A few minutes later, Makoto emerged from her room in her traditional green dress and white top. Haruna thought she looked very good in it. Haruna looked down at her slacks and jacket and sighed. She wished she looked that good. They sat together at the table and drank tea as they waited. "Excuse me if this question's out of line," Makoto asked, blushing a bit, "but why were you at that bar last night?" She continued hurriedly "I know Natsuna probably brought you, but I was just wondering..." Haruna got an odd look on her face, then began to laugh softly. "I'll be damned, little sister was right." She shook her head, and noticed Makoto's perplexed expression. "I just had a bad breakup, actually. Natsuna suggested we go to her bar to drown my troubles and forget about him." She grins. "Haven't thought about him all day, so I guess she was right." Makoto laughed softly. "Yeah, you had more pressing things to worry about, like 'Where am I?' and 'How did I get here?' for instance." They shared a laugh over that. "Another possibly rude question," Haruna began with a shy smile. "Are you..." she hesitated, blushing a bit. She tried to say it again, blushing all the while, until Makoto decided to take pity on her. "Yes, I am... a cook!" Haruna looked at Makoto like she was mad. "Sorry, I shouldn't tease. Yes, I am a lesbian. But your honor is safe with me," Makoto said with a gentle smile. "I almost wish I wasn't," Haruna admitted softly. "You're very beautiful." Makoto blushed a bit at that, looking down shyly. "You were very drunk last night, and you're in the middle of a breakup. But I was tempted, I have to admit." Makoto looked up at Haruna with a shy smile. She was about to say more when the buzzer sounded. Makoto reached over to a note pad by the door as she used the intercom to let Natsuna into the building. Sitting down by Haruna, she wrote quickly. "My number," Makoto said, handing the note to her with a smile. Haruna smiled in thanks, carefully tucking the note away, even as they heard a soft knocking on the door. Makoto opened the door to a cautiously smiling Natsuna and a smirking Minako. Makoto sighed a bit as she waved them in. "Good morning," Minako said in chirpy tones. Natsuna just nodded to Makoto, walking past her to check on her sister. "That was rude," Haruna said firmly to Natsuna. "Makoto's gone out of her way to help me," Haruna said, heat in her voice. Natsuna actually looked like a little sister at that point, being lectured by an elder. She blushed a bit, and turned back to Makoto. "I'm sorry," Natsuna said softly, "and thank you. I should have been more careful last night but," Natsuna blushed brighter, "I got a bit distracted." Minako grins. Minako practically bounced over to Makoto. "So what happened?" she repeated. "Haruna and I talked a bit last night, she had a problem getting home, so I let her stay here last night. And that's it." Makoto said, glossing over Haruna's drunkenness. Haruna smiled at her, gratitude in her eyes. Minako looked at her suspiciously, but didn't pursue it. As they three were leaving, Haruna stopped and took Makoto's hand. Slipping a piece of paper into Makoto's hand, she smiled and said "Thank you again, Makoto." Haruna hesitated a moment, then stood on tiptoe to place a kiss on Makoto's cheek. Makoto stood in the doorway as they walked away, her hand on her tingling cheek. She opened her other hand, and saw a note with neat writing: Haruna's name, and a telephone number. ------------------------------------------------------------ A week passed, then two, but Makoto found herself continually thinking about the shy older woman. Her auburn hair, and those striking eyes. The easy conversation between them. And how nice it had felt, holding her on the dance floor. Makoto constantly thought about calling, but she was torn with indecision. Haruna was going through a breakup, and it seemed she had never been with a woman before. Both those things should have had Makoto running to the hills, but still she thought of her. She got up eagerly to the sound of the knock on the door. 'Maybe it's her,' Makoto thought. She opened the door, and Minako just barged right by her. "Hello Minako," Makoto said calmly, "just come right on in." "I'm here on a mission!" Minako said dramatically, flinging her arms outward. "Haruna came over and talked to Natsuna, and Natsuna visited and talked to me, so I'm here to ask: why haven't you called her?" "Called who?" Makoto asked confusedly. Then a light seemed to dawn. "Haruna?" Makoto asked, eyes wide. "Bingo! She's been waiting eagerly by her phone," Minako said smiling. "I was waiting for her to call," Makoto said, blushing faintly. "I didn't want to seem to pressure her or anything." "Chivalrous," Minako admitted, "but dumb. So what are you going to do? Oh, Natsuna sent another message by the way." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a sheet of paper, which she read from verbatim: "If you wish to date my sister, you have my approval. But if you hurt her, I'll take the appropriate action." Makoto smiled and shook her head. "Does she know who she's threatening?" Minako grinned back. "No, I haven't told her yet. She's a cop though, so I suspect she'll figure it out." Minako looked thoughtful. "So what are you going to do?" "As soon as you leave, call." Makoto said simply. Minako pouted, but left with a smile. She picked up the phone and the note with shaking hands. 'I can't believe I'm this nervous,' Makoto thought. She dialed, and listened to the ringing. In a moment, it was picked up. "Hello," Haruna said softly. "Hi," Makoto said, suddenly shy. "It's me, Makoto." "Makoto!" Haruna squealed happily. Makoto could almost imagine the woman's smile. "Why didn't you call sooner?" Haruna asked. "Honestly, I was waiting for you to." Makoto laughed softly, continuing "I didn't want to press you, either." Haruna laughed softly. "So we were each waiting for the other to call." A short pause, then "What prompted you to call?" "A romantic best friend," Makoto admitted. "She came over here with strict instructions." She heard Haruna laugh again. "I'd like to see you, if that's okay," Haruna asked shyly. "Please," Makoto said with a broad smile. "I have my university courses, and you're teaching, so why don't we meet afterward? Dinner maybe?" "I'd be honored," Haruna answered cheerfully. "But how about we meet at the bar again?" Makoto could almost HEAR Haruna blush as she continued "I'd like to dance with you again." ------------------------------------------------------------ Makoto smiled as she led Haruna to the building. "You look lovely tonight," Makoto said softly into her ear. Haruna smiled sunnily up at her, her long dress sweeping around her. Makoto adjusted her tie nervously. She wasn't so sure the body hugging business style dress in forest green was such a good idea. Still, she felt warm when Haruna's eyes had lit up after she saw her. "You look stunning," Haruna answered. They both looked up a moment at the unmarked building. "What is this place called, anyway?" "Haruka told me it's Asugawa's Locket. I'm not sure where the name comes from, though," Makoto explained. A pink haired girl and her darker haired girlfriend who were walking by both sweatdropped on hearing that. Makoto and Haruna ignored them as they walked up and knocked on the door firmly. The door opened and Bones the bouncer smiled at them both. "Hi Makoto. Come on in," she said. As they walked in, Makoto smiled as a slow song came on over the sound system. She gently led Haruna over to the dance floor and took her into her arms. Haruna snuggled in to Makoto as they slowly swayed together to the music. One slow song seemed to flow into another as they lost themselves to the pleasure of the dance. Over by the jukebox, and concealed from their line of sight, Natsuna and Minako fretted as they went over the music selection. "We're running out of slow songs," Minako complained, frowning at the list. "It looks like they're having a good time though," Natsuna said, looking out at Haruna and Makoto dancing together. Makoto gently held Haruna in her arms, in a posture that said 'I have no intention of letting go, ever'. "Are there any not-so-fast songs?" Natsuna asked. Minako nodded, feeding more coins in and pressing more buttons. "I hope they appreciate this," Minako said wryly. "Don't worry," Natsuna said archly, "I'll reward you myself, later." Minako blushed. Makoto smiled a bit sadly as Haruna eased herself back a bit from Makoto. She looked up, Makoto's hands resting on her shoulders, then pulled Makoto down into a kiss on the lips. She wrapped her arms around Makoto's neck and kept kissing, until they had to separate for a breath. 'Wow,' Makoto thought dazedly. "I've wanted to do that for the last few weeks," Haruna admitted. She smiled shyly. "It was as nice as I hoped." Makoto leaned down and kissed Haruna this time, using all the kissing experience she had gathered over they years. "How was that?" "Even better," Haruna admitted breathlessly. "Do you want to come home with me again?" Makoto asked with a smile. "As long as we're both in that comfortable bed of yours," Haruna answered. "I think I can guarantee that," Makoto said.
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