Disclaimer: If I owned the Vocaloids (which I don't), they would all have last names because that would make writing fanfiction so much easier.

Blondes Are for the Birds

Chapter 1: Blonde # 27

Rin's mother, Akita Neru, had a strange tendency of dating men who looked exactly like her late husband: tall, blonde, and striking. Of course, this fact did not disturb Rin when she was younger. Honestly, she did not realize that her daddy was gone until she was tall enough to clearly see these strange men that looked nothing like her father's pictures. But now that she was fourteen, she was starting to get a little weirded out.

"Oh, Leon-san is the nicest person! So professional. I met him in a coffee shop, and we had the nicest conversation. Wait until you meet him!" Neru winked, handing a wallet-sized photo of the man to her daughter. "I think this one's a keeper."

Snatching the photo from Neru, Rin squinted skeptically, then shook her head. "Mom, he's blonde and tan."

Neru's happy-go-lucky smile wilted slightly. "What is wrong with that?"

Her daughter raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

Neru blinked in confusion, then narrowed her eyes. "Now Rinnie, what have I said about judging people according to their appearances?"

Rin rolled her eyes and groaned internally. She found it hard to believe that her mom didn't see such an obvious pattern. All of her boyfriends, every single one of them, whether they stuck around for a month or a year or two, were blonde. All of them had bright, winning smiles, and their eye colors ranged from bright green to deep blue. Of course, one boyfriend a few years back had brown eyes, but he lasted three weeks.

"That's not what I meant," Rin mumbled and began to walk up the stairs to sulk in her room, alone.

"No, wait! I really want you to see him," Neru insisted, sticking out her lower lip. "We've been dating for a while, and I told him that he could meet you tonight. What will I say if you're not here?"

"Just pretend that I don't exist," Rin retorted, turning to scowl at her pouting mother. "Like you did with Yamamoto-san and Hori-san and Saito-san and…"

Neru sighed knowingly. "They didn't have children. Hori-san didn't want any, and to my credit, I did eventually tell them about you. I just tried to take it slowly."

"You mean, you broke the news to them right before you broke up," Rin corrected, adding mentally, and as soon as they realized that they looked like their girlfriend's dead husband.

"That…that isn't fair," Neru stuttered. "Leon-san is different! He's responsible, he has a family, and he knows what it's like to loose a spouse." She frowned empathetically. "His wife Haku-san left him when his son was just four years old."

"Dad didn't leave us," Rin argued, lips tight and thin. "He didn't have a choice. Don't compare him to someone like her!"

Her mother's tawny eyes stretched wide, and she dropped her head to stare at her empty hands. Rin's mouth twitched, wishing she could take back what she had said. Neru's heavy silence, weighed down with bitterness, was more painful for Rin than any harsh or biting words could have been. The slouch of her mom's shoulders and defeated eyes pulled at Rin's heartstrings, and she wrapped her petite mother into a warm hug.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean it."

"It's okay," Neru said softly, looking up to smile. Reading the sincere apology in Rin's eyes, she patted her daughter dotingly on the head. "I know it's not easy for you, and it's certainly not easy for me." She sighed, but lightly and without sorrow. "I know it wasn't his fault, but sometimes, I'm angry at him for dying."

Rin tightened her embrace, and Neru leaned gently against her daughter. "I ask him, 'why did you have to go?' And even though he doesn't say anything, I know that he would want me and you to move forward and to be happy." She wrapped an arm around Rin's shoulder and gave her a squeeze. "So let's try our best, ne?"

Rin nodded once again and cracked a smile, which her mother returned.

"Okay!" Neru clapped her cheeks decidedly and stood up to give one last look at herself in the kitchen mirror. "Leon-san will be here in a few minutes." She peered over her shoulder to catch Rin running back up the stairs. "Rinnie! I thought you said…"

"I still don't feel like meeting him," Rin hollered back, biting her lip to think up a lie. "And…I have a lot of homework to do, so I can't."

"It's a Saturday night, Rin! We both know that you won't start on your work until Sunday. And I don't feel good about leaving you here alone."

"Mom. I'm fourteen." Rin poked her head around the banister of the stairs. "But if you're worried about that, I'll go hang out with Teto-chan."

"No, that won't work! I promised Leon-san…" Her words were cut off by the ringing chime of the doorbell. Neru gasped. "He's here!"

Grabbing her purse, she dashed for the door, and Rin took the opportunity to make her escape. As soon as she heard muffled voices in the entryway hall; however, she paused on her way to her room. It had been a long time since Neru was this insistent about a potential beau, and Rin was slightly curious to see what exactly this Leon-san was like. It didn't hurt that he was a bit of a hunk. For a man in his late thirties, that is.

