Disclaimer: The usual
A/N: Yays getting over my writer's block it seems. Here is Chapter 15, hope you don't mind I was a tad romantic today. Surely not… lol
A Lesson on Love
By Auraluna7
Chapter 15: Birthday Gift
Michiru picked up a beautiful hand painted doll, the delicate piece was a baby girl with curly silky blonde hair and bright red lips over the fine pale china face. "This looks just like her, you think she will like it?"
Haruka examined the doll for a moment, then shrugged. "I don't know, she's your friend Michi, not mine. I would have thought you had a birthday gift for her already."
"If I did Haruka, which excuse I would have used to sneak out with you?" The tomboy smiled, looking at the delicate doll again, her hand around Michiru's waist.
"It does look like her."
The violinist nodded touching the red lips of the porcelain doll with her fingers and handing it to Haruka to take a closer look at it. "Are you getting Kasumi a gift too?" Michiru's words intended to sound casual made the tomboy think of the intentions behind them.
Haruka handed back the doll to Michiru, half smiling. "Did you sound jealous just now?"
Slightly blushed Michiru turned her attention to a display with jewelry. "Certainly not."
"I see. So only I admit my jealousy it seems."
Michiru picked a pair of pearl encrusted earrings, tracing her fingers along the appliqués and bringing them up to her ears looking at herself on the mirror. "Should I be jealous anyway?"
"No you should not. And I quite honestly don't know if I should get Kasumi a birthday present."
"You should." The aqua muse placed down the earrings and walked to the cash holding the porcelain doll. "Something small, because I am jealous."
Smiling Haruka shook her head. "Help me pick it up then." Michiru paid for her purchase and turned to face the blonde smiling.
"Ok then, any ideas?"
"A CD?" Michiru shook her head. "A book? A DVD? "
Michiru rolled her eyes. "You're lame…let's go to find a real present. And then maybe afterwards I can give you a little present too…" The violinist said these words while making sure to brush against Haruka, winking at her and walking away swaying her hips slightly.
The tomboy smiled widely. "Oh? I think I will like that…"Catching up with Michiru the tomboy held her hand, as they crossed the street in the small town Haruka wished they could be like this all the time, not having to hide and holding hands like a normal couple, Michiru was right, they had to talk with her father.
-0-
Akira looked at Kasumi, the girl in a sweatshirt and jogging pants sat by the windowsill, her long hair tied in a ponytail at the base of her neck. "I'm going to lie down for a while, are you ok on your own Kasumi?"
The blonde nodded to Akira, the house was quiet after dinner. Haruka and Michiru were out, to shop for her birthday they said; probably just an excuse to have time to held hands and make out.
The dark haired woman left after a moment and Kasumi still sitting by the windowsill looked outside to the lake, the last rays of sun still caressing the lake quiet waters.
When the silence was too much to bear Kasumi walked outside, the sand beneath her feet still warm, she sat by the lake hugging her knees, her steel eyes lost in the golden glare of the sunset. The willowy blonde tied her running shoes slowly. She rose to her feet and stretched before she started running, a good jog will help her clear her mind. Kasumi felt the rhythm of her heartbeat increase as the still warm breeze kissed her porcelain cheeks, the beauty around the Sagami Lake welcoming her.
Jogging always helped her with her thoughts but today she could not focus her attention on anything, Kasumi kept thinking of Haruka and Michiru, probably entangled in romantic endeavors with each other by now. These thoughts made her upset, so she picked up the pace, the burn in her calves taking a bit of the pain of the recognized defeat.
She finally admitted it; Haruka gave absolutely no signs of wanting her, whatsoever. All she had been looking for was a glance of desire on the teal eyes to jump at her but she just could not find it. It was time to call it quits, for real this time. Kasumi stopped for a moment, her breath short, she placed her hands over her thighs and leaned for air. She was suffocating, in her jealousy and her obsessions. Why was she so determined to be better than Michiru anyway?
Sighing after taking a deep breath Kasumi could not find the answer to her questions and started running again the daylight dying around her as she tried to focus in something other than Haruka's face, than the charming teal eyes and the chill it sent down her spine every time she heard her play the piano. Haruka Tenoh was unreachable and that made her irresistible for Kasumi.
The blonde thought of Rain, on the warm smile the redhead always gave her, on her innocent yet full of life green eyes. She wished to love her, she wished to lust her. And she knew there was a part of her that felt warm and fuzzy every time she was around Rain but it wasn't an overwhelming feeling that took her breath away as how she felt around Haruka, it was hard to define what she felt for Rain.
