"Hey," Fuuto said to Ema as she made dinner while Ukyo was in the pantry. "I need to talk to you after dinner. Will you come to my room?"

"Sure," she agreed. They hadn't started filming for the short movie yet, but they'd received the script. Running through the script or discussing the movie seemed like the most likely things for Fuuto to want to talk to her about, but, if that was the case, why hadn't he just said so?

~.~

Ema went to Fuuto's room after dinner. He shut the door behind her, leaning against it and giving her a look that was almost a glare.

"Do you need me for something?" she asked carefully. She hoped he wasn't regretting telling the producer, the man she and Iori had met a week ago, that Ema could act. But he kind of looked like he was about to light into her about not messing this up for him.

"I'm at a disadvantage to you and Iori," Fuuto finally said.

"What?" The word popped out before she had time to think. "How are you at a disadvantage?" Fuuto was the one who'd been studying acting for years.

His look turned into a full glare as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Because some of the most important scenes in the movie are the kissing scenes. Both when the younger brother kisses the girlfriend to try to convey his feelings and show how much he cherishes her, and when the older brother and girlfriend kiss at the end, affirming that they love each other and won't choose anyone else."

"Okay," Ema said slowly. "Why does that put me and Iori at an advantage?"

His glare became fiercer. "Because you've both dated and kissed people before."

"Oh," Ema said, immediately realizing what Fuuto meant. He'd never had a girlfriend. For a moment, it was hard to believe he'd never kissed a girl before—except, he was so focused on work and so hard-working that it was believable. It was also just a little bit adorable. Then another thought occurred to her that pulled down her mood. "Your first kiss will be with acting," she said, upset. First kisses were supposed to be special and with someone you liked.

Fuuto rolled his eyes. "It's just for work and doesn't really count. Besides, at least it's with a friend."

Ema perked up, unable to help the grin spreading across her face. "You think of us as friends?"

A smile peeked through his glare. She was such a dork sometimes, but an adorable one. "Yes, and, as my friend, I'm asking you to help me practice the kiss scene." He pushed away from the door, his eyes determined. "Since I've never kissed a girl, I don't know how best to do this—how best to convey to the audience how precious the girlfriend is to the younger brother through his kiss, so I want to try a lot of things."

Ema flushed at the phrase 'try a lot of things,' but it made sense. There were a lot of ways to kiss someone. Even at rehearsal the director might have them practice different ways of kissing to see what he felt worked best. Things would go better if she and Fuuto practiced beforehand. Like he'd said, this was for work.

"That's a good idea," she agreed. "It'll be helpful for me too. I've never had to kiss anyone on camera." Only on microphone. "So practicing beforehand will help me be less nervous. What do you want me to do?"

Fuuto relaxed at her easy agreement and she wondered what he'd thought her reaction would be.

His focused look as he studied her was so obviously him thinking about the role and not romantic thoughts that it helped her be less embarrassed. She remembered how hard it had been to ask Tsubaki to practice kissing with her and was grateful Fuuto had been willing to ask her. She didn't want another complete failure like her first kiss with Azusa in the recording booth.

"Let me try a couple things," he said, coming to Ema. Cupping the back of her head, he gently pressed his lips to hers.

He pulled back and Ema almost said, 'That's it?' The kiss had been sweet, but it would take a lot more than a chaste kiss like that to convey the passion the younger brother felt for the girlfriend. But giving Fuuto correction was the last thing she wanted. Except, his next couple attempts were similar—sweet, but not passionate.

He pulled back again with a frustrated expression and she felt some relief. At least he knew he wasn't doing this right.

"Do you mind if I kiss you some before you do more practice?" Ema asked. "I'm not saying I know what would be best, but I think some practice in general would help you figure out what direction you want take." More specifically, practice with passionate kissing. She'd been embarrassed when she'd first had to kiss Tsubaki and Azusa for the anime, but now she was extra grateful for that experience. If she'd only ever kissed Erik, she would feel less capable of trying to teach someone else how to kiss, but now she'd kissed five guys. Who would have thought all that would help prepare her for acting?

"Fine," he said, his expression sulky. She'd lived at the mansion long enough to know Fuuto got good grades even with the limited amount of time he spent at school due to his job. He was maybe as brilliant as Iori and Azusa and it was probably frustrating not to get something right the first time. But he was a quick study and she was sure he'd catch on fine.

Pushing her embarrassment aside, she cupped Fuuto's face. Gently, she brushed her lips against his, teasing him until his lips parted under hers. She pulled his face closer as she deepened the kiss. His hands came up to grab her arms, his grip tightening whenever she changed the angle to show him different ways to deepen the kiss.

Fuuto's heart was pounding when Ema pulled away, both of them breathing heavy. He couldn't believe how much better she was than him at this. True, she had practice where he didn't, but it still pissed him off. He also didn't expect it to feel so . . . good to kiss her. At the forefront of his mind was how his character would want to kiss his brother's girlfriend. What he would do to try to express his feelings through a kiss and entice her to choose him instead of his brother. But the back of his mind insisted that kissing Ema was something he wanted to keep doing after the movie finished filming.

"Okay," he said, pushing those thoughts aside for the more immediate concern. "Let me try again." Part of him wanted Ema to be impressed with what he'd learned. Wanted her to react to him for real because she couldn't help it.

