A/N: Sadly, I won't be able to update as fast soon. I'll start having a summer job next week, but I'll make sure that it won't stay unfinished. I know that I'm well known to never finish my fanfictions, but I do plan on finishing this one, so no worries. I can almost promise it. Besides, it's only a part-time job, so I'll still have some free time to continue it, just not as much. At least, I'll make sure to finish it before I'm overwhelmed with studies again.
Anyway, thanks for the reviews! Also, I must mention it, but Shinobukun; I really love your long reviews, so please don't think that you might be a bother because of it since it's not the case at all! I appreciate that you take your time to write them. In fact, I like reading them; I always look forward to them, so thank you for your continuous support, and also thanks for all of those who have been reviewing since the very beginning! You're all amazing!
And Shiro, you're not innocent at all, you little seal.
With that, enjoy!
Warming The Cold
Miku stretched her arms and yawned. Another long day at work. She could feel her muscles starting to get sore. Being a model definitely was exhausting. The fact that she hadn't gotten much sleep those pasts few days wasn't helping much either. If she had thought that Megurine had often been in her mind before, now she definitely was. There wasn't a single moment where she didn't think about her. What she had told her about her past kept haunting her. It was also starting to get her down emotionally. She seriously wondered how her favorite model was able to continue with her life. If it were her, she didn't think she would have been to get out of bed and do like nothing happened. Having watched her being happy and caring during her interviews, she would have never guessed that the older woman had been suffering to that extent. It was no wonder why she was being so distant and wasn't able to get emotionally attached to anyone. Luka definitely thought that she didn't deserve to live, and Miku would like to make her change her mind, but she had no idea how.
The tealette went out of the VOCALOID agency building and stopped when she saw a familiar figure that she had not seen for quite some time.
"Miss Meiko!" She exclaimed and ran to rejoin her; she had been about to enter her car, but had stopped in her track when she heard the recognizable high-pitched voice.
"Oh, hello Miku." The brunette greeted her, a gentle smile parting her lips. "How are you? I saw that you didn't give up the model career."
"Yes! Megurine made me realize that giving up would have been unwise when I took a serious interest in it." Miku replied with honesty and scratched her cheek in thought. She wondered if Meiko could give her any advice about what happened between her and Luka. "She actually opened up to me a few days ago. She told me everything about what happened to her family…"
The older woman blinked in surprise. She hadn't seemed to expect that at all. It was as if she couldn't believe her childhood had finally decided to open up to someone other than her or Kaito.
"It's quite the shock, isn't it?" Meiko asked with sympathy in her voice, clearly knowing the tremor her girlfriend's cousin was going through. She had been enormously shocked too when she had heard about it. "Luka completely lost taste to life after what happened. No one has been able to do anything about it, not even me, her closest friend… Her brother even tried to reason with her at some point, telling her that there were no reasons for her to feel guilty, but she still thinks that everything that happened to him is her fault and that she should be at his place. Honestly, it's a miracle that she didn't decide to give up on life."
Miku lowered her head. Her throat tightened and her stomach clenched from the sudden grief that was overwhelming her. Luka did feel guilty, there was no doubt about it, but there were no reasons for her to feel like that. What happened definitely wasn't her fault. The murderer might have been one of her fans, but he had been clearly insane and mentally-ill.
"I wish there was something I could do to help her…" The tealette murmured, her voice inevitably cracking.
"Only the fact that she opened up to you must have helped her quite a bit." Meiko tried to reassure her. "To be honest, I'm surprised that she told you. It must mean that you have a certain importance to her and that she trusts you. No matter how mean and heartless she might act towards you at times, please don't let her down… Luka needs friends who can take care of her. Even though we don't know each other that much, I just know that you can do it."
Miku nodded in thought. As of now, even if Luka had been mean with her countless of times, she had never backed away, so she didn't think that she would let her down. She was still convinced that the model could be changed; that she could be happier than she was now. And it was nice knowing that the pinkette's only friend trusted her to take care of her. She definitely wasn't changing her opinion about Meiko being an amazing person. She felt like she respected her even more now.
"How is it going with Lily?" The tealette decided to ask, wanting to change the topic of conversation before it would get too gloomy.
