Aki got on the phone as soon as we walked through the door into the apartment. I busied myself in the kitchen to cook us dinner, and when I served it, he continued to pace as he spoke to various people. I sat and watched him, sometimes able to identify who he was talking to, like Kota or Fuji. I moved to the floor in front of the couch to turn on the news after dinner, and Aki continued to pace. His conversations became background noise as he spoke for hours, hanging up and dialing a new number to relay information to another person. I drew a bath for myself a little hotter than I knew Aki liked, and left the door open only a crack to enjoy the steam filling the room, the sound of his voice in the distance. I read a whole chapter of my study book, taking over thirty minutes while I soaked. I brushed my hair, Aki talked. I made tea, Aki talked. I brushed my teeth and brought my tea to bed, Aki talked.

Finally, I heard him hang up the phone, take a deep sigh, and then silence followed. He came into the bedroom, shedding his clothes before climbing in and taking my tea cup from me. "Sorry." He said, taking a drink and handing the cup back to me. "That's everything. It's all set up."

"What did you set up?"

"Everything." He rolled to his back, his arms floating up overhead in an expression of exhaustion. "Studio schedule, set list for demos, new artist photo shoot, rental house for the summer, and the list of labels we want to audition for." He looked at me with some kind of expectancy in his eyes. "I need your help to write up our proposal so we can land all those auditions now."

"Anything I can do to help." I was excited at the idea of finally being able to put my university education to use, but I was suddenly completely ignoring the fact that I had been mixing songs for Guardian through the whole recording of the new album. I had seamlessly become an addition to a team that had worked together for a decade before me, but I was trusted an accepted as if I had been there from the start. It was an unspoken type of trust I knew very little about, but was somehow so naturally integrating into my life.

When Aki put things in motion, the whole universe began to instantly bend to his will. When I arrived at the studio in the afternoon, I found Guardian along with an entire crew of photographers, lighters, stylists, and makeup artists. I stopped at the door as I entered the room, the view in front of me opening to Kota wearing a summer yukata on the photo set.

I was engulfed in a pair of arms and a chest at the same time I heard a voice. "Hey you." Aki's unmistakable fingers drew my face toward him so he could kiss me. His nails were manicured in shiny black, and he had thick silver rings on. My face had been pressed against the soft cotton fabric of a summer yukata like the one I saw on Kota, but in Aki's true style and against all tradition, he wore it far too open to expose the tattoos on his chest. "Listen, I got a yukata for you as well for these photos. I know you want to stay dark, but I think you should still get some taken, even if you only want to take them with me."

I nodded in confirmation, happy to do whatever Aki was going to tell me. "I trust you to style me." To my surprise, as he let me go, I noticed that his yukata was dark forest green with black and dark grey verticle stripes, which was uncharacteristic of Aki. He would usually choose red where he could, but I thought the green against him and his tattoos was a striking combination.

"Here, look at this." Aki handed his phone to me, the screen open to a gallery of photos of him in the yukata, along with different photos of him in a suit similar to the one he wore to the label's celebration party.

I scrolled through the images admiring the different details of Aki that he never stood still quite long enough for me to admire in person. The way his yukata collar perfectly followed the edges of his chrysanthemum tattoos that crawled along his neck and chest. The way a suit shirt and jacket instantly brought out a different expression on his face, adding more mystery to his explosive personality. The details I settled upon made me remind myself, this man screamed like an animal, sang like an entity, growled like a demon, and did it all while telling the story of the deepest parts of his soul. I looked up at him standing in front of me, and somehow it was all still there, contained by his relaxed posture as he watched the set where Kota posed, but it was evident in a way that was never quite captured in a picture of him just how bewildering he looked.

Aki had chosen a red yukata for me, with a spray of traditional bells, ropes, and cherry blossoms that matched the green of his. He had requested a makeup artist and hair stylist for me, and I was dressed and done up more traditionally than the rest of Guardian. We took a few photos all together on the set, some serious and intense, some with silly smiles and embraces of each other. Time melted away as I laughed and posed with them, and I was left with only the present moment of happiness, remembering a time that seemed long ago when I was only just meeting them in a situation that was much the same. Then suddenly, it seemed, I was part of their family.

Kota, Fuji, Hiro, the photographers, and the set team had long since left. Aki helped me remove the delicate accessories and multitude of pins from my hair as I shed the outer layer of my yukata to hang it up. He tussled his fingers through my hair to loosen it into a cascade of the leftover curls from the up-do. "Hey." He said, as if he was about to ask a favour. "Take this off and put my suit on."

He was holding up his camera with one hand when I looked over my shoulder at him to begin asking questions. "What do you have up your sleeve?"

"No top, no bra, just the jacket."

He walked me onto the set, turning on only one key light. The backdrop was white, his suit black, and the single light cast shadows in high contrast. I was nervous as he arranged the jacket for me, leaving it open hanging down both sides of my chest, even with the knowledge it was only him and I left in the entire studio. He had locked the set door to reassure me, and began taking pictures. I fell into a rhythm, looking at him past the camera, just wanting him to capture the way I looked at him, the way I wanted him to see me. I tossed my hair, tipped my head back, pushed my angles, used my hips. Aki's suit jacket and pants were big on me, but I was used to wearing his clothes, and I felt comfortable to use the way they draped over me to convey a sense of possession over him.

"Why do you keep this Natsu hidden so much?" Aki asked me as he put the camera down. He crossed the set to me, skimming his hands over my skin under the jacket. "Every photo was perfect, and you are irresistible."

The way he kissed me was hungry, searching, and I didn't want to resist him. "You can't wait until we get home?" I asked him. I wasn't exactly trying to detour him, helping him as he peeled the jacket from me.

"I can wait, but I don't want to."