Hello there. This is a two-shot that I originally posted in AO3. It's quite depressing since I was not in the best mood when I wrote it. Please enjoy. Thank you ^^

He was not oblivious towards the hidden truth in every gesture Akihito did. He had never believed him.

"Oh—good morning, Ryuuichi. I'm almost done here." Akihito said shyly as he stirred the soup for one last time before turning off the stove when he realized that Ryuuichi was there.

The shyness was faked too. It was not shyness, it was hesitation, wariness. If anyone asked him why he would think so, he would tell them that he knew because there was no blush in the faintest hue on the blonde's cheeks and the boy had flinched at the sight of him.

He nodded appreciatively and sat down, waiting for the meal to be served. This was how their day starts. He would wake up alone among cold sheets because the person that was supposed to be lying there with him had left the bed to make their breakfast. He never pointed out to the blond that no one wakes up at four in the morning just to cook a simple meal. In those few hours before his feigned waking-up time he would continue lying on the bed and prepare himself to face the daily act from Akihito. Asami was deep in his thought throughout the meal. None of them initiated conversation until the moment he walked towards the front door with Akihito dutifully handing him his briefcase.

"Have a good day, Ryuuichi."

That was parroted.

Every morning, the boy would repeat the same words with an artificial smile. He could only grunt in reply to and stoically accept the briefcase from Akihito. His business required all his attention during the day and therefore, he could not spare any minute or even second to mull in his thoughts of Akihito. But he never left the blond unprotected. Their penthouse was heavily guarded by his men and cameras, to ensure that no harm would befall on his precious boy. His hidden playroom in their bedroom was now an escape room, equipped with emergency kits meant for survival. He never told Akihito about the renovation on the room, though. He was quite sure that the boy would not react well if he mention about that particular room in the slightest because that room was where he had first and repeatedly violated him. Time sure flies fast. He could not believe that he had been with Akihito for two years and yet, their relationship was still…non-existent?

After the night he had caught the photographer, he could not get the brat out of his head. After months of stalking, several uninvited visits to the blonde's tiny apartment, session after session of angry shouts from Akihito, and jealousy, he had decided to take matter into his hands when he saw Akihito hugging and smiling to another man. He had never seen the boy smile like that and of course, the boy never embraced him willingly let alone to hug him. It was like the Devil himself had possessed him when he menacingly rushed to the pair of lovers. He pulled Akihito away and dragged him into his limo, leaving Suoh to deal with the man who was left dumbfounded by the road. Turned out that the man was nearly able to coax the boy into a date and it raged Asami like never. He locked Akihito in the penthouse for days, staking his claim again and again, warning the boy of not doing the same mistakes if he did not want the man's—or anyone's—life to end in a brutal manner.

Defeated and fearful for his friend's life, Akihito complied. But that did not save the man from the severe beatings admonished by Suoh. Since then, Akihito never left the penthouse, terrified of the unknown consequences if he did. Ryuuichi never said that he could not leave but he never said that he could leave too. He could not bear to let the boy out, worried that his enemies might hurt the boy and mostly due to his unsecured feelings. What an ironic twist it was. He was constantly on his toes, afraid that the blond might look at someone else.

However, Akihito was slowly changing with the time he spent in the luxurious house. The light in his expressive eyes were dying, flickering against the wind of his emotions state. Every time he touched him, it felt like touching a doll. On their bed, Akihito's eyes would resemble dead fish eyes. There was no sign of pleasure on his face. Only unwillingness and fear was there. Every night, Akihito would lie docilely as his face contorted in pain. It was as if the boy was chanting patience inside his head, patience for him to be sated instead of enjoying himself. Sometimes, he wanted to shake the boy until he understood that it was not just sex between them. It was beyond simple physical gratification. Even a mere smile, a sincere smile from Akihito would worth more than those times he held him without the boy's consent.

He was determined for a change in their home. That evening, he decided to wrap up early—much to Kirishima's surprise—stopped by a flower shop to buy a bouquet of red roses, and ordered his secretary to reserve a high-scale Italian restaurant for dinner. He could not think of any reason for his Akihito to not be elated with the arrangement plus, the blond would definitely enjoy air outside the penthouse.

Swiftly, he unlocked the door and quickly came face-to-face with the very person who had been plaguing his mind.

"Welcome back, Ryuuichi," Akihito welcomed him back at the entrance of the penthouse.

The blonde's brows creased in confusion when he spotted the bouquet Asami was holding. Asami's eyes were intensely set on the blond as he approached him and bent down to kiss him on the lips. Softly. Akihito was too shocked to react and he stayed still like a statue.

"I'm home." Asami whispered and straightened himself up.

