Akihito sighed as he entered the penthouse. Four days. It had been four days since his soulmate left on a business trip and already he missed him. He felt rather pathetic, it was only four days, but here he was. Stupid jerk of a man yet he still missed his constant presence. Stripping off his clothing, Akihito jumped in the shower and let the warm water wash away the days grime. It made him feel a little better but not completely. After drying off, he slipped into some fresh underwear and pulled out the large dark blue hoodie that he had been forcing Asami to wear before he left. It was the first time he had touched it since Asami had handed it back the morning he left.

The hoodie nearly fell to his knees when he put it on and his arms were too short for the sleeves. But it was comfortable as hell; warm and soft. Most importantly, it still smelt like his soulmate. Akihito couldn't put a finger on the individual smells that made up his lovers scent, although he could guess cigarettes, alcohol, and cologne would make up a lot of it. But it was the same scent that lingered on their sheets, the same one when he buried his face in Asami's shirt.

Could a scent ever be described as home?

Feeling down, Akihito grabbed a large box from his stash of pocky and curled up on the couch. He pulled his legs under sweatshirt and hugged his knees while he put his favourite anime on TV. There was some comfort to be had in combining a number of his favourite things together. It wasn't a replacement for what he was missing but it was something. He lay down and settled in for a quiet evening on the couch.

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His phone had been ringing incessantly and Akihito grumbled as he finally picked up. He just wanted another quiet evening on the couch.

"Yes?" he answered irritably.

"So cold, Aki-chan!" his friend Kou said with a laugh. "You've been holed up for how many days now?"

Akihito grumbled but didn't specifically answer. It was now day seven of Asami being away on his business trip and he hadn't left the penthouse in twenty four hours. He didn't have work today and didn't feel like going out and plastering a fake smile on with his friends.

"We are going ice skating tomorrow and you are coming!" Kou's tone didn't leave any room for argument. "I know it's hard not seeing your soulmate so let us distract you a bit. I know you like skating and you're better than us so you have to help us! It's really popular at the moment because of that TV show and a few of the guys are hoping they can impress some girls with their awesome skills." They both chuckled at that.

Akihito found after all his parkour experience that he could naturally keep his balance better than most of his friends. Usually he would skate circles around them and help them up when they inevitably fell over. Akihito looked up as Ueda entered the room and inclined his head in greeting. He eyed the guard as he continued talking to his friend.

"I guess I can come skating…" he agreed reluctantly.

"Aki, you are coming even if I have to drag you myself," Kou declared firmly before continuing on in a softer tone, "And I also want you to meet Teika."

"Ah, your cute barrister?" Akihito could almost hear the blush at his words and relished in the fact that it wasn't him getting all embarrassed this time. He could almost understand why Asami took such fun in making him blush.

"Yes, him. And!" Kou changed the subject quickly, clearly not used to be on the teasing end for once, "Yoshida's girl is coming so you need to meet her too. It'll be fun. No more moping around the house."

"I'm not moping." Akihito pouted as Ueda raised a disbelieving eyebrow at him from where he waited on one of the lounge chairs.

"Uh-huh. Right. You are coming and I don't care if you have to bring your entire guard team but you aren't getting out of it! Although if you decide to bring the limo let me know, we can all arrive together that way."

"Nope," Akihito shot down Kou's hopeful idea. "No way. Way too conspicuous. Everyone stares and gets all judge-y. It's annoying. Send me the details and I'll meet you at the rink tomorrow."

"Okay! And Aki," Kou said in an unusually serious tone, "If you miss him, call him. I bet you haven't. Don't be so stubborn, you feel better if you talk to him."

Akihito mumbled something dismissive in reply and disconnected the call after saying his goodbyes. He hadn't talked with Asami since he left and they had only exchanged a few brief messages. He knew his soulmate hadn't called purely because of how Akihito dodged half of his messages. Just like he knew that if he did call, Asami would pick up. Even if it was just to arrange another time to talk. Somehow the knowledge that he would pick up made him more reluctant to call. Akihito didn't understand why he was so apprehensive but what would they even talk about? Wouldn't it just make him miss the man's presence even more?

"Takaba-sama," Ueda's tone was soft but it still made Akihito jump in surprise. How used to being constantly accompanied was he that he had completely forgotten about the other man? "Do you have plans for tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Akihito nodded as he set his phone down. He had just been absently staring at it since he hung up from his friend. "They are dragging me out to go ice skating tomorrow."

"Good. Let me know the details and I'll switch the guards around. Kamiya can go with you, he's been bragging about showing off his skills recently. He used to skate apparently but it's suddenly very popular because of that TV show right? Maybe he can teach you and your friends some tricks and finally pay you back for all those cooking lessons." Akihito cracked a smile at that. He was sure his friends would like that. "But tonight, you are coming out for dinner. Get dressed and met me at the door."

