Work Text:
Flocks of females, ranging from little girls to grandmothers, compacted the street.
Ken Ichijouji hadn't even begun his shift, yet he found himself observing the fans from behind a cafe window as he sipped on his coffee. He whistled under his breath, acknowledging in advance that it was going to be that kind of night. A long one. From experience, types of shifts tended to drag out into the abyss.
And, boy, was he dreading it.
He always kept track of the time, eyeing people down, vigilant and on high alert, looking for suspicious activity, checking for fainting in the massive line of people, guarding the Tokyo Dome from fans attempting to sneak in. He knew how it went. He had done this role one too many times, even when he was new to the police force.
His shoulders stiffened when he saw peculiar movement down the street. Instead of walking in a filing fashion, a crowd of adolescent girls tailed a tall woman. The woman wore a sleek, black maxi-dress. It draped gently over her slender figure. Not many people could pull off the look, but she did it with elegance, like a professional model would. Her hair was tied back and she wore dark shades, styled to appear inconspicuous - although it clearly was doing the opposite for her since her hair was dyed lilac.
Ken gathered that the woman must be famous. He heavily relied on his junior to give him an update on culture and the celebrities that they were assigned.
Just before he thought to put a barrier between the woman and the teenage girls, the celebrity-like woman beat him to it - separating herself from the crowd by entering the cafe instead. She waved at the girls, shutting the door behind her. At least she gave some form of acknowledgement towards them, and had not completely shut them down. She posed, allowing for them to take a few photos before leaving the entrance and making it for the counter.
It was a good choice since the teenagers did not follow her inside Considering how cramped the small cafe now was, the teenage girls could not follow in - which was the exact reason why Ken picked the cafe. It was snug, but they served good coffee and had an hour limit sitting inside. The staff members were always lenient with him and his colleagues because of the police uniform they donned.
"It's her! Oh my God!"
Ken half-expected it to be a random customer at the cafe, but immediately made a face when he saw that it was his colleague who was frothing over the - perhaps - celebrity.
"Should I know who she is?" Ken asked her.
"Yes! I follow her on Instagram!" Nao immediately leapt at the bait, educating Ken to yet another distinguished character in pop culture. "She is a huge influencer, dines at the best restaurants and has an incredible fashion sense. All her suggestions are impeccable. I always look her up whenever I want to try a new place to eat because her taste is flawlessly on point. Layers of Periwinkle has never failed me once."
Ken blinked, only retaining the last part of Nao's spiel. He repeated, "Layers of Periwinkle?"
"Senpai, that's her username. We don't know her real name, of course!"
Turns out that Ken did not need to guess the woman's real name because after collecting her take-away coffee, she turned straight at them. As she strode, her gait became less confident. However, it was not the gait that Ken was observing - it was her face.
Her glasses were off.
He no longer needed Nao to give him the 411 on her because he knew her.
She was taller. Her make-up style was different, more bronzer than blush to align with the current times. Lips painted in maroon matte, not the sticky cherry pink lip-gloss that he used to kiss. And her eyes…they were the same. A russet brown that warmed whenever she would look at him. They still warmed as she looked at him even now.
"Miyako?"
"Ken." She smiled at him. "You're back."
She was saying it as if she hadn't known. Of course…he had been back for five years.
Their circle of friends may not have been as close as they had been, but Ken would have to be foolish to not think that they hadn't at some point mentioned his return after his little stint in the States.
"Yeah." Ken refrained himself from scratching his back. She knew he did that whenever he felt awkward, and he did not want her to feel that way for bumping into him. "It's good to see you. You look well."
"Same with you," Miyako replied. She surveyed his uniform, not bothering to hide that she was now checking him out. "So you're a cop now? Weren't you aiming to be a Mathematician? Or are you no longer a Maths Whiz?"
"Guess you can say that." He chuckled.
