Disclaimer: Viewfinder belongs to Yamane Ayano

Note: I don't know for how long this steady stream of updates of mine are going to last, but enjoy the it while it does because I think once I get kind of busy with school I'm not going to be able to put much time aside for updating it. Speaking of which, I know that I haven't been updating Diamond in the Rough for a while now, but that's because I kind of want to focus on one story for a while, so if this one goes on hiatus, that probably means I'm either busy or working on another story.

"Wow! Dude, your place is awesome! Is this really where you live?" exclaimed Kou, looking around the living room in wonder and awe.

Akihito turned pink and became painfully aware of the penthouse in its lavishness, for the first time really looking at it from a stranger's point of view. It was definitely high-end, and large enough to fit two houses inside. It took up the entire first floor of Asami's building after all. Mai-san had told him that the interior design had been done by some famous French artist, and that all the furniture was imported and handmade.

The only thing that marred the cool decorum was Akihito's stuff, carelessly littered around the place in nooks and crannies. His things were the only color among the whites, blacks, and silvers that dominated the penthouse.

Akihito toed off his shoes and absentmindedly discarded them across the doorway. His backpack was dumped on the kitchen island. He opened the fridge, which Mai-san had always stocked to the brim, and began ransacking its contents. He needed a drink.

Kou had been really energetic during the car ride, where he kept on fiddling with the interior of the limo, pressing on all the buttons to see what they would do, all the while Takato was trying to get him to pipe it down. The one time Kou had been in a limo was when his super wealthy relatives had had a wedding. He had convinced the driver to give him a ride around the city, pulled the top down, screamed his lungs out with a bottle of vodka in hand, and then splattered the windows of passing cars with vomit. Kou kept telling Akihito that he was living the life.

If only they knew.

Akihito took several deep gulps of beer and let out a satisfied sigh. A hand reached into the fridge and pulled out another cold can. It was Takato. "Hope you don't mind," he said, cracking the top.

Akihito smiled. "No problem." He took out a third beer for Kou, who was too busy opening all the doors in the penthouse, and then laid out a few dishes on the table before closing the fridge.

"Not just for the beer," Takato shook his head. "I meant for putting up with that guy." He jerked his chin toward Kou, who was ambling up to the kitchen to swipe the beer Akihito had left out.

"Alright, it's official now," Kou declared. "You, my friend," he jabbed Akihito in the shoulder, "have the best parents in the world!"

At those words, Akihito's face grew impassive. He twiddled with the can in his hands, waiting for the food in the microwave to heat up. "I'm…I'm adopted," he bit out.

His friends looked at him, Kou wide-eyed and mouth agape, Takato slowly lowering the can of beer from his mouth. "I'm sorry, I didn't know…" Takato began, but Akihito cut him off.

"It's okay," he smiled, lips in a line. "It was a long time ago. Come on, the food's done. Let's eat!"

It's only been five months.

…..

"I wonder what kind of person adopted him."

"Who knows," Takato replied. "He didn't even tell us if it was a couple, a man, or a woman." Although, Takato speculated that it must've been a man. And only a man. There was a slight smell of cigarette and cologne that wafted over the entire place, and there weren't any women's clothing either when Kou had forced Akihito to give them a tour. There was not a picture in sight, which was rather strange; it made the penthouse seem that much colder.

"Either way, they must be loaded!"

"Yea," he agreed, reclining back in his seat. Akihito had chartered the limo to get them home. But five minutes into the drive he shook a drowsy Kou awake.

"Wha…What is it?" he said, rubbing his eyes.

"Shit, I left my stuff at Akihito's."

"Just call him."

"Alright, hold on. Driver! Can you send us back please? I left something behind."

Takato dialed Akihito's number, but there was only the messaging tone. He called several times, and each time proved the same result.

"Is he asleep already?"

"Maybe. He's not picking up."

"Well, it is possible," Kou yawned. "It is pretty late. Past midnight. Plus, he didn't go to school for a week. So maybe he's sick."

"Maybe, but he didn't look sick to me."

Kou shrugged and then dozed off.

