AN: Sorry about the last chapter not having much in the way of real content, I was in a fluff mood. This one will start in a similar vein, but there's actual plot later on, promise. Before the plot, though, is some citrusy fresh almost-smut. Skip if you no likey, it's obvious enough where it starts and it ends at a scene change, so there's a break.
Aruiteku Together Forever – Chapter Six
It had been a few hours and they had not moved from their spot on the couch. Sousuke lay back, stretched out, with Kaname against him, her back snuggled securely at his chest, his hands resting limply on her stomach. He could tell she was thinking, occasionally she tugged her bangs or chewed her hair, sometimes tapping the side of the couch.
When he had tried to move to give her space and privacy to think, she had yanked him back onto the couch and pinned him down the way they were resting now with a growl and muttered "Don't you dare go anywhere, mister, you're staying right where you are while I think about this."
He had not dared go against her, not with that look in her eyes. So he just lay there now, waiting for her to either come to a decision or look for a distraction. Since it was just after lunchtime, he had a feeling she would be rousing soon. He had felt her stomach rumble under his hands not too long ago.
Kaname did not disappoint. She yawned and stretched on top of him, making him bite his lip, and then she hopped off the couch and looked down at him with a grin. "Well! It's hard to think on an empty stomach! Let's eat something, Sousuke, I'm sure you're hungry right?" He smiled and nodded, knowing full well by now that her asking if he was hungry meant she was.
He stood up and followed her into the kitchen. She pulled out the leftovers from the night before and heated them up, leaning against the counter with a thoughtful look on her face. "Hey Sousuke..."
Sousuke looked at her, taking in her posture. Her voice had sounded worried and scared, and her body was shaking with tension, her shoulders slumped and head bowed so her hair would hide her face. "Kaname? What is it?"
"What if we just ran away from it all? Would everyone still be in danger because of me? What about my family, Sousuke? Will I ever see my sister and father again?" She turned away from him and gripped the counter tightly, her knuckles turning white. Sousuke slowly walked over to her and saw she was crying, tears running down her face to splash on the countertop.
He pulled her back into his arms and held her tightly. He wished he could say something that would make her feel better, but he could not lie to her. "I'm sorry Kaname. No matter what we do, they will all still be in danger. They can easily be used as bargaining chips to get you to do what Amalgam wants," he decided not to add that if they did leave everything behind, Amalgam might take it out on all of them anyways.
The person he used to be would have.
She turned in his arms and rubbed her face into his shirt with a soft sigh. "Well, I guess if they're in danger no matter what we do, then there's no point in changing our life style, right? At least this way, you'll be here to help against anything that might happen to them," she pulled back and wiped her tears away with her arm and smiled up at him. "If they do turn against us, well, we'll deal with it then. I can handle it," she gripped the hem of his shirt tightly, "as long as you're with me. Right? Together, we can do anything."
He smiled at her and nodded. "That's right," he watched her as she busied herself with their food, setting one plate down on the table and shoving the other into the microwave defiantly. Sousuke remembered what he had told her at his fishing spot in Merida, that he felt like he could do anything when he was with her. It dawned on him that she had been talking about that, and that she had been saying she felt the same when she was with him.
Kaname moved around the kitchen, getting them set up to eat their lunch while thinking. She very much wanted to ask Sousuke to quit Mithril, but not if it meant that he might not be able to keep going to school. For now, she would leave that alone. As long as he was called out rarely, she could put up with it for the time being. Sousuke had taken his seat at the table while she was moving around, and now she sat down beside him.
"So what do you want to do today, Sousuke?"
Slowly eating, he thought about it. He thought he might like to take her somewhere, like that Fuwa guy had, but it was far too cold to do anything quite like that. He thought back to when he was trying to act like Shirai, the arcade, the movie theater, karaoke, but he had ruined all of those moments. He wanted Kaname to have fun, and as long as he was with her, and not inciting her rage, he was content.
Finally, he shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever you would like to do, Kaname, is fine with me. We could stay here, or go out somewhere, it's your choice," he watched her out of the corner of his eye, seeing her tap her cheek thoughtfully with one finger.
Kaname finished off her lunch and grabbed their plates to clean up. "Well, we should probably wait to go out until later, since we skipped school and all. I don't want to get caught for truancy. But, well, why don't we go see a movie or something?" She blushed and kept her eyes fixed on the plate she was scrubbing. "As long as you promise you won't talk in the theater again, I think that would be nice," like a real date, she thought.
Sousuke nodded, "I will do my best to behave. I believe I understand what it is that I did wrong last time and can avoid repeating my mistakes," it was Kaname's turn to eye him while working on something else. She was trying to figure out if he actually did know what he did wrong. He always seemed so clueless, but she had to admit, he was getting better.
