Disclaimer: Don't own SM!*sniffle*
A/N: Hello again. I'm trying to get the fifth chapter out as I speak but first I have to get this one up and running. Thank you to those of you who have taken the time to read and review…I really appreciate it.
Chapter Four: Breathless
The doorbell chimed and Haruka threw off her oven mitt and swung open the door, out of breath from her dash from the oven.
"Gomen." She breathed out, her sandy hair stuck up at odd angles. "I think the soup is burning." With that, she ran back to the kitchen.
Hotaru smiled and shook her head, closing the door. From the kitchen she could hear Haruka swearing under her breath and the sound of a pot hitting the ground and liquid spilling all over.
"Haruka-chan?" She called, peeking around the doorway of the kitchen, biting back a smile at the sight that greeted her.
Haruka was standing in the middle of the kitchen, the handle of a pot in one hand and the stainless steel lid in the other. The pot, which was now sans handle and lid, was lying on its side in a sea of greenish-brown soup. Haruka was scowling deeply at the mess, and the splatter stains on her white slacks. "Dammit." She muttered and dropped the lid and handle into the sink with a clank.
Haruka sighed and sloshed through the mess, not minding that her socks were turning an ugly shade of puke. She rolled her eyes at Hotaru, "I'm going to go take a shower, how about after I get cleaned up we go out to eat? You can pick the place."
"That sounds fine. Hurry though, I'm hungry." Hotaru called as the bathroom door shut in the master bedroom.
Haruka stepped into the shower, briskly rubbing the soap all over her body and shampooing her hair with Michiru's Ocean shampoo. The smell brought back memories of nights full of love making and soft laughter. Haruka washed out her hair as quickly as possible, resolving to throw the shampoo away as soon as she got out of the shower.
She shut off the water as soon as she was clean of foamy soap and grabbed a towel. It didn't take long to dry the water from her long, lean body, which was more muscular than curvy. Her body was not something she was ashamed of, her face was handsome, and her body was masculine. She didn't like to feel pretty and the fact that her body would never be something considered beautiful didn't bother her.
Back in her room, she pulled a pair of black slacks out of her drawer and pulled them on over her boxers, then pulled open her closet doors, going through her selection of shirts until she found the green one that she wanted. She pulled it on and buttoned it up, then yanked on socks and walked out of the bedroom.
"Hotaru-chan, where do you want to go?" Hotaru was sitting on the couch, watching the news. An earthquake had hit San Francisco, California in the United States earlier that day. A '7', the man stated seriously. Then a film started, showing a building collapsed onto the street and a car covered with bricks and debris.
Hotaru clicked off the television and stood up. "I thought we could go to the sea food place that opened by the mall."
Haruka shrugged, "Sounds good. Ready?"
Hotaru nodded and grabbed her purple purse from beside the couch.
They put on their shoes, and Haruka slipped on her black leather jacket, before they went out and locked the door.
In the car, Haruka sat silently, thinking as she maneuvered through the evening traffic. Had Usako gone to Mamoru's apartment yet? What had happened?
Haruka gritted her teeth, the bastard had better have been nice to her. If he had hurt her in one way or made her cry…Haruka shook her head. It wasn't her place to do anything about what happened between Usagi and Mamoru. All she could do was sit back and wait until Usagi came to her and asked her to do something. Then, Haruka promised herself, then that bastard would get it.
"Haruka-chan?" Hotaru asked her voice quiet as usual. "Was that Usagi-chan we just drove by?"
Haruka glanced in her rear-view mirror. A girl in a white dress was walking very slowly down the sidewalk toward the park. Even as she watched, the girl pulled off a straw sunhat and let it drop to the ground before she disappeared around a corner into the park.
"That was her." Haruka said, her voice laced with concern. "Hotaru-chan, do you think you could walk home from here? I need to go see Usagi-chan, and I don't know how long it's going to take."
Hotaru nodded and got out of the car as they pulled over into a parking space on the side of the road. "Will you call me when you find out if she's okay?" She asked, tucking her hair behind an ear.
