life isn't a fairytale
"You know, you're a lot prettier than I am," Miku sighed, leaning against the desk. The silver haired boy twitched at her words, and she smiled to herself, knowing he would react to what she said.
"I don't appreciate being called pretty," he answered. "Especially when I can't tell if you meant it as a compliment or an insult," he flipped over a page, scanning through the words quickly. Miku just giggled and continued to watch him doing his work, content to be in the same room as him even if he wasn't talking. After some time, he finally looked up from the papers, cautiously meeting her gaze. "Don't you have anywhere else to be?" he asked, twirling a pen with his long, slender fingers.
"Nope! I finished all the work our tutor assigned us, and I'm done studying for the test tomorrow too so I'm just going to stay here and watch you work," she smiled. "Mikuo said I ought to keep an eye on you. He told me that the last time you went unsupervised, you left out an entire class and he had to finish scanning the answer sheets on your behalf. So I'm here to make sure you don't mess up!"
He sighed, sounding irritated. "That was an accident! I was tired that day. It won't happen again," he slanted his gaze towards her, frowning. "But you know, as a student you shouldn't be watching me. It's not good, you know? It could probably be seen as cheating," he cautioned. She just shrugged, sitting on the chair opposite his and swinging her legs, having heard this many times before.
"Piko, you're a teaching assistant. You're not actually a teacher. Stop pretending that you aren't only one year older than me," she chided. The boy grinned, his lips quirking up slightly, before he shook his head and continued to look through the papers he had to grade. "Besides, if neither one of us say anything, no one will know I was watching while you mark," she shrugged again. He inclined his head in acknowledgement, and silence fell between them. Watching him work made her feel calm.
Utatane Piko was her older brother's good friend. Both of them were in their final year at university, and they had taken up teaching assistant jobs to supplement their pocket money while they studied. Miku was in the same university as them, being one year younger. She had known Piko for several years and personally thought that he was rather attractive. But he never seemed to notice her that way, so she didn't try to flirt with him or anything either. She didn't want to be rejected by him.
"How's school, though? Your finals are coming up soon, aren't they? Are you nervous?" Piko rose from his chair, shuffling the stack of papers and going to feed them into the OMR scanner. "If you need any help with your coursework, you can ask me. I remember what Honne Dell was like during my finals last year…hah. I swear, that man just wants to fail as many of his students as possible."
"Nah, he's not that bad," she giggled, staying put and watching as he began the process of grading the papers. His silvery hair fell forward, framing part of his face, and the intense concentration in those dual coloured eyes was particularly mesmerising. Piko had gorgeous eyes, one the colour of a lush spring meadow, the other the bright cerulean of a summer sea. When Piko was introduced as the teaching assistant for one of their modules this semester, the number of female students in the class suddenly spiked. It didn't take a genius to figure out the reason for the dramatic increase.
"Maybe because you're a girl. He's really biased towards girls, if I remember correctly. You can ask your brother if you don't believe me," he didn't look up from his task but there was humour in his smooth voice. Miku studied his profile – he was wearing a faded band tee and fitted jeans, a spiked black choker around his neck. She didn't think she knew any other guy who could pull off such an outfit without looking like some punk rocker wannabe or something. "By the way, where's your brother?"
"Mikuo? He's out on a date," she twirled some of her long teal hair around her finger, wondering how that was working out at the moment. Mikuo never seemed to settle down with someone for very long. She didn't know why he kept hopping from relationship to relationship, but at least the breakups were always amiable. She wouldn't call her brother a playboy, but he had an impressive track record when it came to dating and girlfriends. He had more dates in this year alone than she did in her entire life. Then again, she wasn't interested in any guys at the moment…not really.
"With Megurine Luka?" Piko looked up from the scanner, something almost like surprise on his face. She shrugged – the name wasn't familiar, but she didn't really know who most of her brother's dates were anyway. "Weird. I thought he said that – well, never mind what he said. Guess that means you two aren't meeting for dinner tonight?" he referenced their tradition of eating together. Miku and Mikuo liked to catch up with each other over food. Even in university, the siblings were close.
She shook her head. "Wanna eat with me?" she offered. Piko continued scanning the papers, taking each OMR paper from the stack and feeding it into the holder. He didn't respond immediately, focused on his task, and she began to wonder if he was feeling awkward about the invitation. She could never really tell where their boundaries were. What was all right, and what made him uncomfortable?