"It could be better, but you know her, right? She is a lot of trouble." The brunette sighed and gave the other girl a smile. "At least, it's never boring when she's around. Love makes you see the biggest flaws on a person as qualities that you come to admire."
Miku seriously thought that Meiko was way too good for her cousin. It didn't make much sense that they were dating. She just hoped that Lily wouldn't end up hurting her too. She knew well enough how troublesome she was and it was never sure if her relationships would last —they usually never did. The whole thing with Gumi was already complicated enough as it was, and she seriously hated her cousin for hurting her so deeply.
"Anyway, I got to go. Take care of Luka, alright?" The mature woman asked as she directed her eyes towards the entrance where the pinkette just got out. She waved goodbye at her and entered her car.
Miku scratched her nose sheepishly and turned to the popular model. They hadn't talked ever since the day she had opened up to her. They didn't have the chance to since they were now working on separate projects. Either Kaito noticed their closeness and decided to play it safe and do it on purpose for them to not see each other or he seriously preferred to work personally with her to make her improve further.
The petite girl approached her and opened her mouth to speak, but Luka forestalled her.
"I'm not in the mood to talk right now." The woman told her in her typical cold piercing voice, making the other female shudder in disappointment; she thought that things would have gotten better between them.
She only watched as Luka started to leave. However, she firmly decided that she didn't want to let her go that easily. Without hesitation, she grabbed her wrist to grab her attention, and it worked; she turned to her with a frown. Before she could start telling her how annoying she was being, she spoke before her;
"How about you come at my apartment? I can cook for the both of us and my roommate won't be home, so it will be quiet." Miku unexpectedly suggested, surprising herself with her sudden straightforwardness. "I mean, only if you want to. I… I thought that it would be nice if we could try to be friends."
The pinkette was, without doubt, a little bit shocked. She closed her eyes and shook her head, pulling herself away from the unanticipated firm grip.
"I don't need you to pity me now."
"I'm not pitying you!" The tealette exclaimed almost immediately, saddened that she would think such a thing. "You keep pushing me away even after you opened up to me, it doesn't make any sense. We might not get along perfectly well, but please… I want us to be on better terms."
"Funny that you say this after what happened. It just shows that you're being friendly only because you feel bad about my past, and I don't want that."
Miku couldn't believe it. She really felt like it was impossible to reason with her. She was being stubborn, since she was pretty sure that Luka was seriously upset about the thought of her pitying her. And it wasn't the case at all! She had wanted to get closer to her even before the unhappy event. There was no way she would let her think that. She had to change her mind.
"It's true that after what you told me, it helped to change my opinion about you a little bit." The beginner model admitted with pure honesty. "But I knew that I was right since the day you started training me: you're not as bad as you appear to be. And as crazy as this might sound… I do care about you! In fact, you're always, always in my mind…"
Realizing that she was perhaps being a little bit too honest, Miku blushed and avoided staring at the beautiful woman in front of her in fear of it embarrassing herself even further. God, it probably sounded creepy. She heard a distinct sigh.
"You're certainly the most annoying fan I've ever seen." Luka whispered and met with her teal eyes with a certain curiosity. "You're so honest, innocent and disgustingly naïve. As I already said, there's no malice in you whatsoever… You even started crying when I told you about my problems. You're clearly the type who put people before your own self and it's a rare quality that not many have. Honestly… how can we not get attached to you?"
The tealette's heart jumped harder in her chest. It made her feel even more flustered. She liked to think that it meant the pinkette was attached to her or that she was starting to at least. She made her the sweetest smile that she could make and enthusiastically grabbed her two hands in hers.
"Then, there are no reasons for us not to be friends, right?"
The older woman stared at their hands, obviously taken aback by the friendly gesture. She just stood there, her face showing incredibility. After a long pause, a small smile made its way to her lips.
"It would be better if you call me Luka instead of using my last name."
Miku couldn't believe her ears. She immediately beamed. She had to restrain herself not to pull her into a hug. It would probably be too sudden and she knew that the pinkette wasn't a big fan of friendly physical contacts. Besides, it would probably only embarrass the both of them.
