Disclaimer: I do NOT own Digimon, therefore, none of the characters in the story are mine. Pity really. (shrugs) Oh well.

Therapy

A Kenyako story

Beep. Beep.

Ken looked up from his computer and glanced around his room, trying to locate the source of the noise.

"Ken!" whined Minomon. "Turn it off!" Ken looked up at his bed, where his tired Digimon had been napping. He stood up and grabbed his D-Terminal, flipping it open. He had a new message from…Yolei! That was surprising; she didn't talk to him much. They were friends and all, but she'd usually just talk to Kari or Sora.

"Hi Ken!

I've been having a bad day. I need someone to talk to. Everyone else is busy. Meet me at the park in 20 minutes.

Yolei"

So that's why. Everyone else was busy, and she was desperate. But Ken could never turn down a friend. He looked at his watch. 2:45, he had plenty of time before dinner. He quickly typed a reply:

"Sure! See you there."

He dropped the D-Terminal back on his bed and left the room.

"I'm going out!" he yelled. "I'll be back before dinner!"

"Ok dear! Have fun!" his mother replied. "And don't forget your keys, just in case."

"I know." He said, grabbing his keys off the kitchen counter and leaving.

Yolei sat against a tree in the park. She looked at her watch. It was 3:00; Ken should be there in five minutes. She knew that he would be right on time, he always was. He was the one that was always there to talk to, no matter what. He was such a great friend.

3:02. Three more minutes. Yolei wanted to talk to him so bad! He was the only one of her friends that didn't care when she babbled. He just let her talk; he was far too polite to interrupt.

3:04. Yolei looked up the path; Ken would come running around the corner in a matter of seconds. Sure enough, there he was! She smiled at him as he stopped in front of her. Yolei glanced at her watch.

"3:05, right on time!" she said jokingly. He chuckled and sat down next to her.

"So what's up?" he asked when he had caught his breath. Yolei tilted her head upward and looked at the leaves on the tree.

"The sky."

"No, really?" he replied, sarcastically. "Tell me something I don't know." Yolei thought for a minute.

"But that's hard!" she complained. "You're a genius!" Ken shook his head and smiled.

"So, what's wrong?" Yolei sighed.

"Everything." she muttered.

"Everything? Yolei, I highly doubt that your entire life is miserable."

"Well, it's really just stuff at home…"

"Like what?"

"My brother and sisters get all the attention! I feel like I don't fit in at all! Mantarou is really smart, and Chizuru's a popular cheerleader, and Momoe is smart and popular! But I'm just the computer geek that isn't good at anything." Ken listened to Yolei, and began to realize that they had more in common than they thought.

"My parents practically worship them! My mom even asked me once why I couldn't be more 'normal' like my sisters. Apparently, saving the world isn't enough to please my parents. Why can't they understand that I'm different!" Yolei was close to tears now. Ken pulled her into a hug.

"Hey, it's ok." He said softly.

"I wish they would disappear!" she said angrily. Ken pulled away and put his hands on her shoulders. He looked into her hazel eyes and saw in them the same anger that he used to feel.

"Be careful what you wish for." He told her. "It might seem great now, but once they're gone, you'll really miss them." Yolei looked confused.

"How would you know? You're an only child!" She reminded him. Ken looked away.

"I wasn't always."

"Ken? What do you mean?"

"Sam." He whispered.

"Who?"

"Sam. He was my older brother. We were best friends. We did everything together. He taught me how to play soccer, and how to blow these soap bubbles with straws."

"Oh, I used to do that all the time with Mantarou!" Ken smiled.

"Yeah, that was fun. But you know what? Deep down, I was always jealous of Sam. He was perfect. My parents loved him, his teachers loved him, his coach loved him. I was always ignored, I didn't feel loved."

"Oh Ken! That's terrible."

"It gets better." He said with a sigh. "Then Sam got his Digivice. I was in his room once and I found it in his drawer. He came in and flipped out when he saw me with it. He took it away and practically yelled at me never to touch it again. Well, I got mad and, like you, I wished that he'd disappear. Then a couple of days later he…" Ken stopped and blinked a few times to keep himself from crying.

"What happened?" Yolei asked quietly.

"He d-died in a c-car accident." Ken choked. Yolei gasped.

"Oh my gosh! Ken, I'm so sorry!" she said, hugging him. He closed his eyes, trying hard not to cry.

