This Warmth Of Yours

Chapter 14 - Their First Ever Beach Trip!

She didn't remember what it was, but it felt like she had just woken up from a very pleasant dream.

There's loud chatterings outside. Kana rose out of bed, her messy hair obscuring her face. She glanced upwards, downwards, left, right, her eyes widening. I didn't sleep here, what the heck? I can teleport?  She used her brain for a second, assumed that Yuki carried her to bed and shrugged the entire situation off completely.

She casually walked downstairs, towards the source of the sound in the kitchen. The voices grew louder, eventually becoming more legible to her sleepy ears. She froze, hiding behind the corner.

That voice.

One she's been hearing from dreams alone, dreams she couldn't fully pin as nightmares. Our beloved heir is back, she overheard her mother say. He returned while she was asleep? Truthfully, she had entirely forgotten about him due to her hectic schedule. She couldn't suppress herself any longer.

"AOI!!!" She leapt from behind the corner into his arms, sending them both onto the ground. "Hoho! I win this time," she said. Their mother sighed, staring at her kids lying on the kitchen floor.

"Mom, I can go to the beach now right!?" Kana excitedly asked.

Reluctantly, she nodded. Aoi sat up, restraining Kana's arms and legs from attacking him casually with a smile. "You're going to the beach?"

"Ow- I made a lot of new friends, and they wanna meet you! Come with me, pleaaase!" she struggled to escape his grasp as she pleaded. Dangit, even after working out he still overpowered her. She assumed that he would stop exercising after he went to college. She scoffed, giving up.

"Alright you kids, get out of the kitchen. I have work to do." shooed their mother.

Aoi sat on the couch's armrest, next to Kana. "New friends? I thought you were just gonna stick to Yuki your whole life."

She punched his ribs in response. "What? I've had plenty of friends other than Yuki! What about you? Finally got a girlfriend?" That last question is kind of important for Rika, I really could care less. Though it's better that you do so it's easier to tell her to back off. Kana smirked to herself.

Aoi surveyed the room, beckoning Kana to get closer. She wondered what he wanted to say, closing in. He whispered in her ear, causing her to gasp. "WHAT!?" She somehow barely maintained it as a whisper. She grinned to herself. Poor you, Rika.

"Are you gonna introduce em to our parents one day? I wanna meet em!" Kana excitedly said. Aoi whistled, "Mmmmaybe! Kinda hafta double-check where on the scale they stand, though."

"They'll react fine, man! The only thing you have to worry about is if he's a criminal," she joked.

"Well, he did commit a crime," Aoi said nonchalantly.

"Huh?" She blinked.

"The crime of stealing my heart."

She kicked his shin with the most force she could muster, folding him to the floor. "I hate people in relationships. Y'all suck."

The two siblings chatted, catching them up with each other's lives. It was as if they were never apart at all. Hours passed just like that.

Kana gazed at her brother's face. He was distracted on his phone. His boyfriend, perhaps. So many facial expressions she saw him make. So many that she never saw from the years they split from each other. She wondered what she felt towards him.

It would be a lie if she were to say she never entertained the thought of hating him.

...

They were going to reunite one day anyway. He couldn't avoid it forever. As Yuki visited Kana at home, he wondered how he should react upon seeing him again.