Word Count: 2,731

Disclaimer: All VF characters belong to Yamane-sensei.

Summary: Asami is jealous and discovers the most unexpected rivals in his domestic life with Akihito.

A/N: This was originally a one-shot, but I had so much fun writing it, so now it's a three-shots. *shifty eyes* Self-beta.

Day 1

After pulling an unpleasant all-nighter to clean up someone else's mess, Asami decided to return to the penthouse early that day. As a self-described workaholic, even he knew when enough was enough. He was the owner of a successful company and leader of a syndicate, not an office drone. The multiple piles of paperwork left sitting on his desk could wait. It was either that or he could shoot someone to make them go away. Kirishima was a smart man. After his declaration, the secretary had wished him a safe trip home and offered to hold the front while he was gone.

Exhausted and fatigued, he only looked forward to one thing, and that was to cuddle a certain feisty photographer for stress relief. Of course, that entailed maybe three or four rounds of sex, and if he was in the mood for it, a fifth round to tie it up, literally.

Asami strolled into the kitchen, fully expecting to see Akihito chopping away something in his usual skimpy attire: tank top, briefs; and an excessively pink, frilly apron. The apron, Akihito explained, was a birthday gift Kou had given him. Leave it to Akihito's friends to gift strange things and then getting away with it. But if he were to do it, Akihito would throw an array of colorful insults from the dictionary of obscenities and profanities his way. Most likely, multiple uses of 'perverted' and 'bastard' in the same sentence. But then again, it didn't matter much, since it gave him an excuse to punish Akihito for every insolence with leather and toys.

Finding the kitchen empty, he stalked into the living room. No Akihito either. It was two in the afternoon, where could Akihito be? He checked Akihito's bedroom, but still no photographer. Feeling slightly irritated, he whipped out his cell phone to dial the first number on the speed dial.

"Asami?" Akihito answered his phone, confusion clearly marked his voice.

"Why aren't you home?"

"What? I'm doing some grocery shopping for tonight's dinner, and why are you home? Shouldn't you be working right now?"

"We can order takeout." Asami checked his watch.

"Eh? No, since I'm already here I'm going to wait for the special soy sauce sale."

"You have five minutes, Akihito," Asami hung up before Akihito could protest. Unreasonable or not, he didn't give a damn about food, and he certainly wasn't going to let some ambiguous soy sauce sale interfere with his cuddle time.

Akihito had exactly 4 minutes and 25 seconds to make it back or punishment would ensue. Either way, he'd come out the victor. The corner of his mouth curved up into a sadistic smirk. Akihito made it too easy for him sometimes.

Satisfied with his display of dominance, he ambled into the master bedroom and dropped off his cell phone on the night stand. He was about to undress for a quick shower when his eyes caught the dark mass peeking from underneath the duvet cover. He eyed it suspiciously before reaching out to grab it.

A teddy bear.

And what an astonishing find it was…in his penthouse...and on his bed. He stared at the furry object in his hand, feeling slightly puzzled, and at the same time, fascinated by its unusual features. The pitch black fur, slightly raised thin and gray eyebrows-oh yes...eyebrows-, amber colored half orbs for eyes, gray nose, a mouth that looked more like a devious smirk, and the best of all, the gray tie around its neck. He narrowed his eyes. The peculiar resemblance to someone he knew was too much. It felt rather personal.

As he continued to ponder about the bear's mysterious origin, the sound of the penthouse's door opening pulled him out of his reverie. And with a flick of his wrist, he nonchalantly tossed the innocuous object back onto the bed. It must have been another one of Akihito's friends' ridiculous gifts, he convinced himself. He'd deal with it later.

After leaving the master bedroom, he found Akihito still lingering near the penthouse's door, gasping and struggling for air. Akihito had one arm propped against the wall for support while the other was held on to two bags of groceries. Akihito's ears, face, and neck blushed pink and red like he'd just ran a marathon.

"What-" Akihito took a deep breath, "-happened?"

Asami wore his usual teasing smirk. Akihito must have rushed back thinking something was urgent. How cute.

"Nothing," Asami answered with indifference while he closed the distance between them.

Akihito furrowed his brows in disbelief. "What?!"

The photographer was about to go off into one of his usual tirades when Asami scooped him up in his arms and then started to carry him toward the master bedroom. The grocery bags slipped from Akihito's grasp and slowly spilled their contents on the wooden floor, leaving a peculiar trail of potatoes, onions, and packages of curry powder.

"Oi! You rushed me home just for a quickie? And I was worried over nothing. I should have known. Let me go, you perverted bastard!"

"Akihito, you still haven't learned after all this time. You are mine and I get to have what's mine...whenever."

