Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Asami/Akihito
Disclaimer: These characters belong to Yamane Ayano, not me.
Author's Note: Thanks for reading, everyone! Our favorite crime lord will finally grace us with his presence. :)
The low coffee table was covered with scattered books and notes. Akihito slumped over them groaning into his crossed arms. He was never putting off a paper until the last minute again.
His cell phone beeped as a message came in, and he sat up to read it, a grin spreading over his face and his thumbs rapidly working to type back a reply. At least Kou was in the same boat he was, working on a program for his Computer Physics class. Akihito shuddered at the thought of all the math involved. Things could definitely be worse.
With a sigh, he pulled his laptop closer and eyed the page count. Only about three pages to go, he could do this. A healthy swig from his energy drink and Akihito straightened his spine.
"Right. Back to work!"
He couldn't help but think, though, that even hours of tedious waiting crouched in filth of unknown origins was much preferable to this.
Another page had somehow filled up with his thoughts on photojournalism and visual ethics, when his doorbell rang. Akihito frowned. He hadn't ordered takeout, and it was pretty late. Maybe it was Takato, he thought doubtfully.
The doorbell rang again as he climbed to his feet.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming!"
He yanked open the door, ready to give whomever it was a hard time, but pulled up short, the blood rushing out of his face, when he saw Asami standing on his door step with that hateful smirk on his lips.
For a moment, he felt so light-headed it almost made him dizzy, then the blood rushed back and he shot Asami a nasty look and attempted to slam the door in his face.
Of course, Asami already had a foot in the door, and his hand easily planted against the frame, pushing it open again. Fine, then, Akihito shrugged and turned his back on him. If Asami wanted to come in so much, he didn't care. Let him come in, spout whatever bullshit he was going to, and then Akihito would kick him out. Akihito would stay cool, though. He wouldn't let Asami affect him one little bit.
He sat down at his table again and pretended to browse through his notes.
"What? No hello kiss, Akihito?"
Bastard! Akihito kept his eyes on the papers, trying to ignore the way his heart was trying to beat out of his chest.
The front door shut and after a moment Asami walked slowly toward him. Akihito could see from the corner of his eye when he stopped a few feet away and simply waited. When the silence finally got to him, Akihito looked up.
Asami was studying him thoughtfully, his hands in his pockets, cutting an elegant figure in Akihito's tiny studio apartment. He felt a sudden, irrational urge to apologize for the state of his room. Even the futon hadn't been put away after he'd gotten up in the morning.
God, what was he thinking? As if he cared that Asami might be offended by his messy and common home. In fact, he hoped it made the jerk uncomfortable.
"You're still here?" With affected surprise, he widened his eyes, proud that his voice was steady since his pulse rate was currently off the charts.
Asami smiled. "Of course. I do plan on staying a while after all." As if to prove his point, Asami shrugged out of his suit jacket and folded it over the computer chair in front of Akihito's small desk area.
Akihito snapped. "What do you think you're doing?" His fists balled, crumpling the paper he held. "You need to leave. Now!"
Asami merely looked amused, not budging from where he now leaned against the wall. "Now now. Is that any way to treat a guest?"
"You're not a guest! I didn't invite you here! You're a-" Akihito broke off, turning his face away angrily as his cheeks went red.
"I'm what, Akihito?" He couldn't help stealing a look at Asami. His voice was soft but Akihito tensed when Asami moved away from the wall and crouched next to him, somehow making even that look graceful.
"Tell me."
Oh God, he was too close. That scent he couldn't forget was bringing everything back all at once. Akihito swallowed, anger and confusion and hurt and embarrassment vying for the top spot of his emotional heap.
"You're...you..."
Asami stared at him patiently, waiting for him to finish, his expression unreadable.
Akihito choked on his words, and Asami lifted a hand toward him. Startled, he flinched, freezing as Asami's fingers brushed hair out of his eyes, then stroked down his cheek with seeming affection.
No! This wasn't-he couldn't just-
Akihito struck his hand away and glared, scooting back out of easy reach.
"Don't touch me! You think you can just show up whenever you like? I'm not some toy you can play with and toss aside at your convenience!"
"So that's it." Asami nodded as if Akihito's words confirmed what he'd been thinking all along.
