(no subject)
Fandom: Sailor Moon (anime)
Warnings: Nothing explicit; between-the-lines references to violence and (consensual+overage) sex. PGish.
Author's note: For the 1sentence challenge, set Alpha.
Summary of sorts: They tease each other, save each other, feel each other, and love each other. Life, as far as Michiru is concerned, can only be defined by this. Haruka through Michiru's eyes: fifty sets of one-sentence drabbles in which I cheat shamelessly (yay, semicolon, even if I do stretch its proper usage quite blatantly in some most cases). I should warn you now that these sentences are not arranged in any order even vaguely resembling chronological, though I hope the timeframe of each individual segment is made relatively clear. Comments are adored and crit too is much appreciated.
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1. Comfort
When she inevitably dreams again of the Silence, it is Haruka's steadying hand on her back and Haruka's husky voice in her ear and she thinks through sleep-haze and her own rapid heartbeats that if she must play the hero, it is not so bad that she is doing so with Haruka.
2. Kiss
The first time they kiss, they move in perfect symphony and flow so naturally into each other that it feels like the point towards which they had been heading with every breath of their lives; it would feel almost insignificant if she were capable of considering any moment with Haruka insignificant.
3. Soft
Beneath the deceptively-structured shoulder pads of the boys' school blazer, Haruka's shoulders are gently curved and soft-skinned, a fact that Michiru notices very early on and enjoys noticing every single day.
4. Pain
Alone in a room with bandages and the stinging awareness of their mortality, the spaces where their pure hearts rest ringing with a hollowness they should not have ever had to feel, Haruka dresses Michiru's wounds with a careful hand and for the moment the sheer lightness of being alive is enough to sustain the calm in their tentative silence.
5. Potatoes
When a loud yelp breaks the tranquil quiet over their home, Michiru shoots Haruka a gently-chiding glance and pries the potato peeler from her hand, explaining to a concerned Hotaru that these things are not as dangerous as Haruka makes them look and after all, we cannot all be talented at everything we attempt, right?
6. Rain
Graceful and mature though their inner-senshi counterparts may find them, there is nobody who makes them feel quite so much like frivolous teenagers as Setsuna does (quite inadvertently, they are almost sure): with her wisdom and focus in times of crisis, with her quiet intensity, and with situations like these in which Hotaru (seven-years-old, for now at least) is wearing a large towel and a smile as she wrings water from her hair, commenting guilelessly that getting drenched in rain is fun too, really, even if maybe they should have listened when Setsuna mentioned that it would be a particularly bad day to drive to the beach.
7. Chocolate
It is Valentine's day and tradition is at its most frivolous as blushing girls sneak chocolates and cards under doors and into desk-drawers of the objects of their affection; arms overflowing with flowers from a gaggle of blushing schoolgirls, Haruka is coolly amused (having, of course, winked and given just the right sort of smile nevertheless) and Michiru responds that it cannot really be so unfathomable that someone should feel the need to express their affection, particularly when it comes to Haruka - and is caught by Haruka's chuckle as she flits out the door.
8. Happiness
Perhaps it is a dangerous notion that makes her a very poor heroine but, driving along the coast like this, it is not difficult to think that if she never takes another step nor utters another word, if all that is left in the world is the sunlight in Haruka's hair and the expanse of sky in her eyes - for Michiru, it would be enough.
9. Telephone
It is a game they play in the first few weeks of living together: over the trill of the telephone, idle guesses are thrown about the room as to the identity of the caller, never straying far from scantily-veiled probes as to the existence of a dark, handsome, and clandestine lover; after Eudial, after everything, they catch each other's eyes from across the room as the phone rings and there is only a small jolt of pause before Haruka murmurs ah, Michiru, your boyfriend? and her faint yet warm smile wafts teasingly across the space between them.
10. Ears
The third time a male classmate with little respect for personal space leans down and whispers something in Michiru's ear, Haruka's perfectly-composed expression is undercut somewhat by the pressure she applies to her table, enough that it creaks in protest; later, Michiru comments with an innocently-sweet smile on the cordiality of their classmates and this time Haruka cannot even feign composure as a blush blooms like wildflowers across her cheeks.
11. Name
She enjoys saying Haruka's name, just the way it sounds, because it reminds her that though Uranus and Neptune are the roots of their legacy, Haruka and Michiru will always be the girls who found and chose each other, past lives regardless.
