A/N: I finished the Koushirou-goes-after-Ken part and decided to post it alone, since posting the rest along with it might take away the specialness of this scene. This is for all you people that wanted Kouken sweetness. It isn't quite completely Kouken yet, but it's still fluffy and cute. There's a bit of angst, but it's not too bad. Well, not really. Anyways, go ahead and read.

Letting Yourself Cry

The moon was shining in the sky, the trees were swaying in the gentle breeze, and the air was cool and crisp. Ken felt like destroying all the beauty it created. He glared up at the white, smiling circle imprinted in the black velvet and slowly lifted a hand, extending only his middle finger, smiling slightly to himself, though not happily.


"Oh, come on, Ken. What did the moon ever do to you?"

Ken brought his hand back down and turned to look at Koushirou, eyes slightly wide.

"There's no reason to go flipping it off," Koushirou added as he walked to Ken's side.

Ken turned and looked at the moon again, as if expecting its perpetual smile to turn upside down any second. He scowled.

"Why doesn't the moon ever frown? Why doesn't it ever cry?"

"Because it doesn't have emotions," Koushirou answered, as if it were a perfectly normal question.

"I have emotions, or at least I think I do, and I can't cry. Why is that?"

"You will cry when you let yourself cry, Ken. It is a hard task to make oneself cry on command."

"I can't let myself cry, yet sometimes I want to. Does that make sense?"

"You're the prodigy, you figure it out."

Ken turned to look at Koushirou. Koushirou was smiling at him.

"Do you think this is all funny?"

"Of course. It's funny, you're funny, the world is funny, Ken. In fact, the world is so funny it makes me want to laugh and cry and scream and smile all at the same time."

"Everything makes me feel like that now," Ken said, tracing his finger in the air, though not in any particular shape or form.

"Well then, at least you're human."

Ken dropped his arm to his side and looked at Koushirou oddly. "Why did you follow me out here?"

Koushirou merely smiled again and walked out into the garden in Taichi's backyard. Ken watched him disappear behind a cluster of bushes and trees and waited a few seconds before he couldn't stand it anymore and just had to follow Koushirou.

Koushirou had sat down on a swing in the middle of the trees and flowers and was gently rocking back and forth, looking over the sky. Ken stared at him and shifted his weight to one foot.

"Why did you, Koushirou?" he asked again.

Koushirou sighed loudly in reply and flopped down to lay on the swing. He didn't appear to have heard Ken at all. Ken grumbled to himself in annoyance and marched over to the swing.

"Move."

Koushirou sat up and watched as Ken sat beside him, rigid and looking annoyed. Koushirou grinned and swung his arm over the back of the swing, looking around.

"Beautiful garden, isn't it?"

Ken mumbled something and leant his head against the chain holding the swing up. Koushirou translated the mumble into "I guess" and smiled, leaning over and plucking a flower from a bush. He held it up and inspected it.

"Hmm," he said.

"What does 'hmm' mean?"

"It doesn't have to mean anything. It can mean many things. That's why people use it to fill up empty space."

"You don't like silence?"

"Oh, I enjoy it very much, but this night is too beautiful to be silent in."

Ken turned to look at him, face scrunched up. "What?"

Koushirou looked over at him, smiled, and laughed, leaning his head back.

"Ken, why do you shy away from the world?"

Ken leant his head down and let his hair fall over his face, shielding him from Koushirou's view.

"Yes, just like that," Koushirou added. Ken glanced up through his hair to send a glare his way. Koushirou just kept smiling.

"Why do you put up with me?" Ken asked.

"Answer my question first."

Ken sighed and lifted his head. "I hide from the world...because I don't want to deal with it. I want to just sit down somewhere and watch the world pass me by, because participating in it guarantees me hurt and confusion, which is what I've been feeling the past few weeks, nonstop."

"If you don't participate in it, you won't feel happiness and love and victory, either."

"I answered your question, now answer mine," Ken said a bit sharply.

