02: Make It A Double

During the first week at her new job, Sora did her best to limit her visits to her manager's office as much as possible. She went in only when she was called for or when she needed to be; otherwise, she remained at her desk to focus on her work.

It was her best distraction from Taichi. She addressed him by his surname, as an assistant would to her superior, and they kept their dynamic as normal as they could.

When she showed up at his office door to drop off some copies one morning, he had her wait by the door so she didn't have to walk over to his desk.

"I know you've got a lot of work to do, Sora," he said with a smile. "I'll take these off your hands. You're the best."

Even with a few seconds of his smile was enough to take her breath away. The flash of the moment caught with the thought of his hands enclosing her waist - it felt wrong to imagine as she stepped back into the corridor. She walked away from his office and back to her desk, and she was glad that no one could see her heart skipping a beat.

Sora avoided confronting Taichi, just as she avoided confronting the other things in her life. During the first few nights coming back to her apartment, she greeted the friendly neighbor she passed on the way. When she arrived, she spent her time reading a book, streaming a show or a movie, fitting a workout in - all while ignoring the notifications of texts and missed calls from people she didn't want to talk to.

She finally decided to go through those notifications on Wednesday evening. Her father had left her a voicemail telling her to call home whenever she could. Sora knew that he just wanted to check on her, but she also knew that her mother had disapproved of her decision to move away in the first place.

Sora deleted a message from her ex-boyfriend. "Do you have time to talk?" it read. With the breakup still fresh and stinging on her mind, Sora didn't want to have anything to do with him.

Why did she still have his name in her contacts? She could have sworn she deleted his name, and she scrolled the list on her phone to make sure his name vanished from existence.

As she swiped through her contacts, she stopped at one name, Taichi Yagami. They had exchanged contact information on day one of working together, as a courtesy for, "in case you need anything." Her thoughts lingered as she stared at that name. She was sure that they both knew what she really needed had she called him at that moment…

A new message popup appeared; one of a few from the same person.

"Are you really going to avoid me then? :("

Without acknowledging the blatant guilt trip, ignoring her best friend's handful of text messages for the last week and a half made her feel the most guilty. After letting out a sigh, Sora finally decided to break the silence from her.

"Sora? My love? It's so good to finally hear your voice!"

"Hey, Meems," Sora replied, leaning back against her couch.

"I'm so, so happy!...I'm also really offended."

"Yeah, I know… I'm sorry."

"You promised you were going to call me."

"Well, I did say that, but I also said I was going to need some time. Technically, I did keep my promise."

Sora played with a few strands of her hair, listening to Mimi grumble on the other end.

"So, when are you moving back to Odaiba?" Mimi asked suddenly.

"Mimi! I'm not moving back."

Mimi sighed. "I tried. It really sucks without you nearby."

"You have your boyfriend to hang out with."

"It's not the same! He doesn't understand my love for gossip like you do!"

Knowing Mimi's boyfriend, Sora had to laugh at that. But Mimi fell silent for a moment, and Sora knew that she was going to ask the next question.

"How are you though, Sora? About the breakup? Everything that happened."

"I'm fine, Mimi."

"Bullshit! I don't believe you. You can't be fine, not after he ended things the way he did. I mean, I'm not fine."

"You tend to get more emotional about my personal trauma than I do."

"So what if that's true?! You were in love! And he ended things and ripped your heart out.."

Mimi always saw right through her, especially when she tried to hide her emotions. This time was no exception. Sora just didn't feel like the ex was worth talking about at that moment, or maybe ever.

"I'm better now, though. Really," said Sora, thinking about the text that she deleted right before Mimi's call. "Moving away was perfect for the space I needed."

"Well, as long as this is helping you, Sora. A girl's gotta do what she needs to. Just don't forget to keep in touch and maybe visit each other when we get the chance. Promise?"

"I promise, Mimi."

"And forget about him, Sora. Guys aren't worth your time right now, so this could be a chance for you to have fun and enjoy yourself in your own way."

"Right…"

Sora wasn't sure how Mimi would react if she told her about Taichi. She decided to keep quiet about it from Mimi at least until she confronted him about it. Which she wasn't looking forward to.

"Ooh, I know!" Mimi exclaimed. "Go to a bar! I wish I could go with you, but I know how you like your drinks. You always go for one. Why not make it a double when you do?"

She'd have to tell Mimi later that she did go to a bar for one drink. She just hadn't decided yet whether she'd go for a double at the next chance.

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By the end of the first work week, Sora didn't realize how much work she would already have to do.

