Joe looked around his town house; he'd cleaned it, though there wasn't much to clean, his home smelled of granite polish and fresh linen. At his feet his two dogs glanced around the living room quietly, perhaps trying to figure out what their beloved owner was watching. Joe moved silently to his bedroom, the pads of his feet making soft, sticking, noises on the marble floor, he opened his dresser and promptly dressed himself accordingly; it was 3 o'clock in the afternoon and his awaited guest would be arriving in just fifteen minutes. Shuffling through his cotton options he settled on a pair of worn jeans and a sweater that fit a tad bit larger than needed, he then, awkwardly, moved back to the living room. Sitting on the large white sofa he began to shuffle his feet against the furry carpet underneath him; he'd always loved the way the black strands ran between his toes.
Would she even remember me?
He sighed heavily. Joe remembered her: she was short, with blue eyes, pinkish-blonde hair and a small, breakable body. He wondered if he'd changed much over the years, six years to be exact, he knew, though, that he hadn't. He also knew that she had changed, for a fact; Toraji had called him monthly to reassure Joe of her stability, he often commented on how she was growing perfectly and developing herself into a young woman with delicate ease. She was ambitious and wild, yet fragile and respectful.
He glanced at his wrist- 3:30.
Late?
He stretched along the couch, breathing in the leather scent and closing his eyes.
[Century]
Renee had insisted that they move out to the country, she always said the calm serene environment was what they all needed.
Of course, she was right.
They moved to an area of Japan heavily influenced by mountains and forests, there in the estate Sana learned to garden, cook, clean, nurse and ride horseback. She loved fashion and had become an avid reader with books available at her desire. She attended middle school, cramming classes for two years to catch up with others her age and managed to graduate from high school as one of the most academically dedicated students. She became more confident and taught herself not to second guess or question her decisions once they were thought through and made, she became tolerant (mostly from ignoring Gora) of things she could not change or did not condone, and she thought of Joe often.
She and Toraji had combed through Japan for colleges most suitable for her, once or twice visiting America for options there, and ended up picking a prestigious and fairly new college blooming in reconstructed Tokyo (now known as Sora). She remembered hearing Toraji mention to Renee that Joe had settled down in that area and asked them if she could stay with Joe while she was at college- instead of living in an apartment,
"As much as I'd love to say yes, Sana, Joe is a busy man, he's got a well paying job that demands a lot of attention and I'm sure that being a burden would be a terrible way to kick off a reunion."
She remembered crying later on and it was the first time in several years that she had shed a tear.
The next morning Toraji had woken her up early in the morning to tell her that she'd be staying with a very close friend of his instead.
Sana wasn't pleased or excited.
Frowning slightly, Sana shook her head, the decision had been made and the goodbyes were said. She was already fifteen minutes late after getting lost in the subway.
I grew up in the country and on the run, she reminded herself, this is natural and perfectly explainable.
[Century]
It was a single bark that rose Joe Katsuragi to his feet, in a flash of washed out blue and blacks he strode forward from the couch, yawning. Not far ahead of him was Gatsby, one of his young Dobermans, he watched Joe attentively before barking again, and to Joe's surprise his doorbell rang.
"Good boy." Joe said to Gatsby, patting his dark head as he shuffled towards the door. He hadn't thought much about the doorbell ringing (completely forgetting about his late guest) and pulled the door open.
"What?" The young male snapped, his face was hard and stoic, behind his soft greenish eyes annoyance began to glitter through,
"Hi, I'm sorry, Toraji gave me directions to get here, but it's a little different in the country, I got lost in the subway...-"
Joe's eyes widened, she was here.
"Sana."
Her named slipped through his lips breathlessly, she had stopped talking all the same and glanced up through a curtain of thick hair, they stared at each other.
She had grown, she had grown in so many more ways than Toraji described; her thick pinkish lashes were long and full and curled a little at the edges, her hair was shorter than before, but still very long, ending a hands length after her breasts.
Breasts?
Yeah, she has those; Joe involuntarily let his gaze drop. She was wearing a light beige trench coat about the same length as the white dress underneath, it was buttoned until midway up her chest, there lie two milky colored orbs of flesh. Her legs were full and toned, pale and hairless, Joe looked back at her face. In the harsh cold of winter it was heated, peach flush spread across her cheeks and the longer he looked the more her eyes seemed to turn red.
He loved that.
