The house was dark and quiet by the time Haruka brought Michiru back home. It was very late into the night. Dawn was still a couple of hours away when she slipped into the hall, carrying the child and an overstuffed plastic diaper bag. The baby was wearing a cheap green onesie under a tacky light blue teddy outfit. Still, it beat being naked under a huge blanket.
The newly appointed parent tried to sneak upstairs unnoticed when the lights suddenly turned on.
"That was reckless. It's too cold outside for a newborn and your convertible isn't suitable for infants." Setsuna scolded from the top floor, stopping Haruka in her tracks on her way up.
"You should have thought that before donating Hotaru's baby clothes to charity." Haruka retorted in no mood to deal with people. "Oh, and we were out of diapers, formula..." She went on dryly.
"Right. Too bad I wasn't foresighted enough to keep any around for baby number two." Setsuna spoke without thinking. "I'm sorry. That was unnecessary." She added a moment later, looking away in remorse, realizing it was a bad time to infuriate her room mate.
"Uh-huh." Haruka climbed the stairs on the way to the room she had shared with Michiru, but Setsuna was still in her way. If only she would take a hint! "I'm going to bed now." The blonde growled.
"I got up for a glass of water, but I'm wide awake now. You need to rest. I can take care..."
"Look, I don't wanna fight with you, so get out of my way before we both say things we regret."
Setsuna nodded and let her pass. Guilt tore her insides as her two friends disappeared into their shared bedroom. She could have stopped time, prevented that useless death, but it was her duty as time guardian not to interfere with the flow of life. Haruka wouldn't forgive her for it easily, she was well aware of that. Even if things appeared to go back to normal, she could expect the wind senshi to bring that back in an argument later on.
Haruka missed the meeting at the Hikawa Shrine. The house was empty when Hotaru and Setsuna returned, so they went about their business as usual. Only after dusk did the racer show up with the baby. This time, Michiru was wearing an elaborate designer's outfit much like the ones the couple bought for Hotaru in the past.
They found the older woman sitting on a sofa, sketching her new clothes collection while their adopted daughter worked on her homework, knelt beside the coffee table.
"You're back!" Hotaru exclaimed in delight, jumping to her feet and rushing to see the baby. "She is so adorable. May I hold her?" Her innocence disarmed Haruka's reluctance in a matter of seconds. Setsuna smiled pleased at the improvement.
"Wash your hands first. Don't kiss her face." The racer warned in a tired voice. There were dark circles under her eyes and she looked absolutely beaten, to the point where her great posture had sagged into a permanent slouch.
"Hai!" Hotaru beamed racing to the bathroom.
"You're the very image of a new parent." Setsuna greeted her old friend. "Do yourself a favor and take a nap. I can handle a baby for two hours."
"She'll cry if I'm not around." Haruka said. It was better than admitting it was the other way around.
"Babies cry. She'll survive. Go. You're no good to her in this state."
Haruka hesitated one last moment before exhaustion won the battle. A resigned, bitter smile slowly bloomed ion her face.
"I'll just take a quick shower. Could you unload the car for me?" Setsuna nodded. "I bought her new clothes. The stuff I got at the drugstore last night was too rough on her skin."
"Not to mention hideous."
The comment made Haruka chuckle, though she still felt seconds away from an emotional break down. The racer had been in such a state the whole day, alternating between grief and that soothing baby smell that filled her with hope for a new beginning for Michiru.
She handed a sleeping Michiru over to Hotaru, who had just come back from the toilet smelling like the floral hand soap the musician loved. No. She couldn't stay there pretending fate was beautiful anymore: she needed to curl up in bed.
"Thanks." Haruka muttered clumsily before leaving the living room, all hostility momentarily forgotten in the face of graver matters.
Upstairs, the bedroom she and her lover had shared, was full of memories of the aqua haired beauty. From her perfumes and cosmetics in front of the dressing table, to the curtains they had chosen together, and the sheets they had slept under, just hours before the Daimon encounter... not to mention the pictures in the handful of mother of pearl frames scattered across the room.
