A/N: Again, thanks to MetaTin for beta-ing!
This one-shot is for Ten-Faced, who requested a fic of this pairing. I hope you enjoy it!
.
.
.
Whimsical
::Kiyoteru x Meiko::
.
.
.
Chaotic would be an understatement if one would describe the Vocaloid mansion.
What was supposed to be a welcome party for the three AHS-loids transforms into something of a competition about who could drink the most (exclusive to the over-18 Vocaloids), and naturally, straitlaced and stoic teacher Hiyama Kiyoteru simply would not take part in such a meaningless activity.
"Don't be such a party pooooooooper, Sense—i~!" Meiko hiccups, half-sober and waving a sake bottle up in the air. Her face is red and she's sitting upside down on the couch, her legs dangling off the upper portion and her head lolling, almost hitting the floor. "Huuuh? Why're you upside dooooown, Sensei?"
"Don't call me sensei. You're the same age as me, Meiko-san, and it would do you some good to act like a proper 20-year-old, not some juvenile girl on her first drinking party!" He scolds, but his words fall onto deaf ears. Somehow, the brunette has fallen asleep in the bizarre position while drooling. Kiyoteru only sighs and pulls the woman up so she's lying on the couch, muttering about how he's not to blame about the hangover that's sure to ensue tomorrow. It's not his fault he's the only sane adult who has enough common sense not to get drunk like there's no tomorrow.
The morning after, when Kiyoteru comes out of his room after a good night's sleep, the living room looks like a little girl's room when the little girl playing with dolls is having a hissy fit and throws all her dolls around the room, letting them lay sprawled in whatever positions they happen to land in. The teacher spots Meiko, already awake and rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand. Her eyes are clearer now, more alert and aware of her surroundings. She regards the room with a cool gaze, as if the mess is perfectly normal to her.
While sober, Meiko is definitely more beautiful, Kiyoteru thinks, and immediately rewards himself a mental slap for the insane and impossible thought. He hands her some aspirin and water and she replies with a groggy, "thanks."
Silence hangs in the air. Kiyoteru lets his eyes take in the unimpressionable view of bodies laying everywhere. In one corner there is Lily holding Gakupo in a headlock. Not far from them, Luka lays on her stomach, mumbling something incomprehensible. The younger Vocaloids have decided that it's 'fun to sleep in the living room' and all of them are still out cold on the floor or even draped over chairs and tables. They'd even roped little Yuki along! How dare they corrupt her innocuous mind?
"Lolicon." He hears Meiko mutter, and musters a glare.
"What was that?"
"Lolicon." She repeats. "What? It's obvious from the way you stare at Yuki with googly eyes, like this." To emphasize, Meiko raises her hands to her face, using her fingers to widen her eyes. "Like thiiiiis, you heaaar meeeee?"
"I am not a lolicon!"
"Oh really." The way she says it makes it sound like a statement, not a question.
"Really! I… I like women! Not little girls!" Kiyoteru tries to defend himself, stating the obvious (at least, obvious to him). He'd never try to harm little girls or sexually harass them. Really!
"I'm still not convinced." Meiko stares at him with blank eyes, before suddenly brightening up as an idea pops into her mind. "I know! Kiss me. Prove that you're not a perverted lolicon teacher."
"No." Ew. He'd totally never kiss Meiko. Her breath stinks of sake and the usual morning bad breath, that's for certain. Besides, he won't kiss anyone he doesn't like. And he most absolutely doesn't like Meiko, especially in that way!
…right? It's just been a night, right? People can't fall in love that quickly… right?
Right. Right! He isn't in love with Meiko. It's just too impossible.
Deep in his own thoughts, Kiyoteru doesn't notice Meiko standing up, wobbling a little. He only lets out a girlish shriek ("What are you doing, you crazy woman!" which he later denies) as Meiko crashes her lips to his, effectively shutting him up.
The kiss doesn't even last two seconds. The brunette pushes the dumbfounded man away, staring at him with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.
"Guess you're not lolicon after all. You enjoyed that, didn't you?" She taunts, laughing. She walks away a moment after, sparing him and the mortified expression etched onto his face as he is left with his hands and knees on the floor.
"Scandalous, sensei. Your first day, and you've already kissed the most senior Japanese Vocaloid." Lily snickers from her corner, already standing up with a camera in one hand while her other hand is holding…
…Yuki's hand.
Kill me now.
"Scandalous." The pig-tailed girl echoes, giggling. "Sensei kissed a giiiiiirl!"
From somewhere, Kiyoteru can hear Meiko laughing.
Just… just kill me now.
A few days later, Kiyoteru is convinced that some kind of evil spirit has decided to implant funny ideas into little Yuki's head. That, or some of the senior Vocaloids have shown her some TV show that has somehow affected her.
"Kiyo-sensei, I want a mommy." Yuki gazes up at him with large brown eyes adorably. Kiyoteru gulps. The young Vocaloid doesn't care about families, usually. She knows that the whole members of the Vocaloid mansion is her family, and that Kiyoteru is her father figure… and that's it. She's never questioned the lack of mother figure.
Until now.
"Why, Yuki? Isn't sensei enough for you?" He picks her up and sets her on his shoulder, allowing the pouting little girl to play with his hair.
"Because… I read it in lots of books. Kids have their mom and dad and I only have a dad… it's weird."
"We're Vocaloids. Everyone else doesn't really, uh, have moms and dads too… we're one big family!" Kiyoteru knows that whatever excuse he has will prove to be useless. Yuki is adorable and sweet, rarely acting spoiled, but she is also stubborn. Very stubborn. She rarely wants any toys or attention and can joyfully spend time with other Vocaloids without complaints. However, when she wants something, she really wants it and probably won't stop bugging him about it until he gives in.
