Summertime
Yolei stretched as she slowly woke up, rays of sunshine peeking through the blinds of her window to greet her that morning. She grumbled to herself that she had awoken from yet another wonderful dream, and yet it wasn't that much of a loss considering that she had woken up to her other dream. The one she lived every day.
'It's been a month already…' she thought to herself as she lay awake in bed. '…and I love him more every day. And he loves me back. Heh, I'll take reality over a dream world anytime!'
Yolei stretched one more time before getting up and setting to her routine. She showered, dried off, and then went to the task of picking out her clothes for the day. She went with a pair of denim shorts, a green t-shirt and her beret, figuring she'd slip into her sandals at the genkan when she left for the day. As she sat brushing her still damp hair out, her thoughts turned to how the past month had progressed for the two of them.
'The poetry readings we've been to have been more fun than I thought they'd be, though I'm sure that's because Takeru made them fun for me. He can be so silly sometimes. Then there was the time a couple of weeks ago he took me to that he took me to that electronics expo. I know he must've been bored out of his wits, but he took me all the same. I loved that show, and all of the new things I saw and learned, but really it was just a backdrop for being with him again. And then last week…the summer dance.'
Yolei sighed and set her brush down on her dresser as she flopped back onto her bed, looking at the ceiling as she reminisced about the event.
'That was the most romantic night we've had together so far. Everything was just so perfect…if I had any doubts then I don't anymore. Takeru is the one I love, and I don't think anything will ever change that.'
Smiling brightly to herself, Yolei finished brushing out her hair and then headed to the kitchen only to grab a very quick breakfast and make a mad dash out the door for the day, waving to her parents on her way out. It was going to be a hot day, but a plan had already been formulated to beat the heat, and she headed now to the park to meet up with everyone who would be involved. When she got there, though, the only person there so far was Sora, who was standing around the fountain. Yolei quickly caught up with the red headed girl, who seemed like she'd been waiting for her.
"Hi Yolei." Sora said as she approached.
"Hey there. Where are the boys?" Yolei asked.
"Fashionably late no doubt. I think Matt is trying to teach TK some of the finer points of hair care."
"Again? Doesn't he get the point?"
"Yolei, this is Yamato we're talking about."
"So noted."
"It works out for the best, though. I did want a chance to talk to you alone."
"Oh? Something up?"
"Yolei, you and TK have gotten pretty close during the past month or so, haven't you?"
"Well, yeah…"
"Would you say you love him?"
"Absolutely! There's no one else I'd rather be with. He has my heart, and I have his I know."
Sora smiled as she saw the look in Yolei's eyes as she got to talking about her love for TK. She could tell, from her own experience, that the feelings between the two of them were for real.
"So then you can probably guess what I'm going to ask you about next." Sora said, smirking at Yolei a bit.
"Yeah, I guess I can." Yolei replied, her face reddening a little.
"And?"
Yolei wandered over to the nearby bench that she and TK always sat on and sat down, chewing on her lower lip a bit as she struggled to talk about the overly sensitive subject.
"We've talked…a lot about…well, about wanting to do it. Have sex, that is. And up until recently I didn't know if I was ready for it really. But after the dance last week and all, my mind and heart are set. I love Takeru deeply, and I'd like nothing more than to express my love to him in that manner. Even if it does hurt…"
Sora nodded along with Yolei, understanding her worries and concern. She sat down next to Yolei, trying to think of how best to continue the conversation.
"Well I can't lie to you, the first time usually does hurt, though as to how much that's really relative." She said thoughtfully. "But I also can't say that it'll hurt for long."
"R-Really?" Yolei asked timidly.
"Oh yeah, really." Sora replied, beginning to blush herself. "Look, I won't sit here and try to give you advice or anything like that, it'd be pretty pretentious of me to do so. When the time comes it'll all happen pretty naturally after all. I will, however, give you something to help out."
With that, Sora reached into her backpack and pulled out a small plastic bag that she handed to Yolei. Yolei, curious, looked inside at the contents and then quickly stuffed the bag into her purse, just nodding in return to Sora.
"So, are you planning on something soon?" Sora raised an eyebrow at the indigo-haired girl.
"Maybe…" Yolei said coyly, giggling a bit. "I'm not telling anything, though. I want this to be a complete surprise for him."
"Well whenever it happens I'm sure it'll be everything you hoped it would be and more. I know that's how it was for me with Matt."
"Thanks Sora. I'm glad I have another person I can talk to so frankly about things like this."
"Another person? Wait a sec, who beat me to the punch?!" Sora said, her tone completely surprised.
