Kirishima couldn't help arching an eyebrow at his boss. It was clear Asami Ryuuichi's mind was somewhere else altogether that morning. The man didn't seem to have listened to a single word his assistant had said so far.

Kirishima coughed loudly nonetheless, in an attempt to bring the other man out of his uncharacteristic stupor.

"You have a company board meeting this afternoon at 3 p.m.." He reminded his boss, as he continued reading the day's agenda noted down on his iPad.

"At 4 p.m. you have a conference call with the foreign affairs ministry in order to discuss Asami Enterprises' participation in the upcoming Asian market fair in the U.S. The ministry's representative has faxed over their proposal document… I was hoping you could take a quick look at it over lunch… I believe you will find it quite advantageous for the company." Kirishima added expectantly, even though he only received an absentminded nod from his boss in return, who seemed more inclined to continue reading the newspaper in his hands, than to become acquainted with what the day had in store for him.

Kirishima sighed disappointed, but proceeded anyway. "At 5:30 p.m. you'll attend a tea ceremony downtown with the oyabun of the Yamaguchi family. His rep has informed me that Yamaguchi-sama wishes to finalize today the details of the new weapon's deal you are working on with the family…"

Again, another silent and seemingly uninterested nod from Asami.

"At 6 p.m. I managed to squeeze in a visit to Dracaena on your way back to the office. The club's manager is very keen on showing you the results of the club's refurbishing process. The final touchups are being made as we speak, and the club's official reopening to the public is still set for next week."

Kirishima paused for a moment, waiting for his boss to provide him with any sign he'd listened to this last part at all.

"Asami-sama?..."

"Hm?"

"…There is also the subject of the latest gossip press article on you…You still have not issued a statement refuting it. If you leave it unanswered for too long…"

"What article?" Asami asked, finally looking up at his assistant from behind the morning newspaper.

"The one concerning the actress Onodera Rei…"

The look that the business man displayed then, clearly indicated he had no notion of what it was that his assistant what talking about.

"…The one that claims you're the father of the actress' unborn child…"

Asami dropped the newspaper on top of the desk. "For crying out loud, another one?"

"I'm afraid so, sir…"

"What am I? The only man left in this country capable of fathering children?"

"Well sir, Onodera-san hasn't herself issued a statement at this point, which is further fueling the rumors of a possible connection between the two of you… I suppose it was rather unfortunate that you were spotted together so often around the time she apparently became pregnant."

Asami sighed tiredly, leaning his head against the back of his chair. "Those were nothing but coincidences."

Kirishima nodded in agreement. "Of course, sir. But still, I would strongly suggest that you put out a statement on this as soon as possible…before the story gets out of hand…more than it already has, that is."

Asami frowned at his assistant's words. "What do you mean by 'more than it already has'?"

Kirishima coughed somewhat awkwardly. "Well sir, I'm afraid the rumor has already made it to NHK Channel's morning gossip program." He confessed, picking up the TV's remote control. "I took the liberty of recording this morning's program for you to see for yourself." He added, turning on the television set fixed to the wall in front of Asami's desk. "The program aired but an hour ago."

Before his boss had a chance to say anything at all, the office room was invaded by the sound of the infamous gossip TV program's entry tune, courtesy of the state of the art surround system the business man had had installed in his office not too long ago.

Two overly maked-up women soon filled in the TV screen, their clothes and dispositions way too bright and bubbly for such an early hour in the day.

"And what to say of the biggest story of the week, Midori-san?" The older of the two asked her co-host, as soon as the audience's applauses died down.

"Oh yes, Kaoru-san, quite a juicy one it is." The youngest replied with an affected laugh. "Could this be the moment all of us women have been dreading?"

Kaoru joined in on the laugh. "You are quite right. You are quite right. What a loss to our collective fantasies it will be if the rumor turns out to be true. But we should explain to our audience the case at hand. They need to be in on it too." She paused dramatically, looking straight at the camera and at the people in front of her at the television studio. "We are of course referring to the rumor that claims Tokyo's business mogul Asami Ryuuichi is the father of young actress and socialite Onodera Rei's unborn child." The woman announced.

