Sand Between Our Toes:
Summer only officially starts when Tei brings out her flip-flops. A day at the beach with Miku and Tei, who may or may not be dating.
Pairing: TeixMiku
Rating: K+
Genres: Romance, friendship
Characters: Miku H., Tei S.
So it's snowing and it's cold and Christmas is in less than a week. Logically, what does an author do?
WRITE A GODDAMN SUMMER STORY.
OF COURSE.
Said author is an idiot, so it's understandable, really.
That being said, I'm sorry this exists. I was bored and I needed to be productive. And since I can't write Homestuck (yet), I'm going for more MikuxTei, even if everyone hates it.
I LIKE IT. SO TOO BAD.
Again, sorry. I'm a bit…
Whatever. Enjoy!
It was hot.
This was to be expected. It was summer. It had been for a while. It was nearing unearthly temperatures outside, and Miku had been in shorts for an entire month now. School was out. The call of the beach was roaring in her ears by now, but she hadn't gone yet. It was a pity, really, seeing as her friends had always gone a few times. Without her. It was her own fault. Even she admitted it. Miku didn't really have a good reason, really.
Back to the point. It was hot. Miku wanted to go to the beach, And she was finally doing just that, after waiting an annoyingly long time. And she was doing it with her very good friend Tei, who couldn't have looked less pleased to be in her company. But that's how Tei always looked. Miku knew the girl didn't actually hate everybody as much as she let on.
Despite this knowledge, Miku was doubting the girl's façade. She wasn't a summer person, that was for sure. Just looking at her made you think winter. Honestly, if Miku hadn't dragged her along, the girl would have probably avoided the beach for the rest of her life. But Miku silently decided that she would make sure Tei enjoyed herself. Genuinely, wholeheartedly enjoyed herself, even if she didn't show it.
Miku smiled to herself at all the plans racing into her head, and Tei shot her one of those glares that Miku was so used to.
"What are you smiling about?" Tei snapped.
Miku quickly let her smile slide away, though she was always amused by Tei and her angry reactions. She was just so raw and emotional. It was refreshing at times. Instead of looking over at the girl in the passenger seat of her blue Jeep (no top, of course), she focused on the road. More specifically, the turn into the parking lot. God, she could smell that ocean.
"I'm excited," Miku replied. Knowing what to expect with an answer like that. She wasn't disappointed.
"Why the hell are you excited about boiling under the damn sun? Do you like skin cancer?" Tei demanded. She had that sour look on her face and her arms crossed over her chest. Her long silver hair had been braided back against her skull and refused to blow about in the wind like Miku's pigtails were. Under her loose red hoodie and skirt, she was wearing a swimsuit. Miku would be lying if she said she wasn't looking forward to seeing her in it.
"No. I like the beach, though," Miku said in her usual way, casually brushing aside Tei's comments like they didn't matter at all. The truth was that Miku had very thick skin and things rarely got to her, but sometimes it did get annoying when Tei was such a pessimist. Couldn't she just let go for the afternoon and enjoy herself?
No, that would be too much to ask. Anything that didn't involve Len Kagamine were simply not worth the effort.
Don't get Miku wrong. She adores Len. They're great friends. But damn, is he annoying sometimes, especially when it comes to Tei's obsession with him. It wasn't his fault, she knew, but she couldn't help directing a bit of her annoyance at him.
With a sigh, Miku zipped her keys into her bag before stepping out onto the sandy, burning asphalt. Tei followed suit, though she looked about as happy as she had been in the car. A black baseball cap had settled on her head and the girl pulled in los over her red eyes, glaring down at the visible water below as though it had personally offended her.
Miku chose to ignore her friend and slung her bag over her shoulder after pulling her t-shirt over her head, revealing a dark blue one-piece swimsuit. She had yet to pull off her shorts, but instead of doing that, she stuffed her shirt into her bag and led Tei down the incline onto the huge beach.
It was easy to find a spot to set up their stuff. Miku had an umbrella, cooler, and towels aplenty. She had a feeling Tei wouldn't be doing a whole lot that didn't involve shade or the lump in her pocket that was suspiciously book-shaped.
Well, fine. Maybe Miku would fine some cool people to hang out with. If Tei was that against spending time with her, she wouldn't bother.
But she knew that wouldn't happen. She liked being around Tei too much, even if the girl didn't do anything.
