Hope you enjoy it! As usual, R&R!

It seems like yesterday when I said "I do",
and after all this time my heart still burns for you.
If you don't know by now that you're my only one,
take a look inside me and watch my heartstrings come undone.

I know I promised you forever.
Is there no stronger word I can use?
To reassure you when the storm is raging outside,
you're my safest place to hide.

Can you see me?, here I am.
I need you like I needed you then.
When I feel like giving up,
I climb inside your heart and still find,
you're my safest place to hide.

You see colors no one else can see.
In every breath you hear a symphony.
You understand me like nobody can.
I feel like my soul unfolding like a flower blooming.

When this whole world gets too crazy,
and there's nowhere left to go,
I know you give me sanctuary.
You're the only truth I know,
you're the road back home.

Can you see me?, here I am.
Standing here where I've always been.
And when words are not enough,
I climb inside your heart, I'd still find,
you're my safest place to hide.

My safest place to hide.

I know I promised you forever.
There's no stronger word I can use?
To reassure when the storm is raging outside,
you're my safest place to hide.

Oh! Can you see me?, here I am.
Standing here where I've always been.
When I feel like giving up,
I climb inside your heart I'd still find,
you're my safest place to hide.

(Safest place to hide - BackStreet Boys)

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29

Rings still in her hand, she took a deep breath, stepping out of the car. There was no light coming from the inside; the car already parked there, and a faint light she guessed was coming from the back of the house, the only indication of life inside.

She made her way around the house; her silvery high heel sandals burying in the sand. But she ignored it, moving on, reaching the backdoor deck. A faint light was illuminating the large space, and there was only one wooden resting chair.

And there she was, sitting on the small stairs that lead to the beach; one arm around her frame, probably to keep herself warm, and wiping away the tears with the other.

She was still wearing that blue dress from the party, showing off her long legs, leaving them unprotected against the cool night wind; her toes buried in the sand. Her green eyes lost somewhere in the open sea in front of her, and a defeated, broken expression on her face.

An expression she'd never seen on her before; not even when facing an enemy, in the most desperate moments in between life and death, when their Princess' life, and all human kind, was on the line. Even then, the powerful Senshi of the Winds had kept her cool; her spirit never losing its strength, its will to do anything, even sacrificing herself if necessary.

But this... there was no enemy to fight; no battle to face, but the one against herself. Her spirit no longer strong; her heart, broken somewhere along the way...

And seeing her like that, so vulnerable, so broken, so incredibly beautiful, with the night breeze making her short, soft blonde hair dance around her crying face, she wanted to go to her and hold her. Kiss all her tears and fears away...

The sound of a broken, soft sob reached her ears then, before she saw her burying her face in her hands.

A flash of the last time they've talked crossed her mind; the argument, Haruka's hurtful accusation. But she shook it away, taking a deep breath and walking into the deck.

"Haruka..." she called out to her.

The blonde's back straightened up, obviously surprised, before slowly turning her face to her. Red, puffy green eyes blinking at her. A frown coming to her face, and a surprised, small 'o' forming on her lips; the end result giving the blonde a confused, and utterly adorable look.

"M-Michiru..." she was finally able to say, stuttering, after her moment of surprise; her green eyes looking around. "How... what are you doing here?"

"You said you were going home," she explained. "I figured this was what you meant..."

Haruka blinked, slightly nodding her head, still caught up in her surprise, and Michiru smiled softly at her, almost imperceptibly, as she slowly made her way to her.

She knew the blonde well enough to know there were only two places she had ever called home; the house the two of them had shared with Setsuna and Hotaru, and her parent's. Any other place was just a house, or an apartment, but never home.

She sat down on the stairs, leaving an empty space in between them, not wanting to invade the blonde's space without being welcomed, as she let her blue eyes go to the open sea in front of them.

"Michiru, what are you doing here?" came Haruka's soft, husky, almost trembling voice.

She took a deep breath; a million different answers coming to her mind. Not knowing where to start, she chose to do so from the very beginning.

"Remember how we used to be?" she asked; her blue eyes still looking at the dancing waves. "The way we used to know what we were thinking, what we were feeling... how we never really needed any words... we could just read each other, so easily..." she trailed off, turning her face to the side, looking into sad, green eyes.

Unable to utter any words at all, the blonde simply nodded her head, and she smiled, turning her gaze back to the sea.

"I miss that," she admitted, softly. "When did we lose that? When did we start... to fall apart like this?"

