"Makoto-san, are you okay? You're cooking so quickly!" Michiru asked, genuinely surprised. Makoto usually cooked with care in order to ensure that love was always put into the dish –her words, not Michiru's- but right now, she was cooking hurriedly, chopping and frying in a flurry of movements. There were numerous frying pans on the stovetop, open cartons of gradually melting ice cream, and a multitude of bowls that had yet to be filled with delicacies. Makoto quickly told her about the lack of a kitchen helper without ever pausing her actions.
"Ceres had an emergency situation so she couldn't make it today. Shimatta!" She swore as she accidently put syrup on a pan of glistening omurice that needed only the finishing touch of ketchup by a maid. She was looking highly frazzled, and her mistake, which she would never have normally made being an experienced chef, showed just how overwhelmed Makoto was.
Michiru wanted to help, but one of her weaknesses was cooking. She knew how to make tea, but that was solely due to necessity as she loved tea and drank it with everything. She doubted that was enough skill to make the cute signature dishes of Maid Latte. Knowing that she was only hindering Makoto by distracting her from her work, Michiru went into the café to ease the wait of customers. Almost as soon as she went out of the kitchen, her arm was gently gripped. Ready to rebuke the touchy customer, Michiru turned only to see that the hand gripping her arm was that of Haruka. Before Michiru could snap at Haruka, she quickly spoke.
"Can I help out? I can cook a bit, you know," Haruka's eyes seemed to be filled with an authentic desire to help before they reverted back to gleaming with playful deviousness. Michiru didn't disbelieve Haruka, and reluctantly brought her to the kitchen.
"Makoto-san, I have an…acquaintance who might be able to help you out," Michiru said smoothly, deciding "acquaintance" was the best word to describe her relationship with Haruka, since "friend" was hardly accurate. Letting out a sigh at "acquaintance," Haruka stepped forward, her gaze focusing on Makoto.
"I'm always willing to help a pretty girl in need," Haruka said, with what seemed like an extra seductive smirk to Michiru.
Taking no notice of Haruka's appearance in her chaotic frenzy, Makoto replied, "Try making omurice then. The ingredients are over there. You can do whatever you please."
Undisturbed by what had to have been her first time of being ignored, Haruka rolled up the sleeves of her white collared shirt and put on a long waist apron.
"Then, I'll begin now."
Vegetables seemed to remain on the cutting board for less than a second as Haruka brandished a knife and masterfully began to dice them into perfect, small pieces. These were then swept onto a waiting frying pan that eagerly soaked the vegetables in hot cooking oil. Sizzling, the pan was then shaken by Haruka several times and had rice added. The mixture gracefully flew in a beautiful arch, mimicking a dolphin before landing back into the pan, captivating the audience that consisted of Michiru and Makoto, who had stopped cooking in awe of both the culinary prowess and magnificent appearance of Haruka. Deftly pouring the rice onto a plate and easily cracking two eggs at once into the newly bare frying pan, Haruka's hands moved in a rhythm of its own.
In no time at all, a picturesque omurice with the rice seamlessly tucked into an envelope of the omelet, was presented to her audience under a bed of carefully assorted greens. Almost reverently, Makoto approached the omurice, carefully taking a bite though she was loath to mar it. Closing her eyes in bliss, Makoto savoured the fragrantly seasoned bite slowly, resisting the temptation to dig in.
"Pass! You'll be a great help!" Makoto exclaimed and received an unassumingly proud grin from Haruka. They instantly began to work on the countless number of orders, moving in perfect sync with each other despite their unfamiliarness.
Curious, Michiru snuck a small bite of the finished omurice, making sure to show her back to the two busy at work. Inadvertently letting out a small gasp, Michiru felt a smile weave across her face.
'It really is delicious."
-0-0-0-
That was how Michiru now found herself in her current predicament. Makoto had been so satisfied with Haruka's cooking, that she had made Haruka a part time employee at Maid Latte. If Michiru had thought that Haruka's constant presence at the café was unbearable, they now had to work together and share the locker room and break lounge, though Michiru admitted Haruka's cooking skills were unfoundedly amazing.
