College Life
Part 14: Welcome to the farm

by Greenbeans <gbeans@tyrlen.org>


Disclaimers:

I will declare this now: the author and the character 
are two different entities!  My family is *nothing* 
like Beans' family.  No getting any funny ideas, okay?

Mild cursing in this one.

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 :)
"Driver" by The Hollowbodies (c) 1995 Muna Tea Records

"Drop the disclaimers and shoot 'em again."  --Blueseed


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

I was having lunch with Haruka and Michiru today.  It 
was a pleasant event since our homework was already 
done.

I wanted to ask them something, but I wasn't quite sure 
how to approach it.  Finally, I decided to just throw it 
out and see how it was received.

"Would you two like to come to my parents' house with 
me this weekend and meet my family?"

Haruka dropped her fork into her salad while Michiru 
managed to appear only mildly stunned.

"You want your parents to meet us?"  Haruka retrieved 
her fallen fork.

"My parents have been complaining that I never bring 
any of my friends home to meet them.  Of course, that's 
also a mild hint to bring myself home to see them," I 
smiled sheepishly.

"I figured that you might like to get out of this 
black hole for awhile.  My mom's cooking isn't that 
great, but it's still better than this slop," I 
pointed to what the cafeteria was trying to pass off 
as a turkey sandwich.

"When?"  Michiru asked.

"Yeah, when did we become friends?"  Haruka added, 
trying to be funny.

Michiru elbowed her while I threw a wadded up napkin.

"We'd leave after classes tomorrow.  Spend the night 
there Friday.  Come back on Saturday."

"It sounds wonderful to me.  How about you?"  Michiru 
turned to Haruka, who was still rubbing her side.  
Apparently it was no 'love tap' she had given to her.

"Whatever you want to do this weekend is fine by me," 
she said.

"Great.  Come up to my room after 2pm.  Oh, and pack 
light, this it just a short trip, and I don't have a 
lot of room." I got up from the table and took my tray 
over to the racks.

I'm sure my parents had no idea what they were getting 
themselves into when they asked me to bring them along 
with me.  Oh well.  Maybe I'd be forbidden from ever 
bringing my friends home again.  

My parents were pretty social and always enjoyed 
meeting my friends.  If they liked them, they would 
'adopt' them into the family.  It was kinda sweet, but 
could cause awkward things to happen.  Like their 
tendency to write letters to my friends when they 
wouldn't even write me.

I sighed.  Whatever kept them happy.

********** Friday afternoon **********

Haruka and I had argued over who was going to do the 
driving.  I finally won because of the fact that it was 
*my* parents' home that we were going to, and I'd know 
the way there.

Then the argument began anew when she found out that 
we were going to be taking my '81 Honda Accord for the 
trip.  She griped about its poor gas mileage, size, 
look and general style.

I replied that the gas mileage was better than the 
sports car she drove.  For three people on a trip of 
any distance longer than going to the corner market,
we'd need something bigger than her car.  Not to 
mention my not wanting to be shoved in the back with 
the bags.

Yes, her car did look flashier than mine, but so what?  
My car had 4 wheels and ran.  There was no one that 
I needed to impress.  She could live with it.

Haruka wasn't happy when I insisted that I could do all 
the driving by myself, but she was even angrier when I 
declared that Michiru got the front seat.  I don't 
think Haruka was mad about Michiru getting the front.  
She was mad that I kept her even further away from the 
wheel.

I could already tell that Haruka was going to be a 
backseat driver.  If I could, I'd make her a rear 
bumper driver, but that wouldn't be very nice.  She was 
one of those people that liked to have control of 
*everything* and leaving this up to me wasn't in her 
plan.

Ignoring more of Haruka's protests, we finally got 
underway around 3pm.  It was a good two and a half hour 
drive to my folks' home.  The first leg of the journey 
was freeway driving.  Then it turned into mountainous 
terrain with the last 30 miles being rural flatland.

I had already decided that I was going to have a little 
fun with Haruka during the drive.  She deserved it for 
all the times she pulled me out of bed at an indecently 
early hour.

