"Dear Ken"

Dear Ken;

He was a stranger there. As he stood on the doorstep of the koneko no sumi iie, he couldn't help but realize just how out of place he really was. Looking around, he noticed the fangirls weren't the same, they weren't all people he knew, he remembered. That was because there were newbies, two boys he'd never encountered before.

I made a mistake some time ago... it seems like forever...

He smiled, though, because of the things that were still the same. Brown hair, brown eyes, and a flock of girls that could have passed for cheerleaders. The one he had come to see was being swarmed as he attempted to make his way to the till with a pot of lilies, his eyes deep, like chocolate.

Actually, that was the effect they really had on him. Drowning, drowning, deep in chocolate, churning, sweet as sugar is added, sour as coco beans are ground in. That was the effect he had run from.

My mistake... It's still got me distracted from my studies so... I decided to talk.

"Can I help you?" a strange boy asked, blue-grey eyes watching him intently. It appeared that male visitors were still an oddity, as well.

"...I don't know. Can you? I'm looking for someone..." he started, his own blue eyes watching the stranger back, before looking away, "...someone who works here."

"...Who works here?" the boy blinked. "Ok, what's his name?"

I needed to tell someone, but I didn't know who would listen...

"...Hidaka Ken," as he said it, the brunette spotted him, almost dropping the pot. "...Nevermind, he seems to have noticed my existance."

Ken's lips moved, forming words that couldn't be heard across the room of girls, but everyone soon quieted down and soft murmurs began through the crowd.

"Omi's back." "Omi-kun's here..." "Where is he? I can't see him!"

One by one, eyes turned to the boy at the door, and murmurs changed. "It can't be.." "He's so much older than Omi-kun!" "He looks so sophisticated..."

You're the only one... who ever listened to me... to my stupid questions...

As he walked towards the till, the fangirls shushed and moved aside, letting the twenty-two year old ex-koneko employee through. The boy at the door watched in confusion as anotherjoined him, an older boy, who appeared to be equally confused.

"...Ken-kun," he smiled a little for the athelete. "It's been... too long."

It seemed like everyone in the koneko had heard about the incident that had caused him to leave but he didn't care at the moment. He had a mistake to fix.

So maybe... I'm hoping... You can forgive my stupid mistake, too.

"Omi... What are you doing here?" Ken asked, inspecting him closely, as if unable to believe that this young man could possibly be his best friend and former boss.

"You didn't get my letter?" Omi asked, tucking his hair behind his ear, and blinking.

"...No, I didn't," Ken frowned a little bit. "I... didn't even know you were sending them."

Omi smiled a little. "Silly Ken-kun. I got yours," he lifted a small blue envelope into the air.

You'll always be my best friend, no matter what stupid things you think you've done...

"It was... short, and to the point, I suppose, but it made me think. It's been so awkward between us since then and... I'd hate for us to be that way forever."

"Aw crap," Ken grumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. "I really had hoped I'd sent it to the wrong address... I cried all over that."

Omi laughed in response. "I liked your letter, Ken-kun... It was honest, and it was true."

Because we all need someone who can forgive us... Who understands us...

Ken fidgeted uncomfortably for a moment, then began to lead Omi to a door. "C'mon, I'd rather any discussion over that letter stay between us, and not become public knowlege."

Omi followed without protest. "Won't Aya-kun be upset if you aren't working?"

"...Kyou and Sena can take care of it," Ken responded, leading him to the kitchen.

Omi took the seat he used to take while he was part of Weiß, the seat furthest from the coffee machine, while Ken took a seat across from him.

Maybe... you can forgive me, this time... for saying something utterly stupid...

"This is... unthinkably bizarre. It's like... this is all a world of it's own... so similar to what I remember, but still... not quite the same," Omi sighed, gesturing to the extra chair on Ken's right.

"Having two new members was weird to get used to," Ken agreed. "...We missed you a lot, especially since Yohji still did no work, and Aya got your usual work load. With five of us, it took a long time to figure out a new work schedule, too."

Omi just smiled and listened. In a way, this scenerio reminded him of old times, but he could tell that Ken had changed, there was something... subtly different about him. If you didn't know him as well as Omi did, you might not have even noticed it.

For lying about a petty thing because of my own insecurity.

Ken's eyes didn't have that drowning effect anymore. It seemed that they had finally let the chocolate sit, and it was in the process of hardening. As Ken spoke, Omi listened, but his attention remained focused on Ken's eyes as he sought out any other differences he might have missed at first glance.

Here, a faded scar on his cheek, there, a gesture he had never used before. He had gained a slight amount of weight, and adopted a slouch that was so very unlike the Ken he used to know, with his perfect posture.

"...Why did you change?" he asked, suddenly, out of the blue. Ken paused to look up at him.

...Even thinking about it now... I didn't lie. I merely... didn't tell you... That was my mistake.

"...Because... My heart was taken away... and isolated itself from me," Ken responded, quietly. "...And it was gone... for an unbearably long time."

"...Ken-kun..." Omi sighed, sadly. He had never intended on this, and his words had certainly not been meant to torture Ken's soul as it appeared to have done. "Why didn't you just take your heart back?"

And ever since I saw you... the only thing I could think of was how much I wanted...

"...There's only one person who I could ever give my heart to, Omi. Only one person I could entrust that sacred emotion to, whether it was accepted or not. It's you I love, Omi... It's you. And it could never be anyone else."

He felt tears well up in his eyes as Ken continued, and he rose from his seat. Even through his tears, he could see the small amount of desperation Ken shared with him, the small hope inside him that someway, somehow, Omi's feelings and thoughts on the subject had changed while he was gone.

To tell you...

Walking around the table, Omi pulled out Ken's chair and leaned down a little to brush away Ken's own tears.

"Omi..?"

Smiling a soft, tender smile that he only ever smiled for Ken, he leaned down to brush his lips against Ken's lightly. A moment later, they kissed again, a little deeper, a little more meaningfully. Ken's hand gently brushed through Omi's hair, and Omi took a seat across Ken's lap, before they finally pulled away.

Looking straight at Ken's somewhat confused expression, Omi spoke:

"I love you, too."

Hm... I didn't think I'd see a return of this story, but I was his by inspiration at ten o'clock at night. Besides, people seemed to have enjoyed that story... So I figured, what the heck? Omi was being an ass anyway and I needed to fix him. So for those who requested more... ya got more. And it'll only be continued if I get seriously bored with my other stories... Which I have a tendancy of doing :sob: