This is something I started before writing A Tale of Two Cats, as such, the style of writing is different. I've found myself enjoying the present tense and because I felt that it would express the thoughts of our protagonist Luka here, I wrote it in present tense. This will probably not happen often, as stories like A Tale of Two Cats and future ones will be better read in the past tense.
I hope that makes some kind of sense!
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this little ficlet.
Disclaimer:Any and all characters mentioned in this story are property to their original manufacturer. I own nothing but these words in this story, and am gaining nothing from it other than immense feelings for my precious OTP.
Any and all comments and creative criticism is welcomed!
Sunday.
Megurine Luka joins the Crypton Future Media family on January 30th. The first thing that happens is a tour of the company's headquarters in Tokyo.
When her tour guide - her manager, Hajime, - has them pass the recording studios, Luka comes to a stop. In a studio room next to her, she can see someone in there working.
A girl with teal hair, tied in two pigtails, with the most brilliant blue hues for eyes she's ever seen. And Luka watches her for a moment, the way she's smiling while she's singing and how animated she looks when she's recording. She can't hear anything from inside, the studios are probably sound proof for good reason, but she knows the song is pop-ish just from the girl's body language.
Luka stands there watching for a few more minutes; her manager seems to have left her there.
And then there's a brief moment where Luka's eyes meets with that blue.
To say the least, she's captivated by them.
Monday.
The next day, Luka gets introduced to the rest of the "Vocaloids", the general group name for the singers under Crypton's contract.
Or well, it's more like one self-introduction and someone telling her about the rest of the group when she visits.
That twin-tailed girl is the one who approaches her with a smile on her face. The blue of her eyes are bright as she remembers them from yesterday.
"It's nice to meet you, Luka! I'm Hatsune Miku."
She notices that when she extends her hand out for a handshake, Miku's nails are painted teal. A nice touch; it matches her all too well.
Her hand grasps Miku's.
"It's a pleasure. I hope we'll be able to work together from now on, Hatsune-san."
Tuesday.
Straight away, she's put to work. Luka is pushed into a recording studio, pages with lyrics and with notes in her hand that she's only briefly practiced and expected to record. That day. This recording session. She's not sure why it's so sudden, but her manager dismissively tells her that it's "the nature of the business".
If he says so, then...
It's an hour or two before she takes a break. Luka's a little worn out from feeling so rushed but to be honest, she thinks she's doing a great job for her first day at work.
"Ah, it's Luka~!"
She doesn't expect to see Miku come into the studio room, bubbly as she first introduced herself. "You're recording already?"
"Mm, Hajime-san gave me these lyrics ahead of time, so it's not like I'm coming in cite reading it," she explains, "It's a bit stressful, though. I think he wants this done by today."
She watches Miku tilt her head.
"Ehhh, really? But it's only your first day! Here, why don't we do this?" she grins and lets out a quiet hehe and grabs a set of headphones from the recording equipment. "Let's use today as a practice day, okay? And then I'll use my charm to get Hajime-san to extend the deadline for you. It'll work out fine! Please, you really don't deserve to be so overworked on your first day."
It's a faint warmness, Luka thinks, that's coming from her chest. She's not sure why Miku's acting so friendly, but it's definitely pleasant.
Her kindness makes Luka's heart flutter, just a bit.
Wednesday.
It's the middle of the week, and Luka feels like she's adjusting quite nicely to the schedule of an idol. Recordings and business meetings are already frequent; once she's done with one thing, it's immediately into the next. It's busy, but she learns to adjust quick.
It's also all thanks to Miku, who's helped her too many times to count in the past two days.
Wednesday evening, she's asked, "Hey, Luka. Do you wanna get some dinner together?"
To which she answers, "That sounds like a lovely idea, thank you for inviting me. Where do you want to go?"
Miku's choice in dining is the newest sushi restaurant in the heart of Tokyo. Luka's excited, seeing as sushi and more importantly, tuna!, is her favorite food. They leave right at the closing hours of their company's headquarters and that's when Luka notices the tealette's eating habits.
She likes to eat sashimi, and doesn't seem to like to dip her sushi in soy sauce. Wasabi, though? It looks like she could handle quite a bit of it, compared to Luka who can't handle spicy food. Miku tends to eat the rice of some sushi first and not others. Sometimes she'll pick apart the inside and only eat some of it.
For most of their dinner together, Luka spends it watching Miku more than she's actually doing any eating.
She's adorable.
Thursday.
Luka's immediately dragged out on that morning from her apartment by her manager, demanding that she get to work straight away. Not even nine in the morning, and Luka's already feeling tired. She's aware of the rapid-paced music industry, though she regrets not taking the warnings her parents gave her before she signed that contract months ago.
But, when Luka steps into the studio today she isn't displeased by the results.
There in the studio, stands Miku. Luka's cheeks are a faint pink, and she glances to her manager with a questioning gaze.
"The executives noticed how you two seem to getting along, so they wanted to get you two to do something together! We're planning a duet for you two."
