when you just want your lunch
Kagamine Len sighed, sipping his coffee and watching the people rushing around outside. Time was crawling – not that it usually went past particularly quickly for him anyway, but today was a new record. He felt like he had been sitting here for hours, but actually it had only been fifteen minutes.
"How's the food, sir?" he looked up to see one of the waitresses smiling at him, clearly hoping he would give her a good tip when he left. He forced a smile onto his face, kind of glad for the sudden company but also, at the same time, wishing that she would just leave him alone. He really didn't like talking to people unless they happened to interest him, or it was absolutely necessary…
"Oh, it's great," he answered politely, glancing down at his half-eaten baked salmon with baby carrots and mashed potato. He had a great fondness for salmon. The waitress nodded as well, clearly pleased with his response, and wished him a good day before she went to attend to other tables. He looked out of the window once more, another sigh passing through his lips. Today was slow and tedious. He wished the day would pass by quickly – but then tomorrow would be the same for him.
The door of the restaurant chimed, and he instinctively looked around, wondering who had just entered. His gaze landed on a girl, dressed in a light brown coat and wearing a tan beret. Her long hair, a vibrant teal waterfall that tumbled in loose waves down to her waist, was a welcome pop of colour against the restaurant's black and white décor. He looked for a while longer – a waiter went to attend to her, and she was brought to a table not too far from his. She seemed rather nervous.
Len wondered who she was waiting for. The girl, after seating herself and requesting for a glass of water, took off her long coat and hung it on the back of her chair, revealing a slender figure dressed in a fluffy white sweater and ripped jeans. There were patches on her knee-high boots, probably a result of melted snow. Overall, she looked nicely made-up, so he guessed she was meeting someone important – perhaps a mystery date or something. She twiddled her thumbs, looking around, and he continued staring – she did not look at him, and he wasn't sure if that disappointed him or not.
He went back to his baked salmon, deciding to finish the rest of it before it got cold. It was chilly day with fairly strong winds, so he wanted to eat his meal while it was still hot. The girl was still waiting for her mysterious lunch partner, and he figured he'd just hang around until the person came to meet her. It wasn't like he had anything better to do, anyway. He sliced away a chunk of salmon and popped it in his mouth, catching the eye of the waitress who spoke to him earlier – she gave him another smile and he nodded, averting his gaze. Eating here alone always made him feel awkward.
Ten minutes passed, then twenty, then thirty. The girl's mysterious guest never arrived, and he caught her looking worriedly at her watch every once in a while. The waiter went to her table a few times, asking if she wanted to get anything, but she always waved him away. Len was getting very curious now. He caught a quick glimpse of her face as she glanced around the restaurant and saw the faint look of distress she was wearing. The waiter she kept pushing away seemed to be getting a little irritated with her. Len decided there was no harm in going over to have a conversation.
Hatsune Miku jumped when someone tapped on the side of the table opposite hers. Her head shot around – was her date finally here? They had agreed to meet at this restaurant for lunch, but he was half an hour late…did he stand her up? Well, she could only blame herself for being gullible enough to meet some random dude off the Internet. What more could she expect from online dating?
But the person standing in front of her now definitely wasn't the guy she had been expecting – or if it was, then he certainly did not look like his profile picture. And it wasn't in a bad way either. Her online date had been above average looking with green eyes and ashy black hair, but this guy was the complete opposite. He was pretty much one of the most gorgeous people she had ever laid eyes on. Those soulful blue eyes, greyish blue like the winter sky, and light blond hair tied up in a loose ponytail…oh, and he was so tall! And those cheekbones could probably slice butter. She blinked.
"Hey, I saw you've been here for the past thirty minutes. Are you waiting for someone?" he opened his mouth, and for a moment she was mesmerised. He had a beautiful voice, smooth and low – she could listen to him talk all day. It was like silk against her ears. But she shook herself out of it, his words sinking in, and she realised that this guy clearly wasn't her date…much to her disappointment.
