Dedication: To my baby bro, because he is moving and no one knows where yet. I hope it will be close.
Chapter 15: Don't Burn Bridges. . .
Haruka's hands slid easily over the piano's keys, her stiff green class a's not slowing her for a moment as she played the piece. Before the piano were three young men, all part of the ensample the blonde had been assigned to. As she played her teal eyes came up to take in the viola, violin and cello players for a few moments. She nodded toward Corporal Reyes as he met her gaze, and he granted a small smile and playful wink as he turned his focus back to his violin.
The room in which the four played was lit by an off white glow from countless light fixtures. Officers conversed or danced their dress blues spotless as they escorted women in dresses or danced with tuxedo clad men. It was a mixed group of the US military services, a ball to promote moral. . . Yet the blonde pianist could not shake her own disease at being here tonight.
Reyes, as the group's leader, had imposed a sort of curfew for practice over the last two months. Haruka had found it easier to stay on post than to risk being late. After the ball they were free, something which the males seemed extremely happy about. The blonde though was dreading it with every passing moment. She allowed her eyes to drift closed as she thought over the events of the past few months and over her last conversation with her lively roommate.
"Ten'ou can't you make an exception this once?" Minako asked as she helped the taller blonde fix the dark green Velcro tie. She folded the pale green shirts collar back down as Haruka ran a hand through her hair.
"Tonight is the ball; you know Reyes would kill me." Haruka began to turn away but Minako pointed her to a chair, the one Haruka's green coat was draped on. With a sigh the older blonde took a seat, indulging her roommate as Minako took a comb to her windblown, damp hair. She let her teal eyes shut and slouched a bit. "I know you want me to go with you, but I think the General and Reyes both outrank you."
"It isn't me that wants you there." Minako finished combing quickly through the short blonde locks and placed the comb behind her on the desk. Haruka stood, opening her eyes but not looking toward the clerk as she pulled her coat on. She buttoned it carefully, thankful that she didn't wear the uniform often and that Reyes hadn't ordered her to wear the skirt.
"Then we don't have a problem, who else could want me at a night club?" Haruka blinked as Minako picked up her brae and slapped her in the stomach as she gave it to her. The blue eyes of her roommate were now glaring at her accusingly and Haruka felt her throat go dry.
"You know actually who's looking for you. I may not know what happened but it isn't hard to tell that she feels awkward about it. She's worried and wants to know she didn't do anything wrong."
"I've been busy."
"Keeping telling yourself that and you might just believe it someday Ten'ou." Minako walked past her toward the door, grabbing a coat on the way and turning to regard Haruka's back at the door. "We both know why you're really hiding, it's Michiru who doesn't."
Haruka opened her eyes again as the piece closed, catching Reyes' eye again. The man nodded, and each of the four took to their instruments again. Last song of the night, then they were all free for two full days. Her co-workers had talked of going off for a night of heavy drinking, or sleeping through the entire time. Reyes himself said he planned to spend it off post and away from everything music, away from uniform and regulation for forty-eight hours. Haruka, when asked, just said nothing and continued to practice.
Dancers took to the floor again, waiters carrying trays slowly disappeared and a few officers were already taking their leave. A few short minutes and she would be free, and now the blonde knew where she was going. A black Mustang was parked somewhere outside, waiting patiently for its owner as notes drifted through the night air.
Subspace emptied out, the bouncer having to all but drag out a few young men who had one too many. Minako sighed as she stepped out into the night air, glancing up toward the stars as she dug in her pocket for her cell phone. She paused and nearly jumped out of her skin when a hand landed on her shoulder. In a second she'd spun about and managed to tackle the figure, straddling them and holding either side of their collar in her hands.
"Air!" Rei yelled as she felt her own shirt being used to restrict her breathing. The blonde atop her blinked and released her collar in a second's time and Rei took a grateful breath. Dark eyes stared out from beneath her baseball cap and hood, which had somehow stayed mostly in place, as she smirked. "Why again did you need to be saved from those guys?"
"Ten'ou's been helping me." Minako muttered, fighting back the embarrassed blush as she forced herself to look annoyed. "Was there something you wanted Hino-san?"
"You off my hips would be a nice start." Rei put in sarcastically, but regretted it a second later. Minako nodded once then stood and began to walk away with out a word. In the back of her mind the blonde realized that throwing someone to the ground and walking away wasn't polite, but she wasn't sure she cared. Rei growled and picked herself up, glaring at the still walking blonde. "Sorry would have been nice!"
Again there was no response, and Rei grumbled to herself as she turned to start the other way. She paused as she noticed the cell phone lying on the pavement, its case was split and a few pieces had fallen off. She knelt and picked it up, noticing the screen had cracked when it fell, then the initials M.A. written in marker. She picked it up, what she found of it and stood.
