Hey, I'm back with a new story for Miku's birthday. I've had this idea floating around for a while now, and what better time to start a new story than on the titular character's birthday. However, aside from a second chapter in either a week or two weeks' time, I wouldn't except any updates for a while as I'd like to have multiple chapters written and ready to go before I commit to updating on a schedule. That being said, I do intend to see this story through to its end as it is already mostly planned out, unlike all of my previous stories.
In that same vein, this fic will be a bit different to my other ones. Firstly, I intend to have shorter chapters, but more of them; so that hopefully means no more twelve thousand word chapters, and hopefully more consistent updates. Secondly, in pretty much all my other stories I tend to rush into the romance, sometimes within only a couple chapters. But with this one I intend to take it slower and have their relationship build up more gradually. This fic will also have a more realistic/daily life setting for the most part, which I hope doesn't end up coming across as boring. Think slice of life anime, especially for the first half of the story, but with romance mixed in too. I'll also be including the date at which the chapter takes place at the start of each chapter, for added realism and to easily know where we are timewise at the start of each new chapter.
For now this fic will be T rated, and will be for quite a few chapters, but it will become M rated before the end. Also, as the title mentions, this story is centred around Miku eventually cheating on her boyfriend with Luka, so if that's not something you want to end up reading then I suggest you click away now. Also, I might as well mention it here now, assuming this story doesn't flop and I end up stopping a few chapters in, but fairly early on in the story is a scene that will contain a foot massage with some foot fetish-y elements. It's not written yet, and I'd like to get people's opinions on it before I get to that chapter. Is that something you would be okay with reading/would like to read, do you definitely not want to read something like that, should I tone it down or go quite in depth with it? If you could let me know in a review or a PM that would be much appreciated.
Anyways, that's enough from me. This chapter may be a little slow/boring as it is mostly setting the story up, but still, I hope you enjoy it. Please note that I'm pretty rusty at the moment and this hasn't been beta read, so I apologise for any mistakes.
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Monday 13th August
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"Aaaand here we are. See, I told you we'd make it on time." A blue haired man offered cockily to the tealette sitting next to him. "And with four minutes to spare too… I don't know what you were worrying about Miku." He added with a confident grin as he applied the parking brake.
Miku let out a small sigh; she always hated it when he was like this. "I just really didn't want to be late on my first day of work, and after you insisted on taking me today even though I had my trains all planned out… I was just worried we wouldn't make it on time." She explained, unbuckling her seatbelt as she spoke, taking a few moments to fix her hair that been misplaced by her boyfriend's rather reckless driving. "But thank you… for getting me here on time, and for making time to take me, I appreciate it Kaito." She decided to add, not wanting to cause any tension between them; she already had enough on her plate to deal with today. "Anyways, I need to get going or I really will be late." Miku exclaimed, leaning over and pecking her boyfriend on the lips quickly, before gathering up her things and stepping out onto the sidewalk.
A head of blue hair appeared in the passenger side window; Kaito leaning over to add one last thing. "Don't forget, I only took the morning off to take you, you'll have to get the train from now on!" He called out through the window. "Have a good day, love you babe."
"Thanks, love you too…" She replied, waving back at the blue haired man as he pulled away, making sure he was out of sight before she eventually rolled her eyes. "How could I forget? It was plan all along to take the train… you're the one who had to surprise me with a lift this morning and throw my schedule out the window in the process." She mentally berated her boyfriend, soon catching herself before she got too irate. "Well, at least he tired …"She figured, knowing that he did have good intentions in mind, it was just the way he went about delivering them. He could be kinda dumb, and somewhat difficult to deal with at times, but she still loved him despite of all that.
With that, the tealette turned and made her way towards the building that would be her new workplace for the foreseeable future, climbing the numerous shallow steps that approached it before stopping just before the entrance. "I don't think that'll get old anytime soon…" She murmured to herself as she looked up; craning her neck sharply just to be able to fit the glass and steel behemoth of a building fully within her vision, taking a few moments to stare in awe at one of Tokyo's taller buildings. "You can do it, Miku." She reassured herself, admittedly a little nervous of its intimating presence and the thought of what lie inside for her.
After a few more moments, Miku returned her gaze to the grand looking entrance, pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose with her pointer finger, and briskly made her way forwards. It wasn't long before the gold finished doors gave way to an expansive lobby, filled with people all busily milling around; no doubt on their way to their various jobs here in the building. From what she could remember from her interview, this building had over thirty floors of offices, each one belonging to a different company for the most part, with hers, Crypton photography, being on the twenty first floor.