A very far stretch from where he thought he'd be, it was true. After graduating high school, he scored within the top percentile of the students. It was his childhood dream to study at a university abroad. His grades had proven his efforts, and he was ever so thankful towards his parents. They had forked into their savings to ship him to a different country to support his dream.
For all of his schooling career he was fueled and focused - until he met Miyako during his second last year of secondary school.
Miyako was his desk buddy at Physics cram school, hailing from a rival school. Even in class, heads would turn in her direction. She was a year older, she was different. Vibrant, long violet hair, that she often tied up in a bun whenever she was determined to focus. Boisterous laughter. Toned boy, full lips…
During the class breaks, she taught him Physics instead because Ken had a problem listening to the teacher…which was partly her fault. He never told her that though. He preferred her teaching him anyway. She was cuter than their teacher. A friendship budded between the two, and she even went on to introduce him to her friends.
Ever since his brother had died, he had kept to himself. So he had always been thankful to Miyako for introducing him to other people their age.
Miyako graduated before him. At her graduation, she had asked him out.
It had thrown him off guard because he had been planning to ask her out on the same day, but she had confessed first. Nevertheless, he still gave her the heart-shaped box of chocolates. She returned the gesture with a kiss - his first one, in fact.
When his final year arrived, Miyako was an apprentice at a local salon near the cram school. After work she would wait for him to finish class, and they would have late night dates - usually at fast-food restaurants because that's what they could only afford back then, with their survival allowance.
Ken did not know why he kept their relationship going. He knew he would potentially leave Japan, but he could not see it in himself to let her go. And when he did, it had hurt him severely.
He liked to think about what would have happened if he had stayed in Japan. Would he have continued his career path in Mathematics? Would he still be with Miyako?
As much as he thought about the 'what ifs', he did not regret studying in the USA. The language was a challenge. He got teased for his accent. His English improved after a while, but that was the result of relentless studying. He worked too. A lot. He dated a few girls, maybe some boys too, but none of the relationships ever lasted. He was exposed to many personalities, both good and bad. He made friends with Willis and Michael. He learnt a lot about the Western culture. He learnt how to drive a car and even became a decent cook.
There were various major adjustments to his lifestyle, he had survived a culture shock, excelled in university, juggled a few jobs - but with each year that passed, he could not shake the harrowing feeling of how homesick he actually felt.
Ken missed his parents. He missed his friends. He missed his Japanese heritage. He missed the food. He missed not tipping. Above all, he missed being himself because he had forgotten who he was. His mind shifted as he revaluated everything again. Becoming a Mathematician was not something he wanted anymore.
All he wanted was to be home.
His parents were getting old, and he could never feel at home when they weren't around. He preferred having a stable job, living simply.
"We're only patrolling the concert tonight, but usually we are assigned more difficult tasks!"
Ken wanted to facepalm on the spot. He had forgotten Nao was there, inviting herself into their mini reunion. If his cheeks weren't pink, he was sure he was sunburnt now.
"Ichijouji-san is smart and really kind." Nao continued to hijack the conversation, "He is a senior that our whole team looks up to. Everybody loves him. The higher ups are even thinking about offering him a detective position-"
"Really now?" Miyako giggled.
"She's lying."
"I find that too hard to believe," Miyako said, eyes glittering in amusement. "I don't think I've met anybody who dislikes you, Ken."
Nao adds, "It's true!"
Ken clamped his hand over Nao's mouth to prevent her from uttering anything else. "She's only saying all this because she's a huge fan of yours. What is it…Periwinkle-"
"Layers of Periwinkle," Miyako corrected. She chewed on her bottom lip. "It's a bit embarrassing. I've kept the name since I first started Instagram and it's clearly outdated. My posts aren't even about hairdressing anymore."
"How did you come up with that name-oh, oh!" Ken realised. Layers - as in hair layers. "'Layers' for the hair. 'Periwinkle' because it's your favourite colour."
"Yeah." She blushed.
