Tag: sam writes

~ sittingoverheredreaming ~ Leave a comment

Same Prompt Party, April 2017 (Haruka and Michiru go to Europe)

Caldera

While Michiru has visions of an oncoming battle, Haruka takes her on a surprise trip. ~3400 words
AO3 link

(As a disclaimer, I’ve never been to Greece, I researched what I could, but at the end of the day my images are based on watching Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants way too many times)

Michiru leaned back and
watched the steam rise up off her tea. It danced with the first glimmer of
sunlight peeking through the curtains as she tried to calm her still racing
heart. She couldn’t stay in bed in times like this. She couldn’t listen to
Haruka snore and feel her warm body with the memory of the lifelessness to come
on still on MIchiru’s skin. It was always jarring to come out from a vision. Now, though, it
was unbearable. Michiru would almost– almost – rather stay in the
future where Haruka was lost than come back and look at what she could not
save. 

She spent these mornings
picking through what she saw, trying to find something she’d be able to change,
always knowing there was nothing. Rei had mentioned, attempting to be offhand
in her particular way, that she had seen things too, and in her particular way
all she let onto was that Usagi would be okay. It was the only thing that
Michiru ever despised Rei for, that stubborn loyalty to the princess. Michiru
would throw her to the fire if it would mean saving Haruka, if it would be
anything to her but a different damnation.

“Michi…”

Haruka padded into the living
room and Michiru fought to keep her breath from catching. She stood in that
first sliver of sun on the carpet, feet in fuzzy pink slippers that Mina had
bought her as a joke and that Haruka loved without any hint of irony. Her long
white tee all but covered her boxers, her hair was mussed with sleep, she
looked so ordinary but so painfully alive that Michiru could do nothing but dig
her fingers into the underside of her leg.

Haruka rubbed her eyes.
“You’re up too early. I miss you.”

“I haven’t gone
anywhere, love.”

“But you’re not with
me.” Haruka sat at the foot of the armchair and nuzzled her head into
Michiru’s lap.

Michiru stroked her hair. She
could not stay hard when Haruka was so soft. “I’m sorry, Haruka, I’ve been
quite inconsiderate.”

Haruka nodded into her legs.
“You have. Now I’m all sleepy and lonely and you’ll have to make it up to me.”

“And how shall I do that?”

Haruka looked up, her eyes no
longer blurry with sleep. “I want to go on a trip!”

“A trip?” She had the
faintest feeling she had been set up, and she could not help but smile. Haruka
had surely been hanging on to the idea, waiting for the moment to spring it.
“Wherever to?”

“I don’t want to say yet.
Somewhere far away.” Haruka rocked back. “I know you said what’s yours is mine,
and I don’t feel comfortable with that, but this is one thing I’d like help
with. I want to plan us a trip I can’t do on my own.”

“Of course, Haruka.”

Their eyes met, and Haruka
broke into a sheepish grin. “I promise you it’s nothing strange. I just want to
surprise you. And Mina’s given me assurance my idea is something you’ll like.”

Michiru smiled and withheld a
laugh. Mina’s involvement could swing broadly in either direction. They could
end up at a nude beach, or worse, a tour through all the museums Michiru had
been dragged through as a child. Or they could have a wonderful, peaceful
vacation.

Michiru did not get a sense
of which it would be until two and a half months had passed and Haruka handed
her her ticket in the airport.

“I’ve never been to Greece.”

“Really?” Haruka’s chest
swelled as she grinned. “Our first time will be together then.”

“Has Mina sent us to pay
respects to the temple of Aphrodite?”

“She tried to convince
me on that detour.” Haruka laughed. “But my plan is much
better.”

“Is it now?”

Packing, Michiru had thought,
would surely give an indication of what they’d be doing. But Haruka had been
careful in her guidance. The weather had been her main point. She had not
advised any dress clothes, though Michiru packed a simple black dress and
pearls just in case Haruka was relying on the fact that “she looked
elegant in anything.”  Haruka’s only requests were Michiru’s woven
sun hat, because she liked it, some painting supplies, and two swimsuits.
Haruka, however, took swim suits on every vacation, if only to sit at the side
of a motel pool.

“I suppose it’s moot to
ask what we’ll be doing, then?”

“Very moot.” Haruka
kissed her cheek and lifted her suitcase. “All I’ll say is our hotel for the
first night isn’t where we’re staying, I just want us rested before the
surprise.”

That, Michiru was sure, was
Mina’s benevolent hand at work. Judging by the tickets, they had twelve hours
in the air, and then a wait in Munich for another two. Haruka was always eager,
even at her own expense. “You’ve been very thorough, it seems.”

Haruka grinned. “I’ve tried
to think of everything. Maybe I’m not quite there, but I tried.”

“I’m sure you did, love.”

And as they arrived in Athens
nearly a day later, it truly seemed she had. A car waited for them as they
stumbled out of the Athens airport; their hotel room was warm and quiet when
they got in. Haruka had even reserved them a table at the hotel restaurant.
Travel-weary as they were, Michiru could not help but be touched.

She tried to remember that
when her jet-lag heavy sleep was broken before dawn.

“Michi, we gotta get up.
There’s a ferry to catch.”

“This would of course be
the one time you’re up before me.”

Haruka took Michiru’s hand.
“It’s important. Get dressed with me.”

A car took them to the port,
where a red and white ferry welcomed a small crowd of tourists. “There’s
another that’s supposed to be nicer,” Haruka whispered as they boarded,
“but this one takes three less hours.”

“A good choice
then.”

The wind ruffled Haruka’s
hair as they started moving. Her knuckles went white against the rail, but she
did not step back even as the shore grew distant. She was always especially
handsome in these moments. Michiru was charmed by her stubborn bravery when it
didn’t matter. The knowledge of what would happen when it did matter, though,
reared in her mind. Would that Haruka had some other trait, she might survive.

“Are you okay?”

“Of course, love.”
Michiru looked out to the sea. It was pure blue, like fresh acrylic on a
pallet. “It’s beautiful here.”

Haruka smiled. “I
thought you might like to paint where we’re going. It’s supposed to be the most
beautiful place on earth.”

Then I’m glad you’ll get
to see it in time.

Michiru pulled Haruka into
her arms. “You’re very good to me, love. What you’ve done is
amazing.”

Haruka laughed and hugged her
back. “You haven’t seen it yet.”

“Yes, but I know
you.” Michiru kissed her cheek. “Whatever lies across the water is
sure to be wonderful.” She pulled away. “I’ll be back in a moment, love. I
just need the powder room.”

