Three months later, Haruka and Michiru had done nothing but incessantly plan for Setsuna’s wedding. Ami had told Michiru to take it easy for a while after the implantation, just to insure that at least one of the eggs would take. Haruka had also done nothing but fret over Michiru these last few months. Hotaru was to be the flower girl and Haruka and Michiru the bridesmaids. The three of them couldn’t remember a time seeing Setsuna happier.
Following the wedding, Setsuna and Shukensha were planning on moving to a modest house near Haruka and Michiru. Hotaru had decided to go with them. Since Haruka and Michiru were trying to have a baby, Hotaru insisted that they focus on that to increase Michiru’s chances of a successful pregnancy.
Things were going to be stressful for quite a while. Hotaru had promised to visit every day and help with the baby. All of them kept thinking positively and hoped one of the embryos did take. They all knew Michiru would be utterly devastated if they didn’t.
Michiru had already ordered all of the bridesmaid’s dresses and Haruka the tuxedos. They decided the ceremony would be held in a quaint section of the Crystal Palace among close friends. After all the amazing things Setsuna had done and accomplished as a senshi, Haruka and Michiru wanted their best friend and sister to have the most amazing day of her life.
Michiru had risen early the day of Setsuna’s bridal shower. Michiru looked over at Haruka who was still fast asleep despite the morning sun shining through the curtains. All of a sudden, after Michiru had risen from the bed, she started to feel her head spin, made a mad dash to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. She emptied the contents of her stomach.
Haruka, hearing Michiru’s distress, was now wide awake. She threw the covers off herself and made a beeline for the bathroom. “Michiru, what’s wrong?”
Michiru, finally able to collect herself, ran a cool cloth over her mouth and pressed it against her forehead. They had a big Indian dinner last night; maybe she had gotten food poisoning. Michiru sighed, she hoped she’d feel better by late afternoon; she would hate to miss the bridal shower she worked so hard to put together.
Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Haruka’s incessant yelling. “Haruka, I am fine,” she insisted
“The hell you are, let me in!” Haruka continued.
Michiru managed a small laugh and opened the door. “I am fine. Must have been that food I had last night.”
Haruka looked unconvinced but gave in. “Well, are you sure you’ll be okay today?”
Michiru nodded as she pushed past Haruka. “That reminds me, I need to try on that bridesmaid’s dress, just to make sure it fits the day of the wedding.” The wedding was still two months away, but creeping up closer and closer. Michiru was determined not to acquire an ounce of fat.
Haruka sighed and went to grab her clothes and headed for the shower. Just before she reached the door, she stopped when she heard a gasp. “Michru?” Michiru who was fitting into her bridesmaids dress became frantic as she pulled at the back zipper. “It’s too tight! How can this be, I only got this dress a month ago!” Haruka dropped the pile of clothes she held and made her way over to Michiru.
The dress was a sleeveless gold with a sweetheart neckline and just reached past her feet. Haruka saw where her wife was having trouble and moved to zip up the back. Michiru could feel the fabric pull against her stomach as Haruka tried to zip up the dress.
Haruka sighed. Michiru threw down her arms, “I can believe I gained this much weight!”
Haruka chuckled and slipped her arms around her wife’s waist. “I am sure it has something to do with all the hormone medications you have been taking,” Haruka assured.
Hardly convinced, Michiru dropped her hands in surrender. “I suppose you’re right, now just go for your morning run,” Michiru encouraged, feeling embarrassed.
Haruka sweat dropped. “Alright, alright,” she conceded as she quickly changed into her jogging clothes. A moment later the blonde paused and looked over at Michiru. “If you’re that worried about the weight gain, are you sure you don’t want to join me?”
Michiru gave Haruka a death-like stare and her question was answered when a shoe flew by; inches away from her head. Haruka jumped and scratched the back of her head. “I’ll take that as a ‘no’,” she mumbled. Ever since the treatment began, Michiru’s hormones had been going haywire and she felt as if she didn’t understand her wife at times…if that was at all fathomable.