"What are you talking about?" Akihito ground out.
"Obviously, I've neglected you for too long and you're all worked up over it." He smiled. "Have you been missing me? You're very cute."
"Shut up, you jerk! That's not it!" Akihito rose to his knees, hands balled at his sides and turning the full force of his glare on Asami.
"Then what is it?" Asami cocked his head, one eyebrow lifting with what Akihito took to be mocking amusement. "From where I stand, it seems you've been anxiously waiting for me."
"Ha!" Akihito was so mad, he was trembling from the force of it. "Like I would!" He could feel angry tears pricking at his eyes, but he refused to give Asami the satisfaction of seeing them. That would be the final humiliation. He widened them as much as possible to stave them off.
The amusement faded from Asami's expression, and his sharp gaze softened slightly. He sighed. "I suppose I do owe you an apology. I had planned to see you much sooner than this."
"You think I care?" Akihito laughed abruptly, unconvincingly. "You think I was expecting to see you again? I knew all along this was nothing, just a game, a fuck. Mission accomplished. So...."
"Is that what it was?"
Akihito raised his chin.
Asami smirked. "Well, then. If that's what it was then there's no reason we can't continue the game." Long fingers slid up and began to loosen the knot of his tie.
"No way!" Akihito scrambled to his feet and backed up to the counter of his tiny kitchenette. "Look, I don't care what you do as long as it's not with me!"
Asami rose to his feet, the tie dangling loose around his neck now. "Don't be childish. I had urgent, unexpected business that took me out of the country that same morning I last saw you. I've been extremely busy: putting out fires..." His lips quirked upward. "Managing other attention-seeking brats who should know better than to provoke me."
A wave of jealousy sudden and strong blind sided Akihito, and the resulting unpleasant surge of bile in his stomach made him feel nauseous. Other attention-seeking brats? What and who was Asami talking about? Had he really been abroad all this time, and what exactly had he been up to?
Akihito shook his head. Whatever it was, there was still no excuse...
"You're calling me a brat? Fuck you! And I don't care where you were!" His resolution to play it cool flew out the window. "They don't have phones where you were? Email? Where did you go? Mars?"
Asami chuckled, looking as if he regarded Akihito's reaction as a victory.
"So you admit you wanted me to call." Akihito watched warily as he shortened the distance between then. "In hindsight, perhaps I should have made more of an effort."
"You didn't make any effort at all! Do you play with lots of people like this? Tossing them aside and moving on when you get bored?" Akihito winced when he realized what he said and added belatedly, "Not-I mean, not that I even care."
Asami's arms caged him on both sides. Akihito shrank back against the counter.
"You don't care?" Amusement lit his eyes when Akihito couldn't repress as shiver. "You're not craving more of my touch?"
"I'm not," Akihito muttered with weak anger, overwhelmed by Asami's dominating presence. He made a valiant effort to regroup, flinging a barb back in a desperate attempt to deflect the turn of conversation. "Anyway, if I were you, I'd be more concerned about what's happening to your business closer to home instead of playing around where ever you were or here with me!"
A brow lifted. "And that's supposed to mean what?"
He gave Asami an angry push and ducked beneath his arm, stomping over to a crate and pulling out a plain folder that he shoved at Asami. "Kind of shady looking stuff to be going on at a "respectable" club, don't you think? It doesn't look as if it's the kind of thing you'd like to be connected with, does it? Or did you already know all about it?"
Asami slowly went through the photos inside. "Nice shots."
Disappointment at his reaction made Akihito frown. "Is that all you have to say?"
The corners of Asami's mouth twitched a little. "You must have been-how does one say it?-'casing out the joint' for several hours.
God, he was such an asshole. Akihito jerked the folder out of Asami's hand and threw it on the counter. "You did know it about then."
"Yes, I knew. Someone wanted to steal something from me, so I let them."
Despite himself, Akihito was curious. "You let them?"
Asami smiled and Akihito could see the smug satisfaction in his eyes. "It might not turn out to be exactly what they thought it would be."
Okay, a set up. That was a little cool.
"What did you do with these pictures?" Asami's question cut into his thoughts.
His eyes flew wide. "Huh?"