She had been running for a long time when she finally stopped, her blonde hair dripping with sweat, her legs throbbing with the effort. She looked up; she had stopped at the skirts of a traditional Japanese looking house; the wooden polished stairs starting at the beach escalating towards the rock cut where the house rested upon.
"Nice day for a run isn't it?" The ashen eyes looked in the direction of the voice talking to her, she found a guy sitting on a rock with a notebook on hand. He was probably in his late twenties, his auburn long hair tied on a ponytail.
"It is." Kasumi wiped the sweat out of her forehead and stood straight looking up to the guy sitting in the rock.
"You look familiar, have we met? I tend to forget stuff …"
"No, I don't think so. I'm not from around."
The young man jumped down to the sand, taking a closer look at her. "I'm sure I've seen you before. What's your name?"
Kasumi found the man a tad strange but his eyes green were friendly and warm. "Kasumi Tani."
"I see. I realized now, I've seen you before…sort of. I'm Haze, Haze Tenki."
"Tenki. You're related to Rain?"
"Sadly." The guy laughed softly. "Just kidding, yes. She is my baby sister."
"Oh." Kasumi noticed then the slight resemblance, it wasn't too obvious, Haze's hair was more toned down and his eyes were blue-green, but they did had the same charming smile as the Tenki Twins.
"So yeah, I've seen you before, in her work. Did you come here to see her? I think Hail is out but Rain is in her studio."
"Ummm…not really. But…I will stop and say hi, why not." The guy nodded and showed Kasumi a hidden staircase leading to a detached small house.
"Just go that way."
"You're not coming?"
The guy shook his head smiling. "I'm working on my research; I have no time for girly business. I'll see you later Kasumi Tani"
"Umm, ok." Kasumi fixed her hair a bit, but there wasn't much she could do, she was sweaty and her looks weren't particularly attractive according to her standards, then again Rain had seen her crying and this was just a friendly visit. Her steps were soft on polished wood, she thought of calling Rain's name but then she spotted her.
Rain's hair was tied up in a shaggy ponytail, she wore a pair of shorts and a simple white shirt stained with paint, she was also wearing her glasses giving her expression a more intellectual air. Kasumi saw the girl working on a tall canvas, her hands skillfully tracing what appeared to be a view of Lake Sagami, she seemed so focused on her job Kasumi felt like a stranger interrupting a special occasion, she quietly sat down and tried not to disturb Rain, her gray eyes fixed on the artist.
As the minutes went by Rain kept working feverishly, now and then taking a lose strand of red hair off her face, sighing and then tilting her head looking at her work. Kasumi thought she looked different, more mature than the usual shy and warm Rain, more attractive even. Wishing not to disturb her after all, Kasumi stood up ready to leave when the day started dying and it was starting to get dark outside. But as she was about to turn to leave Rain looked in her direction as she reached for the light switch of her studio.
"Kasumi…"
The blonde smiled she walked quietly towards Rain. "Hey, I didn't want to interrupt you while you painted."
"It's ok. How long have you been here? I didn't hear you coming upstairs…"
Kasumi moved the rebel lock of hair out of Rain's face and looked into the green eyes. "A while, sorry I was kind of peaking at your work."
"Oh. It's not that great."
"What are you saying Rain? That's not true…" Kasumi walked into the studio after taking her shoes off, she looked at all the art work of Rain along the place, the girl seemed to like different styles and media. There were oil paintings of the Lake, watercolors of beautiful flowers and several portrait sketches, Kasumi's eyes stopped at what seemed to be a beautiful portrait of Michiru playing her violin. "She's pretty isn't she?"
Rain walked to her looking down to her sketch she made a small smile. "A lot of girls are pretty, few are beautiful, like you."
The blonde smiled her eyes still on the sketch. "Will you paint me Rain?"
The redhead blushed slightly and nodded softly, she held Kasumi's hand and guided her to a padded bench by the window, and she sat across from her with her sketch pad on hand. "I wanted to get you a birthday gift; maybe you will like my painting of you."
Kasumi lowered her eyes, a soft blush on her face; she sat on the bench looking at Rain. "Is this good?" The redhead nodded and started drawing with a slight tremble of her left hand, she knew Kasumi's face by heart, she had been drawing her persistently over the past weeks. "I should have worn something else than this…"
"It's ok; I will draw something else on you. What will you like? Whatever it is, you will be the most beautiful." Kasumi smiled and played with her ponytail, looking at Rain under a new light, perhaps if she tried really hard she could love her…
With her own hands trembling slightly Kasumi unzipped her hoodie sweatshirt, dropping it on the bench as Rain lifted her eyes at the sound of the zipper going down. "You…you don't have to…"
Without a word Kasumi rose to her feet and untied her jogging pants, the piece of clothing sliding off her sculpted white thighs; standing in front of Rain who couldn't keep her eyes off her Kasumi loosened her hair, the long satin strands of hair kissing her bare thighs and soon after her bra and panties joined her discarded clothing on the floor. They looked at each other for a moment, Rain mute with surprise, Kasumi affronting the consequences of her acts; yet not backing out, she sat on the bench again leaning against the pillows, a heavy blush on her porcelain face, her ashen eyes bright.