"Sure, why not?" he finally answered. "I'll just have to tell Lily I can't make it tonight, but I guess it's fine," he glanced at her quickly and gave her a brief smile before he resumed scanning the papers. She stiffened at the sound of the name. She had never heard that name before. Who was this Lily?
"Who's that, your girlfriend?" she threw out casually, wondering if she was right. Piko had never said anything about having a girlfriend before. Of course it wouldn't be surprising if he actually was with someone, he was pretty good-looking, and it wasn't like the two of them were anything more than casual friends anyway. But she wasn't sure if she wanted to find out about his relationship status.
"Not exactly. She's one of my project partners for our final year project," his idle response caused her to exhale in relief, though she hid it so that he wouldn't suspect something was up. "But she's living in the same hall as me so we meet up for dinner sometimes. If you want me to, I can hang out with you instead, once my work is done," he glanced up again, grinning this time. "It won't be much longer. And I heard your stomach growling just now," he added teasingly. She blushed, embarrassed.
"I haven't eaten anything since breakfast! Of course I'm starving," she defended herself. Suddenly, Piko stopped what he was doing and stared at her, frowning. She fidgeted, uncomfortable about being watched so intently. Did she say something wrong? "Um, is there something on my face?"
"How could you not have eaten anything since breakfast?" he snapped, shaking his head. She flinched. He actually sounded unhappy. "My work can wait till later. Come on, we'll go eat now," he pressed a button on the scanner and carried the stack of papers back to his desk, grabbing her wrist and pulling her out of the office. She protested a little, but secretly she was kind of glad. So Piko did care about her after all. Sometimes, she thought that he actually found her a little bit annoying.
"Oi, Piko!" they both turned at the sound of the new voice. Miku saw two seniors from her Dance Club, Kagamine Len and Rin – they were twins, and they treated her like a little sister of sorts. "And Miku," Rin added, beaming at her. The two blond twins walked over to them, striking up a conversation.
"Where's Mikuo?" Len added, glancing at her. She wasn't very close to the male twin, though she and Rin got along pretty well. It wasn't that surprising though, since Rin was her direct senior. They took the same course and Rin usually passed her textbooks down to Miku when she didn't need them anymore. Len and Mikuo were good friends too, from what she observed of them.
"On a date," Piko answered, and Miku noticed him looking quickly at Rin. She peeked at the girl too and saw that she looked just a little bit disappointed, but she perked up a few seconds later. Miku wondered whether Rin was fond of her brother. "But you know what Mikuo is like – he'll probably break up with her before long, saying that there wasn't a spark or something," he added blithely.
"Hah…yeah," Rin nodded, sweeping her blonde fringe out of her eyes. "But anyway! That's not why we're looking for you, Piko. Are you going for Gumo's birthday party? He booked a chalet for our entire senior class. It'd be great for a catch-up, don't you think?" she giggled. "And you may even see SeeU again, who knows?" Rin shot him a wink. Miku froze up at that name. Now this sounded even more suspicious than that Lily person. Rin seemed to really be implying that Piko had a crush…
Piko groaned. "Stop teasing me about her, that was ages ago," he defended himself. Miku felt her heart sink a little bit and thought that her expression might mirror Rin's one from a few moments ago. "It's been years since we were seniors…God, I feel old," he sighed and shook his head. "I guess I'll go if all of you are going. You know I was never very talkative in school. It's going to be awkward."
"Hey, don't think that," Len slung his arm around Piko's neck, ruffling his hair. "Rin and I looked out for you back then and that isn't gonna change," he smirked. "It's fun to see pretty boy Utatane all grown up now. And you even got yourself a girlfriend!" Len glanced at her, his smile widening.
Piko spluttered. "Don't get the wrong idea! We're just friends," he hastily corrected Len, and Miku's heart fell even further. His hasty reaction…she supposed he really felt nothing romantic towards her, then. Rin raised an eyebrow, giving her a strange look, but she didn't say anything. Len simply gaped as though unable to believe what Piko just said. "Dude, she's Mikuo's little sister. You really think I'd risk my life dating his sister?" Piko snorted, brushing Len off. Miku squirmed, feeling uncomfortable.
"Mikuo isn't that protective of me…" she spoke up in a small voice, attracting the attention of the three seniors. Len nodded in relief, as though her words had just proven some kind of point, but Piko shook his head resolutely and edged away from her, trying to put some distance between them.