"Well," she broke the silence, "that's good! You better behave yourself, because this time it's a real date," she turned a warning glare on him and saw him blush deep red and nod. She fought back one of her own, feeling her ears heat up, and shoved the dishes into their spots to distract herself. When she closed the last cabinet, she spoke softly, "Besides, we need to do more in our new relationship than just make-out all the time."
"Yes," Sousuke agreed, shifting his weight nervously. He was ashamed to realize that their relationship really had developed like that. What might she be thinking of him, a guy that could not seem to keep his hands to himself, despite the fact that he should be an expert with restraint? He did not notice Kaname approach, and jumped when she placed her hand on his arm.
She giggled at his reaction and gave him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about it, Sousuke. I definitely enjoy kissing you, and I haven't done much to stop it. I'm just saying that since we have the time, we should go do other things, too," she had accurately guessed what was bothering him, and won a timid smile from him with her words. At a thought, she turned bright red, and glanced away. "And, well, we have a few hours until we'll go out, so," she plucked his shirt in a nervous gesture and slowly raised her eyes to meet his, head still bowed.
It took him a few moments, but he finally caught on to what it was she was trying to say. He swallowed thickly, nodded, and slowly wrapped his arms around her. She wriggled out of his hold and grabbed his hand, leading him past her couch and into her bedroom. She turned to look at him, still blushing, and tugged him down onto the bed, "It's more comfortable than the couch," she stated, trying to sound like it was the most obvious thing.
"Affirmative," he had been trying to speak less otaku, as Kaname put it, but when he was nervous, he just could not help it. They lay down beside each other on the bed, both feeling anxious. There was that same tension between them that there had been when they were holding hands just a few days ago, the tension that said something would change between them. If something happened now, when they were lying like this, well, there weren't too many different things it could be.
Kaname was the one that pressed on through the tension this time, pressing her lips to his, shifting her body closer. She loved the way she felt, crushed against his hard body, and he certainly did not disappoint her. Sousuke gripped her waist almost too roughly, pulling her flush against him and returning the kiss fiercely.
She loved that it was his intense fighting personality that controlled him when they were like this, and not the reticent, clueless school boy. Her own fighting spirit loved the challenge, both battling for control of the other instead of one leading the other. It felt good to have something neither of them could teach the other, something they could share in the learning and experience of with equal enjoyment.
Sousuke pressed his knee between her legs and rolled her onto her back. She moaned when his thigh rubbed against her and he took advantage of her situation to slide his tongue into her mouth. Kaname grabbed his shirt and yanked it up, interrupting their kiss to pull it over his head and throw it on the floor. He bit his lip when she scratched his sides gently with her nails, leaving thin white trails on his skin.
With a growl that could only be described as feral, he bent his head to nip at her throat, pressing his teeth down on her pulse point and trailing down to her collarbone. She panted, losing this battle, and wrapped her legs tightly around his waist. Kaname put one hand to the back of Sousuke's head in a silent order for him not to stop what he was doing. The other she used to score his back teasingly, reveling in every moan and growl she got for her efforts.
He pressed down on her, laying one forearm flat on the bed to support his weight, the other hand trailed down from her throat to her stomach, unfastening each button it encountered on its journey. Kaname gasped at the feel of the air hitting her heated skin and arched into his touch. He grinned, the expression hidden from her view, and he kissed down her chest, nipping at her breasts just above the cups of her bra. He slipped his arm around her back and fumbled with the clip.
Sousuke muttered under his breath and pulled back, scowling down at her bra. Kaname laughed breathlessly and arched her back, reaching behind to undo the offending garment. She slipped her shirt off while she was in the position, and tossed both pieces of clothing to the floor just before being pinned to the bed again. Sousuke pushed her roughly into the mattress, kissing her and running his hands along her exposed skin possessively.
Kaname bit her lip to hold back a scream when Sousuke pinched one of her nipples, and cursed him when she saw him smirk. She had to do it again when he replaced his fingers with his mouth, teeth scraping gently against it. He had no idea where his boldness was coming from, and he could only assume that the ideas to do these things to her had come from overhearing his fellow soldiers and male classmates.
Whatever the reason, he was enjoying himself, the sounds Kaname made under him and her squirming exciting him. After lavishing attention on both breasts, he lifted himself up to kiss her again, his arms wrapping around her waist. Sousuke rolled them over so that Kaname was now the one on top, though he held her tightly against his chest, loving the feel of her naked chest pressed against his.
