Fate is So Beautiful
fanfic by: Firefly
Unmei wa Utsukushiku
Neptune's Image Song
lyrics provided by: LyricMoon
That first moment,
We shared a glance,
At one another,
A scent of a feeling was in the air,
Of a very familiar smile.
A very strange,
A strong power,
Calls out to you,
The meaning of this chance meeting,
Can't you notice any sooner?
Under the wide and open sky,
An endless search continues for,
Those hot and burning eyes that are yours.
Moving to you,
Outstretched hand,
with my fingers,
But the deep color of darkness,
Slowly overpainted them,
During a cold,
thundering storm,
It will awake,
A distant dream that will come to be,
An actual reality....
All of the choices I had made,
Believing them to be the ones,
To have the power to make the future change.
This fate, to be so very wonderful,
My body is starting to shine so bright,
shine as bright as ever before.
There will be,
Many memories come to hold me down,
But I'll never be,
Hurt by sadness again,
As long as you're by my side.
*~~~~*
Michiru played the violin that Sunday morning. The sun danced through the tree leaves and through the window to fall in a graceful pattern around her music. It was a sad song, one she felt with all her heart.
Haruka stood in the doorway, listening to her play. It was beautiful music, it hurt her heart. The sunlight, so very warm that day, frolicked over Michiru's features. All on that Sunday, that fateful Sunday. It was the day Haruka realized she loved Michiru.
Michiru turned, "How long have you been standing there?"
Haruka jumped. She hadn't realized she'd been watched. "Not long."
Michiru smiled, that all knowing smile. "I see."
Haruka leaned back on the door, feigning indifference. Her heart beat a million miles a minute, trying to out race even the wind. 'Dear God, I love her.' That was the first time she'd even dared to think it. She pushed it away, but it came back,even more insistent. ‘I love the way she plays her violin, the bow angled just like that. The way she turns when you think she doesn’t realize you’re there. The way she smiles at me.’
She shook her head to clear her thoughts. "I'm going to go driving. On the beach. Want to come?"
Michiru set down her violin. "Of course."
They raced on the road along the beach, toward an unknown destination. The wind ran over her features, pulling her hair with it. Michiru loved to ride with the top down.
Staring at the back of Haruka's head, Michiru felt the same familiar jump of her heart. She felt like risking everything today. 'I'm going to be dangerous. I'll tell the truth. No more armor.'
Michiru undid her seatbelt. Closing her eyes, she stood up, hands out like a bird.
"Michiru! Sit down!" Haruka cried in shock at her boldness. If she hurt herself...
"Scared?" asked Michiru.
As if answer, Haruka stepped on the accelerator. "Not me."
But Haruka was scared. Scared mostly of the girl standing her back seat, eyes closed in pleasure, scared of the strength of her own feelings. Whenever Haruka looked in her rearview mirror, her heart skipped a beat.
'Why me?' she asked herself 'I don't want to be gay. I want to be normal, I want to be anything but gay!'
Michiru sat back down, her hair a lovely mess around her face. "Stop there," she pointed breathlessly at a lonely stretch of beach.
Haruka had barely parked the car before Michiru was out and racing towards the beach. Never so happy as when swimming, Michiru raced across the beach. Haruka loved to watch her happiness at these times. Quickly, Michiru stripped off her clothing revealing the bathing suit she wore underneath.
"Coming?" asked Michiru, raising her voice slightly over the roar of the waves.
Haruka gazed over the tall waves. "Maybe later."
Without another word, Michiru dove into the ocean. Like a dolphin in its element, Michiru swam strongly out into the water.
Haruka spread out a blanket on the sand and sat, enjoying the fresh sunlight. She leaned back, closed her eyes. 'It's not fair,' she thought, 'It's so _wrong_ to be gay. Why me? Why me?'
Haruka woke to wet drops falling on her head. She opened her eyes to see Michiru leaning over her, water dripping from her hair. "You're getting me wet."
"I know."
She hadn’t exactly meant it like _that._
Michiru leaned down and kissed her.
Haruka jumped back in surprise, sliding away from Michiru. "What are you doing?!"
Michiru blushed and looked away. "I'm sorry," she whispered.
"I don't like you that way!" Haruka yelled, panicked. "Get away from me!"
Michiru stood up, tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry," she said again. Turning, she ran off down the beach.
'I should have known better,' Michiru thought. 'I should have known she doesn't feel like I do.'
She kept running, even though her legs ached and her breath came in gasps. The physical pain was easier to bear than her internal torture. If she just kept running, maybe she could touch the horizon.
She tripped and lay there. The tears came against her will. It hurts you so badly when you love so badly. She'd been in love since they first met eyes. Haruka's eyes revealed how strong and how confused she was.
The tide reached her toes. Michiru didn't feel like moving, she let the waves cover her feet and next her knees. The sun touched the horizon and a chill gripped the wind.
Michiru returned to the car as the night darkened, silent and stonefaced. She climbed into the car door. "Let's go home."
Haruka suddenly felt like apologizing. 'Forget it. If she wants to be difficult, fine. I don't care.'
Haruka parked the car in the driveway of their rented summer house. Together, Michiru and Haruka sat in perfect silence. Michiru was the first to break it. "I'm moving back into my apartment tomorrow."
Haruka shrugged. "Why should I care?"
*~~~~~*
Haruka leaned casually against her car. Surveying the park, she checked for cute guys. She wanted to forget Michiru as fast as possible.
"Nice car," commented a young man. He looked like he'd stepped out of a fashion magazine, gorgeous and knowing it. "Most girls don't drive. But I don't think you're most girls."
