Chapter Three: Banana Pancakes
She was hot. It was really, really hot.
Pulling her collar and bow tie away from her neck, Haruka reveled at the cool air that entered her dress shirt. She had no doubt that her face was red and blushing from the sights that she remembered on that still familiar night. As the music drew to a close she looked up at Michiru and smiled widely, getting up along with everyone and clapped. They shared a glance before the violinist took her bow, the noise rising in octave as well as length.
She took a mental note to do this again...attend another concert. Because, just as everything Michiru did, to feel it in person was most definitely better. As said girl left the stage, the crowd inside the symphony hall began dispersing. She kept rooted to her spot noticing around her that the familiar and more prominent people that attended were also the only ones staying. Well, the get together afterwards was the main reason for the event.
"Tenoh-san, very surprising to see someone like you here," an elderly woman greeted as she approached the blonde.
Haruka took a bow. "It's a pleasure to meet you again Shoji-san. I take it your company's doing fine?"
The old woman scoffed. "My daughter's taking it over for me now...I only go in when my arthritis and migraines aren't keeping me at home. Unlike you though she's helpless when it comes to the family trade. She can't arrange flowers for her life."
Haruka nodded and smiled, but inwardly gave a sigh and roll of the eye. She hated these little events only for this reason. Michiru might've thought that enticing her with the presence of new or interested clients was the reason why she came here, but she truly just wanted to hear good music. And if she were to give up a couple million yen for that good music, she would...not to mention the one giving the music life was...dazzling to say the least.
God it was still so hot in the room.
"So I didn't catch the location where the gala will take place in," she stated talking again to Shoji Shiko.
A broad shouldered, middle aged man came to stand beside her company making her yellow brows go up in skepticism.
"The Regency Restaurant," the old woman answered and gave an uncaring look at her bodyguard that had just appeared. "Would you care to sit next to an old woman? It won't seem so lonely."
The blonde smiled uneasily. "I'm not really sure how long I'll be staying there. The music is all I really came for..."
Shiko looked at her in clear surprise. "Well I thought you came because of Kaioh Shinji's interest in buying a new home. Score a few pointers with the daughter, get her to introduce you to her father, and there you go...a new client!"
Haruka laughed inwardly. Oh she was definitely getting more than a few pointers from Kaioh Shinji's daughter, but this bit of information was hardly a surprise for her. "No, I didn't realize Kaioh-san was interested actually. If he is I guess I can give a few hints to his daughter about it."
She smirked. That was something she definitely would not be doing tonight.
A fray of claps emitted from the people around her as she turned to see the violinist coming through the backstage entrance. She wore a pleased smile in her face as she addressed everyone, giving the blonde a little more attention than she gave the others.
"The charity benefit is going to be at the Regency. I hope all of you can take a little bit more of your time tonight to attend. There will also be patients, doctors, nurses, and researchers there from Ogikubo Hospital which was the main aim of this event. My manager and I will see you there. We will be situated at the far left island so instruct the gondola coordinator and he will be sure to take you there." Michiru gave a warm smile and left with Shizuka beside her, disappearing once again into the backstage area.
"You have a ride to get there I presume?" Shiko asked her as they made their way out of the concert hall, following and being followed by twenty-five or so other people.
Haruka nodded and fished for her keys. Twirling them with her index finger, they were both joined by another man, a foreigner the young CEO presumed for he had the blonde hair and dark blue eyes most people with Japanese decent didn't or couldn't have.
"That was amazing," he stated loudly, his thick accent clear in his Japanese. Haruka looked on ahead of her and paid him no heed, but he nevertheless continued. "This is my second time listening to her in person. My God! Last time was horrible…horrible. It didn't sound like her music. Something you would expect from the trash young people play nowadays. But tonight! Oh tonight was magnificent! Every note, every sound, magnanimous!"
Haruka didn't even try to fake the annoyed look in her face.
Guess I gotta be fed to the wolves before I can get a real meal...she thought to herself and sighed.
She really did hate these kinds of things. There was nothing worse than an invitation to sit and conversate with a bunch of rich people...especially the old money generations. The worst kinds were the ones with foreigners involved. Foreigners that didn't know when to shut up or that were just so oblivious to the fact that she wasn't interested in whatever they had to say that she sometimes, although not usually, would tell them to in the manner that could only describe her as...well...arrogant, pompous, self-righteous, and yeah...She just really hoped that this guy would not sit with her and the older woman because she could only stomach a few rich people before she needed to get away again.
She didn't pay the foreigner with dirty blonde hair anymore attention and just gave a small bow to the old woman, striding faster out of the concert hall than the others that were still there.
As she reached the parking lot, the buzzing of her cell phone stopped her in mid stride and she smiled at the katakana pi a no on her caller's ID.
"What's up?"
"Will you be attending the gala?" Michiru's soft voice answered in the other line.
