Summary; Warning; Disclaimer: See First Chapter.
Thanks to everyone who's read and reviewed up to this point. Sorry it took so long for this to come out- I had a really bad case of block on this one. But I'm slowly working it out, so feel free to leave ideas or whatever if you have any. I try, and give credit!
Also, what Haru was going to ask the last chapter was NOT for her to move in with him, or vice/versa. Nice idea, though, guys! So no one got it...but I'll give ya another chance and not tell ya.
Please review if you read. Comments, ideas, suggestions, and helpful criticism welcome.
"The beach?" she repeated a week later, glancing up from her desk that Haru was currently lounging on.
"Yep – we've got that beach house by the sea, and we're going there for a week to take some time off," he nodded, and grinned down at her, patting her head teasingly. "You look so cute – like a secretary."
"I would hope so – I am a secretary," she replied primly, sliding some papers in a drawer before closing it.
"You're no fun," he shrugged, getting off her desk when she poked his lower back with the stapler.
"I'm trying to work," Jenna said, slight annoyance revealed in her tone.
"You're pissing her off, Hatsuharu," Natsuki warned him with a grin, resting her feet on her own desk and watching the couple with interest. She had met Hatsuharu a few weeks ago when he had dropped by to pick Jenna up after work, and she had instantly approved of the Sohma as a boyfriend.
"What else is new?" the other young woman added with a smile of her own, and Haru knew he was in the clear.
"I'll go away if you promise to come with us to the beach house," he prodded, and she paused for a moment in thought before eyeing him.
"Who else is coming?"
"Tohru, Yuki, Momiji, Kyo…the whole group, I believe," the Ox told her solemnly, and she shook her head with a laugh at his expression.
"All right, all right, I'll go – I promise. I'll take next week off," she vowed, raising her hand as if taking an oath. "Is that what you wanted to hear?"
"Yup," he nodded, and bent down to kiss her quickly on the cheek before straightening and moving toward the door. "I'm going, I'm going, no need to staple me to death."
"See you, Haru," Jenna said pointedly, putting her stapler down calmly. Natsuki observed that her cheeks were slightly flushed, and the astute woman guessed it wasn't from the heat.
"He's a good guy, Hatsuharu," Natsuki said calmly, glancing at her coworker out of the corner of her eyes, pretending to be reading a file.
"Yeah," Jenna nodded happily in agreement, and then froze. "Oh no!"
"What?"
"I don't have a bathing suit!"
"I don't see how a twenty-three year-old woman can not own a bathing suit!" Natsuki repeated, having harped on the subject the entire day until Jenna agreed to let her friend take her out shopping the next day after work.
"I never really went to the beach, and when I moved here I threw my old one out," Jenna shrugged.
"But still!"
"I get it already!" she sighed, shaking her head in tolerance. "Geez, get a grip, Natsuki. It's just a bathing suit, after all. Calm down."
"When's your birthday, anyway?" Natsuki asked suddenly, and Jenna blinked at the abrupt change of subject.
"Huh?"
"You heard me!"
"Uh…next month. Middle of June," Jenna replied, having to take a moment to get her bearings.
"Really?" the other woman grinned, and Jenna nodded.
"Yeah. Haru's was last week – we went to the park for a picnic. And then I got soaked," she added ruefully. "What a mess."
"How romantic," Natsuki sighed, and Jenna turned a bright red underneath her light tan.
"Natsuki!"
"I know, I know, you're not dating," she said coolly, rolling her eyes as an added benefit to what she thought of that statement. "Whatever you say, Jenna."
"Think what you want," Jenna shrugged, deciding not to argue the matter with her friend. The woman's black hair was up in a neat braid, and her dark chocolate-brown eyes shone with excitement as they neared the bathing suit section in the department store, while Jenna only groaned.
"What's the matter?"
"I hate shopping for bathing suits," she sighed. "I mean, what's the point? Why is it all right to walk around half-naked in a bikini, but you can't wear your underwear in public? Underwear covers more!"
"It's the point, Jenna," Natsuki replied, but Jenna only gazed at her. "Oh, whatever. Stop whining and get looking. One-piece, or two-piece? I think two-piece is better – you're an adult, after all! What color do you think is best? Blue, green? Maybe a red? No…"
"I don't know why I'm even here," Jenna shook her in amusement as the other woman busied herself with the suits, obviously getting into the whole shopping experience.
"What about this one?" Natsuki asked, holding one up over the racks. It was a red bikini, more modest than some, with black edging and thin straps.
"Uhm…"
"Oh, try it on!" she ordered, throwing it at the other woman. "Go!" she urged, shoving Jenna into the dressing rooms. Natsuki waited impatiently as the other woman changed, tapping her foot quickly until Jenna finally emerged. "That's perfect!" she cried, and Jenna sighed.
"I hate bikinis," she complained, tugging at it nervously.
"Why? You've got a great body!" Natsuki informed her brightly, gesturing to Jenna's flat stomach and curvy figure. "Not too much in any place," she continued happily. Jenna's brown hair, lightened with gold streaks by the sun was also in a braid, and she pushed wisps out of her face in embarrassment.
