Tag: brOTP

~ sittingoverheredreaming ~ Leave a comment

How much do you want to bet Haruka’s feelings of unworthiness re: Michiru outweigh her survival instincts re: advice from Minako, so she always asks Minako for ideas on how to impress Michiru on her budget, and always earnestly listens to Minako’s ideas 

  • First answer is always that sex is free. (Haruka just rolls her eyes)
  • Cook her a lobster, buddy, rich people love lobster and the super market has them cheap (Minako actually feels bad when, a few hours later, Haruka calls her crying from the kitchen floor because it’s alive, Mina, how do people do this? They cancel the date and drive to the sea to release it)
  • Do the 80′s movie thing with the boom box (this is the story of how Haruka got the police called on her by Michiru’s snooty neighbors)
  • Okay, what are two things people love? Wine, and cheese. Ergo, rich people must love fondue (Michiru did actually enjoy Haruka’s attempt, to Minako’s great displeasure, but mostly because there was left over wine, however cheap it was)
  • Just like, give her a massage or something (Haruka actually uses this to her advantage, and gets Minako to “show her some techniques” ie. give her a free shoulder rub. She forgets to offer one to Michiru later)
  • etc, etc

And Haruka never, ever learns, because she loves them both too much

I know this is late, but if you’re still taking prompts. “Get me” Michiru and Minako. Thanks!

~ sittingoverheredreaming ~ Leave a comment

Leave a “Get Me” in my ask, and I will write a drabble about a character saving another.

This is about 1300 words, I’m sorry it’s taken so long to get to!

_________

There was something quaint about bars at midday. Nightlife had always been more Mina’s speed, but the way the late morning sun hit her beer and made it look like gold glittering piss felt right. Life was a tall glass of piss, no matter how the sun shone or the birds chirped. No matter what you did.

The bartender handed her another drink as she drained hers down to the foam. They had an understanding, now. He didn’t ask questions, she tipped well and caused no trouble, he’d call her a cab at 4:30. Simple. Routine. She could live the whole rest of her life this way, aside from  eventually running out of money.

The bell over the door rang. Minako added an additional caveat of finding a new bar.

Michiru had her purse in the crook of her elbow, hands gloved, long black coat belted like she’d just come from a 50’s film rendition of a funeral. She played the part of the widow well. Her low heels made small, elegant taps against the sticky wood floor.

“Did you have me followed?”

“Oh please.” She wiped a barstool with a handkerchief before sitting down. “You are not at your stealthiest right now.”

“Can’t imagine why.”

The bartender approached, and Michiru slid over a handful of large bills. “A water, please, and some privacy.”

He took the money and stuck to his policy of asking no questions.

“You don’t need to be here,” Minako said. “I’m not even getting drunk.”

“Mm.”

“I just want to be away from all of it. You of all people, I’d think, would understand.”

“I have had my losses, yes, but I cannot pretend they are the same as yours.”

Minako snorted. “Yeah, guess you never really loved her, huh?”

Their eyes met. Minako hoped for a slap, or maybe for Michiru to pull a knife on her, anything. All these years later, she understood all the fights Haruka had picked.

But Michiru merely adjusted her purse strap. “I’ll assume you mean our princess. That much is true.”

“Maybe if you had–”

“I might have died too? You’re not that lucky.”

“Lucky is the last word I’d use.” Minako took a long drink. “I thought you’d fall apart. I really thought you’d, I don’t know, run away to Europe and get so wine-drunk you forget she’s gone.”

“And I thought you’d bury it all under party drugs and fruity drinks.”

“I do seem the type.” She rotated her glass between her hands. “That’s the kicker, though, isn’t it? I can’t do that. As long as there’s a Serenity, the thing inside me won’t let me. And it’s not even Venus. It’s whatever anchor was sown into her soul, and neither of us can unchain ourselves from it.”

“I do not often think of my lot in life as a blessing,” Michiru said. “But I will take every misfortune over the loyalty clause of the inner guard.”

“Yeah, thanks.” Minako leaned back, hooking her foot under the bar top to keep from tipping. “I loved her for more than that, you know.”