"Aren't you with your manager?" she asked as she unlocked her car door and stepped inside.
"I'm in my dressing room...changing for the event. Will you be there?"
"Hmm...do you want me to be?" She smirked widely, knowingly putting the other girl in the spot.
Silence ensued in the other line before, "If you don't want to I can understand. Will you be at the beach house after?"
The blonde smiled wider, her tongue sticking out at the edge of her lips as she did so. "I can be."
"Haruka don't dance around with me."
She laughed, feeling the annoyance coming from the other end. "Fine...yes I will be at your gala and yes...I will be at my beach house after. Wear something nice I can look at so if I still don't see you tonight at least I can have something help me when I'll be needing my imagination."
The violinist's laughter in the end made her join in a chuckle as well as she turned the ignition key of her car on.
"I'll try my best to get out."
"Looking forward to seeing how you'll do that."
As her phone hung up automatically, she backed out of the concert hall's parking lot and headed straight to Regency. It was a refined, expensive, and highly talked about restaurant situated in the outskirts of Tokyo. Anyone who was anyone could get in. Anyone who had to be someone could rent out an island in the vicinity.
Haruka knew the floor plan for the restaurant very well...it was the first project she partook as CEO in training for Tenoh Corporation.
When she arrived there, an instant feeling of pride swelled within her as she looked at the larger than life restaurant. Before the restaurant was built, in its place was a built in, small, and hardly used reservoir. Why it was ever there was a question that still has Haruka asking even today, but the initial plan was to take everything out and rebuild a regular looking restaurant from scratch.
Of course Haruka, being Haruka, didn't want that at all. Instead she worked with the lead architect to construct what would become Tokyo's most visited, most popular, and most expensive restaurant.
At the end of the long year of construction, remodeling, and rebuilding, Regency looked to be the imagination of an overly clever traveler. In the outskirts of the restaurant, hidden by tall palm trees, was the parking lot.
"So it doesn't ruin the feel of it." Haruka remembers herself saying as she introduced it to her mother.
The restaurant itself was built similarly to the Todai-ji Temple in Nara albeit smaller and not so...religious, Haruka guessed to be the word. Both stories had their own kitchens, each supplying food to their separate floors. What was different from the Todai-ji Temple was that Regency had a very modern look, complete with overbearingly large windows that made seeing the surrounding area of the restaurant implemental...the exact feeling Haruka wanted the restaurant to have because the surrounding area was nothing but water and large islands.
The popularity of the restaurant didn't stop at the marvelous design of its temple like built; it was just the start of it. Building an extensive sewer system underneath and around the reservoir, the engineers made it possible for the water level surrounding the entire restaurant to be controllable. Every week, thousands of gallons of water is pumped out, recycled, and pumped back in the reservoir to create the bluish, tropical beach like color that's very noticeable especially on a sunny day.
The restaurant itself took up forty-five percent of the entire land, or better yet, water mass. The rest, was Haruka's brilliant idea. With the lead architect and lead constructor more than willing to do her bidding, she instructed the building of five artificial islands behind the restaurant, onto the extra water mass. After these islands were built to look like a five zero domino tile, large gazebos were built in each island, the outer four becoming a private dine in and the middle, the islands' private kitchen. The four out of the way islands connected to the center by means of an expanded bridge and the center was connected to the back of the main restaurant. Gondolas with their own waiting oarsmen floated along the front, bottom story of the restaurant, the only means of access and transportation to any of the four islands.
Whenever she took a glance at this restaurant the words, "I am a genius" couldn't help, but grace her mind. The surrounding spot lights kept the restaurant's islands bright regardless of the time of day and at night, the waters couldn't help, but look as if they were sparkling.
Tonight was no exception of course. The entire restaurant lit with an extravagant light and gondolas waited just in the side of the entrance to the temple. It was funny to her how people came to this site more to see it than to eat in it. She gave herself an internal pat in the back. The four billion, eight hundred million yen pay off at the end of it was definitely worth it to the buyer.
She gave a nod to the main coordinator of the gondolas who stood beside a waiting oarsman. His eyes doubled in size as he saw her.
"Tenoh-sama, welcome back! Welcome back! Which island will be your mainstay today?" he greeted with bow after bow of welcome.
The oarsman gave a look of panic as she eyed both of them and replied, "The Kaioh charity gala."
"Of course!" the coordinator smiled widely and enthusiastically. "Kobu, take Tenoh-sama to the third island."
The oarsman next to him gave an immediate nod before asking, "Shouldn't I wait for other—
He stopped talking immediately as the coordinator's eyes doubled in size as a warning. "Tenoh-sama will have her own gondola until she reaches there. Make sure she's comfortable."
He gave a nod and bowed to the still waiting blonde. Of course she would be used to this by now. Apparently it's common for all staffs of Regency to know who she is and why she was important out of all the important people that passed through the restaurant's doors everyday.