In a stall, Michiru put her
head in her hands. Haruka, cold, dead, and broken flashed through her mind.
She’d seen her die so many times, in different ways, but was never shown a path
where she lived. The future cast an unshakable shadow over the present, over
what was an undeniably beautiful trip. It tainted the pure blue of the water
and the pure joy of Haruka’s pride.

It felt even worse, hours
later, when the ferry docked and she stepped onto what truly seemed to be the
most beautiful island in the world. White square buildings speckled the
hillside, leading up to a sky was the same blue as the water. Some doors and
roofs were painted in a perfect echo of that blue.

Haruka slipped her hand into
Michiru’s. “What do you think?”

“It’s stunning.”

“I arranged to have our bags
taken to our villa,” Haruka said with a smile. “But I thought we’d go in
style.”

“And how’s that?”

Haruka nodded towards a vespa
rental booth. “May I take you for a ride, my lady?”

“You certainly may.”
Wistfulness washed over Michiru as she climbed on a little white scooter behind
Haruka. It felt like a lifetime ago that they had sped through Tokyo on that
first terrible mission. She never thought she’d feel nostalgic for that time.
Death hadn’t felt real then, not as a possibility for them. She watched the
buildings pass as they wove through the hills. Occasionally an older local would
wave with a smile that recalled their own young love. Michiru could not help
but wonder if she or they were closer to loss.

The sun had begun its slow
arc towards the horizon as they slowed to a stop. Haruka helped Michiru
dismount and walked the vespa through the gateway of a low, white stone wall.
Inside was a patio of the same stone, rising into a villa with a modest gray
door.

Haruka cracked it out with a
smile. “Do you want to see?”

Inside, there was simply a
bed in the same white as the stone, and a small kitchenette set up with yellow
flowers on the table providing the only splash of color. Beyond that, though,
double doors showed a small terrace, and beyond that, the sea. Michiru found
herself drawn back outside. She would indeed like to paint this place.

“It’s the caldera,” Haruka
said, putting a hand on her back. “It’s actually a volcano.”

“It’s beautiful.”

“Here,” Haruka pulled a
sketchbook out of her sidebag. “For until our suitcases come. I know you’re
itching.”

“Oh Haruka, I couldn’t
possibly waste our first moments here, we should…”

Haruka laughed. “I planned
this, Michi.” She pulled out a Greek phrase book. “I figured I’d use this time
to try talking to people, find out what I couldn’t from the travel sites.”

Michiru almost wanted to
follow her, half to watch her attempts and half to console her when she
couldn’t understand a word. But for now she’d allow Haruka her pride.

She sat to sketch the
landscape, but the dark lines morphed to a darker scene. Haruka, limp and
broken in a fallen city. Mina behind her, turned away, cradling the knowledge
of necessary sacrifice. Michiru’s own hand reaching from the bottom of the
page. Too late.

Michiru tore it from the
book. She could give Haruka this one trip, she could. She would. When
their luggage arrived, she painted with an insistence of color, blues and
yellows that could never see death. She painted the sun getting low in the sky,
the water sparkling with evening light, the little fishing boats skirting
around the shore. She painted untouchable life until Haruka tapped on the patio
doors.

“I got us a little dinner, if
you’d like.” She held a large paper bag in one hand and a champagne bottle in
the other.

Michiru set down her brush
and smiled. “What did you get?”

Haruka pulled out a deep bowl
of rice, what seemed to be a roasted whole fish, and a little foil-wrapped
plate of baklava. “A man at the port told me I had to get you a fish, or else I
didn’t love you.”

Michiru could not help but
laugh. “And do you?”

“What?”

“Love me.”

“More than anything!” Haruka
abandoned the food and swept Michiru up in her arms. “I love you so much I want
to give you the most beautiful experiences, right down to this fish.”

It turned out to be a rather
good fish, and a good dinner. Michiru had worried Haruka might have been
conned. “It seems you’re getting on well with the locals.”

Haruka flushed pink. “Well,
sort of. One guy appreciated I was trying with the book and had me type in what
I wanted to say into google translate. We had a whole little conversation and
he told all his fishing buddies I was a good lass.”

Michiru felt a calm wash over
her she hadn’t experienced in a long time. She could see Haruka struggling with
unfamiliar words, see the old man being charmed, see him taking her under his
wing. Haruka was soft and good and it shone through sometimes, no matter how
she might hide it.

“Haruka?”

“Hm?”

“I would like to make love to
you.”

The morning that followed was
the first in recent memory Michiru slept through a vision. It happened
sometimes, the way a nightmare may not wake you, even though the memory stays.
She woke to bright sunlight and the warmth of Haruka’s body and she did not pull
away. She put a hand on Haruka’s side. She could feel the long, lean muscles of
her runner’s body. The slow and heavy rhythm of her breathing. Her heartbeat
faint against Michiru’s fingertips.

Michiru felt suddenly that
she was watching golden sand slip through her fingers, but rather than grasp at
it all she could do was watch it sparkle.

She grabbed her sketchpad,
glad it was in reach of the bed, and drew right atop her pillow. She kept it
loose, for movement, and let the pencil lines blur to softness under her hand.
It came out messy, messy in the way all her teachers would have scolded her
for, but it was Haruka. Sleepy, messy Haruka. Alive Haruka. She flipped the
page and did another, from memory and imagination instead of life. And another.
And another. By the time Haruka stirred she had a handful of sketches– Haruka
sleeping, Haruka running, Haruka speaking to an old man about fish.

“Mmm.” Haruka rolled over to
press up against Michiru. “You stayed with me.”

“I’m learning, love.” Michiru
kissed her forehead. “I love being here with you.”

Haruka beamed. Sleep clung in
her eyes and made her tender. “I told you you’d like the trip.”

“I do, but that’s not what I
meant.” She stroked her hair. “What do you have planned for today?”

“I want to take you around
one of the villages. Fira. It’s supposed to be fun.”

They took the vespa out as
the morning light bounced around the hills. Every breeze smelled like the sea
today. Michiru leaned close to Haruka’s back around every curve of the road. An
unusual giddiness mixed with an even stranger calm inside her. They were alive.
Alive. Alive. The word became the song of her heartbeat, the steady
lyric of the rhythm. Alive. Alive.

She felt it still as they
walked along the streets of a market, Haruka walking the vespa with one hand
and holding Michiru with the other. Haruka offered to buy her something from
every shop, even the one selling pots shaped like melting faces. She succeeded
in ignoring Michiru’s protests long enough to get a simple bracelet, made of
beads that were the same white stone of every walkway, save for a single blue
one, rounded into smoothness among its rough companions.

