A/N: It's been a long wait, sorry all! I'm excited to share this chapter with you, please let me know your thoughts - as usual, review, rant, rate, whatever you like :) I love to hear from you!

To reviewers:
XxThe-Crest-Of-AnubisxX - :P Is this chapter juicy enough? Thanks for your support and continuous reviews, they make my day!
pandoraclock - Step in! It'll be exciting :P I always think Takeru's the best! I hope you like this chapter and thanks for always leaving me reviews 3
Carupin -You had me worried - glad to hear from you again :) Don't apologise, I am happy to know you are reading and still enjoying it! Tell me if you like this one!
meelbermudes - Hi! I think you'll like this chapter :P I'm sorry I took long though! Thanks for leaving a review! :)
Lilfoc - Aww thanks! That means a lot to me! Here is an update, and I might consider a Hikari POV - but not so soon :P

"Takeru, can you bring those plates over?" Yamato instructed as he wiped the beads of perspiration off his forehead.

Without questioning, Takeru brought over a stack of plates and placed it on the counter next to his older brother, whose attention was fixated over the stove and his cooking. Taichi strolled into the tiny Ishida kitchen, hands on hips as he peered over the pots. The brunette gave a nod of approval, then proceeded to grab one of the ladle so he could scoop a small amount to try. Taichi had done it so often that Yamato had also given up trying to stop him.

"I think that needs salt," Taichi commented, placing the ladle back into the pot much to Yamato's horror.

"I didn't say it was ready," Yamato replied as he took the ladle Taichi had used out of the pot and placed it in the sink. "And don't put that back after you used it!"

Takeru sniggered and left the kitchen to the older boys. He exited to find Hikari on the couch, aimlessly switching television channels. He joined her, plopping right next to her, his weight on the sofa distracting her from the television. He smiled, scooting nearer to her warmth. She didn't seem to mind as she comfortably leaned against him. Her closeness calmed him down, like the tranquility that enveloped him right after an intense basketball training. He wondered if this would be what it feels like to have her as his girlfriend. Takeru grinned at the thought; he could get used to that very quickly. The blond thought to stretch his arm across her shoulder, until he remembered where he was and who were with them.

Taichi, Hikari, Takeru and Yamato were all gathered at the latter's unit, a simple and compact apartment donned with the littlest decorations. Having only been resided by two grown men – Yamato and their father – the minimalistic design had made dusting negligible for Yamato, who did most of the house chores. As per usual, Yamato had also taken over the task of cooking, since the others were quite terrible cooks.

"Nothing to watch?" Takeru asked his best friend, who continued to change the channels.

She shook her head gently, this time round passing the remote to him. He took it from her, unintentionally brushing against her hand and touching her fingers as he did so. He thought he saw her blushed. Most days, it was easy to read her, yet today her behaviour confused him. He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes, suddenly conscious of their chumminess. Could she possibly like him the same way now? Takeru turned his attention to the television, but his heart was a distraction as it gathered speed. After a few channels later, Takeru settled for one of the many game shows Fuji TV was broadcasting – a default since he was little.

"Ahem."

A voice sounded from behind. It was Taichi, who had brought out meals to the dining table unheard by the duo. The ex-soccer enthusiast had folded his arms as he stood behind the couch, smirking.

"Takeru, the view from here will put you in a tough spot to explain yourself to… anyone," he said.

Hearing Taichi made Takeru momentarily freeze on the spot. He instantly broke his direct contact with Hikari, shifting his body away from her. She had also sat up right upon hearing her own brother's voice, tensed. It was as if the pair had shared something intimate intruded upon, and it made Takeru's heart pumped fast with adrenaline – from fear or excitement, he couldn't differentiate.

Takeru wasn't sure if Taichi's comment was pin-pointing his physical closeness towards Hikari, or if Yamato had blabbered about the girl he liked and Taichi was now teasing him. Given a choice, neither option sounded better than the other, and they both made his insides twist uncomfortably. Wiping his palms against his jeans, Takeru stood up to make his way round the couch to where Taichi was. His cold hand jumped straight to his hair in the most awkward fashion as he looked sheepishly at the spread on the dining table.

"Do you, uh… need… h-help?" Takeru stuttered, deliberately ignoring Taichi's comment.

Sensing Takeru's nervousness, Taichi said nothing more but grinned. With his arms still casually folded across his chest, he jerked his head towards the kitchen. "You could bring out the rest before your Onii-chan starts throwing curses."

Hikari giggled, and only then did Takeru realized he had discounted her presence for the short amount of time he was blanked out by Taichi's words. She had also stood up, but Takeru could not muster enough courage to look at her – not when he could feel the heat at the tip of his ears. He believed his face must have turned red from Taichi's words, and the smile on Taichi's face was not making it any easier for him, like he had done something wrong and was caught red-handed for it. Takeru hastily nodded at no one in particular, and went scrambling towards the kitchen.

