Part Three: Their Secret

Chapter Seven: Young lust

Kari stood at the kitchen counter with her eyes shut; a butcher knife in her hand. From the main living area, the hi-fi was pumping out the harsh yet beautiful wailing guitar climax to the first half of Mike Oldfield's Ommadawn. A shudder passed through her like it always did when listening to the closing section of this piece. As if the notes were being picked out on her own heartstrings. When eventually the closing drum beat faded into nothing, she opened her eyes.

Looking over at the dining table she could see that Tai too had been captivated by the piece's finale. For his head was tilted back and his eyes skyward. She couldn't blame him. Not only had it been his pick, but it transpired that this particular composition ranked as a favourite for both of them. Still, he had work to do and perhaps needed a gentle reminder.

"I hope for your sake that there is a question about our living area celling on your next test," Kari said, fixing her face with a firm expression.

Tai jumped slightly as he turned to face her. "I was just…"

"…Just loafing around listening to music and not doing your world history homework." She held his gaze for a moment longer while she watched his features pale slightly. It had always been something she'd found cute about her brother, the way he got all flustered when girls took a firm stance with him. And the fact she had both the confidence and ability to do it to him made it all the more delicious now. However, in this instance, she chose to let him of light and started to laugh. "Don't worry, Bro, I just did it too. At least you only had a pen in your hand."

She giggled internally when she heard him breathe a sigh of relief. What he thought she might do to him she did not know. However, given that she was in the process of making dinner, it had probably involved her finding something of their mom's in the freezer and serving it to him.

Tai let out a mild laugh. "Guess I just got a bit caught up in it," he said before adding, "I hopefully won't have too much of this left to do after dinner."

"You might still get that massage then," she said with a tempting smile. Turning her head, she checked the timer on the oven. "You've got about half an hour before I'm ready to serve, so make the most of it."

He gave her a two-finger salute and returned his gaze to his notepad. Meanwhile, she went back to chopping some carrots and tender-stem broccoli that she would steam just before the pacific saury had finished cooking. When the beep-beep of the timer sounded, Kari turned off the oven and began plating up her latest dinner. With each and every dish she watched her brother savour, the more her confidence in the kitchen grew. To the point that she felt very little apprehension now when it came to serving him. Just something else that had become so much more comfortable for her to do around him over the past month.

"Tai, dinner's ready. Can you make some space on the table for me?" she called out as she slid each piece of fish onto a plate beside the steamed vegetables and some boiled white rice.

"Sure thing, Sis," she heard him reply to the sound of a book closing.

Kari picked up the plates and carried them over to where her brother sat; his books neatly stacked to one side. Setting them down, she made a quick trip back to the kitchen to fetch the chopsticks and a soda for each of them before taking up her seat.

"Enjoy," she said with a smile.

Tai took a large sniff with his nostrils and a look of content spread across his face. Apparently, the smell of her cooking was enough to arouse feelings of bliss inside him. "It smells delicious, Kari," he said, picking up his chopsticks.

His assessment transpired to be correct. They ate at a relaxed pace, her brother seemingly bringing his good table manners whenever she cooked now. Leading her to wonder if the reason he typically ate so fast was a learned habit from having eaten a few too many of their mother's more disastrous dishes. It happened to be during this time that she recalled something from Friday night that events since had completely driven from her mind.

She chuckled when she belatedly said, "so I forgot to tell you something."

Her brother looked up from his plate and surprisingly waited until he had emptied his mouth before answering, "what?"

"TK showed up on Friday night."

The piece of fish he held slipped from his grasp as it and his chopsticks fell to his plate with a light clatter. "I thought you said that bridge was burnt entirely?"

"I thought it was," she conceded, recalling the last time they had spoken about the boy, "but it turns out I'm a pretty good swimmer."

Tai tilted his head, a puzzled look forming on his face that wordlessly asked for an explanation.

"I went to talk to him again on each of the following Monday's since I first spoke to him. He was hostile to begin with but slowly started to ease off. However, it still came as a shock that he showed up. I guess something I said must have gotten to him."

"So are you guys all friends again?"

"I'm not entirely sure," she replied truthfully. "He and Davis decided to let bygones be bygones and while it felt a bit awkward at first, things started to feel the way they used to…"

"But?" Tai asked when she hesitated.

"I don't know if it was a one-time deal just so I would stop bugging him. By the time we sat down for some pancakes, I knew something was wrong with you and so didn't take the time to find out. I guess I'll find out tomorrow."

"Why are you going to go annoy him after creative writing club wraps up?" he asked with a chuckle.

"Honestly, I'm hoping he joins us for lunch," when she received a quizzical look she added, "we've all started having lunch together on a Monday. Apparently, I'm the jelly that keeps our peanut butter sandwiches together."

Tai shook his head. "One of Davis' jokes," he deduced with ease.

"How could you tell?" she laughed.

"Because it was worse than one of mine."

"So you admit that you're jokes are bad?" Kari asked slyly.