Collective exclamations of Ohs and Ahs were instantly heard from the studio's audience, who soon erupted in cheers and applauses as a picture of Asami and the actress in question, taken at a charity event a few weeks before, appeared in a giant screen behind the TV show's hosts.

In his office, Asami tried his best not to curse out loud.

"Aren't they a fantastic looking couple?" Midori-san asked the audience, looking over her shoulder at the screen with the sly smile.

The audience erupted yet again in cheers.

"Bear in mind though, Midori-san." Kaoru quickly interjected. "None of the parties has issued a statement on the matter at this point…"

The younger woman winked at her co-host friend. "You know what they say though. If you don't refute a rumor in 24 hours…"

Her comment brought out a laugh from the crowd, including the other host.

"That's true, I suppose. But some facts are in order." Kaoru turned to face the camera again, her voice sounding suddenly very serious and professional. "As we know, this is not the first time billionaire Asami Ryuuichi is facing this type of rumors. He's been romantically linked throughout the years to various actresses and supermodels, but it was never possible for the press to effectively confirm the veracity of any of these love attachments. Furthermore, Asami-san's refusal to go public with his love life has fueled press speculation on his lovers' identities since he first joined Tokyo's business scene well over a decade ago."

"Our audience members will of course remember that the CEO of Asami Enterprises has been named Bachelor of the Year a staggering total of 9 times over the past 15 years." Midori said with another wink.

"That is very true, Midori-san." Kaoru said with a dreamy look, looking at the screen behind her, which kept displaying different pictures of Asami and the actress together at various social events. "Asami Ryuuichi sure is one fine piece of a man!" She said, causing the audience to giggle in agreement.

"Which brings us to this week's biggest questions…" The youngest of the hosts smirked at the camera in front of her. "Has Tokyo's most famous bachelor fallen for the charm of raising star Onodera Rei? Will the two of them walk down the aisle before the child is born? Will they-"

That was more than enough for the likes of Asami Ryuuichi. He picked up the TV's remote control, which Kirishima had placed on top of his work desk, and muted the television's sound before he heard any more nonsense coming out from the hosts' mouths.

"Kirishima..." The business man said to his assistant in the calmest voice he could muster.

"Yes, sir?" Kirishima asked readily, although he had a feeling he knew what his boss was about to say.

"Prepare a statement to be released to the press on this bullshit."

"Yes, sir."

"Today."

Kirishima tried to suppress a smile. Nothing infuriated his boss quite like the gossip press. "Of course, sir. I already have a draft prepared."

Even with the sound muted, Asami was having a hard time controlling the urge to throw the desk's paperweight directly at the hosts' faces in the TV screen. It would perhaps be a good way to vent out his rage, and he could always buy a new television set if he wanted to.

Kirishima's next words put a stop to his brilliant plan though.

"If I may, Asami-sama,… Kaoru-san is right in regards to one point."

The look that his boss gave him then seemed to indicate the older man thought he'd gone mental all of a sudden, so Kirishima was quick to elaborate on his initial comment:

"…The fact that you have never issued a statement to the press confirming that you are already in a committed relationship is at the root of all the rumors going about regarding your love life." The assistant said, watching his boss' eyes widening ever so slightly at the remark. "If you were to issue such a statement, I'm sure the press (and all those actresses and supermodels, for that matter) would know you are taken, and would leave you alone."

The business man couldn't help but smirk at his assistant's words. "Are you suggesting then that I announce to the world that I'm dating Akihito? Just like that?"

"Well, sir. If you are indeed to marry Takaba-kun as you plan, then sooner or later you'll have to make some sort of announcement regarding it to the press, yes. A man with your position in society cannot marry in secrecy, after all."

The word 'marry' caused Asami to fidget involuntarily on his chair; something that did not escape his assistant's notice, even though the latter acted normally as he continued exposing his thoughts.

"Also, I would suggest that if you still plan to marry before the summer, you start setting up dates with Takaba-kun as soon as possible. I'll need to find a way to squeeze a wedding and a honeymoon into your busy schedule, which with the upcoming plans for the construction of the luxury resort in Indonesia, will be quite the daunting task."

