Faysal jumped as a knock broke the silence. He’d engrossed himself in his work, fingers nimbly typing e-mails to distributors and suppliers. Darting between messages and spreadsheets, he barely noticed the time passing. The door swung open before he could respond. He frowned, dread dropping like an icy weight into his stomach at the sight of the two men standing outside of his lab. His boss strode into the room, followed closely behind by his stony faced father. Turning away from the computer, Faysal stood, scrambling to properly welcome both men. “Hello, Yoshino-sama, Father. What can I do for you?”

Nobutaka motioned for him to return to his seat, taking one of his own on the stool Faysal usually used to work at the counter. Faysal couldn’t remember a time the owner had ever visited him, let alone sitting to have a conversation of any kind. “Your father told me that you’re already have an update for me. What’ve you found?”

Blinking, Faysal glanced over at his father. He hadn’t prepared for a meeting, barely wrapping his head around the fact that he’d been able to see the agent again to start with. Thoughts of how shy he’d seemed at dinner filled his head on the drive home afterward; any consideration of what he could report back never crossed his mind, something he regretted as he stood rooted to the ground by the expectant gaze of his elders. Faysal shrugged, keeping his voice lightly nonchalant. “Not much presently, I’m afraid. I’m sure Father told you, but he was at the dinner we had with the Suzuki family a few days ago. He’ll likely be at events that they’re attending, from what they told us. It was primarily a lot of small talk.”

The look on Alexander’s face made him uneasy, but he didn’t dare ask about it with Nobutaka in the room with them. He’d felt his father’s gaze on him throughout dinner, knowing on an instinctual level that he was watching him as he tried to engage the raven-haired man, but he couldn’t help himself when every teasing word seemed to make the agent blush so prettily. Faysal didn’t think Nobutaka wanted to hear about that, though, and his father would likely kill him if he dared mention it, anyway.

An intense silence fell. Faysal and Nobutaka stared at each other for several long moments, holding perfectly still. It became uncomfortably obvious that their founder waited on him to speak first, his lips thinning and his eyes narrowing. Shifting uncomfortably, Faysal continued. “I’ll see him again in a few days. Their daughter has an engagement that they’ve invited me to, so I might have more then. Assuming, of course, I get the opportunity to speak to him.”

If he was unsatisfied with the answer, Nobutaka didn’t show it. Cool, grey eyes searched him. “Does he appear competent?”

Faysal’s mind flashed to the vision of the man in the Suzukis’ home, prepared to end him if he made a wrong move. He didn’t know what to look for; as much as his father tried to push him into learning more about warfare as a teenager, Faysal obstinately refused to indulge him, preferring to focus on his studies and reading instead. Even so, remembering how steady the agent held the weapon, how smoothly he’d gone from facing away from him to turning on him in mere seconds, Faysal couldn’t help but think that it was the picture of a man and weapon working together like an extension of each other.

A fluttery heat building in his gut at the thought, he shrugged. Dad would kill me if he found out about that… “I can’t say I know. The Suzukis seem to hold him in decent regard… they’ve made him head of security, but what that means in reality is hard to gauge.” He folded his arms over his chest, bending an arm to cup his face in a hand; closing his eyes, he tried to think of anything of note. “Suzuki Kei mentioned something interesting to me. He’s the youngest person of his rank, whatever that means.”

“It means he’s skilled.” Alexander leaned against the counter, his heel tapping on the tile floor. “Or well-connected. Maybe both.”

“Both.” Nobutaka’s eyes appeared glassy, his gaze melting into one of thoughtful reflection. “Let’s hope he doesn’t try to use either against us.”

“The less noise we have to make, the better,” Alexander agreed, straightening.

Nodding, Faysal stood along with Nobutaka. “Of course. If I find anything more, I’ll be sure to inform you.”

“I’d expect nothing less from the son of Alexander Zenz.” Nobutaka’s eyes settled on the folders sitting on Faysal’s desk. “Carry on.”

“Sir, if you wouldn’t mind… I’d like to confer with my son?” There was deference in the words, but Faysal could hear the undercurrent of it not actually being a question–a dangerous thing, if the other day had been any indication. Nobutaka gave Alexander a sharp nod. Once he left, Faysal sank back into his seat with a sigh. His stomach twisted with discomfort; he was the man behind the scenes, making sure things worked, not the one outside. While he was glad to have an excuse to continue running into the agent, Faysal had to admit that it could become complicated quickly.