"Well, Mimi. She hasn't left me alone about it since I chatted with her about the dance this past weekend online."
"Aw nuts! I should've known she'd get to you first."
Yolei stifled a laugh as she saw Sora getting slightly upset about not being the first to talk to her about the matter.
"So I'm guessing Matt's not really talking to Takeru about hair care, then?" she said after a moment.
"Yeah, I just hope he's not being too detailed is all. Though again, this is Yamato we're talking about…"
_ _ _ _ _
"You know, just for once, I wish you would spare me the details Matt." TK said, rolling his eyes.
"The hell I will, this is important stuff to know TK. Trust me." Matt told him as he paced back and forth in front of his brother. The two were still at TK's apartment. At first TK had thought Matt had come over to help him with the supplies and everything for the outing today, but when Matt had started to bring up Yolei, TK knew it was all downhill from there.
"I've already talked this over with Yolei and even with mom a little. So unless you have some startling revelation to impart to me about sex then can we just get to the park and meet the girls already?" TK told him.
"Talking about it and actually doing it are worlds apart, TK. I just want to make sure that when the time comes you'll know what you're doing is all."
"You'll pardon me if I want to keep that part of my private life private, at least for now."
"You are at least going to use protection, right?"
"What kind of question is that?"
"A valid one, believe me I've heard and seen too many horror stories not to ask it."
"Well, of course we're going to use protection."
"Good. Do you have any yet?"
"Um…well, uh, no."
"Why?"
"Because we haven't decided to go through with this yet, and I don't want people to think things about us!"
"Wow, TK, that's about the lamest excuse I've ever heard for that." Matt said, somewhat amazed. TK growled a bit, but stopped as Matt approached him, an extremely serious look in his eyes. "You think this sort of thing happens after lots of careful planning? Nothing could be farther from the truth. I guarantee you one of these times you two are going to be alone, with no one around for about ten miles or so, and nobody else is going to be stopping by wherever you are for several hours. One thing will lead to another, and that'll be all it takes. If you're not prepared for something like that ahead of time, and have protection on hand, then you have no business even talking about having sex because unless you're going to be responsible about it, doing it will end up being the biggest mistake you ever make.
"If you doubt me, I have one friend from school who can show you proof of what happens when you act carelessly like that, and another who can tell you about a real close scare she had one time."
Matt backed away, letting TK absorb what he'd said. TK managed to gulp down the fear his brother had put into him and looked at him again
"By proof…you mean…" TK said.
"His girlfriend had a child." Matt replied. "The kid's about 8 months old now, and they're doing well, but a lot of sacrifices were made because of one careless mistake."
"I understand, Matt. I never thought about it all like that, really." TK looked down a bit, feeling a bit of shame. Matt walked back over and patted him on the back.
"You wouldn't have, TK. I'm just glad I could be there to help you realize this is all." He said, smiling at him. "Now come on, we've kept those two ladies waiting long enough."
"Right."
The two picked up a couple of bags filled with things for the outing and began to head out for the park. As they left TK's apartment, TK looked sidewise at his brother.
"If you don't mind me asking, what about the other person you mentioned? The girl who had the scare?"
"Her? Oh, she thought she'd missed her period and was worried she'd gotten pregnant. She went to the doctor, though, and everything came back negative. She was just running a bit late that month was all. God knows that was a relief to me." Matt told him.
"So you're close friends with this girl?"
"So are you for that matter, TK." Matt told him without looking at him. TK thought about it for a minute as they waited for the elevator, and then it dawned on him who Matt was talking about.
"You don't mean…"
"Sure was the scariest week of my life when Sora thought she was pregnant." Matt said, entering the elevator as the doors opened. "I've never been careless since."
"Trust me, Matt. I won't be careless if the time comes with me and Yolei."
"I know, TK." Matt said, smiling at his brother again. "But you misspoke a bit. The way you two are, it's not an "if", it's a "when"."
TK just blushed profusely as Matt chuckled a bit on their way to the ground floor to meet up with the girls and start their day of fun and cooling off.
_ _ _ _ _
TK pressed his back up against the wall, panting slightly as he held his weapon up to his chest. He peered around the corner, confirming that his targets were in view. He heard footsteps coming up behind him and whirled, seeing Yolei joining him by the building.
"Are they there?" she asked silently, clutching her own weapon in her hands.
"Yes, but they're armed. I think we can get the drop on them, though." He told her.
"We'll have to if we're going to survive. I'm ready whenever you are."
"Okay. On three. Ready?"
Yolei tensed herself as she waited for his count, ready to move on a moment's notice.