Asami didn't know if he should feel pleased or appalled by his assistant's matter-of-fact approach to such a turning point event in his life.

"Well, sir?"

"Well what, Kirishima?"

"Have you and Takaba-kun set any dates for the wedding yet?"

"You're talking quite a lot today aren't you, Kirishima?" Asami replied unamused, lighting up a cigarette against his lips, something he did nowadays, only on particular stressful days. "No… We haven't set any dates for it yet." He nevertheless confessed, after taking a long drag from the cigarette.

"…And am I to presume that that is the case, because you have not yet asked Takaba-kun to marry you?..."

"You know, Akihito is over 30 years-old. I'm pretty sure you can drop the –kun by now." Asami interjected, noting however that his assistant for once was not keen on having his boss change the subject at hand.

Asami pulled a hand through his hair, letting out cloud of smoke from his lips. "No, I haven't asked him yet…The timing hasn't been right, that's all."

He heard Kirishima huff unimpressed, which caused him to arch an eyebrow at his assistant.

"I have a busy schedule, as you are well aware of..." Asami said, as if that alone was enough of an excuse. "It's hard to find time to breath on a regular day, let alone to propose to someone."

Something resembling a smirk appeared briefly on Kirishima's lips as he heard his boss's remark. "Well sir, you will be glad to know then that I've cleared your schedule for today from 8 p.m. onwards. I've also booked a VIP room at the Bulgari restaurant in downtown Ginza for 8:15 p.m. onwards, as well as the presidential suite at the Ritz for the night. I've arranged for Takaba-kun, I mean, Takaba-san to meet you directly at the restaurant at 8:30 p.m., which will give you ample time to stop by the penthouse first to fetch the engagement ring...that is, if you don't already have it with you."

For the first time in a long while, Asami Ryuuichi felt speechless. He looked up at his assistant not sure if he'd just imagined what the other man had said.

"You did what, Kirishima?"

The assistant looked up from the iPad's screen with a most natural expression. To him, it was as if he'd just reminded his boss of yet another item on his daily agenda.

"Bear in mind though sir, that Takaba-ku...I mean –san, thinks he will be meeting you for dinner in order for you to celebrate together his recent nomination for the photojournalist of the year award. He has no clue regarding the hotel stay afterwards, but I'm confident it will be to his liking as well." Kirishima concluded with a satisfied grin.

"..."

"By the way sir, I've rearranged tomorrow morning's schedule as well, so that you'll have the first half of the day off too."

"...Did you plan all this behind my back, Kirishima? !"

"With all due respect sir, I'm only looking after your best interests."

"Kirishima."

"Sir! You have not been yourself ever since you bought that engagement ring. You are unable to fully focus on your work, you miss deadlines, skip meals. All of your subordinates have caught on by now that something is the matter with you. With all due respect sir, what is holding you back from making the wedding proposal? This hesitation is very unlike you."

Asami opened his mouth ready to refute the accusation, but quickly realized his assistant was making a valid point. He was well aware he had been acting completely off since his and Akihito's 10th anniversary celebration the week before, and he himself was not even sure why. Since when did he hesitate this much in relation to anything?

"What is that you are afraid of, sir?"

The word felt like a bucket of cold water being thrown at the business man's face. "Afraid?" Asami smirked, almost amused by Kirishima's unexpected question.

He looked up at his assistant again intent on replying to him this time around, when something behind Kirishima grabbed his attention.

To his complete surprise, Asami saw a picture of none other than his younger photographer lover suddenly showing up on the muted TV screen.

"What the…?" He mumbled incredulously, picking up the remote again an unmuting the sound.

Kaoru's voice instantly flooded the office room again.

"And what to say of the newest sensation couple to hit the social scene in Tokyo, Midori-san? Don't they look cute together?"

"…Couple?" Asami thought, only then realizing that beside Akihito on the photograph was a well-known pop star.

"Yes, ladies and gentlemen." Midori-san started. "As you can see from the picture behind me, our reporters have spotted pop singer Hannah getting cozy with none other than best photojournalist of the year nominee, Takaba Akihito. The picture your seeing was taken a few days ago at Japan's MTV Music Awards, and it is rumored the two lovebirds couldn't take their hands off of each other all throughout the show."

