I always thought it'd be tough to date someone, not to mention a girl. For some reason I thought that that kind of commitment required all time and energy a person could have.
But no. The beginning of our relationship needed only a question and an answer, with a tad bit of will and courage behind it all, and the continuing was just as...simple.
But hiding it is difficult. I had no idea how hard it was to have someone amazing at the other end of a room without going up to that person and just loving the hell out of her.
The real challenge was hiding it from Luka.
I know, she's my best friend, I could tell her, especially if she practically set us up. But my promise with Gumi means a lot and I am not going back on it. Still, Luka can listen as well as a hawk can see. I'd be damned if she didn't already know. I have nerves of steel, so I think I pulled off the lying, but damn.
Whenever it wasn't Luka, it was the others. The other Internet Co. Vocaloids noticed a difference in our behavior towards one another for sure, but that was since we started agreeing in the first place, and we made sure we always appeared 'friends'.
And then there were the people at work. It's easy enough to put up an act while being absorbed in our jobs, so that's a breeze. Then, of course, there were Gumi's infamous schoolmates. I say 'infamous' because apparently it's a fun game to pair up Vocaloids. Well, celebrities in general, really, but still. She has to put up with periodic questions about relationships, and I don't think I'm brought up often. She gets upset about that. It's adorable.
But, when our friends aren't around, when we're far from work, after school, or simply when we drop off the radar, we spend time together and exchange little gifts: she gives me boxes of chocolate sometimes, I send her supportive texts before her tests, we like to cuddle while watching terrible romance movies or exaggerated action epics...
I like step one so far.