"Three!" TK suddenly said, taking off. Yolei took a second to react, then followed him on out. They closed the distance between them and their intended targets and opened fire, spraying Matt and Sora with as much water as they could get to land on them. Matt and Sora whirled as they felt the water spray them, trying to hit TK and Yolei with their own streams, but to no avail. The pair were already high tailing it away from the scene.
TK and Yolei ducked around a few corners and sat down inside a stairwell, catching their breath. They gave each other a high-5 and chuckled a bit at their success.
"What're you two up to? They heard someone ask coming down the stairs. They both looked up to see Davis coming down, hands in his pockets.
"Shhh!" Yolei said, trying to shush him. "Water war with Sora and Matt!"
"Ohhh, I getcha. You sure TG isn't slowing you down, though?"
"Put a sock in it, Davis. Hey, why are you here?" TK asked.
"Um…I, uh…well, I'm meeting someone." He said nervously.
"Oh?"
No sooner was the question posed than it was answered. Kari hopped down the stairs, playfully bumping into Davis on her way down.
"Hey, what is this, an impromptu party?" she asked, pouting a little. "And no one invited me, as usual."
"They're hiding from Matt and Sora." Davis told her. "All set?"
"You bet."
TK raised his eyebrow at Davis, who gave him a thumbs-up sign, smiling at him. TK smiled back, nodding. Yolei, on the other hand, stood up and approached Kari slowly.
"Kari…we haven't talked since…well, since…" she said hesitantly.
"Since TK dropped me like a bad habit." Kari said, finishing her sentence for her.
"…I wasn't exactly going to put it like that!"
"I've already dealt with my feelings about it, Yolei. And it took me a while, but I think I'm ready to move on now." Kari told her as she bumped Davis yet again.
"You know that I never intended for all of this to happen from the outset, right?"
"Yeah, but as I found out the hard way, sometimes things never go like you planned them to."
"I'll say. Well, you two have fun together."
"I think we will. And Yolei, do me one favor?"
"Name it."
"Make doubly sure you take care of him for me." Kari said, indicating TK with a nod in his direction. "If I can't be the one in his life, then I'd want it to be someone like you who I knew would always watch out for him."
"I'll take good care of him, Kari. I promise." Yolei said sincerely.
Kari nodded and the two girls hugged briefly before Kari returned to Davis, departing with him and leaving TK and Yolei alone in the stairwell once again.
"They'll be good for each other." TK said as he stepped over to Yolei.
"Yeah, knowing them together they'll manage to have more fun than should be healthy." Yolei joked.
"Speaking of play, where did Matt and Sora go off to I wonder?"
"Let's check."
The two peeked out from their hiding spot and didn't see anything immediately, so they stepped out into the open, the door closing behind them. Matt and Sora had been lying in wait in that position for some time and opened fire on them, hitting both of their targets repeatedly. TK and Yolei whirled at the first contact of water, returning fire as best they could. The four raced along side by side, trading shots as they went, until finally they were back near the Inoue store, out of water.
"We need to get more people in on this before summer's over." Sora said, catching her breath.
"I'll say. Great fun and a way to cool off as well." Matt added. "We should get a change of clothes before we head out on our date, though."
"Likewise here. See you guys later, then?" TK asked.
"Sure thing. Later guys!" Matt said, leaving with Sora. Sora waved to them as she fell in alongside her boyfriend, chatting it up with him as they walked.
"Well, I'm going to head home and change myself." TK said, wiping some sweat from his brow.
"I'll be over shortly after I do the same." Yolei told him. She kissed him briefly before disappearing into the store. TK headed off towards his place as well.
_ _ _ _ _
A few minutes later, Yolei was dressed again in a one-piece lavender dress and was brushing out her hair, thinking over how much her world had changed. Every time she was with TK felt magical, whether it was at the movies, having dinner out or with family, just watching TV, or in the park talking while he wrote. And it felt right, to boot. She wasn't afraid of her feelings for him like she remembered being before. She knew there was still some resentment between her and Kari over the whole matter, but today had at least been a step back towards them rebuilding their friendship. Yolei didn't give it much thought, though. Kari would come around on her own time, after all.
Yolei grabbed her blue kerchief, tying it around her head as she finished brushing her hair out. She then saw what had been sitting under the kerchief and smiled inwardly. It was the "gift" of sorts from Sora earlier that day. The timing was perfect for it for that matter. She had the day off from the store, TK's mother was halfway across the city shopping for a new TV set, and most of their friends were occupied with other activities. They'd be all alone with more than enough time to do what she had in mind. Affirming one last time in her mind about how much she wanted this, she took the pack of condoms, and tossed it into her purse. She then grabbed her purse and left, waving goodbye to her folks as she did.
