A/N: "Inspired" by the chapter 11 of my other fanfic "The Purity of White seems to be Red"

Warning: Lemon waits ahead!

A Dinner With Consequences

Mayura felt nervous biting her lips as they walked through the streets of Narukami.

Because she and Shimon had been sent to a mission on the mainland her mother had invited them both to stay over for the night. Shimon had declined at first, rather vigorously. But when her mother kept on insisting Mayura had persuaded him to accept the offer. Which he did, although he made no secret about his reluctance. She knew, he felt weird staying in the house of his former sensei but she did not want her mother to ask for the reason why he declined the offer. It was safer this way.

Now she was feeling nervous as they got closer and closer to their destination. Of course her father knew Shimon very well, but she was afraid about her mother's reaction to him. It wasn't that she thought her mother would not like Shimon. That was almost impossible. Although he loved to look indifferent, he was polite and nice. The problem was the other way around. She was scared her mother would look right through her and see the feelings Mayura held for her fuchsia-haired colleague.

She looked at them man walking besides her. He was dressed casually and laid-back. His hands were buried within the pockets of his trousers looking comfortable with himself and the world. He wore his always present scarf above a shirt, that was hiding the manly shape of his.

Mayura knew it was there. Within the last two years she noticed the slight changes of his form. His shoulders had broadened and the lines of his faces had hardened. He had turned into a man while she had grown to feel more womanly. Being 18 since a few months she knew it was normal to look with interest at the other sex. The knowledge did nothing to diminish the embarrassment and shame she felt about the emotions, she sometimes harbored looking at him. Or the racing of her heart beat and the clench below her stomach when she woke up in the mornings.

Somehow they had become friends over the years. He had been her trainer, her confident and colleague. He had protected her, watched out for her, been there for her. They had started to talk about other things than exorcism and over time developed a deep friendship. She cherished the moments he opened up and told her things he wouldn't tell others, she cherished his laughter and his smile.

And then one day she had recognized the truth. Finally she had understood she had fallen in love with the stoic red-haired Ikaruga Shimon. She had recognized the flutter of her heart when he looked at her with a soft gaze.

That moment they had fooled around with Sayo in the Ikaruga living room. Sayo had thrown herself at him and he stumbled over the couch loosing his balance and falling backwards behind the couch. Shocked and scared Mayura had jumped to them but when she looked over the back of the couch, she saw them snickering with Shimon lying under Sayo. Infected by their snicker Mayura had laughed thoroughly. When she calmed down she saw him looking at her with soft blue eyes that made her heart start to dance and a wonderful warmth enveloped her whole being. Indeed, she had fallen in love. And she had fallen hard.

This had been a long time ago and it felt hard to remember a time she wasn't deeply in love with him and trying desperately to hide it from him at the same time. She did it for the safety of their friendship. Funny how she had once done it before, when she thought she was in love with Rokuro. She knew by now the nature of those feelings. It had been a crush she couldn't let go. But this crush couldn't compare to those feelings she felt for the handsome man walking besides her. It actually made her sometimes wonder, if something was wrong with her, developing a crush or falling in love when she was already in the friend-zone.

Unfortunately, this secret mission of hers to hide her feelings became harder and harder. To her dismay the longing of her heart deepened and was accompanied by the longing of her body by now. It made her feel ashamed to feel like this. Although she was not the only one to blame. It was his fault, too, for being way too handsome.

"What are you thinking about, Otomi?"

She froze at the spot as his voice interrupted her line of thoughts. The burning heat of embarrassment rose to her face. And she felt anger rise within her. Anger directed at herself for not being able to stop thinking about him this way.

Twitching with pent-up emotions, she turned to him and bestowed an hard gaze upon him. "Nothing that concerns you. And how often do I have to remind you, my name isn't Otomi anymore but Amawaka? But you just refuse to call me by my first name anyway."

At the end of her small speech she took notice of his expression. Shimon looked taken aback. When their gazes met he shifted his away with a frown. With a low voice he breathed, "Sumimasen." (1)

Oh, no. She totally lashed out on him because of the inner turmoil, she had felt. Was she officially loosing it now? Would it be an easy escape to just wish she'd never had fallen for him in the first place? "Gomen nasai, Shimon." (1)

His gaze turned from irritated to gentle. "Don't worry. I understand, you're nervous. It's been years since the last time you've been home."

"U-u-un." She nodded. She couldn't tell him the truth. It was safer to keep up the notion, that she was nervous about returning home. And not to spill the truth about being nervous about returning home and having to face her mother who always had the talent to read her like an open book. Turning her gaze to the street again, she continued to walk to their destination. Her doom awaited her. "It's not far from here."