From the corner of her eye, she saw the blonde taking a deep breath; closing her eyes for a moment, before looking straight ahead as well. As if looking to the sea and the night sky made it easier for them to talk.

"I... I don't know..." Haruka finally said, in a low, almost whispered voice.

"I miss us," she whispered back, briefly looking into soft green eyes, before looking away, as she could feel the tears filling her eyes again. "And it hurt... so much... to know it was so easy for you to throw us away like that..."

"It wasn't..." the blonde tried to explained, now looking at her.

"I know," she said, interrupting her. "I know that now. But I didn't before. And it hurt. I cried myself to sleep for months," she confessed, sniffling. And then a soft, almost ironic giggle escaped her, as she looked into tearful green eyes. "And then I got so mad at you... because I couldn't make it stop. I couldn't stop missing you... And it wasn't even the big things that I missed the most, you know? It was about the little things. Like, the way your nose wrinkles when you wake up in the morning. Or the way you would hold me close at night, and I would go to sleep hearing you breathing. Knowing you were there... with me..." she trailed off, as she saw the blonde looking away, and a soft, soundless sob escaping her.

Gathering her courage, little by little, she moved a bit closer, trying to make her look at her again. Knowing that, if there was still a chance for them to be together, they needed to put it all out in the open. No more lies, no more misinterpretations, no more accusations. Just the truth, out on the table, so maybe they could move pass that. Past everything.

She wanted her to know... she needed her to know, it hasn't been easy for her either...

"I missed you," she said, softly. Her blue eyes looking straight into those green ones she'd missed so much. "All of you. And I couldn't make it stop... I couldn't stop... loving you... and when I got tired of everyone looking at me with pity eyes, I started laying. I lied to everyone, and I lied to myself," she admitted. "And somewhere along the line, I got used to it. I got used to missing you. So much, that I forgot... and I started believing my own lies. And then I just... kept going..."

Haruka blinked, frowning lightly. She obviously hadn't expected Michiru to come up here, let alone have this conversation. And it hurt. To know Haruka had reached that breaking point where hope was long forgotten...

Her posture, her dulled eyes... everything telling her the blonde was surprised and confused at her being there, but not daring to hope. Deadly afraid of doing so. Knowing she wouldn't be able to take another blow.

It hurt. And at the same time, it surprised her; to still be able to read her like that...

"Michiru, w-what... where's Sora?" Haruka asked, in a slightly stronger voice; the question only proving Michiru's guess.

"I broke up with him," she answered, in a soft voice. But then she frowned. "Or he broke up with me... not really sure how that went on..." she trailed off, blinking, unsure, for a moment. Catching the blonde's blinking, surprised expression, she tilted her head to a side, smiling sadly. "He deserves better than someone that can only love him half way..." she trailed off, looking down to her hands, resting on her lap. One over the other; the rings resting in between her closed fingers. "I'm just so... tired," she added, in a whisper. "I'm tired of laying to him, to myself. To you..."

Slowly opening her closed hands, she gazed down at the silver rings. The soft, surprised gasp that reached her then, letting her know the blonde had seen what laid in her hands, and Michiru closed her eyes, letting her tears rolled down her cheeks.

"It was you and me for so long, I don't really know how to be me, without you," she whispered, closing her fingers around the rings again, holding her hands to her chest. Her tearful blue eyes looking into green ones now. "And I'm tired of feeling like half a person, Haruka," she finally said, in a trembling voice. And then she frowned again, shaking her head. "It feels wrong... to call you Haruka... it feels so wrong," she murmured.

The blonde sobbed; her green eyes shining with her rolling tears. And she sniffled, looking at her, as she cried silently, still not daring to get closer to the violinist. Still afraid...

And that small distance between them, a distance that couldn't be longer than two feet, came to Michiru as an abyss. And it was killing her.

"I can't say I'm in love with you again, because the truth is, I don't know how not to be in love with you," she said, wiping her tears away with her free hand. "And I really thought we could be friends, I thought it was better to have you as a friend than not to have you at all. But I can't. I don't want to be your friend, because... I'm still in love with you, and I don't want to miss you anymore and... do you know how hard it is to have to remind myself I should hate you?" she asked, now getting exasperate by the blonde's lack of any answer but her tears. "Every day! It's exhausting!" she exclaimed. "And it's your fault, you stupid blonde. So fix it!" she said, hitting the blonde's shoulder with her hand.

