"I finally got the girl and was working towards my dreams of joining the Majors despite a few hiccups along the way." Steve took his glove off and threw it back into the bag before approaching Ken.
"Which is why when Steph gave me that ultimatum, I chose you…" He said, placing his hand on Ken's left shoulder. There was pain behind his eyes, but his expression was resolute, like he didn't regret his decision.
Disregarding the implications of Steve's wording, Ken nodded. "No… You chose your own future."
Without another word, Ken pulled his friend into a hug. He could feel how tense the guys body was in the beginning, but it slowly relaxed.
"Thank you Ken. If it wasn't for you… I—"
"Don't say it man. Whatever happened in the past will remain there, serving only as a reminder of how far you've come." Ken said, surprising himself at the wise words he'd just spoken.
Before Steve could respond, Ken held him at arm's length and looked him right in the eyes. "From this moment on, we're brothers. We'll share our successes and failures, our heartaches and euphoria."
Steve's expression shifted, the weight of his raw emotions tearing away at his facade. Having endured so much for so long, his vulnerability was coming to the surface, threatening to wash away the barriers he'd placed to protect himself all this time.
"Mmm." He nodded, holding back tears.
Without a word, Ken brought him back into another hug. The two stood like that for a while as Steve let his emotions out to dry.
A cold breeze drifted between them, causing Ken to shiver. He quickly suggested they get back into the truck before one of them caught a cold.
Once in the warmth of the truck, the air seemed to be cleared. Steve was no longer wearing his cold expression, he seemed far more carefree, but not in the fake way that he used to show.
"So tell me more about this ultimatum that Steph hit you with." Ken asked, now that things had calmed down a little.
Steve let out a sigh, "When I told her that I applied for Columbia as well as Texas University, she was pretty pissed off. We almost broke up on the spot."
Ken frowned. He didn't think that she would have been so upset about such a thing. Of course, not everyone could be as accommodating as Ai who had let him move across the other side of the world without a word of complaint.
Suddenly, Daichi's words crept into his mind from that night.
'You might be fine leaving Ai in Japan while chasing your 'dream' but not everyone wants to make that kind of sacrifice.'
Only at this moment did he realize what kind of woman Ai was. This only further strengthened his resolve to marry his girl.
"I managed to patch things up by saying I doubted they would accept me. But when the acceptance letter came, I was over the moon." Steve spoke up, clenching his fist. "I knew I had to follow you if I wanted to chase my dream."
Ken smiled softly, feeling a warm sensation in his heart. If he was honest with himself, having Steve at Columbia with him was a blessing. But it was clear that the decision had its consequences and sacrifices.
"So Steph broke it off with you after that?" Ken asked.
Steve nodded, but he didn't seem too depressed anymore. "We just wanted different things I guess… I just didn't expect her to move on so fast, with Sarah of all people." He admitted.
"Yeah… Sorry about that." Ken said feeling a little guilty.
This time, Steve turned to him with an accusatory expression. "What did Sarah mean when she said it was thanks to you?"
Ken let out a sigh and told him about the training plan that he'd done up for her because he felt sorry for ruining her date to prom with Steph. If he had have known this would be the result, he would have probably refrained from doing so.
"Ah, that's not as bad as I thought then." Steve replied.
"I think a better question is, why was she at my house? Did you invite her?"
This time, Steve's expression fell. "Yeah, I foolishly thought that we might be able to reconcile our differences. I'm sorry for not letting you know."
Ken waved his hand dismissively, "Don't worry about it. Why did she bring along Sarah to begin with? Did she do it to hurt you?"
"I guess so. Or maybe she just wanted to let me know that she's moved on."
This didn't exactly sit right with Ken. Not to mention that it had happened in his own house.
Without a word, he grabbed his phone and sent a message to his mother, giving a brief overview. He knew his mother would deal with the situation before they got back.
"Well, we are college students if you remember. I'm sure there will be plenty who would be interested in you…" Ken felt a little weird saying this, but he just wanted to cheer up his friend.
"Really!?" Steve was like an excited puppy at the prospect of women that might be interested in him. It was hard to think that he was just despairing over an ex girlfriend.
"I mean, sure. I'll be your wingman…"
Steve's eyes began to water, "You'll be my goose then?"
"Goose?" Ken raised his eyebrow, but Steve's face seemed incredibly pitiful in that moment so he could only agree. "Sure man, I'll be your goose."
"Thanks man!" He cried, no longer feeling depressed.
"Alright alright, let's head back home. Mom made some Cheesecake for dessert."
"YESSS Yuki's Cheesecake!"
Steve was like a new man as he reversed out of the parking lot and got back on the road. They returned around 30 minutes later and walked in the door to see Chris, Yuki and Ai were the only ones remaining.
Steve looked around as if expecting Steph to still be here, but he let out a sigh of relief when he saw that the two girls were gone.
"I'm home~"
"Welcome home you two." Yuki said with a bright smile.