The Affair

The Breaking Point

Sora continued to sob softly as she staggered out of the hotel lobby and into the bustling streets of New York, her heart still pounding painfully within her bosom from the overwhelming inner turmoil of Tai’s surprisingly breath-taking administrations. How could her best friend do that to her? He was supposed to be the one person who she could trust!

Cradling her head in her hands, Sora miserably plopped down onto a nearby bench and allowed her tears to streak her cheeks as she then realized that she was no better than Matt was – she had officially cheated on him, too!

‘And what’s worse, I haven’t told either of them my secret yet’ the redhead inwardly conceded, her bottom lip trembling as she wiped away at a lone tear. ‘Oh, God, I don’t even think I can! How could they possibly handle it after all we’ve been through this year!?’

“Sora?”

She jumped, considerably astounded once she found her tearful gaze resting upon none other than her husband, himself. “Matt!” she exclaimed, placing a trembling hand over her heart, “Y-you scared me! How on earth did you find us?”

“Easy…Tai gave me the directions” the blonde returned as if it were obvious, his blue eyes immediately noting Sora’s mascara-stained cheeks and blotchy complexion. “You’ve been crying” he softly observed, now seating himself alongside her so that he could pull her in for a fierce hug. “Don’t worry, Sora, we’ll get through Mimi’s death…together.”

Sora blinked.

Mimi? My God, she had nearly forgotten! She had been far too distracted with Tai…

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Groaning with contentment, Tai leaned his head forward against the cool tile of his shower as he allowed the water overhead to continue to pelt him relentlessly from behind, the stinging droplets trickling in small criss-crosses down along the muscular planes of his nude body before swirling down into the drain below.

“Sora…”

Cursing, Tai’s eyes immediately shot open as if attached to springs, his fist lightly striking his forehead with the hopes of driving out the memory of the unexpected encounter with his best friend. It had been so surreal, so…incredible.

Re-closing his eyes, Tai imagined what it would be like to kiss those soft lips again, how it would be to feel her silken flesh beneath his roving hands as they made love, how incredible it would be to finally hear her scream his name instead of Matt’s.

With a groan, Tai suddenly realized that all of his inner passions had proceeded straight to his lower extremities, a searing pang of guilt immediately surging its way throughout his veins once he realized that it should be Mimi he was longing for – her funeral was only two hours away.

Switching the water off with a flick of the wrist, Tai miserably stepped out of the shower and suddenly caught sight of his reflection through the thick water-induced steam. There, staring straight back at him was a monster – a monster that had already long forgotten about his fiancée and was now moving on with the hopes of snatching his best friend.

“You’re a complete dick” Tai hissed, irefully seizing his towel from off of the floor before slamming his fist against the mirror as hard as he possibly could. With a tremendous crash, splinters of glass erupted forth in a fountain of broken reflections, taking with it the image of the monster that was now plaguing the poor young man to no end.

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The service that evening was held without a body, yet Mimi’s most prized possessions had been respectfully buried in her place. Since she had been a proficient Broadways singer, a few of her albums served as delicate background noise to the constant sobbing and praying for the dearly departed.

Surprisingly, the worst off among this group was none other than Sora Takenouchi, her cheeks streaked with tears and her eyes incredibly swollen from her miserable bouts of incessant crying.

Unfortunately for her, Tai was the first of the mourners to take notice of this, his own eyes damp and hollow as he made a beeline for the sobbing redhead. When he finally reached the dejected designer he gently turned her to face him, her shock over seeing him instead of her husband quite clear upon her dainty features as she meekly shied away from his touch. “Tai, I can’t talk to you” she hissed, the tremendous amount of fear within her eyes quite startling. “I’m very sorry for your loss, but now that you’ve heard my condolences please leave me be.”

“Why are you crying?” he demanded, completely ignoring her last statement altogether. “I didn’t know that you and Mimi had reconciled your differences and grown close again.”

Sora immediately looked away, yet she said nothing in return.

“Aw, c’mon, Sor” Tai entreated, his eyes soft as he dared to reach out and take her firmly by the chin. “Can’tcha tell me? Wasn’t it you who said this afternoon that we could always tell each other everything?”

