“Soon. She’s been asking about you, too.” Blue eyes flicked over to look Ash’s direction along with the teenager and her mother. Ash straightened, realizing with horror that the look of curiosity changed to recognition. “Hm? Who’s this?”

Ash struggled to remain passive, resisting twitching from embarrassment as he carefully kept his hands behind his back, fidgeting with his fingers. He fought off the blush threatening to arise. Disbelief warred with amazement in his head, freezing him in place under Faysal’s scrutiny. Of all the people, it had to be him. Fuck me.

He really hadn’t wanted to hear that deep voice again, or see that warm smile. Not after he’d thoroughly humiliated himself in front of him. Not after he’d shown how much of an awkward mess he could be. Yet there he - Faysal? - sat. He bowed in greeting, thankful to hide the grimace twisting his face.

Masako scoffed.

“That’s Agent Toyama. We’ve hired him for Masako’s protection. Due to the… situation, we were discussing earlier,” her mother responded, looking toward Ash, “Toyama-san, this is Faysal Zenz. He’s… a family friend.”

Faysal nodded, a thoughtful look crossing his face. The softest hint of a smile brought up the corners of his mouth once the crease between his eyes smoothed out. “Well, Agent Toyama, it’s good to meet you under again,” he said, adding with a humored grin, “especially under less awkward circumstances.”

Ash groaned. Masako stood up in alarm.

“You’ve met him?” she asked.

The blond’s smile turned into what Ash could only describe as a mischievous grin, pristine teeth showing. As Faysal shrugged, Ash felt warmth flooding him again. He hated it.

“Oh, yes! At the store the other day. You could say we… ahhh… bumped into each other.” Faysal laughed quietly, waving Masako’s angry huffs away. Ash pressed his tongue into the side of his cheek, flushing despite himself, and wondered if he could die from mortification. “It’s actually kinda funny. Small world, isn’t it?”

“Small indeed,” the elder woman said, thin lips curving into a subtle frown. Her gaze shifted to the blond, though whether it was worry or disapproval that darkened her eyes was hard to discern. She curtly motioned for Ash to leave. “You may go about your other duties.”

“Thank you, and, um… it was good to see you… uh… again.” Ash bowed to them; as he did, Faysal bent to do the same.

“Thank you for protecting Masako.” He gave the teenager a funny look before turning his stare back to Ash. “She may be a handful, but she’s quite precious to my family and me.”

Ash gave him a brief smile before turning on his heel to leave. He found his way upstairs, pausing in the empty wall to calm his breathing and rub at his face to break up the persistent blush. It was hard to believe that the very person that Masako raved about was the same one he hoped he would never see again after the spectacle he’d made of himself. Pulling himself together, he rushed around the upper floor, checking each of the bedrooms.

His nose wrinkled when he came upon Masako’s lace-ridden one. He could never seem to get used to the riot of pastels that took over the room, his eyes starting to ache by the time he finished checking over her windows.

Hastening to get downstairs, he took a moment to gather himself once he was in their dining room, his knuckles going white as he gripped the back of one of the ornate chairs. The vague sound of voices from the living room continued to drift down the hallway, the hope that perhaps the other man had left before he came down evaporating. His heart raced, pounding in his ears as he tried to talk himself down again. Embarrassment made heat course through his veins, his shoulders tensed as he brought his palms up to grind them together uncomfortably.

Sighing, he leaned back against a wall until he could feel his pulse slow. He couldn’t blame her for her schoolgirl crush. The man in question was attractive, a fact he begrudgingly couldn’t ignore when his own mind seemed hellbent on focusing on it. Seeing them together, however, Ash wondered how someone so soft-spoken seemed to get along with the petulant teenager well enough that she’d want to marry him. Ash bit his lip, stifling a giggle; considering the tone Faysal used in talking about her, he suspected his assumptions about the other man’s views of her had been correct, far too familial to consider marrying her even if he wasn’t nearly ten years her senior.

Masako’s high-pitched giggling and Faysal’s much deeper laughter in the other room broke him out of his thoughts. Shaking himself to pull back together, he returned to his task - checking for tampering or intrusion. There had been none upstairs, all the windows locked as usual, and not a single painting or vase out of place. It wasn’t any more likely there would be any downstairs, but they insisted he check every day. He never complained, not when it gave him a moment to himself.

Especially so when the meticulous work and honed attention it took was enough to draw his mind away from his confusion and curiosity.

At least, he thought it’d been enough of a distraction. Hearing a noise behind him - someone clearing their throat - Ash’s focus zeroed in on the sound. So lost in his thoughts, he hadn’t realized the others weren’t talking anymore, and had likely missed the warning signs of someone approaching. It wasn’t the family, nor their staff; they always announced themselves.

Not giving the intruder a chance to move any closer, he spun, pulling his gun and turning it on the unknown entity. “Stay back!” he commanded.

Ash went pale. Faysal jerked his hands up in surrender with a startled gasp. He swallowed thickly, eyes going wide with the horrifying realization that he’d just pulled a weapon on a civilian. Frozen in place, struggling to get past the disbelief, his mouth fell open.

