It was now nearing the end of the second week since Matt had come to town. Every day, Sora put her own work on hold in order to help translate for Matt. And every day, he would ask if they could go out to lunch at different local favorites that he had researched on the internet, asking Sora if they were any good. He also rented his own car and asked Sora to come with him to the sites a few more times than seemed necessary. It was almost like he wanted to get Sora out of the building to have some alone time with her.

No, that couldn't be it. Again, he was just having fun in the city and Sora happened to be his translator. Nothing more.

After another day of traipsing around Tokyo with Matt, Sora found herself at her desk again, but this time it was past 10pm. Unfortunately, this had become the norm for her. Everyone else had already gone home so it was just her and the custodian, or so she thought. She continued to sketch and listen to music on her phone.

Then suddenly, "Good evening, Sora," a familiar French voice said behind her.

Sora gasped and dropped her pencil to the ground as she shot up from her chair. Her heart was racing. There wasn't supposed to be anyone else here! She quickly turned around.

"Oh sorry! I didn't mean to scare you!" Matt said with a laugh.

"Wha…what are you doing here so late?" Sora asked still trying to calm her beating heart.

Matt held up some bags, and delicious smells began wafting toward Sora. "I heard that you've been working late every night since I've gotten here."

"From who?" she asked surprised to know he had found out.

"Yuri and I managed to speak some English with each other, and he told me that you are one of his most reliable workers and to not worry about your work because you always get it done," Matt explained. "I figured that meant that you must have been working late every day since you're helping me during work hours."

"Oh, it's…it's not a problem," Sora said sheepishly, even though it had been a problem. These crazy 12 hour work days were starting to get to her.

"Have you eaten yet?"

"Um, not yet," Sora said. Honestly she was starving, and the food Matt had brought made her realize how hungry she was.

"I don't want to take up more of your time, but let me at least treat you to a small dinner. It's too late to have not eaten yet." He started unpacking all the food from the bags on a table behind her desk.

"Wow, um, thank you, Matt," Sora said blushing. She had come to terms with the fact that she was just going to blush around him. It was hardly worth trying to hide it any longer.

As the two sat down to eat together, Matt glanced over at the sketches on her desk. "What are you working on over there?"

"Oh this?" Sora said between bites. "Just some busy work that Yuri has me doing. He thinks he's helping me by giving me simple tasks, but honestly, I'd rather be working on more creative things."

"Ah, I'm sorry."

"No! It's not your fault!" Sora said and instinctively touched his arm.

This was the second time Sora swore she could see a tiny blush appear on Matt's face. She quickly withdrew her hand.

Matt smiled one of his heart-melting smiles at her. "Well, let's finish eating and then I'll drive you home."

"Oh, you don't need to do that!"

"I insist. It's the least I could do for everything you've done for me."

"Really, that's too kind of you to bring me dinner and then drive me home."

"It's my pleasure, Sora."

She liked hearing him say her name. It made her feel comfortable.

"I'll tell Yuri to have someone else take care of this busy work for you," Matt continued. "You shouldn't be wasting your talent on something like that."

"Oh, please it's not a problem for me. I am the newest member of the team after all, so they generally give me the busy work," Sora said with a sad laugh. "It's my pleasure to be your translator while you're here. I can handle my own work later."

Matt nodded not wanting to push the subject more. The two made light conversation as they finished their food. Then Matt persuaded Sora with his incredible charm to let him drive her home.

They talked the whole way to Tai's condo building. "Whoa, you live here?" Matt said with a laugh.

"Haha, no this is my brother's place," Sora said with a smile. "He's a famous soccer player, so he's helping me out while I start my new job."

"Oh, you don't mean Taichi Kamiya, do you?" Matt asked.

"How did you know?"

"I'm a huge fútbol fan so I've definitely heard of him. I knew you had the same last name, I just never put two and two together!"

"Oh, yes, he's pretty famous these days," Sora laughed. "I didn't realize people overseas knew of him too."

"He's beginning to get quite the international reputation," Matt said with true admiration. "If it's ok with you, and your brother of course, I'd love to meet him sometime."

A breath caught in Sora's throat. She already knew that Tai was suspicious of Matt, and he had always been super overprotective of her. The two of them meeting might not be the best idea…but who was she kidding? Matt wasn't her boyfriend or anything. They were just work colleagues, nothing more. Why was she acting so worried about Tai meeting him?

"Of course! I'll ask him," Sora said with a sheepish grin.

"Please don't worry about it if you think it's not a good idea," Matt said after sensing her hesitation. "I don't want to pry into his personal life, of course."

"Oh no, he likes meeting new people!" Sora blurted even though she knew that wasn't true. Besides his soccer teammates, Tai almost never went out and just either worked out by himself or met with his agent. He was a very work-focused, driven individual which was part of why he was so successful.