Especially considering he was finding himself increasingly attracted to him, drawn in by his delightfully bright eyes and ever changing attitude–one minute appearing so self assured, yet completely flustered the next. “What do you need, Dad?” he asked, suspecting he knew what was coming next.

Alexander drummed his fingers on the edge of the counter. Concern deepened the shallow crows’ feet around his eyes. “We need to talk about the other night.” The older man looked around, eyes scanning the room before returning to meet his son’s. “You know I care about you.”

Snorting, Faysal barely kept from rolling his eyes. “I’d hope so… Dad.”

Alexander’s lips twitched, a ghost of a smile appearing. It vanished just as quickly. “Then, well… I’m concerned about your conduct.” His father made an annoyed sound. “I don’t know what your intent was, whether it was for the sake of your assignment or more… personal… reasons, but you focused quite a bit on that young man.”

Faysal’s eyes widened. It was almost depressing how well he knew his father.

“Isn’t that the point?” Turning toward Alexander, Faysal leaned his elbows on his knees, looking up at him. His father had never been comfortable discussing anything related to his relationships, any conversations around them turning uncomfortable for both of them quickly. He originally assumed it was because the older man struggled to understand why he wouldn’t want to date one of the many pretty girls that’d thrown themselves in front of him, but eventually realized he must have a hard time relating to either of his children when he did the same thing to Jessica - which came with a flood of relief, to Faysal’s dismay. “What’s your actual question?”

Alexander shifted uncomfortably. The drumming stopped. “What’s your relationship with him?”

“If I was in a relationship, you’d know about it. Just to start with.” Faysal sighed, rubbing his temples. He’d known getting overly friendly during dinner would likely backfire on him with Alexander sitting right there, but he hadn’t expected it to bring on a headache. “As for Agent Toyama? There is none. I’ve met him twice, Dad. Three times if you want to count us being in the same store. He seems like a nice guy, but all I really know about him is he’s working with Masako and they all seem to like him, as much as they don’t want to.”

And he’s clumsy as hell, blushes at nothing-

Alexander gave him an analyzing look. “Do you want there to be?”

-likes to drink tea, gets under Masa’s skin… wait.

Faysal paused. They were veering dangerously close to uncomfortable territory. He remembered how it went the last time they’d discussed his relationship prospects, and it wasn’t an experience he cared to repeat. He cleared his throat. “…Do you really want the answer to that question?”

Rubbing a hand through his short hair, Alexander cast his eyes downward. “I suppose that’s an answer in its own right, isn’t it.”

Noting the lack of a question, Faysal tried to give him a reassuring smile. “You’ve nothing to worry about. I think I’m a big boy and can handle myself, father dear.”

Snorting, Alexander stepped the short distance between them to put a hand on his shoulder. “You say that, but I still remember the scrawny runt of a kid that thought tangling up with my commander’s kid was a bright idea.”

Groaning, Faysal put his face in his hands. He’d forgotten about that incident and he didn’t appreciate the reminder of the day that forced him to come out to his parents. The embarrassment still haunted him some nights. “Dad, please.”

“At least it wasn’t your mother that caught you.” Alexander laughed. His mouth settled back into a frown once his chuckles petered out. “You need to be careful. Keep your priorities straight. You have a good, stable career here. I don’t want to see you throw it away over some boy.”

Faysal bit the inside of his lip to keep his annoyance in check. He’s not just some boy, Dad. “I wasn’t planning on it. I need to get back to my work, if that’s alright?” he asked tightly. He did have a lot of work to do, but he didn’t think he could handle the conversation they steered toward with that remark. With a squeeze, Alexander released him with a faint smirk. The door shut behind him with a muted click.

Turning toward his computer, Faysal propped his head up on his hands. The words and numbers turned to background noise in front of his eyes. He rubbed his eyes and squinted when he still couldn’t quite focus on his work. There were only a few days to prepare; his mind wheeled as he tried to puzzle out how to approach the debut. He was still trying to get a measure of the agent in question, trying to gauge what hid behind the gold eyes that appeared both guarded and uncertain. It was a daunting prospect, at best, when he barely knew how to play the role his father and boss expected of him.

Giving up on the computer, he leaned back in his chair. Faysal ran a hand through his hair and tugged on it. He breathed out a long, low sigh. He’d need to dig out his good suit.