"Ken, you can cry you know." She said, almost as if she read his mind. "It's not healthy to keep it all bottled up inside you, because one day you'll just explode. Trust me, it won't be pretty." Ken let the tears roll down his cheeks and hugged Yolei tightly.

"It's ok." She said, trying to make him feel better.

"No it isn't. It's all my fault!" he choked, his voice slightly muffled.

"Don't beat yourself up about it. It's not your fault!" she said firmly. He was always blaming himself for everything, and she hated when he did that. Ken let go of Yolei and wiped his tears on his sleeve.

"I'm sorry Yolei." He apologized, trying to collect himself.

"It's ok." She replied, smiling warmly.

"You're right, it isn't my fault." Yolei's smile grew.

"Of course I'm right!" Ken laughed.

"That's better! Hey, I've got an idea! Why don't we go back to my house and blow soap bubbles on the balcony!" Yolei suggested, still smiling.

"I don't know…"

"Oh come on Ken! It'll be fun! Think of it as therapy, without the annoying therapist." Ken thought for a minute. On one hand, blowing bubbles would be another painful reminder of Sam, and he wanted to avoid another breakdown. But on the other hand, he did like Yolei, and it wouldn't hurt to spend more time with her.

"Oh, alright!" he said smiling. Yolei grinned and stood up. She offered Ken her hand and he took it. She pulled him up off the ground and they started walking toward Yolei's apartment building.

Yolei opened the door and the two of them went inside.

"Hey everybody! I'm home!" she called, closing the door.

"Oh honestly, Yolei, could you be anymore immature!" said Chizuru, not even looking at her younger sister. As she walked into her room, Yolei made a face behind her back. Mantarou shook his head at his sister's antics. Momoe just rolled her eyes.

"Yolei? Who is this?" Mantarou asked, raising an eyebrow at his youngest sister.

"This is Ken Ichijouji." She explained, blushing slightly. "Ken, this is Mantarou, and Momoe. And that was Chizuru. My parents are at work." Mantarou and Momoe went back to watching TV. Yolei went into the kitchen, and Ken, not wanting to be left alone with Yolei's siblings, followed. Yolei had already taken out two plastic cups and was at the sink, pouring some water and dish soap in them.

"There should be some straws in that cupboard right there." She said pointing. Ken opened the cupboard and looked up and down, eventually locating the straws. He pulled out two of them and closed the cupboard. Yolei had her back to him, so he came up behind her and put the straws in the cups. She turned around and blushed to see him so close.

"Um, here." She said, handing him a cup.

"Thanks." He replied. Yolei led the way out onto the balcony. She rested the cup on the railing and Ken did the same. He dipped his straw into the cup, took it out and blew into it. A rather large bubble floated away, followed by a smaller one from Yolei. They stood in silence for a while, blowing bubbles. Yolei glanced at Ken and saw a single tear roll down his cheek. She blew a small bubble at him which popped when it hit his cheek. She giggled at the surprised look on his face. He laughed and shook his head. Yolei went back to blowing bubbles. She expected him to blow some at her. But she felt something else on her cheek. Something warm. Were those his lips! Yolei felt herself turn bright red. She reached her hand up and touched her cheek where he had kissed her. She turned to look at him, and saw that he was blushing too.

"Yolei, I-I'm sorry…I don't know what…" he apologized, ever the gentleman.

"Shh…" she whispered, putting her finger to his lips. After a few seconds she let her hand fall to her side and she tried to avoid looking into his deep cerulean eyes.

"Yolei…" Ken said softly. She looked up into his eyes, those eyes that she loved so much. They were kind and warm, yet mysterious at the same time. Yolei had never seen them this close before, and she decided that she liked them even more now that they were mere inches away. Ken twirled a few strands of her lilac hair around his finger. He looked down at her and found himself closing his eyes and leaning in toward her. Yolei did the same. Their lips touched and she wrapped her arms around his neck. He wrapped an arm around her waist, and pulled her closer to him, closing the small gap between them. They broke apart, both slightly flushed. Yolei smiled and rested her elbows on the railing and Ken went back to blowing bubbles.

"You know Yolei, I feel much better." He said smiling at her.

"So do I." she agreed, resting her head on his shoulder.

Well there it is! My first good Kenyako! I hope you all liked it! What did you think Ken?

Ken: (blushes) I-it was g-great!

Of course it was!