Hello! I'm here with a one-shot. It was kind of requested by a guest reviewer who reviewed the main story, but I was about to write it anyway :D
It happens 'during' and right after a certain happening in chapter 7.2 from About all the times he/she kissed me, but this one can be read as a standalone as well. Though I do recommend to read chapter 7.2 (and 7.1) first for context ;)
Important: This one is written from Hikari's POV!
As always, happy readings!
The morning after
Summary: Taichi had a visitor last night and Hikari is determined to let her brother explain himself.
xxx
August 1st had always been a thing, but for Hikari August 2nd would be just as memorable from this year on. Not only was she in Italy with great company, but her brother had finally made 'the next step'.
It was some time after midnight when she heard Taichi having words with a girl who's voice couldn't be more familiar. Besides, there was only one girl her brother could have words with like that. Hikari smiled to herself.
Eventually the words of her brother and the girl were interrupted by a careful knock on her bedroom door. It opened a crack and she was met with a set of blue eyes and blonde hair. Takeru asked for permission to come in which she granted.
"Are they fighting?" Takeru asked her, closing the door and leaning against it. Though she knew that he already knew her answer, she gave it to him anyway.
"No. This is a little different, don't you think?"
He smiled at her question in the confirmative, simply because it was different. The small quarrel sounded both passionate and full of emotions and that was about damn time. Hikari looked at Takeru to share a little laugh.
They grew quiet when the exchange of words were replaced with other sounds. She felt a light blush rising and her eyes wandered to the blonde in her room.
"Well, I think this is the right moment to head back to my own room," he stated matter of factly, turning around to open the door and leave her alone to fall asleep. She waved at him as he whispered her a good night. The sounds coming out of her brother's room slowly grew more vague to her and with that Hikari drifted off to sleep.
The next morning she woke up without any particular sound. Still, she could vaguely hear her brother's voice arguing with the woman's voice in her head. She stretched herself, ready to start the day fresh.
Once in the kitchen to prepare some breakfast, she heard the shuffling of sheets, muffled voices, giggles and eventually cautious footsteps coming from Taichi's room. Her curiosity was piqued. Suddenly in the mood for playing a little game, she left the kitchen and breakfast preparations to take a seat opposite from her brother's bedroom door.
It wasn't like her at all, but for once she decided to act like the nosy little sister and she loved it already. Seated in a subtle spot at the kitchen table, Hikari had a clear view on her brother's bedroom door. She knew they had to come out any minute.
"Good morning, onii-chan." She was quick with her words, throwing them at her brother as soon as the door carefully opened. Hikari smirked.
Taichi looked startled, a light blush crept up his face. "Oi Hikari… Morning," was all he could say. It seemed like he tried to mimic her smirky expression, but he failed being too flustered. Of course Hikari knew why, but she wanted to hear it from him.
"How'd you sleep?" Came her question.
"Wonderful."
"You came back pretty late last night?" Came her next one.
"Yes, so what?" Hikari internally rolled her eyes, her brother always had his answers ready. "It's none of your-"
"Did you had fun?" She interrupted.
"Well yes, but-"
"Anything happened you should tell me about?"
"What?" He snorted, coming across as somewhat impatient. "Can you please stop this interrogation?"
Perfect, Hikari thought to herself. She was driving him into a corner, exactly where she wanted him. With that in mind she leaned back in the chair, crossing her legs and folding her arms across her chest. "You have something to hide?"
He looked her straight in the eyes, squinting a little, trying to figure out her motives so he could shut her down. "I came home late and I have a hangover, happy now?" But she wasn't that easy, pointing a finger at his messy hair.
"Is that why your hair's all messy?" He quickly ran a hand through his hair in response while interrupting her by almost shouting her name. Suddenly remembering they weren't the only ones here in the apartment, he swallowed her name a little. Hikari however did pay no mind to his interruption and went on where she had left. "And your face all flushed?"
"Where's the sudden interest coming from?" The annoyance in his voice was overly visible. It only made Hikari internally giggle harder.
"Why do you answer every question with a question yourself?"
"I did not." Came Taichi's quick answer. "I tried to tell you that all of this is none of your business, but you didn't let me-"
"No," but Hikari knew better, because this wasn't the reason. She left a pause to let her brother finish his sentence.
"-finish."
"- it's because you do have something to hide."
"I don't-" His face looked heated, though she didn't know whether it was because she was driving him mad or because he was so ashamed. Maybe it was both. If it was up to her, he shouldn't have any reason to be ashamed.
"Or better said someone." It was too amusing to play with him like this for once. Behind her brother she spotted that all too familiar red shade of hair both her brother and herself loved so much, both in different ways. Hikairi's smirk intensified, mischievously lifting one eyebrow while slightly tilting her head so she could peek behing her brother's back. She watched as her brother followed her trail of sight.
"Hi Sora."
While the blush on his cheeks turned a brighter red, a sigh escaped his lips marking his defeat on one and relieve on the other hand. A completely flustered Sora slowly stepped out of her hiding place behind Taichi, shyly waving a hand to Hikari. From what Hikari could see she was wearing one of Taichi's shirts and shorts, a bundle of her messy clothes from the night before in hand. Hikari chuckled, finding the whole situations very amusing.
"Fine. You got me little sis," Taichi spoke first while stepping into the living area with Sora following. Even though they both looked embarrassed by being caught, Hikari noticed both of them beaming as well. It seemed like they were in a happy place and the only thing left to do for Hikari was genuinely smile at the sight of her big brother and his female companion.
"For what it's worth, I think you two are cute," Hikari said standing up from her chair to get back to breakfast preparations in the kitchen. At the same time Takeru entered the living area, suspiciously taking in the sight of Sora following Taichi to the couch. Sora turned her heel, leaving for the kitchen, making Hikari chuckle once again.
As Sora entered the kitchen, Hikari smelled a mix of Taichi's cologne and deodorant all over her. It was all so obvious to her, but she leaned in anyway so only Sora could hear her. "You can spare me the details, but I am curious… you two had fun last night?" Hikari bobbed her eyebrows at her watching Sora being unable to hide a cheeky smile, answering with a simple nod confirming Hikari's hunch even more. But before she could ask further, another voice interrupted.
"You two came home pretty late last night," Hikari suddenly heard Takeru making conversation with her brother— "did you had fun?" –with the exact same words as she had used earlier. Hikari gasped, turning her head back to Sora who was now biting her lip. "Anything happened that you should tell us about?"
The girls giggled together, looking at Taichi to see what he was going to do. But instead of answering Takeru the way he tried to dodge all of Hikari's questions, he shifted his gaze to the kitchen, locking his eyes with Sora's. A smirk appearing across his face, probably seeing no more reason to hide all of it, making Sora's cheeks paint blushy pink.
"Yeah, well," Taichi started, glowing, "I guess you could say we sure had a hot and fun night. Didn't we, Sor?"