Genesis, Chapter 3
By Distant Sky King
Rated PG-13

All standard disclaimers apply.

Author's Note:
This fanfiction is an attempt to tell the story of how Haruka and
Michiru initially met during the Silver Millennium.  Parts of this
story may be too mature for younger audiences, so if you're under 18
or don't think you can handle adult situations, turn back now.

Chapter 3

	To appease Madam Delta's wounded pride Princess Uranus was assigned a
week's worth of laundry duty as her punishment.  She accepted it gracefully,
much to the large woman's angst.  She didn't really mind the punishment; she 
was
fast and could get it done quicker than most of the palace staff.  After
apologizing to Princess Neptune's confused parents she was sent directly to 
her
chamber to "think over the seriousness of her reckless actions," according 
to
Madam Delta.  A midnight run through the palace grounds was hardly reckless, 
but
she wasn't going to argue.  Better to let sleeping dogs lie.
	Back in her chamber she perched herself on the window seat in her usual
position.  She grinned into the darkness as she replayed the day's events in 
her
mind.  Madam Delta was furious with her and would most likely make the next
couple weeks of her life a living hell, but it was well worth it.  Only one
thing troubled her, however.  After spending the evening with the Princess 
of
Neptune she was now quite positive that she was becoming more and more 
attracted
to the aqua-haired beauty, and it scared her.  It wasn't supposed to be that
way; girls weren't supposed to like other girls, but there it was.  She 
could
deny it all she wanted but it wouldn't gain her anything.  What was she to 
do?
She couldn't very well act on her feelings.  To do that would cause Neptune 
to
be frightened of her, even hate her.  If her feelings kept progressing at 
the
rate they were it wouldn't be long before she was no longer satisfied with 
just
being her friend.  The worst part of it was she couldn't even tell anyone 
about
her problem lest they turn on her.  Just a joke.
	"Why couldn't I have been born a boy?" she wondered aloud to her dark
room.  The room didn't answer.  She didn't expect it to.  Frustrated at how 
she
could have been so stupid as to let her guard fall, she dropped her head 
onto
her knees and heaved a sigh.
	A light knock came at the bathroom door, followed by soft footsteps.
Uranus sighed again; Neptune was the last person on the moon she wished to 
see
at that moment.
	"Am I disturbing you?" Neptune asked softly.  "I wanted to see how you
were doing."
	Uranus looked up and glanced at the girl briefly.  She was relieved to
find that she was fully wrapped in a robe and not clad in the skimpy
nightclothes that were all the rage among the palace women.  Her emotions 
were
in such turmoil she really didn't need her hormones throwing their weight 
about
too.
	She managed a polite smile.  "I'm fine," she said.  "Just a little tired
is all."
	"Oh, I'm sorry.  I'll leave, then."  Neptune turned to go.
	"No, wait!" Uranus urged.  Dammit, what was she saying?  Treacherous
mouth!  "I mean, you don't need to.  I'm not that tired."  Damn damn damn 
damn
damn damn damn damn damn.
	The other girl eyed her warily but nodded.  She seated herself on the
window seat across from Uranus as she did earlier that day, adjusting the 
folds
of her light blue robe.  The starlight filtering into the window cast itself
upon the robe, giving it a silver sheen.  Neptune's eyes glittered in the 
dim
light as they searched the blonde's face.
	"Are you sure you're all right?" she asked after a while.  "You seem
tense."
	Busted.  "Seriously, I'm all right," she lied.
	Neptune seemed to accept her assurance and leaned back into the wall,
casting her eyes out to the palace grounds below.  "It's beautiful here," 
she
commented idly.  "We don't have trees or green hills back on my home planet.
Just miles and miles of ocean and sand.  It's beautiful and I love it, but 
it
pales in comparison to what you have here."  She smiled slightly in the
starlight and turned her attention back to Uranus, who was watching her with 
an
unreadable expression on her handsome face.  Neptune blushed slightly.
