Outside the hallway, rain poured in heavy sheets.
Above them, the motion-sensor light stayed dutifully on, triggered by the wet, lewd sounds of lips and tongues tangling between one man and one woman.
Under the cold white light, the heat of their desperate kissing was enough to turn the drifting chill rain into warm mist.
They didn't know how long they kissed... until neither could breathe.
In the end, Ayumi's chest heaved, her tits squashed flat into soft white pancakes from the way Sasaki had gripped her waist so hard as she panted. "Really... really... hah~
You trying to suffocate big sis or what?"
Through the thin fabric of her shirt, Sasaki rubbed the silky skin of her waist, rolled his eyes and teased.
"Sister Ayumi, you're the one who grabbed my collar and wouldn't let go. Putting all the blame on me is kinda unfair, don't you think?"
"Ah? Haha~"
Only now realizing, Ayumi belatedly released his collar, laughing awkwardly. "That... that was force majeure, force majeure, haha~."
Then she smoothed out his shirt that had been wrinkled into rags, leaned her full body weight against him, meeting his lowered gaze.
"You said it yourself... you're gonna take care of big sis forever."
"Mm."
As he tried to lean in again, the girl pressed her slender finger against his lips and shook her head with a smile:
"No more~ If we keep going, Akane might come out looking for us."
True... they hadn't checked the time, but they'd been out here way too long.
Any longer would be bad.
That's what his mind said... but his arms stayed locked around her waist.
Instead, he lowered his head and sucked her milky-soft fingertip into his mouth, mumbling around it:
"So... should we just tell Sister Akane about us?"
Tell her... if things went as planned, both sisters would end up spread on the same bed under him anyway.
In the end, telling or not wouldn't matter.
But right now, confessing might mess up his plan to steal Akane away... plus it could make her feel awkward and hesitant around him.
So...
After thinking about it for a moment, Ayumi pulled her finger free, gave him a shy yet scolding glance, and said.
"Better not... don't want to cause you any trouble."
From her words, it was easy to guess what she was thinking.
Since she was willing, Sasaki wouldn't push against her kindness.
"Sister Ayumi really takes such good care of Sister Akane."
"She's my little sister. Of course I have to."
While chatting idly, they both fixed their clothes that had gotten messed up from all the heated kissing.
Once everything was straightened out, they opened the door and stepped back inside.
"Sister, you guys were so slow... dinner's gonna get cold if you wait any longer."
At the dining table, Akane, who had just been texting her boyfriend good night, put her phone down and pouted at the two of them.
"Ah, sorry, sorry... we were looking for something, and it took forever."
Ayumi smiled apologetically, walked into the kitchen, opened the fridge and asked her sister.
"Akane, is there any wine left... oh, found it. Akane, you drinking?"
To be honest, Akane didn't really like alcohol much.
The ones at home were stuff her sister brought back.
Neither she nor Asato was a big drinker.
So, hearing her sister's words, she was about to shake her head no when Sasaki, sitting right beside her, leaned over and gently shook her arm:
"Come on, let's all have a little. It's a happy night, right? Pretty please?"
Well...
Ever since the hospital, she'd treated Sasaki as the closest person to her besides her sister.
So, of course she wouldn't refuse him.
"Okay then... if Fuyumi wants to, we'll all drink a little. But not too much, okay~"
In the end, Akane reached out, stroked the back of his hand, and agreed without hesitation.
"OK~"
With her answer, Ayumi pulled every last beer can left in the fridge.
Not wanting to make them get up, and unable to carry them all in her hands, she simply balanced the last can right on top of her big, perky tits.
The frost on the can instantly melted against the warm softness, turning into clear droplets that rolled straight down her creamy cleavage, soaking the front of her shirt.
Even she shivered from the cold.
"Whoa~ So cold, so cold~."
She hurried to the table, bent over, and dumped the armful of beers down.
Sasaki looked at the alluring scene in front of him and couldn't hold back for a moment.
After all, Ayumi was sitting directly across from him, barely half a meter away.
Bending over like that, shirt wet and clinging... what man could resist staring at those half-hidden white melons?
Akane caught her sister's shameless display and quickly slapped her hand over Sasaki's eyes, whining.
"Sis~~ Go change your clothes already! You're..."
"Changing, changing."
Himemiya Ayumi didn't mind Sasaki looking at all.
After all, he was her love and seen way more than that.
But yeah, the wet fabric sticking to her skin was uncomfortable.
