Family Affairs

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The Lust Chronicles

Chapter Thirteen: Giving in, Part Two

It was quiet, very quiet. When Michiru opened her eyes, it took her quite a few moments for her vision to adjust to the darkness. She placed a hand on her head, trying to ease the pain from her pounding head. ' Where am I? ' It was still pretty dark but Michiru knew that she wasn't alone in the room. When she tried to move she realized that the presence she had felt in the room was actually lying right next to her. Michiru reached her hand out a couple of inches and touched the soft skin of someone's face. 'No, not someone, Haruka.' Knowing that the blonde was sleeping soundly next to her, Michiru couldn't take her hand off the soft skin she had started to become accustomed to.

As soon as her eyes adjusted, she reached over and turned on a nearby lamp. It didn't provide a whole lot of light, it only seemed to provide a very dim amount of it. She didn't mind, so long as she could make out Haruka's features, she would be fine. Michiru quietly traced her fingers along the blonde's jaw line. There was something very interesting about Haruka's face but she almost didn't dare to admit it. It wasn't that she hadn't realized it before, but this time, watching Haruka sleep, she finally had to acknowledge the fact that the blonde was simply too feminine to truly be a man. There were plenty of other factors that led her to believe this conclusion even before they had become good friends. Michiru wondered why the blonde never mentioned anything to her, but she figured it might be sensitive topic so she never had enough courage to ask.

' You look so peaceful, Mr. Helmet Man or Woman, I should say.' Michiru sighed. Haruka looked very much like an angel lying next to her. While she wasn't smiling, as she usually was, she had this expression on this face that made Michiru want to hug her. It was possibly the most passive expression Haruka ever had, and yet, it was the cutest by far. Michiru watched as her fingers began to trace the outline of Haruka's eyes, nose, and then her lips. The aqua-haired girl had never been more intent on learning Haruka's face than she had been now.

She felt the warmth of Haruka's body radiating next to her and that's when she noticed that both their faces and bodies were not very far apart. And considering that she wasn't feeling well, she acknowledged the fact that Haruka still stayed close, even with the danger of being puked on. 'You never cease to amaze me.' It was true. Haruka did things that she couldn't imagine anyone else would do for her. She knew Makoto would not have been this supportive of her if she were sick. Take the arcade for example, Makoto was more worried about getting to her appointment than she was about her being sick. At the same time, it almost seemed as if Haruka jumped at the opportunity to take her home. 'Was that what she wanted? To take me home? She couldn't have been that worried over me, could she have?' Michiru suddenly remembered puking all over the front of Haruka and was extremely embarrassed by the whole situation. And yet, here the blonde was, lying inches from her face. 'Does that mean she cares about me? Or is this her idea of me being an obligation again?' Michiru yawned almost systematically and began falling asleep at the sight of Haruka's serene expression. It was then that she felt a hand on her hand. Michiru pulled away quietly, hoping Haruka wouldn't react unusually about her tracing the blonde's face.

" Are you feeling better? " The blonde asked, almost inaudibly. Michiru nodded in return. " Okay. Let me know if you need anything. " Haruka closed her eyes and went back to sleep, not even acknowledging the fact that she had caught Michiru touching her face while she was sleeping. Michiru sighed inwardly; she had to refrain from touching Haruka's face. As much she wanted to, she ended up pulling away but cuddling into the space between her and Haruka. If she couldn't touch Haruka, she would do everything in her power to be as close as possible to her.

Michiru carefully lowered herself into the hot tub she had prepared. Most of the muscles in her body felt relieved when she had completely submerged herself under the water. After a couple moments of relaxation, Michiru resurfaced and sighed as a numb feeling began to spread over her skin.

For as long as she had been out, she felt absolutely pampered. Haruka had been bringing her food for just about every meal, knowing that she didn't have any sort of apetite whatsoever. The blonde had also left a set of spare clothes in the bathroom just in case she wanted to shower at some point, plus, she left extra towels to wrap her hair in. If she had requested anything, even if Haruka was asleep, the blonde was quick to oblige to her requests. There was nothing that Haruka hadn't done for the duration that she had felt ill, which seemed like a week, but she wasn't sure if she was correct because she lost all sense of time after the first few days.

' Haruka... Haruka... what am I going to do with you? ' Michiru had been much too busy thinking to even notice the door had been opened. In fact, she didn't even notice, it was Haruka's entrance into the bathroom that caught her attention. Michiru observed the blonde as she rubbed her eyes out of exhaustion and began to wet her face. It seemed as though Haruka hadn't noticed she was in there, though she couldn't imagine why not. Michiru continued to watch Haruka until the blonde finally opened her eyes fully and was able to take in her surroundings. Of course, when she did, she had to rub her eyes again to make sure she wasn't seeing things.

" Michiru. " The blonde stood there, a bit stunned.

" Haruka. " The girl remained, for the most part, submerged under water. Only her shoulders and head remained above the water but she knew that was enough to cause anyone to stare for prolonged periods of time. " Are you tired? "

" I..uh... " Haruka was at a loss of words. She was sure she wanted to leave but for some reason she couldn't manage to get her legs to take her where she wanted to go. Finally, she gave up on leaving, seeing as how Michiru was comfortable with her presence, and that she so unbelievably tired that she simply didn't care. " Yes, I'm exhausted. "

" I see that. You're so exhausted that you walked in on my bath and didn't realize I was here. That's a feat that even I couldn't accomplish. " Michiru giggled playfully.