“I do.”

“The crystal should have brought her back. It should have brought them all back.”

“The crystal has never been kind. That, I’ll give credit, all came from Usagi.”

“And look where it got her!” Mina let herself fall, let her shoulder hit the floor hard and her hair mix in with the stickiness and peanut shells. “All the talk of loving us, and she let Haruka and Rei and Ami die for nothing because she thought she could just talk it out. And now she’d dead, and the crystal pulled this bullshit.”

For awhile, it had seemed like their choices and triumphs and failures would matter. Their future could dissolve in an instant. Chibiusa had faded out of reality once. But when it came down to it, the crystal had picked a shortcut to its heir. It cared only that it had a Serenity, not which one. Mina pounded her fist on the floor. “Nothing means anything.”

“Perhaps you are suited for Small Lady’s guard, acting so much like a child.”

“Perhaps you’re suited for a life of loneliness, cold as you are.”

“Perhaps I am.” She rose. “I merely came to deliver a letter. I will leave it here.”

She stepped on Mina’s hair as she exited. Mina could not tell if it was on purpose. The bell over the door jingled again. Mina sat up, wincing at how her clothes clung to the floor. It had felt so good to let go, though. She wanted to let go so badly.

She eyed the envelope on the table. Michiru had left it facedown, but Minako knew who it came from based on the tape over the seal.

She turned it over. For Mina, if Michiru lives, but Rei and Usagi don’t

“Oh, buddy.” Tears stung her eyes as she began to read.

You always say I should think things through more, so I tried really hard, I hope you’re proud of me. I wanted to prepare for the possible outcomes, and you’ll probably find things I didn’t think of–

“None of us would ever think of this.”

–but hopefully I do alright. And don’t go looking through the rest of the letters! Not right away, at least. I put that in Michiru’s letter, too, so make sure she doesn’t. I know you don’t like each other, but that’s why I have to write. I want you two to try for each other. I don’t want to think too highly of myself, but I think I mean a lot to both of you–

“You mean the world, Haruka.”

So if I’m gone, you both might hurt. And I know you’re not gonna take loss well, as a soldier or a friend.

“And I’m sure you’d take it great.”

But whatever happened, it wasn’t your fault. You know I’m a dumbass, I probably broke your plan and charged in.

“You did.”

And if I know Rei, she tried to hard to save Usagi, and Usagi couldn’t be saved. We’re all predictable, I think, besides you. I never made a letter for if you didn’t make it. You’re too smart. If you went, I think the world would end.

But it hasn’t and you haven’t, so I’m passing a mission on to you. You gotta try, for Michiru. I love you both more than anything, and you’ve lost a lot. I wish more than anything I could always be there for you, but well. Like I said. Predictable. I don’t have Michiru’s visions, but I see how likely it is you’ll have to get one of these letters one day. So I’m asking you and Michiru to be there, in my place. You don’t have to be friends, really. Just annoy each other into keeping going.

You’re about to say, ‘Imagine if I asked that of you and Rei?’

Mina smiled through tears. She had been.

I have, and I think a few houses would get burnt down, but we’d find a way for you. So you’ll find a way for me. And for Rei, and for Usagi. We love you. I love you. You’ve done a lot for me, you’ve always known when I needed a kick in the ass, or a good brownie, and I want to return the favor. You’re too good to let this destroy you.

“You’re the one who’s too good, buddy.”

Also, a selfish request— sometime, not too soon, but sometime, wingman for Michiru, so she finds someone new. But make sure it’s not Seiya. Anyone else is okay.

I love you, and I’m sorry I didn’t listen to whatever order you gave. I’ll always be your dumb best friend.

Yours,

Haruka

“You’re such an asshole. You no I can’t say no if you pull this shit.” She carefully folded the letter and held it against her chest. She kept it there all the long walk to the house Haruka and Michiru had shared.

Michiru looked suspicious, but not surprised, when she answered the door.

“Haruka’s letter said you had to give me a thousand bucks.”

“Is that so?” Michiru crossed her arms. “My letter said ten thousand.”

