Chapter 2 of ‘Let’s Drive Along the Coastline….’

Or, the second pointless chapter.

Can a morning ever be this beautiful? Depends. If you are as head-over-heels in love as yours truly, and that person happens to return your affection, then yes. Should I define the term ‘head-over-heels in love’ to myself? Yes, since the long walk down to the kitchen requires me to keep myself busy.
Love is something complex. Something unexplainable. It feels great when that someone loves you s you love them, but hurts like hell when they don’t. Trust me. I bloody well should know.
You have to be careful with love. It can blind you from things so obvious to the world. You could be in love with an axe murderer, and think that she was the most perfect angel in the whole entire world. And, you have to know the difference between ‘love’ and ‘lust.’ Do I REALLY need to explain to myself the meaning of ‘lust?’ Thank Kami, no.
Ok… Either I’m walking too slow here, or the path to the kitchen is just longer then I first thought.
I am pretty sure that Taiki is awake. He generally is, at this time in the morning. I’ll bet two million yen that he is sitting at the kitchen table; head buried in the newspaper, as he sips his cup of coffee and manages his toast, muesli, and fruit.
Ok… I am walking… walking… walking… I am nearing the entrance to the kitchen… turning the corner in…
Looks like I lost to myself in the bet. Taiki is doing just that- except the fact that she is female this morning is as clear as the sun in the sky.
“Good morning Starshine!!” Heh, Taiki surprised is pretty damn funny.


I can only stare in shock as Seiya walks in with this ‘big-ass’ grin on his face.
“Good morning Starshine!!” he ‘chirps.’ He smirks when I don’t say anything, and I wonder for a moment what the look on my face is. I wonder again why he is so cheerful, and so… awake. He’s usually dead at nine in the morning. Seiya helps himself to the bacon and eggs at the stove, then sits down and takes a slice of toast.
“Lovely morning isn’t it?” he asks, between bites. I blink- since when does he use ‘lovely?’ I’d expect ‘smashing, great, spectacular,’ but ‘lovely?’ And it usually takes more then a night to solve his problems. The deep and meaningful ones. He looked pretty upset yesterday, at Yaten and at himself.
And then it dawns on me. He and Yaten probably worked out their differences. Sigh. I have been around Usagi for far too long.
“So what time are we supposed to meet Usagi-tachi?” he asks now. I shrug.
“Maybe about… 11. We were thinking of heading first to an amusement park, having a picnic there, then, maybe a quick swim followed by dancing.” Seiya’s eyes light up.
“Sounds good to me,” he says.
“If Yaten ever decides to wake,” I point out. He shrugs.
“She will.” I shrug at that.
“Care to make a wager?” I ask. He frowns thoughtfully at his juice, finally shaking his head. Again, I am surprised. He’s usually willing to place a bet on the doings of our Yaten. I shrug again, and return to my newspaper.
At approximately 9:15, there is a sound of a door opening upstairs and quiet footsteps. Then there is a sound of another door slamming shut, and the shower being turned on.
“Taiki, how much were you willing to bet?” asks Seiya.
“My guitar.” I keep my face expressionless as I silently thank Kami that he refused the bet. Seiya’s mouth falls open, ad he bangs his head on the table.
“Damn you, you screwed up person!” He always wanted that guitar.
So close.
Yet, so far.


Look. Taiki Kou, otherwise known as Sailor Starmaker is bugging the hell out of me. Trust me, you have not seen a guitar until you have seen the one that Taiki owns. She- he- whatever- never uses it at concerts- uh uh, it’s too good and expensive for that. No, it is only reserved for use at home, by herself, and no other. Except Kakyuu-sama. But that’s beside the point.
The point is, that that limited edition Yamaha guitar is the one thing that I want and need in the whole entire world! Object wise.
So while I am sitting there brooding, Yaten sashays in wearing tight black jeans, and one of those little white shirts.
“What’s wrong with Seiya?” she asks. “Looks like the time when you forced him to eat his broccoli and peas.” The She-Devil just smirks.
“Ish!” I say irritably. “Could you two please hurry up? Usagi-tachi are probably waiting for us.” Yaten shrugs slowly, and sits down, going through a bowl of cereal and some fruit –coughcrapcough-.


