I watched more YT edits and I forgot what a glorious hot mess this show was. Also it is summer and I wanted an excuse to write some beach episodes, and also give Fuuto more development beyond "horny on main" so sorry if this chapter focuses exclusively on my problematic little meow meow asshole child.

Hope you like it!

Starry Night

The sky in the countryside was so different from the one in the city, Ame thought to herself. Realistically nothing had changed about the night, she knew that. It was the same velvet blue tapestry, the same silver pinpricks arranged in the same glowing constellations visible from the window back home. It was just the lack of artificial light, and what a difference that made. The lack of yellow sodium streetlamps and their distance from the main road meant that the sky above the beach house was practically crystal clear.

Below the sky lay the ocean, stretching out into the horizon, clear as glass save for a few minor waves that rippled across the curved surface of the moon. Ame stared up at the rich tapestry from the balcony and inhaled the cool air tinged with the smell of sea-salt and alcohol from the party inside. Her brothers were winding up and tidying up, and Ema had long since gone to bed. Ame would have gone in to help as well, but Ukyo had insisted that she take a break. Get some air, he'd said. Ame got the feeling that they would all be treating her with kid gloves for a while. A small emotional part of her felt a tad guilty for causing them pain, but logically she knew it had to be done. Their family could and would recover from this.

At least, Ame thought to herself with a wry smile, that was what she fervently hoped. Not just for Ema's sake, she realized, but for herself as well.

The sliding glass panel door behind her rolled aside, briefly magnifying the sounds of laughter and chattering coming from within the beach house, and then it shut again. Blinking once, Ame glanced to the side to see who had joined her, and then returned her gaze to the sky. "I thought you'd gone to bed."

"Nah," Fuuto replied, also watching the sky. "I drank a lot of energy drinks to get through that concert, so I'm still pretty wired."

Ame hummed understandingly, and then frowned at him. "You know that's not healthy, right?" She scolded as her hands went to her hips. "How many did you even drink?"

Quite honestly Fuuto had lost count. The only thing he remembered of the hours before the screams and bright lights of the concert was chugging back multiple cans of whatever brightly coloured soda his manager had stocked his dressing room fridge with. It was a miracle that he hadn't had a stroke in the middle of his performance, the idol snickered to himself. Even now his heart still felt as though it wanted to pound right out of his chest, although he suspected that had less to do with the sugar concentration and more to do with the woman standing next to him.

"The amount of caffeine in those cans is unbelievable, especially for someone your age!" Ame was saying. Her bare arms were folded across her chest, and the left strap of her baby-blue tank-top had fallen down her shoulder. "Does Masaomi-san know about this? I'm sure he'd have more information, but honestly I should have a word with your manager about this-"

"I'm not a child," Fuuto interrupted her. It was such a non-sequitur on Ame's end that the woman paused her rant with her lips still parted around the rest of the words. Then her eyebrows furrowed, and she pressed her lips together.

"Fuuto, you are a child," Ame replied softly, and the fact that she sounded gentle as though she was trying to spare his feelings just pissed him off even more. No, no, this wasn't right. Where was the anger that had glowed behind her eyes during all the times that he teased her? Where was the ever-present tension that simmered underneath their conversations? Where was the shoving? The fighting back? What, she went on one trip with a bunch of strangers and came back radiating pure zen? Fuuto straightened and took a step forward, eyes narrowing with infuriation when she didn't move. Her expression barely changed, except for a tiny flicker when she glanced down at the railing.

Now there was an idea. "A child wouldn't feel what I feel," Fuuto insisted, taking another step forward and corralling her against the wooden balusters. He knew he had gotten taller again. Not by much, but enough that he felt more confident in trapping her between his body and the spindles. It isn't fair, he bit his bottom lip, hating the childish tone of his thoughts but refusing to let them go. Why does it have to be like this? "A child wouldn't want to touch you the way I do. Stop thinking about me as if I'm like Wataru when I can't stop thinking about sticking my tongue down my big sister's throat."

"FUUTO!"

Yes, there it was! He caught the hand that she had instinctively raised to shove him away and forced himself even closer, tucking them into the corner and completely out of sight of the glass door. Ame's eyes were wide with shock, and Fuuto swore that he could see the constellations swirling in her irises. Ah, it really is unfortunate, Fuuto hummed internally. Why was it that the first person that he had ever expressed genuine interest in, the first person that he had ever truly wanted, was the one person that he couldn't have? Why was it someone who wanted nothing to do with him, that he had to practically bully into spending time with him?

The smirk that crossed his face was lopsided and showed the corners of sharp canines. It felt ugly. He wondered if it looked ugly too. The him that he was showing her, entitled and cruel and unwilling to take no for an answer if he could find some way to get a yes instead.