	"We don't have anything like this, either," Uranus told her suddenly.  "My
planet is covered in rocky plains and mountains.  Very little vegetation 
grows
naturally because of the strong winds that tear through the air."  She 
closed
her eyes and imagined herself back home.  "The wind howls all night there.  
I
couldn't sleep for weeks when I first came here because I couldn't hear the
wind.  I still miss it.  I think I'm addicted to it."
	Neptune nodded knowingly with a wry smile on her lips.  It seemed the
other girl was as attached to her home planet as much as she was attached to 
her
own.  She never would have thought that of the strong girl if she hadn't 
offered
the information.  "You're a very interesting person, Princess Uranus," she 
said
quietly.
	"Haruka."
	"Come again?"
	Uranus let her green eyes fall lazily upon the puzzled girl before her.
"Haruka.  It's what I was called back home," she told her.  "Before I was
coronated as the ruler of Uranus I actually had a real name."
	"Haruka," Neptune said, testing the word on her lips.
	"It means--"
	"Distant.  Yes, I know."
	The blonde was amazed.  How could she know a thing like that?
	The other girl answered her unspoken question.  "My father's adviser is
from Uranus," she explained.  "He taught me a bit of the language."
	Uranus nodded and turned her attention to the scenery outside the window
once more.
	"Your name fits," Neptune commented wistfully.
	The other girl chuckled in amusement.  "I guess it does."
	"Why haven't you made friends with the other girls?"
	She shrugged.  "We don't really have anything in common," she said.
	"We're all Sailor Senshi.  Isn't that enough?"
	Uranus thought for a moment before responding to her new friend's words.
She wanted to make them as careful and meaningful as possible.  "No," she 
began
after a while.  "Being a Sailor Senshi only puts us all in the same 
category,
but it doesn't automatically make us friends.  Those five girls are so close 
to
one another.  They have some sort of deeper connection that I can't find; 
though
I've tried.  I guess living up to my name isn't completely my choice."
	"What about your brother?" Neptune asked.
	"I tried explaining it to him once, but he didn't understand.  All he has
on his mind is trying to find new ways to impress the other girls.  He's 
busy
being a typical hormone-enraged boy."
	"Well, that's it then," Neptune said with a note of finality in her
crystalline voice.  "I'm the only one left.  And if you think I'm going to 
allow
you to push me away like the others, you have another thing coming."
	Uranus grinned ironically at the beautiful girl's confident statement and
shook her head.  "You think you can keep up?" she asked her wryly.
	"Of course.  You don't run that fast, Haruka."
	Haruka.  No one had called her that since she was a very small child.  The
name was foreign to her ears yet it stirred a sort of warmth inside her to 
hear
it spoken from Neptune's lips.  There was a certain amount of intimacy 
carried
with it, and even though she had never told anyone else, it seemed as though 
the
name were for the aqua-haired girl's exclusive use.  Instantly she regretted
ever telling her of such a private matter, but it was too late.  The emotion
evoked from hearing her true name frightened her.
	Neptune must have noticed the surprise on the blonde's face and gathered
herself together and stood.  "I should be going to bed," she explained as 
she
wrapped her arms about her body to ward off the increasing evening chill.
	Uranus nodded and absent-mindedly let her eyes linger on her perfect
little form.  The dim starlight gave her skin a lustrous glow which made her
even more beautiful.
	"My family calls me Michiru," Neptune told her, then turned on her heel
and went back to her own room.  She closed the door behind her leaving an 
amazed
Uranus in the darkness alone with her thoughts.

	By the next morning news of their exploit had spread so far that even the
chambermaid who rarely ever said a word to Uranus was chattering about it to 
her
happily as she made the bed.  Everyone was of course shocked that a proper 
lady
such as the Princess of Neptune went running through the darkness and even
though they all expected it of Uranus they certainly didn't think the 
Princess
Neptune would succumb to such unruly behavior and oh how beautiful she was 
last
night and Uranus too you should wear dresses more often I hope you didn't 
ruin
it while you were capering about in the trees it was lovely and set off your
eyes wonderfully did you see the King and Queen of Neptune oh they were the
picture of royalty all prim and proper and-
	Uranus didn't care to listen to any more of the maid's breathless chatter.