As should have been expected, Tei settled down on the blanket Miku had set down as soon as it had been spread over the hot, dry sand. Her feet were clad in the red, plastic flip-flops Miku had pretty much forced on her a few weeks ago. Her hoodie had yet to come off, which Miku couldn't even imagine. It was way too hot for that thing.
Withholding another sigh, Miku sat down on the blanket next to her silver-haired friend. Tei didn't even glance up as the girl slowly began to spread sunscreen over her arms and pretty much anywhere else the sun might choose to attack. Sunburn wouldn't be a fun way to start, continue, or end her day. Glancing over at Tei and realizing the girl wouldn't be moving anytime soon, Miku let herself recline bck on the blanket, making sure that she was in the sun. Her eyelids flickered to shield her eyes from the beating rays above her. Maybe she'd actually manage a bit of a tan for once. Though considering the insane amount of sunscreen she had used, it was unlikely.
It didn't take long for Tei to speak up in an uncharacteristic show of – could it possibly be? – caring.
"Why don't you go splash around the five-year-old you so resemble?" Tei asked. "You're probably dying to."
Whether Tei actually wanted her to go have fun or she just wanted Miku to go away, Miku didn't know exactly.
"I don't want to leave you here all alone," Miku argued.
Tei shot her that look again. "I've got a main character to worry about. I think I'll be fine."
"Oh, you've read that book about a hundred times by now," Miku said. "Why don't you come with me?"
"That would require me to move. I don't like that plan," Tei stated. "Go on. Maybe I'll follow after you in a bit."
Liar, Miku thought. Tei didn't have any intention of doing anything like that. Both of them knew it. Nonetheless, Miku followed through with her request, standing and stretching before slipping out of her shorts and dashing to the cool water, her feet crashing into hot, gritty sand with each pounding footstep. It burned, but to her it felt like summer. It was the familiar feeling of the beach she had known for years.
With a happy yelp, she crashed into the waves, startling a girl who was probably around ten years old. She laughed before plunging under, her hair sticking to her back as she came up again. Now she was completely soaked and absolutely thrilled, the thought of Tei a gentle tug in the back of her mind as she waved an apology to the little girl, who splashed her in return for the shock wave she had sent out upon entering the water.
Oh, she loved summer.
Miku managed to get into a huge water war with the girl and her older brother before slicking back her bangs and bouncing back across the sand, droplets of salty water sliding off of her body.
"Come on, Tei!" she commanded, holding out a hand to the girl who had yet to move from her place in the shade.
Tei regarded her outstretched hand with a skeptical eye. "No," she replied. Miku couldn't help feeling disappointed.
"Just dip your feet in! It's really cold!" Miku urged.
"I don't really want to," Tei said, barely sparing Miku a second glance before looking back down at her book.
"Oh. Okay," Miku could only manage that before turning to run off again. The little girl had reinforcements now, so she might need to make a few alliances. Though the only person she really wanted on her side was Tei.
Whatever. If Tei was happy with her book, Miku could stand to make a few new friends.
After nearly being drowned by an extremely attractive boy with a pink shock of hair, Miku ran off laughing with the little girl. She learned the kid was named Yuki, her older brother was Kiyoteru, and everyone else they brought along (a mass of boys Miku knew she had been staring at a bit too much). Now, the two were hiding behind the girl's parents, who were smiling knowingly and ignoring the boys rushing about on the sand to search for the pair.
And still Miku felt a bit disappointed.
The day wore on, and the little girl left sometime after two in the afternoon. Miku jotted down her number and gave it to the kid's parents, because who knew when you might need an emergency baby-sitter?
But now she was alone again. And Tei wasn't going to do anything with her. Not that Miku wouldn't try to convince her to.
Miku landed back on the blanket with a huge smile on her face, her cheeks pink with heat and sun and her feet scattering sand on the striped pattern below her. Tei spared her a moment's notice before tossing her the sunscreen.
"You probably want more of this. It's been a while since you put any on," Tei suggested. Miku agreed silently and gently dried off her legs before beginning to apply the smooth cream to her skin. It might have been her imagination, but she looked a bit tanner now.
"Thanks!" Miku exclaimed. Tei didn't speak again until she noticed the girl's struggle with reaching that one spot on her back her arms couldn't stretch to meet.
"Jesus, that's pathetic. Give me the damn sunscreen," Tei demanded, sliding behind Miku and settling on her knees. Miku complied and her friend managed to spread a decent amount of sunscreen across her back.
