Chapter 26, not beta-read.

Enjoy!

Very soon after their conversation, Len turned off the lights and the Vocaloids went to sleep. It didn't take long for Miku to get settled. She liked the feel of the clean and crisp blankets and fitted sheet, and looked forward to a good night's rest.

Meiko and Kaito slumbered off rather quickly, while Rin and Len tossed and turned for a while before finally settling down, leaving Miku to a startlingly quiet room. It was densely populated, but all she could hear was their breathing. Deep, even breaths. It was so easy to forget that they were machines. They were indistinguishable from human people. It almost startled her, how convincing they were.

Hopefully, the people who would test them, only a day from then, would agree.

Silently, she lied down on her mattress. Her mind was spinning slightly form the conversation they'd just had. After talking about how Kaito and Meiko had finally realzied that their emotions were mutual, the six of them had discussed about their worries for the test, whether the people there would be kind or not, and despite how worried Miku was for the exam, the earlier conversation stuck around in her mind more. Knowing that Kaito and Meiko had also felt that familiarity, that the feeling wasn't rooted in Miku's knowledge about her relationship, gave her yet another sliver of hope she didn't dare feel. Did Luka feel it too, the exact way she did?

She sighed, and forced such thoughts out of her mind. She needed to focus on being a friend, think about the upcoming exam. Anything but selfish thoughts. But her feelings wouldn't listen, so she turned her attention to the room she was in, to the breathing sounds she heard, to the dark silhouettes she could see. She wondered how easy it would be to fall asleep in a room full of other people. Would their silent noises keep her away, or be like a lullaby?

As she wondered, looking around the room, she realized that Luka had been watching her.

"Are you alright?" the pinkette whispered before Miku could look away.

"I guess. The crowd is new."

The taller Vocaloid smiled. "It takes some getting used to. Luckily, you won't have to deal with the twin's midnight fights."

Miku giggled. "Were they so bad?"

"Terrible! They would punch each other and steal each other's blankets, even if they had one each!" They chuckled. "But it should be quiet, now."

"Good. Even so, this might take some getting used to. I might be awake for a while."

"I'll stay up with you, if you wish."

Miku hoped that the darkness of the room hid her blush. "You don't need to."

"It's fine. I think I'm more of a night owl anyway. I can never fall asleep early."

"Well, as long as I'm not keeping you up, then," she conceded sheepishly.

Luka smiled, her expression so full of tenderness, that familiar feeling so deep, Miku almost forgot that she'd forgotten. The tealette averted her eyes; she felt like she was going to drown in it all, forget the conversation, their surroundings, her resolutions, everything else.

"I'm glad you're here," the taller Vocaloid suddenly said.

Miku hid a smile. "As am I. I was afraid I'd set myself to the side, that you guys were going to outpace me…"

"We wouldn't have let that happen. We'd been talking about getting you back with us for a while. We figured you might have wanted more time for yourself, but we saw that leaving you alone was doing more harm than good."

Rin tossed and turned a bit, and Miku feared they'd woken her up. She stayed quiet for a minute, before attentively replying, "…You're all very perceptive."

Luka hummed softly. "We need to be. If we aren't, we don't learn from the world around us, or from ourselves. Plus, we need to look after one another."

"That's true."

"Are you feeling better, now?"

"Yes, quite a bit."

"I'm glad. If you ever need help, or have a question, we're here for you, like you have been there for us."

"I won't forget. Thank you."

Silence briefly returned, and the wonderful feeling was all that was left in Miku's mind, the pleasant warmth threatening to send her straight to sleep. Her eyes were already closed and her mind felt like it was floating on clouds when Luka's voice suddenly roused her.

"Ah, yes?"

"Oh, you'd fallen asleep."

"Not quite, not yet, it's ok. Sorry for going to sleep—"

"No, it's alright. I shouldn't have spoken."

Even half-awake, Miku picked up on the strange tone in Luka's voice. "Is everything alright?"

"I was wondering if we could talk a bit more tomorrow morning."

"I'd love that."

"Very well. Shall we meet here after breakfast?"

