VI.
He watched her for long moments, a frown creasing his forehead as he concentrated on her hair, her eyes, her lips. Though her beauty was simple, he couldn't deny that there was something very appealing about her serene expression, her small, delicate smile and her gentle ruby eyes. Yamato frowned, his face twisting into a thoughtful expression.
"Sora is very pretty," he announced suddenly.
Taichi, who was lying on the grass next to him and busy with his portable videogame, answered without thinking. "Of course she is," he stopped, suddenly aware of what he said and flushed slightly. "I mean – I guess. I don't know, she's your girlfriend, man."
Yamato paid little attention to him, his eyes fixed on the redhead in question. "She's also kind," he said quietly, "Intelligent. Gentle."
"And far too good for you?"
He caught himself just in time. "I was just thinking out loud."
"You know what's even more surprising than you landing Sora?" Taichi asked crassly, his game back on track now that conversation had steered into safer topics. "Mimi and Takeru," he paused, looking from Yamato to Takeru, his eyes squinting in slight suspicion. "Must be the blonde thing."
At the look Yamato gave him, Taichi just laughed.
"Ah, you have no sense of humor."
"A joke?"
"Of course."
"Not your funniest one."
Taichi sighed.
"You win some, you lose some."
Yamato's eyes were fixed on the couple though he liked to pretend he was focused elsewhere. They looked like they were having fun and Yamato hated it. He turned away, already feeling guilty and ashamed for being upset about it in the first place.
"You know, Hikari said the strangest thing the other day," Taichi began casually.
With reluctance, Yamato took the bait. "And what would that be?"
"She said that you probably had some unsorted feelings. She seems to think that's why you're acting so strange lately," there was a pause, and Yamato had to school himself not to look away from Taichi, keeping his face nonchalant – bored, even. "Am I going to have to hit you?"
He sighed, turning his chin up and to the side to crack his neck. Mimi and Miyako were helping Takeru and Koushiro with the lunch spread. Taking advantage of the last warm autumn afternoon it had occurred to them to have a picnic, an idea that sounded fantastic at the time. Now that he was seeing his younger brother sharing secret smiles with his ex – well, not girlfriend, certainly, but with his Mimi, Yamato couldn't think of anything worse than this.
"Well?"
"Oh, darn, I forgot the icebox. I'll be right back!" Mimi exclaimed, standing up and brushing her knees as she made a dash across the park towards her car.
"Quite possibly," Yamato muttered before standing up and taking off in the direction in which Mimi had just disappeared. Behind him, he distinctly heard Taichi muttering "idiot" before groaning, "I lost my stupid game, too!"
He reached her just as she slid the heavy cooler out of her car's trunk, dropping it to the ground with a loud thump. Mimi looked conflicted, as if she just realised the thing was far too heavy for her to lift on her own. "Yamato-san," she said quietly when his hands lifted the object and held it in front of him. "Thank you."
"What are you playing at?" he asked her quietly.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"You're fooling around with Takeru," he accused, "He's my little brother."
"And you are very concerned for him, I imagine."
He shrugged. "It's what older brothers do."
"If he's your brother, then he'll break my heart before I have a chance to do any damage," she tossed her hair over her shoulder. "That should put your worries to rest."
"Mimi-san?" his voice was soft, but he knew she heard.
"What?"
"Did I break your heart?"
Her arms hung limply but he could see her grabbing a fistful of her dress. "Did I say that?" she laughed, "You must've heard wrong."