven't skipped any steps!" And to prove her point, she jabbed the innocent piece of paper several times.
"Let's see." She handed the sheet over and as Hotaru analyzed the carefully printed work, Chibiusa took a moment to immerse herself in the other girl's warmth. She lay her cheek against locks of black and breathed in deeply, savouring that wonderfully familiar scent. A hand crept slowly from behind to rest on the curve of her waist and her heart swelled in response to the touch. Only she possessed the key to call upon this tenderness from Hotaru, and she wasn't about to hand it back any time soon.
"...That's weird," was the final conclusion and Chibiusa glanced down at the dark page eagerly. "You've actually done everything right."
Mood-killer. "Wait, that's what's weird?"
"That's not what I meant. I'm just surprised. ...Erm, pleasantly?" Hotaru added when a pair of annoyed eyes leaned forward.
She hopped off Hotaru and rested her hip bone against the desktop. She faced her girlfriend with her arms crossed and summoned a triumphant air about her; Tsukino Chibiusa did not give up without a fight. "Well, you can't do it either, right? My philosophy is that if Hotaru-senpai can't solve it, then there's really no point in me trying."
"You're setting a bad example for everyone else, class president," Hotaru chided, leaning back into the seat and folding her arms. "Also, since when did I become the academic standard? You perform better on tests than I can ever hope to."
"You're older than me."
"A difference of six months doesn't mean too much."
"You're my upperclassman."
"Are you still on about that? I've been hearing 'senpai' come out of you since the eighth grade. We are in the same year, no?"
Chibiusa had the dignity to pause, place a finger on her chin, and direct her eyes upwards in thought. She broke the pose quickly, however, considering corners of dark rooms weren't particularly interesting to stare at. Hotaru really needed to decorate her ceiling one day. "Um... Well, it could be because I enjoy teasing you; your reactions are a joy to watch."
Hotaru shook her head in disbelief as she rose to meet her in the eyes, smirking knowingly on her lips. Those amethyst jewels were sparkling again, and Chibiusa was pleased to observe that nothing but a playfulness remained within their depths. "That's not very nice, Chibiusa-chan," she said, propping herself up with one hand on the table. Her other hand drifted to catch a loose strand by the shorter girl's ear and it lingered there to twirl the piece around her finger. "Is there a specific reason why you've been so mean this evening?" she whispered in a voice full of suggestion.
Casting a quick glance at Hotaru's hand planted firmly beside her―trapping her, Chibiusa was reminded that the situation didn't make her nervous at all. She'd known Hotaru for three years and knew how she worked, her strengths and weaknesses. She could easily manipulate this to her advantage. "What else could it be?" asked Chibiusa, giving Hotaru the best puppy-dog eyes she'd ever given. "My beloved senpai has ignored me the entire time I've been here, and even went so far as to call me dumb. Of course I'm heart-broken!"
Hotaru managed to keep her composure but couldn't stop the start of a laugh from bubbling out. She let her hand slip to the base of her girlfriend's neck and leaned forward so that their foreheads were touching. Her eyes bore straight into the crimson orbs. "Then should this 'senpai' try to make amends by teaching you a lesson? We've still got a lot of homework to get through, after all."
"Hmph." Chibiusa huffed and turned her head so that all the older girl got was a face full of pink. "I don't think you can teach me very much, Hotaru-senpai. I mean, you couldn't even figure out what was wrong with my answer."
"Hey, you've got to give me a second chance." Out of the corner of her eye, that pout looked irresistible.
Chibiusa fixed her eyes back on Hotaru and grinned. "One more chance then. Show me how good you are."
So she kissed her. Chibiusa was a little taken back by how aggressively she attacked, but she closed her eyes naturally and parted her lips to allow Hotaru access to the inside. She shivered involuntarily when she felt the dark-haired girl deepen the kiss, sliding her tongue along the moist walls of her mouth. Her arms shook from the weight of having the other girl constantly press on her and almost gave out from underneath her. Knowing that she would gain no ground if this continued, Chibiusa kissed her back and effectively caught Hotaru off-guard. She tried to break away to catch her breath but Chibiusa sprung forward and recaptured her lips, sending the two of them crashing back into the cushioned chair; the momentum knocked the roller back a few but the chips held it from falling over completely.