"You don't know how he talks about you when you're not around. He's so proud of you, Miku. And I'd probably get strangled or something if I dated you without his explicit permission – not that I want to, of course," he clarified, smiling cautiously. Miku admitted that she wasn't madly in love with Piko or anything, but his words were a huge blow to her pride. Was she really that unattractive?
"Sure, sure," she nodded, knowing that all of them were waiting for her to say something. "I don't want to date you either, it'd be like…I don't know, incest or something," she pretended she was fine, making a joke out of it to keep the atmosphere light. Piko looked relieved, and she tried not to let that affect her. "Len, Rin, do you want to join us for a meal? If you're not too busy, that is…"
"Yeah sure, why not? Might as well talk to you about some logistics for the club," Rin slung her arm through hers, walking by her side, while Len fell behind to chat with Piko. Rin was the President of the Dance Club and Miku's mentor, while her twin brother was one of their key choreographers. Miku was just a member, but she was passionate about dance and Rin had noticed that from the very beginning, taking a special interest in her as well. Over time, their relationship had grown to become a true friendship – Miku would say that she was closer to Rin than her older brother was, though it was kind of obvious to her that Rin would like to become closer to Mikuo as well.
"Mikuo should be back in his hall pretty early tonight. He always tells me if he isn't going to stay in campus, and he didn't say anything this time, so I guess he won't stay out late," she spoke to her mentor and senior, who looked rather distracted as she walked with Miku. Rin jumped, startled out of whatever she was thinking about, and smiled hesitantly at Miku, nodding in thanks. "Rin, do you…like Mikuo?" she asked carefully, deciding it would be better to ask than to just assume Rin had a crush on him.
"Is it that obvious?" Rin leant close and whispered in her ear so that Piko and Len wouldn't hear them talking. "I guess I kind of do, but…he's such a notorious speed-dater that I'm kind of worried that I'll just get my heart broken," she sighed. "So I'm not making any moves for now. Len thinks that I should just confess if I really like him, but I don't know…I think I'll wait a little while longer. How about you and Piko?" she grinned at Miku's shocked face. "Even my dense brother can tell, Miku."
"Um…" she didn't know how to explain her situation. "I don't think I really, really like him. I mean, yeah I think he's attractive, but…it wouldn't kill me if he went out with someone else, you know?" she shrugged. "I hope he doesn't, but I know it's unrealistic to keep hoping for that. A lot of girls in my cohort think he's super cute and he's one of the better-known seniors since he's a teaching assistant and all. I feel that it won't be long before people really start trying to ask him out."
"That may be true, but you also know that Piko isn't the type to just go out with anyone who asks," Rin replied, her voice filled with confidence. Miku wished that confidence could reach her. "I don't really know who Piko likes – heck, no one knows I think, not even Mikuo – but the one thing I know is that Piko would always think very, very carefully before he makes a move, even if he likes the girl a lot. He's very cautious by nature, so you have to forgive him if he seems difficult to read," Rin's blue eyes twinkled. Miku was suddenly very glad that she was fairly close to her brother's group of friends.
Of course she did have her own friends in school, but she had known Mikuo's friends almost as long as she knew her own – in Piko's case, she had known him ever since she was young. Piko and Mikuo first became classmates when they were thirteen, and they had been tight ever since. Len and Rin were part of Mikuo's junior class, but they didn't really start talking and getting close until senior year, and Miku didn't even meet the two of them until she entered university. Knowing Mikuo's friends, even if they were a year ahead of her, helped her tide through the difficult first days of her university life. These seniors made living on campus and getting to know people more tolerable.
"What are you two talking about?" Len came over, Piko trailing along behind him, his blue eyes filled with curiosity. Miku and Rin promptly clammed up, turning around to respond with a synchronised "nothing". The two girls exchanged a glance and burst out laughing, leaving the two boys looking extremely confused. Miku caught Piko's eye and he smiled at her again, looking almost apologetic.
She wasn't sure if he really felt sorry – he had no reason to feel sorry since he didn't know that she had a crush on him, right? Then again, she might just be reading too much into his expression.
"Mikuo…" Piko opened his room door, frowning at his obviously drunk friend. Mikuo didn't seem to be in very good shape, so he quickly brought him into his room and pushed him onto the spare bed, going to prepare a damp, hot towel. He was going to have a nasty hangover when he woke up.
