Akihto had to reassure Sudou the entire drive back to his house that he wouldn't get in trouble, Akihito would take the blame if Asami got all 'no dancing monster' on him and tried to pin it on Shuu.
The DJ swore that Sudou was going to break out in tears, so Akihito had to come up with a fucking good joke to stop the awkward water works, in the end he ended up letting Shuu in on the Salami nick name secret, and the model went into hysteric laughter in the passenger seat. That made three that knew that nickname now.
It was only 1am by the time Akihito dropped Sudou home, still considered early for a night out, especially when Asami probably wasn't home yet.
He pulled into the parking lot of the condo and hoped nothing was wrong, he'd danced, no one had come to get him, and Asami hadn't called.
Maybe the bastard finally went and got himself killed doing something he shouldn't be doing?
No, Akihito felt the worry bloom in his chest, that all too familiar feeling that he constantly used to have before they finally came to grips with each other, Asami was invincible, it was impossible for Asami to get hurt.
Still, it didn't help his quickening pulse as he made his way down the complex hallway to the penthouse door, god, did he really used to feel like this all the time? How the fuck did he live like that?
He resolved to call the crime lord once he'd settled on the couch, maybe he would stay up and wait for him to get home, not to make sure he was free of bullet holes or stab wounds though…. well maybe it was something like that.
He instinctively went for the light switch the moment he stepped in the door, only to find the lights already on, huh? Maybe he forgot to turn them off when he left. He walked down the hall, hearing the sound of the TV, don't say he forgot to turn that off too?
Kirishima would nag him about that if the secretary found out, luckily he was home before they all arrived, so no one would know.
"Welcome home." A voice drawled from the couch as he made his way to the kitchen for something to drink, causing Akihito nearly jumped out of his skin.
Surprised, he rushed to the couch, looking over the backing to find Asami sprawled out on his back in his bathrobe with a tumbler of whiskey balanced on his chest.
"Asami! You're home!?" Akihito practically shouted the question.
"I am." He didn't seem angry, or hurt, much to Akihito's instant relief, so he didn't know about the dancing, and he wasn't dead. That was good.
"Since when?" Akihito asked as he sat on the floor in front of the couch, bringing his knees up to his chest.
"Since I called you earlier this evening." Came the impassive reply.
Akihito spun around, wide eyed, kneeling next to the couch now, "Why didn't you tell me?!"
Asami's unguarded expression registered genuine surprise at Akihito's demanding question, before it went away behind blank gold eyes.
"Would it have made a difference if I did?" he asked as if he already knew the answer.
"Yes!" Akihito pouted, as he rested his head on Asami's chiseled stomach and turned to the side to look at him.
Once again, Asami's eyes showed faint surprise before his lip finally furled in amusement. "How would it have made a difference, Akihito? I'm sure you wouldn't want to spend your weekend at home with a boring old man like me?" he purred his mocking answer, quoting the words Akihito used all to often.
"Bastard, do you even remember the last time we both had a night off together?" he made to punch Asami in the arm, but as usual his wrist was caught and he was yanked up onto Asami's chest, resting on his elbows to look down at Asami's face, his amusement evident.
"You're saying you would have stayed home with me hmm?" Asami was curious as he brought his hand up to massage the small of Akihito's back in firm circular motions, causing the blonde to relax further into the muscled body beneath him.
Akihito shot the man a cheeky glare, grasping the front of Asami's robe in his fists, "we don't have to stay home" he purred back "we could go out dancing." He waited in anticipation for Asami's reaction to his taunt.
The hand on his back stopped moving, and this time Asami didn't bother to hide his miffed reaction, his perfect lips parted in surprise as his eyes narrowed on Akihito's laughing face.
"Haha, I was joking fuck. Not like you'd ever dance with me." Akihito sighed as he flopped his head down to snuggle in the crook of Asami's neck.
The warm hand began its soothing circles anew on his back, traveling up under his shirt for skin on skin contact. Akihito shivered even though it wasn't cold, it was quite warm actually, Asami was like a damn furnace, and even in the summer the man insisted on cuddling, even if Akihito was drowning in sweat.