"Of course! As long as you call me Miku as well!"
It definitely was the start of a new friendship. However, she knew that there would still be some obstacles. It was obvious that Luka had a hard time trusting others and she probably hadn't completely warmed up to her yet, but she would let her take all the time she needed to get comfortable. It was already a miracle that she accepted becoming friends. She would try her possible to be patient with her.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Lily's breathing hitched as her body twitched under the pleasure. Meiko had just returned back from visiting her friend, and as soon as she had seen her, she had jumped on her as if she had been a delicious prey that she had been longing to eat all day long. The blonde bit her lower lip strongly to restrain a moan from escaping her mouth. God, she loved when the other woman was being a lustful beast with her, but she wished that she would calm down a bit; having sex three times a day was getting unbelievably exhausting. While she was usually sexually active, there was a limit. And Lily also wished that she would take control more often. She didn't mind being in the receiving end, but it would be a lot better if her girlfriend would let her top her more often.
Lily still rocked her hips as the brunette thrusted two fingers into her, hitting and stroking her most sensitive spots. It was unbelievable how much of a fast learner she was. She remembered her being awkward and unsure of herself the first night they had done it, but now she knew exactly what to do and she understood perfectly well what made her insane with pleasure. Though, there was something that she had been wondering and she knew that asking now might kill the mood, but it was starting to seriously bother her.
"...Was sex better with your ex-boyfriend?"
Meiko looked down at her in shock. She still continued her thrusts despite her surprise, knowing well enough how easily frustrated her girlfriend was getting when she stopped.
"Are you jealous, dear? I didn't think you would be the jealous type." The brunette teased with sheer amusement. "Honestly? I can't really tell. It's too different with a man and a woman for me to be able to judge properly. But... you definitely know how to use your hand..."
Lily smirked a bit arrogantly while still trying to restrain her constant moans and gasps. When she was about to reach her climax, the doorbell rang, making Meiko stop. The tall blonde cursed in deep frustration. Oh how she hated when they were being interrupted, especially since she had been so damn close. Only a few more thrusts and she would have been there.
"N-No way… Don't you dare stop now, baby. That person can wait."
The brunette hesitated, but she obeyed, thrusting her fingers the quickest that she could, wanting to finish it as soon as possible since the person kept on knocking; they probably knew that they were here and was getting impatient.
It only took a few seconds as Lily's body tensed up when she finally reached her orgasm, letting out a relieved and long moan. The pleasure completely overwhelmed her until she completely calmed down, her breathing heavy and unsteady. With an unsatisfied sigh, she sat up and quickly dressed up.
"That person better has a good reason to interrupt us." The blonde growled; she had planned to do Meiko afterwards, but it seemed like her plan was ruined for now.
Lily opened the door, getting tired of the constant stubborn knocks. She was about to get angry at the person for being too persistent, but her eyes widened. It was Gumi. She looked doubtlessly pissed. Meiko had her arms crossed over her chest as she watched from afar, definitely not pleased that her girlfriend's ex dared to come here.
"What are you doing here? How did you—?"
"It doesn't matter. I really need to talk to you now. It can't wait and I have to go to work soon."
The greenhead stuck her tongue out at the brunette when she noticed that she was staring at her like they were the biggest rivals. She didn't come here to fight with her. She pulled Lily outside and closed the door behind them, not wanting her to spy on their conversation. They briefly glanced at each other before Gumi made a disgusted and pained grimace at her.
"Ew, gross. You just had sex with her. Your skin is still flushed and all disgusting."
The blonde rolled her eyes, getting slightly impatient at the sudden childish and aggressive behavior. She wondered what was so important for her to come all the way to her girlfriend's house. And how the heck did she know where Meiko lived? She supposed that it would have to wait for now.
"So? How about you tell me why you are here now?"
"I want you to make a decision now."
"What? You—"
"It's me or her. I really can't be your friend if you're dating her. I tried, but I can't."
Lily was shocked and completely speechless. Why now? It was so sudden and unexpected, and she wasn't ready to make that decision at all! More importantly, she didn't want to. She had thought Gumi had been alright with being friends despite constantly getting hurt. She didn't know what to say. They were both very important to her and she refused to lose one of them. Fear and stress started getting to her.
