18
Minako and Michiru were both sitting on the resting chairs at the porch, drinking tea and keeping an eye on two little girls, as they laid on the grass, papers and crayons all around them, not that far away from the older women.
They could hear the girls laughter as they draw, and they seemed to be enjoying their little activity. Makoto was probably already making lunch, and they knew Haruka was somewhere inside the house, either working on one of the rooms, or having another verbal fight with her brother.
Nephrite had gone to town an hour ago, to do some investigation, and to talk with the local authorities to see if there was any new lead on Asuke's whereabouts.
The blonde woman looked at her friend, as Michiru took a sip from her tea, silently, with a stupid, happy smile on her lips.
A smile that, Minako noticed, hadn't left her friend's face all morning.
"Ok, what's up with you?" she asked her, getting the aquamarine haired woman's attention.
"Huh?" was all the answer she got from her now frowning friend, as confused, blue eyes looked back at her "What do you mean?"
Minako rolled her eyes "You're up to something, and I wanna know what it is"
Michiru blushed slightly, still frowning "I don't know what you mean..."
"Oh, come on!" Minako exclaimed "You've been smiling like a school girl all morning, and now your blushing!" she pointed out "So, give!" she got closer to her friend, looking directly at her eyes, one blond eyebrow raising up "Is this about your crush on a certain car racer?"
The aquamarine haired woman's cheeks got redder, and Minako's baby blue eyes got wide open "It is?" she asked, incredulously. And then she frowned, tilting her head to one side "Why do I get the feeling I missed something here?"
"Because you did" Michiru mumbled in a low whisper.
But Minako heard her, and her surprised expression made the aquamarine haired woman blush even more "Holly crap, Michiru!" she exclaimed "When did you become... you know...?"
Michiru rolled her eyes at her, growling "Is it really that important?"
"Oh, I'm sorry! I just discovered my best friend has a huge crush on another woman, and considering she's been smiling like an idiot all morning, she's probably hiding something from me" she elaborated "So, yes, I think it's quite important!"
"Keep your voice down!" Michiru scolded her.
"Did something happen here?" she asked. And when her friend turned into a true tomato, lowering her gaze, her own blue eyes got wider "Holly shit!" she exclaimed "Really?"
"Sometimes I really hate your sense of perception" Michiru mumbled, a hand nervously playing with her curls.
An excited, happy yell got their attention back to the girls, and they saw Hikari jumping up, tickling her black haired friend, as they both rolled around on the green grass.
Minako looked back at her friend, frowning now "Can I ask what you're doing here?" she asked, getting her attention back to herself "I mean, are you serious about this? You do realized it's complicated, right? She has a daughter, and Hotaru. And we're here for another week, two tops..."
"God, you sound like her..."
"Well, maybe because we're the reasonable ones here!" she exclaimed. And then she frowned "And I'm never reasonable!" she added
Michiru looked at her friend, frowning. But when the blonde kept on looking at her, waiting for an answer, she let out a frustrated sigh.
"I don't know, alright?" she finally answered "I know it's complicated, and I know she has a daughter, and I know now is probably the worst time possible to start anything at all..."
"But?" Minako asked, interrupting her "I thought it was just a stupid, obsessive little crush, and that you got over it the moment we found out he was a she" she said.
"Well, it's not" the aquamarine haired woman said, now looking at her hands, resting on her lap.
"So you are serious about this" Minako said, more like a statement than a question. And then she smiled "Hey, not that I blame you, she's hot!" she joked.
"Oh, shut up!" Michiru said, chuckling at her friend's comment.
"Well, she is!" the blonde defended herself, still smiling "Not that I'm into girls... but I can see that much!"
"Michiru, Minako, look!" Hikari's excited voice got their attention, and both women looked up in time to see the little blonde girl running up to them.
She stopped right in front of them, a big smile on her face, as she showed them her drawing. It was a childish picture of the house, with a smiling sun on a cloudless sky, and people standing right next to it.
