The night was quiet, heavy with silence and soft breaths. The moonlight slipped through the thin curtain, tracing silver lines across the pale ceiling. Ai and Yuki lay on the same bed, backs turned toward each other, though close enough that the warmth of the other's presence seeped in through the sheets.
Yuki's soft, almost feminine voice broke the stillness. "...Ai?"
Ai hummed, not turning around. Her voice was calm but slightly annoyed. "What is it now?"
Yuki shifted slightly, clutching the corner of the blanket. His pale fingers curled around the edge as if to gather courage. "Do you think... Rika and Shin are doing something?"
Ai sighed, rolling her eyes though Yuki couldn't see it. "How would I know?"
There was a small pause. Yuki's voice came again, quieter. "I mean... don't you think they are?"
Ai finally turned over, her tone playful, laced with sarcasm. "Well, my Onii-chan is a pervert. Handsome, hot, and probably a literal god, too."
Yuki gave a nervous little laugh, cheeks warming despite the chill in the room. "You're not helping."
Ai smirked and turned onto her back, eyes staring up at the ceiling. "Rika's in love with him. That's obvious. And Onii-chan… he's too kind. He won't just ignore someone who's hurting, especially if that someone is cute."
Yuki sighed softly, turning slightly toward her but still facing away. "Cute, huh... is that why he always talks to me like I'm glass?"
Ai chuckled. "Maybe. You are pretty cute."
Yuki groaned, pulling the blanket over his head. "You're teasing me now."
"I'm being honest," Ai said, stretching her arms above her head lazily. "But don't worry. Onii-chan isn't someone who'll do anything that could ruin someone's life. I believe in him."
Yuki peeked from under the blanket, his voice gentle. "You believe in him that much?"
"Of course," Ai whispered. Her tone softened, almost reverent. "He's my everything. If I don't believe in him, who else would I believe in?"
Yuki smiled faintly. There was something comforting in Ai's certainty, in the quiet affection in her voice. It settled over him like a blanket warmer than the one he held.
Ai rolled over again to face Yuki's back. She whispered teasingly, "Well... he hasn't had sex with me either."
Yuki's eyes went wide, back stiffening.
"I mean," Ai continued nonchalantly, as if talking about the weather, "we've done everything else. I even take his thing in my mouth, suck it off until he releases. And then I don't even spit. I gulp it down."
Yuki let out a high-pitched yelp, covering his blushing face. "Y-You're both shameless! Don't tell me these things!"
Ai broke into a fit of laughter. "You asked!"
"Not that much detail!" Yuki wailed, burying himself deeper into the covers. "My poor ears!"
Ai giggled, stretching again with a satisfied little sigh. "You're just jealous."
"Am not!"
"Totally are."
"Ai!"
A pause. Then, timidly, Yuki whispered, almost like an accidental thought slipping out of his mouth:
"Do you think Shin... likes guys too?"
Ai's smile sharpened like a cat's.
"Why?" she purred, her voice laced with mischief. "Do you like him?"
Yuki made a strangled sound. "N-Nn-no!"
"Wow," Ai laughed, flopping onto her back. "That was the fastest lie I've ever heard. It didn't even make it to your lips properly."
"I-I just asked!" Yuki stammered, hiding deeper under the blanket. His face was on fire.
"You know," Ai mused, voice thoughtful but unmistakably teasing, "Onii-chan's not into those big, beefy, macho types. He likes pretty boys. Y'know, the type who look like girls but are actually boys."
Yuki's heartbeat slammed against his ribs.
"Anime trap-type characters," Ai continued, a knowing grin tugging at her lips. "Cute faces, soft voices, smooth thighs... A bit of sparkle in the eyes. Exactly like you."
Yuki didn't respond. He couldn't. His brain short-circuited. His entire body screamed. His hands clenched the blanket tighter as his cheeks flushed a deeper red. She can't see me. She can't see me like this. She doesn't know. She can't know.
Ai didn't even need to look. She knew.
She smiled into her pillow, the silence delicious.
Then, softly, she asked:
"Yuki-San... do you like my Onii-chan?"
He froze. His body locked up. The air left his lungs.
"I… I… I-I don't— I mean, it's not like—"
He tried to say something. Anything. But the words turned to dust in his mouth. He couldn't say no. He couldn't say yes.
Ai grinned wickedly.
"Okay, okay," she said, her voice faux-gentle. "Then I guess I'll just tell Onii-chan tomorrow that Yuki-San doesn't like him. Poor him. He'll be so heartbroken, thinking you hate him..."
Yuki practically launched forward, his face buried deep in the blanket. "I do!"
The silence afterward was deafening. Ai bit her lip to stop the giggle that bubbled up.
"Awww," she crooned. "You confessed. How cute."
"I-it took me every ounce of pride to say that," he groaned into the pillow. "I want to melt into the bed and never exist again."