Haruka gave Michiru an easy smile as she received the next order, and Michiru responded with an obviously false smile. The results of the most recent practice test had been released and yet again, Haruka had edged Michiru out by a measly point. Michiru would have thought that with Haruka's new part time position, she would have easily been able to beat her, but apparently there was nothing Haruka couldn't do. She was justifiably annoyed and couldn't completely contain it.
Taking a moment to recompose herself, Michiru put on a pleasant smile and went out into the café. To her surprise, a small girl who looked to be around three or four was standing in the middle of the store, her hands cutely clasped in front of her. Her dark hair twirled from side to side as she took in the pretty interior of the store which was decorated with numerous vibrant flowers (gardening, along with dramas and cooking, were Makoto's passion).
Michiru walked towards her cautiously with a curious smile on her face and she suddenly found herself looking straight into purple doe eyes. They pierced Michiru's own navy eyes and Michiru felt a pang of remembrance ring throughout her body, not unlike the sensation she had felt upon meeting Usagi's boyfriend.
The eye contact was lost when the girl lowered herself in a ninety degree bow to Michiru. She sprang back up from the bow and let a grin bloom on her face. With an exuberant voice, she sang out, "Konnichiwa! I'm Hotaru!"
Michiru couldn't stifle a small smile at the polite and clearly well taught little girl and responded back in kind with a bow of her own.
"Konnichiwa Hotaru-chan. Are you with your parents?"
A sly grin appeared on Hotaru's face and she quickly shook her head no. Michiru usually didn't fawn over children but this girl was just too adorable! With her black overall dress over a long sleeved striped shirt and her pale skin, she looked just like one of the dolls Setsuna had never let her play with.
"Well Hotaru-chan, why don't we-"
"HOTARU-CHAN!"
Michiru swiveled around as she was cut off by the jingle that signaled a customer's entrance into the cafe and a desperate cry. Her eyes widened as Rei wearing a more form fitting red short sleeved dress barged into the cafe, her chest heaving up and down from her exertion.
Realizing that she had attracted the attention of all of the customers, Rei blushed heavily before regaining her composure and purposefully walking to Michiru and Hotaru.
¨Gomen Michiru-san. I know I'm scheduled to work right now but my uncle suddenly had an urgent meeting and asked me to take care of my cousin. I was planning on asking Makoto-san if Hotaru-chan could maybe stay in the maid lounge with her backpack to keep her occupied but then Hotaru-chan here,¨ Rei paused to ruffle the girl's hair as Hotaru guiltily smiled, ¨ran ahead of me.¨
Taking in Rei's frazzled look, Michiru took pity on her and reassuringly said, "Why don't you get changed? I'll take Hotaru-chan and ask Makoto-san if she can stay. I'm sure she won't be able to say no to a cute girl like Hotaru-chan." At this, Hotaru grinned at Michiru with adoring eyes and latched onto Michiru's arm.
Grateful words spilled out of Rei's mouth before she rushed to the changing room "Thank you so much Michiru-san! And be good Hotaru-chan! I'll see you in just a moment!"
"Well Hotaru-chan, let's go into the lounge, okay?" Michiru gently said to the girl clinging on her arm.
"Hai!" Hotaru happily responded!
-0-0-0-0-
Makoto had easily agreed to let Hotaru stay in the lounge for the duration of Rei's shift after seeing how polite and charming the little girl was. The little girl had quickly charmed the rest of the maids as well, and they all took turns fawning over and sitting with Hotaru during their breaks. As Michiru's shift had quickly ended, she was able to be with Hotaru the longest after changing out of her maid costume into her sleeveless knotted denim shirt and white lacy skirt.*
The four year old had brought a coloring book in her mini purple satchel and she happily swung her legs from the chair she was sitting in as she colored in lamps covered with butterflies. A half eaten cookie in the shape of a flower lay abandoned on a plate next to her. Michiru sat beside her with a gentle smile on her face.
While Hotaru's hand ran across the pages, her mouth ran as well as she talked about random things in her life like how she had seen a butterfly on her way walking here and asked Michiru questions like what her favorite color was and did she know that her favorite color was purple.