Lucky for Mikuo that his roommate, an exchange student, had already gone back to his country, so the other bed was empty for now. "What the hell are you doing?" Piko muttered, bringing the towel up and draping it across his friend's forehead. Mikuo groaned, muttering something unintelligible. He really was out of it. Something must have happened then – Mikuo normally didn't drink enough to get completely wasted like this. It was shocking that he even managed to come back to school.
Should he call his sister? Miku would no doubt be a better person to look after her brother than him. Piko felt awkward enough about sitting here, holding a damp towel, even though Mikuo was his friend. But at the same time he knew Miku would freak out if she saw her brother this way. Miku was a nice girl, playful and mischievous but at the same time, hardworking and studious. She never went drinking, she never went to parties, she wasn't a clubber. So Piko didn't think it was a good idea to let her see her brother in this state. He'd much rather keep her in the dark about Mikuo's drinking habits.
Speaking of Miku, he thought back to what she was like during dinner. She didn't really talk much, which worried him a bit. Miku was normally rather talkative, easily chattier than Len and Rin. But for once the Kagamine twins monopolised the conversation, talking about their dance, their studies, the party Gumo was hosting, their past friends and classmates…was it because Len mistakenly thought that he and Miku were dating? He wanted to punch the blond idiot. How could he think that?
The teal haired boy groaned again, turning his face towards the mattress. Piko watched carefully, hoping that Mikuo wouldn't throw up onto the floor. He definitely needed someone to help look after the drunk…Rin? Rin might be a good choice. She obviously cared for Mikuo, constantly asking where he was and what he was doing, how he was coping with his work and studies. Perhaps he should call Rin. She wouldn't be shocked about Mikuo's nightlife either. Decisively, he dialled her number, and she picked up quickly. "Hey, Rin?" he asked. "Can you come to my room? I know it's a bit late, but Mikuo just came back and he's really stoned. I need someone to help take care of him."
"Mikuo?" Rin sounded concerned. "All right, I'll be over in a bit," she hung up and Piko waited, watching Mikuo carefully to ensure that the boy did nothing Piko might regret. Thankfully, when Rin knocked on the door, Mikuo still had not done anything too troublesome and Piko opened the door for her, grateful for the intervention. "Why did he drink so much?" Rin demanded once he closed the door behind her, locking it for good measure. It would be bad if people realised there was a girl in his room, even if said girl was a good friend. Rumours spread quickly in school. "Wasn't he on a date?"
"Beats me," Piko shrugged. "Miku was the one who said he went dating. I don't know if he actually did," they both glanced at the unconscious boy, who was now moaning some gibberish in his sleep. Mikuo was a very noisy drunk. "Anyway, I have a test to study for tomorrow so I don't think I can stay here and listen to him complaining about…whatever he's saying. Do you mind if I leave first and find somewhere else to sleep? You can call me tomorrow morning or if you really need backup."
"Yeah sure, I don't mind," Rin nodded, sitting gingerly on the bed next to Mikuo and wiping the damp towel across his forehead. Mikuo moaned again, sounding feverish, and Rin's brow furrowed in concern. "He doesn't sound like he's just drunk," she observed, placing a hand against his skin. "He's pretty warm. But I guess we'll have to wait to see whether he's ill or if it's just the alcohol…" her blue eyes flitted up, meeting his gaze. "Who's his roommate, anyway? I don't actually know."
"He has a single room in the Lehmann Wing," Piko answered, in the midst of shrugging on a jacket and picking up a stack of notes. "He always comes looking for me whenever he's in trouble though. I guess he just instinctively came here tonight as well," he sighed. "I really want to know what he was doing all day. Guess we'll just have to wait for that too," he glanced at Mikuo, studying his teal hair and the fair skin, the features which looked so much like his younger sister's. Mikuo and Miku had an uncanny resemblance to each other, despite not being twins. He flinched at the reminder, looking away from his best friend. Sometimes, he mixed the two of them up, and not really in a good way.
"I'll let you know if I find out soon," Rin was looking down at Mikuo, concern on her face. Piko knew that she cared for him, and not just as friends – Len had mentioned it once before, and though all of them pretended not to be aware of Rin's crush on Mikuo, it was obvious as daylight anyway. That was the main reason why Piko had called Rin for help too. "You didn't tell Miku about her brother?" she added, placing her fingers against Mikuo's cheek. Piko shrugged, not wanting to admit that he, in fact, did not reveal anything. Rin glanced up as the silence stretched on. "Piko, you really should."
