Disclaimer: Don't own Full Metal Panic or any of it's characters.

Rating: T, with hints of M.

As a whole, takes place after my 'Good Friends' fic (under Friendship category, T-rated, and without Kaname in it, just in case you missed it), as well as the first 'Future' of course. Not required to understand what happens below, but certainly gives a sense of events moving along - but enjoy anyway

He knocked politely, waiting awhile.

However, when Kaname did not answer, he wondered if perhaps she was not home; her door was certainly locked. However, it being fairly late at night, he thought it unlikely she had just left unless the situation was important enough. Just to be sure, he got very close and listened carefully with his ear... it took ten seconds, but eventually he heard faint sounds from inside; ones of effort, or rather those at handling a task.

Hmm, so she was apparently inside, focused on something, and as a result, could not hear or notice his knocking.

No problem though, as he slowly produced his spare key that she'd trusted him with, entering slowly and locking the door behind him.

He soon found her in the kitchen/study area, where she was hard at work on her laptob, that being the only source of light besides the window. Her brow was furrowed, muttering to herself as she worked at the keys, and otherwise still engaged at the task. He quickly noticed in the faint light that she wore a plain gray t-shirt, and while her legs/feet were bare, the rest of her was covered by this small blanket. He found that last part odd, but perhaps she'd been chilly, and forgot about it in her rush.

"Kaname?"

She still didn't hear him, but he was not worried; he just discreetly got a look at what she was doing. At first it was this bunch of tabs, but then she switched screens to a word processor program- ah, the research paper they were doing.

He was momentarily confused; why had Kaname left this till now, two days before it was due? Having been assigned this himself, he'd focused on it and finished two weeks ago.

"Perhaps she had merely forgotten? Or 'let it slip', as the expression goes?"

He wasn't sure, but he also wondered how long she was going to be like this... in the meantime though, he should get himself ready.

Before he could even take a step, Kaname finished a few buttons and shouted "HAHA!" to the room, with much enthusiasm and relief. "Take that, you little research paper! I've finally got you good and done!"

He wished to say 'Congratulations', but felt he should wait a little, otherwise he would massively startle her; so he kept put where we was, at a respectable distance, even if she stood up and saw him there.

"Now then, perhaps I- can..." she said, starting to turn and stand up, only to catch sight of him.

"Hello, Kaname."

"Wha- Sousuke?" she breathed, blinking. "I thought you said you'd be gone the whole day."

"And I have" he said fairly. "Much of the day has gone by during my visit today. Did you think I meant it completely literal?"

When the seconds passed and she didn't answer, he thought it might not have registered with her. "Oh, well, that's-" she breathed, before shaking her head. "That's unexpected, but, I'm still glad to see you back."

"Indeed, and I am glad that you are done with the research paper" he said, stepping closer to her side. "It means that you will be free."

At that, she raised an eyebrow briefly, before smiling a little. "Before, you would have said 'Let me offer to help you find spelling errors, make sure the paper is good as possible'.

Before? Ah, she must mean to before his recent training. "Do you wish me to?" he asked.

She shook her head, looking at him again. "Nah, the computer's autocorrect systems have already done that for me" she said mildly. "But I was joking anyway."

"Hmm."

However, when she continued to stay seated, he started to regard that as strange. "Are you going to get up?"

Her eyes quickly darted around, as if seeking an answer... wait, was that embarrassment?

"A-Ahh, I- w-well, I-"

Definitely seemed like embarrassment, but she was also trying to find an excuse not to go through with it - but question: what could embarrass her that involved standing up, a blanket, and bare legs? And also, was this one of those things that he should recognize to 'leave alone', or pursue with care-

Wait... was she not fully dressed around the hips? If that was the case, it could explain things.

Blinking once, slowly resolving himself to get to the bottom of this, he took a step forward. "Kaname-"

"No, really, it's okay" she said quickly, standing up... but before that, very quickly pulling the blanket up with her, in such a way that it covered his view of her hips entirely. "I mean I'm just-!"

"Half-naked?" he finished for her, with only a slight hitch.

His words had a bigger effect on Kaname, who stopped in her tracks with a jolt, staring at him like he'd 'grown a second head'... though clearly if he had, that would have gotten a much stronger reaction than this.

Breathing out faintly, he turned toward her a little. "I mean... below the waist" he slowly stated. "Is that true?"

She slowly blushed, fidgeting on the spot. "I-I just-" she breathed, much softer, though in the form of shyness. "I didn't want to make you uncomfortable, Sousuke, because of my mix-up."

Mix-up? Hmm, that would seem to imply she'd been getting dressed, had inspiration, then promptly forgot about everything else - and thus had worked on the paper like this. But was that the truth? Before he could analyze though, he pushed it to the side, knowing that could come later: "I would be nervous, there is no doubt" he slowly admitted. "But it is not a problem."

A little gasp, partly from surprise. "You're sure?" she asked, before drawing back. "I mean, we've still... mmh, you've still only seen me like that... what, five times now?"