Haruka looked him over. "Is that a pick up line?"
A car pulled up in the park's parking lot a few slots over. The man whistled appreciatively, "Check out that convertible."
Opening the car door for her, another young man helped Michiru out. She looked over Haruka's direction. The two met eyes, briefly.
Haruka looked away, smiling at her young man. "What's your name?"
"Jodan Mitsuoh. And yours?"
"Tenoh Haruka."
Michiru walked by Haruka who was now happily chatting up Mitsuoh. Glowering, she turned towards her male friend, not boyfriend, whom she had met at school a few weeks ago. He laughed, "Can you believe the traffic? Stacks of cars piled up."
"We're lucky we got here before sunset," Michiru forced herself to smile.
Together, they sat on a park bench. Her friend stretched. "Mariko's going to kill me when she finds out I went to the park with you. She gets so jealous sometimes."
Haruka and the man she was with exchanged something, phone numbers probably. "I don't believe it!" Michiru exclaimed.
Her friend blinked, "That blond guy a boyfriend of yours? Listen, that guy is so obviously gay!"
*~~~~~*
It was Haruka's first date after Michiru left. A thin drizzle had started outside the restaurant. Haruka sighed and struggled to listen to her date. "So I told her we broke up a long time ago. She just couldn't accept it. What can I say? I'm a real hot commodity. But enough about me, how 'bout you?'
"I'd like another cola," Haruka replied, shifting the ice around with her straw.
"That's great. I'll order one. Hey, did I tell you about the time I got served a flat Coke here. Well I told him..."
Haruka sighed. 'Perhaps dating wasn't such a good idea.'
Her father had always wanted a son. But as Haruka grew older, her father no longer wanted her interested in boy’s things but interested in the proper _girl things._ He was afraid she’d become a lesbian. 'Guess you paranoia was right, pop,' she thought derisively. 'I turned out the exact opposite of the way you wanted me to be. I’m not a boy and I’m not straight.'
She’d make this relationship work. Mitsuoh might be a jerk, but dammit she didn’t like Michiru. 'She can go her own way! I don’t care!'
Haruka slammed her fork down in decision. Mitsuoh startled out of his self-absorbed soliloquy. "Are you okay, darling?" he asked, reaching across and putting his hand on hers. She wanted to slap him.
*~~~~~*
Michiru stared out the window at the night sky. The drizzle had turned to a downpour, matching her mood. She felt so alone. Finding boyfriends had always been hard for her, all they wanted was to grope her. She didn't want that kind of relationship, she wanted meaning. Then she met Himeko and for the first time the relationship was deeper than feeling her up.
But Haruka... She loved Haruka more than she had ever felt possible. And it hurt that Haruka didn't love her back.
A loud thud interrupted her thoughts. It came from the roof.
Michiru rushed up the stairs to the rooftop. A hysterical man backed away from a tall monster. "Stay away from me!"
Michiru ducked back into the stairwell. "Neptune Planet Power, Make Up!"
"Those who attack innocent bystanders, I won't forgive you! In the name of the planet Neptune, I am the elegant Senshi of the ocean, Sailor Neptune."
The monster roared, charging through the rain to meet his opponent.
*~~~~~*
Haruka yanked her hand away. "Your beeper's going off," her date announced, slightly surprised at her reaction.
"Beeper?" she asked. Then it hit her. 'My communicator.' "I've got to go and answer this."
"Hey, no problem. I'll be waiting." Mitsuoh winked suggestively.
Haruka went into the bathroom and pulled out her communicator. "What?"
"There's a monster. Here, at my apartment. It's killed a repair guy."
"Heart crystal?" Haruka asked.
"I think so. I need-"
Static. The screen had gone out. But the audio remained. Haruka could hear Michiru screaming.
*~~~~~*
"World Shaking!" The attack caught the monster off guard. It dropped it's captive. Neptune fell to the ground, her face covered in blood.
"No!" Uranus shouted. Her hands clenched. She couldn't think. Michiru's face... 'Oh, God. I couldn't protect her and now...'
"The girl has nice blood," the monster rasped. It licked it's lips. "Very nice."
Uranus yelled and charged the monster. It stopped her by blowing her away with a strong blast of energy. She fell on her back. the wind knocked out of her.
"Looks like you'll join your girlfriend," the monster towered over Uranus. She was too dazed to get up. The monster laughed. "On your back. How fitting."
"Deep Submerge!" The monster collapsed. Behind the monster, Uranus saw Neptune collapse as well, energy drained out of her.
The monster struggled upright. "You will die!"
"World Shaking!" The monster disintegrated, like ashes in the wind.
Uranus rushed to Neptune's side. She cradled Neptune in her arms. "Please be all right."
Neptune looked up at Uranus. "I'm fine. Just tired." She smiled and added sadly. "It's always your eyes. That's what I love about you."
Closing her eyes, Uranus leaned down and kissed Neptune. She felt a slight surprise when Neptune kissed her back, but then it was what she really wanted. "I don't think I can live without you," Uranus whispered.
"I've wanted to do this for a long time."
"What?" Uranus asked in confusion.
"Tell you I love you."
Uranus swallowed. "I don't know what to do. I can't... It's wrong..."
Neptune brushed the blood away from her face, effectively doing nothing more than smearing it. "Just hold me. Please."
Uranus complied, holding Neptune like she might drift away. "I-I love you, Michiru."
Neptune looked into Uranus's eyes. She could see the ocean in them. "Fate is so beautiful."
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