Listening to the live rendition of his favourite song was an interesting experience. He preferred the studio version, all the nuances were not lost in a sea of noise from the crowd, but it was still better than expected. It felt, oddly intimate though. Asami's deep, husky voice caressed his ears and it felt strangely like it was a serenade only for him. Akihito internally scoffed at the idea, just because they were playing a song as thank you did not mean it was meant only for him. He needed to get his ego checked.

Still, it was by far his favourite performance of the night, even though he sang along to everything else and not that one. Even now, well over a year since the songs release, Broken Open brought out something raw in the lead singer, Asami. His voice took on a tone that Akihito couldn't describe but felt deep in his very being. It was raw, open, honest. It was as though, even now he was letting himself be broken open by the meaning and memories behind the song.

Akihito cheered and clapped along with the crowd once Sion was done for the evening, having performed multiple encores for the demanding crowd. He decided it was probably time to get out of the back-stage crews hair and make his graceful departure when he was cornered by Sion's manager. His long hair was tied back in a messy, but striking, bun and his fashionable suit just screamed his profession when standing amongst the casually dressed touring crew.

"Takaba!" he greeted, eyes sparking with something akin to deviousness. "You should join the band for the after party, it seems they really enjoyed your company."

"Oh," Akihito responded, staring at him with wide eyes. They had just been chatting, it hadn't been anything special. "But they are staying for signings, right? I've had a pretty long day-"

He was cut off by a firm arm wrapping itself around his shoulders and he was steered back towards the band's resting area.

"All the more reason you should take a load off and join them. If it's because you have work tomorrow, let me speak to your manager, you did such an excellent job helping us out, you should be allowed to have a little fun."

"Oh no, it's okay. I didn't really do-"

"Oh! You're a fan, right?" the man cut him off again with a winning smile. "Let me grab you a poster with all their signatures on it. You can hang out here with a drink and skip the queue!"

He firmly pushed Akihito into a seat and one of the crew appeared from nowhere to thrust a bottle of water at him. As soon as he accepted it, the person vanished before he could give his thanks.

"Feel free to take a nap or something while you wait, the band won't be too long. If you need anything, just let me know."

"O-okay," Akihito stuttered his reply. What on earth was going on? "Thanks Mr-"

"Just call me Fei," the manager interrupted again. He winked before leaving as abruptly as he arrived. It was like dealing with a whirlwind who wouldn't take no for an answer.

He was tired after a long day but hanging out with his favourite band was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Resolved, he settled back into his seat as he watched the back-stage crew buzzing about.

Somehow, despite all the noise, he must have dozed off as when he came to, the members of Sion and the opening acts were all gathered around. Akihito sat up with a sleepy yawn, embarrassed at having been caught napping. Suoh gave him a kind smile though and no one said a word about it which made him feel better. It seemed as though everyone was just grabbing their things before moving onto their booked hotel rooms for a casual after-party. A few fans were flittering around, obviously intent on joining in the festivities and Akihito felt oddly like one of the belongings as Fei was suddenly in his space again, virtually dragging him behind him.

It was a whirlwind of taxi vans and alcohol appearing from nowhere. He found himself crammed in between the overexuberant Fei and the forebodingly silent Asami on the trip. The singer had such a nice voice, deep and rich, and Akihito desperately tried to think of something to say to engage the other man in conversation but each time he even looked at him, he found smouldering golden eyes staring at him with such dark intensity that he lost all words. Then Fei would drag him back into his conversation and he struggled to keep up.

Thankfully Kirishima saved him from their whirlwind of a manager by walking with him up to their hotel rooms discussing food of all things. It turned out he loved to cook just as much as Akihito did and it didn't take long for the nervous tension to drain from his body. The band had rented out the top two floors of the biggest hotel in the city. There were two penthouse suites both with two bedrooms and many smaller, single hotel rooms on the floor below. It was in the lounge of one of the penthouse suites that the after party took place.

Akihito wasn't sure what he expected but it wasn't for the casual, house party type atmosphere. He felt bad for assuming it would be some wild affair when everyone was so chill and at ease just talking with each other. He got each of the Sion members easily talking with him, all barring Asami, who had been brooding all night. It was nice to see how down to earth each of them were, although each extremely passionate about music in general. A few of the fans were desperately flirting and clearly trying to get into various musician's pants but other than seemingly enjoying the attention, no one made any move to leave the pockets of easy discussion.

He was just going to locate another drink when he found himself being pulled backwards by the belt loops in his jeans. Flailing, he let out a squeak as he fell backwards right into someone's lap. Craning his head around ready to issue an apology, Akihito was stopped short by familiar assessing golden eyes. He was sitting in Asami's lap in one of the plush chairs at the edge of the party.

They stared wordlessly at each other for long moments before a large hand trailed across Akihito's jaw. That was all the warning he had before lips were pressing against his own insistently as Asami drew him into a drugging kiss.

A/N: Yeap, Fei, and well everyone except Akihito, knows exactly what is going to happen.