"Um, yeah, sort of," she laughed awkwardly, scratching her hair. The beret was stuffy and she really wanted to take it off, but she had a pretty nasty case of bedhead today and she didn't want anyone to see how unruly the hair on the top of her head was. She cringed at her words and how forced she sounded. The beautiful boy smiled angelically at her and she felt her heart speeding up in her chest. "He hasn't shown up yet though," she blurted out. "And he's not answering my messages either…"
She cringed again. She basically had just admitted to a complete stranger that she was stood up by her date. That was a wonderful way to make a first impression. The boy's eyes widened, and both of them didn't say anything for a moment – in fact, she was kind of hoping he would just leave now so that things wouldn't be so awkward, and she could go back to wallowing in self-pity. Then suddenly he coughed, a very serious look on his face. "Is it okay if I sit with you then, Miss…?"
"Oh, um, sure!" she squeaked, hating the way her voice went higher when she answered. "And oh, my name is Miku. Hatsune Miku," she added quickly, almost stumbling over her words. He smiled at her again, that beautifully angelic smile, and drew the chair out, sitting properly opposite her. She tried not to fidget, attempting to fix her messy hair as discreetly as possible. Was this gorgeous boy really sitting with her? Was this actually happening? She thought this kind of thing only took place in movies…
"My name's Kagamine Len," he introduced himself, those blue eyes soft and warm. She wanted to melt at the sight of those endearing eyes – there was something almost sad about his gaze, but his smile was friendly and gentle, and he looked at her in a way that made her feel like he was her friend – like she could talk to him about anything. Then she frowned – his name was vaguely familiar…
But she couldn't remember why, and eventually she just shrugged it off. Maybe he shared the same family name as someone else she knew or something. It wouldn't be surprising – Kagamine was a fairly common family name. "Great. So, uh, it's great to meet you," she tried not to stammer. His smile widened, and she hoped that he wasn't laughing at her. "What are you…ah, doing here?"
"Having my lunch," he answered, gesturing towards a table right behind hers. She glanced back and saw a cleared plate as well as a cup of steaming coffee. "I like to eat here, though it's a little strange because I always come in by myself. So I hope you don't mind my company. It'll be nice to not be judged for eating alone," he laughed. She nodded in understanding – she hated eating alone in public too. She was fine with eating alone in school, but in places like restaurants…no, not okay.
"Why do you eat alone, though?" she asked. Then she slapped a hand over her mouth. "You don't have to answer if it's a sensitive question or anything!" she hastily assured him, hating the way she tended to blurt things out without thinking. She really had to change that. The boy laughed again.
"No, it's fine. I eat alone because I don't really like making small talk with people," he met her gaze, blue eyes serious. She swallowed, simultaneously intimidated by and attracted to him. "Most of my colleagues and I don't really communicate for anything beyond work-related matters, so eating with them feels more stressful than actually working. I'd rather not put myself through that," he sighed.
Miku blinked. "You're working already?" he looked so young. "Where are you working?" she asked, curious. She had a naturally inquisitive nature, and she loved to ask all sorts of questions when she met new people. It was a habit she knew she ought to restrain a little, since she never knew when she might accidentally offend someone, but she loved finding out more about people she met and she was always forgetting to think things through before she spoke. Len shook his head, closing his eyes and smiling. She felt a little disappointed at his reluctance to answer, but she backed off.
"I'm sorry you got stood up though," he told her sincerely. "No girl deserves to be treated that way. Especially not someone like you," his gaze lingered on her, and she felt her face heat up. Was this gorgeous boy actually hitting on her? Or was she dreaming? She discreetly pinched herself under the table and winced – nope, she definitely wasn't dreaming. "Maybe we could meet for a coffee one day?" he offered. She willingly gave him her number, and he promised he'd send her a message.
Then he went off to pay his bill, explaining that his lunch break would be over soon and he had to get back to his office. She nodded, still dazed by what just happened, watching as he went to the counter to pay for his meal. Miku doubted he would actually message her, but…that was a nice thing to say.
Miku was brushing her teeth when her phone chimed. Glancing at the screen, she spat out the foam and washed out her mouth, wiping her lips dry with the back of her hand. She had received a text from an unknown number, and she wondered who it was from. Her first thought was that it was from Len, and excitedly she opened the message – no, it was just from that guy who stood her up this afternoon.
He claimed that he had to visit his sick mother in the hospital and it was a really last-minute emergency so he wasn't able to meet her, and he was so busy settling everything that he forgot entirely about her. She snorted, putting her phone aside – yeah, she might believe that if he hadn't told her that his mother died when he was little. Was it so hard to just tell her that he simply wasn't interested, rather than just wasting her time like that? She sighed again, feeling a little depressed.
