Title: Taking care of you.

Chapter: #04

Anime/ Manga Kingdom: You're my Love prize in Viewfinder

Characters: Asami x Takaba

Timeframe: Post Naked Truth

A/N: Again, this is unbeta. So if there is any grammar or spelling mistakes, forgive me for that. I have been pretty busy with my real life, so this is kind of late. Once again, thank you for all your kind reviews. I really appreciate them, so keep them coming!

His fingers pulled the red string through the needle hole with careful precision. Then, it was followed by a tiny knot at the end of the loose string. Satisfied, he picked up the small piece of half completed knitted piece and continued sewing. His eyes were focused on the sharp end of needle as he poked the needle through the dark red piece of what is supposed to be a scarf. Biting on his pink lips in deep concentration, a small smile graced his lips.

He really did enjoyed sewing even though it was unexpected. He had vehemently objected to the idea when Asami had handed him the materials after Dr Hiroshi had recommended it for his treatment. According to the man, sewing should help him in stabilising his hand movements since he had been having some problems with his right hand from holding the gun in Hong Kong. It might not be a physical issue but more of an emotional problem, he thought, seeing that his right hand sometimes shook uncontrollably when he got nervous. However, if sewing could help him in solving this concern of his, then he did not really care about how sewing seemed to be more of a female thing than a male thing.

"Ugh," he gasped and dropped everything onto the table and floor.

A small drop of blood formed at the surface of his index finger from the impact of pricking himself accidentally with the needle. He frowned at his finger and felt a surge of irritation for making a mistake again. His left hand reached over and grabbed his shaking right hand. Stop, he begged silently as he stared at his hands. His head turned in the direction of the door when he heard a click.

"Takaba, are you alright?" Kirishima appeared before him within seconds.

Still holding onto his right hand, he glanced at the bodyguard, puzzled. He did not remember Asami saying anything about a change of bodyguard. Suoh had been assigned to guard him since his return to Japan. Furrowing his eyebrows at the thought of Suoh being fired or having worse things done to him because of his attempted escape, he turned to Kirishima for answers. As if Kirishima actually knew what he was curious about, the man shifted his eyes away from Takaba's uneasily.

Then, when Takaba still glared at him, he finally gave in. "Suoh might be receiving punishments for not fulfilling his duties properly."

Jumping up from the floor, he tried to run past Kirishima to the door, only to be held back by the taller man and pushed down to sit on the floor again. Kirishima eyed Takaba and gave him a firm shake of his head to tell him not to interfere with the matter unless he wanted Suoh to get into more trouble with Asami.

"It's better if you stay here. You wouldn't be of help to Suoh if you're going to escape again. In fact, you might get me into trouble this time," Kirishima explained patiently and bent down to pick up the needle and thread from the floor.

Takaba sighed and retrieved the needle from Kirishima's hand to finish up the dark red scarf. After a moment, he placed the needle onto the table after a thought flashed past his mind. He needed a pen. He scrambled up and bent under the table to retrieve a pile of paper. All the while, Kirishima stood by his side and watched him quietly. Quickly, he scribbled across the piece of paper: Tell me. Did Asami kill him?

"Takaba, I don't know."

The young man chewed at the end of the pen and then he wrote another sentence under the first question: Would Asami kill him then?

Remaining stoic faced, Kirishima repeated himself. "Takaba, I've no idea really."

Turning back to the paper again, another statement and question: Asami will not tell me if I ask. Tell me when you know?

"Takaba, even if I learnt about the punishment, I'm in no place to confide in you with such information. It's confidential."

Annoyed, Takaba tore the paper out from the pile and crashed it into a ball with his fingers. Shooting the taller man a glance, he smiled slyly. He picked out another needle from the sewing kit and stretched it out to the older man.

Kirishima arched his eyebrow at him, "Are you asking me to join you in sewing?"

