Note: A quick fic done as a giveaway prize on tumblr.

Tea and a Bar Brawl

Haruka hated arguing with Michiru.. It wasn't that they argued often, or that Haruka hated arguing in general, she was a class-a arguer with anyone who wasn't Michiru, hell, she could even antagonize Tsukino Usagi if she kept at it long enough (though not as easily as Rei or Chiba, and that fact was her eternal despair). But arguing with Michiru was like arguing with a particularly condescending brick wall. She'd put on her icy smile and say "Well, I suppose we'll have to agree to disagree, Haruka" in that tone that obviously said "I am clearly right and your opinion is so far below me I can't even be bothered to indulge you further". And if Haruka started sputtering and yelling at this, what would come next but that laugh, the soft, almost affectionate one that carried the clear message of "do you have any idea how ridiculous you sound?" and next thing you know, Haruka would be stomping out the door, a sign of defeat if there ever was one.

What had they even been arguing about? Haruka was pretty sure it had started out about what age they should let Hotaru start dating. Michiru had been insisting that it was up to the child to determine such things, and they couldn't stop her. Haruka had insisted equally that they had to set boundaries or she'd get hurt.

"Haruka, did you listen to your parents about dating?"

That had been it.

Haruka kicked at the air as she stomped down the street, her hands shoved in her coat pockets. Both Setsuna and Michiru were just way too lax about everything. Someone had to protect this child. And Michiru had had to make it personal- she always did, in her subtle little way. And then acted like it was your problem when you got upset. Because she of course never got upset. Not the elegant genius Michiru! Oh no! She had the misfortune to have a girlfriend that was impossible to antagonize.

"Haruka…-san?"

"Ah...buns-head…"

It figured she'd run into Usagi at a time like this, stomping around in broad daylight, everyone else around her smart enough to give her a wide berth. The girl was like an angst-magnet, you were destined to run into her at all times.

"Ah…are you okay?" Usagi looked concerned. Probably she thought they'd gotten another premonition about the world ending or something.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Nothing apocalyptic happening, don't worry. What are you doing walking around?"

Usagi held up a bag of food. "Mama sent me to pick up some things. You don't seem okay, though. Did you have a fight with Michiru-san?"

Haruka jolted at this. That was the trouble with their princess, she had her head in the clouds ninety percent of the time, but then every once, when it came to feelings and shit, she'd say something uncomfortably perceptive. Haruka did not want to talk about feelings and shit right now, but Usagi was always up for solving any problem with the right application of warm fuzzies. That was why she was the messiah and they were the guardians, Haruka guessed.

"Hey!" Something occurred to her. "Chiba always loses the fights he gets in with you, right?"

"Mamo-chan? Well, the only one-on-one fight we had was when Metaria brainwashed him- I did manage to purify him so I guess you could say-" Usagi looked a little confused by the question.

"No, not that kind of fight. Arguments. You always win, right?" There was no way she didn't. Chiba was a total pushover and Usagi had the advantage of both tenacity and puppy dog eyes even Haruka couldn't resist. (She was pretty sure Michiru could make a face just as tantalizing if she didn't have "too much dignity". Feh.)

Usagi frowned at this. "I don't think there's a win or lose in arguments like that. Mamo-chan usually agrees we shouldn't take it further and lets me-"

"Yeah, yeah. Okay, so what does he do after he loses- I mean, after the arguments over? What's his general pattern of behavior?" It must happen often enough that the guy knew a way to take the edge off.

"Well, after the argument is over, he'll make tea and it's very important not to interrupt him during the process because he's very focused. Then he'll give some to me and we'll drink it together. After that's over, he'll be talkative again-"

Haruka rolled her eyes. Of course. Why had she expected anything else from that guy? Tea-making. She couldn't possibly blow off steam that way. Nope, the Haruka way to take the edge off…

"Okay, then! I'm going to go find some tea to make for Michiru and myself!" Haruka said jovially.