"Come on, Gumi… You can't make me choose. You're both very important to me."
"Please, do it for me… I need to move on. Sometimes it looks like you still have feelings for me, but then the other times, it looks like you're just messing around. I… I don't know what's going on with you anymore."
The poor girl was trembling all over and her eyes were shut tightly. She seemed to be restraining her tears. Lily felt completely heartbroken and torn out. She had no idea what to do. Her mouth was dry and she was almost struggling to breathe; she was so stressed and scared at the moment. She didn't think she would have to make that decision anytime soon.
"I… I'm happy with Meiko, but I refuse to let you go."
"Why not? She's more important to you if she's your girlfriend, right? That decision should be easy for you."
"Don't be stupid." Lily growled, both anger and sadness taking control over her emotions. "If anything, you're more important to me than her."
The blonde instantly regretted her words. She didn't know what pushed her to say that. It had been years since she knew Gumi and it had only been months since she had met Meiko. It was evident that she was more emotionally attached to the greenette, but it didn't change the fact that she had serious romantic feelings for the brunette. It was all so confusing and she wished that she could understand herself.
"Please, I need some time, Gumi. I'll make a decision, I promise, but… I can't right now."
The greenhead lowered her head. She knew that she was being insanely selfish, so she could at least try to accept letting her some time to think about it. She reluctantly nodded.
"Alright, but before I leave, I'd like you to be honest with me. Even though you're with her, do you still have feelings for me?"
The blonde knew Gumi would end up asking that question. She supposed that she couldn't escape it anymore.
"…I think I do." Lily admitted and looked away with shame. "But whatever I'm feeling for Meiko is deeper. There's a strong chemistry between she and I, and I don't want to ruin things with her, but at the same time, I'm really scared of losing you, Gumi…"
The greenette knew the blonde was being sincere. It was very rare of her to get so emotional about something. Desperation and confusion were extremely clear in her eyes. She suddenly felt guilty for forcing her to make the choice, but either she suffered and had a constant painful friendship with Lily or either they both suffered for some time and eventually moved on. The second option seemed better.
"Alright, I'll let you a few weeks to decide. I have to go to work now."
The older woman ran her fingers in her blonde hair as she let Gumi go. She really didn't want to make that stupid choice. She took several deep breaths before entering the house. She thought things couldn't go any worse, but seeing the brunette's pained expression, it was obvious that she had been listening to them. She was hurting both of them now.
"…That child is quite selfish to make you go through this choice." The brunette simply whispered and sat down on the couch.
"She isn't!" Lily suddenly snapped, but decided to calm down before speaking again. She didn't mean to get angry at Meiko; it wasn't her fault after all. "Gumi is suffering every goddamn day. She needs me to make the decision to move on."
"She's the one who's making you suffer now..."
"Her happiness goes first."
Meiko definitely felt betrayed. She stood up and gave her girlfriend a wavering smile, before heading to the door. The blonde definitely needed to be alone now. She would take a short walk outside to let her think in peace.
"I'll respect your decision, no matter what, but I just hope that you'll make the right choice. As of me, your happiness always goes first, Lily."
Lily didn't say anything as she was left alone. Those next few weeks were going to be long and painful to go through.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
If Miku would have known that inviting Luka over to her apartment would have been so awkward and embarrassing, she probably wouldn't have done it. They had barely spoken a word. She knew that the popular model wasn't much of a talker; she basically only talked when it was necessary or when she was getting angry at her. It was obvious that she wasn't used to having friends and that thought was upsetting her a bit to say the least. However, it wasn't like they had much to talk about in the first place. The tealette knew all the essential things about her favorite model and she doubted that Luka was interested in knowing more about her.
Miku stared at the beautiful woman beside her. She seemed to be lost in thought. She wondered what she was thinking about. Her rather troubled expression probably meant that it was about her past again. Even if a few years passed after the event, how many times a day was she thinking about it? Before she could try to cheer things up a little bit, the pinkette spoke before her,
"I'm still wondering why my brother saved me…"
The petite girl's heart sunk. She didn't think she would bring back the topic again. Maybe she just really needed to talk about it? Taking a deep breath and trying to be careful with her words, she cleared her dry throat.
