Summary: Oneshot. Relationships are built on the power of words, they can create fires and calm the storms in a person's heart. Miku is about to discover that when it comes from the right person, a mere six words can weigh over you for a lifetime. Complete.
The Weight of Words
by Atheon
One
Miku stumbled into the room, tripping over herself and falling forward in a way that made her wonder if she really did have a third invisible leg as her brother had tricked her into believing years ago.
Around her, the papers that had been in her arms cascaded through the air before fluttering to the ground, surrounding her in a messy circle of important documents.
She scrambled to her knees and began collecting the displaced papers, all the while muttering between pants about alarm clocks and sprinting practice.
The sound of soft laughter broke into her flustered murmurs and caused her to body to jump, the bundle she had collected into her arms collapsing onto her lap and the polished white floor.
Slowly, she turned her head with a not-quite-mock sense of dread, her face flushing with embarrassment as she began to mumble a series of excuses, going back and forth between explaining her tardiness and her clumsiness.
She was met by a set of blue eyes that momentarily reset her thoughts as a blonde-haired boy stared back at her from less than a few meters away.
Her thoughts were brought back to reality by his attempts to cease his muffled laughter and he looked at her with a shy expression, as if he was trying to share some of her embarrassment.
Seeing her face turn from light pink to deep crimson seemed only to amplify his laughter, prompting him to look away for a few seconds before turning to her with a smile fit for an angel.
"My name is Len. What's yours?"
Two
Miku exhaled audibly as she sat down; her eyes were closed and mix of frustration and exhaustion was clear on her features.
The first winds of winter howled against the closed windows, fighting for dominance against the sound of cartoons playing from a television set.
Their only viewer, a boy who often had to defend his choice of television entertainment to his twin sister, had long since stopped watching and instead turned his attention to the teal-haired girl who sat an arm's length away.
Miku shifted her eyes to look at him with her eyelids closed a quarter of the way, expecting to see a look of questioning on the blonde's gentle face.
It was with slight surprise that she found herself once again being mesmerized by the beautiful blue orbs that she had come to associate with her new friend.
She noticed with more shock that his eyes were tinged with worry at her distraught and it was all she could do to stop herself from blushing at the idea that he was concerned for her well-being.
With quickly-gathered resolve, Miku turned to Len with a slightly forced smile, almost as if to reassure him that she was fine and hadn't just had the worst day ever.
Her smile was broken and she blushed despite herself when he reached out to hold her hand, his fingers were soft and delicate yet seemingly unbreakable all at the same time.
"Tomorrow will be better. I promise."
Three
Miku munched her way through the bag of jalapeno-flavored potato chips, commenting dully to herself about how it was spicier than expected.
The chips – along with the rest of the parade of snacks that filled the table between them – belonged to Len, though he had insisted that they share since he would never be able to finish them all anyway.
After some hesitation, Miku had agreed despite feeling rather embarrassed that he had so easily detected her ravenous hunger.
From there, they had spent the rest of the afternoon idly chatting about nothing and everything, their directionless conversation taking them from pop music to literature classics.
They even had their first mini-argument when they debated whether or not Cars was a good Pixar movie or not – Miku had done her best to discredit it while Len had quite adamantly defended its quality.
All the while, a strange friction circulated through the room as Miku began to realize just how easily embarrassed and blush-prone she was in the blonde's company.
Really, she had just planned to spend an hour with him after lunch, but then one turned into two and soon, her whole afternoon had passed by in a flash without her noticing.
Now, they sat watching the setting sun together, a strange lull having slowed their previous conversation to a stop as a movie-like tension hung unspoken in the air.
She turned to the clock, noting that she had to leave soon; from his spot opposite of her, Len similarly glanced at the clock before turning to her with a smile.
"Time flies when you're having fun."
Four
Miku hands were balled into trembling fists as she bit her lip, trying her hardest to prevent the sound of her sobs from being heard by a certain blonde.
To her left, Len's eyes were straight and focused, completely engrossed in the movie they were currently watching and seemingly oblivious to the fact that his companion was fighting back tears.
Personally, Miku wondered what force had possessed her to ask him to watch The Fault in Our Stars with her when she was fully aware that the original book had left her in a fit of tears just a few months ago.
