ｅｎｌｉｇｈｔｅｎ

~*~*~*~*~*~

On the following Sunday morning, Hikari's eyes snapped open as she heard the sound of a key turning into the lock. She sat up from Koushiro's bed with a gasp and shook Koushiro by the arm.

Koushiro stirred. "What is it?" he asked groggily.

"Did Taichi say when he was going to come back today?" she asked in an urgent whisper.

"He never does. It's not like he's going to show up this early, anyway. He's never up past noon on the weeke-"

The sound of the front door opening caused Koushiro to jolt upright beside her.

~*~

Taichi had forgotten that Sora had obligations with her mother on Sundays, which meant that she had to wake up early, and which meant that Taichi had to be kicked out of her apartment before she left it. Only Sora could appear apologetic but also be persistent in making him roll out of her bed so early in the morning.

Taichi thought about how nice it felt to be back in his own apartment. The moment he walked in, he was hit with a waft of the aroma of Daisuke's ramen. It still amazed him that Koushiro was coerced into being Daisuke's guinea pig, but it must have been a lively evening with the friend group, either way.

With a yawn, Taichi trudged through the living room, making his way to his room when he remembered that his mother had nagged him about checking in on his sister. Over the years, he had relaxed his watchful eye on her as they both grew older, but in the back of his mind he knew that he was left at ease when he found out that she was doing okay. They kept in touch and saw each other on a regular basis when hanging out between the two apartments, but he had been wondering why she had been so secretive about who she was dating lately.

As he turned the doorknob with one hand to enter his room, he pushed send on his phone to send the text to Hikari.

A soft chime sounded nearby, and Taichi stopped from taking a step further. It sounded exactly like Hikari's phone. He looked toward the direction the sound came from, which was from behind the door of Koushiro's room.

Didn't Koushiro have the same phone model, though? Taichi wondered to himself. At least, Taichi knew that the three of them did. Taichi always liked to copy Koushiro's latest gadgets and Hikari liked taking the ideas from her older brother.

But, wasn't Koushiro's phone almost always on silent? Whenever he was working or whenever he was asleep. A new idea was forming, but Taichi found it hard to convince himself. Why would that have been Hikari's phone, anyway? Koushiro never had any women stay the night with him. The thought of him and Hikari…

No. Way.

Taichi shook his head to himself, letting the crazy ideas shake from his mind. Then, he stepped into his room and closed his door behind him.

A moment later, he opened his door again and walked over to Koushiro's door and knocked.

"Taichi? Is that you?" he heard from the other side.

Taichi opened the door and found Koushiro sitting upright against his headboard, wearing a plain shirt and his large comforter covering the rest of him. He had his laptop right in front of him.

"Oh. Hey," Taichi said.

"Hey," Koushiro replied back, staring at his laptop screen. "You're back."

"Yeah." Taichi reached for the back of his neck with his hand to rub it. "Sora had something to do this morning. I was about to go back to bed. It's way too early to be up."

"Yeah, you don't want to start thinking about anything too crazy."

"You're telling me. Well, see ya."

"See ya later."

Taichi closed Koushiro's door and sighed, then he went back to his room. He decided to go with the conclusion that he had missed seeing his sister, and he was just hearing things.

~*~

Behind the closed door, Hikari threw the comforter from her top half.

"I can't believe he didn't notice!" Hikari said with a sigh of relief.

"He definitely heard your phone before you turned off the sound, Hikari," Koushiro said, slumping his shoulders showing just as much relief. "We really need to take better care. Or maybe we should…"

"No," Hikari said. "We are not going to tell him. Not yet."

Koushiro paused, staring at her for a few moments. "Okay, then."

~*~*~*~*~*~

Miyako was pretty happy with where she stood in her life. Things were going well for her at university, and she was making her plans to study abroad in Barcelona, Spain, a city she fell in love with when she first learned about it in her language studies.

She had the best friends and was dating her middle school crush who loved her even more than she loved him. What more could a young woman like her ask for?

Gossip, of course.

Miyako sighed as she used her own key to enter her boyfriend's' apartment, her wrists holding a few bags from shopping. Holding their own bags, Sora followed behind her, followed by Mimi who made a loud groan.

"How could you not have anything fun to tell us, Sora?" asked Mimi, who had the same mind as Miyako. "You always tell me the stupid things that Taichi and Yamato get into on a daily basis."

"I guess the boys are behaving these days," replied Sora with a smile.

"I highly doubt that," Miyako said.

"You'd at least know what Yamato's up to knowing how often you see him, Mimi," Sora added.

Mimi frowned and Miyako took it as a sign of Sora being right.

The three of them took a few moments to set their bags down next to the side of the couch. However, their expressions changed the moment Takeru entered the living room from his room.

"Oh, Takeru!" Mimi said in a sing-song voice. "I know you've got a juicy story for me. Tell me something!"

"Me?" Takeru asked. "Why would I have one?"

Sora was the first to shoot a glance at him, but Miyako and Mimi turned to face him.

"Come on, Takeru, you usually have good stories," Mimi replied. "I love the way you tell them!"

He laughed. "Not today, Meems."

Miyako narrowed her eyes at Takeru. Why was he acting so oddly? She couldn't help but think back to a few nights ago when he and Daisuke had a weird exchange of words.

Just then, Daisuke left his own room and walked into the living room.

"Daisuke?!" Mimi asked, eagerly awaiting a different person to enter the room. "What do you know?"

"What?!" Daisuke asked in a panic. "I-I don't know anything!"

