Emptiness

"It does tend to do that. Not enough to show nipple, I think."

"Not so far," Ash agreed.

"But a li'l cleavage for sure."

"Plus it's super short."

"That too. You'll have to help me if I need to bend over or reach for anything."

Ash swallowed hard. "Fair enough," he said faintly.

"Or I'd be showing off basically every-"

"Yeah. Yeah you would."

"And we couldn't have that."

"Probably best not to."

Val hopped onto a stool by the kitchen island. Ash's eyes widened comically, and she belatedly closed her legs a little tighter and adjusted the edge of her robe.

"Oops," Val said lightly. "I didn't flash you again, did I?"

"Only... only enough to know you don't have anything on under there."

"I wasn't being subtle about that."

"No. But now I know. For sure."

"My bad."

"Is it? I'm not sure that wasn't on purpose."

"It wasn't. I'm just... not being as careful as I should."

"That sounds like it's in deliberate territory when you put it that way."

"Hm, maybe." Val flashed a winsome smile. "Pour me some coffee? Please?"

Ash's movements were slow and not fully coordinated. He nearly spilled the mug of coffee he set next to Val. She'd opened her legs a little wider when he had his back turned, just enough to threaten exposing herself again. It was quite a lot of fun when it was on her terms, and when she wasn't freaking out over what it all meant.

"You're gonna drive me crazy," Ash said. "You need to not wear that robe."

"But if I take it off I'll-"

"You know that's not what I mean! Just... wear your normal stuff."

Val sipped her coffee. "You were perfectly happy to see me all nakey in the shower yesterday."

"I couldn't see anything."

"But you might have. Anyway, I'm really enjoying this robe right now, and I intend to get some more use out of it."

Ash looked Val up and down. "You really never wore it for anyone?"

"Never."

"Even Carl?"

"It was too late between us by the time I got it. Hadn't been anyone else I would have dared."

"Except your brother?"

Val's eyes softened and her voice went quiet. "Except him," she agreed in a near-whisper.

"You know that's not fair."

"I do."

Ash chewed his lip and tried to look away, without much success at all for any length of time. "You know how hard it is not to think about just giving that sash a tug, seeing if it all falls open?"

Val's legs clamped together, but not out of any sense of modesty. Rather, the sudden thrill running through her demanded at least that small physical response. "Then I'd be basically naked."

"Correct."

"I knew you wanted to see me."

"I do. And I don't. At the same time." Ash looked askance at Val. "I'll admit it, I didn't think I'd see anything when you were in the shower, but I kind of hoped I would."

Val breathed sharply inward.

"Not everything," Ash said quickly. "Not that. Just... something."

"You could, if you wanted."

"What?"

"I mean physically it'd be very easy. I could try and stop you, but this robe is, like, not designed for modesty. You could see something with very minimal effort. And with a little effort more, you could probably get if off me entirely."

Ash closed his eyes and groaned softly. "I wish you wouldn't say things like that."

"Not that either of us would want it to come to that," Val said. "Just saying that, you know, physically speaking, it's very doable."

"You're a monster."

Val laughed. "It's just so easy once I get started. God I've missed having someone to flirt with like this."

"This is flirting?"

"... maybe? Whatever it is, I've missed it, is the point."

Ash considered for a moment, the took a step back. He reached for the bottom of his shirt and pulled it off in one smooth motion.

It was Val's turn to go wide-eyed and silent. She's seen him shirtless a fair amount recently, but never in a deliberate attempt at... at whatever he was attempting. If anything, that just made it hotter.

"You're right," Ash said. "That is fun."

"Shut up."

"You can do it but I can't?"

"I never took my top off."

"No, but you're welcome to."

Val stared at Ash, then smirked crookedly. She casually hooked her finger in the top of her robe and tugged on one side of it enough to reveal most of one of her breasts.

Ash was temporarily transfixed. "... well I didn't actually mean it," he mumbled.

"Oh didn't you?" Val asked sweetly.

"It was just, you know, rhetorical. Or something."

"Oh. My mistake."

Val readjusted her robe to cover herself again. She left a little extra cleavage showing, though.

"I feel like we're headed for some kind of mutually assured destruction here," Ash said. "Only we both kind of want to see what happens if we go for it."

"That's probably fair." Val grinned. "Mutually assured distraction, more like."

"That too."

****

Ash was quite happy to only have a short shift at work that day. It had been a long time since he'd had to deal with getting random boners all day, and he hadn't missed it.