So when Neru began calling "Rin, Rin! Sweetie, can you come and say hello?" Rin sauntered towards her mother's voice and the open front door.

Playing the part of the devoted daughter, she smiled up at Kagamine Leon, recognizing him from his picture. "Hello Kagamine-san." She offered her hand to him politely. "I'm Rin."

He took her hand with firmness, and Rin mentally noted how dependable and perfect his handshake felt. Her father, a CEO of his own budding company, had taught her how to shake someone's hand before she could walk. Just like a toothpaste tube, squeezing just enough to get toothpaste on her toothbrush, but not too hard, so it wouldn't squirt all over the place. Since she enjoyed reading people, Rin judged them first by their handshake. Then, she would get a good look at their eyes. People lied, but their eyes always told the truth. Leon's mint-green irises were darkened with gray in the middle and around their edges, a sign of aging and past sorrows, but they also twinkled with an open love of people.

He smiled at her fondly. "Nice to meet you, Rin-san. You're just as beautiful as your mother."

Enjoying his flattery, Neru blushed indulgently. "Ah, Leon-san! You spoil me too much. If you keep complementing me, I'll find it hard to believe what you say."

At this point, Rin began to tune out of their conversation. Lovey-doviness was a language she had yet to understand.

Glancing down at his flushing date, Leon frowned with mock-seriousness. "I always say what I think, and you look stunning."

He presented her with a bouquet of white lilies, which he had been hiding discreetly behind his back, and Neru gasped appreciatively.

"These are my favorite! How did you know?" She buried her face in the flowers and took a deep whiff, spreading yellow pollen on her nose. Leon chuckled, bringing Rin out of her daze.

She gasped at her mother. "Mom! That stuff will stain your clothes!"

Neru blinked at her daughter and sneezed cutely. "Sorry. They smelled so good that I forgot." Leon laughed quietly to himself, amused at the antics of this carefree mother and her motherly daughter.

Neru pulled the lilies away from her face and turned to Leon to explain. "Rin really loves flowers. She arranges them all over the house, and she's quite good at it."

Leon gave Rin a meaningful look and nodded approvingly.

After rubbing her nose, Neru gasped at her yellowed fingers. "Could you come inside for a bit while I wash this off my face, and Rin finds a vase for the flowers?"

Leon glanced at the silver watch on his wrist. "Our reservations are not until 7:30, and it's only 6:45, so we have plenty of time."

"Okay," Neru piped cheerily. "Come on in and make yourself comfortable." She walked them into the kitchen, handed Rin the bouquet, and then headed for the stairs. "I'll be back in a jiffy."

Now alone with this stranger, Rin cleared her throat uncomfortably. To calm her nerves, she mentally went through the proper questions a hostess would ask her guest. "Please, feel free to sit down." Leon took her up on her offer, and pulled out a stool to sit at the kitchen island.

With some paper towels, Rin carefully wiped the orange anthers off of each of the lilies and threw the pollen and towels into the trash. As Rin looked through the glass cabinets for a proper vase, she called over her shoulder, "Would you like some water or soda?"

"Oh, no. I'm fine. But thanks for asking." His winning smile somehow made Rin want to give him a grin of her own. Turning back to her precious flowers, she brandished a pair of kitchen scissors and began stripping the leaves off the lilies and diagonally cutting their stalks, so that the flowers could drink their water more easily. She lovingly arranged them in a fluted vase while Leon watched her with interest.

"When did you start arranging flowers?" he asked conversationally, catching Rin off guard.

So far in her experiences with her mother's numerous lovers, whenever she was stuck in a room with one of them for an extended period of time, they would either stay constantly on their toes, glancing at their watches and impatiently waiting for Neru, or they typed on their handheld devices to pass the time. Rarely did they try to strike a conversation, and she couldn't remember the last time one of her mother's boyfriends had honestly asked her a question about something besides random Neru facts, something about Rin personally. This definitely earned Leon bonus points in her book.

"I'm not sure. No one taught me how, though mom says that my grandmother used to love flowers. I guess since mom has always had some guy or other bringing her flowers, I would put them in water for her and play around with them."

Leon chuckled at her honesty, and Rin realized her slip-up. "Oh, I shouldn't have said that."

"No, no. It's perfectly all right." He shook his head. "I'm already aware of Akita-san's popularity." Pausing thoughtfully, he continued. "I'd like to say that we have a pretty open relationship. I'm honest with her, and she's honest with me." Seeing Rin glance his way, he twiddled his thumbs a little. "It's very refreshing."

