—No Such Thing as Lucky—

Luka rolled onto her side for the umpteenth time that night and she heard Kaito make a disgruntled sound at the foot of the bed. Poor kitty. No matter how she shifted or drank tea or counted sheep—or any of the natural sleep aids her internet search had come up with—she just couldn't fall asleep. Her mind was a maelstrom despite the tiredness that weighed on her limbs, turning over the exchange from several nights ago again and again and again...

/ "Right on time, Kid."

"Hey, Lloyd."

"You look nice."

She'd actually just come from a shoot, so her makeup was still done. She hunched her shoulders to evade his scrutiny. "Thanks."

Normally this is where he asked, "The usual?" with a grin. His expression was serious as he keyed information into his computer. "Just a sec."

Luka cast a glance around the lobby. The familiarity of its white walls and chrome fixtures was both comforting and unnerving. When she actually stopped and thought about it, she'd spent way too much of her time here. And for what?

"Alright, sorry for the hold up." Luka snapped to attention and was surprised to see Lloyd was offering a dark red key card rather than the usual white. He gave no explanation as she accepted it hesitantly. "Third elevator from the left. 15th floor."

"Huh?" This was the first time she'd heard a number so high or been given access to a different elevator. What was going on? When she put her money on the counter, the man didn't even count it.

He was grinning. "Enjoy."

The plaque on the door read 'Miku.' Luka knocked firmly after glancing at the surrounding hall.

"Come in?" a woman's voice said. This room's owner seemed just as confused as the others she'd met by her courtesy.

When she pushed the door open, she was immediately greeted by the visage of the pretty green-haired woman she'd seen just the other day and she stopped dead. Luka was no fool and this was no coincidence.

"Good afternoon."

Luka's gaze narrowed and she glanced towards the door, wondering if it was too late to go back downstairs. Just as quickly, she dismissed the sudden and paranoid desire and shut the door behind her. She'd done this dozens of times already and knew this to be a reputable business. Or... As reputable as a whore house could be. She avoided looking at the other woman as she took her place on the stool, her hands in her pockets and her heart beating fast.

The silence dragged on for what felt like ages with Luka staring at the floor and Miku looking, presumably, right at her. Finally, Luka asked, "Who are you?"

"I'm sure you saw the plaque on the door," the woman said.

Luka frowned. She read the attempt at humour as a deflection. "I've seen you before. In the lobby. I don't think it's a coincidence that we're meeting again now."

Pretty blue eyes roamed, taking her in with an intensity to which even the popstar wasn't accustomed despite having been idolized by fans before. Her face hot, Luka cleared her throat and the woman started-as though her mind had wandered elsewhere.

The smile that curved full lips was meant to be comforting. "I just wanted to talk. You don't look like you belong here." Luka was unable to control her eye roll. "Seriously. I'm dressed, I'm not throwing myself at you, and the door is open so you can leave whenever you want. I do hope you won't, though, as my time is valuable."

So she had heard Miku out and been surprised by how genuine and understanding she was. No wonder her services costed more; she was very good at what she did. She almost made Luka believe that she was interested. /

Unfortunately, "almost" had proven to be satisfying enough and Luka couldn't wait for their next meeting. It had been on her mind all week—to the point that management had started questioning her lapses in focus and scatterbrained tendencies. After years of pretending to be someone else, it was easy to assuage their doubts no matter how many times she missed a choreographed step or sang the original track when a new one had been chosen.

When Luka Megurine set her mind on something, she would achieve it no matter what. She had to know if the connection she had felt last week had been real.

...

Luka was late.

Lloyd looked at her like she had grown a second head as she entered the building, panting slightly. "You okay, kid?"

He had actually stood up and was halfway to her, concern in the furrow of his brow, by the time she caught her breath enough to say, "I'm fine. The chain on my bike broke on the way over."

That and she had woken up late as a result of being too excited to actually get any sleep the night before—but he didn't need to know that.

"You leave it outside? I'll take a look at it."

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it." He waved away her gratitude and handed her the blood red key card. "Miss Miku is waiting for you."

The elevator ride and subsequent walk along the hallway only served to compound the erratic pace of her heartbeat. By the time she stood before Miku's door, Luka had to take a moment to breathe deeply and restore some measure of calm. Then, she knocked firmly.

"Come in," a familiar voice said almost immediately.

Miku was sitting at the foot of her bed, her legs crossed. She was jostling one leg like the impatient twitch of a cat's tail, though she stilled as Luka approached.

"I thought you might have run back to the lower floors." She was smiling, as if in jest, but Luka didn't miss the relief in the way Miku's posture changed. "Busy day again?"

"Mhm." She scooted the stool a bit further from the bed before taking a seat.

"I don't bite, you know."

Of course she'd noticed; those bright blue orbs were eagle sharp as she observed her guest.

"Good to know." Luka didn't move. "You looked like you were waiting for me."

Her smile was bright and immediate. "I won't lie: I'm happy to see you."

"Why?" She was genuinely confused.

"I dunno." Miku shrugged. "There's something about you, Melody."

Melody. The alias served to help her distance herself from the pleased warmth that suffused her chest. "Thanks, I guess."

"Yup."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"I want your honest answer."

"You'll have it even when you don't want it." She winked.

Luka actually laughed. "Are you always this friendly? That's not the question, by the way."

"I have my moments. Usually, people don't care much about my personality."

