Chapter One: A Rough Week

Hot puffs of air exhaled from her mouth as she bit the flesh beneath her, earning her the elicit response she needed. All week she'd been waiting for this moment—to take this figure beneath her and finally lose herself from her responsibilities, her job, her surroundings. Her life. Turning her head slowly, she locked eyes with shimmering glazed ones and dipped down for a fiery kiss.

In the back of her mind she pushed down an interview she had to wake up early for tomorrow, a meeting for important matters that weren't exactly important to her, and more sighs of exasperation from the people she's expected to talk to.

She almost sighed at the prospect of the night ending, a small frown showing the indication of it.

"What's that for?"

She looked down at the girl before her and her frown immediately disappeared, changing into a smirk almost automatically. "Just thinking about what'll happen tomorrow," was her husky reply.

"Hmm…" The girl beneath her squirmed a little and pulled herself lower. "Apparently, I haven't been doing a good enough job with my end of the bargain."

As ripples of pleasure surrounded her body, her arms propping her up finally began to crumble, forcing her to focus her entire being on that one feeling. The girl beneath her stopped for a second making her grunt in displeasure.

"Still thinking about tomorrow?"

"Hell no."

She felt her smile as the ministrations began once more.

O--O--O--O--O

She sighed in exasperation as the men before her spoke in their same monotonous voice. This meeting had gone on for three hours now. She was hungry, exhausted, and wanted nothing more than to ride her sports car or… she smirked.

Screw the sports car…

"Tenoh-san, are you listening at all?"

She rolled her eyes. Even in her daydreams she couldn't escape these horrible men. "Yes, I've been listening pretty intently for the past three hours Shizu-san. What I don't understand is why I'm still here and not at a restaurant because I'm getting bored and hungry. If we can continue this talk in a restaurant where I can eat instead of rant, that'd be appreciated."

The fat man before her gave her a piercing look. "This is important Tenoh-san," he said in an almost undignified manner. "Lantern Corporation has asked for a joint partnership for the Bayside Condominiums project and for the past three hours all of us have been giving you reasons why you should take the offer. After this whole time all you can say is you're hungry?!"

Haruka stood up, completely annoyed and grabbed her jacket. "We'll continue this later." Angry sighs erupted at the table as she pushed her chair in. "I said it last week and I didn't think I needed a justified reason, but I'll say it again in case all of you were deaf. I don't want a partnership with Lantern. I don't want my company to be at all related to them. They're so notorious for being a half assed company and a joint job would only make me guilty by association—

"But it's a huge project!" a thin man to her left cut off as he got up promptly. "If you don't accept it we'd lose…easy money. We all know what they've done in the past concerning shaky structures, but our presence there will surely change that!"

The blonde whipped her head towards him, an angry scowl laced over it. "I'm sorry Tatsu-san, but whose company is this?"

The thin man stared at her with a stone face and sat back down slowly. "Yours," was the slow and deliberate answer.

Haruka nodded, acting as if the realization just dawned on her as well. She turned her head to the man speaking to her before and stated, "Shizu-san, as CEO of this board and company do I have the power to overrule any of your decisions?"

The fat man in front of her slowly looked away, but nodded nonetheless.

"Interesting," Haruka said, towering all five men around her. "So what part of 'I don't want a joint partnership with Lantern Corp' not getting to any of you?"

"We just feel that it's a bad financial move if you don't—

"Well I feel that it's a bad financial move if I keep working with a bunch of idiot board of directors who needs justification for every move I make."

Her statement caused the entire table to go completely silent. Opting instead to look at the scenery around her and not at any of their livid or surprised faces, she stated in a frozen manner, "I only keep all of you here because my father thought highly of every one of you. If I see that his past decision is a…bad financial move… you'll all be the first to know of my opinion."

She turned around, put her blazer on, and strode to the closed door. Putting her hand on the doorknob, she twisted it open, and muttered, "I've listened to all of you before. When something happens to this company, I always take the fall…not any of you. When I come back after my very delayed lunch break, we will cease all talk concerning Lantern Corporation and start delving into the more problematic issues regarding my company. Does anyone have a problem with this?"

