I'd Lie

Pairing: Shion/Chikaru

A/N: Mostly Chikaru's POV, but some parts will be Shion's- don't worry, the distinctions will be evident. Please read and review! This is my first Strawberry Panic Fanfic- I was listening to the song and thought that it described both of them perfectly at points, especially if they ever were together. I might just make this into the prologue to a major story if I get enough positive feedback, so if you like, PLEASE review!

I don't think this passenger's seat

Has ever looked this good to me…

Chikaru sat quietly beside Shion, the blonde, hot-headed president of Spica, one of the three schools on Astrea Hill. Shion was on her feet, in the midst of an insult war with Miyuki- in short, a normal day. She smiled softly and leaned back, content to watch her lion-like best friend and take the passenger's seat as usual, never speaking up, always watching, always thinking. Shion and Miyuki no doubt thought it was because she preferred to remain outside of the fight, and maybe that was a part of it. But the main reason Chikaru Minamoto sat back and said so little was because she was so enraptured by how beautiful Shion was when she was passionate about something.

But Shion was always beautiful.

She tells me about her night,

And I count the colors in her eyes…

"Can you believe her? I mean, the nerve of that girl- I don't know how she ever became Etoile in the first place!" Shion ranted, more frustrated than angry, as usual, though Chikaru seemed to be the only one who ever recognized the distinction. "This is why the Etoile should be from Spica!"

"Ara," Chikaru noted, her cheek resting in her palm as she smiled that enigmatic smile up at the frustrated Spican. They were sitting in the school cafeteria at one of the smaller, two-person tables, Shion going off on tangent after tangent and Chikaru listening good-naturedly because, well, she was Chikaru. She's so cute like this…I just want to kiss her- how would her lips feel against mine, I wonder? Certainly more pleasant than a man's…she's got the most beautiful eyes, I wonder if she knows…

"Chikaru-chan!" Shion cried in an indignant voice. The Lilim president jumped slightly and refocused her attention on the frustrated girl in front of her. "Have you been listening to anything I've said at all?"

Chikaru could only smile (as usual, smile and maybe she'll realize that you're sitting here, just waiting for her, always waiting…) and say, "Every word, Shi-chan."

Shion huffed and looked away to conceal the slight blush from Chikaru's easy use of her nickname- no one else dared to be so familiar with her.

She'll never fall in love she swears

As she runs her fingers through her hair-

I'm laughing 'cause I hope she's wrong.

It was summer break, and Shion had strategically planned out a time and place for them to meet- strictly to discuss school business of course. But the topic veered rather quickly.

"I hate the summer," Shion grumbled, chasing some food around her plate with a spare chopstick. "It's too hot and there are too many boys just running wild, ignoring your personal space…"

Chikaru raised an eyebrow, though inside she was quickly filling to the brim with (unwarranted) hope. "No summer romance for you, Shi-chan?"

Shion scoffed. "I don't need a man tying me down. Love is for those who don't want to be independent- it's pointless and only gets in the way."

As quickly as it had come, all the hope was sapped from Chikaru's system, but she didn't let it show. Instead she only smiled (always smiling) and giggled.

Shion huffed. "What's so funny?"

Chikaru only shook her head- how could she explain that she was only laughing to keep the tears at bay?

And I could tell you,

Her favorite color's green-

She loves to argue,

Born on the seventeenth.

"This is ridiculous," Shion raged, shoving a sheet of paper at Miyuki. "Your student needs to start attending the meetings- I'm sure she can defile the population of Miator on her own time! We need her here!"

Miyuki bristled at the insult, though Chikaru suspected it had nothing to do with school pride, but she said nothing as the Miator president rose to her feet.

And here we go again, Chikaru thought vaguely. Sometimes she wondered if Shion picked these fights on purpose, but then decided it didn't matter. It was part of the reason she'd fallen for the Spican, after all.

She stands there then walks away,

My God if I could only say,

"I'm holding every breath for you…"

"Hmmm…Shi-chan? Wha…what's wrong?" Chikaru asked, blearily wiping her eyes as she opened the door to her dorm room. The blonde Spican was standing there, fidgeting nervously with the hem of her skirt. Chikaru frowned slightly- Shion never fidgeted. "Shion?"

"It's…I was talking to Shizuma…"

"Etoile-sama?" Chikaru asked, unsure why Shion was telling her this. "Did you get her to come to the meetings? Good for you…" She brought a hand to her face to cover a wide yawn and stepped back to allow Shion to walk in, but she stayed where she was.

