Akihito woke up to a message on his phone. Blearily he noted it was from Asami and upon opening it, he promptly forgot how to breath. Immediately awake, he stared wide eyed at the video of his soulmate from last night. He had followed Asami's instructions and sent his own to his soulmate before passing out asleep. The memories of last night flooded in and Akihito flushed red. He couldn't believe they had done that, but here was the evidence right before his very eyes. Akihito had been so focused on Asami's voice, words, and the fantasy of it all that he hadn't actually watched his soulmate once he had moved to his stomach.
But here he was now, watching Asami's reactions to himself. Golden eyes were intently focused on the camera and seemed to almost be staring out to him. Burning desire, hunger, and arousal where obvious and the look was what had stolen his breath. He recognised the look as the one Asami always wore in the bedroom but never before had he had the chance to really see it unimpeded. Usually he was far too gone himself to be able to really catalogue the emotions in the others rarely unguarded expression.
The different emotions swirled to the fore at different times while other, new feelings made their way forward as well. Affection, satisfaction, even a little surprise. The deep commands rumbled out from his speaker and Akihito found himself reacting quickly. The older man was surprisingly inattentive to his own needs, almost absent in his movements, as he focused purely on the Akihito of last night giving him a show. The hungry way he seemed to drink in the view, the hoarseness of his voice as he lost control far earlier than Akihito had ever seen, it all pointed to a level of neediness that surprised him. Asami was always so put together and even his relaxed state with Akihito never revealed so much. Warmth flooded his chest.
It was nice to get more conformation that Akihito wasn't the only person drowning in the sheer force of his feelings for his soulmate. Asami's actions always showed as much but he liked having this little reminder saved on his phone for him to pursue whenever he chose.
Akihito was totally going to use it to get himself off at some point as well. Just an added bonus.
Or perhaps now, he thought as he palmed himself through his underwear. He had reacted to the video more than he had realised. Restarting the video, he decided this wasn't a bad way to wake up at all.
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"Aki-chan!"
Akihito sighed as Kou yelled out to him across the crowd of people in front of the ice rink. He returned the wave with less enthusiasm and noted just how many of his friends had come along. It was a massive group of people. All of his close friends were there along with any partners and there was even a few people that he hung out with less regularly in attendance.
One of his guards peeled off to disappear inside ahead of the group while the other two flanked him but stayed back a few steps respectfully. Akihito was introduced to the two new members of the group, Yoshida's new girlfriend and Kou's new boyfriend. Looking around at everyone, he felt a pang of sadness at being without Asami. Everyone else who had a significant other had brought them along except for himself. There was only two others in the group that didn't have anyone to bring. His friends had good intentions when they dragged him out so he tried to push the feeling away.
"Do we need to wait for your guard to come back?" Takato questioned as they began to move inside.
"It's fine," Kamiya replied after Akihito looked at him in askance, "Oshiro's just going ahead to introduce himself to the staff so they don't think he's a stalker when he hangs outside and watches the front door for a few hours."
"Wait, you do that?" Akihito asked, surprised.
"Did you never notice, Aki?" Kou said with a laugh. "That sounds like you though, not paying much attention."
Akihito frowned, "They sometimes go ahead but I've never noticed anyone talking with the staff or anything."
"All of the places you visit regularly know us so we usually just greet the staff or other security and carry on. Other times we send someone ahead or call ahead so they know we are coming. We have identifying badges done up so we can do everything officially," Kamiya explained as he pulled out his badge to show them. It had a small colour photo of him along with his full name, Sion company title and logo, a staff number, and the word security in big letters. It really did look very official.
"He's very loved," Kou stage whispered to his boyfriend, Teika, and Akihito flushed. The lengths that his security were expected to go and the backing they had was crazy. Asami was crazy. And yet… While Akihito hated people doing things for him or giving him things, this was different. It really did show how much Asami cared but also how deep his scars ran. Although it didn't help that Akihito seemed to be a trouble magnet.
Oshiro returned, stopping any further conversation. He nodded to the others before heading outside. Akihito sighed as his friends took that as their cue to drag him inside while his guards trailed behind with small smiles.
Turns out Kamiya really was excellent at ice skating and taught everyone a few tricks. For some that was just how to stay upright and able to leave the safety of the hand rails but for the adventurous, like Akihito, that was a few basic spins and even a jump. Akihito laughed as he tried to complete a siple jump spin and fell on his ass for the fifth time in a row. It was fun. He had to thank his friends for that. But he was currently getting a private lesson from his guard while the others had split off into little couples. Seeing Takato and his wife hold hands as the slowly made their way over the ice sent a pang of disappointment through his chest. But everywhere he looked there were more couples doing the same thing. He felt oddly adrift and apart from his friend's right at that moment.
