College Life
Part 13: The dog house

by Greenbeans <gbeans@tyrlen.org>
with Lord Charon <spitfire@jps.net>


I'd like to thank Lord Charon right off the bat here
since he did contribute to this story and was a big
motivator for me.  Thanks also go out to Jackie 
Chiang and Tim Nolan for motivation, proof reading, 
and putting up with me.

Mild cursing

Comments, thoughts, complaints, compliments, ramblings,
and flames are all accepted.  But the latter two stand a
serious chance of being printed out and turned into rat 
cage lining.

All characters are property of their respective holders.
I belong to myself, thank you, and have a nice day :)


********** Sunday evening **********

Michiru leaned her chin against the soft white 
cloth.  Slowly she drew her bow across the belly 
of the violin.  The instrument let out a low mellow
tone as its master dictated.  The song was quiet, 
barely above a whisper, but it did not remain that 
way.

The tempo increased as did the volume of the once 
lovely piece.  The work soon acquired a sharper edge.  
Notes cut through the surrounding silence.  The 
violin faithfully echoed the emotions of its master.

Michiru was angry, but not solely angry, also lonely.  
Frustrated might be better word for what she was 
feeling.

'Where is Haruka?'  It was figuratively asked since 
she knew exactly where her partner was.  She was with 
that James fellow working on their motorcycles.

The violin screamed its song now.

Haruka had called earlier in the evening to ask if it 
was okay for her to miss dinner tonight.  She had been 
gladdened that Haruka called her, but not at the reason 
why.  Of course Haruka could stay out with James.  She 
had no control over the stubborn woman; well, not in 
those regards.

The meal she had prepared for the evening chilled on 
the stove.

Michiru put down the victim of her emotions.  It was 
already past 10pm, and she hadn't come home yet.  Why 
wasn't Haruka here with her, where she wanted her?  
Couldn't Haruka see how she felt about the growing 
pattern of late night work sessions?  Didn't Haruka 
realize that she didn't like the idea of her spending 
more time with James than her?

She put her instrument away for the evening, making 
sure that the bow had a light coating of rosin, ready 
for its next use.  It was late, and she had classes in 
the morning.  She tied her hair up before stretching 
herself out onto the bed.  She rolled over to look at 
the empty pillow beside her.

Another lonely night not spent in Haruka's arms.

********** Monday **********

"You look like you've been whapped upside the head 
with a two by four," I commented as I set my tray onto 
the table across from Haruka.

"I didn't get much sleep last night," she admitted.  
That would explain the bags under her eyes and the 
droopy look all about her.

"Oh?  What's up?"  I asked concerned.  If Haruka 
needed my help, I would certainly offer it to her.

"I stayed up too late working on my motorcycle with 
James at his place," she grinned sheepishly.  "But 
it purrs so sweetly now."

"You think that was a good idea?"  I took a sip of 
soda.

"What?  Staying up too late?  It seemed like a good 
idea at the time..." she shrugged.

"Well, there is that," I began slowly.  "What time 
did you get home to Michiru?"

"3am, and what does it matter?"  She asked 
defensively.  "I'm a big girl now.  I can stay out 
late if I want to."

I nodded.  "That's true, but I've noticed that you've 
been spending a lot of time with James lately.  
Perhaps you should spend a few quality nights with 
Michiru and forget about the bike?"

Haruka got that damn cocky look to her that meant she 
was about to make some witty retort.  I bit into my 
sandwich and waited for my blood to boil.

"What's wrong, Beans?  Jealous that I don't spend as 
much time with you as I used to?"

I chewed my sixty odd times before finally 
swallowing.  "Yes, Haruka, I am jealous," I replied 
sarcastically.  "And if I'm jealous, Michiru must be 
also," I added pointedly.

She smirked at me.  I groaned inwardly.  She had 
missed the point.

"Don't worry about me, Beans.  Everything is fine 
between myself and Michiru."

I got up from the table.  I had class soon.  "I hope 
so, Haruka, I really do."

*****

Haruka watched Beans leave the cafeteria.

She was insane and making something of nothing.  
Michiru wasn't jealous of James.  They were just 
friends!  He knew a lot about bikes and she respected 
his knowledge.  Michiru had always encouraged her to 
pursue her love of machines in the past.  Why would 
now be any different?

Haruka sat through humanities while still mulling 
over Beans words, not really considering them for 
having any truth.