Daisuke rushed out of the apartment before anyone could say anything else. Miyako exchanged looks with Sora and Takeru, while Mimi rolled her eyes and twirled to sit on the couch.

"There's never any good gossip lately," Mimi said with a sigh.

Miyako sighed in response, letting out a small sulk before joining Mimi on the couch. "I know, right?" she asked.

But as Miyako's eyes wandered, she caught a flicker in Sora's eyes. Her eyes seemed to dart away from everyone else before looking towards the floor.

Miyako looked to Takeru, who was now staring at Sora. Miyako opened her mouth to say something, but Takeru spoke up more quickly, though what came out seemed to have more implications than what she wanted to know herself.

"Sora," Takeru began, "do you know the feeling when you have a secret that you can't tell anyone but you really, really want to?

Sora's eyes widened. "I do!" she replied, then, she gasped. "Wait, do you know something?"

Takeru's mouth fell open. "Do you know?"

"Know what?" Miyako asked, her eyes going from Sora to Takeru.

"Nothing," Sora and Takeru said simultaneously.

Miyako exchanged glances with Mimi.

"Know what, Sora?" Mimi repeated in a more insistent tone.

"I said it was nothing!" Sora insisted back.

"Ooh!" Miyako said suddenly. "I know who could tell us. Hikari. If Takeru knows something, Hikari would have to know it.

"Ah!" Mimi clapped her hands together excitedly. "Wanna call her? Where is she today, anyway?"

Just as Miyako held up her phone to dial, the front door opened, and Hikari walked in, followed by Daisuke. Miyako turned to look at her curiously. Hikari hardly showed up to either apartment without letting Miyako know first.

But what really caught Miyako off guard was what Daisuke said as he walked in right behind her.

"I can't believe it's been this long that you've started dating Koushiro without telling anyone!" he said, and Hikari stopped in her tracks, her eyes growing wide. Mimi let out a gasp and covered her mouth. Miyako stood up out of shock.

"WHAT?!" Miyako shouted.

"Daisuke!" Hikari cried, turning to him and stepping forward. Immediately Daisuke took a few steps back with apprehension.

"Hikari, is this true?! That you're dating K-"

"Shhh!" came from the ensemble of Hikari, Daisuke, Takeru, Sora, and even Koushiro who had just quickly run in, closing the door behind him. In her surprised confusion, Miyako sat back down.

"Alright, yes, it's true!" Hikari said. "Koushiro and I are seeing each other!"

"So, he has been your mysterious lover," Mimi whispered in her shock.

"Lovers?!" Miyako shrieked, but in a more hushed tone than before. "How could you not tell me?"

"Or me!"

"You two can't keep secrets very well," Sora said.

"I can't believe Daisuke knew before I did!"

"Yeah, we can't believe it either," Koushiro said, now with him and Hikari staring Daisuke down. Daisuke could only cower and give back an apologetic smile.

"Ken!" Miyako called his name as he appeared, making all heads turn to him. "You will not believe what I just found out-"

"You mean, about Koushiro and Hikari dating?" he asked. "I've known for a while."

Koushiro and Hikari turned to him. "You have?" Koushiro asked.

"Yeah. Iori knew too, but we were in agreement to keep it quiet. It just wasn't my secret to tell, so I didn't say anything."

Miyako couldn't believe the audacity of her own boyfriend.

"You knew a secret as big as this one, and you didn't tell me?!"

"Ken's pretty good at keeping secrets," added Daisuke. "After what he did before we got to middle school-"

Daisuke stopped as soon as Miyako's annoyance shifted to him. She could sense everyone else was staring at him with expressions just as unfriendly.

"Hold on, then," said Mimi. "Who else doesn't know?"

"I doubt Yamato knows," Sora said. "He's not great at keeping secrets, either."

"True."

"What about Jou?" asked Ken.

"I haven't talked to him in ages," said Koushiro. "But, whatever news he hears, he's most likely to hear it from Taichi."

"Who doesn't know a thing," Sora added.

"And I'd like for us to keep it that way," said Hikari. "I really don't want him to know about us."

Miyako watched Koushiro place his hand over Hikari's, and Hikari reacted with a soft smile. Her heart melted at the sight, and she couldn't help but say 'aww', along with Mimi and Sora joining in. Miyako hadn't really pictured Koushiro and Hikari as a couple until she observed the two of them together.

"They're so adorable," she squealed. "I'm so happy, I could cry."

"You mean, you haven't yet?" Mimi asked, and Miyako turned to see Mimi wipe a tear from her eye. Miyako took Mimi's hand, starting to weep herself.

"You guys," said Hikari with a smile, and now Sora joined Mimi and Miyako, wrapping her arms around them for comfort.

"Now that we all know it here," Koushiro said, "You all have to promise us that this information will not leave this room."

The ambiance of the apartment changed the moment that Daisuke walked in. In his arms, he carried the dry noodles, bottled sauces and a large pan as he entered. Following behind him were Ken and Iori holding plastic shopping bags of vegetables and other ingredients; and Miyako and Hikari walked in last, both of them chattering away as they carried the plastic bowls and cutlery. While everyone set their items down, Takeru alternated between greeting everyone one by one and helping them organize where to put what item in the kitchen. In the middle of it all, he greeted Hikari with a big hug.

“Hey, stranger,” he told her. “I’ve been wanting to catch up with you. I haven’t seen you in a while.”

Hikari hugged him back tightly. “It’s so nice to see you!” she replied. “Our brothers are probably a little too relaxed without the both of us teaming up against them.”

The two of them noticed that the kitchen became crowded with Ken and Koushiro helping Daisuke set up the stove, so they decided to walk over to the couch where Miyako and Iori had already taken a seat. 

