Disclaimer: It's been a while. How did this used to go? Right. Digimon is not mine. I'll just weep in the corner about that later

Takeru's POV

"Yes Takeru? What did you want to talk about?"

Ken was sitting on one of the park benches twiddling his thumbs. He was trying to pull a determined front but his pale face betrayed his nerves. That's odd. Why would he be nervous? It's not like he's anticipating anything, is he? I'm still sort off ticked off but I take a seat next to him, anyway.

"Is that your natural hair colour?" I ask, trying to maintain a relaxed manner. He looks like he's putting himself through enough torture for something that I don't have the heart to go straight into it.

"Actually, it is, despite what many people think. It looks weird though. Makes me stick out in a crowd more when all I want to do is blend in." he chuckles. "That's all I ever want to do. But being a young, gay doctor doesn't do me any favours. I'm always the odd one out. The out of pitch string on a guitar that needs tuning. That's just how I've always been." He confesses.

I look at a crack in the pavement. Why is he talking so freely with me? Did we somehow managed to gain a rapport from these few meetings that he's okay with talking about this? What's even more confusing is why I don't mind. Despite letting in Kari and Dais, I'm still my usual self to most people, yet the way Ken talks feels almost reminiscent. The way it was when I first met Kari.

"So, when Dai-" Ah so this is why he was nervous "-saw me as someone normal -not a nerdy bespectacled boy- but as me, I didn't have the heart to tell him who I was. I didn't want to meet him and break something which I felt was so perfect that I needed to handle it delicately. But I handled it the worst way possible and almost lost him. I promise I'll never hurt him like that again and I would appreciate it if you could at the least not hate me."

I swivelled my head to face his almost teary eyes. Whoa, where did that come from? Then I realized how cold I must have come off to him, when compared to how I behave with Kari and Dais.

"I don't hate you," I started and his face lit up immediately. "and I know that you won't hurt Dais because he has better judgement than that despite how he acts. You..." I trailed off. How do you comfort people? Why couldn't I be more of a people person? "don't have to try so hard, okay?"

Ken was looking at me weirdly. "You may be different from normal people but that's what makes you special, right?"

"I appreciate you trying to help but I've accepted this already. No one would want to spend their time with me. Why would they?" he slumped his head down elbows resting on his knees

This guy was getting on my nerves again. But this time for totally different reasons. "Listen here," he looked up, tears now dry. "You have something so unique that it's bound to make others envy you. Think about it, people encouraged you to work hard and reach where you have reached. Do you think now that you've accomplished your goals they're suddenly going to stop rooting for you?"

"Besides, if you ever need someone, you've always got Kari and I." I gave him a smile. "I don't think you're weird. I think you're the coolest one out of all of us."

That's when he burst into tears in the middle of the park, sobbing like a one year old who lost his pacifier. I think I made it even worse. Just great. Good going, Takeru. Now even Dais' boyfriend thinks you're some terrible jerk. I should have just shut my mouth and gone back with Kari. I didn't even talk to Ken about that whole thing. However, I suppose this was probably what was on his mind.

I noticed that there were people looking at us and a few old couples seriously looking worried. What do people in movies do to comfort crying people? They rub their backs or something? But that won't help. This guy's going off like a sprinkler. "Ken. Hey" I whisper into the hair where I guessed his ear would be. "There a bunch of people staring at us. And I'm sorry for saying whatever I said. I'm not good with stuff like this. Not that you're hard to handle or anything but…" I realized I was rambling and cut myself off when Ken started laughing.

Is this guy absolutely nuts? He must be high off his brains for this much of a mood swing. Is he bipolar perhaps? But they probably wouldn't have let him become a doctor then. Are there bipolar doctors? Maybe there are. I should look it up sometime. Shit. Ken.

"Yeah, so. Let's get you back to your apartment, shall we?" I say as I pick up his arm and try to pull him up and out of his seizure inducing spot on the bench. He calms down in a minute, after we're some ways away from the park and almost back to the ice cream parlour where we started from.

"Takeru?" he asks after about 5 minutes of silence

I make a vague hum of acknowledgement and he continues, "Thanks"

I chuckle "I'd say you're welcome, but I was pretty damn freaked out by what just happened. Did you… I mean are you high, by any chance? I mean I know you're a doctor and that may make it easy to get your hands on drugs, but I'd prefer it if you kept it and yourself away from Dais when you're using" I say, trying for a joke but he immediately sobers up

"I'd never do anything of the sort. Just the thought of-" he starts

"Relax dude, I know you're not high. Your eyes are not that dilated and you're not nearly disoriented enough," I interject. "Take my word on that."

He nods slowly, an almost knowing look in his eyes. Maybe Dais told him about my Mom's drinking problem.

"I wasn't crying because you said something wrong, you know?" he says when we're almost at his apartment. "It's because you said everything right. You say you're not good at comforting people, but that was probably the best I've felt in a long time. Thank you. I'm grateful to have someone like you having my back. It's good to feel wanted."

He smiles and I suddenly understand why Dais fell so badly for him. He may not be the best-looking person but he truly is a beautiful human. He invites me in but I knows he's only being polite because he looks too emotionally exhausted to be hosting so I decline. I feel a genuine smile rise up as he hugs me before waving goodbye and shutting the door.

I'm not dead. I just didn't wasn't inspired to write at all. To anyone who's reading this, I apologize for the terribly long delay and I'm not even going to promise to update more often, because I don't seem to be able to fulfill it. That doesn't mean I'm not gonna thry though Review if you enjoyed!