They dined facing the
caldera, at a restaurant Michiru considered barely passable but Haruka loved
every morsel from. They sat a long while with coffees, looking out onto the
water.

“You know the myth of
Atlantis?”

Michiru smiled. “That I do.”
Haruka often connected ocean legends to her, sometimes even to the point of
being nonsensical.

“Some people think it
was based on this place. Not this island, but islands that were here before.
The volcano erupted, and even though it made new islands, old ones were lost.
Towns like this were lost to the sea.” Haruka looked down. “I just thought that
was interesting.”

Michiru laced her fingers
into Haruka’s. “You did a lot of research into this.”

“A little, yeah.”

“Well, thank you. It’s been
so lovely.”

“We still have a few days
before we go back!” Haruka stopped, embarrassed. “Do you really like it?”

“I really do.”

She had Haruka pose that
night when they got back. As much as she was her favorite subject, Haruka did
not often sit for Michiru. Now she sat on the balcony, backdropped by the
hillside and sky. Her top buttons were undone just enough to let the wind catch
her collar. She sat for hours as Michiru painted, only fidgeting every now and
again.

“This must be boring for
you.”

“No,” Haruka said, clearly
trying not to move her mouth too much. “It’s fun to see you like this. You get
a light inside.”

Michiru smiled. The stars
were made triple in her painting, reflected in the water and mimicked by the
white houses on the hills, but still they were outshined by Haruka’s eyes.
“Sometimes I ache to capture you. I know I never can.”

Haruka finally broke the pose
and frowned. “I think your paintings of me are beautiful.”

“But they’re only the
faintest shadow of you.” Michiru hid behind her canvas, pretending to mix
paint. “No matter what I do, they’re missing huge parts of you. They’re flat.
You’re lovely in more dimensions than any medium can capture. But I still want
to hold onto it.”

“Hold onto me.” Haruka came
to her, put her arms around her. “Hold onto me, I’m here.”

“I’m trying.” Michiru buried
herself in Haruka’s chest. She breathed in her scent, soap and sweat and a hint
of cologne still clinging on from the morning. “I want you in more ways than I
can have you.”

“Michi, you have all of me.
We have each other.”

“We do.” Michiru squeezed her
tighter. “That’s true. I… I just struggle sometimes. I’m sorry.”

Haruka pulled back just
enough to look at her. “Do you know why I wanted to come here?” She
stroked a single tear away from Michiru’s face.

“You said it was beautiful.”

“It’s more than that.” Haruka
took a deep breath. “I know you and Rei see things you don’t tell me
about. I know Mina’s prepared for things I can’t even conceptualize. It all
scares the shit out of me. The idea that our life and happiness could be
temporary, that this whole thing is so fragile the next battle could destroy it…
I don’t think I’ll ever know how to face that. But this place is the most
beautiful place I’ve seen, maybe the most beautiful place in the world. And
it’s on top of a volcano. People live over an active volcano. The bluest sky
could go grey with smoke and ash any moment, but until it does it’s still the
bluest. And that’s maybe how I have to live my life, it’ll be the happiest
until it’s not, but I’m happy with you now. I wanted to see this. I wanted it
to tell me how to do it. And I’m still scared.  But I also feel a little
peaceful. I love you, Michiru.”

She pulled out a ring, a
silver band adorned with a tiny but stunning diamond. “And maybe I won’t be
your wife for long but if I get to for a moment, I want to for that moment.
Maybe that’s stupid, but it’s how I feel.I want to give you all of myself, for
however long I have.” Haruka got down on one knee. “I planned to do this
on our last night, but I’m gonna take beautiful moments when they come. That’s
how I wanna live. That’s how I wanna be your wife. I want to be your wife,
Michiru, I want to marry you. Will you have me?”

“Oh Haruka.” Michiru’s breath
was stuck, her chest felt filled with water and light and a burst of love she
could not contain. She saw the future, all at once, not the end but the rest, a
wedding and a life, everything she’d have instead of everything she’d lose.
They could have a life together. The end didn’t have to be the important part,
not now.

“I want nothing more than to
be your wife, Haruka.” She crouched to hold Haruka’s face. “I promise to give
all of myself to you, to do my best to make you happy all my life.”

“Marry me, Michi.”

“Yes.”

The little diamond glinted
brighter than all the stars, even as they were all outshone by Haruka’s eyes. Alive.
Alive. Alive. Michiru felt their hearts beat as one.

~ sittingoverheredreaming ~ Leave a comment

Sometime early but not too early in their relationship, Haruka is out to dinner with Michiru and her parents, because sometimes Michiru has to appease her relations. She’s coached Haruka through not ordering the cheapest thing on the menu, and not offering to pay (something Haruka is equal parts uncomfortable with and grateful for, because she can’t afford anything at the places the Kaiohs frequent).

So Haruka decides to show she can have good taste and be refined, and she orders lobster, because it is, in her mind, the ultimate rich people food.

Haruka has never had lobster.

Michiru is not quick enough to stop her.

The alarm bells start to go off when the waiter ties a bib around her neck. Haruka’s stomach drops as a whole little lobster, shell and all, is placed in front of her. She picks up the lobster cracker with no idea where to begin.

“That looks delightful, love, my I try a bite?”

Haruka wordlessly hands Michiru the crackers, and she expertly opens one of the claws.

“This is terribly rude, I know, but this is so delicious, would you like to share our dishes? Here, you can have some of mine.”

Michiru swaps their plates around, and Haruka is so relieved and so in love she begins looking at engagement rings the very next day.

~ sittingoverheredreaming ~ Leave a comment

“So much of the time,” Michiru
whispered, “I feel like it’s all a mistake.”

Rei froze with champagne still on
her tongue. Haruka was at her Bachelorette party as they spoke, undoubtedly
blubbering to Mina and Mako and anyone who’d listen about how happy she was to
be marrying Michiru. And here Michiru was, with the slight flush of tipsy in
her cheeks, confessing this to Rei.

Mina was going to kill someone if she found out.

Rei swallowed hard and poured
Michiru another glass, aiming now to get Michiru properly drunk so that she
might forget what she’d said by morning. “You do?”

“It has to be.” Michiru drank
deeply. Her eyes avoided Rei’s, and Rei knew this had to be the raw truth. “There’s
no way we’re meant to be together.”

“Don’t you think-“

Michiru shook her head. “It’s a
mistake. The universe, God, whatever it is that pulls the strings, made a
mistake.” She poured herself a glass this time.

Rei knitted her hands together
tight and waited.

“Our miserable destiny caused a
hiccup, maybe. Haruka’s path got diverted from whoever she was really meant
for.” She drank again. Her eyes were glassy. Rei had never seen her cry. “She’s
too good for me, you know that.”