12. Sensual
Michiru does not question that the first time they fall into step for a dance, Haruka knows the lead part perfectly; it is interesting, however, that Haruka's movements conform neither to the strict force of conventional masculinity nor the delicate elegance of feminine grace, but are so transcendent of all any traditional gendered judgment that it feels for a moment as if she could waltz into any role and still dance it perfectly.
13. Death
Should there be an Angel of Death, well, Michiru thinks he must be rather tired of her by now - inching always just within his reach only to be snatched away again by the call of her princess, and by a woman with more claim to every part of her than any angel or god could ever hope to gain.
14. Sex
Hotaru first hears the word from Minako, of all people, and for weeks and weeks Michiru does not tire of meeting the subject with a casually-curious smile and suggesting mildly that surely Haruka would be better at explaining this sort of thing.
15. Touch
"You seemed distracted," Michiru comments mildly (or coyly, if you know her well, which Haruka does) as they exit the classroom, seemingly unfazed by the half-amused and ostensibly-arrogant eyebrow Haruka cocks in response, and in the next class does not lessen the pressure of her hand against Haruka's thigh under the table (just gentle enough to be accidental, just firm enough to remind her that nothing Michiru does is accidental).
16. Weakness
She doubts the world could begrudge her her single most important reason to protect it, so Michiru does not consider Haruka a weakness - though she will admit that if Haruka were to be thought of as a weakness, she would be by far Michiru's biggest.
17. Tears
Some people are blessed with the ability to look attractive even through tears and their Princess is one of them (not least of all, one should think, because surely she cries often enough to have mastered it as an art form by now); Michiru is not sure what is more curious, the light behind Usagi's eyes even through her tears or that delicate, unfamiliar light in Haruka's eyes as she watches.
18. Speed
Haruka might protest that she would choose an automobile garage over a gallery any day but it doesn't change the fact that to watch her race is to watch art emerge from within crowd noises and engine smoke; Michiru wonders how many of Haruka's fans admire her speed, her fame, her good looks - and how many, like Michiru herself, admire the unrestrained freedom in Haruka's eyes and the life she breathes into every inch of the race track.
19. Wind
Perhaps it is true that one cannot sketch the wind; all Michiru knows is that she has never felt the need to try when, after all, in one single tall blonde woman all the characteristics of wind she would ever wish to capture - all the vivacity and strength, all the freedom and pride - are already personified.
20. Freedom
They are discreet people, always, but have also never been the type to hold themselves to the standards of others - a type of freedom to be experienced daily, Michiru has come to think since meeting Haruka, to be simultaneously the person as whom the world perceives you and exactly the person closest to your true self.
21. Life
She is not angry for the life she relinquished, that distant image of Kaioh Michiru the professional violinist - she cannot regret her own choice or even turn her blame so easily to fate when her destiny is as much a part of her as fingernails or breathing; no, she is angry because Haruka knows exactly who she is (it flickers there like lightning in a bottle, intensely beautiful and equally terrifying, simmering restlessly from underneath her well-tailored suit and irritated frown) and Michiru has never (and will never) let Haruka or herself get away with being anything but perfectly honest to themselves.
22. Jealousy
Haruka once jokes that she could almost be jealous of the ocean, so easily and often does Michiru drown in its grasp; Michiru's voice is light as she asks "Almost? Ah, so I am not worthy of jealousy?" and with an eloquent smile slips into the pool before Haruka can respond - and Haruka loses to the ocean, yet again.
23. Hands
Whatever is done is done for the right reasons and so, in her eyes, Haruka's hands will never stop being indescribably pure (and soft, and comfortingly strong, but that she suspects is the subject of an entirely different discussion).
24. Taste
She has five senses and they are constantly occupied (the vivid colours of her paintings and the tentative probing of half-wet polish on fingernails, the smell of the ocean as it breathes its cool tranquility all over her skin and the ink-dark bitterness of coffee on the tip of her tongue) but only in the presence of Haruka do they ever come close to being overwhelmed (the slow procession of fingers trailing lazily along Michiru's spine, the stinging taste of air in her every breath) - a fact of which the blonde is well aware and quite capable of reminding Michiru at every fitting opportunity.
25. Devotion
Despite her polite smile, Michiru knows that Haruka sees the shimmer of amusement beneath her calm veneer as, above the heads of Usagi and Mamoru (the former of whom is throwing herself at the latter and exclaiming all the ways in which she missed him), Haruka sends Michiru a knowing smirk and no judgment is passed on whether their form of devotion is better, only that it is different, and that for them it is perfect.