It took her a few moments to locate them due to the sheer mass of people crowding her vision, but Miku eventually spotted the bank of elevators near the back side of the lobby, and quickly made her way through the crowds to reach them as soon as possible. "8:57…" She whispered to herself as she checked the time on her phone. "I'm gonna be la…" The tealette had started to think to herself, before a chime signalled one of the elevator's arrivals. She politely let the occupants pour out one after another, pleasantly surprised when she saw that she had it all to herself; glad of the opportunity to make any last minute fixes to her hair or attire if needed. "Floor 21…" She whispered under her breath, her eyes darting around the panel quickly, scanning it for the correct button. "Ah… floor 21, here we go…" She murmured triumphantly, pressing the button and letting out a much needed sigh of relief.
"Hold it please!" A voice called out from the lobby, startling the just relaxed tealette, and prompting a rushed search for the correct button, only just stopping the door from closing at the last second. "Thank you so much." A tall blonde woman said with genuine gratitude, currently bent over with her hands on her thighs as she caught her breath, slightly puffed out from the short run she just did to catch the elevator in time. "I definitely would've been late if it wasn't for you, thank you…" She continued as the door slid shut behind her, before finally looking up. "Oh hey, it you… Miku right?"
Miku racked her brain as to why this woman would already know her name; feeling rather nervous now that she was essentially trapped in a small metal box alone with her. "Err… yeah… that's right." She stalled, giving herself a moment to think, before it finally came back to her. "Lily, wasn't it?" She asked tentatively, getting a pleased nod from the taller woman. "Yeah, I remember you from the interview we had a few weeks ago… I can only assume you got the job too?"
Lily nodded again. "Yup, somehow I managed to get selected." She joked, before she too took a moment to fix her appearance in the elevator's mostly mirrored wall. "There were quite a few applicants over the past few weeks from what I've heard, but I think only about five or six made it through." She revealed as she tucked an errant strand of hair back into place, before her eyes settled on the younger woman's face in the mirror. "I was certain I would see you here today though… I just knew you would get the job."
The younger woman was a little surprised by Lily's comment. "What made you think that?" She inquired with genuine curiosity.
The tall blonde chuckled softly. "Just look at you." She offered, both pairs of eyes focusing on her reflection in the mirror. "You looked, and still look so professional… your attire, those big glasses, that backpack… you look like you mean business Miku." She explained, pointing at each item as she spoke. "And your attitude was great, the way you carried yourself, how determined you looked… I just knew that a person like you would easily get this job… and its part of the reason I'm surprised I got in too."
"Thanks… I think." Lily did have a point; they did differ significantly in both their appearance and personality. Miku, with only the most essential hints of make-up, with her white blouse tucked into her black skirt neatly, buttons done up all the way to the collar, standing up straight despite her slightly oversized backpack weighing her down, was quite the contrast to the woman standing next to her. Shirt untucked from the black pants that clung to her legs tightly, the top two buttons of her shirt undone rather messily, a small designer purse that was filled to overflowing rather than a more utilitarian option, and her more spread out posture that exuded an aura of overconfidence. Still, despite them being obviously different, with Miku clearly being more of a nerd when it came to photography and Lily seemingly more of the cool freelance type, the tealette had a feeling that they would get along well, at least if this interaction was anything to go off of. "They were looking for all sorts of people; I think they probably wanted some variety amongst their new hires." Miku offered in response, getting an understanding nod from the taller woman.
"Floor twenty one, Crypton photography." The monotone, almost robotic female voice of the elevator announced their arrival before either woman could say much more. "Well… here we are, after you Miku." The blonde said enthusiastically as she gestured for her to go first.
As the younger woman stepped out into the office she raked her eyes across its layout, some parts of it still fairly clear in her memory from her interview, whilst other areas still remained a mystery to her. The central area of the office space was filled with multiple low walled cubicles, each larger than what you would typically find in other offices; perhaps to promote better communication or to increase creativity if Miku had to guess. Along the side walls were a few individual offices, each with its own nameplated door; most likely for the more senior members of the company to work in. There was of course the standard assortment of bathrooms and supply closets, as well as a few communal areas; break rooms, a kitchen, and of course the office water cooler, but what stood out to Miku was the back wall of the office.
She could only assume that the office at the back belonged to her boss. The wall was no shorter than those that held four individual offices along the sides, and yet, aside from the two smaller rooms, one occupying each corner, only a single door stood in the middle, presumably giving way to the largest office on the floor. It wasn't flush with the back wall however; instead the office started further back into the building, as just before said office was a glass fronted area that lined up with the rest of the back wall. Inside was a single, sizeable desk; presumably where the boss' secretary worked. It did however appear to be empty at the moment, despite the fact that it was dead on nine o'clock when they arrived.
"It's pretty big huh?" Lily leant in closer to the tealette in order to speak quietly, noticing that Miku was intently taking in her new surroundings. "Bigger than I remember at least."