She would be the first to admit that she didn't have the best luck with guys. Everyone in her school seemed to be already attached, which just make her singleness even more frustrating. She hadn't met anyone from her university whom she actually liked that way, so she turned to online dating, and so far every date she had simply didn't turn out well. Miku had half a mind to just give up and embrace her singlehood, but at the same time she'd really, really like just one successful date.
Her phone started buzzing then, and still upset about her situation she picked up without looking at the screen. "Hello?" she asked grumpily, wondering who it was. There was a vaguely familiar laugh and she froze up, panicking – she recognised the smooth, rich laughter. It could only be one person.
"You sound unhappy," Len observed. "Did something happen?" she was trying not to hyperventilate. He really did contact her! She thought he had just asked for her number to seem nice. Her tongue suddenly felt too heavy to move so for a moment she just stood there, unable to say anything. "Miku?" he prompted, when a few moments passed and she still hadn't said a single word.
"Nothing, nothing!" she hastily blurted out, her tongue suddenly able to move again. But her tongue seemed to be disconnected from her brain. "I was just wondering why guys are such terrible liars!"
Len seemed amused. "Terrible liars?" he asked, good humour in his voice. Miku's thoughts abruptly caught up with her mouth and she froze, realising what she had just blurted out. "I don't think I'm a bad liar…or that I lie much at all, actually," he mused. "I'd like to think that I'm a pretty honest guy…"
"I don't mean you!" she hastily interjected, wondering why she was so stupid. "Just…some guy just told me an excuse and it was obviously fake so I thought that if he wanted to lie, he should at least put more effort into it. Anyway, um…so what did you call me for?" she tried to change the subject.
"I was wondering if you'd like to meet me at the same restaurant again tomorrow for lunch?" he asked, suddenly sounding very serious. She tilted her head, waiting for him to continue. "You seem like a nice person to talk to and it'd be great to have someone to eat with. I'll pay for your meal too," he offered. She felt mildly disappointed – why did it seem like he was paying her for her company?
But it didn't sound like a bad offer. At least she'd have company during lunch and a nice place to eat at, rather than just eating a cold sandwich alone in the cafeteria or something. "Oh…yeah, sure, why not?" she answered, looking at herself in the mirror. Her fringe and the hair around her face was wet since she had just splashed water on herself. She didn't think she was ugly, so why was it that she just couldn't find any guy who wanted to date her? Was it simply because she talked too much?
"Okay, great," he sounded relieved. "I'll see you then?" they agreed on the time and then he hung up, explaining he had to settle some work matters. Miku walked out of the bathroom, wondering how she had even gotten herself into this situation. But at least he was pretty good-looking!
Their first meeting was kind of awkward. Miku noticed straightaway that Len was fairly quiet, content to listen to her going on and on while he ate his meal. She definitely monopolised the conversation, and at first she had worried a lot about whether or not he found her annoying.
However, he appeared to sense her discomfort and assured her that he enjoyed listening to her talk about her day. So she continued, growing more and more comfortable with sharing – Len was a good listener, and he nodded and interjected every so often only to add his own perspective to things. So at the end of their lunch meeting, Miku had no regrets saying yes to this arrangement, and Len himself was clearly relieved when she agreed to meet him again tomorrow. And so it went on.
It turned into a routine of sorts. Although Miku thought it was rather clear that they weren't dating, they were just eating together, it didn't mean that she didn't like him. She most certainly did find him attractive, but she never had the feeling that the attraction was mutual, so she didn't dare to say anything. She would talk about her day, about her schoolwork and her friends, and as time went past and she relaxed more, she started talking about her worries and her dreams for the future. Len was a patient listener, always offering an empathetic ear, and she could talk to him about anything – a feeling she didn't get even with her closest friends. But Len hardly said anything about himself.
He still didn't tell her where he worked, and he never talked about his job either or what he did precisely. But he did let slip a few things sometimes, such as his journey home being tedious because he had to take the elevator all the way up to the highest floor – so she concluded that he lived in the penthouse suite of some very tall building. She also knew he could drive since he had obtained his license a few years ago, and he used to do some part-time modelling when he was schooling, which might be why she found him vaguely familiar. Usually she talked a lot more than him though.