Ignoring the cussing and screaming bundle over his shoulder, Asami closed the master bedroom door in triumph. They ended up skipping dinner that day…just like any other day.

That Night

Asami woke up to the sounds of giggling noises and someone talking in the middle of the night. Judging from the lack of warmth beside him, he realized that that Akihito wasn't snuggling next to him like usual. Mind still weary with sleep, he opened his eyes to find Akihito sleeping on the far side of the bed, arms hugging the black teddy bear he had seen earlier. Akihito held it like it was his most precious companion and prized treasure in his world of dreams.

Normally, Asami wouldn't let such trivial things bother him, but seeing Akihito's preference for something else other than him irked his pride a little, and he wasn't about to lose to some furry object stuffed with cotton.

He curiously hovered over the photographer to listen to Akihito's rambling in his half-asleep state. Akihito continued to mumble something incoherent for a while before whispering the name "Ryu". As though to provoke him further, Akhito hugged the bear tighter and smiled affectionately. Feeling impatient, he grabbed the offending object and jerked it out of Akihito's embrace. Akihito stirred a little from the loss, but didn't wake.

Feeling victorious, Asami walked out of the bedroom with the black teddy bear. He could've been a master thief in his previous life, Asami mused. It wasn't until he was in the penthouse's private office that he noticed the little tag attached to the bear's bottom.

It read. 'Ryu'

So his Akihito had been unfaithful. Asami wasn't pleased.

Day 2 - The Next Night

Asami returned to the penthouse around half past 3 in the morning to find Akihito cuddling yet another furry object. Despite feeling like he was some kind of disgraceful teddy bear thief, he reluctantly took the bear from the sleeping photographer and swiftly stowed it away under the bed. Akihito jerked awake, confused at the sudden movement. So Asami coolly played it off as he sat on the bed pretending that nothing happened.

"Asami? What time is it?" Akihito asked, voice still tired from slumber.

"Go back to sleep, Akihito." Asami stroked his hair. Akihito didn't notice that his prize was gone.

After a few seconds, Akihito was fast asleep again, and Asami reached under the bed for his new conquest. After leaving the bedroom he studied the bear with mild irritation because it was still warm with Akihito's heat. Compared to the one from yesterday, this bear was slightly different. The dark brown fur, shiny gold tie, and a white stick sewn directly to the right paw were some changes. He looked at the stick again and realized that it looked like a cigarette. His eyebrow unconsciously raised at the discovery.

This time, the bear's tag read: 'Ryuichi'.

So Ryu had a friend.

Day 3

Asami sighed as he took in the scene before him. Akihito was sleeping on the couch, cuddling yet another damn bear. A tan colored one this time, except the tie was a royal dark purple. But the oddest thing was that it was fully dressed in a mini business suit.

Asami leaned over to nuzzle the area behind one Akihito's ear, and the photographer shifted. Once Akihito's grasp on the bear loosened enough, Asami took the opportunity to yank it out of his embrace. Straightening himself up again, Asami checked the tag out of curiosity. Or at least, that was what he told himself.

It read: 'Asami'

Huh. Asami couldn't help but wondered if Akihito was doing all of this on purpose.

He bent over the sleeping man again.

"You only need me, Akihito. All you have to do is ask," Asami whispered into the other's ears.

Day 4

On the fourth day, Asami was sure Akihito had ran out of teddy bears, but lo and behold, he walked into the kitchen to find one sitting on the counter. The white fur and red tie stuck out like a sore thumb against the dark marble of the kitchen counter. Also, it was perfectly angled to face the entrance as if left there on purpose to spite him. Trap or challenge, Asami didn't care. He strolled over to his target and flipped the bear upside down, albeit roughly, to read the label. Really, he needed to stop letting this get to him.

The label read: 'Bastard'

"I knew it!" a familiar voice yelled out from behind him. "You were the one who stole my teddy bears, weren't you?"

Unfazed, Asami turned to face his young accuser with an unreadable expression. "I don't know what you're talking about, Akihito."

"Don't lie to me, Asami! I caught you red-handed. If you didn't steal them, why did you go for the teddy bear instead of the alcohol? You always go for the alcohol before anything else."

Asami turned around to check what Akihito was referring to. Surely enough, a few feet away from the bear was a bottle of whiskey. He didn't even notice it was there. Becoming more amused, Asami shifted his attention back to Akihito again.

His Akihito wasn't completely clueless after all.

"You shouldn't leave things out carelessly. They're bound to be lost," Asami said in his usual condescending tone.

Akihito's cheeks were now flushed a crimson red from indignant anger. "What?-" Akihito sputtered. "You! Stop denying it!"

But Asami only ignored Akihito's outburst and began to approach him like a beast closing in on its prey.

Akihito backed away, "Dammit, give me back my bears, you jerk!"

