This is a revised, and slightly different version of "How Can I Not Love You?" which I posted from a different account. If any of you have read that before and liked it enough to read the whole thing, feel free to read this. I feel it's a bit more detailed and it may differ a bit in storyline so it's worth a read. Those who have not, you're welcome to read also, but be warned. This is incest, Claire x Chris incest to be specific. So if that sort of thing grosses you out, hit the back button to return to the long list of fanfictions to choose from to find something that doesn't give you the same reaction. Anyways, R&R!

Claire and Chris had decided to go to a restaurant called Grill 13 in the city. It was a standard restaurant, but pretty nice inside with booths and lighting hanging from the ceiling. Not to mention great food. They walked side by side on the sidewalk seeing as the restaurant was just a few blocks away. Both looked different than usual as they had decided to dress up for this special occasion. Claire was sporting her red sleeveless dress with thin straps, a black motorcycle jacket, and black heeled ankle boots. Her hair was down and laid perfectly on her shoulders. Chris wore a green button up, dark wash jeans, and brown loafers.

"It's been a long time since we've gone out to dinner someplace together." Chris said breaking through the silence aside from the cool night air and the their footsteps against the pavement.

Claire nodded. "Yeah. It really has. But its nice to be able to now."

Chris smiled at her. He was so happy to have her by his side. And more so under the circumstances. She was so beautiful. That dress he bought her on a manikin in the store was nothing compared to the dress on her body. But somehow… he felt nervous. Uncomfortable. Unsettling. As much as he wanted to wrap his arm around her, hold her hand, caress her face, hold her, kiss her… he just felt wrong somehow. He knew deep down it was because she was his baby sister. He somehow felt like he was taking advantage of her if he acted on his impulses. And so he tensed up when he felt the urge to be affectionate or loving with her.

"Thanks again for the dress. I love it. With this moto jacket it's perfect." Claire said with a wink and a smile.

Chris felt himself go red in the face, heat rising to it all at once. But that wasn't all he felt. He felt so… attracted to her. He was feeling more than just love for her. And as much as he tried to shake the feelings off, there were there alright.

"No problem. You deserve it."

Claire was still smiling, but it faded away after his comment. She couldn't help but have wanted something more than that… perhaps a "You look beautiful in that dress" or something along those lines would've sufficed. But she didn't blame him. This was a bit weird for her too. Going on a date with your own brother? Well, it definitely wasn't something most people did in their lives. But then again, they weren't "most people". They were different. In a good way. They had been through quite a bit of pain from their parents' death a young age to Chris leaving for the S.T.A.R.S force without so much as a goodbye, but they had made it through. Pretty damn well as a matter of what. And through it all, they had managed to keep their bond strong. They had more than proved it, seeing as the two had just a few days ago admitted their romantic feelings toward each other. And they were still living under the same roof, and as close as ever. The only thing that was missing was the romantic actions… holding hands, cuddling, kissing, touching…

"Well you're looking damn good tonight." Claire complimented, and gave a playful smack to his ass, startling Chris who had spaced out.

The heat in his face only increased with this, and he felt his hormones raging all the more with this playful but sexual gesture. Did Claire really want to… With him? He took a few deep breaths to calm himself, and though it helped, it did not rid him of his shot nerves completely.

They reached Grill 13 shortly after, and Chris held one of the brown double doors for Claire. "Thank you." Claire smiled at him, and Chris felt his heart thumping in his chest at a faster rate. Damn her smile was cute. He followed into the restaurant behind her, and soon a waiter led them to a booth on the left side of the restaurant. They were given menus and complimentary glasses of water and then left to mull over the many options to make a decision. Chris attempted to keep his eyes on the pages of the laminated menu, but every so often, caught himself staring at Claire, who looked absolutely gorgeous, as she browsed through her own menu. He noticed she had her hair down, which he hardly ever saw, she was wearing a dress which again was quite rare, and she even put a light coating of pink lip gloss on her lips. He tried to get himself to stop staring, as it was rude and well, even a little creepy he thought. But every so often, his gaze returned to her. Claire put her menu down onto the table, and her eyes went up and met his.

"So, what are ya gonna get?"