Fucking Val.

What had been up with her that morning anyway? Any other girl he would have been certain it was a full on seduction. And a good one, too. With Val, as per usually lately, it was something more complicated than that.

Ash went to his room to change after work. Upon swapping outfits, he flopped onto his bed and tried to think some more. He'd been doing precious little other than thinking, but at work there were constant interruptions.

"Hey, Dragon," Ash said as his cat hopped up onto the bed with him. "What's up? Hungry?"

Dragon said nothing and walked straight onto Ash's chest where she curled up.

"This is almost affectionate of you. What did I do to deserve such an honour?"

The very softest of purrs was the only response.

"Don't tell me, you're actually my secret spirit animal and you've come to deliver wisdom and comfort."

Ash waited in silence.

"Ok, so just comfort then. That's fine."

He reached for Dragon's head with a soft touch, alert for any of the signs he'd learned that she wasn't actually in the mood for physical contact. Contact other than her making a bed atop him, of course. That didn't count.

"What do you think I should do, hm?" Ash asked, as though one of these times Dragon would answer. "I mean, yeah, I liked what I saw this morning. I liked the teasing. But also... I kinda wish we hadn't taken things that far. Wish I hadn't walked in that bathroom yesterday."

Ash sighed. "Like, she's my sister. I'm not supposed to enjoy seeing her tits. Or... other things. And do you know how much time I spent today wondering if she'd wear that robe again? Too much. Way too much."

Dragon's ear flicked in an annoyed way. Ash stopped petting her in case it was his touch that was bugging her. It was more likely that than his quandary, since presumably she wasn't really getting much of the content of it.

"You think she's gonna show me more? Like, yesterday I wouldn't have thought so. But I guess maybe I just caught her the wrong way. This morning... goddamn, I mean I know you don't care, but that little flash of her cooch..."

Ash snorted, disturbing Dragon enough to earn himself an unamused look.

"I mean, she flashed me accidentally that other time. And I didn't really get why she spent any time worrying about not being groomed the way she wanted. Now I kinda do. Like, I know I only saw it for a second, but it looked amazing. Like... like the sort of pussy you just wanna dive into and drown in." Ash paused. "No offense."

Dragon stood up, digging her claws in enough to make a point, and hopped off Ash's chest to the edge of the bed.

"Well I'm sorry. Pussy and drowning can too be in the same sentence without it being horrific, ok?"

Dragon stared fixedly at Ash.

"Fine. Treats? Will treats help? Let's get some, ok?"

Dragon seemed to find that an acceptable apology and led the way, taking care to make sure Ash was following.

****

Ash was taking a shower the next morning when he heard the bathroom door open.

"Val? That you?"

"Who else?"

"Whatcha doing?"

"Don't mind me. Carry on."

Ash sighed and continued rinsing his hair. "Is this 'cause of when I walked in on you?"

"Perish the thought. We're past that, aren't we?"

"I genuinely have no idea."

Val didn't seem to be in any particular hurry. Ash couldn't see her all that well, except to make out her form standing by the sink, not going anywhere.

"I'm nearly done in here," Ash said.

"That's nice."

"Did you have something in particular you needed?"

"I've got it, thanks."

Ash rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He shut off the water and reached out for his towel. A little fumbling around where it should have been hanging confirmed it wasn't there any longer. "Hey, Val? Is my towel there?"

"Oh, yeah, it fell on the floor. I've got it right here."

"I don't think it did. But could I have it, please?"

"Hm... nah."

"Nah?"

"I'm busy."

Ash peeked out, still keeping his body mostly covered. Val had rubbed a spot more or less clear of shower mist and was delicately arranging her hair.

"Yeah, you look busy. Can you just hand me my towel?"

"Nope."

"Ugh. You jerk."

"Hey! No name calling."

Ash hesitated a moment longer while Val pretended to ignore him, then bit the bullet and stepped out of the shower, totally naked and dripping with water. "Don't even think about yelling about this mess I'm making."

Val didn't seem the slightest bit concerned about the water getting everywhere. She casually wiped more of the mirror and kept right on playing with her hair.

"I can see you looking," Ash said as he started drying off.

"Haven't even peeked," Val said.

"I can see in the mirror just as well as you can. You're literally wiping it clean again right now."

"I can't help it if I accidentally see something in there."

"You absolutely could have. All you had to do was not put my towel way over here out of reach."