Their eyes met again, wet and raw. Michiru stepped aside and gestured for Minako to come in. It didn’t change anything, except for all the ways it did.

~ sittingoverheredreaming ~ Leave a comment

Headcanon that both Haruka and Mina have old junkers for cars

It’s largely a money matter but for Haruka it’s also the equivalent of getting a shelter dog and loving it back to health. Yeah this ol’ pick up has seen some better days, but with a little work and the good oil filters, we make a good team

Mina meanwhile is more like “this Jeep cost me 500 dollars and smells like burning, go ahead and tailgate me in your BMW, we’ll see who wins when I slam my breaks”

~ sittingoverheredreaming ~ Leave a comment

Senshi crime AU

Michiru is the head of a high crime empire. Her personal interest is art theft, both for the thrill and because the masses do no deserve what only a true artist can appreciate.

Usagi is her secretary who is utterly clueless the business she works for is a front. Michiru has stopped expecting her to figure it out and counts it as a brilliant stroke of luck.

Ami was recruited after she was expelled from the medical community for extensive insurance fraud. While she can sometimes tend towards righteous, her hacking skills are invaluable to Michiru’s operation.

Michiru’s current recruitment target is Minako— a brilliant con artist it’s taken months to track.

What Michiru doesn’t know is Mina has no interest in crime that benefits the wealthy. She’s running a small Robin-Hood style operation (sometimes, she is the poor they are helping, but a girl’s gotta eat) with two bleeding hearts, ex-Yakuza Makoto and petty thief/street racer Haruka (the latter of whom she may have met while they were both running from the cops, Haruka had luckily been willing to take a passenger and had modified her car well enough that the police couldn’t catch them)

Meanwhile Rei is a fresh investigative journalist determined to make her name by blowing open Michiru’s operation, and she’s willing to cut a deal with the likes of Mina to do it

~ sittingoverheredreaming ~ Leave a comment

Mina-Mamo hatemance is stuck in my head now, not just as its
own thing but as a competing thing with Haru-Seiya.

Like, one day Haruka stomps around and throws up her hands. “Seiya
is such a jerkass! Why does Usagi have to keep bring her around?”

And Mina’s just like, “Buddy I’ve had to deal with Mamoru
for years. Seiya’s not that bad you can relax.”

“Seiya is THE WORST HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT. And what’s the
problem with Mamoru? He’s chill.”

“Only your dramatic gay ass would call a douche who runs
around in a tuxedo all night chill.”

“But he doesn’t bother anyone and he’s never hit on Michiru.”

Mina puts a hand on Haruka’s shoulder. “I know this is hard
to believe, but there are far worse things than hitting on your girlfriend.
Seiya has never endangered the planet and the princess across two life times,
and she has the decency to have a personality.”

“A PERSONALITY THAT SUCKS.”

Mina shrugs. “Just how I see it. Honestly if it wouldn’t
fuck up the future I’d rather Usagi end up with her. And maybe if it would too.”

“WHAT NO.” Haruka immediately starts drafting a list of
romance tips to give to Mamoru.

Mina wonders how out of line it would be if she let Seiya
know all Usagi’s favorite foods and date spots.

They work very hard to prove their respective points, but
before they can bring anything to Usagi or her suitors, she lets them know she’s
trying that polyamory thing, and will be dating Seiya too now.

Haruka and Mina collapse in on each other in despair.

~ sittingoverheredreaming ~ Leave a comment

On the Night of the Ball

My entry for the prompt party, Harumichi Cinderella! Mine is a modern take, about 2600 words. Enjoy!

The phone rang just as Haruka had settled into the couch for
the night. She untangled from the blanket and dove for the old landline, the
long braid of her hair smacking into her back. The answering machine was in her
mother’s room, and it was best not to disturb her.

“Hello?”

“So you know how I bet you fifty bucks I’d get you to go to
the Halloween dance?”

“Mina, the dance is in an hour—“

“And I’ll call off the deal if you come over right now.”

Haruka sighed. “So I can either stay in pajamas and get
fifty bucks, or drag myself out and get nothing?”