“And wasn’t it you who said that times change?” Sora viciously shot back, her convictive tone shocking Tai by how unbelievably hateful she was behaving.

Hurt, the brunette took a small step back, yet instead of removing his hand from Sora’s chin he instead slid it outward to cup the svelte curve of her cheek. “I know it’s asking a lot” he began, “but I could really use your friendship right about now…you’re all I have left in this Godforsaken place. I know that it might seem dumb and all, but could you possibly stop by my hotel room later on to check up on me and make sure that I haven’t done anything stupid?”

Sora audibly gasped. “You wouldn’t! How could you even contemplate committing-”

“Ssh” Tai hissed, immediately silencing her by placing a finger over her lips. “Just say you’ll come, alright?”

“Well alright, but-”

“Good” he acknowledged, smiling, “seven it is.”

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The moment Tai let Sora in his room he was at a complete loss for words, his mouth unspeakably dry as he appreciatively allowed his eyes to rove over the curves of her supple figure. Since it was customary to wear black while in mourning, she was currently bedecked in Demure Amor’s latest black fashions, the daring neckline of her chiffon top bearing ample cleavage while the lace of her mini skirt revealed the slenderness of her athletic thighs and calves.

To Tai it was the ultimate sin to find himself tremendously aroused by another woman’s presence directly after laying his fiancée to rest, yet the tender look in Sora’s eyes somehow made it seem so right.

Suddenly appearing to be rather uncomfortable with being scrutinized like an organism under a microscope, Sora hastily seated herself on a nearby couch and bestowed her friend with a tight-lipped smile. “So” she began, “I see that you’re still in control of your faculties, so I’m guessing that I should just go ahead and leave?”

Tai’s face immediately fell. “What, so soon? I-I was really hoping that we could stay up and talk for a while and…you know…catch up?”

Sora gave a humorless laugh, returning scathingly, “Catch up on what, Tai? Both of our lives are a living hell because A) my husband cheated on me for your fiancée, which initially means that B) Mimi cheated on you, and C) every time we’re together I feel this mind-numbing fear over what might happen between us! I may be angry with Matt, but I am not about to follow in his footsteps!”

“Then…you admit to there being something between us?” Tai innocently fished, his tongue subconsciously sliding along his bottom lip as he awkwardly sat down beside her. “I-I mean…I’m not saying that there is, but if there were…what do you think would happen that makes you so afraid?”

“I-I honestly don’t know” Sora admitted, “but this afternoon should’ve never happened, Tai. We were both feeling very lonely and rejected, so I-I almost let you…I almost let you…um…”

“Make love to you?” Tai finished breathlessly, his insides quivering at just the mere prospect of cradling her soft nude form against his own.

Sora’s cheeks blossomed to a delicate rosy hue at this sudden declaration, yet she nonetheless found herself nodding as she scooted slightly away from him.

“I never meant to cause you any heartache, you know” Tai suddenly confessed, now no longer able to meet with her meek gaze. “It’s just that…well…I’ve always really liked you, Sora, and now that I’ve lost Mimi…” Here he couldn’t finish, the unshed tears which he’d been staving off now streaming down his cheeks in a ceaseless flow, a small shudder racking his body once he felt Sora touch his arm in a simple gesture of comfort.

“Oh, Tai” she entreated, “please don’t…I hate to see you like this. You’re a man of courage, remember?”

“Yeah, well who gives a damn when I’m doomed to be alone?” he demanded, shrugging her off before sending her a terrible scowl. “Don’t you get it, Sora? Killing Mimi is God’s little way of telling me that I don’t deserve to have someone to love…that I’m not allowed to have anybody.”

Sora winced. “Tai, you will find someone…you’re a very fun and attractive man!”

“Then how come that was never good enough for you?” he questioned in a defeated voice, his tone laced with an inexplicable amount of hurt. “If I was so fucking great back then, how come you didn’t want to go out with me?”

“Tai” Sora whimpered, her lashes now glistening with tears, “I couldn’t…I loved Matt and I just-”

“Stop it” Tai growled, holding up a hand before giving her a disgusted look. “I don’t wanna hear your sorry excuses anymore ‘cause I’ve already heard enough to last me a whole lifetime. Just go ahead and do yourself and Matt a little favor and get a frickin’ divorce.”