Usagi's eyes lit up at this. "Ohhh, really? That's so nice!"

"Yes, thank you for your help, buns-head!"

Haruka spotted a bar down the road. Her eyes gleamed. "I know just where to make it."

You could always find a pretty girl who had to order the drinks while her man made eyes at other beauties at these places. It was like a rule. This one was clearly uncomfortable in the setting. Her eyes were flitting around and she was on the alert.

"It doesn't look like you're having a good time."

The woman started at Haruka's intrusion. She looked over Haruka, who was sitting beside her at the bar and gazing at her with a sly smile. She tossed her dark hair with a sniff.

"How would you know?"

"I can read basic body language. This is my first time here too, don't worry. I haven't been in many bars, but man, is this one crowded. No decent music either."

The woman sighed. "Yeah. There's a nice one a little ways away I would rather have gone to. It's a pretty classy joint. They have a man who plays jazz there."

"Amade Yuusuke, right? A member of my family's actually acquainted with him"

"Really?" The woman looked skeptical.

"Yeah, well, she's a musician too, see. She mostly does classical, but she's a fan of his work too and a mutual acquaintance introduced them."

The woman still looked skeptical. She was a tough nut to crack. Haruka sighed."

"Kaioh Michiru is the family member I'm talking about. You might have heard of her.

"Oh!" The woman's eyes widened. "Oh, of course I have! My, now that I look at it, you look like that person who sometimes play piano to accompany…" The woman's cheeks were a little pink now. She was looking at Haruka pretty closely.

Goddammit, I'm supposed to be in a fight with Michiru and I'm can't even flirt without talking about her.

"Yep, Tenoh Haruka, at your service."

"I'm Mori Hiromi," said the woman, who was now fluttering her hand in front of her chest like she didn't know what to do with it. "I'm so sorry for my rudeness, I was just…"

Haruka took the hand, which caused the woman's ears to go red, but she didn't protest. " Not a problem, my lady. This is a shady place."

"Oh…yes…oh my…"

"I'm guessing the gent you're with doesn't much appreciate the finer things in life?"

"Well…" the woman giggled. "You could say that…but how do you…?"

"Hey. What are you doing with my woman?"

The hulking man loomed behind the giggling woman, right on cue.

Haruka grinned. "Paying a little attention to her, which was more than you were doing."

"Why you-"

The man hauled back his fist, shoving his girlfriend aside roughly. Haruka caught her as she stumbled, placing her gently out of harm's way. With any luck, this situation would precipitate a breakup between her and the quick-draw dude here. She ducked his swing and caught him in the stomach with her knee. The whole bar erupted in noise.

Ah yes. This was what she had been missing.

"I'm afraid what you're really missing is common sense."

Michiru had swept into the jail cell, graceful as a seasoned dancer and with the hardened gaze of a stately general. Her elegance had tongue tied both the female and male guards and Haruka had glowered at the trembling of their hands when she handed over the bail. She had waited for Haruka with her hands on her hips with eyes that were empty and cold. The tut she had let out upon seeing Haruka's bruised jaw had been more like a gunshot, signaling Haruka's death sentence.

"Good luck," the guards had whispered to Haruka as the two of them had left.

"Honestly, Haruka," Michiru said as she drove them home. (They'd long since established a rule that Haruka was not to drive when she was angry because she tended to treat the road like a race track. Or rather, Michiru had established that rule). "You have a child now. You have to think about what it would be like for Hotaru to have a parent with a criminal record."

"Oh, so now you care about Hotaru," Haruka snapped.

"What- are you still upset about that?"

"Of course I'm still upset about that!" Haruka spat. "Not that you would understand- perfect Michiru never gets pissed off. She has too win every fight. It's all passive aggressive bullshit with you."

"You're making this about me, when it's your lack of emotional control-"

"Well, I'm sorry not all of us can't have perfect emotional control. Maybe having a lack of emotional control is better than not being able to show emotion at all!" Haruka screamed.

There was silence at this. Haruka fumed as Michiru drove, her eyes steady.

