And the second!! Let me know how you feel about it. :D

It seemed understood that Namatame would choose the place and the two walked in awkward silence, the older man walking a few paces ahead. Yosuke's bike was squeaking particularly badly, almost as if to stymie any conversation that could possibly bubble up between them. Or maybe it was just an excuse to keep quiet, Yosuke mused after another moments thought.

After a few minutes, they arrived in front of a classically decorated café. It was practically deserted, but then again, so were most of the shops in the business district once all the lawyers, C.E.O.s, and office peons went home for the night. It usually made him uncomfortable, lingering after most of the buildings were empty. Now he was thankful for it and allowed Namatame to hold the door open for him with only a modicum of embarrassment.

Seating themselves, in a shady corner completely isolated from the two other patrons gossiping drunkenly at the other end of the shop, it was a while before either spoke beyond ordering their drinks. Coffee for him -- two sugars, heavy on the cream -- and green tea for Namatame. It was Souji's drink of choice, which would've made Yosuke smile under normal circumstances. As it was, he only felt a stab of guilt while his phone seemed to get heavier in his pocket.

Then their orders arrived and, suddenly, Namatame decided he wanted to talk.

"So," he asked, leaning forward just slightly, "How did you find me?"

Yosuke fidgeted for a moment before wrapping both hands around the steaming cup, "I didn't. I mean, I really was just there to deliver files. I just…I mean, when I realized it was you…" He laughed again, not sure how else to fill the silence now that his words left him.

"I can't believe I didn't recognize you," Namatame murmured, staring at Yosuke with an intensity that made the other man shift under his scrutiny, "You look older, of course, but your nose, your mouth, your eyes…I always thought I had your face memorized. Guess this old man's memory isn't what it used to be."

Yosuke's face tightened, twisting into a mask as he tried to keep his composure and avoid saying something he would regret.

"What, you mean I don't haunt your nightmares? Aha…"

No such luck.

The look in Namatame's eyes was all Yosuke needed, really. His eyelids pulled back ever so slightly, his lower lip found its way between his teeth, and his face flushed almost imperceptibly. It was more of an answer than the brunette wanted, and he suddenly wondered if Namatame would care if he were to stand up and tear out of the shop without so much as a goodbye.

"Excuse me?" the older man finally managed, doing nothing to sooth Yosuke's nerves with a shaking voice.

"Forget it, I don't want to know," he dismissed, taking a deep sip of his coffee. It was too hot and burned his throat going down, but Yosuke didn't care. He just needed something to occupy his lips before they betrayed him again.

"What do you want to know?"

The question was innocent enough. Namatame's intent was obviously that of mere curiosity and, really, Yosuke had no cause to suddenly feel as if he'd been sucker punched. Perhaps it was the unsaid implication, more than anything. The 'because I'll tell you all of it' hanging wordlessly in their air, just as tangible as if it had been spoken. At some point in the pause, Yosuke's hands found their way over the tops of his knees, stilling the distracting bounce of his legs.

"I…," he forced a cough, scratching at his already dry throat, "I, um, I don't…"

"Do you need something to drink?"

The question caught him off guard and it took him a moment to swallow the rest of his babbling explanation, resulting in a single, croaked, "Huh?"

Namatame explained himself by pulling his briefcase out from beside his chair and laying it flat on the tabletop. Yosuke didn't have the time to even blink before the latches were clicked open and a bottle of sake procured. It was cheap and half full, at most. The brunette sunk low in his chair, suddenly feeling horrible for a whole new set of reasons.

"You always carry something like that around?" he finally asked, just as Namatame finished pouring a generous amount into his tea.

"Only a few times a year," he replied, sounding for all the world like this was not a troubling habit in the slightest, "April and December."

Yosuke made a small, pained noise, biting his lip hard as he ducked his head. It was the slosh of alcohol hitting his coffee that made him look up again. Namatame smiled at him and wiped off the rim of the bottle with his napkin before recapping it.

"You looked like you could use some," was all he offered by way of explanation, and Yosuke couldn't really disagree.

"Thanks," he murmured, bringing the hot drink to his lips. It still burned going down, but it was of a distinctly different variety. The heat hit his stomach and blossomed until it reached the very tips of his fingers. When he finally pulled the cup away, Yosuke was surprised to find that he'd drained the entire mug in one gulp. Namatame was laughing; a strained, uneven sound, but welcome all the same.

"Looks like I was right," he smiled, taking a sip of his own concoction while Yosuke reached for the sake and refilled his cup, "I wouldn't have taken you for a drinking man, but I probably wouldn't take someone like me for one either."

"Yeah, no kidding," Yosuke laughed, feeling more at ease in the warm haze the liquor provided, "But I guess…it makes sense."

"Do you still think about them?"

The question caught Yosuke while he was taking another sip from his cup, prompting an embarrassing backwash into the glass as he sputtered for some sort of answer.

Saki? Adachi? You? All the time.

"Who do you mean?" he finally asked, clearing his throat with an awkward puff of air.

