Freeze Frame

After a night of interesting and arousing dreams about Juniper, I woke up with a horrible case of morning wood. I lie in bed for half an hour, watching the sun filter through the blinds as I deal with my 'predicament', then drag myself out of bed with a grunt and head for the bathroom to take a shower.

After my shower, I wrap a towel around my waist to head back to my room and get dressed for the day. I open the bathroom door...and almost run smack into Juniper, still dressed like she was last night. She steps back in surprise. "Oh!" she says. "S-sorry, I..." Her eyes flick down to my towel, then up to my face, then off to the side.

"It's okay," I say. "Bathroom's all yours." She steps out of my way; I head back to my room and get dressed. Once I'm ready to face the day, I head for the kitchen to make breakfast. By the time I have scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast for two plated and on the kitchen table, Juniper shuffles into the kitchen, wearing faded jeans, purple socks, and a royal purple T-shirt. She sits down and picks up her fork, folding eggs and bacon onto her toast as I pour her a glass of orange juice.

"Thanks," she mumbles before eating in awkward silence.

I sit down across from her and study her face. Her eyes won't quite meet mine. I sigh and pick at my breakfast. After several minutes, I decide to try to talk to her. "Look, Juniper..."

She shakes her head and waves her fork around. "I'm just...trying to process," she says. "I mean..." She pushes some of her eggs around into a little pile with some bacon crumbs. "You're my big brother," she says. "My whole life, you've always just been...there. Just...my brother Freeze Frame, the kind of annoying, kind of cool dork I looked up to and sometimes kinda maybe resented a little." She sips her juice. "It's just...you've never been a boy."

I raise an eyebrow at her. "I'm pretty sure I've always been a boy, sis."

"You know what I mean!" Juniper says hotly, flushing. "I mean, I never knew you thought of me as a girl, like...a girl a girl. It just...surprises me." She takes a bite of eggs, then looks up at me, her sapphire eyes sharp and a little bit accusatory. "And it's a little unnerving. I mean...now I have to wonder just how often you ogle me, what kind of weird thoughts you're having about me..." She looks away. "Whether or not you've ever...done anything weird when I'm asleep..."

"Never," I say fiercely. "I've never done anything like that." I push my plate back and lean forward. "Sure, sometimes I watch you sleep, because..." I take a deep breath.

I can't say it just yet. Not until the air is clear.

"Well, anyway, I just...I've never done anything," I finish.

"The watching me sleep thing is kind of weird, though," Juniper points out with a mild frown. "Especially with yesterday's, umm..." She ducks her head and looks away. "Exposure."

"That wasn't me," I say hastily. "You were like that when I came in."

"And you sat there and ogled me," Juniper accuses.

I feel my face heat up in shame. "A little," I admit. "But really, I just...I wasn't sitting there staring at your...at your thighs, or...or anything." I wipe my mouth with a napkin. "I just really...wanted to watch you sleep."

Juniper blinks, pursing her lips. "That another of your turn-ons?" she asks.

I shake my head. "It's not like that," I say. "I just..." I sigh and look her straight in the eyes. "Okay, here it is," I try. "The thing is...I'm in love with you."

Juniper tilts her head, confusion written across her face. "Huh?"

I swallow heavily. "I'm in love with you," I say again, my voice hoarse. "I've been in love with you for years, Juniper. Really in love with you." Now that I've said those words, the rest comes tumbling out in a rush. "I think about you all the time. Whenever I see you, my heart beats faster. Every little thing about you fascinates me. I see your cute face when you smile and it warms me up inside. When you're sad or scared I just want to cuddle you and keep you safe and warm. And...and yes, I've had some lewd thoughts about you now and then, but I..." I take a sip of juice to wet my dry mouth and parched throat. "I mean, you're so beautiful and so sexy and so...just amazing," I continue. "And...and I can't help it. I love you, and I want to keep you all to myself, and I guess I also want to..." I gesture sheepishly. "Stuff."

Juniper stares at me, her mouth gaping wide, her glasses sliding down her nose. Her entire face is beet red. "Umm...wow," she says in a soft voice. "I...just...wow," she says again, poking the tips of her index fingers together. She ducks her head and casts her eyes up shyly at me. "B-but...I mean, you're my brother, I'm your sister...that's wrong, isn't it?"

"Not to me it isn't," I say. "If it is, I don't care. You're special and precious to me and I'll never stop loving you."

I didn't think it was possible for her to get any redder, but somehow, she does. "I...need time to think about all this," she says. "This is just...really surprising. I don't know how to feel about everything you just told me."

My heart sinks. "I understand," I say.

She wipes her mouth and hands with her napkin. "I'm...gonna go for a walk," she says. "I'm probably gonna hang out with the girls for a bit today, so I might be back home kinda late. You're...gonna be okay, right?"

"Yeah, totally," I say as my insides turn to lead.

"Okay." Juniper stands, hesitates, then steps over and lightly hugs me around the shoulders. "I'll see you later, Freeze Frame."

With that, she heads back to her room for a second, then heads for the back door and leaves. I sigh and bang my head on the table, cursing my stupidity, then set about cleaning up the breakfast dishes.