Kaidoh sat down at Taka’s family’s restaurant after a long day of classes wanting nothing more than to relax. Veterinary school was hard and he couldn’t help but wonder sometimes if he’d made the right choice by becoming a vet and not something, anything, else.

Taka looked over at Kaidoh out of the corner of his eye as he placed a plate of sushi in front of his only other customer. It was late and well past the dinner crowd’s usual time so his father had left him in charge of things. Taka didn’t mind as it gave him a chance to study his former kouhai more closely without having to listen to his father carry on a conversation with the regular.

Kaidoh hadn’t grown much since high school. He was still several inches shorter than Taka and had lost some of the muscle he’d had through college. Taka thought it suited him better in the long run. Kaidoh was still well built, but it was more subtle than it had been in the past. The bandana was gone as well, leaving nearly black hair to fall into expressive eyes and frame a well defined face. If he were honest with himself he’d admit that Kaidoh was sexy, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to be completely honest with himself just yet. It had been years since he last saw Kaidoh and the viper had never shown an interest in Taka before.

Taka stopped in front of the brunette with a smile gracing his feathers. “Ano, Kaidoh, it’s good to see you again. What can I get for you?” he inquired trying to resist the urge the rub the back of his head.

“Ah, Kawamura-senpai, it’s good to see you too. Eel rolls will be fine for me, thank you,” he replied as he barely managed to meet Taka’s eyes before returning them to his hands.

Taka couldn’t help but smile at Kaidoh’s politeness. He wondered if that part of the viper would ever change. “Ne, Kaidoh, you don’t have to call me senpai anymore. We haven’t been schoolmates in years so please call me Taka.”

Kaidoh smiled a bit as he lifted his head to carry on a proper conversation with his former senpai. “Ah, Taka-san. I think that’s the best I can do. It seems far too impolite to call you anything less. You’ll always be one of my senpai-tachi.”

Taka smiled. “That’ll work too. I don’t mind at all.” Taka kept his eyes going back and forth between the sushi he was making and Kaidoh as he tried to start up some small talk. “How was your day? You’re in veterinary school aren’t you?”

Kaidoh nodded and explained a little about his classes, professors, but spent most of his time talking about the animals he was learning to take care of. Taka loved the happy look that crossed Kaidoh’s face when he talked about the critters. He wanted to be able to create that look. It was just a matter of how to go about doing it.

It was closing time and his father was trying to hint at him to get Kaidoh to leave, but Taka had other plans. “Kaidoh, do you want hang out some more? I have to close up the restaurant, but if you wouldn’t mind I’d like to meet up with you again when I’m not working.”

Kaidoh smiled a little at him and nodded. “That would be nice, Taka-san. When would you like to meet?” After a brief discussion on when and where they were to meet Taka found himself cleaning and locking up the restaurant humming a happy little tune while looking forward to his next encounter with the viper.