"You are late," his father observed sternly.
Takumi shrugged and took his seat at the table. "Work."
"Dear, he is very busy these days," his mother quipped. Her smile was brilliant. "Are things going well with the new company?"
"It's okay," Takumi replied nonchalantly.
In fact, he should be incredibly pleased. The brand was so ecstatic with the success of his seasonal campaign that they offered a full brand ambassadorship. It meant an upcoming hectic schedule with commercials to shoot, meetings to attend and events to grace.
The current success also caught the imagination of the public, which led to numerous television appearances and magazine interviews.
His face was literally plastered all over the internet and the country.
He should thank Akira in person.
Whether fortunately or not, they hadn't met up since that day. A clash in schedules. A last-minute overseas assignment. Takumi's unconscious avoidance strategy.
He shoved the man's face out of his mind.
"My secretary has become your fan," Daisuke noted drily across the table.
"Thank you!" Takumi grinned.
His brother only shook his head and signaled to the waiter hovering discreetly to start serving.
An unspoken rule remained that as long as Wataru lived in the palatial family home, Takumi wouldn't step a foot inside.
The thought of Wataru being in the same compound sickened him.
He still felt a crawl on his skin. Anger at his parents threatening to burst. Even as he knew that the psycho could no longer hurt him.
But Takumi could stomach a meal with his parents and Daisuke occasionally in a lush private dining room of an overpriced restaurant.
They ate mostly in silence anyway. A few meaningless comments. In and out under two hours.
Today, they followed the same pattern. At least the food was quite good.
They arrived at dessert without any surprises.
Until Daisuke broke the news.
"I nearly forgot," he looked at Takumi with an amused smile. "I heard something interesting the other day."
"Oh?" Takumi was curious.
"The chairman of one of our business associates. He has a daughter," Daisuke began.
Their mother perked up. "Does he? Are you interested, dear?"
Daisuke dashed her hopes immediately. "No, mother."
"I see," she sighed and lost interest. Takumi nearly rolled his eyes.
"Apparently he is interested in someone you know for his son-in-law," Daisuke chuckled.
"Someone I know?" Takumi was confused.
"Hasegawa Akira. Isn't he that friend of yours?" Daisuke queried.
Takumi stopped breathing. His blood froze. His heart cracked. Something amounting to panic began to rise in his throat.
Daisuke mistook his reaction for shock.
"I know. It is odd."
"H-how did you find out? It's pretty personal," Takumi managed to force the words out.
"One of his men told me when he was drunk. Poor fellow." Daisuke shook his head. "He had aspirations before Hasegawa won the old man over on a deal."
Their father overheard and asked gruffly, "Who is this?"
"Kishimoto, father."
"Is Kishimoto really going ahead with this?"
"It sounds like a serious conversation is ongoing. Why would the lawyer turn the offer down?" Daisuke turned to Takumi. "You should congratulate your friend."
Takumi forced a smile and nodded.
"Foolish move. Risks losing a good worker," their father remarked disapprovingly.
"I agree."
Takumi's brain failed to register the conversation between his father and his brother after that. A fog buried his brain in a mixture of denial, shock and everything in between.
He couldn't even remember how he managed to finish the dinner and went home in one piece.
Or how he sat on his couch and stared at the ceiling.
Something approximating physical pain threatened to consume him.
Yet the tears wouldn't fall.
Perhaps Daisuke was wrong. It was just hearsay and gossip. Akira would have told him if he was considering a matter so serious.
Or perhaps Takumi just couldn't accept reality. That this day would always have to come. Anytime now, he would get a call from Akira informing him of the good news.
He wanted to throw up.
xxxxxxxx
Akira closed the apartment's door behind him and breathed a sigh of relief.
The deal was difficult and tested every last ounce of his ability and experience.
Until the very end when his client appeared to offer a proposal beyond business, venturing into a personal alliance. It took diplomacy, flattery, and sheer charm to deflect the older man without offending him.
With the final hurdle crossed, his law firm celebrated the fees billed. Kanno even went as far as organizing a celebratory dinner later that week.
Although he was not in a festive mood himself.
Akira sat on his couch and stared at the ceiling.
A thought lying in wait came forth with a vengeance.
That singular electrifying moment between him and Takumi, when their gaze met, burned in his mind.
He was acutely aware of how attracted he was to Takumi.
No, that was not accurate at all.
He was obsessed with his best friend.
It was an awareness built over time. In the beginning, there was an odd friendship and a sense of kinship bound by experiences in their youth. He was drawn to Takumi's worldly and easygoing exterior, which revealed a surprisingly fragile and vulnerable side beneath. He was compelled to protect.
Akira now knew that he never did question why because he chose not to.
A practice of self-deception, which he was not prone to.
Except when it came close to his heart and to someone he could love beyond measure.
Work and ambition provided a convenient excuse. Even recently, they hadn't met due to their schedules.
Or maybe Akira simply didn't try hard enough.
The time has come, however, that he could no longer use this as a shield.
As far as he could tell, Takumi had moved on from the issues which plagued his youth. He never did get into a steady relationship with anyone but neither did he deny the rumors of the latest paramour when Akira asked.
A shrug and an easy smile.
Sometimes, in the middle of the night or during the fleeting minutes before dawn when he was still drowned in sleep, Akira wondered what Takumi would do if he asked for more.
Would that destroy their friendship? Would it break the trust between them?
Could he ever risk it?
Especially when he found himself questioning if he was good enough for Takumi?
The uncharacteristic indecisiveness irked Akira.
He was always so sure and resolute. Why was he wavering now?
At the very least, he could see that Takumi was attracted, even if it was situational.
"Get a grip and do something about it," he muttered with disgust.
He strategized for a living.
It was time to apply that skill to his personal life.