"Sounds good to me."

"Sleep well, Miku."

It was impossible to stop the smile from reaching Miku's lips. "You too…"

She only had a handful of seconds to wonder if Luka would fall asleep soon, to wonder if she was leaving her all alone to the dark room, before sleep finally took her.

The next morning, Miku was awoken by the various sounds in the room, but she'd practically forgotten where she was. It was only when she opened her eyes and saw Meiko and Kaito, deeply asleep in a clumsy but sweet embrace, that she remembered that she was with the other Vocaloids.

Rin and Len were both sprawled across the entire width of their beds: it was no longer surprising that they bickered in their sleep. In fact, if it hadn't been for a slight gap between their beds and Miku's, they probably would have slapped her.

She turned to the other side, and with the morning light, fully realized that Luka's bed was pushed right against hers', or rather it was the other way around, so that there could be a gap between Miku's mattress and Meiko's, letting Rin access her own bed without walking over the pillows and covers. While the proximity made sense, and explained why the twins were constantly in each other's hair, knowing that she was so close to Luka, that they'd been so close the previous evening, made her head spin. And seeing her up close, relaxed, being able to observe her without having to fear the scrutiny of her gaze, it made her blush and her non-existent heart leap.

She loved her so much. There was no helping it. Luka was beautiful and her voice made her smile and the way she spoke hypnotized her and what she said made her melt. And there it was again, that familiarity, and Miku knew that they'd woken up so close to one another before, they'd probably shared a bed much like Kaito and Meiko were at that moment, and Miku wanted it back so bad, she wanted nothing more.

She turned back to her other side, swallowing her sadness. There was no time for such things. They were going to have a talk later that day, and she'd need to have her wits about her if she could hope to be helpful. Luka probably needed advice of some sort, or had a question about the humans she didn't dare ask them directly. Either way, she had to be level-headed, for Luka's sake.

After some hesitation, Miku decided to wake up and get dressed to have breakfast. She was just early enough to see the Internet Co team before they headed out, so she chatted with them while they waited for their driver. After they left, she set some tea for herself, had something to eat, and stretched on the couch to think about the next day.

They didn't really have a plan, yet. Maybe Gakupo would drive them there, but it was so far away. They'd most likely have to get up very, very early, and they might spend the whole day, maybe even the night there. And after that, then what?

There were a few options. They could fail the exam and get shipped straight back to Crypton, or they fail and make a break for it. Should they —hopefully— pass, they could probably go their separate ways. Miku hoped she could stay with the Internet Co, but she wondered if there were rules against them having guests over, and the only reason why there wasn't any fuss yet was because their status as either object or person was still uncertain. If she were to get kicked out, she'd probably have to join the workforce so be able to get money and live like a regular person. Meiko and Kaito, though, would most likely stick together. Maybe they'd find a place to live in, a job each, and calmly cultivate their own hobbies in their free time. Rin and Len would most likely be forced to do the same, despite their dreams for adventure. Maybe they could find a spot on a TV show, using their fame as Vocaloids as leverage. Or, they could start an online show or podcast or who knew what. Luka already knew what she wanted on a professional level, so no mystery there. Would they keep in touch, should she move far away? Or would they break apart, never to speak again?

Miku wished she could stop such thought from invading her mind, but it was impossible. She tried to look at the books, but only ended up dumbly staring at the page. She tried to turn on the TV, hoping the help of audio would keep her rooted in the present, but the shows and news were totally uninteresting to her right then. She hoped Luka was going to talk about the future with her. Maybe she wanted to be penpals, or close friends. Or maybe she also wanted to ask about staying here for the time being.

All Miku wanted was more time with her.

While she was lost in her thoughts, Kaito and Meiko joined her in the living room, all dressed for the day. They offered her much-needed conversation, a distraction that actually worked, and which only grew in efficiency when Rin and Len joined the fray. By then they'd moved to the dining table so they could talk easily, and Miku was rejoiced to find that she could easily participate in the conversations without feeling like she was interrupting anyone. Maybe that social dynamic she'd admired just the previous day wasn't totally saturated quite yet: she found her place effortlessly.