"Thanks!" Miku repeated, holding her hair out of the way. The long strands of teal hair were still dripping and clumped together, releasing water over Miku's hands as she squeezed what liquid she could from those lengthy pigtails.
"You've demonstrated your overuse of that word already. But you're welcome," Tei stated, rolling her eyes. "There. Have a fun time burning alive."
"It would be more fun if you were with me," Miku pointed out. Tei's jaw instantly set itself into a hard clench.
"What part of 'no' haven't you gotten?" Tei asked. "I came here. Isn't that good enough?"
"Okay, okay," Miku said. "I won't bring it up again. But we should go get ice cream later or something at least."
"I'm good with that," Tei agreed. "Now go on. You have a whole beach of people to annoy."
Slightly pleased, Miku jumped up and gave herself a once-over, checking to make her sunscreen covered every part of her it needed to. Satisfied, she ran back out to the water, where she leaped in and ducked under the water as another wave crashed into her. Though she couldn't see it, Tei watched the girl go under with an expression closer to a smile than anything else she had shown that day. Quickly, before Miku could see, she glanced down at her book and read as the main character's sister came onto the metaphorical screen.
The beach was starting to get a bit emptier by the time Miku danced back over to Tei, reevaluating her promise not to bring up that tired subject.
"Tei!" Miku practically sang as she reached down to grab her friend's hands. The girl still hadn't taken of her damn hoodie and didn't seem too uncomfortable. Her book lay closed on the blanket next to her. "Come on, Tei!"
"I'd rather not," the girl resisted, pulling down as Miku pulled up. "Really, leave me here and save yourself. God knows all the fun there is to be had."
"I'll have more fun with you," Miku replied, relenting but not letting her friend's hands go.
"I'm sure."
"Just for a little while?"
"Absolutely not."
Miku pouted. She had to admit it was a full-on pout.
"Teeei." Great. And that was a whine.
"Miiiiikuuuuu."
Miku dropped her friend's hands. "Fine," she said shortly. She was genuinely annoyed now. "I'll leave you alone."
"Oh, come on, Miku-"
"If you don't want to spend time with me, that's fine. Sorry I'm not Len Kagamine." Miku retorted. "You didn't have to come if you didn't want to."
"I wanted to-"
"Whatever," Miku interrupted. "It doesn't matter." She regretted losing her temper, but there wasn't anything to do about it now. Instead, she left, a very confused and admittedly hurt Tei remaining behind on that striped blanket. Suddenly, she felt far too hot for her comfort, but she still didn't take off her hoodie.
Miku refused to return to the shade of that single umbrella until an insane amount of time passed. She got more water up her nose. She found a few shells that were definitely coming home with her.
What she didn't find was a way to apologize.
Miku didn't lose her temper. Ever. Especially not with Tei. This wasn't to say she never got annoyed. She got annoyed sometimes; she just knew that it wouldn't do her much good to act like a brat about it. This was pretty much the exact opposite of Tei. Why she liked the girl so much, she would never understand. They were pretty much as contradictory as you could get. But Miku still liked Tei. She didn't want to stop being friends over something as stupid as this. Even if she felt this way a lot.
She just didn't understand. Why didn't Tei pay more attention to her? Even when Tei actually did something with her, they were usually accompanied by Len and his friends. It was always about Len with Tei. In fact, Miku couldn't be completely sure that Tei didn't befriend her just to be around Len.
The bottom line was that she would always be second to Len.
Miku didn't like it. She didn't like it at all.
So she was completely justified in how she acted. Maybe she should just rid herself of Tei. She'd probably be a lot happier. And Tei would probably be, too.
Miku sighed to herself and glanced back over at Tei in way that most would call longingly, though Miku wouldn't admit to that. She jumped to attention when she saw a rather familiar group of girls standing over Tei. She knew them from school, and they weren't the kindest people. In fact, the girl who stood closest to Tei most definitely had it out for her short friend.
As she saw the girl say something and Tei tense, Miku scooped up the bucket of a kid close to her and filled it with salty water before running up to Tei and the other girls.
"Hey, Momo!"
The girl, Momo, and her two friends got a large amount of water to the face. Her bubblegum pink hair dripping, the girl glared at Miku through a curtain of wet hair. Her friends, one Neru Akita and the considerably nicer Rui Kagamine (a cousin of Len's) didn't seem very pleased, either.
"Oh, and here's your boyfriend. Just in time," Momo snapped. "It's wearing a swimsuit. I didn't know you wanted to blind the general populace."
