Talk

Niko's head is facing down, but he senses Shen Shu's approach. His face lifts, and he watches her. "We need to talk," she tells him.

He nods.

They didn't say a word as she followed him out of the makeshift arena and the club toward somewhere private. They head to his car and sit inside.

He does not turn on the radio as they sit in uncomfortable silence.

Shen Shu folded her arms across her chest. "Is your jaw okay?" she asked, looking out the window.

He laughed softly, sliding a finger across his tender skin. "I've felt worse," he said. "But I deserved it."

"You did," Shen Shu replied without hesitation. "You did not tell me—I mean us, that you were back."

Niko sighed, looking away. "I was going to tell you all. I needed some time, but I did not expect to see my sister tonight and as my opponent no less."

Sister. Whenever he called her that, Shen Shu never understood why it felt all kinds of wrong.

She released a breath. "I'm sorry."

He faced her. "For what?"

"For exposing you and fighting you. Father will find out by tomorrow that you are here." Shen Shu's anger has dissipated, and she realized she could have handled Niko better.

Niko shook his head. "You were right to be angry and to confront me. I've been a shitty brother to you. I always have," he admitted. "And I will call father in the morning to tell him before he finds out on social media."

She nods. "Can you explain to me why you avoided us?"

His eyes meet hers. There was something unexplainable in them as she held his gaze, trying to read him. He stared at her so intensely. She found herself getting lost in his grey hues. "I went to Russia to find my father. My biological father," he breaks the thick silence.

Shen Shu's eyes widen like saucers. "You found him?"

"I found his grave," he says quietly.

"Niko…" She begins to say, guilt overcoming her—something in her heart cracks. She reached for him, wrapping herself around his arm. The pitch in his breath quickens, but she doesn't feel him accepting her embrace, so she pulls back awkwardly.

"You don't have to feel bad for me," he said. "My biological father was a piece of shit."

"Then why did you look for him?" She asked, curiosity outweighing her logical thoughts.

"For closure," he confessed.

"So you came back for good?"

He meets her gaze again. "Yes," he responded. "My life is here."

She held back her smile. "If your life is here, then are we not important to you anymore? Did I do something?"

His face falls. "No–never," he starts. "I only felt shame for going, so I prolonged seeing you all again."

She took his hand in hers and swiped her thumb across his knuckles. "We only want to see you, Niko, and we want you to be happy. I'm glad you're back."

His grin was sad, but she smiled wide, and Niko's gaze fell to her mouth. Shen Shu's pulse quickens, so she releases a deep breath. "We should be getting home," she told him.

Niko turns on the car. "I will drive you," he says, releasing her hand.

He then drove her out of the parking lot to make their way to the Shen estate.

Shen Shu had not moved out of her parent's home yet. Her father forbade her until she married. He says it's important for her to have a man that would take care of her. Bullshit.

But she hoped one day he would see to reason and let her live on her own one day. But she cherished the time she spent with her parents and Mrs. Tang until she would make that next step.

They pull up to the driveway of the Shen estate, and Niko glances at the house her parents raised him in.

"Why don't you come inside? Mother will be so happy to see you," she told him.

Niko smiles sadly. "It's late. They're most likely sleeping, so it will have to be another day."

She looked at him. "Okay, then. Goodnight, Niko."

"Goodnight, Cat," he responds as she shuts the door.

She walked down the pathway to the house, and she turned once more to find Niko watching her. Shen Shu waved at him again before she stepped inside the house. Once inside, she heard the car speed away.

She released a breath once he'd gone. She could have handled that a lot better, she said to herself, but she walked the way up the stairs towards her bedroom in desperate need of a shower.

She scrubbed her body from head to toe and washed her hair before sitting on the shower floor, letting the water cascade over her. She bundled her knees with her arms.

She reflects as she lets the water douse her, flowing through her long black hair. She did not expect to see Niko tonight, and her mind started to think of how he looked at her. The way his body moved against her. It seemed like they were dancing more than fighting in the fighting ring. He matched her moves fluidly, reading her body. Out of all people, Niko read her better than anyone else. They've become experts of each other even if they could not figure out what the other was thinking.

She grabbed fistfuls of her hair as her mind began to be plagued by forbidden thoughts, thoughts she buried deep years ago. She thought of tonight and Niko's muscled obliques, his broad shoulders, and his glistening skin. He was bigger, stronger, and taller than she remembered.

It's wrong.

Shen Shu searched for the chest in the back of her mind to lock those thoughts in it again. Once the key turned and clicked into a place, she found herself relieved.

She stood in the shower and turned off the faucet.

She wrapped a towel around her body and proceeded with her skincare and hair. After Shen Shu finished, she dressed into something comfortable and went to bed.

She dove under the sheets, but she did not fall asleep instantly.

…

The following day, the house phone rings next to her early and wakes her up.

"Hello?" Shen Shu answered the phone.

"Shu. Come downstairs right now. It's important," her mother tells her.

She rose to her feet instantly and put on her slippers. She ignored her bed hair and clothes as she went straight to her.

She stepped into the living room, where she found her parents sitting next to each other. And across them was a man's back facing her.

Her mother stands and struts toward her with a bright smile on her face. "Your brother is home," she says happily.