She yanked a white button-down shirt and a navy designed tie out of her 
wardrobe
and slipped out the door before the woman could notice.  She heaved a sigh 
and
leaned against the door, letting her blonde head rest against the hard wood.
Reluctantly she shrugged the shirt over her white undershirt and buttoned up 
the
front.  If even the usually silent maid had this much to say, she was in for 
a
very, very long day.
	The unlikely princess threw the tie over her shoulder and proceeded to
knot it, but soon found she hadn't the patience that morning.  She struggled
with it a couple more minutes before finally giving up and let it hang
unceremoniously around her neck.  She looked down at it and sighed again.
	"Need help?" Neptune asked.  She had just come out of her chamber door and
was waiting expectantly with an amused smile on her face.
	Uranus looked up and grinned a little sheepishly.  "I guess I do," she
admitted.  She really didn't want her help, but really didn't savor the idea 
of
attending class looking like a frump, either.  It was one or the other.
	The aqua-haired girl giggled and strode over to her and took hold of the
dangling ends of the tie.  She expertly knotted and tightened it snugly up
against the other girl's throat.
	"There," she said when she was finished.  "Very nice."
	Uranus swallowed hard.  It was almost too much having this lovely young
creature touch her.  Fool, she said to herself.  She only tied your fricking
tie.  Get a grip.
	"Thanks," she murmured.
	Neptune smiled a winning smile up at her friend.  "Shall we go?" she asked
cheerfully.
	The blonde nodded morosely and hoisted herself from the wall, hooking a
finger into her collar and loosening the tie just a bit.
	Class was unbearable.  The other girls poked and teased incessantly and
even the instructors jabbed her every now and then.  She noticed that no one
made any mention of Neptune's part in the adventure and thought it just as 
well.
No need to drag the girl down with her, even if she was the one who 
instigated
the whole thing.  Uranus was known as the palace troublemaker and she was
content in that role.  At least she knew who she was when she was being 
yelled
at.
	Uranus never intentionally caused trouble; it was more like trouble sought
her out specifically.  Usually the trouble involved Madam Delta trying to 
stuff
her into a dress and parade her around in front of "eligible young men," or
whatever she called them.  No, trouble only found Uranus when someone was 
trying
to make her something she wasn't, or when she was very, very confused.  The 
fact
that it happened often didn't bother her as far as the punishment went, but
rather the mental and emotional roller coaster she'd ride as the result.  
There
was a constant battle between her sanity and emotions, and while neither was
truly injured yet, she knew a day would come when one of them would crack
completely.  She only hoped that she could cope afterward.
	An elbow in the ribs jolted Uranus back to reality and she cast an angry
glare to her twin brother, Orion.  He dropped his green eyes to the notebook 
on
the desk in front of her.
	Uranus sighed and looked down at the carefully printed words before her.
"How does she look in the starlight?"  Uranus nearly choked as she read her
brother's note, then scribbled, "Like a girl.  What do you expect?"
	"I was thinking about her last night."
	Oh, damn...here it comes...
	"Can you ask her out for me?"
	Bingo.
	Uranus wanted to laugh out loud but somehow managed to keep her face calm.
She really didn't need the instructor getting curious and reading her 
notebook.
Orion?  And Neptune?  Even if she did forgive him for the rotten thing he 
said
about her yesterday, she doubted Neptune would even--Or would she?  She 
realized
that even though out of all the other girls she knew the aqua-haired girl 
best,
she still didn't know much.
	"Remember what you said about her yesterday?" she scrawled after a
moment's reflection.
	"Yeah...you don't think she's angry, do you?"
	Uranus thought for a moment.  "No."  She personally didn't believe Neptune
knew how to be angry.
	"Then ask her.  Please?"
	A pang of jealousy flared in her but she quickly smothered it.  Neptune
had a right to see whomever she wanted and she certainly didn't own her.