She was more than happy to let him keep her pinned for the time being, trying to calm herself down after that onslaught of sensations. They ran their hands along each others bodies, Sousuke memorizing the feel of her soft skin and the curves of her body, Kaname memorizing every patch of raised skin that marked a scar on his. They continued on that way for some time, exploring new sensations, the feel of their bodies, and their reactions to each other.
Sousuke was amused by the sight of Kaname practically drowning in the coat she had taken from his place. It was a very good coat, one of his favorites, but he did not mind her stealing it. If anything, it made him feel good, seeing her in his clothes stirred the newly possessive side of him. He knew he should be trying to control those feelings, Kaname was not a thing to own, but he could not stop himself.
It had started to snow, and Kaname had growled fiercely at the weather the moment they had left her apartment. Now, they were walking hand in hand in the entertainment district, though it would be more accurate to say he was being dragged to the movie theater. His girlfriend did not like the cold and she was intent to get into a heated building as soon as possible. "Kaname," he started slowly, pausing when he realized it was probably unwise to voice his question.
It was too late, now, though. He had started, and she would hear it from him no matter what. "What is it, Sousuke?" As if she could read his mind, Kaname glared at him, daring him to say something stupid. He twitched, giving her cause to intensify her glare.
He coughed to clear his throat and averted his eyes, speaking in an off-handed matter in hopes that she would take less offense to his words if he presented it casually. "Why do you wear short skirts in the winter if the cold bothers you so much?"
She released his hand and stomped forward a few steps before stopping and spinning to face him head on, sticking a finger in his chest. "What? You don't appreciate my efforts to look cute for you? I dress like this to impress, you know," she sniffed indignantly and turned to the side, crossing her arms with a huff.
Sousuke blushed and fought for words. Kaname stalked away and he had to rush to catch up. Timidly, he slipped her hand into his and tried for an apologetic smile. It failed, but she noticed his effort and sighed. "I'm sorry, Kaname. I did not realize. Ah, you do look very nice. I just thought you might wish to be more comfortable is all," he looked at her the same way he had the first time he had called her beautiful.
Turning red, Kaname turned quickly and yanked on his hand, dragging him forward. "Well! As long as you noticed, and now you know! So you just make sure to remember to compliment me on my looks more often, understand? Ah, finally," she pulled him into the theater and made a happy noise when the heated air hit her. "Now, remember Sousuke, no yelling at the movie, and it's my choice this time since we watched a military film last time, got it?"
He nodded and followed her up to the counter, paid for their tickets and snacks, and continued following her to the theater. Kaname had chosen a Korean romantic comedy, My Sassy Girl, and while he wasn't particularly interested, he tried to pay attention. It did amuse him that the girl in the film had a habit of beating the poor man, and he found himself enjoying the film in spite of himself.
When the film ended, Kaname, of course, voiced praise of the girl's handling of the man, while Sousuke found himself feeling sympathetic to the guy's plight. Kaname also praised Sousuke for behaving himself in the theater, and asked if he could keep up the good behavior long enough to go out to dinner.
A few hours later they walked back into Kaname's apartment, escaping from the cold. It had started to snow even harder at some point when they were at dinner, and Kaname had made them run most of the way from the restaurant. She took off the coat and her shoes and stepped towards her living room. When she noticed Sousuke wasn't following, she halted and turned to look at him.
"Well? Aren't you coming, Sousuke?"
He hesitated, glancing nervously between her and the door. "Would it be all right? I mean, it is getting late, and we should not miss another day of school."
Kaname looked at her feet, shuffling for a few moments before turning her gaze back to him. Her cheeks were slightly pink as she spoke, "Well, yeah. I… I would like it if you would stay the night, Sousuke. I slept really well with you there last night," she did not add why it was that she had a hard time sleeping without him. It had nothing to do with the anxiety she felt when he was on his mission.
As soon as Sousuke started making his move to follow her inside, she walked in ahead of him. She did not know why, but when she had woken up in Sousuke's arms, there was none of that morning lethargy she was prone to. The few extra moments because of her low blood pressure were there, but not the tiredness she felt because of her Whispered state. There was none of that feeling of floating, or that her brain had been far too active for far too long for her to get her proper rest.
It was a wonderful feeling, waking up refreshed for the first time since her latent talent had been tapped in North Korea. She realized for the first time how bad her rest had been for the past nine months, and she was willing to do just about anything to get that rest again. "Hey Sousuke, I'm gonna take a shower and change, okay?"
He was still at the doorway, having taken of his coat, but not his shoes yet. "I'll be right back. If I'm going to spend the night then I should get my school uniform and bag," he grabbed his coat back off the hook and put it back on.