He loved the way the redding of her whites contrasted so prettily with her baby blues and her pale strawberry blonde hair and eyelashes framed her face and made her blush more noticeable. He swallowed roughly when her plump lips separated and a single syllable exited through like air,
"Joe,"
She was shaking a little, both hands gripping one of two of her large suitcases, the bag shook with her, and for just a second Joe thought she was shivering cutely in the cold.
"Oh my god, Joe!" She threw herself at him, and he just barely caught her. His large hands settled naturally on her waist just above her hips, he watched as one of her suitcases tumbled backwards down the brick stairs and onto the sidewalk before stuffing his face into the crook of her neck, smelling her. As he savored her scent, lemongrass, vanilla and a syrupy honey, she talked to him,
"I had no idea, I-I have to call Toraji! I've missed you so much I just- I, Joe you haven't changed at all!"
He smiled, "I missed you so much, Sana."
She became quiet, pressing her body hard against his, she whimpered some and then began to speak again, "You're so warm Joe, you smell great."
Joe pulled his face away from her pale neck; the bundle of nerves just beneath his stomach began to ache and he lifted Sana off of her feet and into his home. She gasped when he took her off the floor, wrapping her arms around his neck; he placed her on the living room couch and turned on his heels to retrieve her luggage. Behind him Gatsby and Atticus greeted her with wagging stubs and soft pants,
"You're both so handsome!" Joe listened to her coo, he lifted the luggage off the sidewalk and up the stairs and back inside the house, and he then set them near the staircase,
"Sana," he called, "come here, let me show you where you're staying."
"Okay!"
She bounded over, Gatsby and Atticus close behind, she'd parted from her trench coat and he soaked in the sight. Her figure was impeccable, her thighs were thick and strong, through the fitted top part of the dress he could see her abs stretching beneath, as well as her breasts that she did her best to hold down as she galloped happily towards him.
"I'll take this one," she claimed as she slipped her hands underneath the handle of one, she lifted it and slid her hands together, forcing her breasts to push against each other as she scrambled up the stairs and past him. Joe shook his head, he felt minutely like a predator.
"When you get to the top of the stairs make a right down that hall and go straight ahead." He instructed.
He was staring up her skirt.
But she was the one wearing a neon yellow thong; the enemy is baiting me, he thought, pathetically justifying his actions. He wondered vaguely what they called the type of dress she was wearing; was it fit and flare? The top part fit like a tight t-shirt while the bottom was like a skirt, flaring outwards, it ended a little past her mid thigh. When they reached the top of the stairs she clicked her little grey combat boots together and made her way down the hall.
"Ohhh, this is so nice." She rejoiced when he arrived shortly behind her, "Is this a guest room?"
Joe thought for a moment, "I don't normally have guests, but you could call it that, yeah."
She stared at him, "Joe you talk a lot more now,"
"Do I?"
"You do. Smiling too,"
He grinned, something he hadn't done in quite some time, "I haven't noticed," he laughed.
Of course he hadn't. The little girl who gave him reason to live was now a beautiful young lady.
Of course he was going to smile.
[Century]
He was way too close right now.
When he smiled she could see his muscles strain, and when he shuffled his weight onto his left leg she could smell him; a mixture of burnt wood, cologne and mechanics. He smelled so alluring. Sana moved, rubbing her thighs together- ah- he noticed that, he cocked his head to side and gifted her the smallest, cutest, smile that she'd ever seen him make. They stood there staring at each other for a heart beat and then Sana turned around, maybe a little too quickly because her dress flew up in the back and Joe grunted, she picked up the suitcase and teetered into the room, setting them down, Joe sat down on the edge of the bed.
"Well," she began breathlessly, "the next four years are ours; yours and mine, Joe."
She knew she was blushing madly, and Joe' s face was unreadable, she pulled her hair over her left shoulder and brushed her bangs back, she was standing in front of Joe now, almost between his parted legs.
"Thank you for sharing your time with me," she whispered, leaning onto him and hugging him, she rested her biceps on his shoulders and ran her hands into his thick hair.
His hair smelled like the ocean.
"Sana..." He whispered, as he strung his arms about her waist, he pulled back after a while to evaluate her, starting from head to toe and focusing on her breasts a little longer than her face- secret perv- and then smiling again.
"This is weird; you weren't supposed to ever grow up."
"You mean my boobs?" She muttered softly,
"Hahaha..." He sputtered, they were right in front of his face, kind of just there, "Yeah, you're beautiful, like the perfect woman."
Sana giggled, people had always settled on girl, or young lady, but Joe picked woman. He looked up at her face,
"I hope you like it here; I'm a boring person, and I'm not sure if you like dogs and I can't cook, but I can provide for you and talk to you." He grimaced moments later, "I may not be the best conversation, though."