I sped along on the interstate at 70mph.  Most vehicles 
would have no problems maintaining this speed, but my 
car rattled at the increased velocity.  The dashboard 
rattled, the seats rattled, but the muffler rattled the 
most.  I grinned to myself.  Could I help it if the 
muffler was being held on with bailing wire and half a 
roll of duct tape?

Though Haruka grimaced repeatedly she didn't say 
anything.

Time for plan two.

"Michiru, will you please stick in the 'Mega Man' CD?"
The most valuable thing in my car was the stabilized CD 
player my parents had gotten me for Christmas last year.

(Okay, Track 1 of the 'Mega Man' CD is called "Driver" 
by The Hollowbodies.  It's a rock song, kinda loud, the 
best song on the CD IMO ;)

The song began.  I'd already set the CD player to 
"deafening" before we left.  The lyrics were quite 
appropriate...

   It's a long way in a rush
   It's a long, long way, 
   when you don't know where you're going

   Stay, you must stay, you must stay, stay, you must stay

   Let the driver drive!

   Slide over from the wheel
   Already lost, 
   and you can't even read road signs

   Traffic
   Only you can avoid
   You can miss it

   Simple, example, that's the idea
   You know where, know where, you know where, know where

   Let the driver drive!

Haruka eyebrow twitched throughout the entire song.  My 
grin broadened.  By now she had that perpetual pissed 
off look on her face.

Michiru figured out how to turn the player down.  It 
now was at a tolerable level.  It didn't matter, once 
we hit the mountain passes, the fun for me was going 
to begin in earnest.

An hour later, I took the exit off the freeway.  Before 
long we were the only car around for miles.  This part 
of the drive used to always make me sick.  It was hilly 
and twisty consistently for the next 30 miles.  Straight 
for 10 miles.  Then twist for approximately the next 30 
past that.  Not a very forgiving stretch of highway.

Experience and skill allowed me to take the corners at 
way too fast speeds.  It was stupid, I know, but I 
wanted to see Haruka kissing window before I'd stop.

Michiru had a firm hold of one of the "Oh Shit" handles 
that are above the window with her other hand grasping 
the seat.  She didn't say anything.  She had a way for 
just *knowing* what someone was up to without it 
having to be said.

Despite the fact that Haruka was securely seat belted 
into the back, she still sloshed around like water.  
I'd removed the handles from above the windows in the 
back before we left so that she'd have nothing to grab 
onto.

She wasn't the only one that was a skilled driver.  
Sure, I'll admit that she's better than me, but not 
that I'm not good in my own right.

I took another corner fast and heard a satisfying thump 
from Haruka's direction.

"Dammit, Beans!  Knock that shit off!"  She yelled from 
the backseat.

"What?  There's shit on my car?  Fine, I'll try to 
knock it off!"  I called back while taking another 
corner and flying over a small bump in the road.

Michiru did a good job of hiding her laughter from 
Haruka.  So, she did know what I was up to.  She was 
too perceptive.

"Ugh --," Haruka was squished up against the window.  
"I'm sorry, Beans.  You *are* a good driver.  I would 
have a hard time keeping a car on this road like you 
have.  I shouldn't have picked on you with the racing
game."

I slowed down to a more sedate speed.  "Apology 
accepted," I said.  I pulled the car over to the side 
of the road.

With as much dignity as I could manage, I walked over 
to the hillside and retched.  This road still gave me 
problems.  I washed my mouth out with some bottled 
water before returning to the driver's seat.

"You did all that just to get Haruka to admit you were 
a good driver?"  Michiru asked in a scornful tone.  
"You two are too much alike.  You'll be the death of 
each other if you keep going on like this."  She had 
included Haruka in her scolding.

"Doesn't matter," I started the car.  "I got what I 
wanted."

*****

We arrived at my parents' home roughly an hour later.  
It was a nice place with several acres of farm land 
surrounding it.  My dad grew alfalfa in the fields.  
But his 'regular' job was as a clerk at the county 
offices.

