Chapter 5 Part 2: Spare Me The Details
Two days were left until the concerts started and Haruka found herself standing in a tuxedo shop. Her employer, Michiru-san as she had begun to insist on being called, stood back looking over her form with a critical eye. She had insisted that both of them have new clothes for the concerts, and also insisted she pay. So here Haruka stood, getting last minute fittings on her brand new tux while the artistic violin player looked thoughtful.
"Its not right." She commented, looking over the standard black tux again. "Something is missing."
"What could be missing, Michiru-san?" The blonde tilted her head, waving one hand over the tux she wore as a tailor stood off to the side.
"Wait here." Michiru ordered lightly as she disappeared into a room full of accessories of various forms. The tailor shared a confused look with the blonde. Moments later the shorter woman reappeared with something hidden behind her back. "Close your eyes please, Haruka-san."
Haruka raised an eyebrow but did as she was instructed. After a moment she felt the buttons of her jacket being undone. The blonde was surprised but she didn't flinch, though she couldn't pass up the opportunity to tease her employer a bit even as the jacket was slipped off her shoulders.
"Now, Michiru-chan, what are you doing?" Haruka whispered in a low voice, stressing the chan a bit.
No answer came and Haruka grinned, sure that her boss was bright red over the remark. However Haruka was shocked when slim arms slipped around her waist. She gulped, unsure what the other young woman was doing now. Her comber bun was soon removed, and Haruka had to use control not to open her eyes and ask what was going on. Soon though the arms were around her neck and her eyes snapped open.
"Something wrong, Haruka-san?" Michiru paused in her movements, blue eyes looking up into teal. They were toe to toe and Michiru still had her arms over the tall blonde's shoulders, standing on her toes to do so. The two were quiet, Haruka taking in the mischievous look in those blue eyes that were now so close.
"Nothing." The blonde breathed. She was still gazing down at the young woman before her, unsure of what was going on.
"Then close your eyes for a moment longer." Michiru whispered almost into her ear, leaning up a bit more. Teal eyes snapped shut again and a breath was allowed to escape.
Haruka tried to take a deep calming breath, instead breathing in Michiru's perfume and leaving herself a bit light headed. She felt something lightly pulled over her shoulders as Michiru leaned away from her a bit. Light hands seemed to quickly fasten buttons before a second object was pulled over her shoulders. This was heavier and Haruka knew it was her tux's jacket again.
"You can open your eyes now, Haruka-san." Michiru spoke as she stepped back to admire the blonde's new look. She still held the comber bun in one hand as Haruka's eyes slowly opened.
Haruka turned toward the full-length mirror next to her, curious about the change. Her tux was the same, but rather than the black cloth at her waist she now wore a teal vest. The color and shade matched her eyes perfectly and somehow it fit as if it were meant for her. She looked back toward the small cat carrier, which now went everywhere she did.
"What do you think, Wind-chan?" She asked the two green eyes watching her from the shadows of the cage. A small meow was heard. She smiled in Michiru's direction. "I'll take that as a compliment."
"You look great miss Ten'ou." The tailor said as he turned and gave Michiru an appraising look. "And you would make a very good tailor if you ever decided to give up music. How you found a vest that fit so well I'll never know."
Haruka carefully hung her suit bag in the back seat as Michiru stood on the other side settling Wind-Chasers carrier in the back seat. Finally the blonde looked up to notice that Wind was on Michiru's shoulder as the other woman shut the door and got into the passenger seat. Haruka blinked and followed her example, carefully buckling her own seat belt before regarding Michiru.
Michiru was buckled in, Wind curled up in her lap purring. Gently the aqua haired woman stroked the cats back as it began to fall asleep there. A smile was on Michiru's lips as the cat sighed and curled tighter into a ball.
"Are you sure you want her there?" Haruka asked, teal eyes still on the cat.
"Why not? Is she afraid of your driving?" Michiru asked gently. Teal eyes met deep blue again. "She seems so tired, the carrier didn't look very comfortable."
"She doesn't care about my driving, when I first got her she slept on my lap while I drove cross-country." Haruka smiled again as she looked at the cat. "She may act like a kitten but she is getting pretty old for a cat."
Michiru said nothing as Haruka started the car and they drove off toward her hotel. Streetlights began to come on as the sunset behind the casinos and hotels. The car traveled smoothly along the road, Haruka seeming to be at ease behind the wheel. Michiru focused on the small ball of fur sleeping lightly on her lap. Wind seemed to be calmer in the car, with the light sound of the motor in the background, than she was at any other time.