" No. If I recall correctly, the only feat you managed to accomplish, was to successfully soak me in your puke about twelve times. " If Michiru wanted to attack her now, she was definitely going to war.

" Oh, I bet that was fun. " Michiru blew some air on the water before her, watching the ripples that were created as a result. She didn't realize it at first, but the air she was blowing created a hole where the bubbles hadn't covered her body. Michiru blushed and Haruka rolled her eyes.

" I think I should probably go now. Not that our chat wasn't important, but ... well, you're naked and bathing. And well, I'm sure if Minako were to find out that I was somehow staring, she'd have my neck for it. " Haruka went to reach for the door when Michiru laughed.

" You were staring? "

" No! Well, yes, but not on purpose! You know what I mean, right? " Haruka asked, somewhat thrown off by Michiru's question. " It's just that you were there and I didn't know you were there, but you were, so I ended up staring. I – "

" Haruka, it's okay! Really. " Michiru winked at Haruka, attempting to reassure the blonde as much as possible.

" I'm sorry. " Haruka blushed unbelievably hard. " I ... uh.. I'm going to uh.. Wash some of those dishes. I'll be out here if you need anything. " The blonde left the room, leaving a rather amused Michiru behind. When she closed the door, she slumped against it, allowing

her body to slide down the frame until she was sitting.

'What just happened?' Haruka was breathing a bit fast and her heart rate was pumping about twice what it normally did. She closed her eyes, hoping that she was just dreaming but she knew she wasn't fortunate enough for that to happen. 'I have to maintain my composure. What is she going to think if I'm staring at her while she's naked, in a bath tub? Probably what any girl would think.' Haruka wanted to smack her head but refrained from doing so. 'I'm such an idiot.' The blonde stood up; it was best to play it off like nothing happened so she began to collect the litter and dishes she found around her room.

After a couple minutes of calming herself down, Haruka observed as Michiru walked out of the bathroom with her own clothes on. She smiled at the sight, almost surprised that Michiru would dress up in men's clothing. " I see someone likes my clothes? "

" I do, actually. " Michiru took a glimpse at her outfit which consisted of Haruka's sweats and a t-shirt. " They're comfortable. Maybe I wouldn't wear them out but if I had a choice, then I would wear it inside of the house all the time. "

" Why don't you? "

" I don't own clothes like yours, I own girl's clothes. " Michiru replied, almost sarcastically. " That is to say that I am a girl, you know. "

Haruka grinned widely. " Well, if you'd like, you're welcome to wear my clothes when ever you want. Feel free to help yourself. " The blonde was very happy that Michiru hadn't dwelled on her walk in, but she was even more surprised when she found Michiru had grown a liking for her clothes.

Michiru liked the offer and only nodded in agreement. She watched Haruka leave the room, smiling for some reason. There was something about that smile that made Michiru curious as to what was going on in the blonde's mind, but she didn't have enough courage to ask. The aqua-haired girl probably would've stood there forever, wondering about that smile, but it suddenly occurred to her that the room felt empty after Haruka had left. Michiru thought it was strange how the dim lighted room could be lively one moment and then dead in another moment. Michiru decided against going back to sleep, even though she had grown a bit tired; instead, she found herself curious as to the whereabouts of the blonde, so she went on a mission.

It didn't take her long to find her target, who happened to be sitting in front a large television set, intently watching cartoons. Michiru leaned up against the nearest wall, watching the blonde quietly laugh and smile from time to time. It seemed to fill her with joy when Haruka was smiling, but it filled her with even more joy when the blonde began to laugh. She could've stood there for hours watching Haruka just as intently as Haruka was watching cartoons, but sooner or later she would've been caught staring and that wasn't something she was comfortable with.

" I've completed my mission. " Michiru commented as she took a seat next to Haruka. The blonde furrowed her eyebrow, a bit puzzled by the smaller girl's comment. " My mission was to find you. "

Haruka laughed. " I guess you wouldn't have expected me to be watching reruns of the old Looney Tunes, would you? "

" Actually, this is the first place I went. You can try to hide it all you want, but you're a little kid inside. " Michiru replied, suddenly finding herself enraptured in the episode that was playing.

" Yes, but I think you like that. " Haruka mentioned as she continued to focus on the television.

Michiru had to pull her eyes away from the cartoons when she realized the tone that Haruka possessed. It was almost as if Haruka was trying to imply a hidden meaning beneath her words. The aqua-haired girl couldn't deny the comment because she knew the truth, but she was still a bit startled by Haruka's tone and forwardness of the statement. " You're right, I think I do. " Michiru admitted as she lowered her head a bit.

" I know. " Haruka replied as she found her way to Michiru's shoulder, resting her head upon it. " But it's okay because I think we're both kids at heart. "

Maybe they weren't so different after all. Maybe Haruka knew more about her than she initially let off. Michiru shrugged. It didn't matter to her. All that mattered was that she was here, with Haruka, watching cartoons. Life was always so complicated, but with Haruka, everything was simple: as simple as watching cartoons. Michiru smiled, submitting to the truth. She placed her cheek against Haruka's head and closed her eyes. 'This is simple.'

And that was the way she liked it.

Author's Note: Sry it took so long to put this one out. It's been a long week. I'm working on another story simultaneously so it's really hard to focus on either story. The other story might be published some time today or tomorrow depending on what I have going on. We'll see. If I do publish it, I'll let everyone know. Thanks for the reviews, for those who do review. I really appreciate it. If you guys didn't review I probably wouldn't have enough inspiration to finish this story.