Besides, they had just met.  But the jealousy gnawed at her nonetheless.  
She
didn't want to do it, but her brother was asking her help.  Her only living
flesh and blood, her twin, her best friend-
	"Fine."
	"THANK YOU!" he wrote in big, bold letters and leaned back in his chair,
triumphant and smiling.
	Uranus looked over at Neptune and heaved a great sigh.  Now she was
trapped.  This was exactly the type of trouble she wished to avoid, yet 
somehow
found.  And the source of this trouble was an aqua-haired girl from Neptune.
	After class and her seemingly endless piano lesson Uranus retired to her
usual thinking spot under the great oak.  She was glad no one else was 
around to
witness her slow mental and emotional deterioration.  She had finally come 
to
terms with her attraction to Neptune only to realize that she could never 
have a
chance with her, and that her brother was also harboring similar feelings.  
But
at least he had a chance.  And she had to ask her for him.  What kind of a
brother was he, to twist the knife in her already gaping wound?  No, no--it 
was
wrong to think that way.  He had no idea how she really felt.  It was 
impossible
for him to even conceive of such a notion.
	She had foolishly promised.  And she always kept her word.
	Uranus sighed for the umpteenth time that day and flopped back down on the
lush green grass, tossing an arm over her forehead to shade her eyes from 
the
sun.  Such a quandary on such a beautiful day.  It was a shame.
	"You look like you could use a friend," Neptune said quietly from above.
	Uranus wasn't shocked in the least that she had found her.  In fact, she
had expected it.  People were always able to find her at the most 
inopportune of
moments.  She didn't know what to say to the other girl and didn't trust 
herself
with making idle conversation.  She wasn't good at it and she didn't want to 
say
something that might betray her feelings.  She continued to stare up at the
bright and cloudless sky.
	"May I sit down?" Neptune asked after a moment.
	No response.
	The aqua-haired girl stared at her flatly and interpreted her solitude as
indifference, and seated herself gently on the grass beside her.
	"My parents left today," she said, keeping her deep blue eyes on the
other's face.  "I was sad to see them go.  I'll miss them."
	Silence.
	Pause.
	"Why are you so quiet?"
	Nothing.
	"Is something wrong?"
	No response.
	Neptune's face hardened.  Damn, the girl was frustrating.  She was so hard
to read, her emotions as fickle as the wind.  Why couldn't she open up to 
her?
Why did she feel she had to be so reserved all the time?  What in the world 
was
happening inside that intelligent mind?  She wanted to ask these questions 
but
knew they would only meet with silence.  Now what?
	"Will you see my brother?" Uranus suddenly asked.
	"What?"
	"Orion would like to see you.  Do you accept?"
	Wonder filled her mind as she stared at the prostrate girl before her.
Was this what she was agonizing about?  Was this why she was so silent and
aloof?  There was only one way to find out.  She didn't particularly savor 
the
idea, but she was looking for a specific reaction.
	"I accept."
	The blonde's green eyes widened momentarily.  She recovered herself
quickly and cleared her throat before she spoke.  "I will tell him, then."  
She
rose to her feet and nodded her head to the other girl and quickly 
disappeared
around the hedge.
	Neptune didn't know what to think.  She had her answer and she was right;
Uranus definitely didn't want to be her brother's messenger and didn't like 
her
response.  Why?  Maybe she didn't like to be used.  Maybe she didn't approve 
of
her brother's lame dating tactics.  Or maybe, just maybe, she was jealous.
After all, she and Orion were very close and every moment Neptune spent with 
him
meant a few more minutes of loneliness to Uranus.  That must be it, she 
decided.
Uranus only has one friend and she was taking him away.
	Or was it something else completely?  Uranus had reacted a bit too weakly
to be jealous of her, but it was just right for someone trying to hide his 
or
her true feelings.  Was it possible that Uranus was jealous of her brother?  