Her desk was in a cubicle among a few rows where the other assistants sat. She had set her purse in her desk drawer the moment she had arrived on the first day, but after the tour and being introduced to the rest of the department, she returned to a large stack of files on top of her desk.

It was the work that was inherited from the previous manager who was no longer with the company, as the head assistant had explained to her. She had already walked away when Sora turned to ask why, and the other assistants were busy furiously typing away at their keyboards for her to ask them. The only choice for Sora at that moment was to organize the stack; figure out which documents to file away, to type up and save in the database, or to shred and toss out.

She did this alongside doing other typical administrative work throughout the days - screening phone calls and scheduling meetings, along with scanning documents and printing out copies for her manager, among other things. Being able to multitask was no easy feat. But even as the stack of papers seemed to refuse to shrink by 5pm on Friday, figuring everything out in her job remained the least of her worries.

As Sora walked down the corridor with the other assistants, she slowed to a stop when she approached the door to her manager's office. It was now or never.

The others wished her a good weekend, and she leaned to the side of the doorframe and peered into the office in which the door was wide open. She saw that her manager wasn't sitting at his desk; rather, he appeared to be leaning down behind the computer monitor, based on the tips of his messy brown hair sticking out at the table top.

Sora adjusted the strap of her purse on her shoulder and took a deep breath, knowing that they needed to have this conversation that she had been waiting to bring up.

"Yagami-san?" she said to announce her presence.

"Is that you, Sora?" he asked. "Come on in."

"You look occupied."

"Hang on."

She heard what sounded like the shuffling of papers as she stepped into his office. A few moments later, when he finally rose from behind his desk, he brought up a cluttered pile of documents with him and dropped them on top of his desk.

Sora raised her brows. "That…looks like more work for me next Monday morning."

"Yeah…" He seemed nervous as he chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "The last boss seemed to have quite the abrupt departure at the busiest time."

She stopped herself from asking why the last manager had gone, and why her own manager didn't bring up this new pile for her sooner. Neither of those questions seemed fitting in her place to ask.

"Well, it's not a problem," she replied instead. "I'll just add it to my stack when I come back next week."

Her words didn't remove the apologetic expression on his face. "Sorry about that."

"It's my job after all, Yagami-san. Don't worry - I can handle it."

He stared at her for a few moments, his brown eyes glinting, and she watched his lips curl upward on one side.

"I knew I was going to like you," he said.

Sora's cheeks tingled as she stared back, and then shifted her eyes elsewhere. She didn't know whether to laugh or say something, because she knew she would embarrass herself in her fluster.

"Anyway, Sora, you wanted to see me?" he continued, standing from his desk chair.

"Yes, I- Well…"

Her cheeks must have been getting redder at every moment. From the time she was formally introduced to him on Monday morning, she had been brainstorming her conversation with him, figuring out the right words to say within the professional environment that she unexpectedly wound up in with him.

Their actual introduction beforehand was far from formal, after all.

As he stepped closer to her, five days' worth of word yoyo of a brainstorm melted away, one by one. All she could do was close the office door behind her, so that the two of them could have this conversation without anyone else to hear.

"Listen… I really didn't think I'd see you again after Monday morning," Sora said, feeling the heaviness of the words as she spoke them.

"Ouch - way to bust my ego, Sora."

She gave him a hard stare. "You know what I mean."

"Okay, okay… It is pretty wild that this happened. Really wild."

"Doesn't this concern you at all?" Sora took a step toward him. "This is a new thing for both of us. I'm just starting out, and I heard you'd just got promoted into this position. If anyone found anything out about-"

"Whoa, hold on." He stepped forward with interjection. "You're right. We're both new here. That's all that anyone knows about you so far. And about me. I'd be an idiot to talk about it, and I know you're smart enough to keep it quiet."

Sora could see the honesty in his eyes, even though she still knew that they both had to be cautious.

"I know how gossip can spread like wildfire around within a close group of people," she said. "I'd hate to have something like what happened ruin either of us."

His smile returned, and he placed his hands on either of her shoulders. "Look, what's done is done. It's been a week. I could tell those other assistants can be pretty chatty, but I don't think anyone suspects anything."

Sora thought about it. The other assistants stared in her direction whenever he sauntered over to her desk with a few documents to deal with, but their staring always followed with hushed voices and giggles about him. It was no secret that he had quickly become everyone's office crush.

It seemed as though he was waiting for her to smile back. She felt comforted by the kindness in his eyes and appreciated the effect on her, but as she realized that she was just being paranoid, she let out a sigh and started laughing out of embarrassment.