"Hotaru-chan, do you have any books you like to read or have your parents read to you?" Michiru asked curiously, unsure if the girl was able to read despite her precocious manner.
"Well," Hotaru's small hand faltered in the midst of coloring before it began to color with renewed vigor, "Papa doesn't have a lot of time to spend with me because he's busy at the lab a lot. But I read "The Sun and Moon are Quick Travelers" and I thought it was really interesting!"
Michiru contained her surprise; "The Sun and Moon are Quick Travelers" was an ancient thesis on astrology and to think a four year girl had read and understood it…*
"You really are an amazing girl, aren't you?" Michiru wryly stated, noticing that Hotaru had not mentioned her mother, which meant she was out of the picture in one way or the other.
"Ah! Michiru-nee san! I'm so sorry! I kept on coloring without letting you have turn! Here!" Hotaru looked genuinely stricken at the thought of not having offered to share her crayons and she quickly held out the purple crayon she had been using for the last ten minutes to Michiru.
"Ara? Michiru-onee san?" Michiru asked, caught off guard at the familial honorific.
Hotaru's cheeks quickly turned pink and she looked slightly away with an adorable pout, "I'm sorry. Michiru-san is so pretty and nice that I wished you were my onee-san along with Rei-onee san," here, she turned to look straight at Michiru with pleading plum eyes, "Could I please call you Michiru-onee san?"
Michiru's heart melted just a bit at the assault of puppy-dog eyes and she responded in the affirmative before turning back to the coloring page.
"Hmm, instead of coloring in your book, why don't I draw you, Hotaru-chan?" With a few swift movements of her wrist, a masterful violet outline of Hotaru's face was etched onto the paper.
Hotaru's eyes turned brilliantly luminescent as she stared into her counterpart's face and then at the artist who had drawn it.
"Uwah! It's so pretty! Michiru-onee san, can you teach me how to do that? I want to be just like you!" Hotaru exclaimed in a mixture of wonder and delight, further warming Michiru's heart.
"What? Why didn't anyone tell me?" A husky voice interrupted the two at the table as their heads both snapped to attention to where the intruder was leisurely standing.
"Why didn't anyone tell me that the princess was here?" Haruka voiced indignantly, "Hime-chan, my name is Haruka and it is an honor to meet you."
Haruka walked over and bowed, quickly following with a kiss to the hand of a blushing young girl. The devilishly smiling blonde attempted to do the same to the aqua haired girl before being stopped by a pair of murderous cobalt eyes.
Hotaru let out a tinkling giggle, captivated by the charismatic and prince-like visage of the tall blonde who had just entered the lounge.
"But, I'm not a real princess" she shyly admitted.
"What?! Not a princess?" Haruka uttered in dramatic disbelief, "Am I just a mere cook?"
"Yes," Michiru silently muttered at the overly histrionic woman.
"I am the best cook in all of the kingdom (Well perhaps excluding Makoto-san)!" Here, Haruka held out a hand to Hotaru, "Well, Hime-chan, let me prove my cooking skills."
With eyes sparkling, Hotaru took the offered hand and followed Haruka to the small kitchen in the back where they made experimental dishes, periodically turning around to make sure Michiru was following.
"So, Hime-chan, what do you like to eat?" Haruka asked as she got stools for both Hotaru and Michiru to sit on.
"Soba!" Hotaru immediately responded, excited at the thought of getting to eat her favorite food.
¨In that case, I'll make the best soba you'll ever taste!" Haruka declared as she got out the required ingredients from the pantry, "Would you like to help, Hime-chan?"
"Hai!" Hotaru answered emphatically, energetically nodding her head to reiterate her desire. Haruka then turned to look at Michiru, an unmistakable challenge in her eyes. Unable to back down from Haruka's silent provocation despite her knowledge that she was a horrible cook, Michiru reluctantly got off her stool.
"I'll help too."
Michiru quickly tied immaculate white aprons over both Hotaru's and her clothes, although the large apron drowned Hotaru's body.
"We don't want anything to get on your pretty clothes, do we Hime-chan?" Michiru asked gently, unknowingly using Haruka's nickname for Hotaru.