I led them into the house through the garage.  No one 
had come to greet us except the dog.  After sniffing 
both of them, she left us alone.

"Hello?  Anyone home?"  I called.

I walked into the back of the living room to find my 
dad and brother glued to the TV.  They were watching 
a race, of course.  We stood behind the couch so that 
we weren't in their way.

"What race?" I asked.

Neither turned around to speak to me.  They both stayed 
glued to the magical picture box.

"A charity race that was ran a few months back.  It 
had no effect on the standing, so wasn't broadcast.  
The station had some dead air time.  That's why it's 
being broadcast now," my brother answered.

"Well, if it's not important, I have some people I'd 
like you to meet," I began.

"In a couple of minutes, honey," my dad said.  "Haruka 
Ten'ou is about to win the race."

I shot a glance over to Haruka.  She was smiling 
proudly.

My dad continued.  "God I love that man.  When he 
races, he doesn't waste pleasantries, he takes names!  
I wish he would come out of semi-retirement and do 
more than the charity events.  He dominated the 
circuit for a couple of years, you know?"

"Yes, dad," I replied while trying not to laugh.

Michiru had her hand to her mouth with Haruka grinning 
like mad.

The commentary on the TV took over our conversation.  
"And here comes Ten'ou's car across the finish line.  
What a spectacular finish for this bright young 
driver!"

The screen showed Haruka getting out of her car and 
walking over to the stands.  Michiru was by the guard 
rail.  She gently lifted her over the railing.

"We get to see Ten'ou's other love besides his 
machine," one announcer said.

"Yes, isn't it romantic how he always brings her to 
his side at victory lane.  They're a couple to watch."

"Indeed," the first answered.  "There has been plenty 
of speculation on whether they will get married or not."

"I don't doubt it.  And Ten'ou had finally entered onto 
victory lane with his lovely lady at his side."

"Not a bad looking lady," my brother commented on seeing
Michiru on TV.

"I think it's wonderful that he shares his moments of 
victory with her!"  My dad proclaimed.

I stepped in front of the TV.  "Dad, I'd like you to 
meet my friends."  I motioned for Haruka and Michiru 
to come forward.

They stood in front of the tv as the announcer 
proclaimed, "Here is Haruka Ten'ou with Michiru Kaioh 
at his side!"

Their jaws dropped.

"Well, the TV did a nice job of announcing for me.  
Haruka, Michiru, this is my dad and brother," I 
introduced.

"Not THE Haruka Ten'ou?!"  My dad stammered.

She had a wide grin on her face.  She took a certain 
joy in surprising people and their reaction was 
precious to her.

"Would you like to see my driver's license?" she asked 
slyly.

"It's an honor to meet you," my dad stammered.  He got 
off the couch to shake her hand.  "My daughter had told 
us that she was bringing her foreign exchange friends 
over to visit, but I certainly wasn't expecting the 
star rookie driver Haruka Ten'ou!"

Meanwhile, my brother was drooling over Michiru.  
"It's a pleasure to meet you," he said at his most 
charming.

"Like wise," she answered politely.

I would have to pull him aside later and tell him to not 
try anything funny.

"So, are you two going to get married?"  He asked, 
probably to assess his chances with her.

"Perhaps someday," Haruka answered.  "We're comfortable 
with where we are in our relationship right now."

"Well," my dad latched onto Haruka, "there are 
certainly plenty of questions I'd like to ask you.  
How about we go out to the garage and talk?"

She looked over to Michiru, who shrugged.  She nodded 
her head and followed my dad out to the garage.  
Michiru, my brother, and I were left in the living 
room.

"How long have you and Haruka been going out?"  My
brother asked.  Now you can see where my tendency for 
inserting foot A into mouth B came from.

"For about eight years now," Michiru answered easily.

"And you're not married yet?!"  My brother dug deeper.

"Why do we need to be married to be together?  We each 
know how the other feels without a wedding band to say 
that."

"Then what's that ring you're wearing?"  He asked.  I'd
often wondered that myself since they both had one on 
their left ring finger.  I know that they weren't married 
per say, but I figured that it was some sort of promise 
ring or something to that effect.