"You think I wouldn't dance with you?" Asami's husky voice sounded in his ear, serious with no hint of his usual mockery.
It was Akihito's turn to snap his head up in surprise, gazing into those gold jewels to search for any glimpse of smugness at Akihito's reaction. There was none.
"….You're joking?" Akihito asked, sardonic.
Suddenly Akihito was being jostled around on Asami's chest as the man laughed beneath him, that rich baritone reverberating throughout his body as Asami continued chuckling, his eyes smiling as he brought his other hand up to Akihito's face to card through the blonde hair, before finally resting on the back of his neck.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Asami smirked as he brought Akihito's lips down to his, stopping their faces inches apart, "I know one thing this old man wants to do on his night off though. Dancing or not." He whispered, lips brushed Akihito's with the motions of his mouth, their breaths mingling as he watched Akihito forget about the conversation they were having and fight back a blush.
Once again his kitten was full of surprises, the fact that Akihito said he would have spent the night with Asami instead of going out had the crime lord feeling quite pleased after getting over his initial shock. Akihito always had this way of surprising him in a way Asami could never guess, right now was one of those times.
He found himself regretful for not just telling Akihito in the first place, they could have spent the entire evening together.
He decided he would make an effort to have another night off soon so he could rectify this mistake.
Now though, they had lost time to catch up on, his rough hand traveled down the back of Akihito's tight jeans, down his briefs to knead a handful of the blonde's perfect ass, causing the blonde to close the distance between their lips, breath hitching as he did so.
They shared a slow kiss, Asami removing his hand from Akihito's neck to snake down and squeeze the other neglected ass cheek.
Forcing Akihito's hips into his body with the pressure of his hands, grinding their groins together.
"Asami." Akihito pulled back with a gasp, the questioning look still in his eyes.
"Hnn?" Asami queried as his nose traced a path up the skin of Akihito's neck, breathing moist air onto soft skin as he nuzzled behind Akihito's ear, forcing a whine from those delicious lips.
"I would have stayed home." Came the breathless declaration.
Asami smiled fondly against Akihito's skin, something only Akihito could ever elicit from him, moments like this were few and far between, but the fact they actually happened now was something in and of itself. Asami reveled in these times when Akihito dropped his prickly act to let him in.
"I'm glad, Akihito." He whispered.
.
Asami sat at his desk at the office the next day, a fulfilled wisp of smoke emerging from his parted lips as he thought about the comatose DJ he'd left at the penthouse this morning.
Akihito had been more than pliant last night, resulting in them fucking until the morning light bathed the penthouse, they started on the couch before moving to the hallway, then finally the bedroom.
It was no problem for Asami to wake up after a couple hours sleep, but his kitten would be dead to the world until evening he guessed.
He chuckled in his desk, Akihito had been good last night while he was out, but Asami still got to mess him in all the ways he wanted.
It was a good night off after all.
He looked up from his desk as Kirishima and Suoh entered, his secretary carrying this morning's reports and newspaper.
"Anything happen I need to be aware of last night? Kirishima, Suoh?" he asked the two men standing in front of his desk.
"Asami sama, I wasn't sure last night about something Takaba did while he was out, if you could look at this video and clarify." Kirishima started as he got his phone out.
Asami perused through the paper in the meantime, finding a preview of the new club's opening on the front page, he turned to the page referenced on the front, to find a full page spread taking up both sides of the paper in the local section.
Asami zoned out from whatever Kirishima was trying to show him as he took in the first page, it was in a group of pictures, in every one of them people were dancing, or shuffling as the captions called it.
Normally Asami wouldn't have cared, if it weren't for a particular person who was in the biggest photo of them all.
There was Takaba Akihito, caught in a view finder as he weightlessly balanced upside down on one hand, his shirt falling down to reveal his trim waist and flawless skin. The smile was plain on his face even though it was upside down. Once again, Asami found himself thinking words only Akihito had ever made him say.
What the fuck?
"Kirishima? What is this?" came his monotone question, dangerous, monotone was always dangerous.