“Oh, I forgot to ask,” Miyako said once she eyed Hikari. “How was the movie that you watched yesterday?”

“It was pretty good,” said Hikari. “I’m not usually into sci-fi or fantasy type of movies, but the one I got to see was nice.”

“Hey, Kou,” Ken called out toward the kitchen. “Didn’t you say you watched a sci-fi movie, too?”

“What was that?” Koushiro asked underneath the noisy fan over the stove that Daisuke had just turned on. He was called over by Daisuke soon after, but Takeru could have sworn that Koushiro’s eyes had widened for a split second.

“I guess we can’t bother them for a while,” thought Miyako aloud.

“I wonder if it was the same movie as the one you watched, Hikari,” Iori said. “He seemed to enjoy it a lot, but he’s really into that genre, anyway.”

“I-I’m sure he is,” Hikari said with a giggle. But knowing her, Takeru sensed the tinge of nervousness in her voice. The moment of her stuttering that caught his awareness.

“Anybody want something to drink?” Koushiro asked, as he appeared on the side of the couch where Iori sat. Everyone had declined except for Iori, who had mentioned that he wanted some tea, but he would insist that he make it himself.

“You look fabulous today, Hikari,” Miyako added. “I love that color of purple on you.”

“Aww, thank you!” Hikari said with a smile. “I even took out my earrings to match the outfit. I couldn’t find my favorite pair, though, I guess I misplaced them-”

“Ah! I hate when that happens!”

Takeru and Koushiro fell silent as the women continued their discussion of their wardrobe and their grievances of missing accessories. Takeru turned his head to Koushiro, ready to think of a topic to start, when-

“I have to tell you, Miyako. All I could find were my colorful bobby pins for my hair today. I guess I’ve been so distracted that I don’t know where I’ve been putting them. There’s this purple one that would’ve gone perfectly with what I’m wearing today.”

“Oh my gosh! I’ve seen you wear it! Is it the one with the stars on it?”

“YES!”

It was as though those glittery purple stars aligned in Takeru’s head, the connection dawning on him, just as he watched Koushiro’s expression change into horror as Takeru met eyes with him..

Takeru had promised not to tell anyone, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t have fun with what he had just discovered.

“I might know where it is, Hikari,” Takeru said as he stared at Koushiro, a sly smile forming on his lips.

“You do?” Hikari asked, her and Miyako’s heads turning in their direction.

“Oh! That’s right!” Koushiro piped up soon after. “Takeru found it on the floor in their apartment the other day! I know he put it aside somewhere!”

“You did?” Hikari asked, curiously.

“Wait - I did?” Takeru asked, puzzled.

“Let’s go find it now!” said Koushiro. “Come, Hikari!”  Without warning, Takeru was pulled by his forearm from where he sat on the couch, and he was led out of Koushiro’s living room and into his own apartment. Koushiro was surprisingly strong as Takeru tried to struggle, and Takeru decided it was best not to protest.

“Koushiro, what is going on here?” Hikari asked as she closed the door behind her. “Did you guys really find my hair clip in here?”

Koushiro let go of Takeru’s arm, just as Takeru wrung it free.

“You’ve figured it out, haven’t you, Takeru?” he asked. “That it was Hikari in my bed last night.”

“Koushiro!’ Hikari cried, aghast. “I thought we said-”

“We aren’t going to fool him, Hikari. He’s connected the dots so easily. And he knows you too well for you to hide this.”

“So, it’s true?” Takeru’s eyebrows raised, forgetting his motive to tease. He was genuinely interested. “Is this what you’ve been hiding from me, Hikari? Koushiro is your new fling?”

“We’ve both been hiding this. From everyone,” Hikari corrected, though her voice was calm. She took a step in front of Koushiro and toward Takeru. “And he’s not a fling. He’s nothing like that.” She took Koushiro’s hand and turned to look at him. That was when Takeru saw the look in her eyes when she smiled at Koushiro, and the faint blush on Koushiro’s cheeks as he smiled back.

It was magical.

“Wow, I would never have guessed,” said Takeru. The more he watched the two of them together, the more he felt the warmth swelling inside of him. “This is incredible! Why haven’t you told anyone?”

Hikari gave him a look of disbelief. “Could you imagine the reaction from everyone else when they found out?”

“Your reaction was pretty tame,” noted Koushiro.

“But if you think about the likes of Daisuke-”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” said Takeru. “Daisuke knows? It’s a wonder that he hasn’t spilled the beans.”

“On that note, we should probably hurry back to my place,” said Koushiro. “Before he lets it slip somehow.”

“So, my hairclip was never in here?” Hikari asked.

Koushiro pulled the purple hair accessory from his pocket, then placed it into Hikari’s palm. Hikari in turn took out a small pocket mirror, which Koushiro held as she swept her bangs to the side with the clip.

“That’s more like it,” said Hikari. “How do I look, Kou?”

“You know what I’m going to say.”

“Tell me anyway.”

“You look beautiful, always.”

They were inches from kissing when Takeru took the moment to clear his throat. As much as he loved his two friends in love with each other, he did not want to start off as the third wheel for either of them.

“Sorry,” they both said sheepishly. Then, Hikari approached Takeru, an expression of guilt showing on her face.

“I hope you aren’t upset with me for canceling our catch up time.”

Takeru smiled. “At least now I know who you’re doi- uh, dating.”

Hikari smacked his shoulder playfully. “Listen. I know it might be a lot to ask right now, but we really don’t want everyone to know about us. Can you promise me that you won’t say anything?”