She walked to a waiting gondola and sat down on the soft cushions placed inside. As the boat started moving, she looked up to see the eyes of sight seers following her and decidedly looked forward again.
"H-how're you dong tonight?" her oarsman asked nervously as he dipped the long oar into the shallow sparkling water.
Haruka smirked. "I'm not one for small talk so if you stop, I'll appreciate it."
His eyes widened at her words, nodded vigorously and silently, and continued paddling, this time with renewed vigor.
Haruka reveled at the sounds the water made as they paddled across it and the fresh smell combined with the floating aroma of the food being cooked made her all the more salivate. Hunger gnawed at her as she sighed. She knew she'd probably be the first one there since she basically ran from the concert hall, but if all goes well she'd be the first to dig in to the appetizers already being prepared by the chefs. As she passed the side of the temple, she finally got a good look at the five islands. She passed the first one with relative ease, a small party of what seemed to be popular idols having dinner inside the wooden gazebo.
She stood up to get a better look of the third island. Apparently there were already people there, the doctors and patients Michiru spoke about, she presumed, and almost smiled in glee at the waiters and waitresses serving what seemed to be the appetizers. As the gondola touched sand, she grabbed a 10,000 yen note from her wallet and handed it to the ever thankful oarsman. Stepping out, she bowed to the guests already there and sat on the nearest table, a waiter coming to her almost immediately.
It would be a few more minutes until the people she recognized from the concert arrived and another fifteen minutes for the star attraction to get there as well. She shared a table with Shoji Shiko, the same blonde foreigner she was annoyed at after the concert, a well known judge and his wife, and a few more people that Haruka should probably have known, but couldn't have cared less about.
"I'm always so amazed at how marvelous this place was built," Kobayama Akiko, Judge Kobayama's wife stated in wonder.
The young CEO stayed quiet as she felt Shiko who sat next to her, pat her arm gently. "Well if you must know, we can all thank Tenoh-san for it. She was the brain behind this operation."
Oh god not again, she thought to herself unenthusiastically, but gave a small smile and bow to the judge's wife.
"You built this huh?" the foreigner asked crassly. "It looks nice for someone who is a juvenile."
Haruka's frown was imminent in the table, but before she could proceed at saying exactly how she felt, the presence of the violinist was invited very wholeheartedly by everyone who knew she had the same well known temper as her father's.
Michiru greeted everyone with a bow and a radiating smile. "I hope you're all enjoying yourselves. The researchers here are very thankful for the donations given tonight. It will surely help those in need."
"What amazes me more," Judge Kobayama stated, "Is how you can continue these charity events. You spend, get nothing in return, and yet over and over you plan them as if you're reaping one hell of a fortune!"
Everyone shared a laugh at the table except for a nonchalant blonde as Michiru smiled appreciatively in return. "I do what I can...and I thank you again for doing the same."
She gave a bow to the table as everyone nodded back, the foreigner giving her a leer that Haruka wanted to punch his face in for. Nevertheless the blonde gave a small appreciative smile at the violinist's garb: a fitted white dress with spaghetti straps that hung over her exposed shoulders. It seemed to be in a kind of silky material for it gave a nice glow as the artificial lighting hit it and she wore it with every intent of looking refined, but damn near sexy at the same time.
I want to take it off, was the first thing that graced Haruka's mind when she first saw her in it, but now all she really wanted to do was go away. She really wasn't made for these kinds of things. She felt as if she set herself up for having a crappy night. It would all be up to Michiru whether or not it will continue to be that same crappy night, but she decided not to let her hopes up. Tomorrow being a definite thing was the only thought that was keeping her sanity and with that in mind, she abruptly stood up.
The smaller woman gave a look of surprise at her sudden action as did everyone in the table. She gave a forced smile and faced the violinist.
She could see the worry emanating from her sapphire eyes which she only gave a tired smile to.
"Thank you for the invite Kaioh-san," she stated with a bow. "You played marvelously."
"You're leaving already?" was the question in return.
Haruka nodded, glancing at a waiting gondola parked neatly at the island's shore. "I have matters to attend to early tomorrow morning and staying out later would be a bad idea."
It was a lie, they both knew it, but Michiru nodded slowly in understanding nonetheless. "I hope you can make it to the next event."
At this the young CEO gave a genuine smile. "Call me up on it. I should be reachable in my office. Leave a message to my secretary and it'll get to me."
She gave one last bow to the people she shared a table with and a last smile to the already melancholic look Michiru sported.
O--O
In the safety of her beach house with the reverberating sound of the waves rushing back and forth into the shore, Haruka could only let out a tired sigh. She took her blazer off and discarded it into the clean floor, the bow tie and the waistcoat trailing after it until she only wore her plain white dress shirt and her trousers. She fell unceremoniously into the nearest sofa face first and gazed at the fireplace, the warmness of it seething into her bright, tired face.