The spectacled man flinched as he saw the photo, which managed to tell the boss what Akihito had been up to before he did.
"That's what I wanted to show you boss, we weren't sure if it were classified as dancing or…" Kirishima trailed off and quickly passed Asami the phone, watching his boss's expression as he pushed play.
Surely even that would surprise him, dancing moves like that was the stuff that music videos and movies were made of.
Asami swiped the play button on the touch screen, an irritated finger print marring the screen as he watched the video that one of the guards had taken.
"What the fuck?" he voiced out loud this time, was that really Akihito?
He knew Akihito could dance, but this… this was the shuffling that Akihito and Koga kept going on about. He watched as Akihito suspended himself upside down next to two other figures that stopped at the exact same time, like the theatricals had been paused with the music.
That… took some serious skill. It wasn't exactly the alluring dancing that drew hungry eyes to him, but the talent and sequence with the other two as they all finished their movements as one still captured everyone's attention nonetheless. Asami could see that much in the video.
It was just another thing Asami had to face, his kitten was just the kind of person that when he did things, he did it with such vigor and fervor that he would always be noticed.
It was what made him so exciting but so infuriating at the same time.
It was laughable, in fact, he did laugh.
He could understand the guard's confusion now, and his amusement paired with his good mood helped him come to the conclusion that the men made the right call, and waiting had been the best course of action, simply because if they'd stopped Akihito, then Asami wouldn't be watching this video right now.
Just this once was fine, but if Akihito did it again and showed that much skin as he stood on his hands, then there would be hell to pay.
He passed Kirishima his phone back, relaying his conclusion, before looking to the next page of the paper, the guest section where numerous actors or elites had been photographed arriving.
His eyes stopped on particular photo of a pair of blondes he knew, one he was fond of, the other not so much. Sharp pupils narrowed into angry points as he read the caption underneath.
Kirishima shifted as the room went cold, much too cold for this time of year, he watched his boss's brows pinch in anger, his lip curling in a sneer as he tried to burn holes with his eyes into a particular photo that Kirishima couldn't make out from where he stood.
He knew it had to be something to do with the brat, Asami only ever showed that face when it was to do with Akihito, but he hadn't seen it for a long time.
His boss stood from his chair, a rolling mass of fluid muscle, tense and coiled to lash out at any moment.
"Kirishima, take me back to the penthouse now." He snapped, his loafers clicking an angry exit as he stalked from the office.
What the hell had the brat done now?
Suoh must have been thinking the same thing, because he'd already snatched the paper from the desk to look.
"Oh you've got to be fucking kidding me." He gave an exasperated sigh before handing the paper to Kirsihima.
"Shit." He cursed as he saw the photo of Sudou and Takaba walking into the club, both men smiling as they looked at each other, cursing as he registered what it looked like even though Kirishima had to admit, they made a good looking pair.
The photographer that took the shot must have thought so too, because underneath the photo, the caption said:
'Model Sudou Shuu and his date, Takaba Akihito share a moment before attending the clubs opening'
Of course the photo would be slightly larger than all the others, because openly gay couples weren't common in Japan, so naturally this one would get more exposure.
Yup, Asami was pissed.
Suoh groaned as he made to follow his boss, both he and Kirishima knew that photo would be so far from the truth that you could revive the damn dead before that photo would be true.
But typical of their boss and anything to do with Takaba Akihito, it was always act first, ask later.
He felt sorry for the Takaba. Kirishima had saved his ass last night, but it seemed punishment was inevitable this morning, going by the look on Asami's face.
Kirishima picked up the paper as he followed his colleague out, no doubt Takaba would want an explanation for his rude wake up call, and knowing his boss, he wouldn't give him one. He'd leave the paper on the table for Takaba to find.
He wondered what was going to happen with Sudou Shuu after this, hopefully the man would have calmed down enough by then to ask questions.
.
Akihito grudgingly made himself a simple breakfast, dragging his feet around the kitchen with the aching lengths of his legs that felt like stubs of concrete.
He could happily sleep for the next 10 hours, fuck no matter how long he was with Asami, the sex never got any less exhausting, but it never got any less amazing either, Asami always made sure of that. A part of him felt bereft at the empty half of Asami's bed when he woke up this morning.