Miku jumped slightly at the unexpected voice in her ear. "Err yeah… I was pretty nervous on the day of the interview; I didn't really have time to think about it too much. But now that you mention it… it's certainly larger than I thought it was." She replied back, looking to the taller woman beside her. "They must really be doing well if they can employ this many people."
Lily was about to reply, but before she had the chance; a tall man with long purple hair came out of the office closest to them, quickly noticing the two new faces. "Ah… I take it you two are also new hires?" He asked, before laughing to himself quietly. "Nice to meet you, I'm Kamui Gakupo, one of the senior editors here at Crypton." He introduced himself cheerily, extending a hand to Lily and then Miku shortly after, the two women both introducing themselves as well. "Great, now that you're both here, I think that's everyone for today. Let me show to the where the others are waiting." He spoke softly, wearing a friendly smile as he led the way through the office. "Man… I've got no shortage of work to be getting on with then today; with the two of you that makes six new hires just for today." He joked as he strolled through the office, soon arriving at their destination. "If you could just wait here for a couple of minutes, I'm sure the manager will be out any moment now to greet you and show you around more properly."
With that, Gakupo left Miku and Lily with the others, and after a few awkward seconds had passed, Lily quickly began introducing herself to everyone, instantly establishing herself as the most confident and outgoing of the new batch of employees. Miku, being the rather reserved, almost shy person that she was, wasn't quite sure were to begin; she didn't want to barge in and introduce herself, nor did she want to hang back and wait for people to come to her necessarily, but she honestly wasn't quite sure where to begin what with there being so many new people around her.
However, her decision would have to wait, as something far more captivating caught Miku's attention. Near the back of the office space, past the group of new employees, a woman unlike anything the tealette had ever seen before emerged from the doorway to the left of the glass walled office. "W-wow…" Miku whispered under her breath as she took in the sight of the woman as she walked across the office.
Thigh length pink hair; the exact colour of the cherry blossoms that she loved so much. Impossibly long and slender legs, accessorised with what had to have been at least four, perhaps even five inch heels. A crisp white blouse that clung to her generous chest and slim midsection, along with a sophisticated black pencil skirt that highlighted the woman's assets subtly. And to top it all off, the pinkette wore a pair of glasses not so dissimilar from her own, the slightly thinner black frames adorning what was easily the most beautiful face she had ever seen. "I remember hearing they had their own photography studio here, but I hadn't expected that there would be models walking around." She thought to herself, simply unable to tear her gaze from the exquisite woman; her eyes tracking her as she walked across the open space in front of her. "She… she's gorgeous…" Miku said to herself, her heart beating hard from just the sight of her.
"Earth to Miku… are you in there?" The blonde called out playfully as she stepped into her field of vision, effectively blocking her view of the alluring pinkette, not to mention snapping her out of the trance she had seemingly put her in. "Not a great idea to be spacing out like that on your first day… you really should say hello to everyone or you'll make a bad first impression." Lily advised jokingly, giving the tealette a playful wink.
Lily was right though; first impressions certainly did matter, and Miku really didn't feel like reliving her school days as the nerdy outcast all over again. "Ahh… sorry everyone… my mind went blank there for a second." She lied nervously, before taking one last glance back to where she last saw the pink haired woman. Miku was oddly disappointed that she was no longer anywhere to be seen, although she figured that it was probably for the best that the distraction was now gone for good. "I'm Hatsune Miku, pleased to meet all of you." She offered politely, taking a few moments to greet each of the four people one at a time, exchanging names and handshakes with all of them in a reasonably confident manner despite her innate shyness.
With everybody acquainted with one another, the six people soon naturally shifted back in to three groups of two, leaving Miku to believe that the others entered the building in pairs just like Lily and herself had. She was honestly glad. Miku wasn't the greatest when it came to new people; she could manage talking one on one without too much difficulty, but in groups she always found herself too shy to speak, which would inevitably lead to her being alienated from any new group by her awkward silences and people even forgetting she was there, at least that's how things had gone when she was in high school.
Still, even now at twenty one years of age, after having the flow of conversation broken with Lily, the tealette was struggling to find something to start a conversation with, dearly hoping that the taller woman would do the hard work for her and get the ball rolling. However, before either of them could say much, the sound of heels clacking against the hard floor returned to Miku's ears, perhaps signalling the return of the pinkette. "Is it her again…?" The tealette mumbled to herself, turning towards the source of the noise, only to discover that the pink haired woman was walking right towards them.
Miku tried to keep a cool exterior, but on the inside she was falling apart. Her heart was hammering away in her chest from nervousness, her breath was caught in her dry throat at the sight of the rapidly approaching pinkette. "Just stay calm Miku… just smile when she walks past, and everything will be fine."