She kept her back to them not really seeing their expressions, but feeling them stab her in the back with their eyes nonetheless. Taking their silence as her answer, she finally stepped out of the room and slammed the door behind her.

O--O--O--O--O

The man before her was by far the rudest charity donor she had ever had to deal with. Her manager beside her felt the air of aggravation around the table as Michiru's poised and very fake smile showed again.

"Well, whatever," the foreigner shrugged noncommittally at her and swept his dirty blonde hair back, his accent laced thickly with his Japanese sentences. "Tell you what, if I actually like the next event, I'll give as much as I said I would, but I just don't see a reason why I should if I didn't like it. The ride here just wasn't worth it. I do not care for the children Ms. Kaioh, I care about the music. I've heard good things about you and if I actually hear good music, I will look like I care about the children as well. You are not giving me much reason to stay."

Per usual Michiru kept her voice in check and just nodded. Feeling he got his point across, the man gave her another once over, stood up, and finally left the restaurant. She let out a sigh of irritation at his departure.

"You must be patient with him, Michiru-san," her manager, Takeyo Shizuka stated and gave her a little rub in the back. "I'm sure you're used to people like him by now."

The violinist gave an exasperated look and massaged her temples.

"I must agree with him though, you didn't have your usual spark during your last concert. What happened?"

Michiru looked away from her towards the busy afternoon street outside and just shrugged. "It's just been taxing for me, that's all. These charity concerts as well as added studio time and the start of my gallery—

"I understand. Would you like time off or—

"No," the aqua haired girl said strongly. "I just need…"

She trailed off as the frown in her features increased. More than a physical strain in her body, she felt more of a mental one. It wasn't the added workload or the very annoying charity donors that gave less or none at all of what they said they would. The problem was within her…she was losing interest in all the things she did and that by itself had worn her down more than any added workload could ever do.

"This way Tenoh-san. We're very glad that you could join us for a late lunch today."

The voice of the maitre d' woke her up from her stupor, but more than that was the name elicited. She looked up to a poised, tall blonde with an almost scowling expression. She smirked outwardly.

I guess Haruka isn't faring well today either.

She kept her eye on the tall blonde as the latter sat down, eyeing the menu handed to her disinterestedly.

"Could I start you with anything—

"No."

The Maitre d' gave a small bow and left without another word. The scowl on Haruka's handsome features didn't die out as she picked at the menu. Instantly, Michiru remembered the night before and reveled at the memory of it.

"Do you know her?" her manager asked, making her come out of her reverie.

The violinist looked at the older woman beside her and gave a small nod. "Tenoh Haruka, right?"

Shizuka nodded. "Very rich little businesswoman who I heard, has a thing for classical music. Maybe we could interest her in attending your next charity event."

Michiru looked at her doubtfully as her attention swept back to the still surly blonde. "I'm not sure this may be a good time to tell her about it."

"Michiru-san, just be your same charming self and the next charity event could reap one hell of a benefit."

The violinist gave a little sigh of exasperation, but could not for the life of her give her manager a reason to say no.

"We'll go together. I mean, Tenoh-san might look like she's having a bad day, but maybe we can brighten it up a little."

Before the shorter woman could say anything about the situation, her manager had already gotten up and began the short walk to the table Haruka occupied.

The blonde, apparently sensing someone's attention to her, looked up, gave a disinterested look at Shizuka, but gave a slight sign of surprise at the violinist.

"Good afternoon Tenoh-san," Shizuka greeted with a warm smile. Haruka gave her a nonchalant expression as she extended her hand. "I'm Takeyo Shizuka and this is my client Kaioh Michiru."

The violinist saw the playful twinkle dance in the blonde's emerald green orbs and gave a small bow.

"Can I interest you in attending a charity event hosted by Kaioh-san herself? I have heard that you are an avid listener of the classics and—

"Sit down," Haruka commanded softly. "I don't like it when people tower over me when they're speaking."

Shizuka gave a little surprised look at the straightforwardness the young CEO displayed, but nonetheless gave a curt nod. Michiru took the further chair towards the wall and she sat beside her, eyeing the confident blonde as she did so.