Regardless of how bone tired he was though, he was going to Koga's this morning to make some remixes for some gigs they had coming up. Crap, he'd forgotten to invite Shuu last night before he dropped him off, he'd text him after breakfast.
While it was cooking, he got his laptop and gear ready so he could go as soon as he was done eating.
Akihito tried not to wolf down his food in his excitement to get to Koga's, no matter how many times they sat down to work music out, or how many times they played together, it was always as fun as the last.
Once he was done, he cleaned up quickly, deciding he'd do it properly when he got home, sent Shuu a quick text, picked up his keys and was on his way out just as Asami came in.
"Asa-" woomph! He didn't even have time to register Asami's expression before he was cut off half way and thrown over the big man's tense shoulder, and jostled down the hall way… towards the secret room.
.
Somewhere across town in Azabu, an attractive blonde model got out of the shower with a smile on his face.
For the first time in his life, he understood the word friend, or in this case the plural, friends.
Not that fake type of person that hung out with you because of how you looked, or how much money you had, they didn't care what connections in society you had.
No, two of Japan's biggest DJ's and their friends weren't like that at all, it'd been hard to come to terms with at first, but there was never a catch, no ulterior motives when they asked if he wanted to come out with them.
They actually just wanted his company. Someone with Sudou's mindset still couldn't quite understand it.
Whether he understood it or not was beside the point though, he was content, content that he didn't have to worry about what clothes he wore with Akihito, content that he could eat and drink whatever he wanted in front of these new friends and they wouldn't look at him twice, because they would be eating and drinking twice as much as him.
All these years, this is what Shuu had been missing, and he'd found it with Takaba Akihito of all people. Who would have thought his boss's lover who he'd once thought of as a pesky journalist would turn out to be his favorite DJ and he would now be managing for him. Sudou did consider it a highlight of his career.
Only Akihito would throw away an extremely successful career to do something as mundane as criminal photography, he could understand what Asami sama and the entire underworld seemed to see in… no, that was a thought he would not finish, not even in his head. He'd end up sunk in the bottom of Tokyo bay for such a train of thought.
As he got dressed, he wondered what Akihito was doing today, and thought perhaps maybe if he wasn't busy with Asami, then they could hang out at Koga's like they usually did on a Sunday after one of them had a gig, it was a fun tradition they had going.
As if sensing his thoughts, his phone chose that moment to make the shrill tone of an incoming text, and Sudou's grin widened as he saw Akihito's name flash across his screen.
Akihito: Koga's for the day as usual?
He happily text back his confirmation, before leaving his breakfast mess in the kitchen and leaving for Koga's straight away. He'd clean it up later.
.
"What the fuck! Asami." Akihito fought for his life the closer he got to that fucking room, what the hell was going on?
This wasn't good, Asami wasn't saying a word, he just jostled Akihito up and down on that rigid shoulder, each rolling step taking him closer to who knows what.
Akihito knew this feeling, he knew this Asami all to well, the Asami he thought he would never see again.
That impassive gaze, arrogant air and a hand that held an invisible leash that the man wasn't above making real.
This was the Asami of old, when they would fight, and not use words, when Asami would lay claim to his 'belongings' if Akihito ever so much as stepped out of his very thin line of rules.
This was straight back to square fucking one.
"Asami, put me down!" Akihito screamed, screamed with all the rage he had like he used to, clenched fists thumping on that stupidly powerful back, getting more and more enraged with each ignored profanity.
Fuck this shit, he was not going into that room, especially when he had no idea what triggered the possessive monster to come out of its slumber.
Suoh had been giving him lessons on how to escape should he ever find himself in a pickle, what a fucking joke it was that he had to use it against the person that wanted him to learn it in the first place.
With everything he could, he twisted towards Asami's head with his elbow out, the corner connecting with the base of the man's skull, throwing him forward with the impact so that Akihito's feet found solid ground.
He took advantage of Asami's confusion to wiggle out of the arm around his waist and run back down the hall.