Ai chuckled warmly. "I knew it. I knew it. I mean, who wouldn't fall for Onii-chan? He's tall, kind, ridiculously handsome. Half the girls are obsessed with him. And now the pretty boys too~"
Yuki whimpered.
"You know, he smiled at you the other day," Ai said lightly. "Like, really smiled. Not the polite kind. The 'you're special' kind."
Yuki fidgeted, his legs curling. "Don't say things like that..."
"Why not?" Ai teased. "Does it make your heart race? Makes your stomach all twisty inside? Butterflies doing a mosh pit in there?"
"Aaaaiiii..."
"Yuuukiiiii~" she sang back.
He let out a long, high-pitched groan.
"Don't worry," Ai said, tone more serious now, though her smile remained. "You're not weird. You're not alone either. I love him. Haa-Onee-Chan loves him. Rika loves him. And you... you do too. Right?"
Yuki hesitated, his voice barely a breath. "...Mmhmm."
Ai's smirk returned, laced with devilish charm. "Good. That means you qualify."
"Qualify?"
"For the Onii-chan fan club," she said. "But you should know... there's one big condition."
Yuki swallowed. "W-What is it?"
"You can't have him all to yourself," Ai said sweetly. "We share in this house."
Yuki turned stiff as a board. "S-Share?!"
"Mhm," Ai said, nonchalant. "You can kiss him. You can cuddle with him. You can even hold hands in secret. But don't think I'll give up my spot just because you're extra pretty and blush cutely."
"I wasn't going to ask that!" Yuki mumbled, horrified.
"You were thinking it."
"Was not!"
"Were too."
"W-Was n-not!"
Ai rolled onto her side, barely containing her laughter. "Look at you. You're such a tsundere. I bet if Onii-chan kissed you right now, you'd faint."
"I wouldn't!"
"You so would. You'd make this tiny little noise and go all wobbly like a noodle."
"I wouldn't! I'd... I'd probably push him… maybe."
"With your face pressed against his chest?"
"S-Stop it!"
Ai let out a giggle-snort. "You're so cute. How is this fair? If you weren't so adorable, I'd bully you harder."
"You're already bullying me," Yuki grumbled.
"You love it," Ai said with a grin. "You're blushing so much, I can feel the heat radiating."
"I hate this. I want to disappear."
"Nope," Ai said cheerfully. "You said yes. You're locked in now. One of Onii-chan's special people. And I take my job very seriously. I'm like the boss of the harem."
Yuki squeaked. "I-I'm not in a harem!"
"You are now. Congratulations, member #4."
"This is a nightmare..."
"A sexy nightmare."
"Ai!!"
Ai giggled again, satisfied. "Aww, I'm just teasing. But seriously, you're gonna have to get used to it. We all love him. Deeply. And so do you. And if you want him to love you back… you'll have to be brave, Yuki-San."
Yuki went quiet, his blush refusing to leave.
After a long pause, Ai added, softer this time:
"He already looks at you like you matter."
Yuki squeezed his eyes shut. "Then why does it feel so scary?"
"Because love always is," she whispered. "But you're not doing it alone. We've all felt it. Still do."
Yuki nodded faintly. "O-Okay… I'll try."
Ai smirked. "Good. And remember..."
"What now?"
"If you ever say you don't like him again..."
Yuki tensed.
"I'll tell Onii-chan you think he's ugly."
"I don't!!"
"Exactly," she said, laughing.
A quiet beat passed between them in the dark. The soft rustle of sheets was the only sound, until Yuki spoke.
"…Ai?" His voice was barely a whisper, floating across the small space between their backs.
Ai didn't move. "Yes, Yuki-San?"
There was a pause, like he was chewing on the words. "Do you… do you think Shin likes me?"
She exhaled through her nose, a faint smirk tugging at her lips. "That's something you should ask him yourself."
Yuki let out a sigh, the bedsheets shifting slightly with the motion. "Come on… just give me a hint."
Ai's voice turned soft and teasing. "Fine, just one."
He perked up slightly. "…Really?"
"Mhmm," she said, still facing away from him, voice dancing with amusement. "Onii-Chan thinks you're cute."
Yuki blinked at the ceiling. His face slowly turned warm. "…That's all?"
Ai let out a giggle, burying her face slightly in the pillow. "That's everything, isn't it?"
Yuki's fingers clenched into the blanket. "But… that doesn't mean he likes me like that."
"That's why," Ai replied, turning just a little to glance over her shoulder, "you should ask him yourself, Yuki-San."
He groaned quietly, cheeks burning, and pulled the covers up to his nose. "You're evil."
She smiled to herself. "Nope. Just honest."
A moment passed.
Then Ai murmured, just loud enough for him to hear, "And if I were you… I'd ask him before anyone does."
Yuki tensed. "…Wh-what?!"
Ai just laughed softly into her pillow.
"Exactly," she said, laughing. "Sleep tight, tsundere-San."
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END OF CHAPTER : 82 : WHISPERS BETWEEN US!
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