Even Though I Loved You First

“The rain seems heavier than usual…”

“It does, there was no such thing on the weather forecast, right?” As the twins looked through the window of their room, the sound of raindrops hitting the ground were extremely frequent and loud. 

A little later, the two of them noticed that on random intervals, the sky would slightly flash, as if thunder was raring to go. No… thunder WAS ready to go.

“Hey, Kotone…” (Karane)

“What could it be, dear sister?” (Kotone)

“This is a thunderstorm, right?” (Karane)

“Yes. Indeed.” Nodding, her gaze seemed distant.

“…and Kei is still at Arisa’s house, right?” At her words, Kotone seemed to understand what she was implying, a small giggle left her lips and in a cheerful yet quiet tone, she affirmed.

“Yes, he’s there.” (Kotone)

“I see.:.” The two said nothing, but they both knew what the other wanted to say. It wasn’t about them, but about his younger brother, Kei… It was all about what made Kei’s cute side come out.

And this time, it was time for his girlfriend Arisa to take the lead.

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Kei’s POV~

“It was so good. All that work was worth it after all!” Arisa said as she leaned back.

“True, it was really decent for our first time baking.” (Kei)

“Come on! What do you mean ‘decent’?! Unwind and say it was delicious! It was made with love, you know?!” (Arisa)

What once laid on our plates, was now nothing but crumbs along with the now-empty mugs with no trace of the coffee I poured ourselves not too long ago.

The cake was sweet, it was also a little fluffy and it really brought a smile to our faces. Of course, there were some things that could definitely be done better, but it was our first time so I gave it little to no importance.

↤⨳↦

Third Person POV~

As Arisa stood up, she pushed away one part of the curtains and looked through the window. “It’s raining…” She muttered.

“It seems. Well, as long as there’s no—” Before he could finish, a loud bang could be heard coming from outside.

“Uwah, it’s a thunderstorm on top of that… Ah, sorry. What were you saying?” Arisa asked as she turned around. Kei was simply sitting on the floor with an emotionless face and with a hand on his chest.

“No, it’s nothing. Don’t mind it.” He said as his face returned to his gentle expression. Arisa left the curtain open and sat down on the bed. She stretched a little and looked at the window from where she was.

“Summer’s almost ending, huh? I had fun… I’m just a little sad… It’s my last year of school after all.” She said with a melancholic look on her face.

As Kei sat down beside her, he grabbed her hand and said, “I won’t be able to see you in school for a year after that, so it is lonely for me too.” Another loud bang could be heard, and for a brief moment, Kei’s shoulders shook.

However, the trembling throughout his body wasn’t brief, something which Arisa clearly perceived. “…Kei?” She said again. This time, Kei stayed quiet and after a while, he said in a low voice, “I’m okay. Don’t mind it.” (Kei)

He’s lying. Was all that Arisa could think of. From one second to another, Arisa hugged Kei’s entire body and lost balance with him. All this resulted in Kei and Arisa both laying down on the bed, with their legs intertwined.

Of course, due to the quickness of her actions, Kei had no time to process the situation and was flustered. “A-Arisa?!” He exclaimed as his face was buried on her chest.

In response, she stayed silent with only her hand slowly caressing his hair as the other one hugged his head which was pushed deep into her chest.

It felt warm… and for Kei, nauseating… his head was spinning, well… Could you blame him? The softness of the bed, the softness and warmth of her chest and the sweet aroma that tickled his nostrils. If this was nothing but a lucid dream, he didn’t want to wake up.

And as another loud bang rang across the sky which turned white for less than a second, Arisa’s assumptions seemed to be right. “Kei… are you perhaps… Scared of lighting?” She asked with a motherly voice, wanting him to be as calm as possible.

“…It’s pathetic, right?” In a slow mutter, he self-deprecatingly said. He wanted to always show Arisa his cool side, he felt that showing her a childish and immature version of him will only drive her away,

And he didn’t want that.

“Why would you say that?” (Arisa)

“I mean, come on,” He scoffed, “Being afraid of lightning at my age, only a kid could.” (Kei)

Arisa smiled, Kei’s way of phrasing it felt like a little boy trying to impress the older sister he liked, only to be caught and embarrassed for being treated like a child.

Of course, there was no way she could say this outloud, so for now, she only closed her eyes, hand still gently caressing his hair. “There’s no shame for being afraid of something, nor for not being good at anything. If anything, I would seriously worry if you were completely fearless. I think I told you before, I want to see all kinds of sides of Kei.” (Arisa)

“And what made me fall in love with you,” She lastly muttered. There were occasional lightning strikes, however, Kei shook less and less each time. He found comfort in her embrace, and in her embrace he stayed, feeling fearless.

“I want to see the real you, the one who smiles genuinely.” He vividly remembered those words, one of the moments that strengthened Kei’s love for her. At the time, those words alone made his birthday a thousand times better.

“I feel like I receive so much from you but give nothing in return…” Kei weakly chuckled. It didn’t take his girlfriend less than a second to start pinching his cheek.