After Ayumi went back to her room to change, Akane pulled her hand away from Sasaki's eyes.
"Fuyumi, um... don't mind her, okay? Sis is just like that... super casual with people she's close to."
"No problem. Sister Ayumi acting like that is actually kinda cute."
Cute... first time anyone ever called her big sister cute.
Was it because...
Remembering how her sister looked just now... and how Fuyumi's eyes had been glued to her...
Akane couldn't help but huff quietly in her heart.
'Hmph, men...'
She was about to complain out loud... but then remembered how politely distant her own boyfriend always was with her, and suddenly she wasn't so sure.
It was normal for guys to be different... so Akane didn't dwell on it too long.
Compared to that small stuff, the real thing bothering her was that her boyfriend still wouldn't touch her.
They'd privately agreed to save everything for marriage.
But... no kisses, no hugs, there was barely any real affection... was that really how normal couples acted?
Like she thought... guys sure are different.
So it should be normal, right?
But if her boyfriend wouldn't touch her in any shape or form... didn't that mean the problem was her?
Was it because she was just not attractive enough?
Sitting there with her head down, Akane started doubting herself all over again.
"Eek!!!"
Meanwhile, Sasaki pulled the ice-cold beer can away from where he'd playfully pressed it to her cheek, then propped his chin on one hand, and smiled. "Sister Akane... are you jealous because I called Sister Ayumi cute?"
He set the beer down, reached over with a bright smile and ruffled her hair. "Sister Akane is super cute, too. Don't feel bad. Come on, let's eat."
Even though their thoughts weren't exactly aligned, Fuyumi really had called her cute.
She just wasn't sure... if he really meant it.
Back in university, she already had a boyfriend... After graduation came work.
Akane didn't have any close guy friends to talk to about this stuff, no one to clear up her doubts...
Now, a guy was saying she was cute, and he's a rare, handsome guy.
She desperately wanted to know... how did she look in a man's eyes?
Was she really cute... or...
But she couldn't ask now.
If she asked straight, he'd just be polite and lie.
She'd have to wait...
Glancing at the beer can he'd set beside him, Akane smiled.
"I'm not jealous at all. Don't think I'm that petty... jeez..."
"Never mind that. Come on, let's eat."
"Sister will open your beer for you."
She'd just said not to drink too much...
And now she was the one telling him to drink.
However, even though he was mentally complaining, Sasaki blankly accepted the can she shoved into his hand.
"...Mm."
"Cheers!"
"...Cheers."
...
...
...
After three rounds of drinks and five rounds of food.
Once the table was pretty much cleaned out, the three of them moved their little party from the dining room to the living room.
The coffee table had some half-eaten snacks scattered around and a mess of empty beer cans tossed carelessly on top.
Ayumi had drunk way too fucking much.
Her head was spinning, cheeks blazing hot as she slumped back against the sofa and let her blurry, drunken eyes drift sideways.
Right next to her, in the middle seat, Fuyumi was shoulder-to-shoulder with her flushed big sister, chatting casually.
Something about the convenience store... Akane didn't pay any attention.
Instead, she stared hard at Fuyumi's face for a long minute, making sure he was in that perfect half-drunk, hazy state.
Then she lifted her beer can toward Ayumi and slurred. "Sis... big sis, come on, let's keep drinking."
"..."
Ayumi drank often.
She knew exactly what it looked like when someone was trying to get another person smashed.
And it was just a few cans of beer, how could it get her drunk?
Fuyumi had already played along, pretending he was too far gone... now her little sister wasn't even sparing her own big sister?
Although she wasn't sure what Akane was up to, Ayumi still smiled, grabbed the beer from the table, and clinked it against hers:
"Okay, okay."
Pretending not to notice her sister's fake sips, she tilted her head back and chugged the beer in deep, greedy gulps.
She lost count of how many cans after that.
While talking to her sister, Ayumi's voice slowly faded out.
"Sis?"
"Sister, come on, get up and drink."
After calling twice, Akane stood, walked over, and shook her sister's shoulder...
Hearing only soft drunken hums in response, the girl then turned her eyes to Fuyumi, who was munching fried skewers with his face red as a ripe apple. "Fuyumi, my sister is drunk. I'll take her to the room."
The latter raised an eyebrow, set the skewer down, braced his hand on the sofa, and stood with some effort:
"I... I'll help you."
Together they propped Ayumi's arms and hauled her into the guest room.