'I hope he doesn't freak out too much over this, but I can't stand waiting anymore!' she thought as she walked to TK's apartment. 'I love him so much, it's time to show him just how much.'
Moments later she was ringing the doorbell to the Takaishi home. TK answered the door quickly, dressed in a yellow t-shirt and his cargo shorts. His hair still looked messy and damp, though. Yolei figured he'd just taken a shower.
"C'mon in, mom's been gone for a while I guess." TK said, letting her step past him. "Let me finish drying my hair and we'll figure out what we want to do today."
Yolei just nodded silently, stepping up from the genkan as TK headed back to his room. Yolei took the opportunity to carefully turn the deadbolt in the front door, just in case anyone got any ideas. She walked slowly to his room as she heard a hair dryer turn on. She felt her heart rate jump up as nervousness set in about the whole matter, but she was resolute nonetheless. She stepped into TK's room, unbeknownst to TK who was busily drying his hair. She quietly closed his door and locked it as well, and then set her purse on the edge of the bed as she walked over and slid her arms around his waist, hugging him from behind. TK jumped a bit, but relaxed as he felt her hugging him. He shut off his hair dryer and looked over his shoulder at her.
"You snuck up on me there. Sure you're not taking ninja lessons from Cody now?" he asked with a smile.
"Nope. But that thing's loud enough you wouldn't hear a bomb go off you know?" she replied simply.
"I guess so. I should get a new one I guess, this one's pretty old."
Yolei released him and stepped back as he walked over to the other side of his room, finally noticing the door was closed. He walked over to it to open it, only to find it locked.
'When did the door close and…get…locked…' TK thought to himself as reality quickly set in. He swallowed a little and turned to look at Yolei again, who was sauntering over to him slowly, smiling at him all the while.
"Um…Y-Yolei, we really…I mean…oh geez…" TK said, fumbling for words as he always did when he got nervous. Yolei shushed him as she reached him, running her hands through his now dry hair gently.
"Nobody's around, we've got the place all to ourselves, and yes I have protection with me." She told him. "Now can you give me one good, solid reason why we shouldn't?"
"Um…give me a few minutes! I can think of one…maybe! It's just…we're so…and it's so…"
"Takeru…" Yolei said quietly as she kissed the edge of his mouth. "I love you. I've loved you for some time now. And I want to show you just how much now. So please…don't deny me something I've been waiting so long for."
"Yolei, I love you too…and I can't say I haven't been thinking about this for a long time, either." TK replied, kissing her back a bit now. "Are you sure about this? It might…I mean, I've heard that it could hurt a bit for you…"
"Well, then…" Yolei said as she turned the lights off in his room. "…I guess we'll just have to find out for ourselves."
_ _ _ _ _
TK rolled over as he awoke from his nap, his eyes focusing on his clock. Yolei had come over at 1:00 PM, and the time now read 3:15 PM. A quick look around his room confirmed that she wasn't present, though he could hear water running in the bathroom. He took the opportunity to grab his clothes and get dressed again, as he saw that her clothes were gone from where they'd been on the floor. No sooner did he pull his shirt on and begin to tuck it into his short than she returned, smiling at him. She waited for him to finish and then walked over to him, hugging and kissing him as she reached him.
"Good nap?" she asked cheerily.
"Very good." He replied smirking. "Indeed, the best nap ever. Especially with what preceded it."
"Yeah, I have to agree with you there. Oh, and to answer the question: it did hurt some at first, but certainly not by the end." She told him kissing him on the tip of his nose as she walked away a little. "And words can't even describe what the second time was like for that matter."
TK laughed and caught her in his arms, picking her up as he hugged her. Yolei laughed as he did, fidgeting a bit in his embrace.
"I love you so much, Takeru." She said after he'd set her down.
"I know. I love you just as much, Yolei." He told her. "Now, let's go hit that amusement park again, eh? This time we'll have a properly good time."
"Perfecto!" she exclaimed. She followed him out of his room after they cleaned things up a bit more, and they left for the amusement park shortly afterwards.
A lone window was left open in TK's room, and a breeze played through the room, flipping open his newest composition book, which had a few scrawlings in it so far. The pages stopped flipping to show his latest work of poetry.
~/ Beautiful angel…eyes like violet flowers…she who loves me back.
Glorious angel…with a sweet, melodic voice…she who I love back.
Oh divine angel…the one that is now my own…I will not look back
My dearest angel…who offered love unto me…I will love you back.
For now and always…my heart belongs to just you…indigo angel.