"Eh?" Akihito gaped at the other man as he stood.

"I know you don't have any plans for dinner or you would have started cooking by now, and cup ramen doesn't count," he overrode Akihito's attempts to deny the truth. "My mother is one of those people that somehow always ends up becoming the neighbourhood kid's mother as well so there are always lots of people around for dinner. There's always room for one more. Anita is bringing desert as well."

He shooed Akihito off to get changed before heading back to the penthouse entranceway. He didn't particularly want to remove the giant hoodie but there was no way he was wearing it out of the penthouse least something happens to it. It was starting to smell more like Akihito than Asami by now anyway. He wasn't keen on having to socialise with people he didn't know but he remembered Anita's cooking and the prospect of her desert was enough that he decided to go without complaining.

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It turned out that the entire Team Takaba had been invited to dinner. It was the first time that Akihito herd his security force being called that and the first time everyone all gathered together at once with him. Apparently the gathering had been a few days in the works and even had Asami's approval. Some of the guards were already at Ueda's family home while the others were travelling in with them. They made a rather impressive convoy with three sleek cars and two motorbikes cruising together through the suburbs.

Akihito sat in the back seat of the middle car and just listened as his guards talked over their radio channel with high spirits. He wasn't feeling the same enthusiasm but he did feel a little better. The feeling was infectious enough that even his low mood couldn't escape completely. They idled at some traffic lights and he stared out the window at people on the side walk. Frowning, he tried to make out what was going on in the dim light of sunset as they just started to take off again.

"Wait, stop the car!" Akihito cried out and opened the door even as they were still moving. He ignored the yell of the two guards in the car with him and leapt out before the car had fully pulled to a stop. He dashed over to the group of people he had been observing on the sidewalk and the different angle gave away exactly what was happening.

"Leave her alone!" he yelled as he barrelled into the group. A young woman was cowering on the ground with her purse clutched to her chest while four men surrounded her. Close enough to see her properly now, Akihito felt rage boil up at her tear streaked face. A large red mark on her cheek showed where she had been struck just as they were passing by. Akihito didn't care what was going on but he wasn't about to leave someone in need while he passed by.

"Oh, what do we have here? A good Samaritan? Shame he's so scrawny, won't even be much fun." The thug's voice was thick and he slurred his words slightly. Akihito turned around to face the attacks with the woman safe at his back. "That's a nice coat you have kid, maybe your wallet will be a better find than that whores."

"Back off," was all Akihito had a chance to say before two of his guards caught up. Teiji, who had been in the car with him and Ueda, and Oshiro who had been following behind on one of the motorbikes.

"Is there a problem here, gentleman?" Teiji said mildly as he cracked his knuckles. Oshiro grinned as he removed his helmet and stepped up behind the other man.

"No problem that concerns you lot. We're just out having a nice night, right?" The apparent thug leader asked his companions and they nodded looking nervous as more guards approached. The second motorbike pulled up to idle at the curb next to Oshiro's bike and one of the cars swung around to block any exit into traffic.

Satisfied that they would take care of the thugs, Akihito turned to help the young woman to her feet, "Are you all right?"

She nodded but her wide eyes remained fixed on the men behind him. He held out his hand and she finally turned her attention to him. Accepting the hand, she allowed Akihito to pull her to her feet. There was a yell followed by a sickening thud and he turned back to find one of the attackers on the ground with a satisfied Teiji looming over him.

Akihito was just about to see if the woman needed an escort home when more men came out from a nearby alley. He noticed the assortment of weapons in hand and swore under his breath. There was more than one baseball bat, metal bar, and knife in obvious view.

"Nice rides you have here," a young man wielding a baseball bat sneered. "Don't mind if we do. You'll hand over your cash too, if you know what's good for you." He seemed to be the leader as the other men snickered on cue, brandishing their weapons. They all seemed a little taken back when no one moved but the leader just grinned and stepped forward. "Time for some fun, boys!"

The woman whimpered behind him and Akihito turned to give her a reassuring smile, "It's okay, just stay behind me, okay?"

It's been a while since he was last in a fight but it was far from the first time he had gotten into trouble. Five of the seven guards that were accompanying Akihito to Ueda's had moved forward and were looking grimly determined while two stayed back to protect the vehicles. Interestingly, none of them had gotten their guns out and it seemed like they were going to fight with their fists instead. He was worried until he noticed Ueda talking into his earpiece, no doubt checking in with the other team members.

