Work Text:
Asami stared in silence at the photograph for so long that Kuroda started to feel somewhat uncomfortable with the situation.
In truth, when he'd made up his mind to stop by Asami's office and show him the evidence of betrayal that had fallen into his hands he hadn't given much thought to the type of reaction the other man would have when faced with it. He had to admit though, that he hadn't expected Asami to act as cool and composed as he appeared to be.
Sure, the boy was probably nothing more than a toy for Asami to fool around with, and most likely would have been discarded without a second thought once he'd had enough of him, but still... Asami was not one to take betrayals lightly, and that photo was more than a little incriminating for the kid.
"How did you come by this?" Asami finally asked, putting an end to his silence; his voice however stripped of any emotion.
"Sakazaki's office was raided by the police two days ago on a drug felony charge. One of the cops involved in the raid is my associate. He thought I might be interested in what they were able to retrieve. To be honest I wasn't expecting to find anything of interest..."
"Are there any more like this?" Asami asked again, not taking his eyes away from the photo.
Kuroda studied the other man's expression in silence for a few seconds before answering. "...There are a couple more, yes. They seem to have been taken on the same occasion."
"Destroy them."
Kuroda frowned, surprised by the demand. "I can't do that, Ryuichi. They're police property now. I was lucky enough to be able to get my hands on that one."
"Destroy them!" Asami said, cutting him off sternly.
Kuroda narrowed his eyes at him. Had he misjudged Asami's initial indifference? The business man seemed to be getting increasingly agitated now. "Ok, ok. I'll see what I can do." The prosecutor replied, before they both fell back into silence.
"...I'm sorry Ryuichi." Kuroda said after a few moments, his voice guarded. "I know it's not my place to meddle in your personal life, but I couldn't just keep this from you."
"No. You did well." Asami replied, his tone a lot calmer, though he still couldn't bring himself to look at the other man.
"I'll be off then..." Kuroda said, getting up from his seat in front of Asami's desk. "I'll let you know when the other photos are destroyed."
Asami only half heard the door click shut as the other man left the room, finally leaving him alone. He was far too engrossed in the object he held in his hands to be fully aware of his surroundings after all.
Strangely enough though, he still hadn't decided how the whole situation made him feel.
At first he'd been too shocked to even grasp the meaning behind the photograph, thinking instead it had to be some sort of sick Photoshop joke on Sakazaki's part meant to infuriate him, but as the minutes went by he got more and more convinced that the photo was real.
A mix of anger and nausea quickly started to build up inside him then, though he was careful to conceal his emotions from Kuroda.
There was something else though, something eating away at his heart which was renewed with every new glance at Akihito in that photo. He just couldn't seem to figure out what it was.
Immersed as he was in his thoughts, Asami only noticed his phone ringing when the call got transferred to the answering machine.
He let the voice mail message run its course, intent on picking the call up after the beep, but the caller's voice at the end froze him on the spot.
"Hey Asami. It's me.You know, one of these days you'll have to explain to me why it is that you want me to call you everyday at nine when you never pick up the damn phone! It's stupid...Well, I'm going out now to follow up on a case for work. It will probably take me all night so don't fret if I'm not home when you get back, okay?... Oh, by the way, I left you some yakisoba inside the fridge. See ya tomorrow!" Akihito's voice said, in a joyful mood. "...And try not to make a mess of the kitchen, will you? It's a pain in the ass to clean up." He managed to add before the call ended.
Asami stared at the now silent answering machine feeling his hands slowly clench into fists.
Trying to control his anger as much as possible, he flipped open his cell phone, running through his contacts' list until one of his bodyguards' names showed up.
He didn't even bother with small talk when the other man picked up the call on the other side.
"I have a job for you." He said cryptically, making his bodyguard readily alert.
"Bring me Sakazaki... Alive."
Asami leaned his back against the couch, bringing the glass to his lips.
In front of him, the DVD player's digital clock beeped soundly, signaling the beginning of a new hour.