The night ended horribly for her to say the least. The music and woman which she was more than gleeful to see made it okay, but the people in attendance...She sighed again, turning on her back as she did so. She wondered how long the violinist would take; if she was coming at all. She shouldn't hope, but a migraine was already creeping up on her because of the charity event...not to mention she left without eating anything except a few bites of the appetizers.
Simply said, she couldn't stand being around too many rich people. There was always an aura of unnecessary competitiveness and either strict manner was always applied, or just downright arrogance—which brought her to the sandy haired foreigner that she promised herself she'd punch if they were ever to meet each other again. She was more than happy to leave that table. Any second later and she would be liable to throw a couple insults marred with a couple jabs.
Just like her father she was already notoriously known in corporate Japan to have a high temper. If she didn't like something, she would say so in blatant disregard to who she was speaking to. And everyone who knew the corporate part in this eastern part of the world knew that, so therefore didn't try to test her patience, especially those lower in rank.
The arrogance displayed by foreigners she knew too well as basic ignorance. They didn't know her and she didn't have to know them, but—
"Did he really have to talk so much, GOD!" she yelled to the room.
She sat up in annoyance and felt her stomach grumble in the process.
"And why the hell didn't I order take out?!"
She sighed loudly, brashly and stood up scratching her hair in aggravation. She would have to make something. It was still too early to sleep in a weekend and her stomach was protesting too often for her to probably get any decent night's rest anyway. She strode to the kitchen and opened the kept full refrigerator.
Every Tuesday afternoon, the "cleaning women" as she liked to refer to them came to her beach house and cleaned everything she made a mess on, even though she herself liked to keep it constantly clean anyway. They restock everything to its brim and threw away anything else that looked to be rotting and basically did the necessary jobs to keep her happy when she came back every weekend.
She took out a previously thawed chicken breast as well as different types of lettuces to start making a garden salad. As she started cutting the leafy vegetables her phone rang.
Setting the knife aside, she dug for it from her pockets and without looking at the caller's ID answered, "Yeah?"
"You didn't even eat anything," was the soft and worried reply in the other end.
The frown in her face dissipated somewhat as she gave a smile. "I'm fine...making a salad right now as we speak."
"Shoji-san told me it was Kurt Gregoire-san. I hope he wasn't too rude."
"He was," Haruka stated with a shrug. "But I'll get over it. Speaking of which, aren't you supposed to be hosting that charity event and if you're not, why aren't you here with me?"
Michiru laughed in the background. "I'm in the bathroom..."
"Hmm...sexy—
"Haruka!"
The blonde gave a lecherous smirk as she leaned on the kitchen counter. "So what then? Will I be seeing you tonight?"
"If I have to leave my manager here to host the rest of this event for me, I will."
"So are you saying that last Monday, when I proposed that we meet this extra day and you flatly declined me that it was the worst decision you've ever made?"
Michiru laughed again. "You and I both know that it doesn't have anything to do with that—
"Right.."
"What was it you said...After a long day of kissing...ass...or getting yours kissed—
"I said that about Trine—
"I know. And now I'm saying it about you."
A silence washed over the phone line as Haruka's never dissipating smile radiated in her face. "I'll see you soon then...hopefully?"
"Save some salad for me."
The phone hung up momentarily as she placed it back in her pocket, turning towards her task again.
The few that knows she can kind of cook were all always pleasantly surprised of the fact. This made her smile at the morning after Michiru had stayed for the night for the first time.
O--O
She woke up before the smaller woman with the blanket smothered over both of them and with one of her arms linked around a tiny, smooth waist. Michiru's back was to her and for all she knew, she was still pretty much asleep, the even falling and rising from her creamy back giving the only indication of it. She didn't blame her. Last night was taxing...emotionally...and physically as well.
She smirked at this and retracted her arm slowly, making sure the violinist didn't wake from her sudden movements. Tucking the blankets in Michiru's naked form tighter, she got out of the bed cautiously, put on some underwear, sweats, and a hoody, headed to the bathroom to freshen up, and finally stepped out of the warm room.
She was hungry, and she figured that when her company woke up, she would be hungry too. Going down the stairs, she shivered a bit at the sudden change in cooler temperature while immediately deciding on a more Western, filling breakfast.
Cooking was probably the only "girly" thing her mother had come to effectively teach her. The big knife in their estate's kitchen was the first thing that drew her attention to the culinary world. At ten she had already wanted to cut the vegetables by herself to which, of course, her mother was very apprehensive to. It surprised her to find that Haruka was highly skilled with knives, which transferred to a kendo club in high school rather than the cooking club she had hoped for, but by then she had been happy enough to spend and teach her highly tomboyish daughter how to cook all of the recipes her mother had taught her.