However, as she came within a few feet of the group, it quickly became clear that the pinkette had no intention of walking by; instead she stopped right in front of them all, coughing softly to get everyone's attention. "There's no way… she couldn't be our…" Miku began to think to herself, but her question was answered before she even had time to finish thinking it.
"Good morning everyone, thank you all for waiting. I apologise for the delay; I had a few important things that I needed to take care of first, but now they're out of the way, please let me introduce myself." The pinkette explained once she had everyone's attention. "My name is Megurine Luka, and I am the eastern Honshu regional manager of Crypton photography." She announced with a hint of pride in her voice. "That also means that I am the most senior member of staff here in Tokyo, which for all of you means that I am your new manager… pleased to meet you all."
Miku could hardly believe it. "It can't be… she's so young… and so beautiful, there's no way she could be my new boss." The tealette thought to herself. "Regional manager? She can't be a day over thirty at best… there's no way she could be the head of company like this already." She continued, before looking around to see if anyone shared her shocked facial expression; with only Lily showing any sign of a reaction.
Looking specifically towards the blonde and teal pair, Luka began to speak once again. "Now some of you who were interviewed more recently will probably recognise me… I hope you do, as I was the one doing the interviews." Luka joked, earning a small chorus of laughs from the group in front of her. "But for those who were interviewed last month before our HR lady left, on the one day I happened to be off from work of course, I think it's worth everyone reintroducing themselves to me, just so we're all on even ground." She suggested, before moving to the end of the line of people, greeting each new staff member more personally, one at a time.
Miku looked down the line, trying to prepare herself for her turn… for the moment she would finally have to talk to this incredible woman one on one. "A little handshake, and a few words back and forth…" She mentally said to herself as she observed the pattern forming before her, watching and waiting as Luka drew ever closer to the other end of the line; right where she happened to be standing. "You can do this Miku, no big deal."
The pinkette let go of Lily's hand, bowing at her slightly before moving down the line one last time "I don't think we've met either… no… I'd definitely remember you if we had." Luka began softly, her silky voice gaining Miku's attention with ease. "What's your name?"
The tealette looked up at Luka's words, wanting to try to find the meaning in what she had just said, but the moment her eyes met the stunning blues of the woman standing in front of her, any ability to think straight left Miku completely. "I… err… umm…" The younger woman fumbled nervously, tearing her eyes away from Luka's and locking them squarely with the floor, the redness in her cheeks spreading at an alarming rate.
Without any hesitation, the pinkette placed a gentle hand on her new employee's shoulder, giving it a soft squeeze. "Hey, there's no need to be nervous." She practically whispered, keeping their exchange just between them, taking the initiative to move a little closer to the tealette to give them a bit more privacy. "Look at me, sweetheart." Luka instructed caringly, successfully bringing the younger woman's gaze off of the floor and back to her. "What's your name?" Luka asked again, her tone incredibly gentle.
Miku looked up into her eyes once more, although this time, instead of feeling slightly intimated and overwhelmingly nervous, the younger woman found herself feeling strangely at ease, the gentle stare and sweet smile from the pinkette calming her thumping heart considerably. "Sorry… I don't know what came over me." She explained, getting a small nod from Luka in return, one of equal parts understanding, and as a signal for her to continue. "I'm M-Miku… Hatsune Miku." She managed to say with minimal stuttering. "Pleased to meet you Megurine-san."
Luka's smile continued to grow at the tealette's cute shyness, her hand finding the petite one of the woman in front of her. "Pleased to meet you too Hatsune-san, I look forward to working with you." Luka said with professionalism and compassion, before removing her hand from Miku's shoulder and bringing it down to their handshake, encapsulating the tealette's smaller hand in both of her own. "I've got a great feeling about you." She whispered with a smile, staring into the shorter woman's eyes as she spoke.
Miku couldn't look away; too enraptured in the pinkette's almost loving gaze. Nor could she stop thinking about how soft and warm the older woman's hands were, the pleasant sensation surrounding her own hand as they continued to exchange in an overly long handshake. "I… I hope I can live up to your expectations…" She whispered in response, effortlessly earning a bright smile and an accepting nod from her pink haired boss.
Luka held on for a few more seconds, before she eventually released both Miku's hand and her gaze, quickly returning her attention to the group. "Sorry about that…" She addressed the group with a goofy smile, scratching the back of her head slightly nervously as she gave the tealette a knowing look. "It's probably best that I make it known to you all now, that being that I am quite the touchy-feely person. So if anyone here is particularly uncomfortably with that, I'd ask that you let me know now so that I can be a bit more reserved with you in the future." Luka requested, once again looking to the young woman that had prompted her to mention this in the first place.