Seeing her waiter start heading to her general direction, Haruka gave the two women before her an asking glance and asked, "Have both of you eaten or can I interest you in a meal or drink?"

"We have eaten prior to your arrival," Michiru answered for both of them surprising the blonde a bit.

The tomboy gave a small nod as she waved the waiter away more interested in talking to the two women before her than the hunger that was gnawing at her during her earlier meeting.

"Are you an avid classical music listener Tenoh-san?" Shizuka started, not missing a beat.

"If you must know," Haruka answered, "yes, I am. If you want to get a little more in depth, I'm also an avid fan of Kaioh-san."

She gave a small smirk at the outward look of surprise gracing the young violinist as Shizuka smiled widely. "Oh, well that's wonderful. You've listened to her latest album then?"

Haruka nodded and locked eyes with said girl. "I find that her recent works are a little more entertaining than her past ones—a sign that she could only evolve. Into the Shore…is one of my current obsessions at the moment."

Michiru's manager gave a little yelp of surprise. "Oh, I completely agree! It's my favorite track in Michiru-san's most recent CD. Which all the more makes me want to ask you…would you like to attend a charity event we're hosting this Friday?"

The blonde gave the aqua haired woman in front of her a small glance before looking at the one addressing her. Licking her lips slowly she gave a small smirk and asked, "Do you usually speak for Kaioh-san in these meetings?"

Shizuka gave a little look of surprise at a question she wasn't entirely expecting and immediately shook her head out of reflex. Stuttering, she quickly replied, "O-of course not. I—

"The event is for cancer patients," Michiru cut in making the blonde give her, her undivided attention. "As Shizuka-san said it will be this Friday in the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra Hall and there will be other donators on sight. If anything you can use it for your own benefit and speak to the more prominent population that resides in Tokyo."

"M-Michiru-san!" her manager squeaked beside her at her upfront attitude.

Haruka only gave a chuckle. "Takeyo-san was it?" she asked, not paying heed to the violinist and instead looking at her manager. Shizuka gave an uneasy and almost apologetic smile at the young CEO. "I'd like to speak with Kaioh-san alone."

As much as Shizuka wanted it to be a request, it wasn't which spoke volumes as to who she was speaking to.

"Wait for me outside Shizuka-san. I won't be long," the violinist stated beside her.

Shizuka looked lost for a second before nodding, gave one last look towards Michiru who was already intently looking at the blonde across her, and left, albeit slowly.

As soon as she was out of earshot, Haruka gave a wide smile at the smaller girl before her and leaned back, almost lounged on her chair.

Michiru smiled widely as well, unable to meet the sparkling emerald eyes before her.

"So…imagine meeting you here," the blonde stated making the first move.

The violinist nodded, one of her thin eyebrows going up in amusement. "Apparently last night wasn't enough for our psyches."

Haruka laughed outwardly biting her bottom lip as the events of "last night" came crashing to the front of her mind. "I'll come on Friday on one condition."

Michiru smirked, her curiosity getting the best of her. "And what's that?"

"See me after the event and still come on Saturday or Sunday, whichever day our plan merits."

She gave an outward look of surprise at the sudden request and at the serious face sported by the blonde. She cast her eyes downward before replying, "I don't think seeing one another more than once a week is wise."

When she looked back up, the young CEO's eyes were still on her, the look reverberating out of them unfamiliar. They locked eyes for several moments, neither one looking uncomfortable at the staring contest but definitely feeling the unsettling sensation in their stomachs.

Finally, Haruka nodded, in understanding as well as defeat. "I'll see you this weekend then."

Michiru nodded. Sensing the tenseness and overall end of their conversation, she bowed at the blonde before making her leave, not hearing the disappointed sigh exit out of the other girl's mouth.

O--O--O--O--O

She wasn't used to not getting what she wanted. And that unsettling thought didn't leave her entire being the whole day. The Board of Directors at Tenoh Corporation wanted nothing more than to wring her neck at the end of the too long day and still, she didn't see this at all.

Instead her thoughts drifted back at the surprise meeting she had with Michiru. It was a pleasant surprise to say the least, seeing her…friend…before their usually scheduled meetings, but that in itself was unimportant.

