Summary.

Rukawa thought he had everything only to end up without a wife, a best friend or a child. Now he is closed off and afraid to love. After despair nearly cost him his life, he can't afford another heartbreak. Burying himself in work, Rukawa had made business his whole life. Now a business opportunity has led him to Sendoh, the one man who can break down his defenses.

Sendoh doesn't know what he is getting himself into when he flirts with his new boss. The uptight younger man is irresistible to him. Is Sendoh being reckless when he falls for Rukawa despite all the warning signs? After all, Sendoh is a happy, single father to a little boy, and Akio is a happy kid. As he is drawn into their lives, Rukawa finds that Sendoh and his little boy are everything he needs and what he is most afraid of. Rukawa can't risk his heart again, but he might be won over by these two goofballs despite himself.

Chapter 1

Sendoh was navigating the early morning traffic, trying to get Akio to school on time. His days of driving a two-seater and recklessly weaving his way through rush hour traffic were behind him. Now he was a careful driver, and there was a booster seat in the back of his Jeep Wrangler.

On mornings like this one, Sendoh kind of missed the days when he could curse to his heart's content at slow drivers and inconveniently timed red lights. Those days were over. He had a six year old in the back, who delighted in every word his dad let slip on a rare occasion. Sendoh had to keep a lid on it. That's why he got creative with stress relief. He had Akio count the seconds at each red light.

"Here we go!" Akio announced as soon as Sendoh was forced to hit the breaks at yet another intersection. Then he started counting as loudly as he could, "One, two, three, four..."

When he hit the bigger numbers, Akio always slowed down and had to think hard about what came next. That's when Sendoh would help him out. When they first started this game, Akio could count to seventy-two. Now he could count into the two hundreds.

As the light turned green, Akio yelled, "And we have liftoff!" just like Sendoh taught him.

That was better than starting every one of his days cursing. And that was only one small change in his life since he decided to become a father. Sendoh no longer felt the pressure to succeed at any cost, to outpace the competition as other young executive breathed down his neck. He no longer spent a good half of his day in a suit and tie. He left the tie at home and carried his jacket over his arm. Most of the time, he left it hanging over the back of his chair. There weren't many people he needed to impress.

Ambition had filled a hole in his life before Akio arrived. Now Akio was his life. He took over, demolished the competition, and took charge of Sendoh's every waking moment. He was the new boss and the only person Sendoh cared to impress any more. Sendoh could still count higher than Akio, reach for stuff on the top shelf, lift him up with just one arm, and get him to school on time despite all obstacles.

"Good job, Dad," Akio said as he jumped out of the car in front of his school.

Sendoh gave him a hug and a kiss. "Have fun and learn stuff," Sendoh told him as he helped him put on his book bag.

Sendoh looked at his boy, taking a mental picture of him to carry with him for the rest of his day. Akio had dark black hair, and brown eyes. He was skinny and tall for his age, all arms and legs and missing front teeth. Akio gave him a big, gap-toothed grin and ran to the entrance of the school, his arms and legs flailing, his book bag bouncing.

As long as Sendoh got to see his boy smile, every day would start the right way for him. Sendoh watched Akio get inside, and then he drove to work. On the way, he indulged in an occasional f-bomb now that his kid wasn't there to hear him and learn from his bad example.

Sendoh turned a corner and pulled into Sakura Lane with its busy sidewalks well shaded by trees. It was a nice place to take s stroll. The street was lined with small shops and restaurants. Sendoh liked to think that Sakura Lane Bistro was one of its main attractions. Right in the middle of the long street, the bistro where Sendoh worked was a brown building with modern lines.

Sendoh turned into a small side street to the parking area in the back. Even the parking lot was shaded by trees and pleasant. This early in the morning, it was almost empty. Once lunch service started, the parking would fill up and even overflow into other parking areas and along the side streets.