Smiling, she reached for a pancake mix sitting on one of her shelves and poured out a decent amount on a bowl. Taking a couple bananas and wondering whether or not Michiru liked them, she began to peel it and sliced it in even, circular shapes. Setting it aside, she mixed the pancake flour with some milk from the refrigerator and mixed the bananas into the mixture right after.
As she reached for the non-stick pan, a shuffling noise made her turn to a robed clad, evenly smiling Michiru.
"Morning," she greeted and placed the pan on the stove.
"Good morning," the violinist greeted and walked until she was next to her. "You can cook?"
There was an amazed tone to her voice which made Haruka smirk outwardly. "Why, you can't?"
"I can," she stated defensively. Haruka laughed at this as she continued, "It just doesn't seem like something you would do."
"I liked to cut things when I was small," the blonde said simply. "My mother, although terrified of the fact, took advantage of that and made me join in cooking activities with her whenever she got the chance. She said it was probably the girliest thing she could ever make me do, so it was well worth the time spent."
Michiru laughed as Haruka waved her hand slowly over the heating pan, feeling the warmth of it radiating slowly.
"Pancakes?"
Haruka nodded. "Unless you'd prefer something else..."
She trailed off as the violinist shook her head in quick reply. A silence bathed over them as Haruka melted a part of a stick of butter into the pan and the sizzling noise from the floury mix broke it.
"About last night," Michiru started, albeit slowly and with obvious apprehension.
Haruka fiddled with the pan to evenly distribute the semi-solid mixture before turning to an unsure face sported by the smaller woman.
"It..."
"Didn't mean anything?" Haruka asked, hoping she said the right thing to finish what the other had meant to start.
Sapphire eyes went wide with worry. "No! Not that it didn't, but—
"Michiru...san...Do I really have to add the -san?" Haruka heard her audibly swallow as she shook her head. "I don't know what you're so worried about. I remember how last week ended...I'm not exactly clueless—
"I'm not saying you are," Michiru said softly, unable to meet her eyes.
Turning back to the pan, the blonde took a spatula out and flipped it over easily, a few bananas caramelized nicely on the top of it. "Do you want to act like nothing happened?"
"You're too blunt about it."
"I'm being blunt because I want you to be sure of what you want—
"And what you want is not important?"
"I wasn't the one who came to you last night." Another silence followed as she took the cooked pancake from the pan and placed it to an empty plate. A sweet smell surrounded them making her droop another large spoonful into the waiting pan. "I need to know what you want to do in order to make a decision for myself...It's kind of like a business venture. I have something you want. All you have to do is tell me what it is and if it's for sale we can come towards an agreement."
Michiru smiled ruefully.
"I understand what you're going through. Maybe not completely, but I can sympathize with you about it. If you need a friend, I can be that. If you want it to be a one night stand, we can do that too."
At the sound of the last statement, the violinist shook her head vehemently. Haruka took note of this and placed another cooked pancake on the plate. "How many would you like? Or are you not hungry?"
"I am. Two please."
The blonde set the first plate aside and pulled another clean one. She noticed the frown etched on Michiru's face and pushed it back with her index finger. "Don't frown. You still look cute, but you look nicer when you're smiling."
The violinist laughed. "You sure know exactly what to say."
After putting the pancake mix inside the pan yet again, she went behind the smaller woman and embraced her, smelling her sweet hair and holding her shoulders in. "If a one night stand isn't what you want...and a relationship with a woman is out of the question because of unspeakable circumstances..."
"I don't want to act as if nothing happened because I like you Haruka," Michiru said softly, gazing at the cooking food. "I feel like I can open up to you and you answer the way I want everyone to answer...not with what I want to hear, but how it's supposed to be."
Haruka nodded slowly as Michiru picked up the spatula and flipped the pancake over.
"Can you be my secret lover?"
The blonde laughed crassly at this. "Friends with benefits, huh?"
"I don't like the way that sounds," Michiru said with a frown. "It sounds like it's all about the sex..."
Haruka laughed further. "Isn't that technically what happened last night? It wasn't good for you?"
"It was!" The quick and loud reply was all it took for the taller woman to clutch her stomach from pain, loud laughter issuing from her continuously. Michiru gave an annoyed look before her features softened at the blonde. Turning around, she placed her arms around Haruka's waist and softly pushed her against the refrigerator. This sudden action stopped the blonde's laughter altogether, feeling the sudden and raw need emanating from the violinist.
Leaning down, they met in a fierce kiss, Michiru's fingers tangling all over blonde locks as Haruka drew her closer by the waist, feeling the need to take off the barriers of clothing between them. They resumed this clash of tongues, moans coming out in near unison until...
Both eyes opened in alarm at the black smoke and burnt smell pervading the entire room.
"Sh..." Haruka reached over Michiru and pulled the pan away from the heat. She turned the blower on high as Michiru went around and opened the windows. "See what you did woman?"
