AN: Ah, an update! I worked on this as much as I could almost immediately after posting the previous chapter. A month later isn't so bad, is it (I mean, it's better than my other "timely" updates)? I actually had a fun time writing this particular chapter-it was really cute to write, honestly. Hope you enjoy!
Ciao. c:
Luka was very, very cold. Her frigid fingers could hardly move across the dimly lit screen of her cellphone as she typed. She cursed the cold weather and cursed even more when a chilly breeze froze her already numb hands.
Are you on your way?
Three dots appeared on her screen.
Yeah, I'm almost there. Sorry you're waiting out in the cold :(
Luka smiled, suddenly feeling very warm.
Don't worry about it. Take your time.
You sound sarcastic.
I'm not I swear.
I honestly can't tell if you're being serious or not.
The pink-haired woman now had to laugh at the turn their conversation had taken. As she began to type her next reply, another message appeared on her screen.
Look up, I can see you :)
And sure enough, when Luka did, she could see a teenager with two, very long teal pigtails running her way. Wrapped around her neck, of course, was said teenager's trademark red scarf.
Luka's grin grew.
"Sorry I'm so late!" Miku spilled, "First my alarm didn't go off, then I nearly fell down the stairs trying to get into the shower—" She stopped when Luka placed a hand on her shoulder.
The look Miku gave her melted Luka's heart.
"It's fine. Promise." With a warm smile Luka managed to crumble Miku's mask of panic to a small frown.
How cute, Luka found herself thinking.
"Are you being serious?" The teal-haired teen asked, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her coat. Her bottom lip was jutting out ever so slightly. It was an adorable pout, really.
"When am I never?"
Miku replied with a quick, playful swat on Luka's arm. The older of the two laughed.
As she did, however, Luka wondered when Miku managed to draw genuine happiness out of her.
-x-
"You're wearing it," Miku pointed out, her bright teal eyes sparkling in the dim light.
Luka looked at her with an eyebrow raised.
"The scarf I gave you," the teal-haired teen clarified, "you're wearing it."
The pink-haired woman took a sip of her cappuccino before setting the cup down on the small saucer. As with all their 'dates,' they decided to stop by another cafe, once that was tucked away in the corner but still manage to attract quite a few people.
"I am," the pink-haired woman smiled, "I only wear it time to time because I don't want it to get dirty or lose it like the other ones."
Miku gave an amused sigh through her nose. "Hopefully the Curse of Luka's Scarves doesn't catch up to it."
Luka laughed, remembering just how clumsy she was when it came to keeping her scarves safe. "I hope so too."
"So, what's the plan today?" Miku asked, finally taking a sip of her latte. The heart that once sat on top of her drink was contorted ever so slightly, but the cute piece of art was still there.
"How about we just do our usual thing?" Luka suggested, her lips curling into a playful smile.
The teal-haired teen scrunched her nose cutely. "What's our usual thing?"
"Winging it."
Miku laughed, hiding her smile behind her hand. "Well, I mean it always works out in the end, so why not?" Suddenly, her eyes grew wide and she looked at Luka. The pink-haired woman thought she was going to go blind with how bright the sparkle was in Miku's eyes. "We can catch the firework display tonight too! I've always wanted to go!" Even though her hand was blocking the view, Luka could see Miku's smile rapidly growing into a grin; she found it absolutely adorable.
"You've never gone to see the fireworks?"
Miku shook her head no.
Luka raised her eyebrows. "Really? It's usually a tradition in the New Year's."
"I mean, I would go with my birth mom before. But she's, you know," Miku gave the other an uneasy smile, "gone."
The pink-haired woman mouthed a quiet "oh" before reaching out to hold Miku's hand. Her hand was cold to the touch. "I'm sorry."
Miku looked at Luka with wide eyes. "No, don't be! It's not your fault," she gave Luka's hand a faint squeeze, "I'm used to living without her. Besides, seeing the fireworks with you would mean just as much to me."
However, even with Miku's adorable smiles, Luka did not feel comforted at all, especially when she noticed the hidden sadness in the girl's eyes.
Luka still smiled back.