Rei held back a sigh of relief,
but couldn’t keep her posture from softening. “I don’t think that’s true.”

Michiru gave the smallest of
snorts. “Please. She ought to have found someone good and pure and noble,
someone whole and unbroken.” She ran her finger around the rim of her glass,
the soft siren song of it breaking through the quiet. “If I were better I’d let
her go, Rei.”

“Michiru…”

A tear finally broke free from the
well in her eye. “The universe made a mistake in giving her to me. But I’d
destroy it all before I let it take her back.”

It had been an unspoken rule in
all their friendship that touch was frivolous, but when Rei put her hand on
Michiru’s now she didn’t pull away. “She loves you.” It was all she could think
of to say. “That’s all that matters.”

~ sittingoverheredreaming ~ Leave a comment

Sparkle Sparkle It’s a Fic!

My sparklee this year is @tallangrycockatiel, who asked for Mina “helping” Haruka propose. I hope you enjoy it!

It’s Very You
~2K words
AO3 Link

There were times Haruka almost felt smart, or at least knowledgeable.
At the shop, finding the problem with an
engine. Fixing a kid’s bike chain. When she found the best deal at the supermarket,
she felt almost academic, math fell into place and numbers made sense.

But she’d never felt more stupid than in this moment.
Numbers and cuts and prices swam around in the jewelry cases, the over-bright
lighting making everything sparkle, even the price plaques. The salesman looked
down his nose at her. “What is it that you’re looking for?” he asked, as though
she had no business being there. She ought to have cleaned up more, not come
straight from work. She’d changed her shirt, made sure there were no oil stains
on her pants, but the smell gas and smoke clung to her skin and uncombed hair.
But the second the week’s paycheck had landed in her account she’d needed to
come. She couldn’t wait any longer.

“Well, a ring. An engagement ring.”

“Let me know if you have any questions.” He moved away,
keeping his eyes on her until another customer got his attention.

Haruka had a thousand questions, none of which she could ask
him. What is the difference between white
gold and silver and platinum? Why do all the diamonds look so gaudy? What is
a princess cut? Will Michiru like what I
get? Will she say yes? Why won’t anything stay still?

There was only one person she trusted to give her at least
mostly honest answers. She slipped outside to make a call and not fifteen
minutes later, Minako rolled up. She kicked out the stand on her bike and slid
her sunglasses up over her hair and she had never looked more like a hero.

“Trying to save the environment?” Haruka asked with a weak
chuckle.

Mina grinned. “If Rei is gonna chew my ear off all the time
about it, I just have to outdo her. But now buddy, I’m saving so much more than
the ozone layer.” She slung one arm around Haruka’s shoulders. “I’m here to save
you from yourself.” She swung her other arm wide and stared into the distance.

“Mina.”

“Please. Your dramatic lesbian ass has no room to talk,” she
said with an eyeroll, but then she gave her hand a squeeze.

The nice thing was, Haruka supposed, Mina looked like
someone you’d expect to see in a jewelry shop. Maybe not for nice reasons, and
certainly not for true reasons— Mina’s money was all her own, however little
she had—but she looked the part. Her hair was long and silky, her clothes
looked straight out of next month’s magazines. The man behind the counter gave
her a very different look until she looped her arm into Haruka’s.

“So what’s your budget?”

“Well.” Haruka felt her cheeks warm. “Just about two
thousand.”

“Ah just—“ Mina stopped. “Just two thousand?”

“It’s below the average, but—“

“Where did you get two thousand dollars? I know your butch
pride won’t let you touch a cent of the Kaioh millions.”

“I saved. For a while. A couple years.”

Mina let out a low whistle. “Christ. Every time I think you’ve
reached peak sap, there you go, sailing to new heights.”

“It’s important.”

“Oh Haruka.” She rubbed her back between her shoulders. “I
know. We’ll find you a good ring.”

It wasn’t, at the end of the day, the fanciest ring. It hadn’t
even reached the top of Haruka’s budget; prices jumped instead of increasing
gradually. But she’d been able to insure it, and Mina assured her it was nice.
A simple silver band with a single small diamond, set off by two smaller
sapphires.

“She’ll love it, buddy,” Mina assured her in the car after
they’d strapped her bike to the back. “You did good.”

“Yeah?” Haruka let herself relax into her steering wheel,
but the weight of it all still consumed her.

Mina smiled and patted her shoulder. “Yeah. When are you
popping the question?”

Warmth crept up under Haruka’s collar. “Well. I don’t… I’m
not quite sure.”

“You bought the ring without a plan?”

“Not without a plan, I have lots of plans. I just… I just
don’t know what one is right.” Haruka swallowed hard. She’d been trying to plan
for months, but everything felt subpar. “I want it to be perfect.”

Mina snorted. “You’re ridiculous. She’s saying yes no matter
how you ask.”

“That’s not the point!” Haruka glanced over. “Do you really
think so?”

Mina looked up a raised her hands in plea. “God save the
lesbians from themselves. I’m sure the only reason Michiru hasn’t asked you to
just get hitched already is she knows it would wound your fragile butch
sensibilities.”

“You think I waited too long?”

“Christ, Haruka, not the point I’m making. I’m trying to say
she’d marry you in a heartbeat. You’re soulmates or whatever sappy thing you
want to call it. You’re going to ask in some amazing way, and she’s going to
say yes.” She pulled the lever to recline her chair. “And if you’re nervous,
you’re lucky enough to have me here to help.”

“Would you?”

“I’m not about to spend the next sixty years of my life
listening to you brood about how your proposal wasn’t good enough.”

“That’s an exaggeration.”

“Buddy, I’ve known you too long to believe that. Now—“ She sat
up and folded her hands over her knees. “Pretend I’m Michiru and we’ve just sat
down after a beautiful moonlight walk on the beach.”

Haruka could picture it—the salt smell of the sea spray
dancing with Michiru’s perfume, the wind floating through Michiru’s hair and
dress. The waves crashing in time with the thump thump thump of Haruka’s racing
heart, Michiru turning to Haruka expectantly and every word, every breath
catching in Haruka’s throat and—

Haruka pulled the car to the side of the road. “I can’t do
this. Nothing I say can be good enough.”

“So we’ll work on it.” Minako tossed her hair. “I have a
plan.”

The shrill of a whistle cut through Minako’s apartment. “Alright
soldiers. Welcome to proposal camp day one.”

Rei crossed her arms. “I didn’t agree to this.”

“And I’m pulling rank as your commander so you don’t have
to.” Mina grinned. “I needed a stand in snooty lesbian, and you fit the bill.”