It was the first time she had met a guy who seemed to listen so genuinely to her. Len never gave her the impression that he was tuning her out or anything. In fact, he remembered most of the things she said and often brought them up in their conversations. She had lunch with him almost every day – some days he skipped lunch due to work, but he'd always tell her beforehand so that she wouldn't wait pointlessly for him – and they grew closer, though she still didn't know very much about him.
Len thought that Miku was very cute. Honestly, when he first invited her to have lunch regularly with him, he had just wanted someone to sit at the table so that the waiters would stop constantly bothering him. It could have been anyone, really. It just so happened that the idea of finding a regular lunch partner – who thankfully knew nothing about his work – occurred to him while he was talking to her, so he decided to give it a shot. It was pretty surprising, the fact that she even agreed.
He had never been a great conversationalist. Len was good at giving speeches and presentations – he had to be, he was his father's son. He was great at public speaking, having been trained in the art of persuasion since he was a child. But when it came to personal chats…it wasn't that he could not talk to people on a more personal level, he just never really felt a need to do so. He was far more content to sit and listen, watching others and observing the daily lives of people. He wouldn't call himself an extrovert, but it was a persona he had to wear in front of everyone else in the company.
In truth, Len was much more introverted than he appeared, preferring to stay at home with a nice book and a cup of tea rather than networking with people. Dealing with others tired him out. But Miku was…well, she was fascinating. Her life was so different from his – her life was one he could never have dreamt of having, and he soaked up her experiences with immense interest. It sounded nice, the young, carefree life of a university student. He had gone to university of course, but given his high profile and the strict nature of his family, he never had the chance to let loose and enjoy himself. Not that he particularly wanted to go for parties or gatherings anyway, but there was a difference between choosing not to go for them and never having the opportunity to attend.
When Miku groused to him about her upcoming midterms or laughed about some silly thing her friends did over the weekend, Len couldn't help but smile. Some of those tales, like having too much homework, he could empathise with – though to him, it felt like they took place incredibly long ago. He felt old, which was strange since he was only what, three years older than Miku? She mentioned she was in her third year of university, meaning she was twenty-one. University wasn't that long ago for him. But it really felt like a whole other world…he missed that life now, listening to her talk.
Personally he wasn't sure if he'd ever tell her about his life. She did ask him questions sometimes, and he'd answer them if he felt like they weren't too personal. Like questions about his job. Miku treated him like he was a normal person – he liked it that way. She probably didn't know about his career since she was a university student, and everyone knew that university students tended not to be the most up-to-date with news in the working world – well, not unless they were looking for a job or internship at the moment, and Len knew that Miku did not fall into that particular category. Nor was she the kind to keep up with current affairs either. Her obliviousness was actually a relief, in this case.
He wondered what he'd do if she ever found out where he worked and who he was. Would that knowledge change the way she interacted with him? He met the wide green eyes of the curious girl as he reached into his wallet, paying for their meal. Miku always ordered the same thing for lunch, and it had reached the point where the waiters didn't even ask her what she wanted anymore. She had wanted to pay for her share before, but Len shot her down – she needed the cash more than he did.
Hopefully her finding out his job wasn't a situation that would ever happen. Len was quite happy leaving her in the dark about his work life. After all, meeting her and having lunch with her had turned into an escape of sorts – a place where he could listen instead of talk. He didn't want that to change.
Len was no longer sure if he liked the fact that Miku was a university student who apparently had a thing for getting drunk. Admittedly, she didn't do it very often and before this nothing bad had ever happened as a result of her partying, but she had worried him a lot tonight. He let out a sigh.
Miku muttered something and turned over in her sleep, curling up on the bed. She was in his guest room since he had no idea where she lived, and he definitely wasn't okay with just letting her stay in some hotel. He had received a drunken call in the middle of a late-night business meeting and had cut the meeting short just because he was concerned about her. Of course the meeting hadn't been extremely important, and the shareholder he was conferring with was very understanding about him having to find his "girlfriend" – Len had let the man assume that, not wanting to explain the situation – but it didn't make him feel any less guilty about abandoning his work. He'd make up for it later.