"Did you give copies to the police? What were your plans for them? You did take them for some purpose, right?"
"Uh," Akihito hedged. That had been his intent in watching Sion. Definitely. The only reason he hadn't taken them in is because there wasn't any obvious wrong doing going on. Otherwise...
"You didn't turn them in, did you?"
"That's-" Akihito started angrily, "That's because-"
"Because you just wanted an excuse to look for me?"
"God, you're such an arrogant prick! That's not it! You're so annoying! Just get out. I don't ever want to see you again! I hate you!"
The words obviously irritated Asami. His eyes narrowed, and he finally seemed to lose his patience. The satisfaction Akihito felt in that was quickly lost as Asami roughly shoved him up against the wall. When his teeth latched onto Akihito's earlobe and tugged sharply before releasing it, Akihito forgot to breathe.
"Tell me you don't want this." His hands began to travel slowly over Akihito's body.
Oh God. He should shove Asami away. He should-
"Just admit it. You came to the club because you wanted to see me. No other reason."
"No," Akihito breathed. "You're wrong."
"Liar."
And now Asami's lips were on his throat. Akihito felt weak, so weak inside and out. Was he really just going to let Asami use him again? No!
"You honestly think I've been waiting around for you? Ha! Shows what you know." His voice got stronger as he pushed Asami away. "I-I had a date while you were gone. And he was great. Considerate," he emphasized with a dirty look at Asami. "And really cool. He had a motorcycle and we went for a ride and we-"
Asami shoved him back against the wall again, pinning him there hard enough that Akihito found it difficult to take a breath.
"Considerate?" Instead of looking pissed off, Asami only looked darkly amused. "Is that how he fucked you? Considerately?"
Akihito blushed and averted his gaze. How he wished he could lie believably and throw it in Asami's face that he and Wakai had...
A low rumble of laughter made his eyes fly back to Asami's. "Or was he too considerate to fuck you?" When Akihito's cheeks flamed even brighter, Asami smirked knowingly. "I'll wager he wanted to, though."
Humiliated, Akihito glared defiantly. "He kissed me!"
Asami's eyes narrowed. "Did he?" He reached up, then, brushing his thumb across Akihito's mouth. "It seems like he's not around now, though. And you keep referring to him in the past tense. Very telling. I'll bet..." Asami leaned in, his mouth hovering scant centimeters from Akihito's. "I'll bet when he kissed you, you couldn't help comparing his kisses to mine, could you?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Akihito said shakily.
"You're such a bad liar, Akihito, but you're awfully cute. Now behave and stop making such a fuss. I already offered an apology-something few ever receive from me." Asami gently stroked the line of his jaw. "I promise I won't neglect you for so long again."
God help him, but there was a part of him that wanted to give in to that smooth voice and those mesmerizing eyes, despite the utter arrogance and condescension the conceited jerk was oozing. His mind rebelled but his body and, to be honest, his feelings unfortunately staked out the larger part.
He made one last ditch effort to save himself.
"Look, I know you think you're all that, but I don't need to be involved with someone who's life is like...yours. So...so you need to leave. Just...get lost. I'm not inter-mmph!"
The kiss crumbled all his defenses and instead of struggling or shoving Asami away, Akihito found himself locked into the embrace, his pride shattered into a million pieces at his feet. Surely those raw, needy sounds weren't coming from?
When their mouths finally parted, Akihito was panting heavily. He stared up, almost uncomprehending as Asami pulled the tie through his collar and tested it in both hands.
"It's too bad if that's how you think. You already belong to me, and I have no intention of letting you get away now. When a stray cat turns up on my doorstep, and I take the trouble to feed it and tame it, then I'm entitled to put a leash on it and keep it close."
That penetrated the fog. "What? How dare you! I'm not a-ahhh-Asami!"
Within seconds, Akihito's wrists were bound by Asami's silk tie and he landed on his rumpled futon almost hard enough to have the breath knocked out of him. Asami was over him in a flash and he offered Akihito a wicked grin that sent a shiver of anticipation down his spine. "We have a lot of time to make up for. But don't worry, I'll make sure my little pet is thoroughly played with before morning."