She huffed about the school the entire day like that.  
Those around her allowed her a wider berth than usual.  
Why did Beans have to get this idea stuck in her head?  
Michiru wasn't jealous...  Michiru was above jealousy.

*****

Michiru sat at the dinner table alone tonight.  Haruka 
had called her earlier in the evening to say that she 
would be at James' working on their bikes.

'Is that fine with you, Michiru?' she had asked.

'Yes, that's fine.'  The dinner she had prepared for 
the two of them sat on the stove cooling.

'Thank you, Michiru.'

'Haruka,' the phone hung up before she could finish, 
'I love you...'

********** Tuesday **********

Haruka walked into the library.  Walking besides her 
was James, whom she was obviously well into a 
discussion with.

I looked up and grimaced as I realized that Haruka 
really hadn't taken to mind what I had gone over.  
Michiru knew that Haruka wasn't interested, but did 
James?  They were too firm a couple for him to break 
apart, but he could make things uncomfortable.

I chewed on a pencil thoughtfully for a few seconds 
as I pondered this new line.  If I was right, then I 
had some work to do before I could confront him about 
his new pal.  Hmm... maybe Andy would know something.

The more I looked over at the chatting pair, the more 
the worries rankled at me.  Haruka couldn't be *this* 
thick, could she?  She'd been with Michiru for a long 
time!  Didn't she see how something like this might 
hurt her?Frustrated, I picked up my books and headed 
for my room.

Dammit, no, Haruka wasn't thick, she'd just focused 
on a project and lost sight of other things.  Perhaps 
she had done this before and Michiru would be used to 
it.  It was a lame excuse.

I debated the possibility of disabling Haruka's bike, 
but quickly saw the error in my logic.  Do something 
like that, and she would be even more bent on getting 
it fixed.

Hum... I could offer to help her out, then maybe she 
would get over that bike fascination quicker.  Except, 
I really didn't know anything about bikes.  Keeping my 
car on the road was a challenge at times.

The phone rang.

"Hello?  Is Beans there?"  It was Michiru.

"Moshi moshi, Michiru-san," I greeted cheerfully.  She 
didn't sound happy.  Not really sad, but it wasn't her 
usual politely modest tone either.

"Ara," she chuckled lightly.  That reassured me some.  
"I need to know how many tickets you wanted to the 
concert on Wednesday?"

I read between the lines.  That wasn't the reason she 
had called me, but it was a good place to start a 
conversation.

"Ah, so your school is going to finally give us the 
concert promised in payment of networking everything," 
I said slyly, trying to coax another chuckle out of 
her.

"It hasn't been that long," she defended the jibe 
easily.  "Well?"

I thought about it.  "Honestly, I'll have to get back 
to you on it Michiru.  I need to ask everyone and see 
who can make it."

"I see," she responded.

We didn't speak for several moments.

"Is there anything else I can do for you, Michiru?" I 
prompted.

"Oh, no, that's everything.  Thank you, Beans," she 
hung up.

I shook my head.  "'Curiouser and curiouser,'" I 
quoted as I settled down to study.

*****

Haruka went straight home after school today.  James 
had replaced a fellow on the night crew, so he 
couldn't work with her tonight.  She took a quick 
shower before seating herself at the kitchen table.

Michiru finished the touches on the bowl of rice.  She 
calmly set the soy sauce bottle down, then placed the 
bowl onto the table.

Haruka immediately picked up a serving spoon and 
shoveled rice onto her plate before pouring liberal 
amounts of soy sauce onto it.  It was only after she 
had put a wedge of rice into her mouth that she 
realized that Michiru had already put sauce on the 
rice.

Haruka looked over at the serving bowl, where she 
could faintly make out a few words in Hiragana.  But 
they couldn't be words!  Michiru would never say that 
to her!

[An Ukyo moment for sure ;)]

Haruka looked up at Michiru.  Michiru was carefully 
chewing on a mouthful of rice and chicken, looking 
down at the table and very obviously not at Haruka.  
Something clicked in her mind, and she scooted over 
next to Michiru.  She felt her turquoise-haired 
partner tense up immediately.  Ignoring this, she 
reached over behind Michiru's head and pulled her 
into a warm and very intense kiss.

Michiru's mind exploded in a maelstrom of emotions.  
First and foremost, this was what she had been longing 
for during the last week.  Haruka had been spending 
too much time with other projects as of late, and she 
wanted her share of the attention.