Miku said that she was attending her friend's twenty-first birthday bash at one of the clubs in town, and Len had sped all the way there, his only concern being to step in before she got into trouble with any guys – he couldn't help feeling overly worried, despite knowing that she had been in this situation before and her friends could probably take care of her. He did try to tell himself on the way there that Miku was all right, and the drunk call was nothing to be worried about, but when he arrived at the right club he saw Miku dancing with a group of guys, and at least two of them had their hands in places Len would call far from appropriate. He felt like he absolutely had to intervene.
He ran his hand through his hair, exhaling and looking around the room. He didn't know what time she'd wake up, but thankfully it was the weekend and she didn't have school tomorrow. He'd send her back home when he was done with his work in the morning, assuming she even managed to wake up early. She'd have one hell of a hangover when she was up. Glancing at her, he shook his head and reached out, brushing her fringe away from her forehead. She mumbled something and turned again, and Len withdrew his hand, sighing once more. He'd best get started on his papers.
Just like Len predicted, Miku woke up with a killer headache. She moaned, putting her hand up to her forehead as she gingerly sat up in bed, looking around the room. Her temples were throbbing and her head actually felt…heavy, like it was stuffed full of cotton. She squinted, looking around – where was she? This wasn't her room, nor was it the club where she had been last night. The room was large and clean, extremely simple and neat. There was a bed, a wooden dresser, a few frames hanging around on the walls – and then she couldn't see anymore because her head throbbed viciously, drawing her attention away. She groaned, collapsing back on the bed. What time was it? Where was her phone?
Then she heard the sound of the door opening, and footsteps. Miku tried to open her eyes, but the effort was too much for her and she couldn't get her eyelids to part. "How are you feeling?" she felt cool skin against her cheek and vaguely realised that the voice belonged to Len. Once more, she tried to open her eyes, and this time she succeeded in cracking her eyelids open just a bit. Len was staring down at her, concern in his blue eyes, his silken blond hair untied for once. It was the first time she had ever seen him dressed in semi-casual clothing – he was in a plain white shirt, the collar and top two buttons undone, and black slacks. Her gaze was drawn to the hint of defined chest she could glimpse through his unbuttoned shirt and she gaped, fascinated despite her pounding head.
"Fine," she tried to croak, finally averting her gaze. Her head throbbed again, and she moaned. Her throat felt so dry. Len shook his head, sighing, and reached out to a table next to her – she hadn't realised it was there earlier – and poured her a cup of water, handing it carefully to her. She took it gratefully. As she forced herself to sip from the cup, clamping down on her instinctive urge to throw up, she suddenly thought about how strange it was, that Len was here with her. "Where…am I?"
Len grimaced. Even then, he looked beautiful. "In my house," he answered. "You don't remember, I see. You called me last night while you were drunk, saying something about vodka and strip poker and five guys you met. I was worried about you, so I went to find you, and…well, I took you out of there," he shrugged. "You didn't seem like you were in a state to continue partying. I hope I didn't overstep my boundaries," he took the emptied cup from her, setting it back down on the table.
Miku thought that her face was probably scarlet. She wanted to die from mortification. She had drunk dialled Len? Of course she knew she had a tendency to call people when she was intoxicated, but she didn't think she'd have called him. What kind of impression had she left on him? Len had always been refined, elegant and thoughtful. She did mention that she went to clubs and parties sometimes, but she never wanted him to see her in her wasted state. He probably thought she was just a stupid, drunk party girl now. She shouldn't have saved his name as one of her contacts!
"Uh…" was the only thing she could force out of her mouth. Her head wasn't helping matters. Len just patted her gently on the shoulder, pushing her firmly back down so that she was lying on the bed again. His face was serious – he didn't look like he was judging her or anything, but what would she know? It wasn't like she was a mind reader. But the bed was really comfortable and warm…
"I have some matters to settle," his words seem to float over to her from somewhere far away. She could feel herself drifting elsewhere already. "Once I'm done with that, and when you're feeling a little better, I'll take you home. Just rest for now. I'll be back in a bit," he seemed to hesitate, then he leant down and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek. She didn't even react, still feeling dazed from her hangover and her strange situation. Len quietly left the room after that and Miku sank down into a dreamy stupor, a small smile on her face. All this felt like a very weird dream. But at least it was a nice one.
A/N: I admit that this is not my best work, and actually it was a different idea but I realised that idea wouldn't work as a one-shot. I also just wanted to write something since I haven't written in a while (I'm on exchange right now so things are just beginning to settle down). Hopefully the next few will be better.