"Good, you're here. Help me bring those out," Yamato instructed upon seeing Takeru, while moving about the tiny kitchen with such ease one could mistake him for prancing on his toes. "Tai went off and must have lost his way again," he said loudly with mock sarcasm.

"I heard that!" a voice bellowed from the living room.

Both brothers chuckled, taking with it the tension Takeru had before. The younger of the blonds picked up the remaining dishes and brought them out to the small dining table, while the older trailed behind, one hand holding onto a bottle of sake, another removing his dark-coloured apron. Taichi and Hikari had both seated themselves after setting the table with cutlery and cups. Takeru and Yamato joined in, taking their usual seating arrangements of being next to each other.

"Thanks Yamato-san!" Hikari chirped, looking eagerly at the spread in front of her as Yamato poured sake into cups.

"I'm so hungry!" cried Taichi, already holding his chopsticks, ready to attack his dinner.

"You're always hungry." Yamato joked.

"Itadakimasu!" the quartet chimed, before promptly digging into the scrumptious homemade meal. So good was their dinner that for the first few minutes, no words were shared while all four friends busied themselves with chewing and swallowing. It was undoubtable that over the years, Yamato's culinary skills had improved drastically

"Hikari, I heard you went on a date with some guy? Baseball, was he?" Yamato asked casually as he took a bite of his food, oblivious to the fact that her date was not the best starter topic.

Hikari glanced at Takeru, who looked right back, brows furrowed. It was all she needed to know that her best friend had not discussed her date with his brother. Many times, Takeru was extremely grateful of their telepathic moments. This was one of those moments.

"How did you know?"

"Sora," Yamato said matter-of-factly. "Miyako, Sora, me. That guy's lucky, eh, Tai?"

Mentioning the date seemed to trigger Taichi's protective side, whose face was filled with pure disgust and disapproval. "Betcha he's lucky – lucky I haven't got a chance to see him again! He didn't even tell her why they shouldn't hang out anymore. Y'know this is a bad topic – makes my blood boil."

"Look at you," Yamato grimaced in good humour. "Did you scare him away?"

"Like I can stop a genuine steadfast guy from dating Kari?" Taichi snorted. "Pretty sure there're plenty of better guys out there who won't care what I have to say."

As the older boys spoke, Hikari shifted uncomfortably in her seat, looking misplaced amidst the conversation centred on her failed date. Takeru looked over and gave her a reassuring smile and a tiny shrug. She made a face and rolled her eyes like a little girl before breaking into a smile, grateful for his silent support.

"I'm not disagreeing! Plenty of better guys out there." Yamato echoed his buddy's words. He held his cup at eye-level, initiating a toast at Hikari. "To better guys!"

Hikari grinned at the silliness of it all. She hesitated for a moment, but gave in and raised her cup of sake, echoing the same words. Taichi and Takeru also raised their cup, toasting.

"To better guys!" Taichi said out loud, directing his toast at his sister.

Yet, for a quick second, Takeru was sure Taichi had held his cup slightly after the toast, swaying it in Takeru's direction with a grin meant only for him, seemingly implying a second meaning. This little action, albeit subtle, sent Takeru's blood rushing to his face, leaving his fingers momentarily cold. Flustered, Takeru gulped his sake by mistake. The gold liquid burnt his throat as they flowed downwards, but the blond was unflinching as he tried his best to remain cool, his facial expression stoic. He thought he was over the days when people would tease him with Hikari. Yet, his sensitivity seemed to heighten today.

"I have something to share," Taichi said, breaking Takeru's thoughts. The smile on Taichi's face broadened.

"Maeko." Hikari grinned, sharing a look with her best friend.

"His girlfriend." Takeru completed Hikari's sentence with a smirk that sent Hikari giggling.

"W-what?!" Yamato exclaimed, pleasantly surprised.

"Wait – how did you two rascals know?"

Hikari tried to control her bouts of giggles while Takeru chuckled. It was reminiscent of their younger selves, where conversations shared between the two would turn into secrets translated into laughter. Yamato was unsure what made them giggly, but his ears perked and his eyes were bright. They were all waiting for Taichi to fall in love for a very long time, and the news came as a pleasant revelation.

The gathering played well into the night. When Taichi checked his phone for what seemed like the hundredth time for messages, he profusely apologized and announced that he had to go find his girlfriend Maeko. Yamato gave Taichi a grin that made him red in the face, a rare sight even for his closest friends. This made Hikari giggled, exacerbated by the alcohol in her system. Before Yamato could make everyone down another cup of sake, Taichi insisted that Yamato had to stop with the sake and that Takeru must send his baby sister home.