It is really quite amusing when Seiya gets riled up over that guitar. Truly, it is. He gets the most adorable expression on his face, and there is this pout on his lips until something comes along and takes his attention.
So now, we are in the car, to go to the amusement park, where we will meet Usagi-tachi.
Thankfully, none of that country music crap (or Brittany Spears for that matter), is playing.
I am leaning against Seiya, practically falling asleep- car drives are this boring, no matter how short they are!
We finally get there, after an eternity of this loud, incessant racket that sounds whenever someone starts up a car. We go through the usual procedure of walking into the park, and looking around for Usagi-tachi.
“Heeeey!” Seiya lifts his hand, and waves to them. All nine Solar System Senshi and one Earth Prince approach us. That green jacket just makes me want to set him on fire.
“Hi guys!” Minako and Makoto being really cheerful.
“Yo.” Haruka nodding politely to Seiya, who looks a bit wary. Who can blame him though? The Kaze no Senshi has got it in for him.
Hm. Maybe I should tell Seiya that the cold rage isn’t really all there any more. It’ll only come back if he speaks to, looks at, listens to, and touches Michiru. Or Usagi.
Which is bound to happen sooner later. The rest of the Senshi say ‘hi’, Seiya and Taiki nodding and smiling. I don’t want to be here, and all know that. I just want to go back to Kinmokusei but…
Kakyuu’s orders.
I’ll admit it. I hate it here. Ok, not necessarily ‘hate,’ but I still don’t like it that much here… away from the Princess, and all. I don’t ever want to have to leave Kinmokusei, and be apart from my Princess again, especially after Galaxia and Chaos.
“We have the choice of the roller coaster, or the roller coaster.” I stare Seiya.
“You’re not serious. That’s not much of a choice.” I stop for a moment. “No!” I finally add.
“Oh, come on! You can choose next time!” Seiya looks pleadingly at me, and I finally nod slowly.


I. Am. Shocked. Did Yaten- Yaten Kou, Sailor Starhealer, super egotist, super delicate soldier- just agree to going on the roller coaster? WithOUT getting in a fight with Seiya?
I, Tenou Haruka, am damned shocked. Emphasis on ‘shocked.’ This is a roller coaster I am talking about. Coaster and Kou? Not a good mix.
“Who are you and what have you done with Yaten?!” Seiya sounds shocked. He offers his arm to her, staring, and she takes it.
“It’s perfectly clear,” she answers, rolling her eyes and smiling softly as she leans in. The two walk off to the ticket booth. Merp.
“Michi?” I ask, holding my own arm out. Michiru takes it, and we follow them.
“What do you think of that?” she sounds vaguely curious.
“I think it’s a damn good suit,” is my answer. Michiru gives me a look, and I shrug. “He hasn’t tried to pull any moves yet,” I point out.
“Oh Haruka. Do you not see the signs? This is the start of a wonderful, possibly slightly rocky at times, relationship!”
“How can a relationship be rocky but wonderful at the same time?”
“You know what I mean Ruka-chan.” I love the way she says my name.
“It’s not going to last long.” Who are we kidding? “Seiya fell in love with Usagi, and that he/she was in love with Kakyuu before that.” Michiru rolls her eyes and smiles up at me.
“Be nice. Don’t be rude.” I am just drowning in her eyes… “But, Kakyuu has her Prince and Usagi has Mamoru-san. Seiya had to get over them- and besides. Something tells me that perhaps Usagi was nothing more then a slight crush.”
“If he truly loved them though…” I start off.
“He loves Usagi as a friend. DON’T kill him for that,” she adds after my look. “And it will take a long while before the hurt of Kakyuu finally truly fades… if it ever does…”
“Then he shouldn’t be leading on Yaten.”
“Haruka. Stop trying to pull this apart. Seiya is staying away from Usagi. Shouldn’t you be happy?” I have to nod at that. “He won’t get over it, because he loves Kakyuu. But don’t we love Usagi? Isn’t that the same thing?”
“Yes…” I love Michiru, and her ability to see things that others- like me- don’t see.
It’s one of the many things I love about her.
“I love you too, Haruka,” she says smiling up at me, before resting her head on my shoulder.