Koushirou leant back, taking a deep breath and blowing it upwards towards his bangs, making them flutter on his forehead. It fell back down, messed up, and Koushirou grinned at him. Ken was now giving him a very strange look, but he shrugged it off and laughed.

"I put up with you because I want to know what makes you the way you are," Koushirou finally said. "I want to know why you're sad, what makes you happy, what makes you get up every morning and get out of bed, what songs make your heart pump happiness, what adjectives you use to define yourself, and what your soul looks like behind your heavily guarded eyes."

"You should be a poet," Ken told him after he thought carefully about everything Koushirou had said.

"Who said I'm not?" Koushirou answered, smiling. "My turn to ask you a question."

"Who said we're taking turns?"

"Just let me ask, okay?"

Ken sighed and leant into the side of the swing, turned towards Koushirou, figuring he couldn't get out of this as easily as he usually slipped out of things. "Ask away."

Koushirou thought a while. "What color do you think your soul is and why?"

"What?" Ken asked, face scrunched up again in an uncomprehending look.

"What color do you think your soul is? Why?" Koushirou asked slowly.

"My soul isn't any color. It's just...there."

"So you think your soul is clear?""

"I didn't say that."

"Well, if it isn't clear, then what?"

Ken sighed. He thought awhile. "I guess my soul would be kind of gray right now."

"Why?"

"Because it isn't feeling bad and it isn't feeling good. It's in an in-between mood. Like I said...it's just there."

Koushirou nodded and waited for Ken to ask a question.

Ken hung his head awhile and played with his shoe laces. Koushirou waited patiently, knowing that Ken knew perfectly well he was waiting. Ken waited a while longer to try Koushirou's patience with him, knowing that others would probably give up after a while. Soon, though, Ken gave up instead.

"Okay, okay, um...let me think of one."

"What have you been doing all this time, then?" Koushirou asked, sounding genuinely confused.

"I got one," Ken said, ignoring him. He looked up at him, looking unsure.

Koushirou smiled reassuringly. "Go ahead. Ask me."

Ken looked down again and began playing with his laces again.

"Why do you like me?"

Koushirou's grin faded slightly and then slowly regained its power.

"Boy, that's a hard question." He slumped down in his seat and truly looked perplexed. "Why do I like you? Well...I guess I just do. You can't ask someone a question like that. It's like asking, why is vanilla your favorite ice cream flavor? Or, why are you wearing a red shirt today? It just happens."

Ken nodded slowly, hanging his head even more so his face wasn't visible at all. Koushirou looked at him and his smile faded slightly. He uncurled his fist and looked down at the crushed flower. Glancing up, he reached over and placed the flower on Ken's knee. Ken lifted his head slightly to stare at the crushed flower, no longer beautiful, but still smelling sweet. His shoulders shook.

"You just have to let yourself," Koushirou reminded him gently.

Ken looked away, biting his lip, not willing to give in to this boy so easily. He didn't like it when people tried to get inside of his head, but instead, Koushirou had taken a different route and tried to get inside his heart. It scared him even more.

A hot trail of wetness burned his skin and he sighed, feeling a sort of release. He shut his eyes, forcing more tears out, and Koushirou leant towards him. Ken obediently leant in also and rested his head on Koushirou's shoulder. Koushirou lifted his hand to rub the back of Ken's neck, and then slowly run his fingers through his hair, staring up at the moon, which had never once ceased to smile down at them.

~ ~ ~ ~

A/N: How prettyful! Crying is a good form of catharsis. Sorry if it all seemed a bit cliche. (Where are those accent thingies?) I was just trying to make it romantic without having them actually kiss or anything yet. Ken's still a bit weird about Koushirou liking him and all, but he's getting over it. Please, please review! Even if you usually don't or you feel too lazy to do it, just please review this. I'm only getting, like, three reviews per chapter, and I know a lot more of you read this. Anyways, I'll try and get the Kari-reconciling-with-the-others chapter up soon. 'Til then, see ya.