AN:

For Ashida who has been a great friend and a ready ear when I go off on a complaining fit.

I felt like writing today and actually had the time to do it so I decided to write this oneshot that had been on my mind for a while. Finding the time and the desire to write has been hard lately. So many things are going on in my life that make it very hard to be inspired or to have time to sit down and write. My updates will be slow in coming for a bit and I ask you to bear with it because I honestly dont know when I will be able to post again though I will try to write as soon as possible.

Many things have been going on lately and I have been so stressed and depressed as of late that it has been hard to write to update so I opted for writing for my own personal enjoyment when I have the time and the desire and to post what I work on without worrying about the pressure of updating my ongoing fics.

I will write when i write and post when i post. I dont have the same amount of free time i used to and I hope you all understand that. Please dont pressure me for updates, right now I have other more pressing things to deal with but I promise I will not abandon my fics and continue then though at a slower pace.

That being said I hope you enjoy this fic, it is unbetaed so there might be some errors.

I do not own Finder Series

**********VF**********

The Invitation

Akihito walked down the sidewalk on his way to the condo's building. He would be lying if he said that it din't seemed absolutely suspicions and very much like a set up. But the request had been so surprisingly out of the norm that he would also be lying if he said the strangeness of it all was not flaring his curiosity like holiday parade fireworks and gods damn it he was a reporter; he thrived in curiosity and exploring things that were out of the norm.

It was indeed something unprecedented and it confused the hell out of him, he really wanted to know what brought on the strange invitation from the most unusual of sources. He really was itching to find out but damn did it feel like a set up. It probably was too, if the person involved was considered but he made up his mind already. Regardless of what that nagging voice on the back of his head was saying he was freaking going.

Oh yes, he was going. How could he not when out of the blue someone that was never anything but professional when he was concerned uttered the most random of invitations?

"Takaba-kun, if you have some time tonight, it's my day off and I would like to invite you for drinks at my place."

His face must have clearly expressed his flabbergasted state of mind because next he knew Kirishima was assuring him that he did not have to if he didn't feel comfortable with the idea but that he would wait around ten o'clock regardless. But that was not the part that made the whole thing feel like a set up, though to be honest it was freaky as hell to hear such things coming from the secretary. No, it was the following words, which were even creepier and stranger and at the same time made him feel something was up and filled him with the thirst to know what it was.

"Please, if you would, do not let Asami-sama know of my invitation regardless of whether you decide to come or not."

How could that not make an inquisitive mind such as his burn with the need to figure out what the hell Kirishima was up to and whether Asami had anything to do with it.

He might be walking straight into a trap, but frankly, at this point he could care less.

And he went. He went because he could not stand the curiosity anymore.

The knock on the door was hesitant but Kirishima did not expect any different. He opened the door and let his guest in leading him to the expensively decorated living room. He offered snacks, all of high quality and even more expensive sake.

They drank in silence and curious nervousness on Akihito's part. At some point the blonde found it more comfortable to sit on the floor before the low table, closer to the food, and Kirishima suspected that he sometimes took to eating when he was uncomfortable. The way Takaba kept shoving food in his mouth every five seconds certainly made him think so. Then the question came and Akihito sat up straight and rigid upon hearing it. Kirishima did not want to waste more time in silent awkwardness.

"Takaba-kun, are you happy?"

To Takaba the question came out of the blue and confused him to no end. He would need to ask for specific if he was going to answer it correctly.

"What do you mean?"

"With the life you are living since he claimed you as his own, with the things you have had to sacrifice in order to stay by his side and with the fact that he holds your life and freedom in his hands. Are you happy with Asami-sama?"

"I- I…"

What could he say to all that? He definitely would need more time to come up with an answer to all that as he has spend the last three years carefully avoiding any train of thought that led that direction. Before he could say anything Kirishima continued and his mind took a different avenue of inquiry.

"If you had the chance, if the opportunity was given to you, to be free of him and never be at his mercy again. Would you take it? If I offered you a way to be free right now, would you accept it? I could give you what you want the most, if you just take my offer."

Was Kirishima infatuated with him and wanting to take him away from Asami to be with him? Or was this part of a ploy employed by the faithful secretary to find out where his loyalties lay?

"Why are you asking me these questions?"

"Because I've grown to care about you."

Holy fuck Kirishima liked him! That was more dangerous than any job he has ever embarked on, incuding side jobs with Mitarai. This was dangerous territory because Asami could and very likely would kill them both. Now he understood why the request not to tell Asami, if the man found out they would be wearing cement shoes of a very tight fit at the bottom of Tokyo Bay by the time dawn broke. He was not so sure now that this was a set up.

"I don't know what to say about that."

"Then just answer my other questions."

"I will need a minute to think, what you are asking me… is something I have to think about."

"I will go get some food together and you can think about it while I'm in the kitchen."

Well, the man obviously wanted answers today, soon, and would likely not let him go until he got them. Akihito sat there, on the floor before the low table in the spacious living room, searching his mind, heart and soul for an answer. Sooner than he cared for, Kirishima had come back and he looked everywhere but at the man.

He was nervous as fuck, all he wanted at the moment was to high tail it out of the condo and hide his head under a rock pretending this conversation never happened. But he respected Kirihsima, and in a way had grown to care about the man to a certain non-romantic degree. This conversation was already a secret from Asami and the man deserved to know how he really felt, deserved answers to his questions, so there was no harm on speaking the truth to him right? Asami would never know anyways and Kirishima would not risk his life for nothing.

