Day 12

Takaba woke that Friday morning with the lingering thoughts of what had transpired the evening before. Everything Asami had done was vivid in his mind, still fresh as if it had just happened. He could still feel Asami's soft lips and smooth hands on his body. But those thoughts soon vanished when he tried to move and pain shot through his lower back.

Shit, that hurts! Fucking bastard pounded my ass! Well, Asami would not get away with it. Takaba had a plan today and though it would anger the older man, Takaba would show him that he could not mess with the young photographer and get away with it.

He showered and changed his own bandage, cause he certainly wasn't going to let Asami do it again, and left his room with his laundry basket.

When he saw Suoh standing in the hall, he snarled, "I'm going to do laundry. Do I have to have an audience to do that?"

Suoh raised a brow but otherwise remained expressionless and motionless as Takaba proceeded to head downstairs to the back of the house where the washer and dryer were.

Suoh shook his head, the kid will never learn.

Once in the small room at the back of the house, Takaba removed the towels covering his camera bag and coat. Retrieving them and putting the coat on, Takaba snuck out the back door and to his bike. It was getting colder and soon the snow would start. Then he was going to need something else to drive, or someone to drive him. Until then, however, he would use his bike as his get away vehicle.

Suoh did not realize that Takaba had gone until he heard the bike leaving the driveway. He ran to the front door just in time to see the bike and its occupant vanish out of sight.

"Danm it!" Suoh growled.

"Something wrong, Suoh," Asami said with amusement in his voice.

"Sorry boss, he tricked me and got away again."

Asami shrugged, "Check the tracker."

Unlike last time, Takaba had his phone with him. Asami concluded that this was not an attempt to really ditch them but a statement loud and clear; I do not need a babysitter.

"Just keep an eye on where he goes. If he ends up somewhere that seems suspicious, let me know." Asami ordered.

He didn't though, Takaba just did some errands and came home in time to get ready for his wedding rehearsal job that night. When he came in the house, he was grinning from ear to ear.

"Have a nice day?" He asked Asami and Suoh who were both seated in the dining room.

Asami's eyes lit up in amusement at the young man who appeared to be proud of himself for his little stunt earlier that day.

Neither man showed any evidence of being bothered by the young man's little game. But Takaba was too happy with himself to have his mood brought down so he sauntered up to his room to get ready for his job.

When he came back down an hour later, both men were still together in the dining room. He stared at them expectantly.

"So….I gotta go." Takaba said, expecting the two men to get up so they could go with him.

"So go." Asami stated.

"What? You aren't going with me?"

"No. We have some work to do. I'll see you when you get home." Asami said.

Takaba shrugged, maybe they were finally getting the drift that he didn't need them around. "Fine, bye."

But after the rehearsal dinner it was only ten o'clock and Kou had texted him twice about meeting him and Takato for drinks at the Paradise Bar so Takaba gathered his camera bag and headed that way.

He snickered to himself, Asami will be so pissed that I didn't come straight home. Good! The sick bastard deserves it!

"Aki!" Kou shouted when Takaba entered the bar and was walking to their table.

"Hey," Takato nodded.

"Hey guys," Takaba smiled and took a seat while Kou ordered him a drink.

"So dude, how is it going with the new security?" Kou asked.

"Great! Do you see them here?" He responded.

"Dude, you are seriously gonna get in trouble one of these days." Kou laughed.

It had become a game to thwart his security over the past couple of years and the three friends often laughed at the various methods Takaba used to dupe them.

Takaba had only drunk a few beers when the door to the bar flew open and a large man filled the entire doorway with his presence. Suoh! He quickly spotted the young man and moved aside so Asami could enter.

Shit, Takaba thought to himself. Am I in trouble? He wasn't so worried about Suoh as he was Asami. That man had very unorthodox ways of handling situations and Takaba wanted no part of it. His ass still hurt from yesterday.

Neither man showed any sign of emotion, poker faces firmly intact. They stood near the door and minded their own business, not even looking in Takaba's direction.

Takaba thought he had lucked out when he didn't see Asami that morning. Avoiding the older man also helped him to avoid thinking about the things they had done, the sinful but pleasurable things they had done.

What the hell? The bastard didn't give me a choice. Takaba purposefully ignored the fact that his protests died off the more his body responded to Asami's ministrations.

"Hey dude, we are going back to my place," Kou told him.

"Kou has a new game he thinks he can beat us at," Takato offered.

"Let's go then." Takaba replied.

As they walked past Suoh and Asami, Takaba said, "I'm staying at Kou's apartment tonight. Don't wait up."

When they all arrived at the apartment building, Takaba went up to the SUV where Asami had rolled down the window.

"See you later. Have a nice night," the young man smiled and spun on his heel.

Day 11

Takaba did not return home until after the wedding the next night. It just so happened that he had some clothes at Kou's from the last time he stayed there so he didn't need to go home for anything. He already had his camera bag from the rehearsal dinner the night before.