Matt chuckled at Sora's outburst. "Please don't worry about it," Matt said reassuringly.

Sora gave him a small smile. "Thank you again for dinner and driving me home," she said softly. "You are too kind."

"Again, it's the least I can do," Matt said and gently took her hand, pressing it to his lips.

Sora's heart skipped a beat. He'd done that many times now, but each time was like it was the first time. She started to pull back but realized Matt was holding onto her hand. "Matt?"

"I uh…" his voice trailed off.

"Is something wrong?"

It looked like he really wanted to tell her something, but was either struggling to say it or find the right words. "Sorry, I just wanted to say that I'll be heading back to France tomorrow, and I wanted to thank you for all of your help and kindness these past two weeks," he finally said.

"Oh…" Sora wasn't expecting that. She knew he would have to leave at some point, she just thought it wouldn't be so suddenly dropped on her like this.

A wave of sadness passed over her. She didn't want him to leave yet. They had gotten along so well, and she loved that he was so kind and gentle toward her, even though she was just a lowly new hire and translator. She shook her head slightly to get herself back to her senses. "I'm very glad to have been of service," she managed to get out.

"Sora, I, um..." he trailed off again. "I really did have a wonderful time here, and most of it was because of you. I can't thank you enough."

"I'm…very glad to hear that," Sora said softly and somewhat mechanically. She wanted him to stay, but also there was nothing that was ever going to happen between them, so what did it matter if he went? "I hope you have safe travels…" she paused to swallow a lump in her throat, "and that you come back to visit us again soon." She managed a smile.

"Of course," Matt said quickly. "The call to go home was quite sudden. My father can be very erratic sometimes."

"No need to explain," Sora said with a laugh. "I'm glad to have gotten to know you, Matt." At this point, she realized he was still holding her hand. She gently withdrew it and opened the car door.

As Sora stepped out of the car, Matt quickly opened his door and walked around to her side. Before she could step away, he caught her hand again and drew her closer to him.

"Matt?" Sora said with a slight gasp.

Suddenly their faces were in extremely close proximity. She could tell he wanted to say something to her, but no words would come out. Instead, he leaned in for what Sora thought was a kiss. She couldn't believe it! Was this really about to happen? She held her breath in anticipation.

At the last second, he tilted his head and put a quick kiss on her cheek. "Thank you," he said softly, "for everything." He quickly let go of her hand and, without another glance, walked around the car and got behind the wheel.

Sora was still shell shocked as she watched him drive away. What just happened? Her heart and mind were racing. He didn't kiss me, but was he trying to? Or was he just kissing my cheek because he's French? She felt intensely sad that he was leaving but also intensely happy that he had maybe made some sort of move on her. She had always thought something like this would never happen, but he was acting so awkwardly, which was completely out of character for him. Did he really feel something toward her? Is that why he brought her dinner tonight before he had to leave the country? Is that why he wouldn't let her hand go and then maybe tried to kiss her?

With all these questions spinning in her head, Sora made her way inside the building and up the elevator to the top floor. But before she could open the door to the condo, Tai opened it from the inside.

"Oh, Tai, you're still up!"

"Was that Matt?" Tai asked with a dark tone in his voice.

"What? Wait, how did you know?"

"I saw on the front door camera." Apparently the building allowed residents to access the front door camera. Something Sora didn't know before.

"Uh-huh…" she said with a frown forming on her face.

"Well, was that him?"

"What does it matter?"

"Sor, I don't like what's going on here." Tai crossed his arms as he watched her put her things down.

"There's nothing going on here," she said and stood back up to face her annoyed brother. "He just gave me a ride home. It's like after 11 after all."

"And he gave you a kiss, didn't he?"

"On the cheek, Tai! He's French, for god's sake! That's what French people do!" Sora sighed in exasperation.

"Well, why was he at the office so late in the first place?" Tai shot back.

Well, he brought me dinner… "Nothing! Jet lag? I don't know. He was just being nice, that's all." She threw her hands up in the air and then proceeded to walk past her glowering brother.

Tai suddenly grabbed her by the shoulder and pushed her back. "Sor, I don't like that he's giving you all this attention. Guys like that should know not to abuse their power. He's going to hurt you."

"Where is all this coming from?" Sora said now sounding angrier. "I've been translating for him for the last two weeks, of course we're going to get to know each other. He's fine, he's harmless."

"You don't know that!" Tai said and pushed again so that her back was up against the door.

"Tai, what the hell is going on?" Sora said and grabbed his hand off of her shoulder.

"I just…I can't let anything happen to you!" he said and grabbed her wrist instead, pinning her hand against the door. His face was inches from hers. She could clearly see his hazel eyes were full of worry and frustration.