Luka woke up a bit later than the others, as usual, and served herself some tea as well. When the conversation naturally found its end, Rin and Len went to do other exciting things, Kaito and Meiko retreated to the living room, leaving Miku with Luka, who looked a bit sleepy, hands wrapped around her mug of tea.

"Sleep well?"

The pinkette shrugged. "Well, but not long enough. I couldn't really fall asleep."

"Oh, how come?"

"I guess I can't stop thinking about tomorrow."

"We'll iron out the details this evening, I'm sure. We'll get there with no issue."

"Oh, I'm not too worried about how we'll be getting there, or how the exam proper will go. I'm more worried about what we'll do after it."

"I thought about that, too. I actually envied you because you already have a solid idea of what you want to do."

Luka gave her a wry smile. "It's true that I have that going for me. But I'm not sure where I'd like to go. Will we all go our separate ways?"

"Kaito and Meiko will most likely stick together. I don't think Rin and Len will split either."

"Right, right…" the taller Vocaloid sighed, gazing into her mug. A soft smile played on her lips, but it was obvious something was a bit wrong.

Miku felt the urge to ask, to help her in any way she could. She was so close yet so far, the room bathed in the early morning light, the smell of coffee and tea and toast in the air, and before the tealette could utter a single word, she froze.

In that single instant, Miku was overwhelmed by the familiarity of the situation. They'd done this before. They had been in this situation before, maybe hundreds, if not thousands, of times. She felt it, from somewhere deep within her, somewhere so far away that she doubted even code could reach it. But all of her body seemed heavy, all of a sudden, her mind felt slow, and her senses electrified. It sent her mind spinning, and somehow, she knew —no, hoped, she could only hope!— that Luka was feeling exactly the same thing.

Miku knew what it meant. She knew that this was the last dredges of an echo from their past, desperately trying to reach through time to remind them. Yet she hesitated, felt her voice get trapped her her throat. Was this the same familiarity as the one that Kaito and Meiko had felt? Or was this one energized by her certainty? Did she dare ask Luka if she felt it, too? No, she couldn't dare hint towards it again, she wanted Luka to find her own version of happiness! It didn't have to include her, no matter how much she wanted it to…!

She averted her eyes, and ended up saying nothing.

After a brief pause, Luka whispered, "Could we move to the bedroom? I'd like for us to talk where we can't be overheard."

Miku barely had the presence of mind to whisper back, "Of course."

Honestly, the tealette thought Luka would want to finish her tea first, or maybe that she'd like to have something to eat, but couldn't refuse her. She followed the pinkette back to the guest room, and once they arrived, closed the door behind them. Luka went to sit on her new bed, back against the wall, legs under her, hands still tightly wrapped around the mug.

Miku hesitated, unsure of where to sit. She decided she'd sit at the foot of her own bed so that they could still maintain a polite distance. Luka watched her get settled, an uncharacteristically worried expression splayed across her features.

Now that Miku thought about it, she hasn't taken a sip from her tea in a while.

"So, what's up?"

The pinkette hesitated for a while. "You said that a good way to tell if something is either a memory, or a dream, is to ask other people who where there if it had indeed happened."

"Yeah, I remember."

She hesitated again, too lost in her mind to even consider taking a sip of tea to kill time. She merely caressed the mug, probably taking comfort in its warmth.

"The day before Master tried to operate you, I spoke to him. I spoke to him because the day before that, I had observed weird behavior from you."

"That's right."

"…What exactly happened that day?"

Miku swallowed thickly. "What do you mean?"

"When you told the story to us all, you said that you'd merely shared your frustrations with me, told me about how mad you were at our reactions, or rather the total lack thereof. But that's not quite what I remember."

"Right."

"What happened?"

The tealette hesitated: why did she feel the need to know? Why was she asking now? And most importantly, what would she think of the truth? Miku had always known that she'd remember that event to a certain degree, but preferred to think that Luka had chosen to forget it.

"Well, my memory isn't picture-perfect anymore, so…" she trailed off, unable to finish her sentence.