The blush was subtle, but Ken noticed it. Signs of her being flustered were easy to catch since he had once memorised her mannerisms. Some things really didn't change. And he could not help but sneak a look at her hand and almost let out a relieved sigh when he saw no wedding ring.
She still could be dating somebody though…wait! Why am I think this? Ken, get a hold of yourself you idiot.
"Uh…anyway, um, I have to go. I'm meeting with Hikari - we're actually going to see-"
"Arashi right?" Ken laughed.
With a vivid smile she exclaimed an animated 'Yes!'
It was her favourite band. She had been crazy about them, once upon a time, that it even had made Ken jealous of the boy group. Years later and she was still holding onto her fangirl tendencies - which was still her being cute and quirky as ever.
"Anyway, I probably should head out. I'm meeting Hikari at the dome," Miyako smiled after collecting her coffee from the counter.
She leaned in and gave him a half hug - one of those awkward ones. As she tucked a stray hair behind her ear, she asked, "You'll be at Daisuke's party, yeah? I might make an appearance. I actually have it off that day."
"No. I've got work unfortunately," Ken told her. As he said the sentence, he could feel his colleague kicking one of the legs on his stool. "Hopefully I'll catch you around?"
"Hopefully," Miyako agreed with him. She waved at him and his colleague before leaving the cafe with her coffee.
As soon as she's gone, Nao glared at him. "Are you stupid?"
"Why?" Ken blinked at her, bemused.
"I could have covered you on that day of the party." Nao rolled her eyes at him.
"You don't even know what day the party is."
"Does it even matter? You need some spice in your life and she clearly is interested in you. She practically was giving you a branch to hop on, senpai!"
"It's weird already." Ken admitted, "We used to date."
"WHAT? The Layers of Periwinkle is your ex?" Nao gaped. "Unbelievable!"
"Somehow, I think so too," he chuckled. The chuckling immediately ceased when he found himself in a hand-slapping match with his younger colleague, attempting to snatch back his iPhone. "NAO!"
He lost the phone to her for almost a minute, until she turned back to him with a giggle. "You can thank me later, sen-pai."
Ken's heart dropped when he noted what his colleague had done. She had sent an Instagram friend request to Layer of Periwinkle. Ken wanted to die. Not one to shout vulgarities, he instead opted to close his eyes, burying his fingers into his hair.
Work went on full-blast after that, but he would be lying to say that he was not as focused as he usually was. His fingers were itching to check his phone. He hated how strict he was with himself with the 'no phone policy' that he had drilled into his colleagues. For once, he wanted to break his own rules.
As soon as he got home, had a quick shower and got ready for bed…he finally settled on checking his Instagram account as he drank a can of Orion. He held his breath as he opened the app, only to see that Miyako had accepted him and actually sent him a friend request back.
Ken quickly skimmed over his private photos, cleaning up his profile and deleting some embarrassing photos that Daisuke had posted of him when he was drunk. Once his account looked a bit more presentable (by presentable he only had 10 photos) - he clicked 'accept friend request back'.
He, naturally, found himself pouring over her photos. It had been a long time since he had not been in her life. She posted over 1,000 photos and she almost had 6,000 followers. The first photos were more personal - one of her family, many with Hikari, some with the gang. There were hairdressing photos until there was a transition to food. Her photo angles were great - she must have gotten tips from Hikari. She looked like she was doing something every day. Constantly active, and constantly smiling that flawless smile of hers.
What Nao had said kept repeating in his mind. Was Miyako really trying to talk to him again? Had he been too stand-offish? Miyako didn't really hate him, right? She had accepted his request and was alluding to catching him at Daisuke's party…did it mean he had a chance? He had done enough stalking to know that she wasn't seeing anybody - but, again, that didn't mean she wasn't seeing somebody off-screen.
Accompanying his stalking was another two beer cans. His mind was slightly fuzzy from drinking too quickly and before he could stop himself, he started liking many of the photos on her feed.
He didn't stop at that. Ken went on to look at each story she had posted from the concert that night.