"All right, Sousuke, but you better be back by the time I get out of the shower. I don't want to have to go out in the snow just to drag you back here, got it?" He could hear the door to the bathroom close, and took that to mean that he should hurry up.
He did not take long at his apartment, grabbing the clothes he would need, checking his security systems, and rushing back. He knew full well that she took long showers, but did not want to risk her wrath. Once again, he found himself watching the news as a way to distract himself while she was in the shower. She came out and directed him to take one himself while she went to her room to change. When he got out, she was sitting on her couch with her school things at hand, beckoning him over.
Sousuke raised his brows curiously, taking his seat beside her. "I forgot to give you the notes I took while you were gone. There was a lot in Classic and Modern Lit so I want you to get this now. We have a couple hours left before we should get to sleep, so I can help you study this for a little while, ok?"
That, of course, meant he had no choice in the matter. He got back up to retrieve his bag, and got to work diligently copying her notes and listening to her explanations. When it got close to ten, Kaname yawned and stretched, putting her books away. "Well, that went better than I expected. You're finally learning, Sousuke! It only took nearly a year, but we'll make a normal person of you yet," she giggled and stood up, taking his hand and dragging him to her room.
The morning went similar to the previous one, except this time Kaname woke up on time. She took a quicker shower than usual and made breakfast and lunch while Sousuke took his. She hummed happily the whole while, feeling good after another night of rest. "Hey, Sousuke?"
They were sitting on the train beside each other, holding hands that rested on her bare knee. He glanced over at her, "Yes Kaname?"
"Why don't you move in?" He made a choking noise and she continued quickly, "I mean, you can protect me better if you're there, right? And I know I can trust you. And this way I can help you study better, and I can make sure you're eating right, and," she trailed off, looking down at her feet now.
Sousuke coughed nervously, his palm growing sweaty in her hand. "Are you sure, Kaname? I don't want to intrude on your space…"
She scoffed, "Sousuke, I wouldn't offer if it would bother me, so stop asking me 'Are you sure' every single time, got it? We'll never get anything done if you're constantly questioning me!" Despite the fact that it was far too soon in their relationship to be moving to this step, she did not care. Chidori Kaname valued her sleep, and so she would suffer any embarrassment to be able to assure many nights full of wonderful rest.
"Well, then, I accept," he winced as he remembered the traps and continued, "ah, can I ask for one condition to be met though?"
She did not like the way he said that and turned a glare on him. "So-u-su-ke-?" She growled his name out, shaking in mounting rage. How could that idiot ask her to make a concession when it was her apartment he would be moving into?
Realizing his danger, he decided to get out quickly, "I would have asked for this regardless if I was moving in or not, Kaname. It's a concern I have. While I have various systems set up around your apartment to guard from intruders, there are those skilled enough to get through them. Sometimes low-tech is the way to go in guarding from such individuals, and I would like to place noise traps around your apartment.
"Ordinarily, I would trust in my instincts when it comes to noticing intruders, but I have noticed that when we, ah, are together lately, I find my observational skills regarding the surrounding area to be lacking," he tried not to stammer, but he could do nothing about his nervous habit of sweating heavily. This was dangerous ground he was treading on, either Kaname would be furious at the invasion of her home, or would be flattered that she could distract him from his ever important mission.
Lucky for him, Kaname was in a giving mood. She was quite pleased with the state of their physical relationship, and was even more so to note that he was too. She instantly calmed down and squeezed his hand. "Well, I suppose I can allow that, if it's enough to worry the big bad soldier. You can have your traps, Sergeant."
He heaved a sigh of relief and smiled warily at her. They arrived at their stop and walked into school, still holding hands. Everyone around them that saw started whispering, and by the time they got into class, the entire school knew. Even though Kyouko already knew, she was waiting for them at the door with her camera in hand. She got a few pictures before the couple was surrounded.
Eri entered the room and tapped her folders on the podium. "Everyone, settle down! You can bother Sagara and Chidori after school! Now," the class settled down immediately and roll call began. During the excitement, Sousuke and Kaname and missed it, but they noticed during role.
There was another person in class. That person sat looking glumly down at her desk, hands folded in her lap.
That person was, of course, none other than one Teletha Testerossa.
Review week was long and boring. Lunch was even more welcome than usual, but the students found it hard to be excited. They quietly ate their lunches, discussed their fears about the tests, and traded little gossip. Tessa had gotten some of her spirit back during the school day, and decided that it might be fun to stir up some trouble between Sousuke and Kaname.
After all, she was on a mandatory vacation, and had to have fun in some way. Kaname's temper always amused her, and Sousuke's reactions were priceless. She pulled up a seat beside the couple, grinning. That immediately set the both of them on alert. "Hello Kaname-san! Sousuke!"
