AN: So this chapter marks 100,000 words for all my Finder fics! So roughly the equivalent of a 400 page novel! Obviously far less than some but I am feeling pretty proud of myself and I feel like I've really improved! :D

So this chapter was supposed to have been all Aki not 50/50 but then Asami completely out of the blue decided to talk about his feelings. And then promptly chickened out. I wrote literally the first two sentences and Asami was suddenly all like 'nope, changed my mind'. I had two sentences down for 7 hours before Asami decided to stop being a baby and get on with it and then I wrote the rest in one sitting haha.

Soft light streamed faintly through the curtains, bathing the room in a warm but muted glow. It must have still been early for it was barely enough light to pierce the darkness of night. Asami took a deep breath in. He could faintly smell Akihito's shampoo, a clean scent with the hint of apples. He reflexively tightened his grip around his lover's waist, pulling him closer against his chest. He felt him shift in his sleep before snuggling closer still and settling back down. It had been a week since Akihito had come to stay in the penthouse with him while the threat was looming large after Kikkawa's exposure and then subsequent arrest. Even so it had proven surprisingly difficult to effectively discourage such actions against the photographer. A more effective option would have been to out Akihito as Asami's soulmate but very few people had caught on to that knowledge yet and while it be useful for the short term, it would potentially put more Akihito in greater danger from far more resourceful sources. It was going to become common knowledge in the underworld that Asami Ryuichi finally had a weakness but hopefully they could delay it enough that Team Takaba, as they were referring to themselves, would be functioning as a proper team, one cohesive unit by the time anyone made a move against his little lover.

He reached up and ran a hand gently through the blond locks tickling his chin. He didn't deserve Akihito, not by any means, but he'd be damned if he let anything happen to his feisty little soulmate. How many weeks had it been? He felt like he had been constantly struggling to remain with his head above the water with the whirlwind of new emotions and experiences. He didn't show his emotions in his expressions very much but Akihito constantly threatened to strip him of that ability. He had laughed more, talked more and felt more in these few weeks than in the last ten years. He had felt it even more acutely with Akihito staying the week. He had come home to a warm greeting and a home cooked meal for the last few nights. He felt a strange squeezing feeling in his chest every time that bright smile and shy 'welcome home' greeted him. Akihito had turned out to be a surprisingly good cook although he shouldn't be too surprised as Nariko had mentioned it when they visited as the driving force behind getting them to live together. He had set the though aside at the time and didn't think too much on it even when Akihito had first stayed over but after this week Asami was desperately fumbling for excuses to get his lover to stay. He couldn't even pinpoint what about having him around was so great exactly. His little soulmate playing housewife was certainly endearing and surprisingly attractive but it was more than that. More even than the considerable amount of extra bedroom time they got. Not that that wasn't a driving factor, Akihito had turned out to be astonishingly open and willing in the bedroom and their tastes just happened to match up in the most delicious way as he had told Akihito. No, there was more to it but Asami put it down to him being his soulmate. His romantic soulmate at that.

He tried to think if he had ever felt that squeezing feeling, that tightening of the chest before. Had he ever felt like that with her? He wasn't sure. He had buried those memories so deep in the blackness of his heart behind the haze alcohol and drugs that he struggled to remember anything distinct. Honestly he didn't want to think on it now. Never again in truth. No; the only thing he remembered feeling was pain. A ripping, tearing feeling as though his heart was being torn from his body while it was still beating. He tried to push the thoughts away, it wasn't worth wading through that pain again just for this, he had drowned in it in the past but hadn't thought of her since meeting his little angel of a soulmate. Unbidden the memories rose to mind. Everything was indistinct now, the passage of time and forceful attempts at forgetting blurring everything out but that one moment. He could visualise that in as sharp relief as though it had only been yesterday.

He could hear the muted bang; the sharp sound of glass shattering.

He could see the spray of blood red splattering out, too much. There was too much.

He could feel the heat of the liquid splashing against him as he reached out in agonising slowness. His body felt like it was moving in slow motion.

He could hear the dull thud of the body hitting the ground with finality. The panicked yelling and the piercing screams played out hazily in the background.

He could see the pool of deep glassy red slowly spreading out around the black leather of his shoes.

He could feel the pain of his heart being torn into a hundred thousand pieces while it was still beating in his chest.

The nightmare that had haunted his waking moments for a number of years and terrorising his dreams for even longer.

"Asami?"