“I won’t.”

“Not even to Yamato, or Taichi?”

“I promise.”

“And even Daisuke?”

“What?” Takeru frowned. “Even if he knows?” How else would Takeru be able to talk about it?

“Promise me?” Hikari held up her hand curled into a fist, except with her pinky pointed up.

Takeru had always gotten away with his puppy dog expression, but Hikari’s batting eyelashes were admittedly way more persuasive. Feeling resigned, he hooked his pinky on hers.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The gang shared a lovely meal of Daisuke’s ramen that evening. There were the usual “Mmm, this is delicious!” comments from Miyako, and similar remarks of tastiness around the table, including from Ken himself. But Ken noticed that both Koushiro and Hikari gave more criticism to Daisuke after having a few bites. Hikari mentioned that Daisuke should cut back on the pepper, and Koushiro commented on how the vegetables in the broth complemented the flavors very well.

Ken had been surprised to see that the two were particularly invested in Daisuke’s cooking; yet, that was not the only example of them acting unusually. After all, Ken knew that Koushiro and Hikari were dating each other in secret. 

He had found out on his own, paying close attention to their interaction and even catching them exchanging glances that he wouldn’t have noticed if he and Miyako hadn’t been doing the same. Ken knew, and so did Iori, who mentioned it to him in passing. But they had both decided to keep it to themselves out of respect for the couple.

After some time digesting their food while they chatted among themselves, everyone decided to call it a night. Miyako joined Ken, Daisuke, and Takeru in their apartment. They pitched in with helping Daisuke to clean the kitchen and put his tools and condiments away before they got to settle down.

Right when the cleaning was done, and Daisuke had put his hands on his hips with a triumphant pose, his expression soured and he let out a groan.

“What’s up, Daisuke?” Ken asked. He had just plopped onto the couch with his leg crossed over the other.

“I forgot my sauce on the kitchen counter at Kou's,” Daisuke replied gloomily, and he started towards the door with his shoulders slumped. “I guess I’ll go get it real quick-”

Then, Daisuke jolted as he paused, and he stood up straighter. Everyone, including Ken, noticed his sudden change in posture.

“On second thought, maybe I could get it tomorrow,” he said.

“Koushiro’s probably still awake,” Miyako countered. “You know how late he stays up. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”

Daisuke continued to stay still, but Ken noticed by Daisuke’s widened stare that he was trying not to reveal what he knew. Then, Daisuke waved his hand in disagreement. “Nahh.” 

Miyako shrugged. “Okay. Then, I’ll go.” 

A chorus of repeated ‘no’s’ sounded from Daisuke, along with the surprising help from Takeru. Miyako stared at the two of them, clueless, but then she shook her head.

“Fine. Get it whenever you want.”

Ken had pulled out a novel to read, but he hid his smile from the amusement of what he was currently witnessing between his roommates. He looked up to see Daisuke give Takeru a long, curious stare.

“Do you… know something, Takeru?” Daisuke asked.

“I… don’t know,” Takeru replied. “Do you know something?”

"I do know something, but I wanna know if… you know what I know."

"Hmm." Takeru placed his thumb and forefinger on his chin, appearing deep in thought.

Daisuke went on. “I mean… we both know things, and there are things we both might know, and things that only one of us knows. I wanna know if there's something I know that you might know, too…"

Takeru's eyes shifted to stared hard at Daisuke. Ken noticed Miyako from the corner of his eye, her eyebrows crinkled as she tried to make sense of what Daisuke said. Even Daisuke didn't seem too sure. 

"Why is that?” Takeru began to ask with fervor. “Ooh, do you think I know what you know? Or maybe it's something that you know that you have been dying to tell me but I've already known all along?"

When Takeru curled his lips to a smile, Daisuke frowned. 

"How am I going to figure out if I know what you know if I know that you aren't taking me seriously??"

"Ugh!!!" Miyako groaned. "Daisuke, just tell us what you know already!"

“But, it’s a secret!” Daisuke argued, though his eyes immediately widened. “I mean… The secret about what…I… what I added in the broth for my ramen tonight…”

“Hey! I already saw you using the pressure cooker for the tonkotsu broth, and you definitely added more sesame paste! You aren’t fooling me!”

“Ha! Well, aren’t you Miss Smarty Pants!” Daisuke laughed, though Ken sensed uncertainty from him. “Secret’s out! You know I'm bad at keeping secrets, anyway! Guess I should head to bed!"

The room was silent as the other three watched Daisuke walk from the kitchen to his room, including when he shut the door behind him. Ken found himself impressed at the fact that, if what he suspected was correct, that Daisuke was better at keeping secrets than he had proclaimed.

"So, what do you know?" Miyako asked Takeru, turning the attention to him.

"I know.." Takeru began, and he casually held his arms up to stretch. "...that I am wiped from the day. 'Night."

Takeru went through the same door to his shared room with Daisuke, and Ken concluded that, after that conversation, that Takeru held the same secret as Daisuke.

"Hmm, that was weird," Miyako thought aloud. "For both of them. Do you know what's going on to make your roommates act like this?”

It was just another weeknight of hanging out at the apartment of Hikari's older brother and his best friend. Hikari had a study-session-turned shopping excursion with Miyako earlier that day, then they headed to the boys' apartments to visit Miyako's boyfriend, Ken. The whole gang was there: Takeru and Daisuke of course, and Iori even stopped by for a while. After enjoying pizza with them, Hikari, Daisuke, and Takeru traveled across the hall to find Taichi and Koushiro playing a video game in their living room. The younger of the boys brought their controllers along to join them, and Hikari grabbed one to play, too.

