Ueda stretched. Or at least tried to. He winced as the dull ache sharpened through his body as he moved. His right hand and wrist were completely encased in a cast and his shoulder was braced as well as possible to stop him from tearing open the bullet wound. The rest of his body ached as though he had been hit by a car, although the force of him hitting the ground wasn't too far off being the same. He had to admit though, he was grateful for the Sion sponsored hospital treatment. Private ward and a room shared just with him and the other two injured guards. On top of that, he had a bed that was actually comfortable and regular food that was pretty decent. He had a relatively constant stream of visitors as well, his mother with different siblings accompanying her each time and all the security team members had dropped in to say hello and keep them all company at different times.

He was a little surprised when a nurse came in and started setting up the unmade forth bed after he had been there for a few days. He assumed it was another Sion employee but as far as he had heard, no one else was injured. Ueda actually laughed when he saw who was wheeled through the door though. Takaba was almost bouncing in the wheelchair he was sitting in and he flashed Ueda a grin and a wave as they entered the room. Asami was the one pushing the chair looking somewhat resigned and he was trailed buy an amused looking Kirishima and Suoh.

"Hi guys!" There was a small chorus of greetings and Ueda traded a small smile with Teiji who was on the other side of the room. "I hope you don't mind me joining you guys," Takaba gave a little embarrassed laugh. "But I was bored all by myself."

"I think it'll be far more lively around here now." Takaba turned his grin to Ueda and Asami wheeled his soulmate to the bed opposite him. He glanced to the bed beside him and noticed Fujioka was also sporting a small smile. It was like Takaba's enthusiasm was infectious. He took note of the leg brace and arm cast that the young man was sporting but even with those his exuberance could not seem to be dimmed. They approached the bed and Ueda watched curiously as Asami moved as though to pick Takaba up but was stopped in his tracks by a stubborn glare. Amusement filled him as he watched the silent battle of wills with Takaba's expression becoming more mulish by the second. Asami seemed to take a small breath and backed off, something Ueda never though he would see, and Takaba attempted to manoeuvre himself from the wheelchair onto the bed with no help. Ueda could see the muscles straining in Asami's body as though it was taking a great deal of will power to not step in. He suddenly snapped forward when Takaba nearly slipped, scooping him up in his arms and placing him on the bed. The blonde squawked indignantly at the manhandling but settled on the bed with a small pout. The wheelchair was put in the corner and the three men sat around the bed.

Ueda watched as Takaba settled in, organising things on his little table and wiggling around to re-arrange his blankets to his liking. He kept looking over to Teiji's bedside in curiosity at the man sitting quietly talking with the injured guard. Teiji must have said something because he swung around to grin and wave at Takaba, catching him looking.

"Nice to finally meet you in person, Takaba-sama."

He could almost see the gears turning in the young man's head as he tried to work out how he knew him. Suddenly he seemed to light up in excitement.

"Nakahara!"

The man in question chuckled. "That's me. I'm not really cut out for normal guarding," he gestured at his skinny frame and thick rimmed glasses, "So we haven't met before in person but I'm the Sion Control Tower Specialist. I do all the co-ordinating with all the security teams from Sion. You'll have to come in and see the control room one day, Takaba-sama."

They went back and forward about Sion and computer technology for a while so Ueda let his eyes fall shut and drifted off. The quiet talking of the men across the room and the distant noises from around the ward helped to lull him into a drifting sleep.

When he awoke, Kirishima, Suoh and Nakahara were all gone and Asami was lying propped up on the hospital bed with Takaba in his arms. Takaba seemed to be watching a movie on a tablet braced by a case on the table that extended across the bed, he had headphones in and his eyes were riveted on the screen. He was lying with his back pressed against the older man's chest and seemed completely relaxed. Asami himself actually appeared to be asleep, arms wrapped around his soulmates waist and eyes closed.

It was cute to see such a tender and soft side of both of them. His musing was interrupted when a short woman came bustling into the room with a picnic basket in hand. Takaba glanced up and his eyes sparkled in delight upon seeing her. He pulled out his headphones and grinned at the blond woman who had just sat her basket down on one of the spare visitor chairs.