"So," she said after a minute, her voice even. "You really think that of me? That I can't show emotion?"

Haruka felt there was something ominous in this. "What I mean is-

"Because I wonder what would have happened if that were the case. If I was really able to always control my emotions. Well, I never would have lost my composure and ended up dragging you into being as Sailor Senshi. I never would have confessed how I felt. Isn't that true?"

Haruka shut her mouth. They pulled into the driveway. Michiru turned off the engine, but left the key in the ignition. She folded her hands nearly in her lap.

"I thought you knew me better than anyone. I thought you might have noticed that you're the one who can always fluster me. That I can't always control myself when it comes to you. That that's why…" Michiru took a small pause here. Haruka noticed her hands were shaking, just slightly. "…that's why it had to be you for me. You're the only one who can do that to me."

Michiru took a deep breath and turned to open the car door, her hair falling in front of her face, covering her eyes in shadow.

Haruka grabbed her hand. "Michiru. Michiru… wait!" She felt like she was about to cry. "I'm sorry, okay? I'm really sorry! I…I do know you better than anyone! And I know you're…full of passion and…I mean, it's in everything you do, you can hear it in your music, and I can feel it when we kiss and…when we fight together and…you've done a lot for me, you're just…I was just angry okay, I was just talking shit. I was just mad because you always win our arguments, but that's because you're right, probably. Please, please don't be angry at me. Please."

Michiru's eyes were still covered by her hair. "Haruka…"

"Please," Haruka said again.

"Haruka…" Michiru's voice was a little shaky. She looked up at her girlfriend with soft eyes. She opened her mouth as if to say more and then… Michiru grabbed Haruka by the collar and pulled her close, kissing her roughly on the mouth, even biting her lower lip a little. She pulled away with a grin that seemed almost feral. "If you really got me angry, I think you ought to know by now your punishment would be a lot more creative than me sniffling a bit."

Haruka blinked. "Uh…?"

"So," Michiru said, flipping her hair. "Since we've both agreed that I'm right, I think we can put this nasty business behind us and move on with our lives."

"I..." Shit. "You!" Haruka couldn't believe herself.

"Ah, ah, ah. You've already conceded defeat," Michiru leaned in closer, her hair tickling Haruka's face. "Do I have to give you another lesson?"

Haruka slumped against the car door. All the strength had gone out of her limbs. She felt like an overcooked noodle. She couldn't help but laugh a little. "I know when I'm beaten."

Michiru traced her bruised jaw with cool fingers. "Mmm. I take it the man you fought wasn't nearly so deadly an opponent. This might even serve accentuate your full lips one the swelling goes down. What happened to the other guy?"

"A broken nose and his girlfriend leaving him."

"Ah, did she ask to run away with you?"

"Nah. She thought I was too violent. She did ask about being introduced to you, though. I told her you were even worse."

Michiru gave a tinkling laugh. Haruka started kissing her neck. Michiru responded by slowly snaking her hand under Haruka's shirt.

"Honestly," Michiru said, just as her fingers slipped under Haruka's bra. "If you really want to get rough after an argument," She squeezed a little as if to accentuate her point and Haruka let out a grunt. "You know I appreciate it in a certain context. We'll just need to lock the door."

Haruka reached over and flipped a switch. There was a loud click that resounded throughout the car.

"Doors are locked now."

There was no question about it. Michiru's grin had definitely turned feral.

Afterwards, Haruka did try making them both some tea. She ended up spilling half of it all over herself, but as Michiru said, it was the thought that counted.

Author's notes:

Ami has done scientific studies on whether Usagi is, in fact, an angst magnet. Results are inconclusive, but considering her life, circumstantial evidence is vast.

The woman in the bar's name was me randomly mashing the names of two mangakas I like together. I iz creative.

If it wasn't clear, Michiru was kind of upset at what Haruka said, but more on the level of peeved. Turning it into an opportunity to throw Haruka off her game was her form of revenge