She was denied.

Her features darkened, brows hanging low towards her sparkling emerald eyes. Why was she denied? It wasn't as if meeting one extra day in the entire week for no longer than a few hours really mattered. Of course they had spoken of this before, but if anything, it was a good idea. She could tell by the violinist's poised figure, tense posture, and serious visage that the start of the week wasn't treating her any better than the blonde's was. Meeting an extra day would be, if anything, a relief for both of them; who knew what else kind of crap they'd have to endure before the weekend when they can release it?

She sighed loudly and deeply scratching her head in frustration.

"Tenoh-san—

She raised her palm in the air, cutting the thin man before her almost simultaneously. All the pondering had earned her a headache.

"I'm tired. It's been a long day. We'll continue this tomo—

"Chairman, there's just one more topic to go through. It won't take any longer than—

"I could care less if it took you three seconds to tell me what every company's closing price is. I'm tired…of sitting here and listening to all of you. We'll end this tomorrow."

She closed the folder in front of her, gave one last hard look at the stony faces sported by each of the Board members, and left. Outside the stuffy and too enclosed room she was met up with her Secretary: a wizened old woman who was the secretary of the late Tenoh Minoru.

"Tenoh-san," she greeted and bowed, the grayish bun atop her head not budging one bit at the action. "I wasn't expecting you for another thirty minutes."

"Yet, just as you always do, you're here waiting for me as if you knew I'd come out early anyway," Haruka grunted and strode to the elevators, Takashi Yuki following her closely behind.

"I'm guessing Tatsu-san didn't finish the overall report on the stock market so I compressed the information you'd find most helpful in this folder," the old woman stated handing the young blonde a tan folder with a few pages of notes inside. "Before you leave for the night please make a decision as to what you'd like to trade, buy, or sell and it shall be done early tomorrow morning. The letter concerning your decision about Lantern Corporation has been typed and is sitting on your desk waiting for your signature. Sign it and I will take care of the rest. Is there anything else you'd like me to do before taking my leave for the night?"

As the door to the elevator slid open Haruka looked at her secretary for a moment before nodding almost childishly. "Actually there is." Yuki waited, just as she'd always done until the blonde continued, "A Kaioh Michiru-san is having a charity concert this Friday. I believe it's going to be held in the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra Hall. Make sure I have a ticket to attend the event as well as cancel any meetings a couple hours prior to the start of it."

Yuki gave her a confused look before nodding obediently. "I shall do that, but may I ask why the sudden interest for this girl?"

Haruka smirked at her before looking away, the doors to the elevator opening at her office floor. "Didn't you know? I've always had a thing for classical music."

O--O--O--O--O

She usually didn't second guess herself, but she found that this one time may be the first exception.

Why did I say no?

She sighed, a clear frown marring her beautiful face.

She had no clear reason why she said no to the young CEO. Maybe seeing her more frequently than their routine gave an air of…a normal relationship. And that was definitely not what she wanted. It was a "friends with benefits" relationship for that reason; neither wanted the responsibility added with having a normal one.

But sitting now, in the isolation of her condominium, with a paintbrush in hand and an empty canvas in front of her she found that saying no was a mistake she'd be more than willing to change and call Haruka for. She eyed her cell phone warily, sighing loudly once she caught what she was doing.

"I will not call her," she muttered and dabbed a sky blue on the tip of her paintbrush.

It was going to be a long week…she already knew this. And the thought that she passed up an opportunity to spend one extra night with Haruka was, to say the least, irking her…but she would not yield. It was a good decision…to keep a formal and distant relationship. She just hoped that she would not be looking like a mess on their next meeting in which the blonde would follow up with an expressional smirk that screamed I told you so.

But…if she really thought about it, seeing Haruka for one more day wasn't that bad. It didn't ensure her that their relationship wasn't going to be less formal…just that the sex was really, really good. And she could use a quicker fix than usual…

She closed her eyes tightly at the thoughts gracing her head. When did she become so…impure? Upon opening them, a smirk took her almost nonchalant expression off and she began to spread the sky blue paint all over the off white colored canvas. It was a sudden change in her…but the feeling of being bad left a natural high that kept her going back. She did have her pride though. And if she said no to begin with, it was the answer she'd be sticking to, regardless of how much she'd be hurting by the end of the week. The only consolation she could get out of it was that she wasn't the only one suffering alone…

It was for the better. Their next meeting could only be much more promising because of the wait. She was sure of it.

