I got the idea for this from talking with transmutejun. No, I'm not THAT far into the series, but I know the gist of what happens in eps 39 and 40, so...yeah. Dreaded first-person present-tense POV, but Joe was fun to write.
Anyone with half a working brain could see how Jun feels about Ken, but it takes a special kind of brain to see how he feels.
Ken doesn't exactly hide his emotions...hell, with those expressive blue eyes of his it'd be kinda hard to anyway. He makes it known when he's happy, angry, sad, suspicious, excited, dtermined, annoyed. The basics, we all know what makes him tick for the most part.
But only I, the Condor, can see beyond the basics to how his heart works. Hey, after being the man's best friend and second in command for so long it was bound to happen, and our most recent "adventure" confirmed my suspicions.
*
"Joe? Is there any reason you've tied me to this chair?" Poor guy, he looks like the canary about to be eaten by the cat.
"You were really going to crash after burning those flowers, weren't you?" I cross my arms over my chest. "And when we got back, you looked almost as broken as Jinpei did."
"I was upset because I thought we'd lost a friend and a teammate," he protests, as if somehow saying the words could make them true. He's fooling me, not for a second.
"Would you have crashed your plane into the flames if it were me? Or Jinpei? Or Ryu?" I try not to flinch as I remember that; I'd never admit this to him but I was pretty damn scared back there thinking he'd actually do it.
He seems to actually ponder this strongly for a moment, then glares at me, flexing his arms against the ropes.
"Joe, for the last time I wasn't...I mean, even if she had it's not like I had the option to-"
"Aha!" I smirk. "So you did want to kill yourself over her."
"Wh-where do you get off, anyway?!" he snaps. "Since when's it any of your business whether I have feelings for Jun or not?"
"Ken, let's be realistic here. Jun's a beautiful young woman, and any guy would be lucky to have her. If you don't do something about it, some other guy'll waltz up and take her for himself...like me, for example." Actually, I'm lying, I see Jun as more of a sister than anything. But my words do the trick; he's struggling harder against his binds and glaring at me like he wants to kick my ass.
"Don't even joke about that-!"
"Ken, you're like the brother I never had, and I care about you. I want to see you happy." I place a calming hand on his shoulder and look him in the eye.
"Well, you sure have a funny way of showing it," he grumbles. "Tying me to a chair, trying to force a confession out of me and making lame threats just to rile me up..."
He's weakning!
"And?"
He mutters angrily, closing his eyes.
"Why do you care so much? What business of it is yours?"
"Because it's been damn obvious for too long that she likes you, and lately I've been getting some vibes from you too, Ken," I say. "Sure, you try to deny it and treat her like a friend or a sister, but how long can you keep this up?"
"Joe..."
"Just say it."
He swallows hard, hands fisting and unfisting against his knees. For a minute I could swear he's about to literally explode.
"All right, fine! I...was thinking of crashing the plane back there, okay?! I was gonna do it because I love her and I hated myself thinking I might've killed her!" he blurts out.
"See? That wasn't so hard, was it?" I smile encouragingly. "So go on, tell her. It'll make her night!"
"Yeah, like she'd believe me after the way I treated her back there," he mutters. "God, Joe, I almost lost her and what do I do the minute I see her alive and well? I chew her out for going off by herself."
"Come on, it's not like you could've taken her in your arms and started kissing her smack in the middle of battle," I laugh. "I'm sure she knows you didn't mean any of it."
"I don't know..."
"Ken, just go to her. Tell her everything you just told me, and she'll be so happy you'll both forget all about what happened." I set to untying the ropes. "You want me to go with you? For moral support?"
He stands, stretching his limbs as if I'd had him tied down for more than the last fifteen minutes. Probably a reflex. He breathes deeply, runs a hand through his hair and turns towards the door.
"Thanks, but I want her to know I'm telling her because I want to, if you're there she'll think we're both being set up." He looks over his shoulder and smiles nervously. "Wish me luck!"
"Go get her, Eagle."
He leaves, and I can't help but leap in the air and whoop out loud. Finally! Those two were made for each other and it's about damn time they did something about it!
...wait. Jinpei's always teasing Jun about loving Ken. So is Ryu. They're entitled to know the good news, aren't they? It's not like Ken or Jun would say anything.
*
"Joe, are you sure this is a good idea?" Ryu asks, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as we sneak into the Snack J. Sometimes I wonder if he really is an owl, but owls are usually awake at night. "If they catch us, we're as good as dead."
"And what if he can't go through with it, or she rejects him? I didn't turn down a night at the arcade to watch a soap opera," Jinpei groans. I assure them everything will be fine, this is meant to happen and nothing could possibly go wrong. They won't hear us or see us if we're quiet, and as far as Ken's concerned Jun's the only one there at this hour.
"Jun? Are you busy?"
She turns around, surprised.
"Oh! No, I was just closing up...Ken, is something wrong? You look a little pale."
"Listen, Jun, I think we need to have a talk about what happened these past few days." Even from here I can see the sweat beads forming on his forehead. Jun sits down in a booth and motions for him to join her.
"I'm sorry I worried you all," she says. "It was pretty stupid of me to-"
"No," he cuts her off. "Jun, I'm the one who should be apologizing. I wasn't very fair to you earlier."
"Ken?"
He places a hand on her cheek and looks into her eyes.
"I almost lost you back there," he says, "because I was an idiot. Look, Jun...this feeling I have isn't anything new, but these past few days just confirmed it and I can't keep lying to myself anymore."
"Ken...are you saying what I hope you are?" She's blushing, looking at him expectantly. It's as though she knows what's coming, but doesn't want to get her hopes up...he draws her closer, and I have to poke Jinpei to stifle his snickering.
"Yeah. I love you."
YES! I knew he wouldn't chicken out on me. Jun looks surprised for a split second before reaching around to cup the back of his head.
"I love you too, Ken. It feels good to finally be able to say it out loud," she says, and plants her lips on his. I smirk at my companions.
"See? I told you." Jinpei's grinning like an idiot, and even Ryu looks pleased.
"Perfect. Now can we get out of here before one of us blows our cover? I've had enough of fights to last me a month," Ryu yawns. I'd make some snide comment, but Jinpei looks sleepy as well and truth be told, I didn't realize how tired I was until just now.
"Yeah. Let's leave the lovebirds in peace." Ken and Jun, still engaged in their liplock, don't even notice us sneaking out the back. I dunno why the movies always make eavesdropping seem dangerous!
...hopefully she won't notice our dirty sneakerprints until tomorrow.