"Oh.. uh, probably the steak and shrimp combo." Chris answered, and then immediately took a gulp of his complimentary glass of water. He needed to calm down. It was just a date. He had been on a few of them before. So why was this one so… so… different?

"A predictable but good choice. I think I'm going with the classic burger and fries." Claire said, breaking him from his thoughts.

Chris felt himself smile. Claire was definitely no girly-girl. She had a real appetite. She wasn't one of those salad eating girls he had gone on dates with before.

"That's the Claire I know." He said, chuckling a little. Claire smacked his arm.

"Ow! What was that for?" Chris said, holding his arm jokingly as if he had gotten hurt severely.

"You trying to call me fat or something?" Claire replied, putting on her best pretend angry face and putting her hands at her sides as she leered over the table.

"Of course not, Claire. You're… you're perfect. I wouldn't change a thing about you."

Claire's expression softened and her eyes gazed straight into his, her crystal blue orbs into his dark chocolate. She reached over the table slowly, and laced their fingers together. She felt that familiar thumping in her chest, the warmth rising to her face accompanied by the reddening of her pale skin, the butterflies in her stomach, and her words nearly being lodged in her throat. "You're still sweet as ever, I see. I just wish you'd show it more since… well our sudden confessions to each other…" Her lip gloss coated lips formed into a small smile, as she brushed her dainty fingers against his. Chris' lips parted, both in shock from her sudden affections and words, but also because he wanted to speak. He just wasn't sure what to say. He should've known this would come up. It was only natural that it would. Before he could say anything, the food arrived, along with the coke and sprite they had ordered along with it.

Even when they were left alone to enjoy their food, Chris felt his courage to speak dissipate all over again. He cut into his steak with knife and fork in hand, but felt disheveled and unsettled as he tried to avoid eye contact with Claire. Every once in a while, their eyes met, but no words were exchanged. Claire too felt uncomfortable and unsure of what more to say to break the almost unbearable silence mixed with the occasional clink or clank of their silverware as they eat quietly or took a drink from their glasses. She felt her heart drop in her chest seeing as he hadn't even responded to what she said. Did his lack of communication mean that he was having second thoughts about feeling for her in a romantic way? Perhaps it did. She tried her best to hold back her urge to storm out of the restaurant and cry. Or rush out the double doors in an angry huff. Maybe both. But she held it together, and took bites from her burger, and led hot, crispy fries into her mouth every so often. When they finished, and the bill came in a black thin sort of envelope, he took out his Visa card, and slipped it in its inside compartments. When his card was given back to him, the two left, and like when they arrived, Chris held the door open for Claire as they exited the double doors of the restaurant.

The walk home too was awkward and quiet. Neither said a word, and their footsteps and the cool breeze were all that sounded through their ears. Reaching their apartment complex, the two went up a flight of stairs, and entered and locked their single apartment door behind them. Claire headed for her room, closing the door behind her, and Chris sighed when he saw and heard it close. He knew he had messed up. He had tensed up at the worst possible time, and probably left her thinking he wasn't serious about what he had said to her just a few days earlier. He paced the room, and tried to think about how to fix this. What to do. What to say. But he found that all this pacing around wasn't do him any good. He had to get past this anxiety and nervousness and be the man Claire deserved. He headed for the bathroom, splashed some cold water on his face from the faucet, dried off with a cotton face towel, and walked to Claire's bedroom door. He took a breath, and flicked out his arms to rid himself of the aches and tenses built up in them. It helped a little. Not completely. But either way, it was now or never. He reached for her doorknob, and turned it slowly, carefully. He pushed it forward and open, and stepped inside, keeping his footsteps light as possible against the hard floor.

"Claire?" He called out softly, as he approached her window and bed.

She said nothing. He saw her figure in bed because though the lights were off and it was dark, there was a dim light coming from the cracked window whose blinds were pulled back. She did not stir. But he heard no gentle snoring either, so he assumed she was still awake. Perhaps she was just deep in her thought. Or maybe she just didn't want to talk to him. He could understand why. He had acted so childishly tonight. He regretted every bit of it. And wanted to apologize. Not only say sorry but make up for it. He really did love her. Not just as a baby sister. But as a man would to a beautiful woman. Someone who he could hold, kiss, and… do other things with. Someone he could be really serious with.