The smaller woman laughed at the young CEO's brashness as the latter threw away the burnt pancake and immersed the searing pan in cold water. Grabbing another one from the cabinet, she placed it over the fire and sighed.
"You're troublesome. Sexy...but troublesome." Michiru smirked at her words and hugged her around the waist from her left side. "Let's set some rules, yeah?"
The violinist laughed. "Like no making out in the kitchen?"
"We can," Haruka refuted. "Just no making out when the stove's on...unless we're cooking something that's meant to be softened whereby we can have a little session while we wait."
They both laughed at this as Michiru got up on her toes and gave the blonde a soft kiss, a hand on her sculpted cheek. Meeting eyes, their curved lips met again in another kiss, this time slower and with not much need.
As they ended, emerald eyes pierced through sapphire ones as Haruka's husky and serious voice permeated the silence. "So, is that what you want? You do realize that being 'friends with benefits' don't merit as a sex only thing."
Michiru met eyes with her momentarily before setting it on the cooking pancake yet again. Closing her eyes, the question burning through her mind, she frowned slightly before opening them again, a hesitant nod following it right after.
"No responsibilities?"
"None."
"No meeting the parents?"
"Nope."
"No nice romantic dates?"
"I can set nice romantic dates here…Dessert's always more forthcoming than the actual dinner anyway."
Michiru chuckled, the action not meeting her eyes as she resumed watching the sides of the pancake turn into a golden yellow color. "No explaining why I need your company for the night?"
"I think it'd be obvious why you'd need my company for the night."
"No—
"No commitments. When you want to talk we can talk. When you want to act as if you don't know me, I don't know you either. Just as it started so casually, we can end it casually. Just say you're done and we're done. No gray areas…just black and white."
Michiru swallowed audibly, Haruka saying all the things she wanted to hear. "I feel like I'm going to regret this somehow…"
The blonde smirked, placing the last pancake out of the pan and onto her plate. Licking her lips, she pushed the hot pan away from the searing surface of the stove and glanced at their filled plates. "It's not something normal people do…normally. Think of it as feeding your wild side. I'm pretty sure there's a rebel hidden in that graceful façade of yours."
Michiru smiled, the thoughts of rendezvousing, with another woman no less, setting her decision about the matter to stone. "When can we meet?"
"Up to you," Haruka shrugged, grabbing the plates and placing them on the small dining table. "Since we're both pretty busy with our public lives, let's say…the weekend…Saturday or Sunday?"
"Let's have either or…depending on our schedules," the violinist replied. She sat down on one of the empty chairs and watched the blonde gather the necessities for their breakfast. "Saturday night would probably be the best time, but we can also have a meeting on Sunday if we couldn't on Saturday. And…no more than one meeting per week."
Haruka laughed at the last statement. "Is that your way of abstaining from your rebellious side?"
Michiru smiled. "It's—
"The only way either of us can maintain control."
She looked up at amused, sparkling green eyes and gave a mischievous smile herself. "So do we have an agreement?"
The blonde slathered her pancake with the heavy syrup like an eager child, licking her digits as she finished. "Mhmm, sounds fun."
O--O--O--O--O
She had waited for an hour before decidedly digging into her plate. By then, she had to reheat the already lukewarm breaded chicken breast and pull the leafy vegetables out of the refrigerator. She had rested a bit in hoping to abate the growing, gnawing hunger steadily lashing at her insides, but after an hour, it was more than she could take.
"Where the hell is she?" she muttered to herself and cut the chicken breast in strips.
Then, as if a higher being, watching her suffering the entire time finally got bored, the sounds of tires colliding with sand reached her ears and a beam of light shone through her semi closed windows momentarily. The opening and closing of car doors followed and soon after the jiggling of her doorknob and the opening of her door.
Haruka smiled in spite of herself. "Glad you could make it."
Michiru closed the door gently, a soft apologetic look gracing her face. She wore the same fitted white dress she wore at the charity gala under a thick coat, a Stradivarius case on one hand and a number of keys on the other. "Sorry Haruka, Shizuka-san wouldn't let me go."
The blonde chuckled and grabbed another plate. "Still want to eat?" She received an enthusiastic nod, the smaller woman shrugging her coat off and placing it on the coat hanger while placing her other accessories in the living room. "The food at Regency's great you know."
"You should talk…" Michiru stated, sitting down on her now normal seat on the right of the head table where Haruka usually sat. "You practically ran out."
The taller woman made a face. "You could say the company stunk."
The violinist gave yet another apologetic smile. "I'm sorry again for Gregoire-san."
"Hope he made it worthwhile for you at least…I got to miss out on eating in my favorite restaurant because of him."
"Hmm, maybe we should go there this weekend then."