Courteously, he pushed the gift to Akihito's hands and watched in content as the boy accepting the roses—albeit only uncertainty being displayed on the boy's honest face.

"Um. Thank you." Akihito mumbled hesitantly.

"Let's have a date tonight."

The blond frowned. If he did not know better, he would have thought that Asami was suggesting for them to have a date—as in date—to some places like a normal pair of lovers.

"Date?"

The yakuza allowed the corners of his lips to twitch upwards in amusement as his eyes softened at the sight of his confused lover.

"Yes, my dear Akihito. A date." Asami brushed Akihito's cheek with his knuckle. "We will leave at seven. I took the liberty to prepare your suit for tonight."

Akihito's eyes were wide in shock as he processed what the yakuza said. He must have misheard him, or perhaps he was dreaming right now because Asami was letting him out of the penthouse. There was no way that man would do that… unless there was something behind it. Maybe this was just another sadistic idea of Asami. In their early days, it was not unusual for the man to stuff him with vibrator and leave it in him for hours until he went down on his knees and beg for it to stop. Akihito began to tremble at the thought of being subjected to such torture while outside the penthouse. But the idea of leaving his cage was so enticing that his heart began to pump faster. He could picture the fresh air out there, the night view unobstructed by white walls, the sound of people bustling on the busy road to reach their destinations. Akihito's grip unconsciously tightened, nearly crushing the flower in his hands. He studied Asami's face, looking for the slightest hint of cynical amusement or deception because he'd rather see the truth before Asami laughs at his naiveté. He would not be able to stomach that if Asami did. That was too cruel. But he found none that imply lies and he could not comprehend what was happening.

"Akihito?" Asami asked concernedly—not that he did not know what was going on in his lover's head. " Are you alright?"

"Y-yes," Akihito answered with a broken voice, his throat felt like there was a lump there.

"Alright, if you say so."

Asami's tone was dismissive but Akihito remained where he was, his head hung low as he waited for the yakuza to smirk cruelly and tell him to strip so he could put all those toys in him. A few more seconds passed by but the man had yet to say anything. On the other hand, Asami tried to shrug off the soft pang of pain on his chest while he watched how his lover turned pale and slightly shook in front him.

"Akihito?"

Akihito did not look up as he answered."Y-Yes?"

"What's wrong? It's almost six and maybe you would like to get ready now so you won't have to rush later."

That made the blond to snap up his head in surprise, his eyes wide in disbelief. "Are—um, okay."

Hurriedly, Akihito went into their room. He did not want to chance the man of changing his mind. Left behind, Asami's eyes softened as they followed the slender figure of his lover.

Half an hour later, Akihito walked out into the living room in his new suit. It fits him perfectly and he was not surprised by it considering that Asami was the one who had the suit tailored for him. He knew that the man was flawless and utterly impeccable. His hair was neatly gelled, giving him a matured and sophisticated look though he did not see anything special about it. He was still a prisoner.

"Perfect."

Asami's deep voice had Akihito flinched for a bit and automatically, his gaze fell onto the floor. It took all his strength to not step back when the yakuza closed in towards him. He was sure that the man could feel how shaky he was when Asami took his hand and kissed the knuckles. If only Akihito had raised his head up, he would have seen the adoration in Asami's orbs.

"Ready for our dinner?"

Excitement and anxiety battled violently inside the blond. He could not believe that after long, dreadful months he would actually step out of the building. But for some reasons, half of him wanted to stay. Going out would hurt him terribly because this might be the first and the last time he was allowed to leave. Should not it be better for him to stay so that he would not be reminded of the freedom he had been robbed of? It's not like Asami would let him out on daily basis. It might be another two years when Asami would 'graciously' take him to a date. Akihito gasped as a sudden realization hit him. Asami was toying with him. The man knew that he had wanted nothing more than to leave. He was taunting him. His eyes heated up and in mere seconds, tears were already fast rolling down his cheeks. Even the hidden playroom sounded merciful than this new trick of Asami.

"Akihito?" Asami said worriedly when he saw the blond cried without any warning. Carefully, he cupped the blond's cheeks and searched for his eyes but the blond slapped his hands away and darted into the bedroom. A soft click told Asami that the door was locked. "Akihito? What's wrong?"

The boy ignored him as he knocked and called out for nearly an hour. He could clearly hear loud sobs from inside and it puzzled him. FIve minute later, he could no longer endure his anxiety that he broke into the room and found his beloved lying nearly lifeless on the tile of the adjoined bathroom. Both of his wrists were slit open with razor.

"I don't want to go out."

The declaration from Akihito stunned Asami to the core.

"Why?" He asked.