As he got out, Sendoh surveyed the back of the bistro to make sure everything was in order. After all whenever anything went wrong, it landed squarely on his desk. Though it was a challenge, things at the bistro had definitely turned around since Sendoh started managing the troubled business.

Sakura Lane Bistro had an ideal location. There was every reason to expect it to succeed. The first time Sendoh walked in, he knew it as the kind of place where he would have liked to stop into on his lunch hour, maybe even bring a client or a date. He inherited a slew of problems from the previous manager, but the place had serious potential.

The decor in front was modern, but the lighting and the colors were warm and soothing. The way Sendoh thought of it was that here it was always a beautiful evening in early fall. Photographs from two local artists were displayed in narrow, rectangular frames spaced evenly on two walls. The chairs were black. The tables were metal topped with wood in a mellow brown.

The younger Sendoh wouldn't have been pleased if he saw where the twenty-seven year old Sendoh currently worked. The bistro might be awesome in front, but Sendoh worked in the office in the back. The kitchen took up most of the space. The rest was dedicated to storage. What was left was the so-called manager's office, but there were boxes stacked in there as well.

The space was charm free and utilitarian. The furniture was old and plain, but it served Sendoh just fine. He had aspired to spacious, finely furnished offices once, but he had left those ambitious behind when he decided that what he really wanted was a job that would let him spend time with Akio. He settled for less money and more time, and a very unimpressive office where his son was welcome any time.

When Sendoh walked in, he noticed that there was something different about his office today. A very good-looking surprise was waiting by his desk. He had no idea why the slim, dark haired man was there, but he was delighted to see him. Screw fancy furniture, this is how you redecorate an office. Put a gorgeous looking man in the middle of it, and everything else fades into the background. Sendoh was so taken with the sight that he forgot he was at work. All he could see was a hard body in perfectly tailored, black slacks and a crisp, white shirt. And all he could think about was getting his hands on every inch of that physique.

Reminding himself where he was, Sendoh sobered a little. The man was still turned away from him, giving Sendoh a chance to recover at least a semblance of professionalism. Since he was probably there on business and possibly straight, Sendoh wiped the smile off his face and put on a serious expression as he approached the guy.

The man's hair was black with bangs. When he turned to Sendoh, he showed him his blue eyes. Sendoh couldn't help but beam at him. Putting on his biggest smile, Sendoh extended his hand in greeting and introduced himself.

"Akira Sendoh. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Kaede Rukawa," he said in a deep, mellow voice and took Sendoh's hand almost defiantly.

While Sendoh admired his beautiful eyes, Rukawa stood straight and stiff. Everything about his stance told Sendoh to keep away. As he shook his hand, he gave Sendoh a cautionary look. It said something like "don't mess with me". Oh, but Sendoh wanted to mess with him so very much.

"Kaede Rukawa," Sendoh repeated, liking the feel of the name as it rolled off his tongue. "So, you're Sakuragi's stepbrother. He said you might want to invest in this place." Sakuragi said a lot of things like that, but Sendoh didn't usually put much stock in what he said. Sakuragi might own the bistro, but he was hopelessly unreliable.

Rukawa cocked his head to the side. "I already did. I own a half interest."

That was a surprise. It almost knocked the grin off Sendoh's face.

"So I work for you now as well." Sendoh realized that he just met his new boss. "As you see, Sakuragi keeps me well-informed. He also told me all about you coming in today and everything." Sarcasm probably wasn't a good idea under the circumstances. He had a new boss to impress, and this guy didn't seem like he was going to be as easy as Sakuragi.

"He is frustrating," Rukawa said with a sigh.

Sendoh nodded, but actually, Sakuragi's more casual approach was fine with him. It was easier to take charge without interference from above. Right away, he could tell that Rukawa was going to be a different story.

"Have you had a tour of your new investment?" Sendoh asked.

"Sakuragi was supposed to show me around."

"The same way he was supposed to let me know about the changes at the top?"