Tai had always been overprotective of Sora, since they were kids, and for good reason. They had both been through hell, and the only constant they had was each other. No parents, multiple orphanages, foster care, and what she had to do to survive and ensure that her talented brother could pursue his dreams… She didn't think he knew, but it almost seemed like he did.

Her gaze softened and she reached up to hold his cheek with her free hand. "Tai, listen, nothing's happening between Matt and me. There's no way. He's going to be gone soon anyway, then things will go back to normal."

"Sora…" Tai leaned in even closer so that his body was pushing hers against the door. He put his head in the crook of her neck and breathed deeply.

"Tai, what's wrong? You're not acting normally right now," Sora said with worry in her voice.

"I just…" he mumbled something incoherent. She felt his hot breath on her neck and his body started to quiver. It was almost as if he was fighting with himself. His hand gripping her wrist tightened, and Sora could feel the tremendous amount of tension in his body.

Please, don't, she thought, but was too scared to say anything out loud. After a tense moment of stillness that felt like an hour, she finally felt him put a small kiss on her neck.

Sora immediately tried to jerk back. "Tai, what are you doing?" she said in a more panicked tone. "What are you-"

"I need you, Sora. I don't want anyone to take you away from me, ever." He moved his head up so that their foreheads were touching. "I love you so much, I…I want you so much." He leaned in for what intended to be a kiss.

Sora turned her head at the last second so his lips brushed her cheek instead. "Tai, I'm your sister! We can't do this!" She struggled again, but to no avail. He was too strong and he wasn't letting her go.

"Why not?" he whispered. "It's us against the world. No one else needs to know. We'll never have kids, it'll just be you and me like it's always been." He began planting small kisses across her cheek and then down her neck again.

"Tai, you're not thinking straight," Sora said, her heartbeat going up. "Please, let me go. This isn't right."

"Right?" Tai said suddenly and straightened up to look into her eyes. "Nothing in our lives has ever been right. The things we did. The secrets we have. How can you not feel this inseparable bond I feel?"

"Tai, I know we've been through a lot, and I will always be there for you, but this? We can't!"

"Who says we can't?" Tai pinned her back more with his hand on her wrist against the door and his other hand holding her cheek so she couldn't turn her face away. "I've wanted this, I've wanted you my entire life and I thought I would never have you. But now I see clearly. No one can fucking tell us what to do. I want you, I know you want me. We only have each other, no one else!"

"Tai-"

Before she got another word out, he forcefully pressed his lips against hers and began hungrily kissing her. It was as if all of his pent up frustration, all his suffering over the years was being released in this kiss. He had imagined this moment from the time he was a teenager. His body filled with ecstasy as he pushed his tongue into her mouth. His beautiful sister's mouth. He wanted more.

Sora struggled against Tai, but he was too strong. Then she felt it, a hardness against her thigh. No, was he going to try to have sex with her?

She shook her head to free herself from his kiss. "Tai, stop! I'll…I'll scream!"

It seemed like that knocked him back to his senses because he loosened his grip for a second. Sora took this opportunity to wriggle free from between him and the door. She quickly walked back toward the stairs and turned to face him from a safe distance away. He hadn't turned around, but instead was staring at the door, his body moving up and down, breathing heavily.

"Have you lost your fucking mind?" Sora said angrily. "You're my brother, I'm your sister! What do you think is going to happen?"

No response.

Sora had seen this kind of emotional state from him before. When they were younger, when he was watching it happen to her and he no power to do anything about it. He was livid, he was helpless.

After a moment of silence, Sora's facial expression softened and she gingerly approached him. She put a hand on his back. "Tai…"

He suddenly turned around and walked briskly past her and up the stairs. A few seconds later, she heard a door slam.

Sora sighed. She didn't know what to do. Maybe it was best if she left him alone for a while to cool off. God knows she needed to cool off too. But that helpless look that she saw in him standing in front of her moments before made her feel compelled to check on him. She was his big sister after all.

After taking a few deep breaths, she slowly made her way up the stairs and saw the closed door to Tai's room. She approached the door and knocked softly. "Tai?" she said in the gentlest voice she could. He was in some sort of mental breakdown state so she needed to be careful.

There was no response.

She tried the door handle. It was surprisingly unlocked, so she slowly opened the door and looked inside.

Tai was sitting in the dark on the edge of his bed, his head in his hands. He didn't even look up to see that she had opened the door. The faint glow of moonlight filtered through the window just enough that she could see how distressed he was.

Sora felt an intense pang in her heart. She loved her brother. She would do anything for him, and she had. When they were younger, she did everything to put them both through school and to give him all the opportunities to grow his talent as a soccer player. She put her own dreams on hold for him. She sacrificed her time, her energy, and her body for him. She'd already given him everything. Everything except…

Against her better judgement, Sora stepped inside Tai's room and sat down next to him on the bed. She put a hand on his back. "Tai, I don't know what to say other than I would never leave you alone in this world. We've been through so much together…I've given you everything."

