Kiss me to Springtime - 15. Chapter 15

Camera’s flashed as Soubi walked down the runway for Sasha’s Spring Collection. His mind carefully blank as he paused, pulled off his jacket and swung it over his shoulder. He’d done three shows today and he was tired but none of it showed.

When he got backstage, Sasha smiled at him and clapped.

“You look gorgeous, my Soubi. You make me want to eat you up.”

“I might let you.”

Soubi unzipped the black slacks and dropped them to the floor. He stepped out of them and took the summer shorts the dresser handed him. He wore them and frowned when they slipped on his waist. He pulled the drawstring tighter.

“You’ve lost weight,” Sasha complained. “I fit that last week. Are you sick?”

“No.” Soubi shrugged and took the pastel v-neck shirt Sasha was holding out. He slipped it over his head and sat down on the chair for the hair stylist to fix his hair.

“Is everything alright with you and Ryo? You haven’t talked about him since you came back after the New Year’s thing.”

Soubi winced a bit when the hairdresser tugged a portion of his hair. He didn’t want to think about Ryo. After their call yesterday, his brain was looped on the fact that he still didn’t know what he would be without Ryo.

“Soubi,” Sasha prompted him. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.”

Soubi pasted on a smile and flashed it at his boss.

Sasha studied him with a skeptical glance and he was glad when the hairdresser finished turning his hair into a punk fest. Clumps of it held in a messy ponytail, spray painted green and red, then tipped with gel. He was going to have a hell of a time washing it off.

He was going to be barefoot on the runway, so he adjusted his shirt and turned to Sasha.

“How do I look?”

“Hawt,” Sasha declared with a wide smile. “I’m making you the face of Sasha Inc.”

“What?” Soubi gaped.

“You heard me. You’re the face of Sasha Inc.”

Soubi’s eyes widened. A contract with Sasha Inc. would mean a better paycheck, definitely better than a video with Rin and Blazing Red.

“Are you being serious right now, Sasha? I have to know.”

“I am,” Sasha pulled out his cell phone. “I’ll call my lawyer to get the paperwork.”

“Oh wow,” Soubi managed. “I don’t know what to say.”

“You won’t have to work all those jobs.” Sasha gave him a smile. “Thanks to that day at the garden, Sasha Inc. closed a few deals that are going to keep us going for a while. The couture and ready-to-wear branches are secure. I can afford to have a sizeable contract with you.”

Soubi chuckled.

“You make it sound as though you were going bankrupt.”

Sasha made a face at him.

“It’s a small thing to do for you, Soubi. I would love to give you everything but you’re taken. Anyway, enough of that. We should celebrate. There’s going to be a party after this. Are you coming?”

Soubi glanced at his watch. It was almost eight o’clock at night, he needed to get home and make sure dinner was done.

Kaito and Ryo—

Soubi paused.

What was he thinking?

Ryo wasn’t home and Kaito was staying later at the shop because of inventory.

“I’ll get you home personally. Say you’ll come.”

Soubi smiled. “I’d love to go.”

There wasn’t anyone to go home to anyway.

***

“I want to know what you’re going to do,” Sei Asada said to Ryo as she sat on a couch in her living room.

The housekeeper placed a steaming cup of green tea on a glass table before Sei and she handed the young woman her handbag.

“Do about what?” Ryo asked, sinking into an armchair.

He refused the offer for tea; his stomach was giving him trouble. Stress was causing the stomach upset.

Sei sighed dramatically and reached for her tea. She sipped it delicately, and then placed the cup on the table again.

Ryo wondered if she’d had fantasies of being an Empress when she’d been young. He could easily imagine her ordering the execution of an entire family for the simple reason that one of them stepped on her flower garden.

Not a good way to think of his mother, Ryo mused.

Dressed in a black silk blouse, knee length black skirt and black tights, her hair held tight in a low ponytail, he couldn’t think of her any other way. She hadn’t worn a single colorful dress since Tohaku’s funeral.

“Fine, judging from the amount of time you’ve been spending with your father, it looks like I need to lay out my cards.”

“I won’t be a pawn, mother. You need to understand that before you continue.”

“It is not control. I call it balance. Unlike Tohaku, you have a brilliant mind for business, so I won’t force you to do anything. Instead, I’ll lay out my situation.”

Ryo pulled off his suit jacket suddenly hot. He undid the tie he was wearing, and the top button of his shirt.

