Musical Dismay

Chapter 10

"I'm so nervous...I haven't seen your mother since...since then." Haruka turned her head to cough.

"It's alright Ruka. If she didn't like you then she wouldn't have invited you." She reached out to touch the blonde's cheek. "You're still warm."

"Michiru!" an older woman emerged from the house and ran to her daughter. "How was your trip?"

"Long." The driver looked at the family in front of her.

"It's nice to see you again Haruka." She moved to the blonde. "I take it you drove?" She turned to the car. "I'm surprised you made it up here in that."

"I've driven through worse weather."

The tension was thick between them. "Mom we need to get our things inside, it's cold out here and Haruka's still sick." Michiru's timing was perfect. Her mother was thankful for what Haruka had done, but still hated the fact that her daughter was friends with her. "You need to stay warm Ruka, it's the only way you'll get better before the Christmas party."

"Christmas party?" she questioned as she grabbed her bag from the trunk. "I hate parties."

"Mom throws a party everything Christmas Eve. She invites some of the family and some friends from her job." She grabbed her own bag before leading them inside. "Where's Haruka going to sleep at?"

"I have the futon set up in the den for her."

"A futon? It'll be just like staying at Setsuna's for the night. She always had me sleep on her futon."

"Is Setsuna your girlfriend?"

"No mom, she's not. Setsuna is her best friend." The smaller woman led Haruka into the den.

"You two always fight like that?"

She shut the door behind her. "Hush..." Haruka barely had a chance to set her luggage on the floor before she was knocked onto the futon.

"What if your mo-mm" The blonde tried to fight back before a set of lips crashed against hers. The knock on the door caused the two to pull apart.

"You two alright in there?"

"I'm just making sure Ruka gets settled in. She needs to get some rest."

"Alright...I need to talk to you when you're done." Footsteps echoed on the hardwood floor as she walked away.

"What are you doing Michi?" Haruka finally confronted her.

"I...I don't know." She looked down, the realization hitting her that she was falling in love with her roommate. "I'm so sorry..." She quickly left the room.

'Why wasn't I stopping her?' Haruka laid back on the thin mattress and starred at the ceiling. She rested her hand on her forehead and fell deep into thought. Why couldn't she stop thinking about her? Every moment she was awake, thoughts of Michiru flooded her mind.

"What do you need to talk to me about?"

"Why didn't she go home to her own family?" Mai looked at Michiru.

"She doesn't have a family mom. All she has is her best friend Setsuna." Michiru frowned at her mother. "Why did you invite her?"

"The way you were talking. I felt like it was the only way I'd get you to come home. Seems like you two have gotten close." Mai frowned.

"She's my best friend."

"You sleeping together?"

"What?!" She question shocked her.

"Is that a yes?"

"Mom, we share a room and we're just friends. That's it."

Mai looked at the younger woman. "I trust that you wouldn't lie to me."

"I'm not...I'm going to go and lay down for a bit. It was a long trip with the snow and I just want to relax."

Christmas Eve

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Michiru gently tugged on the sleeve of her friend.

She frowned when she saw the look on her face." Is everything OK Michi?"

"Can we just go outside for a minute?"

"Yea...of course."

They both sipped their wine as they went onto the back porch. "We haven't had a chance to talk since we got here. Not even when we went out shopping." She slid the door closed.

"Everything's been so hectic over the past few days."

"You confuse me Ruka." She changed the subject.

"What do you mean?" she leaned against the banister and watched the smaller form move closer.

"From the moment I saw you on that elevator I was attracted to you." She looked away in an attempt to recollect her thoughts. "Even after I found out you were a woman...Those feelings didn't stop." She took the wine glass from her roommates hand and set it with her own on the railing. "I get this strange feeling whenever I see you Ruka..." her voice trailed off as the blonde leaned down to kiss her.

"It was only since that happened to you that I realized what I felt for you...I can't stop thinking about you Michi." They fell into another kiss that didn't end until the smaller woman shivered. "We should go back inside."

Neither of them wanted to end their moment alone. It had been the first time since they arrived at the house. They made their way back into the living room.

"Look at this! Right under the mistletoe." A voice carried above the crowd. "You know what that means."

"They can't kiss they're both girls!" Mai yelled in protest.

"It's just for fun Mai, relax."

"I think half of them are drunk." Michiru giggled.

"It has to be a quick one..." Haruka whispered and leaned in to give her friend a very light, short kiss. Before she pulled away though, she whispered. "Make them think you're mad at them..." Their eyes met for a brief moment before she spoke again. "Come to bed with me tonight." She winked before walking into the den.

Michiru blushed heavily but quickly frowned, forcing herself to push a bitter look on her face. "How could you make me do that?" As much as she didn't want to, she wiped her lips on the sleeve of her sweater. "I'm going to bed." She stormed upstairs to her room. Hopefully her outburst would cause people to start leaving. Sure enough as she stood at the top of the steps, she listened as people started to bid farewell to her mother.

"Good job Michi." Haruka spoke to herself as she listened to the people leaving.

Nobody would expect them to see one another after Michiru stormed off after the kiss. It was nearly a half an hour later before Mai came through and knocked on Michiru's door.

"I hope you're alright honey. I tried to stop them from doing that to you...Michi?" she pushed the door open and smiled at her sleeping daughter. "I'll talk to you in the morning."

'Finally.' She stood up once the door was closed. Quietly she sneaked from the room in her robe. She didn't knock as she opened the door to the den.

"You came." Haruka sat up, her blanket falling to her lap, revealing a loose tank top. "I was starting to think you weren't." She stood and met her halfway.

"You shocked me when you asked."

The taller woman bent down to kiss her friend. The kiss soon became passionate. Haruka's hand nervously untied the robe that was denying her entrance to the object of her desire.

A whimper escaped Michiru's lips as she shrugged the robe from her shoulder. "Are you sure?" Haruka's eyes met hers.

"Yes...I trust you." She allowed herself to be placed on the futon as they fell into another long, fiery kiss.