She sensed Shimon's presence as he followed her a few steps behind.

"I know."

Surprised she looked at him over her shoulder. How would he know how long it would take? "You do?"

With a stern gaze and leveled voice Shimon spoke to her. "I was at your place once. The day of Rokuro's Ceremony of Divination I was ordered to request for Seigen-san to witness the ceremony." (2)

"I didn't know that." She stopped and turned around, mustering him closely, when she asked, "Did you meet my mother?"

He raised an eyebrow and watched her for a few seconds before he leisurely shrugged a shoulder. "No, she wasn't home, I believe."

Relieved Mayura sighed. It would be a bad sign her mother never told her, she had met Shimon when Mayura had once or twice – maybe more times – talked about him.

After walking a few hundred meters, they reached the shiny, friendly looking house. Mayura chose to ring the doorbell feeling uncomfortable to use her keys after all these years.

The door opened revealing her smiling Okasan and her Otosan, wearing his permanent frown.

Without a second thought Mayura threw herself into the arms of her mother and cried, overwhelmed by the sudden wave of emotions hitting her. She hadn't known, she had missed her mother this much. It's been two years since she had seen her. And all the talking on the phone hadn't been enough.

Crying to her hearts content, she stayed in her mother's arms for a while. Her Okasan hushed words of comfort to her until she calmed down.

Leaning back Mayura noticed with a teary sight, that her mother too had tears streaming down her face too. She glanced at her Otosan. Her father's face twitched and was turned away from the scene. He never had been comfortable dealing with both her and her mother being too emotional.

Wiping away her tears, Mayura smiled brightly at her parents. "Okasan! Otosan! It's really good to see you."

Her mother still smiled brightly. "I'm glad to see you so well," she sighed. "You turned into a real beauty, Mayura. Let me look at you."

Mayura sighed, "Okasan," while her mother looked at her from different angles.

She leaned further to the side and looked at something or rather someone standing behind Mayura. "And is this young man, the one I think who he is?"

"Ikaruga Shimon. It's nice to make your acquaintance Otomi-san." With a gaze over her shoulder Mayura noticed he was frozen to the spot. An hint of red tainted his cheeks.

"Likewise. But you don't need to be so stiff. You can call me Yukari." Her mother had a smooth, soft voice like a the soft melody of a lullaby. If she wanted, she could probably use it to have anybody dancing to her command. Luckily her mother wasn't that kind of person.

"Thanks," she heard Shimon reply in an aloof voice. "Hello, Seigen-san."

"Oi, Shimon~," Her father drawled and nodded shortly at him before he turned away, leading all of them to the dinner room in silence. Mayura couldn't hold back a snicker. He was still the same good old Otosan.

While they walked inside, her mother started talking again. "Mayura, why didn't you introduce me to this young man sooner?" She leaned over and whispered with a happy smile, "He's cute."

"Okasan!" She blushed deeply. Trying to fight her emotions fearing they would show. She risked to take a glance over at Shimon.

He watched their conversation very attentively. Oh, crap.

Her mother didn't seem to take notice of Mayura's discomfort. "How long do you know each other?"

While they took all their seats at the table, Mayura took in a deep breath. There was nothing bad about answering to this, right? "Two years."

Thankfully, before her mother could continue the interrogation, her father interrupted her. "Yukari, they are no thing~."

"Oh, but they should be," her mother chirped, not listening to him and drawing a circle with her chopsticks in the air. Mayura wished the ground below her would swallow her. Every muscle was tensed up as she tried to fend of the heat rising to her cheeks.

Obvious to her dismay, her parents kept on talking about her and Shimon, her mother's singing voice and her father monotone drawl composed a strange melody eating on Mayura's nerves. "You don't know him~."

"Isn't he one of your pupil's? He can't be that bad."

"One of my pupils was the biggest traitor-"

Suddenly her mother interrupted him more harshly. "Seigen, don't be like this. Can't we just eat?"

Mayura sighed. If the chances for a relationship with the great Ikaruga Shimon had been low, every crumble of hope had now vanished. There was no way he would not see her as an offspring of a crazy couple. Even if he adored her Otosan, how could he not find this particular conversation strange?

Uncomfortable and awkward silence dominated the rest of the meal. While picking on the rice – her hunger was long gone – she wondered, if all parent were this embarrassing or if it were just her's.

After she had finally made it through dinner, her mother snatching the plates and bowls away from her. "Mayura, why don't you show Shimon around? Your father and I can wash the dishes in that time."

She nodded before she took of, not waiting for Shimon to catch on.