"I'm not a baby, I can go home myself," Hikari objected out loud, obviously high on alcohol.

"I'm blaming you, Yamato. I told you so many times she can't take that much sake!" Taichi said, ignoring his sister's complaint as he fumbled for his belongings around the Ishida unit. "Takeru, please make sure she gets home safe. Make sure she gets into the house."

"I will."

After much delay, they all bided farewell to Taichi who left hastily. Takeru shortly collected his and her items, and they too bided farewell to Yamato. As they leave, Hikari's inability to handle alcohol made her wobble badly. He held onto her arm to steady her walking before she could fall and hailed a cab at the streets. The wind was gathering speed at night, but the pair got lucky when a cab pulled up five minutes later. She clumsily dove into the car, giggling at her inelegance. Takeru laughed at her silliness and took a seat beside her.

Along the journey, Hikari very quickly snoozed on his arm, her hands wrapped around it like that of a pillow. Not wanting to wake her sleep, he dared not move. By the time they had arrived at the familiar blocks of building where the Yagamis resided, the weight of her body had stiffened and numbed his arm. Takeru gingerly took out his wallet with his free hand to pay for the cab fare, but this woke Hikari, who stirred and found herself exiting the cab as clumsily as when she had entered it. Takeru panicked and went after her, forgetting to take back his change. He caught her before she tripped, but that only made Hikari laughed more. He broke into a smile and shook his head at her. The cab had driven off into the darkness of the night, leaving the streets empty except for them.

Hikari had stopped struggling. The energy accompanied by sake had dissipated as she slumped her body against Takeru's, still giggling.

"You're such a handful," Takeru joked, trying his best to walk a very drugged best friend to no avail. "You need to stop drinking even if Onii-chan tells you too. I'm honestly going to leave you on the streets if you do this again."

"You," she began, her face that was resting on his arm had lifted to look at him with the silliest lopsided smile. "Won't."

"Try me," Takeru laughed.

She said nothing more, and before long, he could hear her deep breathes. He slowed his walking to a stop, knowing his best friend was unlikely to walk along. Amidst the attempts to assist her, he did not realise his arms were tightly wrapped around her waist. She had clung onto him for support, her face comfortably nestled in the curve of his neck. He became ever conscious of her weight on him. The faint alcohol scent from her breathing made him drowsy and weak in the knees. Biting his lower lip, Takeru scooped her off her feet to her delight as she unexpectedly squealed, and headed towards the slow-moving lift. He had cursed this lift for days, months and even years, but he never thought he would one day become appreciative of the time-consuming machinery. His arms strained from carrying her, and that did little to bother him; seeing her sleepy face gleaming in the dully-lit corridor made it worth the while as he waited patiently for the lift. With each second of looking at her, his heart gathered speed.

When they got to the outside of her apartment, Takeru gently let her down. "You're home," he said reluctantly.

His words and the environment confused her as she took a moment to register her whereabouts. Takeru chuckled at her confused expression, silently admiring the adorableness of it all.

"Your keys?" He suggested with a grin.

This prompted the brunette to groggily fumble for her key in her tiny sling bag. Just as when he wanted to help, Hikari fished out her house key with a satisfied beam across her face, which only made him chuckle. He took the key from her and unlocked her door.

"There you go," he said as he swung open the door and returned back her key. "Sleep tight Kari, don't let the bed bugs bite."

The sober Hikari would have grinned and rolled her eyes, but her drunken self giggled instead. She stood swaying slightly on her feet, while the wind had picked up, mildly ruffling her hair. His fingers swept her hairs away, lightly grazing her face as he tucked the strands behind her ear. The brunette eyes fluttered, shutting her eyes at his touch. Lost in the moment, Takeru's eyes dropped to her lips. The fair share of alcohol in his system fogged his judgement as he inched closer, his hand cupping her face as his mouth lowered to meet hers.

They shared a kiss soft and slow, sending shivers down his spine. Takeru could taste the hint of sweet sake in her and feel the warmth of her body against his. Every inch of him was burning, yet amidst it all, he felt light as air. When he broke the kiss for air, her eyes were still closed as though in a hypnotic trance. Hikari's lips curled into a smile.

"I love you, Kari," Takeru whispered, his hand that was running through her dark hair now dropped to the side to hold her hand. His blue eyes gaze into her brown ones, searching for her answer.

"I love you too Teeks," she said with a silly drunken smile plastered across her face as she swayed a little.

She broke his hold with little effort and headed into her home maladroitly, surprising and scaring Takeru who thought she would have knocked her head against the door. Forgetting to say her good-byes, she then shut the door. Takeru stood by the corridor in the cold night. The soft clanking of metal could be heard inside her house as he stared absent-mindedly at the door. His heart beat had not slowed from the kissed, nor had the warmth of it all left him.

Good night.