I'd do it again…for the love of an angel…my angel, Yolei. /~
Yolei stretched as she slowly woke up, rays of sunshine peeking through the blinds of her window to greet her that morning. She grumbled to herself that she had awoken from yet another wonderful dream, and yet it wasn't that much of a loss considering that she had woken up to her other dream. The one she lived every day.
'It's been a month already…' she thought to herself as she lay awake in bed. '…and I love him more every day. And he loves me back. Heh, I'll take reality over a dream world anytime!'
Yolei stretched one more time before getting up and setting to her routine. She showered, dried off, and then went to the task of picking out her clothes for the day. She went with a pair of denim shorts, a green t-shirt and her beret, figuring she'd slip into her sandals at the genkan when she left for the day. As she sat brushing her still damp hair out, her thoughts turned to how the past month had progressed for the two of them.
'The poetry readings we've been to have been more fun than I thought they'd be, though I'm sure that's because Takeru made them fun for me. He can be so silly sometimes. Then there was the time a couple of weeks ago he took me to that he took me to that electronics expo. I know he must've been bored out of his wits, but he took me all the same. I loved that show, and all of the new things I saw and learned, but really it was just a backdrop for being with him again. And then last week…the summer dance.'
Yolei sighed and set her brush down on her dresser as she flopped back onto her bed, looking at the ceiling as she reminisced about the event.
'That was the most romantic night we've had together so far. Everything was just so perfect…if I had any doubts then I don't anymore. Takeru is the one I love, and I don't think anything will ever change that.'
Smiling brightly to herself, Yolei finished brushing out her hair and then headed to the kitchen only to grab a very quick breakfast and make a mad dash out the door for the day, waving to her parents on her way out. It was going to be a hot day, but a plan had already been formulated to beat the heat, and she headed now to the park to meet up with everyone who would be involved. When she got there, though, the only person there so far was Sora, who was standing around the fountain. Yolei quickly caught up with the red headed girl, who seemed like she'd been waiting for her.
"Hi Yolei." Sora said as she approached.
"Hey there. Where are the boys?" Yolei asked.
"Fashionably late no doubt. I think Matt is trying to teach TK some of the finer points of hair care."
"Again? Doesn't he get the point?"
"Yolei, this is Yamato we're talking about."
"So noted."
"It works out for the best, though. I did want a chance to talk to you alone."
"Oh? Something up?"
"Yolei, you and TK have gotten pretty close during the past month or so, haven't you?"
"Well, yeah…"
"Would you say you love him?"
"Absolutely! There's no one else I'd rather be with. He has my heart, and I have his I know."
Sora smiled as she saw the look in Yolei's eyes as she got to talking about her love for TK. She could tell, from her own experience, that the feelings between the two of them were for real.
"So then you can probably guess what I'm going to ask you about next." Sora said, smirking at Yolei a bit.
"Yeah, I guess I can." Yolei replied, her face reddening a little.
"And?"
Yolei wandered over to the nearby bench that she and TK always sat on and sat down, chewing on her lower lip a bit as she struggled to talk about the overly sensitive subject.
"We've talked…a lot about…well, about wanting to do it. Have sex, that is. And up until recently I didn't know if I was ready for it really. But after the dance last week and all, my mind and heart are set. I love Takeru deeply, and I'd like nothing more than to express my love to him in that manner. Even if it does hurt…"
Sora nodded along with Yolei, understanding her worries and concern. She sat down next to Yolei, trying to think of how best to continue the conversation.
"Well I can't lie to you, the first time usually does hurt, though as to how much that's really relative." She said thoughtfully. "But I also can't say that it'll hurt for long."
"R-Really?" Yolei asked timidly.
"Oh yeah, really." Sora replied, beginning to blush herself. "Look, I won't sit here and try to give you advice or anything like that, it'd be pretty pretentious of me to do so. When the time comes it'll all happen pretty naturally after all. I will, however, give you something to help out."
With that, Sora reached into her backpack and pulled out a small plastic bag that she handed to Yolei. Yolei, curious, looked inside at the contents and then quickly stuffed the bag into her purse, just nodding in return to Sora.
"So, are you planning on something soon?" Sora raised an eyebrow at the indigo-haired girl.
"Maybe…" Yolei said coyly, giggling a bit. "I'm not telling anything, though. I want this to be a complete surprise for him."
"Well whenever it happens I'm sure it'll be everything you hoped it would be and more. I know that's how it was for me with Matt."
"Thanks Sora. I'm glad I have another person I can talk to so frankly about things like this."
"Another person? Wait a sec, who beat me to the punch?!" Sora said, her tone completely surprised.