After a moment of intense silence, Tai finally spoke. "Sora…I know what you've done for me," he said still not looking up. "And it kills me to think that you would sell yourself to other men…because of me."

So he did know. She thought that she had kept it a secret from him as he had never mentioned it before. She withdrew her hand.

"And I don't want to ever see you with another man ever again. I want to protect you. I want…you." He finally sat up straight and looked out the window in front of them. "I know what other people think about this, but deep down, I can't help but feel that this is right. It's always been the two of us. You did so much for me and my dream, so even though it killed me, I wanted to give what I could back to you, but you ended up leaving me for three years."

"I didn't leave you, Tai," Sora said quickly. "I had always planned on coming back."

"Regardless," he turned his head to look at his sister. "Those three years were the hardest years I've ever been through. When you were gone, I realized that I needed you, with me, forever. I don't know how to live without you."

Sora could see the pain in his eyes. He believed every word he was saying with his entire being. Although everything in her mind screamed at her that this wasn't right and that they shouldn't be together like this, her heart wanted nothing more than to make her brother feel happy and whole. She wanted him to feel like he could go on in this world and change it for the better. He was already doing so with his amazing soccer skills. She knew he wanted to use that fame and fortune to help orphaned children around the world. Children just like them.

After a moment of silence, Sora's arm moved on its own and her hand touched Tai's cheek. "Taichi," she said softly, "I love you. I would do anything for you."

Tai's eyes began to light up at her words. He wasn't sure what to do.

"If you want me," Sora said slowly and then took in a breath, "you have me." She knew it wasn't right, but her love for her brother was winning out the battle in her mind. She leaned over and kissed him gently on the lips.

Tai's face became overcome with shock, relief, and absolute joy. For a second he couldn't believe what had just happened. He had kept this secret for so long. He had always told himself it would never happen, and so he had tried to put it out of his mind for years, dating other women, distracting himself with soccer. Nothing ever worked. Now she was here and she was his.

He immediately put his hand behind her head and brought Sora in for a deep kiss. This time she didn't resist which made his body course with excitement. This was really going to happen for him. This was it.

He pushed her down on the bed and climbed on top of her, all the while kissing her intensely, his tongue exploring her mouth.

Sora's mind went blank as she let her brother caress her in ways she never thought he would. He began to unbutton her shirt and soon she could feel his warm, large hands on her skin. He pulled her bra down and then made a trail of kisses down her neck to her breasts. She couldn't deny that it felt good. She let out a small gasp as he took her nipple into his mouth.

Tai could feel himself getting overwhelmed with excitement. He was throbbing with desire as he pushed her skirt up and pulled her panties down. He traced her leg back up and felt her hot, wet vagina against his fingers. She was wet for him?

"Sora, are you sure?" he asked first wanting to make absolute certain that he wasn't doing this against her will.

Sora nodded her head and put a hand on his cheek. "I'm yours," she whispered.

Tai couldn't get his pants off fast enough. He then leaned his hard penis against her vagina. He knew she was on birth control so there was no need for a condom. He wanted to be inside of her so badly. "I love you," he whispered back and then pushed himself inside of her.

Sora let out a gasp as her brother filled her. She had never thought of this before, but he was incredibly large. She could hardly contain him.

Tai started pumping himself in and out of Sora, letting out raspy breaths with each plunge. His entire body was tingling as wave after wave of pleasure washed over him. He'd tried being with other women before, but nothing felt like this. This felt right. They belonged together.

Sora wrapped her arms around Tai's neck and back, grasping onto him as he moved inside of her. She let out small sighs and gasps at every motion. She had been with other men, but this was the most intense she had ever felt. The thought of how forbidden this act was made some twisted excitement grow inside her. Fuck the consequences. She loved her brother and he loved her.

"Tai, keep going," she breathlessly whispered in his ear. "I…I'm going to cum."

Tai flushed even hotter hearing those words from Sora. His athletic body started moving faster, he could hardly control himself. He began slamming himself into her making her cry out in ecstasy.

"Yes! Yes!" Sora was nearly screaming.

Tai's breaths became heavy as he moved ever more quickly. He felt himself tense up. He wanted them to climax together. He quickly pressed his lips against hers for a deep kiss as he was about to release.

Sora could feel his penis grow even more inside her. She felt the tension in her body build up to unbearable heights. Then in a moment of complete silence, she felt Tai plunge himself deep inside of her. They both released themselves at the same time, mouths still connected, hearts beating rapidly against each other.

They had done it. The ultimate taboo. There was no turning back.