And so Yaten and I, Haruka and Michiru, are close to screaming our lungs off. The roller coast is starting, and Yaten looks scared stiff. So I take her hand, and I entwine our fingers.
“It’s just a ride. We jump higher, and face worse things as Senshi then this.”
“I’m not scared.”
“Sure, Koukou, sure.”


Maybe two hours later, the soldiers found a place underneath a huge tree and set up the picnic basket.
“Where the hell is the basket?!”
“… Usagi…”
“You took the pi-ca-nic basket!”
“She’s smarter then the average bear!” Chuckling, Haruka held up the basket.
“Gomen ne, Koneko-sama.” She blinked. “That sounds…. Strange.” Michiru smiled as she spread the blanket, and they all sat themselves down.
“Makoto! You’ve out done yourself!” the soldiers showered praise on her, and she blushed and smiled, saying it was nothing.
“I am starving!” Usagi immediately helped herself to some of the sushi, and Seiya poured some drinks for everyone. He gave Yaten the last cup, their hands brushing, before heaping up a plate of donuts, sushi, anything on the spread.
“Hungry?” he murmured to Yaten. She nodded, sipped her drink, and started work on a sushi roll. Seiya’s eyes gleamed when he noticed his favorite food- hamburgers.
“Thanks Makoto,” he said warmly. She nodded, and winked at Yaten. There was no noise, except for munching. After all, who could talk when Makoto’s delicious cooking was in the vicinity?
A while later, Haruka spoke.
“So Seiya. Tell me where you bought that suit.” Their eyes met, and Seiya shrugged lazily.
“Paris.” And that was all for this subject.
When they were done, Rei, Makoto, Minako, Usagi, Ami and Hotaru stood up, for a game of Frisbee. Seiya rested his head on Yaten’s lap, and closed his eyes. Michiru-tachi talked about random things, looking at Seiya and Yaten once or twice before leaving them alone.
‘Ah, this is the life.’
‘So boring. So unlike home.’
‘They are both the same- peaceful. But it’s true; they are different.’
‘I much prefer home. People do not lie.’
‘Yes they do.’
‘Not as much as this planet.’ Seiya opened his eyes, and began to idly plait Yaten’s hair.
“People lie all the time, to keep out of trouble. To hide what they truly feel…” she blushed as he gazed almost pointedly into her eyes.
“They lie all the time.”

Time after lunch at the amusement park seemed to fly by. Soon, the Soldiers were at the palace of Serenity and Endymion, preparing to take a swim in one of their many pools. Michiru and Ami were the first to dive in, looking absolutely delighted in their element. They were gradually joined by the others, and then Seiya, who swan dived off the highest board. It was a while before Yaten appeared, in a black bikini. She looked at the water, and wrinkled her nose, before dipping a toe in to see how cold it was.
“The waters’ great. Come on!” Taiki swam over, her posture relaxed. Yaten frowned, not liking the prospect of getting wet. Suddenly, two strong arms surrounded her, before a wet Seiya grinned, showing all her teeth.
“Oh no…”
“Oh yes.” Seiya picked up Yaten, and jumped in. The two resurfaced, Yaten gasping for air. She glared at the raven haired woman floating on her back near her.
“Seiya, I HATE you for doing that!” the young woman merely chuckled with laughter, and dodged two splashes of water. They were in their own little world, practically ignoring the rest.
Yaten gasped, as she noticed Seiya creeping up towards her, ready to pull her under. She began to swim in the opposite direction, arms cutting through the water. Perhaps she wasn’t as fast in the water as Michiru or Ami, but she was just as graceful. Her love caught up to her easily though, deliberately swimming slower before lunging in ‘for the kill.’ They resurfaced a moment later, Seiya cradling Yaten against her body. The silver haired young woman looked a bit uncomfortable, not used to being touched, but she did not say anything.