Hearing her heart pounding in her ears, Rain found her throat suddenly dry, the blonde seemed like a vision to her, she was afraid to talk, to even breathe thinking Kasumi will just vanish into thin air if she broke the spell between them. Her hand started tracing the delicate silhouette of the girl on the paper, every valley and every peak, imagining the softness of her round breasts and the warm of her thighs, almost feeling the taste of her skin, almost wishing she could imprint the image of Kasumi's shimmering body on her mind forever.
The blonde watched Rain draw one sketch after the other, the many pieces of paper falling on the floor at the artist's feet, she wetted her lips softly, and after what seemed like a long time she finally spoke. "Rain…" Her voice almost strangled. The redhead looked up to her again, her hand stopped. "Come here…please."
There was doubt in the green eyes and Kasumi felt suddenly very cold and very naked. Rain looked down to her sketch pad and placed it aside, standing up from her chair and walking towards her, her hands shaking. She stopped a few inches from where Kasumi sat down and the blonde looked up to find her eyes. Kasumi's touched the girl's arm and the redhead sat next to her. "Kasumi…"
The gray eyes looked at her and Rain felt they were looking through her right into her deep secrets, she felt herself stop breathing as Kasumi leaned closer to her, the soft breath of Kasumi kissing her lips. "Rain…"
They kissed, their lips pressed together softly. And Kasumi opened her lips for her, welcoming the almost innocent invasion of Rain's tongue into her mouth. Kasumi traced her hands along Rain's back, pulling the girl's shirt over her shoulders, her own warm skin against Rain's.
Feeling herself in the vortex of a storm Rain's breathe became heavy with desire, she slid her hand along Kasumi's round breasts, cupping them gently, feeling the perfect skin, even softer than she ever dreamed, the scent of Kasumi's skin intoxicating her. They kissed again and again, Kasumi's eyes closed feeling Rain touched her with desire mixed with tenderness.
Kasumi kissed the girl's neckline and slid her hand along Rain's abdomen, tracing the line of her shorts with tremulous fingers reaching for the buttons of Rain's pants and as she did the redhead locked her eyes on hers. "Wait…"
"Why?"
Rain took Kasumi's hand on her own bringing it up almost touching her lips. "Kasumi…Are you over her?"
Kasumi let go off Rain's hand, her eyes filled with a sudden affliction. "Rain… I want to be."
Feeling a sudden void in her stomach, Rain spoke. "But you're not." The redhead caressed the soft face of the blonde, her own eyes darkened. "I want you to be in love with me."
"And I want it too. Please."
Rain shook her head, she leaned and kissed Kasumi's lips gingerly, a salty kiss mixed with tears. "Maybe one day you will be." Kasumi closed her eyes, tears running down her face, and Rain held her close, her own feelings torn, she wanted Kasumi, she loved her, right now she would have gave everything to see her stop crying, but she could not sleep with her without Love. "It's ok Kas, don't cry."
"I'm sorry Rain. I really want to be over her…I really do."
Rain nodded and caressed the golden locks, she swallowed her own tears and closed her eyes reminding herself it didn't matter to be the first to be loved, what matter was to be the last. "It's ok, it's ok."
-0-
"What do you mean Kasumi isn't home?" Michiru looked at Akira annoyed, if she had knew that Kasumi was going to sneak out of the house she and Haruka could have gone somewhere private to have some real alone time.
"I…I have nothing to say, she went out for a jog and that was three hours ago."
"Well aren't you a great responsible adult."
Akira eyed Haruka who seemed enjoying this too much. "Haruka we have a minor missing you should be a little less amused."
"Who's missing?"
Michiru turned around to see Kasumi walking into the living room, her eyes were puffy and her hair was tousled. "You are, were. Where were you?"
"Running." Kasumi walked past the three girls and walked towards her bedroom, Michiru looking at her puzzled.
"What the…" Haruka looked at Michiru shrugging, and the violinist walked behind Kasumi finding her right before the blonde closed her door. "Kasumi, what's wrong?"
The blonde looked up to her friend. "I hate my birthday that's all."
"Kasumi don't lie to me."