"This is uncle Kunzite, and Hotaru, and Makoto, and Nephrite" she said, pointing at the people she had drawn "This is you" she said, looking at Minako "And this is my mommy, and me, and this is you" she said, looking at Michiru now, and pointing at a smiling girl she had drawn, right next to her mother.
Minako eyed at her friend, smiling "Seems I'm not the only one with a sense of perception here" she said, but before Michiru could say anything at all, she looked back at the smiling little blonde girl "You even got the hair color right!"
"Yeah!" the girl exclaimed, happily. And then she frowned "Hotaru helped me" she confessed, looking a little embarrassed.
"We had to mix the colors a little" came Hotaru's soft voice from behind the blonde girl "But I think it turned out right, don't you think, Kari?"
"Yes!" the girl agreed, smiling again "I'm gonna show it to my mommy!" she exclaimed, running to the door. But then she seemed to remember something, and ran back to the aquamarine haired woman, hugging her "I like you better than Risa!" she informed, a big, happy smile on her face.
"Hikari!" came Makoto's voice from the door, getting everyone's attention.
"What?" the girl asked, frowning, confused and not understanding why she was being scold.
Makoto shook her head, smiling at her "Go and get your mother" she said to her "Lunch's ready".
The little blonde nodded her head, smiling again, and went running inside the house, followed closely by an amused Hotaru.
Minako turned to her friend, smiling mockingly at her, before turning around and looking at the tall brunette girl.
"Who's Risa?" she asked, already guessing the answer.
"Oh, she's... an old friend" Makoto answered, nervously.
"A friend? Or Haruka's ex?" the blonde asked, boldly.
"Minako!" Michiru scolded her, unable to stop her cheeks from burning red. She looked up at the brunette teenager, an apologetic look on her face "I'm sorry...."
Makoto smiled at her "It's ok, I forgot you guys know already..." she assured her "I'm surprised she's mentioning Risa at all" she then added, frowning.
"What do you mean?" Michiru asked, intrigued now.
"Well... the whole break up thing was kinda hard on Hikari" she said, still frowning "I mean, one day she has two mommies, and the next one, poof! Risa's all gone... She's a kid, it's not like you can tell her about relationships and expect her to understand, right?" she shook her shoulders at that, but then she smiled "Anyway, lunch's ready!"
"We'll be right up" Minako said, smiling at her.
And when the brunette went back inside, she turned back to look at her aquamarine haired friend "That just proves my point" she said to her, an accusing finger pointing at her "She's already attached to you, imagine if she founds out you're fooling around with her mother!"
"I know, I know, keep you voice down, will you!" Michiru said, letting out a sigh.
"Just... think very carefully what you're doing, ok?" Minako said, standing up "If that woman makes you happy, then go for it. But if you're just fooling around..." she looked down at her friend, and the expression on her face made her shut up "Just, be careful, ok? There's a lot at stake here, and I really don't want a second Masaya here..."
"She's nothing like him" she argued, looking up at her friend.
"I know that" the blonde said "But you were a mess afterward. I don't want to see you like that again"
Michiru lowered her gaze, frowning. She felt her friend's arms around her, giving her a hug, and she returned the gesture, before letting her friend get inside the house.
But she stood there, looking at the woods around her.
She knew Minako was right. And so was Haruka. There was more at stake here than just their feelings. And the timing was wrong, and she had a life to go back to once all that mess was over with.
She frowned.
Did she really want to go back to that life? Sure, she loved her career as a musician. But she could still do that from here. And she had college to go back to. And her normal, every day life on the city.
Did she really want to give that up and stay here? What if it was just a crush? A physical attraction? What if it all lead them nowhere? It could all be nothing but a summer fling.
Flashes of the night before came running to her mind, and she blushed at the memories, as she felt her heart jumping inside her.
But what if it's not?, she asked herself. It was too soon to make any decision at all, but she couldn't help herself. It feels so right...