Takaba nodded and patted the empty space next to him to tell him to sit down. Kirishima shook his head to turn down his request. Puffing his cheeks out, he picked up his pen again and wrote on a fresh sheet of paper: Asami told me that I could ask you to do anything.

The bodyguard stared down at the paper. Without much of an expression, he sat down cross-legged next to Takaba and began threading a string through the needle loop. Takaba simply smirked. With that, the both of them just happened to be sewing buddies for the rest of the evening.

On the other hand, Asami was busy with work that had piled up over the few days he had taken off to take care of Takaba. After approximately one week, he finally returned to work after seeing some improvements in the younger boy. Signing his name on the dotted line with a black fountain pen, he smiled briefly at the thought of his boy. He had been feeling uneasy throughout the past few days not entirely due to the emotional turmoil Takaba had put the both of them through, but rather at the realisation or perhaps his discovery of what he might actually feel for Takaba. It was something deeper than the pure lust he thought he only felt with Takaba, it was something more than the urge to own him entirely, it was a feeling that he had forbidden himself from feeling. But if he learnt anything from this episode, it would be that he would rather cherish the boy than deny himself anything now after almost losing him.

Deep in thought, he almost missed the knock on his wooden door. Snapping his head up, he waited for Suoh to enter the room. Earlier in the day, he had ordered the man to report to his office for the incident few days back. When he had learnt that Takaba had gone missing, he was furious at the man at first, which only changed to worry for the well-being of boy.

"Asami sama," Suoh closed the door behind him and bowed down in front of Asami. "I apologised for my negligence for my duties. I'll undertake the responsibilities and grave consequences of such action. Please forgive me."

Asami regarded his man carefully as he studied the man silently. After a long period of silence in the room, Asami stood up from the chair and strode slowly to stand in front of Suoh. His hand reached out for a cigarette and Suoh immediately stood up to light the cigarette for him. Blowing out a puff of smoke, he leaned backwards on his desk and stared down at Suoh.

"Well, what do you want me to do?" He asked humourlessly.

Suoh looked up at him in shock. "Pardon me?"

Asami closed his eyes briefly and repeated himself. "What types of consequences are you expecting?"

Silence met his question instead. Opening his eyes, he brought the cigarette back to his lips. "Tell me why you neglected your duties."

"Asami sama, I am sorry for not paying closer attention to Takaba. I did not realise that he had left the apartment from the window until I found your room empty when I went there to pass him his dinner," Suoh attempted to explain himself.

When he noticed that Asami did not respond, he continued with what exactly happened that day. "I found him with his hands buried in snow in the neighbourhood area. I shouted for him when I found him and he remained seated on the ground. I asked if he was fine, he didn't say anything so I began to lift the snow away to free his hand. And then-"

He stopped as if recalling something. Suoh gasped as his eyes widened at his memory.

"What?" Asami demanded as patience ran dry.

"I think Takaba told me not to touch him."

Asami stared at him for a while as if assessing if he was saying the truth. "You're saying that he spoke?"

"It… It was soft, but I'm certain about it."

Asami nodded and waved his fingers at the bodyguard.

"Asami sama?" Suoh asked, mystified. Why did Asami dismiss him?

"You can go," the man stated as he picked up his coat, "Suoh. I'll let this time go. No next time."

Suoh nodded blankly and left the room instantly, leaving Asami to wonder when he had become such an old softie. Ignoring his thoughts, Asami put on his coat and walked out of Club Sion to get back to Takaba.

His eyes shifted quickly from side to side after realising that Kirishima was nowhere in sight outside his apartment. Wary, he moved stealthily to the door and pressed the pin code swiftly with his fingers. With a gentle push of the door, he entered the room silently. His hand reached inside his coat for his handgun in case he needed it. He sidestepped along the wall and stopped when he heard some soft murmurings from further in the apartment.

"I think it's supposed to go this way instead," he heard Kirishima spoke softly. What in the world are the both of them doing?

