The sun was warm, white clouds adorned the sky and birds were singing. It was the perfect day to go outdoors.

Naho and Suwa were the first ones to arrive at their meeting place.

"Good morning!" The woman smiled gently and waved towards her longtime friend. "How have you been, Suwa?"

"Good morning, Naho! I'm fine, what about you? You seem even more beautiful than last time we met!"

She blushed slightly and her smile broadened. "Why, thank you! I'm fine also. My baby has turned 3 already!"

"Where is he, by the way?"

"His father is taking care of him today!"

"Oh, I get it. Do you have any photos of him on your phone? I wanna see him!"

While they were busy seeing photos of Naho's baby – wearing a hat, hugging the dog, being held by his parents – Takako and Azusa showed up.

"Naho! Suwa! I've missed you guys so much!" Azusa came running towards them and gave them a hug. "Suwa, you're a lot more handsome than you were in high school! What have you been up to?"

Suwa smiled and played with his hair, feigning coyishness. "Just playing soccer and going to some world cups as usual. Nothing much" The girls laughed. "What about you, guys?"

"I'm thinking of starting my own brand of clothing with Takako" said Azusa, clinging to the taller woman. "The office life is killing me! So I decided to take a break and pursue my new dreams for a while"

"It's easier for me to start a brand of clothing since I became a model, and Azu is going to help me design everything" explained Takako. "And when my hubby and I decide to have kids, I can still keep in touch with the fashion industry"

"I fear for what the fashion industry is going to look like then" Everyone turned to face Hagita, who had just arrived.

"Hagita!" exclaimed Azusa and Suwa at the same time. The latter went to cling to his friend. "How long's it been! And you're not wearing glasses anymore?"

"I started wearing contact lenses, they're better for performing surgeries. And now I've become used to them"

"That's so cool, Hagita!"

Azusa scoffed. "He may look more handsome now, but it seems his fashion sense didn't improve a bit. Our clothing brand is going to be a huge success!"

"Well, research did say there were more blind people across the country"

"WHAT?"

Suwa laughed while Naho and Takako shook their heads. Ten years might have passed, but some things never seemed to change.

"So," said Takako, trying to change the subject. "we're just waiting for Kakeru now, right?"

They all looked apprehensively at each other, except for Naho. "Don't worry, everyone. He said he would be a little late, but he assured me he would come"

"Oh yeah, do you two still keep in touch?" asked Suwa. He was afraid to hear the answer, but life – and a letter – had taught him to confront his fears and live without regretting not saying things.

"Not as much as before, my baby takes a lot of my time. But I check on him as often as I can"

Suwa was a little surprised to notice her features remained calm and gentle, without a single trace of sadness. When school was over, he thought Naho and Kakeru would get married and live happily ever after, but it seems life is more complex than that. So a couple of years after they started dating, they broke up.

"I did make sure he was going to the therapist regularly and taking his meds even after we broke up, though" Naho added, traces of concern showing on her face now. "But since we split up as friends, it wasn't as hard on him as it could have been and everything turned out fine"

"Man, convincing him to go to therapy was extremely difficult… I thought he would hit us if we persisted any longer" Suwa scratched his head, memories flashing on his mind.

"But we had to make sure he would take care of himself, especially after high school, when we wouldn't see each other as often" Hagita pointed out. "And I'm glad we did it, because we did lose contact after all"

The girls and Suwa shook their heads in agreement.

"I'm glad our parallel world selves sent us the letters" said Azusa. "There are a thing or two I regret on my life, but none of them concerning family, friends or lovers. I guess that letter made me realize life is too precious to not show enough love for others or do what you want. Of course I should've left the company sooner, but it's not too late to start something new now"

"It can be too late sometimes, though, but you should still try anyway" Kakeru said, walking in their direction with teary eyes. "I'm really glad you all helped me before it was too late, otherwise I wouldn't be here today… but I guess you know that" His voice trembled a bit, but his smile never wavered.

"KAKERU!" They all ran towards the newcomer and hugged him.

"Let's open the time capsule before it gets dark" Hagita reminded them.

"It's not even noon yet!" protested Azusa, and they started bickering again.

"It's good to see you all" said Kakeru, while they started to move to the spot the time capsule was buried in.

"Yeah," Suwa's heart sped up as the sun hit Kakeru's lustrous hair. The smaller man was older, but still as handsome as he was in high school – though his smile didn't have a lingering sadness anymore. "it is"

"Let's reunite again in the summer!" exclaimed Naho from the passenger seat of her car. Her husband had come to pick her up, and their baby was fast asleep on the backseat.