Rukawa sighed again. "I better take that tour then."

Sendoh led him to the front of the house first. The tables were being set up for lunch service. Knowing who he was, the servers looked at Rukawa cautiously. They probably had more job security than Sendoh did.

As Rukawa looked around, Sendoh tried to read him. The man was a closed book right now, but Sendoh had already seen his real self slip through. Kaede Rukawa couldn't keep those pretty eyes from showing too much of himself however hard he tried.

Rukawa looked to be in his mid twenties, but he reminded Sendoh of the hardened, business-minded young men he had met by the dozens in his corporate days. Those men only saw numbers and smiled like they were going to bill you for it later. They seemed older, sapped of their youth by ambition and greed. Until Akio came along, that could have been a description of Sendoh. He wasn't sure about Rukawa though. He had that cast, but Sendoh couldn't tell yet how deep it went.

After giving Rukawa time to see what there was to see of the front for himself, Sendoh spoke up. "As you see, the place is pretty low key. We get a lot of shoppers dropping in during the day plus the workers from the office complex in Times Square and Japan Business Plaza. At night we get a mix - couples, groups, families. When I started, they were billing it as more hip and trendy. I think that's why Sakuragi liked it, but that approach wasn't working. The crowd we have coming in isn't looking for anything upscale. They want casual so that's what we give them. I wanted to make sure that the place was just special enough to make it worth the trip but not intimidating. So far it's working."

Rukawa nodded noncommittally. "I'd like to look at the books."

"Sure. Feel free to check my math," Sendoh said.

For now Rukawa was only checking out their dinner and lunch menus. As he sat down across from Rukawa at one of the tables, Sendoh imagined for a second that they were on a date. Even then Rukawa would be a challenge. Sendoh would to figure him out, crack through his defenses slowly until he made the man his.

"You're not going to find anything too exciting," Sendoh told him seeing how thoroughly he studied the menu. Sendoh had left most of the menu decision to the chefs, but he stood behind their choices.

"That's just as it should be. I see a few interesting items, but the rest are proven favorites," Rukawa said as he closed the menu.

"They're doing lunch prep in the kitchen. You want them to make you anything so you can taste it for yourself?" Sendoh offered.

"No, I have another lunch meeting."

"At a fancier restaurant, I bet," Sendoh needled him. He knew that Rukawa was well off and probably used to the finer things in life.

"Actually, yes. That doesn't mean that I will prefer the food over there."

"Just the company?"

Rukawa gave him a surprised look. "It's a business meeting," he said.

Sendoh smiled at his need to defend himself. It was none of his business even if Rukawa was going to an orgy, but Sendoh was glad to know it wasn't a date.

As Rukawa stepped out through the back doors of Sakura Lane Bistro, he took a deep breath. The early spring air was crisp and refreshing, and sunlight danced on the new leaves of the trees. Despite being satisfied with his newest investment, Rukawa left the bistro feeling a little on edge. He would have expected that if he had to deal with Sakuragi, but there was a different source of discomfort waiting for him in the manager Sakuragi had hired. The man was more competent, more appealing and more forward than Rukawa expected.

Akira Sendoh was attractive but hardly stunning. He had black hair that was spike stylish, and dark blue eyes. His body seemed solid under a blue shirt and gray trousers. Nothing about his appearance prepared Rukawa for the effect Sendoh had on him.

Though their only physical contact had been that disconcerting handshake, which sent a tremor through Rukawa's whole body, he felt Sendoh's presence every second they spent together. It was an effect Rukawa had only experienced when he knew without a doubt that an encounter with a man would turn sexual. His body would be primed and thrumming, ready to switch gears as soon as there was enough privacy to slide down a man's body and take him in his mouth.