She smiled at Taichi as she sat down on the couch, and when she gave a smile to Koushiro when she sat next to him, the small smile he gave in return sent her heart aflutter. It was one of the moments so subtle that she figured no one else in the room would be able to notice.

At some point in the evening, Sora entered the apartment with her cheerful demeanor, but seemed startled to find Hikari sitting between Takeru and Koushiro.

"What is it, Sora?" Taichi asked. "Surprised to see a girl play a video game?"

"Hey, we girls can have fun, too," she quipped. "Daisuke, hand me your controller. You're done. Let me have a turn."

Daisuke obeyed but groaned, having been Sora's frequent target to pick on. Affectionately, of course.

The shouts and the laughter as they played died down after a while, and Takeru's yawning signaled the group to end their fun.

Hikari watched Koushiro stand up, and observed everyone else follow suit, one by one. They were all getting ready to leave, but she actually really wanted to stay.

"I guess we're calling it a night, guys?" Taichi asked.

"Yeah," said Takeru, shaking Daisuke awake. "Daisuke's practically drooling on your couch."

"Whaa?" Daisuke called.

"Taichi," Sora said, snaking her arms around his torso. "Spend the night at my place?"

"Really?" he asked, his lips forming a smirk.

"Really. You've got class in the morning, and my place is closer to campus."

His lips immediately turned into a frown. "I guess you've got a point."

Sora laughed, and then, she met eyes with Hikari.

Did Sora give her a wink?

"Alright, guys," Sora said shortly after, arm in arm with Taichi as they headed out. "Good night."

"Night," Hikari chorused with the others, although she was curious about Sora's action.

After Takeru dragged Daisuke back to their apartment, Hikari realized that the stars had aligned perfectly for her and Koushiro that night.

"You've got to be up early for work tomorrow," Hikari told him as she finally stood up from the couch to meet his eye level.

"I can work from home tomorrow," he replied. "But, don't you have class?"

"Not until the afternoon."

No one else was going to bother them for a while. The two of them smiled at this realization, as if their thought processes were in sync. This time, Hikari made sure to lock the door before her lips crashed into his.

Hikari had been surprised at the fact that Koushiro was a good kisser. They had actually been each other's first kiss, when she was 10 and he was 12. Taichi had talked way too much about what kissing a girl might have felt like, and Koushiro couldn't help but be curious about it. He took note aloud of the soft feel of his lips touching Hikari's, but he couldn't register the magic that a kiss could entail, and neither could she.

Yet, Hikari never forgot that first kiss, and the next time their lips met, she melted into them, just like she would every single time after that.

When they reached his room, Hikari kissed Koushiro once more with each kiss deeper and longer than the last. She ushered him onto his bed as they kissed some more, removing their clothes one by one, until he leaned back with his elbows supporting his torso.

She broke off the kiss to meet his eyes as she hovered over him. Maybe she was pushing him too hard. Their mouths were still close, their breaths heavy. His eyes didn't show any sign of questioning, but her mind seemed to be racing with questions.

"You know when to say 'no,' Koushiro," she said. "But you haven't stopped me once."

"It's because I don't want you to stop," he said simply.

"I just thought that, since this was your first time, you would be nervous. Aren't you?"

She knew that he wouldn't take offense to speaking her mind, but she was still wary of his response.

"I am, Hikari," he admitted. "My thoughts are out of control. My heart might beat its way out of my chest. I know it's because of… because of the way I feel about you."

She wanted to melt.

"Koushiro," she said, taking his hand and putting it above her chest, so that he could feel her own heart's mad thumping. "I'm nervous, too."

"I'm glad to know that we feel the same."

Hikari laughed, feeling more at ease. She noticed the feel of his hands trailing at her sides, her skin tingling at his touch. She'd had one other lover before, although it was still one more than Koushiro had. Even if he would learn the ways she would love him, and show him how to love her, she noticed that he was doing better than he might have realized.

And so she leaned down for another kiss, her hand gliding against his bare skin, brushing against him as she trailed them along, ready for them to explore each other.

Takeru's favorite moments were always whenever he spent time with his older brother Yamato. On Saturday, they waited until noon to meet up. The both of them were both night owls and relished sleeping in. After grabbing some burgers together, they ended up at Yamato's place, where Yamato pushed his engineering studies aside to fiddle with his bass guitar. Takeru let the sounds fall into his background noise while he took out his notebook to jot down words to help inspire his creative ideas. He wasn't sure whether he would end up using them for his course assignments or for his personal writing, but it was something he enjoyed doing.

Takeru was disappointed that he didn't get as much of a chance to pester and tease his brother for too long, since Yamato shooed him out later that afternoon so that he could get ready for a dinner date with Mimi.

He ended up going back to his apartment, where he saw Miyako and Ken cuddled up on the couch and staring at the television. Daisuke must have been out, and Takeru figured he would let the couple have their space. So, naturally, he knocked on the front door next door, where he would find Koushiro, whom he knew to be another single male in their group, other than Daisuke and Iori.

Koushiro let Takeru in, and as Takeru took a few steps, he couldn't help but notice a fresh scent - light, but noticeable.

"Is Taichi around?" Takeru asked, and wondered if Taichi had walked out a short time ago.

"He's actually been with Sora all day," Koushiro replied.

"Then, are you wearing cologne?" Takeru thought aloud.

Koushiro appeared to freeze, as though he had been caught.

"Oohh…" Takeru felt a sly remark coming on at this realization. He remembered his delight when he teased Yamato as a preteen, and Takeru had noticed that Yamato had worn their father's cologne to school.