“Your brother gave you his share of Asada.”

“Were you expecting he’d leave it to you?”

“I’d hoped.” Sei shrugged. “I suppose it should have been obvious. You and Tohaku were always loyal to each other. No matter, it doesn’t change the situation.”

Sei stood and walked to a desk by the wall in the spacious sitting room. She picked up a leather bound folder with the Asada logo on it and brought it to him.

“This is a list of the shareholders in the Asada group. Combining your standard share and the shares you gained through Tohaku makes you the second major shareholder in the Asada Group.”

Ryo opened the folder and read the documents she’d compiled. He frowned as he realized she was right. He had somehow gained a title in the Asada Group.

“I don’t want to be Vice-Chairman. That’s your job.”

“Not anymore,” she smiled. “You’re the new vice-chairman. You’re expected to take up your new position in a month. You’ll be working out of the main offices in Ginza. You’ll oversee operations on Asada Engineering & Construction, and Asada Real Estate, Resorts and Hotels.”

“What do you want from me?” Ryo asked.

“Asada Real Estate, Resorts and Hotels remains under the Asada Group umbrella. Since I don’t know what your father plans to do with his will, I want to separate Asada Real Estate from Asada Engineering and Construction. I want your support when it comes to voting for separation.”

“No.” Ryo shook his head not ready to imagine that battle.

His father had started all the companies under the Asada Group. Katsuro would never separate them, especially since they were all profitable as they were.

“I’m not going to play the Trojan horse.”

“When your father dies, his second wife will inherit his assets. Even with the shares he’s given me in Asada, with you as Vice-Chairman slated to be Chairman, and his wife receiving his other assets, it leaves me out of the game. I can’t allow that to happen, Ryosuke.”

Ryo threw the folder on the coffee table with a disgusted sigh.

“Is everything about money and power with you? You’re like a vulture.”

“Insult me all you want but you know I’m right. Don’t you care for your mother at all?”

Sei stood and paced to the windows staring out into the cold afternoon.

“Do you want my shares? I’ll give them to you, all of them. That will make you equal majority shareholder. You can do what you want.”

Sei laughed bitterly the sound of it chilling his blood.

“Careful what you offer so easily. I’m an ambitious woman, and I will not stop until Katsuro Asada gives me back my dignity.”

“Why do you act like this? We’re all family. You have this house and all the money you could want. I’m right here. Why do you have to cause trouble?”

“How does it feel to be away from your little lover?” Sei asked abruptly.

Ryo gaped at her.

His heart clenching tightly, he acknowledged the hell he was living being without Soubi. He swallowed hard and stared at the floor.

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Your heart hurts, doesn’t it?” Her tone was soft, wistful. He glanced up shocked by her tone. She turned to look at him, her eyes bright. “You want to throw everything away and run back to his side. Especially since you’re doing all you can to protect him from me, and the Asada name.”

Ryo opened his mouth to speak but nothing came. He closed his mouth unable to understand how she could so easily describe his pain.

“It’s been a long time since someone loved me that much.” Sei continued quietly staring at him. “I used to have it, Ryosuke. I had it once, that love which you’re protecting so fiercely. I held on to it just as fiercely believing that it would never change.”

She shook her head, a tear trailing down her right cheek. He stared at that single tear knowing it was the only chink in the armor Sei Asada clung to he would ever get to see.

“One day, I woke up and that love was gone. Taken away by another woman who was suddenly living in the same house I once did. Do you know what happens to the heart when something like that occurs?”

Ryo shook his head and watched her wipe away the tear with her thumb. She shrugged and the melancholy ended, the softness disappeared.

“It turns to bitterness, and a deep-seated need for revenge.” Sei gave him a slight smile. “I love you Ryosuke, and I want the best for you. That will never change. But, power and money is all I have left from that man and I’m going to selfishly get as much as I can.”

“What if I promise to get it for you? You don’t have to cause trouble with the Asada Group. I’ll get the power for you, mother.”

“How will you when you’re under that man?” Sei asked, her dark eyes burning with anger. “Anything you do from now on will end up being under the Asada Group.”

Ryo stood up afraid of what would happen if his mother decided to pursue this idea of breaking up the Asada Group. She’d probably started lobbying the other directors to get her vote.

“Mother, please.”