When they came back to the living room, Akane plopped right next to Fuyumi, took two sips of warm tea, and suddenly asked.
"Fu... Fuyumi... is Sister Ayumi pretty?"
Looking like he was about to black out, slumped against the sofa, Sasaki immediately answered in a thick, slurred voice:
"...Pretty... yeah, so pretty."
"Really?"
"Really... ah."
"Then... is Akane pretty?"
"Pretty..."
Even though she got the answer she wanted, the fact that her boyfriend never touched her still burned deep in her mind, so Akane pushed further:
"Can you look at Sister Akane while you say it?"
Although he wasn't really sure what she was after...
Sasaki straightened his head from the cushion, turned sideways, locked eyes with her and said. "Sister Akane... is very pretty..."
Staring straight into the young man's hazy, drunken eyes, feeling his hot, beer-soaked breath wash over her cheeks...Akane didn't know if it was the alcohol hitting harder or something else... but her face and body felt scorching hot, her chest tight and aching.
She broke eye contact, which made her body burn... but since she finally had the chance, Akane wasn't backing down, so she asked again:
"So... toward Akane..."
Realizing that would sound way wrong, she rephrased.
"If Sister Akane were your girlfriend... how would Fuyumi treat big sis?"
Because he was 'drunk', Sasaki froze for a second, then mumbled thickly around his tongue. "Sister Akane is... is..."
Akane leaned her ear right to his mouth to catch it, then cut him off and clarified. "Hey~ I said if. If Sister Akane were your girlfriend, what would Fuyumi do?"
"If...?"
"Mm, yes, if." The girl waited, eyes shining with drunk anticipation.
"No...there's no if..."
"..."
She didn't expect it to be this hard...
Akane frowned and sighed softly.
But this mattered to her so damn much.
She couldn't quit.
Following his words, the girl cupped his drooping head in both hands and said:
"Then... right now, your Sister Akane is your girlfriend. What would you want to do to your big sis? Hold her hand? Hug her tight?"
"Akane... is my girlfriend?"
Sasaki, 'not quite sober', repeated her words in a slurred mumble.
Akane nodded firmly, still cradling his face. "Mm, right now, Akane is Fuyumi's girlfriend, oh~ So..."
Before she finished, Sasaki wobbled up to his feet.
Not understanding why he stood, Akane stayed seated on the carpet in a duck-sit, head tilted back, looking up at him, confused. "Fuyumi?"
There was no answer...
As Sasaki rose, a dark, heavy shadow fell from her chin straight up to her forehead, casting over her shocked, disbelieving face.
This was the closest she'd ever been to Fuyumi.
Feeling his body heat and breath so close, Akane panicked and jerked her burning-red face away. "Fuyumi, you... What are you doing? Quick..."
Slap slap...
Sasaki shook his head, lightly slapped her turned-away cheek back toward him, voice slurred but clearer than before. "Akane... is my girlfriend...
I want to..."
She didn't catch the rest.
Just as she opened her mouth,
Sasaki cut in. "Akane is my girlfriend... so Akane has to treat me like a boyfriend..."
...
'Cough~ Clearly... clearly nothing happened... Asato...'
Recalling the last thing her sister said before sending Fuyumi to the other room, who had been eavesdropping by pressing her ear against the guest room door, twisted the knob with shaky breaths.
She glanced at the now pitch-black living room, quietly shut the door behind her, and slipped into Fuyumi's room.
Just as she was about to close it, strong arms wrapped around her waist from behind.
Even blind, she knew who it was.
After shutting the door, Ayumi elbowed hard into her little rascal's gut."You... what the heck did you do to Akane..."
"Huh? Sister Ayumi came looking for me because of that?" In the dark, the voice from her shoulder sounded confused.
The girl spun around, wrapped both arms around Sasaki's neck and squeezed him in a sulky, jealous hug. "Of course! What else would it be..."
Afraid he'd dodge the subject, Ayumi kept going:
"You really... went way too far."
That same maddeningly good-yet-awful position again.
Sasaki tugged her arms and explained. "Didn't we agree outside? We're stealing her away from that man. Is Sister Ayumi regretting it now?"
"No... but you..."
Sasaki cut her off.
"Stealing her is the goal, not the process. Sister Ayumi doesn't actually want me to slowly 'date' Sister Akane for months, right?"
"And I didn't do much, just took some advantage so she'd only think about me for the next few days."
.
.
.