"Please, don't push this, Takeru," Koushiro said, simply, though his cheeks were turning red. He turned to the fridge to grab Takeru a drink, but Takeru couldn't stop smiling. Was Koushiro going on a date tonight? Or was he bringing them over? Takeru urged to find out.

"So, Taichi's out tonight, then?"

"Yup. Daisuke wanted me to try out his improved ramen recipe though, so he's coming over."

"Oh." Takeru was not surprised at this typical Daisuke behavior.

"He's making a big batch, so he wants everyone else to come over and try it."

"...Oh." Takeru quirked his brow at Koushiro, surprised at the fact that he let Daisuke freely invite people to the apartment that wasn't even his. "And you're letting him do this?

Koushiro shrugged. "Sure. It will be the usual crowd, anyway. Everyone from your place, Miyako, Iori, and Hikari."

"No way, Hikari?" Takeru let out a surprised gasp. "I haven't seen her in a while! I asked if she wanted to meet up yesterday to catch up. But she said she had plans."

"I see," Koushiro replied, his cheeks turning redder, for some reason.

Takeru couldn't figure out what could have caused Koushiro's embarrassment, so he attempted to lighten the mood.

"Well, it'll be good to see her today, then. And if we're having a get together, I guess that gives me the honor of being your first guest, right?"

"At least it's you and not Daisuke himself."

Koushiro smiled while Takeru grinned back.

"Need help with anything, then?"

"Nah, Daisuke said he would bring everything over. I suppose you can hang out here while we wait."

"Okay. Mind if I use your bathroom?"

"Not at all."

Takeru looked forward to having a laid back time with Koushiro while they waited for everyone else to arrive. Especially when Taichi wasn't around, Koushiro kept to himself, save for the occasional shouts and reactions while he played his games. Sometimes Takeru liked to play against him, sometimes he watched the gameplay.

When Takeru walked into Koushiro's bedroom on the way to the bathroom, he noticed Koushiro take a seat at his computer, another thing that Takeru was used to seeing. He was also used to seeing Koushiro's room to be tidy and his bed made. But as he stepped toward the bathroom, Takeru's eyes caught a glint of something unusual, a small, sparkling item on the carpet near the bed, out of place from the otherwise clean and tidy room.

"A hairclip…?" Takeru said aloud. He picked it up and held it up close with the childlike curiosity that never left him since he was initially the youngest of the group. The hair clip was purple that shone from specks of glitter, with stars designed at the tips.

Takeru heard Koushiro yelp, and before he could turn to look, the clip had already been swiped from his hand.

"Alright, there, Kou…?" Takeru asked, eyeing Koushiro curiously at his heightened expression, the hairclip now securely enclosed in the palm of his hand.

"I'm fine! It's nothing!" Koushiro replied, his arms waving frantically and the tone of his voice unnaturally higher as he laughed it off.

Takeru tilted his head. "If you wanted to say you were experimenting with hair accessories, I wouldn't judge," he remarked in a joking tone.

"I'm not- I mean-!"

Takeru perked his head up at that answer. There were a lot of things that Koushiro kept to himself, but he was also good at telling the truth. And also easy to read when he was hiding something.

The speculation of a possible new side of Koushiro coming to light gave Takeru a surge of excitement to find out more. First, the cologne. And now, the hair clip. Was Koushiro seeing someone?

"Ohh! If it doesn't belong to you, then does it belong to someone else? Did someone else leave it here?"

"DON'T," Koushiro said forcefully, taking Takeru aback. "Don't. Push this, Takeru."

"Okay, okay…" Now it was Takeru's turn to put his palms up in surrender. "I won't."

"Please don't tell anyone about this, either. Promise me."

Takeru paused for a moment as he took note of Koushiro's adamant stare. Whatever he was hiding must have meant a lot to him, and Takeru respected him too much to go against his own word. So, the next thing he held out was his fingers curled into his palm, save for his pinky raised.

"I promise."

~*~*~*~*~*~

The year was 2010. Many of the Chosen Children were working their way towards their career paths, while the others were still honing their craft, or studying their way through university, hoping the answer to life would appear somehow.

Koushiro was lucky to find as many answers as he had at his age. He had already graduated from university by the end of Taichi’s second year, and at 21 years old, he was the CEO of his own technology company.

Taichi had been Koushiro's roommate in their two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment for three years now, since the time he had left his parent’s home and moved out after high school. Koushiro’s startup was a success and he had earned enough to buy his own place by that point. But he was used to having Taichi as a roommate; they were best friends, so Koushiro liked living with him.

Just as much as he liked living across the hallway from Daisuke, Takeru, and Ken in the same apartment building. There was a lot of hustle and bustle between their apartments combined as they had frequent visitors among all of the Chosen, and the three younger boys visiting Taichi and Koushiro’s apartment nearly every other day. Koushiro had learned to block out the noise, especially when he needed to focus, but it was a wonder that the rest of the building hadn’t reported any noise complaints against the two apartments. Taichi himself might as well have been a noise complaint on his own - he was usually the most jovial amongst their friends; and, not to mention those evenings when Sora stayed the night.

Koushiro had less to complain about lately, including one Friday evening when he happened to have the apartment to himself. Taichi had gone over to Sora’s place; and since Taichi’s schedule was free from classes the next day, he was not going to return to the apartment that night.

So, Koushiro relaxed in his moment of freedom, wearing a casual shirt and jeans, but adding a touch of gel to his hair from what he had already worn earlier that day at his office. He spritzed on some cologne because he wanted this night to be special.