Michiru's robe hanging on a chair, made it clear Haruka wouldn't be able to live like that for much longer. Halfway to the bathroom, she turned around and made a few quick changes to the place, in an attempt to make the loss more bearable. Make up and creams were swiftly packed into the dressing table's drawers, along with several other shenanigans. Scattered clothes were thrown into the closet, sheets changed and Hotaru's spare drapes hung instead of those filled with bittersweet memories.
Only when the place was more neutral did she dare to step into the shower. Her lover's teal robe being the only item kept around out of sentiment. Haruka remembered her mother leaving a sweater behind, to symbolically hug her during her absence every time she left on tour. That was exactly the comfort her soul craved for.
Haruka woke up with a start, hours later. The wind was wild outside. It shoved the blue shutters against the walls over and over again, straining her nerves. Michiru's sleepy voice begging her to close them, still echoed in her ears. She opened the windows to fix the problem and smelled the brine scent of the sea as the wind messed with her hair.
A storm was brewing. You could almost smell the electricity in the air.
She went down to the kitchen, where her two room mates were taking turns making dinner and distracting the baby, who was overseeing everything from a car seat on the central marble island counter. It took the racer a moment to remember the previous night's events, and connect them with the domestic picture in front of her.
"You didn't wake me up." She complained.
"Michiru was asleep and you looked in dire need of some serious rest." Setsuna said.
Haruka winced at the name. She wanted to protest but her emotional strength was still too depleted to start an argument.
"Are you hungry?" Setsuna asked in a motherly tone. Haruka nodded. "Dinner will be ready shortly."
"I'll feeed the baby." Haruka announced.
Hotaru handed over the formula bottle she had been preparing. Haruka took it and the baby into the winter garden. It had a beautiful view of the sea, which made it one of Michiru's favorite spots although she never cared much for potted plants, however beautiful the ones Setsuna kept were.
While Michiru sucked away, oblivious to the world like every newborn, Haruka began to hum absently. Her mind was miles away, in a deserted private beach they had visited the previous year.
With both schedules full of concertas and races, the lovers hadn't seen much of one another in weeks. The combined efforts of both their managers, had made sure things would remain that way for another month, placing each woman in a different city for the busiest part of the season.
Renting a secluded cabin, halfway between both locations for the three days their down times overlapped, was pure genius. Only Michiru could have planned such a perfect romantic getaway, although she had claimed it was Haruka who made it memorable.
All those picnics and long walks by the sea the musician had been looking forward to, were cancelled due to a violent storm that kept the couple cooped up inside the whole time, much like the one brewing outside the outer senshi residence.
The racer had come up with a couple of get-to-know-you games to pass the time between pampering her with massages and bubble baths. In the end, the experience had brought the two of them closer than any number of walks and picnics would have.
That's where Haruka's mind sought shelter from reality, as her former lover dozed off to sleep after her meal. A powerful thunder woke up the baby with a start. Michiru's cry brought her brand new guardian back from daydream land. She tried to calm the baby, but none of the usual tricks worked with her. Perhaps her personality was too different from Hotaru's, or maybe there was something else wrong with her.
Haruka double checked. The child was fed, her diaper fresh, and she didn't seem to have colics. Out of ideas, the racer started to sing softly as she rocked her. After all, whenever she got carried away fixing her bike and started to hum, the painter used to stop whatever she was doing to listen.
Kikanaide kure doko kara kita no ka
Furenaide kure kono kizu ni
Yurenaide kure nakushita kinou ni
Tomenaide kure sore ijou
Like the woman before, the baby stopped crying, soothed by the familiar tune. Her tiny hand grabbed the fabric of Haruka's shirt as her head rested on the older woman's shoulder. She cooed and yawned, suddenly looking like the picture of perfect innocent happiness.
"If you're going to be this whimsical, I'm so screwed!"
Michiru cooed again.
"Right. Language. Sorry."