His arms had reflexively clutched Akihito, holding him so tightly that he must have woken him up. He willed his arms to loosen but found that he struggled to do so. He spent several seconds attempting to force himself to relax in vain before Akihito manage to extract himself. He sat up and looked down at Asami in concern. The worry deepened at whatever he saw in his face and then he was carefully pushing him down the bed a little. Surprised but not really in the right mindset to dwell on anything other than forcing himself to move, Asami obeyed Akihito's soft instructions. He found himself lying on his side slightly further down the bed than normal. Then Akihito was there, carefully sliding his arm under his head and wrapping his other arm around his shoulders, pulling him close so that he was lying with his head against his lovers bare chest. He moved a little, about to protest the treatment but Akihito tightened his hold.

"Don't." He could hear the embarrassment in his voice and the pounding of the heart against his ear. "You look like you had seen a ghost." That wasn't that inaccurate really. There was a short pause before Akihito spoke again. "Otousan went through a really rough patch with work a few years ago while I was still living at home and had some trouble with small panic attacks. Okaasan used to hold his head against her chest and get him to focus on her heartbeat to get him to calm down. 'Focus on my heartbeat,' she would say, 'remember that it beats for you and think only of that.'" Akihito cleared his throat in embarrassment before moving so that he could run his fingers through Asami's hair. The gentle motion was surprisingly soothing. "So just listen and go back to sleep okay?"

Asami took a deep breath, in then out and moved closer to the warmth of his lover's skin. He closed his eyes and shifted his focus to the pounding of Akihito's heart against his ear. Beating for him? That was weirdly comforting for one who put very little stock in feelings. But then this was his little soulmate. Mine. All mine. He smiled slightly into Akihito's chest and let himself be lulled back into a dreamless sleep void of dark and haunting memories.

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Akihito had slipped out of bed a few hours after Asami had originally woken him up, leaving the man sleeping peacefully in bed. He padded into the kitchen, grabbing the chequered apron and tying it in place before he set about making a nice breakfast for his soulmate. Clearly something had been wrong. He wondered if the man had had a nightmare. It sure seemed like it. His arms around him had tightened to the point that it had been starting to get painful and had woken him up. It had even taken a few goes at saying his name to get a reaction and Akihito had felt a strange twisting in his chest. When he had finally spoken loud enough to wrench the man back to earth, he had seemed to struggle to regain control over his limbs. Akihito frowned. He hadn't liked the expression on his face. He was a man who rarely showed his emotions yet he had stared back at Akihito with his golden eyes wide and face drained white. It was such a stark contrast to the usual confident smirk that Akihito had been left floundering for a few seconds. Asami had seemed too out of it to notice though and so he had done the only thing he could think of. He groaned in embarrassment, cheeks heating up as he thought of his almost confession.

"…Remember that it beats for you and think only of that."

First he had been happily playing housewife for a week and now he was coming up with cheesy confessions and effectively saying that his heart was beating for Asami. He paused mid stir of the pot and realised he was doing it again by cooking him breakfast. He could feel the blush intensifying. But considering what had happened, it would be nice for the man to wake up to a home cooked breakfast. He still really needed to get back to his own place and have some space before he did something even worse though. He had the new key to his apartment now that the door and the lock had been replaced after Asami shooting it. He had asked why Asami had shot out the lock when he had a key and he could have sworn the man had seemed almost embarrassed. He never found out what the thought process was so he could only assume there wasn't one. Asami probably only remembered later on when he was getting it all replaced. And now that it had been a week, Akihito's right hand had almost healed from the gash he had got on his last stakeout. He had been surprised that after their round of 'punishment', Asami had taken great care to clean and re-wrap up the wound and had done so each night before they went to sleep. Well, he supposed they were looking after each other in their own way.

He felt two arms wind around his waist and a warmth press up against his back. He leaned back into the embrace with a contented sigh.

"How are you feeling?"

He felt Asami stiffen at that before he slowly relaxed again. "I'm fine." Came the short reply. Akihito frowned and turned to face his lover but any more questions were cut off by lips pressing insistently against his own. Clearly the man didn't want to talk about it. Akihito let himself be swept away a little before pulling back to check on breakfast. Asami didn't seem too keen on going anywhere and stayed with his cheek pressed against the top of his head and arms wrapped firmly around his waist. Akihito didn't believe that Asami was fine, not at all. His soulmate could be surprisingly touchy-feely but he wasn't needy or cuddly like this usually. Akihito felt a little hurt that the older man was undoubtedly lying and refusing to talk to him about it. While it had obviously shaken him up, Asami seemed determined to ignore what had happened so Akihito would let it be for now. Everyone got nightmares occasionally but it had felt more than that somehow. He filed that thought away for later and managed to extract himself so that he could plate up their food.