"Why am I even bothering?" Rei asked herself, than started off the way Minako had walked. She jogged down the dark nighttime streets, past closed businesses, and caught sight of a white jacket. She slowed to a fast walk, noting that the young soldier had slowed and seemed to be checking her pockets again. After a moment she spoke in a normal, though seemingly loud to the silent street, voice. "Are you looking for something?"
Minako turned; seemingly ready to make some comment until she noticed what Rei held. After a pause Minako cursed and walked over to the other young woman, excepting what was left of her phone with a long suffering sigh. She hung her blonde head and leaned against the nearest building.
"This is what I get for messing with other people's business. You'd think I'd just learn my lesson already." Minako said blue eyes still on the pavement as she seemed to have lost any anger. "Sorry about what I did back there."
"I shouldn't have scared you that way." Rei said, shrugging though the blonde didn't see and lowering her voice a bit. Dark eyes glanced about the empty street they'd found themselves on. "What's so bad about helping your friends?"
"What did you just say?" Minako blinked and looked up, eyes confused as she gazed into the shadow of Rei's hood. Again the other woman shrugged.
"You just want them to be happy right?" Rei paused as Minako suddenly stepped forward and placed a hand to her forehead. After a moment the blonde did the same to her neck and Rei growled. "What the hell are you doing?"
"Checking your temperature, you must be sick." After a pause Minako shook her head and almost smiled. "Or maybe you're just from Mars and the real Hino-san was abducted."
"Why did I even come out here?" Rei grumbled as she turned away from the blonde again. She started to take a step but Minako caught her hand. Rei didn't turn but instead looked over her shoulder toward the young woman.
"What did you want?" Minako asked and felt Rei's hand twitch. She let go and Rei turned back to face her, shoulders slumping a bit.
"I'm sorry." Rei spoke the words grudgingly, pausing as two blue eyes again looked at her without comprehending what she was referring to. She released a sigh and looked off toward a window of a store on her left. "I didn't mean what I said in the booth."
"What exactly did you mean?"
"I like to be alone, or I did." Rei shoved her hands into her pockets and shrugged again. "I've always preferred silence over commotion, solitude over company. I never made friends quickly, actually sometimes Odango-san and Mako-chan is about it."
"So you mean you weren't trying to get rid of me when you helped me?"
"Oh I was." Rei assured her, and then spoke again. "At least I thought I was."
"Hino-san, you don't make any sense." Minako said, but she stepped forward and managed to get her finger nearly up to Rei's nose before the DJ could speak. "I'll forgive you, if you'll forgive me for intruding. Deal?"
"Sure Aino-san, sure." Rei grinned, knowing Minako couldn't see her face in the darkness and the shadow of her hood. What she didn't expect was for the blonde soldier to lean forward and pear at her from only an inch or two away.
"You're smiling." Minako accused.
"No I'm not; it's a grimace at the pain your company brings me." Rei shot back, lacing her voice with sarcasm. The blonde before her smiled and stepped back, turning as if to leave.
"Of course it is."
"Where are you going?" Rei called as Minako took a few more steps away.
"To find a payphone and call a cab."
"Can you even read the signs to tell them where you are?" Rei taunted and Minako turned back to face her. The blonde placed her fists on her hips and glared at Rei with a playful spark in her eyes.
"I happen to be getting better you know."
"Oh, and do you have a calling card or anything to pay the pay phone with?" The silence and frown that came over the blonde was all the answer Rei needed. She nodded toward another street to their right and spoke tauntingly again. "I suppose you'll have to come home with me."
"Don't get any ideas Hino-san; I'm not a DJ groupie." Minako joked as she came back toward Rei and the two began to walk together. Rei huffed and shook her head.
"Don't think for a second that you're my type, you get to use the phone and leave." Rei shot back and Minako smirked in her own strange manner. Rei paused and turned to face her as Minako also stopped. "What?"
"Come here and I'll tell you." Minako said, walking backward a little into a more shadowed area and beckoning Rei. At first Rei was skeptical but she slowly followed, stepping closer until they were together, hidden in the shadows.
"Now what?" Rei said quietly, expecting some sort of childish secret or strange out burst from the blonde. Instead Minako reached forward and slide her hands up and inside the hood Rei wore. Before she knew it Minako had pulled her forward, hands laced lightly into the long hair beneath her hooded sweater. Lips met hers in a teasing manner as a chill ran down her spine. The kiss lingered and Rei responded, not thinking as she pushed the blonde back further into the shadows.
Minako started to laugh a bit as Rei managed to pin her to a wall and start to deepen the kiss. The blonde pulled back as much as the structure at her back would allow and giggled at Rei's surprised look, grinning as she noticed Rei's hat and hood had fallen off.
"What's so funny?" Rei growled, dark eyes glaring into cheerful blue ones.