Once Haruka went out for her morning jog ritual around the beach, Michiru turned towards a calendar on their wall. Every month, she would circle the day her period began. Seeing the calendar blank, except for Setsuna’s event dates, she began to flip through the previous months. Her period hadn’t come for nearly three months. ‘How could I have not realized?’ Michiru’s heart pounded. With all the planning for Setsuna’s wedding, it must have slipped her mind. ‘Still, I should have noticed sooner!’ Michiru rationed with herself.
Michiru bit her lip and hurried for the bathroom. She almost frantically fumbled through each drawer’s accessories until she found what she was searching for. The sound of her pounding heart vibrated throughout her eardrums. A pregnancy test. A month ago, Ami had instructed Michiru to give her a call if she began to have any signs of pregnancy. This included morning sickness, delay in menstruation, swollen breasts, fatigue and so on. She also told Michiru to perform an ‘At home’ pregnancy test if she had any of these symptoms.
Michiru had noticed her breasts were a lot more tender recently, especially during love making; her frequent trips to the restroom, which Haruka had brought to her attention, and morning sickness. Her chest swelled with anticipation as she ripped the pregnancy test from the box. She carefully followed each step and waited for the results.
Ami had explained to Michiru that urine tests were just as accurate as blood tests, despite popular disbelief. A second urine test at the doctor’s office followed by an ultrasound would be done just to ensure accuracy. Though it only took a few seconds for the results to show, it seemed like an eternity to Michiru. As she waited, her thoughts ran through Ami’s explanation of what to expect. If the pregnancy test was positive it would only take about 40 seconds, and if it was negative, about 5 minutes would be necessary. If it was positive, two colored lines would appear and if it was negative, only one line would appear.
She held the test in a death grip as two dark colored lines appeared on the small screen. She gasped.
Later on that day, all the girls had arrived at Setsuna and Shukensha’s new home. However, Setsuna’s fiancé had gone out with Endymion to allow the girls their night. Their house was only about a mile from where Haruka and Michiru lived. It was nestled in a small suburban neighborhood on the outskirts of Tokyo. However, Setsuna had agreed not to move in with Shukensha until they were married. She wanted her fairy tale wedding before completing their life together.
Inside the house, all the girls were seated in the living room, with Setsuna in the middle. Ami, Rei, Makoto, Serenity, Minako, Hotaru, Haruka and Michiru had all been able to make it to the bridal shower. They had just finished a catered dinner and cake and were about to top the night off with opening the presents. Serenity held toddler Chibiusa in her arms as Setsuna began to open her presents. “Presents!” the little girl cried.
Everyone laughed. “That’s our Chibiusa. She reminds me of her mother!” Rei teased.
Serenity contorted her face, leaving all royal etiquette at the door. “Rei-chan, I have changed a lot over these years, you should know!”
Everyone laughed as Rei stuck out her tongue. No boundaries of royalty would ever change their relationship.
Setsuna opened her first present. It was from Serenity and Endymion. She carefully folded back the tissue paper to reveal the most beautiful crystal statue of Sailor Pluto with the Knight of Pluto. Setsuna smiled. “Serenity-sama, arigatou gozaimasu!” the garnet-eyed woman embraced her Queen.
“You’ll have to thank Endymion. He was the one who had this made,” Serenity explained.
As Setsuna continued to open the rest of her presents, she graciously thanked everyone for their kindness, especially to Michiru who planned the bridal shower. Before Setsuna began to open her last gift, she stood up to embrace Michiru. “Doumo arigatou gozaimasu,” she said with most genuine sincerity. “Doo itashimashite.” Michiru replied softly. As she parted from her best friend, Michiru suddenly felt the room swirl around her. She felt her legs buckle from beneath her and the last thing she could hear before she connected with the wooden floor was Haruka’s frantic cry, “MICHIRU!”
To be continued………