"Approximately" he answered, faint. "However, overall, I do not think I would mind, after the initial instincts have faded."

"You're certain, Sousuke?"

"Yes."

She looked at him a moment, still blushing, but she did smile. "Okay" she breathed, both soft and nervous, trying to redirect her fidgeting into moving the blanket - it took a little while, but she managed it, and eventually the blanket was thrown onto the nearest chair.

As he expected, the mere sight of her in underwear (even if also wearing a t-shirt) instinctively made his heart-rate spike, and he distinctively felt his body temperature increasing as well. However, the spikes were slightly less than the last time, which he took as a good sign - especially since he had no current desire to 'flee'. However, when that aspect faded, he found himself surprised by the particular underwear she wore. While more-or-less the same style as her previous, this one was not white, but a worn-out pink, and seemed even more comfort-based than the norm.

Odd... at least, for now.

Even as he went through this, Kaname continued to fidget, only looking at him half the time and trying to keep her hands from instinctively covering herself. But also, it seemed she wasn't sure what to do next.

He was not sure either, but he thought this might be one of those times where you didn't need to know.

Slowly, he stepped forward, drawing her attention as he slowed right in front of her - then her fingers reacted when his touched them, before she grasped his hands back, slowly looking back at him with a little smile. Then she leaned up, closing her eyes and opening her lips, he took his cue to do the general same. The kiss itself only lasted five seconds, but it still meant a lot to her.

"It's a shame you came back so late though" she breathed softly, leaning against him. "If it were tomorrow morning, we would have all day before school the morning after that."

"You are tired?"

"Mmm..."

As the seconds passed, he became aware that she was dozing, though apparently not to the degree of being so tired as to fall asleep. He held her close, glancing around until he happened upon the couch, then slowly/gently picked up Kaname in his arms. Sleepy or not, she seemed to like that as she continued to hold him close, but he made sure to put her down gently. Once there, she still seemed to be somewhere between dozing and asleep, not deciding... hmm.

Somewhere during that process, one of her legs adjusted itself, going onto his lap - he was surprised. However, he quickly found himself distracted by several things that were 'attracting' him; one, the sight of her bare legs, which he started wanting to feel under his fingers (he instinctively held up the impulse, but also slowly considered it after that). Two, the area around her hips, thanks to her state of dress. And three, the sight of her breathing coming and going, stomach and lip-wise. This somehow gave him an idea that he could kiss her like this, and it didn't seem to be that much of a problem.

Plus, if he did, she'd still breathe through her nose-

He jolted a bit, shaking his head; no, he mustn't do that. Kaname liking the kiss or not wasn't the issue, but the fact that we was doing so without her permission, which he did not believe she would like. Though, he felt the issue get more confusing when he wondered if this only applied to people who were not in a relationship, or if it applied period. He was not sure, but one thing was for certain; he could not, and should not do such a thing.

"Still" he breathed to himself, extra quiet. "All these desires... continue to be strange for me..."

Kaname continued to stir, but had gotten less active - and eventually, all that motion came from her was her breathing, just laying there on the couch. He slowly processed this, then carefully stood up, carrying Kaname in his arms again.

"Just one step at a time then" he thought to himself.

A little later, he gently put Kaname down on her bed, pulling the covers over her well enough - and after looking at her for a few moments, he slowly turned to leave.

The couch should serve well enough.

"Mmm..."

Okay, why did she feel so warm? Not that she minded of course-

Slowly, she opened her eyes... the other pillow on her bed met her gaze.

Huh? But she thought she'd- she'd gone to sleep on the couch, next to Sousuke-

She jolted, sitting up and throwing the covers off; she was in her own room, and still wearing exactly what she'd gone to sleep in. That last part made her blush a little, but she got up and took care of it - right now, shorts and a thin jacket would have to do (she could shower + properly change clothes later). She quickly went outside her bedroom, only to slow a few steps out of it, breathing out. Sousuke sat at the table, working at his laptop and otherwise just like his usual self. He looked up however, the moment she'd started slowing down.

His lip curved a little. "Good morning" he said, "I trust you slept well?"

"Uh, yeah" she breathed, before slowly smiling. "I did."

"Excellent."

"One question though: did you sleep over?" she asked, stepping over. "Because I was quite sure I fell asleep on the couch, near you at that."

"You did, but I returned you to your bed" he said easily, standing up. "I then proceeded to sleep on the couch - I hope that was okay."

Whatever her reaction to that might have been, it was lost in the image of Sousuke carrying her to her bed, even so far as to tuck her in. She could already feel the warmth rushing in-

"Kaname?"

"Oh, sorry" she breathed, shyly toying with her hair a little. "I'm just feeling warm that you cared enough to do that for me."

At that, he slowly got up, coming closer to you. "I believe I have always cared for you" he said gently. "I did not realize it until much later, as you are aware, but it was almost always present."