They reached the hotel and Haruka walked Michiru to her suite, as had become their habit in the past weeks. They turned to say good night both stopped, and for a moment Michiru could see the slight distress in the blonde's eyes.
'She isn't looking forward to going home.' Michiru realized. She thought over what little Haruka had shared about the arguments with her wife and the amount of times the poor blonde had been banished to the couch. Still, since that morning the blonde had not been late, never complaining. Michiru felt badly for the woman, wishing she could somehow stop the things the taller had to deal with.
"Thank you, again Michiru-san." Haruka spoke quietly, bowing a bit as the silence hung in the air. With out a word the aqua haired woman opened the door and pulled the surprised blonde inside the room by one hand. For a moment, Haruka merely blinked. She had no idea what Michiru was thinking but it was a delay to going home. The shorter woman quickly released her hand and disappeared into the small kitchen like area.
"Haruka-san, would you stay for some tea?" Michiru asked over her shoulder as she started to pull out what she needed. For a moment Haruka looked back at the still open door, then she gently shut it and followed the other woman. She turned off her cell phone as she leaned against a wall.
"How could I say no to such a talented beauty." She responded with a playful smirk. Michiru didn't react as she normally had been. Instead she looked back over her shoulder, regarding the blonde silently. Haruka wasn't sure what was going on in the other woman's thoughts but she decided to merely follow suit for the night.
After they were both seated in the main room again, tea in front of each and a TV showing the news, Michiru glanced at her. They sat on the large couch as the early news talked about the latest violent crime. Michiru ignored it the morbid story, muting the TV as she faced the other woman.
"I know this will be stepping out of bounds, but why do you put up with it?" Michiru asked earnestly, her eyes seeming to search Haruka's face for an answer.
"What do you mean?" Haruka asked, trying to play dumb as she forced a confused look. She didn't expect to have a conversation about this with anyone.
"Haruka." She dropped the honorific and gave the other a serious look. "You know exactly what I am asking. You don't even want to go home at night. Why would you stay like this?"
"Its not that bad, really." Haruka held up her hands, not convincing to even herself. "Besides, I'm lucky really. I am hard to deal with after all."
"How?" Michiru looked honestly surprised by this statement. The woman before her hadn't done anything to offend anyone over the two weeks they had known each other.
"Look, its nothing." Haruka stood, turning toward the chair on which her coat rested. She paused near the door, adding something quietly as she pulled the coat back on. "Its me, I know it."
She was out the door, heading down the hall when she heard a quick set of footsteps coming toward her. She turned and Michiru ran over to her in a rush. They looked at each other and Haruka started to ask what she wanted but was stopped by the violinist's actions.
Michiru reached up and pulled the surprised blonde into a light, gentle kiss. For a moment she held her there, before releasing the taller woman and stepping back. Michiru bowed politely and kept her eyes on the floor as she spoke.
"It isn't you, Haruka. You aren't hard to deal with." She looked back up at the shell-shocked woman. "Gomen, but I felt you needed that from someone."
Haruka could do nothing but watch in silence as the shorter woman turned and walked back to her suite. The door shut and Haruka stood there in the hall, still trying to blink back her confusion. Haruka turned and walked to the elevator, and once down in the lobby she walked back out of the building like a zombie. Finally she reached her home, parking her car next to a house a few blocks down. She left Wind a sleep in the car as she walked up to her house.
Haruka very quietly opened the door. She took in the unlit house, hearing sounds from upstairs. She looked at her watch; it read 6PM.This was earlier than she thought she'd be home and earlier than she had told Jill she would be home. She crept up the stairs as quietly as possible, intent on finding the source of the sounds. Thomas had suggested she tell Jill the wrong time, told her just to wait and see. And here she was, creeping through her own house like a thief. The sounds were coming from the bedroom and she slowly turned the knob.
Michiru blinked half an hour later when her phone rang. She was not used to getting calls here, since she only knew those she did business with in this country. Slowly she picked up.
"Michiru-san?" Said a rather forced voice on the other side. She barely realized it was Haruka's. "May I stop by?"
"Where are you?" Michiru asked, concern clear in her own voice.
"In the hall." With that Michiru hung up and opened the door, Haruka was indeed in the hall, Wind next to her feet. The taller woman looked as if she were going to be sick as she hung her head, blonde hair falling into her teal eyes. "Sorry."