"I'm hot as hell, Momo. I'm on fire. People can't get enough of this," Miku replied, tossing the bucket back in the direction of the poor kid she stole it from.
"I'm sure," Momo replied in a scathing tone. Turning to Tei, she scowled and said, "You've trained it to talk. I don't know what to say."
Miku scoffed. "Honestly, I have enough self-confidence for this entire beach. It would probably just be best if you left."
"Come on, Momo. This isn't any fun," Rui stated.
"Agreed," Neru said, pulling her bangs apart and combing fingers through her blonde hair. "Let's go get some food or something."
Momo shot Miku a glare as her friends dragged her off, Rui shooting her an apologetic look and Neru rolling her eyes at the girl in turn. Miku and Tei were left alone.
Needless to say, it was awkward.
"What did they say?" Miku asked almost instantly. "Because whatever it was, you shouldn't listen. Momo's a jerk and Neru isn't much better."
"They didn't say anything," Tei muttered. Miku didn't believe that for a single moment. Tei wouldn't look at her, and she had her arms around herself like she was cold. How could she be cold in this hellish heat?
"Sure," Miku replied. The sarcasm in her voice was undeniable. "That's just like Momo, after all."
"We both know she's a raging bitch, Miku," stated Tei. "No need to act like one yourself."
"Fine. I'll leave you alone, then," Miku decided. She had never been called a bitch before. At least not by someone who mattered. It strung considerably more than she would have thought.
"Shit. Miku, wait!" Tei scramble to her feet before Miku could leave again, grabbing onto her friend's arm. "I didn't mean that."
"Yeah, you did. You never say anything you don't mean." Which wasn't true, but sometimes Miku said things she didn't mean, too.
"What's wrong with you? You're acting really pissy," Tei said.
"Good observation."
"I forgot you're actually really damn sarcastic," Tei muttered. "I actually want to know what's wrong, Miku."
"You're an idiot," Miku told her. "Please don't try to get all touchy-feely for my benefit. Really, I'll just leave you alone from now on."
"That's not what I want at all!" Tei snapped, nearly covering up her last few words. "We're friends, right?"
"I don't think we are, Tei. It's not like you ever want to actually spend time with me," Miku replied. "Not when we're doing things I want to do."
Tei didn't reply immediately. "I like spending time with you."
"You like spending time with me and Len," Miku corrected. Okay, so maybe this wasn't the way she wanted to take things, but it was too late now. "All I ever hear about is Len. You don't even want to do anything if Len isn't there!"
Tei couldn't think of how to reply this time, because Miku was partially right.
"I knew it," Miku concluded. "Like I said, I'll-"
"Shut up, Miku."
Miku turned back around to stare at Tei. "What?"
"I told you to shut up!" Tei snapped. "You're my friend, you idiot!" She was blushing now, actually blushing, and Miku couldn't help the way her heart sped up. "I… I like you, too!"
For a moment, Miku could pretend this was an actual confession. Of course, it wasn't, but the thought was still nice.
"Oh…" Miku managed. "Well…"
Tei was still blushing as she went in to hug Miku, who smiled as she did.
"I guess I'm sorry," Tei muttered into Miku's shoulder. "I didn't think it was a problem."
"Of course you didn't," Miku replied, but this time her tone was more affectionate.
"You're a jerk."
"And you can't apologize."
Miku laughed and she knew that Tei could feel her do so. This hug was lasting a while. Tei didn't like being touched or touching people unless it was to hit them, so Miku was surprised Tei still had her arms around her.
"So, ice cream?" Miku asked eventually. Her hand was still on the back of Tei's head as the girl buried her face into the crook of Miku's neck. It was nice, but maybe just the tiniest bit awkward.
"Yeah," Tei confirmed. She backed away then, her face an obvious red. "I just want to take my hoodie off."
Miku smiled. "Alright."
As Tei took off the red hoodie and tossed it onto the blanket, Miku dug in her bag for the money she brought. Knowing she probably shouldn't push her luck, Miku didn't bother trying to grab the other girl's hand as they walked. The sound of Tei's flip-flops and Miku's pitter-patter of bare feet on sand were the only sounds to accompany the water beating onto the beach with each wave. It was so calm.
Miku couldn't have been more relaxed. It was now summer, without a doubt, if those red flip-flops were anything to go by. And Miku had her friend and secret crush walking beside her.
Things couldn't have been going better for her.