Suoh and Akira were discussing something Takaba could not hear when he entered the house. They glanced at him and then returned to their conversation. Asami was nowhere in sight.

Takaba made his way to his room and noticed Asami's door was closed. He glanced around to make sure the other men hadn't followed him and then leaned his ear to the door to listen.

"I will see you tomorrow evening at the hotel. I made reservations at Pandora's for two at eight o'clock." Asami stated.

He must be talking on his phone, but to whom, reservations for two? Is he dating someone? If he is, they do not have a clue about what he is really like.

Takaba went to his room and laid on the bed. He just could not get those words out of his head. Curiosity was all it was, nothing more. It's not like he was jealous or anything. He did wonder what type of girl Asami went for, if it was in fact a girl.

Takaba would have to come up with a plan to ditch Suoh so he could follow Asami and see whom the older man was meeting. That was one thing Takaba loved about his job, well some of them, the thrill of the chase and the rush of capturing a story.

Asami made the arrangements reluctantly. The last thing he wanted to do was have dinner with Misha. The woman had been trying for a very long time to catch Asami. She had all but said it directly, that she wanted to marry him but he always blew her off just enough to keep her hanging. Because she was hand picked by his mother, he had to comply. That was the problem with a Japanese mother who stuck to tradition. Even from the other side of the world, that woman controlled his life. And Takaba thought he had it tough.

Day 10

Takaba got up early and went straight to his darkroom that his father had put in for him when he had first talked about getting his own place.

When he came out that afternoon, Asami was standing in the hall, "So, Suoh said you have been changing your bandage on your own."

"Yeah, so? I am not a kid. I can change a bandage." Takaba hissed.

Asami smirked, "Do as you like." He said casually and turned to leave.

"Where are you going?"

"I have an….appointment tonight." Asami said and kept walking without even turning around.

An appointment my ass, we'll just see who it is you are meeting tonight.

Takaba called Kou, "I need your help. I am coming over and I will leave my phone with you but you have to stay home so they think I am still at your place. Then I am going to leave out the fire escape and go on a job," he told his friend.

Kou laughed, "Dude, anything you need. But if anything goes wrong, don't blame me. I've seen that gorilla guy and I am not gonna mess with him."

"Make yourself comfortable. I will be here a while," Takaba said to Suoh as they pulled up to the apartment building. Suoh had driven him without question when Takaba had asked. Since it was getting cold, it was the perfect excuse.

Takaba went into the building and up to Kou's apartment. It was seven thirty so he had just enough time to get to the hotel from where Kou lived.

A few blocks from Kou's, Takaba laughed when he saw the waiting SUV. It worked! Suoh will have no clue that Takaba was not actually at the apartment any longer. He took the metro to the nearest stop by the hotel.

The Olympia hotel was a very prestigious place and Takaba suddenly felt very underdressed. He was in his usual jeans and thermal with a t-shirt over it and his tennis shoes. All the other men entering Pandora's were dressed in suits and the women in cocktail dresses.

Luckily, the host had a disgruntled customer to deal with and left his podium for a moment. That gave Takaba just enough time to slip inside and hide out behind a huge potted plant near the restrooms. He had full view of the dining area and just to his left, Asami and a woman.

For the next hour he watched the gorgeous man dining with the strange woman. The older man's expression was relaxed, less intense than when he was around Takaba. At one point he even laughed. Wow, he is even more beautiful when he smiles. Takaba shook his head to clear it, no, no, no, no, no!

The woman had long black hair and she was Japanese. She was not any taller than Takaba but she was a woman, the one thing that Takaba could never be. Not that it mattered since he didn't like the older man anyway.

When she rose to go to the restroom, Takaba saw that she wore a short black cocktail dress and tall heels. She was pretty when he got a good look at her face as she passed him. He drew his gaze from their table and pretended to be cleaning the potted plant when she passed him. She was definitely pretty.

During the dinner, Asami occasionally took hold of her hand while they talked and she laughed. A couple of times Asami had made her blush. She would look at Asami through her lashes, bashfully. What a flirt, Takaba huffed.

After dinner, the couple finished their second bottle of wine and headed out of the restaurant. Takaba walked out smiling at the host who had a perplexed look on his face. In the lobby, he sat in a large chair and grabbed a magazine to hide his face and watched as the couple was handed a room card from the man at the front desk.

No way! You did not just pay for a room. Takaba suddenly felt his whole body trembling with rage. They couldn't be going to a room to….to….

Takaba made it back to Kou's to get his phone.

"So, how did it go?" Kou asked.

"Great," Takaba said sarcastically.

Then he took his phone and flopped on Kou's couch. Why should he feel bad? It's not like Asami and he even got along so it should not matter who the older man slept with, but for some reason, it hurt, just a little.

Happy New Year to all my readers. Thanks for reading and reviewing. Love to all this festive season!