Her co-host sighed. "Love sure is in the air, no doubt about it! So many new couples."

A sudden cracking sound pulled Asami's attention away from the TV screen. When he looked at his hand he saw that the remote's casing was broken. He'd been gripping it so hard; he'd actually managed to break it.

"Kirishima." He said again; trying very hard to control his anger.

"Yes, sir?" Kirsihima replied, although he again had a feeling he already knew what his boss was going to ask of him.

"Get me NHK Channel's president on the phone, will you? It's about time I have a chat with him regarding his channel's programming."

Kirishima bowed respectfully in front of his boss, in an attempt to hide his amused smile.

Indeed, nothing drove Asami Ryuuichi mad quite like the gossip press.

Akihito's behavior was a bit off tonight. Not in an obvious manner though. In fact, if it weren't his lover of ten years who was dining in front of him, it would have been difficult for another person to have realized the bizarre mood the photographer was in.

Akihito was generally quite talkative (way more than Asami), but tonight he was close to hyper, sharing the details of his most recent job assignment so enthusiastically, he was barely giving his lover a chance to participate in the conversation.

Not that the business man felt particularly inclined to anyway. The latter's mood was itself noticeably off tonight, as he kept rolling the engagement ring box inside the pocket of his waistcoat.

The truth was that the dinner was coming to an end fast, and Asami had yet to pop the question to Akihito. He really could not understand what it was that was holding him off, but whatever it was, it was seriously starting to get on the business man's nerves.

"You should have seen the politician's face when Mitarai blocked the way out of the hotel's parking lot with the agency's car, so that I could take the photos." Akihito chuckled, not without a hint of embarrassment.

"…You should be proud of yourself though. Those photos turned out quite nice." (And quite popular too, since they were featured in all of the major Japanese newspapers the day after.)

The photographer smiled awkwardly at the remark. "Yeah, I guess they did." He said, massaging the back of his neck, as both lovers fell into an unusual silence.

Asami clutched the ring box tighter inside his pocket.

"Akihito…" "Asami…" They both said at the same time.

Akihito blushed despite himself. "Ah, you go first."

"No, you can go first." Asami said calmly, watching as the other man became nervous all of a sudden.

"Well…I…T-That is…I…" Akihito started stammering.

"…"

"Huh…"

"What is it?" Asami asked, intrigued.

For some reason, the younger man seemed reticent to proceed, which was confirmed by the fact that he suddenly became very keen in avoiding Asami's direct gaze.

"What's the matter, Akihito?" The older man asked again, his voice still cool.

Akihito let out a nervous laugh. "Huh…So those photos I took last week… The ones my boss sold to the NY Times…"

"Yes? What about them?" Asami was having a difficult time understanding where this conversation was going.

"So…I got a call from the head of the photography department at the NY Times two days ago... He wanted to congratulate me on the photos. He really liked their quality and we spent some time discussing the photography exhibition the agency promoted last year. You know, the one that featured my photos on the Amazonian deforestation." Akihito was clearly stalling now, which gave Asami an uncomfortable feeling.

The older man removed his hand from his waistcoat's pocket and grabbed his martini glass instead.

"Hm,…so…he kind of offered me a 5 year contract with the NY Times. The newspaper wants me to work directly for them from now on. The pay is really good…not to mention the exposure my photography would get." He said in one go, looking straight at Asami afterwards in search of a reaction from the older man.

Asami found himself smiling in return. "That's great. Congratulations... So does that mean you'll be their correspondent in Japan?"

Akihito bit his lower lip, turning his gaze away from his lover again, and directing it instead towards his hands on top of the table.

"Well…the offer is for me to work directly for the newspaper…in New York."

The glass Asami was in the process of taking to his lips, stopped midway in the air. "Oh…I see." He replied, placing the martini glass back down on top of the table; his surprise now concealed behind a perfect mask of composure.

"And… have you given them an answer already?" The older man asked in his most casual voice. He looked as though he was suddenly discussing a business transaction, which surprised his younger lover.

"Huh…No, not really. I kind of wanted to talk to you first, you see?" Akihito confessed, blushing as he spoke.