"Are we done, then?" she asked pleadingly. "I'll buy this one."
"And…these sandals," Natsuki said, triumphantly holding a pair of black heeled ones aloft. "You have a wrap, right?"
"A wrap?"
"Happy now?" Jenna sighed, carrying her bag to the car after almost an hour of shopping. "I thought we were just going to buy a bathing suit!"
"Yeah, but you needed sandals," Natsuki informed her. "And then that black wrap for your waist was great!"
"But I didn't need more clothes!" she protested, and eyed the bag with a strange look in her eye. "Especially that lingerie. Good gosh, Natsuki, what do you think I'm going to do there?"
"With a hottie like Hatsuharu Sohma? I can only imagine," Natsuki said teasingly, enjoying Jenna's look of horror and embarrassment.
"Natsuki!"
"Oh, relax," she said, waving her hand dismissively. "I'm just teasing, Jenna, so stop with the gasping and being a prude. You're twenty-three, for cripes sake. But seriously, you're gonna have fun on this trip," she added. "I mean, you like the family, don't you?"
"Of course!" Jenna replied. "They're insane, and Tohru's a sweet girl."
"She's a year older than you," Natsuki pointed out, and Jenna shrugged.
"I know – sometimes she seems younger, though. I think it's her attitude. It's so bright and cheerful, it's hard to be in a bad mood around her. You can tell she tries hard to lighten the mood," Jenna thought. "Haru said she was good for the Sohmas."
"I wonder what they were like before they met her," the other woman said dryly, as they got into Natsuki's car. "Wanna go out to eat?" she asked cheerfully, and Jenna took a moment to think before nodding in agreement.
"Sounds good – I'll buy."
"Nah, my treat," Natsuki offered, starting her car with a grin. "To celebrate you finally getting a boyfriend – I never did do anything to celebrate that, did I? So we'll say I did and call this even."
"Your logic is…"
"My logic," she offered, as they pulled out of the parking lot. "Chill out, Jenna. Live life a little."
"Yeah, yeah, I'll go play with some sharks while I'm at it too," she said blankly, and burst out laughing at Natsuki's face. "You should've seen your face!"
"Quit that, or I'll shove you out on the highway," she threatened teasingly, and Jenna gasped in mock horror before turning on the radio for some music as they rolled down the street toward the highway.
"Are you going to marry him?"
"Wh-what?" Jenna stammered, choking down a drink of her soda she had just taken. "Did I hear you right? Marry?"
"Yeah, that's what I said," Natsuki nodded, pointing a fork at her friend impatiently. "Marriage. Tie the knot. Become one-"
"Enough, I get it!" she said hastily, and put down her drink before she spilled it. "I don't know! I haven't thought about it," she confided, and Natsuki peered at her.
"Really?" she asked in disbelief. "Not once? Not even late at night? What about daydreaming? Not even one little time? Not –"
"My gosh, Natsuki!" Jenna cried, throwing her hands up in the air. Luckily, they were outside and didn't disturb anyone close by. "No, I said! I don't know if I feel like that about Haru."
"Well, it's obvious he's in love with you," Natsuki said knowingly, leaning back and inspecting her nails calmly.
"And you know that how?" Jenna asked skeptically, raising her eyebrow at the other woman.
"The way he acts around you, that's all," she shrugged, taking a sip of her own drink. "My sister got married a few years, and her husband acted almost the exact same way Hatsuharu acts around you. Of course, he's a little different because no man is the same, but basically…" She trailed off, and Jenna eyed her for a moment before shaking her head and returning to her meal.
"If you say so," she agreed placating, and Natsuki frowned at her with a huff.
"You'll take me more seriously soon enough, just watch," she informed her calmly. "And then you'll have to admit I was right."
"I'll admit you're right if you're right," Jenna said firmly, and extended her hand over the table. "Deal? I'll publicly admit you were right if you're right."
"Deal!" Natsuki agreed, shaking hands with her friend happily before reaching down to grab the last fried doughnut.
"Hey!"
"I can't believe you got me up so early," Jenna groaned, dragging her feet out of her house.
"You have to lock the door," Haru reminded her, and shook his head when she turned and managed to lock the door after several minutes. "You're not a morning person, are you?"
"You're hardly one either," she retorted, and glared up at the sky, which wasn't even a light gray yet. "Why the hell do we have to leave so early?"
"So we can get there before lunch," he explained calmly, shutting the trunk firmly after throwing their bags in the back. "Come on, stop being so grumpy. I'll get you coffee on the way."
"It better be a cappuccino," she grumbled, getting into the passenger side and slamming the door shut.
"Not so violent," he cautioned, and made sure she remembered to buckle before starting the car. "Hey, I was outside for two hours before you got up!"
"It's called ignoring the guy outside your window," she informed him with a yawn, stretching her arms backward. "I can't believe you were throwing rocks at my window, of all things. Couldn't you be a little more creative?"