“Awisha…?!” Kei tried as he groaned slightly in pain. With his face still on her bountiful bust, Kei looked up only to see Arisa’s adorable pouting face.

“Geez, you say that as if it weren’t you the one taking the lead lately… honestly.” She sighed. “S-showwy?” Kei pleaded one last time, which made Arisa lose her grip on his cheek. 

As Kei rubbed his cheek with the hand that was on Arisa’s waist not too long ago, a sudden motion confused him as he found his line of sight shifting. All of the sudden—

Arisa was pinning him down on the bed.

They stayed like that for a long while, as the hands of the clock ticked, Arisa gazed deep into Kei’s violet eyes. His shy expression and the dim lightning made his eyes stand out more than usual.

His handsome face slowly loosened up and he began to smile. “Oh, how bold~” (Kei)

“If I can see that shy and adorable smile then I don’t mind.” (Arisa)

Even though his face loosened up, he was still bright red. Him being pinned down by Arisa’s whole body. He didn’t know where to look. Well, for now he focused on her beautiful eyes.

“What’s so funny?” He asked as his girlfriend’s cute giggle tickled his ears.

“I just find it funny… One day, a pair of twins invited me to their house, then I met a boy a year younger and before I knew it here I was, pinning my boyfriend, the same boy of that time, down.” (Arisa)

“Life works in unexpected ways,doesn’t it?” (Kei)

“Fufu, I guess it does.” Arisa leaned a little closer and sealed Kei’s lips with hers. As Arisa separated herself from him, she had an indescribable feeling… she wanted more.

“—?!” All of the sudden, Kei grabbed her hips and switched positions with her, this time with him being on top… She was surprised, but happy nonetheless.

Arisa couldn’t put into words the amount of happiness that she felt, if she were to tell herself in the past that she would get such a handsome and wonderful boyfriend, she was sure she would not believe it. Even now, everything felt like a dream.

A dream she didn’t want to wake up from, that’s why she had to work hard. To be someone that can proudly stand side by side with Kei Ichinose.

“Hey, Kei.” (Arisa)

“Yes?” (Kei)

“Let me remind you… that I’m particularly new to dating. That’s why, there may be some things I’m not good at… or some that I don’t understand. So in that regard, I’ll be in your care… from now and even in the future,” She muttered with such a beautiful smile that it brought a smile to his lips.

“Same here… I hope the two of us can learn one step at a time.” Though Kei’s answer would mostly seem reassuring, Kei noticed Arisa’s expression growing more uncomfortable as her eyes swam across the room. And without prior notice, Arisa wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer.

They stayed like that for quite a while, lips on top of each other, and as Kei parted from her, he could see a bashful face red up to the top of her ears.

Thunder still roared outside, the loud bangs would’ve been enough to make Kei’s body shiver. However, he didn’t seem scared… no, he couldn’t hear them for starters. All sound seemed to dim out as the two got lost in their own words.

The sky was completely cloudy, and the sound of raindrops hitting the group complemented with the occasional thunder strike… something told them, that this was the time.

“…I know this is selfish of me…” (Arisa)

“Hmm…?” (Kei)

“…tonight… could you please take me…?” Arisa’s words were soft yet clear, and they clearly resounded in Kei’s mind.

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“…tonight… could you please take me…?” Kei’s mind stopped working, he stared dumbfounded at Arisa, who was shyly looking into his eyes. He wished he could say that she was only joking, but he perceived and knew that she was dead serious.

Noticing his silence, Arisa quickly regretted her words and flusteredly told him, “I-it’s nothing. P-please forget about it… Summer’s ending… s-s-so I k-kinda…” Her shivering voice and her eyes started to tear up. Arisa took Kei’s silence as a form of denial, and she felt that if she persisted Kei would end up hating her.

Something she didn’t want. As she tried to get up as she said so, her wrists were both tightly grabbed by Kei. “K-Ke—nhn?!” She couldn’t finish… Kei’s lips that were locked with her unabled her to do so.

“Are you… okay with me…?” Kei asked, once again.

“D-dummy… It’s you who I want to make this memory with…” Arisa said in a meek voice. Kei leaned in for another kiss…

And another…

And another…

Each kiss was longer than the last, the two no longer needed to hold back. Because since the day that they confessed to each other; they were sure that only within each other’s embrace, the two could truly be happy. As the sound of the rustling clothes was drowned in the sound of the rain, Kei instinctively closed that curtain and indulged in his beloved girlfriend’s warmth.

So did Arisa…

Summer was one week away from ending.

Soon enough, another school year awaited them… Arisa’s… last school year awaited her. She was scared, she was nervous… but at the same time, she also felt that everything was going to be okay.

She was with Kei after all… she was with the man she loved… After all… As summer bids farewell, love lingers in the warmth of memories, a season’s romance echoing in the heart’s timeless embrace.

Story Arc 8.5 – Eternal Summer In The Grateful Heart [END]