O--O--O--O--O

The rest of the week had not gone by any smoother for Haruka. In fact, it had gotten so much worse that she could barely keep her anger in control when she dealt with anyone in and outside the company, the attitude making a should've-been-smooth deal between her company and another's into a rocky one that left a bitter taste in both parties' mouths.

Her opinion of the Board of Directors as well as their opinion of her had also doubled, even tripled in lowness. She couldn't stand them as far as she could throw them, and if it was up to her, she would've upped and left ages ago, but the picture of her father turning over in his grave for her rebelliousness kept her in check.

How long she would be able to keep this up was a mystery even to her, but the week she had just experienced could just be the boiling point she needed to forget about her ties to the Tenoh name and just fly away.

But it was Friday. Thank God it was Friday…

If she had to endure another Thursday she would've taken one of the hunting rifles her father kept back at the Tenoh Estate and shot each of the Board members until she was satisfied of the amount of blood that was shed. Yes, the week had been that damn bad. But as she stated earlier, it was Friday not Thursday so the bloodshed would have to be scheduled for another day.

Looking at herself in the mirror, she could only plant a handsome smirk atop her confident face. If there was anything she could thank her father for, it was a very striking, masculine visage that made almost everyone who didn't know her think she was a man. Which was just fine. They didn't need to know the bigger details unless she was planning on making their relationship farther than an initial meeting, but that usually wasn't the case. Flirting came naturally and if it called for more than that, she'd just have to improvise from then on. The lines "I never said I was a man" usually worked, eliciting her responses of every kind.

But that wasn't the case today.

Today, she would be meeting with the ever elusive, refined, and sexy, with and without clothes on, violinist that also went by the name of Kaioh Michiru. Said girl knows all that she needed to know about her and that in itself was enough. She wondered though, if she would be able to pull the smaller girl out of the after party to a more secluded area…preferably her white cot along the more secluded beach spots outside Tokyo. She figured that would be pretty difficult, considering Michiru was the hostess of the charity event that would be held right after the concert. Nevertheless she hoped this was the case because even though Sunday was just two days away, she would prefer them to be alone within the next several hours. Her spoiled and conceited thoughts only spoke in her most dire moments and this was already stretching it.

How did she get this worked up over a girl?

Sighing, she fixed the black bow tie over her white dress shirt and smoothed her black tuxedo over. She looked at her roguishly messy blonde hair and brushed her long fingers over it.

"Ok," she stated, looking at the reflection of herself in the mirror seriously. "I'm ready."

Glancing at the time, she took a long black coat hanging near the door and exited her penthouse, shutting the heavy piece of wood softly behind her. She strode to the elevators, poking at the down button like an eager child and looked again at her watch.

She wasn't late. She would actually be more than a half an hour or so early, but the anticipation was already making her jittery and nervous. She was nervous…how laughable. A girl could make her nervous…And it wasn't the presenting-a-really-important-idea-to-people-higher-in-rank-than-you nervous—moreover, just the I'm-too-excited-to-sit-still kind of nervous. Whatever it was, Kaioh Michiru made her feel it, and by God she would make the other woman feel it when she realized that she actually decided to attend and donate towards the charitable event.

She patted her side pocket, feeling the small bulge the folded piece of paper made.

The elevator had finally arrived, empty and warm per usual. She jabbed at the first floor parking garage and waited patiently, rolling on the balls of her feet anxiously.

It was strange that this kind of sensation always happened when she was about to meet up with the violinist. They had been seeing each other for the better part of the last two months now and still, she looked forward to their weekly rendezvous as if it was their first time.

She sussed that this was why she kept coming back and until she grew tired of this feeling or if it just upped and disappeared one day, she'd leave. There was no other reason to stay if that happened.