Sora gasped. “Tai Kamiya!”

“Well I’m right, aren’t I? You two hate each other since he fucked my woman!”

That did it. In a flash, Sora reared back and struck Tai clear across the face, his brown eyes wide with astonishment as he reached up a hand and rested it upon the tender flesh of his cheek. “You…you hit me!”

“Well of course I did, you moron! What you said was completely cruel and you know it!” Sora wailed, the tears now flowing freely down her cheeks as she hit him yet again. This time, however, Tai allowed her to strike him, a slight pang of remorse throbbing within his bosom once he caught sight of the vast pain reflecting back at him from Sora’s eyes. He hadn’t meant to hurt her – God, he really hadn’t, but now that it was all said and done he knew that it was far too late to apologize.

After a few more moments of uncomfortable silence Sora finally spoke up, “I never should’ve come here…I can’t believe that I was actually stupid enough to think that you’d changed.”

“Sora…”

“No! Don’t you Sora me!” the redhead sobbed, now pulling away from Tai so that she couldn’t see his eyes. “I may care a great deal for you, Tai, but I’m completely willing to disown you as my best friend if you can’t let go of this ridiculous grudge – it’s been 13 years! Let it go!”

Tai visibly winced. “I don’t have a grudge, Sora, but I damn well might start to if Matt doesn’t begin treating you right” he confessed, his dark eyes soft and filled with sorrow as he absently kneaded the plush of the couch between his fingers. “You said so yourself that we’re best friends, but you have yet to let us act like we actually are. Every time we get even remotely close you turn away from me, and all I want to know is why. Don’t you trust me, anymore?”

“Of course I trust you, Tai” Sora miserably relented, “It’s me that I don’t trust.”

“You…what?”

Embarrassed by the shocked look that her best friend was currently giving her, the redhead smoothly rose from the couch and gave him a demure look to cover up her true discomfort. “I’m sorry” she apologized, “but I really do have to go now.”

“Oh…well sure” Tai agreed, still far too bemused by her earlier remark to even halt her actions. Had she actually just admitted that she didn’t trust herself when she was around him? The very prospect brought pleasurable shivers to his spine, yet he soon deducted that it could be nothing more than wishful thinking.

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Sora stared down at the pale bottle of pills in her hand with complete disgust, her lips screwing into a grim line the moment she twisted off the cap and dumped its contents down the toilet without a second thought.

She was sick and tired of the traumas of her inner battle – she just couldn’t withstand them anymore. Hell, she no longer even cared if she won…

“Sora?”

Gasping, the redhead hurriedly flushed the toilet before whirling around in order to face her husband, her throat now inexplicably dry as she ventured, “M-Matt! I…I mean…why didn’t you knock?”

He gave her a wry smile. “What, so now I need a reason to check in on my beautiful wife?”

“Well no, I guess not, but-”

“Come to bed, Sora” Matt entreated, his open arms both wide and welcoming as he closed the small gap between them. “It’s been a rough day on all of us, so I’m pretty darn sure that you’re in some dire need of rest.”

Sora moved to argue, but suddenly thought better of it, her eyes growing heavy as she leaned into him and nodded. “Yes…alright” she finally agreed, “but only if you stop hogging the covers.”

Laughing, Matt nodded as he escorted his wife out into the hallway, never once realizing what horrible secrets laid deep within the chambers of her tattered heart.


A/N: Wow, I am SOOO sorry for taking forever and a year to update, but I had Samurai Champloo, Wolf’s Rain, Dark Shadows, and Cowboy Bebop fics to take care of, too! I know, it’s not an excuse, but…::sigh::

Anywhos, yes, I AM a loser for updating on Christmas (my birthday, no less…I’m 19! Gah, I feel SO old! O.O lol), but I hope you’ve enjoyed, anyway!!!

Next chapter: What is Sora hiding? How will the boys react? Who will she choose? (ok, so not ALL of that is in the next chapter, but who’s counting, right? ;) Please show me some love AKA a Christmas/birthday present by clicking the little review button! It not only ensures a faster update, but it keeps your authoress HAPPY! LoL Love you guys! ;0)