Mina clucked into the phone. “You can either stay in, have
me come make a scene and pay me fifty bucks you don’t have when I get you to
the dance, or you can come over here and not have to worry.” There was a pause,
Haruka knew she was twirling her hair with her free hand. “How about this, if
you come over, I’ll still pay up if you don’t go. And I’ve got the movie butter
popcorn you like.”

“Fine, Mina. But I’m not changing my clothes.”

“Didn’t ask you to, buddy.”

Haruka slipped on her shoes without leaving a note. Her
mother would assume she was at Mina’s, if she even noticed. And unless Haruka
did something wrong, she didn’t notice.

They lived mercifully close, Mina just a few blocks away in
a marginally nicer house. Her mother would be out, and father home, but it
amounted to them being alone anyway. Haruka tucked the loose strands of her
hair back as she got to the door. It was never easy to know what to expect with
Mina. This could end with Mina literally dragging her to the dance, or it could
be a wild plan that mysteriously ended in the school gymnasium, and whoops,
look at that Haruka, you’re at the dance. Haruka gripped the door knob and
resigned herself to losing the bet in a night of misery.

Mina stood in the foyer, dressed in a long robe she must
have found at a thrift store. “Dahling, you made it,” she said in her best
old-movie actress voice, leaning against the wall with a hand on her head. “I
was beginning to worry.”

“What’s the plan, Mina?”

“Don’t look so resigned!” She smiled, big and devious. “I’m
going to give you the night of your life.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Haruka shoved her shoulder as they filed down
the hall to Mina’s bedroom. “You say that every night.”

“And compared to how you’d be without my stunning influence,
it’s true.” Mina hopped onto her bed, smushing several stuffed animals. “But
tonight is different. I’ve been saving up tips from the salon to pull this off.”

A new dread settled in Haruka’s stomach. “Mina, you shouldn’t
waste your money—“

“You say now, having been willing to rob me dry in a bet.”
Her eyes flashed, she knew she had Haruka. “I’ve still got my wages in the
move-out fund, don’t you worry. But tonight’s not about what we need, it’s
about what I want. And I want you to have a good time.”

“Then why can’t we stay in and watch movies?” Haruka did not
do dances—not the dresses, not the shoes, not the hair, and certainly not the
dancing, not where everyone could see her.

“Because we do that all the time. Tonight should be
different.” Mina cracked her knuckles. “See my plan through, and then you can
decide, okay? If you don’t like it, we’ll stay in and I’ll see what I can
return to the store tomorrow.”

“Fine.”

Mina jumped up and grabbed Haruka’s wrist. “We’ll start with
your hair.”

“Hey, wait, no. Off-limits. You promised when you started at
the salon—“

“That I’d never use you as a guinea pig for styling.” Mina
yanked her into the bathroom. “I’m not styling your hair, Haruka, I’m cutting
it.”

“What?”

“I’m cutting your hair.” She pulled out a clipper set. “That’s
always been part of the problem, hasn’t it?”

“I…” Haruka pulled on the end of her braid. “My mom…”

“Tell her it’s for a costume, and if she kicks you out
anyway, you’ll stay here.” Mina softened and put her hands on Haruka’s
shoulders. “Halloween is about being whatever and whoever you want to be. I,
for one, want to be a slutty, slutty vampire, forever young and beautiful. You
want to be something else. You can try it, for tonight, and if it’s not right
you say it was all play and let your hair grow and no one will bat an eye.”

Haruka looked in the mirror. She wanted it. Always had. Her
mother had caught her as a child, cutting her hair with the kitchen scissors to
look like a boy’s. She had not been allowed anything more than a trim ever
since. “Do you think it would look okay? You don’t think I’d look too…” She
meant to say boyish, but couldn’t. Part of her wanted that, too. Not to be a
boy,  but to look and exist in that space
she’d rarely seen occupied, of being a different sort of woman.

“This might not be the right thing to say, buddy, but I
think you might look kind of…” Mina stretched back, forcing nonchalance, “well,
kind of handsome.”