Her
clothing, her behavior, her disregard for boys, the way she looked at her 
last
night as if she were undressing her with her eyes--her deep, smoldering 
green
eyes that penetrated all barriers and saw straight to the soul--her strong 
yet
gentle arms which held her when she couldn't stand, her-
	No.  Impossible.  What would such a person want with a boring, weak little
frill such as herself?  It was just as well she agreed to see Orion.  Maybe 
now
she could get her emotions straightened out.  After all, the two were twins, 
and
even though they were different sexes they looked exactly alike.  Their 
voices
were even the same.  If she hadn't already memorized Uranus's walk she 
wouldn't
be able to tell them apart at all.  Besides, it was unnatural for two girls 
to
fall in love.  Men and women were supposed to marry and have families.  That 
was
the way.  It couldn't be love anyway--they'd just met.  But there was 
something
so familiar about her.
	Neptune sighed herself and shook her head.  Such a quandary on such a
beautiful day.

	Uranus's emotions were in turmoil.  They flashed back and forth between
depression and anger, two emotions she was well acquainted with but unused 
to
having at the same time.  Why her?  Out of all the people in the universe 
did
the powers that be choose her?  What had she done wrong to deserve such a
crisis?
	She stormed through the hallways of the palace to her room and slammed the
door behind her.  Such a noise would alert the servants to a problem and 
they'd
probably poke around to find the source, but Uranus didn't intend to let 
them
succeed.  She had an hour before she was to report for laundry duty and 
needed
the time to collect herself.  She wasn't going to allow anyone to see her in 
her
out-of-control state.  To do that would be admitting weakness, and she 
couldn't
afford anyone taking pity on her.  She'd lived long enough without others' 
pity
and wasn't about to accept it now.
	Uranus cursed under her breath when the expected knock came at the door.
She was going to ignore it until she heard her brother's voice.
	"Hey, sis!" he called.  "Open up!  I know you're in there...one of the
maids saw you!  Come on, I need to talk to you!"
	She managed to get hold of herself before she opened the hard wood door
and allowed her twin inside.
	"Took you long enough," he grumbled as he entered.  "Did you ask her?"
	Uranus nodded.  "Yeah, I asked her."
	Orion looked at her expectantly.  "Well?" he asked.
	"I don't know why, but she's accepted."
	"Yes!" he cheered, hugging her roughly.  "You're the best sister in the
world!" he exclaimed.  "Will you tell her that I won't really have time 
until
Friday?"
	Not again.  "Why don't you do your own dirty work for a change?" she
nearly spat.
	If the excited prince noticed her tone he ignored it completely.  "I'm
just so nervous, Uri.  Please?  I'll never ask you to do it again."
	That's because after Friday you won't need to.  And after that day I'll be
freed from this terrible spell.  "All right," she sighed.  "But this is the 
last
time."
	Orion nodded his blonde head gratefully and opened the door.  "Thanks,
Uri," he said, grinning.  "You're the best!"  He closed the door behind him 
when
he left.
	If I'm the best, why do I have to put up with all of this?  She wondered.

	"So he won't have time until Friday?" Neptune repeated.
	"No.  He said he's busy."
	"Oh."
	Uranus looked about Neptune's room and couldn't help but smile.  Even
though their two rooms were identical in structure, to look at them without
knowing that proved they were nothing alike.  Where Uranus's room displayed
plainness and functionality best befitting a man, it was more appropriate to 
say
that Neptune's chamber was a girl's haven.  All the furniture was soft and
comfortable, and was shaded in the varying colors of the ocean.  A 
toe-tingling
carpet in soft pink squished under her shoes and small accessories such as
pillows and throws were strewn about the room.  The color scheme somehow 
made
the room lighter even though the two rooms shared the same type of outdoor
exposure, a large bay window overlooking the gardens.  In spite of herself
Uranus had found herself sitting on the window seat in her telltale 
position,
with Neptune seated across from her.
	"I'm sorry I was so short with you today," Uranus apologized.  Laundry
duty had offered her the solitude she required in which to think, and she 
came
to the conclusion that Neptune had done nothing to deserve such poor 
treatment.
She should be nothing but friendly to her despite her emotional state.
