When it Rains it Pours
Chapter Three - The Sky
by Ishida Takeru

Okay...now warning this is SHONEN-AI. It has a boy loving another boy and vice versa. This is the third part to mah Kenkeru. So, Please read the other two parts, or you will be lost as all hell. And of course I don't own nothing. If I did...I wouldn't have the dead-end job that I have.

Ken looked up at the ceiling. What was he thinking? Takeru probably wouldn't talk to him. It was hard enough having everyone else rarely talk to him. But, for once he felt, what did he feel? It was understanding in a way. Takeru was so open. Ken felt like he could tell him anything and not be shunned. Was it acceptance? He didn't really know. All he knew was that he had to call Takeru.

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Takeru stared at the ceiling. The plain white ceiling. The ceiling that was but one color, that was just one way. The point was that the ceiling was not confused on what it was going to do the next day. Or what had happened the previous days. It just stood there offering shelter to everyone.

"I wish everything was just one color. Then I would know exactly what was going on." Takeru mumbled turning his gaze to the window. The rain continued to drop from the heavens. Each drop knowing exactly what was going to happen.

Takeru continued to stare at the falling rain. He really hated the rain, not because it hid the sun away, but because it reminded him that there were two sides to everything. And there were two sides to him.

"Takeru..."

Takeru looked away from the window. "Yeah?"

"Phone's for you."

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"Can I speak to Takeru?" Ken asked as someone picked up the phone. He assumed it was his father. Ken traced a finger along the phone cord. Was this the right thing to do? He had to at least apologize.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Takeru."

"What..."

"I just wanted to apologize for what happened."

"I still want to know why."

Ken began to pace within the confines of the phones cord. "Why, in reality I'm not so sure."

"How can you not be. You did do it."

"I know that." Ken said with a small sigh. It was hard to explain what was going on in his mind. There was the constant pang of guilt. The feeling that he wasn't accepted by the others.

"So, you just did it to mess with my mind." Takeru's voice was cold.

"No!" Ken replied quickly. "No, it's not that."

"Than what is it?"

Ken drew in a long breath hoping he would gain courage with the air. "When I asked you in, I figured you would say no."

"Why would I say no."

"Because of what I did before. But, then you said yes, and you talked to me like a friend. You trusted me with things you probably never told anybody else."

"I figured you would understand."

"I do. What happened after that is hard to explain. It was an impulse."

"An impulse..."

"In a way, yes. And maybe it was because I was looking for comfort too."

"What do you mean."

Ken slowly wrapped the phone around his arm a bit, before finally answering. "I was hurt with the news of Hikari and Daisuke getting together."

"Oh, and you weren't thinking."

"Yes, and no. I know I'm contradicting myself, but I really can't explain it."

"It's okay."

"It is?" Ken blinked a few times. It was suddenly okay, after he made a big deal about it. "Why did you make such a big deal about it."

"Look, I'm still trying to figure things out myself. The whole situation is confusing. So, I figure since it's confusing, why wouldn't it be okay."

"Yeah, right. Takeru, I'll have to talk to you later."

"Okay, later. Oh, I need your number just in case"

"Right."Ken said before rattling off a set of numbers. "Bye." He hung up the phone giving it a good long stare. Yes, it was confusing.

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Takeru stared at the phone for a few moments. There was one question that kept playing itself over and over in his mind. Did he like being kissed by Ken? He didn't push him away, nor did he yell afterwards. The second case would have been cruel, But, why didn't he move or something. There were way too many questions to be answered.

Takeru headed back into the spare room, if you could even call it that. It was basically a den with a futon put in it. At least it gave him a place to think. The next day he would be heading back home, but that really wasn't on his mind. He had to figure out a few things and figure them out quickly.

Okay. Takeru thought Let's just think about this for a few moments. First of all, people don't kiss other people unless they like them, right. So, that would mean that Ken likes me. But, that would make no sense, we barely know each other. You have to know someone to like them, and you have to be friends with them first. So the logical step to figure out what's going on, is to hang out with Ken and see what happens from there. So, I'll see if he wants to hang out tomorrow. I just hope it's not to awkward.