Hotaru was on the bottom now, sitting upright with Chibiusa somehow straddling her, and she struggled to keep up with the younger girl. Her cheeks coloured darkly as Chibiusa explored the warm grooves in her mouth, eventually pulling back for a change of pace and starting to nip teasingly along her neck. The sensation made the girl twitch and she obeyed the subconscious instinct to drive herself further into the chair, away from the strange mix of pain and pleasure. Her movements were interrupted when Chibiusa suddenly pinned her wrist into the armrest, offering nothing but a mischievous grin before attacking with renewed vigour. Hotaru read her girlfriend immediately and accepted the challenge in spite of her position; experience had taught the girls that where Chibiusa lacked in intensity she made up for in endurance, and vice-versa. It was a disadvantageous position indeed, but their tongues continued to dance frantically.
"I'm home!"
Her eyes snapped open but when she tried to jerk back Chibiusa pushed forward, cutting her off from that much needed breath of air. She felt the pink-haired girl smile into the kiss and Hotaru realized that the conditions of victory had been altered. She closed her eyes and tried to gain the upper hand but when Chibiusa started to slowly trace the roof of her mouth, she couldn't help a moan from escaping. She felt rather than heard the laugher rise in Chibiusa's throat, and knew that this would be yet another thing she would hear about in the days to come.
"Hotaru? Oh, has Chibiusa-kun come over already? Welcome." The door clicked shut and the sounds of Tomoe Souichi making his way over echoed through the hall.
The door was open, she remembered, and her chest heaved for oxygen, but Chibiusa just kept smiling into her face. She felt a hand run up her thigh and almost choked; instead of stopping, she was trying to go further!
"I'm sorry about being so late, but the centre was holding a seminar about genetic manipulation and I just had to attend. Wasn't too exciting, but I got the numbers of a few potential sponsors." The voice was getting dangerously close and when her eyelids fluttered open, she thought she could see the crown of his shadow.
Hotaru lingered for an extra second, hoping against hope that Chibiusa would break the kiss; it was a naive wish. With a frustrated groan, Hotaru tore away and threw herself over the far side of the chair, hitting the wooden floor with a thud just as Souichi appeared in the doorway.
The white-haired man smiled. "I hope you two have been able to manage without me."
"Good evening, Professor Tomoe," and Hotaru was surprised by how composed the voice sounded. She looked up to see Chibiusa sitting naturally in the chair, hands folded and a pleasant smile on her face; how she didn't come down with her, she had no idea. In contrast, Hotaru was panting heavily and her school uniform was a mess after that fall, disheveled hair and all. Her cheeks burned when she saw the trail of saliva hanging from her mouth and she hurriedly wiped it off to save herself from any further embarrassment.
"Good evening, Chibiusa-kun." The man paused to scan the dark room, illuminated only by the lamp on the corner of the desk and the lights in the hall. "Where'd Hotaru run off to?"
"Oh, she's down here. I dropped a pencil and she volunteered to find it for me."
He laughed. "Does that mean you don't even have time to greet your father, Hotaru?"
The dark-haired girl glared at her companion for putting her in this situation and received a victory sign in return. She breathed deeply to get the shakiness out of her voice and stood up, facing him with her best smile. "Welcome back, Papa."
"I'm home." He tilted his side to the side and peered at her through thin-rimmed lens. "Is it just me or do you look a little flushed?"
"O-Of course not."
"She's just angry that she can't find the pencil," Chibiusa covered for her; it was a lame excuse yet it had Tomoe nodding enthusiastically in agreement.