It turns out that I was close to right.

"Oh," Michiru held her hand up.  "This is an oath 
Haruka and I made several years ago.  It isn't a ring 
of marriage or engagement.  To us, it is much more than 
that."

"Eh, yeah."  My brother didn't get it.  But from what I
knew of them, it was something very important to
them for them to have gone to that length.  Maybe I 
could get more out of Michiru later....

*****

"How does it feel to win?"

Haruka shrugged her shoulders.  "Just like how it feels 
to come in second, only with more prize money."  Though 
racing was her passion, she really didn't feel like 
discussing it.  She had come to the US for other 
reasons.  She wanted to avoid the racing circuit as 
much as she could while she was here.

He laughed, "...more prize money.  HA!  Wait 'til I 
tell the guys at work."

"Actually, Mr. --, er," she suddenly realized that she 
didn't know Beans' last name.  She forged ahead without 
it, "we'd prefer it if you didn't tell anyone that we 
were here.  We don't get to live a quiet life all that 
often, and we don't want that ruined."  'We don't get 
a quiet life for other reasons than just my racing,' 
she added to herself.

"Oh, I get you.  Big celebrity hiding from his fans 
and all," he knocked her on the shoulder.

"Yeah, something like that," she drawled.

She looked around the garage for some other subject 
that she could turn the conversation to.  She saw his 
tool chest and thought of that rattle trap Beans called 
a car.

"Say, do you know much about auto repair?  I'd like to 
make some repairs on Beans' car before we leave, and it'd 
be great to have someone to work with," she said with 
all the enthusiasm she could muster.  This would be a 
wonderful distraction.

"Well, I do know a thing or two." He hiked his pants up 
a little by the belt buckle.  She kept herself from 
laughing.

"Let's get it into the garage and see what we can do 
about her muffler." She silently inserted several 
expletives that she felt well described the muffler in 
question.

Once they had the car in the garage, her father said, 
"I see that she's got you calling her Beans too.  Want 
to hear how she got that name?"

Haruka nodded and he continued.  "About seven years ago, 
she entered the county fair's gardening competition.  
Her only entry was a handful of green beans that she 
had managed to eke out of that 'garden' of hers.  They 
didn't look like much, but they were the sweetest beans 
you've ever tasted.  She won the county competition, 
but didn't have enough beans left to enter into the 
state fair."

"You're saying that she got her name because she was able 
to grow a handful of beans?"  She asked dubiously.

"Yep," he nodded.  "Now what tools will we be needing?"

*****

"Where's Mom?" I asked my brother once we had everyone's 
bags into the appropriate rooms.  I had thrown Haruka's 
stuff into my brother's room, and Michiru's into mine.  
We would be discussing sleeping arrangements later, but 
my father was *not* to find out that she wasn't male!

"Oh, no one told you, did they?  She had to leave town 
yesterday on business.  She'll be back sometime 
tomorrow." He then smiled slyly at me.  "That means you 
have to cook dinner."

"Now wait just a cotton pickin' minute!"  I exclaimed.

(One of my favorite sayings.  The Hick Girl strikes 
again ;)

Michiru put a hand on my shoulder.  "That's fine," she 
said to my brother.  "We'll make dinner while Haruka's 
playing in the garage."

I sighed and hung my head.  Okay, my meals aren't food 
poisoning but they certainly aren't anything special.  
The only thing that I can prepare well are desserts.  
Spending a summer working at the local bakery taught me 
that.

I pointed this little fact out to Michiru.

"That will work out great.  You make dessert, and I'll 
make the meal." She led us into the kitchen.

"If you say so, but it would be easier to order takeout."

She laughed.  "True, but you've never had my cooking.  
Haruka certainly can put it away.  I want to know if 
it's the food or the person."

*****

Haruka opened up the hatch back of the Honda to get out 
the jack.  The missing handrails and screws were back 
there with a screwdriver.

"Why that little --" she growled.