Haruka bit her tongue. She leaned closer to the mirror,
covered the start of her braid with her hands, a poor approximation of how it
might look. “I wanna do it.”

“Okay.” Mina pulled out scissors and held them to the base
of the braid. “Ready?”

Haruka took a deep breath. “Ready.”

The scissors snipped, hacking through, once, twice, three
times, and – thump! The braid fell to the tile like a dead animal. The bob of
Haruka’s remaining hair fanned around her face. Her head felt light, the smallest
motion made easier and bigger without the weight of the braid. Mina trimmed it
shorter, then switched to the clippers.

“This might tickle some.”

Just the sound as she turned it on sent shivers up Haruka’s
back. It vibrated the air with a magic she’d lusted after through barber shop
windows. Mina ran it up her head from her neck, and Haruka had to fight to keep
still. She couldn’t mess up her chance to look how she dreamed.

Slowly more hair fell to the floor in feathery clumps, until
Mina turned off the clippers and dusted Haruka off. Haruka tried not to cry—the mirror
now showed a woman standing tall even in her giant hoodie, hair just long
enough to be fluffy on top but shaped on the sides. “Mina…” she swallowed hard.
“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet, buddy. We’re only half done.”

Haruka had no more words of protest or question. Mina led
the way back to her room and threw open her closet.

Haruka’s breath caught as she pulled out a suit.

“I can’t promise it will fit great, men’s sizing isn’t the
same. But, you know, I tried and it should be close.” She rummaged through her
drawers and pulled out a brilliant navy tie and a matching masquerade mask.

“This is too much, I can’t accept…”

“If this is a money thing, Haruka, don’t worry. I’ve been
planning this long enough that I had time to get good deals.” She opened the
suit jacket to reveal a big red stain on the lining. “Somehow, this has been in
Goodwill for a long time, even though they insist it’s only ketchup.”

Haruka laughed in spite of her awe. “I ever tell you you’re
too good to me?”

“I think the words you’re looking for are ‘Thank you Mina,
you’re the best and I’ll never doubt your judgement again.’”

“Thank you, Mina.”

Minako rolled her eyes. “Now, I’m going to change into my
vampire dress, and give you a moment. We’ll have to leave in a few.” She
grabbed her costume and vacated to the bathroom.

Haruka ran her hands along the suit sleeves. She’d worn men’s
clothes before, flying under the wire with hoodies and tee-shirts that weren’t
great but kept her from wanting to crawl out of her skin. This was something
else entirely. She rubbed at the base of her neck, where her braid had been
replaced with fuzz. She’d enter the dance a different person from the one who’d
left school that day. Even if it was only for tonight, she’d be the woman she’d
always dreamed of.

Slowly, she pulled off her sweatpants, then her hoodie. She
slid on the pants, happy to find them only slightly too short. She stole a pair
of black socks from Mina’s drawer to hide it. The shirt, on the other hand, was
long, but tucked in it made no difference. Haruka pulled on the jacket slowly,
suddenly worried it would make it all farcical, she’d be the ordinary gangly
girl, dressing up like someone she wasn’t. But it settled onto her shoulders, tight
but not too restrictive, and she turned to Mina’s full-length mirror with bated
breath.

It didn’t fit perfectly. But it wasn’t glaring, and she
looked… real. Or she felt real. She couldn’t think of how to say it. She
fumbled with the tie until Mina came back in.

“Damn, buddy, you clean up nice.”

Haruka chuckled, then choked into tears. “Will you help me?
I don’t know—“

Mina took the tie and stood behind her. “Now, you be sure to
tell everyone I’m very good with my hands.” She smoothed Haruka’s collar and
centered the knot. “The ladies are gonna eat their hearts out.”

“Do you think…” She hadn’t allowed herself to think too much
about anyone who might be at the dance, committed as she had been to not going.
But there was the girl, from homeroom, who’d sometimes caught her eye, and…

“Drag your gay ass back to earth now, buddy, you can either
dream or make it happen. If we don’t leave, we’ll be much more than fashionably
late.” She pulled the mask on Haruka’s head and they set out together into the
night.