"No, I mean. Look, lift your fingers and put them here. Then, bring it down slowly," the voice continued soothingly.

Asami tightened his grip around the handgun. He furrowed his eyebrows in frustration. They better not be doing what he thought they were doing.

"Takaba, not too hard. Yes, that is right. This is so much better," Kirishima's voice was starting to irk the older man.

Asami walked out from the dark with the gun by his side. His eyes widened at the sight before him. The two men were sewing together. He almost cursed himself when he realised how wrong his thoughts were. It did surprised him that Kirishima had joined Takaba though. Clearing his throat, he alerted them to his presence. Almost immediately, his bodyguard stood up and greeted him.

With his usual grace, Asami walked towards them and leaned down to place a kiss on Takaba's forehead. Takaba merely stared back up at him, a little startled. Then, the older man straightened up and dismissed his right hand man. After the door closed behind the leaving man, Asami sat down next to the younger boy, where Kirishima was seated earlier. Placing his large hand on Takaba's, he stopped him from sewing.

"Are you feeling any better today?" He asked when Takaba raised his head up to look at him.

Takaba seemed thoughtful for a moment before giving a nod. He did not feel different from yesterday but he did not feel worse too. Perhaps, he was making little steps in recovery.

"That's good. What is this?" Asami asked, amused as he picked up the piece of incomplete red piece.

The younger man shot him a glare. He was certain that the man was making fun of his work. He thought it looked fine, just the way a scarf should. A little pissed off, his arm reached out to snatch his red scarf out of Asami's hand, only to have it pulled away from his reach.

"I love that feisty attitude of yours," Asami commented as a smirk graced his face, "Is this scarf for me though?"

Takaba stared at him hardly. Didn't he ask what the red piece of cloth is just moments ago? Now, he said he knew that it was a scarf. He took in a deep breath like how Dr Hiroshi had taught him before, and then released his breath slowly. With a blush creeping up his cheeks, he nodded with embarrassment.

"I like it."

His eyes followed Asami's movements. The man watched Takaba as he wrapped the half completed scarf around his neck and smiled when Takaba flushed even redder.

Silence settled around them while Asami fingered the scarf with his fingers. After thinking through and weighing his options, he decided to do it the straight forward way. "Akihito, can you speak now?"

Glancing up from the floor, he studied Asami carefully. He wondered why he asked him that question today. Maybe Asami was getting frustrated and tired from taking care of him. He was useless and a burden to the yazuka. Clenching his teeth down, he shook his head.

The older man opened and then closed his mouth. He wondered if Suoh heard correctly. "Would you like to try?"

When Takaba did not respond, he spoke again. "Try saying my name."

Takaba looked at Asami in his eyes as he hesitated. Opening his mouth, he tried to do as asked.

"Ah…gah…a." He shook his head at the older man.

Resting his hands on Takaba's shoulders, he attempted to try to help him. "We just need a few more tries and you will get it. Come on."

Not wanting to disappoint him, Takaba tried again. "Ahh-ah…uhh."

"A…ah-as-aah."

After a few more tries, he started to grow frustrated with himself. "Ahhh-ka…ahh."

He inserted two fingers into his mouth and began forcing them down his throat in an attempt to force his voice back. Tears started pouring down his face and Asami tried to pull his hands away from himself.

"Calm down, Akihito. Stop," he wrenched the younger man's hands away from his mouth, "It's okay. You will get better. Stop."

His gagging turned into harsh panting and gasping after his hands are held tightly in Asami's. His right hand began to shake uncontrollably when he started to feel anxious and nervous. Asami grabbed it and massaged it gently.

"It's fine now. We'll take one step at a time." The taller man pulled Takaba into a tight embrace to calm the boy down.

Patience. Asami just needed to learn what patience really is.

A/N: Special thanks to the reviewers to chapter 3 – kittyzala, Skatjas, joesangkrah, Mirea, Theia Pallas, karl1n, scaza201 and 2 Guests.