The blonde sighed and look over Michiru's shoulder. "I'm struggling ok? Give me some time."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes." Michiru nodded and Kasumi closed the door behind her. Michiru went back to the living room to find Haruka sitting at her father's concert piano.
"Is she ok?"
"I guess so." Michiru picked her violin; she leaned on the piano looking at Haruka, lost in the teal eyes. She smiled and Haruka handed her the already familiar music sheets. "I never asked you, who did you wrote this song for?"
The tomboy smiled. "Silly girl, you. My Muse, you." Michiru smiled and leaned to kiss Haruka the tomboy pulled her into her lap and kissed her deeply. "Shall we sneak into your bedroom ah?"
The girl smiled. "Well…mmm I don't know." Haruka hiked up her skirt and rubbed her thighs gently. "Maybe we should wait, I will find a place for us to meet, you and your 'muse' …mhmm? But not now"
"You sure?" Giggling Michiru kissed Haruka again, unbuttoning the tomboy's shirt and cupping her breast.
"Well…mmm, I guess…yeah let's go." Haruka smiling lifted Michiru into her arms being as quiet as possible she started heading towards the girl's bedroom but as they turned around the corner they found a very stern looking Akira.
"Yeah…I don't think so."
"You are not serious." Michiru still on Haruka's arms didn't seem as embarrassed as Haruka.
The dark haired girl nodded. "Your dad just called me, so …yeah I don't think so." Haruka placed the violinist on the floor and sighed frustrated.
"Akira you're like worse than the flu." Akira rolled her eyes at the teenager and looked at Haruka for support.
"It's ok Michi, go to sleep, I'll see you tomorrow." Michiru looked at Haruka hoping the tomboy will fight her friend a little more but she didn't. Again Haruka's conscience was winning the battle.
"I'm telling my dad Akira so there's no point on you babysitting us."
"Are you now? Well that's great. When you do let me know, I hate babysitting you guys as well."
Flipping her long hair Michiru walked past Akira. With what sounded as a frustrated groan she opened her bedroom door. "Good night then."
"Good night Michiru."
"Night Michi." When the door closed Akira looked at Haruka shaking her head.
"Keep it teen rated man, I'm on the clock. At least wait until I am not watching."
"Yeah, yeah I know…"
-0-
The morning of Kasumi's birthday the blonde woke up feeling depressed, her beautiful eyes fixed on the ceiling, she had been reckless and stupid with Rain. And the redhead had turned her down in perhaps the most polite way ever but still as a frontal rejection. It was just craptastic, now she had no Haruka and no Rain, it was her birthday and she was alone and sad. A soft knock on the door got her out of her depressing thoughts and Kasumi fixed her eyes on the door.
"Come in."
Michiru walked into the bedroom smiling, already dressed in a blue and white beach dress. "Morning birthday girl."
"Morning." Michiru handed her a neatly wrapped package and Kasumi opened it, she looked at the hand painted doll and smiled slightly. "Thanks."
"I think she looks just like you."
"Does she? I doubt it, she's beautiful. Thanks Michiru."
"It's your birthday and you're here being sour, what happened last night?"
"I … I think I ruined things for myself again, but It's ok."
"Ruined what? With who?"
"Rain…"
Michiru smiled, she patted Kasumi's hand. "I doubt it, get up and get dressed; we're going to the Pleasure Forest."
"I don't really want to go out."
"Well ok, get up then and tell Rain who's at the door with flowers that you don't want to go out today then."
Kasumi smiled. "Is she really?" Michiru nodded and Kasumi hugged her. "I'll get dressed quick."
"Kasumi does this means you like Rain?"
Turning on her heels the blonde gave Michiru a half smile. "I want to, I really do."
Michiru nodded and left the room, she pressed her back against the door closing her eyes and smiling. Kasumi was over Haruka and she was getting her friend back, finally. Kasumi walked down the hall a few minutes later she found Rain waiting for her on the hallway looking doubtful.
"Hey."
"Happy birthday." Kasumi smiled and Rain handed her a bouquet of fresh daisies. "I'm sorry about yesterday."
Smelling the fresh spring flowers, Kasumi looked at her. "Don't be sorry for being honest. I wish I could be as pure as you, believing in true love, having so much talent and so much sweetness inside."
"I want to help you talk to Haruka. Just so you can reach your star or finally look at me like I am one."
Kasumi smiled and held Rain's hand. "Let's go have fun today, it's my birthday wish."
"I'll make this day special for you."
"You already did…"
(A/N: yes yes, a lot of Kasumi this chapter, it is called character development ladies… lol and besides it was romantic wasn't it? Maybe a bit sad but romance is sometimes sweet and sour. Who knows things might pick up soon…review if you want to find out! ^.^)