—Unexpected Developments—

"Miss Megurine, tell us: what's the secret to your incredible success on the idol scene?"

She smiled, utterly charming, and said, "Please, call me Luka. I suppose what makes me most successful is staying true to who I am. Honesty is the best policy—or so they say."

"That they do," the reporter laughed, obviously caught up in the pink-haired popstar's charm. "Thank you so much for joining us tonight."

"Thank you for having me. It's always a pleasure."

Miku shut off her TV and then stared blankly at the dimmed screen. TV had been the only way Miku had seen Luka in a little over a week now. If she was being honest—and she always was—she missed the girl. That was a new and scary feeling.

A chime indicated that Lloyd wanted her attention and she picked up the phone on her nightstand, her gaze still on the television.

"The boss wants to see you in his office."

...

Principals and asshole bosses tended to like having offices at the end of long hallways. All the better to create feelings of dread while one walked along them, wondering when and how they had screwed up.

"I spoke to a friend of yours recently."

"I don't have any friends."

The man scoffed and threw down a packet of images he had pulled from the building's high tech security system. "You sure? She's a cutie."

Luka...

Something aggressive and protective stirred beneath Miku's breast. For one thing, she didn't like being watched. For another-why the hell was he paying such close attention to this particular note? She knew he wasn't a fan of television, choosing to spend his free hours scheming instead, but what if he'd recognized her from a tabloid? "She's been coming to see me recently. I don't know much about her."

"That right?" He stared, and Miku met his gaze unflinchingly. "What we do know is that girl has money. If she's asking for you, I need you bending over backwards to give her what she's asking for. Capiche?"

"Yes, Boss."

He let her get away with it this time. "Good girl. Now get out of here. You've got a date and I need you looking your best."

Her heart skipped a beat. "I wasn't told to expect company."

"Well now you know."

...

Miku cut her leg while rushing to shave. Not too deep, but it was still quite painful. She was swearing under her breath and looking for something with which to staunch the blood flow when there was a knock at the door.

"Come in!"

She nearly tripped in her eagerness and Luka didn't hesitate to come to her aid. "Are you okay?"

Up this close, the pop star was even more breathtaking. Miku nodded, unable to trust her voice. The soft exclamation that the pink haired girl released upon noticing her calf snapped her back to reality. "It's nothing. I was clumsy."

"You should still dress it; it could get infected." Without bothering to consult the green haired woman, Luka went into the bathroom.

Miku could only stare after her, her mind reeling. She hadn't expected to see Luka again, yet here she was, applying antiseptic to her calf. The pink haired girl bandaged the by-now bright red wound and then sat back to survey her handiwork before nodding to herself.

"There."

"Thank you."

"Just be more careful next time, okay?"

Apparently the immensely talented, beautiful, and wealthy idol had a heart of gold as well. Miku wasn't consciously aware of the desire, but suddenly she was squeezing Luka's hand in hers. "Seriously. Thank you."

Miku felt the other girl begin to pull away, but then she stilled. It was difficult to read her expression, but her body language—the slant of her shoulders and the way she refused to meet Miku's gaze—spoke volumes.

She gentled her tone, seeking to draw the popstar's attention away from their point of contact. "How have you been?"

"Could be better, could be worse."

The "better" part of that was confusing given how well things had been going. Public appearances and an award ceremony honouring her musical accomplishments had been all over the news. She had seemed happy on camera, but seeing her now, Miku was aware of the dark circles that had formed underneath bright blue eyes.

"Is everything okay? You can talk to me, you know. Sometimes it helps just to share."

"I'll be fine."

She didn't press the issue. "My boss mentioned that you went to see him. How did that go?"

"Fine. I got to the bottom of what was owed and I took care of it. Don't you dare bend the rules for me again."

Miku didn't doubt she'd break such a promise, so she changed the subject. "You really didn't have to do that. I could have handled it."

"I always pay my debts. I don't like owing others."

She ran her thumb over the back of Luka's hand, mindful of just how soft her skin was. "I feel badly..."

"Don't." The firm tone of voice brooked no arguments. "I'm glad you did what you did. We might not have met otherwise."

Luka dared to add her other hand to the equation, drawing gentle patterns over the girl's forearm. "I believe that all things happen for a reason."

"Maybe." She shifted, her gaze flicking downwards. Her lips parted, her tongue flicking out to wet them. "How have things been going here?"

"Same old, same old. I did meet a really sweet girl who kind of reminded me of you..."

She told her story about the exchange, editing it tastefully as she went—particularly the parts about sex and the weird sense of loneliness the girl had inspired because of those similarities. Now that Luka was before her, she felt like she had a million things to say, but no way to express it all. Where to begin? Her heart was taking on the same manic pace of her thoughts.

Luka was smiling, faintly. "I see. I'm glad you're well."

The silence that stretched between them was sudden and heavy.

Luka cleared her throat. "Anyway, I just wanted to drop in. I should get going."

So soon? "That was quick. Didn't you pay for a full session?"

"I've been really busy. I thought it would be nice to at least explain that to you in person. As it is, I've already stayed longer than I should have."

Miku was loathe to release her grip, but she did and then she walked Luka to the door. "It was lovely seeing you."

"Yeah... Same. I'll come see you again next week."