In this case, she wants a mother.
"But I want a mommy. Don't you get it, sensei? I want a mommy!" Her voice is starting to crack. The teacher can see what Yuki looks like now even without having to see. Glassy eyes brimming with tears, red and puffy cheeks and trembling lips. Her clutch on his hair is becoming tighter and tighter, causing his scalp to start throbbing.
"Uh, okay. A mommy. Fine. A mommy. Now… how can I find you a mommy, Yuki?"
Sniffling, Yuki pointed a finger somewhere. "Follow my lead," she says, "because I don't want just any mommy."
Kiyoteru, with Yuki sitting on his shoulders, walks through the many hallways of the Vocaloid mansion, getting lost more than once due to the little girl's terrible sense of direction. He notices a similarity shared among all of the rooms Yuki has led him through, though.
They all reek of sake.
That can only mean one thing.
A stone seems to have misplaced itself within his stomach, because now there's a heavy dread swirling inside him and causing a minor stomachache. Yuki can't do it, right? Yuki won't do it, right? Yuki won't pick… her, right?
"There! Here, here!" The pigtailed girl jumps off Kiyoteru's shoulders and runs towards a door, proceeding to bang on it with a large smile on her face. Both of them hear shuffling and groaning from within the room, and with a click, the door opens.
Kiyoteru wants to dig a hole and bury himself in it.
"Yeah, Yuki-chan? Anything you want? If you want to go play video games, find Lily or Gakupo…" Crouching down at Yuki's eye level, with messy hair and rumpled clothing and all, there is Meiko.
"Mei-nee! Be my mommy!" Yuki is also straightforward, almost painfully so. Her smile radiates pure delight as Meiko pats her head.
"Don't you have Loli—er, Kiyoteru-sensei as your…" Meiko holds back a little laugh here, "…daddy, though?"
"But I want a mommy. Every child needs a daddy and a mommy, right?"
"Sure, sure." Meiko stands up, and Yuki takes her hand. Both are smiling. Yuki's is still a beam of sparkly and glittery joy, but Meiko's is a cheerful smile concealing her mischief.
"Looks like you're stuck with me, Sensei." She grins, rather evilly if he has to say something about it. "See? Yuki wants me to be her mommy."
Why does Yuki want Meiko? Why? Out of all the Vocaloids, why does it have to be her?
As he thinks this, Yuki delivers the finishing blow with her killer, I'm-too-happy-for-words cry of unadulterated elation. "I want Kiyo-sensei and Mei-nee to get married!"
"So… when's the wedding?" Miki pokes her head out from the door next to Meiko's, startling the two adults. Yuki remains with her sparkling disposition. Kiyoteru stares at her, mouth agape, hurrying to deny that anything ever happened. In a moment, anything resembling happiness is sucked away from the young girl as she listens.
"B-b-but you said you'd give me a mommy." Yuki gasps, lips quivering. "Kiyo-sensei lied to meeeeee…!"
"N-no, Yuki! I didn't lie!"
"I want Mei-nee to be my mommy! Mei-nee only!" She hugs the older brunette's legs, still wailing loudly and attracting the attention of the whole household. Soon enough, everyone has gathered around with inquisitive and puzzled looks that clearly say, "What could have happened that caused cheerful Yuki to start crying?"
"Something about Meiko-san being her mom and marrying Kiyoteru-sensei." Miki whispers to Miku, who relays the message to Kaito. From Kaito to Gakupo the message goes, then the Kagamines, and finally Luka, Lily and Gumi.
They all glare at Kiyoteru with accusing eyes.
"Just do it, man." Kaito claps him on the back, eyes closed and face contorted in pain. "Mei-chan can be violent sometimes, but she's nice. Besides, Yuki-chan likes her."
"What do you mean by violent, Bakaito?" Meiko slaps the back of his head with demonic strength, drawing out a yowl from Kaito.
"Exactly that." He mutters under his breath, caressing his head tenderly while wincing in pain. "Stay strong, Sensei."
"It won't hurt, you know." Miku adds, smiling. "Besides, I've always wanted to become a bridesmaid!"
"Yeah. We can even take a commemoration photo. Something like a family photograph that'll grow whenever more Vocaloids join us." Gumi happily puts in her two cents. All the others seem positively delighted at the prospect of Kiyoteru and Meiko marrying. Only Kiyoteru is against it. Even Meiko looks more neutral than anything else.
"Well, whatever makes Yuki happy, I guess." She shrugs. "A crying kid isn't a pleasant kid."
"Look at them, like a real married couple."Miku murmurs into Kaito's ear as they hide in the large cupboard located at the corner of the living room. The cupboard is opened very slightly—they can only see from the tiny sliver to avoid suspicion.
Kaito nods, even though he's pretty sure Miku can't see him in the darkness. "Yeah. They do. I mean, with the same hair color and eye color and everything, they can pass for a family real easily."
About a week has passed after Kiyoteru and Meiko's fake marriage, a photograph of Meiko in Luka's 'Just Be Friends' dress with a makeshift veil, carrying a bunch of flowers picked hurriedly from a nearby vase and Kiyoteru in a black suit (it's really just a color-swapped version of his normal clothes), located in the garden, as the proof. Yuki still claps and giggles during the whole ceremony, believing that the fake marriage (featuring Gakupo as the priest) is authentic.
Now, said picture is hung on the wall, above the large flat-screen TV in the living room. Kiyoteru is still getting used to the whole 'spend more time with Meiko and Yuki' and the incessant teasing from the rest of their 'family'. Meiko adapts to it more smoothly, acting more motherly towards Yuki (but still drinks sake often anyway). Yuki is the epitome of happiness.
All is well, until Gakupo decides that he also want to propose to Luka.