Haruka tickled her in the ribs.  She picked Michiru up 
and headed to the bedroom.  Just before entering, 
Haruka reached for the hallway light switch, and the 
house was swathed in darkness (and the author sidesteps 
a mushy scene ;)

********** Wednesday **********

Haruka and I were sitting in the lounge, desperately 
trying to get through a set of Calculus problems.  Or 
rather, I was desperately trying to get through a set 
of problems, while Haruka was sitting back in her seat, 
grimacing.  It took a few minutes, but eventually I 
managed to finish it.

Today's subject of teasing wasn't going to be math or 
Andy, apparently.  Instead, she chose to get after me 
for other problems.

"I noticed you were sitting awfully close to the book 
there, Mame-chan," she snickered, deliberately tacking 
on the -chan to annoy me.  "Perhaps you need some 
glasses?"

"Bah!" I growled at her. "I can see just fine.  It's 
just the glare from the lights is worse if I don't 
stay in close to the book, setting my shadow over it."

(Greenbeans note: [pointed glare at Lord Charon] You 
had to toss that in, didn't you?)

Haruka grinned at me, and I could tell that she thought 
she had won this one. I decided to prove her wrong.  
"You seem to be getting a little bit thicker around the 
waist."  She was wearing a button-up shirt which was 
tied off above her belly.  "Maybe you've not been 
putting in enough time in the gym?"

[Eyebrow twitch]

"You're wrong there, Beans, and besides, you're a fine 
one to be talking about getting exercise with all the 
time you spend in front of your computer."  The subtle 
signs that she was displaying belied her casual words, 
and I could see that I had struck deep.  Time to twist 
the knife home.

"Yeah, but at least I have the excuse of a computer.  
You," I lowered my voice, "are supposed to be this fit, 
trim, world famous driver.  How are you going to fit 
into your car if you're bringing a spare tire with you, 
eh?" I poked her belly.

Her eyes widened slightly, then narrowed.  I nearly 
fell over laughing.  I had gotten her there!

However, before she could have a chance to retaliate, 
I looked up at the clock.  "Whoops!  We've gotta hurry 
if we're going to get good seats for Michiru's 
performance."  I quickly grabbed my papers, threw them 
into my bag with my book, and made my hasty retreat 
from the lounge.

*****

Flying around a corner in a hurry, I bumped into 
a techie whose name I wasn't sure of.  Dave?  Dan?  
Anyway, he spoke up.  "We *finally* got the cable 
finished, Beans," he said. "And just in time, too.  
I don't know about you, but I don't want to miss the 
concert!  I gotta go now, get cleaned up.  See you 
there!"

He flew off before I could say anything, leaving me 
a little breathless.  'When did *this* tornado get 
here?' I asked myself.  Shrugging, I went up to the 
dorms for a quick shower and to get dressed.

My roomies were going to the concert.  Andy would 
stop by to escort me there.  I grinned at the thought.  
Things between him and me were developing quite nicely.  
It embarrassed us both at the beginning, but we had 
moved past the 'uncomfortable' stage to just enjoying 
spending time with each other.

To the dismay of many, tonight's event was a 
semi-formal one.  Once again the techies had to put 
forth their best imitations of 'formal wear.'  Many 
of the fellows had taken this opportunity to ask the 
ladies they had been watching to the concert.

In a group that more resembled a herd, we all walked 
down to the concert.  As a group, we took over the 
first few rows of the auditorium, which Haruka had 
saved for us.

Haruka sat in the front row aisle seat in the tux I 
recognized as being the one from the ball last term.  
She had a single yellow rose in her lap (thanks Tim ;)  
Seated next to her was James in a suit.  I took the 
seat next to James with Andy besides me.

The rest of the group spread out from there.  Some 
had brought flowers to toss up on the stage.  No one 
expected anything of it other than the thrill of 
never being to a 'formal event' like this before and 
getting to do it at least once in their life.

I sat back in my seat and relaxed.  I placed my right 
hand on the arm rest.  Hesitantly at first, but then 
with more confidence, Andy took my hand and held it 
gently.  My heart raced at his daring.

He glanced over at me with a mixture of question and 
assurance.  I smiled softly at him before squeezing 
his hand some.  He sighed happily and smiled back at 
me.

*****

Michiru finished tuning her violin.  She was one of 
the last to perform tonight since she was a 'featured 
performer.'

She let her thoughts drift.  Leaning back in her 
chair, she closed her eyes to focus upon the task 
before her.  But her mind refused to stay true to its 
purpose.  It reflected back to recent times.