“I’m not—“

“Michiru isn’t—“

Mina blew her whistle again. “No sass. I trained you better
than this.” She pointed at Haruka. “You need to find the right way to propose.
We’re going to roleplay scenarios until you find the right one.”

“I’m not sure—“

Mina blew the whistle.

“Okay.”

“Scenario one. Dinner.” Mina shuffled them into chairs on
either side of a TV tray. “Now. I know my dear butch puddle, and I’m vetoing
any ring-in-a-drink or food thing. It would go to the wrong table, and you
would cry for a month.”

Haruka’s stomach sank as she realized the logic. It had been
an idea, a leading idea, and it was bad. Were all her ideas wrong?

“Now. Imagine. You’ve just finished eating. The waiter has
not yet brought the check—“

“That’s important,” Rei cut in, “because they may waive the
bill for the occasion.”

“Thank you Madame Cheapskate. Now. You’re in candlelight, you’ve
just eaten a nice meal, the ring is in your pocket. Go.”

Haruka looked across the tiny table at Rei. Her heart raced
even as she tried to focus on how different she was from Michiru. “I… I um. I
have something to ask you.”

“Shoot.”

Mina cleared her throat.

Rei huffed. “Fine. What is it, love?”

“Well. There’s something important I want to ask.”

“Yes, you said.” Rei crossed her arms. “What is it? …Dear.
What is it, dear?”

“I… I love you very much. And I will love you forever. So
what I want to say is—what I want to ask is…” Haruka swallowed hard. “Will you
marry me?”

“No.”

Tears welled up in Haruka’s eyes. “No?” It was Rei, but Rei
knew Michiru. Rei knew what Michiru would want, probably, and it wasn’t this.

Mina blew the whistle. “Penalty to the snooty lesbian.
Unrealistic answer.”

“Oh please. I’m not saying yes to anything less than
perfect.”

“Not you. Michiru.”

Rei tapped her fingers on the table. “If the point is to teach her how to propose, then she’s not
going to learn unless we’re hard on her.”

“That is not the point.” Mina put her face in her hands. “You’re
dismissed. I have a better idea.”

By the time Haruka had dried her eyes, Rei was curled on the
couch and Mina had changed outfits. It took Haruka a moment to process the
pants, the button-down, the way her hair was pinned up…

“Oh no. Mina…”

“No no.” Mina gestured widely. “Right now, I am Haruka. And
you—“ She hooked a string of fake pearls around Haruka’s neck—“are Michiru. And
I, Haruka Tennoh, most romantic of noodles, have just taken you out to a nice
dinner, and now am inviting you on a walk about town.” She offered Haruka her
elbow. Haruka took it in her best attempt at a lady-like fashion.

Mina led her around the couch. “Did you enjoy dinner, my
love?”

“Um. Yes.”

“Good good. The moon is beautiful, just like you.” Mina
touched Haruka’s nose. Haruka grimaced. “There’s been something on my mind
lately, you know.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Indeed, my beautiful mermaid flower. I think we’re ready to
take the next step in our lives.” Mina threw herself down on one knee. Haruka
tried to remember if she every called Michiru a beautiful mermaid flower. It
sounded ridiculous. Maybe she was ridiculous, maybe the whole thing was
ridiculous.

“Will you marry me?”

Rei snorted from the couch.

“What now, flame brains?”

“It all seems very unromantic. Stiff.”

Mina stood up. “And how would you do it?”

Rei snatched up the ring box and dragged Minako by the wrist
over to the TV stand. She slammed the box down. “Well?”

Mina burst out laughing. “It’s very you, for sure.”

“You’d marry me if I asked.” Rei’s face flushed red.

“Then I’m lucky you’ll never ask, aren’t I?”

“Guys.” Haruka grabbed the ring and stuffed it back in her
pocket. “I think I’m good. I’m going home.”

“You got a plan, buddy?”

“Yeah,” Haruka lied. “I got a plan.”

She got in her car feeling even less sure than she had at
the beginning. Rei had been right; everything was artificial. Haruka couldn’t
propose the way Rei had, but something in it rang truer than the rest. It wasn’t
fireworks spelling out the question and it wasn’t a band swelling at the perfect
moment, it wasn’t even a planned evening. It had been Rei, pure and simple. And
right.

Haruka mulled it over on the drive. There had to be a right
way. Not asking wasn’t an option. Waiting didn’t even feel like an option. She’d
waited for the ring. She could wait for a thousand other things, or she could
be through with waiting. She could do it now. She could. She would.

She stopped at a corner store for some roses. When she got
home, Michiru was already there, reading on the couch with her legs curled
under her. She rose an eyebrow and smiled over her book at the flowers. “What
occasion have you found today?”

Haruka smiled back. The words caught in her throat, again,
but she’d push through this time. She snuggled into Michiru and let her look at
the flowers. “Do you like them?”

“They’re lovely, Haruka.”

“And this?” She pulled the ring box from her pocket to open
before Michiru’s eyes. “Do you like it?”

“Haruka,” Michiru said in a gasp. She reached up to the
ring, her hand stopping just short.

“Michiru.” Haruka’s heart raced. “Will you marry me?”

“Oh Haruka. Yes.”
Michiru pulled her in to kiss.

Haruka broke into tears the moment their lips touched. “Do
you mean it?”

“Nothing would make me so happy as having you as my wife.”

“I want to be your wife.” Haruka pulled her close. “I’m
going to be your wife.” She slipped the ring onto Michiru’s finger. It slipped
around, a little too big. Haruka had not thought to check Michiru’s size.

“It’s perfect.”

Haruka looked down. “I tried.”

Michiru pulled her face back up and wiped her tears. “Haruka,
love, I couldn’t be happier.”

~ sittingoverheredreaming ~ Leave a comment

dreamshapers-universe replied to your post “If anyone saw that post, sorry, embarrassment won over, couldn’t do…”

what no I wanna read it… xD

ahahaha okay, it’s trash but if you want, I’m sticking it under a cut here. YOUNGER FOLLOWERS PLEASE DON’T CLICK THE READ MORE. NSFW, PWP, bondage, all that, also I’m very out of my element writing this sort of thing 😛 ~950 words

There was a certain thrill that came every time Michiru
suggested they try something new. Haruka could never say no to it. She got a
certain look in her eye as she told Haruka what to do, the same look she got
just before the first touch of her paintbrush on a fresh canvas. Haruka felt
like she was a part of a grand artistic vision.

Today’s vision apparently involved Haruka tied to a kitchen
chair, naked save for a blindfold.

