Underneath the Moonlight: REBOOT! || Osorō Shidesu x OC

Prologue, 3 - Kyle Sterling & Athena Akiyama

The next day was the awaited pool day with Kyle. He was quick to agree when Aru texted him about it.

The siblings' plan was simple: when Kyle arrived, Aru would greet him alone and show him the pool, and they'd have their guy talk. Athena would give Aru ten minutes alone with him upon stepping out into the pool area, before getting ready and making her way down there – which gave Aru a buffer time of about three to five extra minutes with Kyle.

By the time Athena stepped out, ready for their pool day, she was expecting Aru to have pried some sort of answer out of Kyle. If it was a positive answer, he'd shoot her a wink or maybe two. If it was a negative answer (which was unlikely, Aru had insisted Athena, but she wanted a code for it just in case), he wouldn't shoot her a wink at all.

Aru figured by the end of the day, if he helped the two out, they'd probably be dating. He just hoped it wouldn't change his friendship with Kyle, which was part of why he wanted the extra time to talk to him – originally, Athena had only wanted to give him five minutes and wanted to wait downstairs. Aru got her to up it to ten and she had to wait in her room, ensuring at least an extra three minutes before she actually arrived at the pool.

As much as he wanted to see his best friend and his sister be happy together if they decided to date, Aru didn't want to feel excluded from that happiness, either.

He cared about both of them deeply and wanted to feel included in their lives, too. He didn't want to see them kiss or go on dates and be romantic or stuff like that, of course! He just didn't want to be left behind if they actually ended up together.

His sister already understood that, though, and he was sure Kyle would, too – but he still wanted to talk to him about it anyway.

"Alright, he's on the way now," Aru announced, typing a quick response to Kyle and pocketing his phone in his swim trunks. Glancing up at his sister, he frowned when he noticed her staring at him expectantly. "What is it?"

Athena was holding up two sets of bikinis, looking between the two with a perplexed expression. "Which one should I wear?"

"Does it matter?" Aru's expression deadpanned. "It's a bikini. I'm sure Kyle will think you're hot either way."

At that, her face flushed, but her eyebrows furrowed as she complained, "It does matter! They're both great, yeah, but which one looks better?"

He groaned and rolled his eyes, complaining, "Ugh, why are you asking me, anyway?!" Then he decided to scrutinize the bikinis, giving in and going along with her ridiculous question. One bikini was a cutesy, innocent pastel pink, with gemstones and rhinestones adorning it. The other was a more mature, revealing crimson, with hints of pink outlining the rim.

Aru pointed at the red one. "That one."

Athena's eyebrows raised. "Are you sure? I actually just bought this one... and I haven't worn it yet."

"I'm sure," Aru confirmed, nodding. "Your favorite color is pink, right? Kyle's favorite color is red. It's a subtle blend, but also, you'll probably get a better reaction from him wearing that one."

At that, Athena's face turned as red as her bikini. "Alright, fine! Now get out, I need to change."

The doorbell rang, and the Akiyama siblings looked at each other.