"I don't know him, so I can't really understand, but he probably did it because he loves you and maybe he thought that your life was more important than his own…"
"That's not true!" Luka snapped again and put her empty plate on the table next to her. "My brother had a wife and she was pregnant when he decided to sacrifice himself for my sake. He couldn't wait to hold his baby in his arms, he kept talking about it! But now, he's stuck at the hospital and he can't even see his own child. Compared to him, my life had nothing exciting."
Miku bit her tongue. She probably shouldn't have said anything. She now understood better why the other woman felt so guilty. She thought that she had completely ruined her brother's chance to have the happy life he was about to have.
"Your brother gave you another chance to live. I'm pretty sure he would prefer you to try enjoying it instead of reviving the past again and again." The tealette explained, not realizing that maybe she should watch her words. It was as if she was telling her to get over it even if it was a scar that could probably never heal, but it wasn't exactly what she had meant. "I know that I can't understand what you're going through, but—"
"If you can't understand, then say no more."
Miku looked down and obeyed. Luka was still so hard to reach. Her cold heart would take a while to warm up, but she had confidence that one day, things would get better for her. She stood up and took the empty plates and went to rinse them.
"Did you talk to Haku recently?" The petite female decided to talk, thinking that since they had decided to become friends, she would let her middle in her personal business more. Besides, she was admittedly a little bit worried about Haku; the last time she had seen her, she had been in such a pitiful state.
"No." Luka replied firmly, glaring at the wall in front of her. "Besides, I can't help her if she doesn't make any effort to try getting better. As much as I care about her, she's a hopeless case."
Saying that she was a hopeless case sounded a bit cruel, but Miku decided not to say anything about it. It was definitely hard to have happy and normal conversations with the pinkette. It was a conclusion that she rapidly made.
"…May I ask why you accepted becoming her girlfriend if you didn't like her?"
"May I ask when you'll stop asking such personal questions?" Luka's nose scrunched in disgust.
Miku gave the popular model an unexpected mischievous grin. She was actually amused by the situation.
"You accepted to be friends. It means that personal questions are a must!"
Megurine opened her mouth to deny it, but then decided against it and gave out a growl. There was completely nothing to could justify that it wasn't the case. She crossed her arms over her chest and frowned deeply to show her displeasure with the situation.
"I didn't mind having Haku around." Luka finally replied, doing an effort to be more accessible. "She was great company and I cared a lot about her."
"But you weren't in love with her." Miku stated and tilted her head. "You were alright with kissing and doing all the other things couples do?"
"…All the other things couples do?" Luka repeated as if she wasn't certain that she had heard her right. Then, an unexpected smirk parted her lips. "And here I thought that you were all innocent."
The tealette's cheeks became a dark shade of red when she understood what the older woman was implying. She totally misunderstood her! More importantly, was the model actually teasing her!? As if teasing her like they were friends!? Many people told her that she was fun to tease, mainly Lily who always got amused by her reactions.
"I… I wasn't talking about that! I was talking about dates and holding hands and cuddling…" Miku stopped talking when she realized that she was only embarrassing herself further. "G-Geez! You already know what I meant so why am I even trying to explain myself?"
At then, for the first time, the tealette heard Luka laugh. She had a hand over her mouth as if she was trying to muffle it and she was looking at the opposite direction from her, not wanting her to see her in that moment of sweetness. Normally, Miku would have felt humiliated to be laughed at, but instead, a warmness invaded her whole body, her heart pounding in her chest. The pinkette's sincere laugh sounded like a melody to her ears, one that she wanted to hear again and again. She was pretty sure that, at this instant, she fell even harder for her.
Miku smiled in pure bliss. She was glad. She thought that it had been completely impossible to make her laugh. She stopped doing the dishes and approached Luka. She had completely forgotten about Gumi's video game console on the floor and tripped on it. As if she was the main protagonist of a soap opera's series, she fell on the couch, right on top of the one she had feelings for. It was ridiculously clichéd.
