Never Enough Chapter 10

Ice cream was one of Hikaru's most favorite foods. So when Satoru approached her after one of their kendo classes offering to take her out for some, she jumped at the chance. It was a chilly overcast day but that wasn't about to deter her.

Her older brother was quiet on their walk over to the local ice cream shop but that was nothing out of the ordinary. He was generally a man of few words outside of instructing kendo but once they were seated with their order she sensed a tenseness about him and looked at Satoru expectantly. He said little while they ate their ice cream. When she had nearly finished he pulled out the journal the Shidou brothers had been using to correspond with Lantis from his jacket and sat it on the table in front of her.

"Hikaru," he began, not one to beat around the bush. "Exactly what is it that you and Lantis do when you go over there to see him?"

She froze. "W-what do we do?" her mind flashed back to Valentine's Day. Her memories were of bare skin and a mess of blankets, his hands roaming over her breasts followed by heated kisses working her up until she lost herself to the pleasure his touch brought. Hikaru remembered quite vividly how she had tentatively groped his most private of places through cloth evoking a reaction in him so strong that they had to leave his quarters before things got out of hand. Even clearer in her mind was how, just a few days ago she had celebrated White Day with him. How after a day of innocent romance she once again found herself in his bedroom bare from the waist up. His lips everywhere her skin was exposed; kissing and teasing and sucking until she shook with satisfaction from his oral ministrations.

At Hikaru's nervous silence Satoru sighed, opened the book and read a passage, "as I have communicated before, my intentions towards Hikaru Shidou are pure. She is precious to me and I care for her deeply. Rest assured that my affections are restrictive and that her happiness is always at the forefront of my mind..."

Satoru drew a finger over her jacket's collar, exposing the bruise she distinctly remembered Lantis making. She yelped and jerked out of Satoru's reach; hand covering the hickey, cheeks flaring red from her embarrassment.

"I- I-" what else could she say? Lantis was crafty with his words but the proof of his passion was there for Satoru to see... The secret was out. Her elder brother was no fool. She wouldn't be able to wave the mark off as anything else and she had been so careful in recent days to keep it hidden with make up or scarves. "How- how did you know?"

Satoru crossed his fingers and rested his chin against them. "When you were removing your head gear after training. It was exposed by your keikogi." Of course, she thought. After a good workout she always pulled and puffed the collar of her training shirt for air.

Satoru continued, "This boyfriend of yours is not as innocent with you as he pretends..."

"Wait a minute now, he hasn't done anything wrong. We have kissed," her cheeks brightened again under her older brother's scowl. "More than kissed," she amended. "But he's very gentle and considerate."

Satoru leaned towards her. His voice was low but worried. "He's not... forcing anything on you is he?"

Hikaru shot up banging her hands on the table, "No!" Satoru quickly grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back into her seat. His eyes quickly scanned the room for onlookers. Hikaru quieted some before continuing. "He's not that kind of guy Satoru. He's kind, he's loving..." and amazing and intoxicating and satisfying. She dare not say all that.

"Has he touched you?"

"That's none of your business." She snapped.

He persisted, "I need to know that you're safe with him."

"I'm safe, there's no one better to protect me."

Satoru shook his head, "No I mean," and he pulled out a small box and quickly slid it over to her. She did a double take. C-condoms? She was running out of shades of red to turn. She swiped them if only to get them out of plain sight. "Are you safe with him?" he asked again, eying her carefully.

"We haven't done that yet!" She yelped.

"Do you need them?"

Hikaru fidgeted in her seat looking away.

"Do you?" He asked more forcefully.

Quietly, after a long moment. "Maybe... I don't know... "

Satoru took a moment to rub his temples before continuing. "I am not encouraging this behavior but I'd rather you have them than not."

She nodded understanding his meaning. Satoru clearly didn't like how intimate she and Lantis were but he wasn't going to forbid her from seeing him either. He was trying to be reasonable and he was trying to look out for her. He could clearly see where their relationship was leading. "If I use them..." Hikaru met her elder brother's gaze and swallowed before saying, "I want you to know that it's because it's something I want and am ready for. Not because Lantis is pressuring me into it."

She saw his teeth grit but he said nothing more.

"I wish you would stop judging him before you've even met him."

"That is hard not to do." Satoru huffed. "We know nothing of this man other than the fact that he was your ally over in that world and now you're dating. As you say, we haven't met him and it may be unfair to judge him so harshly but when you show up with marks on your neck, what are your brothers supposed to think? Spending so much unrestricted time with him." He taped the book again. "I can't help but wonder about his sincerity and what intentions he has..."

Hikaru sighed. "Actually... he..." she fiddled with her fingers. "Well I wasn't going to say anything yet... I want him to visit us during summer vacation. I want you, Masaru and Kakeru to talk with him. Since dad's not around..."

Satoru's eyes widened. "Wait, you- that's not something that you should be suggesting lightly."

Hikaru shook her head. "There's a question he wants to ask you."

Satoru's stomach did a flip. "This... are you saying what I think you're saying?"

She nodded. "Lantis will ask you for my hand."

He didn't know whether to be relieved or worried, "but... you're... so young... this is..." He palmed his forehead. This was a lot to take in. "Don't you think you're moving a little fast?"

The look she gave him. He'd only seen it a few times in his life. She was determined and unrelenting. No was the unspoken answer. If he could read her mind he knew it would have said, We haven't been moving fast enough.

TBC

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