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Takeru picked up the phone. It had taken him an hour to get up the nerve to do so. He knew eventually he'd have to face what had happened, but that did not mean he was in any rush to do so. He had plenty of time to figure out what was going through his mind. Yet, the faster it was settled the better.

"Okay. Here goes nothing." Takeru said as he jabbed a finger into the phone dialing up Ken's house.

"Moshi Moshi, Ichijouji residence." Came the reply over the phone.

"Ken?"

"Oh.." The voiced grew quiet. "I didn't expect you to call."

"Well, you know friends do call friends!" Takeru countered.

"Right....friends."

"And as your friend." Takeru said tapping his foot against the ground. "I say we go and hang out."

"Hang...out." a baffled Ken mumbled. "You want to do something.."

"Hai, that's what I said."

"And do what?"

Takeru thought for a moment, the one thing that slipped his mind. What would they do? There were many choices, but only a few were good. "We can go get coffee." And of course, he would pick the lamest one.

"That sounds...fine."

"Great. You know where the one is by the park?"

"Yes."

"I'll meet you there in a few minutes. See you then!" Takeru hung up the phone taking a deep breath. The first phase was complete.

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Takeru had pretty much ran the whole way down to the coffee shop. For some reason he felt he had to get there before Ken did. Maybe he wanted time to drink enough coffee to send him into caffeine overload, or to just relax in general. After a few moments of catching his breath he pushed the door open.

"Takeru."

Takeru nearly fell over. How did ken get there before he did? He had ran the entire way there. "H-how did you get here so fast?"

"I had my Mother drop me off." Ken said quietly. "It was easier than.....running here."

Takeru pointed a finger towards Ken. "Cheater!"

Ken blinked a bit before cocking an eyebrow> "How is it cheating?"

"I was trying to get here before you." Takeru grinned a bit. "Oh well, let's get some coffee!"

Ken again blinked. "Okay."

Takeru whistled a bit as he waited in line, it was awkward, but if he pretended like it was just another day with a friend it didn't seem so bad. At least it didn't at first. "Err, so how's it been going?"

Ken looked up from his coffee. "As can be expected."

Takeru tapped his foot under the table. There had to be a way to lighten things up. "I heard this joke today."

Ken cocked an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Takeru grinned. "But, I forgot it!"

"Then why did you mention it?"

Takeru shrugged. "Trying to lighten things up. It's a bit....um, tense." Takeru stared at his coffee. "Truthfully, I've been thinking a lot about that night. And I don't think it was so bad."

"I don't think we should be speaking about this in public."

"Right! You're right. So, what have you been up to?" Takeru blinked, he didn't think he could switch subjects so easily. It would be a useful skill though. Takeru felt dumb making small talk like he was. What was he going to say next 'Nice weather, we're having?'

Ken gave a small shrug. "Trying to keep up in school."

"Keep...up...in school? You're kidding right."

Ken coked an eyebrow. "Why would I be kidding."

Takeru frowned. "Will you stop raising your eyebrow like that?"

The other line of indigo shot up in response to Takeru's request. The blonde just stared for a few moments, before childishly sticking his tongue out. "You did that on purpose."

Ken smirked a bit. "And."

"It's...." Takeru began to search for the right word to describe the action. Annoying, no it wasn't exactly annoying. Weird, it wasn't weird since other people did it too. What was the word he was looking for? "Kawaii." he mumbled finally.

"What?"

"Huh, if you raise your eyebrows again, I'm going to shave them off." Takeru joked.

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The sky began to clear up for the first time in days. Rays of golden danced through the parting clouds finally free of their heavenly prison. A rainbow of multiple colors feel towards a path of trees that signaled the location of a small park. A small park where to figures walked along slowly.

"Today was pretty cool."

"Mmhm."

"The skies clearing up."

"Mmhm."

"Pink elephants are flying across the trees playing pool." His lips twitched as he said the random comment. Half expecting a stare of disbelief.

"Mmhm."

"You're not paying attention to what I'm saying, are you?"

"Today was pretty cool and the skies clearing up, and something about pink elephants playing pool"

Takeru grinned, at least he was listening. "I thought you left the planet for a moment there. Are you thinking about something?"

"Possibly."