"I didn't want her to worry or be surprised by her brother's drunkenness," he explained, knowing that he sounded defensive. "She's such a good girl, especially in comparison to him. I have no idea what kind of impression she has of her brother, but it probably isn't this and I don't want to ruin things for her either. Besides, it's a school night, so I don't think it'd be right to disturb her now."
"And it's okay to disturb me?" Rin sounded more amused than annoyed, but Piko felt a little bit guilty anyway. She sighed. "You talked about how protective Mikuo is of her this afternoon, but it's just the two of us here now – well, three if you count Mikuo. So let's not pretend. We both know that you're the most protective of her among all of us, and don't lie – Mikuo does love his sister, but he would never try to control her or restrict her the way you do," Rin explained. "Don't tell me that you're doing it out of concern for her. You can't see it, but what you're doing is just holding her back."
Piko frowned. "I'm not trying to hold her back or anything. I just think that there are certain things she shouldn't be exposed to so soon, and this is one of them," he indicated Mikuo's unconscious form. "I mean, how would you feel if all along, you thought your brother was nice and innocent, and suddenly you get a call from his best friend saying that he's passed out and could you please come and take care of him? And she has a test soon! I don't want her to be distracted from her studies."
"Piko, you're still treating her like she's twelve years old. We both know that she's not – she's only one year younger than us, for God's sake," Rin's tone softened. "You should really admit that you like her – not to everyone, just yourself. It has to start with yourself, and you know that. Don't argue with me," Rin held up her hand as Piko opened his mouth, ready to protest. "Don't give me that crap about you not having any feelings at all for her. You didn't even care this much about SeeU!"
"Okay, first of all, I never had a crush on SeeU. She was just a friend too! Stop bringing her up! And secondly…" Piko hesitated. "Of course I have feelings for Miku. She's my best friend's younger sister, and I've known her ever since we were both kids. But the feelings you brought up here definitely aren't the kind you're thinking of. I don't feel anything besides platonic affection for her. That's all, I guess," he shrugged, reaching out to his desk and picking up his card. Rin coughed, the small sound disbelieving, and he glanced back at her. "You don't have to be so sarcastic about it, you know."
"I'm sorry, I just can't deal with someone who won't admit his true feelings," she shook her head. "It's not me being pushy about it. Len can tell you like her too, and Len is probably the most obtuse person I know. I've never seen you freak out over someone else's welfare the way you do for her. Seriously, I could probably go a week without eating and you wouldn't even care. I'm right, aren't I?"
"I would care! Even if it's only just a little!" he exclaimed, his hand placed on the doorknob. Rin groaned, and he could practically feel her rolling her eyes. "You can't ask me something like that. We both know you'd die without your food. But Miku…she went practically the entire day without eating and she still wanted to wait for me to finish my work. How could I not be worried about her? She's like a sister to me – I don't want anything bad to happen to her," he babbled, words gushing out.
"Look, you obviously care about her as more than just a friend. Why are you so against letting other people know? Don't tell me it's really because you're concerned about Mikuo's reaction," Rin said this so firmly that for a moment, Piko was stunned into silence. Both of them just stared at each other, Rin patiently awaiting an answer, Piko hesitant about revealing anything more to her.
"I don't know," he finally muttered. "I don't know why I'm hesitant. It's just…I've known her for so long that it's kind of weird to just admit that I feel anything romantic for her. I'm sure it's just a passing phase, and it'll die down eventually. Besides, me liking her doesn't mean that I have to do anything about it," he pointed out, deciding that he might as well just tell her the truth. Rin had already figured out that he liked Miku anyway. She made it sound like it was so obvious too…
"That's true," Rin acknowledged. "So even if you see her dating someone else you'll be all right with it?" she further asked. Once more, Piko hesitated before he replied. He had to think about this one – he knew that he would not be happy to see Miku with someone else, but since he didn't want to do anything about his feelings then he had no right to be unhappy. It just felt really weird to be thinking about all this now – he never actually gave this any real consideration before, his feelings just sort of lingering at the back of his mind. He wasn't really comfortable with just openly discussing them.
"I guess so," he answered reluctantly. "If she ends up dating someone else, then so be it. He'd have to be a pretty damn good guy for me to approve though," he added quickly, eliciting quiet laughter from Rin. Mikuo stirred at the sound of her voice and both of them glanced at him – the teal haired boy mumbled something incomprehensible and rolled over again, facing away from them. "Mikuo is very lax about who his sister dates, so I guess I'll have to be the gatekeeper in his place," he sighed.