The gym was pulsing and packed when they arrived. The only
lights came in flashing colors and through the door to the hall. Haruka pulled
at the ends of her jacket.

Mina rubbed her back. “Don’t worry buddy, you’re gonna be
great.”

“Nice suit, bro!” A footballer called as he passed.

Haruka swallowed. “They don’t recognize me.”

“Drastic haircuts and masks will do that. You okay?”

“Yeah I just… I feel different, too.”

Mina smiled. “Be who you wanna be, Haruka.” She paused. “Split
up or stay together?”

Haruka scanned the crowd, looking for the green hair of
homeroom girl. “Can we… Can I try being on my own?”

“Spread your gay little wings, buddy. You can find me if you
need me.”

 —–

Michiru wondered sometimes why she attended dances.
Homecoming and prom she understood—they were appearances, she would be crowned
Queen and have her picture in the papers, and her family would have one more
thing to brag to their friends about. But the mid-year frivolities… She sighed
and nodded as Rei chewed out a boy for asking her to dance. Why Rei came was perhaps
a bigger mystery– though she faced a different side of the same pressures as
Michiru, she was less apt to playing along. She knew Senator Hino oft wished he’d
had a son, so that his child might court the Kaioh prodigy rather than compete
with her. That Rei would have better luck as she was was lost on him.

Michiru supposed the night would go as it always did—accept a
dance from her homecoming king, and then a few from those who might be her
match for prom. Perhaps it all came down to training, the sweaty gym was the
young version of a high society gala, the attendees not yet skilled in hiding
their crude underbellies.

But then someone caught her eye. At first it seemed a boy in
a sharp costume, going for a formal masquerade rather than any of the silliness
others sported. But then she noticed the slight curve of chest and hip, the
uncertainty in movement, the charming line of the chin.

It was a girl, and a girl the way the partners of Michiru’s
dreams were girls. Their eyes met through her mask. There was something
familiar, though Michiru had never met anyone like her before. She rose from
her seat on the bleachers, not bothering to let Rei know where she as going. She
needed to know the stranger. She needed to meet this woman.

As if on cue, the dj announced the first slow song of the
night.

“Um, hi,” the other girl said as Michiru drew close.

Michiru could feel her nervousness. There was something
endlessly charming about it. “Hello.”

“Would you, well, would you like to dance with me?”

“I would.”

The butch’s hand was sweaty as she took Michiru’s, her
fingers shaking slightly. Michiru guided her other hand to her waist. As their
eyes met again, close enough to feel each other’s breath, Michiru felt a
familiarity she hadn’t expected.

“We’ve met, haven’t we?”

“Sort of.” She flushed red under her mask.

Michiru thought of the tomboy in homeroom, blushing whenever
the teacher called on her, playing with her long hair like she wanted to
disappear. Michiru had thought of her, looked at her, more than she cared to
admit. They’d sort of met, hadn’t they? Having never spoken, but seeing each other
every morning… Michiru ran her hand along the edge of the girl’s hair, wondering
how recently it had been cut. “I don’t want to be wrong about who you are.”

“Don’t guess.” Her eyes widened, like hearing the wrong name
might break her. “I think… Monday, if you want to find me, you’ll be able to.
And if you don’t, it’s okay.”

I’ll want to find you.
But Michiru said nothing and sank into the girl for the rest of the song. She
could feel their heartbeats mix in their fingertips, the other girl’s pounding hard
even as she got more confident in her movements.

“Tell me something that isn’t your name,” Michiru said
finally as the music faded into another DJ announcement.

“Um. My favorite color is blue, which I know isn’t original,
but it’s nice.” Michiru nodded for her to keep going. “And… I like flowers, but
not how people perceive liking flowers. Besides right now, running is about the
only time I really feel good.” She blushed again, and swallowed hard. “And
maybe this goes without saying, but in case it doesn’t, I’m… I like girls. And
I am a girl.”

Michiru stepped into what little space remained between
them. “I have one more question.”

The girl swallowed again. “Okay.”

“Can I kiss you?”

Her eyes went wide, but she nodded. Michiru stood on tip toe
and, gently as she could, placed her lips on hers. For a moment, the whole
world was still, narrowed down to the two of them.

