(Kaito's POV)
"You....?" I said, "Mai...."
She looked down, wiping away her tears, "Let's eat, okay?" She said, sniffing, "Let's eat before the food gets cold."
She sat down, trying to not make eye contact with me as she was setting aside the bags. Her demeanor was immediately dismissive, as if she wanted me to ignore what she just said.
I couldn't just brush past it, something like this was too important to ignore.
"You cannot expect me to just ignore that." I said, "Mai."
"Sit down, please." She said, "Kaito, please."
"Mai." I repeated, "Mai, tell me the truth. Is this Naoya speaking or are you serious?"
She scoffed, "Why would I let that idiot control what I feel?" She said, "I am not foolish enough to let her influence me that much."
"I mean." I started, "She got you to watch us have sex. Mai, I know how Naoya is. She can convince anyone to do anything, it is what she's good at. I don't know if she intends to manipulate you for her own sick desires. I will not humor her in-"
"They're not just her sick desires." she cut me off, "They are also mine. All these years, I have longed for something real with you. I love you, Kaito. I really do. And I always got cold and blank stares from you, do you have any idea how much it hurt me?"
"I...." I said
"I always thought it was because you didn't care about me." She said, looking down, "But now that I know that you couldn't control it, I felt even worse. My feelings for you only got stronger and the sorrow got deeper. I love you even more and I know I can't have you. But then.....but then that idiot decided to say that."
"Mai." I sighed, "What Naoya suggested is very wrong. I don't know about it."
"Let me dream a little...." She said, closing her eyes, "I know it is a far-fetched dream. Just let me dream, okay? Give me that at least."
"I don't know how to feel about this, Mai." I said, "I can't stand the idea of hurting you. I don't know what to do. I might be this Zenin prodigy who has all of this power, but sometimes I feel helpless. And right now, that is how I feel. What do I have to do to fix this?"
"Fix this?" She asked, looking at me, "You don't have to fix this, Kaito. Stop trying to burden yourself with everything. This isn't your fault, you know? I just feel like a weight was lifted off my shoulder, telling you this."
"You just confessed your romantic feelings for me. How do you want me to respond? I mean, it was up for interpretation before, but now you said it out loud. " I asked, "Mai, what is it that you want from me? At this moment, tell me. I don't want to disappoint you, nor do I want to make our relationship worse after finally reconciling."
She gave me a sad smile, "Just.....accept my feelings."
"How?" I asked, "How do I do that?"
"Tell me that it is okay." She said softly, "Please, tell me that it is okay for me to love you. Tell me that it is not wrong to want you."
If I say those words, I would not know if I was lying or not. Something was keeping me from saying those words right away. I merely stared at her for a couple of seconds, trying to process everything.
"Mai...." I finally spoke, "It's okay."
She nodded, "Right...."
I reached for her hand, "No." I said, "I mean it. It is okay, Mai. It is okay for you to have these feelings. It won't change anything, not how I see you. I still care for you, Mai, I always will."
She looked at my hand, "Are you certain of that?"
I nodded, "I am." I said, "I won't stop caring for you."
She stood up slowly and gently hugged me, her body pressing against mine without warning. I stood there, a bit surprised by this.
"Hug me back." she said, her voice was a whisper, "I need this."
I hugged her back, "Right." I said, "You just need to know that it is not wrong to love me, right?"
"Yes." She replied
"Okay...." I rubbed her back gently, "It is going to be okay, Mai. Our relationship will get better, I am sure of it."
Her embrace got tighter, "I love you."
Those words were repeated, and the meaning behind them was much clearer now. This wasn't a sibling love that she felt, I can feel it now. She truly did have romantic feelings, hence why she was so willing to watch me have sex with Naoya.
I nodded, "I....I love you too."
"Those words have a different meaning." She said, "But I am happy to hear them regardless."
She looked at me, her eyes were starting to form tears, a warm smile was on her face.
I wiped the tears away, "Do not cry." I said, "I hate it when you cry."
"I know, I am sorry." She sniffed
"Hm...." I said
"C-Can I.....?" She said, "No, it's too much."
"What is it?" I asked her
She blushed, looking to the side, "I mean..." She said, "This is very selfish of me and pushing it...."
"Say what you need from me." the words came out suddenly out of my mouth, "What is it?"
"K-Kiss..." Her voice was barely audible
"Kiss....?" I asked
She nodded, "C-Can I get one?"
"Uhm...." I said, clearly flustered, "I....well...."
I don't think I ever felt like this in a long time. I immediately noticed that my face was slowly getting covered in sweat.
"N-No...?" She asked
"Well, I don't know." I cleared my throat, "Naoya is not here and kissing another woman may feel like I would be cheating."
"You have sex with women other than her." She said with a frown, "How's this worse than that?"
"She watches, though." I said, "That's part of the deal."
"Then...." She said softly, "We can keep this a secret."
"A secret?" I asked, "N-No, I don't know about that."
She pulled away slowly, "Well...." She said, "It is fine."
"Right." I said, "I mean, now I know your fee-"
"The fuck are you doing, you idiot?" a voice said, clearly irritated, "Fucking kiss her already."
Mai and I jumped up in surprise, looking to the side and seeing Naoya leaning on the doorway that led to the bedroom. Her bathrobe was loosened, her right breast was exposed as she looked at us with a drowsy expression.
"Naoya....!" Mai said
Naoya yawned, giving me a scowl, "You big dumbass." She said, "Kiss your sister."
"Now."