Art is Long and Life is Short
Summary: Usagi yearns to understand and be good at making art, so that she'll be good at something. Oneshot!
"Usagi-chan, why are you so quiet?" Hino Rei asked, leaning over in her seat to look at her friend's canvas. Tsukino Usagi quickly leaned forward and blocked it from view with her body.
"Shush, Rei-chan, I'm trying to concentrate," Usagi hissed. She made a shooing motion before taking her easel and moving it a few inches to the left. The plastic ends of the wooden legs scaped across the floor, making a high-pitched screeching sound. From the front of the room, Usagi could feel a pair of aquamarine eyes shifting in her direction. Usagi lined herself up behind her canvas to disappear as a flush raced into her cheeks.
"Usagi-chan is concentrating?" Kino Makoto whispered. "Why can't she take studying as seriously as this?"
"Give Usagi-chan a break," Mizuno Ami said quietly, her lips barely moving. She titled her head to the side, frowning at her canvas. "She did really well on her last test."
"Thank you, Ami-chan." Usagi sat up in her seat, slightly puffing her chest out. She turned and stuck her tongue out at Makoto and Rei. Aino Minako peered around her canvas and stuck out her tongue back, but in a playful gesture.
"She only did well because we were studying with Mamoru-san," Mianko said. She stuck her paintbrush into a a small bucket, cleaning paint off the bristles before plunging it into another color.
"She has to prove she'll be the perfect wife somehow," Rei commented.
"Mamo-chan says I'm perfect the way I am," Usagi said. She reached up and brushed her blond bangs off her forehead sticky from sweat.
Rei glanced over at her and let out a laugh. "He says that out of love. A lot of love."
Before Usagi could make a comment, she was instantly calmed by the familiar scent of the beach. The salty sweet air filled her nostrils. She took a deep breath before gasping loudly, jumping up from her seat. Her stool fell backward, clattering loudly to the floor.
"Silly, Usagi," Tsukino Chibiusa chided from across the room, "We can't take you anywhere."
"Well, that isn't too much of a problem as art is found everywhere," Kaioh Michiru said with a gentle smile. "Through paint, music, sound. It can be uncovered as one takes the time to listen and be themselves." She turned her attention to Usagi's canvas.
"No, don't look!" Usagi insisted as she scrambled to pick up her stool. "It's not…" she sighed deeply. "It's not good."
Michiru gently placed a hand on Usagi's arm as she regarded her painting. Her eyes carefully traced every brush stroke, followed the mixtures of shades and pigments of golds, greens, and blues, and analyzed the overall composition of the piece which held two large brown spots in the center. The corner of her lips twitched.
Rei, Minako, and Makoto moved off their stools, rushing over. "No, sit down," Ami pleaded. Chibiusa also moved to get up but was stopped by Tomoe Hotaru grabbing a belt loop on her pants and pulling her back; Hotaru's right hand never pausing as she painted in light purple.
Michiru held up a hand, and the three older girls stopped mid-stride. They quickly shuffled back to their seats when they spotted the beginning of a storm brewing in her sharp, aquamarine eyes. Ami turned bright red, hunching over
"I want to start over," Usagi all but whined. She gripped the end of her smock, wringing it tightly.
"You don't have to." Michiru shook her head. Another burst of the salty sea air filled the room. This time, it instead of the relaxing effect, it made Usagi nervous. "Work with what you have
"But it has to be perfect," she insisted.
"Art isn't perfect."
"Yes, it is! Look at you." Usagi's eyes widened. One of Michiru's eyebrows twitched. She lifted a hand to cover her mouth, fighting off a smile. She feigned a gentle cough. "Look at yours" Usagi quickly said, pointing out the canvas at the front of the room. A half-finished painting of a baby turtle swimming towards the surface sat on a large easel. Various shades of blues and greens
"Usagi-chan, I've dedicated my life to this," Michiru said.
"And you're so young, but to be this talented." Usagi lowered her head. "I know I can do better." She took a deep breath before lifting her head and smiling brightly. I'm just going to get another canvas." She picked up her canvas and turned, swinging it widely in the air.
"Usagi, watch out!" Rei shouted.
Usagi felt the canvas hit something hard and felt the splash of a liquid on her legs, the sound of splattering filled the room. She squeezed her eyes shut as everyone in the room let out a loud gasp. Usagi slowly lowered the canvas, and carefully peeked between her eyelids, letting out a loud gasp when she saw blue paint dripping off Michiru's arms, blouse, and apron.
"Oh!" Usagi dropped the canvas, covering her mouth. "Michiru-san, I'm so sorry."
"That's quite alright." Michiru reached behind her and carefully untied the apron and removed it from her body. She carefully folded it up before placing it into a nearby hamper, filled with smocks, aprons, and squares of cloth. "Everyone, why don't you take a break as I clean up?"
"I'm sorry," Usagi whimpered.
"I know." Michiru said. She looked down at her paint covered hands, before glancing at her shirt. She made a small sound of discomfort before walking toward the back of the room and turning on the faucet over the large sink. Usagi watched as Michiru made quick work of cleaning her hands and forearms free of paint. Her thin, graceful fingers carefully danced along her skin.
