[Well, that took long enough. Chapter two, at last!
I'm going to be going on vacation in a week or so. I might get chapter three up by then, but I might not, which means it won't be up for a while if I don't. Just a warning. Thanks for all of the supportive comments so far. This chapter is pretty slow moving, I wanted to get in some cute moments and build character before moving on with the plot. Trust me, it will start moving.
Disclaimer: Sailormoon, Haruka, Michiru, and the others, are not mine. Though, I wish they were.
Story by the one and only Michie.
Haruka's a bit out of character, but it could be because she's nervous about the whole trip. Decide for yourself.
As always, reviews are greatly, greatly appreciated! Enjoy!]
Next to her, Haruka stirred. Glancing over at her lover, Michiru smiled. Haruka's skin was dark in the morning light, much darker than it was in reality. Although, she thought, Haruka's skin had always been the darker one of the two. How did she keep it like that, even in the dead of a snow- filled winter? She had always teased her about that, but then again, Michiru had always had pale skin to begin with.
Pulling her body closer to her partner's, she let out a sigh of contentment. The warm, bare skin of their bodies pressed together, the heat coming from each other, warming them. An overwhelming, gorgeous feeling of belonging and love stirred in Michiru. She wouldn't wake Haruka, not just yet. After the shock of the invitation yesterday as well as the antics of the previous night, she needed all of the sleep she could get. Today was to be a full day of preparing for the trip, and she didn't want either of them to tire halfway through.
Draping her arm gently across Haruka's naked body, she drifted back into dreams.
- - -
Slowly opening her tired eyes, she glanced at the window. Nothing was holding back that barrage of sunlight, not a cloud or a soul. Fully risen in the sky, the sunlight glared at her, forcing her out of her slumber, out of her deep dream. It then calmed, seemingly happy now that she was awake. It danced on her tanned skin, in her short, windswept hair; it kissed her tired face with a warm glow. And it soaked into her body, energizing her. It didn't care how tired she was now from the night before.
A wind rattled the tree near the window, a hard cold wind. Immediately the sunlight left her skin, her tired body. She was exhausted; no amount of sleep could make her want to face the day ahead. Why couldn't this whole ordeal be over? The gorgeous sunlight moment, ruined by a harsh wind.
Not the beautiful wind she aspired to become someday.
Sitting up, Haruka realized she was alone in the soft white bed. Where could Michiru have gone? But this was expected; occasionally, she would make an early run to the store for something or another, or perhaps she had decided to wake up to paint the sunrise.
Trying to stand up, Haruka was hit by a wave of exhaustion as soon as she got to her feet. Falling back into the white bed, she closed her eyes. So tired...
Hearing footsteps on the stairs, she opened her eyes, but made no move to get up. Turning her head to the side, she caught a glimpse of a flowing skirt, of a graceful limb. Taking a deep breath and sitting up once more, Haruka smiled. Michiru appeared at the doorway, with two plates of food. "You seem to be tired today! I brought you some breakfast."
Glancing at the glowing clock next to her pillow, Haruka's eyes widened in shock. "You're kidding me, right? It's already noon?!"
"Well, if you don't want it..."
"I never said that!" Haruka took one of the plates and grabbed a piece of toast, taking a huge bite out of it. She smiled at Michiru. "Wow...thish ish good!"
Michiru looked up from the pancake she had been cutting up. "I thought you'd like it. Be sure to try the eggs, it's a new recipe."
"Whatever it is, it's guaranteed to be good if you made it!" Haruka gulped down a mouthful of orange juice and proceeded to sample the eggs.
"There's only two days left to pack and get the house in order before we leave. We should start on that today for sure."
A saddened Haruka slumped back into the pillow behind her. "Ah...that's right..." She sighed, nearly upsetting the plate that rested on her stomach.
"Haruka! Be careful with the white sheets!"
"Ah, well, I'm sorry, Michiru. I just haven't been myself this morning."