Though he knew from Sakuragi that Sendoh was gay, that should not have been his reaction to meeting him. But there was undisguised attraction in Sendoh's eyes. His voice was deep, and Rukawa felt like it was turned perfectly to reach inside him and put unseemly thoughts in his head. It had a quality of a proposition spoken up close, right in Rukawa's ear. I know you want to. Rukawa didn't know how he was supposed to conduct business with that man on his mind.

Later that day, Sendoh had just arrived from picking up Akio from school when Rukawa came into the office.

"You're back," Sendoh said, happy to see him again so soon.

"I wanted to see how the staff handles dinner."

"You're in plenty of time to see that and also to meet my son," Sendoh said as Akio came back from the office bathroom. "This is Akio, my boss and also my son. Kio, this is my other boss. His name is Kaede. But you might want to call him Mr. Rukawa."

Akio looked from Rukawa to Sendoh then back to Rukawa with a thoughtful frown.

"He's not my boss, is he? I like Kaede name better. I'll just call him uncle Kaede," Akio decided and stuck out his hand for Rukawa to shake. "I washed my hands after I used the bathroom. Nice to meet you, uncle Kaede."

Sendoh swore he saw a twinkle in Rukawa's eye as he looked at Akio. Maybe he wasn't a complete stuffed shirt.

"Hello. Nice to meet you too," Rukawa said as he took Akio's hand.

As Akio shook his hand with a big pumping motion, Rukawa's expression was caught somewhere between delight and fear. He quickly covered it up with his usual stern and impassive look.

Seeing Akio open his mouth to pester Rukawa, Sendoh stepped in.

"Uncle Kaede didn't come here to talk to you. He's here on business. Do your homework," Sendoh said before Akio could speak. Sendoh pointed to the second desk in the office, which Akio used to do his homework after school.

Akio still looked eager to ask a million questions, like he did of everyone he met and every new employee at the bistro. Seeing the warning look on Sendoh's face, he huffed with suppressed curiosity and went to his desk. Akio took a seat and scraped his chair noisily as he pulled it in.

Now that Akio's back was turned, Rukawa gave Sendoh a look as if he was asking what Akio was doing there. Sendoh hoped he wouldn't have a problem with it. Spending time with Akio was the main reason he took this job. Sendoh loved that moment at the end of the school day when Akio ran into his arms full of news about his day. Sendoh would lift him up high, book bag and all, and Akio would giggle. Bringing Akio to work had gone from a bonus to a necessity. He couldn't imagine giving that up for any job.

As Rukawa went to the kitchen to watch them work, Sendoh went with him. Akio tried to follow, but Sendoh pointed him back to his homework desk. Akio gave him a pitiful face. He loved watching the almost chaotic, action-packed kitchen. Learning all the restaurant shorthand was his hobby. His favorite was hot behind. It still made him giggle. He was only allowed to watch from a stepstool that was kept in the corner so he wouldn't get trampled. Akio would get excited by all the hustle and bustle anyway.

Sendoh could understand why Akio liked it so much. It was noisy in there with the clanging of pots and utensils, and the terse instructions and responses flying back and forth. But this was nothing compared to the frenzy of dinner service in full swing. This was only prep time.

The kitchen was full of steam as a number of large pots were boiling away. There was some impressively fast slicing and dicing to watch. Sendoh always wished he could spend more time observing the work that went on in the kitchen. He was dying to learn a few things, but there was never enough time, plus the pace in there was dizzying. If he dared to ask useless, amateur questions, he got his answer sandwiched between several murderous glares for bothering them.

Sendoh showed Rukawa the best place to stand so they would be out of everyone's way. The space in there was at a premium. Sendoh had been elbowed out of the way a few times before he learned his lesson. Everyone in the kitchen was such a tyrant. When he was in there, Sendoh could forget all about being the boss. He felt even less like the boss with Rukawa there ready and able to turn everything Sendoh had worked for on its head if he chose.

"Do you bring your son to work often?" Rukawa asked while watching the highly skilled knife work going on in front of them.