26. Forever
In their first few weeks of - comradeship? - she rarely finds herself regretting the lines they have drawn between each feeling and movement; every single today is not the journey towards the kiss that will initiate a perfect relationship but rather the very essence of that relationship, every day in Haruka's company a day of their only life together and one life of many, so Michiru is not want for love and regrets nothing.
27. Blood
Well-accustomed though Haruka may be to injuries of her own (a strained muscle here from an overzealous lap around the oval and a bruise there from being thrown the length of three fields by an enemy), the first time Hotaru cuts her finger deeply enough to warrant concern, Haruka's long legs carry her to Hotaru's side in a flash and she is determinedly unfazed as she lifts her gaze to the softness echoed in Michiru's smile.
28. Sickness
The twenty-third time Michiru calls in to school sick on the behalf of them both, she pleasantly assures the administrative staff that they are highly contagious but will nodoubt recover quickly (possibly tomorrow, even) and though they do not quite break into riotous laughter as she hangs up, the atmosphere of the room is considerably lightened and for a moment that silent laugh is almost enough to overshadow the enormity of the mission for which they are missing school in the first place.
29. Melody
Music comes naturally enough to Michiru that the confirmation from countless music critics of her faultless execution have never mattered too greatly; it is only in the appreciation of a choice few that every feeling in every note is brought alive and, really, it is only in Haruka's smile that she finds flawlessness which, perfect execution aside, is all the recognition she needs.
30. Star
Having abandoned stardom in all the ways that matter, it is a surprise to discover herself featured in three gossip magazines on the same day ("Joint Concert Brings Talent Together: Seiya Kou and Kaioh Michiru? Backstage Photos!") - and Haruka comments with a small smirk that perhaps all her fame has abandoned her to adorn Seiya instead, if the magazine that had once deemed her "irresistible" now refers to her as an "unidentified intruder".
31. Home
For those few precious months, they do not stop at any single place longer than they care to and have no home but each other and, knowing as they do that it cannot last, neither of them would change a single thing.
32. Confusion
As Hotaru leads them to the game machine, hands them toy hammers, and tells them to hit the hamsters as they crawl out - and as the rest of their party yell encouragements, Minako's particularly loud and carrying voice assuring everyone that Haruka and Michiru will be just as good at this as they are at everything else - they exchange looks carrying hints of bemusement at this particular form of entertainment (Haruka had mastered the race car game just fine, but that at least was a matter of skill) and yet they comply nevertheless to the glee of their friends and to Setsuna's smile (so carefully devoid of amusement that it is impossible to believe.)
33. Fear
When she crosses the bridge there is no room in her heart for fear - her own life was forfeit from the moment she leapt into the brunt of the stone tablet's slam or perhaps even before that, from the moment she grasped her henshin pen, from the moment she felt Haruka's presence - but if she could, she would soothe away the fear in Haruka's eyes, would rather that her last thoughts were Haruka's warm breath on an early morning and her half-amused smile at an unvoiced joke, would that the curtains draw on tenderness and not on this fear, this harshness - hardly things worth dying for at all, she thinks with a wry mental smile.
34. Lightning / Thunder
When Haruka's carefully-planned day is interrupted by a loud clasp of thunder before she is even two steps out the door, Michiru's "it so unlikely we will find something interesting to do indoors?" is quietly playful and Haruka allows her own smile to linger just a second too long as she responds "of course not - " before dropping casually onto the sofa and scooping up the remote - "then, I wonder what's on television?"
35. Bonds
There is no injury they can hide from each other when they feel each other so closely in every movement and, thus, Michiru does not try to conceal the knot of pain in her back; though her wince is subtle, Haruka cannot help the twitch to her lips, nor the casually-amused observation that perhaps Michiru is more competitive than she presents herself, if she cannot exercise basic restraint when racing against Mizuno Ami.
36. Market
When even Hotaru pitches in to ask, earnestly, whether Michiru plans to eat dinner at the shops (as they did breakfast and lunch), Michiru catches Haruka's eyes (lit with a curious innocence and a smile) and comments softly that perhaps any boredom they experience stems from the company rather than the location - and diverts Hotaru's attention with a myriad perfumes before Haruka can chance a retort.