….

"You've been ignoring me again, Akihito."

Akihito groaned, sandwiched between the couch and Asami's hard body pressing down on him to secure him in place. He tried to squirm as the man's hot breath traveled near his ear to whisper, and then dipped down to his neck. Lips hovered over the dribble of scars at the junction between his neck and shoulder, and then Asami bit hard. It drew blood.

Akihito swung his head back and forth to dislodge him, but the man's teeth were tightly hooked into his skin. Unknowingly, his arms reached out to grab a hold of Asami's suit jacket, fisting the fine material in his hand. He wrapped his arms around the man's torso in an attempt to hold him back, but it appeared more of an embrace, and when Asami slid his tongue in Akihito's mouth, it became one.

Asami had been drinking. Akihito could taste it in his mouth. It was strong enough that even his clothes reeked. Asami should have been dead drunk. But he didn't act that way. Oh, the wild, crazed side of him showed, like a snake striking out impossibly fast, but he acted more like a lion playing around with its favorite toy rather than hunting for a meal.

Asami growled from his attack on Akihito's lips; he could feel the man's chest vibrating from the rumble as it touched his own. And then, just as startling fast as he could blink, his body was flipped over and slammed into the couch, knocking the wind out of him. Before he could finish registering what had happen, Asami was already on top of him, laying his body over Akihito's. Somewhere between a purr and the earlier growl escaped his lips as he nuzzled the boy's neck. But instead of taking him like Akihito had feared he would, the man did nothing but pepper him with fervent kisses. The man lifted the shirt from his stomach and pressed hot kisses there. It made him gasp out loud and the panic slowly built. He didn't fear for his safety; rather, he was so bewildered by Asami's strange behavior that he didn't know what to do. When Asami's tongue swirled in his belly button, his hands automatically came up to tug on the man's hair. Yep, that sound was definitely a growl.

"You make such a disgusted face at me, yet have the audacity to act all cheerful in front of your friends. I saw them Akihito," Asami divulged. "Why do you think I came in right as soon as they left? And you have quite some nerve, bringing them over without permission. Was it because I punished you by prohibiting you from going to school?"

Akihito's face burned. It was right on the dot.

"Why did you run from me that night?" Asami asked, face serious now. "Tell me."

Akihito didn't want to admit it, but the uncharacteristic kindness that Asami was showing – something he only caught a glimpse of the night he discovered him with another woman in the bedroom – was something that he had yearned for. When he was about to head out the morning after leaving Asami hanging in the middle of the blowjob, the guards wouldn't let him leave the penthouse, saying that it was Asami's orders. When he was no longer allowed outside, when even Mai-san had been ordered to take leave, Akihito couldn't bear the loneliness that had swallowed him whole. Being caged after he had had a taste of what it was like to be around other people again was even worse than when he first came to stay with the man, because Akihito had finally believed that things were tolerable, if not better. And so the loneliness made him cling to the older man at the same time that he was trying to squirm away. He sought the warmth and the heat offered because he was terribly cold, and at a certain point, could no longer deny himself the closeness of another human being. Even if it was Asami.

…..

Asami had adopted a different tactic that night. And who knew that it would work so well, like a charm. He kept repeatedly asking the boy what was wrong in a low and soothing tone, making sure to amplify the concerned voice up a notch for measure. He whispered the question close to his ear, blowing a soft tendril of hot air on the nape of his neck, watching the desired outcome as the rim of Akihito's ears burned bright red, watching it spread to flush his entire face and then travel down his neck. Bathing the boy in the warmth of his arms, Asami watched as Akihito gradually succumbed to him.

They say that dogs are a man's best friend; that dogs have the unusual ability to make their owners feel at ease, to lower their guard and get them to open up. Well then, Asami was going to be a dog. But only for Akihito. And only tonight.

He had isolated the boy for a week as punishment for running, but also because he knew that it would make Akihito incredibly lonely. And as he showered him with attention and affection, he knew that Akihito could do nothing else but to relieve his pain by finding solace in his touches.