“But Michi, I can’t see you like this.”

“And why,” Michiru began, pausing to be sure Haruka would
hear the zipper on her dress go down, “should you need to see me?” Her dress
brushed against Haruka’s knees and she stepped out of it. Haruka pictured how
the light must be hitting her body, how beautiful she must look with every
motion.

“The same reason I should like to touch you.” Bondage was
something Michiru had introduced long ago, but Haruka struggled every time. To
be so close and not be able to reach out with her hands… already she was
wriggling as though she might break free.

Michiru’s heels clicked on the hardwood floor as she moved
behind Haruka. She put her mouth very close to Haruka’s ear. A shiver ran down
Haruka’s back, setting every nerve on high attention. “I hardly think either of
those things are necessary.” She trailed kisses around Haruka’s ear and down
her neck. One of her nipples grazed against Haruka’s back between the slats of
the chair. Haruka longed to be able to turn, take it in her mouth, make Michiru
feel as much as she was feeling and see it on her face.

As though she could read Haruka’s mind, Michiru reached
around and cupped one of Haruka’s breasts. With the pad of her thumb, she
teased at the nipple. Her other hand slipped down between her hips, fingertips
landing right at the point Haruka began to get sensitive.

“Michiru…” Haruka strained her hands against their tether;
she managed to stroke her fingers against Michiru’s thigh.

She stopped and moved out of reach. “Now now, Haruka, none
of that.”

“But I want you.”

“Is that so?” Her heels clicked again, moving to the front.
One hand landed on Haruka’s shoulder, and then she had Haruka’s thighs between
hers, straddling. Haruka moved as much as she could, wanting nothing more than
to move her leg up to the warmth at the apex of Michiru’s thighs, but her
ankles were tied too securely.

“Is this better?” Michiru leaned in just close enough that
Haruka could feel her breath, body heat, the faint ghosting of the barest
touch, but nothing more. Only their legs connected.

“No.”

“Oh dear. That’s no good.” For a moment Haruka thought she
was going to move away again, but then to her greatest joy, she kissed her on
the mouth. Haruka responded hungrily, the one touch she was allowed had to be
made the most of. Michiru pressed against her, chest to chest. Her hands snaked
down along Haruka’s sides until they brushed against her hip bones.  Haruka bucked, and Michiru broke away.  

“Come back.”

“It seems to me you want something else.”

“No, I don’t, I—“

But Michiru had already pushed her knees apart and stepped
between them. She kissed her way down Haruka’s chest and stomach, stopping just
below her belly button. “Hm, you don’t want anything else? I should stop?” She
rested her arm against Haruka’s thigh.

“That’s maybe… not what I meant.”

Michiru made a humming sound that vibrated against Haruka’s thigh.
“You should always speak clearly and say what you mean, Haruka.” She kissed the
inside of her knee. “Otherwise I might get confused.”

“I’m sor—“ Michiru worked upwards with her mouth, kissing
and biting and sucking at the soft skin of Haruka’s inner thigh. The further
she got the slower she went, pausing to let her teeth and tongue work on little
patterns that sent Haruka reeling. “Michiru…” she breathed. “Keep moving.”

“As you wish.” She lingered no longer, letting her lips
trail up quickly to kiss the joint between Haruka’s legs and hips. Her nose
brushed against Haruka’s center, and then her mouth—Haruka gasped—and then
Michiru kept going, moving down her other leg.

“You tease.”

“What did I say about speaking clearly? I am only doing as
you asked.”

“How can I speak clearly if I can’t think clearly?”

Michiru smiled against her skin. “Perhaps you raise a good
point.” She kissed her way closer to Haruka’s crotch. “Next time I’ll not make
you worry so. There will be no talking.”

Haruka chuckled. “How cru—“

Michiru pressed her mouth against Haruka’s lower lips, tongue
coaxing its way around her clit. Haruka braced her feet against the floor,
pushing to grind as well as she could. Michiru followed her rhythm. Her mouth
moved in time with every swell, building Haruka up with finesse. Haruka maneuvered
her hand to grab onto the base of the hair, her grip going tight as she crested
into ecstasy. She gasped, wishing she could grab onto Michiru, pull her close
and ravish her as she finishes. Her wrists and ankles strained against their
bonds even as she came down. Michiru let her feel her grin before moving away.

“Was that so bad?” she asked, undoing the ties at Haruka’s
ankles and rubbing the irritated skin with her soft fingers.

“Yes,” Haruka said, still breathing heavy. “You’ll have to
make it up to me.”

“Oh?” Michiru loosed her hands and came around to the front
to remove the blind fold. “How shall I do that?”

Haruka grabbed her hips and pulled her into her lap. “I can
think of a few ways.”

~ sittingoverheredreaming ~ Leave a comment

If Not Now…
~1600 words
AO3 Link

For the prompt party! While I feel blessed by its return, given the prompt “Everything I had to sacrifice,” I doubt Haruka and Michiru feel the same.

It came like a wave, almost every night now. It was a
writhing mass that was a single creature and many at the same time, all faceless
yet bearing many teeth. If Michiru faltered but one step, it would consume the
crystal spire behind her and all she loved with it. The many teeth ripped at
her clothes, hair, skin. She did not move. She refused. Even as they bit
deeper, deeper. She could not fall despite the pain. Deeper. She was going to
fall, all would be lost and she could not lose and deeper—

Michiru woke with a gasp. Reality was quiet and warm. The
softness of sheets was startling against her skin, the remnants of the vision
left her expecting pain in place of comfort.

Haruka stirred beside her. “’R you okay?”

“It was just a dream, love.”

Haruka pulled her close and nuzzled into her shoulder. “I had
a dream. A nice one.”

“Oh?” Michiru worked her fingers through Haruka’s hair
against her scalp. The rhythm of her breathing was a comfort as her own fell in
time with it. “Tell me about it.”

“Well I was there, and you were there. And so was a baby.”
Haruka paused, waking up a little more. “Our baby.” She made figure eights with
one finger on Michiru’s hip. “We were parents.”
The last word came on a breath of reverence. “Our baby was happy. Just like us.”

Michiru had never thought much of children, but when Haruka
spoke like this, she ached for them as much as she ached for anything, nearly
as much as Haruka ached for them. “That is a nice dream.”

“You know…” Haruka’s muscles went tense. She breathed deep
before continuing. “You know. We’ve been at peace for a while now.”

“We have.” It wouldn’t last, but they had.