37. Technology
Michiru does not consider herself sentimental by nature but does invest in a digital camera as soon as they are available on the market (the cold metal foreign to her paintbrush-trained hand), using it never for art but rather to capture that unadulterated beauty of what is, the vibrancy of Hotaru's laugh and Setsuna's quiet smile and the world of meaning in Haruka's eyes - and she thinks that if this peace too is a moment in a photograph, liable to be disrupted and to vanish, then like a photograph it will not hurt to relish in the moment and to remember.
38. Gift
To kill, to die - she would do it all again in a heartbeat if it meant fighting for something with her own two hands, fighting to save this world and what meaning one can glean from it - and so, she thinks, this is their gift and their curse, this is their cross to bear, that swimming amongst their fellow senshi's sea of idealism is this shade of ruthlessness (never coldness, but the willingness to exercise efficiency free from passion).
39. Smile
Haruka has a smile that is Michiru's alone - small and soft and entirely at peace - and, subtly though she wears it, it is not difficult to guess when she happens to be thinking of Michiru (who then, in a touch here and a playful comment there, is always ready to let her know that the thought is returned.)
40. Innocence
As soon as she grasps her henshin wand, she wishes that the particular choice of awakening a soldier were not a selfish luxury in which she cannot afford to indulge - not for herself, but because (though the tall racer is in need of nobody's protection and though she is not naive by any means) Michiru is loathe to bring so harsh a reality to eyes like Haruka's.
41. Completion
Her compositions are flawless in their creation and so it is not everyone who notices the dips and trenches waiting to be filled; it is only when one hears Haruka's accompaniment that they realise all the magnitude the original score, for all its perfection, had been missing.
42. Clouds
When Haruka's eyes are the colour of an overcast sky and they are holding each other so closely that when they speak, each syllable is dropped directly into each other's mouths and in a mingling of breath words are tasted rather than heard, Michiru cannot pity herself (cannot, by any means, disdain a destiny in which she fights for all she is for her own two hands) and is glad beyond anything that to save the world is synonymous with saving each other.
43. Sky
Their hands brush past each other as they face the ancient cathedral, bathed in the blood-orange of the twilit sky, and Michiru does not ask herself would you go on, if you knew you were walking to your death because her heart already rings with the resounding yes of her answer, and she does not ask and what if you were walking to Haruka's because there are certain truths that do not need to be voiced, or even acknowledged, to be undeniable.
44. Heaven
The notion of Heaven is ludicrous - ludicrous to imagine a Heaven for people like them, any semblance of utopia devoid of the need to fight, and ludicrous to call a life they chose anything else.
45. Hell
It is ironic, she thinks as all the strength seeps from her lifeless form, that they can face Hell together with such bravado when it is already clear that there is no Hell but a place without each other.
46. Sun
When a yawning sun peeks over the horizon and its playful rays tickle Michiru's eyelids, she lingers in the moment between sleep and wakefulness and does not afford herself that one second of oblivion, of forgetting about the mission and the weight that drapes itself so comfortably across their shoulders; instead, she is alert immediately, not least of all because otherwise she would not so vividly feel Haruka's warm skin beside hers.
47. Moon
Sometimes she wonders if the moonlight would have such a profound effect on Haruka if it did not remind her of a young blonde girl with eyes the colour of a brighter sky.
48. Waves
They are living, breathing clichés as they walk along the shore at sunset, toes tickles pink by the swell of seafoam, and for a moment - as Haruka's husky voice whispers the words "have you escaped entirely to your own world?" in Michiru's ear and her smile is a tangible force as Michiru responds to the contrary with a firm squeeze of Haruka's hand - Michiru is entertained by the notion that, for all their battles and duties, they are two girls in love watching one of many sunsets at the exact same spot at which other lovers have done the same before.
49. Hair
Sometimes she thinks her hair is the only part of her left untouched by everything her destiny entails - nothing like the soft skin littered with scars in various stages of healing, nothing like the sensitive spot beneath her chin that tastes like Haruka - but that, she must admit as the wind tousles her hair with a careless hand, is not strictly true either.
50. Supernova
Should she think back to those younger, lighter days when stars were no more than fireflies dancing in the carpet of the sky, when planets held no more meaning than cold, distant rocks and wishes upon shooting stars were simply amusing and fleeting thoughts, the thoughts lead nowhere - for stars have never shone brighter, the planets never felt more dear, and with Haruka by her side there is nothing left for which to wish.
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Thank you for reading! Obligatory shoutouts: for Jelle, who coerced inspired me to post this tonight, and whom I love dearly, and for maleroleactress's new haircut, which is amazing.