	Neptune smiled warmly, lighting up her beautiful blue eyes.  "It's all
right," she said.  "You looked preoccupied.  I should have left you alone."
	Uranus nodded and let her eyes linger for a tantalizing moment on the
other girl's face.
	"Do you want to talk about it?"
	"No."  That was the last thing she wanted to do.
	"Would you like to help me raid the kitchen, then?  I missed dinner and
I'm absolutely starved."  Neptune's eyes twinkled mischievously.
	Uranus's stomach growled as if in response.  It suddenly occurred to her
that she had so thoroughly needed the quiet accompanying the dirty laundry 
that
she had worked right through dinner.
	Neptune giggled.  "I think that settles it," she said.
	"I think you're right," the blonde laughed.
	When they arrived to the kitchen they found that all the staff had already
found their beds.  It didn't matter, for Uranus often indulged in midnight 
raids
and knew where everything was kept.
	"What are you in the mood for?" she asked while peering into one of the
many cupboards lining the walls.
	"Oh, anything's fine," Neptune responded.  She was completely stunned by
the enormity of the kitchen.  "This place is huge!" she remarked.  "We don't
have anything like this back home."
	Uranus sniffed an open jar and made a face.  "Same here," she said,
putting the jar back in the cupboard.  "They need a big kitchen like this
because they serve a lot of people," she told her as she pulled out yet 
another
jar and opened it.  Peanut butter.  "You like peanut butter and jelly?"
	Neptune looked up from a large copper pot she was inspecting.  "Oh yes,
that's fine," she said.
	"Good, because that's about all I know how to make."
	The aqua-haired girl giggled and sat herself on a tall stool at the high
wooden table against the wall.  There were long, dark scratches all over the
surface, which told her it was probably used to prepare the food.  "How long
have you been here?" she asked suddenly.
	Uranus pulled her golden head out of the cupboard and gave her a startled
look.  "About five years," she said after thinking a moment.  "Why do you 
ask?"
	"I was talking with the Princess of Mercury today," Neptune said.  "She
told me you were the first to arrive.  Does that mean the other girls were 
born
here?"
	Uranus closed the cupboard door and set two jars on the wooden table.
"Yeah, all the Inner Senshi were born here.  Only you, me, and Pluto were 
born
on our guardian planets."  She reached up and grabbed a fresh loaf of bread 
from
the rack near the fireplace and set it next to the two jars.
	Neptune blinked.  "Pluto?  I don't think I've met her yet."
	"You probably won't, either," the other girl told her as she rooted
through one of the counter drawers for a sharp knife.  She found the object 
of
her desire and pulled it out.  "Pluto is the Guardian of the Gate of Time.  
She
doesn't get out much."
	"Have you met her?"
	Uranus nodded while slicing the bread.  "Once, at a state function.  She
looked kind of uncomfortable with the younger girls so I struck up a
conversation with her.  She's a few years older than we are, I think.  She's
nice, but aloof."  She stacked a couple pieces of sliced bread on the table 
and
went back to work.
	The aqua-haired girl cupped her chin in her hands and watched as her
friend made dinner.  "I suppose I'd be pretty aloof too if I had to spend 
the
rest of eternity guarding time," she said wistfully.  "But what about 
Saturn?
Do they have a princess?"
	"She hasn't been identified yet," Uranus said with a shrug.  Her sudden
shoulder movement threw off her aim and the knife gave her a neat little 
slice
on the finger.
	Uranus swore and dropped the knife on the table in surprise.  She gazed
distastefully at the red line forming on her left index finger, waiting for 
the
pain to come.
	"Are you all right?" Neptune asked, worry lining her perfect face.
	"Yeah, I'm all right," the blonde told her grumpily.
	"Here, let me see."  Neptune reached out and before the other girl could
protest, took the injured hand in her own.  She pulled out a small lacy
handkerchief and wrapped it neatly around Uranus's finger, and tied it off 
with
a small knot.
	"There," she said when it was finished.  "All better."