"Are you sure you'll even approve of anyone?" Rin's eyes twinkled. "Well, if that's what you want, no one will stop you, Piko. But I think you really ought to make known your feelings. The poor girl is very confused, you know," she grinned. Piko frowned, thinking over Rin's words. Did that mean… "Yes, she likes you. I'm surprised you couldn't tell. Though I guess she was a lot less obvious about her feelings than you are," Rin shook her head. "Then again she doesn't know how you usually treat girls and your friends since she only sees you around Mikuo, so I suppose it's understandable that she isn't aware that you treat her differently from everyone else. Either way, you should tell her."
"I'll think about it," he muttered, still startled by this revelation. Miku was actually fond of him? He honestly never had any idea. "I think for now it'll be better to keep it a secret…" he suddenly thought of something. "Is that why she was so quiet while eating today?" he demanded. "Because I told Len that I'd never date her and I don't like her that way?" he immediately felt guilty, but he had not known at the time that Miku felt this way about him. Rin shot him a droll look, shaking her head.
"Piko, you are so slow," she rolled her eyes. "You should go and find her, I bet she's still awake. She always texts me really late at night," she paused. "Maybe you can study in her room or something, if she doesn't have a roommate. I don't think she'd mind as long as you don't disturb her. And you ought to take the chance to tell her something," she added pointedly, her blue eyes piercing him.
He threw up his hands in surrender. "I'll think about it, all right? No promises," he exhaled. "We're in our final year at university, and she has another year to go. We need to graduate before we start thinking about relationships. So I'll think about it," he repeated when Rin opened her mouth, clearly ready to protest. She pursed her lips but didn't say anything more, looking intently back at Mikuo.
Piko quickly left the room before Rin could question him any further, glad that he was no longer facing such scrutiny. Glancing down at the notes in his hand, he decided that he would head to the library to study – they always opened it late during exam periods, and he definitely wasn't about to crash Miku's room just to study. His mind was reeling from all these revelations, and spending time around the girl wouldn't help him concentrate. He'd think about it after all his exams were over.
"Don't be a brat!" Mikuo yelled, running down the stairs after his sister. Miku screamed in terror, holding her brother's love letter aloft. She didn't know he was so old-fashioned. "Oi, that's not meant for you to read!" he lunged at her, but she danced out of the way, laughing.
"Your eyes are blue as a sweet summer's day," Miku read off the paper, ignoring Mikuo's desperate attempts to snatch the letter back. "God, Mikuo, you're so corny. Rin's going to laugh her head off when she sees this," she teased, folding the letter up and tucking it into her pocket. Her older brother glared daggers at her, giving up on retrieving his letter for now. "You know you don't have to write a poem to make Rin happy. You just have to spend some time with her! She'd like that."
"We're busy, Miku," her brother sighed. Mikuo and his friends had graduated with honours last year and now was Miku's final year. During her final year she moved back home instead of living on campus, since her roommate had moved out too and she didn't want to make friends with a new person. Besides, it was her final year and she finally got a car of her own, so the trip wasn't that bad. "Rin is doing her masters and I've become a corporate slave so just finding time to call her isn't that easy anymore, let alone meeting up and stuff. And shouldn't you be working on your final project?" he asked balefully.
"There's nothing more I can do tonight, I need to wait for the other people to get back to me," Miku yawned, suddenly exhausted by the mere mention of her project. She had to liaise with an animal rights group since her project involved campaigning against animal testing, but their replies were a little slow so she was slightly worried about the pacing for her project. But she couldn't keep calling them and asking for a response every day, it would probably make them hate her even more.
Mikuo looked slightly sympathetic. "Oh well, at least you're not working yet. You have a whole semester to finish your work – meanwhile, I have to rush through the equivalent of your final year project within a week or less," he groaned, pushing his teal hair away from his eyes. "By the way, where's your boyfriend? Shouldn't he be here by now?" Mikuo added, glancing at the clock.
"You tell me. He's your best friend, not mine," Miku grunted, turning away with Mikuo's sappy letter still in her pocket. Piko was late again. He was always late! All right, she understood why he was late – his workplace was all the way on the other side of town – but still, it was becoming a bad habit. He did not constantly run late when they were in school together. She knew his banking and investment job kept him really busy, and she was pretty glad that he could find time for her at all, but she wished she could see him more often, especially when she was busy with schoolwork.