"Well, it's just I thought…," Namatame paused, looking as if he was trying to recall something, "That boy…Seta, that's it, he told me you'd lost someone too. It was that girl, wasn't it? Saki Konishi?" The fact that he didn't hesitate on her name for a moment failed to escape Yosuke's notice.

"Ah," he croaked, taking another drink, "Yeah, I still think about her. She was…I don't know how to put it. She meant a lot to me."

"I understand," Namatame murmured, catching him in a soft stare. Yosuke only held it for a moment before averting his eyes down towards his hands, where he was picking relentlessly at a bit of dead skin. His first instinct was to feel bitter. How many times had someone placed their hand on his shoulder and told him in soothing tones that they 'understood'? But in the same second, a realization washed over him.

Namatame was the only person in the world who did understand.

"Yeah," he heaved a deep breath, finally raising his gaze back up to meet Namatame's, "I know."

The older gentleman took that as a cue to offer a very somber, but very sincere smile. Yosuke returned it for the barest of moments before taking another drink.

"So you're a lawyer now?" he eventually asked, in his own not-so-graceful attempt at a subject change. Namatame, through mercy for Yosuke or himself, allowed the clunky transition to slide with nothing more than a small smile.

"Sort of," he explained, not looking too sure of how to articulate his position, "I don't get up in front of a court room like in TV dramas, and with most of our clients, they've already been tried. It's a lot of paperwork and sending things to labs and filing for appeals. Not as exciting as it sounds, to be honest."

"Still, I heard you got mentioned on the news," Yosuke offered, "That's pretty cool."

Namatame sighed, stirring the tea and sake mixture idly, speaking in such a way that made Yosuke feel deeply naïve, "I've been on the news enough for one man. Besides, I don't watch TV anymore."

Yosuke's first instinct was to blurt 'Not at all!?', but for once, he held his tongue.

"That's fair," he flashed a wide, toothy smile that didn't reach his eyes, "Beats working as a delivery boy, though. Uh, your job, I mean."

Namatame laughed softly, looking a little wistful for a moment, "I don't know about that. The summers where I worked for my father's delivery company as a teenager were a few of my favorites. You meet someone new every day."

"Mm," Yosuke nodded in genuine agreement, "I guess you're right. Pays the bills, too."

They both took a drink.

"You never answered my question, Yosuke-kun."

"Hm?" the younger man asked, suddenly feeling very much like a teenager again. Namatame could hold his gaze while he, technically an adult, couldn't so much as look at the man's hands without feeling a faint prickle of nerves on the back of his neck.

"About your family, remember, when you were delivering my parcel? It makes me feel old to think of you with a wife, but I'm curious all the same." He was smiling, which Yosuke returned briefly for an awkward moment before glancing away. His phone felt as if it was burning a hole in is pocket.

"Um, no wife," Yosuke smacked his lips, pouring himself more of the sake, "Never been the marrying type. I live with a roommate."

"Roommate," Namatame echoed flatly, raising one eyebrow. Yosuke took another deep swig of his sake, hoping against hope that the flush rising in his cheeks might be passed off as a side effect of the drink.

"Yeah," Yosuke continued, suddenly talking much louder than he realized. Souji always told him he was a terrible liar; providing more information than anyone could possibly want. Yosuke was too drunk to notice. "Souji Seta, the guy from back in Inaba. Grayish hair, kinda tall…?" Namatame nodded and Yosuke continued without hesitation, "We roomed together in college and got used to living with each other, or something, so we never stopped." He smiled broadly, taking a breath, then quickly remembering himself, "No big deal, though, I was thinking of getting my own place anyway. Once I find a girl who can cook as good as him…"

"I see," Namatame nodded, a faint glint of knowing in his eyes. Yosuke swallowed. Something told him the older man saw more than he'd wanted to show.

"So no children yet, then?"

Yosuke's smile suddenly turned bright, vibrant, and -- most surprising of all -- genuine, "Well, uh, no actually. My friends -- Chie and Yukiko, do you remember them? -- they wanted to have a kid and since they're…well, y'know." He held up his hand, tilting it back and forth. If Namatame's expression took on a note of amusement, Yosuke didn't read much into it. "Anyway, they went to me and Souji for jizz, but he has some weird medical problems in his family and a lot of addictiveness and other shady stuff, so in the end they went with me. I jacked off into a cup and nine months later, Yukiko popped out little Fumio. Pretty cool, huh?" Yosuke brought his mug back to his lips, only to find that it was once again empty. The sake bottle was running low too, although he couldn't remember Namatame refilling his cup more than once, at most. "I got pictures, if you wanna see."

"Of course, I'd love to."

Yosuke smiled and promptly dug around in his pocket, fingers eventually closing around his phone. If he was sober, part of him might be wondering just why Namatame was so curious about his personal life. Part of him might also be wondering why his expression kept morphing from polite interest to genuine longing. Instead, all he could focus on was switching the inconveniently sized nub into the on position.

Almost instantly, he was greeted by a chorus of beeps alerting him to several new text messages. Ten, to be exact. In his drunken excuse for fatherly pride, Yosuke had forgotten all about Souji.

More tomorrow! I think we're nearly through. One-two more chapters tops. :D