I poured two mugs of coffee, taking a sip of my own before rounding the corner to Aki still pacing, and holding the other mug out to him. When he saw me, his face softened, and he placed his free hand over his heart in a gesture of thanks before taking the mug from me. It sounded as if he was finishing the conversation on the phone, so I padded back to the kitchen to drink my coffee leaning against the counter to wait for him. I could feel life coming back to me quickly; a cup of coffee in my hands on a Saturday morning with no looming plans ahead of me, at home with my lover, wearing his clothes for comfort. Though the situation at hand was potentially stressful, I was feeling ultimately relaxed.

"The good news is that he didn't get me punching him on film. He didn't even remember that someone punched him." Aki said as he came around the corner into the kitchen. "The bad news is he was loud enough that a lot of people at the party are suspicious of me because of what he said, even if he was drunk, and every single one of those people belong to the label."

"So what does that mean we have to do next?"

He shrugged and crossed his arms over his midsection, lifting his coffee mug by the handle. "Yamada is going to call everyone and we'll meet at the studio tomorrow. She said she's going to make some calls to the other managers and try to set things straight. I might have some explaining to do. Toki also might. We'll see."

"I'm sorry. This is stressful for you, I know." I started to take a step toward him, and he immediately unfolded his arms to allow me in.

He buried his face in my hair, taking a deep breath. "It's okay. We both have today off, so let's just enjoy the day. Yamada said she would send me messages here and there with updates. Are you feeling okay?"

I nodded. "I'm totally fine. Kota called, and he's not fine though. Maybe we should bring him some food." Aki laughed, but agreed. "Also, did we shower before bed last night?"

"We did. You were mostly still conscious, but I took your makeup off and washed your face for you." He said. "I wear makeup too, and I know very well you can't go to sleep in that stuff. I fell asleep for no more than twenty minutes after a show one time, and my eyes were red for a week."

I listened to his anecdote trying to decide if he knew what point I was trying to make and bide his time to save his embarrassment. "Well, I woke up wearing underwear."

"You usually do sleep in underwear and one of my shirts." He shrugged as if it wasn't worth mentioning, but the shy smile on his face gave him away.

"I don't think I changed myself."

He breathed a laugh through a mouthful of coffee. "No, love, I put them on you. You had passed out in bed by then. I'm quite used to lifting the lower half of you with one hand, but I couldn't figure out how to dress you in a t-shirt without shaking you too much."

It occurred to me only then, that I was in the presence of such a wonderful being. I was so grateful for my life with Aki every day, and even though I knew him thoroughly, aspects of him I didn't know existed still emerged now and then. Every time I was put in a situation that allowed me to see something in him I hadn't been aware of, it felt as if I didn't know him at all, in a way that made me fall in love with him again and again.

"You didn't have to go out of your way. You already did everything you could to take care of me." I told him. I felt guilty for forcing him into a predicament in which he really had no choice but to accommodate me. "I bet I didn't make it easy for you. You could have just put me to bed straight out of the shower."

"It's like you said, you were very agreeable while you were drunk." He laughed. "I only had to suggest things and you were all for it. Very cooperative."

"And you didn't think to suggest going to bed naked?" I wasn't entirely sure why I was pressing the issue, I was really just more and more curious to know the reasoning behind the decisions he had made.

He shook his head to begin answering my question through another sip of coffee. "I just wanted to make you as comfortable as possible, because I was worried you were going to wake up with a huge hangover. And you prefer sleeping in underwear and a t-shirt, so I did my best." I felt like he understood that I was both trying to piece together the events of the evening that I couldn't remember, and prying for every detail of the care he provided. He offered the information just as it was, simply having a conversation with me over morning coffee. "And I made sure to hold you against me during the night so you didn't think you were alone or wonder where I was."

He ended the conversation by taking out a frying pan and opening the fridge to gather some ingredients. He placed a bowl of eggs on the counter, and I realized he was going to make breakfast. My stomach growled at the thought, and he paused to cast a glance and a smile over his shoulder. I tried to hide my face in my coffee mug. For a while, we stood in silence while he chopped and stirred, and I sipped my coffee in the background, leaning against the cupboards. As he stood still in front of the frying pan on the burner, I took the opportunity to close in behind him. I skimmed my fingertips over the bare skin of his back, and placed a kiss on the face of the Buddha in his tattoo before resting my forehead against him. He didn't move, but I felt his hand reach around, his fingers gripping as much of my leg as he could just under the curve of my bottom. He completely enveloped me in an aura of peace.

"Thank you, Aki." I said into his back.

"Of course, my love." He said without even looking back.

Through the morning, we ate the breakfast that Aki had made, and he spoke on the phone to Yamada-san and Fuji, deciding how to proceed the following day at the studio. The conversations seemed light, and Aki's stress over the situation seemed to fade a little more with each call. He was exhausted, I could tell, and as he relaxed, he stopped fighting it. I imagined that taking care of me the night before afforded him very little sleep, and it was catching up with him. We eventually made our way to sprawling out on the living room couch together under the pretense of turning on the TV, but we were instantly asleep.

A little more than an hour had passed when I woke, laying atop Aki's chest. I carefully lifted myself from him, folding his arms over his stomach from the place they had been around my back. My head was much more clear, and I realized how much I had been lying to myself about how well I felt. I carried a glass of water with both hands, stepping carefully across the floor, and knelt down beside Aki still asleep laying the length of the couch. I reached a hand up to let my fingers run through his hair, and quickly became entranced by the sight of him. I let my fingertips wander from his hair down his neck, over his shoulders into his tattoo, and watched his chest rise and fall with his sleeping breath. I traced the lines of the ink curving over his shoulders, into the crease where it met his chest, and I realized his eyes were open, watching me.

I retracted my hand quickly, startled. "Sorry!"

"Don't be sorry, I was enjoying that." He laughed, stretching his arms overhead. "I feel better. How long was I asleep?"

"I don't know, I was asleep too." I took a sip from the water glass and offered it to him. "I don't know who fell asleep first. I didn't mean to wake you up, I know you must not have slept much last night."

"Natsu." I had started to ramble, suddenly nervous about the way in which I had become responsible for waking him. His expression was soft though, and amused as he stopped me from continuing my ramble. "You don't have to be afraid to touch me like that."

We both jumped as Aki's phone started ringing from the coffee table. He sat up quickly to answer it, standing and beginning to pace the room as he offered his side of the conversation in only sounds of confirmation. I stayed still and quiet, not wanting to be a distraction, just watching him to try to read his range of reactions.

He hung up the phone and let his arms fall heavily to his sides. I gave him an expectant look, waiting for him to begin to explain the conversation. "Let's grab some food and bring something to Kota." Was all he said. I just nodded in agreement as I got up intending to change and make myself more presentable to go out. Aki always told me everything, so I would wait patiently until he did.