Completion

Len watched Rin from behind the stage, as she gave the final verse her all, holding the mic proudly in the air as if it were a trophy. He really admired the vigor with which she performed.

"Tatoeba fukai shigemi no naka suberi komasete..."

Len usually felt pensive, or uncomfortable onstage, unless it was Rin he was singing with. Something about the attention of so many people made him feel strange. It would help if he didn't have so many disturbing fan girls.

The crowd gave a roar, and he heard Rin and Gakupo saying, "Thank you, thank you, good night," as they walked off stage. With that, he stood up and unconsciously straightened out his tie as he went to go meet with his companion.

He walked down a hallway and clicked open Rin's dressing room door without knocking. She would know he was coming, anyway.

As soon as she heard the door open, Rin turned around from her mirror with a big smile. "Did you watch?" she asked eagerly. Her ribbon almost perked up like rabbit ears when she saw Len approaching.

"Yep, sure did! That was great." Len returned her smile cordially, and sat down on a small sofa. Rin was always really giddy after a good performance. She thrived off attention. Len just grinned calmly, basking in the warmth of her energy.

Rin squirmed around in her seat like a little kid as she wiped off make-up with a rag and took a sip of her water bottle. "I just love doing duets! It's so much fun to sing with another person. And, and Gakupo is pretty new, so I haven't gotten to sing with him much... the fans think our voices sound really good together!"

"Hmm, yeah? I think I've heard some people say that." Rin was too excited to perceive Len's reticent remarks. She just continued to talk. All the meanwhile, Len nodded politely and tried to take some of her cheer for his own.

Finally, a lull came into the conversation. Rin fell quiet, probably because she had talked so fast that she was out of breath. Len seized that opportunity. "So, like, about duets..." he began somewhat awkwardly, shifting his weight forward. "Who do you think your best duet has been with?"

Rin's face scrunched up in thought. Len could almost hear the wheels turning in her head, as she processed and mulled over the question. "Best duet, huh? Man, that's hard... Gakupo is pretty good, but..."

"I'm pretty sure he's gay..."

"What was that?"

"Oh, n-nothing. Anyway, go on." Len had a habit of thinking out loud when he was around Rin.

"Ah... okay... well, Gakupo is pretty good, but he can be a little nasally... I've only sang a song or two with Luka, but she's not bad, either... hrm..."

She continued down the list of Vocaloids, while Len watched patiently. "Miku-nee and I get along really well, but sometimes I feel like my voice gets lost with hers. So I guess... hmm, maybe Kaito-nii? I dunno, he usually does duets with Miku-nee, huh? Ahh..."

Her head bobbed back and forth, as if it would help stimulate thought, but her expression contorted strangely again, and then finally relaxed as she seemed to dismiss the topic. "Well, it's no big deal, I guess. So what about you Len? Who's your best duet been with?"

Once again, her sunny smile took up residence upon her face, as she look expectantly at Len. He craned away with a sheepish look. He was kind of hoping she wouldn't turn the question around, but alas, she did, and so he had no choice.

"Well, ahh..."

The bumps on the wall suddenly fascinated Len, as he focused intently on them while tapping his feet nervously. "Umm... I don't... I don't want to tell you, you'll laugh..."

This only agitated Rin's curiosity. "Ehh, no way! I promise I won't! Tell me!"

"You swear you won't laugh...?" Len forced himself to make eye contact with the girl who was down on her knees and resting her hands on his lap, like a puppy.

"I swear on my love for road rollers!"

"Well, alright... it's, um... ..." His voice trailed off into almost a whisper.

"What was that? I can't hear you!"

Rin leaned forward to hear better, but her face being so close just made him more flustered. "... ... ..."

"Come on, Len, speak up!"

"Y-you! It's you!" Len blurted out, now realizing that just stating it plainly from the beginning would have been less conspicuous than all of this embarrassing build up.

Rin slowly sat back down, wearing a perplexed look. "...Me?"

"Yeah, y-you... I mean, I just feel like... you complete my voice... or something..." He rubbed his head vigorously, just to have something to preoccupy his hands. You could practically smell the tension. Or maybe that was just Rin's perfume.

"Me..." Rin seemed to be processing this information. Suddenly, she frowned. "I-I'm sorry, Len...!"

"Wha? Sorry? Why?"

"B-because your... your best duet was me, and I didn't even mention you...!" The blonde girl felt guilty for excluding her partner in crime.

"Oh, it's okay... I know I'm not that great of a singer."

Rin protested furiously. "No, no, no! It's just like you said! I complete your voice... and you complete mine! You're like another part of my voice, so that's why I didn't think of you. I'm sorry!"

Len tried to decide if she was being sincere, or just trying to make him feel better. Either way, he appreciated her concern. "It's alright, really."

She still seemed discontented. Placing a hand on one of his, she looked him straight in the eyes with determination. "Len, I love singing with you! Will you sing with me right now?"

"Eh? Right now?"

"Please?"

"Oh, uh... alright..." Len yielded. He stood no chance up against Rin's dangerous puppy-dog-stare-technique.

"Hmm, okay, okay..." Rin shuffled ardently through a pile of lyrics. "Let's do this one! Even though it wasn't originally a duet."

"O-oh, this is a good song... okay...!"

With Rin still clutching his hand, Len inhaled steadily and allowed the words to flow. "Saisho kara kimi wo, suki de irarete..."

Rin pitched in unexpectedly, "Yokatta nante... sora ni utaun... da!"

As their vocal chords vibrated in harmony, Len tightened his grip on Rin's hand. He felt that they truly were the perfect duet... His voice felt much more comfortable with Rin's accompanying it. It was difficult to convey in words, but it really was as though she was a missing piece of his singing.

And in more ways than one, she completed him.