Disclaimer: Don't own them, never will

The next day, Michiru went to school despite many complaints from her mother and her body. She wasn't an idiot; she knew that her secret had probably been exploited and that she was now a laughing stock at school.

She wore the navy scarf around her neck, telling herself it was only because she still had a slight cold, and not because she wanted to know whose it was.

The girl walked into the council room, with her head held high, and sat down, braced for insults. Her right hand gripped a pencil tightly enough that veins strained against her pale skin and the scarf was still wrapped tightly around her neck when a pile of papers thunked down onto her desk.

She looked around the papers with a startled expression, to find the rest of her council grinning back at her.

"How are you? We've managed to compile all the magazines for the students by today!" exclaimed the accountant who had previously lost the record book. Kyusuke Sarashina, who with his green hair looked like a rebel but was the furthest thing from it, piped in with a toothy grin, "We're almost done with the contents! And the list is almost done!"

Michiru sat there, confused beyond her wits at their generous actions. As if sensing her confusion, Kyusuke began to explain, "You always do so much for the council. We just thought that we should try to help you."

Her mind continued processing, albeit slowly. But there was still one nagging thought in her head.

'I haven't been busted for being a maid?'

"Um," the accountant began speaking again timidly, "I'm sorry. Before this, I was always relying on you to do most of the work, so I at least wanted to do this for you."

"You guys really helped me. Thanks," her voice was warm and honest. They really had helped a lot. She looked up at them with a heavenly smile of her own, and it made her even more beautiful. It wasn't a cold smirk or a false beam, which were still pretty, but an honest to goodness smile that made her face glow with warmth and her eyes turn into molten pools of cobalt.

The whole council stared at the girl, speechless, their brain reduced to mush.

'Kaichou, she, she smiled! Wow..."

'For some reason it feels really nice'

-0-0-0-0-

The wind whirled around the two beings on the roof, trying to steal every piece of warmth it found. It set quite the ambience, and the words spoken by one of them only encouraged it.

"Why didn't you let them tell everyone? I know you're not an idiot; once my secret is known, it won't matter what I'll say about you," Michiru said to the back of the other person.

"I see you like my scarf. It's comfortable, isn't it?" the blonde evaded the question, sitting on the edge of the roof.

Although the aqua haired girl wouldn't admit it, it really was comfortable, maybe it was made of cashmere.

Michiru shook her head, trying to clear her mind of the silly thought, how would Haruka have the money to be giving away scarves like that?

Haruka chuckled to herself, aware of the other girl's struggles with her mind, "I admire you."

The standing girl stopped fidgeting at the unexpected words of the other, her cerulean eyes wide. She opened her mouth to speak, but shockingly, she could not find any words.

The blonde continued, "Even though the person you most looked up to abandoned you without a second glance, you kept on going with your head held high. In the midst of his betrayal, you kept your pride and worked even harder so people wouldn't be able to pity you."

Haruka paused to let the other girl soak in her words, before speaking again. During the brief silence, Michiru froze in terrified shock; how had Haruka known about her family's situation?

"You know, you don't belong here."

Her voice had no trace of emotion in it, and Michiru couldn't help but feel a little colder inside.

"You don't belong in this place, where nobody will acknowledge what you do. You belong out there," she raised a hand, gesturing to an unseen place, "Where everyone will notice you, where you can be the best of the best, and where you can finally get the life you deserve."

When Michiru finally spoke, it was in the same tone as the blonde's.

"You're wrong. If you think I'm going to waste my time here moping and regretting how I'm not appreciated, I've overestimated you. I'm going to do my best here, the same as I would in any other place. And I'm not going to let anyone, especially you, beat me." Michiru's eyes gleamed with determination, and Haruka, who had kept contemplatively quiet during the short speech, began to see the girl in a whole new light.

"Ah, I'm sorry to have used your scarf," Michiru switched gears as her hand went to stroke the soft fabric at her neck. She began unwrapping the scarf from her slender neck, albeit slowly. Though she didn't like to admit it, she had grown attached to the piece of clothing; it was already worn, just the way she liked it, and it had the intoxicating smell of Haruka, allowing her to breathe it in whenever she wanted.

She handed it to Haruka hesitantly, not wanting to let go of the scarf. She heard a slight laugh, and she looked up at the now standing blonde.

"Keep it. It looks better on you anyway," there was a twinkle of mirth in the teal eyes.

Fighting to keep blood from rushing to her face at the compliment, Michiru looked coyly at Haruka.

"Ara, in that case, I will gladly wear it."

"Oh course, we have to talk about compensation now," the blonde's voice became huskier, as she came dangerously nearer with a smirk.

"Of course, " Michiru said with eyes flashing. She didn't like being indebted to other people, especially Haruka, and she hadn't planned on taking the scarf for free.

"You can pay for it by," now the voice had dropped to a mere whisper and was right next to Michiru's ear.

The aqua haired girl involuntarily shivered at the warm breath tickling her face.

"Being my own personal maid."

Michiru,who had taken the slight pause before the blonde's words to recover her cool, merely closed her eyes in response, letting the corner of her mouth curl up just a bit. Smoothly, without missing a beat, she replied, "We'll see."

And with those two words, she left behind the comfort of having Haruka's body right next to her in the cold and a flustered blonde in her wake. It seemed that the words had backfired on Haruka, and irritatingly, she felt extremely hot. Not one to lose in a battle of 'wits' as one could call it, she called to the aqua haired girl in a voice that sounded seductive and portrayed none of what she actually felt, "So, is that a yes?"

Once Michiru felt that she could not be seen from the roof, she let out a sigh of relief, her cool facade dropping. She leaned against the stair railing, pressing one side of her body onto the cold wall, allowing herself a moment to cool down her unbearably warm body. These encounters were becoming way too unhealthy for her mental physique. Before she was given more time to ponder, a husky voice called down to her in a perhaps purposely humorous and sexy tone, "So is that a yes?"

Smirking, Michiru resumed walking down; she felt that Haruka already knew the answer.

A/N: Hi hi! I know that for these first chapters, I've been keeping it pretty close to the manga storyline. After I write about the sports festival, I'll be writing it with a whole different plot that will belong to yours truly.

I'm sorry. Inspirational scenes are among the many things I can't write (like fight scenes, powerfully sad scenes, powerful scenes in general, the list goes on and on)

Edit 8/19/15 God this was hard to write. I kept playing with this scene and trying to add in quotes from Sailor Moon, but it just didn't work out. I would have deepened their relationship way too quickly and I just had the utmost difficulty writing this. In the end, I kept what I originally had with just a few tweaks.

StormBrisingr: I got it out! So proud of myself! I hope it's a bit clear, how Michiru's starting to accept her feelings for Haruka[Well, there were some hints in this chapter]

petiyaka: xD Heh, I changed it. The scarf is now navy blue, to match her planetary color[Well, gold matches better, but I wanted Michiru to wear it everyday, so I changed it to be more fitting]

Not a lot of mention of the idiot trio in this chapter. Just 'What did you say to them?'

XD Prison?

James Birdsong: What about this one? ;]

krugern: I love Haruka! Michi's sister will be coming into the story shortly. Hope you'll like her!