Faysal’s eyes bounced from the gun, to his face, and back again; after two passes of the same, he ducked his head. Ash felt his gut twist into strangely pleasant knots at the sight of a blush that pinkened Faysal’s nose and cheeks upon his head rising again, the sapphire of his surprised eyes being swallowed up by his dark pupils. “I… ah…” Ash weakly started, the corner of his mouth twitching.

“Well... uh… This is… uhm… awkward…” Faysal cleared his throat, averting his gaze for mere moments before it returned to the end of the weapon still being held aloft. Not quite moving away, he shifted on his feet. “…to say the least…”

Trying desperately to process what’d just happened, Ash made a quiet, choked sound. Contemplating turning his gun on himself, he shook his head, realizing it wouldn’t alleviate the discomfort. Shivering with the adrenaline racing through his body, he lowered the weapon, arm hanging limply at his side. He tightened his grip around the handle, fear and anger muddying his thoughts as he realized he’d been so tightly wound that he didn’t notice Faysal at all until it was too late. Heat crept up the back of his neck as he frowned, not wanting to scrutinize the cause of that too closely.

“I’m sorry.” Crossing his arms across his chest, Faysal gave him a slight, sheepish smile. Fingers fidgeting against the dark material of his suit jacket, he lifted a hand to rub at the insistent flush that still warmed his face. “I… should have known better. From what obasan was telling me, you’re pretty well-known in the security and law circuits. Is that right?”

“I… uh… kinda? Um…” Ash licked his lips. He hadn’t realized that anyone in the family had bothered to learn more about him since he started working with Masako, and hearing it from the flustered man in front of him didn’t make it any easier to process. Holstering his gun, he sighed, rubbing his temples. “No, I’m sorry. It’s not very polite to almost shoot someone’s friend.”

“Probably not, but I can’t blame you. I deserved it.” Faysal laughed, deep and genuine. Ash tilted his head, mouth tightening as he resisted smiling. When his laughter subsided, he looked at the agent thoughtfully. “I really owe you another apology. I hope I didn’t embarrass you for bringing up… well, our first meeting.”

Taken aback, Ash blinked at him. He ran a hand through his hair, exhaling loudly. “If we could just forget it happened, that’d… that’d be fantastic,” he said, completely earnest in his request, his eyes lowering.

I still can’t believe I asked him that. What the fuck was wrong with me?

Faysal nodded, putting a hand out. “If we can also forget how much of an idiot I just was, deal,” he offered, “especially since I was just coming back here to thank you again.”

Taking it, Ash gave him a brittle smile. Goosebumps popped up on his skin at the contact, and he had to shake off the thought of what that hand could do in other circumstances. “You’re welcome. I’m… glad we could meet under slightly less awful circumstances… I mean originally before… uh… this.”

Pausing, they stared at each other. Ash groaned, letting go of the blond’s outstretched hand when a dark blush heated his face. He peered at Faysal with an embarrassed smile.

“You know what, let’s just pretend none of this happened. It’s been good to meet you,” Ash murmured, “as completely uneventful as it has been, clearly.”

“Ha… same for me.” A glint of humor brightened Faysal’s eyes. Ash dreaded the mild smirk that twisted the other man’s mouth, the playful message behind it being mostly left unsaid. “I hope we run into each other again sometime soon, Agent Toyama.”

Ash held back a sigh. Faysal bent into a low bow, grinning, as he moved to do the same. He gasped, shooting back upright when a sharp pain seared through his forehead. Giving him a wide-eyed stare, Ash backed up, hands held up in front of him. “Fucking hell, I’m so sorry!”

Running a hand gingerly through his hair, Faysal glanced at Ash. “I didn’t mean quite that soon…” he clarified, an amused look crossing his face, “but maybe I should take the blame for jinxing us.”

Groaning, Ash ran his hands down his face, eyes rolling upward. “I’m just going to crawl into a hole and die. It was good seeing you again.”

Giving him a gentle smile, Faysal bowed his head before turning to leave. He paused at the doorway, his head tilting, before he turned it to look over his shoulder. “Oh, one more thing.”

Waiting for him to continue, Ash folded his arms. “Yes?” he asked, his voice weak. He couldn’t think of what the other man could have to say following not just one, but two incidents of him making a fool out of himself.

“If you still wanted to know… the answer is yes. We moved here when I was nine. It’s a long story.” Faysal’s voice carried an amused tone. “Masako would probably tell you all about it if you asked.”

Horrified, Ash stuttered out a thank you, giving him a numb nod. It was only once the blond turned and left, disappearing down the hall, that he let out a deep breath. He closed his eyes against the humiliation tightening his chest.

“What the fuck…!” Pressing his forehead against the wall near one of the many windows, Ash grit his teeth. He needed to return to his task, but everything in him turned jittery and flighty. I’m better than this. What the hell is wrong with me? “For fucks’ sake…why’d he have to bring that up again?!”