"I guess you're right, Yagami-san."

"You can call me 'Taichi', Sora."

She furrowed her brows. "You're my superior. I'm addressing you formally out of respect."

"Then, I guess where your hands are would be for the same reason?"

Her palms were on the front of his shirt. Even under an extra shirt layer she could feel his toned ab muscles from the way she moved her hands. She didn't realize that the warmth she had been feeling came from his hands slowly running up and down her arms.

Sora didn't expect to be this close to him again, and yet, there he was, drawing closer. Forget her mind, her heart beat that race, and she leaned forward, ready to accept the feel of his lips once again.

Except…

"How do we know there isn't camera surveillance in here?" she whispered.

"We don't." he whispered back without a moment's thought.

Sora turned her head just as his lips were inches away from hers. Her trance was broken. She detached herself and turned her back from him, the force of her purse swinging nearly knocking off of her shoulder. The paranoia had never left her mind, even as her heart pounded against her chest. She could tell by his recklessness that he dared to play with danger.

He almost tempted her to play along.

"You might be good at hiding this from everyone else, but you're still an idiot," she said hotly, fixing her purse and flattening her hair, as though she wanted to air out the heat from her face. "I should head home, then."

When she turned to look back at him, she noticed him relax his shoulders and sigh. "Then, I should head out too," he said.

"Great. I guess I'll see you on Monday."

There was an odd moment of silence when she turned toward the door. Odd to Sora, because he didn't respond to her parting at all - not even with the typical repeat response that one would normally say when workers left the place of work. Odd, because of the disappointment she felt thinking that he would let her leave without saying anything else to her.

But just as her hand reached the door knob, Taichi finally spoke.

"Got any plans for the weekend?" he asked.

Sora didn't budge, but she couldn't help but smile.

"I've been telling you all week, so you should know by now, Yagami-san. I'll be busy exploring more of the city. I've just moved here, after all."

Keeping up with their small talk was one thing Sora forgot to take into consideration. It was one thing that was natural to do with him, despite the fact that he seemed to get along with everyone he met with, whether it was his fellow managers at his level or their respective assistants at Sora's. She wasn't sure whether she should feel lucky or worried that he was able to play it cool.

"Hey, lemme ask you something," he said as he walked back to his desk to close the drawers. "Just a hypothetical. Say, you're at a bar, maybe at the end of the day after exploring during the weekend, or maybe... tonight after work."

At that moment, he was playing it a little too cool. Sora knew exactly where this conversation was headed.

"I'd rather not talk about this with my boss," she teased, deciding to play along.

"Ah, I said, 'hypothetical'. You meet someone…" Taichi began to walk away from his desk and make his way toward her. "You talk to each other. He offers you a drink. Would you accept it this time?"

The look in his eyes was different from moments before. He kept his hands at his sides, and Sora looked up at him while he watched her, as though he dared her to answer him back.

"I'd have to decline."

She noticed his brows twitch, his gaze showing intrigue. Resisting the urge to draw closer to him, she kept one hand on her purse, and the other pulling the door knob.

"Why's that?" he asked.

"Hypothetically, I'd rather we skip the drink."

Sora made sure that his eyes were locked on hers until the door closed between them. She continued her walk down the corridor with a straight face, knowing she wouldn't be back in the office until Monday, just as she told Taichi.

But she also knew where she was headed later that evening, and that Taichi's conversation was anything but hypothetical.

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Leaving the office building first allowed Sora enough time to take the train to her apartment and freshen up, then for her to head over to Taichi's place by the time he arrived.

When Taichi answered the door, he was still in his work attire but partly dressed down, with his tie loosened and hanging around his neck, his dress shirt untucked and unbuttoned, and his tamed hair about to be disheveled by her hands.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," she replied, helplessly lurching forward before her lips crashed into his. She grabbed onto his shoulders as he cupped her cheeks with his hands to keep up with her deep, fiery kisses.

Taichi broke off the kiss, breathing out a soft, "wow" as he exhaled, his chocolate eyes boring deep into hers.

"You sure you don't want something to drink?" he asked with a tinge of a smirk.

"You really are an idiot," Sora replied, curling her own lips into a smile and enticing him with another kiss. Her eyes then caught the couch a few feet away from them, and she knew where she wanted to go next. She trailed her hand on his chest and down the seam of his tie, then she grabbed the tip to lead him after her.

"Didn't want to make it to the bed?" he asked as she led him to take a seat on the couch cushion.

She threw one leg over facing him and kneeled to sit on his lap, and she rested her hands on his shoulders. "This was a shorter trip from the door."