Fuuto's other hand cupped her cheek with deceptive gentleness. "You left me, big sis," he cooed, letting the corners of his eyes droop sadly. "We were all so worried about you, and now you say that you want to be family with us…well I don't accept it."

"Excuse me?" Ame yanked her arm free but before she could escape, he wrapped both of his arms around her body, pinning her own arms to her sides. "What are you doing?!"

"You heard me," he said with a smile as he lowered his head closer to hers. The wind had dried out her lips a little, but they were still pink from the shimmery gloss that she wore. "I don't accept whatever stupid burst of enlightenment you got while you were on that trip away from us. I don't see you as my sister, and I never will, so obviously I don't accept you. So just let me…let me do what I want…"

Too stunned by the night's events, Ame nearly forgot to open her mouth to scream for help. Just as she did, Fuuto's head bypassed hers entirely and came to rest on her shoulder. The woman froze, confused by his behaviour, and growing even more baffled when his arms unwound from around her to hang limply at his sides. "Um…Fuuto…?" She asked hesitantly.

A puff of hot hair rushed over her collarbone. A sigh, one full of frustration and impotent rage, and Ame pretended that the wetness blooming against her neck was nothing more than sea-spray. "Why?" Fuuto muttered, partly to her but mostly to no one at all. "Why is it like this? Why did it have to be you, huh?"

The question held multitudes in just seven simple words. Why did you have to become my stepsister? Why did you have to be older than me? Why don't you want me? Why can't I make you want me? He hadn't been lying to Ema, back when he'd told her that being an idol was exhausting. Everything was work, his every move was collated and judged the public, and the only time he ever got a moment of privacy was when he was at home being Asahina instead of Asakura. Grown women had fallen at his feet, studios had begged him to spare just five minutes for a picture, companies had pleaded with him to just mention their products offhandedly. Whenever he wanted something, all he had to do was snap a finger and wait for it to be dropped in the palm of his hand.

It was all so…hollow. So utterly empty and devoid of any meaning…

Letting out her own sigh, Ame carefully lifted her own arms and wrapped them around Fuuto's shoulders. He really had grown taller, she thought to herself with a quiet chuckle. The boy wasn't even done growing yet and here he was acting as if this crush would last forever. At the end of the day, he really was just a spoiled teenage boy high on fame and his own hormones.

Ame stroked his back, patting his hair gently. "Listen, Fuuto," she started. "I can't tell you how to feel, and I can't deny that this situation wasn't fair on all of us. Still, this isn't forever. One day you'll meet a pretty girl your own age, and you'll care about her a thousand times more than you care about me."

"I don't know why you keep bringing up the age difference as if it's some huge dealbreaker," Fuuto muttered. "Ignoring us being stepsiblings, I'm 16 now. Legally, there's nothing stopping me from–"

"I'm never going to date a high-school student, regardless of whether we were related or not" Ame interrupted him sharply, and then she continued. "Think about this realistically Fuuto. Beyond being attracted to me, what about me do you actually like? What are my hobbies? What TV shows do I like to watch? What's my favourite food?"

The boy tried to answer but instead found himself throwing up blanks. How was it possible that she had been living with them for months and yet he couldn't respond to the most basic questions about her?

To his surprise, Ame laughed as well. "That's alright. I don't expect you to know the answers to those questions because I barely know myself. I've spent almost my entire life taking care of others, that I need to learn about myself before I even think about dating anyone. That's part of growing up, you know. Fuuto, you need to learn more things about yourself too, so that when you start dating someone you know who you are and what your boundaries are. Figure out what you actually want from a relationship, instead of going after the first person who presents a challenge to your status quo, alright?"

Neither of them said a word for a long period of time. Ame stared up at the sky, at the clouds sweeping across the face of the moon. Finally, Fuuto spoke. "Shit," he swore. "Hey big sis, I think I might like you even more now."

"What did you – ah!"

Fuuto stepped away, leaving Ame to rub at the stinging pain on her neck. The idol smirked, and it was his usual, pompous, self-assured grin. Yet somehow it glittered with fresh coat of determination, and Ame wondered if she had made a mistake at some point during her speech. "You might think of me as a dumb teenager, but my feelings won't change." Yep, she had definitely made a mistake somewhere. "I'm not giving up on you, Ame. Even if you only think of me as your little brother for now, I still want you to be all mine. I don't like it, but I can be patient until I'm 18, and then all bets are off between us." His eyes went half-lidded and Fuuto grinned. "You'd better be prepared for me then big sister."

"Why does it feel like everything I said went in one ear and right out the other?" Ame grumbled when the door slid shut behind him.

Me holding Fuuto like a feral cat: I just think he's neat. Also he needs therapy and warm soup.