As it turns out, Akihito had no reason to get worried. Two to one odds seemed alarming until he was reminded just how good his team was. They thugs were knocked to the ground with overwhelming speed and force. One man tried to rush Akihito and the woman but found himself the center of his guards attention and he was knocked flat on his face before he was anywhere near them. It might have been a different story if he had been out with his usual escort of three, but seven? It was more than overkill.

Catching the woman's gape of surprise, Akihito couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. She lived nearby so one of the guards dropped her home while the others made sure that the thugs had learnt their lesson. They all clearly had a little too much fun taking the thugs down to size.

"Takaba-sama," Ueda said as they finally moved back to the vehicles, leaving the groaning men on the ground, "Why is it that you must always run head first into trouble?"

Akihito flushed at the snickers behind him and poked his tongue out at the laughing guards, "I can't just sit back and watch as someone gets hurt."

"Yes, but didn't have to run in. You could have sent us in and stayed safe in the car."

"Oh." He hadn't thought of that. "I'm not really a think before you act kinda person," Akihito admitted after a moment.

Teiji clapped him on the back with a laugh as he moved to open the door for him. The others were laughing as well and Ueda sighed with fond exasperation.

"I like your attitude, Takaba-sama. But please, leave it to us next time. I don't fancy explaining to Asami-sama about how you got a black bruise on your face or worse, we take you home bleeding."

"It was fine," he grumbled. "Nothing happened."

"It was fine because we had so many people here, it would be a different story with only three. Fighting dirty against people like that with no weapons can be hard enough without needing to protect someone. We need to avoid using our guns on the main street unless absolutely necessary. If needed, we are authorised to use them but it makes it much harder to clean up afterwards. In more ways than one."

Logically, Akihito knew that he should rely on them but he also knew that if it happened again, he would react the same way. His guilty look must have given him away as Ueda sighed again.

"It's okay, we've always got your back," Teiji said with a grin as they took off again. Both Teiji and Ueda were the two of his guards that were hospitalised because of him, along with one of Asami's guards. It made him feel very guilty that once again he was putting them in bad situations and they were only just fully functional again.

"It's our job, don't worry about it." Ueda's voice cut through his guilty thoughts.

"I know," Akihito replied quietly. But it didn't make him feel any better.

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It was one thing logically knowing how many guards he had, it was entirely another seeing them all together. Akihito knew all of their names so if he had sat down and worked it out, he would have realised just how many there were. Eleven. Eleven people made up his security force. Ueda was the team leader and Nakahara spent his time in the control room in Sion while the other nine rotated between being his baby sitters, helping Sion, manning the control room, and training. He was even more gobsmacked when he learned that his security force had a five million USD yearly budget. Just how much money did Asami even have?! All the guards had gotten a good natured laugh out of Akihito's astonishment.

Everyone had brought something to help contribute to dinner except for Akihito and he felt bad until Anita swamped him with a hug while informing him that she brought enough desert to count for his share too. The less culinary inspired of the team provided drinks and ingredients while others brought snacks and sides.

Ueda's mother, he learned, had pretty much adopted the entire team. Ueda didn't live at home but had stayed there after he was released from hospital. All the guards had swung past at one time or another to keep him company or help drive him to Sion and she doted on them all like her own. Akihito immediately found himself being mothered as well.

"You poor thing, being without your soulmate for a few weeks, just sit back and relax, dear. These other strapping young men can do the rest for today," she said as she forcibly sat Akihito down on the couch with a large blanket. She left only to come back with the fluffiest cat he had ever seen and place it gently on his lap. The cat stayed exactly where she was placed and her rumbly purr was surprisingly comforting.

He let the laughter and good natured banter wash over him as his guards buzzed around, taking turns to try and help or getting shooed from the kitchen. A number of children and even a few teens were around that were introduced as being from the neighbourhood or extended family. They were getting homework help from some of the guards or playing video games with others. A young girl who was apparently Ueda's little cousin approached with a small digital camera and Akihito happily showed her a few tricks.

The giant fur-ball's favourite place turned out to be wrapped around people's shoulders and it made Akihito laugh to see the cat happily draped around Ueda's neck. This was only once Akihito started getting a little too enthusiastic about the camera and she decided to leave him for more peaceful options. He found himself finally feeling much better and had to marvel at the feeling of warmth and comfort that surrounded the house. He really had accidentally adopted a whole bunch of big brothers, and now a big sister in Anita who was happy to shower him in desert.

Fitting nearly twenty people around the table was a squashy affair but Akihito didn't mind. If anything, it just made him understand that the people at Sion must be family for Asami in the same way that his guard force had accidentally become for himself. The effort that they were going to cheer him up and the fun that they were having doing so was really heartening.

Tonight, he decided as he laughed over the antics of his adopted family, he would finally call Asami.

A/N: Phone time fun with Asami next~

Also come find me on social media under Delmire Hart :D