She spaced off as she looked at the neatly tiled floor. She wondered what Michiru looked like today…and if she'd be able to pull off whatever she was wearing soon after. A smirk landed on her striking features as lewd thoughts pervaded her mind. She didn't get what she wanted last week, but by God she would do it tonight. Either that or she'd make Michiru suffer as much as she had been to glorify their scheduled meeting on Sunday.

The door flew open and immediately she fished for the keys to her Ferrari. Grabbing them from within her jacket pockets, she turned the alarm off of her yellow 360 Modena Spider and climbed in. Not wasting another second, she turned the ignition key and peeled out of the parking garage quickly, leaving only a squealing noise from where she used to be.

O--O--O--O--O

It was an unbelievably nice summer night. If she concentrated hard enough, she could drown out the noise random vehicles made in the background and if she squinted firmly enough, she would be able to see a few twinkling stars even in the middle of an alive and bustling nighttime Tokyo. If she were at Haruka's beach house, a beautiful night like this would definitely not be wasted.

"Michiru-san, we have a half an hour before the opening," a feminine voice inquired behind her.

She turned around to find her manager in a dark blue business suit. Her dark brown hair was up in a bun and her hard features almost made her seem unapproachable. Michiru gave a small smile and looked back up, squinting a little in hopes of finding a star…maybe even a planet.

"We have a total of twenty one sponsors today so do your best alright?" Shizuka stated beside her now, ruffling and patting down her white, gown-like dress. "There are people outside Japan like Gregoire-san who we met last Monday if you don't remember."

The violinist rolled her eyes. As if she could forget such an ill mannered man.

"We also have people from the Okinawa Symphony here. Their conductor is highly accredited and knows a whole lot of other different people that could create longevity for this benefit. Of course we also have the usual rich business people attending for their amusement or suffering so make it a good night. Any questions before I push you back inside the concert hall?"

Michiru smiled in amusement, but shook her head.

As they began walking towards the imposing building, her manager continued, "Remember it'll be about an hour and half to two hours long so chit chat with them. Make them laugh, excite them with your music, make them appreciate your talent, and converse with them—

"Shizuka-san," the smaller woman cut off, the amused smile in her lips never leaving. The older woman looked at her questioningly. "It'll be fine. I'm not new at this. You and I both know that. I'll make sure it's a worthwhile show, so just sit back and enjoy yourself."

The brunette sighed loudly. "Well from the discontent coming from last week I'm just a tad bid worried Michiru-san. I know what you're capable of…but these people need to know it. They've listened to you artificially by means of albums and televised concerts. Make them realize that listening to you from a stereo or watching you from TV are not only different, but a crime. They should always feel the need to come back and watch you over and over again in person."

Michiru nodded, feeling a little dizzy from having done so repeatedly within the last several minutes.

Suddenly, her manager's face lit up causing her to look at her questioningly. "Oh! I've also got a surprising announcement."

She waited, not feeling as if whatever Shizuka was going to say would be the least bit important to her.

"Well you know how I said we have twenty one sponsors?"

Michiru nodded before understanding dawned on her. "There's an extra sponsor?"

Her manager nodded, a smirk planted on her features. "Apparently she changed her mind because according to you she wasn't going to come anyway."

Michiru's heart thumped wildly, sapphire eyes widening. "Ha—I mean…Tenoh-san's here?"

Shizuka nodded vigorously. "She arrived even before a lot of the sponsors did. She and I had a little chat…and if I didn't already know she was a woman…" She sighed appreciatively, swooning like a school girl.

The aqua haired woman gave her a questioning look before thinking about her current situation yet again.

Oh, the past week had been hell. What with the preparations of opening up her new gallery, practicing for the compositions for this charity event, endless meetings of people she would be again seeing later after the show, and added studio time for recording her next album, to say that she had a busy week was an understatement. Even in her dreams she seemed to work. It had started off so badly that by Tuesday night, she felt she had developed Multiple Personality Disorder, because a part of her wanted to beg Haruka to come see her on Friday while the other persona completely wanted to be a masochist and keep going.

Briefly she wondered if the blonde changed her mind because she needed her too or came just to spite her. Either way she wanted to create a method in which she'd be going "home" with her, home definitely not meaning either of their real homes, but possibly that one white beach house Haruka owned that she had grown really fond of.

