Finally, after two endless weeks, Haruka was allowed to leave the hospital. Michiru and Hotaru surprised the teacher by picking her up. "Hi Haruka-san!" Michiru waved over to the blonde, who was walking down the stairs that led up to the hospital entrance – or, in Harukas case, away from it. "Hello Michiru-san!" Haruka replied, surprise in her voice. "Hey Tenoh-san!" Hotaru chirped from the backseat of Michirus car. "Hi Hotaru." Haruka smiled while Michiru opened the passengers door for her. "Climb in, Haruka-san." Harukas smile widened, and she got into the car. Michiru started and drove off. "Where are we heading?" Haruka asked, curious. "To my apartment. Remember, I invited you for dinner." Michiru grinned. Haruka smiled at the aqua haired woman and nodded. "I see. Well, I'm eager to find out about your cooking skills." In the past two weeks, a close friendship had formed between the two women, although they weren't close enough to change the "-san" to "-chan". "You'll be satisfied, I promise." Michiru smiled. "Momma is right!" Hotaru spoke up. "She cooks really good!" Haruka smiled at the little girl, and when she turned backwards to look at her, her shirt slid down a little bit, revealing her shoulder. Michiru let out a little gasp when she saw the scars that covered the blonde's skin, causing Haruka to look at her. "What is it?" "N-nothing." Michiru stuttered, resolving to tell Haruka that she felt sorry about this later. When they were alone.
Finally, after a rather long time of driving, the trio reached the house were Michirus apartment was in. Twilight already came over the city, and Haruka stopped in front of the entrance for a second to awe at the sunset. Hotaru, who had already ran inside, didn't notice that her mother stopped, too. "It's beautiful." Haruka finally spoke. Michiru nodded, but before she had time to say something, Hotaru came back out, looking extremely impatient. "What is taking you so long?" the little girl squealed. Both women flinched and looked at Hotaru apologizing. "Sorry." Michiru apologized. Haruka and she entered the house and took the elevator, up in the fourth floor. "I just have to warm the dinner up, it's all prepared." Michiru smiled at Haruka on their way up. Haruka smiled back and nodded. "Good, I'm starving. Hospital food is terrible." She informed her aqua haired friend. Michiru giggled at that remark, and she was still giggling when the elevator stopped. All three of them got out, and Hotaru unlocked the door with the key Michiru gave her. The trio entered the apartment, and Michiru advised Hotaru to show Haruka the dining room. Hotaru nodded and took the hand of the tall woman, her smaller ones almost vanishing in the big one of Haruka. "Come on, Tenoh-san!" she squealed. Haruka smiled, nodded and allowed Hotaru to lead her into the dining room. The blonde sat down and waited. Shortly afterwards, Michiru arrived, carrying a bowl with sushi and rice. She sat it down on the middle of the desk and took a seat, opposite to Haruka. Hotaru also sat down, and the three of them started to eat. "That's delicious!" Haruka informed Michiru after the first bite. Michiru blushed. Deeply. "Thanks." She managed to say, her heart singing once more with joy.
Soon after they had finished dinner, Hotaru became tired and went to sleep, leaving Haruka and Michiru in the dining room alone. "Do you want some wine?" Michiru asked. Haruka nodded, smiling. Michiru smiled back and walked out of the dining room, into the kitchen. She got a bottle of expensive red wine, two glasses and a corkscrew. Returning into the dining room, she found Haruka standing with her back to her, looking at one of the paintings that hung on the wall. "You like them?" the aqua haired woman asked, causing the blonde to jump. "Yes." Haruka admitted as soon as she had recovered from her shock. Michiru handed her the bottle and the corkscrew with a pleading look, and Haruka pulled the cork out, smiling. "Thanks." Michiru grinned at her while she poured the wine into the two glasses. "No prob. Who painted those?" the teacher asked, curious. "I did." Michiru admitted, red color creeping into her cheeks. "You did?" Haruka asked, surprised. "Wow. You sure have great talent." "Thanks." Michiru replied, her blush deepening. Haruka raised the glass. "Cheers." The blonde smiled. "Cheers." Michiru replied while the two women clinked their glasses together. Both took a little sip from the wine, and Michiru pointed into the living room. "Want to sit down on the couch?" Haruka nodded, and the two of them went over. Michiru, who was walking behind Haruka, saw that the blonde was haltering a little bit. Her eyebrows went up; it was the first time that she recognized this, and she wasn't sure if that came from the burns or if Haruka had been haltering before. The blonde reached the couch and sat down, stretching her right leg out. Michiru sat down next to her, and they smiled at each other, both feeling as happy as never before.