Chapter 2

The next morning Michiru opened her eyes slowly then sat up and stretched. She looked over at the spot beside her to see Haruka wasnt there. Frowning confused, she stood from the bed and left the bedroom to find her. As soon as she left the room she started smelling a delicious fragrance and she smiled a little.

She followed the scent and it led her to the kitchen where Haruka was preparing breakfast. Michiru blinked surprised, she hadn't seen this sight in a long time. Haruka looked over at her and actually laughed a little, "I know its been a while since I cooked, but I think I can make pancakes at least." Michiru smiled playfully, "Well aren't you a sweetheart this morning," she sat down and placed her hands in her lap still smiling.

Haruka smiled as well; at least she seemed to be back to her old self again. When Haruka finished making breakfast she put 4 pancakes onto a plate and sat it in front of Michiru then got her a plate with 2 and sat down opposite of her.

Michiru looked down at her serving of pancakes, "Im hungry, but I dont think I can eat 4 pancakes Haruka," she giggled softly. Haruka laughed a little, "Well I guess just dont eat what you don't want, its fine," she took the syrup and poured some onto her pancakes so that it ran down the sides. Michiru tilted her head to the side a little; there was something different about Haruka.

She shrugged it off for the moment, "So where is Setsuna and Hotaru?" she asked before taking a bite of her pancakes. Haruka was looking down in thought, "Setsuna took Hotaru to the park for a while," she looked up and saw that Michiru had a small spot of syrup right above her top lip. Haruka shook her head with a smile then stood up and walked over to Michiru and placed her hand on her cheek, lightly brushing away the syrup with her thumb. Michiru looked up at Haruka with a soft smile, as if she had gotten syrup on her lip on purpose.

Haruka smiled back at her for a few seconds then turned and headed to the counter, "Would you like some tea or maybe some milk," she turned to Michiru, curious to what she would say. After she had seen what book she was reading it really got Haruka thinking why she would in the first place. Michiru looked at her curiously, "tea is fine." Haruka nodded and started making tea for both of them.

Michiru looked down at the rest of her pancakes, suddenly feeling not as hungry anymore. "What would you like to do today?" Haruka asked as she got done making the tea and started to pour the steamy liquid into two cups. She really wanted to know what was up with Michiru, but she also knew Michiru would tell her when she was ready.

Michiru looked up from her pancakes at Haruka and forced a smile, "it will probably be a normal day and I think later I will go swimming," she took her cup of tea when Haruka handed it to her and took a sip from it. Haruka nodded a little and sat back down at the table, "but can you take it easy today on the swimming?" she said with her eyes closed and bringing her tea cup up to her lips and drinking a little of it.

Michiru looked at her with a slight confused frown, she never told her to take it easy on swimming before, and the water was something that Haruka always just trusted her on. Instead of asking why she had said it, Michiru sat down her cup after just drinking a small amount and stood from the table, "I think I will go meet up with Setsuna and Hotaru at the park," she gave Haruka another forced smile, hoping she wouldnt worry then got ready and left the apartment.

Haruka didn't stop her or say anything to her while she was getting ready and it took all her will power to not stop her and demand to know what was going on, for Haruka that was a big deal. She sighed some and started reading the newspaper, hoping to get her mind off of things.

At the park Michiru and Setsuna were sitting on a bench as they watched Hotaru and Chibiusa play. Usagi had things to do, well things she wanted to do and decided to leave Chibiusa in their care for a while. At least thats how Usagi wanted it to see, the truth was Chibiusa practically begged her to let her go to the park with Hotaru; it was just a good excuse. Setsuna glanced over at Michiru, "When are you going to tell Haruka?" Michiru looked down; she didnt want to talk about it.

Just then Hotaru ran over to them and she looked at Michiru, "Mama, may I have money for an ice cream cone?" she pointed to the ice cream truck nearby where Chibiusa was already buying her one with the money Usagi had given her. Michiru nodded with a smile and pulled some money from her purse and handed it to Hotaru with a sweet smile, "Here you are dear."

"Thank you mama," Hotaru smiled and walked off to the truck.

Michiru smiled softly as she watched her go. Setsuna watched Hotaru leave then back at Michiru with a smile, "You really are good with her Michiru, just like a mother." Michiru looked down again and sighed heavily, "I'm no mother," she said coldly.

Setsuna looked at her surprised and concerned. Michiru stood, "I'm going for a walk." Setsuna stood also and put a hand on Michiru's shoulder, "Please talk to Haruka," but Michiru looked down forcing tears to not swell up in her eyes and walked off without another word. She didn't plan on going back to the apartment, not yet anyway.

Setsuna sat down with a sigh and watched as Chibiusa and Hotaru happily ate their ice creams.