"Akihito! I'm glad to see you looking so perky considering what happened!"

"Hi Anita!" The woman leaned over the bed and gave Takaba as much of a hug as possible considering Asami didn't seem keen on letting him move. Both golden eyes were open but he stayed where he was, sitting up with his soulmate in his arms. The woman then leaned over and attempted to give him a hug too.

"And how cute is this, Ryuichi! All cuddled up together." She gave them both a broad grin and Ueda swore he saw Asami roll his eyes.

"Hello Anita."

"Is that how you greet an old friend, hmm?" She sat down on the chair beside her basket. "Honestly. You haven't been over to visit for a drink and a chat in ages. I was giving you time to settle down with your little soulmate having all your attention but I swear with the way he is capturing your attention, if he wasn't your soulmate, he would be your mid-life crisis."

"I'm not that old." Asami huffed out and Takaba looked torn between finding that funny or embarrassing.

"If I didn't know any better, I would dispute that. But it's not about age, it's about life experience. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, hell, I would be behind this relationship all the way soulmate status or not if it means you actually relax and we get to see that you're a human with feelings. Honestly, I could do with a cute little midlife crisis myself." She gave a self-depreciating laugh. "I swear I may as well be married to my restaurant. But you need to come for drinks after closing and we can catch up. Kei still comes regularly and you can bring your little cutie with you. I'll even whip you up my signature desert, Akihito."

That was apparently enough for Takaba to decide that he found the whole thing funny rather than embarrassing and he grinned. He turned to look up at Asami, "We have to go!"

Anita laughed and Asami sighed. "I suppose. I'm surprised you have time to stop by."

"My staff were happy to boot me out of my own establishment for a few hours. They claim I work too much. This is why I think I need my own little crisis."

"I'm sure it wouldn't be that hard to find." Asami's reply was dry.

"I told you, I may as well be married to my restaurant, I don't have the will or inclination to go around chasing anyone and I'm a bit too practical to let myself be chased like that. You'll just have to listen to me complain instead. I wouldn't complain so much if I didn't see how cute you two are together though." Takaba did finally blush at that and tried to wriggle out of Asami's grip but Ueda could see the muscles bunching in the man's arms as he tightened his grip and Takaba quickly gave up. "Please don't move on my account," she laughed, "But I did bring you something you might like."

The woman, Anita, opened up the picnic basket and pulled out a small box. She placed it on the table beside the tablet and pulled out a few more, smaller containers to place beside it. Takaba was eyeing them all with interest. "Is that-?"

"Homemade bento, made by yours truly. Not every day you get brought lunch by a qualified chef. I was informed that you weren't too fond of hospital food."

Takaba eagerly reached out his good hand to try and open the lids but had to accept help from both Asami and Anita. He actually cheered in excitement at the contents of the bento and was spouting his thanks even as he was reaching for the offered chopsticks. Takaba looked almost as though he was going to cry in happiness as he shovelled the food into his mouth.

"Kei?" Asami said in askance.

"Yes, he told me there might be a very appreciate recipient of my cooking that was currently stuck in hospital. He also told me that there would be a few others here that might appreciate some as well."

With that she stood, grabbing her picnic basket with a smile and dropped off similar bento boxes to both Teiji and Fujioka. She approached Ueda's bed and set the containers down on his little table. The woman set to helping him take off the lids after noticing his cast. He thanked her quietly and reached out for the offered chopsticks with his left hand but fumbled clumsily. He had been struggling the last few days and he vowed to practice eating with his left hand in future in case something ever happened again, it was frustrating to feel so incompetent. Anita reached out catch them as well but instead caught hold of his hand leaving the chop sticks to fall to the bed unnoticed.

Ueda could only stare in shock as his chest constricted and a glowing, pulsing light flashed out from their chests. He was dimly aware of a gasp from somewhere else in the room but his eyes were locked on her bright green ones. They both remained motionless, just staring, until the loud blaring of a ringtone shattered the silence with such suddenness that Anita actually jumped.