Sana bent down and place a light chaste kiss on his jawbone, "I'll take you anyway, Joe."
At this point they were both blushing like idiots.
"I'm going to take a shower and order some dinner, you go ahead and get settled." He stood up, his body brushing against hers; he slightly touched her hand with his before leaving the room.
Joe was undoubtedly attractive.
She had never noticed it until now, however. Like her, he was not completely Japanese; he seemed Italian and American to be honest. His hair was thick and slightly wavy, jet black and made his soft green eyes stand out against his tan skin. He smelled edible, and still seemed shy and awkward. He was soft spoken as ever and remained silent in his movements.
Oh- he said he was gonna take a shower.
Sana decided to do the same after getting situated. The walls of her room were white, all of the furniture was king sized and dark walnut colored, she made her way to the large dresser and began placing her clothes inside. She traveled neatly so everything was already folded. Inside her bathroom was very cozy; the walls were a grayish-blue with a worn red, brick tile it reminded her of the city on a rainy day. Peeling off her clothes Sana sauntered into the shower. As she stood in the warm water her hair became wavy, she was out in no time, wrapping a fluffy white towel around her waist and drying off inside the bathroom, she let the towel pool to her feet and walked back into the bedroom, going through the drawers for some sweats to wear. Ah, crap. She had forgotten to pack comfy wear. Frustrated, she stood up-
"Sana, do-,"
Shit.
Joe stood in the doorway in a pair of extremely baggy black sweatpants, shirtless, his hair was just a bit wet and she could smell his soap from where she was standing. She studied his torso, lost in the dips and rises of his abs, his hip bones, his large biceps and his veiny forearms, his left hand was tucked into his pocket.
Naked.
With a sharp yelp she fell to her feet, her hair falling with her around her body, Joe's face twisted and he spun around,
"Wait!" She called for him, "Wait, what were you going to ask?"
He sighed heavily, his back tense, his hand on the doorknob,
"If you wanted pizza or sushi."
Sana didn't answer. She was too busy studying the scar across his back.
"Or, I could go pick up something gourmet... Eh?"
He tensed even more against her ghostly touch, she ran her finger from the top of it to the bottom. It hurt her to see this, imagining the pain he must have been in, how ungrateful she was, and how she ignored his existence.
"I'm sorry I did this to you." Her voice broke, and she struggled to keep herself from crying out,
"Sana, you didn't-!"
Joe froze.
He could feel everything.
Sana had pushed herself up against his back, her arms wrapped around his waist and her cheek just barely reaching his shoulder blade. He could feel the warmth of her breath, breast and belly squished up against him.
"I want to make it up to you." She begged.
Sana wasn't ready for the quickness of Joe's actions, he'd spun around and had Sana up against door, shutting it as her back landed against it with a soft thunk, his eyes were lazy but aware and he stared at her face and then into her eyes,
"Everything is okay now," he said it solemnly, breathing deeply,
"Is it okay to touch?" She whispered,
"I'm not sure that's a good idea."
"But I can, can't I?"
She placed the palms of her hands on his cheeks, holding his face, she admired his white teeth underneath his lips, "I feel like... Something is keeping is apart still."
Joe looked away from her.
She pulled his face into her neck and let her legs become limp. Joe slid to the floor with her, he was beginning to wonder just how much longer he'd be able to compose himself; she had used the soaps that were already in the bathroom and the idea of his scent on her slowly turned in his mind.
"...You need some clothes..." He said, firmly,
"I have no leisure clothing, I forgot to pack them." She chuckled,
"Oh." Joe thought for a moment, "Just wear mine then."
She wasn't expecting that and the idea made her blush, "Yeah, okay."
"Then..." Joe shuffled slightly and Sana put her hands on his shoulders, pushing herself off the floor and away from Joe, who stood up slowly. He brushed himself off and Sana teetered about behind him,
"Okay, lets go to your room!"
Joe turned around, he caught glimpse of her and immediately turned back,
"Sana your clothes."
"None leisure."
"But-,"
"You aren't even wearing underwear Joe."
Well, he thought to himself, I don't when I'm in the house. Wait. He looked down, his pants had slid farther than publicly appropriate, he grabbed his loose waistband and pulled them up,
"I'm still wearing pants." He assured her,
"Me too."
Joe shook his head.
"Panties aren't anything you haven't seen before." She teased,
"How would you know?"
"Because you're extremely good looking," before he could answer she took his hand and tugged, "c'mon, it's a little chilly now."