It was the sound of a siren wailing somewhere close outside that woke Akihito in the morning. Shit, it couldn't be this bright outside already. A heavy arm settled over his side and pulled him back against a solid chest. "If there's any justice in the world, that noise is someone coming to arrest you," Akihito mumbled in a gravelly voice.
Asami's chuckle vibrated by his ear. "You seem so taken with the idea of me being involved in illegal activities, Akihito. Does the idea excite you so much?"
"Shut up." Akihito closed his eyes again. "I'm still mad at you. So what was such a big deal you couldn't pick up a phone during your little trip?" He wasn't exactly expecting an answer, but he wasn't expecting Asami's question either.
"Well, why didn't you call me?"
Akihito's eyes snapped open. What kind of question was that?
"H-huh?"
"You heard me. Did you ever give a thought to my feelings? What was I to think after so long when I didn't hear one word from you?"
Of course. The bastard was just winding him up. Akihito was too tired and messed up-God, how many places were there to be sore?-to move, much less get angry. "You're making fun of me. Asshole."
Sounding entirely refreshed and way too amused Asami continued with what he obviously considered his witty humor. "You had your way with me and then nothing...and you seemed like such a sweet boy."
"I really, really, hate you."
"Yes, obviously. I could really see that last night, especially when you-"
"Shut up!" Blushing, Akihito rolled over with great effort and met Asami's teasing gaze. "I'm serious. I really want to know."
Asami sighed, his fingers drumming against Akihito's hip. As a sullen pout began to settle over Akihito's features he laughed softly, indulgently. "All right, then. I'll tell you."
He stared at Akihito for a moment until his eyebrows lifted in impatience.
"Let's just say that someone I met a few years ago who holds a grudge against me decided now would be a good time to...test the limits of my organization. He created some situations overseas that I needed to handle personally. Honestly, it was more of an irritation than anything serious, but certain tempers had to be soothed, differences of opinion mediated, operations fine-tuned, that sort of thing. I wasn't in one spot long, nor did I have a lot of privacy."
He put a finger to Akihito's lips as he opened his mouth to protest. "However, I will admit that I should have made the effort." His lips curved into a smirk. "It would have been the considerate thing to do."
He laughed as Akihito snapped suddenly at his finger, his eyebrows drawn together fiercely.
"It turned out that the chaos was, as I suspected, an attempt to divert my attention. I sent my man back before me to handle the matter. My old acquaintance went to so much trouble to get my attention and acquire information that we decided he shouldn't leave Tokyo empty-handed."
"You mean-that's what the whole package in the alley thing was about?"
The shark-like grin Asami sported was rather startling and Akihito blinked. He was fairly certain he wouldn't want to be the one responsible for that expression.
"In the process, we also were able to flush out a couple of employees with dubious loyalties. strengthen my overseas holdings, and teach my acquaintance a valuable lesson. All in all, time well spent. Aside from a minor regret or two." He gave Akihito a suggestive smirk.
Akihito rolled his eyes. Yeah, nice try. "You suck at sweet talk, or whatever the hell you'd call it." He ignored the amusement that lit up Asami's eyes. "So what did you do to that guy anyway? The one with the grudge? Why's he so pissed at you?"
The amusement dropped away and Asami's expression slid into impassivity. After a moment, he spoke. "He thinks I shot him. And that I killed his father."
Well, fuck. Akihito gaped. "Um...did you?"
That cool gaze narrowed and Akihito held his breath.
"No."
He expelled the pent up air with a whoosh, then quirked a brow. "Is that what you meant by managing brats? Why don't you just call him up and tell him you didn't do it?"
The icy expression thawed again as Asami moved, rolling him onto his back and looming over him. "It's complicated. Nothing for you to worry about. Or to be jealous over," he added, a hint of laughter in his voice.
Akihito scowled, trying to ignore the heat he felt blooming in his cheeks. "Don't treat me like a kid."
The evil smirk was back. Sexy, his mind whispered traitorously.
"As you wish."
He bit his lip as Asami descended upon his already ravaged body. He was going to die.
Asami laughed.
Shit. Did he say that out loud?
"Asami, you jerk." He moaned as Asami punctuated Akihito's insult with a bite. "I'm going to get a failing grade on my paper," Akihito wailed. "And that's all your fault too!"