A knock came at the door, and he couldn’t help but smile when he opened it. Hikari was standing there, and she looked as beautiful to him as ever.

“Hey,” he whispered.

Hikari smiled. “Hello,” she whispered back.

Out of habit, Koushiro peered over Hikari’s shoulder and around the empty hallway, eyeing the closed door across the hall. Hikari had looked around as well, but soon after, Koushiro took her by the hand to pull her inside, allowing her to close the door behind her.

Then, she leaned forward to greet him with a kiss - a kiss that nearly took his breath away.

“Hello, handsome,” she said, this time her voice raised to normal, her tone bubbly.

“Hey, Hikari,” Koushiro replied in his attempt not to sound breathless. He found it hard to use pet names, even though he wanted to call her ‘beautiful’.

Hikari giggled, then pulled him close for an embrace. He felt her breathe in. “Mmm, you smell nice.”

He took note of the sweet, floral scent on her, but his cheeks burned as he knew that he was too meek to say the same. Instead, he settled for holding their embrace for a few more seconds, with the knowledge that the moments he had with her that night was worth savoring.

Especially since no one had known that he and Hikari had been dating for a month.

They had prided themselves for keeping this secret from their circle of friends for so long. Luckily for them, the two of them were the least suspicious of anything out of everyone; therefore, the best two at keeping secrets and coordinating with each other whenever they interacted with the members of their group. Mimi and Miyako were intuitive enough to sense that Hikari and Koushiro had new ‘special someones’ in their lives, but they were so far out of their minds to even connect the dots.

Hiding this fact from Taichi had been their greatest achievement, but with Koushiro as his roommate and best friend, and Hikari as his younger sister, Taichi’s discovery was actually their greatest fear.

Another peck from Hikari had wiped the mixture of thoughts from Koushiro’s mind.

“So,” Hikari said, moving her hands from around his back to his arms. “I stopped by the market on the way here for ingredients to make us some dinner.”

“Are you sure?” he asked her. “You must be tired from being at uni all day. Why don’t we heat up some instant yakisoba?”

Hikari scrunched her eyebrows. “Nonsense! I will make you some from scratch. It’ll taste much better, I promise.”

“I’m sure it will.”

“And after that,” Hikari drew closer again. “We can watch something together, like a movie, and after that, maybe…"

Koushiro’s felt his heart beating more quickly for some reason. "Maybe… what?"

"You know… since it'll be just the two of us here by ourselves, we could…"

"...Enjoy the movie in each other's comfort?" Koushiro guessed.

Hikari paused, then she laughed, her cheeks turning pink.

"You can be so clueless about this. It's charming."

"Charming? I guess I wouldn't think of myself that way."

"Of course you wouldn't. That's part of your charm." Hikari giggled again at Koushiro's curious stare. "I wouldn’t be here to spend time with you and make you dinner otherwise."

She let go of his arms and turned to face the kitchen. As she took a step towards it, Koushiro took her wrist, stopping her. What she had been trying to say suddenly clicked in his head.

"What if I suggested for these events to be out of order?" Koushiro asked.

"What did you want to do first?" she asked.

"Well… the part that was meant for after the movie…"

His face was heating up again, but this time, his eyes were fixated on Hikari, who gave him a look of surprise.

“Really? You want to…?”

Koushiro nodded.

Hikari’s lips curled into a smile, the kind that he recognized when she was being playful. The kind that urged him to kiss those lips again. So when he drew her in like a magnet, her lips met his once more, and he gladly accepted. He kissed her back, his heart drumming in his chest as his hands wrapped around her waist, and her body closing in until her chest pushed up against his.

That “part” he was talking about was unexplored territory for him and Hikari. They had been taking their intimacy at a slow pace, and they had found pockets of time to sneak away with each other, stealing kisses here and there, even making out in each others’ rooms before their respective roommates showed up. But this time, Koushiro predicted that they would have no interruptions, and if they both wanted to end up in his bed that night, there would be no stopping them.

Not even a step was taken toward Koushiro’s bedroom when the front door opened.

“Kouuushiroooo!” came Daisuke’s voice. “I’m bored, let’s game…”

Both Hikari and Koushiro ripped apart from each other, but they were a second too late. They both faced Daisuke’s widened eyes and jaw which dropped so far it might as well have hit the ground.

“Daisuke!” cried Hikari, mortified. “Don’t you ever knock?!”

Gah! Koushiro thought in his head, but he might have said it aloud. He had been too enamored with Hikari to have forgotten to lock the door when she arrived. He gathered that her immediate reaction toward Daisuke was out of her guilt for the same reason.

“No, no way!” Daisuke said with surprised laughter in his voice. “Kou is your mystery boyfriend?! And Hikari’s your secret lover?”

“Daisuke!” Hikari repeated, her face turning as red as Koushiro knew his face appeared.

“Oh, man! I can only imagine what would happen if Taichi found out-”

Hikari started toward Daisuke, but Koushiro was faster, with his fear, panic, and anger surging all at once. He held Daisuke by the shirt collar and mere inches away from his face.

“You cannot tell Taichi,” Koushiro spat, and he realized that the tone of panic must have prevailed based on how his voice sounded. Still, his forcefulness seemed to have caught Daisuke frightened.

“Whoa, I didn’t think this would be so serious-” Daisuke sputtered.

“Please, Daisuke, promise you won’t tell him, or anyone else!” begged Hikari at Koushiro’s side.

“Alright! Alright…” After a few moment’s pause, Daisuke’s stare relaxed, but his next question threw the other two for a loop. “What’s in it for me?”