Haruka was slightly surprised at the sudden invitation. "You're tired of my cooking already huh?" she joked. She wasn't sure why she needed to change the subject, just that she knew the younger woman either made a slipped statement or knew exactly what she was asking for.
Michiru looked up from the salad at the curiously mixed expression the blonde was currently sporting. She watched her mix the homemade vinaigrette she made and left the container in the middle of the table for either of them to reach. Taking a champagne bottle from the wine rack, Haruka grabbed two glasses and finally took her place, distributing an even amount of a pricy 1775 Sherry for the two of them.
As they began eating a very, very late dinner, Michiru glanced over to the quiet blonde and asked again, "What do you think about that idea?"
"Up to you," she answered rather quickly with an addition of a noncommittal shrug. "Although I thought we decided to put outside activities in the 'Not To Do' list…"
Michiru laughed. "Do you think it's a bad idea though?"
Haruka looked up from her food to see if the girl was serious, and if she hadn't been intimate with her for the better part of the last two months, she would have thought she was. But under the calm exterior laid the barest twinkle in her eyes that made the blonde smirk outwardly. "I'll make reservations. You want an island?"
She asked this with the most serious intonation that Michiru pouted rather cutely in reply to it. "Well I was hoping I could spend some time with you during the gala tonight to check how you are as company—
"You already know how I'm like from the time we spoke in Trine."
"Yeah, but we were moreover formal back then."
"Nothing's changed. We just have sex all the time…"
Michiru laughed at the display of brashness she's gotten used to over the course of their "relationship" and pushed her half eaten salad away. Blonde eyebrows went up in skepticism as the violinist got up from her chair and, moreover, sauntered to the young CEO, finishing up by straddling her and sitting on her lap.
Haruka smirked in satisfaction as the white dress rode dangerously up the younger woman's thighs. "You know what I was thinking the moment I saw you on this dress?"
Michiru smiled widely as she towered over the usually dominant girl, her fingers brushing blonde locks back. "What?"
Long fingers made their way to her creamy thighs, pushing the dress up even higher. "I…want…to take…it…off…"
By this time the dress had securely made its way to Michiru's midriff, her multicolored panties in plain sight. Haruka hooked her index finger on to the side of the panty and rode it lower exposing sweet curves she's grown so fond and familiar with. "Let's go upstairs..."
"But you're not done eating," the violinist answered with a playful smile.
Haruka growled. "Either we go upstairs or I take desert here. I'm done with dinner…you've made me wait long enough."
Michiru laughed as strong arms encircled her waist, her legs automatically wrapping themselves around Haruka's figure. She nudged noses with the frowning blonde causing her to smirk a little at her playfulness. "Haruka…"
She sounded really needy and that alone fueled the desire that was already overfilling the taller woman's body. Their eyes met, both clearly noticing the burning want behind them before Michiru leaned forward to dispel the rest of the distance between.
The kiss was hot, fiery, Haruka's hands riding lower to clasp the smooth skin underneath the all too sudden tight underwear while their mouths wrestled for dominance. Sighs and moans erupted between them as the blonde hauled both of them with difficulty atop the stairs.
"Haruka…" Michiru called again in between kisses making them both stop abruptly.
As they got to the top with Haruka's face marred with a frowny pout, she looked at the smaller woman's apologetic smile as she was given another smaller kiss. Kicking the door to her bedroom open, she placed both of them on the spacious bed, Michiru's arms and legs still tightly wounded around her neck and waist.
"What's wrong with you tonight?" the blonde asked as she softly pushed her back onto the bed and hovered over her. She pushed some stray aquamarine locks out of the way and began kissing her creamy neck, the sweet perfume alluring her to continue her ministrations.
She was answered with sighs of contentment, the violinist's fingers pulling and squeezing her short blonde hair. But as she began pulling the spaghetti strap of the dress off Michiru's smooth shoulders, she was stopped by a throaty, "Wait."
This time, she sighed. "Michiru—
"I want you tonight."
Haruka looked at her questioningly as she propped herself up with her arms. "That's exactly what I'm trying to do and you keep stopping me…" she muttered in annoyance.
Michiru smiled amidst the serious face she sported. Breaking their eye contact, she instead looked at the taller woman's dress shirt and began unbuttoning it slowly. The young CEO's questioning look deepened as the woman under her successfully unbuttoned her entire shirt, unveiling a clean, white t-shirt beneath it. She pulled the shirt from its tucked position and placed her right hand inside. Smiling wider at the askance look upon Haruka's face, she placed her palm against the taller woman's warm midriff and began caressing it, liking the response she elicited from such a small action.
With a small smirk now in her face, she pulled Haruka closer to her and kissed her softly, their eyes never breaking contact or closing. "I came to a realization when I saw you tonight."
Haruka audibly swallowed as Michiru's smooth hands rode higher up her shirt. She moaned distractedly as it finally cupped one of her breasts, her bra still covering it well enough to dispel most of the feeling that she wanted to feel.