Muttering an embarrassed apology, she was about to move away, but arms suddenly wrapped around her petite frame and she found herself getting pulled close. Before she completely realized it, she was sharing an embrace with Luka. It wasn't like the previous hugs that they had shared. That one was definitely more heartfelt and affectionate. Her heart beating like it was at the climax of an orchestra, she reciprocated the embrace, one of her arms around her neck and the other one gently gripping her shirt from the back. She then buried her face into her shoulder and inhaled shakily, her head spinning lightly from the sudden overwhelming emotions.
Miku had no idea what was going on right now, but she didn't care. She wanted to stay like that and continue to have the warmest hug she ever had in her entire life. She came to wonder if the other woman felt as comfortable as she was. She gently pulled away and stared into the crystal blue eyes she had always deeply admired. There was deep vulnerability in them. Hesitating a bit, the tealette caressed her flawless cheek with the tip of her fingers, gently brushing her skin like it was made of porcelain. She was pretty sure that she could feel her shiver under her exploring touches.
After that, Miku didn't know how it happened or why she did it, but she had slowly closed the short distance between their faces. She could have felt Luka's shuddering breath on her face before their lips finally brushed. The kiss was hesitant and tender at first, but it quickly became more passionate and fervent. The popular model's hand slowly went up the younger girl's back as she desperately tried to pull her even closer. It was as if she absolutely needed them to be as close as possible. Miku was overtaken by strong electrifying shivers, her whole body melting into the pinkette's one as they continued to share the mind-blowing and ardent kiss. At some point, the tealette was pretty sure that she had moaned in bliss, completely welcoming the new strong emotions.
They pulled away only because they started to have difficulty breathing, the air around them feeling like it was burning hot. They stared at each other, their chest rising up and down quickly as they tried to steady their breathing.
However, realization of what just happened immediately hit Luka. She gently pushed the other girl away, her expression showing a mixture of disbelief, confusion, regret and distress. She brought a shaking hand to her mouth. She didn't seem to believe it. She looked pretty shocked right now.
Miku's throat tightened. She was still slightly dazed, but she still had her complete mind; she understood perfectly well that it wouldn't end on a happy note as the pinkette cursed under her breath and headed to the door to leave.
"W-Wait…" The tealette tried to stop her, desperation in her voice. "…Can we maybe talk about it?"
"There's nothing to talk about…"
With that, the popular model left. Miku sat down on the couch and took a deep breath to try to calm down. What the heck just happened? Did Luka feel the same strong attraction as she did? More importantly, why had she looked so upset after she realized what they had been doing? The tealette didn't know if she should feel happy, sad or simply confused.
The door opened and Miku raised up her head rapidly, thinking that Megurine came back, but it was Gumi and she seemed deeply annoyed.
"What the heck! My boss just told me to return home because I was being a complete mess! It's that damned gross woman's fault, she—" The greenette immediately stopped when she saw how upset her best friend seemed to be at the moment. "Hey, what's wrong? Did something happen while I was gone?" She sat down beside her and gave her a concerned look, patting her pats to try comforting her.
The tealette didn't really know where to start and how to explain it. She didn't even take the time to think before speaking.
"Luka was here and I kissed her a-and she kissed me back…" Miku stumbled on her words. "I-It felt so, so… good. B-But then, she left and she seemed really upset about what just happened…"
Gumi was definitely surprised. She hadn't probably expected that to happen anytime soon.
"I swear to God, if she breaks your heart, she's going to pay." She growled, getting defensive towards her best friend. "Maybe she was just upset because it felt too amazing. I mean, hell, who in their right mind would feel upset about getting kissed by such an adorable girl?"
The tealette tried to smile at the failed attempt of trying to cheer her up. She wasn't able to shake off the concern she was feeling. She didn't want things to already change between her and Luka when they had barely just started their friendship. She still knew that the popular model didn't mind the kiss since she certainly wouldn't have kissed her as eagerly as she did.
Miku definitely would have to talk to her about it the next time they would see each other. Such a passionate kiss couldn't stay unspoken.
A/N: Yay for Negitoro's first kiss! For once, next chapter will be on Luka's POV. :D
Aye, reviews?