"And could part of that be due to the announcement from last night? We're still going; we can't cancel out now. It'd be best if we put on a brave face and face your parents." She smiled. "Don't worry, I'll make sure everything turns out fine."
"You really don't know what you're dealing with. These are my parents, for God's sake. There's no way you can say that you know what's going on."
"Haruka..." Michiru began, but stopped herself. She took a deep breath. "Was your childhood truly that horrible?"
"Oh, it was. Believe me, it was."
- - -
Sitting in the middle of the guest room floor (formerly Setsuna's room) was a giant black leather suitcase. Michiru was in the room as well, reaching upward toward the top shelf of the closet, attempting to get down the second, slightly smaller one. Sighing, she pulled over the chair from the nearby desk, climbed up on it, and hefted the suitcase onto the floor. Her fingernails had left marks in the brown leather. Sitting site by side, the brown and black bags seemed to be laughing at her silly antics. Putting the chair back where it had come from, she sighed.
"I could have helped you with that, you know."
"Haruka!" Michiru whirled around in surprise. "I didn't know you were up!"
Casually dressed in denim and cotton, Haruka's shirt clung to her slightly damp body. Michiru suppressed a giggle as she noticed that the buttoning job had been off.
"Eh, what is it now?"
"Your buttons are off. Here, let me fix them." With quick hands and graceful fingers, Michiru unbuttoned Haruka's shirt. Catching a glimpse of a white bra and a whiff of expensive cologne, she proceeded to re-button it, correctly this time. "You'd think that the shower would have woken you up, but no, you're still as groggy as ever."
"If anything woke me up, it was you just now," murmured Haruka. She pulled the smaller woman into a firm embrace that only parted after a deep kiss.
"So where are you off to?"
"Setsuna's place. I'm going to see if she and Hotaru-chan can stop in sometime during the week, to water the plants and all."
Though the four had lived together for a short time after the battles had ended, the large house the couple shared was located quite a distance away from the city. With the start of Setsuna's own clothing line, she had wanted to live closer to the metropolitan area so she would be within a reasonable distance from her newly opened boutique. Hotaru had made the move with her, to be closer to her school and her friends as well as her Setsuna-mama. The spacious house seemed empty, but at the same time, was no longer so hectic.
"Well then, I'll see you when you get home then. Oh, stop at the store as long as you're in the city and pick up some of those toothbrush holders. Be sure to say hello for me!"
"I won't be long," Haruka announced, and headed out the door.
- - -
Alone in the house, Michiru flopped down on the guest bed and sighed. So much packing to do, and so little time. And, what could Haruka be so worked up about? Michiru knew that her relationship with her parents was immensely strained, but that was no reason for her behavior. No matter; she would make the best of it.
"If we'll be staying over starting on the twentieth...but, we're arriving on the nineteenth. Although, I won't need to pack clothes for that day," she thought out loud. "So, six days worth, plus a casual dress to wear to a party. Of course, I'll have to bring nightwear, and clothes for various weather...but I'll find what I need."
Dragging the black, bigger suitcase into the bedroom, she set it down on the floor outside of the walk-in closet and opened it. Shuffling through racks of clothing, she first found a black halter-top dress. The flowing skirt came just above her knee, and the higher neckline was made up for by the significant lack of a back to the dress. It was tasteful, yet elegant. Gently placing it on a sheet of tissue paper, she folded it up and packed it away. There; one thing taken care of.
Two hours later, when Haruka returned, Michiru proudly showed her what she had accomplished. After much mental debate, she was fully packed for the trip, and had packed a suitcase for Haruka as well. With a quick glance through the clothes Michiru had chosen, Haruka sensed a pattern.
"These are all...my nicest clothes. Why?"
"Don't you want to show your parents a better side of you, prove to them that you grew up fine without their help?"
"Well, all right, I see the logic in that. But at least let me throw in some more comfortable clothes, just in case."
Michiru smiled. "All right. Just in case."
[tbc]