Normally Miku would have been the first one to say something here; as all throughout school and even into her adult life, the tealette disliked having her personal space invaded, especially if that meant being touched by someone she wasn't already pretty familiar with. And yet, it just occurred to the teal haired young woman that she had just had a total stranger's hand resting on her shoulder, and shared a rather intimate handshake with said stranger, and she hadn't minded in the slightest. In fact, Miku had been kind of disappointed when Luka finally moved away from her; as she had been oddly enjoying the pleasant contact with her new boss more than she cared to admit.
And strangely enough, the tealette felt oddly saddened at the fact that the intimate moment she had just shared with Luka hadn't been anything special just for her; that the pinkette probably did stuff like this with other employees and others in general as it was simply in her nature to be like that. Though, she soon caught herself trying to rationalise that feeling, quickly shaking her head at herself. "You shouldn't be thinking like that Miku… she's your boss… of course it was her just being nice." She berated herself, before another, perhaps more important point popped into her head. "And beside, you have a boyfriend you idiot."
Miku looked up, only now just realising that the pink haired woman had specifically been waiting on her answer; her boss looking at her expectantly. She shook her head and flashed Luka a timid smile, which seemed to convey the message, as Luka soon proceeded to continue from where she left off. "Great, that's good to know." Luka chirped happily, before pointing at the glass fronted room Miku had identified earlier. "That over there is my office, not the desk there; that would be for my secretary if I had one, but in the room behind it, and it's where you can find me a lot of the time." She explained, turning back to the group. "And while I may be the manager, I am also currently operating as our HR, as like I mentioned before, the lady that worked in that position previously has only recently just left; leaving me to step in whilst we look for a suitable replacement." The pinkette continued, stopping briefly to catch her breath. "It looks like I'll be in that position for the foreseeable future, so if you have any matters regrading HR, you'll have to come to me I'm afraid." She said with a little chuckle, taking a short moment to clear her throat before speaking again.
"Other than that, me and a few of the other senior members of staff will be training you up over the coming days and weeks, and at the end of every week on Friday afternoons I personally like to have a one on one meeting with newer staff members." She went on, sensing a little nervousness in the small crowd. "It's nothing too serious, only about ten minutes per person. It's more just to monitor and review your progress, and to make sure everything's going okay for you at work. And of course you can come and see me at any time in the week if you have any problems or questions." Luka finished, taking a brief moment to pause, before smiling brightly at her new employees. "Now I know that was probably a lot to take in… don't worry, I'll go over everything again as we go. But for now, let me show around the office, introduce you to our current members of staff and show you where you will all be working."
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Teal painted fingers moved the mouse currently in their grip along the desk, moving yet another completed file to its correct location on screen. "Done!" Miku whispered to herself triumphantly, before taking a second to look at the large clock on the wall beyond her computer screen. "4:55… it can't already be that late…" The tealette thought to herself in shock, surprised at how fast the time had gone on her first day.
And what a first day it had been. So many new people; so many names Miku was sure she would forget a few times before they all stuck. There was just so much new information to take in all at once; be it the layout of the building, the details and procedures of the multiple tasks she would be performing on a daily basis, even just remembering where the bathrooms were… it was pretty overwhelming to say the least. But, whilst the work was somewhat difficult, it suited Miku quite well, and even though she had only a single day's experience under her belt, she had already become rather proficient at her work already, and as such, the tealette could definitely see herself sticking this job out for the foreseeable future.
That, and the fact that her boss was a young, impossibly attractive, and incredibly nice pink haired woman. After their introduction, tour of the building, and small meet and greet session, Luka had quickly gotten to work training the new team for the majority of the day. Whilst others had helped, including a short haired brunette named Meiko, and the purple haired man from this morning, amongst a couple others, the pinkette had been with them the whole time. And instead of the short tempered or disinterested trainers you might encounter in another job, Luka was nothing short of compassionate, incredibly sweet and caring, especially tolerant of mistakes, and one hundred percent invested in her new employees, all of which quickly created a very positive image of the pinkette in Miku's head.
Being as caught up in her thoughts as she was, the tealette only just noticed that her boss had left the photography studio by the time she had already closed the door and was walking towards her. And given that her cubicle was at the very front left of the office, with Luka's office almost directly in front of it, and the studio being the next room along the back wall from it; there was very little distance her boss needed to cover to reach her cubicle, which gave Miku very little time to pretend she was actually doing some work, rather than thinking about her boss.
Needless to say, Luka saw the younger woman quickly sit up in her chair, throw her hands forward to the keyboard and mouse in front of her, and aimlessly start clicking and typing at anything she could find. That, combined with her teal haired employee's rapidly spreading blush made for an incredibly cute picture to the pinkette.
"Hey, there's no need to panic, Hatsune-san." She offered gently as she came into the cubicle and crouched down beside the younger woman. "It's practically five o'clock now, and you've worked so hard today already, its fine if you need a little break now and then." She explained quietly; glad to get a short, quick nod from Miku in response. "So… how did you find today? I hope it wasn't too much to handle all in one day?"