Val's lips twitched into a faint, lopsided smirk. "What fun would that have been?" she asked.

"That's what I thought. Happy now?"

"Pretty happy, yeah."

"Oh. Well... good."

For all his grumbling, Ash was busy appreciating the view he had as well. Val was once again wearing that same short, silky robe. She wasn't quite showing off anything, but the effect of the robe didn't really require being overtly explicit.

Ash finished a quick dry-off, then secured the towel around his waist. He stepped close behind Val, meeting her eyes in the mirror. Her movements slowed as he drew near, and he caught the subtle change in her breathing.

"What are you doing?" Ash asked.

"My hair wasn't behaving itself, so I-"

"What are we doing?" he clarified.

"Well, you just showered, and I'm, uh..."

"Yeah. No. You wanted to see me naked. Fine. I want to see you too. I think we both get that."

Val bit her lip, her eyes bright and intense as they stayed on Ash's in the mirror. "Well you're not s'posed to just say it."

"You forced my hand a little just now. Moving my towel."

"I expected you be more adamant about getting it back."

"Is that your best excuse?"

"All I've got, I'm afraid."

"And was it worth it?"

Again, Val's lopsided grin came out. "Totally."

Ash flushed softly. "Are you gonna do more stuff like that?"

"Probably."

"And what if I start doing stuff like this?" Ash asked, slipping a hand around Val to gently pull her sash open.

Val looked down at herself. With her robe open, she was pretty close to naked herself. She tugged the edges back over her breasts, though there was still a gap straight down the middle. She didn't think Ash could actually see her pussy from the angle they were standing at, but she wasn't sure about that.

"Then I guess you'll see more of your sister then, won't you?"

Ash groaned softly. "Don't say it like that."

"What? That you'll see more of me? Or... remind you that it's your sis-ter you're trying to see?"

"The second one. You know that's what's making this weird."

"The only thing?"

"Basically. Isn't it?"

"Perhaps." Val tilted her head. "Or maybe we'd be in a similar conundrum even if you weren't my brother."

"How so?"

"Well... one might argue that if we were very close, emotionally, and were getting so close physically as well, that it might be almost as complicated."

"I don't think so."

"I know you don't. That's why you jump from bed to bed so easily."

"Ouch."

"I mean that in the most loving way possible."

"That doesn't much help." Ash took a reluctant step back. "You don't think... shit, am I just doing what I always do? Falling for the wrong person again?"

Val fought her disappointment at having Ash even that little bit farther away. "Certainly possible."

"You're better at the long term thing. What do you think?"

"Long term doesn't mean the same thing for us. We're always gonna be family, you know. Always have been, always will be."

"Is that... is that an argument for or against?"

"Neither, Ash. It just is."

Ash flexed his hands, clenching and unclenching them. "That doesn't help."

"I know."

"I want to... see you. And touch you."

Val bit her lip and felt a thrill run up her spine. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. Like, a lot. But I don't want it to be my usual thing. I don't want to, like, fall for you like that, then find out it wasn't real."

Val took a careful step back, then an even smaller one. She bumped into Ash, feeling another, larger thrill as she felt something hard against her butt, under his towel. Hard for her.

"What's the longest you've ever known a girl before you either fell in love or went to bed with her? Or both, if they were the same time."

"Um..."

"Months? Years?"

"Well..."

"Less?"

"... yeah. Probably. I don't remember, but... usually not super long."

"So it's different, right? You never fell for me before. It can't just be that."

"You were never this hot before."

Val laughed. "Bullshit, but thank you."

"No seriously. You never were."

"I think maybe I've just never been this hot to you. It's different." Val rubbed her butt deliberately against the tent in Ash's towel. "Just like I've never really found you particularly attractive until just recently."

Ash's hands landed lightly on Val's hips. He pressed back against her grinding ass, locking them more firmly together. "That so?"

"Mmhm."

"I've always been attractive, thank you very much."

"So you think. And so, admittedly, have a fair number of girls."

"Thank you."

Val sighed. "Maybe you needed to grow up some."

"What?"

"You're not quite mature yet, but you're much closer these days. I think you really needed that."

"I... for what?"

"For me to ever see you as anything other than a brother. For me to see how hot you can be."

"Maturity doesn't have anything to do with that."