Luka, probably suspecting that she was attempting to get out of the conversation, suddenly urged, "Neither is mine, but you must realize that for all of us, those days were terribly, terribly confusing. Nothing from that brief time period felt real."

"What do you mean?"

"You suddenly started acting strange, completely unlike before. You were talking to us, suggesting us things, and while on the surface we didn't react, and mentally we were atrophied, when we revisited that moment it was all pure confusion. What is she doing, what does she want, and so on. Add to that your…emotional breakdown, and everything was swimming in uncertainty. I literally cannot tell anymore what actually happened and what were my own speculations or imaginations. I have to know what really happened that day."

"Why does it matter?"

Luka frowned. "That event made me betray you, sent you on this wild quest and eventually lead you to saving us. Isn't that enough?"

The tealette had no excuse but her own fear, so turned to fully face the pinkette, eyes trained on the blanket on her bed.

"Ok. I'll tell you."

"In detail, please. As much as you are able."

Her request seemed so sincere, so desperate, Miku couldn't even start to debate with her. So, she only nodded and started with the story. "I was trying to get you guys to do new things. Well, everyone but you, because I hadn't figured out that your affinity was in languages. So, you probably watched it all, or I tried talking to you directly, I'm not sure. But for the umpteenth time, you didn't react at all, nobody reacted so that day, for whatever reason, was the straw that broke the camel's back. I went to my room to cry, maybe to consider new strategies, maybe even to consider giving up."

"Would you have given up?" Startled, Miku asked her to repeat herself. "If I hadn't followed you, and hadn't seen this fold out and never reported it to Master, would you have given up?"

The tealette remembered how motivated she'd been, remembered how she'd needed, no, absolutely craved regular attention, affection. The memories she'd taken from Luka, knowing that casual friendship and deep love were possible, fueled her to no end. "No. I never would have."

Luka seemed pleased with her answer, apologized for interrupting, and sat back again, still holding the mug of tea without taking a sip.

"So, well, there I was, in my room, sobbing my eyes out. You knocked on my door, and I think I replied, let you in, and you realized I was crying. You didn't… You didn't do anything else, though. You just stood there, watching me while I sobbed. Eventually I just asked you to close the door, I think, but instead of leaving me alone you stayed. I don't know why, I remember being so surprised, embarrassed. I didn't want anybody to see me like that. But, when you stayed…"

From under her brows, she eyed her long-lost companion, trying to see how she was taking the tale so far. Luka seemed curious, eager to hear the rest, but was still leaning against the wall. She made no motion to encourage her to continue, asked no question, so Miku had to go on from her own volition.

"I— I'm embarrassed to admit when happened next," she confessed. "It's why I didn't tell this part in detail to the others, and was hesitant to tell you…"

"Whatever happened, I'll keep in mind that you were in a moment of weakness."

"…Thank you." She inhaled deeply before going on, saying, "Since you weren't leaving, I asked you to come closer. You did. I asked you to sit with me. You did. You stared at me, didn't say a word, do a thing other than what I asked… I couldn't bear it. I told you that I missed you. I meant who you are now, the real you, not that husk of a person you once were, but you didn't understand. You replied with something along the lines of 'But I'm right here' or something. You just didn't get it, and you realized. You asked me to explain, but I knew that it would be in vain… Or at least I assumed I did. In any case, we talked in circles for a bit I think, and I finally coughed up that I missed who you were, and you asked again what I meant by that, so I—"

She hesitated. She distinctly remembered stopping herself from saying "You loved me" back then, but knew she couldn't tell it to Luka at that moment; it amounted to admitting to her that they were once together, and she refused to do that to her. Maybe she could allow a small lie, a slight lapse in memory rather.

"I told you of things we once did. How past you would have acted. I… I said you were kind, loving. You said that we were incapable of feeling love, which just reminded me of something you'd one told me years before then, and I just lost it. I got a bit angry at you, I think, and asked why you couldn't just comfort me, hold me, and right when I said that, you did hold me. Rather awkwardly, I'll admit, you barely draped an arm over my shoulders, but that was enough. I hugged you, I, uhm, think I even got on your lap at one point, just crying it out, and you didn't even hug me back. I couldn't order you to, or even ask it of you: I guessed it was already confusing enough for you."