"Do you react that way to everyone who's not your type?" Minako returned, fighting more laughter as Rei seemed to freeze. The blonde smiled and ducked, managing to dart under Rei's arms as her hand pressed against the wall. She picked the black hat and pulled it onto her own head before facing Rei again. "So, where is home?"
Rei turned, one black eyebrow rising at the smiling blonde as Minako slowly backed away. Rei began to smile as well as she took a few slow steps forward and the blonde took a few more back. There was a moment of silence, and then Minako bolted down the street, followed by Rei. The chase lasted a few blocks, ending in a park when Rei managed to tackle the blonde private.
"Give me my hat back." Rei said, her voice demanding but not threatening.
"No." Minako grinned up at her, and stuck her tongue out. Rei glared and the blonde just laughed before reaching up and draping her arms over Rei's shoulders. "Are you sure it's the hat you want?"
"Are you bi-polar or something?" Rei sighed and pulled out of the blonde's arms to stand. Minako just giggled as Rei held out a hand to help her up. After a minute Rei carefully replaced her hood started off again, not even looking to see that Minako followed. She could hear the occasional giggle so she knew the blonde was following. For two months they avoided each other, acting as if the other didn't exist, and now Rei found herself leading her to the shrine. If she ever figured out what hell made the blonde grow on her so quickly it would make a good psychology paper.
Michiru set her violin down lightly as her cell phone rang, her blue eyes opening to look at the device but not taking in the number on the screen. She slowly set down the finely crafted wooden instrument and picked it up. She hit a button and placed it to her ear, assuming it was Setsuna.
"I know I should be asleep Suna, but I needed to clear my mind." Michiru began but the voice that responded wasn't what she expected.
"Actually I was hoping you'd have a moment to talk."
"Haruka-san?" Michiru blinked and looked around her hotel suite as if searching for some sort of ghost. "What are you doing awake? Aino-san said you had a concert tonight and that you'd probably go straight back to your barracks."
"I thought about that when I realized the club was already closed, but I was hoping to see you."
"See me?" Michiru wasn't sure why but she walked over to the door and opened it, shaking her head when no one was there. She faced back inside with out shutting the door and sighed. "Maybe we could talk tomorrow."
"Or if you have the time we could talk right now." Haruka's voice suggested. Michiru paused as she realized the voice hadn't come from the phone this time. She turned and found the tall blonde before her in a green dress uniform. It took a moment for Michiru to gather herself from the shock of finding the blonde there, and from the fact that for once Haruka was in something designed to show a few of her more feminine aspects. It was a very different image from the tuxedo of a few months ago, even as the same teal eyes regarded her seriously. "Permission to enter ma'am?"
Michiru nodded and stepped aside, letting the blonde in before shutting the door. If nothing else this was bound to be an interesting talk.
Author's Note:
I honestly couldn't explain where the part about Minako and Rei came from, but I guess I felt up to something playful. Maybe it's the effect of writing when I just finished talking to my girl friend. (Yup, life has gotten more interesting and relaxing recently.) If I'm lucky I'll get this posted sometime in the next week, but I don't know.
A friend of mine is in the states until Saturday, after which he goes back to Iraq so if he comes down I'll be occupied. I have to respect the guy, he's a medic attached to the 82 nd Airborne. Hooah Josh, hope we get to talk before you have to get on the plane again. Okay, well I really should be sleeping. Take care out there.
Review responses:
Neptune's Mask: Hey look, you're my first response! Glad you enjoyed the chapter. Hm, well as I am talking to you on IM I will move on so I can get back sooner.
Tonker: Hi there. B-) Thank you for the review. I may be bringing this story to an end soon, so I think I may take a bit of time off and write a new story that focuses more on Ruka and Michi. . . Or I may move to a different pair for a while. Who knows?
Amnesia Nymph: Here you go, number 15 offically up. With any hope I will have 16 up in the next week or so, depending on how wipped work leaves me. Ah well, off to work so I can get it out that much faster right?
Leena9: Hey there, we're in the same boat. I was an honorable med from the regular Army in '03. I try to keep any "graffic love sceens" out of my fics generally. This is for a few reasons including a lack of experience in order to write about it believably. As for Rei and Minako, I am kind of toying with the idea of a spin off story following those two. Ah well, we'll see. Thank you again for the review.
Hagancameron: There aren't many happy points in here, are there? Well this one is probably getting ready to wrap up so I think maybe the next story will be a bit lighter. Can't write everything serious or sad can I? Anyway, thank you for the review and I hope you liked this chapter.
That's it for the current reviews, thank you for reading. Yes if you read I am considering wrapping this story up in the next few chapters. There are a couple reasons for this, the main one being that I am unsure if I am going to have internet access after July 9 th for a while. Also I am trying to get a job that is roughly 12 hours a day for six to seven days a week. The pay is good there, but it doesn't leave much free time. Still I could really use this job so please wish me luck.
As always, reviewers are treasured.
Take care,
HK