The sky was already dark and filled with stars. Watching the view from Mount Kobo while the sun was setting had been breathtakingly beautiful, and now they were parting again, resuming their busy lives.

"Yeah, let's!" Takako and Azusa agreed, waving goodbye as Hagito drove them away, muttering why couldn't the girls take a cab home.

"I'm happy you could make it" said Suwa, waving back as the others disappeared from his eyesight.

"I'm happy too" Kakeru was looking at his feet, his hands inside his pockets. "Hey, Suwa. I never got to thank you properly"

"Of course you thank-!"

"Wait, let me finish. When Naho and I were dating, she explained to me how you helped her cope with her feelings, how you told her the right things to do and so on. If you hadn't helped us the way you did, Naho and I would never have dated…"

Suwa's heart sank from hearing that, and tears started spilling from his eyes. He had loved Kakeru since high school but had never said anything in fear of interfering with his friends' love life. Above all, the letters stated Kakeru and Naho ought to stay together, so Suwa never made a move or confessed to the other boy. Even so, back then he was thrilled to see the two people he loved most were alive and happy. "Time and soccer heal all wounds" he had thought. Thus, he put all his efforts into becoming the best soccer player he could, and his high school days seemed like a distant dream now. That is, until he saw Kakeru that morning. All his feelings were blossoming again, like a wound that had been reopened.

"I guess time and soccer don't heal all wounds, after all" he thought.

"And if you hadn't helped me the way you did, supporting me when I needed most, understanding me when no one could, pushing me to do things against my will, making me realize my feelings for Naho and act on them… I wouldn't be alive now. I always thought Naho was the major reason why I didn't go through all the way, besides you guys of course, but later on I realized it was you… When Naho wasn't able to show me her thoughts and feelings yet, you were the one who said the truth to me, who showed me I could rely on others, who hugged me… It's all thanks to you that the others were able to show their affection for me as well. I needed two whole years on therapy to realize that, but by then we had lost contact already… So I never got to say thank you. And since I started going to therapy a little before we graduated and we parted ways, I didn't have time to understand my love for Naho wasn't romantic love. Don't get me wrong, I do love her deeply, but… I…"

At that point, Kakeru was crying as well. He took a deep breath before continuing. "I love you, Suwa. I'll always love you for saving me, but especially for being who you are. I can't convey my feelings properly or show you my gratitude enough"

Suwa almost pinched himself to check if that wasn't a dream. He closed his eyes hard and opened them wide again. Kakeru's face was inches from his, his eyes were puffy and red, and he had a runny nose. Yet, he was so handsome Suwa could spend the rest of his life staring at the other man's face and never get tired of it.

"Are you free now?" asked Suwa.

"Huh?"

"Are you free tonight?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Well, you could show me your gratitude by going on a date with me, to start. And if you love me as much as I love you, you could hold my hand, give me a few kisses and even, I don't know, go out with me and all. I think that's the most honorable thing you could do to pay me back. Though I do like the idea of receiving some of your kisses, even if you don't want to be my boyfriend"

Kakeru seemed surprised at first, but soon was laughing so hard he could barely stand straight. When he regained his composure, he smiled so broadly his eyes were but tiny slits.

"I have to see if I have any kisses in storage, but – let me see my schedule – well, I guess I could cancel lying on the sofa playing video games all night if that date is so important to you"

"Yeah, it is"

They hugged each other so tight it was as if one of them would fall otherwise. After what felt like an eternity, they held hands while walking slowly towards Suwa's car.

"Let's grab something to eat?"

"Yeah" Suwa cleaned the tears from his face before starting the car.

He had never felt so happy in his whole life.

A/N: I can never say this enough: a support group is important, but please go to a therapist and take meds if you must! And please feel free to point any language mistakes, since I'm an EFL learner.

I swear I was shipping Kakeru/Naho, but then Naho failed completely at being a good protagonist at crucial moments, and Suwa stepped in and played her role majestically. And the mangaka kept doing it over and over again, until Suwa became Kakeru's best option as a romantic counterpart lol.

In my opinion, the group must have written about pursuing their careers on the letters, that's why I made Hagita a doctor, Takako a model and Suwa a soccer player, even though that's not what happened originally.

I hope you liked it! And if you want, check out my other Orange fanfic!