That shook the blonde out of her speechless, statue like stupor, and she took Michiru's wrists to stop the almost hysterical hitting. The fast movement making the violinist lose her grip on the rings; and as two small, handmade silver rings fell down to the sand, soundless, two pairs of eyes looked at them for a moment, before looking at each other again.

"Michi..."

She smiled at the nickname; her blue eyes shining with her tears, as she reached her hand down, taking one ring in her hand.

"You have to fix it, Ruka," she whispered, not looking at her, as she took the blonde's left hand in hers. "Make me stop missing you, or make me hate you, but just... do something..." she whispered, sliding the ring back on Haruka's finger, were it belonged, and looking up into her eyes. "I love you, Ruka, and I..."

The feel of warm, soft lips meeting hers made her shut up, and she closed her eyes, opening herself up to the kiss. Their tongues dancing together, discovering once more the never forgotten secrets of each others mouths, and that warming, loving feeling filling all the empty spaces the others absence had left inside them.

Breaking the kiss, the blonde looked into her blue eyes; her green ones filled with tears. Her breath, slightly agitated after their kiss, caressing her lips.

"I love you, Michi," Haruka gasped. "I love you, so much..."

"Ruka," Michiru called out to her, softly, lovingly. Her hands cupping the blonde's wet cheeks, wiping her crystal tears away.

Haruka took her hands, kissing them and closing her eyes. Her tears still rolling down her face, as she nested the violinist's hands in her chest, right over her heart, and Michiru snugged closer. But before she could kiss her again, the blonde bend forward, taking the ring off the sand.

With shaking fingers, she wiped the sand off, taking Michiru's hand and sliding the ring on her finger, sniffling.

"Don't leave me again..." came the husky, almost soundless whisper, in between gasps, as teary green eyes looked back up into her blue ones.

A strange mix between a gasp, a giggle and a sniffling sound came out of her, as Michiru shook her head repeatedly; her hands going around the blonde's neck.

"Never," she promised, before meeting the blonde's lips, kissing her deeply.

Their tears mixing, tongues caressing each other, as their hearts, their souls melted into one once more.

.-.

"Ok! I'm ready!" came Minako's cheerful voice, as she jumped into the couch. "Where's the popcorn?" she then demanded, frowning.

"Coming!" was Makoto's yelled answer, coming from somewhere in the kitchen.

"Well, hurry up!" the other blonde exclaimed, rolling her eyes. "We're waiting!"

"Just give me a sec, will ya?" the brunette said, now coming to the kitchen's door and looking out to the living room; hands on her hips. "I have only two arms, you know? And I'm not Flash!"

"If you want it so much, go and get it yourselves," the raven haired woman said, not bothering to look up to the blondes on the couch, as she was currently too comfy laying on the floor. "You two are like black holes when it comes to..."

A surprised gasp interrupted Rei's ranting, making her look up, as a silver, blinding light filled the room for a moment.

"Usagi!" Minako exclaimed, hurriedly holding the suddenly shaken looking Moon Princess.

"What the..." the raven haired beauty trailed off, blinking at the shining spots in her eyes.

"Princess?" Ami was fast to ask, all but jumping to her Princess' side, almost immediately followed by her fellow Senshi.

"Usagi, you ok?" was Makoto's worried question.

"I'm..." the petite blonde trailed off, blinking herself. A hand going to her chest, as a long lost warmth started filling her chest.

Could it be?, she asked herself, frowning.

"Is everything alright?" Rei asked, looking at her Princess' birth mark, shining brightly over her forehead.

"Yes..." the blonde whispered, as a smile started forming in her lips.

That weird, tingling feeling that has been annoying her for almost two weeks now, getting incredibly stronger. And as it kept on getting stronger with every passing second, she finally knew what it meant. There was a certain aura to it, a certain energy... a very specific, warm energy.

There was no mistaking it. She knew that warmth.

It was a feeling that had always been within her, never really knowing it was there until it was lost. And now, now it was back. It was not being replaced, it was not being filled with something else, but coming to life again. And it could only mean one thing.

"Everything's fine."

Ami frowned, making her Mercury computer appear in her hands. "Do you want me to track down..."

"No," Usagi interrupted her, placing one hand over Ami's. "Everything is perfectly fine. Exactly how it should be," she assured them. "There's nothing to worry about."

"Are you sure?" the bluenette asked, obviously not convinced.

"Positive," she answered, smiling widely. "Now, where's the popcorn?" she asked, in her usual, happy tone of voice. "Let's get this movie started already!"

.

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Coming soon:make up chap! (if you know what I mean... *grins*)