Noted. She didn't sense any bitterness in the matter of fact way the green haired woman spoke. That alone set her apart from the other prostitutes Luka had met. If this was just an act, it was a damn impressive one. Miku seemed to know just what to say to put her at ease. Miku's posture was relaxed, open, and that made her want to accept the unspoken invitation to move closer.

That alien desire was ironically what kept her rooted to the spot.

"So what was your question?"

Her heart skipped an anxious beat and she hunched her shoulders. "Never mind."

The rest of the hour flew by.

...

Practice dragged on. By the time the choreographer asked her and the duo acting as her backup to stop, Luka was ready to tear her hair out.

"Hey Luka, want a— Oh.. sorry..."

"It's fine." She forced a smile. "My bad. You startled me."

The doubtful look she received made sense as Luka had been looking directly at the girl when she had walked up. The second that it took Luka to turn and face her manager hadn't been enough for her to forget the girl's presence and therefore she shouldn't have flinched away when a hand had rested on her shoulder.

But she had and now the people around her were looking at her strangely.

"Have you been getting enough sleep, Luka? You seem on edge."

"I'm fine."

It was always difficult to get to sleep the night before she went to see Miku.

...

"Why do you come here, Melody? A pretty girl like you should have plenty of conversation partners." It was said in her usual to the point manner, but Luka still felt pleased by the compliment.

"You'd be surprised."

"Oh? Try me."

"Men my age want to screw me, women my age want to screw me over. I had a girlfriend a couple years ago who only pretended to be my friend in order to get me into a compromising situation."

It didn't help that the girl had been a fellow idol and therefore her competition.

"Ah. At school or...?"

"At work. She wanted to get ahead, I guess, and thought that embarrassing me was the way to go."

Too bad it had backfired and she had ended up stepping out of the spotlight for months now because of backlash from Luka's fans. Karma was a funny thing.

"What do you do for work?"

"I'm a vocal coach. I teach kids the skills they need to sing their little hearts out." It was at least half true.

There was something strange about the way Miku was looking at her. "Ever work with any high profile clients? Japan has a lot of talented individuals."

"I can't say I have."

"I see. Do you like what you do?"

"Do you?" Her snappiness was an unintended result of her defensiveness.

"I don't mind it. The money is good and I can make my own schedule."

Were they really talking about prostitution? "I've... Never thought about it like that."

"Mhm. The boss takes pretty good care of us and since this brothel only serves women, the clientele is much better than most places. A definite perk of the job is my love of sex."

Luka's cheeks heated and she quickly averted her gaze. She wasn't sure why that statement made her so uncomfortable given that she was sitting in a brothel, opposite a prostitute, but it did. It didn't help that sharp blue eyes were appraising her reaction, pretty features unreadable.

Had she said it just to get a rise out of Luka? It was hard to tell.

"Can we please talk about something else?"

Miku arched an eyebrow at that, but she didn't comment. "Your wish is my desire."

...

Len mewled and pawed at the door. He sat and waited until Luka opened it and then he darted out into the darkness of the hall, his collar jingling. The pink haired girl closed the door behind him and, after giving her bed a displeased look, she fell into it.

Her most recent talk with Miku had been... Interesting. She wasn't used to being so candid about certain subjects, but the green-haired woman's cavalier attitude had encouraged her to divulge information she hadn't to anyone else.

That vulnerability that caused terrified her-but only when she wasn't entranced by the mischievous light in blue eyes. In the moment, it felt right and natural to talk to Miku and it was becoming increasingly more difficult to ignore the feelings that stirred beneath her breast when they were together.

Was she the biggest fool in the world for opening her heart to a prostitute of all people?

A mewl at the door marked Len's return and Luka dutifully left the warmth of her bed to let him back in.

The clock on her nightstand read 2:28AM.

...

Miku seemed a little frazzled when Luka joined her.

This time, the pink haired girl didn't shift the stool away from the foot of the bed. Sitting within arm's length of the gorgeous woman was a little nerve-wracking-and this was coming from someone who had performed in front of audiences of thousands of people.

Miku gave her a look. "How are you?"

"Fine. Is something wrong?"

Miku opened her mouth, paused, then closed it. "I... need you to do me a favour, Melody."

A little red flag went off at the back of Luka's mind. "What is it?"

"I need you to stop coming here for a little while."

What? Her chest constricted. "Why?"

"My boss found out I was comping your visits and he was less than pleased."

"But you said..." She had lied. Of course. What hurt the most was that Luka hadn't expected it to happen. For whatever reason, she had accepted it to be true. "God, I'm such an idiot."

"Don't say that." The gentle hands that gripped her shoulders contradicted the sharpness of Miku's tone and, though she couldn't meet that bright blue gaze, she didn't flinch away. "I'm sorry, okay? I just wanted to keep seeing you and it seemed like maybe you felt the same way."

Why? What exactly was she getting out of their chats? It pained Luka to admit that she did. Their visits over the week were what kept the popstar going during the days she couldn't steal away.

"I can pay."

Miku's eyes widened. "I couldn't letyou—"

"How much do you owe?"

"A lot."

"Don't bullshit me, Miku."

Miku released her grip on Luka's shoulders, hesitating a moment before reaching up and cupping the taller girl's cheek. Her skin was impossibly warm and Luka had to fight the urge to lean into it. "This isn't your burden to bear. Please, just... Give me a few days to clean up my mess."

Luka's eyelids fluttered shut and she allowed herself to enjoy the contact for a heartbeat longer before stepping away. "Okay."

"Where are you going?"

The pink haired woman didn't answer and the sound of the door closing behind her had an air of finality.