Chapter 3: Birthday Surprise Part One

Teal eyes stared up at a blank ceiling, dim light cast upon the white surface by a desk lamp on a near by nightstand. With a sigh one hand ran through short, blonde locks and the owner of said eyes threw a bit of a glare at the ceiling. Not that it was its fault, really.

"Tom, I know it's been almost nine months now." Haruka lost the glare and instead her face changed to one of mild annoyance. "Oh, you think I should move on already? Since when do I ask your advice on dating?" There was a pause, Haruka's face now clearly showing surprise. "That was low, I know I'm divorced but you don't have to say I have bad 'spidey senses' or whatever it is." The expression became somewhat sad. "I know, man, I know. No, I don't take offense. What!" Her eyes looked as if they were going to pop out.

"Well yes, yes she is. No, I don't have anything really against the idea." One eyebrow cocked and she gave the ceiling a sly smirk. "Now do I really seem like the type to kiss and tell? Maybe, but I don't know." Her face once again morphed into an expression of thoughtfulness. "Well, yes she did technically fire me."

There was a long pause in which Haruka merely listened to the 'sage advice' coming into her ear through the phone. She nodded thoughtfully, having forgotten that Tom could not see what she was doing. Her mind was very preoccupied at that moment as she tried to digest her own thoughts and feelings. She nodded mutely to the man who seemed to not stop speaking, until he finally said something that caught the blonde's attention.

"What!" Haruka sat bolt upright in bed, glaring at the wall. "That wasn't funny. Yeah, sure you do. Okay Tom, I really need to get some rest now. Yeah, thanks."

Once the cordless phone was off and safely set on the nightstand Haruka fell back into the bed with a loud sigh. She placed her hands behind her head and stared with sightless eyes toward the blank ceiling of the room. With a thoughtful look she continued to think over the past months events, and her emotions. She came to a decision, and hoping it was the correct one as she turned out the light. Darkness swallowed the room and soon the sounds of Haruka's steady breaths filled the air.

Michiru hummed quietly as she walked about her small mansion like house going through the usual morning routine. When she got to the part where she fed Triton she stopped with a small frown. For a moment she wondered why she felt as if a dish was missing, then it hit. Wind-Chaser had gone home with Haruka only a few days ago, but the habits of feeding and tending to the cat as well as the dog had not gone away.

"Here you go, T-kun." She said happily as she placed his full food dish and water dish on the kitchen floor, pausing a moment to scratch him behind an ear. The German Shepard happily started into his breakfast as the phone rang. Michiru stood, walking into the hall to answer it.

"Hello?" She paused a moment before looking at the door in confusion. "Why?" Another pause came, this one seeming shorter as she approached the door. "Okay, I will Haruka-chan."

As she pulled open the door she was met with the smiling face of Haruka Ten'ou herself. Michiru grinned as the hansom blonde woman, clad in black dress pants and a dark navy dress shirt, held out a bouquet of six white roses.

"Happy birthday, Michi-chan." She spoke in a bit of a husky tone as the shorter woman accepted the flowers. She grinned widely at the smile that met her gift. "I was wondering if I could take the birthday girl to breakfast."

"I love that, Haruka. Let me go put these in water." Michiru waved Haruka in before disappearing up the stairs. As Haruka shut the door she caught the sound of feet quickly moving on the kitchen floor, turning to find Triton happily waging his tail behind her. She grinned and gently scratched the dog's fur while she waited by the door. The wait wasn't long before Michiru returned to the doorway.

"Shall we then?" Haruka asked, opening the door again and offering Michiru her arm. The aqua haired woman smiled warmly as she gently took a hold of her tall friend's arm.

They drove down the road in a comfortable silence. Haruka had turned on the CD player in her car, quiet instrumental music floating through the air, and brought the convertible top down. The sun shined down brightly but the breeze kept the temperature down in a comfortable range. Haruka guided the car through the Tokyo streets at a respectable speed, rather than taking to it as if it were another race, she was in no real hurry today. The buildings slowly gave way to beach front, and the sea breeze greeted the two as they pulled up in front of an upscale restaurant.