Warnings: Nothing explicit; between-the-lines references to violence and (consensual+overage) sex. PGish.
Author's note: For the 1sentence challenge, set Alpha.
Summary of sorts: They tease each other, save each other, feel each other, and love each other. Life, as far as Michiru is concerned, can only be defined by this. Haruka through Michiru's eyes: fifty sets of one-sentence drabbles in which I cheat shamelessly (yay, semicolon, even if I do stretch its proper usage quite blatantly in some most cases). I should warn you now that these sentences are not arranged in any order even vaguely resembling chronological, though I hope the timeframe of each individual segment is made relatively clear. Comments are adored and crit too is much appreciated.
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1. Comfort
When she inevitably dreams again of the Silence, it is Haruka's steadying hand on her back and Haruka's husky voice in her ear and she thinks through sleep-haze and her own rapid heartbeats that if she must play the hero, it is not so bad that she is doing so with Haruka.
2. Kiss
The first time they kiss, they move in perfect symphony and flow so naturally into each other that it feels like the point towards which they had been heading with every breath of their lives; it would feel almost insignificant if she were capable of considering any moment with Haruka insignificant.
3. Soft
Beneath the deceptively-structured shoulder pads of the boys' school blazer, Haruka's shoulders are gently curved and soft-skinned, a fact that Michiru notices very early on and enjoys noticing every single day.
4. Pain
Alone in a room with bandages and the stinging awareness of their mortality, the spaces where their pure hearts rest ringing with a hollowness they should not have ever had to feel, Haruka dresses Michiru's wounds with a careful hand and for the moment the sheer lightness of being alive is enough to sustain the calm in their tentative silence.
5. Potatoes
When a loud yelp breaks the tranquil quiet over their home, Michiru shoots Haruka a gently-chiding glance and pries the potato peeler from her hand, explaining to a concerned Hotaru that these things are not as dangerous as Haruka makes them look and after all, we cannot all be talented at everything we attempt, right?
6. Rain
Graceful and mature though their inner-senshi counterparts may find them, there is nobody who makes them feel quite so much like frivolous teenagers as Setsuna does (quite inadvertently, they are almost sure): with her wisdom and focus in times of crisis, with her quiet intensity, and with situations like these in which Hotaru (seven-years-old, for now at least) is wearing a large towel and a smile as she wrings water from her hair, commenting guilelessly that getting drenched in rain is fun too, really, even if maybe they should have listened when Setsuna mentioned that it would be a particularly bad day to drive to the beach.
7. Chocolate
It is Valentine's day and tradition is at its most frivolous as blushing girls sneak chocolates and cards under doors and into desk-drawers of the objects of their affection; arms overflowing with flowers from a gaggle of blushing schoolgirls, Haruka is coolly amused (having, of course, winked and given just the right sort of smile nevertheless) and Michiru responds that it cannot really be so unfathomable that someone should feel the need to express their affection, particularly when it comes to Haruka - and is caught by Haruka's chuckle as she flits out the door.
8. Happiness
Perhaps it is a dangerous notion that makes her a very poor heroine but, driving along the coast like this, it is not difficult to think that if she never takes another step nor utters another word, if all that is left in the world is the sunlight in Haruka's hair and the expanse of sky in her eyes - for Michiru, it would be enough.
9. Telephone
It is a game they play in the first few weeks of living together: over the trill of the telephone, idle guesses are thrown about the room as to the identity of the caller, never straying far from scantily-veiled probes as to the existence of a dark, handsome, and clandestine lover; after Eudial, after everything, they catch each other's eyes from across the room as the phone rings and there is only a small jolt of pause before Haruka murmurs ah, Michiru, your boyfriend? and her faint yet warm smile wafts teasingly across the space between them.
10. Ears
The third time a male classmate with little respect for personal space leans down and whispers something in Michiru's ear, Haruka's perfectly-composed expression is undercut somewhat by the pressure she applies to her table, enough that it creaks in protest; later, Michiru comments with an innocently-sweet smile on the cordiality of their classmates and this time Haruka cannot even feign composure as a blush blooms like wildflowers across her cheeks.
11. Name
She enjoys saying Haruka's name, just the way it sounds, because it reminds her that though Uranus and Neptune are the roots of their legacy, Haruka and Michiru will always be the girls who found and chose each other, past lives regardless.