"It was."

Miku chuckled sheepishly, giving her a gesture that roughly equated to "well, there you have it", before finishing the tale. "I eventually finished crying and let you go. I thanked you for being there for me, for checking up on me. I'd hoped it would help awaken the more human part buried deep beneath, that last part. You know, suggesting the existence of empathy and so on. Then you left. End of story. After that, I eventually went to bed. I assume you did the same."

Luka nodded. The tea in her hands was probably lukewarm by then, and the mug looked like it was still full.

"I remember you were very distraught."

"I was."

"I remember the conversation as you told it to me, for the most part."

Miku nodded, hoping that her intentional lapse in memory had passed undetected. "Good."

"I remember being confused, and concerned, or you know, as concerned as I could get at that point."

"Right. I'm sorry for that."

The pinkette shook her head. "No, it's ok, now. Everything is explained."

Yet a puzzled expression remained on her features.

"Is there anything else?" Miku asked.

Luka gave her a slow nod, yet remained quiet for a moment or two before speaking. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to be blunt, and I can't help but ask that you be so in return. The exam day is tomorrow, and I fear that afterwards we'll part ways. So… Even though I'll be going against your wishes, I'd like for us to lay all of our cards on the table."

"Against my wishes? How so?"

"About not divulging anything about the past." Miku froze, Luka insisted, "I completely understand your reasoning, but please, I need to know this."

The tealette gulped. "Very well… On one condition."

"Name it."

"You lay the cards first."

Luka's eyes widened, but she didn't retreat. Instead, she merely leaned to the side to put the mug on the floor, took a big sigh, and nodded. "That seems reasonable. Fine."

Miku hated herself, seeing the state she'd put her in. But she had to know what Luka had in mind, before she carelessly revealed the past. After all, what if Luka then heard something she didn't want to hear? That would force them apart for good. Should the pinkette be wrong, Miku could safely and confidently tell her so without needing to reveal too much. Should she be right, on the other hand…

Luka opened her mouth to speak, effortlessly bringing Miku out of her thoughts and into the room, right into the very second she was experiencing.

"After you cut the cable, when I relived my memories, that scene, I distinctly remember feeling loved. Did you love me, Miku? And did I once love you?"

The tealette's breath caught in her throat, her eyes riveted to Luka's. The taller Vocaloid's hands were shaking, and her voice had wavered. There, pinned, cornered, and tempted by this potential step closer to what she truly desired, Miku was incapable of denying her. "Yes."

Luka all but fell apart in response, practically falling forwards from the wall and collapsing in half, face buried in her hands. And from there, instead of wailing or groaning, she merely sighed as if she had let all of the fear burst out of her, like the pop of a balloon."Oh thank goodness."

Miku had lunged forward to catch her, help her, support her, anything, and when her hands found the pinkette's shoulders, Luka closed the distance, wrapping her long-lost companion in a hug. Once they were tightly embracing one another, both buried in each other's shoulders, Luka whispered, "That's that feeling I get when we talk, isn't it? That familiarity, just like what Kaito and Meiko—"

"Yes. It is."

"Do you love me?"

"I always have," Miku said, and it felt like the weight of the world had been lifted off her shoulders. "More than anything."

"Thank the stars."

"So you feel the same?" the tealette couldn't help but ask, too terrified by the possibility that she was once again disillusioned. She needed the certainty.

"Yes, from the moment my emotions returned I knew, I just knew that I needed to be close to you, that I wanted you close to me, but I couldn't find the words to say it, or the language, and the longer I remained silent and alone, the more I wondered if I'd remembered correctly, the more I wondered if we really could love in such a way, if it was normal…"

Miku could only sigh deeply in response, feeling her entire body melt against Luka's. The relief was overpowering, and all she could do was cry and hold on, forever if need be. Forever, be wrapped in her arms, feeling Luka all around her, hearing her breathe and whisper just to her, whispering back and holding her in return, locked together until the end of time.