"Yeah, I will." Haruka said as she locked the car and bounded down the sidewalk in the direction that Usagi had gone.
Haruka paused to pick up Usagi's sunhat and started to run faster, her heart in her throat. There was a smear of blood on the white bow.
"Usako! Usako!" She yelled, frantically turning her head about, oblivious to the surprised stares of the couples and families at the park for the afternoon. No where did she see a girl with golden hair in a white dress. "Usako!" She called out, her voice strained.
Then she spotted a flash of white down at the end of the dock. "Usako!"
Usagi stood at the end of the dock, tears rolling down her cheeks. So this is what it felt like to be empty, she mused. The pain was gone, except for the occasional stab in her heart, there was nothing. No anger, no hate, no longing. Just pain.
Usagi sat down, letting her legs hang over the water. There were concrete blocks holding the legs of the dock up. At this point, you couldn't see the bottom. Usagi guessed it was maybe five feet off the dock to the surface of the water.
"Usako!" Someone was calling her name…the name that Mamoru always used to call her.
She didn't turn around, just sat there, trying to forget the pain. The air was starting to get cooler, or maybe it only felt like it was getting cooler because she was down on the lake. Usagi couldn't tell and she didn't care. It was four in the afternoon by this time, she thought, and everyone would be going home soon to eat dinner and relax inside with their loved ones.
Everyone except her. Usagi longed for her mom, and dad and even her annoying brother. They would be gone for the entire summer though, not getting home until just before school started back up. After the business meeting, they would be going to the United States to visit her mother's college friend for a couple of weeks, and then they would be traveling to the different states for the rest of the time.
Usagi would be alone until then. Mamoru would be with that woman who touched him in ways that Usagi never got to touch him, Rei would be with Ami; they'd been together for almost a month now and things seemed to be going well; Minako was with some idol; Makoto had her cooking; Hotaru wasn't alone because she had all of them; Michiru was in France and Haruka…well…Haruka was untouchable.
"Usagi-chan?" A deep voice from behind startled her and Usagi lost her balance feeling her body fall forward, closing her eyes as she prepared to hit the water.
But the slap of water never came and Usagi realized that she was cradled to a hard chest and strong arms were holding her close keeping her from falling. She opened her eyes slowly, titling her head up.
Haruka looked down at her, her green eyes full of concern and something else, but before Usagi could identify it, Haruka was pushing her away gently and when she looked back into Haruka's eyes, the emotion was gone, hidden beneath a mask.
"Gomen, Usagi-chan, I didn't mean to startle you. Are you okay?" Usagi didn't say anything. She was just staring at Haruka, startled at how her heart was pounding and twisting, not with pain but with something else. It had always done this when she was around Haruka, always before she thought it was fear or intimidation, but now, she knew it was none of those that made her breathless. It was something far more serious but it was too early to name it.
"Usagi-chan, are you okay?" Haruka repeated, a line crinkling between her eyebrows. She put her hand on Usagi's shoulder, and was surprised when Usagi leaned into her, resting her head on Haruka's flat chest. Haruka's heart jumped and hesitantly, she put her arms around Usagi.
Usagi put her hands over her face and started to sob, hot tears stinging her eyes and rolling down her cheeks. Haruka held her, resting her chin on Usagi's blonde head.
"Usako, what happened?" She asked softly, unaware that the endearment had slipped out. Usagi kept on crying, unable to get any words out between her heart-wrenching sobs.
Haruka sighed, "You're coming back to my place." She slipped an arm under Usagi's knees and picked her up. Usagi wrapped her arms around Haruka's neck and cried softly into her shoulder.
A/N: Okay, that's it for chapter four. Again, it was kind of choppy, and I'm not sure it turned out as well as I would have liked but I don't think I could do any better than that. The whole emotional stuff…I'm just not good at it. Anyway, thanks for sticking with me. I'll have a more…romantic, one on one time with Usagi and Haruka next chapter…promise!