After turning off the faucet, Michiru dried her hands on a nearby towel before walking into the supply closet. She grabbed her schoolbag that was tucked into a cubby and opened it to pull out another blouse. She unfastened each button, careful to not to get paint back onto her hands. Michiru peeled her soiled blouse off her shoulders, letting it gently slide down her back, in a fluid motion.
Once free from the garment, Michiru grabbed a spray bottle and soaked the blouse on top of a dry rack of art pieces. She returned the spray bottle back to its proper place, and slipped into the clean blouse, flipping her aquamarine locks up from the back of the collar. Once the new blouse was put on properly, Michiru plucked a clean apron from a row of hooks and fastened it behind her back.
"Thank you for looking away, Usagi-chan," Michiru said over her shoulder. She finished tying a bow from the apron strings before turning around and regarding Usagi, who slowly stepped into the room, with a warm smile.
"I didn't mean to intrude," Usagi rushed.
"I know." Michiru placed a finger under the blonde's chin and lifted her head. "You can look at me now."
"I cleaned everything up."
Michiru spotted Usagi's paint covered hands. She grabbed a clean square of cloth and began to wipe off the paint. "That was sweet of you to do, but I would have done it at the end of the class."
"You shouldn't have to-"
"Why do you want to learn how to paint?" Michiru interrupted. "I'm sorry, that was rude of me. However, I am curious. Who are you doing this for?"
"For me?" Usagi asked, more than said. Michiru looked into her blue eyes, never ceasing her motions. "Myself." She said more clearly.
"Are you sure?" Michiru raised an eyebrow.
"I'm not good at anything." She shrugged.
"Come now. That's not true."
Usagi scoffed. "I can't cook. I can't sew." Her eyelids lowered. "My grades are horrible. I don't like cleaning. I just want there to be one thing I can do."
"Sill girl." Michiru giggled, placing the soiled cloth into a shelf. Usagi's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. She then gasped as Michiru took a hold of her chin, stepping closer, their noses almost touching. "Clearly you don't see what I see." With that, Michiru firmly turned Usagi's head in the direction of the classroom. "Look at the art you created."
Usagi watched as Minako and Rei giggled to each other as they poured over a magazine. Ami and Makoto were sitting next to each other, sharing some cookies out of Minako's lunch container. Chibiusa and Hotaru brightly greeted Meiou Setsuna as she hurried through the door, her white nursing jacket billowing behind her, a stethoscope dangling from around her neck, bouncing lightly against her chest with each step.
"You took so many lonely people and made them family. Even better, you helped make them friends just by shining your bright light." She then pressed a light kiss to the corner of Usagi's mouth. "That's what you're good at."
"Michiru-san," Usagi whispered.
"As long as you remember that everything you do will be something you can excel in. Everything you do, every heart you touch, will be art."
"Thank you, Michiru-san," Usagi said. Michiru nodded once before picking up the cloth off of the shelf. She closed her eyes as Michru placed the cloth against her forehead and began to lightly scrub. She hummed happily when she smelled the perfume on Michiru's wrist. Usagi reached up and lightly curled her fingers around Michiru's forearm, stopping her movements. Usagi looked at the black mark on the cloth and let out a bright laugh, reaching up with her empty hand to rub at her forehead. "May I start over?"
"If that's what you wish." Michiru fluffed Usagi's bangs back into place. She then winked.
Usagi let out a small squeak before uttering another apology for holding Michiru's wrist before rushing out of the supply closet. Michiru carefully folded up her soiled shirt and placed it into her school bag before stepping out of the closet. She paused once she noticed Haruka leaning against the wall next to the door frame. She was watching everyone going back to their paintings, but her half smile wasn't hiding the teasing tones of her cobalt eyes.
"I know what you're doing," Haruka said quietly.
"What am I doing?" Michiru asked.
"She's irresistible sometimes. I get it." Haruka shrugged, the leather in her racing jacket groaning against the movement. She then turned and regarded Michiru with a wolfish grin. "Quite frankly, I was waiting for this moment to happen. Too bad I wasn't here to see it."
"Silly Haruka." Michiru reached up and wiped some grease off Haruka's cheek. "If you were here, what makes you think I'd let you see it?" she asked.
Michiru tittered at the confused look on Haruka's face before making her way around the room. She greeted Setsuna and spent a few moments asking about her day while making polite conversation with Chibiusa and Hotaru who would occasionally interrupt with some questions about their own art pieces.
Haruka eventually gathered the attention of Ami, Rei, Makoto, and Minako with racing practice, leaving Usagi to sit by herself working on her second painting attempt. Her canvas flipped from horizontal to vertical. Michiru quietly watched from afar.
Usagi took a deep breath before gently letting it out. "Work with what you have."
Michiru remained quiet but walked closer. She looked at Usagi's painting and smiled, placing a hand on her shoulder.
The brown spots, what were to resemble a turtle, was now transformed into a brown rabbit.