Takeru folded his arms. "Do you have to be so secretive?"

"Do you have to be so curious?"

"Mmhm." Takeru grinned, before pointing off. "There's my apartment. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Later."

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Hikari sighed a bit, she hadn't heard from Takeru in weeks. "I wonder where he is?"

Daisuke looked up from his textbook. "Jeez, T.V is fine, he can take care of himself."

Hikari lips formed into a frown. "He hasn't even called." Why hasn't he called, I know I should have told him sooner. But, I didn't think he would stop calling.

Daisuke closed the book and tossed it aside. "Look, he's probably still mad at you."

"That's reassuring."

"You shouldn't worry about it. I heard from Miyako that he's been hanging out with Ken lately."

Hikari blinked a few times. "When did they become such good friends."

Daisuke shoulders raised up in a shrug. He didn't know himself, but he really hadn't put much though into it in the first place. "Dunno."

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Takeru looked up at his Mother blinking a few times. "So, you're going to be gone for the weekend?"

His mother nodded a bit. "I'm going to let you stay here this time. I know I can trust you."

Takeru nodded a bit before smiling. "No problem." He nodded once more for good measure before shoveling more food into his mouth. What was he going to do this weekend. "Oh, Mom!"

"Yes?"

"Can someone stay the night?"

"Who do you have in mind."

"Maybe Ken."

"Ken? Is he on your basketball team."

Takeru shook his head. "No, Ichijouji Ken."

"The child genius. You never said he was your friend."

"He wasn't, but he is now. So, is it okay?"

"Sure, honey."

"Great!" Takeru grinned through the rest of dinner. It was true, he hadn't been friends with Ken before. Well, not good friends anyway. But, lately they became better friends. Takeru found it easy to talk to Ken for some reason. That wasn't even the point, the point was he enjoyed hanging with Ken. And he had come to realize that he wasn't as antisocial as he appeared. It was amazing, he had even played basketball with him. Of course, he wasn't as good as Takeru but he was far better than Daisuke. There was still one thing that lingered in Takeru's mind, something that he hadn't bothered to bring up again. The kiss. It was one little thing that he hadn't even bothered to think about for a while. Yet, in reality it's what started the whole friendship. Deep down, Takeru was thankful for it. It took his mind off the heartbreak of Hikari kissing Daisuke. It caused a friendship to bloom like a field of wildflowers after a spring shower. And, in reality, after thinking about it off and on. Takeru realized one thing, it wasn't so bad. In fact, it was nice in a way.

It was one of those things you wouldn't expect. Everyone, including himself expected all his firsts to come from Hikari. First kiss, first date the usual. But, that wasn't how it was working out. Maybe unexpected was the wrong word for it. You wouldn't expect your first kiss to come from the person you use to fight. Nor, would you expect it from someone of the same sex. But, it really didn't matter. It was said and done, and nothing would change it.

Takeru cleaned up his dishes and headed towards the hall. Hopefully, he would be able to catch Ken before he made other plans. Though for the life of him, he didn't know if Ken ever made any other plans. He punched in the number and waited as the phone rang.

"Moshi Moshi, Ichijouji residence."

"Hi, is Ken there?" Takeru blinked a few times. Usually Ken picked up the phone, this time he assumed it was his Mom.

"Just a moment." A few moments ticked by before "Hello, this is Ken."

"Oi! Ken-san. What's going on?"

"Oh, hey Takeru. Nothing much and you?"

"Usual boring stuff...You busy this weekend?"

"Iie, I didn't have any plans that I know of."

"Great, want to spend the weekend here. My Mom's going out of town, and I seriously hate being in the house by myself."

"Let me ask, and I'll get back to you."

"Okay. Later!"

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Ken paced a square in his room. There wasn't much more you could pace in reality, but that was far from the point. He was simply perplexed. Did he forget about what happened he thought. Or, does he just not care about it. But, he hardly talked to me before it happened. It, when did I start calling it that? Maybe, he feels the same way as I do. But, didn't he like Hikari? He didn't seem to happy with her before, so maybe I have a chance. Wishful thinking. But, at least I can keep him company. I really didn't have anything planned except for studying. Well, we'll just see what happens this weekend.

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