"Michiru-san, you okay?" Shizuka's intruding voice brought Michiru out of her reverie and she merely looked back at her and smiled.

"I'm going to put the last touches of make up on before the opening," she replied walking away as she did so. "It'll be worthwhile for the charity donors…I promise."

If Haruka was in the audience, she definitely needed to have an outstanding performance. She didn't really know why it was so important, but she was in one of her many elements. If she couldn't look and be good at playing the violin to the blonde, she would just have to retire right now.

All of the sudden, the excitement that's been missing came back to her almost instantly. She couldn't even remember the last time she had played and not thought it was a burden. And it wasn't the fact that she felt she was laden because of the children. If anything, it was the unappreciative donors that made her feel older about doing charity work. She just didn't want to stop because of the overall effect it does to the people actually getting help from what she was doing. That in itself kept her in check.

It wasn't that she was tired of performing—of creating her own music and sharing it. It was that she was significant. She could make changes happen. She was influential. And if no one else would take the higher path, she would.

But that in itself seemed so suddenly insignificant as well. She didn't know why, but she had to look good in front of Haruka. Maybe it was because of them sharing a bed. Possibly because only the two of them knew exactly what went on, on Saturday or Sunday nights when neither was reachable by anyone, important figure and matter or not, other than each other. Or it could've just been the awful week—the feeling of wanting it to end sweeter, with promises of next times clear and bright. Whatever the reason, she had to play like the prodigy most people knew her as. There would be no half assed note tonight, deliberately put because of surly discontent from another greedy donor. Regardless of the outcome, she would play magnanimously.

Grabbing her Stradivarius by the handle she completely forwent applying the last touches of her make up like she told her manager and just stood there, feeling the calm before the storm.

I'll dedicate this night for her, she thought with a smirk. A thank you for being my wonderful stress reliever.

O--O--O--O--O

Haruka had made damn sure that she had the best seat in the house: the one directly underneath where the violinist would be playing, Shizuka assured her, about ninety percent of the concert. More than seeing her, she wanted Michiru to acknowledge her presence. She wasn't sure what this would accomplish, but just the thoughts of riling the smaller woman in some way made her smirk.

This was for saying no to her. No one says no to Tenoh Haruka and got away with it.

Shifting her weight to her right side and crossing her left leg on her right, she waited patiently for the show to start, resting her chin on her propped right arm. To her good fortune, the lights dimmed almost immediately and quietness befell everyone in the room. When the star attraction came from backstage, Haruka's breath hitched and great effort had to be made to keep her jaw from hitting the bottom of her dress shirt.

Saying that the violinist looked "pretty" should've been a crime. If the blonde wanted to be completely honest she really thought that one of the best things about her was that she looked beautiful, but she seemed far more so tonight. The white gown she wore dragged along the polished tiled floor creating what seemed like waves behind her, but the most notable thing Haruka observed was how she carried herself. It screamed confidence and that was definitely a turn on.

She licked her all too sudden dry lips, her emerald eyes following every move the aqua haired woman made.

Her hair looked nice too, she sussed. It was up in a kind of refined ponytail, tendrils of her bangs coming down over her sapphire orbs, giving her a look of angelic mystery. She could see the tiny flecks of make up on her face, applied enough to make the difference the smaller woman must've wanted, yet subtle enough that no one in the audience probably figured she wore any save for the pinkish hued lipstick gracing her lush lips.

Haruka shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Just the mere sight of the violinist was making her hot and stuffy. She pulled her collar along with her bow tie in the hopes of rushing some air into her body, but that was shot up as soon as she and Michiru shared a few seconds' glance. Finally, both parties' presence was known. She doubted she was doing a good job in riling the violinist like she hoped she would; it had terribly backfired.

Why in the world did she have to look extra sexy tonight?

She stopped all thoughts as soon as Michiru made her way to the microphone located in the very middle of the stage, a quiet, polite applause given freely by the audience following her with every step she took. As soon as the claps stopped, she leaned forward to the microphone and gave a kind smile.

