She's a Puzzle
Miku isn't so great at the whole "affection" thing. Len understands perfectly, which is why he's surprised when she starts holding his hand.
Pairing: LenxMiku
Rating: K+
Genres: Romance,
Characters: Len K., Miku H.
/
"Whenever you're ready."
The words were the slightest bit teasing. The boy who had said them reflected this in his eyes, blue and dancing with an interesting sort of light. He stood in the doorway of his girlfriend's bathroom, where she was struggling to correctly tame her mass of teal hair.
"I'll be ready when I'm ready," the girl snapped. "Anyway, you're a complete hypocrite. How long did it take you to get ready?"
Len only smiled in response, watching as the girl smoothed down her bangs with a delicate hand. He noticed her nails, which were clipped to an even length on each hand and smoothed over with light blue nail polish. She had put a lot of effort into that. When was the last time she had painted her nails? Probably the last time she had been at Luka's house. That girl always seemed to bring out the feminine side of her.
Len started suddenly when Miku brushed past him on the way out of the bathroom. She hadn't quite managed to get her bangs to part the way she had intended them to look, but Len thought she looked cute all the same. They had been dating for a while, so it wasn't like Len would break up with her over messy hair. Why did she bother? He always thought she was pretty.
"Are you coming?" she demanded. "You're so slow, idiot."
Len's smile never wavered as he followed the girl down the stairs and out her front door. The world outside that day was especially nice. A lemon-yellow sun shone down, warm light chasing away the threatening clouds yesterday had presented. The sky was the deepest of light blues, white clouds bouncing along the horizon. It was warm, with no trace of a breeze and no chance of rain. The new leaves on the trees were still and silent, casting shade onto the sidewalks the couple walked across. Miku wore a new outfit. Knee-length white shorts and a pale green blouse. This was the first day she had worn shorts since before winter came through. Len also wore shorts, though was a bit less neat-looking than his girlfriend. She had even managed a fait trace of mascara and Len swore he could see eyeliner smudged at the corners of those green eyes. Other than that, Miku's face looked makeup free, which was typical for Miku.
Their feet hit a steady beat on the concrete below as they walked close together, heading downtown to the local ice cream shop. Miku would get chocolate, as she always did, and Len would get strawberry.
Len wondered what Miku might do if he did happen to take the hand brushing so close to his own. He knew and understood very well that she took personal space seriously. She did not like to be touched. He wondered how long this would last. After all, they had been dating for a good six months. Not that he was complaining. Secretly, he adored Miku. She was cute and talented and funny. Okay, so maybe she was a bit snappish with him, but he supposed that came with her personality type. After all, Len had to admit he didn't give her an easy time of, well, anything. Nevertheless, he liked Miku. He really did. And despite respecting her personal boundaries, he longed for the day he could hold her hand and kiss her. Though it seemed to be a while off, in all honesty.
"Why are you so spacy?" MIku asked him as they sat down outside the ice cream shop after receiving their orders. Len had paid since it was his turn. Next time, Miku would pay, unless the bill happened to be outrageous. This was how they did things. Why should the guy have to pay for everything? Neither teen thought it was fair and worked out their own system.
"Just thinking," Len replied, licking a dribble of ice cream off his hand.
"Good job. You've finally learned how," she said, focusing on her own cone. Chocolate stained the corner of her mouth for a moment and Len imagined dabbing it away with his own napkin before her tongue flicked out to retrieve the stray spot of ice cream. Len's fantasies stayed as they were.
"Ouch. You're especially venomous today," he said in a teasing tone. Miku all but ignored him, rolling her eyes as she crossed her legs under the table. Her foot momentarily brushed his leg and she blushed before pulling her foot away. Len's smile only widened.
"Don't be a baby," Miku said shortly avoiding his eyes.
"I am not," he told her, though he didn't sound very stern.
Miku rolled her eyes again as her face settled back to its normal shade. Miku blushed a lot, but this never stopped Len from enjoying the sight. She looked adorable when she blushed. If he were to say this aloud, he doubted he'd make it to his next birthday.
Miku tossed her chocolate stained napkin into the trash a few tables away and waited as Len finished his own cone. He followed suit and the couple left the ice cream shop's sitting area, walking down the street and heading toward the center of town, where the fountains would be up and running by now. Now that the pipes wouldn't freeze up and it was warm out again, the city had turned all the fountains back on. People hung around the square, eating lunch or tossing coins into the fountains. Children splashed in the water with sandaled feet, the eyes of their parents fixed to them as they soaked their own clothes. There was laughter and chatter in the air as Miku and Len sat on a bench near the fountain. Len, being the insanely mature boy that he was (not), dug in his pocket for a few coins and pulled out two; one for him and one for Miku.
Miku glared at the coin he offered. "I am not five," she told him. Len shrugged and stood, taking a few steps with his own coin in his hand. He thought of a wish and tossed the coin into the water, sending ripples lapping up against the fountain's side.
Miku was waiting for him with disinterest painted on every part of her face, though she asked him all the same. "What did you wish for?"
Len shook his head, smiling. "I'm not supposed to tell you," he replied. "Besides, I thought wishes were childish."
Miku glared and held out her own hand for the coin he had offered earlier. Silently, though his look clearly betrayed his amusement, Len dropped the penny into her hand and watched her walk up the fountain and pause just before tossing it in.
"Well?" Len asked as she sat back down. "What did you wish for?"
"I'm not supposed to tell you," Miku mimicked his voice, sending him a scowl before loosening her expression.
"You're so ridiculous," Len told her.
"Thanks," came the sarcastic reply. Len chuckled.
"It's nice out," he commented.
"Are you seriously talking about the weather?" Miku demanded.
"Well, you certainly aren't nice today," he replied brightly. Miku huffed and recrossed her legs, pulling at the hem of her shirt.
"Let's go back to my house," Miku said. "We can go up on the deck." Miku's house was large, with a two-story deck out back that was often the hot-spot for her family parties. She had a huge family, with aunts and uncles and cousins and grandparents. Len really only had his parents, his twin sister, and his cousin SeeU, who was in Korea at the moment.
"Why?" Len asked. Usually, she had a reason for suggesting things.
"Too many people. Besides, it's nice out. We should be outside," she told him. He had to agree with her.
Miku stood and, after a moment's hesitation, offered him her hand. Len stared up at her briefly, surprised at her offer, but quickly took her hand before she could change her mind. Her skin was soft and warm, her hand smaller than his with long and dainty fingers.
"Come on, then," Miku ordered, turning a reddening face away from his smirk. "Let's get going."
"Alright," Len agreed.
You're always rushing everywhere. I wonder why. After all, you never seem to be getting anywhere very quickly.
Miku settled into a steady pace beside him, her feet echoing the thump-thump-thump of his own on the warm concrete. Each step fell in time with that of the other's. Right foot, left foot. Though Len's stride was just a bit longer, he cut it down just enough to keep pace with Miku.
I wonder if someday you'll be waiting for me.
Len shook his head. There he went, pondering the future again. For now, the present was enough. In fact, the present was perfect.