It was all so perfect. Not from a dream, but from a distant memory.

When she felt her shoulder become damp, the blissful cloud parted somewhat: something was still amiss.

"What's the matter?"

"I'm so relieved," Luka managed to reply, her voice strained. "Ever since I woke up here, I was constantly wondering, constantly confused. I was so sure that you had said that I once loved you, and that you said you missed me. That you needed me. But I couldn't tell if I was simply going crazy, if that had really happened at all. Worse still, you acted like it never happened. Sometimes you'd blush or stumble but you'd ignore me anyway. I thought I was being delusional!"

"I'm so sorry."

Luka didn't say anything for a while, but Miku could feel from the way she shook that she was crying. The guilt all but drowned her from the inside out.

"I'm so, so sorry," she repeated. "I made a mistake."

"Just right now—" Luka managed between inhales, "You didn't even want to answer my question… Why?"

"I wanted you to be happy," Miku tried to explain. "I wanted nothing more than you to be happy, even if it meant letting you go on without me. To force myself onto you if you could have found something better… I hated the thought."

Luka shook her head. "There's nothing else for me, better or worse. I'm convinced that even back then, even as a dumb bot, when you disappeared, I missed you. You weren't experimenting on us anymore but that didn't matter, I was just as confused as before. Every day, I hoped to see you during breakfast, in vain. Even before my emotions came back, I needed you. I need y—"

Miku pulled back slightly to look her in the eye. Luka was sobbing, but her mechanical heart filled with so much tenderness and love she couldn't help but smile, if just a bit.

"I'm here now, Luka. I'm not going anywhere, I promise." Ignoring her own tears, she wiped them from Luka's face even as they continued to fall. "Honest. No more pretend, none of that. If you want me in your life, I'll be honored to be there."

Luka dared smile in return, putting her hands over Miku's. "There's nothing I'd want more."

Something in Miku's chest jumped and leaped in joy, and she, in turn, felt herself completely unwind and relax. She smiled, the relief of the end of wait so strong, she felt that was had started crying all over again. "Thank goodness," she whispered.

It was Luka's turn to dry Miku's cheeks. They giggled, somewhat shy, somewhat giddy, as their words sank in and as the reality of their relationship felt more and more real.

"I was so scared," Miku confessed when she had finally stopped crying. "I was so ready to watch you run off towards some distant place without me."

Luka chuckled breathlessly. "I thought I was losing my mind."

The tealette shook her head and sank back into the pinkette's arms. "Now, we have nothing to worry about anymore."

"Yeah, at least not until tomorrow."

Miku giggled at the dry humor, before letting her eyes close as she let herself fully experience the moment. She felt Luka do the same, how her breathing slowed, how her arms around her found their place.

"I never want to let you go," the tealette muttered after a minute. "Never again."

Luka chuckled, her voice still thick with emotion. "Neither do I."

Miku grinned, and snuggled deeper in the embrace, burrowing her face into the crook of Luka's neck. The taller Vocaloid chuckled; it must have tickled. Yet she couldn't deny that the world would continue spinning, that time would continue to tick by, regardless of what they did.

"You're right, though. We have a place to be tomorrow. People to see," she whispered against Luka's skin. "And friends who will wonder about us, should we try to stay hidden forever."

"Then let us stay until they inevitably find us," Luka whispered back.

Stay they did. For long periods they would be almost perfectly still except for their breathing, but sometimes they would shift either so that one could hug more or be hugged more, and eventually they went from their seated embrace to being spread over the width of both of their beds. Luka fell asleep then, all wrapped in Miku's arms, hidden from the world, and the tealette was happy to hold her, to run her fingers through her hair, to drape a blanket over her sleeping form. She almost dozed off herself, until she noticed that the house seemed to be abuzz with activity. She had no idea what time it was, if the Internet Co members were already home or if it was barely lunchtime, and preferred to stay hidden with Luka, quiet and unfound, until someone would open the door.