Being alone with him made her anxiety worse. She hoped, he did not want to speak about the conversation they just had witnessed. Luckily, he stayed silent as he followed her through the main hall of the Otomi house.

It was actually a very small house, so there was not much to show him and the second floor only consisted of a bath, the master bedroom and her old bedroom. She felt warm in her face thinking about the idea of showing him, what had been the room of her sixteen year old self.

This was no good. She turned around and showed him the outside of the house.

After presenting the garden to him, a square only consisting out of a veranda and a small stripe of flowers and plants because her mother loved gardening, they returned to the kitchen.

The angered voice of her father made her stop on the threshold. "Oi~ woman, cut it out already~. Besides she probably has that crush on that twerp."

Jumping to the side, Mayura felt humiliation rise inside her. She did not want them to notice she heard that. Her mother would very likely want to talk about it with her and she hadn't have the strength to keep up her poor version of a poker face. This dinner pulled hard onto the emotions filling her chest.

"Rokuro? Aren't they more like brother and sister?"

Her mother's voice was tainted with humor as she spoke about Mayura's feelings, as if they were totally transparent. It had taken Mayura a long while to understand that her love for Rokuro had been more nothing than a worked-up crush. How was it her mother saw so easily through her?

"No, but Mayura and Shimon are~," her father drawled

Trying not to look at the man beside her, she bowed her head. How did she end up in this situation? What was she supposed to do?

Okasan giggled. "Most definitely not. Didn't you notice the gazes they sent each other?"

Gazes between them? Was it true? Was Shimon perhaps feeling something for her? Heat rose to her face. Crap! This could not be happening! Had her mother just revealed her feelings?!

"Huh?!" The taint of anger in his voice, made Mayura flinch.

For a moment she wondered, how her father would feel, if they ever became an item. He could be very overprotective, even if he didn't like to show his affection. The short moment of wondering didn't help to lessen the embarrassment she felt, as she heard her feelings being lain out in front of her father and the one they were directed at, too.

She swallowed on the lump of humiliation constricting her throat.

"I'm sure they both are in love but don't know how to solve this situation."

Her whole body froze in shock. Hearing the 'L' word connected to her and Shimon was enough to make her want to crawl up some place else. Anywhere would do. Anywhere but here.

She trembled with the strain of preventing herself from screaming.

"Yukari, you're imagining things~."

"Ahh. Just imagine our grandchildren with fuchsia-colored hair. Wouldn't that be cute?"

Mayura ran.

This was too much for her to bear.

She hadn't been braced for this.

She ran away from the humiliation she felt.

She ran away from the mirror of her emotions.

She ran away from the man who had stood silently besides her, while he listened to the truth being slowly revealed.

Shimon felt embarrassed and hot when he went to search for her. The conversation between Yukari-san and Seigen-san was still ringing in his ears, making him uncomfortable.

He hoped, it did not change Mayura's opinion of him. He didn't want anything to ruin their relationship.

Over the past two years she had turned into a comrade, a confident and a friend. He didn't want any change to happen. For so long he had feared she'd someday see through him and discover the emotions he held for her. He wouldn't want the thing that just happened to slash them apart with the sword of Damocles (3) that had been hanging over their heads.

All this time, it had been hard to keep his feelings locked up. Had his effort been in vain?

It had been so bloody hard to keep his feelings hidden from her, but that had been easier as not seeing her again.

He had tried to do that, too. He had tried once for a couple of weeks not to see her. But it unsettled him, not to see her. So instead he had chosen to take, what she was ready to give him, if it meant he could be close to her. So he had cherished every smile, every laughter and every gaze directed at him. She made his heart jump so easily in delight. It didn't matter that her heard belonged to someone else. He just had to live with her being nothing more than a friend.

It had been a compromise, he had been comfortable with for a while. Until desire had joined the innocent love.

There were moments he yearned for the physical connection. Unfortunately for him, it didn't diminish over the years but grew fiercer as she hadn't become less attractive but even more womanly. Now and then, he would hate himself for the ideas swirling in his head after a training session or after moments when they would accidentally touch.

Yet, he had fought this battle long enough to know, he would rather die with the mix of delight and hurt, when she sometimes would look at him with happiness swimming in the blue sea of her eyes.

He would rather bear the twist of hope and devastation, he would feel when something like longing flushed her eyes looking at him and being unaware of him catching her gaze.

He would rather yearn for her body and soul for the rest of his life, being tortured by inappropriate fantasies and dreams of a happy future then to have her on second less by his side.

That was the reason Shimon now searched for her, feeling desperate to comfort her and to see to it that nothing between them had changed.

Finally, he found her outside the veranda. With careful steps he approached her. "Mayura?"