"You should take up the offer. It's the opportunity of a lifetime, after all." The detached business-like tone in Asami's voice further discouraged the photographer's mood.

This time the younger man wasn't able to hide his surprise though; his eyes widening at Asami as soon as the latter provided his casual remark.

"Yeah…I know that." Akihito admitted, his voice quiet. "But it's five years, Asami…I mean…Even if I manage to visit Japan once a month…"

His lover's next words felt like an arrow piercing his heart.

"Why would you bother visiting Japan so often?"

"Well…I-I..."

"You don't need to tire yourself with unnecessary travels." Asami said calmly, while taking a sip from his drink. It tasted like liquid poison to him. "You should enjoy your free time in New York. Don't bother coming back to Japan so often."

"But…what about us?"

Asami looked his younger lover straight in the eyes. "…Maybe we could take some time off from each other. We've been together since your early twenties after all. Perhaps it's time you go out and explore the world on your own and-

The business man didn't manage to finish the sentence because Akihito suddenly got up from the seat in front of him at the table; the latter's face muscles twitching under the skin, although whether the younger man was trying to look angry or avoiding crying, Asami could not tell.

He looked straight at the older man, who was himself beginning to feel nauseous from his own words. What was wrong with him to be even suggesting such a thing to the younger man?

"You sure can be a real jerk when you want to, Asami." The photographer said, before he stormed out of the VIP room of the restaurant, leaving Asami behind feeling even worse with himself.

The rain was pouring down by the truckloads by the time Asami managed to spot Akihito taking cover from the downpour under a gazebo tucked inside a park not too far away from the restaurant.

In his haste to leave the premises (and Asami) behind, the photographer had opted to walk away from the restaurant, rather than wait for his motorbike to be brought to him from the parking lot by one of the restaurant's valet parkers.

Asami parked his Maserati close to the park's entrance gate, which was by then already closed for the day, making him think the photographer had probably climbed over the park's fence in order to get inside it.

The business man exited his ride, pulling the collar of his coat up, in an attempt to protect himself from the chilly February wind. As for the rain, he couldn't do anything about it, but brave through it.

He tried forcing the gate open, all the while peeking through its iron bars, to make sure the younger man wouldn't spot him and start moving away from the gazebo in the opposite direction.

After two very frustrating minutes, the business man finally gave up and with a quick leap, he too climbed over the fence, falling on a heap of damp cut grass waiting to be collected and disposed of on the other side.

The soles of his shoes squished as he walked over a carpet of wet fallen leaves towards the gazebo.

The noise he made in the process was apparently way louder than he thought, because as soon as his foot stepped onto the gazebo's first step, he heard Akihito's voice loud and clear.

"Go away." The photographer said, not looking over his shoulder at his lover, who nevertheless continued to walk up the steps towards him. "…I don't want to talk to you."

The other man finally stopped on the landing, a few feet behind the bench Akihito was sitting on.

"You're soaked." Asami stated, looking at the way the younger man's wet shirt clang to his back. "You're going to get sick."

Akihito snickered at the accusatory tone in the other man's voice, but chose to remain silent.

He soon heard Asami sighing tiredly behind him.

"The car is parked outside…Let's just go home. I'll get someone to stop by the restaurant tomorrow to fetch your Honda."

"I can manage on my own, thanks. And I don't need a ride 'home'." The way the last word was pronounced reeked of irony, which caused Asami's nerves to tense up.

"Brat." He mumbled under his breath.

"Hey! I heard that."

"Good! You were supposed to. Now put this on before you catch a damn cold." Asami ordered, throwing towards the younger man the jacket he'd left behind at the restaurant, which fell smack on top of the latter's head, obstructing his vision momentarily.

While Akihito fought with the fabric, Asami moved closer to the bench, sitting on it beside the younger man.

Two lightning flashes crossed the sky above them before any of them spoke up again. They were both far too stubborn to willingly take the initiative to break the silence.

"…Did you really mean what you said back there?" Akihito finally asked, still not looking his lover in the eyes; his voice a mix of anxiety and hurt.

"About what?"

