Dedicated to: An unnamed pin pal. You probably wont read this or know I dedicated any chapter to you, but all the same thank you for the advice you have given me.
Chapter 17: Interlude
"I had no idea she was going to do that, Suna." Michiru said as she fell happily onto her bed in the hotel that night. Michiru smiled lightly and shut her eyes even as Setsuna's calm voice asked a few questions over the phone. "The wedding was wonderful, but yes I think I'll remember the reception for much longer. Hold on, someone is at the door."
Michiru set the phone down lightly and walked over to the door. She glanced through the little peephole and smiled again as she spotted Haruka. Michiru opened the door a fraction and looked around it at the tall blonde. Haruka just grinned cockily and kept something hidden behind her back. Finally Michiru's curiosity got the better of her and she opened the door completely.
"Just wanted to say good night, love." Haruka purred as she leaned close to Michiru's ear again. The tall blonde gave her a quick kiss before turning and walking happily back down the hall. Michiru gently shut the door and leaned against it for a moment. She glanced at her bed and spotted the phone.
"Gomen, I almost forgot you were there." Michiru said as she walked over and sat softly on her bed. She giggled and shook her head as she heard Setsuna's response. "Actually, yes Haruka did distract me. Okay, but when I get back to Tokyo we are spending a whole day catching up. Good night, Suna."
Michiru hung up the hotel room phone and lay back on her bed. She felt something in her hair and reached up to take it out. Bringing the object before her eyes she found a white rose and smiled again. She couldn't remember it being placed there but knew Haruka had done it somehow.
Haruka whistled as she walked back down the hall to her own room. The blonde walked back in the still open door, kicking it shut behind her, and fell heavily backward onto the bed. Haruka placed her hands behind her head and smiled contentedly toward the ceiling. Tonight life seemed pretty good.
The next morning, and first day of a two-week stay in the US, the yellow Ford Mustang drove smoothly onto the large and empty track. Michiru stood beside an older mechanic as the lights began to change. The track was empty at this hour only Haruka's car zoomed around as the two spectators watched.
"She hasn't lost any skill." The man commented as the Mustang entered its third lap.
"I have never actually seen her race." Michiru said as deep blue eyes followed the blur of the golden car as it zoomed past again. "I thought I'd seen her drive fast, but I've never seen her do this."
"Oh? Well then you've missed out young lady." The mechanic grinned and winked at the young woman beside him. With what seemed an odd pride he waved a hand at the track as he spoke. "I've no doubt she could have out done any driver NASCAR could find."
"You sound like that's all in the past." Michiru commented quietly.
"I think maybe it is." His eyes focused again on the golden yellow car as it began to slow down. It pulled to a smooth stop and Haruka hopped out of the driver's seat; she pulled off the black helmet she wore as a precaution. "According to Thomas, a team in Japan offered her a spot on their team and she declined. He said that it was the second team she declined in a year."
Michiru thought over this quietly as the blonde rejoined the two near the old garage. Haruka grinned from ear to ear as she walked over and wrapped her arms around the violin player, whispering something about a nearby pool. Michiru looked up into two teal eyes and smiled back. She could ask later, it wasn't anything that strange.
Hours later Michiru lazily floated on her back in the hotel pool. Other guests swam about here and there, but Michiru still remained in her calm corner. Haruka shook her head, watching and wondering as it almost looked as if the water kept all others at bay. Haruka herself sat at the pool's edge, her feet dangled in the water as she watched the seemingly asleep artist. Haruka's black tank top, under a black t-shirt, and her dark navy board shorts still seemed to fool the eye. She also wore reflective glasses to protect her from the glare of the pool water.
"Haruka?" Michiru spoke up. Haruka glanced over and noticed her fiancé's eyes were still closed and she still drifted lazily atop the water.
"Yes, Michi?" Haruka asked as she kicked her own feet a few times. Though she didn't feel like swimming herself, sitting with her feet in the water was fairly relaxing.
"I didn't know a team had offered you a spot." Michiru opened her eyes and watched Haruka from her peripheral vision. The tall blonde just shrugged and lay back on the concrete poolside. "Why did you turn them down?"
"I didn't want to leave." Haruka said simply. She closed her own eyes and placed her hands behind her head. For a moment she didn't her anything but then she felt two hands on her knees. She opened her eyes and spotted Michiru using her as a sort of poolside anchor.
"Why would you have to leave?"
"You don't know a lot about professional racing, do you Michiru?" Haruka received a very innocent looking shake of the head in return. The blonde sighed a bit as she sat up and regarded the head now half resting in her lap. With a mischievous look the blonde tugged lightly on one of Michiru's hands. As the shorter was climbing out of the pool Haruka again tugged that hand, causing Michiru to fall into her lap. She kissed the artist's forehead and chuckled a bit at the wide-eyed look. "Michiru, professional teams race all over the world. France, Italy, German and America just to name a few. If I took them up on the offer I could be gone for months at a time, actually I would be gone for months at a time."
"I wouldn't stop you." Michiru whispered as she settled comfortably in the taller woman's arms. Haruka grinned down at the cute image the violin player made. "If it's your dream you should go for it."