Michiru rose a hand to the girl’s face as she pulled away. “I
want to know who you are.”

“I think you’ll be disappointed.”

“I don’t.” Though she wondered—if it wasn’t the girl she’d
been watching, would she be? “Whoever you are, I want to see you again.”

“Well. If that’s true, you’ll see me at school. And if– if
you still want to… you can ask me then.” She took Michiru’s hand and kissed her
knuckles. “I think I should leave. This… I want to keep this night beautiful.”

Before Michiru could protest, she was gone, taken from
Michiru’s sight in the crowd of bodies.

She closed her eyes, committing every second to memory. Come
Monday, she’d find the girl.

~ sittingoverheredreaming ~ Leave a comment

Alrighty here is my entry for Doc’s birthday contest, for the prompt “I won’t leave you.” T e c h n i c a l l y it’s a sequel to a much older fic, because that’s where the idea took me, but I did my best to make it stand on its own (especially because the old fic is… not so good looking back on it now).

The Edge
~1100 words
After a battle that wipes out Usagi and most of the Senshi, all that’s left of Minako is Venus, or so it seems. Haruka won’t accept Mina’s gone for good.

Haruka had
thought the hardest part was behind her. She’d dragged herself through the
despair, she’d kept going, she’d gotten what help she needed to get here. But
now, seeing that long blonde hair in the moonlight, she knew the hardest part
was yet to come.

“Mina!” she
yelled, to no response. The wind blew strong here on the cliff, but she feared
it hadn’t swallowed the sound. With a deep breath and a heaviness in her gut,
she tried again: “Venus!”

Venus did
not turn, merely rose a hand over the space beside her. Haruka walked up
slowly. The terrain felt uncertain under her feet, each rock ready to tumble
into the ravine below. Venus stood right on the edge. The toes of her shoes
curled over. Haruka had the obscene urge to make a toe the line joke.

“Why are you
here, Uranus?”

“I came for
you. Why are you here?”

Venus stared
up at the moon. Her eyes had gone gold, a pale, inhuman yellow that spoke of
power. “I don’t know.” Her face contorted, but the gold eyes did not tear.
Haruka wondered if they even could. “Last time it was quick. She died, we
failed, our right to exist ended until we could try again to prove ourselves
worthy.”

She shifted
her weight back and forth. Haruka reached for her hand, but Venus tolerated no
touch. “There was nothing we could do.”

“You would
say that.” Venus looked at Haruka for the first time, and even though her face
bore nothing but contempt, Haruka felt relief. “You never were cut out for
this. But I’m not like you. I could have saved her. I exist to save her.”

“I don’t
think that’s true,” Haruka said, slow and careful. “I think you exist for more
than that.”

“There is
nothing more.”

Venus turned
back towards the moon, and despair washed back over Haruka. There had been
things she could have done, she could have saved Usagi and Michiru and the rest
of them. But she was here and they were gone and all the hold she’d fought to
have on keeping on started to slip away. She’d ostensibly come for Mina, but really
she’d come for herself. She needed Mina, needed to know she could save
something. And she couldn’t. She looked over the cliff. It didn’t call to her,
the way holing up and drinking until she slipped away had. Part of her felt
almost cowardly for it.

“I can’t do
it either,” Venus said, her voice barely loud enough to cut through the wind. “It’s
what I’m supposed to do, isn’t it? Die for duty, or the loss of it.” For a
moment, Haruka saw Minako, the nights they’d stared down what it all meant, the
secret tears Mina had shed knowing her whole life wasn’t really hers. “I’m not
the soldier I’m supposed to be.”

“Mina…”

A misstep.
Venus slammed back to rigidity. “You may go.”

“I won’t
leave you.”

“It wasn’t a
question, Uranus. I’m your commander and I’m ordering you to leave.”

“Well, I’m a
bad soldier, aren’t I? That’s what you always say.” Haruka felt tears sting in
her own eyes. She wiped them away. “I need you, okay? I don’t have anything else
left. And neither do you, maybe. Just me.”