12. Sensual
Michiru does not question that the first time they fall into step for a dance, Haruka knows the lead part perfectly; it is interesting, however, that Haruka's movements conform neither to the strict force of conventional masculinity nor the delicate elegance of feminine grace, but are so transcendent of all any traditional gendered judgment that it feels for a moment as if she could waltz into any role and still dance it perfectly.
13. Death
Should there be an Angel of Death, well, Michiru thinks he must be rather tired of her by now - inching always just within his reach only to be snatched away again by the call of her princess, and by a woman with more claim to every part of her than any angel or god could ever hope to gain.
14. Sex
Hotaru first hears the word from Minako, of all people, and for weeks and weeks Michiru does not tire of meeting the subject with a casually-curious smile and suggesting mildly that surely Haruka would be better at explaining this sort of thing.
15. Touch
"You seemed distracted," Michiru comments mildly (or coyly, if you know her well, which Haruka does) as they exit the classroom, seemingly unfazed by the half-amused and ostensibly-arrogant eyebrow Haruka cocks in response, and in the next class does not lessen the pressure of her hand against Haruka's thigh under the table (just gentle enough to be accidental, just firm enough to remind her that nothing Michiru does is accidental).
16. Weakness
She doubts the world could begrudge her her single most important reason to protect it, so Michiru does not consider Haruka a weakness - though she will admit that if Haruka were to be thought of as a weakness, she would be by far Michiru's biggest.
17. Tears
Some people are blessed with the ability to look attractive even through tears and their Princess is one of them (not least of all, one should think, because surely she cries often enough to have mastered it as an art form by now); Michiru is not sure what is more curious, the light behind Usagi's eyes even through her tears or that delicate, unfamiliar light in Haruka's eyes as she watches.
18. Speed
Haruka might protest that she would choose an automobile garage over a gallery any day but it doesn't change the fact that to watch her race is to watch art emerge from within crowd noises and engine smoke; Michiru wonders how many of Haruka's fans admire her speed, her fame, her good looks - and how many, like Michiru herself, admire the unrestrained freedom in Haruka's eyes and the life she breathes into every inch of the race track.
19. Wind
Perhaps it is true that one cannot sketch the wind; all Michiru knows is that she has never felt the need to try when, after all, in one single tall blonde woman all the characteristics of wind she would ever wish to capture - all the vivacity and strength, all the freedom and pride - are already personified.
20. Freedom
They are discreet people, always, but have also never been the type to hold themselves to the standards of others - a type of freedom to be experienced daily, Michiru has come to think since meeting Haruka, to be simultaneously the person as whom the world perceives you and exactly the person closest to your true self.
21. Life
She is not angry for the life she relinquished, that distant image of Kaioh Michiru the professional violinist - she cannot regret her own choice or even turn her blame so easily to fate when her destiny is as much a part of her as fingernails or breathing; no, she is angry because Haruka knows exactly who she is (it flickers there like lightning in a bottle, intensely beautiful and equally terrifying, simmering restlessly from underneath her well-tailored suit and irritated frown) and Michiru has never (and will never) let Haruka or herself get away with being anything but perfectly honest to themselves.
22. Jealousy
Haruka once jokes that she could almost be jealous of the ocean, so easily and often does Michiru drown in its grasp; Michiru's voice is light as she asks "Almost? Ah, so I am not worthy of jealousy?" and with an eloquent smile slips into the pool before Haruka can respond - and Haruka loses to the ocean, yet again.
23. Hands
Whatever is done is done for the right reasons and so, in her eyes, Haruka's hands will never stop being indescribably pure (and soft, and comfortingly strong, but that she suspects is the subject of an entirely different discussion).
24. Taste
She has five senses and they are constantly occupied (the vivid colours of her paintings and the tentative probing of half-wet polish on fingernails, the smell of the ocean as it breathes its cool tranquility all over her skin and the ink-dark bitterness of coffee on the tip of her tongue) but only in the presence of Haruka do they ever come close to being overwhelmed (the slow procession of fingers trailing lazily along Michiru's spine, the stinging taste of air in her every breath) - a fact of which the blonde is well aware and quite capable of reminding Michiru at every fitting opportunity.
25. Devotion
Despite her polite smile, Michiru knows that Haruka sees the shimmer of amusement beneath her calm veneer as, above the heads of Usagi and Mamoru (the former of whom is throwing herself at the latter and exclaiming all the ways in which she missed him), Haruka sends Michiru a knowing smirk and no judgment is passed on whether their form of devotion is better, only that it is different, and that for them it is perfect.