“Why would we owe you anything?!” Koushiro asked incredulously.

“This is a pretty big secret, and you know how terrible I am at keeping them. And when it comes to Taichi, there’s no way I could keep this from him.  I’d like some compensation.”

For a head like his that was always full of ideas, Koushiro was running short of them at that moment. He let go of Daisuke’s collar, having no idea what would appease Daisuke for something like this.

“Ramen,” Hikari replied suddenly. “You can cook for us,” she continued. “We’ll critique it for you.”

Daisuke’s eyes softened. This was something that Koushiro knew meant a great deal to Daisuke, as he was studying and aspiring to be in the culinary field. Not a day had gone by that he boasted about his skills and he had begged everyone in his friends group to at least taste his food to help learn what worked and what needed improvement.

Koushiro was in awe of Hikari hitting the nail on the head with this idea, and it made him adore her more than ever.

“Do you guys really mean that?” Daisuke asked, and Koushiro swore that Daisuke’s eyes were getting glassy.

“Yes! We do!” Hikari replied, and Koushiro nodded enthusiastically. “Hikari and I will enjoy your ramen together!”

“You guys… are the best!!” Daisuke stood up, then hugged Koushiro and then Hikari tightly. Koushiro smiled widely along with Hikari, knowing that they both were laughing in relief.

Then, Daisuke laughed aloud in his glee, and he balled his hands into fists and held them at his sides. “Ah, well! Nothing like a couple devouring my best noods ! Wait, that didn’t come out right…”

Koushiro blinked in confusion, then turned to Hikari once more, and she shrugged as she smiled with embarrassment in reply.

~*~*~*~

After a few hours of practicing ikebana, Sora needed some fresh air. The first idea that appeared in her mind was to check on her friends. It was easy for her - she could pay a visit to one place and she could check mark five of her male friends’ names from the list, one of those males being her boyfriend, Taichi.

That day, she had been hoping to run into Koushiro, whom she hadn’t seen in a while. Her frequent visits had come to a halt lately, but at least Taichi stopped by her place to see her whenever he had the chance.

When she stepped off of the train, she wondered who she would see this time. Taichi had yet to respond to her text message, but even if he nor Koushiro were away, Someone was always at the other apartment for her to chat with. That was always something she expected.

What she did not expect as she stepped along the platform was to catch Koushiro's spiky red hair from the corner of her eye. She watched him quickly move through the platform with someone and turn a corner. Going on her instinct, she followed them, and she kept herself at a distance to remain unnoticed, but she was able to recognize that “someone” who sat on a bench so close to Koushiro. That petite someone who had a short bob haircut and who was slightly shorter than he was, but their head tilted upward for her lips to lock with his.

That someone who was Hikari.

Sora nearly dropped her shoulder bag, just as she heard her phone ring from inside. When she saw who was calling, her eyes widened, and she quickly took a deep breath, hoping to exhale her shock and fright before answering his call.

“Hey, Taichi,” she said. “You home?”

“I’m just leaving from work. You?”

“Oh, well I was just heading to see- uh- Koushiro-!”

Her mouth hung open as she watched the two, shamelessly kissing each other like that. Sure, they were behind a wall that was normally easily missed by any passersby, but to be out in public-!

“Huh? Koushiro?” Taichi asked.

Sora swallowed her shock and gathered herself to give Taichi a reply. “I was going to stop by the apartment to say hello.”

“Really? Want me to meet you there?”

“No-”

She realized that her answer might have been too quick. She turned around and began to head in the direction away from Koushiro and Hikari, as though every frantic step further would make Taichi less suspicious. “No. I’ll be there a short while before heading back to my place. It might take too long for you to get here. Why don’t you meet me at mine? Then we can figure out what to do then?”

Sora expected Taichi's silence for him to figure out that her suggested route made sense. She also welcomed his silence for her to process what she had just seen. Koushiro? Hikari? Together? How long had they been seeing each other? How serious was it? Did any of their friends know? Did Taichi know?

There was no way that Taichi could have known. He teased Koushiro for being a top secret "playboy", and he bickered with Hikari about any of her love interests, even if she refused to tell him any names.

"I guess I’ll take the train straight to your place then," Taichi said, then, he added with a tease, "Don’t stay too long with Koushiro. You know I’m the sensitive, protective type. I might start thinking that you’re his secret girlfriend, or something.”

Hikari watched Koushiro stand up, and observed everyone else follow, one by one. They were all getting ready to leave, but she really wanted to stay.

“I guess we’re calling it a night, guys?” Taichi asked.

“Yeah,” said Takeru, shaking Daisuke awake. “Daisuke’s practically drooling on your couch.”

“Whaa?” Daisuke called.

“Taichi,” Sora said, snaking her arms around his torso. “Spend the night at my place?”

“Really?” he asked, his lips forming a smirk.

“Really. You’ve got class in the morning, and my place is closer to campus.”

His lips immediately turned into a frown. “I guess you’ve got a point.”

Sora laughed, and then, she met eyes with Hikari.

Did Sora give her a wink?

“Alright, guys,” Sora said shortly after, arm in arm with Taichi as they headed out. “Good night.”

“Night,” Hikari chorused with the others, curious about Sora’s action.

After Takeru dragged Daisuke back to their apartment, Hikari realized that the stars had aligned perfectly for her and Koushiro that night.

“You’ve got to be up early for work tomorrow,” Hikari told him as she finally stood up from the couch to meet his eye level.

“I can work from home tomorrow,” he replied. “But, don’t you have class?”

“Not until the afternoon.”