Piko had brought up their feelings for each other shortly after he graduated from school. She had been pretty surprised since at that time, she was convinced that he didn't find her attractive at all and was actually considering dating other guys. But she never really bothered to step out of her social circle – she was just too comfortable among her current group of friends, and saw no need to make new ones back then – and so she never really met any new guys either. So in the end, months after Piko told Len that he had no feelings whatsoever for her, she was still single. Though she was fine with being single, since to be honest being in a relationship didn't seem to be anything particularly special.
Even now, she and Piko still behaved more like friends, or older brother-younger sister, than actual boyfriend and girlfriend. She felt slightly awkward just thinking about being…intimate with Piko. She had known him for so long that it felt really strange. Mikuo and Rin started dating a few weeks after her brother went on that weird date, and they had been together ever since. Rin never told her how they got together or why they suddenly decided to go out, but this was her brother's longest-lasting relationship so far and she was very proud of that. Mikuo and Rin didn't seem to have any trouble at all being affectionate towards each other, as demonstrated by her brother's love letter, and Miku actually wondered if she and Piko would ever get over that weird boundary the two of them had.
Meanwhile, Len was still single and ready to mingle. He once admitted to her and Piko that he was getting really iffy, watching all his friends entering relationships while he was still single as hell. But really, that was just because Len was super choosy. He wasn't hideous or anything – in fact, he was pretty damn attractive – but he had an entire checklist of traits he wanted in a girl and, honestly, Miku thought if he followed that stupid list he would never get a girlfriend. The girl he wanted most likely didn't even exist – like who could be that perfect? It just didn't make any sense to her.
Len wanted a girl who was slightly shorter than him with waist-length wavy hair, green eyes and fair skin. A girl who was dainty and slim rather than athletic. He wanted her to be able to sing and play the piano, and be smart enough to finish her masters or, even better, a doctorate degree. This girl also needed to have a car and come from a well-off family, and she had to like both cats and dogs and want two children, one girl and one boy. Miku rolled her eyes at the thought. Good luck to Len, having to find a girl with such specific characteristics. Miku really wanted to know if this person actually existed.
Someone knocked on the front door and Miku jolted up, rushing over to open it. Her boyfriend – it was still weird to think that – stood outside, dressed in a dark suit, his silver hair flopping over his left eye. "Hey," he smiled, leaning forward to kiss her on the cheek. She blushed a little – though Piko had switched his grunge tees and ripped jeans for suits and ties, it didn't make him look any less attractive. In fact, the suits he now had to wear for work made him look dapper, charming even. It was the main reason why she was stuttering around him now while in the past, she never did.
"Oi, Piko, you're late for the game," Mikuo's annoyed voice floated through the room. "The match is about to start! Come in," Miku stood aside and let her boyfriend into the house, closing the door as Piko took off his outer jacket, tossing it onto a nearby coat stand. She had barely turned away from the door when Piko grabbed her wrist and tugged her along with him towards the living room, where her brother was already engrossed in the soccer match showing on the telly. She rolled her eyes and resisted the urge to sigh – boys. She would never understand why they found soccer so interesting.
"I can tell you're bored already," Piko sounded amused as they both flopped down onto the couch, sitting next to Mikuo. Her brother barely acknowledged the two of them, his attention entirely captured by the television. "Have you had dinner?" he asked, his tone slightly sharper this time. Even now Piko still nagged at her about eating her meals regularly and not skipping any. She nodded, not wanting him to chide her for neglecting her health again, and he smiled, leaning his chin against the top of her head. His arms were wrapped around her. "That's good. Skipping meals is bad for you, you know," he reminded her. She rolled her eyes exaggeratedly, and Piko tweaked her nose.
Miku kind of wished sometimes that she and Piko could be more intimate, but she was pretty content with where they were right now too. It wouldn't do well to rush into things, and taking things slow had its own charms. She cuddled up to Piko, who was now watching the match too, and stared idly at the television screen. It was nice to just relax here and take a break from all her work, content in her boyfriend's arms. Who would have thought that just one year ago, she was wondering why Piko never seemed to like her no matter what she did?
Though at times it did annoy her, that her boyfriend was prettier than her. But she wouldn't swap Piko for anyone else, even if she had the chance to do so now. Their relationship was still young, but she couldn't help being excited for all the things that were to come. The future seemed blessed.