How their tune had changed since the Phillips incident.  
The students were wary of her for the most part, but 
this didn't bother her.  She was used to standing on 
her own.  The Administration treated her differently 
in that they were careful not to push her too far.  It 
was something that was only noticed when one looked 
beneath the cheery hello's, but was nonetheless there.

"Ms. Kaioh, you're on in 5," a page came to her 
dressing room.  Had she really spent that much time 
thinking about that?

No matter.  She straightened her skirts before 
walking to the off stage area.  She glance about the 
crowd to find Haruka as she always did.  She spotted 
her in the first row.

Then she saw whom she was seated besides.  She looked 
further over to see Beans besides James, with Andy 
next to her.  Why couldn't they sit between James and 
Haruka!?

She flushed slightly at her sudden burst of jealousy.

Michiru continued to watch.  James and Haruka weren't 
engaged in any conversation.  That was good at least.

She chuckled when she saw Andy's nervousness at taking 
hold of Beans' hand.  They really were a cute couple.

Her cue was given.  She walked out onto the stage to 
thunderous applause.  She was the person a large 
portion of the audience had come to see tonight.  It 
had been no few tickets she had given to Beans.

Michiru glowed for the compliment they paid her.  A 
bundle of roses were tossed up onto the stage.  She 
chuckled as a group of 'gentlemen' nipped at each 
other for tossing them before the performance.  She 
couldn't hear their words, but their antics spoke 
loudly enough with those around them becoming 
increasingly aggrivated.

She walked over to the roses, smelled them, then tossed 
them back to the young men.  They caught the bundle 
mid-air.  After smiling and blushing for a few seconds, 
they were pulled back into their seats by those 
behind them.

She began to enchant her audience.  With her eyes closed, 
she could almost feel the wonder and admiration the 
audience was currently experiencing.  She pulled them 
close to her, then out again, much like a child playing 
with a kite.

This was what she enjoyed.

The song ended with the auditorium exploding into a roar 
of applause.  Flowers flew up onto the stage.  They 
scattered around her feet.  She walked over and picked 
up the rose that was from Haruka before smiling and 
exiting the stage.

As she left, she saw James lean over to speak with 
Haruka.  The jealously welled up within her again.

*****

We had decided the other night to try the double date 
thing again with Haruka and Michiru.  I'm relieved to 
say that things went much better this time.  No flaming 
bread baskets or spilled water.  In fact, it was a 
comfortable evening for us all.

Almost.

Andy had settled down, but I could sense a tenseness 
about Haruka and Michiru.  I don't know what it was.  
They acted perfectly fine with Haruka grinning and 
cracking the occasional joke.  Michiru was her polite 
self while sitting quietly, sipping on her wine.

Perhaps that was it.  She was quieter than usual.  It 
seemed as though she was studying Haruka almost...  
expecting something to go wrong...  Augh, I don't 
know.  It just wasn't right.

There was nothing I could do since it wasn't my 
problem.  I cared about what happened to both of them, 
but it was just not my place.

So I laughed, I ate, and pretended like nothing was 
wrong.

********** Thursday **********

I stuck my head out into the hallway to make sure the 
coast was clear.  No one was around.  I slung the 
heavy net bag full of my dirty laundry over my 
shoulder and proceeded to the laundry room.

Really, I don't care if people see my dirty clothes.  
I've lost my sense of modesty in those regards after 
half the people in the dorms had seen me in my 
flannel pajamas.  I just didn't want to hurt anyone 
by slamming into them with the over full sack.

The laundry was placed onto the ground with a thud, 
and I dug into my pockets for the precious quarters 
that would keep me in clean clothing for the next 
week.

All I had was bills.

"Doesn't that figure," I said with disgust.  I walked 
over the change machine but the rotten thing wouldn't 
accept my crisp $1's.  I resisted the urge to kick the 
machine and opted to visit the snack stand instead.  
They weren't supposed to give out quarters, but I could 
sweet talk them into it.

I bit back a curse at seeing the bright red 'CLOSED' 
sign in the window.

"Why does this always happen to me?"  I leaned my head 
on the door before trudging back to the laundry room.  
I carried the sack back up to my room in defeat.  I 
would have to do laundry later when I had some quarters.

The idea struck me that there was a change machine in 
the Student Union by the arcade machines.  I could hit 
it up for the quarters that I needed.

"Hey, Beans!"  Haruka greeted me from across the room.

I waved at her politely as I approached her, for she 
was standing next to the holy change machine.

