Reconnected

Once you became Kaori’s protector everything changed. The next time he tried to steal clothes from her locker, you stepped in and made a huge ruckus. Eventually, a teacher came running and he got caught red-handed. From that point on, he mostly backed off Kaori. Now that she wasn’t alone, she wasn’t such easy prey.{if Female = true}

Though, from time to time, you caught him snickering with his friends about you two. “Watch out guys or Kaori’s girlfriend will get her panties in a twist.” At the time, still years from confessing to each other, you’d taken it as a mean joke. Yet, even back then, you had to wonder if your true feelings for her were so obvious to everyone else.{endif}

Time went on and you two graduated from St. Primrose. After you went to college, you rarely spared a thought for him or any of your other cruel classmates. You were certain that you’d never speak to him, and for good reason.

All of which made the day he called you, just a few months ago, so surprising.

It turned out that he was moving to the same town where you and Kaori now lived. He didn’t know anyone else who lived in the area, so he wanted to reconnect with some old classmates. He originally offered to meet the both of you. Considering his past history with Kaori, though, you went to that first reunion without her.

You came in skeptical. What did you really have to talk about with the douchebag from high school?

When you arrived, you found a changed man. He’d matured into a calmer and **** person. That new job he mentioned? He’d taken a position managing a major non-profit charity. His days of being a petty bully seemed long behind him. Now he helped people.{if Male = true}

At another meetup, once the first had gone well, he caught you off guard with a strange compliment. Regarding your marriage to Kaori, he patted you on the back and said it was a ”nice catch”. You blinked in confusion. It was just normal bro talk, but it was also the first time you’d ever heard him say a single nice thing about Kaori. You were so elated, you even let him buy the next round and direct a toast to you and your wife.{endif}{if Female = true}

The fact that you and Kaori were married now didn’t phase him. Attitudes about gay marriage had changed a lot since you were in school, and so had his own personal tolerance. At worst, he cracked some jokes, alluding to the fact that everyone had known at St. Primrose that you’d end up together. There didn’t seem to be any malice behind it though.

Besides, it wasn’t like he was wrong. You and Kaori probably spent all of senior year making moon eyes at each other.{endif}