"Takaba-sama," Kamiya said as he held out a hand to pull him up, "would you like to take a break?"
Akihito paused and looked around before nodded. He waved off his friends and followed his guard off the ice. He was having fun but the melancholy feeling was starting to invade his mood. Rummaging around in his things, he pulled out his phone and accepted a drink bottle from the other guard. He was just taking a drink as he opened up a message from his soulmate and nearly spat it back out. Instead he choked, spluttering as he tried to calm the coughing. It took a few minutes before he could wave off his concerned chaperons.
Asami had sent him a message. With a photo. It was a sexy selfie, his tie hanging loose and his shirt unbuttoned to reveal a tantalizing hint of washboard abs. It was captioned Will you play kitten?
Akihito knew he was blushing but he couldn't help it. Asami wanted a photo back.
I'm out with my friends you pervert, Akihito sent back. The man would be the death of him. Akihito took another quick peek at the photo, damn he was hot. It was hard to fight off the sudden urge to lick his way up those rock hard abs. His fantasizing was interrupted by an immediate response from his soulmate.
And I'm in a business meeting but that's all part of the game. Will you play?
Fuck. Fuckfuckfuckfuck.
Distracted from his earlier mood and more than a little turned on, Akihito excused himself to the bathroom. This was ridiculous. He couldn't believe he was about to take a sexy selfie in a public bathroom just to play some perverted game with his soulmate. Yet here he was, horny as hell and in public no less. Who was the needier one, Asami for starting this and fishing for sexy photos or Akihito for agreeing and getting hot from the very idea?
He slipped into a bathroom stall and unbuttoned his jeans, pushing them down so they sat low and revealed the underwear underneath. Pulling up his t-shirt to reveal just one of his nipples, Akihito glared into his camera as he snapped off a quick photo. When he gets home he was going to take one in the other man's shirt just to spite him. I hope he loses focus in the meeting, Akihito grinned at the thought. It sent thrills through him at the prospect of distracting the other man. Would serve him right for starting this.
Akihito quickly righted his clothes and washed up before heading back out to his friends. Everyone had come off the ice while he had dashed away and were arguing about where they would like to go and get food. His phone didn't buzz in his pocket meaning that their game would be going on for some time and he had to try to calm his increasing pulse. The last thing he wanted was to give away his state or his game to his friends.
But that was half the thrill wasn't it?
And as much as he wanted to, he couldn't even blame Asami. They were just as bad as each other really. Soulmates indeed. Clearly they were made for each other.
Sitting down, he discovered the issue his friends had was that they were a very large group and hadn't booked a head to anywhere to eat. Everyone had assumed that they would part ways afterward but everyone was having too much fun to want to go home just yet.
"Takaba-sama, you are welcome to any of Asami-sama's establishments at no cost to yourself or your friends. That includes a number of restaurants. We could call ahead and see if anyone has a private room or table free? The limo is also at your disposal if you would all like to travel together."
Ten pairs of puppy dog eyes turned on him at the guards words and he winced, gaze skittering away. Mentally cursing his soulmate, he nodded reluctantly. He didn't like utilising the man's wealth or power for himself, it's not like Akihito had earned any of it, but he couldn't help but cave in to his friends.
A new message distracted him as he began to remove his ice skating shoes and he took a quick peek. There was Asami from what had to be under the table, a view looking up instead of down, with his shirt untucked at the bottom and revealing a slightly surprising amount of his chiselled stomach. Akihito's breath hitched at the smirk directed the camera. The man was in a meeting and taking surreptitious sexy selfies. Oh, it was on.
His guards found a restaurant that had room and the limo was called with enough efficiency that Akihito suspected his security team of planning this ahead of time. Not that it mattered, his friends cheered as they all piled into the vehicle and Akihito absently listened to the conversation as he worked out how he was going to set up his next photo.
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Throughout the afternoon and into the evening, Akihito and Asami exchanged no words but a surprising number of photos. Some of their friend group had said their farewells but a number remained and they had moved onto Asami's dance club, Flux.
It was both easier and harder to snap sneaky photos in the club. Most people were getting dunk and didn't care what anyone was doing but there was also more people around so the chance of getting caught was higher. Akihito was becoming bolder the tipsier he got and managed to snap a great shot of his ass in the bathroom mirror earlier when it was miraculously empty. They photos had shied away from anything R rated but they did show a bit of skin and were becoming more and more suggestive.
