A/N: Wow. I can't believe this fic has been around since September and we're finally on the second to last chapter. This has been a fun ride. Thanks to all the wonderful people that have read this story. It really means a lot!

I've been working on a sequel to this story, and I hope to upload it the week after the last chapter of this fanfic. ^^

Chapter 18: Blossoming Romance

~2 months later~

.:Len's POV:.

I let out a sigh as I adjusted my tie. I had a date with a girl, but not the girl I really wanted to be with. Sadly, Tei had insisted that we shouldn't go out because it's too soon or something and because of the stunt she pulled not too long ago. Seemed silly to me that she wouldn't want to go out with me after the whole mess she caused because she wanted to go out with me.

But, I've learned that Tei doesn't exactly make sense! Kinda like how Rin says I don't make sense. (Though, I think I make a lot of sense! Rin's the weird one!)

Since Tei apparently wasn't interested now, I decided that maybe I should try dating another girl? I dunno how I feel about it, though. I never really felt like I was in love until I met Tei, but no reason not to continue searching for love, I guess…

I called Tei, hoping that she'd at least be wing-girl (wing-woman?) for this, 'cause I'm really not good with girls. Like at all. I know, I know. It's super hard to believe that the super-great amazing Len isn't good with girls, but shhh… Rin doesn't need to know. Oh, wait… she already knows…

"Hey, Tei!" I said once she picked up the phone.

"Hi, Len-kun!" She said in her usual cheerful tone.

And, by cheerful I mean she always sounds super excited to talk to me. But, she can kinda sound apathetic towards others. I guess either I'm special or it's just one of her quirks. Probably both, right? I mean, she's quirky and Rin calls me "special" all the time!

"Hey, Tei… this might be kinda awkward, but y'know how I have that date with a girl later?" I said.

"U-uh… y-yeah!" She said, voice cracking slightly.

Oh, man. I knew this was a bad idea. Something tells me that she still really likes me so asking this favor may not be a good idea… agh! Too late now…

"I was wondering if you'd be, like, my wing-girl or wing-woman or whatever the girl version of a wingman is. Just in case I need help or something goes wrong, y'know?" I asked.

"Um, sure, I guess… but do you really want me to help you? I mean, I pretty much just a jealous nutcase. Remember? I imprisoned your friends and held them for ransom?" She said.

I sighed. She was really beating herself up over this. It was no big deal! Or at least it wasn't to me. The other Vocaloids (besides Miku and Rin) were still pretty upset about it.

"Tei, I trust you. So, please?" I said. "But, if you really don't want to, I understand."

"No. I'll come, but only since you asked so nicely…" she said.

I met up with Tei outside and told her what I needed her to do, which she quickly agreed to. I still felt bad for asking her to help me out with a date, even though I know full well she's still interested in me, but she said no to dating so… man, why is love so complicated?!

I met up with my date (her name's Hitomi, by the way) and we walked inside the ice cream shop. I actually had a lot of my friends hidden around, mainly because I never know how a date's gonna go. You might think your date is normal but she could be totally crazy! (And, no, I'm not referring to Tei. Thank you very much.)

"So, Hitomi, are you excited about our date?" I immediately felt stupid for asking that question.

Wow. That's what you open with? Nice going, Len.

"Yeah! I can't wait to tell all my friends that I'm dating Len Kagamine," she said.

Normally I would have felt glad that she wanted to brag to her friends—I mean who wouldn't brag about dating me? I'm great and I'm probably the guy that everybody want to date or something dumb like that. But, something about the way she said that kinda felt a bit off to me… like she's only interested in me for my fame.

Nah. I'm sure I'm reading too much into this…

But then, right as I thought that, she uttered "I can't wait to make all my friends jealous! Wait 'til I tell them all about this!"

"Wait. That sounds like you're just dating me to make people jealous… you don't really like me, do you?" I said, feeling pretty upset and betrayed.

"Yeah. You just really aren't my type. Plus your personality is so childish and kind of irritating; we could never be a real thing," she said bluntly.

I felt tears form in my eyes. It's not like I really liked her, so my heart wasn't broken, but… it was still hurtful. I guess I am a bit childish, but I thought I was very likeable…

"Well—" I choked. "If that's how it's going to be, then… then… you can just forget about this date! I'm not interested in going out with shallow people!"

I marched right out of the store and left her. Was it kinda rude? Yeah, but she was pretty nasty herself, so I didn't really care.

.:Tei's POV:.

Len came out of the ice cream shop, obviously upset, and sat down next to me.

"Another bad one, huh?" I said, tossing him a concerned look.

He sighed. "Yeah. It's alright, though, I guess. It's not like I was in love with her or anything…"

I looked at him reassuringly. Just because he's had a couple of bad dates, doesn't mean that everyone is bad. He's just looking in the wrong places, I guess.

"Well, maybe instead of dating because you're looking for love, maybe you should date someone you actually like. Surely there's gotta be someone you like, right?"

Surely he's moved on from me by now. I'm sure going out with me is the last thing on his mind. Even if I wasn't the girl of his dreams, I would gladly support him through all his endeavors, because that's what friends do.

.:Len's POV:.

Tei's question confused me a little. I mean, I thought it was pretty obvious that I liked her, but I guess not? She's the one I truly like.

"Well, there is one girl that I really like," I said, taking this opportunity to tease her a little bit.

"Oh. What's she like?"

"Well, she's really smart and cool. She's also really funny!"

That was pretty much what I think of Tei in a nutshell. She was all of those things to me, and that's why I like her so much!

.:Tei's POV:.

I subtly rolled my eyes. Yup. He had definitely moved on from me. It's not that I wasn't any of those things, but I'm just certain he's talking about someone else. But, the way his eyes lit up when he described her…. she must be special to him.

But, I'm not jealous, or anything! Not in the slightest! I mean, he can date whoever he wants. It doesn't have to be me! Ehehehehe.

"Oh, she must be great," I said more sarcastically than I intended.

Len tossed me a playful smirk. What was his deal? What was so funny? Is he trying to make me jealous on purpose? Uh, I mean, I'm not jealous!

"I was talking about you, Tei," he said.

My heart skipped a beat and I blushed embarrassedly. So, that means… his eyes lit up when he was talking about me… I must be special to him…

"Oh… I knew that," I said, trying to play it cool, even though I felt like I could either explode or cry tears of joy.

Wait a second. Was he—?

"Kagamine Len! Are you trying to ask me out?" I said, giving him a playful smirk.

"Um, duh. You're the only person I've genuinely felt like I was in love with, and, Tei, I understand that you're not interested in going out with me… but, would you maybe reconsider…?"

He looked at me with big, pleading puppy-dog eyes.

I threw my arms around him and hugged him. There was just no way I could say "no"! Not just because of how damn cute his big eyes were, but also because I really do still love him. He means everything to me.

"Of course, Len-kun! I love you!" I said, smooshing my cheek up against his. "And, I hope you don't mind, but… I already planned out our first fifteen-twenty dates!" I looked up at him, grinning like a huge idiot.

"Fifteen dates? Wow, you really like planning ahead, don't you?"

I giggled. Silly Len-kun still had a lot to learn about me, it seems!