Haruka quickly hopped out of the car and ran over to Michiru's door, opening it for the shorter woman. She grinned cockily as she gave a small bow, much like a paid driver would, and held out her hand to Michiru. The violinist took her hand with another smile that honestly made Haruka's heart do a little flip.

"Thank you." Michiru looked up into teal eyes, which sparkled with mischief even at mere breakfast hours. She raised an eyebrow and asked in a friendly, teasing manner. "Are you trying to be Prince Charming today?"

"Well, seeing as it is your birthday, dear Princess, I will be all too glad to make sure you have a great day." Haruka grinned a bit wickedly as she kissed Michiru's hand gently, teal eyes locking with blue. "And I am only Prince Charming around beautiful and kind princesses."

"You can be a huge flirt, Ten'ou Haruka." Michiru laughed as the other woman merely wiggled her eyebrows at that comment. They turned and walked into the restaurant, which Haruka had apparently made reservations at, and were seated at a table with an ocean view.

Breakfast passed happily, both women laughing at Haruka's silly comments and sharing what trouble their respective pets had gotten into the previous night. After breakfast they went to walk along the beach, Michiru seeming to thrive off of the salty sea air. They spent so much time near the water that it was nearly lunch time when Haruka pulled the yellow convertible back up to Michiru's home. Once again Haruka jumped out and opened the door for her friend. They walked up to the door and stopped on the step, Michiru turning to face her taller friend.

"Would you like to stay for lunch, Haruka?" Michiru asked, hiding disappointment when Haruka shook her head slightly. Michiru's face lit again with a smile however when Haruka spoke.

"I actually have some things I need to do." Haruka grinned in a lopsided manner as she looked into blue eyes. She took a deep breath before continuing. "Would you like to go to dinner with me tonight, if you don't already have plans?"

"Of course, what time?" Michiru asked brightly, happy that she wouldn't spend the rest of her birthday alone.

"I'll pick you up around 7?" Haruka asked, being certain Michiru had nodded her agreement before continuing. She bowed jovially and looked back up at the birthday girl. "Until tonight then, Princess."

"Until tonight, Prince Charming." Michiru responded, stifling her giggle as much as she could. She watched Haruka walk back to her car and wave before driving away. Turning back to the door she sighed and started thinking of ways to pass the extra hours.

Haruka pulled a small cell phone from her pocket as she drove back toward greater Tokyo. She hit the speed dial number with out having to look and pressed the phone to her ear listening to it ring. A sleepy voice answered grumpily from the other end of the line.

"She said yes." Haruka spoke clearly, then waited for the response of the other person. Her brow furrowed a bit. "No, it's not so much a date as a birthday dinner. I am not in denial. Stop talking about rivers, Tom. Yes, I already have reservations. I don't know if I am ready for this, am I ready? I'm asking because you questioned my judgment. What do mean how did I resist while we were on tour, I was getting over the divorce. Okay, okay we'll see. What are you a schoolgirl? Fine, I'll call you tomorrow and tell you how everything went. Yeah, take care."

With the phone hung up Haruka smiled just a bit. She had to reassure herself she could do this. 'I am not bad with woman, and Michiru certainly isn't Jill.' Haruka thought to herself. 'Its just a friendly birthday dinner at a slightly romantic restaurant, nothing big. Oh, boy, breath Ten'ou.'

Author's Note:

Third times a charm, right? I am so very sorry for the two mistakes that were just so brainless of me. First, thank you to Moon-Daisuke for pointing out cline, which was meant to be "ceiling". Secondly, thank you Kaiba-queen for pointing out "glad" which was supposed to be "clad". The worst part of that last mistake is I saw it last night and forgot to fix it. I choked on my water this morning when I found that review. Both are now fixed. Thank you again to all the reviewers.

AN.

This chapter is a bit shorter than I'd have liked to be honest. Still, I hope it's a good update. I am on my way to take some 'time off' at a friend's house, hopefully clear up some of the stress I've been building up. Thank you again to all the reviewers for the encouragement, and yes I do feel very encouraged.

I really should get to sleep, my friend nicknamed Michi is going to call and wake me up in 6 hours, plus she said if I fall asleep on her like last time she is going to pour my root beer over my head. That's what I get for saying, "Just don't use ice water". Not my fault that people love to wake me up, its like a game for them. B-) Take care, everyone out there.