TRUST ME | Brothers Conflict | ✔

27

Two months later

Steam curled in the air, rising from the cup of coffee I clutched in my hands. Even in the middle of summer, I still drank steaming hot cups of coffee.

"You never told me why it was so important that I loved you," Kaname remarked casually, leaning against the counter where he had poured our cups.

"Well, I always figured that you would leave as soon as the magic was over," I answered, hoping that he would understand me. "I didn't want to be a plaything; to be cast aside when you were no longer interested."

Kaname was silent for a while, sipping from his cup.

"Then, what will you do now when the magic is over?"

"We'll find our magic. You won't leave me as soon as you're bored with me if you love me. Therefore, we'll have enough time to look for this magic."

Kaname hummed in response, a little smile forming on his face.

"Didn't you meet up with Kaoru last week?" He placed his cup of coffee on the counter behind him to give me his undivided attention.

"It was a disaster," I admitted, "I wish he would stop accusing me of atrocious things, although he wasn't wrong completely. Then, I could at least attempt to apologise. Admittedly, Sakura's moral was raised drastically during our trip, but mines dropped just as much."

"Fortunately, I'm here for your moral," Kaname said, amusement in his voice.

Later that evening, Kaname walked me back to my apartment, something that had become a habit in a relatively short amount of time.

Too soon, we were standing in front of the apartment complex.

"Is there another festival coming up soon?" I asked him, grinning when Kaname nodded in response.

"It's a bit further away, but they're still looking for assistance."

Impatiently, I waited for an invitation to tag along, which Kaname noticed. Laughing, he raked a hand through his hair, using the slow movement to draw out the moment of anticipation.

"Do you want to come along?"

"Of course," I exclaimed. Kaname laughed, covering the distance between our lips. I titled my head slightly, sighing when our lips connected.

His hand tightened around me, the kiss deepening. Hot shivers ran down my back, while Kaname's hand trailed over my spine, following the shivers.

"Excuse me, Miss [L/N]," my landlady interrupted, the shrill voice startling me. With a jolt, I took a step back, tripping over my own feet. Kaname had a similar reaction, turning around swiftly, but grabbing my arm just before I could slam into the pavement. Hanging in his arm, I craned my neck to look at the landlady. Her pink bathrobe hung open, revealing sweats in a dark shade of grey. Her hands were shoved deep into the pockets.

"You didn't pay your rent again," she pointed out. "You know the regulations."

"B-but..." I stammered so much that the words fell distorted from my lips, but the indignance in my voice remained clear. "I did pay you!"

When I had signed the rental contract, I had recently fled the countryside. Therefore, I hadn't paid much attention to the terms, which I regretted sorely later on. Even paying too late led to a strike -and three strikes equalled the termination of the rental contract.

The first time I had realised that this could prove to be a problem, the landlady had doubled the rent.

"I haven't received any money, Miss [L/N]."

"Could you check?" Kaname asked concerned.

"No."

Okay. Well, I could find another apartment in the city -there were enough options after all. However, finding the right apartment would take time, which I wouldn't have if the landlady would apply force to the removal-part.

"Then, she'll move in with me," Kaname huffed, staring the landlady down.

"Do you have an apartment?" I asked him surprised, although it wasn't strange that Kaname would have an apartment considering his age.

"I don't visit the place often," Kaname explained, "to be honest; I haven't been there since I bought it, but I would love it if you moved in with me."

"Don't you mind leaving your family's house?" I asked, doubting whether the complex could be called a house for a short moment.

"Why would I?" Kaname asked with a measure of confusion that made my shoulders sag with relief. If he wasn't opposed to moving out, then he didn't mind seeing Ema less regularly.

While I hadn't given his relationship with his younger sister much thought since we had got together, the fear had always slumbered in the back of my mind.

"I would love to," I said, ignoring his question. I wasn't sure whether Kaname had realised that I had evaded his question.

"Then, we should pack your bags before your landlady does it for you," he said, pulling me back to my feet. Although I had been resting comfortably on his arm, I didn't protest.

"That sounds like a good idea," I agreed, heading to the entrance of the complex.

"Can I have a word with Miss [L/N] before she joins you in my apartment?" the landlady asked sweetly, stressing the possessive determiner in the sentence.

Kaname looked at me but stalked to the door when I nodded with a reassuring smile. From my position close to the door, I could see Kaname ascend the staircase to my apartment.

"I did pay the rent," I huffed once he had disappeared.

The landlady shrugged, revealing that she wasn't wearing a shirt under the bathrobe with the jerky movement.

"Here's the money," she said, pulling her left hand out of the pocket in her sweats, revealing an envelope which I recognised. "You should be thanking me instead of looking at me with such comical shock."

I didn't see why.

"Now, you get to live together with your sweetheart. Marry him, get kids, and you won't have a worry for the rest of your life."

Dumbfounded, I accepted the envelope, which I pocketed in my jeans. I wasn't sure about that last part. There were still unresolved issues between us, but we had enough time to solve those. Discovering that Kaname's obsession with his sister was waning was just one step; one of the many that we had left.

It wasn't important whether we needed a month or a decade to sort everything out. Time wasn't an issue when you had the rest of your life to sort things out.

"Should you divorce, take care to take all his money and the ring," the landlady advised, grinning broadly.

This woman was positively wicked.

"We won't divorce," I promised her, but she hummed doubtfully in response before she went back to her own house.

Snorting, I headed to my apartment. Kaname was leaning against the wall next to my door. When he heard me approach him, he straightened his back, turning to face me.

"Did something happen?" he asked me.

"No, nothing," I said, thumbing the envelope in my pocket. Admittedly, it was a lie, but as long as it went unnoticed, this little, white lie didn't matter, right?