Ueda approached and Kamiya stood and stretched. It must be time to change the guards, Akihito mused. He wasn't really paying attention, instead he was holding his phone between his forefinger and thumb while he tried to figure out how to outdo his last photo.
"Takaba-sama," Ueda said by way of greeting and Akihito nodded politely. "Kirishima-san requested to pass on that you need to stop distracting the boss."
Akihito choked and dropped his phone on the table in his surprise. Kamiya eyed him curiously as his did his friends and he flushed at the sudden attention. He knew by his reaction that his guilt was plain to see so there was no point denying it. Kou reached out and snatched up his phone lightening quick. His friend managed to put in the passcode, he didn't even remember telling Kou that, and got a small eye full of a few of the photos before Akihito snatched it back.
"So that's why you've been distracted all afternoon! I didn't even notice you taking photos. Man, you guys are wild. Asami-san sure is ripped though, he must spend a lot of time at the gym."
"I've never actually heard of him going to the gym," Akihito admitted as he flushed even brighter under the amused looks of his guards. They seemed to think the situation was funny but here he had been caught out! Well actually, Asami had been caught and Akihito had taken the fall! He would have to get back at the man somehow.
"Level twenty in Sion corporate headquarters is entirely dedicated to a 24/7 health and wellbeing center for all Sion staff. It includes a gym with free weights, cardio, and other machines. There's also permanent onsite personal trainers 24/7 as well," Ueda explained.
"Really?!" Akihito gaped along with his friends.
"Yes. The boss takes an extended lunch or dinner break and uses that to work out. Burn off the stress as they say. There's also a dojo, massage parlour, sauna, physiotherapist, and a nutritionist there available to all staff."
"I want to get a job there," Yoshida sighed dreamily and everyone nodded their agreement.
"It's tough but it's worth it," Ueda said with a laugh as he waved Kamiya off. "But really Takaba-sama, you might want to distract the boss a little less if you want him home on time."
Akihito grumbled indignantly about being called out a second time but Ueda gave him a good-natured slap on the shoulder before moving away. The inevitable teasing from his friends turned into a discussion over whether or not they have or would send or receive selfies of that nature and Akihito took the chance to send off a message to his soulmate.
YOU got caught by your secretary and I got the wrap for it!
Ah, but that's just part of the game, Asami replied far too quickly, clearly he was still distracted, it's worth it, isn't it?
It was. The thrill and the excitement of it all had made the afternoon fly by. But he was totally taking the best R rated sexy selfie in the other man's shirt when he got home. Let the distraction that caused be his retribution.
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Two weeks. It had been two weeks since he had last seen his lover in person. Akihito now had three separate AV's on his phone and countless photographs of Asami but he longed to be able to reach out and touch him. He didn't know how either of them would cope if Asami ever had to go away for longer. Akihito would probably just demand to go with him.
But finally, finally Asami was coming home. He should be there in the next hour to pick Akihito up from his friends and they would go home together. Or more likely, get way too handsy in the limo before taking it upstairs. Hopefully the airport clearance went quickly and he could arrive sooner.
He had been moping again all day. He didn't mean to but he was just anxious for it to be the afternoon and so Kou had dragged him over to Takato's to wait out the afternoon with company. Akihito had helped Takato's wife cook up a nice dinner and they were eating while he paced around. He was supposed to have had dinner as well but he was unable to stop the horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach. Pacing around the room, he tried to shake off the restless, uneasy feeling but he couldn't. It was moving beyond just an anxious need to see his soulmate after time spent apart into something far more desperate. His friends watched him with mounting concern but nothing they said could ease the awful feeling in him.
Akihito picked up his phone to check the time in an effort to ease his own anxiousness and was surprised to see a missed call and a voice message from Asami. The other man never left voice messages. If he needed to pass on a message and Akihito didn't pick up, he would contact one of his guards. It was rare that something couldn't wait until later.
With his heartbeat humping in his ears Akihito dialled his voicemail. Something was wrong. That's what this feeling was. Something was wrong with Asami. Dread coiled in his gut. It was his soulmate sense that was leading his feelings of anxiousness and unease.
"You have one new voice message."
Akihito hit the button with trembling fingers as his friends watch him in wide eyed concern.
"Akihito…" his heart thudded painfully. Asami's voice was hoarse and tight with pain. Loud bangs rang out in the background. Gunshots, he realised after a moment. That was gunfire in the background, punctuated by the odd yell. Asami sucked an audible breath in and Akihito found himself holding his own breath as he listened.
"Akihito," he repeated, "I love you."
"End of voice message."