"All the time," Sendoh said, challenging him to make an issue of it. "That's the deal I made with Sakuragi. He let me bring Akio to work, and I saved his restaurant from utter ruin."

Actually it didn't take any hard negotiating to get Sakuragi to agree. At the mention of Sendoh bringing Akio to work, Sakuragi just shrugged and said, "Sure, whatever. You're the boss."

"You should look into hiring a babysitter," Rukawa said without looking at Sendoh.

Sendoh turned to him, trying to judge whether he was making a suggestion or telling him he had to. "Or I could hire a hot manny. You available?"

"No."

Sendoh wondered if he just got an answer to a question he hadn't meant to ask. Maybe Rukawa was seeing someone. "You are probably out of my price range anyway," Sendoh said. He was dying to confirm if Rukawa was in a relationship. Of course if he didn't let Sendoh bring Akio to work, it would become a moot point because Sendoh would go from Rukawa's admirer to an enemy for life.

Later on, when they served the family meal for the staff right before dinner service started, Rukawa refused the invitation to eat with them and stayed in the office. Even Akio couldn't get him to join them. That didn't keep Akio from bringing him a plate of food to eat in the office when he and Sendoh came back.

"Uncle Kaede, eat up. You're skinny like me. You can't skip dinner," Akio told him as he set the food on his desk.

The look on Rukawa's face was priceless. He wasn't as tall as Sendoh, but Rukawa was in great shape. Sendoh could tell that if he ran his hands up and down over every inch of him, it would all be hard, lean muscle. Sendoh flexed his fingers. The palms of his hands tingled at the thought, and he felt tense with the need to let his hands roam Rukawa's body. Why did Sakuragi's partner have to look like that? How was Sendoh supposed to concentrate on his work?

When it was Sendoh's quitting time, he went to say goodbye to Rukawa who was lurking near the kitchen again. He was busy typing on his phone.

"Do you know of a good gym?" Rukawa asked, seeing him approach.

"You're not letting what Akio said get to you, are you?" Sendoh asked. Rukawa's body had been driving him crazy all day.

"The gym at my hotel is always crowded. Sakuragi recommended a place..."

"So you know to stay away from there," Sendoh said.

"I assumed it was a meat market."

"No doubt. Try Ivan's Gym if you want something serious. Fit House is more for regular guys. Everyone calls it Fat House. That should give you an idea of what it's like in there."

Rukawa thanked him and looked them up on his phone. Sendoh would kill to see him working out. He groaned involuntarily at the image of Rukawa sweating and straining. At the sound, Rukawa turned to stare at him.

"I was just thinking how much I needed to work out," Sendoh said to explain himself.

Rukawa looked him up and down. "You look OK," he said blandly.

"And that's exactly why I need to work out more," Sendoh said. "I have some equipment at home, but Akio always wants to exercise with me, then we start goofing around and then we eat snacks." Sendoh smiled at the memories of all the times they did that. It was fun but counterproductive. He always told Akio he was making him fat. Akio would just shrug. With his skinny shoulders, that boy had perfected the art of a shrug.

Rukawa stared at him strangely as he stood there grinning to himself.

"You really enjoy being a father, don't you?"

"It's the best," Sendoh confirmed.

Rukawa only nodded vaguely, like he didn't understand the appeal. Oh well, it wasn't for everyone.

When Sendoh told him he was leaving for the day, Rukawa was surprised to hear it.

"Ayako takes over for me at 6:00. When I come in in the morning, I look over the receipts and her report from the night before. Ayako is very competent. You'll see that for yourself when you grill her," Sendoh said. He wondered if Rukawa would have yet another problem with Sendoh leaving at such a busy time and splitting his management duties.

Rukawa stayed unreadable, leaving Sendoh unsure about where things stood. Maybe he wasn't the ideal manager for a busy restaurant, but he liked his job. He hoped he would get to keep it.

TBC

Another SenRu story by ME :)

Thanks for those who reads this.

xo, E-D!