Miku let her hands come to rest down in her lap, letting out the breath she only just realised she had been holding in. "Thank you…" She offered in response to the pinkette's first comment, glad that her boss had noticed the level of effort she had put in today. "Honestly, it was a little overwhelming, but still manageable." She replied, trying… and failing a few times at holding eye contact with the older woman; Luka's proximity to her making her feel ever so slightly nervous. "And as far as the actual work goes, it's certainly a little tough, but it's fair at the same time… just the right balance I think."
Luka flashed a warm smile at the tealette. "I'm glad to hear it; I wouldn't want to completely confuse my new employees on day one." She joked, getting a small giggle from the shorter woman in response. "That kinda brings me around to what I came over here to ask you about." Luka went on, the tealette turning in her seat slightly, as if to further show she was giving the older woman her full attention. "On new employee's first days we get your ID cards sorted out. We take a picture in the studio and get them made up in house." Luka started, her face imperceptibly saddening before she spoke again. "But with so many new people all at once, we just didn't have enough time to get yours done. So I wanted to ask, and please don't feel like you have to, but would it be possible for you to come in five, maybe ten minutes earlier tomorrow morning?" She asked respectfully, her tone sounding like she was asking for something much more serious. "I'll be in then, and we can get your ID card sorted out before work even starts tomorrow… but only if that works for you?"
Miku couldn't help but think how lucky she had been when it came to her boss; there were so many different possibilities of what a bad boss could be, and here she was with what could only be described as the best one imaginable; so respectful and polite towards someone of such comparatively little experience. "That's perfectly fine with me Megurine-san." She replied cheerfully. "I don't mind at all, in fact I'd be happy to do that for you." She decided to add, wanting to make a good early impression on the pink haired woman.
Luka certainly noticed the comment, her smile growing wider as she gently bowed to the younger woman after standing back up. "Thank you Hatsune-san, that really does make things easier." She explained, her eyes following the tealette as she also rose from her seat.
Miku could feel the older woman's stare on her, following her every move intently. "Umm…" She shyly started, looking up at the pinkette and confirming that Luka was indeed fixated on her; her stare almost predatory. "Megurine-san…?" She asked tentatively.
Luka shook her head, the faintest of blushes forming on her cheeks. "Sorry sweetheart, it's just… I love your hair, it's so long and it's such a great colour." She quickly replied, her words seemingly genuine despite looking like a kid who had just been caught with their hand in the cookie jar. "I imagine it must take you hours to dye it though."
The tealette's heart fluttered momentarily at Luka's term of endearment for her, just as it had done when she had called her sweetheart before. "Th-thanks… although this is my natural colour, I wouldn't have the patience to dye this much hair."
The older woman seemed genuinely surprised, her lips forming into a shocked o shape. "Is it really?" She asked questioningly, getting a somewhat proud nod from the teal haired young woman. "Apart from Kamui-san, I've never met anyone before with hair a non-standard colour that wasn't dyed, I always thought me and my family were quite rare."
It took Miku a moment, but she soon got the meaning of what her boss had just said. "Wait… so you're a natural pinkette?" She asked, almost as surprised as Luka had been with her.
Luka nodded, her lips curving back into a smile. "That's right, pink and proud as my mother always used to say." She jokingly replied, bringing a smile to her employee's lips. "I've had this colour hair all my life, and not once have I ever thought about changing it… it's one of my best features I feel."
Miku's heart beat hard for a second; nervous about what she thinking of saying, wondering if it was okay to compliment her boss. "I… err… it really is… y-your hair… it's really beautiful Megurine-san." She nervously stuttered her way through her sentence, her embarrassment threatening to force her gaze downwards once again, but not before Luka gave her response.
"Thank you so much Hatsune-san, I'm glad you like it." She replied sweetly, her eyes brimming with happiness as she found the teal orbs of the younger woman. "It's not a patch on yours though; I've never seen anyone with such stunning hair. It really compliments your eyes, and with the way your bangs frame your face…" Luka paused, leaning in ever so slightly. "It makes you look simply adorable sweetheart."
Miku blushed at the older woman's remark, not quite believing what her brain was telling her. "Is… is she flirting with me?" She asked herself internally, unable to come up with any other possible outcome. Sure, Luka could just be being really, really friendly, but there was something else… something Miku couldn't quite put her finger on that led her to her conclusion. "Is it her eyes?" She asked herself, staring back into the deep blue pools, losing herself in their infinite depth and stunning beauty. "The way she looks at me… so longingly…?"
Before Miku could quite find the answer she was searching for, the pinkette looked away, smiling to herself for a brief moment before turning back to the tealette. "Anyway… good work today Hatsune-san, I'll see you bright and early at around ten to nine, okay?"
