(A/N: Apologies for the wait...school is awful...Well, it's not so bad. I'm just tired all the time. Ha.)
It was such a small thing. But it was so completely devastating.
Kenny make the mistake of witnessing Kazuchika Okada laughing.
Omega had, of course, seen it before on TV; and, at rare times, heard it echoing down the long hallway of an arena, or flowing freely from a room full of people and camera clicks.
But, as Kenny walked by the room where the CHAOS guys were staying, he made the fatal mistake of allowing his eyes to wander in.
Okada was there, of to the side, laughing his head off at something Ishii had apparently just said. His eyes were closed tight, and a few tears slipped out, he was laughing so hard.
Of course, his smile was outshone every light in the damn building, and his teeth gleamed white in his open mouth.
Kenny tried so damn hard not to feel it. But, against his will, his heart fluttered at the sight and sound of Kazuchika Okada's laughter.
God damn it.
Before he could get spotted (which would have been a disaster in its own right), Omega quickly walked past the room and into an empty changing area.
Alone, he sat down and let his head drop into his hands.
'What the hell?!' he asked himself. 'You're seriously doing this again? Is it because of him, or is this something...real?'
As much as Kazuchika was his in-ring-rival, Kenny knew he owed it to the man to be honest about his feelings.
If it was simply lust...Well, they could take care of that easily enough.
If it was some weird sort of rebound because of Kota's sudden proximity, Kenny would shut that shit down at the source, because that wasn't fair to anyone.
But if it really was love...
The Cleaner shook himself, sitting up straight. This was still the G1, and he still had to focus, and he had to win. Not just because he wanted to do God-knows-what to Kota in the finals, but because he had to even the score with Kazuchika Okada.
And then? his mind whispered insidiously, making him feel more annoyed than anything else. What are you going to do when the G1 is over? Win or lose, you have some decisions to make.
Kenny sat back in his chair with a sigh.
If it actually was love, how in the hell could he choose?
'And that's assuming that either of them actually want me,' he thought cynically, bitterly thankful that, despite his internal conflicts he'd not lost the ability to make himself feel like complete shit. It's something that Ibushi always scolded him for, when they were together.
Somehow, that thought didn't make him feel any better.
Kenny Omega wasn't a religious man, but he clasped his hands together in front of his chest.
"Dear Anyone, if what I feel for Okada is real, please let there be a sign of some sort. And I know it's asking a lot, but if he loves me...I want to know that, too. Thanks."
It felt silly, but what the hell, it worked once before, so why not again?
He had felt like he had reached a dead end, back then, so long ago, before stumbling upon a video of a certain Japanese wrestler who immediately captured his heart and soul.
And now, as Fate would have it, history seemed to be repeating itself.
Kenny could only hope and pray that things ended up differently this time. For everyone's sake.