"Uh uh" Hotaru agreed solemnly. Once the apron was tied on and they had both washed their hands, she bounced over to where Haruka stood with a bowl of ingredients.
"Okay, Hime-chan, we're making the dough for the noodles right now, so we need to add some water," Haruka instructed. She helped Hotaru hold the cup of water and then pour out a decent amount of water. Michiru followed suit with another bowl of flour that Haruka had prepared, trying her best to match what Haruka and Hotaru were doing.
"Do we need this much flour though?" Michiru asked as she eyed the enormous amount of flour at least the size of Hotaru's head.
"Yeah, I thought we could make dinner for Makoto-tachi," Haruka responded as she split the ball of dough into two and showed Hotaru how to knead the dough. Michiru looked in surprise at the smooth and crack-free dough balls Haruka and Hotaru had made. When they kneaded the balls, the dough smoothly followed the motions of their hands like ocean waves.
She looked guiltily down at her own ball of dough, which wasn't so much a ball but a crumbling mess. Her hands were covered in flour as dried dough stuck to her slender fingers. Biting her lip in worry at the obvious discrepancy between the balls of dough, she eyed Haruka's and Hotaru's dough again before deciding to add a little more water to her dough. She was not going to ask Haruka for help. She could deal with this herself. After all, she did have experience with pottery.
After washing her hands free of the sticky dough with a little water, Michiru redoubled her efforts at kneading the dough, using all of the strength in her toned arms to make the dough into a round shape. Although her sheer obstinance forced the dough into a ball, it still wasn't the same stretchy texture of Haruka's; it looked more like week-old clay. She kept on pouring water hoping it would save the stiff mess in front of her. Looking over at Haruka and Hotaru, Michiru was startled to see that they were almost done cutting the dough into noodles.
At the same time, Haruka glanced at Michiru and finally noticed the abused dough in front of the frazzled girl who was covered in flour and had one or two stray strands of hair sticking out. Stifling a laugh, she whispered to Hotaru to wait a bit so she could help out Michiru.
Haruka strided over to Michiru whose face took on an embarrassed tint of pink when she noticed the blonde.
"You're surprisingly cute, Prez. And here I thought you were good at everything," Haruka teased, watching the blush on Michiru's cheeks deepen as the stubborn girl looked away with a slight pout, unable to meet her eyes.
"I was fixing it," Michiru said unyieldingly to the wall. With a small gasp, Michiru suddenly found herself whirling around to face her dough, with strong arms wrapped around her.
"If you flatten the dough and then drizzle warm water on it, the dough can be fixed," Haruka's husky voice said right into Michiru's ears. Her arms were on Michiru's and she guided the aqua haired girl's actions, kneading the dough together. Although this was the same position Haruka had been in with Hotaru, this felt completely different. Trying to not think of how close Haruka was to her and how she could feel her breath near her face, Michiru focused on Haruka's hands which showed a great amount of dexterity. They felt warm, not unpleasantly so, and her fingers were elegantly long like those of a musician. Haruka's fingertips weren't callused or hardened like Michiru's own fingertips were from playing the violin, so she probably didn't play a string instrument. Perhaps a piano? Long fingers like Haruka's would help immensely in piano.
Having calmed down enough, Michiru decided to play with Haruka. Surmising a stealthy peek at Haruka's face, she noticed how concentration was etched onto her face. It wasn't fair how Haruka had caught Michiru off guard and how unaffected she seemed to be.
Michiru sneaked out her right hand from underneath Haruka's hand and with a small sigh, swept her hair to the right side of her neck, letting her hand remain on her skin for just a second longer than it needed to.
She didn't need to look to know that Haruka's eyes had darkened into a molten teal upon the reveal of the creamy, smooth nape of her neck.. Haruka's sudden roughness with the dough was proof enough.
"I think the dough's fine now, don't you?" Michiru's voice lilted out, and with a clearing of her throat, Haruka withdrew her arms.
"Hime-chan, do you want to start on making the dipping sauce with Prez while I finish the noodles?"
When Hotaru looked confused at Michiru's nickname, Michiru smiled and walked to her.
"Let's work on it, Hime-chan!"
The two of them went over to the counter where a clear bowl and various bottles awaited them. Michiru felt a small sense of panic; she had no idea how to make the dipping sauce.
'Well, I know what the color looks like, so if I just do this the same way I mix paint together to get a certain color, it should be easy, right?'
Hotaru and Michiru happily worked together as Haruka began to boil the freshly made noodles. Michiru put a small serving of their sauce into Hotaru's mouth, resulting in an adorable scrunched up face.
"Is it that bad?" Michiru laughed as she asked Hotaru.
"It's really salty! It tastes like when I accidently drink ocean water at the beach" Hotaru honestly said with a sheepish grin on her face. Michiru curiously tasted a bit as well before crinkling her nose in disgust before a devious smile crept onto her face. With a quiet shushing motion at Hotaru, Michiru called over Haruka, cocking her head cutely.
"Haruka, would you like try the sauce Hime-chan and I made? It looks absolutely amazing."
Hotaru's eyes widened as she realized her onee-san's plan and she covered her mouth in an attempt to hold in her laugh. Haruka smiled to herself at Michiru's lack of an honorific, and unsuspectingly sauntered over after draining the noodles into a colander. Michiru held up a large spoonful of the sauce up to Haruka's lips and Haruka's eyes smoldered as she opened her mouth and slowly tasted the picture perfect sauce. Haruka's face soured, much like Hotaru's expression and giggles burst out of Michiru and Hotaru.
"That was cruel," Haruka bemoaned after rinsing her mouth out with water, "I want only sweet things in my mouth."
She let her eyes linger on Michiru's lips and the faintest of blushes appeared on Michiru's face. Hotaru interrupted their intense moment and said with a beam, "But Haruka-nii san, soba isn't sweet! I guess you won't eat any of it then, which means more for me!"
"You tricky, little princess! You're not a princess, you're a fox!" Haruka exclaimed with a scandalized expression and grabbed Hotaru, who began to shriek with delight.
"We'll work on the sauce," Haruka said, holding a joyful Hotaru with one arm. Michiru agreed and began to apportion the cooked noodles on to small round, soba sieve plates. Although her cooking skills were, as always, horrendous, she could make sure the presentation was flawless with her artistic skills. With dexterous fingers, she looped strands of the noodles into bundles that could easily be picked up with chopsticks onto the plates. Once she was finished with all of the plates, she turned around to see Haruka and Hotaru carefully coming towards her with mini bowls of the dipping sauce.
Seeing as how all of the components were finished, the three of them made their way to the lounge where the rest of the maids were lazing around having changed into their own regular clothes after service had ended.
"I'm so hungry, Rei-chan," Minako lamented as she threw herself onto the couch and balefully pouted at her friend.
"Mo, what do you want me to do about it?" Rei snappily retorted, "Go home and eat!"
"But I wanna stay here with everyone," the blonde whined, "Make me food Rei- Ah! It's soba!"
Rei and the rest of the maids whipped their heads around at the mention of food to see Haruka, Michiru, and Hotaru bringing over plates of soba. Minako's eyes filled with hearts as she drooled, before she ran over to crush Michiru in a hug.
"Michiru-chan, I can always count on you!" She claimed tearfully, before she withdrew herself from the forceful hug and saw Haruka for the first time. Her eyes narrowed as the ends of her mouth creeped up in a knowing leer.
"Ahh, did you make this with Haruka-san, Michiru-chan?" Minako asked in a high voice with her hand covering her mouth while her eyes seemed to smirk at Michiru.
Michiru opened her mouth to respond calmly when Hotaru piped up, "And me! I helped make it too! It's my favorite food!"
Minako stopped her leering to crouch down to Hotaru's height, "Hotaru-chan! So that's where you were! Did you have fun?"
Hotaru nodded cheerfully and the rest of the maids began bustling around and setting the table, elated at the thought of dinner.
"Wow, this looks better than when I make soba!" Makoto lauded.
"I'm sure you're underselling yourself, Makoto-san. But the soba really does look very picturesque," Kakyuu admired the food with a wide smile on her face.
"Itadakimasu!" The whole table chorused before they dug into their dinner. Praise and thanks immediately began to pour out.