When he was just about finishing the last video of her screaming along to one of the songs, an alert showed he had a new direct message. His thumb hovered over the direct message icon before clicking on it out of curiosity. It was from her. He held his breath and opened it.
Miyako: Didn't realise you were that big of an Arashi fan?
He replied instantaneously.
Ken: Nah, just enjoyed watching you go all fangirl mode. You're still the same in that aspect. I'm guessing you enjoyed the concert?
Perhaps he had typed too much.
Miyako: Yes, I lost my voice
Ken: That's not good. Hope you recover soon.
The direct message was instantly read as 'seen'. After a minute or two, no reply. Perhaps he was too boring to talk to? He wasn't as witty as Daisuke, nor as friendly as Takeru. He was known to be the quiet and boring one out of the group - so if she lost interest and did not reply he would simply accept it.
But then she finally did…
Miyako: It was good seeing you today.
Ken sighed to himself, reading the sentence over and over again.
No harm taking a stab now. If she did not reply, he could just drown in more beer tonight. After all, he had a day off the next day anyway. Yes, he'd blame the beer when he typed, "I've missed you." Yes, he would regret it the next morning - but he did not want to wait around anymore.
He had survived the many years of 'what ifs' whenever it related to Miyako. From the dates they used to have, the laughter, the cuddles, the cute dresses she would wear and ask him to give her a rating out of ten (he always said eleven). He would compare her to the girls he had dated, and he noted that nobody else compared. Perhaps it was because she was his first love…but her smile was something he could not forget. How could he? And, above everything, she was the most caring person he knew. She would make people feel comfortable around her, easily converse with anybody and she was the type of person you would have a second look at - she was unforgettable.
I missed you too, Ken
Ken felt like he was in his teens again. His heart pattering against his chest as he reread the sentence over and over again. Was he hallucinating? Regardless, he was not going to waste the opportunity. Maybe Nao was right - maybe he did have a chance. If he was back to square one, so be it.
Screw waiting around for another friend's event to see her. Stumbling across her again sparked something in him and he knew he would be an idiot to let a second chance slip away from his clutches.
Ken typed, 'Should we grab coffee sometime…seeing that we're both in the same country?'
Miyako: As friends or a date?
To the point. That was how she always was. And Ken - he would be upfront about it too. They were too old for games already. What Ken appreciated about Miyako was that she was honest. Their communication had never been an issue when they were together. Even til the end, when they separated - it was honest because they both knew a long distance relationship could not work between the two of them. And, here he was, scraping back at their past - was it stupid that he was reaching out again? Probably. But, even to that day, he still liked her enough to try and pursue it again…
Ken: I'd like to be friends, but I'd be lying if I wouldn't like it to be the latter too
Miyako: After everything we've been through?
Ken: I still care about you
Miyako: Even now?
Ken: Yeah…maybe
God, he felt foolish. He readjusted himself on the bed, groaning into his pillow.
Then he felt his phone vibrate.
Christ, she was actually calling him…
After a few rings, he picked up the call. Before he could speak, she said, "Really?"
Her voice was raspy, still recovering from the concert. Nevertheless, Ken found it cute. Speaking to her was much more desirable than the ping pong of messages. Flashbacks of high school rapidly flooded over him. The past-midnight phone calls. They always preferred phone calls over texts - she was too impatient with texting, and he preferred hearing her voice than reading paragraphs.
"Yeah." Ken admitted, "I think I still care about you."
"You're still bad with your words."
"I know."
She giggled; he chuckled. They kept speaking for the rest of the night, until the sun had risen and her voice had disappeared. Ken could not pin-point which one came first, but he knew that he too needed to call it and get some rest.
After all, they both agreed to cancel coffee and change it to a dinner date that night. By then Miyako's voice would have recovered, and by then Ken would have to stalk through every one of her Instagram photos to find a place that Miyako had not dined at.
A challenge, but to Ken, Miyako had always been worth the effort.
.