"Ohh, I get it. You didn't want to trip in front of me again."

"That's not what this is about."

"I'm pretty sure it's what this is about."

Sora was suddenly riled up by his accusation, taking offense to his amused expression.

"It is not!"

"Is too."

"It's so no-"

His abrupt kiss cut her off her continued protest. It wasn't forceful; he craned his neck and moved upward to kiss her so smoothly that it got her to stop talking. His hands had slid up and down the sides of her hips and around her backside, and she kissed him back forgetting her own argument.

Taichi was right; it was about the tripping. Only after one work week and she had already counted three times she had done so, each time in front of him. How embarrassing that she was so clumsy in front of her boss in an office setting? And the thought of her tripping in front of him at that moment made her feel the complete opposite of sexy.

"You worry a lot, you know?" he mumbled between his slow kisses.

Sora could barely hum in response, her lips not answering his question but moving against his to savor. He pulled away just as she drew forward, bringing her eyes up to stare into his.

"I don't think you have to worry when I'm around," he said.

"Why do you say that?"

"I'll always be there to catch you."

Sora kissed him again, falling into the charm of his words and his smile. Then, she threw off her blouse and unclipped her bra. She laughed softly as she met Taichi's lips, with her tongue playing against his. She helped him remove his tie, and his shirts for both of them to be half-naked with their hands ready to explore each other.

Her hands moved circles against his skin of his toned abs that she finally got to feel, and his hands moved around her waist, trailing toward her chest but going away as though it was intentional. Then, she pushed her chest against his, tilting her head back to feel the warmth of his lips against her neck. Her fingers dug into his hair, massaging his scalp as he massaged her chest. She moaned softly, the pressure she had been feeling beneath her skirt rising.

Sora admitted to herself how much she enjoyed this pleasure. There was nothing better than being free and careless with a man who somehow made her feel sexy. And as she began to rock her hips on his lap, she heard a groan from Taichi below her, his tongue on her chest making her moan his name even more.

Gawd, he was even sexier.

Sora knew that she already ruined her panties as she rubbed against him, picking up the pace as his moans along with hers graced her ears.

Taichi lifted his head up, hungrily kissing her lips that she desperately kissed him back with. Their tongues played as their lips joined together as though they could never get enough. Sora moved to unbuckle his belt in the meantime, getting up only to lower his pants and his briefs from his legs. She undressed her skirt as he kicked his pants off before she straddled him once again.

And when he entered her, she began her slow rock. His hands grasped at her hips, her hands holding onto his arms, their gaze transfixed on each other. Sora was in ecstasy, indulging in the moment while she moved back and forth along with him. She didn't want to think about what a strange time she'd had since moving into a new town, and her thoughts about having to see Taichi every day.

And feeling him quickening his thrust underneath her, she thought that never in her wildest dreams that she would be feeling him again.

"Oh, Taichi…" she cried, hearing him groan as their bodies moved in sync. Her heart ignited as he uttered her name back, the sound of his name from her lips getting louder, their motions going faster and faster until they both reached their peak. She fell against his chest, panting as her heartbeat thumped in hers, and feeling his against her ear. The pure bliss was never ending, even during the quiet moment listening to each other catch their breaths. Sora lifted herself up, and crawled to meet his lips for another kiss. When Taichi kissed back, slow and sensual, Sora knew as she looked into his eyes that the night was far from over.

Before she knew it, Sora lay flat on her back on the couch. Taichi hovered above her, his eyes on her, his lips nibbling at her neck as she gasped when he entered her again.

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Sora woke up from the glare of the sunlight piercing through the blinds of Taichi's bedroom. She lay in his bed next to him, where he lay on his side toward her, sleeping peacefully.

She fought the urge to kiss him. The two of them wasted no time doing that the night before. But she also fought the urge to edge close enough to cuddle, to trace her fingers on his cheek, to run her hand through his hair. She learned her lesson in emotional attachment the hard way.

It was a few moments of her staring at the ceiling until Taichi had woken up.

"Morning," Taichi said with a yawn.

"Morning."

"How long have you been up?"

"...Not long."

"Hmm."

When Sora turned to look at him, he had closed his eyes, as though returning to his slumber.

He didn't seem to have a care in the world. She was glad it was the weekend, but she wondered how it was going to be between them come Monday morning.

"What's up?"

Sora realized his eyes were open, and he was staring at her in his sleepy curiosity.

"Nothing, Taichi," she said.

He chuckled but said nothing else as he continued to stare.

