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Puzzle Pieces

[Chaper 11]

oh the tangled webs we weave

*.*.*.*

He could still feel the burn of the liquor down his throat.

"There's no way your buzz is gone, you're such a liar, Taichi."

"Jyou just had an incredibly sobering effect on me, I needed to counter it with more booze."

Sora giggled as she put down her shot glass. "You know," she said with a twinkle in her eye, "I forgot that I just puked my guts out 20 minutes ago. What will people say about me?"

Taichi grinned at her. "Probably something along the lines of 'Sora's a badass.'"

"When don't people say that?" a new voice chimed in. Taichi spun around to see Takeru emerging from the living room with Hikari, Daisuke, and Miyako in tow. His eyes immediately narrowed at his sister's flushed skin.

"Have you been drinking, Hikari?" he accused. "You're all red and sweaty."

"I'm at a party, what do you think I'm doing?" she responded, rolling her eyes. "But if you must know, I'm actually red and sweaty because we all just came from the dance floor."

"You're underage, missy! You shouldn't be anywhere near this stuff," Taichi chastised.

"Oh please, look who's talking. You drank all the time when you were underage! Also I don't recall you telling off Takeru or Daisuke when you were playing beer pong against them earlier, they're underage, too."

"Hey, don't drag us into it," Daisuke muttered distractedly as he poured himself a cup from the dregs of his jungle juice cooler.

Taichi opened his mouth to protest, but Sora beat him to it. "Leave your sister alone, you overprotective troll," she said before redirecting the conversation to avoid any further arguing. "It's pretty crowded out there, huh? I think this is the first party where I've seen more dancing than talking!"

"Did you just call me a troll?"

"Yeah, it's freaking amazing!" Miyako gushed. "There's like a buffet of guys out there just waiting for me to dance with them. Thanks for having such hot guy friends, Taichi!"

Daisuke grimaced at the comment. "Actually, everyone's dancing because Koushiro's sound system is super kick-ass. Makes you just wanna grab someone and get into the music," he said vaguely.

"Come dance with us, Sora! We're going back in there in just a few minutes, it'll be so much fun! Say yes, say yes, say yes!" Miyako pleaded. Takeru nodded beside her in agreement, "Yeah, you guys should join us! Everyone's really letting loose out there."

"You'd better not be letting loose anywhere near my sister, Takaishi."

Daisuke smirked at the threat, but Takeru gave no indication that he heard Taichi at all.

"Of course we'll join! I haven't danced in such a long time, I think I'm almost the right amount of drunk to enjoy it," Sora laughed.

"Oh, it's cool, I definitely don't mind standing here being ignored by everyone," Taichi grumbled.

"Almost?" Daisuke questioned, casually sliding an arm around Sora's waist. "As a gentleman, I'm basically obligated help you reach the perfect level of drunk. Here, allow me," he tempted, offering her his beverage and waggling his eyebrows.

"Reel it in, freshman," Taichi ordered, eyeing Daisuke suspiciously.

"Hey, Hikari has been rejecting me for, what, seven years now? I'm allowed to move on," he said cheekily.

"Sadly I don't think you're going to have better luck with me," Sora laughed kindheartedly as she shook him off, still holding his drink. Polishing it off with a large gulp, she winked at Daisuke. "Thanks for the drink, though."

"It's getting weirdly chummy in here. You freshman are banned from ever drinking alcohol again at my parties," Taichi declared authoritatively. Hikari stifled a giggle while Takeru merely lifted a corner of his mouth in amusement. "You, too," Taichi snapped, pointing at Miyako who had stuck her tongue out at Daisuke mockingly. "I just always forget you're a sophomore."

"Stop being so crabby, Taichi," Sora scolded, grabbing hold of one of his arms. "Maybe some dancing will perk you up."

Miyako pumped her fist into the air as Sora twirled around to haul the brunette out of the kitchen. Against his better judgment, Taichi allowed himself to be dragged into the living room despite his foul mood and the ripe humidity. Wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead, he grumbled to nobody in particular, "Why couldn't we have stayed in the kitchen where it was cooler?"

He found himself having to squint to make sure he didn't bump into anyone as he continued to be pulled through the dimly lit area. To his dismay, Sora didn't loosen her death-grip until she had managed to maneuver them into the middle of the crowd where it was most humid. Taichi turned around to complain again, but neither his sister nor her friends had followed them in that far.

"I think we lost our group," he shouted over the din, whirling back around.