Miku risked taking a quick glance at the golden-haired boy from the corner of her eyes despite the onslaught of tears that threatened to pour at any moment – tears she knew she couldn't keep at bay for long given her track record with sad movies.
She was pleased to note that he looked like he enjoyed the film at least, which was a good thing since he had initially showed resistance when she brought up the idea of watching it together.
He gave in eventually as he usually did when it came to her requests, though he had somehow gotten her to promise that she would later watch Pulp Fiction with him – it was apparently one of his all-time favorite movies.
Slowly, Miku began to feel the first of what was bound to be many tears make its way down her cheek, accompanied by a soft sob that had escaped her locked lips.
For his part, Len had stayed silent and didn't laugh or ridicule her as she all but broke down because of a movie less than a meter away from him.
Her stream of sobbing was interrupted by a hand reaching out to grab her own, not much differently from the way he had done so on her self proclaimed 'worst day ever' just a couple of months ago.
"It's okay, Miku. Please don't cry."
Five
Miku stretched out her arms above, reaching for nothing in particular as she let out a long yawn that she had been holding back for far too long.
Beside her, Len merely smiled at her exaggerated display of sleepiness, though his own eyes were quite bloodshot and he could no longer keep the tiredness he felt from his facial features.
It was currently three in the morning, far past either of their bedtimes and much later than Miku had anticipated staying.
Losing track of time happened far too frequently whenever she was with him, not that she had an impeccable reputation for time management beforehand of course.
Still, Miku found herself enraptured by their aimless conversations far too often these days and though she greatly enjoyed their interactions, it was only a matter of time before she ended up forgetting her responsibilities in favor of spending time with him.
Today, the two of them had followed each other down barely-related tangents regarding philosophy and science with one of their main points of discussion being the many-worlds interpretation.
The two of them had been thoroughly engrossed in each other as they discussed Hugh Everett's interpretation of quantum mechanics which suggested that there existed a separate universe for every possible outcome of every potential situation in history.
Somehow, even when debating the philosophical and scientific implications of quantum mechanics, their conversation never lost the feeling of lightheartedness and comfort that Miku had become dangerously attached to.
She could talk about just anything with Len, even things that she wasn't comfortable telling anybody else, which was strange considering how he was a complete stranger less than a year ago.
In no time at all, he had become her best friend and cemented his place in her heart, though she would likely be the first person to die of excessive blushing if she ever told him that.
And blush Miku did when Len turned to her with the faintest of smiles, before turning with a sense of melancholy to the distant window, a few stars visible in the clear of the night.
His next words nearly broke her heart.
"In another world, we never met."
Six
Miku felt the blood pump through her body, her entire being rendered numb to the outside world as she looked at the smiling boy before her.
Tears rolled silently down her face and a heavy lump blocked her throat, keeping her sobs from surfacing, but making it difficult to breathe.
Her heart had suffered a devastating blow when she realized the futility of the situation earlier and the smile he gave her in response had served to shatter it into a million pieces.
Miku's entire body trembled with bridled emotions as Len held her hands softly, preventing her from covering her tear-stricken face.
His smile was radiant, the very picture of tranquility, while his eyes held the same powerful allure that she had come to be so enamored with since the day they first met.
In contrast, her expression was fraught with ruined makeup and glistening tears, reflecting her own chaotic mindset and incoherent feelings.
She had broken down and fallen onto her knees despite his best attempts to reassure her; it had been all she could do to tell him what needed to be said before letting lose the torrent of emotions that had been brewing uncontrollably within her for the past few weeks.
With a weightless touch, Len dropped her right hand and moved to lift her chin, not minding the tears that continued to fall like raindrops onto his pale skin.
Upon seeing his solemn smile, the lump in her throat exploded and a renewed sadness overtook her being, causing a new wave of sobbing to come forth.
He closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against hers, his voice laced with the melodious harmony of someone who stood near the place of angels.
"Goodbye Dr. Hatsune. Thanks for trying."
This was a bit of an experimental piece for me in terms of both style and the type of story. A number of these were based on a bunch of six word stories I had read recently (such as "Goodbye mission control. Thanks for trying.") so I decided to try my hand at it. So please let me now what you think. Thanks for reading!