"Well, Mimi. She hasn't left me alone about it since I chatted with her about the dance this past weekend online."
"Aw nuts! I should've known she'd get to you first."
Yolei stifled a laugh as she saw Sora getting slightly upset about not being the first to talk to her about the matter.
"So I'm guessing Matt's not really talking to Takeru about hair care, then?" she said after a moment.
"Yeah, I just hope he's not being too detailed is all. Though again, this is Yamato we're talking about…"
_ _ _ _ _
"You know, just for once, I wish you would spare me the details Matt." TK said, rolling his eyes.
"The hell I will, this is important stuff to know TK. Trust me." Matt told him as he paced back and forth in front of his brother. The two were still at TK's apartment. At first TK had thought Matt had come over to help him with the supplies and everything for the outing today, but when Matt had started to bring up Yolei, TK knew it was all downhill from there.
"I've already talked this over with Yolei and even with mom a little. So unless you have some startling revelation to impart to me about sex then can we just get to the park and meet the girls already?" TK told him.
"Talking about it and actually doing it are worlds apart, TK. I just want to make sure that when the time comes you'll know what you're doing is all."
"You'll pardon me if I want to keep that part of my private life private, at least for now."
"You are at least going to use protection, right?"
"What kind of question is that?"
"A valid one, believe me I've heard and seen too many horror stories not to ask it."
"Well, of course we're going to use protection."
"Good. Do you have any yet?"
"Um…well, uh, no."
"Why?"
"Because we haven't decided to go through with this yet, and I don't want people to think things about us!"
"Wow, TK, that's about the lamest excuse I've ever heard for that." Matt said, somewhat amazed. TK growled a bit, but stopped as Matt approached him, an extremely serious look in his eyes. "You think this sort of thing happens after lots of careful planning? Nothing could be farther from the truth. I guarantee you one of these times you two are going to be alone, with no one around for about ten miles or so, and nobody else is going to be stopping by wherever you are for several hours. One thing will lead to another, and that'll be all it takes. If you're not prepared for something like that ahead of time, and have protection on hand, then you have no business even talking about having sex because unless you're going to be responsible about it, doing it will end up being the biggest mistake you ever make.
"If you doubt me, I have one friend from school who can show you proof of what happens when you act carelessly like that, and another who can tell you about a real close scare she had one time."
Matt backed away, letting TK absorb what he'd said. TK managed to gulp down the fear his brother had put into him and looked at him again
"By proof…you mean…" TK said.
"His girlfriend had a child." Matt replied. "The kid's about 8 months old now, and they're doing well, but a lot of sacrifices were made because of one careless mistake."
"I understand, Matt. I never thought about it all like that, really." TK looked down a bit, feeling a bit of shame. Matt walked back over and patted him on the back.
"You wouldn't have, TK. I'm just glad I could be there to help you realize this is all." He said, smiling at him. "Now come on, we've kept those two ladies waiting long enough."
"Right."
The two picked up a couple of bags filled with things for the outing and began to head out for the park. As they left TK's apartment, TK looked sidewise at his brother.
"If you don't mind me asking, what about the other person you mentioned? The girl who had the scare?"
"Her? Oh, she thought she'd missed her period and was worried she'd gotten pregnant. She went to the doctor, though, and everything came back negative. She was just running a bit late that month was all. God knows that was a relief to me." Matt told him.
"So you're close friends with this girl?"
"So are you for that matter, TK." Matt told him without looking at him. TK thought about it for a minute as they waited for the elevator, and then it dawned on him who Matt was talking about.
"You don't mean…"
"Sure was the scariest week of my life when Sora thought she was pregnant." Matt said, entering the elevator as the doors opened. "I've never been careless since."
"Trust me, Matt. I won't be careless if the time comes with me and Yolei."
"I know, TK." Matt said, smiling at his brother again. "But you misspoke a bit. The way you two are, it's not an "if", it's a "when"."
TK just blushed profusely as Matt chuckled a bit on their way to the ground floor to meet up with the girls and start their day of fun and cooling off.
_ _ _ _ _
TK pressed his back up against the wall, panting slightly as he held his weapon up to his chest. He peered around the corner, confirming that his targets were in view. He heard footsteps coming up behind him and whirled, seeing Yolei joining him by the building.
"Are they there?" she asked silently, clutching her own weapon in her hands.
"Yes, but they're armed. I think we can get the drop on them, though." He told her.
"We'll have to if we're going to survive. I'm ready whenever you are."
"Okay. On three. Ready?"
Yolei tensed herself as she waited for his count, ready to move on a moment's notice.