“Do you think… do you think maybe… now could be the time?”
Haruka twisted up to look her in the eye.  “I mean. We’re a good age. And, sometimes I think,
if not now…”

Michiru suddenly felt the truth of it. Now was all they had.
She shoved aside all her vision meant. She would take what happiness she could
for Haruka, she would make now work despite everything telling her it couldn’t.
“If you’re ready, I am.”

“You mean it?” Haruka
scrambled to sit up.

Michiru swallowed down her doubt. She would—she could—choose the nice dream for once. She swore she could against the screaming inside her that she should share what she saw. “As
much as I have ever meant anything.”

Haruka laughed and kissed her, rough and urgent despite
still laughing. “We’ll be parents,” she
whispered against Michiru’s mouth.

Michiru let herself laugh along.

***

There were several days of sharing the news and starting on
paperwork. She’d begun to believe it was really happening. And then Mina found her. Michiru walked out of a morning matinee of
a French film, one of her quiet retreats, and there she was. Michiru ignored
her, but Minako would not be swatted away so easily. She fell into step beside
her.

“You know it can’t happen right now.”

“What can’t?” She would have to say the words, state exactly
the dream she was dashing.

“Children. I know you see the same thing coming as Rei does.”

“What I may or may not see has no bearing on our choice.”
Michiru kept her voice calm. “And Rei’s visions, like mine, hardly have a
timestamp. It might be a hundred years before whatever doom she sees comes to
pass.”

“I never thought you to be naïve.”

“I will not hold back my life—her life—for what might come.”

Mina jogged up to walk backwards facing Michiru. “And what
will you do with the child, when the doom comes?”

“Protect it.”

“You have someone else to protect.”

“I have no desire to protect that princess above all else.”

“It is your duty.”

“I don’t care.”

Minako’s shoulders stiffened. Venus flashed deadly gold in
her eyes. “It doesn’t matter if you care. It doesn’t matter if I care. Our
lives are bound to a purpose.”

“I have given enough. I have given my childhood and my blood
and my literal heart to duty. I am finished. Surely you can do your job well
enough you don’t need us.”

Minako’s mouth turned up at the corners, bearing her teeth
rather than truly smiling. “And what will Haruka say, when you ask her to turn
away from her duty?”

Michiru stopped cold. “She will know it is only a
possibility, and that we could do both if it came down to it.”

“You’re a liar.”

The thought of slapping her played in Michiru’s mind like a
daydream. “If you’re so righteous, why are you talking to me and not her?”

“Why have you kept your visions to yourself instead of
telling her?” Minako crossed her arms. “You’re the one who could make her
understand. If I say, hey, Rei’s had visions, maybe this isn’t a good time, she’ll
take the optimistic route. She wants this too badly. Even you want this too
badly.” She stepped closer. “How long do you think she’d last, trying to
protect Usagi and your child?
Sometimes she barely makes it through worrying about you, and you take care of
yourself.”

Michiru wanted to say they’d leave, settle somewhere far
away from whatever battles came, but Haruka would never do it. “When, then? Are
we to always set aside life for duty?” Years of anger uncorked inside her. “Do
you tell Mako to set aside love? Is that why she has yet to get serious with
anyone? You must know that’s what she wants more than anything.”

“She knows the time isn’t right.”

“The time will never be right.” Michiru rose her chin. “I
have often wondered, Venus, if you would have kept Haruka and I apart if you
thought you could. I suppose I have my answer, and Haruka will too.”

Minako’s face made it clear she’d like to slap Michiru too. “I
would never. All I do, I do to protect you all. Especially her, damn it.” She
gritted her teeth. “Haruka’s too good for either of us. So is Mako. Loving
someone who can’t defend themselves like we can would rip them apart.”

Michiru almost felt a twinge of pity for her. “And never
getting to love all they can won’t?”

“I’m not saying never.” Her fists clenched. “I’m saying not
now. If we have as long as we supposedly do, a few more years is nothing.”

“And if we don’t?”

“Then fuck me, I’ll have been wrong. But you’ll know, even
then, that I’m also still right.”

That was the worst thing—it was true. Michiru could not
pretend Minako was being anything but honest. It was not meaningless the way it
was when her family cautioned her against abandoning her duty to them. She
could not even hate Mina for making her accept what she had known all along.
She could only hate herself, for giving Haruka false hope.

“Leave me.”

“Michiru.”

“I’ll do it. I’ll tell her everything, but please leave.”

She wished that Minako had stayed hard, rather than looking
at her just then with soft understanding. “I hope it comes soon,” she said very
quietly. “I hope it is the last big fight.”

“I never thought you to be naïve.” She went back to the
theater and bought another ticket. Nestled into the darkness where no one could
see, she planned out how she could tell Haruka.

***

“I had a vision.”

Haruka stopped with her jacket hanging off one arm. “A
vision?” she asked, although it showed in her eyes that she knew all it meant.

“A fight is coming.” Michiru focused on a painting on the
wall instead of Haruka’s face. It was one of hers. She followed each
brushstroke with her eyes, letting the memory of each movement squash down her
current emotions. “Likely it will be soon.”

“Oh.” Haruka flailed to get her other arm out of her coat.
She put it on the back of a chair, but when it fell she left it in the floor. “I
guess then… I mean. Yeah, that’s… I’m going for a run.” Still in her work
clothes, she bolted out the door. Michiru let her go. There would be tears
later, she knew, Haruka would cry in her arms, but now this was what she needed.
Michiru had been allowed to process alone too, after all.

She picked up Haruka’s jacket. A folded paper fell out with
her keys from one pocket. Michiru knew better than to look. But she’d known
better than to do a lot of things lately. NAMES
was scrawled across the top in Haruka’s big, excited handwriting. Several ideas
were crossed off. A few had little stars next to them. Michiru crumpled it and
threw it in the garbage. It would do no one any good to see it again.

That night she had a vision—or perhaps a dream, she could
not say for sure, though she knew she saw what Haruka had dreamed before. They
sat in their yard.  Michiru knelt without
regard for grass stains on her skirt; Haruka was cross-legged just a few feet
away. She held the hands of a little girl who stood wobbly on her chubby legs. “Okay,
now go to Mama!”

The little girl let go of one hand, then the other. One
cautious step. Another with more confidence. Her soft face broke into a smile
and she bounced through the rest of the steps until she tumbled into Michiru’s
lap. “You made it,” she heard herself say.

Her little girl looked up and gave a gummy shriek of
laughter. “Mama!” 

Michiru woke quietly this time, careful not to wake Haruka.
There was no sense in getting worked up over what could never be.

~ sittingoverheredreaming ~ Leave a comment

Sleepy thoughts, now in drabble form.