It was a different tactic than the ones he normally used, but Asami was determined to get what he wanted. And while he had learned that he could not force Akihito to give him what he want without breaking the boy, attention and a little bit of fondling had done wonders.

"You treated me like a whore," Akihito finally confessed. His eyes stung dangerously, watering.

Asami's lips halted on a sensitive patch of skin, eyebrows raised as golden orbs turned up to meet Akihito's.

He had not been expecting that reply.

"You…You always called me names when we did it. Your little slut. And you made me feel so worthless," Akihito hiccupped, his hands covering his eyes. But the boy couldn't stop the tears that leaked out through the corners. "And when you told me to put my mouth…" his chin quivered. "I – I just couldn't take it anymore!"

Asami wordlessly pulled him into a sitting position and began rocking him, as if soothing a child. The man never forgot that the boy was one. Despite the fact that he was an adult, Akihito was indeed a child, a very young and naïve one to boot, a fragile one that had to be handled with care or otherwise he would break. And the only time he forgot that fact was when his cock was buried in that delectable ass.

"Akihito," Asami murmured in an apologetic tone, nuzzling his neck. The boy swatted Asami's hand away as it came to brush against his cheek.

Good, now he was mad.

"Please don't be mad at me," he began, hoping to fan the flames. He got the boy to feel secure, safe there in his arms instead of the usual fidgeting face that he always saw. He made Akihito feel in control, coddled, and indulged. And he watched the fruits of his labor emerge in the form of an irate Akihito.

"How can you ask me that you controlling bastard?!" Akihito screamed. Right after the words escaped however, Akihito gasped and his hands came up to cover his mouth, his eyes widening in fear. He couldn't believe he had said that out loud.

Asami chuckled and batted his hands away, swooping in for a kiss. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you had felt that way. If only you had told me, had talked about it instead of running away, then I wouldn't have punished you. You left me in a rather unwanted situation that time, Akihito." His lips sucked on a collarbone next, teeth lightly grazing over skin.

"St…Stop!" Akihito sputtered.

"Stop running away, Akihito," Asami nibbled on the bite scars again. "There is no reason for you to."

Akihito groaned under Asami's unrelenting attack. "I can't. I can't," he shook his head.

"Why?" Asami breathed.

"Because…because I don't want to lose myself. I can't, Asami!" he cried out.

"Why would you lose yourself?"

"Because it hurts to be with you."

Asami's lips did stopped. He raised himself up to catch the boy's face, and stared at him for a long time. He didn't get mad, not like Akihito had predicted. The older man's gaze searched all over Akihito's face, reading it, finding something there that Akihito didn't even know he was showing. There was confusion underneath all that anger. The boy was warring with himself. He didn't know what he wanted, so Asami was going to lead him to where he wanted the brat to head.

"Does it hurt right now?"

"Yes." Akihito's eyes clenched shut. He wanted that face to go away. It looked like it cared.

Warm fingers lifted up his chin, and he opened them again to gaze into golden orbs. They weren't menacing or ferocious. They were just there, curious, asking. "Why?"

"I…B..Because I…" Akihito sat there and simmered. Somehow his throat was lodged up, what came out were incomprehensible mumbles.

"Because I am a cruel man. Because I had taken you from your family by a mere inclination of mine," Asami let fall. "Right from the very beginning I was the bad guy in your head, and I still am. I've told you before, I'm not letting you go. So you might as well deal with it. But you refuse to accept the situation, even though you know it's not going to change. You won't let me in. And so I don't know what you want. And I hurt you because of it."

Asami started at Akihito as he spoke those words, soothing and gentle so as not to scare, but also strong and firm. He knew the boy couldn't fight back. Could have nothing to say against them.

Because they were true.

"I admit that I was wrong. You have reason to blame me, but things will not get better for you if you do not move on. All you have to do is talk to me, let me in, and then things will get better."

A few hours later, after Asami had led a quiet Akihito to sleep, the man too went to bed. When he woke up to a twinge in his temple, he knew that a headed was on the way. He remembered exactly what he did, exactly what he had said. And he really needed that alcohol to do it.