4 a.m.
He glanced at the player's display screen, chugging down the rest of his drink in one go.
He'd been home for over an hour now and apart from two phone calls, the rest of his time had been devoted to getting himself numb with alcohol.
Beating the crap out of Sakazaki hadn't worked to calm him down after all, so he'd decided to change tactics, though he was very much aware that one hour of mindless alcohol intake wasn't nearly enough to get him drunk.
…Which he secretly wished he was by now. It would surely make what was to come a lot easier for him.
Sighing tiredly, he ran his fingers through his hair but the action ended up causing him to wince in pain.
He pulled back his hand, holding it up at eye level, and slowly tried to move his fingers.
The tight bandage wrapped around his knuckles made the task nearly impossible though.
Asami was beginning to give credit to his bodyguard, who had bandaged the injured hand after the damage to it had been done.
Maybe the man had been right. Maybe he had overdone it…
Asami wouldn't be too surprised if he were to find out that one of his fingers was actually broken, but right now they were too sore and swollen for him to tell any difference between them. He might need to get his hand X-raid in the morning just to be sure though.
His consolation was that Sakazaki was in a far worse state than he was.
At that very moment, the bastard was probably at the hospital getting his nose reconstructed.
In truth, Asami's violence towards Sakazaki had surprised even him. Sure, he didn't exactly act like a boy scout when it came to get his revenge, but he usually wasn't that physical with his enemies.
He was convinced that if his bodyguard hadn't stopped him when he did, Sakazaki would have gone straight to the morgue, instead of the hospital's emergency room.
The problem had been that the bastard hadn't stopped laughing the whole time.
The more he got beaten up, the more he gloated how Akihito's mouth on him had felt so nice, and how he had done this and that to him, and that had been enough to drive Asami over the edge.
Feeling his nerves start to tingle anew with the memory of Sakazaki's words, Asami quickly reached for the Jack Daniel's bottle on top of the coffee table, but as he finished emptying its contents into his glass, he distinctly heard the front door's lock give way to a key, followed by the sound of the door opening and closing.
Quiet footsteps were heard coming down the hallway, and sure enough it wasn't long before Akihito came into Asami's view in front of the living room's entryway.
Concealed inside the darkened room Asami stared at Akihito in silence, who unaware he was being watched, casually leaned against the doorframe while rummaging through the mail he'd picked up at the front door.
"Invitation for charity dinner, invitation for museum launch, invitation for hotel opening…" Akihito mumbled tiredly, going through the mass of letters in his hands. "Why the heck does he get so many of these? …Hey, wait a minute. Invitation for beach party? That's more like it!"
He yawned suddenly, stretching his arms high above his head, the act causing his t-shirt to rise above his waistline, accidentally exposing his bare stomach to Asami.
The moment Asami saw it, he couldn't help a mental image of Sakazaki running his hands all over it from forming in his mind.
The thought made him sick to his stomach.
"Boy, I'm pooped." Akihito said to no one in particular, as he made his way inside the living room.
He fumbled for a bit with the light switches, yawning again as he was finally able to turn them on, but as he walked in the direction of the couch, his eyes were quick to spot Asami sitting there and he all but screamed out loud from the unexpected scare.
"Holy crap, Asami! Are you trying to kill me or something? !" He grimaced. "Jeez, at least give a person a warning, will you?... What are you doing sitting all alone in the dark anyway?" He asked, throwing his backpack on the floor and letting himself fall on the sofa in front of Asami.
"Oh damn, what a night! I thought that politician would never leave his mistress' house." He said, letting his eyes close for a bit. "Politicians are the worse, I tell you. But at least I was able to get some good pics." He added, unable to suppress another yawn.
It was by then that he noticed the lack of response from the other man.
He peeked at Asami through half-opened lids, realizing for the first time the other man's unusual grave expression.
"What's wrong?" He asked, though again he wasn't greeted with as little as a nod of recognition.
"Asami?..." Akihito pressed, until a thought suddenly crossed his mind, making him sigh tiredly.