"Uh?"  Her dad came over to look.  He patted her hard 
on the shoulder.  "I see!  You and Beans are good 
friends, huh?  I'm glad to see it."

"How can you say that?"  Haruka demanded.  She told 
him briefly of what she had done on the way here.  His 
grin grew wider with each instance she described to him.

"Yep!  That's Beans for you.  Vengeful little sneak, 
isn't she?"

She was taken aback by his whole attitude.  "Shouldn't 
you be *discouraging* this type of behavior!"

"It wouldn't do me any good to.  Beans is an odd one, 
always has been.  You see, if she was trying to get back 
at you because she was mad, you would have *known* it 
long before now.  She has a quick temper with people she 
doesn't like.

"But," he drawled.  "if she's going through the effort 
to battle you, than that means that she considers you a 
good person."

Haruka shook her head.  "That just doesn't make sense," 
she complained.  Thank goodness he wasn't a councilor.  
Or maybe this was an example of country logic.

"If she's going to the trouble to play games with you, 
than she sees you as a worthy adversary.  From what 
you've told me, she probably thinks a lot of you to 
have gone to the effort that she has."  He waggled a 
finger at her.  "But just try to get her to admit it!"

She would have to think about that some.  The logic was 
twisted but it almost made sense.  It was too deep for 
her to think about at the moment.  She shook it off to 
get back to Beans' car.

"What are you looking for?  A jack?  I got one out in 
the barn with my tools for the tractor."  He pointed to 
someplace outside.

"Tractor?"  Her interest piqued.  She had never actually 
seen a tractor.  She had seen pictures, of course, but 
to be able to actually get to touch one...  Maybe she 
could talk him into letting her drive it a little....

"Let's go get that jack," she suggested.  He nodded and 
led the way out to the barn.

*****

I beat the eggs to a froth and poured them into the 
batter I was making.  Michiru was right beside me 
chopping onions.  We spoke occasionally as we worked.  

My brother cruised through the kitchen to announce he 
was going over to a friend's until dinner.

With everyone out of the house, I took the opportunity 
to ask Michiru about the rings they wore.  I noticed 
that she hadn't taken it off before beginning to work.

"What are they for?  As I said, a promise we made.  
It's a long story that I can't share with you," she 
glanced over at me apologetically.  

"It's not that we don't trust you," she added.  "But 
it's a private matter for us."

I was a little hurt that she wouldn't tell me, but I 
did understand.  I had come to the conclusion long ago 
that these two had skeletons in the closet that they 
would never pull out when I was around.

"How long has your family lived here, Beans?"  She 
asked while glancing about the well kept kitchen.

"I've been here eight years.  This is a pretty nice 
place," I smiled.  "I like living away from the bustle
of a city.  It's quiet here, gives you lots of room to
think."

Michiru chuckled.  "This seems like a nice place to 
relax, but I'm afraid I would become bored here quickly."

I laughed at that admission.  "Probably.  Good place to
raise a family though.  We don't have the worries of 
city folk here."

I was about to ask her to pass me the milk when I heard 
a familiar roaring outside the window.  "What's the 
tractor doing out?"  I asked rhetorically.

"Michiru," I tugged on her sleeve to get her to follow 
me outside.  What we saw was a gleeful Haruka atop a 
several ton tractor.

Haruka motored about the back field while Michiru 
watched her with her mouth agape.  She then chuckled 
as Haruka tried to 'yahoo' as they do in the cowboy 
movies.

"Dad?"

"Can you believe that he has never driven a tractor 
before?  I should invite him back at haying time and 
have him drive the tractor for me."

[Sweat drop as Haruka yahoo's successfully]

She pulled the tractor up to us.  My dad climbed up to 
relieve her of the wheel and put it away.  

She hugged Michiru when she was back on the ground.  
"That was fun!"  She announce.  There was a definite 
gleam in her eye.  "Michiru, may I get a tractor when 
we get back home?"  She asked hopefully.

Michiru chuckled.  "No," she said simply before turning 
to return to her cooking.

"She didn't rule out Tractor racing though," Haruka 
smiled at the thought.