26. Forever
In their first few weeks of - comradeship? - she rarely finds herself regretting the lines they have drawn between each feeling and movement; every single today is not the journey towards the kiss that will initiate a perfect relationship but rather the very essence of that relationship, every day in Haruka's company a day of their only life together and one life of many, so Michiru is not want for love and regrets nothing.
27. Blood
Well-accustomed though Haruka may be to injuries of her own (a strained muscle here from an overzealous lap around the oval and a bruise there from being thrown the length of three fields by an enemy), the first time Hotaru cuts her finger deeply enough to warrant concern, Haruka's long legs carry her to Hotaru's side in a flash and she is determinedly unfazed as she lifts her gaze to the softness echoed in Michiru's smile.
28. Sickness
The twenty-third time Michiru calls in to school sick on the behalf of them both, she pleasantly assures the administrative staff that they are highly contagious but will nodoubt recover quickly (possibly tomorrow, even) and though they do not quite break into riotous laughter as she hangs up, the atmosphere of the room is considerably lightened and for a moment that silent laugh is almost enough to overshadow the enormity of the mission for which they are missing school in the first place.
29. Melody
Music comes naturally enough to Michiru that the confirmation from countless music critics of her faultless execution have never mattered too greatly; it is only in the appreciation of a choice few that every feeling in every note is brought alive and, really, it is only in Haruka's smile that she finds flawlessness which, perfect execution aside, is all the recognition she needs.
30. Star
Having abandoned stardom in all the ways that matter, it is a surprise to discover herself featured in three gossip magazines on the same day ("Joint Concert Brings Talent Together: Seiya Kou and Kaioh Michiru? Backstage Photos!") - and Haruka comments with a small smirk that perhaps all her fame has abandoned her to adorn Seiya instead, if the magazine that had once deemed her "irresistible" now refers to her as an "unidentified intruder".
31. Home
For those few precious months, they do not stop at any single place longer than they care to and have no home but each other and, knowing as they do that it cannot last, neither of them would change a single thing.
32. Confusion
As Hotaru leads them to the game machine, hands them toy hammers, and tells them to hit the hamsters as they crawl out - and as the rest of their party yell encouragements, Minako's particularly loud and carrying voice assuring everyone that Haruka and Michiru will be just as good at this as they are at everything else - they exchange looks carrying hints of bemusement at this particular form of entertainment (Haruka had mastered the race car game just fine, but that at least was a matter of skill) and yet they comply nevertheless to the glee of their friends and to Setsuna's smile (so carefully devoid of amusement that it is impossible to believe.)
33. Fear
When she crosses the bridge there is no room in her heart for fear - her own life was forfeit from the moment she leapt into the brunt of the stone tablet's slam or perhaps even before that, from the moment she grasped her henshin pen, from the moment she felt Haruka's presence - but if she could, she would soothe away the fear in Haruka's eyes, would rather that her last thoughts were Haruka's warm breath on an early morning and her half-amused smile at an unvoiced joke, would that the curtains draw on tenderness and not on this fear, this harshness - hardly things worth dying for at all, she thinks with a wry mental smile.
34. Lightning / Thunder
When Haruka's carefully-planned day is interrupted by a loud clasp of thunder before she is even two steps out the door, Michiru's "it so unlikely we will find something interesting to do indoors?" is quietly playful and Haruka allows her own smile to linger just a second too long as she responds "of course not - " before dropping casually onto the sofa and scooping up the remote - "then, I wonder what's on television?"
35. Bonds
There is no injury they can hide from each other when they feel each other so closely in every movement and, thus, Michiru does not try to conceal the knot of pain in her back; though her wince is subtle, Haruka cannot help the twitch to her lips, nor the casually-amused observation that perhaps Michiru is more competitive than she presents herself, if she cannot exercise basic restraint when racing against Mizuno Ami.
36. Market
When even Hotaru pitches in to ask, earnestly, whether Michiru plans to eat dinner at the shops (as they did breakfast and lunch), Michiru catches Haruka's eyes (lit with a curious innocence and a smile) and comments softly that perhaps any boredom they experience stems from the company rather than the location - and diverts Hotaru's attention with a myriad perfumes before Haruka can chance a retort.