"I could have borrowed Momiji's violin and played something," he suggested with a grin, and she gave him a look.
"God forbid," she said simply, before adjusting the seat back and folding her arms behind her head.
"What are you doing?" he asked, glancing at her sideways as he headed toward the highway.
"Going back to sleep. Wake me when's there coffee."
"You're evil, sleeping while I have to drive."
"Tough."
"Hm," the Ox grunted, and after a few minutes realized she had already fallen asleep. He took a moment to gaze at her sleeping form before shaking his head with a sigh. "Damn – I'm never gonna get to say it."
"What?" she demanded grumpily, as Haru shook her awake a few hours later.
"I got your coffee," he said, holding the insulated cup in front of her. She sat up stiffly and grunted as she took the cup, inhaling deeply before taking a large gulp.
"Hot!"
"I just got it, I said," Haru grinned, and she noticed they were still parked outside the gas station.
"Thanks," Jenna sighed, and glanced at him reluctantly. "Sorry."
"No problem," he shrugged, drinking his own caffeine slowly. "We're still a ways from the house, though, so don't drink it all at once."
"I wasn't going to," she retorted. "What do you think I am, a six year-old?"
"Nope," he shook his head, and something in his tone made her glance at him suspiciously before shrugging it off and continuing to sip her coffee. "Well, we should get going," Haru said, breaking the silence a few minutes later and starting the car. "Or else we'll be the last to get there."
"What's the big deal if we are?" she asked, buckling herself back in and securing her coffee as he pulled back out onto the highway.
"Let's not go there."
"Welcome to our humble summer house!" Ayame greeted them later that morning, his arms outstretched as he headed toward Jenna. She gazed at him awkwardly and eyed Haru, who had his head stuck in the trunk as he tried to dig out a tangled piece of luggage.
"Hands off, you damn snake," the Ox warned calmly, and Ayame lowered his arms with a pout and settled for giving Jenna a wide smile.
"It gives me great pleasure to be the first to greet you!" the Snake continued breezily, taking Jenna's arm and dragging her away from the struggling young man. "You're the last ones to arrive, which is why I was granted the privilege of being on the look-out for you!"
"See what I mean?" Haru muttered, trying to catch up as he stalked behind them. Jenna laughed weakly, unable to find it in her heart to push the friendly Sohma away from her.
"This is the summer house!" Ayame announced, and she managed to take the large estate in stride, becoming accustomed to the Sohmas' wealth after a time.
"Aya, you'll trip Jenna in the sand if you keep that up," Hatori said dryly, meeting them a little ways from the front door. Ayame instantly let go of Jenna, who stumbled a bit in surprise before catching herself before falling into Hatori. "How was your trip?" the Dragon continued, smoothly taking some luggage from Haru.
"It was quiet," the Ox grumbled, glaring at Ayame, who easily ignored him.
"Where's everyone else?" Jenna asked, peering around Hatori into the house as they strode up to it.
"They're around," he shrugged. "Jenna, you'll be sharing a room with Tohru and Kisa, if that's all right."
"Of course!" she nodded with a grin.
"Hatsuharu, you'll be with Momiji and Hiro," Hatori continued, and the Ox winced as Ayame laughed loudly near his ear.
"I bet Haru wanted to share a room with his sweetheart!"
"I did not!" Haru yelled, dropping the bags in surprise. There weren't that many, but they were rather large and heavy, and not fun to carry all alone.
"Calm down," Hatori ordered coolly, and resumed his conversation with Jenna, easily tuning out an arguing Ox and Ayame. "Akito is aware we're all here, but he doesn't know you or Tohru have come this time. Also, he's too sick to move, so there's no need for you to worry about any surprises," he added, and Jenna got the feeling he was aiming this at Haru instead.
"Good," the Ox grunted, and Jenna rushed to grab her several bags. "Don't worry – I got it."
"How gallant!" Ayame said gaily, earning a death glare from Haru.
"Would you shut up?"
"Oh, hello!" Tohru called, skipping down the stairs. "I didn't know you came yet!"
"We just got here," Jenna replied, and Hatori moved closer to Haru as the two young women began to chat.
"Is that true, what you said about Akito?" Haru asked quietly, and Ayame quieted down at a glance from Hatori.
"Yes – I won't be surprised if he dies within the month," the doctor replied, and the Sohmas fell silent. While they hated Akito in their own way, he was still their god, and they knew a part of them would be missing once he was gone.
"Well, let's not spoil our vacation with talks like this!" Ayame said cheerfully, breaking the somber mood with a bang. "We've got lots to do this week, and only a week to do it!"
"What are you talking about, lots to do?" Jenna asked curiously, coming over with Tohru. "I was planning on being as lazy as possible, to be honest. It's not often I get to take a vacation, much less one a week long."
"You'll see!" the Snake replied gaily, and they all eyed him suspiciously – expect Hatori, who patiently pulled out a cigarette and seemed to focus all his concentration on that instead of the Sohmas around him.
Well, I think it might be a little choppy, but I wanted to update this. Please review!