And in one swoop, Akihito found himself upside down and yelling into Asami's lower back again.

"Oi, thief bastard, what are you doing? Let me down!"

A hard slap on a butt cheek caused Akihito to yelp out in surprise.

"Manners, Akihito." Again, Asami ignored the irate man over his shoulder and headed straight for the master bedroom. Like a never-ending ritual of their strange relationship, he proceeded to fuck Akihito into the morning after that.

Day 5

By the time Asami opened his eyes again, it was already noon. Akihito's head rested comfortably on his shoulder, and face half buried in his neck. The warm presence in his embrace felt right again. He leaned in closer to kiss the locks of hair.

Akihito stirred awake. "Mmmm, Asami."

"Don't you prefer the real thing, Akihito?" Asami said in his low, husky voice.

"So you did steal my bears...bastard," Akihito whispered back, but the anger from yesterday was gone.

Asami chuckled. "Why did you get them in the first place?" His fingers gently traved the small of Akihito's back.

"One of Takato's friends just opened a bear workshop recently. I took some photos for their store's promotional ads, so they let me make a custom bear for free and well-"

"Well?"

"I ended up making several."

Asami wanted to ask the reason for the variations, but kept quiet, and Akihito seemed to sense his reluctance.

"You're probably wondering why I named them all after you."

"I didn't think you'd miss me so much, Akihito," Asami teased.

"Bastard, you didn't come home for a week, and then came back and stole my teddies."

"If you ask me, I might consider coming back more often."

Akihito stayed quiet for a moment, deliberating over the offer. A few seconds later, he lifted his head to meet Asami's gaze. "Would you?"

Akihito's eyes searched for something in Asami's, eyes only filled with eager sincerity.

"Would you come if I asked you to?"

Instead of answering, Asami gently guided Akihito's chin toward him and claimed the other's mouth for a deep kiss. The warm lips opened up to him without resistance. He savored every bit of the younger man and made sure the kiss lasted, communicating his answer without the need for words.

2 Hours Later

"So why the difference in colors and names?" Asami asked nonchalantly while Akihito was distracted with his brunch.

"Huh? Oh… I only made three bears in the beginning, but the last one was after I suspected you stole them," Akihito replied while chomping on a toast.

"I don't steal, Akihito. I only removed things in my way."

"Yes, and the great Asami Ryuichi can be jealous with himself," Akihito said sarcastically.

Asami narrowed his eyes as he sipped the whiskey from his glass tumbler. After a while, Akihito sighed, resigning to the fact that Asami would probably pester him to death if he didn't tell the truth. If not with words, then a different method and more perverted.

"The first one I made was Asami-chan, but it didn't feel right. It felt too...distant," Akihito paused thoughtfully, "like the first time I met you."

Asami held back the urge to smirk because he wanted to know the rest of the story.

"So I made Ryuichi-chan while thinking of your bad habits, likes, and dislikes. You know...the more you get to know someone."

"But it still didn't feel right."

"Yes...when I made Ryu-chan, everything finally made sense."

Asami quirked an eyebrow. "How so?"

"Ryu-chan is so mysterious. It's hard to find him in the dark when I want to cuddle him, but I know he's there," Akihito smiled. "When he's finally in my embrace, he's just as warm and soft as the others. Honestly, I like them all because each one represents a different part of you."

It was then that Asami felt the twinge of guilt for sending Ryu away to a certain person.

"Hey, Asami, can I have my bears back?"

"No, but let's go to that shop you talked about."

"What? Why? I don't need anymore-" Akihito's sentence was cut off when Asami suddenly claimed his mouth again for another deep kiss.

Meanwhile…

Fei Long stared at the unassuming package in his hands with a perfectly bewildered expression. He didn't think Akihito would give him anything after what he had put the younger man through. He checked the label once more to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him.

It clearly stated 'Sender: Takaba Akihito' with an address from Japan. Right under the address was a small note. 'For the lonely nights.'

Slightly elated by the thought that perhaps Akihito had forgiven him, Fei Long opened the package. However, after studying its content, his expression swiftly changed from happy, to confusion, and then comprehension. Closing the box unceremoniously, he assumed his crime lord persona again.

"Yoh," he commanded to the dark-haired man who was quietly watching him. "Burn it, record everything, and then send both the recording and whatever remains back to Asami."

Yoh lifted an eyebrow at his boss' strange request, but decided to keep his comment to himself. He diligently took the package without question, ready to carry out the task, and headed for the door. He was halfway through it when Fei added another strange order.

"Oh and find me a build-a-bear workshop. I want to give someone a special present," Feilong said, his voice not hiding the malice. Yoh suddenly had the feeling that today would be a long day.

A/N: (my note: v3)