A/N: Hello everyone! I apologize for the horribly long wait... I've been busy with school and such.

I'd like to thank everyone that reviewed, you have no idea how much that means to me.

So please, read and review. Criticism is encouraged. :3

Akiha stumbled through the plain wood hotel door, hearing Ebi close the door to the room next to him.

The photographer was glad that he'd finally be able to rest; after running through airports and climbing on buses with all of his luggage and equipment he was quite tired.

What he had seen of New York was slightly similar to Tokyo in some ways… it would take some getting used to, he decided, but he'd manage.

The blond sat down on the edge of his bed and slung his baggage off his shoulders and onto the floor. He massaged the shoulder that had carried the most weight, knowing he'd probably be sore in the morning from walking around with those bags all day.

Sliding off his jacket, Akiha laid back on his bed; his blond hair bright against the dark red floral print of the comforter.

America isn't so bad. I can be away that-that mean, insensitive, stingy, stubborn…adorable, loveable, beautiful jerk Umeda. The blond sighed at his thoughts and rose from the bed to shut off the lights.

He slid his shoes off and flipped the light switch. Oh, who am I kidding? I don't think I can last without him…

The photographer undressed miserably in the dark; flinging his clothes everywhere as he did so. He pulled on some loose sweat pants from his luggage.

Akiha flopped onto the mattress and burrowed under the layers of blankets.

His schedule for the next day was packed, so he'd need to try to get some sleep.

Times like these were when Umeda wantedthat blond idiot to walk in. Nanba was telling him about his plans of getting women-because women were the subject it made everything worse- to adore him.

The teenager was talking so much Umeda almost wished he'd go deaf so he didn't have to listen anymore. The doctor was starting to understand why Nakao was always so upset.

The doctor snapped out of his inner fuming just in time to her Nanba say, "Now that I've told you these genius plans, you better not use them to take the women away from me!"

Umeda shot his nephew a glare. "Don't worry; it didn't even cross my mind." His statement was followed by a disgusted shiver.

It suddenly occurred to Nanba who he was talking to. "Oh… that's right. Well, maybe you can use my ideas to get girly men, then?"

Umeda scowled in response, lettings his eyes wander around the plain and pale room while Nanba babbled on.

The blue curtains in front of the cots stood out against the bright white walls. The window curtains were a creamy, peachy color, below it sat Umeda's glass desk. Even the books that sat lined up against the wall on the desk were varied pale colors.

Umeda looked at the large medicine cabinet, finding color on the many familiar bottle labels. What was unfamiliar was the corner of a bright blue envelope sticking over the edge of the top of the medicine cabinet.

He'd inspect that later…

He glanced up at the clock on the wall and sighed in relief.

"Would you look at that? It's time for you to go… what a shame." Umeda said, deadpan, all but shoving his babbling nephew out the door.

Nanba stumbled forward, almost hitting his head on the doorframe. "All right, all right… I'm going!" The teen replied, swatting away the doctor's hands.

As soon as Umeda was sure the other was long gone, he went over and snatched the envelope, sending up a cloud of dust. The top of the envelope was dusty as well, probably meaning it had been there for quite some time.

The redhead slid his thumb under the flap and pulled out the folded, white piece of paper. He recognized the penmanship right away, for he had gotten little notes in the same handwriting before; he debated on whether or not to read it.

He gave in and scanned through its contents:

Hey Senpai, it's me! Surprise! I hope you're doing okay since the last time we talked … You seemed upset. I bet it was that dumb Ryoichi, wasn't it? Why do you torture yourself by seeing him? Well, I'm not sure how long ago that was 'cause you probably won't see this for awhile. I mean, you'd have to be really bored to find this. Anyway, I'll probably see you tomorrow since I come over almost everyday. Tell me that you found this… just to humor me…? Oh, then will you come with me to that nice restaurant with me… with the good sake? Maybe? Go with me instead of Ryoichi? I mean, not being raped after dinner would be a nice change, right? Yeah… trust me, I know what Ryoichi's like. I can see it. Anyway… you'll go with me eventually, you need a break, and I'll drag you there myself. Okay then, I wrote this because you where sleeping and I wanted to know if you felt any better without having to wake you up. Well, goodnight… or good day, whichever it is! I love you!

Akiha

The doctor reread the letter with more care. He sighed; the blond could always tell exactly what was going through his head-part of the reason he kept the photographer at a distance.

He didn't want to be so easily read, which was impossible around Akiha. That blond could even read Ryoichi without seeing him!

Tossing the letter on the desk, Umeda pulled out his phone and silenced it-hoping for an afternoon nap. He clutched the phone tightly in his hand, too lazy to shove it back in his pocket, as he rested his forehead against the cool desk.

The redhead jumped slightly when his phone vibrated suddenly in his hand. Turning the device over, Umeda read the caller ID on the screen. It was a text message from Ryoichi. Light brown eyes wandered over to the letter from his overly-obsessed kouhai.

Something clenched painfully in his chest. Letting out a small scowl, Umeda set his phone down, letting it vibrate. His eyes closed slowly, feeling a small sense of triumph.

He decided to ignore Ryoichi… just this once.

Akiha smiled genuinely for once in the past few days. His photo shoot was going incredibly well, almost unbelievably so. His model, of course since he chose her, was gorgeous and was smart enough not to piss him off.

The new staff was nice and one of the guys he hired as a hairdresser even brought him extra-sweetened tea. Everything seemed good; though Ebi had stayed unusually quiet… only sending him glances every so often.

"Okay, everyone… let's wrap up, thank you." Akiha yelled in his best English, waving his hand above his head to get everyone's attention.

It only took a few moments before the bustling of packing up ensued. The blond stored his camera away and took the film to develop.

His staff left one by one, saying their goodbyes, and Akiha replied with a farewell and a reminder of their next photo shoot. A couple of stragglers remained, still packing up.

Akiha waited, sipping his tea, his eyes following a couple of hairdressers packing up their scissors.

The first passed through the door next to him, giving a little wave to Akiha. The blond watched him leave and he waved back, then he turned around to jump in surprise. The second hairstylist, Lance, the same one who gave him the tea he was drinking, was staring up at him with hazel eyes.

Lance was about the same age as him, he was American with black and blue hair, which stood out against his pale skin. Akiha figured that he'd hire him because he had interesting hair-a hairstylist with interesting hair was bound to give interesting hairstyles.

The blond gave a small smile, "Thanks, Lance… I'll see you on Thursday." The other nodded and looked down, but didn't move from where he was standing.

Akiha quirked an eyebrow, dipping his index finger in his tea and stirring it around. He started to lick the tea off his finger.

"Something wrong, Lance?" The photographer asked around his finger.

Lance raised his head a bit, a small laugh slipped through his lips. He looked up at Akiha, "That's funny… I was dying to ask you the same thing all day."

Akiha bit down on the tip of his finger, staring at the other man in front of him with wide eyes. For once he was the one being read.

"Whatever it is," Lance continued, a hint of concern in his eyes, "I hope you have a good evening… you have my number… I'll listen to anything you have to vent about." Lance brushed past Akiha and out the door, leaving the blond confused, speechless and… a little happier.

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