"Oh come on Asami! I left you a message saying I'd be home late. You can't fret every time you get home and I'm not here. I do have a job, you know?" He said, though his words had little to no effect on the other man.
"…Fine then! Be pissed off all you want." He said, getting up from the couch and grabbing his backpack. "I'm going to bed. Good night!" He added, moving towards the door.
He hadn't walked three steps though, when he heard a low thud to his side, as if something had been dropped near him.
He turned round, surprised to find a brown envelope on top of the coffee table, where he was sure nothing had been seconds ago.
He looked back at Asami. Had he been the one to throw the envelope?
"What's this?" Akihito asked, as a strange feeling of uneasiness started to take hold of him.
"Open it." Asami requested, though his tone made it sound more like a demand.
There was definitely something going on. Akihito was sure of it now.
"What's the matter? Is everything ok?" He asked again in a guarded voice, unconsciously gripping the strap of his backpack tighter.
"Open it." Asami repeated, his icy tone making a chill travel down Akihito's spine.
The young man stared in silence at the envelope for a few moments before picking it up, under Asami's watchful gaze.
The moment his hand reached inside it and pulled out the crumpled photograph that Kuroda had retrieved, he grew as pale as a ghost, his backpack slowly sliding from his shoulder, landing on the floor beside him with a thud.
His reaction was enough of a guilt confession for Asami.
The older man suppressed a bitter laugh. So much for his ridiculous last hope of Akihito having a twin brother who enjoyed fooling around with low class underground criminals.
It was definitely him on that photo with Sakazaki, no doubt about it.
Asami figured he wasn't able to conceal the anger from his features anymore, because when Akihito finally looked back at him, still holding the photo in his hands, he all but shuddered.
Curiously enough, Akihito didn't seem scared, as if he feared Asami would harm him. He just looked…sad.
"Asami…It's not what it looks like it is. I can explain."
This time Asami did laugh, though it was not from amusement. "Just tell me one thing…" He began, slowly getting up from the couch and walking towards Akihito. "Is that how reporters get their news' scoops nowadays? Whoring themselves for information?"
"W-What?" The younger man asked confused, instinctively stepping away from him.
"I had a very interesting conversation with Sakazaki this evening." Asami continued, decreasing the distance between them. "You don't need to explain anything. I know exactly what went on between the two of you."
Akihito's eyes widened in surprise. "You spoke to Sakazaki-san…?" He remarked, incredulous. He was about to ask Asami what exactly had he meant by "conversation" when he suddenly noticed the bandage wrapped around the older man's right hand. "W-What happened to your hand?"
Asami looked at it and smirked. "Well, I didn't say it was an amiable conversation…"
Akihito gulped at his words. "I-Is he dead?" He asked fearfully, which caused Asami to narrow his eyes at him.
"Why? Do you care what happens to him?"
"No!…I-I care what happens to you. You can't go around killing people. You have enough enemies as it is."
"…You care what happens to me? !" Asami repeated with obvious irony, as he finally managed to corner Akihito against one of the living room's walls. "So were you thinking of my wellbeing when you sold yourself to that bastard?"
His accusing tone made Akihito turn his face away from him, unable to sustain his gaze any longer.
"Y-You needed the information." He mumbled quietly.
"And so you whored yourself for it? !"
"I'm not proud of what I did!... B-But I don't have money or connections and he wouldn't give me the information otherwise. I had no choice!"
Asami hissed, bringing his bandaged hand up and smacking it against the wall just beside Akihito's shoulder. The younger man didn't jump, or move, only stared back at him surprised.
"What the fuck made you think I'd be ok with that?" Asami asked, his eyes bearing into the younger man's with such intensity that Akihito felt as if he was out of breath.
"I-I…"
"Was this the only time?" Asami asked then, his tone demanding but not harsh.
Akihito stayed silent though, not understanding the question.
"Have you done this before?" Asami rephrased the question, sounding suddenly angry again.