Time stood still as he spun himself into a dangerously close Sora. Stunned into silence, every complaint he had disappeared on the tip of his tongue and his mind scrambled to think of something, anything, to say to her.

"Dance with me?"

The question hung in the air, hopeful and unabashed. Somewhere in the back of his mind, a voice was telling him this could only lead to trouble, but any resolve he had crumbled under the fiery determination set in her eyes.

It's okay, it's not like we haven't danced together before.

She took a tentative step forward, closing what little gap there was left between them and he felt a heat rise up his neck that most definitely had nothing to do with the temperature.

It's just two friends casually dancing together.

The air between them was electric and he wondered if she noticed it, too.

There's nothing wrong with an innocent dance.

Bodies were pressing into him from all sides, but all that registered to Taichi was the proximity of his body to Sora's. She gave his hand a tentative squeeze and he couldn't help but eye her anxiously as she slowly turned her body away from him. Pressing her back into his chest, she guided his hands to settle on her hips and his skin prickled at the contact.

It took him a few seconds to realize she had already started writhing against him. Matching his movements with hers, they developed a steady rhythm and he took pleasure in how her small frame seemed to fit effortlessly into his. She turned her head slightly to give him a shy smile and he responded in kind, leaning into her so that her hair brushed the side of his cheek.

The music roared around them and he lost himself in the moment. He was hypnotized by her touches, her smell, her everything. Gaining confidence, he took her free hand and deliberately laced their fingers together, gently pulling her even closer to him. In her own trance, Sora grinded her body provocatively against his and leaned her head to the side.

Her exposed neckline caused Taichi to lose what little self-control he had left. Against his better judgment, he lowered his head to brush his lips along the nape of her neck, eliciting a small shiver from her body. Fueled by her response, he waited until she dipped lower to deliberately drag his hands up her thighs. A small voice in the back of his mind told him that he was going too far, but he was too caught up in everything to stop now.

He heard Sora's breath hitch, but she made no movement to deter him. Catching his fingers on the hem of her dress, Taichi lingered, lightly rubbing circles with his thumbs until he leisurely made his way back up to her hips. He could have sworn that he heard a small moan escape her lips and he recklessly gripped her tighter, savoring the moment.

Far too soon for his liking, the music transitioned into a slower tempo, breaking the spell. Staggered out of his daze, Taichi looked down at Sora as she twisted around to face him. Avoiding his eyes, she hooked her arms around him and rested her head in the crook of his neck, steadily swaying to the music.

Taking her cue, he tenderly rested his hands on the upper part of her waist and fell into step with her. Not ready to face the consequences of his actions, he closed his eyes and rested his head against hers, letting the rocking motion calm his heart rate. I might as well enjoy this while it lasts, right?

After a while, Taichi raised his head and scanned the room to check out the state of the party. To his surprise, he found Koushiro and Mimi on his immediate left holding onto each other as Koushiro clumsily tried to avoid stepping on her toes. Peering over the crowd off to his right, he spotted Jyou's bright hair and pink-tinged face being awkwardly clung to by Miyako, who was nuzzled blissfully into his chest. Chuckling, he moved his eyes toward the front of the apartment and unexpectedly met an icy blue gaze directed straight at him.

Fuck.

The intensity of the stare gave Taichi the feeling that Yamato had been watching him and Sora the entire time. He hoped it was a trick of the light, but Taichi couldn't help notice that the blonde seemed to be shaking in anger. Guilt threatened to consume him as a war raged on in his head.

He's your best friend.

But so is she.

Guy code.

She started it, not me.

He's your best friend.

Yamato continued to stare daggers at him.

It's been three years, he should stop sulking. Sora and I are just friends, Taichi rationalized, pushing the offending thoughts aside. Resolutely, he kept his gaze firmly locked onto Yamato until the blonde finally narrowed his eyes and broke the contact. Taichi watched him stalk into the kitchen out of sight and slowly let out the breath he had no idea he was holding.

Sora, luckily, was still nestled in his neck and none the wiser of the boys' exchange. Biting his lip, Taichi marveled at how his mood could sour so quickly. Just five minutes ago he was living one of his oldest fantasies and now he couldn't stop panicking.

Breathe. This isn't the first awkward situation we've been in. Sora and Yamato are still going to be your best friends in the morning.

Things were going to be fine between the three of them.

He stared down at the crown of her head.

Things were going to be just fine.

*.*.*.*