She waited
for Venus to tell her she was nothing. She heard it in her head, that she was
worthless, that she shouldn’t have the audacity to think she could mean
anything, but the words never came aloud. Venus’s shoulders slumped.

“Do you remember
being Mina?” Haruka dared to ask in a whisper.

“I wish I
didn’t.”

“Well, Mina
wished she remembered less of being you, so I guess you’re even.”

Venus shook her head. “I never should
have been that girl. She made me weak.” She spat into the abyss. “I
lost sight of the important things.”

Haruka sat and let her legs dangle and stared
at the distant dark line of the horizon. “You used to tell me there was
nothing more important than a good time.”

“I know that,” Venus
snarled. “I know who I was, I know all my failings.”

“They’re not failings to me. And they
weren’t to her, either.”

“Of course they were, Serenity is dead.”

“But she lived, and she loved you.”
Haruka looked up. There was a knot in her chest, she couldn’t help thinking of
Michiru and her own failings. “And I still love you. And Rei–”

“Don’t.”

“Rei and Usagi would both kick your ass
for this. Or well, Rei would try and Usagi would cry on you. But they’re not
here, so I have to do it for them.”

“As if you could.” Venus sniffed,
halfway between a sob and a smile. There were
tears in her pale eyes. 

“I could do it Usagi’s way. There’s
plenty to cry about.” She looked at Venus, daring to see Minako still
inside her. “You miss them, don’t you? Who they were this time?”

Venus sat down, seeming to shrink into a more
human form. “Isn’t it enough that I failed? The grand golden soldier has
fallen. Isn’t that enough despair? I don’t want to be the girl who feels more
than that.” She put her head on her knees. “I’ve been through this
before. I loved Serenity as my liege.”

And now you love her and everyone else as
people, but Haruka knew better than to
say it so plainly. “I don’t remember that life much. But I understand
some.” She picked up a rock and bounced it in her hand. “I was gonna
let myself disappear, in that little house Michiru bought us. Just hide out
until the world went on without me. Because how can I go on without Michiru?
And the rest of them?” She threw her rock hard over the edge. “But
I’ve got you, and if I can do anything for you, that might be enough for
me.”

Venus’s chest heaved. “I don’t know if I
can do this, Haruka.” She sobbed and clawed at the frayed edges of her
skirt.

“Neither do
I. But I’m gonna try for you.”

“It’s easier
to let Venus take over. She’s always been ready, and this… she can get through
this.”

“Maybe we
can too.” Haruka rubbed her back as Mina’s transformation faded and the
tattered material of her fuku turned to soft cotton under her fingers. She sat
in the t-shirt she’d been in before this whole mess started. It would have been
like nothing had happened if not for the bruises and cuts making abstract art
across her skin. “I love you, Mina.”

Minako
sobbed, big heaving sobs of a kind even Usagi had never matched. Haruka pulled
her close. She clung on, like Haruka was all she had in the world, and maybe
she was.

“Don’t let
me go, Haruka. Don’t let me go.”

“I won’t.”
Haruka held her tight. “I can’t promise we’re gonna be okay, but I promise we’re
gonna be here.”

~ sittingoverheredreaming ~ Leave a comment

docholligay replied to your post

okay but please tell me all about Mina’s reaction to the Talismans thing in this world

By the time this rolls around Mina and Haruka’s friendship is set (It’s very different than their usual friendship, but they still connect) and there’s a certain extent of Mina REFUSING to let the talismans take Haruka away from her (if destiny can change even this little bit, Mina needs that, she needs Haruka to have a roll not set by their past life)

And with Haruka not wanting the mission of stopping Saturn anyway, Mina takes the Talisman and gives it to Michiru, saying Haruka deserves better than this, Haruka is good and if Michiru wants to kill a little girl she can but Mina won’t let her strip Haruka of her humanity

(And there is never a version of Michiru who does not believe Haruka deserves better, so she does not argue, merely takes the sword and learns to use it)

(There is a good chance this leads to her and Pluto being successful in killing Hotaru. Mina chooses not to dwell on her choice to much)