With a sigh he fixed his eyes on the bespectacled secretary and took in the hope in the dark eyes, thinking the man was hoping he took the offer. He had come to a conclusion and if he was honest with himself he would say he had always known the answers to those questions, but he was afraid of the implications and had not wanted to admit it. But this was a secret, Kirishima would not tell, Asami would never know and he could lay the burden of his heart upon someone else for the very first time. It would be okay to say it out loud just once and in the end it would - even if it hurt the man- ultimately prolong Kirishima's life span and erase any notions the secretary had about a possible clandestine future between them.

"Yes." He said suddenly when they had been sitting in silence for over ten minutes, his eyes downcast and focused at a spot on the hardwood floor and for a moment Kirishima's eyes widened thinking Takaba would take his offer. "this life is not what I dreamed for myself, nor has it been less than a bumpy ride I assure you. I has never been a fairy tale, not even in the beginning and it will never be. I have been hurt more times than I care to count and for reasons I do not want to explore to closely. There were things I always wanted to do and things I always hoped to see and feel that I know will never happen if I continue with him. Things that I will never get to experience…"

He paused, not knowing how to phrase his thoughts.

"I know that I'm not free to do what I please, not really, and that my life lies on his hands. I know very well that he could close his fist and crush it like a butterfly and I would be no more. That no one would ask questions and all notion of me would disappear from public record as if I never existed. I know, he is dangerous and to be honest sometimes it scares me. I know how much I wish for freedom."

There it was, any minute now, Kirishima was sure the boy would agree to his proposal.

But the agreement never came.

"I am not as naïve as I seem and I know this life is not ideal. I know the sacrifices I have made and to be honest, in a way, it has all been worth it… to stay by his side. To be blunt, yes, I am happy with this life I'm living, though sometimes it confuses and infuriates me. Sometimes it still hurts. I had made peace with this life a long time ago, but somehow, in some way, at some point I do not know exactly when… it all changed. I was no longer making peace with this forced situation but I found I too did not want to let go. I know my life is safe in his hands, I know and it makes me feel cared for. Yes, Kirishima, I am happy with Asami and no, I would not trade him for my freedom. He can keep it if he likes, as long as he never lets go."

Kirishima was taken aback; he did not expect that answer.

"Are you sure?" He asked more because he needed to be certain himself than because he could not see that Takaba was set on his answer.

"I… towards him… despite everything…" He chuckled nervously and then sighed. "I guess you already know, is not that hard to figure out if you think about it."

"Yes, I am sure of it now."

"I have to go, somehow this conversation has left me exhausted and I want to take a nap before I have to make dinner. Thanks for the drink and the concern, for offering me a way out, it's just that I don't really want it."

"Goodnigth Takaba-kun." He heard as he stood up. Akihito turned around to walk to the door and leave the condo.

"Goodnight." He said before the door closed behind him.

Akihito went back to Asami's penthouse, their home, he did some cleaning then showered and went to bed. At two o'clock in the morning his alarm went off and he woke up to cook Asami's dinner. He was not hungry but still felt extremely tired, emotionally charged moments did that to him, so he went back to bed and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Asami came home later than usual that night, which was not unusual since he did not have Kirishima around today to remind him he was human and needed to go home and get some sleep like everyone else. The man was such a workaholic sometimes. When Akihito woke up the next morning Asami was already gone and truth be told Akihito was a bit glad about it. He was still a somewhat emotionally shaken from last night's confession and Asami is way too keen on his emotional state to just let it go.

****VF****

That morning on the other side of Shinjuku, in his office at Sion, Asami found himself feeling nervous for the very first time in over twenty years. Of course, he did not look like it with his usual inexpressive, hard and cold façade in place but he was feeling like some idiotic teen at the moment.

The door opened after a short knock and Kirishima walked in.

"Did he go?" He asked the secretary not giving a moment's thought to the preliminaries and usual reports and getting right down to what interested him the most at the moment.

"Yes." Came the short reply and his eyebrow arched in a silent question indicating Kirihsima could continue with this particular report. "I thought it would be best if you heard it yourself and took the liberty of installing a surveillance camera beforehand." He said placing a slim squared envelope on Asami's mahogany desk, his face betraying nothing, and left his boss to his privacy. For a moment, before his mind was clouded with worry he did not know he would feel about the outcome of the situation, he thought it had been a good choice to assign the task to Kirishima. The man always went the extra mile to please him. But then the worry took over and he could not wait any longer to know what had been plaguing his mind for the past four months.

Asami took the disk out of the squared envelope and placed it in his laptop. He needed a drink to settle himself before he pressed play on the video player in his computer. Three glasses of bourbon later he pressed play and sat back to face the music. The recording started at the moment there was a hesitant knock on the door and went all the way until that door closed behind his blond haired lover. At the end of the video Asami was smirking with a very satisfied look on his face very akin to a cat that caught and ate the canary, a very appropriate image if he said so himself. In his chest something fluttered and he did his best to not analyze it too much. In his ears he could still hear the rapid beating of his heart and on his shoulders he was aware a great weight no longer resided. If he was honest with himself, at this very minute, he would say he was truly happy.

Then he chuckled.

"My Akihito, you should have known it was a set up."

And he smiled.

A true smile that reached his eyes and reflected the happiness he felt inside taking about ten years off his face.

Then he schooled his features and went back to work.

Maybe he would go home early today, he had things to celebrate.