"Thank you for taking some time out of your evening to join me tonight."

Whatever she said next was lost to the blonde. Her voice somehow seemed extra melodic as well. And the light was really doing a good job making her glow...making her seem a lot more ethereal. And the way her sapphire eyes lingered on her presence was…Haruka shook her head to dispel all the thoughts ravaging her head at once.

Crap, she was losing herself. All thoughts jarring her head finally stopped and only one floated…a kind of enlightening thought. She must have her tonight. There was no question about it. The weekend was the weekend. She didn't care about it. All that mattered was what she could get tonight, and if she couldn't get it she was going to kill someone…possibly visit one of the humble abodes of one of the Board of Director members and stab whoever was inside.

She was slightly surprised when the violinist stopped talking and raised her Stradivarius to her chin, bow in one hand, and began playing.

Haruka hadn't lied when she told Michiru and her manager that she was an avid listener of the classicals, more specifically of Michiru's own music. But to be sitting there and actually hear her playing…it was nothing short of magical. She could feel it, every jilt of joy, note of sorrow, contempt, anger, everything that the violinist wanted to convey. She felt as if the girl before her finally wore her emotions on her sleeve. They were the same in that aspect. It was probably the main reason why they were attracted to one another to begin with.

Closing her eyes, she listened with all her heart at the soothing melody echoing out of the Stradivarius—of the story Michiru wanted to share. And almost immediately the memory of their first meeting burned a scene through her eyelids.

AN: Alright, let's get started with H&M story number two shall we? Lemme get a few author's notes outta the way so I won't have to explain or say them again later, like disclaimers and such:

First and probably most important, Sailor Moon and all its affiliates belong to Takeuchi Naoko-san.

Second, Haruka and Michiru are both girls…the first scene was a girl on girl scene so you know…explaining that this has "shoujo-ai" themes kinda makes no sense to me right now…If the message still didn't get to you and you find that horribly revolting, the back button is as always only a click away, but thanks for reading all the way to the bottom and getting to this part of the AN anyway :D

Third, the title of the story is an acronym for Friend's With Benefits…The plot bunny has plagued my mind only recently and I'm not done with the fic yet, but the half of me that's kind of telling me not to post it is also getting pulled to the side that wants me to post it, so I'll go in blindly this time around and post an unfinished work. It's completely AU, just like my last work, but unlike that, it's a completely different universe—they're older, they have different parents, kind of different lifestyles (although as you can see Michiru's isn't that different (unoriginality plagues me)) and they're definitely more mature. Rating may change from T to M every now and then, but I'll try to keep it as Teen rated as I can...(it's actually a good thing for me since I can't write smut well anyway)

Fourth, I'm going by the same word usages from Her Protector and using titles at the end of names for this story as well…it's gotten to be a bit of a habit by now. Adding to that, I'll also be using Japanese words every now and then, like otou-san and okaa-san and all that good stuff…if there are any words I feel the general audience won't really know, I'll probably say something about it here in the AN.

Speaking of Her Protector, there was a number of people at the end of it that wanted a sequel...yes I still remember...and yes I do have a plot bunny for the sequel as well. I've already started it, but this one kind of itched at me more so I'm putting it out first. Don't ask for both! You'll regret it if you do... :P

Okay, I think that's it…oh and for anyone going what the hell is the author talking about when dealing with my story correlations…don't mind it. You don't have to read anything else that's mine (I insist you shouldn't…) in order to understand what I'm trying to convey in this story. Per usual, read and review, but if you can't that's just fine too. Updating will be very, VERY sporadic, so I'll leave that as my last warning so people won't get mad at a few month's hiatus or something.

O-----O

On one last new note, I've started to proof read all of this story and will probably be putting it out little by little, depending on what I've read through already (I had a boat load of mistakes eww...). Anyway...if anyone still reads this story or are new to it, you'll know what chappies have been proofread by noting the missing AN's at the end of the chapters except this one of course. If you don't see my little one sided convos, it's been the edited. Thanks again for those who read it, review written or not. My gf's been wanting me to write again soon so I hope my muse starts hitting me in the head again haha. All of you would be the first to know if it does. =)