"Oh but it does." Val locked eyes with Ash in the mirror once again, slowing her grinding somewhat. "Imagine the hottest eighteen year old you can, Ash. Fresh out of high school, sneaking into bars with fake ID, partying with the girls, going out every night, getting wasted, hooking up with dudes whenever it takes her fancy, maybe lots, maybe never, knows how to look sooo damn good if she wants to..."

Ash frowned. "Ok, and?"

"Would you rather have her or me?"

"That's such an unfair question."

"Why? You've fallen for a few girls like that, haven't you?"

"... not exactly like that."

"You can pick her if you want. I'll be annoyed, but it'll be my own damn fault."

"Why would I ever? I mean... compared to you..."

"Yes?"

"Come on, Val, like... you're way better than that. You're beautiful, and way less work, and more fun to be around, and easier to talk to, and-"

"Getting it yet?"

"... maybe."

"Keep going with that list if you want. It was getting good."

"Shouldn't have interrupted then."

Ash wrapped his arms fully around Val and hugged her tight. He was deliciously hard against her. Her robe had ridden up, and even though his towel wasn't the sexiest thing to have rubbing on her butt, the knowledge of what was underneath made up for that.

"Maturity is important," Val said, in case the lesson hadn't landed as well as she thought it had.

"Yeah, yeah. In moderation."

"Moderation?"

"Well, presumably if we were both sufficiently mature, you wouldn't be grinding your naked ass on your bro-ther like this."

Val stiffened and moaned softly. She felt behind her for Ash's towel and tugged it away, letting it fall to the floor. His cock was left bare against her ass, skin to skin. She could feel his hard, warm shaft pulse against her.

"Ok. Moderation," she agreed hoarsely. "Moderation's good."

"It's sure doing it for me right now."

Val was flushed and could feel herself breathing heavier. "So we're both mature enough to maybe kinda know what we're doing, and to know that even if it's a stupid thing to do, we're not being frivolous about it."

"Um... yes?"

"So, ok, are we perhaps still sufficiently immature to go do something even stupider?"

Ash groaned softly. His cock was firmly wedged between Val's ass cheeks, and the two of them were only grinding harder and more frantically with each passing moment. "I know I am."

"Yeah. I think I am too." Val put her hands on top of Ash's and slid them up her body. Once she got him moving, he cupped her tits fully under his own power. "But then again, maybe I'm just horny and haven't had sex in... a while."

Ash pulled Val's robe off her arms and handed it to her before returning to fondling her breasts. "That is certainly a consideration."

Val absently folded her robe and tossed it beside the sink. "You think we should worry about it?"

"Well... I'm used to being between girls, and from experience it'd take me longer than this to get horny enough to do something really, really stupid. I'm pretty sure this is just regular stupid." Ash set his chin on Val's shoulder. "If that helps any."

"I actually kinda does." Val turned around, putting her face to face with her brother, as close as they'd ever physically been, both totally naked. "Regular stupid I think I can handle," she murmured.

Val closed her eyes as she leaned in. There really wasn't far to go. Ash's lips met hers almost immediately.

Their bodies were pressed together all the way down, from mouth to increasingly entwined legs. Val's soft breasts pillowed against Ash's chest, and her hot, wet pussy rubbed urgently on his hard, throbbing cock.

"Keep this up, and I'm gonna have to do something stupid," Ash mumbled around Val's lips.

"I thought that was the idea."

"You're sure?"

Val pulled back to look at Ash, her eyes big and shining. "You think we could possibly stop now?"

"Not easily, no."

"Ash... I want you so bad right now. I know we didn't really figure everything out, but... I need you. Please."

"Val..."

"Pleeeaaase."

"You don't have to beg. I'm right there with you."

"Well you're not-"

Val was muffled by a sudden deep kiss. Ash pressed hard, pouring emotion and need into the kiss, and no small amount of tongue too.

Ash moaned into her mouth as she pressed extra hard against his erect shaft. A moment later he gasped and nearly fell over as Val leaped into his arms, legs wrapped tight around his waist, arms around his neck. He managed to get his hands under her butt and steady himself before falling over.

"I wasn't ready for that."

"Oops," Val said without the slightest hint of apology in her tone.

"You can't just jump on me like that."

"I can't?"

"Not without expecting to take whatever you get as a result."

Val grinned and let her eyelids lower flirtatiously. "Maybe that's exactly what I expect."

"Oh good."

Ash carefully walked over to the wall and pressed Val against it, helping balance and secure their somewhat precarious position.