She turned to the machine to stick a bill in when I 
neared.  She got her quarters and walked over to her 
favorite victim.

I slipped my bill into the slot.  The 'OUT OF SERVICE' 
light flicked to life.

"What?!?!"  I hit the machine in frustration.  "At least 
give me my dollar back!!!!"

"Problems?"  Haruka called over.

"All I want is to do my laundry," I griped while kicking 
the machine for eating my dollar.

"Oh?  Work off some frustration and race me," she 
invited with an evil gleam to her eyes.

I walked over to the racing game. "If I had any quarters 
I wouldn't be beating on that damn machine."

"Don't worry about it," she put another quarter into 
the slot.  "C'mon, I want to race you."

"Fine," I took up the player 2 position.  The game 
started.  I tried to not pay attention to what Haruka 
was doing, but I did know she was in the lead.

"You'll never beat me if you take it high in the 
corners," she taunted as she tried to lap me on the 
inside track.

I neatly blocked her off before jetting down the 
straight-away.  "Better position for the straight-aways 
than the lower track," I countered, and I resisted her 
attempts to pass me.

She chuckled as she finally lapped me.

"Face it, you just aren't as good as me," she flashed 
her winning smile.

I was in no mood for it.  "Yeah, say, do you have 3 
quarters?  I need to do my laundry."

She shook her head.  "Sorry, only 2.  The other 2 were 
to play the game."

I sighed.  "Thanks any ways."  My search for quarters 
continued.

*****

Haruka closed the door to the garage quietly behind her.  
It had been another late night with James, but she was 
so close to being done.  She smiled in the darkness at 
her sense of accomplishment for the night's work.

Michiru would be in bed this hour.  Given the choice of 
her making the noise of taking a shower or going to bed 
smelling like a grease monkey, Michiru would prefer the 
shower.  She went into the bathroom to rinse off another
result of her day's labors.

Michiru had laid out her night clothes on the counter by 
the sink.  It was thoughtful of her to have the foresight 
to do so.  She would have to be certain to thank her.  
She grinned.

Dressed and ready for bed, she walked down the hall to 
the room she shared with Michiru.  She placed her hand 
upon the doorknob and twisted.  But the knob didn't 
twist and the door didn't open.  It was locked?!

She hadn't realized the door even had a lock on it.  
She tried again just in case the door was simply being 
difficult.

No, it was locked.

She knocked lightly on the door.  "Michiru?  The door 
is locked, will you let me in?"

No answer.

She knocked (pounded) on the door to no avail.  Was 
Michiru alright?  She strode out into the living room 
to think about what she should do when she noticed a 
pillow and blanket neatly placed on the end of the 
couch.

"Baka..." she whispered to herself.  Michiru was fine.  
She was the one with the problem.

She resigned herself to her current situation and 
stretched out onto the couch for the evening.

'At least she isn't making you sleep in the garage,' 
she chided herself.  But if she didn't reconcile 
quick, that was where she may end up next.

*********** Friday **********

"Haruka?  You look like you're in pain?"  Haruka sat 
across from Beans this morning.  Beans was catching 
an early breakfast, and she was here already.  
Usually she didn't see Beans 'til mid morning.

"Just a crink in my neck," she rolled her head from 
side to side.

"Ow," Beans sympathized.  "So why are you here so 
early?"

"Oh, nothing much really," she skirted before deciding 
on a line that would be believable.  "Michiru wasn't 
feeling well this morning so I decided to come to 
school early and give her some peace and quiet."

That was almost true.  Michiru's recent behavior 
certainly wouldn't count as the norm.  She woke up 
early this morning to find a set of clothes sitting 
in front of the door for her to wear.

She could take a hint.

"Haruka?"  Beans waved a hand in front of her face.  
"Are you sure you're okay?  I've been talking for 5 
minutes, and I doubt you heard a word of it."

She blushed.  "I'm afraid that's true.  I'm sorry, 
what were you saying again?"

Beans shook her head.  "It wasn't that important.  
You look like you need some more sleep.  If you 
want to come up to my room this afternoon and count 
a few sheep, go for it."

"Thanks, I may take you up on it."

*****

Haruka entered the silent house.  Michiru was still 
in classes. She needed a way to convince Michiru of 
her sincerity, and there was only way she could 
think of off hand.

She went to their bedroom and dug out a leather 
bound volume from the sock drawer.  She flipped 
through the pages until she found the one she wanted.