He had been very sure that the boy would be happy to temporarily leave the penthouse and he could not imagine the reasons why the boy did the opposite. Akihito looked so devastated.

Akihito glared at him with all his hatred displayed in his eyes. "Stop playing with me! I know you just want to hurt me by bringing me out because you will never let me out again or at least until I beg and do things that I don't want to."

He certainly did not expect the blond to think like that. Of course, he had made Akihito did so many things by force, manipulation and blackmail. But this…the date was not one of those. This was a date, a real date. An honest arrangement that held no other motives than to make Akihito fall for him.

"Akihito, you're mistaken—"

"Shut up! That is the truth and you know it! Why on earth would you take me to a f*cking date? There's no point in that." Angrily, Akihito wiped his wet eyes with his forearms. "You know that I have no choice but do whatever you want me to do yet you still pull such a low sh*t on me? " Each word was like a stab right through his cold heart and he could not even do anything to stop listening. "I became the docile pet just like you wanted for two years…I enslaved myself to your every whim so I won't get punished for every single thing I do each day! "

Akihito paused abruptly, his swollen and red- rimmed eyes widened as if he was enlightened on something. "Oh, so that was it. You are getting bored so you needed to find new game, isn't it? I hate you! I hate you more than anything, Asami! I f*cking hate you! Argh!"

Akihito screamed and trashed violently on the bed, his hands pulling out his hair and all Asami could do was sit and savour the pain that Akihito had given him. His whole body felt weak as his mind replayed how the blond had shouted how he hated him. He had always known that Akihito disliked him but to hear it directly was another thing. Then, a rapidly beeping sound pulled Asami out of his torment. The machine that was monitoring Akihito's heartbeat and blood pressure was whirring out in alert. The digits it displayed was increasing by seconds. His heart nearly stopped when he saw how Akihito's face was turning red and his chest began to heave in effort to breathe properly.

"Akihito, calm down! You need to calm down. Nurse!"

He was ushered out immediately from Akihito's room and he could not find the strength to stay there. Akihito did not want him there.

"Akihito?" Asami asked softly, not wishing to rile the blond up.

He watched the slender body turned rigid with a slight jump and slowly, Akihito turned to face him. He would never be able to get used of Akihito's flinching at him. Every time he spoke or get closer, the boy would automatically flinch and he knew that the boy tried very hard to not run from his advances.

"I didn't ask you out because I wanted to ridicule or toy with you. I really wanted to spend time with you outside."

The blond remained silent but his eyes showed more than enough to answer him. They were full of disbelief and lurking suspicion and it made Asami wonder if he had done damage more than he had thought.

"It's the truth," He added.

Another bout of uncomfortable silence ensued before Akihito finally said something. "It doesn't matter."

Asami furrowed his brows. "Why do you say so?"

Without an ounce of hesitation, the blond spat out, "Because I'll still be stuck with you."

Without realizing it himself, Asami rose from his seat and gripped Akihito's shoulders with enough force to leave bruise, causing the blond to stiffen. The yakuza's eyes were hard in suppressed anger and underlying hurt.

"Why can't you accept the fact that you belong with me? You are mine."

"I don't belong to anyone and out of all people, you! You're the one who need to accept that I'm not an animal you can cage and call a possession." Akihito shouted despite of his shaking voice.

"You're not an animal. You are my lover!"

"Lover?" Akihito repeated weakly before he abruptly chuckled and his chuckles turned into laughter with tears running down his cheeks. "I'm your pet, Asami! You turned me into your personal mistress, a whore, a slut! I'm so disgusted of myself that I can't even look into the mirror—"

A slap across his cheekbone stopped Akihito from finishing his sentence. The loud slap was much harder than any of them could anticipate. In front him, Asami was taken aback by his own action and stared in horror at the red mark on Akihito's face caused from the slap. The redness there would change to blue in a few hours from now. For a brief moment, the world turned black for Akihito.

In a silent, broken voice, Akihito said,"So, I'm also your punching bag now?"

"Akihito…" Asami trailed off in hesitance. He stared in horror at his own hand that had hurt the one he loved. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean—"

"It doesn't matter." Akihito hastily wiped the fresh tears on his cheeks and lay down on the bed, purposely turning his back to Asami. For a short moment, silence engulfed the room. But eventually, Asami got a hold of himself.

"Akihito, I acknowledge that I was wrong. But I won't say that I regret it and I'm sorry for hurting you. I would never repeat that again, I promise. I…want to us to change for the better. I will try for you. So, please, try for me too. Everything matters. You matter to me."

His declaration was met with ignorance but he knew that it was heard. He hesitantly placed his hand the blond's shoulder before he left. He needed to take five.