I glanced at her.  "Next you'll be wanting a monster 
truck."

She thought about it briefly.  "I wonder if those are 
any fun to drive..."

"You're hopeless," I punched her lightly in the arm and 
went back to the kitchen myself.

*****

Haruka leaned back from the table full from the meal she 
had just eaten.  Michiru hadn't exaggerated when she 
said that Haruka could pack away her cooking.  My father 
and brother also had content expressions on their faces.

"You're a good cook, Michiru," I compliment.  Much better 
than anything I could have whipped up, that was certain.

"Mako-chan's cooking is better, but I try," she deferred 
politely.  I smiled slightly at that quaint habit of 
hers.

"Beans, we're going to work on your car some more 
tomorrow and get it to an acceptable level of performance 
before we leave here," Haruka said.

"Thanks," I blushed.  I had suspected that my car would 
have gotten on her nerves, but I never expected her to 
*fix* it.  I often times forgot that she was mechanically 
inclined, she just didn't 'geek' like the rest of us did.

"Did your brother tell you that your sister called a few 
days ago?"  My father asked.

"Um, no, what did she have to say?"

"Nothing much, just wanted to know how the family was 
doing," he answered.  [Insert pointed look here]

"Um, yes, well, that was kind of her," I stammered.  
Michiru came to my rescue.

"I didn't realize you had a sister also, Beans," she cut 
in smoothly.

"Yep, Beans is the baby of the family," my brother 
grinned.

"Am not, you twit, I'm older than you," I defended, 
starting to get angry when I saw this old ploy being 
brought up again.

"Sure you are.  Then how come I'm bigger than you, eh?"

"Because you're a mutant that grew the size of a tree," 
I retorted.

Michiru and Haruka laughed.  I gave them a pained look.  

"That's right," my brother continued sweetly mocking me.

"Alright," I pulled out my wallet, "let's take out our 
licenses and compare dates of birth, hum?"

He got up from the table to take his dishes to the sink.  
"No thanks, we all know what the truth is."

"You're a liar," I jibed.

He winked at us, then turned to wash his plate.

*****

Low tones could be heard from my room as I knocked on 
the door politely before coming in.  Michiru was seated 
on the bottom of the bunk bed in my room.  Haruka was 
seated beside her.

"I'm not sure I can keep up the guy act, Beans."  Haruka 
picked up where we had left off when I had to go answer 
the phone.

"You have to, Haruka.  It would crush their male prides 
if they found out their hero was a female."

"You're not making it any easier by having her bed in 
your brother's room," Michiru added.

I nodded to acknowledge the truth in that.  "I wish 
there was some other place to put you, but there isn't.  
My brother has a bunk bed just like I do, and that's the 
only spare bed in the house.  If it were summer, you 
could sleep out in the barn, but it's too cold for that 
during the winter."

"The barn?"  Haruka looked skeptical.

"You city folk," I teased.  "Crawl up into the hay loft 
with some heavy blankets to keep the hay from poking you 
in the back.  I used to just lay up there and stargaze 
when I was a teenager."

Michiru smiled.  "That sounds nice."

"It was.  Well, I think you and I should leave while 
Haruka changes for bed," I prompted.

"Um, there's a small problem with that, Beans," Haruka 
admitted sheepishly.  She pulled out her duffel bag to 
show me her night clothes:  a tank top and shorts.

"But this will give it away the second they see you!  
What kind of feminine tomboy are you?!"

She winced slightly, then shrugged.

"And you don't have anything else to make do with, 
right?"  She nodded.  

"Hum..."  I thought about what was laying around that I 
could lend her.  "I got it." I dug in my drawers and 
found an old oversized tee shirt.  I also found a pair 
of my brother's sweats that I had 'borrowed' a half year 
ago and never returned.  "Sorry, they're not flashy."

"No, it's fine," she said.  We left then to let her 
change.

*****

I crawled up onto the top bunk and face planted against 
my pillow.  I couldn't explain it, but there was 
something comforting about sleeping in the bed I had 
been since I was twelve.