"Eh…no….that was my intention, but she was with Nagisa-chan," Shion began, her eyes focused on the ground. "I asked her what was so important that she had to miss meeting after meeting for it and the way she looked at her was just so…" Shion paused, unsure how to continue.

"Yes, I think she loves her," Chikaru said, leaning against the doorframe. "It's so nice, especially after the incident with that poor girl…"

"Yeah," Shion said distractedly. "It's just, I recognized the look on her face and I felt like…I knew it from somewhere and I…came here…"

"Why?" Chikaru asked, tilting her head.

Shion opened her mouth and then closed it again, looked up at Chikaru and back down at the floor, and finally said, "You know what? I forgot where I'd seen it. Maybe it was just when she was around that other girl and I recognized it again." She was speaking quickly now, like she was running out of oxygen. "Sorry for waking you."

"Shi-" Chikaru tried to stop Shion, but it was too late- the girl was already speeding away towards her own room. Slowly closing the door, Chikaru pressed her lips together and fell back against it, staring up at the ceiling. "I love you," she said quietly, but only the air heard.

She'd never tell you,

But she can play guitar.

I think she can see through

Everything but my heart.

"It's just ridiculous and unprofessional, that's all I'm saying," Shion finished, her arms folded over her chest. Another Etoile-less meeting had just passed, and she and Chikaru were sitting on the bench at the edge of the forest.

Sometimes Shion wondered why Chikaru put up with her temper and her rants when no one else would, but as soon as that thought occurred to her, it also brought Chikaru to her mind, and she left entirely for hours on end.

Chikaru was so talented- she single-handedly ran three quarters of the clubs at Lilim. And she's beautiful…It always shocked Shion how so many girls could fall all over Shizuma and Amane (she didn't even look like a girl, what were they thinking) and not even notice the beautiful, soft-spoken, kind-hearted president who'd captured Shion's heart before she even knew what love was.

And she was so smart- she was at the top of her class, right alongside Shion herself, but that didn't even begin to show how perceptive Chikaru was. She could read any emotion- any situation with just a glance- just a glance and it was over.

And yet she couldn't see what was right in front of her- that Shion would buy her anything she could ever want- that she'd bring her any star she ever asked for.

"But sometimes, people only see what they want to see."- Her mother's voice echoed through her ears.

And surely, Chikaru would never want her best friend to be so completely and utterly in love with her. No one wanted that.

And if you asked me if I loved her…

Shion was picking up her things and getting ready to leave the meeting room- Chikaru had already left and that insufferable Shizuma had decided to attend for once, making them the only two in the room. The air itself was crackling with tension.

"Do you love her?"

Shion jumped, her gaze shooting up to where Shizuma was leaning over the table, staring mercilessly into her eyes, her face mere inches away. "Wh-what are you talking about?" Shion spat out in a less-than-threatening manner.

Shizuma raised an eyebrow. "Chikaru-chan- do you love her?" she specified, though her tone made it clear that she didn't think she needed to. "Is that why you ran off without even bothering to fight me that day? Was it Nagisa and I? Did our feelings scare you, Shi-chan?"

"Of course not," Shion hissed. "I just can't be bothered to waste my time on people like you." She flipped her blonde hair back and stalked out of the council room, not noticing Miyuki and Chikaru only a few feet away. If she had, she might have been suspicious of the way Chikaru was almost cowering- if she had, she just might have heard the last part of their conversation.

But that would be eavesdropping, so of course Shion didn't notice anything out of the ordinary.

And she absolutely didn't run straight to her room and scream and cry into her pillow for the first time since her first year, either, because that would be unprofessional.

If you asked me if I loved her…

Outside the council room, Miyuki had stopped Chikaru and asked her the same question. Chikaru's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before she quickly reigned in her feelings, but that fraction of a second had been all the time Miyuki needed.

"You do, don't you?"

Chikaru took a step back just as Miyuki took a step forward- she wouldn't get out of this one so easily. She was letting Miyuki control the conversation- she'd let her defenses down for one moment, and this had happened…so she did the only thing she could think of.

"Of course not," she said, her voice so convincing that she even fooled herself for a moment. But obviously not convincing enough to fool Miyuki, who just shook her head.

She might have said something else if Shion hadn't darted past them at that exact moment, running out of the council room in a way that was very much against the rules. Shizuma sauntered out after her, a bored expression on her face. It was all Chikaru could do to send a glare her way for whatever she'd done to Shion. Shizuma didn't even have the decency to look ashamed. "If you think I did that to her, you're wrong," is all she said before leaving, most likely to meet up with Nagisa.

I'd lie.