-x-
"Why is it still so crowded?" Miku asked, clinging onto Luka's arm for dear life. "Aren't the holidays already over?"
Luka, who had been doing her best to steer them through the crowd and ignore the soft feeling pressing up against her arm (she had to admit, Miku was more endowed than she expected), shrugged her shoulders. "Some people just really love to procrastinate until the last minute," she smiled, a certain long-haired blonde coming to mind, "and it's true even on New Year's."
The teal-haired woman let out a squeal as she tripped over someone's foot. "Y-yeah, I noticed." Luka felt Miku pulling on her arm, leading her away from the crowd. "Let's go in here and wait for the crowd to die down a bit."
The pink-haired woman had no complaints.
They entered a small shop, one that sold books at half-price. There were old ones and new ones lining countless shelves, and loose pages littered the floor like foliage. In the corner, Luka could see the unmanned register, looking rather lonely without a cashier. Boxes cluttered every nook and cranny, looking old and dilapidated; only a few actually stood tall and erect.
Although it wasn't as potent as coffee's, the scent of books comforted Luka.
"Whoa," Miku breathed, "there's so many." She turned to the pink-haired woman. "How do people find these things?"
"I know." Luka answered, barely containing her grin. She felt like a kid surrounded in candy—Luka hadn't stepped foot in a bookstore in ages.
The teal-haired teen, who had already taken interest in one of the books, looked at Luka. "I'm guessing you like books?"
"Love them."
"Just as much as cafes and music?" Miku asked coyly.
"Just as much." Luka muttered, taking the place next to Miku. Her fingers ran across the spines of the books, the worn leathers and torn papers tickling her fingertips. It was a comforting feeling, almost similar to the one Luka felt whenever she held a certain person's hand.
Miku reached out to intertwine their fingers together.
"Did you read a lot as a kid?" She asked, her voice quiet for some reason.
Luka nodded. "Whenever I could. I was always into fantasy stories, but when I was in high school, I grew to love poetry. A lot." She turned to smile at Miku. "You can say that poetry was my first love."
Miku scrunched her nose cutely. "Why's that?"
"Poetry was a sort of a gateway to music to me. Through poetry I grew to love appreciate the lyricism and beauty behind songs, and in turn, music. The rest," Luka reached over to give Miku's nose several taps, "is history."
The teen's face relaxed into a small smile. "Do you write?"
"Write what?"
Miku shrugged. "Like, anything. Poetry, stories, the like."
The older of the two gave a thoughtful hum, her free hand still skimming over the spines of books. She came across The Alchemist, a personal favorite of hers. She smiled as she ran her fingers over the title. "I wrote stories when I was younger," her smile faltered a bit, "but they weren't so good. I was never good at prose. Then, when I got into poetry I started to write that more than prose," Luka laughed, "I liked writing poetry more than stories, honestly."
"Do you still write poetry?"
"In a way. I write songs now."
Miku looked at Luka confusedly. "Isn't there a difference?"
Now it was Luka's turn to shrug. "Not really. A song is just a poem set to music."
The teen gave the other a grin. "You're such a romantic."
Luka laughed.
"I haven't been called that in ages."
And, to be quite honest, it felt nice.
-x-
By the time they left the store, the crowd had dwindled down a considerable amount. The sun had sunken behind the buildings, and in the distance, Luka could hear the faint commotion of parties going on.
It reminded her of a certain New Year's party she was supposed to attend.
But it's not really a big deal, Luka thought to herself, watching as Miku hung to her arm for more warmth, since she's here with me. Luka tried to conceal her smile (she failed) when Miku laced their fingers together once more. The pink-haired woman's heart fluttered in her chest.
"Let's go to the shrine," Miku said, looking up at Luka. "To welcome to New Year."
Luka smiled. "Sounds perfect."
The streets were quiet—surprisingly—which surprised the both of them. The only noise that disrupted the peace were the drones of passing cars and faint singing coming from Miku.
"Passing time with the person you love,
I wonder how much time has passed like this
At a time long ago,
I thought: 'I can't love anyone.'"