I heard Michiru sigh softly before settling down.  I had 
left the room for several minutes while they said good 
night to each other.  I wasn't going to broach the 
subject, but I was certain it was a rare occasion when 
they slept without the other.

"Your family seems nice, Beans," she said softly.  "But 
you don't look a thing like them.  Do you take after 
your mother?"

I rolled onto my back.  "I don't think so."

"Ara, you just seem to be -- different -- then your 
family, that's all.  Every family does have it's 
checker sheep," she kept her tone light.  I could 
tell that she was trying to learn more through a game
of words.

"There's more to being a family than looking like each 
other," I replied with a tone that allowed for argument. 
"I'm a very lucky person for the family I have, Michiru."

"Yes," she agreed, then yawned.  "Good night, Mame-chan."

*****

"Michiru..."

Beans' brother looked up at the person in the bunk above 
him.  "Is he stuck on her or what?"  He commented about 
the sleeping form.

He looked at Haruka again.  "I used to have a pair of 
sweats like those..." he mused.

He couldn't sleep.  He kept on thinking of Michiru.  She 
was lovely, funny, and a good cook.  Maybe...

He moved away from the bed silently.  Likewise, he opened 
the door and slipped into the hallway.

*****

The door to Beans' room opened slightly to admit the 
early morning visitor.

He knelt next to the bottom bunk to admire the sleeping 
figure there.

*****

"Michiru..."  Haruka rolled over.  She opened her eyes 
sleepily.  "Michiru, we need to get a new mattress," she 
mumbled.  Then her sleep clouded mind remembered that 
Michiru wasn't with her.

"I don't care what your family thinks, Beans, I can't 
sleep like this," she got down from the bunk, careful 
not to wake Beans' brother.

*****

"If I were you, I would leave in fear of either of 
them waking up," I said from the top bunk in a whisper.

"You're awake?"  He asked startled.

"Gone for six months, and you've already forgotten all 
the pranks you never got away with because of my being 
a light sleeper."

The door opened slowly.  "Michiru?"  Haruka called 
sleepily as she walked into the room.

Haruka seemingly ignored Beans' brother as she crawled 
onto the bed next to Michiru.  "Haruka?"  She asked as 
she made room for her partner.

"I think I'll be going back to my room now," he left 
quickly, closing the door behind him.

"Good idea," I mumbled.  "What are you doing in here, 
Haruka?"

"I couldn't sleep without Michiru," she said in a sleep 
slurred voice.

"Surely you two can't always be together, what do you do 
then?"  I asked sarcastically.

"Haruka has a bear she sleeps with when I can't be there, 
but we left it at home," Michiru answered.

I stuck my head down to look at them.  They were cuddled 
together comfortably.  "You sleep with a bear when you 
can't sleep with Michiru?"

"You really didn't need to tell her that," Haruka 
grumbled.

I snickered.  "Well, so long as you two don't *do* 
anything, you may spend the night in here Haruka.  But 
if you try anything you'll find yourself out in the 
hay loft.  Got that?"

"Mmmmm."

I couldn't tell if it was Haruka or Michiru, but it 
sounded suspeciously like kissing.  Oh well.  'Kids 
today,' I quoted the crabby old barber that used to 
trim my hair.  'Always kissing and hugging... whatever 
happened to restraint...'  The speech goes on along 
those lines for another 20 minutes if you didn't stop 
him.

I rolled onto my side and let sleep claim me.

********** Saturday **********

The familiar -- annoying -- rooster crowing that had 
gotten me out of bed for eight years greeted me once 
again this morning.  I couldn't resist the years of 
forced habit that called to raise before the sun was 
up.  

I always had this problem whenever I came home.  My 
getting to sleep in was one of the things I valued 
most about college.

I crawled down the ladder as quietly as I could to 
avoid disturbing my guests.  I was surprised to see that 
Michiru was not in the bed, leaving Haruka sleeping solo 
curled up in a ball.  Admittedly, she was rather cute 
when she was asleep like that.