Cupping the back of her head with one hand again, he placed his other hand on the small of her back to pull her closer. He experimented with variations of what she had done, capturing her lips between his. After a couple tries, he increased his intensity, knowing his character would be desperate to convey his feelings.

He gripped Ema tighter as he kissed her. She made a mewling noise and his heart skipped a beat as he was abruptly pulled out of trying to get inside the mind of his character. Had she done that on purpose? Was it just part of trying to act the role of her character? Or had he pulled that sound out of her?

Suddenly, he found himself pinning her against his wall, his body pressed against hers as he tried to entice more sounds from her. He was rewarded with another mewl when his tongue brushed her lower lip.

She pushed against his chest, her breathing heavy and her face red. "Do you think—" she had to pause to take another breath. "Do you think your character would be that aggressive?"

Crap. He'd gotten distracted and forgotten what they were doing. But it had been so fun to see what noises he could pull from her. He wanted to keep doing that.

"I think it might go one of two ways. Either he'd start out slow, not wanting to surprise her, and then increase his intensity or he would be intense from the beginning. He feels like his kiss is how he'll convey his feelings, so he'll want to put everything in them. Either way, the kiss will end up aggressive."

Ema bit her lip as she thought. It kind of made Fuuto want to bite her lip too.

"The younger brother has a lot of tender feelings for the girlfriend. I think he would start out slow, wanting to convey those feelings, and then get more intense when he fears she'll decide to pull away because she's thinking about his brother instead of him."

Fuuto nodded. "I could see that. Let me try that next."

~.~

Ema was still flushed when she left Fuuto's room, but less embarrassed. Thank goodness he'd asked her to practice. It would be embarrassing to have to kiss each other again and again in front of a whole filming crew. Hopefully, they'd be able to get it down in just a couple takes. Like she'd thought, Fuuto was a quick study.

He made the hearts of girls across the country pound. She was sure their hearts would pound even harder if they knew what a passionate kisser he could be.

~.~

On the set of the film, Fuuto gazed into Ema's eyes. "Don't you know how much I need you?" he asked. "My brother's feelings for you could never compare to mine."

He stared into her eyes as his lips brushed against hers before settling in to kiss her with the barest of pressures. Her eyes fluttered shut for a just second before she moved to pull back. His arms wrapped around her to keep her close as he captured her lower lip between his. She inhaled sharply in surprise and he switched one hand to the back of her head, keeping her still as he deepened the kiss.

She let the kiss go for a moment, drawn in by his touch, then placed her hands on his chest to push him away. His grip tightened, his kisses increasing in intensity, like Ema's character was water and his character was parched. Like her essence was essential to him living one more day.

Suddenly, Iori was there, his arm wrapping around Ema's waist from behind before he ripped her away.

"What's going on here?" he demanded, spinning Ema so she faced his chest as he held her protectively.

"Ren!" Ema exclaimed, her eyes wide as she looked up at him. "I wasn't—"

"Shhh," he murmured, before cutting off her protests with a kiss. Ema was speechless when he pulled back. "I know you would never betray me," he said, running the backs of his fingers down her face. The gaze he turned on Fuuto was cold. "This is his fault."

"Cut!" the director called. "Iori, that ad lib was perfect!"

Fuuto fought back his scowl at the director complimenting Iori. This was supposed to be his character's big moment. Iori was supposed to pull Ema away from him—but he wasn't supposed to kiss her.

"You were so intense, Iori!" Ema said, putting a hand over her heart. "You made my heart race. You too, Fuuto," she added. "It's much easier to act with both of you so into your roles."

"Right," Fuuto said, his eyes going to his older brother. Experienced actors might have a good feel for when to throw in ad libs. Novices would be too nervous and just stick to the script. Iori was a genius though. Maybe he really was that in tune with his character.

In real life, he was supposed to be hung up on some girl cheating on him. Fuuto hoped Iori wasn't hoping to overcome that trauma through Ema. Maybe doing this movie was a bad idea.

~.~

Agreeing to the movie was a bad idea, Iori thought as he lay in bed that night, staring up at the ceiling. In the movie, the girlfriend has compassion that the younger brother is in so much anguish, but she stays true to her love. He was sure that Ema would be the same way, faithful to whoever she dedicated herself to. But it still pissed him off to even pretend that Ema was his and that another guy was trying to take her away from him.

It made him want to affirm to her and him that she was his and his alone, which was why he'd kissed her when that wasn't in the script. Except, she wasn't his. It had been nice to hold her in his arms though. It felt more right than holding Fuyuka ever had.

His mind jumped to Fuuto's expression after that scene. Had he been angry that the director complimented Iori? Or angry that Iori gave Ema an unscripted kiss?

An uncomfortable feeling clawed at his chest. He didn't want anyone else to have Ema. Not anyone but him. They both knew the pain of being betrayed—no one else could understand them like they could understand each other.

A/N: Lol, now I'm wondering, 'How many brothers can I create a plot reason for Ema to kiss?' Which makes me want to do one of those silly scenes where the characters fall and their lips accidently brush. It would have to be with Yusuke, Subaru, or Masaomi, don't you think? Or maybe Kaname. I could be really ridiculous and have a scene like that happen with a couple of them XD