"Tell me about it! My laboratory's so dark that I can't find anything in there! I need to write down an observation―where's my pencil? I need to do some titration work, but my beakers and flasks are all over the place! I would be having a lot less trouble keeping track of everything if it were brighter in there, but the intensity would kill all the specimens!" His wild gesticulation came to a sudden halt and he dropped his arms, coughed nervously into his fist. "Ah, I really shouldn't be going on like this when you two have your studies to focus on, huh?" He looked into his grocery bag and fished out a simple hydraulic claw. "What is it you want to be again, Chibiusa-kun?"
"I'm aiming for something in the bureaucracy."
"The same thing as Hotaru, eh? Yes, you'll need some good marks to make it. Good study habits, good friends, everything." Using the tool to make up for the difference in altitudes, he carefully twisted off the burnt bulb and fitted the new one in the socket. With a flick of the switch, the room was flooded with light. Seeing his daughter grimace, Souichi smiled. "I know you don't like it very much either, but bear with it for your friend's sake, okay?"
Hotaru leaned against the desk with a huff. "She doesn't need my help―definitely not my light."
"Now, now, play nice." He chuckled with a shake of his head. "Dinner will be ready in an hour, though you can come out whenever you feel like it. Remember that I expect your homework to be finished by tonight." After he received an affirmative response from both girls, he left them to themselves.
Chibiusa smiled and rested her chin atop folded hands. "Did you hear that? He told us to come out whenever we feel like it. You haven't told him about us yet, have you? Ever though it's been a year since we've started going out?"
Hotaru blushed but grudgingly maintained a frown. "He keeps dropping hints everywhere so I'm sure he already knows. It makes it all the more difficult to tell him when I know he's going to dance and rub it in my face afterwards; it's what he does whenever his hypotheses are proved correct."
"Life's hard, isn't it?" the other girl teased. "First you couldn't solve my problem and then I ended up being the one to teach you a lesson."
Warning bells! The sixteen-year-old had to redirect the conversation or else she was going to drown in a sea of embarrassment the entire night. "To be fair, it was dark and you showed me your answers without giving me an opportunity to check it with the original question. Like I said, you have a habit of missing the fine details so let me see your worksheet again."
"I don't miss the fine details," Chibiusa complained, picking out two pages among the stack. She sounded disappointed that her partner didn't take the bait.
And a few seconds was all she required to solve the problem. Hotaru pointed triumphantly to the negative sign on the sheet and compared it to Chibiusa's prettily drawn cross."What's this then? You didn't write down the question correctly and you're surprised that you can't get the answer right?" She sighed and watched as her bright rubies widened in amusement. As she hastened to rub her work out, Hotaru smiled and threaded her fingers through her soft pink hair. "See what I told you? All you needed was a little light."
Chibiusa laughed. Wasn't that why she wanted to be by her side in the first place?
Hotaru raised an eyebrow. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing," and she backed her claim with a sincere smile. "Let's get back to work, Hotaru-chan."
Note: Considering that they only appeared in two pages of the Parallel Moon special, I took certain liberties with the characters, using their wish for bureaucracy as my only real jumping board. This story was based off a couple of lines in the first draft of a story I will refer to as "Project A", and something I read about how Chibiusa and Hotaru had the potential to become the next Haruka and Michiru―not in terms of popularity, I'd imagine. I ended up scrapping that scene, but the lines ran like this: "You know that's not what I meant."/"Who knows? Sometimes I have to read between the lines with you." As you can tell, my imagination took me a lot further. The outrageous start date has something to do with the fact that I wrote the first few paragraphs in 2006 and ditched it until a week ago. :nervous laugh:
I'm planning to post a piece that takes place earlier in this universe, but that should take some time to clean up. Regardless, reviews would be very much appreciated. :smiles: I need to know if there are people as obsessed with this pairing as I am. My one and only true pairing, even though it's ancient as heck. :laughs: If that's not enough, I need to consider this virtual cookie business. Oh well. I'll be lingering in this fandom for a while so you'll be seeing me a plenty :)
Written: January 2006 - September 13 2008.