“Hey! Starfighter!” Haruka grinned challengingly at her foe. “How about a race?” Seiya looked up, and raised an eyebrow.
“Are you willing to risk the humiliation?” The Kaze no Senshi glared at her.
“I wouldn’t be the one worrying about that. What say-” she smirked at a sudden idea. “You and Yaten, against Michiru and me?” she looked to her lover for consent, who smiled gracefully and nodded. Yaten wrinkled her nose slightly when Seiya looked to her, but found herself nodding.
“A relay then?” Ami took charge, surprising the Starlights. She had changed since they had last seen her.
“You’ll need a baton…” there were none in sight, so Taiki picked up two balls.
“Here are the rules.”
“First swimmer will take the ball, swim to the opposite end of the pool, and back again, handing the ball to her partner.”
“Her partner will then repeat the procedure, and the first one back will win.” The four competitors lined up. The other Senshi climbed out of the pool, to watch the race.
“Ready, Set, Go!” Michiru and Yaten immediately started to swim. The smaller girl managed to keep up with Michiru more or less, but she was maybe half to one meter behind when they were back.
Seiya smirked- though Haruka had a SLIGHT head start, it was nothing. She wasn’t a Soldier of water, but she had grown up in the East of Kinmokusei. It was very hot there, and where it was hot, you sure as hell would find plenty of pools to swim in.
They were neck on neck in the last fifty meters, but in the end, it was, surprisingly, Seiya who won. She’d started to fall behind, and all had thought that she was tiring out. She was only saving energy for a burst of speed.
“Congratulations, Seiya.” Haruka grudgingly held out a hand to shake, and Seiya shook it.
“Good job, Tenou.”
“Oh look! They’re bonding!” Yaten and Michiru looked at their lovers with amusement.
“Next thing you know it, they’ll be going out to the footy and eating nachos!” Yaten wrinkled her nose at the American pastime. Seiya and Haruka swam away from each other, identical looks of annoyance on their faces.


They were dressed for dancing that night. Seiya in a black suit, white silk shirt, and silver jewelry. Yaten looked elegant in matching black and white, and Taiki looked just as good in a mauve dress. Haruka and Michiru looked ‘absolutely adorable,’ to quote Seiya with a wicked grin, in matching outfits.

“Just a mineral water again, thanks.” The bartender quickly refilled her drink, smiling, before leaving to tend to another customer. Yaten sipped her drink, eyes seeing everything and nothing. Seiya as dancing with Michiru; Haruka had given her blessing after Michiru’s threat of the couch. She didn’t feel dancing now, just felt like sitting down, relaxing, though how anyone could relax to this infernal racket was beyond her. The fast paced song ended, and for a moment, there were only the voices of the Earthian folk.
“Requests?”
“Six words DJ! Love, more love, some more love!” grinning, the DJ put on a new tune. Soft, and sweet, slow, easy to sway too. People moved off the stage, leaving only ‘true’ couples to dance. A slender hand, with slim fingers, those of musicians, took her own. She hesitated for a moment, then allowed herself to be pulled onto the dance floor. They walked to the center, right under the lights, and slowly held each other, swaying to the music.
“Could I cut in?” came a low purr. Yaten looked up with a slight start, recognizing the red head from the drive. Without looking up, Seiya answered.
“I’m sorry. This dance is reserved.” The woman sized up Yaten, dislike building up in her eyes.

They all watched the two. Of all people that they would fall for- their own team mates and child hood friends. An unlikely couple, considering the fact that they were as close as family. How could they view each other as anymore more then sisters, much less lovers? None of them had seen this coming, except, perhaps, Taiki and their Princess. How could a love build up from two opposites? Cut from the same tree, and yet as different as chalk and cheese. They all listened carefully, however.
“Hey… Aren’t you that dyke from yesterday?” Seiya looked up, scowling.
“Beat it.” He didn’t spare her any niceties. She glared at Yaten.
“Seiya. I’ll be here if you need anyone tonight.” She walked off, hips swaying. Seiya looked down into her eyes again, face serious. They all took notice of that.
“I don’t need anyone beside my side except for you.” And she smiled.







In the background, was a song. It wasn’t one for dancing to, more, one to listen to, and to understand the words. Perhaps the singer meant it in a different way, but in the end, it was the same thing to the couple dancing underneath the lights.

Take my hand and if I'm lying to you,
I'll always be alone, if I'm lying to you
Take your time and if I'm lying to you,
I know you'll find that you believe me, you believe me.