"Michi." Haruka used one hand to gently tilt the woman's chin up so that their eyes would meet. Teal eyes looked very seriously into deep blue orbs as she spoke. "I never thought you would stop me, I made the decision myself. I didn't want to leave you behind for months at a time. Besides, I have a very good dream right in my grasp."
"What's this new dream?" Michiru asked quietly.
"You." Haruka said with a sly smile as she leaned down a bit and kissed Michiru lightly.
"That was a corny line, Haruka." Michiru whispered as the blonde pulled back.
"Did it work?" Haruka said in a teasing tone. Michiru didn't answer but instead pulled the blonde into a deeper kiss. Haruka held back a laugh at the obvious answer to her question.
In Japan at the "Gates of Time" Setsuna calmly read over a number of documents, which sat on her desk. Near her feet Triton was dozing lightly, his nose twitched every few minutes as he breathed deeply. On top of the desk Wind-Chaser sat on a stack of currently unimportant papers, looking just like a paperweight. Little green eyes watched the woman's red eyes skim the documents with ease.
"Meiou-sama." Called a young man's voice as the door creaked quietly open. Wind's attention went to the new comer as soon as he poked his head inside. Setsuna merely kept reading. "The staff is leaving for the night."
"Thank you, Taka-san." She responded with out a glance. The young man nodded and left again. Setsuna heard a sigh as the door shut behind him. This time she glanced up and caught Wind's own look of pity.
"I am rather busy." She tried to rationalize to the cat. Two green eyes just seemed to hold a skeptical air to them. After what seemed to be a staring contest Setsuna shook her head and stood up. "Fine, you win Wind-chan."
Setsuna could hear the small animal purring even as she left the office. At a quick but dignified pace she walked down the halls and quickly reached the entryway where Taka stood retrieving his coat from a nearby closet. Setsuna stopped as her feet caused a board to creak and Taka jumped. The man spun to face her and his blue eyes went even wider.
"Meiou-sama!" He bowed just a bit at the waist and looked back toward the woman before him. As he was one of the tallest staff members he was actually equal in height to Setsuna. A dark brown, nearly black ponytail fell over his shoulder as he straightened. "Is there something you wanted?"
'Here goes.' Setsuna thought to herself as she looked into the man's eyes. She spoke in a confident voice as she addressed him. "I was wondering if you would like to go to dinner with me tomorrow, Taka-san."
"Really?" Taka seemed to be so surprised that he lost any calm image he once held. Quickly the man pulled himself back together and bowed again. "I mean, I'd love to Meiou-sama."
"Why don't you call me Setsuna." Setsuna said as a statement rather than a question. She smiled just before turning back down the hall. "Good night, Taka-san."
Taka restrained himself until he was outside and the door was safely shut behind him. Once on the lawn the young man jumped up and let out a happy cry as he walked off toward his car. Two red eyes watched for a window, an amused smile playing across Setsuna's face.
Author's note:
I feel like this one is a bit short too. I will try to get another chapter out before Wednesday (today is Saturday). I'm sorry I've just been a bit busy and caught up in work and to top that I caught a cold. (Shakes head) Wish me luck though, I am being considered for a job that would pay enough for me to probably get my own place, a new computer and a faster Internet connection. If I get this job it means less time for my personal life, but hey I am already a bit of a workaholic.
Oh, and I just kind of threw the thing about "Taka" in. He isn't based off any characters and really came from an idea about a connected story centered on Setsuna.
Review responses:
d3V4n63L: Glad you liked chapter 16. I rewrote it a few times trying to get it right; I was trying to make it romantic for the fact of the proposal. Thank you for your review.
Papapapuffy: Thank you for reviewing, I hope you liked the update.
Bahamut's king: I had a similar thing happen with the review box once or twice.
Okay, as for the wedding everyone will have to wait and see. Right now I have no clue what I will do for the two and two of my friends are laughing. I am not exactly the one they all think of when wedding planning comes into play. Still, I'll do my best. Take care until next time.
Animeprincess056: As I just typed to Bahamut's king, I am not sure how I am going to describe their wedding just yet. Wish me luck, as this really isn't my department. My other stories, "A World Apart" is on hold until I finish this most likely. "Coward's Way Out" is complete. "Bottom of the Bottle" is complete. "A Night at the Club" is just a one shot for fun. And finally, "Beyond the Grave" will be updated when I complete "Truly Madly Deeply". Wow that was a bit of a list there. (Smiles) I will update as soon as I can though. "A World Apart" will most likely get an update before "BtG". Okay, enough of my rambling. Thank you for your continued support and reviews. (Bows)
Kuro no Kaze: I did feel like the proposal chapter was short, but when I looked at it I also felt adding too much would ruin it. I'm glad you liked it and hope you'll like this chapter as well. Thank you for the review.
Moon-Daisuki: Thank you for the correct spelling of heels. Honestly I wasn't sure how to spell it at the time so I went with what the spell check accepted. I am glad you pointed it out. Thank you again, and also thank you for the continued reviews. Take care until next time.
That's it folks. Take care everyone.