She isn't sure if she should be surprised or excited. This is a chance, isn't it? To work with someone she's always wanted to work with... Luka stops breathing for a moment, and then moves her gaze from her manager to the teal-haired idol.
There's a nod. Confirmation of what's been just said.
"Is... that so," is all Luka says, quiet and mumbling under her breath. "I'm grateful for the opportunity, Hajime-san, but surely Hatsune-san has other things to do -"
"It's totally fine!" interrupts her duet partner, and Miku is immediately right by Luka's side, hand grasped firmly between those delicate fingers, their nails painted a teal blue. "Since I met you on Monday, I wanted a chance to sing with you and look - ! It's like the higher ups read my mind."
The smile on Miku's face stretches from ear to ear, and Luka can't help but avert her gaze away. Her head turns to the side, she's staring off at the wall next to her. She's hiding the growing blush on her face.
She clears her throat, "Well, if it's not a hinder to your schedule then... I suppose I'll accept the offer."
Luka feels arms circling her neck, Miku embracing her tightly. She hears that cheerful, airy giggling next to her ear and while she's hesitant at first, Luka returns the hugs.
"I'm in your care, Hatsune-san. I look forward to working on this project with you."
"Yeah, me too!"
Friday.
Luka and Miku work on possible lyrics for their duet; Hajime doesn't mention what kind of song they should be singing, so the two idols bounce ideas back and forth each other over some coffee and tea in the lounge.
"What kind of ideas do you have, Luka? We can do what you want, since this will be your first duet with us!"
She shakes her head, tapping her pencil against the table. "I'm not quite sure... It depends on what you're comfortable with singing, Hatsune-san."
"Ehhh..."
Taking a sip of her tea, Luka glances at the notepad in front of her. She's scribbled things down such as jazzy, classical, pop-ish, something catchy, and especially scribbled out is love song(?). She's not quite sure what compelled her to write such a thing on a list of potential song themes... Luka's not sure if Miku would be alright with that.
She's aware that more than plenty of Miku's songs are romantic and of the love song variety, but... There's only so many things they could do. They could be playing the parts of love rivals, or two members of a love triangle, or...
Luka's face grows hot with the idea. No, that'd be impossible. I don't think she'd want to sing something like that.
Singing the song as lovers, ourselves? Surely...
"Hey, hey! What about this? You mentioned at some point you like love songs, right? Why don't we sing one? Ah, and maybe - let's be a little unconventional here; let's be the lovers in the song!"
"E-Eh?"
Choking on her drink, Luka coughs and clears her throat. Has Miku been reading her mind? There's no way... "A-Are you sure about that, Hatsune-san? I mean, that sort of thing..."
"Controversial, right? I know! But..."
She notices a change in the teal idol's expression; instead of cheerful, instead of determined and energetic, it's soft and her eyes are downcast, as if she's staring into her coffee. Luka isn't sure why the sudden change occurs.
"But?"
Miku sheepishly laughs quietly. "But... I thought it'd be a good idea, because someone has to show the world that it's okay if two girls are... like that, you know? Because..."
She feels her breath catching in her throat again.
"Because I think I like you, Luka, and I think this would be a great project to work on together."
Her face is red, not anticipating those words to come from Miku. Luka stares at her, her hand grasping her tea cup tighter than she should and she slowly starts to speak.
"I..." she doesn't know how to start. Her thoughts are a mess now, and she feels slightly dizzy but Luka has to let Miku know that... "I'm flattered you feel that way. I think it's a lovely idea, Hatsune-san," quietly Luka finishes and that's the best she can do. Mustering up the courage to even say that, well, it certainly takes a lot of her guts. Even if she hasn't exactly given Miku an answer to her confession, this is at least a start.
Luka glances up from her tea, and there's this expression of relief on Miku's face. There's a smile slowly emerging and she can't help but smile back herself.
"Shall we work on the lyrics, then?"
Saturday.
It only takes her a second to crash onto her bed, flopping on her stomach and grabbing whatever pillow is closest to her.
Luka presses her face against it. She's not sure why her stomach feels so knotted and why her chest hurts and why her face is so red. She's twenty now, she doesn't know why she's feeling these symptoms when she's grown up, out of high school where they're so common.
"It can't be," she murmurs to herself. "I... But she did say..."
The Sunday she arrived at the studio, Luka remembers the gaze she shared with - who she know realizes - Miku. That gaze meant something, now that she thinks about it, and Miku spending so much time with her this past week has certainly...
"I must like her, too, then. That's the only way to explain these feelings..."
She looks over to her desk, a notepad sitting neatly in the center. The notepad she writes lyrics in, and she remembers that the lyrics for their love song are in there.
A love song, proposed to her by Miku herself, about two lovers. A song about forbidden love.
Sucking in a breath, Luka tightens her hold on the pillow, presses her face against it some more.
"I wonder if I should tell her... Ah, no, maybe the song should... Yes, that's a better idea."
With her lips curving slightly upward, she falls asleep with a smile on her face.