	Uranus glared down at her wrapped finger and looked up at the other girl,
a little uneasy.  "Thanks," she muttered.
	Neptune beamed at her.  "You'd better let me finish making the
sandwiches," she instructed lightly.  "I don't want to have to be the one to
tell your piano instructor that you're sans a few digits."
	Uranus smiled, all uneasiness melting away.  Just being with the girl made
her feel better about everything.  She handed her the knife and loaf of 
bread,
careful not to get blood on the food for it was already leaking through the
bandage.
	"How did you know I played the piano?" she asked while the girl
painstakingly constructed the sandwiches.
	"My violin lesson is right after yours," she explained.  "Master Alpha
complains about you a lot."
	Uranus's face flushed in embarrassment.  She always thought she was
terrible and it was a waste of her time, but apparently she had no idea how
truly bad she was.  The only reason she kept with it was because it provided 
her
with a perfect outlet to vent her moods.  She often found herself in the 
music
hall late at night banging her frustrations out on the keyboard.
	Neptune giggled at the other girl's reaction.  "He doesn't complain about
your playing, Haruka," she said.
	The blonde's face reddened again when she heard her true name.  It was
going to take her a very long time to get used to hearing it.
	"He complains about your imminent senshi training," she continued,
oblivious.  "He thinks you have a real future as a concert pianist and he
doesn't want to see you breaking your fingers in battle."
	"I think it's too late," she laughed, holding up her injured hand.
	Neptune chuckled.  "He says you're really very good," she continued.
"Will you play for me someday?"
	"I--I guess," the blonde stammered.  So she wasn't as bad as she'd
thought.  "I really only play for myself, though."
	The aqua beauty frowned slightly.  "That's too bad.  I really love the
piano."  She slapped a piece of jellied bread together with one slathered 
with
peanut butter and offered it to Uranus, who took it gratefully.
	Uranus peeled away one side of the sandwich to reveal a light coating of
strawberry jelly and about a quarter of an inch thick of peanut butter.  
Just
the way she liked them, but how did Neptune know?
	"Do you ever have the feeling that you've done something before?" Neptune
suddenly asked.  Her voice sounded odd, wistful almost, as if she were
remembering something long forgotten.  "On my planet they call that 
sensation
'deja vu.'  Have you ever had it?"
	The blonde watched her face steadily.  "A couple times," she admitted
warily.
	Neptune shook her head and snapped out of her momentary reverie.  She
smiled slightly and turned her attention back to her incomplete sandwich on 
the
table before her.  "I feel like I've done this before," she said quietly.
	Uranus nodded slowly and took a bite of her sandwich.  So she wasn't the
only one having these feelings.  Were they all?  An uncomfortable silence
suddenly conquered the room as each girl was lost in thought.
	The clock on the wall behind them chimed half past one, shattering the
solitude.  The two girls looked up at it in surprise.  Had they really been
talking that long?
	"Oh my," Neptune breathed.  "It's quite late, isn't it?"
	Uranus nodded her blonde head in agreement.  "Professor Beta is going to
kill me if I'm late again to class."  She screwed the tops back onto the 
jars
and got up to put them back in the cupboard.  She nodded to the loaf of 
bread
sitting on the table.  "We may as well leave that out.  The breakfast staff 
will
be here in a couple hours anyway."
	Neptune slid from her perch on the stool and picked up her sandwich.
Uranus turned out the light as they left the kitchen, and the two girls 
snacked
on their sandwiches and shared jokes on the short walk back to their rooms.

End Part 3


End Note:

And thus we see the beginning of a beeyootiful friendship.  Will it 
progress?
Can Haruka come to grips with her feelings?  Will Madam Delta drop dead from 
a
heart attack?  Stay tuned...

As usual, any and all comments, questions, flames, solicitations for 
romance,
and money accepted.  :o)  Please send all that good stuff to
distantskyking@moonkingdom.com!  I love getting mail, even if it ain't so 
nice.
Visit my web site at www.uvm.edu/~vlaporte for more fun!