A yellow rose that she had brought with her was 
placed to mark the page.  The volume was placed on 
Michiru's pillow.

She packed an overnight bag for herself.  With the 
bag slung over her shoulder, she relocked the door, 
and left.

*****

"No, I don't mind if Haruka sleeps in our bed this 
evening, Beans, but why?"  Alex was packing her 
clothes for their habitual exodus on weekends.

I shrugged.  "Honestly, I don't know.  She just asked 
if she could spend the night since you and Jeff would 
be gone.  I said sure."

"Well," she buckled up her bag, "have fun!"  She 
hugged me briefly before leaving for the weekend.

*****

Michiru set her book bag down on the bed before 
she noticed the book laying on her pillow.  She 
recognized it immediately as Haruka's journal.  
Whenever she would catch Haruka writing in it, she 
would shut it abruptly and later put it into the 
sock drawer.

She had never asked Haruka what she wrote about, nor 
did she ever expect to find out.  Every person had 
their private thoughts, if she wanted to note them 
down, it wasn't her business.

Michiru picked the small book up and opened the page 
that was marked by a yellow rose.  Obviously Haruka 
wanted her to read this entry.


1:37am January 28th

How do I tell her how I feel?

All my life I have hidden away my heart,
  protecting it from the dangers of deep emotion.

But she found my heart
  when I thought it so far buried it was beyond recovery.
    Even by me.

She dug deeper than others had.

Many thought they had the key,
  but the key crumbled in their hand.

She unlocked the door to my heart,
  and revealed the open void that lay there.
    Empty, alone, waiting.

Never would I have expected to find one such as her,
  as fair as her.

Once she captured my heart,
  I will never let her go!

'A jealous lover' does not describe
  the possessive desire within me.
    A desire shared.

I have given myself to one,
  and I will not allow any other to have her.

I have never felt this way about anyone before,
  nor will I feel it for anyone else.

The aroused emotions within me burn with such intensity
  as to set my heart aflame.
    Every part of me longs for her.

Like the sea she personifies,
  she had worn through the walls erected around my heart
    to engulf the essence of my soul.

How is it that I am so fortunate to have my soul in heaven
  while still being amongst the living?

Never will I allow my soul to be ejected from this paradise.
  It is where I want to be and where I will fight to stay!


A tear dropped onto the open page.  She wiped it away, 
but the ink was smeared some.  This was written on her 
birthday.

She read and reread the entry.  Every time her throat 
caught on the last stanza.  It was so easy to say 
that Haruka loved her... to take it for granted.  
But this help to reaffirm the feeling within her and 
feed the longing she felt for the tall woman.

The phone rang.

She placed the journal carefully onto the bed before 
answering.  It was Beans.

"Michiru?  I'm glad I caught you.  Um..." She paused.  
"I wanted to let you know that Haruka asked to spend 
the night at my room tonight.  And...
well, it's not my business, but I'm concerned about 
you two," she finished in a rush.

Michiru smiled slightly.  "Everything is fine, Beans.  
I know things may have seemed rocky for a bit, but 
they are fine now.  When you see Haruka, will you tell 
her to come home?"

"Eh?  Come home, right, I'll tell her.  I'm glad to 
hear everything is all right."  She hung up.

Michiru returned to their room and placed the rose in 
a vase on the dresser.  She then placed the journal 
back into the sock drawer.  Haruka had allowed her to 
read an entry, and she would never betray that trust 
by reading further than intended.

*****

"Haruka," James caught up with the tall woman.  "Want 
to go work on the bikes some tonight?"

She stopped walking to answer him.  "Can't, I have a 
date tonight.  I've decided to put my bike in the 
garage for a while.  I need to refocus on some other 
things.  See ya."

She continued walking down the hallway.

********** End part 13 *********


Before anyone goes off and writes me saying 'it's about
time!', I'll answer you here.  You're right, it was 
about time.  Thank you all for your patience.

Also, before anyone asks 'when will 14 be out?', I'll
again answer now.  When it's done I'll put it out 
(what a cop out answer, ne?).  But the title will be
'Welcome to the farm' if that gets your imaginations
spinning at all.

I don't want to give anyone the wrong idea by having
Haruka and Michiru having a spat in this episode.  I
truly believe that they would never break up over 
something like this.  But I also believe that all 
lovers have their off days ^_-

Again, thanks to Lord Charon, Tim Nolan, Jackie
Chiang, A Sailormoon Romance, the sites that post this
fic, and y'all for reading it ^_^ 