"Three!" TK suddenly said, taking off. Yolei took a second to react, then followed him on out. They closed the distance between them and their intended targets and opened fire, spraying Matt and Sora with as much water as they could get to land on them. Matt and Sora whirled as they felt the water spray them, trying to hit TK and Yolei with their own streams, but to no avail. The pair were already high tailing it away from the scene.
TK and Yolei ducked around a few corners and sat down inside a stairwell, catching their breath. They gave each other a high-5 and chuckled a bit at their success.
"What're you two up to? They heard someone ask coming down the stairs. They both looked up to see Davis coming down, hands in his pockets.
"Shhh!" Yolei said, trying to shush him. "Water war with Sora and Matt!"
"Ohhh, I getcha. You sure TG isn't slowing you down, though?"
"Put a sock in it, Davis. Hey, why are you here?" TK asked.
"Um…I, uh…well, I'm meeting someone." He said nervously.
"Oh?"
No sooner was the question posed than it was answered. Kari hopped down the stairs, playfully bumping into Davis on her way down.
"Hey, what is this, an impromptu party?" she asked, pouting a little. "And no one invited me, as usual."
"They're hiding from Matt and Sora." Davis told her. "All set?"
"You bet."
TK raised his eyebrow at Davis, who gave him a thumbs-up sign, smiling at him. TK smiled back, nodding. Yolei, on the other hand, stood up and approached Kari slowly.
"Kari…we haven't talked since…well, since…" she said hesitantly.
"Since TK dropped me like a bad habit." Kari said, finishing her sentence for her.
"…I wasn't exactly going to put it like that!"
"I've already dealt with my feelings about it, Yolei. And it took me a while, but I think I'm ready to move on now." Kari told her as she bumped Davis yet again.
"You know that I never intended for all of this to happen from the outset, right?"
"Yeah, but as I found out the hard way, sometimes things never go like you planned them to."
"I'll say. Well, you two have fun together."
"I think we will. And Yolei, do me one favor?"
"Name it."
"Make doubly sure you take care of him for me." Kari said, indicating TK with a nod in his direction. "If I can't be the one in his life, then I'd want it to be someone like you who I knew would always watch out for him."
"I'll take good care of him, Kari. I promise." Yolei said sincerely.
Kari nodded and the two girls hugged briefly before Kari returned to Davis, departing with him and leaving TK and Yolei alone in the stairwell once again.
"They'll be good for each other." TK said as he stepped over to Yolei.
"Yeah, knowing them together they'll manage to have more fun than should be healthy." Yolei joked.
"Speaking of play, where did Matt and Sora go off to I wonder?"
"Let's check."
The two peeked out from their hiding spot and didn't see anything immediately, so they stepped out into the open, the door closing behind them. Matt and Sora had been lying in wait in that position for some time and opened fire on them, hitting both of their targets repeatedly. TK and Yolei whirled at the first contact of water, returning fire as best they could. The four raced along side by side, trading shots as they went, until finally they were back near the Inoue store, out of water.
"We need to get more people in on this before summer's over." Sora said, catching her breath.
"I'll say. Great fun and a way to cool off as well." Matt added. "We should get a change of clothes before we head out on our date, though."
"Likewise here. See you guys later, then?" TK asked.
"Sure thing. Later guys!" Matt said, leaving with Sora. Sora waved to them as she fell in alongside her boyfriend, chatting it up with him as they walked.
"Well, I'm going to head home and change myself." TK said, wiping some sweat from his brow.
"I'll be over shortly after I do the same." Yolei told him. She kissed him briefly before disappearing into the store. TK headed off towards his place as well.
_ _ _ _ _
A few minutes later, Yolei was dressed again in a one-piece lavender dress and was brushing out her hair, thinking over how much her world had changed. Every time she was with TK felt magical, whether it was at the movies, having dinner out or with family, just watching TV, or in the park talking while he wrote. And it felt right, to boot. She wasn't afraid of her feelings for him like she remembered being before. She knew there was still some resentment between her and Kari over the whole matter, but today had at least been a step back towards them rebuilding their friendship. Yolei didn't give it much thought, though. Kari would come around on her own time, after all.
Yolei grabbed her blue kerchief, tying it around her head as she finished brushing her hair out. She then saw what had been sitting under the kerchief and smiled inwardly. It was the "gift" of sorts from Sora earlier that day. The timing was perfect for it for that matter. She had the day off from the store, TK's mother was halfway across the city shopping for a new TV set, and most of their friends were occupied with other activities. They'd be all alone with more than enough time to do what she had in mind. Affirming one last time in her mind about how much she wanted this, she took the pack of condoms, and tossed it into her purse. She then grabbed her purse and left, waving goodbye to her folks as she did.