"Don't worry about it, come in." Michiru gently pulled her inside, careful to make sure Wind followed them inside. Once both were inside Wind turned and disappeared toward the bedroom. Michiru choose to ignore it unless Triton started barking. She instead turned her attention toward the broken looking blonde. "What happened?"
"An old friend at the track told me I should come home early." Haruka muttered as she sat heavily on the couch, her teal eyes seeming empty. "I thought they were wrong."
"Jill was with some one?" Michiru began to remember two weeks before and running into Jill in a cross walk, a man standing behind her.
"I'm an idiot." Haruka commented, pulling a gold ring from one of her fingers. After a few moments of starring at it she was interrupted by a hand covering the ring and part of the hand, which held it. Another small hand brought her chin up, forcing her teal eyes to meet concerned blue eyes.
"You aren't an idiot, you gave her your trust." Michiru spoke as she sat next to her. She sighed as she took the ring from the taller woman's hand and placed it on the small table by the couch. "You didn't cause this."
"It had to be my fault somehow. I had to have done something wrong or I wasn't." Haruka was stopped as a light hand touched her lips. She looked back at Michiru, seeing her shake her head.
"It was not your fault." She spoke clearly as she held the sides of Haruka's face and stared straight into those somewhat blank teal eyes. "You have to know that, this isn't your fault. There is nothing you could have done, Haruka."
"Thank you." On impulse Haruka leaned forward and captured the shorter woman's lips in a light kiss. She pulled back and looked into the deep blue eyes again, a small sad smile touching her lips. "I will try to remember that."
Michiru nodded mutely as she stood. She disappeared for a moment, and returning not long later with a pillow and blanket for the other woman. Haruka took the items with out comment, giving her a small bow. Michiru disappeared again, this time intending to get some sleep.
Wind emerged from the other room just as Haruka drifted off to sleep. Triton followed the small cat and they walked over to the blonde human. Silently Wind jumped up and curled on Haruka stomach, closing her own small green eyes. Triton took to a spot on the floor, looking up at the sleeping woman with his brown eyes. He sighed and went to sleep as well.
An.
I think I enjoy using the pets in here.
Now as promised, review responses. If your not in here, please forgive me these are just the ones before May 8th 2005.
Unforgivable Meanings: Hey! You were my first reviewer of this story so I thought you deserved to be the first mentioned. I love Haruka fics too, that is part of why I wrote this.
B-) I will do my best to keep it up.
PVT: Thanks for the encouragement.
Moon-Daisuke: I am honored to have put a smile on your face with this story. Jill is a pain but remember she wasn't always that way. As my friend Kura pointed out to me "There has to be a reason Haruka loved her." I hope I haven't disappointed on the updates. Also, thank you for reviewing twice, repeat reviewers make me happy and want to write more. B-)
Shinta arctic assassin: I just started to read your story today. Didn't get to finish yet but I enjoy it so far. I hope this story hasn't disappointed. Thanks for the review.
Shinn: Thank you for both reviews and the advice. B-)
petiyaka: As you can see, you were right about Jill. B-) I was actually really amused when someone got it at chapter three. Jill was a good person once, but I am not sure how well I can show that fact. She changed over the seven years before this story. I love cats, have two. My best friend has dogs. After watching both sets, the cats more often, I always think there is more knowledge in them than most people give credit for. I love to mess with Triton and Wind-Chaser. In fact, Wind-chan is based partially on a cat we had when I was very small. B-)
Knight-Of-The-Wolf: Thank you for offering to proofread or edit. Normally my friend Kura edits all my stories but this time I wanted to test myself. I will be going back over the past chapters soon, trying to fix those mistakes. B-) Glad you mentioned them, and I may yet ask some one to edit this after the whole story is laid out. Thanks again.
Kitsune of death: B-) Yes, my spelling has gotten a lot better since the day we met. Thanks for the feed back you give when I bounce these stories your way. I was extremely cheered that you reviewed this; glad you took the time even after talking to me on the phone. Thanks for the support. Also, I might just write that sequel you mentioned earlier, if enough people want it after this finishes.
Apl85: Another author I read. B-) I will do my best to keep it up.
Riva van Dyk: I am typing off a print out, so I don't have your review in front of me, but I found it today while online. I had to mention it though, as you and Cloud are two of my favorite authors. I am honored. I was honored to even get reviews, but I was shocked to spot yours.
To all: Thank you for the encouragement. If you do want to see a sequel when this is over, just tell me so in a review or email. Okay, now I am off to do my nightly reading. My life: Read, jog, sleep, write and repeat. B-) Night!