The photographer suspected that despite the darkness surrounding them, his lover could probably see the deep blush tinting his cheeks by now.

"About not caring if I move away to New York…About thinking we should take a break from each other…"

"Of course I didn't mean it." Asami's reply held so much conviction that it was impossible for the younger man to doubt he was speaking the truth.

"Then why…?"

"I don't know why." Asami confessed reluctantly, pulling a hand through his hair. "I didn't mean to upset you…Sorry, I shouldn't have said anything. It's just…I saw a stupid TV show today. Your name came up on it."

"What TV show? !" Akihito asked, clearly surprised by the revelation. Out of the two, Asami was the famous one after all…

"…That stupid gossip program on NHK Channel."

The look of utter bewilderment that came over Akihito caused the business man to elaborate.

"They showed some footage of a show you attended a few days ago." Asami explained. "Some popstar was all over you. The TV show hosts kept claiming you two were an item." He trailed off, clearly uncomfortable by the admission.

"And…And since when do you believe in that sort of gossip?"

"I said I was sorry, didn't I? I told you, I don't know what came over me." Asami quickly refuted, as they both fell into a tense silence again.

"…What were you doing watching that stupid show anyway?" Akihito asked, after a moment.

"Kirishima taped it for me. They ran a story on me as well…Kirishima wanted me to see it."

"Oh yeah…the one about that actress' child."

Asami didn't know if it was the photographer's voice tone or the sudden gloomy look that came over the latter's face that caused him to raise an eyebrow at the younger man.

"Don't tell me you think there is any truth to the rumor?"

"No…" Akihito answered, looking away from the other man again. "It's just one more made up story about you after all." He fell silent for a few seconds, only to chuckle bitterly a moment afterwards. "At least you got to see today how it feels like to see a lie being told by the press about the person you love."

The comment managed to surprise the business man even more. He found himself smirking, despite his better judgement.

"What's up with you all of a sudden? It's not like you to get all jealous over me."

"Who said I'm jealous in the first place? !" Akihito bickered, clearly blushing despite his denial.

Asami wisely chose not to point out the fact out loud.

"Well, you don't need to bother yourself anymore concerning the rumor about the actress." He stated. "I had Kirishima release a statement to the press this afternoon confirming I have nothing to do with that woman. It should come out on tomorrow's newspapers. The press should leave me alone after that."

"Sure…until the next rumor comes along." Akihito said, but even though his voice was low, Asami heard him perfectly.

"You know very well I can't do a thing about those rumors. It's not like I can go around town asking the gossip press to pick another target for their stories."

"It's not all just the press' fault you know… You kind of help it out too."

"And how do I manage to do that, exactly?"

"Nevermind…"

"Akihito."

The younger man huffed. He supposed he might as well come clean with Asami at this point, even if it was at the expense of his own mortification.

"Well, you don't exactly push them away from you, you know? At parties and such."

Asami was growing more and more confused by the minute.

"Who's 'them'? Who are you talking about, Akihito?"

"Those women!" The photographer finally confessed, his cheeks bright red now. "Those actresses, and supermodels, and socialites, all of them. They are always clinging to you any chance they get. I hate it!" He added, rendering the other man to silence.

"But what I hate the most is that you never push them away. Open any magazine and look inside it, you are bound to find at least one picture of the great Asami Ryuuichi and his latest reported lover."

Asami stayed silent for a while longer, studying Akihito's profile beside him. Truth be told he had never given much thought to how those gossip magazine articles and photos made the younger man feel. They had always seemed so silly and devoid of reason to him that he'd just assumed from the get-go that his lover shared his views on them.

"Why didn't you ever tell me you felt that way?" He asked, watching as Akihito bit into his lower lip, something he normally only did when he was attempting to fight back tears.

"Haven't you ever asked yourself why was it that I stopped doing press photography for the social events that you attend?"

Something told Asami the answer was not the one he had on his mind.

"Because I don't want to be the one to have to take those pictures showing someone else in your arms."

Another flash of lightning cut through the sky followed closely be a roaring thunder. The storm was right on top of them now and the rain was turning into hail.