As Miku abandoned singing to hum the words instead, Luka was dumbfounded.
"Wow," the pink-haired woman breathed, "that was…."
The teal-haired teen abruptly stopped.
"Bad?" Miku suggested.
"What? No, of course not!" Luka couldn't help her grin. "You carried the notes wonderfully, your tone was delicate, you had emotion, and most of all," she pulled the other closer to her, leaning her cheek on top of Miku's head, "you just sang one of my favorite songs."
"Did I disappoint?"
"No," Luka said, "you were perfect."
As she said that, Luka wished she could change 'were' to 'are.'
-x-
"Oh good, this one's not crowded." Miku, for the first time in a long while, detached herself from Luka. "In fact, no one's here but us. We got the whole thing for ourselves!"
The pink-haired woman looked at the shrine they stood in front of. It was tucked away on a hillside, naked cherry blossom trees hiding it from view. It was small in comparison to the one she knew that resided in town; it was also relatively plain. Very few decorations clothed the shrine, the only prominent one being the chain of paper charms hanging down. Luka made sure to avoid it as the wind blew it about.
"How do you know about this place?" Luka asked.
"My birth mom used to take me here when we celebrated the New Years. Since it's hidden from view, a lot of people don't know about it. I always used to think it was our secret hideout that no one knew about." Miku had a nostalgic smile on her face as she stared at the offering altar. "Then we would watch the display from here." Her voice was quiet, and in it, Luka noticed the familiar sound of loneliness.
Luka began to wonder that, perhaps, the both weren't so different after all.
"Did you put your money in?" Miku asked. The pink-haired woman blinked several times, shaking her thoughts away before fumbling for her wallet for money. She grabbed a random bill and dropped it into the offering box. Together, Miku and Luka rang the bell and clapped their hands several times before bowing their heads in prayer, eyes closed.
For a moment, Luka was unable to formulate anything; it had been ages since she had done something like this. She was never religious of any sort, and her family visited shrines on very special occasions.
I pray the upcoming year is welcoming and full of luck, Luka said lamely in her head. Nothing else came to her mind until she heard the shuffling of movement next to her.
And I pray that Miku won't be too lonely as well.
Luka opened her eyes and turned her head. She saw Miku looking up at her, the latter's nose tinged red due to the cold.
Luka just had to smile.
"Let's take a seat," she said, holding out her hand, "I think the fireworks are going to start soon."
Warmth enveloped Luka's hand as Miku took it. Together, they walked to a wooden bench that creaked when they sat down. A light breeze blew through, shaking the branches together. Miku moved closer and rested her head on Luka's shoulder; the pink-haired woman didn't mind the light pressure at all.
Then, the sky was colored with a dazzling flash of light followed by the sound of an explosion.
The both of them gasped as more fireworks lit up the sky.
"It's so beautiful," Luka heard Miku whisper, "I can't believe I'm only seeing this now."
The pink-haired woman gave an amused sigh and was about to smile until she stole a glance in Miku's direction.
In that moment, she forgot how to breathe.
Miku's brilliant teal eyes were wide, her mouth in a wide grin as she looked up at the sky with awe. Every explosion that Luka heard was quickly followed by an amazed sigh from the teal-haired teen. Her nose and cheeks were dusted with a light pink due to the cold, and for some reason, Luka felt the sudden urge to cup them.
Luka was startled by how cold Miku's face was.
The teal-haired teen finally tore her eyes away from the display to look quizzically at Luka. The pink-haired woman, entranced, moved closer.
When did I fall in love with her? She found herself thinking.
Suddenly, Miku closed the distance, their noses bumping just a bit as their lips locked together. The pink-haired woman went rigid for a bit, surprised at the sudden action. But her shock quickly melted to contentedness as Luka moved her lips against Miku's, the sound of the fireworks nothing but pops compared to the pounding of her heartbeat.
Just when Luka thought time was slowing down, they pulled back. They both opened their eyes—Luka wondered when she had closed them—and simply stared at one another.
A firework went off in the distance.
Luka smiled then began to laugh.
She had never imagined Miku taking the initiative before.