Chapter 46

The team retreated to the lounge that had been set aside for their use while at Crescent Coral Base. When they got there, Jinpei and Ryu ran off to check out the video games they had neglected for the past couple of days, and Joe pulled Jun aside.

"It's too bad that you weren't able to stay with Ken." Joe said in an overly casual manner. "It seemed like there was something he really wanted to say to you."

"I thought so too." Jun nodded, her mind only half on the conversation with Joe. "I just wish..."

"That's what you really want, isn't it, Jun?" Joe asked, his eyes searching hers.

Jun looked up at Joe, surprised at the vulnerability she saw there. It wasn't a word she would normally have associated with the Condor.

"I do." she admitted softly, after a moment of quiet contemplation. "Sometimes, I'm ready to tear my hair out because of his behavior, but I keep hoping..."

"Don't tear your hair out." Joe chuckled. "I don't think Ken would find you very attractive if you were bald."

"He... he finds me attractive?" Jun's blush revealed much more than her words.

"I know he does." Joe said quietly. "And if he doesn't tell you about it soon, I'll..."

"I can always count on you, Joe." Jun smiled, throwing herself into a surprised Condor's arms. Joe held Jun for a moment, as if she were the most precious thing in the world, then pulled away.

"Say, Junie," he drawled, a mischievous glint in his eye, "I don't suppose we could get ahold of the real Juli Enne?"

"What? Why?" Jun asked, raising a suspicious eyebrow at the Condor.

"Well, if we could send her through that cloning process with you, then we'd have a girl who looks like the Swan but works for Galactor." Joe grinned. "Sounds like exactly my type of woman."

Jun's punch only missed Joe's jaw by a hair's breadth. Within moments, the two had begun a vicious pillow fight, with Jinpei and Ryu quickly joining in the fray.

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Approximately an hour later, Jun returned to Ken's hospital room and peeked in the door. The Eagle was lying on his bed, his eyes closed, and there was no sign of anyone else.

Jun moved to quietly close the door and leave, but she stopped when Ken spoke.

"Come on in, Jun." he murmured.

"How did you know it was me?" she asked. Ken's eyes were still shut.

"Your perfume." Ken grinned. "I always remember that jasmine scent you wear."

"Oh..." Jun found herself blushing to the roots of her hair.

At last Ken opened his eyes, their startling blue color seeming to look right through Jun as he regarded her.

"I'm glad you came back." he said. "I was hoping that you would."

"I was hoping that Hakase was gone." Jun smiled. "So I guess we both got our wish."

"I think he's going to release me soon." Ken revealed as he sat up in the bed. "I should be back with the rest of the team tonight."

"That's where you belong." Jun said softly.

"There's an even more important place I belong." Ken said slowly, his eyes captivating hers as she saw that his usual unemotional exterior had been stripped away.

"I belong with you Jun." Ken said solemnly.

"I've always felt that we work well together." Jun agreed.

"But it's more than working, isn't it, Jun?" Ken said, his voice deadly serious. "There's always been something else there, between us. God knows, I've done my best to ignore it, but it has remained."

"I feel that too, Ken." Jun admitted shyly. "I've always wanted to talk to you about it, but when I've tried before..."

"I've brushed you off." Ken finished the sentence for her. "I'm sorry, Jun."

His simple, yet heartfelt, apology touched Jun, and a tear began to slide down her cheek.

"Thank you, Ken." Jun brushed the back of her hand at her eye. "I appreciate that."

"Let me..." Ken said, gently removing Jun's hand from her face. Tenderly, he reached out, lightly caressing her cheek with his fingertips, wiping the solitary tear away.

"It kills me inside, when I see you cry." he whispered.

"It kills me inside, when I see you hurting, with no one to help you through it." Jun admitted.

"You help me through it." Ken told her. "Even when I push you away, your presence helps. I always feel better, knowing that you're there for me. And it's finally time for me to admit what I've never been able to before."

Jun held her breath, waiting for Ken's next words.

"I need you, Jun." Ken's face was barely an inch away from Jun's, and she could see a slight crinkling around his eyes as he smiled at her. "I think about you, all the time. I go to sleep, dreaming of you. In the morning, I wake up, and I can't wait to see you. When we're together, I'm always watching you, even when it doesn't seem like it. When we're on a mission, I'm always worried for your safety. Today, when I was being tortured by Katse, I knew that I would regret it through Eternity if I died never telling you..." his voice trailed off.

"Never telling me, what, Ken?" Jun asked nervously.

"Never telling you that I love you." Ken said, his eyes growing wider than the grin that was spreading across his face.

"I love you too, Ken." Jun revealed. "I can barely remember a time when I didn't have special feelings for you."

"Then, you wouldn't mind, if I did this..."

A wicked gleam came into the Eagle's eyes, as he threaded his fingers through Jun's hair, placing his hand on the back of her head and pulling her forward across the small space between them, until their lips met.