'I hope he doesn't freak out too much over this, but I can't stand waiting anymore!' she thought as she walked to TK's apartment. 'I love him so much, it's time to show him just how much.'
Moments later she was ringing the doorbell to the Takaishi home. TK answered the door quickly, dressed in a yellow t-shirt and his cargo shorts. His hair still looked messy and damp, though. Yolei figured he'd just taken a shower.
"C'mon in, mom's been gone for a while I guess." TK said, letting her step past him. "Let me finish drying my hair and we'll figure out what we want to do today."
Yolei just nodded silently, stepping up from the genkan as TK headed back to his room. Yolei took the opportunity to carefully turn the deadbolt in the front door, just in case anyone got any ideas. She walked slowly to his room as she heard a hair dryer turn on. She felt her heart rate jump up as nervousness set in about the whole matter, but she was resolute nonetheless. She stepped into TK's room, unbeknownst to TK who was busily drying his hair. She quietly closed his door and locked it as well, and then set her purse on the edge of the bed as she walked over and slid her arms around his waist, hugging him from behind. TK jumped a bit, but relaxed as he felt her hugging him. He shut off his hair dryer and looked over his shoulder at her.
"You snuck up on me there. Sure you're not taking ninja lessons from Cody now?" he asked with a smile.
"Nope. But that thing's loud enough you wouldn't hear a bomb go off you know?" she replied simply.
"I guess so. I should get a new one I guess, this one's pretty old."
Yolei released him and stepped back as he walked over to the other side of his room, finally noticing the door was closed. He walked over to it to open it, only to find it locked.
'When did the door close and…get…locked…' TK thought to himself as reality quickly set in. He swallowed a little and turned to look at Yolei again, who was sauntering over to him slowly, smiling at him all the while.
"Um…Y-Yolei, we really…I mean…oh geez…" TK said, fumbling for words as he always did when he got nervous. Yolei shushed him as she reached him, running her hands through his now dry hair gently.
"Nobody's around, we've got the place all to ourselves, and yes I have protection with me." She told him. "Now can you give me one good, solid reason why we shouldn't?"
"Um…give me a few minutes! I can think of one…maybe! It's just…we're so…and it's so…"
"Takeru…" Yolei said quietly as she kissed the edge of his mouth. "I love you. I've loved you for some time now. And I want to show you just how much now. So please…don't deny me something I've been waiting so long for."
"Yolei, I love you too…and I can't say I haven't been thinking about this for a long time, either." TK replied, kissing her back a bit now. "Are you sure about this? It might…I mean, I've heard that it could hurt a bit for you…"
"Well, then…" Yolei said as she turned the lights off in his room. "…I guess we'll just have to find out for ourselves."
_ _ _ _ _
TK rolled over as he awoke from his nap, his eyes focusing on his clock. Yolei had come over at 1:00 PM, and the time now read 3:15 PM. A quick look around his room confirmed that she wasn't present, though he could hear water running in the bathroom. He took the opportunity to grab his clothes and get dressed again, as he saw that her clothes were gone from where they'd been on the floor. No sooner did he pull his shirt on and begin to tuck it into his short than she returned, smiling at him. She waited for him to finish and then walked over to him, hugging and kissing him as she reached him.
"Good nap?" she asked cheerily.
"Very good." He replied smirking. "Indeed, the best nap ever. Especially with what preceded it."
"Yeah, I have to agree with you there. Oh, and to answer the question: it did hurt some at first, but certainly not by the end." She told him kissing him on the tip of his nose as she walked away a little. "And words can't even describe what the second time was like for that matter."
TK laughed and caught her in his arms, picking her up as he hugged her. Yolei laughed as he did, fidgeting a bit in his embrace.
"I love you so much, Takeru." She said after he'd set her down.
"I know. I love you just as much, Yolei." He told her. "Now, let's go hit that amusement park again, eh? This time we'll have a properly good time."
"Perfecto!" she exclaimed. She followed him out of his room after they cleaned things up a bit more, and they left for the amusement park shortly afterwards.
A lone window was left open in TK's room, and a breeze played through the room, flipping open his newest composition book, which had a few scrawlings in it so far. The pages stopped flipping to show his latest work of poetry.
~/ Beautiful angel…eyes like violet flowers…she who loves me back.
Glorious angel…with a sweet, melodic voice…she who I love back.
Oh divine angel…the one that is now my own…I will not look back
My dearest angel…who offered love unto me…I will love you back.
For now and always…my heart belongs to just you…indigo angel.
I'd do it again…for the love of an angel…my angel, Yolei. /~