She turned to him. A blush painted her cheeks but her eyes were solid as stone. "I made up my mind."

She irritated him. Similar to the day she did when they met. "What are you talking about?"

"I want to know," her voice was leveled. Resolve shone in her eyes, impressing him and shaking him.

Choosing his words carefully he stopped walking. A few meters filled the space between them. "What do you wanna know?"

"They are both right. You treat me like a sister but is that really everything I am to you?"

He swallowed down on the anxiety grabbing onto his throat in a deathly grip. "What do you want me to say?"

A twist deformed the delicate line of one of her eyebrows. "I want us to be honest to each other, Shimon."

"It doesn't matter." How was he supposed to tell her what she was to him? It taken him a while until he had figured it out. She had been a nuisance at first, had been an infatuation, an unwise crush and in the end, had turned out to be the object of his yearning and love.

"Why can't you tell me?"

Irritation turned to anger. Why couldn't she let this go? Why couldn't she just let them continue to be friends? His feelings didn't matter as long as her heart beat for another one. "Because it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter as long as you are in love with Rokuro."

She frowned at him while he slowly recognized the weigh of his sentences. Her face turned into disbelief as if he pronounced a miracle becoming reality. "Shimon, are you saying –?"

The truth was out now. There was no need to hide or lie. "Looks like you understand very well, what I'm saying."

She still seemed to be shocked as she stared at him wide eyed. Her mouth was slightly agape. "But you treated me like a sister for two years."

Harshly he took in a deep breath. She couldn't give him all the fault. How he should have known what she thought or felt. "You treated me like a brother. I thought this was what you wanted!"

"No..." Her eyes were filled with emotions. Tears gathered into the corners of her eyes. But he wouldn't let her back away now. He needed to know.

"Then tell me, Mayura, tell me, what do you want from me." He took large, angry steps towards her and stopped right in front of her. "Because I'm standing here right in front of you and I don't know, what to do anymore."

As if they had run for miles they were both short on breath. Eyes searching, chests heaving, hands shivering, hearts hammering.

And then there was this little moment were a spark of understanding was exchanged just before they let go and met in a desperate kiss.

A switch turned. In a second friends became lovers.

Every emotion for the last two years rushed to the surface breaking through the ice as they held each other. When he deepened the kiss, she moaned.

He lost the last straw of sanity then and there. Pulling her to him he kissed her passionately, indulging into the love he felt for her. His hands slowly roamed her body, stroking her, pulling her and grabbing her while she hold onto him like an anchor and rocked the whole length of her body tenderly against his.

She felt so warm and soft.

He moaned and broke free to catch his breath.

If he didn't stop now, he might not be able to. He wouldn't want to hurt her by forcing her to do something, she didn't want to do. And he knew very well, what this could lead to.

Shimon looked at her. At the woman he loved. At the woman, who miraculously returned his feelings.

When his eyes met her's, he saw his own need mirrored in them. The blue of the soft sea was replaced by a the dark blue of a raging storm in the ocean. She needed him like he needed her.

When she nodded her head, he lifted her up placing her legs around her hips, which she immediately closed around him. With a trembling voice and a few words she guided him into her room, that she'd left two years ago while he nibbled happily at her neck.

As she turned the key to lock up her room with a blush grazing her cheeks, he knew there was no going back. Still carrying her he took a few steps towards her bed and gently laid her down before joining her. As his lips sought her's again, he thought, even if this was madness he would gladly commit his life to it.

While she was at first hesitant she soon met the passion of his kisses and touches.

With sighs and moans they slowly pushed away clothes, pulling them away until they were both bare. She was utterly beautiful, shaking him to his core with her sight.

He felt nervousness rise that made his face heat up. Instantly she kissed his lips again, making him soon forget any thought of his inexperience. The look of desire in her eyes contradicted the blush on her cheeks as she explored his body with her hands, making him feel dizzy and unbearably hot until he shook with need and hunger.

With his tongue he began a journey from her neck to the south. He rested for a while at her breast as he carefully sucked on them, eliciting a shuddering breath out of her that spurred him further on. He went down kissing her stomach and stroking her long legs, slowly spreading them apart.

He looked at her while she watched his action with desire shining in her eyes.

His heart stuttered and returned to its heavy pounding beat. Licking the skin above her private space he resumed his journey.

Finally he reached his destination and he buried his face into her crotch. She gasped when he started to kiss her at her most intimate place.

It didn't take long until her body started to shook, as he continued the exploration of her with his tongue. Her enticing scent enveloped him and he was reduced to an animalistic need to satisfy her.