"Mmm" she breathed, instinctively stepping forward and hugging him. He returned it after seconds had gone by, and this must have gone on for a minute or more before she pulled away, still blushing a little - however, she soon noticed that his computer was still on.

"I'm glad you care for me" she said to him softly, to his little nod, before she motioned over toward his workstation. "And what are you working on over there?"

"Further preparation for the future" he said, letting go of her. "Would you like to see the plans?"

"Uh, sure."

At that, he was quick to sit down, she following and bending over beside him-

"That looks like a building blueprint" she said slowly.

"You are partially correct, Kaname" he said, working the keys. "Actually, it is a schematic for a warehouse, which I can convert for business related ventures. It is currently very rough, and I am experimenting where each object would go."

Well, that currently explained the sheer size of the place, she thought with some exasperation. "What kind of business are you talking about, Sousuke?"

"At the moment, I have two possibilities, and a third that is a combination of the first two" he said easily. "One is where I would endeavor to be the first gun store in Japan, which could use an unbiased learning process about the weapons-"

To say her face fell flat would be an understatement.

"-and also, perhaps I could even..." he continued, before trailing off when he noticed how still she was, promptly turning around and looking at her. "Kaname?"

"Do you even realize where you are?" she demanded.

He blinked, opened his mouth to answer before quickly thinking over the obviousness of his response (several times), before he looked back at her again. "...Japan?" he answered hesitantly, least for him.

"Yes!" she said, a little heated. "Perhaps you haven't noticed, but around this country, guns are the worst thing imaginable! Even worse than things like murder, assault, and other such crimes! The only reason you've gotten away with it is because of Mithril's many donations to Jindai High!"

He slowly tilted his head. "Is that so? That seems... unbalanced" he answered, somewhat confused how that worked.

"Wrong thing to focus on, Sergeant!"

He quickly went back to attention, sitting as he was - she stared at him for a long time, before just sighing.

"Look, Sousuke" she eventually said, out of steam for the moment. "The point of a business in it's early stages is to establish itself... what it offers to it's customers, how reliable it is, and other stuff like that. Making such a bold - and in many peoples' minds, recklessly stupid - venture right off the bat has a very high chance of failing, ruining your reputation and making it even more difficult to build your standing later on."

It took him several moments, but eventually, he reached out his hand, touching hers (just touching it).

"You seem to know a lot about this topic" he said, but with an undercurrent showing he was very interested, and that he wanted her to keep going.

She blushed faintly. "Well, this year, I did take an extra course" she slowly admitted. "I thought that, just in case I wanted to do something similar, I would need to know this stuff - even having no idea what I'd want to run a business in, or if I truly want to yet. But, it is proving to have an unexpected bonus; educating you in your serious long-term pursuits."

"Indeed" he breathed, before he slowly held their hands up. "And I've often seen that people need/have partners who educate them in matters of such business, even if they are already experts in the field."

Then, slowly, he moved his other hand onto their joined ones. "Perhaps" he asked, soft, faint, and hesitant. "Kaname, would you like to be my consultant, when the time comes? Perhaps it is not yet official, but still-"

"Before I say yes" she told him firmly, yet gentle, despite the pounding heart he'd 'inflicted' on her. "I need to know exactly what your earlier second consideration was."

"Opening an Arm Slave production facility, and to sell Arm Slaves to anyone who can afford them."

Now she was a little worried. "But, wouldn't that shift the balance of power, or something?"

"Not more than it already has; mostly only governments themselves can afford the prices" he said, before he glanced up for a moment. "And besides, I would keep an eye on those who purchase AS robots - perhaps I would not refuse to sell any early on, due to establishing myself, but I could always report the sales to Mithril."

At that, she smirked. "So that in case the client appears troublesome, you can tell Mao and Kurz exactly where their 'secret' base is, and to go kick their butts" she said with relish.

His lip curved a bit. "More-or-less" he agreed. "I may not work for Milthril in the future, but I can still be an informant to make the world safer."

"Hmm" she breathed, before adding her other hand to their 'pile'. "Sounds like fun, even if it is work-related - but we'll need to have serious discussions about how this is gonna be done."

"Of course; I'd appreciate any input you can provide."

Then, she just smiled. "But, all that serious talk can wait for later" she told him. "Right now, I'm feeling a bit 'datey', before school begins tomorrow."

After a moment, he slowly acknowledged this. "Very well" he said. "Where would you like to go?"

"The beach."

At that, he nearly blanched, and already was starting to sweat.

"Come on" she said mildly. "Last time you splattered me in watermelon, I spent a good amount of time with a creep without knowing it, and you attempted to rescue me when I never really needed it - I think you owe me a 'normal' beach date, at least by comparison." Then she gave him a little playful look. "Or are you scared, Sergeant?"

"Scared?" he asked, before blinking. "Ah, no, that is not the word I'd choose to describe it."

"Good."

Yeah, he's plain lucky all that destruction and threatening haven't gotten him in trouble (other than with Kaname) XD Still, they had a moment or two, and now have a date lol

Which btw, yes, part of which will be a second chapter.