The moment the door shut, Miku breathed a sigh. It was going to be a long week.

"Lloyd, why didn't you tell me Melody went to go talk to the boss?"

(Who?)

"The kid."

(Oh. She kept bugging me until I called him down to meet her. )

"Since when does he meet with our clients?"

(Since she pulled out a wad of cash and said she'd pick up your slack.)

Her pride smarted a bit, having underestimated just how expensive it would be to see Luka every week, but she pushed through the pain. "I can't believe she did that."

(I was pretty surprised, too. She must like you.)

Ba-bump. "It's my job to be liked."

(Right. You be careful you don't start liking her back.)

The fine hairs at the nape of Miku's neck stood on end. "Don't be stupid."

(What's so stupid about it?) He sounded amused. (You went out of your way to meet her, didn't you?)

She didn't like his tone or the direction the conversation had taken. "Do me a favour and send the cleaners up to my room. I—"

(That good, huh?)

She hung up on him mid-guffaw.

"Hey, it's Miku!"

"What's up, Miku?"

"You've been a ghost around here lately."

She'd taken the risk of reporting to the kitchen late and therefore missing dinner in order to avoid being seen. So much for that.

Kisame, the girl who had commented on her absence, was on the same floor as her. The other two girls sitting across from her were in lower floors, but we're trying to move up in the ranks. As such, Miku was somewhat of an idol to them.

"Come sit with us."

Miku froze, caught between wanting to make a dash for her room with her food and not wanting to be completely rude. In the end, her manners won out and she joined the trio.

"You've been busy, huh?"

"A bit. The boss expects me to maintain my numbers this month and I've been working my ass off."

"Hopefully not literally," one of the girls from the lower floor snickered. "That ass is part of the reason you're so popular with customers."

"Maya, hush."

"It's true! She's gorgeous."

Miku resisted the urge to roll her eyes and Kisame smiled apologetically. While the two bickered, Kisame asked quietly, "You seen Gerald recently?"

"No. He called me up and asked to reschedule for the following week."

"Hm."

"Why?"

"You be careful with that one. He's somewhat of a rumor mill."

"I see. Thanks for the tip, but I've got nothing to hide."

Even as she said it, she couldn't help but think of a certain pink-haired popstar.

"What have you got there?" Miku asked, watching Luka enter the room with great interest.

The popstar glanced in her direction and surprised her by giggling.

Miku tilted her head. "What's so funny?"

This encouraged a fresh wave of mirth and, though she was slightly miffed that she was being laughed at, the way bright blue eyes lit up was worth it. It took Luka a moment to calm, after which she said, "You remind me of my cats."

That was a good thing, she supposed. The girl seemed to dote on her feline companions.

"How so?"

"Just the way you were watching the door just now. Like you were waiting for your master to come home."

Had she been doing that? Miku's cheeks heated. "Oh."

"It's kind of cute."

She refused to make a bigger fool of herself. "Thanks. So what is that?"

"I was out today and I saw this; thought you might like it."

Miku accepted the shopping bag with a curious frown. The expectant look on Luka's face revealed that she genuinely cared about Miku's response to the gift. She likely wasn't expecting the total lack of response from the green-haired woman as she sat numbly, not really seeing the stuffed animal clutched too-tightly in her trembling hands.

"Miku?"

The image of a young girl, her green hair a wild mane rather than neat pigtails, crying and rubbing her eyes was so vivid in her mind's eye that the room around her ceased to exist. The girl was lead by the hand to a waiting car and once inside, she was given a stuffed toy and told that the orphanage would easily find a lovely new home for her. She wouldn't have to worry about a thing.

Miku had run away at 13, five years later.

"Hey..."

A hand cupped her cheek, guiding her gaze to the concerned frown on Luka's face. The openness of her expression coupled with the gentle touch only served to tug more firmly at her heart strings. The dam broke, memories of rejection and hurt hitting her like a wall of water. She buried her face in Luka's chest, sobs wracking her shoulders. She couldn't remember the last time she had cried. This actually felt... good.

And Luka let Miku unload years of unprocessed emotion, her hand drawing soothing circles across her back.

...

"How are you feeling?"

Miku nuzzled the hollow of Luka's throat. The popstar smelled good. She wasn't sure how they'd ended up stretched out on her bed, but she wasn't going to question a good thing. She was careful to keep her hands from wandering, but Luka's inviting warmth made it difficult.

"Better." And worse. She felt incredibly raw after having revealed her past to Luka. It wasn't something she thought about anymore. She was comfortable with her life and knew exactly where she was going from here. Luka had inadvertently shaken up that certainty.

She'd been taking fewer appointments lately. Lloyd, as observant as ever, had commented that she must have been coming down with something. His eyebrow wiggle indicated that he didn't mean anything health related, but she ran with it and had sequestered herself.

It wouldn't be long before the boss came knocking, however.

"I'm glad," Luka said softly. "Sorry, I'm kind of fading here."

Miku consulted her watch. "We've still got fifteen minutes. Take a little nap."

"You sure?" She shifted, instinctively cuddling the smaller girl as she dozed.

Miku didn't respond, staying very still until Luka's breathing evened out. Her attractiveness actually increased with her relaxed demeanor and Miku reached up to brush a lock of hair out of her face.

'What am I doing?'