This is insane.

I shouldn't be doing this.

He could be a stalker, a serial killer, a deranged axe murderer.

...

"This is fucking ridiculous."

Usami Akihiko stared at his 2nd paragraph of the day, which had followed a restless and highly unproductive night, and let out a tense breath. His writing sucked. This book sucked. He should give up now, while he still had a chance to stop this novel before anyone else read the garbage. He knew that Aikawa would call and tell him that no, it didn't suck, yes, she really believed that, and didn't he say the same thing about the last 4 best sellers? And countless other books before that, those ones that paid for the lush apartment that he lounged in, the expensive computer he was using, the suits that lined up in his closet, perfectly pressed and seldom used?

Akihiko sighed, and glanced at the clock for 13th time that morning. It was now 8:36, which was much too early for him to even have left his room yet. He ran a hand over his face, grimacing at the sleep still caught in the corners of his eyelids. There were still 23 pages to go in the latest manuscript. Akihiko chanced another look back at the clock. 8:37.

The morning passed quickly. Akihiko, a busy author, spent the time writing, rewriting, drinking his coffee and frowning at what he had written, and then writing once more, just to get it perfect this time. He knew that he would go through this cycle again, but for now, it was alright.

After a few tiring and troubling hours with seemingly less accomplished than when he started, Akihiko called for takeout for lunch. As he munched on his sushi and stared out at the city from his balcony, a familiar, unmistakable pang came in his gut. With a slow glance around his empty apartment, he rose to his feet once again, throwing his empty box into the trash, and sitting at his computer to write. Again.

Hiroki called at 4:30, the same as he did almost every other day, unless he was busy with a "male companion", the most recent being a young and very attractive man named Nowaki Kusama, who Akihiko claimed (and Hiroki agreed) had the attitude and mannerisms of a large puppy. Akihiko let the phone ring four times before answering with a brisk, "Hello?"

"Oy, couldn't get to the phone quick enough?" came Hiroki's unavoidably attitudinal response.

Akihiko forced himself not to chuckle as he responded, "I was too busy writing. Some of us are actually achieving their dreams, you know."

He could hear Hiroki swallow his laugh. "Yeah, right. I'm sure you were just staring at the same sentence that you've probably been staring at for 6 hours now." Akihiko held back his own laugh now. After knowing each other for almost 20 years now, jokes like this occurred easily and often, although he still believed that it was scary how much Hiroki knew about his writing process and his habits. The next question knocked him out of his reverie. "Have you checked again yet?"

Akihiko shook his head, realized that Hiroki could not see him, and spoke aloud. "No, I haven't." He said, suddenly feeling very tired and tense. He began to pace and touched his belongings as he went, trying to wake himself up a bit, and at the same time, calm down.

"You should check. See if there's anything new. Who knows, maybe you'll have a smut message, or someone wants to roleplay. That could be fun." Hiroki and Akihiko both laughed aloud at this, and there was quiet before Akihiko answered.

"Yeah, I should. I doubt there will be anything, though."

"Tell you what- You check, and I'll pick you up at 6. Sound good?" Akihiko opened his mouth to protest. "And Nowaki-kun has the night shift today, so don't worry about him beating your ass again." The last time that Hiroki and Akihiko had gone out together- alone- Nowaki had shown up to the bar in a full rage, screaming at Akihiko and Hiroki, and insisting that this man was not nearly good enough for his Hiro. Needless to say, the night had ended in a black eye and bloody mouth for Akihiko, a furious Hiroki, and a regretful yet slightly unapologetic Nowaki. From that point on, Nowaki was always included in the group's plans.

Akihiko groaned in fake exhaustion and resignation, but both men knew that his feigned annoyance was simply another part of this routine that they had set up, the irritation of actually having to leave the house. "Hey, Usami-san?"

"Yes?"

"I really think you should check your matches again. I mean, you know. Something may have popped up." Akihiko stopped his pacing, and looked to his computer screen, the Big Hero 6 wallpaper staring at him from across the room for a few seconds before switching to a close-up picture of a rabbit.

"Okay."

"See you at 6." The line went dead, and Akihiko carelessly threw the phone to the couch, treading slowly to the computer.

As he logged onto the website, a small curl of excitement unleashed itself in his stomach. What if there was something new? What if someone was interested? Who knew? Or what if he was just as boring online as he was in real life? What if no one was interested? What if no one wanted a serious relationship with him, the way that it had been for his entire life?

These were only a handful of the fears that ran through Usami Akihiko's mind as he clicked on his inbox to retrieve his new messages. Creating a dating profile was Aikawa's idea, but the upkeep was his own, and he was solely to blame for the flood of messages that had overwhelmed his email.

His profile picture was the same as many of the ones on the website, an "avi" of his body from the navel to the neck, only displaying off his physique and showing that he was indeed a man. Because of this picture, he'd captured a lot of traffic on his profile, and mystery and ambiguity of his bio seemed to do nothing to deter the attention of the men on the site.

Blearily clicking through the horny messages of desperate fellows who wanted to meet him on the site, Akihiko clicked on the link to take him to his new matches. He swiped through a few, looking at the usual parade of scantily clad men with big smiles and almost obnoxiously huge biceps, and turned away from the laptop to light a cigarette. Almost immediately, his laptop pinged. As he swiveled back, Akihiko saw the small notification in the top corner notifying that someone else had added him to their favorites. Resisting an eye roll (because who wouldn't want Usami Akihiko on their favorites list?) he clicked on the profile. As he did, his mouth dropped open and he felt his cigarette fall from it onto the computer desk.

"Shit...Wow." Were the first words from Akihiko's mouth as he looked at the profile of the the young man who had added him. He looked more like a boy, to be honest, not even old enough to use this website for its intended purpose. Akihiko leaned into his computer screen, as if he would get a closer and more realistic idea of the picture before him. This man had only one, unlike the other dozens of men who included pictures of their abs, their biceps, their legs, their ass, their dicks. Anything that would gain attention.

This profile was unlike those. There was very sparse information in the allowed categories, and what was given was vague, mysterious, and strangely enough, compelling. Akihiko found himself scrolling through the information that the boy had provided, only to find himself even more intrigued. The profile read as this:

AGE: 20

HEIGHT: 5'4

CITY: Tokyo

OCCUPATION: Student/baker/cafe worker

HOBBIES: Reading and baking and kissing

INTERESTING FACT ABOUT MYSELF: I'm an orphan and the fault is my own.

Akihiko pushed himself back from the desk and immediately rolled back. Kissing was a hobby? Why was being an orphan his own fault? Did he kill his parents? Who was this mystery kid?

The only clue to the answer of his question was the name at the top of the profile.

Misaki Takahashi.

Akihiko looked at the photo again, observing his green eyes, brown hair and bright smile, seeming almost too big for his face.

He leaned back in his chair and felt a smile tugging at his mouth.

"And just who are you, Misaki-kun?" He said softly, and lifted his cigarette to his mouth. He clicked the small icon that would add Misaki to his favorites as well, making him the only one on this coveted list, and headed to his bathroom to shower for his dinner with Hiroki.