“Please what?” Sei shook her head in disappointment. “When you left the estate I thought you might understand my side. You shunned the Asada social circles and made your own way.”

“I did it for Tohaku. He was the heir, that world was his. We would have hated each other if I had stayed. I would have wanted to help him, and he liked being free to do as he liked.”

Ryo ran fingers through his hair tired of this conversation.

“Please promise me you won’t do anything about breaking up the group. Wait for me.”

“Ryosuke,” Sei said, exasperated.

“Promise me, Mother. If you want my help, you’ll wait.”

She gave him a narrowed gaze. Afraid she was going to refuse he rushed to her and hugged her. She gasped in surprise when he held her tight. He held on until she reached up and wrapped her arms around him too.

He closed his eyes, hoping.

“Wait, just a little longer before you do anything,” Ryo begged, his face buried into her shoulder. He hoped she’d listen for his sake, hers, and even Soubi.

***

“Do you know what else I miss?” Soubi asked, his words slurred as he waved a hand at Sasha. “I miss how he insists on brushing my hair after I shower. It’s really weird, right? I mean it’s just hair. He says he likes it black.”

“That’s fascinating, Soubi.”

“Fascinating,” Soubi giggled. “Who uses such words? Fascinating, that’s so stupid. Why do you two always use words that make no sense? I’ve been saving the daily newspaper everyday for the last three weeks. He likes doing puzzles, and I check them the next morning. Do you know he gets them all right? I mean, who does that? How stupid am I for keeping newspapers? How the hell is he going to end up doing three weeks worth of puzzles?”

The black Mercedes came to a stop and he stared at the bottle of champagne clutched on his lap.

“This stuff is great, it’s not making me drunk.”

Sasha chuckled.

“Your definition of drunk must be different from mine. You’re plastered, Soubi. I think I know everything about you and freaking Ryo Asada than I can take.”

Soubi gulped and shook his head.

“Not everything. I’ve been saving money for two years now. Every job I got, I kept three quarters of the money in an account. Do you know why?”

Sasha shook his head. “No, tell me.”

“I didn’t know either,” Soubi said with a silly smile. “I didn’t know until Ryo became my boyfriend. Until he made love to me and made me feel I mattered. Sounds silly, but he makes me feel significant.”

Sasha reached out and pushed a lock of his hair back.

“You are important, Soubi.”

Soubi smiled again. “With your contract money, I’m going to enroll into university. I want to be a writer.”

“A writer,” Sasha’s eyes widened at the simple declaration.

“Bet you didn’t know I wrote.” Soubi laughed happily, tipping the bottle to his mouth. When only a few drops came, he sighed and placed it on the floor. “I’m going to be the best there ever was. Then I’ll rub it in that Sei Asada’s face when I’ve won awards. She’ll have no choice but to accept me then.”

“You’ll give up modeling for Ryo?” Sasha asked shocked.

“I’d do anything for Ryo.” Soubi stated without a second thought. He reached for the key hanging on his neck. “That includes giving this key up. I need to see Rin.”

The driver opened the door on Soubi’s side.

“Are we home already?”

“Yes.” Sasha glanced out the windows at the dark house. “Are you sure you’ll be alright?”

Soubi’s head dropped.

“I have to be here. In case Ryo comes home.”

Sasha nodded and watched him get out of the car.

“Are you sure you’ll make it to the door alone? I can help you.”

“I’m fine. Stay in the car, Sasha, go home.” Soubi insisted when Sasha started to get out of the car.

Sasha gave him a sad smile and sat back. The driver closed the door and Soubi waved goodbye. When the car rolled away, Soubi opened the gates and closed them securely. He made his way slowly to the front door. He tried the door for a moment fumbling with the lock, and then the door swung open.

“Where the hell have you been?” Ryo demanded his tone harsh. “You’re not answering your phone. I thought something happened to you.”

Soubi glanced up in shock. Ryo stood in the small hall looking handsome and vital in a grey t-shirt and sweat pants, dark eyes blazing with concern. Soubi could barely breathe. Ryo’s face wavered turned into two for a moment and he blinked.

“Ryo,” he slurred.

“Are you drunk?” Ryo gaped. “You were out drinking while I was worried sick!”

Soubi tried to swallow the lump in his throat. Tears filled his eyes and he burst into hard sobs. Ryo stared at him in surprise and then pulled Soubi into a tight hug. His face buried in Ryo’s neck as he cried hard clinging to Ryo.