Okay, Leon had just tripled his Rin bonus points. He talked to her as if she was an individual, not like a small child or her mom's accessory. She remembered a time when she was eight, walking in the supermarket with her mom as another blonde, blue-eyed wonder crossed their path. The man had been nice enough and had praised Neru on having such a "cute daughter," but the way he said it made Rin feel as if he could just as easily have said, "Neru, that purse is such a beautiful color on you," or "You look stunning in that dress." Leon was different, and Rin liked it.

Waiting for her mother to emerge once again, the two talked freely about Rin's school life, Leon's job as physical therapist, and the store where Leon had bought the flowers.

"I'm sorry that my son is not here yet. I wanted for you two to meet each other, but I dropped him off at the mall to grab your movie tickets before they sold out. He's catching the subway to meet us here. That's why I came so early, so that we wouldn't miss him."

"Oh. Yes, the movie." Rin pretended to know exactly what he was talking about, knowing that yet again, Neru had forgotten to tell her something important. "That's so nice of him to go and get the tickets ahead of time."

Leon chuckled appreciatively. "He's a pretty autonomous kid. He's fourteen, just like you."

"Is that so," Rin hummed, hearing the clack of high heels racing down the stairs.

"Sorry for making you wait so long! I had to reapply my make-up." Neru grabbed her purse off of the kitchen counter and headed for the door with Rin right on her heels. Leon rose to follow them.

Putting a hand on her mother's arm, Rin asked him politely, "Before we go, is all right if I talk to my mom about something?"

Leon nodded instinctively, and Rin chirped "Thanks!" before dragging her mother back into the kitchen.

Shutting the door behind her, Rin whispered under her breath. "Mom, what is this about a movie?"

"Oh!" Neru bopped herself lightly on the head. "That's why I needed you tonight. Leon suggested that you two should spend some time together, and I just couldn't say no."

"I don't even know this guy!" Rin exclaimed.

"If he's anything like Leon-san, he's a perfect gentleman," Neru countered, waving Rin's worries away with a little flick of her hand. "They're new in town, so it will be nice of you to show him around a bit. You'll have fun. Plus," she raised her light eyebrows suggestively, "he may be your future brother!"

"Mom," Rin groaned quietly. "Don't say things like that."

"You never know," Neru chortled, making Rin moan loudly. They both lost interest in their conversation as the doorbell rang for the second time that night.

Leon called "I'll get it!" and opened the door for their new visitor. Neru walked into the entryway first; Rin straggled behind.

"You're just in time!" Leon said, clapping the newcomer on the back. Rin couldn't clearly see his face over Leon and her mom's shoulders, but she could guess that he was Leon's son. Glancing down towards the floor, she caught sight of two worn jean knees and well-loved sneakers.

She looked up as Leon stepped back and began to introduce her to his blonde, blue-eyed son.

"Rin-san, I'd like you to meet Len."

Authors note: And so it begins!

If you're confused, here are a few extra facts:

I'm using the Japanese order of names because of personal preference, last names first, first names second. I'm also using some honorifics, though I'll probably get tired of them and forget about them in a few chapters.

Ages: Neru is 35 and her birthday is November 1 (released in 2007). She was 21 and happily married when Rin was born.

Leon's birthday is January 15 (released in 2004), so he is 38.

Len and Rin won't have exactly the same birthdays if I discuss their birthdays in this fanfic (they were released as Vocaloids on December 27, 2007), but they are both fourteen when they first meet. I'm thinking that Len's birthday is either late January or early January. He's fourteen when they first meet, and they meet in January, so it would make sense if he had one sometime around then… Probably later in the month so Rin has bragging rights (I'm a whole month older than him, you know!). January 25 sounds about right.

Leon's/Rin's last name: I know, I know. Rin has the "wrong" last name, and Leon isn't supposed to have a surname in the first place (poor guy). To get things straight, in this chapter at least, Rin is Akita Rin, and Len is still Kagamine Len. Since I try to go the non-twincest route with my stories, I usually give the two of them different last names. It would be too ironic if they had similar looks, possibly similar/identical birthdays, the exact same surname, and were not related at all.

Identity of Leon's ex-wife: If you're a vocageek, you know what "Haku" means. If you aren't, Yowane Haku is another fan-made Vocaloid who has silver hair, but dresses and styles her hair in a very similar way to Akita Neru (except Haku wears black pants and Neru has a skirt).