He noticed her body trembling and sported her on and on with his tongue and mouth to climb that hill of which he knew she was currently crawling up. Suddenly her body stilled with one last heave upwards as a continuous moan escaped her throat.

Utterly amazed and aroused he still feasted on her, when her moans and sighs got weaker.

Breathless and speechless he looked up when he felt her fingers running through his hair. He noticed tears stuck to her eyes. Worry overcame him but when she beamed at him, he felt like the happiest man on earth. She pulled him upwards and their lips joined in a slow, savoring kiss. How long had he dreamed of this? How long had the dreams of her taunted him by night and kept him awake with arousal and shame early in the morning?

They moved into an embrace and he caressed her body softly until she was moaning with need again.

On instinct they moved to become one.

Soon she nodded for him to continue to move as she became used to the pain. They both gasped when he buried himself fully inside of her.

In sheer amazement he moved in and out of her. Was this supposed to feel like this? He could spend the rest of his life feeling the way he did as he thrust into her warmth. Yet, he knew he couldn't restrict himself not for long. He looked into her half lidded eyes, which were blurred with emotions. More and more moans escaped her lips. He wanted to see her rise again. This time he would watch and share this feeling with her. They would both fly together.

She reached for him.

He lost himself into her scent and taste as they kissed. And as he pushed himself into her faster, she threw her head back and clamped around him. He immediately stumbled after her and lost a part of his consciousness as he rocked his body a few last times into hers.

The next thing he knew, was that he lay on the mattress besides her. After a few minutes he regained his ability to think.

Shimon turned towards her. She was watching him. She seemed tired but wore a happy smile.

After giving her a peck on the lips, he smiled back at her, when he pulled away. There was something like regret appearing in her eyes. And he forced the terror he felt away when he recognized that regret.

It was a regret they shared. If he'd known sooner. If they had confessed sooner. They could have shared their love for a while now. For they couldn't turn back time, he tried to kiss that regret away.

Later they would savor this new found intimacy again and again until the sun rose.

Love was beautiful when fulfilled.

At the other end of the floor Yukari prepared for bed, hearing very obvious noises coming from the direction of her daughter's room. "Oh my. I don't think, we will need to fix the guestroom anymore."

Turning around she saw the love of her life, walking back and forth in their bedroom like a tiger fearing for the safety of its child. With an angry face and a hand buried within the pocket of his trousers Seigen darkly mumbled, "I will kill him!"

Yukari chuckled slightly. She had tried to prepare him for this. Although she hadn't foreseen the attraction between her daughter and that wonderful young man would directly lead up to this, it was a nice development.

She was granted the fruits of her scheming. Maybe she would even be gifted with grandchildren sooner than she would have thought.

It had been a very good idea to let them walk into a conversation about them.

These past two years she had witnessed how her daughter had fallen in love. The way her voice slowly started to change as she talked more and more about the Ikaruga boy and later tried not to talk about him at all, had been very obvious.

Tomorrow Yukari would need to make a little work of repair and save her future son-in law from being killed by her ex-husband. She sighed. At least, they would be blissfully ignorant for the looming threat of Seigen for a whole night. She had made sure of that by locking up the master-bedroom making sure Seigen wouldn't interrupt them.

Now she planned on her own form of distraction as she sprayed a little bit of perfume onto her neck. It was a spot her Seigen couldn't ignore. But first she would put some music on to muffle the noises. On both sides of the house.

An happy sigh left her as she walked to the old fashioned radio.

Love was truly beautiful when fulfilled.

(1) Sumimasen – Means "Sorry" or "Excuse me". Apologies are very important in Japanese culture. There is a difference to "gomen" or politely "gomen nasai" which is more casual. Also there are more formal apologies like "gozaimasen". You could write a paper on this because forms of politeness and address are highly important!Why am I telling you this? Because it is elemental within a relationship; in which way a person apologizes, gives a lot away.

(2) Shimon meets Seigen at the Otomi household in the manga chapter 22. It's right before Sayo does the Ceremony of Divination on Rokuro.

(3) Sadly, I did not find a Japenese equivalent to that expression. This is from Greek mythology. So a well-read Shimon might have heard it somewhere? *giggles nervously*

A/N: At one point I messed up with the perspective, I know. But I couldn't force myself to stay in Shimon's perspective only. Take it as a narrator intruding. :P

By the way, I didn't want to put too much focus on the lemon only but on the family experience as well. The last scene came to me spontaneous.^^

And so that Shimon and Mayura aren't much OOC, I invented the frame condition that they loved each other for (almost – Shimon was the first ofc) two years but held all this emotions in. Imagine you being in love with someone and being attracted to them for two years (with being 18 or 20 years old). If those dams are broken, it ought to get steamy, I think.