Ryo was here, with him!

The tears came faster as he tried to take in everything about his boyfriend.

Ryo pulled him into the house and the front door slammed closed.

“Where have you been?” Ryo ran fingers through Soubi’s messy hair and touched Soubi’s forehead with his palm. “Why are you drunk?”

“I had a runway show—, and then—,”

Soubi hiccupped fighting off his sobs.

“Sasha gave me a contract to be the face of Sasha Inc., and then—, I didn’t want to come home alone—, so we went out to celebrate—, I’m not really drunk—, it was only champagne—, I—

Ryo took his mouth in a soft kiss, silencing Soubi’s broken tirade and making him moan. His fingers bunched Ryo’s shirt and he felt more tears slide down his cheeks. Ryo pulled back and kissed his cheeks, tasting his tears.

“I’m here,” Ryo whispered gently. “Don’t cry anymore.”

Soubi sniffed and wiped his eyes pulling back slightly.

“I thought you weren’t going to make it home soon.”

“I wanted to see your face.”

Soubi’s heart squeezed at the soft confession.

Ryo looked tired, dark circles under his eyes.

“Are you hungry?” Soubi asked. “I can make you something to eat.”

“I don’t think you can be trusted in a kitchen right now. Besides, I’m not hungry. I just want to hold you. Can we do that?”

Soubi nodded.

Ryo was here, standing before him. He bit his lip and tried not to cry again. His tear ducts were over active today. They stood for a moment in the dim corridor. Taking Ryo’s hand, Soubi led the way upstairs to their room and pulled him on to the bed.

“I never got the chance to hold you,” Soubi murmured when they were lying on top of the covers in the dark room.

Ryo’s head rested on Soubi’s chest as he lay half-reclined on numerous pillows. Soubi ran gentle fingers through Ryo’s hair.

“I wanted to tell you that it’s going to be alright, Ryo. I wanted to hold you tight while you cried.”

Ryo trembled and buried his face into Soubi’s chest.

“I’m so tired.”

“Close your eyes,” Soubi murmured. “I’ll watch over you while you sleep.”

***

Soubi woke up first the next morning. He made breakfast and after making sure Kaito had left to go to the shop okay, he took a tray upstairs for Ryo.

Placing the tray on the bedside table, he wondered how long he had Ryo back this time. He’d looked for Ryo’s suitcase in the living room. Thinking it might still be in the trunk, he’d gone out to the black car in the drive to check. He hadn’t found any bag or suitcase.

Ryo shifted on the bed, his hands moving over the covers in search of him. Soubi watched him sit up slowly and rub his eyes.

“Morning,” Soubi said softly.

Ryo glanced at him and smiled. The curve of those lips tagged at Soubi’s heart.

“Morning, Soubi.”

Soubi sat on the side of the bed. He reached up and brushed mussed hair out of Ryo’s eyes, kissing Ryo’s forehead.

“You slept pretty hard. How do you feel?”

Ryo pulled on Soubi’s ponytail gently.

“Like I’m in heaven, I’ve missed seeing your face in the morning.”

“Really,” Soubi said. “I was right here waiting for you.”

“I know.” Ryo pulled him into a tight hug and Soubi wrapped his arms around Ryo. “Gods, I’ve missed you so much.”

Soubi breathed in Ryo’s scent and smiled into the soft grey cotton fabric of Ryo’s shirt.

“Are you hungry? I brought you breakfast.”

Ryo’s stomach growled and they both chuckled.

“That answers your question.”

“I guess it does.” Soubi pulled back, pausing for a swift kiss before he got up. Ryo settled against the headboard using two pillows behind his back. “Kaito says he’ll come back later when you’re awake. He went to open the shop.”

Soubi took the breakfast tray from the bedside table and placed it on Ryo’s lap carefully.

“Wow, you really went all out this morning.” Ryo stared at the tray in awe.

Soubi blushed as he watched Ryo pick up the cup of green tea. He’d made all of Ryo’s favorites: green tea, and delicious bread from a bakery in town, Miso soup, and yoghurt with raisins, a plate with steamed vegetables, bacon and a fried egg.

“I can’t finish this alone,” Ryo said, picking up his chopsticks. “Will you help me?”

“No, you eat.” Soubi urged thinking the lump in his throat wouldn’t allow him to swallow. He was insanely happy just watching Ryo eating breakfast. He swallowed hard and tried to smile.