"Of course not!" Akihito retorted, feeling ashamed of the suspicion. "With Sakazaki… I thought it was worth it, if it meant I could get you the information."
Asami exhaled sharply, closing his eyes for a few seconds in an attempt to calm himself down. "Nothing is worth what you did, you hear me? Nothing."
Akihito stared at his tight features, unable to utter a word. For a second, he almost wished Asami would hit him. He felt it would at least atone for the feeling of disappointed he saw he had awakened in the other man.
"When you offered to help to track down the source of information, I never thought you would…" Asami let the words trail unable to finish the sentence, his hand sliding down from the wall slowly, as if in defeat.
Suddenly it was him who wasn't able to look straight at Akihito, as if he was too upset to be showing any sort of emotion in front of the younger man.
Akihito wasn't stupid though. It was clear to him that Asami felt betrayed by what he had done (if not even hurt) and the thought was enough to make his eyes start to sting.
He bit down his lower lip in an attempt to fight back a treacherous tear from escaping them.
"…I thought that if I wasn't able to get the information. If I didn't prove to you that I can be of value to you, you…you would…" He wasn't able to finish either. He didn't want to put his fears into words.
Asami however looked back at him with a frown.
"I would what?"
Akihito stayed silent for a few moments. When he spoke again his voice was hollow.
"I don't want to be just another toy to you, Asami. Someone you can throw away if I am of no more use to you…"
The older man was taken aback by his words.
"Is that what you think you are to me?"
"…What am I to you then?"
The direct question caught Asami off guard. He stared back at Akihito in silence, a grave expression taking over his features, making the younger man smile bitterly at him in return.
"Nevermind... I can guess your answer." Akihito said quietly, taking advantage of Asami's distraction to break free from his grasp.
Before he managed to put any significant distance between them though, Asami grabbed his wrist and spun him around, forcing Akihito's body back against the wall.
The sudden impact caused the younger man to lose his breath for a few moments, as a surge of pain shot through his spine, but he didn't have time to mull over it.
Asami's lips were on his own the next second, silencing any attempts of protest.
The kiss he received was unlike any other they'd shared so far. Raw, possessive, filled with need and the effect it had on Akihito was druglike, a tantalizing combination of sexual desire and profound anxiousness.
He felt his strength slowly leaving him and soon his arms stopped fighting against Asami's embrace. Instead, Akihito found himself arching against the other man, moving his palms up his back, at the same time he heard a low moan escape from his own mouth.
It was Asami who broke the kiss, panting slightly for air. His gaze bore down on Akihito, making the younger man feel the full intensity of his next words.
"You are not a toy to me..." Asami said, before leaning down to kiss him again.
Akihito was pressed against the wall, as the other man's words played back in his head. It hadn't been the words themselves, but how Asami had said them that surprised him.
Decisive, no joke about them, yet expressing more desperation than he was sure Asami was comfortable displaying. It was probably the closest he'd ever get from getting a confession out of him and the thought suddenly made him want to cry.
He felt Asami's hands lift the back of his shirt, the bandages on his injured one grazing his bare skin as the older man sank his lower body into him, trapping Akihito with his tights and hips.
"Don't let anyone else touch you ever again, Akihito." Asami whispered against his ear. "...I'll go crazy if you do."
The plea was enough to break through Akihito's remaining barrier. He clung to Asami fiercely, hiding his face on the crook of his neck, so Asami wouldn't see his tears.
"I'm sorry..."Akihito still managed to whisper back before letting himself go completely.
They made love to each other over and over again on the course of that night, until both succumbed from exhaustion. Unlike other nights though none of it was rough or rushed. They both took their time savoring the other's body, as if it was the first time they were touching and being touched as proper lovers should.
When the first rays of sunlight woke up Akihito the next morning, he remained still for a long time enjoying the feel of Asami's arms surrounding him protectively in bed.
He knew that when Asami woke up, things between them would never be the same again.
...But maybe that wasn't such a bad thing.