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Akihito pushed open the door to their favourite little café for their weekly friend catch up. It was early Sunday afternoon so it was a little busier than when he usually catches up with Takato and Kou but they had had to postpone in wake of Akihito's threatened person and the need to lie low for a bit. Asami had deemed it safe enough yesterday for him to start going about his business as normal as long as he kept himself away from any big underworld scoops for now. Akihito wasn't stupid, he wasn't about to put himself in a situation like that while his name was being bandied around for his role in putting Kikkawa away. He could have done without the guards trailing around after him though. He still wasn't used to it and was wondering how long he would have before it was safe enough to start losing them again. He spotted his friends chatting at a small table near the window and made his way over.

"Aki!"

"Hey guys."

"Good to see you alive and kicking! We were worried after that message you sent!" Kou was grinning like an idiot and bouncing up and down in his seat. A waitress wandered over and took Akihito's order for a milkshake and some cake, both of his friends already had their orders in front of them.

"We've seen the bust all over the news too. Everyone's going crazy! He was such a well-regarded politician and now to see those awful photos everywhere!" Takato shuddered. "He got put away for drug, weapon and human trafficking along with suspected murder. It's no wonder he had it out for you! Is it even safe for you to be out?"

"Ah, it's fine. Asami forced some guards on me and I stayed with him for the week while he had his men on it." The waitress came back and placed his order down and Akihito thanked her before pulling his milkshake closer to him to take a slurp. "He said it was safe enough as long as I don't ditch the guards." He rolled he eyes.

"Ah, that's good then." Takato breathed a sigh of relief. "I get that you're a total adrenalin junkie but you've gotta be careful!"

"So Aki-chan," Kou interrupted, leaning forward with his elbow on the table and chin resting on the palm of his hand. "How's Asami in bed?"

Akihito, mid slurp, choked on his drink and Takato wacked Kou over the back of the head.

"Ow!" Kou yelped and pouted at his soulmate while he rubbed his head.

"Don't be mean to your best friend."

"I thought you were my best friend?"

"I'm your soulmate, that's different. I'm stuck with you regardless but Aki chooses to hang out with you so he's your best friend. Mine too, so don't be mean!"

"I wasn't being mean!" Kou whined.

"You waited until he was drinking just to get a reaction." They both glanced over at Akihito who was bright red in the face and still trying to get his coughing under control. "And you don't need to know about stuff like that, it's private."

"I didn't expect him to answer me, although that reaction is enough of a confirmation." Kou grinned and Takato gave a rueful sigh.

"Yes well. You know they had plenty of time to do it before he stayed over for a week right?"

"Yeah but now I know for sure. I mean, you can't tell me you would stay for a week with your hot romantic soulmate and not tap that?" Kou said incredulously.

Takato laughed. "Okay, enough of that or poor Aki will die of embarrassment. You keep being mean and he'll stop talking to you."

Akihito was finally able to breathe again and took the opportunity to glare at Kou but its effectiveness was undermined by his bright red face.

"Sorry Aki-chan," Kou didn't look sorry at all. "But I just wanna make sure he's treating you right you know? Just because he's your soulmate doesn't mean abuse doesn't happen and we haven't met the guy yet. I figured it couldn't be too bad if you get that embarrassed, you wouldn't react like that if he hurt you." Both Akihito and Takato stared at Kou in surprise.

"For being the dumb blond in our friendship, sometimes you can be surprisingly deep." Takato turned to look at Akihito while Kou protested the insult. "He's right though, you're our friend and teasing aside, we want to make sure you're okay."

"Thanks guys but its fine. Asami wouldn't hurt me…" He paused while he thought of his 'punishment' and Asami's hand stinging across his backside and flushed. "He wouldn't hurt me like that." He amended and Takato's eyebrows shot up while Kou laughed out loud.

"Oooh, Aki-chan's into things like that huh? Kinky!" This time Kou ducked the hand that darted out to wack him again.

"No but seriously guys, he wouldn't. Although…" Both of his friends were suddenly serious and gave over their full attention. "He wouldn't intentionally. Something was wrong this morning and he lied and told me he was fine. That hurt a little but it's not like what you guys are thinking. I just don't know why he brushed it off when clearly something was wrong. It was like he had a nightmare but I felt like it was more than that. I don't know how I knew but when I looked at him and saw him all wide eyed and pale I felt pain in my chest like… Like something was twisting." Akihito frowned.

"Oh, your soulmate sense was tingling."

Akihito blinked at Kou. "What?"

"It's like spidey sense but for soulmates."

Takato rolled his eyes before explaining; "It's similar to the Pull. If you ever feel like that, don't ignore it. I've only ever felt it a few times. When Kou's mother died, when he was in that car accident, things like that. Trust that sense, it's never wrong. I don't like that he lied to you about being okay but you've only known each other for a few weeks and whatever that was must have been pretty serious. Just keep it in mind."

Akihito nodded and sighed. He wasn't going to let it slide. No, he was going to figure it out. It was his soulmate after all. He would find out everything about the mysterious man sooner or later.