Ryo gave him a puzzled glance then held out a slice of the toasted bread.

“Eat already, you’ve lost weight.”

“I haven’t,” Soubi countered, taking the slice of bread.

Ryo sipped his green tea again and coupled it with a piece of his fried egg. He moaned with appreciation and shook his head.

“I have missed your cooking, Soubi-chan.”

Soubi smiled in happiness.

“You can have it everyday.”

Ryo swallowed his egg and kept stuffing his mouth with more food. Soubi frowned when Ryo didn’t agree with him. His worry that Ryo was really not coming back filled his stomach with protesting butterflies. He tore the slice of bread apart not ready to put it in his mouth.

“How long are you here?” Soubi asked.

“Hmm…” Ryo lifted his head chewing on steamed vegetables.

He looked handsome with rumpled hair and an overnight shadow. Illegally handsome, Soubi decided wondering how he ever let Ryosuke Asada walk in the daylight. If he had any sense he’d tie the man to this bed and lock the doors right now. Soubi frowned, that would be considered a tad psychotic, but he was desperate.

“Hmm…” Soubi imitated Ryo with a deepening frown. “Come on Ryo, talk to me. We promised each other no secrets. I want to know what’s going on with you.”

Ryo sipped his tea.

“There is so much, I don’t know where to start.”

“Are you coming back home? Start with that.”

“I’m here, aren’t I?”

“For how long?” Soubi pushed holding on to the piece of toast like it was a lifeline.

Ryo stopped eating and reached out with one hand to cover his hand.

“Will you stop shredding the darned piece of toast?”

“What does it matter what I do to the toast?”

Soubi dumped the piece of bread on the tray and pulled his feet under him on the bed.

Ryo sighed.

“I don’t want to fight.”

“Who said we’re fighting? I’m asking you a question that you’re not answering.”

Ryo placed his chopsticks on the tray and swallowed his food. He sipped his tea and met Soubi’s gaze.

“I have to be in Ginza in the morning.”

“Ginza,” Soubi gaped.

“Yeah, I’m taking on a position in the Asada Group,” Ryo confessed quietly. “I’ll have to move in to the house that comes with the job. My working hours will demand it.”

“Why can’t you stay here? It takes twenty minutes to drive into the city.”

“I wish I could, Soubi.” Ryo picked up the tray and placed it on the bedside table. “I came here to ask you to move in with me. You can do your modeling jobs easier, and—

“What about this house? What about Kaito and Furiroda?” Soubi glared at him. “And your painting, and everything—,”

Soubi shook his head.

“You and I, we won’t be the same in that place.”

“Kaito is perfectly capable of running Furiroda. I’m taking a break from my painting when things stop being so hectic, I’ll get back to it. As for you and I, nothing has changed. We still feel the same, don’t we? I love you. You love me. We’re only getting a different address.”

“An address that includes the Asada Clan and they don’t approve of me beside you.” Soubi pointed out getting off the bed.

He had no idea why he was being so irrational but the fear of facing Sei Asada constantly was eating him alive.

“We won’t survive them.”

“They don’t matter—

“Yes they do,” Soubi said, pointing at Ryo with a shaking index finger. “Look at you; you’ve started acting like her. All aloof and bossy, I don’t like it.”

“Soubi, stop being difficult,” Ryo said in irritation. “I need you to work with me here. There is so much more to deal with. There are obligations I can’t walk away from.”

“Like what? You’ve always stood up to your family. Why is it different now?”

“If you haven’t noticed, Tohaku’s gone now. I am Katsuro Asada’s only remaining son. That position comes with a price I can’t ignore.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Soubi demanded afraid to think of what Ryo was painting with his words. “Are you agreeing to be saddled with advancing the lineage to the next generation? Do they have a nice young woman waiting for you at home?”

“Now you’re being a bastard.” Ryo got off the bed kicking off the covers in anger. “I need you to work with me Soubi. I need you to be with me—

“What if I say I can’t do it?” Soubi asked with a shaking voice. “What then? Are you going to break up with me?”

“What are you on about?”

“If I can’t come with you to Ginza, if I don’t want to live through the torture of being with an Asada, are we going to break up?” Soubi asked quietly, holding Ryo’s gaze across the bed.

“Soubi,” Ryo said in shock.

“I want an answer, Ryo.”

***