"I simply said it was worse than one of mine, not that my jokes are bad. Besides, it's in his job description."

She gave him a pointed look, "job description?"

"Yep. He's my mini doppelganger, remember. A smaller, inferior version to the original in all respects."

"That's certainly true in the ego department," she replied, but could not stop herself from laughing. That one had been genuinely funny.

They finished eating their main and it was only when she sat back down after having served dessert that she decided to broach a related subject. "Do you think there's any chance we could make up with Matt and Sora, and get the whole group back together?"

"Why would I want to make up with that asshole!" His response was biting but she had already braced herself for it. However, she gave him a moment to calm down. "Sorry, Kari," Tai said apologetically as he took a deep breath. "I guess I've not even bothered trying to work through my anger when it comes to Matt."

"Maybe it's time you did," she said soothingly. "He is your friend after all. Not to mention that you fell out simply because both of you were trying to protect your younger siblings."

Her brother let out a bitter sigh, "it's not that simple…"

"Sora," Kari finished for him, knowing that the red-head was inseparably intertwined with the problem. "Isn't it time you let that one go?"

"What!" Tai said hotly, in a manner that suggested she'd asked him to cut off his arm. "How can I forgive him for that?"

Kari met his steely gaze with one of soothing love and support. "Because you're not in love with her. And while you might not have thought about it yet, I don't think you ever were. Otherwise, you would never have given Matt the opportunity to win her heart."

The effect her words had on her brother caused his mouth to fall open and his eyes to look like he was staring at the infinite possibilities of life, the universe and everything all at once. She gave him a few minutes to try and process this newfound take on reality before getting up and moving around the table to where he sat. "Tai," she said gently and gave him a light shake.

Her brother took a sharp inhale of breath as he returned to this version of existence with a sudden jolt. He looked at her in confusion, possibly trying to figure out how she had gotten from one side of the table to the other. "Sorry, must have zoned out for a sec," he said with a shake of his head.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I guess I hadn't gotten around to thinking about things that way."

Kari put her arms around his shoulders and gave him a hug. "We can talk about it if you want to."

There was a moments pause as Tai considered his response. "No, it's ok. I think I need to process this by myself for now."

She gave him a light squeeze. "Ok, but you know where to find me if you change your mind."

Going back to her seat, Kari elected not to continue the discussion about mending bridges with the other DigiDestined. For it was abundantly clear that her brother had issues that he needed to resolve inside his own head before that could occur. They finished dessert in silence, after which she cleared the table and started washing the dishes while Tai returned to his school work.

While returning the kitchen to its default state of cleanliness, Kari began to ponder how best to relive some of her brother's tension via the massage she had promised him. By the time she had finished, a plan of sorts had formulated in her mind. Leaving him to his studies, she began searching the hall cupboard for the blow-up mattress that was used whenever one of their friends stayed the night. Unsurprisingly, it had not seen the light of day for some time and thus had been buried beneath a whole pile of other junk. The air pump had been just as difficult to procure. She had, of course, pondered using the sofa, but decided that it would be too cramped. Both of their beds were also given equal consideration but rejected on the basis that they were pressed up against a wall. She needed space to allow him to sprawl and for her to move around.

Tai looked up from his world history homework when she returned to the main living area and started moving the coffee table but did not say anything. Although he did give her a, 'what on earth are you up to' look when she turned on the air pump and inflated the mattress. When it had finished, she placed a brushed cotton sheet over it and went hunting for some candles, incense and oil. By the time she had found and set up everything she needed, her brother had triumphantly thrown down his pen and cleared away his school stuff.

"So what's the deal?" Tai asked when he returned from his room.

Kari finished lighting the candles and crossed the room to turn off the lights. A warm, calming glow emanating from the array she had set up around the air mattress. She took in a deep breath through her nose, picking up the scent of the jasmine incense she'd burned. She crossed to the hi-fi, put in The Songs of Distant Earth and picked up the remote.

"Ok," she said as she walked over to where Tai stood, "step this way and prepare to relax." She took hold of his hand and led him over to the air mattress. "Now take off your shirt and t-shirt, then lie down on your front."

"You didn't have to go to this much trouble," her brother replied. "I would have been content with you sitting and rubbing my shoulders."

She gave him a smile and slowly began to slip his shirt off. "You'll enjoy this a lot more, promise."

"Well, if you insist," he grinned, sliding out of his shirt and pulling his t-shirt over his head to reveal his well-worked torso.

Kari couldn't resist running a hand over those muscular pecks before indicating for him to lie down. He looked so hot she couldn't help but feel aroused. No, control yourself, she admonished her libido as she removed the black shirt she'd worn since he'd given it to her earlier in the day. Pressing play on the hi-fi remote, she picked up her bottle of oil and straddled him. Squeezing a generous amount onto his back, she spread it over his shoulders. Like his flesh was clay and she a sculptor, she started manipulating it to the gentle pace of the albums opening tracks.

"You really do have a lot of tension in those shoulders, Brother," she whispered softly in his ear as a stubborn knot finally gave way under her fingers.