A very angry Asami, now with his wits back, stalking after him.
"Come here Akihito." He beckoned, not bothering to hide his menace.
That was not a good sound, Akihito didn't look back as he ran into the living area, to see a startled Kirishima and Suoh standing at the kitchen table with his stuff.
"No, what the fuck Asami, what is this?" Akihito snarled, rounding the table to avoid the man, who was standing on the other side, impatient.
"Ahem, Takaba….." Kirishima pushed the paper on the table in his directing, tapping a finger on a photo he didn't bother looking at.
"What?" he snapped. This was not the time to look at the fucking paper. All he wanted to do was make a clean break for the door.
Kirishima just tapped again, on the same photo.
"Look, Takaba." Asami drawled with accusation.
"Whatever." Akihito stepped forward, keeping one eye on Asami, and hoping like hell Suoh wasn't going to make a grab for him, he glanced down at the photo, it took a while before he registered this as the cause.
It all sunk in when he read the caption.
"You're going ape shit cos you're jealous?" Akihito deadpanned.
Kirishima and Suoh winced behind the blonde, trust Akihito to deliver the blunt force blow, literally as well as figuratively.
Asami just stood there, his pupils fixed on the irritated blonde who was waiting for an explanation for this bullshit, something, anything.
But he got nothing, he got that cold wall that let nothing out, and let nothing in.
"Fuck this, I'm out." Akihito once more picked his gear up off the table, and stalked towards the door, only to have Asami lurch after him and catch his wrist in a painful grip.
"You aren't going anywhere Akihito." Asami commanded.
The spitfire bristled with the words that were spoken down to him, words that were talking to something, not someone.
"Oh yeah, and why is that? You gonna lock me up just like you used to?" Akihito spat, wrenching his wrist free.
"You are mine and you belong to me. You'll stay here until I'm done with you." Came the matter of fact declaration. Something Akihito hadn't heard in a long time. Those arrogant words, coupled with Asami stalking after him to grab his wrist once more, sent him over the edge.
He whirled furiously, pushing Asami back with his free hand, fire in his eyes as the words flew from his mouth, laced in old hate and anger.
"Are we seriously fucking back to this right now Asami?!" he swung at the arm holding his wrist, only to have that one captured also, the hold wasn't gentle, wasn't Asami.
"Let go, bastard! Get fucked! I can't believe you, subjecting me to your bullshit cos you're jealous and don't know how to deal with it!" Akihito flailed his limbs about, thrashing his arms to get rid of the vice like grip Asami had on him.
"Don't flatter yourself, Akihito." Asami said, calm and cold.
The words hit Akihito like a punch to the gut, rendering him frozen in place as the harsh words sunk in.
Asami seemed to realize that what he said then was too much, but it was too late.
He let Akihito's wrists fall, the stern look on his face giving an inch as he looked at the expression Akihito made because of him "Akihi-"
"Is that really what you have to say Asami?" Akihito cut the older man off, yelling now, "Don't flatter myself you say! Then what is it Asami?"
he continued his rant, beyond the point of reasoning, and rightly so in his mind.
"You were just going to fucking tie me up like you used to, treat me like shit cos you're not jealous, without even so much as talking to me about it?! Oho." He barked a mirthless, cold laugh as he came to another messed up realization, the worst most hurtful one of all.
"You think it's true? Don't you?" he jabbed a sharp finger in the suited chest before him, "You don't trust me enough after all the shit you put the through, and rather than ask me, you'd go straight for the punishment!"
The blonde clutched at his hair now, his lap top case swinging furiously at his side, adding to the unstable image that was Akihito as his fuse finally blew.
"I can't fucking believe you! You, you went right back to the fucking bastard that I hate!" he bellowed, the words echoing down the hall, loud enough for Suoh and Kirishima to wince at the DJ's pained tone.
He turned once more, taking measured heavy footsteps towards the door, not bothering to turn as Asami followed behind him, trying to get a word in.
"Where are-"
"I'm going to see my boyfriend!" Akihito snarled with sarcasm as the door slammed shut, shaking the doorframe and ricocheting throughout the now Akihito-less house.