—

Sleep comes easy for Minako, but it leaves even easier. It’s
a curse of all that she is. Venus will drive her to the brink of exhaustion,
and she’ll drive herself further, until she can fall asleep the second she
gives herself permission. But even then, her senses stay wired, ready to jolt
her awake should any danger appear. And lately, with the way things were
escalating…

She jerks awake to movement. It’s been so long since she
slept a full night, it takes her a moment to realize it’s only Rei, pulling a
blanket up over her shoulders. “Is everything okay?” she asks anyway. She moves
to get up, but Rei presses own on her back to keep her on the couch.

“Usagi’s fine, since I know that’s what you’re asking. Mako
and Ami are still up with her, all asleep.” She presses her lips together in a
huff. “You’re not okay though.”

“Of course I am.”

“How many nights do you come down here and try keeping
vigil?”

Minako stifles a yawn. It makes her eyes water. “Well, most
nights I succeed a bit better than this.” She won’t let Rei yell at her for it,
Rei knows better. “I can’t let anything happen to her, Rei. I never know when
something’s going to come, and after last time—“

“I know.” Rei’s hand has stayed on her back, and she begins
to rub. “I know. But damn it, Mina, this is what I’m here for. You’re supposed
to share this shit with me.”

“I don’t want—“

“I don’t care what
you want,” Rei spits, but then she dons one of her rare soft expressions. “I
care what you need. Let me stay awake for you. It’s better if we take turns.”

Minako wants to argue, but she knows it was true. And she
trusts Rei above anyone else. “You promise to stay awake? And wake me on even
the slightest suspicion of danger?”

“You know I will. Please sleep.” She turns to sit with her
back to the couch, shoulders squared and rigid in her particular Mars way. Mina
means to say thank you, but as soon as she’s decided Rei will keep them safe
enough, she’s already asleep.

Haruka and Michiru, “Can I tell you a secret?”

~ sittingoverheredreaming ~ Leave a comment

FINALLY I’VE FINISHED WITH FANDOM SUNDAY. It only took two weeks >_>

This one was seriously the hardest, I’m still not happy with it but AH WELL. It’s some kind of AU, of course.

—

They wound up walking along the river—Michiru stayed on the
raised pathway while Haruka hopped down to the rocky shore. The sky was over
cast, the air getting chilly. There was hardly anyone else in the park today,
and no one by the water.

“I wish you’d walk up here. You’re going to fall.”

“I’m not going to fall.” She might fall, but the danger of a false step toppling her into the
water kept Haruka’s heart from racing off with other fears. She’d practiced
things to say—So, just curious, when we
hang out like this, do you think of it as like, I dunno, a date? Or maybe Hypothetically, if someone, say, me,
hypothetically, liked you, what would be a way to tell you? It was much
easier to focus on her foot placement.

“You  know,” she said after
a long while, “I always feel people miss out when they stay inside on days like
this. They’re nice.”

Michiru stopped. “You won’t think it’s nice when you’re
soaked through and shivering. Please come up here, there’s something I want to
talk about.” She sat down and dangled her feet off the edge.

Haruka leaned her elbows against the walkway. “I can hear
you just fine like this, you know.”

“That’s not quite my point.” Michiru pursed her lips.

“Fine, fine.” Haruka lifted herself to sit what she thought
was a reasonable distance from Michiru. It was always a hard balance. She
always tried for six inches, which felt as absurd as it did reasonable—it was
close enough to be casual, friendly, but hopefully just far enough outside the
intimacy bubble.  

“I rather enjoy spending time with you like this.” Michiru
scooted closer.

“Oh, uh, me too.”

She smiled and tucked her hair behind her ear. “Yes, the
real question, I suppose, is if we mean the same thing by that.” She leaned in
against one arm, placing her hand very close to Haruka’s. “And I daresay I
think we do.”

“Do we?” Haruka felt as though a current ran through the concrete
between their fingertips. It traveled up her arm and filled her brain with
static.

Michiru leaned closer still. “There are ways to find out for
sure.”

“Are there?” She was close enough that Haruka felt the
warmth of her skin through the cool air. Michiru’s eyes moved down and back up
to meet Haruka’s. There was a question being asked, Haruka was sure, but she
dare not hope for what it was and she dare not give any answer but yes.

And then it happened, a poem without words, magic without a
spell. Their lips met and Haruka’s stomach flipped over, her heart rose so high
in her throat her mouth felt like an echo chamber against Michiru’s. Haruka was
sure she felt more in those few seconds than she had in all the rest of her
life.

“Can I tell you a secret?” she asked, stupidly, when they
parted.

“You may.”

“I’ve wanted to do that since we met.” Haruka could not help
but grin.

Michiru smiled back. “That was a well-kept secret indeed.”

Michiru and Rei, “Are you flirting with me?”

~ sittingoverheredreaming ~ Leave a comment

This either post-S or post-stars, depending on when you feel like having their friendship begin. (translation: I can’t decide between the two whoops)

—

The crowd had finally dispersed. Rei began packing up the
unsold charms and double-counting the money. “I’m sorry,” she said
automatically as someone approached. “You’ll have to come back tomorrow if you
want a charm.”

“Ara, how unlucky for me.”

Rei looked up. “Oh, Michiru. I didn’t—is anything wrong? Why
are you here?”

“Well, I was so hoping to buy one of your charms.”

Rei blinked, unsure if Michiru was teasing her.

“Also,” Michiru continued in Rei’s silence. “I booked a spa
day for two next week. Haruka most unfortunately has a race she wants to watch
that day, which she assures me is too important to miss. I thought I would ask
you to join me in her place.”

“In her place?” Rei felt her cheeks warm. “Are you flirting
with me?”

“I believe the right word would be propositioning, and no.”
Michiru smiled in that mysterious way she had. “You’re not my type, I’m afraid.”

“Then why are you asking me?” Rei realized too late the
question was rude.

“We’re friends, are we not?”

She hesitated. Rei had not thought of Michiru in such terms,
though she supposed that of all the outer soldiers, she did like Michiru best. “Yes,
I’d say so.” It only occurred to her then that a different answer may have hurt
Michiru’s feelings, that Michiru had feelings that could be hurt at all.

“Well then, isn’t it natural we do things together?” Michiru
pushed her hair back behind her ear. “Have you ever been to a spa? They’re very
nice.”

For a moment, Michiru’s smile seemed less mysterious, and instead
almost shy. But in a blink the impression was gone, and Rei felt silly for
having the thought. “Yeah, sure, I’d love to go with you.”

“Most excellent. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.” Michiru’s smile
changed for real then, from something practiced to something genuine. Rei
had the strangest feeling she had experienced a great and rare privilege, and smiled back.