He sighed, leading her to his room with her hand in his, he took her into the closet and pointed out to a shelved wall, "Any of those."
"Hmmmm..."
"I can't believe you're just standing there like that."
"Toraji told me not to be shy."
Joe nodded slightly, watching her with steady eyes, she wore a matching bra and panties, they were comfy looking and a minty kind of purple. As his stare glided down wards he noticed the dip in Sana's back, and as she bent herself forwards the light of his closet shined on two indentions just above her rear.
Back dimples.
Dear, God.
"I'll be downstairs." He coughed, feeling himself become slightly stiff, he retreated without hearing any objection from her and grabbed his cellphone off of his bed on the way out.
Downstairs he made himself comfortable in his kitchen, grabbing a Heineken and leaning onto the counter with it. He called a local pub who delivered food and ordered a platter of food and one entree for the two of them, he could hear Sana making her way downstairs soon after.
Sana took each step with strategic precision. She hoped she wasn't alienating Joe; she wanted to be as close to him as possible, mentally and in flesh, she wasn't a romantic person and admitting this to him would surely make her seem like an emotionally unstable child.
"Joe?" She called as she made her way towards the living room,
"Here,"
"How old are you now?"
He sighed; she was wearing a t-shirt that he had destroyed in a fit of boredom, it was low-cut, missing sleeves, too big for her, and hardly had fabric on the sides; he could see the light, pastel purple of her bra and a little beneath it. She had put her hair in a high ponytail and clipped her bangs back in a way that made a cute, subtle, 'poof' at the front of her head.
"Twenty-five," he took a sip of his beer and placed it on the counter,
"So I was 13 when we were together, and you were 19."
Joe nodded. He couldn't tell what she was thinking as she took a seat across from him. He turned towards her, leaning down to rest his forearms and elbow on the island to look at her, she had placed her head in her hand and chewed a painted finger nail on the other.
"Are you still working with the Military?" She questioned,
His eyebrows raised, "In a few ways or another." Sana grinned, she'd managed to make him show some emotion,
"What've you been doing since we parted?"
"Well," Joe searched for a reasonable answer, "I've traveled most of the world. I went back to school and got a few jobs now."
"So you've been building yourself?" Sana assumed,
"Yeah, you could say that."
There was a silence, then Sana's voice broke through once more, tickling Joe's ear,
"You said a few jobs?"
"Yeah." Joe took another sip of his drink, standing up to lean against the fridge.
"Doing what?"
"Custom mechanics, information dealing and private security."
"Hm…" Sana put her hands on the edge of the counter, she had prepared another question but the doorbell beat her to it.
Joe stared at her, wondering if she was going to ask anything else or not, but she mistook the gesture as an expectation and hopped off the bar stool to answer the door.
Joe watched her go, only to call her name when her body was in few view,
"You aren't wearing any pants and it's freezing outside-,"
"You aren't wearing a shirt!"
"Sana, come here-!"
She had opened the door already.
Joe waited in the kitchen just outside the main foyer.
"Good evening," she'd said happily,
"Damn, good evening to you~!"
Joe face palmed quietly, he had forgotten his friend was working deliveries on Wednesdays.
"Fuck." He muttered quietly.
Sana had ended the transaction rather quickly, she entered the kitchen with the food and placed it on the counter near the sink, closer to Joe.
"You're friend told me to tell you: 'share your leftovers'. He's pretty corny."
And perverted.
"Asshole." Joe said under his breath, Sana just giggled cutely,
"You mind if I turn on the TV?"
"Go ahead."
She walked away from him, unbeknownst of his eyes burning into her. He hadn't noticed the gap between her legs until now, licking his lips Joe turned away. He dished out the food onto three plates and carried them over to the living room; Sana was sitting on the furry black carpet instead of the sofa.
"Oh this is so soft!" She purred as he placed the dishes on the glass coffee table next to her, it was low so he had to bend down, straining his back a little. He retreated to counter and grabbed his beer and a soda from the fridge for Sana, then, falling lazily onto the couch, he watched her pick at the food.
"Oh- spicy."
He chuckled when she stuck out her tongue, Joe grabbed a shush kabob for himself and leaned back hanging his arms on the back of the sofa.
"You have a great body Joe."
"You too."
"We're all grown up now, huh?"
He sat up straight and looked at her, "Yeah. Yeah, we are."
Smiling, Sana took a sip of her soda, she was home with the person she belonged with, and Joe knew it too.
I wonder where the Innocent Venus fandom is.
Hiding?
You can find safety here hahaha- rate and review.