He sat on the bed, careful not to sit on her legs which were sprawled across her full sized bed. Initially he had his back to her. But remembering that he had to stop being so timid, and so unsure, he turned to face her, and in turn laid on the bed beside her, wrapping his strong arms around her curvy figure from behind.

"Claire." He repeated her name, this time in a whisper, his breath brushing against her neck and ear. She shuddered, but in a way to prevent her from moaning or in prevention of some other noise of pleasure emitting from her pursed lips.

She said nothing. She just lay there, her breathing picking up a bit in pace as he pressed his body against hers, and his hands lay on her bare stomach since she had changed out of her dress and motorcycle jacket and into a red cropped tank top, and black jeans. Her skin was soft, and a little cold from the cool breeze coming from the cracked window. His fingers brushed gently across the creases of her slender belly. The sound of honking cars and wheels ripping across the pavement filled their ears as they lay there in otherwise a completely quiet room. Chris broke the silence eventually.

"Claire… I… I'm sorry. I should've said something to you. Ya know, back at the restaurant. I guess I was just… nervous… unsure… afraid… to leave myself free to act on my feelings for you. Truth is, I do want to hold you… caress you… kiss you… I just didn't want to rush you into something you weren't comfortable with. And I didn't want to take advantage of you. You mean the world to me, Claire… you always have. And now, even more so… I just don't want to hurt you. I don't want to ruin what we have because I'm not thinking clearly. I love you far too much for that."

She tensed up at this. And for a while stayed mute. But after a while, she placed her hands over his which still rested comfortably on her stomach, and said,

"You say you love me… but are you in love with me?"

Chris tensed up too at this. Though it was a reasonable question, he still hadn't been prepared for it. He felt his throat get tight again, like the words wouldn't come out just as it did back at the restaurant. But remembering how she looked through dinner, and how she retreated to her room without a word when they returned home, he practically forced the lodged words from his throat as they slipped through his lips.

"Madly. I'm madly in love with you, Claire."

Claire stayed still and quiet for a moment, but just a moment, before she turned to him, and embraced him, feeling the tears come from eyes finally and roll down her cheeks.

"I'm in love with you too, Chris." She mumbled into his hair.

He held her closely, protectively, and affectionately as she cried softly into him. He was glad that they had finally broken the barrier that had been present ever since they had confessed this to each other the very first time. But this time, it was different. They had confessed, but here they were, embracing like long lost lovers, and even their confessions sounded more passionate and heartfelt this time around. Feeling like he could finally let go of his hesitation, he pulled away from her, but still held her by her gently by her mid back, and he kissed her, slowly and sensually, like he had done years back with past girlfriends. She responded, eagerly and lovingly, her lips meshing with his and her arms wrapping loosely around his neck. They kissed each other for a while, both of them so immured in the moment they didn't even realize how long they'd been laying there like that in each other's arms and nearly kissing the night away. They parted every once in a while for air, but soon were back in each other's personal space, their bodies and lips intertwining. At one point, Chris placed his lips on Claire's neck, rather than her lips, and trailed soft, wet kisses along her collarbone, causing her to gasp and moan and shudder in pleasure underneath him.

They eventually grew sleepy, and they pulled away from each other and repositioned themselves on the bed so that they were cuddling. Claire closed her eyes, and Chris kept his open, and caressed the strands of her hair falling behind her shoulders, still down and ponytail-free.

"Claire?" Chris mumbled.

"Mm?" Claire responded.

"I'm sorry for tonight. Could we… try again? Maybe tomorrow night?"

Claire said nothing and stayed still for a moment. She then nodded against his figure.

"And this time… let's dress casually. I don't feel like me and you are the "dress up and go" kinda people. And let's go to a bar instead. I feel like it would loosen us up a bit. Ya know, less formal and such."

Claire chuckled.

"You've got yourself a date, Chris." She said, opening her eyes for just a minute, and then closing them again.

Chris smiled, nuzzled his head into the crook of her shoulder, and closed his own eyes finally, and soon, both of them were fast asleep.

I know it's been a while, and for that I do apologize. I got really busy with school. I hope you guys enjoyed though, despite the long wait, and will try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible. Thanks for reading & reviewing!