Miku felt like she had been snapped out of a trance; almost like a spell had been lifted as Luka had looked away. "Err… yeah, ten to nine." She parroted back absentmindedly, still trying to make sense of their strange exchange. "See you then."
With that, the pinkette swiftly returned to her office, leaving a still rather confused and intrigued Miku standing at her desk. "What was that all about?" She whispered to herself, remembering the way Luka had looked at her; specifically the look on her face when she had said she looked adorable, still trying to make sense of it all.
Miku soon deduced that it was probably nothing, most likely her just reading too deep into it as she had a tendency to do. Luka had said herself that she was a touchy feely person, it would make sense that she was also quite generous with her compliments to everyone, and that their encounter hadn't been anything out of the ordinary for the pinkette. She gathered up her belongings, slung her backpack over her shoulder, and made her way to the elevator, saying goodbye to the few remaining staff members still at their desks. But still, as she stepped into the elevator and selected the ground floor, thoughts of her pink haired boss were certainly lingering in the back of her mind.
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"I'm home!" Miku called out into the house as she stepped through the front door, dropping her bag off of her shoulders and onto the floor of the entryway; its weight seemingly quite a bit heavier than when she set off from work, or at least that's how it felt to the tired tealette. "Kaito, are you in?" She tried again, this time getting a response from her blue haired boyfriend, his voice coming from the living room.
She purposefully took her time to take off her shoes, waiting for the blue haired man to come and greet her after her first day of work. But, even after a solid thirty seconds had passed, his tall figure had not yet appeared in the doorway; the warm greeting she had expected from him seemingly non-existent. "Glad to see I was missed." She mumbled to herself sarcastically, before putting her shoes away neatly and making her way to the living room, greatly anticipating a well-deserved sit down after having to stand for the duration of her train journey.
However, as the tealette turned the corner and entered the room, she soon spotted Kaito laying on their two seater sofa, fully stretched out as he watched the game of baseball playing on the TV. "Hey..." She offered quietly, taking a precarious seat on the arm of the chair once she realised that her boyfriend had no intention of moving.
"Hey. There she is…" Kaito replied back enthusiastically, albeit with his attention still divided between the game and his girlfriend. "It's the worker, back from her first day." He continued, taking a few seconds to fully watch how the last play had gone, before finally turning his head towards the tealette. "How'd it go today? Did you have fun?" He asked with a genuine smile, seemingly proud of his girlfriend.
Miku smiled back, even if he hadn't gotten up, or moved to make room for her; at least he seemed to be interested. "I did actually. It was mostly training and orientation, but I did get to do some editing which was interesting." She replied back, the blue haired man nodding along as she spoke. "I met a lot of new people, and they all seem really nice and talented." She continued, her mind briefly switching to thoughts of Luka for a moment, before she swiftly dismissed them, not exactly wanting to mention her just yet. "And the day just flew by, it was lunch before I knew it, and then…" Miku started, but was soon interrupted by her boyfriend talking over her.
"Speaking of food, what's for dinner babe?" He asked nonchalantly, before realising a full five seconds after the fact that he had just cut of the tealette, and that she didn't exactly seem happy about that. "Sorry for cutting you off, it's just… time is getting on, and I'm not getting any less hungry." He joked, his one woman crowd not finding it particularly funny however.
Miku was a bit taken aback when he had interrupted her like that. It's not like she wasn't already used to it; it was one of the many bad habits Kaito had, but she at least thought he would show a decent level of interest towards her new job, especially on her first day too. It certainty left her felling a tad annoyed, that and the fact that Kaito was as expectant of his dinner as he always was. "Have you at least made a start on anything like I asked?
The blue haired man shook his head, shrugging his shoulders at Miku. "I thought about it, but I think I'll have to pass on that." He replied, earning himself an unbelieving look from his girlfriend. "I don't do the cooking… I never have done. I don't see why that should be any different now. I reckon I'd just mess things up and slow you down more."
Miku let out a frustrated sigh; he really was incredible sometimes, and not in a good way. "Because we're both working now; I'm not at home all day ready to have your dinner made for when you get home anymore." She explained, her tone clearly a little annoyed. "And as you only work ten minutes away and get home a good deal earlier, don't you think it makes sense for you to at least do something." She continued, getting a confused look from the blue haired man, like he had no idea what she was talking about. "You could prep the veggies, or get all the ingredients out and ready to go… even just setting the table would save me a few minutes."
Kaito looked as if he was giving it some serious consideration for a moment, before shrugging once again and waving off the idea of helping. "Nah, I really can't see myself doing any of that reliably." He replied, laughing to himself before turning back to the TV. "And besides, I already do all the washing up, I feel like that's fair, especially after working all day."