37. Technology
Michiru does not consider herself sentimental by nature but does invest in a digital camera as soon as they are available on the market (the cold metal foreign to her paintbrush-trained hand), using it never for art but rather to capture that unadulterated beauty of what is, the vibrancy of Hotaru's laugh and Setsuna's quiet smile and the world of meaning in Haruka's eyes - and she thinks that if this peace too is a moment in a photograph, liable to be disrupted and to vanish, then like a photograph it will not hurt to relish in the moment and to remember.
38. Gift
To kill, to die - she would do it all again in a heartbeat if it meant fighting for something with her own two hands, fighting to save this world and what meaning one can glean from it - and so, she thinks, this is their gift and their curse, this is their cross to bear, that swimming amongst their fellow senshi's sea of idealism is this shade of ruthlessness (never coldness, but the willingness to exercise efficiency free from passion).
39. Smile
Haruka has a smile that is Michiru's alone - small and soft and entirely at peace - and, subtly though she wears it, it is not difficult to guess when she happens to be thinking of Michiru (who then, in a touch here and a playful comment there, is always ready to let her know that the thought is returned.)
40. Innocence
As soon as she grasps her henshin wand, she wishes that the particular choice of awakening a soldier were not a selfish luxury in which she cannot afford to indulge - not for herself, but because (though the tall racer is in need of nobody's protection and though she is not naive by any means) Michiru is loathe to bring so harsh a reality to eyes like Haruka's.
41. Completion
Her compositions are flawless in their creation and so it is not everyone who notices the dips and trenches waiting to be filled; it is only when one hears Haruka's accompaniment that they realise all the magnitude the original score, for all its perfection, had been missing.
42. Clouds
When Haruka's eyes are the colour of an overcast sky and they are holding each other so closely that when they speak, each syllable is dropped directly into each other's mouths and in a mingling of breath words are tasted rather than heard, Michiru cannot pity herself (cannot, by any means, disdain a destiny in which she fights for all she is for her own two hands) and is glad beyond anything that to save the world is synonymous with saving each other.
43. Sky
Their hands brush past each other as they face the ancient cathedral, bathed in the blood-orange of the twilit sky, and Michiru does not ask herself would you go on, if you knew you were walking to your death because her heart already rings with the resounding yes of her answer, and she does not ask and what if you were walking to Haruka's because there are certain truths that do not need to be voiced, or even acknowledged, to be undeniable.
44. Heaven
The notion of Heaven is ludicrous - ludicrous to imagine a Heaven for people like them, any semblance of utopia devoid of the need to fight, and ludicrous to call a life they chose anything else.
45. Hell
It is ironic, she thinks as all the strength seeps from her lifeless form, that they can face Hell together with such bravado when it is already clear that there is no Hell but a place without each other.
46. Sun
When a yawning sun peeks over the horizon and its playful rays tickle Michiru's eyelids, she lingers in the moment between sleep and wakefulness and does not afford herself that one second of oblivion, of forgetting about the mission and the weight that drapes itself so comfortably across their shoulders; instead, she is alert immediately, not least of all because otherwise she would not so vividly feel Haruka's warm skin beside hers.
47. Moon
Sometimes she wonders if the moonlight would have such a profound effect on Haruka if it did not remind her of a young blonde girl with eyes the colour of a brighter sky.
48. Waves
They are living, breathing clichés as they walk along the shore at sunset, toes tickles pink by the swell of seafoam, and for a moment - as Haruka's husky voice whispers the words "have you escaped entirely to your own world?" in Michiru's ear and her smile is a tangible force as Michiru responds to the contrary with a firm squeeze of Haruka's hand - Michiru is entertained by the notion that, for all their battles and duties, they are two girls in love watching one of many sunsets at the exact same spot at which other lovers have done the same before.
49. Hair
Sometimes she thinks her hair is the only part of her left untouched by everything her destiny entails - nothing like the soft skin littered with scars in various stages of healing, nothing like the sensitive spot beneath her chin that tastes like Haruka - but that, she must admit as the wind tousles her hair with a careless hand, is not strictly true either.
50. Supernova
Should she think back to those younger, lighter days when stars were no more than fireflies dancing in the carpet of the sky, when planets held no more meaning than cold, distant rocks and wishes upon shooting stars were simply amusing and fleeting thoughts, the thoughts lead nowhere - for stars have never shone brighter, the planets never felt more dear, and with Haruka by her side there is nothing left for which to wish.
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Thank you for reading! Obligatory shoutouts: for Jelle, who coerced inspired me to post this tonight, and whom I love dearly, and for maleroleactress's new haircut, which is amazing.