I tiptoed around the house looking for Michiru.  I found 
her in the kitchen watching the sunrise while sipping on 
a cup of tea.

"G' mornin'," I greeted.

"Ohayo Gozaimasu," she smiled slightly.

"You're up early," I made myself a cup of tea.  I wasn't
much of one for hot drinks, but it was a cold winter 
morning.

"No earlier then when I usually get up," she took a sip.
"I thought about what you said last night."

"Eh?  What did I say?"  Usually I wasn't dense, but I was
tired from the drive, and there were a lot of things she 
could be referencing to.

She chuckled some at the confused expression.  "You said 
there was more to being a family than looking like each 
other.  I've been thinking about that.  What does define a 
family?"

"It's a little early in the morning for philosophy, 
Michiru," I teased.  "I think of a family as being those 
that you love the most and are there to support you when 
you need them.  It's a pretty broad idea that can be 
applied to friends.  I dunno.  My mind isn't awake yet.
Ask me in an hour, and you'll probably get a different 
answer."

She laughed at that.  "I think that in the babble there 
may be a few words for thought."

*****

Haruka scanned the room while scrubbing at her eyes with
the back of her fist.  She looked around her briefly 
before spotting her objective.  A cup for her to use was
already on the counter next to the coffee pot that I 
hadn't noticed had been brewing this entire time.

She sat down at the table and had a somewhat glazed look
to her.  I giggled to myself when I saw that her cowlick
was more prominent in the morning before she had knocked
it down.

"Good morning," Michiru purred sweetly.

"Ugh," Haruka replied and took another swig of coffee.

"That's 'good morning' I'm guessing," I smiled.  She 
nodded before getting up and stretching.  She walked
off back to my room.

"She's off to take a shower," Michiru explained.  
"Haruka isn't a morning person.  She would sleep in late
if I would let her."

I nodded, then what she said sunk in.  "How did you get
her up if you were here with me?"  I asked skeptically.

"She's trained well," she winked at me.  I burst out
laughing.  "It's part of knowing each other like we 
do.  I know her habits and tendencies, and she knows 
mine," she smiled softly.

I smiled.  It would be nice to have someone that loved
me like they loved it other.  It's a very special thing
they share.

*****

I bundled up against the chill of the morning.  Luckily
there was no snow on the ground currently, but the air
did have a nip to it.

Haruka was with my father in the garage working on my
car.  She had been bent on the idea to the point of
obsession at breakfast about getting it fixed.

My mother had called saying that she wasn't going to
make it back today.  A shame, really, since she had 
wanted to meet my friends, oh yeah, and see me too.

I laughed at that.  My mom was a very social person.
She would meet the world if she could get out there
and do it.

Haruka had mentioned to me privately about some odd
dream she had about my brother macking on Michiru.
I had assured her that it was just a dream.

Around noon the two 'men' had emerged from the 
garage victorious over my car.  Haruka was grinning
proudly while my father looked rather tired from the
exercise.  It must have been a fierce battle.

"We can now leave," she had stated proudly after 
showing me the repairs she had made.  Mostly I just
stood there and nodded my head a lot since I had no
clue what she was referring to in most cases.  I'm 
a techie, not a mechie!

I had asked Haruka to sign some of my dad's collector
cards that he had stored away when he was still 
cleaning up the garage.  It would be a nice surprise 
for him.

We packed our things and got them loaded into the
car.  My brother gave me a hug as we were leaving.  
He shook Haruka's hand, and then hugged Michiru.  
I think the only reason he hugged me was to cover
for his hugging Michiru.  Haruka didn't seem to 
notice.

With our farewell's said, Haruka pulled us out of
the driveway.  Yes, it was Haruka driving.  She 
had managed to get a hold of my keys and wouldn't
give them back, presumably until we got back to 
the school.

All and all, things had turned out better than I 
had hoped.  Too bad I wasn't forbidden from bringing
any more friends home...


********** End part 14 **********

Many thanks go out again to Jackie Chiang, Tim 
Nolan, and Lord Charon (who had such an interesting
name for those lil handles in the cars ^_^;)
 