Miku opened her mouth to speak, wanting to reiterate that she too was now working, but she soon let it fall shut, as she already knew that her words would be falling on deaf ears. Miku was definitely unhappy with her boyfriend's behaviour and attitude, but what could she do about it? She knew first hand just how stubborn and lazy Kaito could be, but after months and months of letting things slide in his favour; letting him win arguments she didn't want to fight, the roles that they had gradually slipped into had become more and more concrete with time. She felt that it was too late to change things at this point; after being on the losing end in their relationship for a year, it would only cause more fuss and more arguments if she were to suddenly try and change things in her favour.
And, when she looked at bigger picture, still having to cook dinner despite having worked all day wasn't exactly the end of the world; just another thing she would have to let slide… after all, she had let much bigger things go before just to keep the peace, why would this time be any different? She would have appreciated the rest after such a long day, but Miku quickly decided that it would just have to wait until after dinner. "I guess…" She murmured, sounding a little defeated, retreating to the kitchen and leaving Kaito with the TV he seemed to be more interested in; all the while wishing that he wasn't so lazy, even if only now and then.
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Deft, teal painted fingers effortlessly held Miku's chopsticks as she swirled them around the bowl of soup before her; the motion uncovering a hidden piece of meat for them to skilfully snatch up, only a few noodles and a small amount of liquid now remaining in her bowl. "So yeah, for now it is a lot of administrative work, emails and the like..." Miku started, pausing for a moment as she sipped at the still surprisingly hot broth. "But as time goes on and they find out what we're all good at individually, they mentioned that we may end up as full time editors, or we might even become photographers, be it for in-house shoots, or sent out on jobs for our clients." She went on, happy to see that now they were around the dining table, and he presumably had a lot less distractions, that Kaito seemed genuinely interested in her account of her first day. "I still can't believe there were six of us though. I know they're doing well as a company and growing their staff, but six at one time seems excessive."
The blue haired man nodded along, listening to his girlfriend's words as he too slurped down the flavourful liquid from his own bowl. "You know why that is though, right?" He asked with a mouth still half full, spilling a little from his lips in the process of talking. "When a company gets a lot of new people at once, most of the time it's so they can start with a larger batch and then quickly weed out the weaker ones, leaving them with only two or three in your case that are actually decent." He explained proudly, almost as if he were a genius for knowing something reasonably apparent. "In these first few days and weeks they'll really be looking to sort the wheat from the chaff so to speak, so you better try your best if you don't want to end up as the chaff."
The tealette rolled her eyes at his little speech, but particularly at his last comment. "I had figured that was the case already." She replied, before finishing what little food she had left; greatly appreciating the fruits of her labour in the kitchen. "And you don't have to tell me twice, I'll be giving this my maximum effort and then some. You of all people should know that I've always wanted a job in photography, and now that I finally have one, I'm not going to let it just slip through my fingers." She offered back with an uncharacteristic determination, earning a praising thumbs up from her boyfriend, the man not currently being able to reply with words courtesy of the quantity of noodles and volume of broth he had somehow managed to fit into his mouth all at once.
With that, Miku set her chopsticks down neatly and sluggishly made her way to the living room, filled with the sole intention of simply relaxing. "Finally…" She sighed as she unceremoniously plopped down onto the sofa; its overwhelming softness and much needed lower back support greatly appreciated by the tealette. "Let's see what's on." She murmured to herself as she stretched out and retrieved the remote from the low table in front of her.
It wasn't long before Kato followed in his girlfriend's footsteps, entering the living room after he had finished his meal much as the tealette had. "Watcha watching?" He asked lazily as he began to lower himself into his seat, but was stopped in his tracks when Miku swiftly extended her legs to take up the whole length of the sofa, mimicking the pose she had found him in before dinner. "Hey, what gives?"
"Don't you remember?" She asked with a coy grin, getting a confused look from the blue haired man in response. "And besides, I already do all the washing up." She copied his earlier statement, even going so far as to imitate his tone of voice. "Your turn to fulfil your end of the deal. I cooked it and now you have to clean it." She said, clearly amused at how the situation had played out in her favour. He gave her a look as if to say he would do it later, but the tealette was having none of it. "There's no point putting it off, it's only gonna get more dried up and harder to clean the longer you wait." She explained, her point appearing to be enough to convince him to head for the kitchen. "Have fun… it shouldn't take you too long." She couldn't help but add with a giggle, knowing just how much washing up she had made by choosing to make something overly complicated and with a lot of ingredients for dinner, all whilst being one of her personal favourites. Even if they had their difficulties and their moments, there were still times like this where Miku definitely felt she had won, even if it was just for just an evening.
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Hope you enjoyed this chapter, I'd love to know what you thought of it, and of what you think of the story idea as a whole.
Thanks for reading.