Asami had an odd feeling he was expected to say something in reply to the younger man's admission, but for the first time in his life he didn't know what to say.

Akihito was clearly conscious of the fact, the ghost of a bitter smile eventually appearing on the younger man's lips.

"You know, never mind what I said." He started, fixing his eyes on the hail hitting the grass outside the gazebo. "Maybe I should move to New York for a while. Maybe being apart from each other would do us some goo-."

"You know very well you don't really mean what you're saying, Akihito." Asami's tone was cool, collected, and his remark, annoyingly accurate.

The photographer's lips morphed into a thin line. "Well, I can't keep this up for much longer." He said, and before the words had a chance to sink in with his confused lover's mind, Akihito got up from the bench and walked over to the gazebo's railing, where he leaned over with his elbows enjoying the feel of the icy wind caressing his burning cheeks.

"What is it that you want me to do exactly, Akihito?" The fateful question came not long after, causing the young man's heart to beat harder against his breastbone.

He sighed quietly, his voice nearly muffled by the sound of the hail falling around them.

"You're not going to give me what I want, so what's the point in asking for it?"

"Try me." Asami said, voice dead serious.

"…"

"Akihito."

The photographer's stubborn silence finally broke the other man's composed countenance. With a couple of quick steps, the business man found himself right behind his lover, wheeling the latter around with one swift movement so that they both faced each other.

Akihito was biting his lower lip again, although this time the effort wasn't producing the desired effect; a treacherous tear was already about to fall down his right eye.

Asami's voice cooled down immediately. "What is it that you want, Akihito?" He asked again, feeling the photographer's arms moving upwards so that his hands ended up clutching the sides of Asami's waistcoat.

"…I want you." The young man confessed, lowering his face to Asami's chest in defeat.

The older man let out a breath he wasn't aware he was holding in.

"You already have me, you silly brat!" He said relieved; his hand coming up to cradle the back of the photographer's neck.

Akihito shook his head against his lover's waistcoat. "But I want everyone to know I have you..."

Asami's eyes widened in surprise. "What? What does that mean exactly?"

"I…I want you to marry me, Asami."

"What? !"

"I want all those flimsy idiots to know that they can't cling to you, because you're mine."

"…"

"Marry me…please."

"…"

Akihito took Asami's silence as a bad sign. He suddenly let go of the business man's waistcoat, taking a step back from him.

His whole face was a deep shade of red, as he searched for any signs of an answer on the other man's face.

Only a shocked and bewildered expression greeted him though, so Akihito did the only thing he could think of at the moment.

He wheeled his body around and started to walk away from Asami, towards the gazebo's steps, as fast as his legs would allow him.

He didn't manage to get far though, for Asami's arms soon wrapped around his waist, quickly turning him round and holding Akihito in place against his broad chest.

"Let go, Asami!"

"…"

"Let go! I want to leave. I've embarrassed myself enough for one nig-."

The younger man wasn't able to finish the sentence, because he was soon silenced by Asami's lips, which covered his own, trapping them in a heated kiss that managed to steal away the strength from Akihito's knees.

"Don't you want to hear my answer first?" Asami whispered against the photographer's lips, after he finally broke the kiss.

"…W-What?"

Akihito felt his heart beating inside his throat. He saw Asami's hand reaching for something inside the older man's waistcoat pocket; surprise flashing through his eyes as he caught sight of a small black velvet box.

His surprise quickly turned to shock when Asami slid his thumb over the top part of the box, opening it to reveal a smooth silver band.

"Will you marry me too, Takaba Akihito?"

The photographer looked from the ring to his lover's face, back at the ring again; his lips trembling all the while despite himself.

He opened his mouth briefly, but try as he might no words came out, so he just leaned his face against the other man's chest again.

He felt as Asami's muscles flexed underneath his shirt and waistcoat, as a quiet chuckle reverberated through his body.

"Are you crying, Akihito?" He heard the older man ask him amused.

The photographer shook his head. "No." He readily replied, although the word was accompanied by a treacherous hiccup.

"You brat!" Asami retorted with a laugh, before he bent down to kiss Akihito on the lips again; their kiss stronger than all the rain, hail, lightning and thunder falling down around them.

THE END