"Do you know what I told myself right when I saw you sitting so casually tonight, somehow able to wear a tuxedo sexier than anyone I've ever seen?"
By this time she had already pushed the bra out of the way and was wrestling with the tiny nub between her fingers. The arm Haruka propped gave out and almost instantly she was laying on her back, the violinist taking her spot on top. Her insides burned with desire and she was already so…
"Michiru…"
Not stopping her ministrations, Michiru hovered atop her as she was doing earlier and smirked. "Haruka, you didn't answer my question…"
Haruka frowned as she bit back a moan, the feeling of soft hands much more than she could take. "W-what?" she asked. "What did you tell yourself?" It took all of her remaining self restraint to ask the question with another question.
"It may sound familiar," the smaller woman stated and crawled down lower. Haruka felt her shirt ride up along with her bra. "I…want…to take…it…"
Haruka grunted as pure ecstasy flooded her system.
O--O
The warm, naked body behind her felt good, contentment she didn't feel surrounding her save the times she was in the company of the other woman.
"Getting sleepy?"
She turned around and met with closing sapphire eyes. "I see you are."
Michiru smiled beautifully and willed herself to stay up a little longer. She reached over to the blonde and caressed her hair, their faces only a couple inches apart. "Do you think it's possible to keep doing this?"
Haruka frowned at the sudden question. She shrugged after a while and inwardly purred at the feeling of the violinist's fingers combing through her hair. "Why the sudden question?"
The smaller woman shook her head. "No reason. It's just that, I find myself looking forward to our weekend rendezvous and I don't know whether or not it's a good thing."
"Hmm," Haruka sounded as her eyes began to close slowly. "I thought you were getting tired of it all already."
"You'll be able to just turn it off?" A concerned look flashed through the violinist's face that wasn't missed by the already nodding off woman. This woke her up somewhat though as they locked eyes, the troubled look of the smaller woman not going away.
The blonde smiled. "Would that bother you?"
Michiru sighed and turned around surreptitiously making Haruka frown amidst her smile. She scooted closer and gathered the violinist in her arms, relishing the smoothness of the other's skin and sweet smell. She buried her face in the long aquamarine curls and sighed as well.
"Isn't that what you want? I mean, it's not supposed to mean anything…right?"
The smaller woman was quiet, feeling the rubbing of soft hands on her sides and back. "Nh," she sounded silently. "Just that the sex is really, really good."
Haruka laughed at words that sounded as if she would be the one to say them and hugged Michiru from behind, spooning her effectively. "I feel like I'm not accomplished at times when you're with me. I mean, my supposed sole purpose for you is to relieve the stress…and here I am probably stressing you."
Michiru laughed and turned back around at the smirking blonde. "That's not true."
"Could have fooled me…"
The younger woman leaned in and locked lips with the suddenly morose looking girl. "You could be so emo…"
"I am not emo…" Haruka grunted with a smirk. "If anything, you are. I can't believe I'm still voluntarily seeing you every single weekend…twice on this one, which gets me to asking, when are we meeting up?"
"Maybe not Saturday," Michiru stated while mentally checking her schedule. "Late Saturday? I may be able to come in after midnight."
Haruka laughed. "Your chauffeur's working double time huh?"
Michiru sighed. "He doesn't ask questions he knows the answers to. He loves me like one would a daughter though and that's probably the main reason why he won't ask unless I strike the subject up first."
The blonde nodded in understanding. "I guess he's a lot cooler than I gave him earlier credit for."
The violinist laughed and wrapped her arms around her waist, smiling in satisfaction at the fit figure the other sported. "I will definitely come back tomorrow…or later today…or Sunday morning…very early morning…"
Haruka laughed at the indecisive words and pinched Michiru's chin playfully. "Looking forward to it…as usual."
Michiru smiled and gave her one last peck before closing her eyes permanently for the night. "I have to make up for leaving tonight to my manager by the way so I'll probably be gone before you wake."
"Make up how?" the blonde asked with a wide smirk on her face.
The younger woman smiled widely before blindly and playfully smacking Haruka's shoulders. "Meet up with more charity donors, interested buyers for my paintings, and then some studio time…trust me, I'd rather stay here and sleep a little longer."
Haruka smiled at the beautiful face in front of her and leaned in for one last peck. "I was going to make it worth your while if you stayed, but I guess some things can't be helped," she stated and closed her eyes as well.
She could see the smile on Michiru's face even though semi-darkness pervaded her senses. Wrapping her arm around the smaller woman's shoulders she pulled her body to her and enclosed the blanket tighter on them, turning the only source of light left in the room off: a lamp light situated beside her. "Night Michiru," she stated and gave a light kiss on the violinist's forehead.
She felt the younger woman's arms tighten around her waist as Michiru said in spent reply, "Good night Haruka."