"This is so delicious!"
"It's better than my mom's cooking!"
"Minako-chan! You can't take my food just because you're already done with yours!"
"But Rei-chan! It's so good! Let me just take a little!"
Michiru somehow found herself sitting next to both Minako and Hotaru, who was happily slurping the noodles up.
After being denied part of Rei's soba, Minako couldn't help herself and slyly whispered to Michiru.
"Haruka-san can cook and is good with kids. He's the whole package, isn't he? It looked like you two got closer!"
Michiru chewed her soba slowly before answering, "Yes, Hime-chan seemed to really like Haruka."
"Aha! Haruka! You're not using an honorific!" Minako cried out in an excited whisper, "And you both are calling Hotaru-chan Hime-chan! It's like you guys are a couple and Hotaru is your child! And you said nothing was going on between you two!"
Michiru froze. She hadn't realized her lack of an honorific. A slow pink tint began to overcome her skin as she began to think about the day.
'I called Haruka's name by itself for the first time when I told her to try the sauce Hime-chan and I made. Why did I do that? It felt so natural at the time, especially with the three of us together. We really were acting like a family! Oh no.'
"Did I? Well, I meant to say Haruka-san," Michiru said with a calm facade, "And Hime-chan is a perfect nickname for Hotaru-chan, no?"
"Okay, okay," Minako conceded to Michiru for the moment with an annoying grin, "But don't think you can hide from me, the goddess of love and beauty!"
Dinner quickly ended without any more theatrics and the maids all began to slowly go home after thanking the three who had made the delicious food.
Near the door, Rei, holding Hotaru's hand, bowed deeply to Michiru and Haruka.
"Michiru-chan, Haruka-kun, thank you so much for looking over Hotaru-chan!"
Haruka responded first, "It was no problem. I always like playing with cute girls like Hime-chan," she crouched to the now blushing Hotaru, "Hime-chan, I hope you visit again. Take good care of your kingdom, alright?"
Hotaru nodded with a beam, "Hai! Rei onee-san said I could come visit if I was with her and promised to keep it secret!"
Haruka ruffled her hair goodnaturedly before getting back up to let Michiru say good bye. Hotaru hesitated before throwing herself at Michiru.
"It was really fun being with you, Michiru onee-san!"
With surprise, Michiru caught the little girl and smiled genuinely at her.
"Hime-chan, be a good girl for Rei-san, okay?"
"Hai!"
Rei bowed once more before leaving with Hotaru, who kept twisting back to wave at the two tall figures.
Michiru turned to head back into the cafe to get her stuff before going home when Haruka stopped her by grabbing her arm. The light of the setting sun illuminated the sharp yet gentle panes of Haruka's face.
Haruka lifted her hand before tenderly stroking Michiru's cheek. Michiru's heart began to race of its own volition and she found herself unconsciously leaning into Haruka's warm hand.
"There was a spot of flour on your face," Haruka's eyes latched onto Michiru's face, and despite their cool teal color, they seemed to scorch Michiru. Michiru looked away, taking a moment to recompose herself.
"You played well with Hime-chan today," Michiru said coyly.
"Are you jealous?"
"Perhaps."
Michiru impulsively locked her lips to Haruka's in a passionate kiss, clasping her face with her two hands to bring Haruka closer. Haruka immediately responded with enthusiasm with her arms naturally falling into place on the other girl's waist.
Michiru separated first from the kiss and while Haruka remained slightly dazed, she turned around, putting her hat on.
"Jaa ne," she cheekily said as she walked away without sparing a glance behind her.
Haruka looked at Michiru's back with amazement. That had gone better than expected.
A/N: I was just so unsatisfied with the other heavier and more depressing version of this chapter that I decided to rewrite it in a much more lighthearted , having a lot to do is a great motivator for making me want to write more fanfiction. The first half of this school year is going to be hell but once that passes, hopefully I'll have more free time at least until the next school year. So I don't know when the next chapter will be.
*Michiru wears this outfit in episode 180.
*In the beginning of the Nehelenia arc in Sailor Stars, Haruka and Michiru come home to Setsuna and Hotaru who says she's just read two ancient theses