"Sorry, that's my staff ringtone, I need to take this. I'll be right back." Anita grabbed her phone out of her bag and quickly strode out the doors. Ueda stared after her in shock. The last thing he expected from a stay in the hospital was finding his soulmate. An excited congratulations pulled him from his stupor and turned to look over at Takaba and Asami blankly.

Takaba was smiling at him genuinely and gave him a big thumbs up. Even Asami himself had a small smile.

"Congratulations. I must say, I'm pleased that Anita has finally found someone. She's a tough woman but she's been through a lot over the years. It's good that she's found someone worthy of standing beside her."

Ueda's eyes widened at the insinuation, it was not every day you got such a high compliment from the man. "Thank you." Asami gave him a slight nod in acknowledgement before turning his attention back to his little soulmate who was once again happily munching away. He could hear snippets of Anita's voice outside and wondered just what he was supposed to be feeling right now. It was such a jumble of emotions, he couldn't make head nor tails of it himself.

A few minutes later Anita slipped back in and sat down at Ueda's bedside and they started their introductions. They quickly fell into an easy conversation and Anita helped him slowly work through her exquisitely crafted bento. He learned about her husband's death so soon into their marriage in defence of Asami and her massively successful restaurant that she owned and ran. It turned out that she was a qualified chef along with a business degree and could literally step into any station in her restaurant to help out if required and frequently did. Her passion and dedication to her business seemed to rival even his feelings towards his security job. They lulled into silence after a while and they both found themselves quietly observing the bed across from them. Asami seemed to be attempting to feed Takaba, although Takaba seemed to be making the endeavour rather difficult. Anita gave a small giggle and he looked at her questioningly.

"I like seeing them together like this," She spoke quietly as though to not disturb their peace, "For a long time the real Ryuichi has been hidden behind an impassive mask, closed off to the world. For all his stubbornness, he is a dear friend to me and it's nice to see him smiling. For him, that tiny little smile may as well be a big grin. I truly can't express how happy I am that he has found his match and that Akihito has been able to get him to open up and be more human again."

"It is interesting seeing them like this," Ueda admitted slowly, still watching the pair bantering over the food. "I normally see them both individually and not really together. If they are together, it's normally fully in public and they are more restrained. Although I guess after that near miss, it's not surprising that neither of them want to hold back. Considering the amount of time and money he puts into Takaba-sama's security force, you can easily tell that he doesn't want to lose him. It's just not until you see them interact that you realise the extent of their bond. I've never seen Asami-sama with a smile unless it's to do with Takaba-sama, he's always impassive. Gaze as cold and hard as granite. Although I remember Takaba-sama mentioning once that Asami-sama doesn't wear his 'mask' around him. Seeing them like this… It makes them both seem far more human. More real and far more vulnerable." He paused, searching for the right words. "It makes me want to protect them even more." He admitted, turning to look at Anita who was now smiling softly at him.

"I'm glad. I understand what you do, how you put your life on the life. I don't expect you to change. I already lost my heart once but for Ryuichi, I would lose it again. Don't be stupid, there's no excuse for being slack or taking unnecessary risks but please. Please protect them. Ryuichi has been through more than most people could even imagine. Kei does not think Ryuichi would survive Akihito if anything happened to him and honestly, I'm inclined to agree with him. So we'll both have to look after them, okay?"

"Of course. Sion is my family too and I'll protect my family until my last breath."

Anita smiled at him. "Good. In the meantime, you get the honour of becoming my midlife crisis."

Ueda blinked at her in surprise. "What-?"

She reached over with a lascivious grin and squeezed his left bicep. "Oh yes, I think you'll do perfectly."

.

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A/N: More Soulmates! This is my last planned soulmate pair. Btw, Anita is actually younger than Asami (although older than Ueda), just in case anyone was wondering. I just love the idea of this strong woman with strong ties to both Asami and Kirishima getting one of the guards as her partner. Like, she understands why he pulls all those long crazy hours and puts his life on the line and conversely, he understands her obsession with her business and the crazy hours she works. ^^