Now he regretted his decision to tell her to call him by his first name. The glare Kaname turned on him was one of her more potent ones, and if he was made of lesser stuff he may have wilted. Instead, he coughed nervously. "Uh, good afternoon, Tessa-san," he hoped by adding the '-san,' Kaname would back down.
"Yes. Hello, Tessa," she was still glaring at him and practically growled the words, "it's so nice to see you again." Kaname turned and gave Tessa a strained smile, "How was your week?"
Sousuke winced. It was a low blow to the captain, and would also reflect badly on him, showing that he broke confidentiality protocol and talked about his missions with Kaname. He coughed again and looked around, decided teasing at the hands of his more innocent classmates would be preferable, and stood up to excuse himself. "Uh, well, I think Kazama wanted to talk to me about something," he ran away before Kaname could pull him back into his seat.
Even Tessa glared after him, not appreciating that he had let slip about her capture to Kaname. "That man is dead," Kaname growled barely loud enough for Tessa to hear. She had to agree though. Running away from the situation was doubly damning for him. "Well, anyways," she turned to look at the smaller girl, most of her animosity gone with Sousuke.
"It is nice to see you again, Kaname-san. Though if I had remembered it was test season, I would not have come to school," she twisted her braid thoughtfully, tickling her nose with the tip. "Was Sagara-san with you last night?" It did not seem right to call him Sousuke now, so she went back to what she usually referred to him as.
Kaname eyed her carefully, wondering if she was trying to play any games with her. "Yeah, he was. And he's moving in, too. How come he didn't notice you were there when he went to his apartment last night?" She made the assumption that Tessa was staying at his place again, especially since she was asking about his whereabouts, indicating that she knew he wasn't where he was supposed to be.
Tessa shrugged, "I think he came when I was buying groceries. I don't know how he hadn't noticed that I had been there, though, he must have been distracted," the look she gave Kaname clearly said what she assumed he was distracted by.
Curse her pride for trying to one up the girl, now Tessa thought she was some kind of hussy. "Nothing like that happened. At least not yet," she crossed her arms and turned away with a huff, blowing her bangs out of her eyes in the process. She glanced over at Sousuke, who was surrounded by the guys. They seemed to have regained some of their usual spunk, ribbing Sousuke and laughing at every blush and mumbled sentence they worked out of him.
When he saw Kaname looking at him, looking less irritated, he retreated to return to her side. He sat down with a relieved sigh that earned him no sympathy. "You better not have said anything that would tarnish my good name, Sousuke!"
He looked at her in shock, then reached his hand up to scratch the scar on his face while thinking. "Kaname? I would have had to lie to do such a thing, right? Why would I lie?"
"Boys always lie about the things they did with girls, honestly Sousuke, don't you know anything?"
"I have come to realize this fact, yes. But I don't see the point in it. What good would come of boasting about something that did not happen?"
She pulled her harisen out and smacked it hard on his desk, barely missing his nose with the downward swing. "Absolutely none! In fact, only bad would come of it, all for you, so don't you dare!"
Sousuke gulped and nodded nervously. When she didn't stop glaring at him, he decided she must be waiting for verbal agreement. "Of course, Kaname," he paused for a moment, then continued sincerely, "I am not Kurz. I have more respect than that."
Satisfied, Kaname put the large paper fan away with a grin. "Good boy. We have nothing to worry about then."
At that time, the teacher walked back into the room. The students found their seats and prepared for the time of two periods spent reviewing Classic Japanese Literature to be passed in complete boredom. It would not be so bad if their teacher could make it exciting, but he just droned on in a monotone voice.
It was a long two weeks of school, reviews and tests taking their toll on everyone's spirits.
AN: Not much to say but here's a little on My Sassy Girl:
I haven't seen the American remake of My Sassy Girl, and I'm afraid to, but the original Korean movie is amazing. I believe the original title is "Yeopgijeogin geunyeo" or "That Bizarre Girl." If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. It's hilarious and heart-wrenching all at once.
I could see even Sousuke being amused by the movie, the girl's abuse of the guy would certainly be something he could relate to. There's also a short scene with a runaway soldier and the ROK Armed Forces in an amusement park (at night) which would probably catch his interest.
It was just a movie I thought would fit in well with the characters, so I thought I'd explain why I'd chosen it. I don't know if it actually aired in theaters in Japan or when, if it did, but it came out in July 2001 in S. Korea. Assuming some time for translating, it would probably fit in about right. If you were to assume the anime timeline for the fic, it would be early 2002 now.