"I should go." Sora rolled herself to have her back facing him, then she got up, only to realize her clothes were scattered in the other room.

"Don't you want breakfast? I'll make you pancakes and eggs."

Sora opened her mouth to refuse, but the growl of her stomach told her otherwise.

"I guess it would be impolite to say no," she said with a blush.

Without hesitating, Taichi handed her some clean clothes for her to borrow.

"I don't have women's clothes here, sorry," he said. "I'm not sure what kind of impression I'd be giving you if I did."

"I think we're way past impressions at this point, Taichi," Sora replied, reluctantly putting them on.

Having breakfast with Taichi wasn't as daunting as Sora made it out to be. Luckily for her, Taichi kept it casual, making it easy for Sora to talk to him.

"So, what are your real plans this weekend, Sora?" Taichi asked as they ate breakfast together.

"If you really want to know, I was going to walk down the row of shops a few blocks from that bar," Sora said. "There's a kimono shop that I've been wanting to check out."

"Kimonos? Any special occasion coming up?"

"Not at all. I've been interested in their designs and wanted to see what was out there."

"Oh? You must be into fashion."

"Yeah, it's been my dream for a while now."

"That's actually awesome, Sora."

Sora felt bashful talking about it. She had been used to hearing her mother going against her dream. Hearing Taichi's comment felt strange.

She wasn't sure if she was also feeling bashful after revealing something personal to him.

"Me, I'm fine where I am now," Taichi went on. "I want to work my way up for a bigger salary, but I love working with people."

"You do seem like that kind of person, Taichi. No wonder everyone likes you."

"It's a wonder, isn't it?"

They shared a smile, and Sora saw that he was genuine here, no hint of persuasion or mischief. She still couldn't help but wonder why, given the circumstances, that she was still in his apartment.

"...Taichi," Sora began as her smile faded. "You don't think this is weird, do you?"

"What is?"

"You and me. Us. Together like this."

"You mean, eating together?"

"Not that. I mean fooling around."

Taichi nodded as though he caught her drift. "Oh, you mean eating each other out. Fucking."

Sora glared at his nonchalant expression. "Taichi, I'm being serious."

"So am I."

After a long pause, they both broke into laughter.

"I don't think it's weird, Sora," he finally answered when the laughter died down.

They stayed quiet after that as they cleared their plates. Taichi made her stay in her chair as he picked up the plates and utensils from the table.

"Look, I just want to be clear, Taichi," Sora said as he walked to drop the dishes into the sink. "I'm not looking for anything serious right now. I don't want to know about your history and you don't need to worry about mine."

"Well, then we should be on the same page."

Sora got up from her seat and walked over to him and stared at him, wanting to make sure that they truly were.

"And we absolutely cannot show this at work. At all. Not even in your own office. I don't want either of us being the center of gossip about this, or worse - for either of us to get fired."

Taichi kept his face straight. "Okay. Again, I understand. But, I will still not be okay with this unless you call me 'Taichi' at work."

"Absolutely not."

"Sora."

She crossed her arms. "Request denied."

"Apparently, I'm not the boss in this situation…" he muttered. "Fine. This will just be between us. No one at work will ever know."

"Shake on it?" Sora held out her hand.

"Denied."

Sora's face fell. "What?"

"You do realize that we are now more than just 'business' with each other, right?"

Here came the mischievous smile that Sora had grown familiar with.

"Alright, then…" Sora took her finger to his chin, leading him towards her to kiss his lips, long and hard. "How's that? Deal?"

"That's more like it. Deal."

Sora walked out of Taichi's apartment, her hair tied in a ponytail. She wore a plaid long sleeve shirt and baggy jeans as she carried her folded office wear in her arms. Taichi's shirt size was slightly bigger than hers but it still fit her comfortably; it amused her to be thrown back to her childhood where she would have loved this style even more.

That wasn't to say that she wanted to make it a habit of wearing his clothes whenever she left his place. She knew that Taichi was friendly and considerate, but she didn't want to take advantage of that. At least they had a deal.

This deal was crazy. It was dangerous.

It was exciting.

On her walk toward the train station, Sora took out her phone and dialed Mimi's number. This deal was too much for herself to handle, and she was ready to spill to her best friend about the drink, the double, and the hot mess that she knew that she was letting herself get into.

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A/N: And, thus, a multi-chapter fic has sprung into existence. I hope you're ready. (Hope I am, too).

Let's all agree that this pandemic is terrible. I hope you're all safe and healthy! Thanks for reading, and for supporting me and sticking with my updates. xoxo