Tai winced at what must have been an initial spike of pain, but quickly let out a contented, "ohhhh."

Kari let out a small laugh and continued working on the rest of his shoulders. For the next fifty minutes, she slowly made her way down his back, doing her best to relive as many of the points of pressure as she could; all that soccer practice had really done a number on him. When the last few notes of the album wrapped up, she took a steadying breath and pulled her t-shirt off. The thought had been going through her mind about if she was ready for this ever since their interrupted make-out session earlier that day. And the result had been an overwhelming yes. Not only did she crave being able to rub her hands all over her brother's skin, like she had just done, but to also feel his touch on her own. However, for now, she would be keeping her bra on. While she had pondered bearing her chest for him, the idea had made her feel slightly nervous and so on that basis she had decided against it. Recalling something her mother had told her during the talk; if you're not one-hundred percent comfortable, don't do it. Not that she didn't trust Tai, she would trust him with her life, but rather she wanted everything between them to feel right. Besides, this was only day two of a relationship that wasn't even a proper relationship yet and she had an acute awareness that short term lust was at play. Which meant they both needed to be careful.

Lowering herself down, the bearer of light slowly allowed her naked belly to come into contact with her brother's back. His eyes opened and he turned his head to try and look up at her. "Kari, have you..." he halted in his tracks when her breasts pressed against his shoulder blades. Only the thin fabric of her bra between them.

"Have I what, Tai?" she said seductively as she reached out and placed her hands atop his outstretched ones and ran them delicately down his arms.

Ever the caring older brother, he asked, "Kari, are you sure you're okay with this? You don't feel pressured do you?"

She giggled slightly. "From you, I'd more likely feel pressured to put my t-shirt back on."

"Are you sure we aren't giving into lust brought about by finally letting our feelings out?"

It seemed Tai too was well aware of the danger, to which she replied, "if we had already given into lust, we probably would have slept with each other last night. Something that I don't think either of us is near ready for and that we would have deeply regretted come this morning."

"I'm glad we're on the same page then." She felt Tai lift himself up onto his elbows so slid off his back so he could turn to face her. He looked her in the eyes before he next spoke. "I don't want to rush things between us. Hell, I'm still not sure about what this is or what it could/should or can't/shouldn't be. And the last thing I want is for you to get hurt. I couldn't live with myself if you got hurt because of me."

Kari gently placed a hand atop one of his and gave him a caring smile. "I understand. I'm still having to pinch myself every hour to remind me that this is all real and not some sort of extended dream sequence. I can't imagine how difficult it must be for you."

"Actually," Tai began, before pausing, "it hasn't been. And that's what's worrying me a bit."

"You feel like you should be questioning whether this is wrong at every step and turn?" Kari ventured, recalling how she had felt in the early days of her own revelation.

He nodded, "yeah. But when I kiss you, it just feels so right that any such thoughts don't even get close to my mind."

"It feels right for me too," she reassured him. "So as long as we're both comfortable, let's see where this takes us. Only let's add another rule for when we're making out, whereby anything that is still clothed is off the table unless we've both previously agreed to it."

Tai gave her a warm smile. "You really do have common sense and wisdom well beyond your sixteen years, Kari."

"I think my libido might argue that's a bad thing," she laughed.

"Mine too," he said as he reached over and planted a kiss on her lips. "So it's a good thing we're not letting them take charge."

"Agreed. But that doesn't mean we can't let them have a little fun."

Reaching out a hand, Kari grabbed the back of Tai's head and pulled him into a passionate kiss. He responded by wrapping his arms around her semi-naked torso and taking her shoulders in a firm grip that caused her to moan. Tongues dancing like two wild flames, she allowed her brother to pull her down on top of him. His strong hands continued to rub her back, with each caress feeling akin to a fan wafting the fires of her passion. Soon she turned to putty in his hands and offered up no resistance as he broke off their dance to plant kisses all down her neck.

"Uhhh," she moaned, "you don't know how long I've yearned for you to touch me like this."

Tai broke off his treatment of her neck and gave her a wicked grin, reminiscent of the ones she now enjoyed giving him. "I wonder how you'll cope if I do this..."

In a flash, her brother rolled her over so he was now on top. Pinning her hands above her head, much like he used to when they wrestled as children, he slowly started to run a trail of kisses from her neck all the way down to her navel. Each one sending a tingling sensation through her like a static discharge and eliciting a light, "uh." When he reached the waistband of her jeans, he let her hands go and ran his own straight down her arms. Reaching her chest he continued down her front until he reached her breasts, where he skirted down her sides until he arrived at her abdomen. Internally, she pouted slightly at his adherence to her own rule; her breasts itched to be played with. Gently, Tai continued to run his hands over her belly as he started following his 'breadcrumb' trail back up her chest until their lips met once more.

Kari gazed into her brother's chocolate eyes as they passionately resumed kissing. Everything that had happened over the past two day's just felt so right that she wished it could last forever. Tai was hers and she was his. That was the only thing she cared about.