Fascination (UruhaxAoi) (boyxboy)

Chapter Two

It was inevitable that I would see Yuu again. Father had waited his usual time, which was sometimes a few weeks, sometimes a few months, before introducing his latest lover to me. Once that was done, that meant his lover would be at our house constantly. Sometimes they would even move in, that is until things didn't work anymore and they disappeared early in the morning, bags packed and without even a goodbye to me. They were in and out of my life the way people walked through revolving doors, easily, and as if it meant nothing. 

All of this my father had done intentionally. He was a charmer, a romantic. He liked to date them secretly for the first month or so, take them to restaurants, spas, and hotels. He would dazzle them with what he could offer and once he was certain they were sold on the idea of being his lover, he would sweep them into his personal life, and that meant me and our house. He called it his marketing technique. I knew this because he explained it to me once when he was drunk. He had called it a man-to-man talk. As if I wanted to copy him in everything he did, including his love life.

I was his flesh and blood, it was only natural that my father thought that way.

I arrived home after school on Friday to find the usual routine broken once again. There were two people waiting for me in the kitchen rather than just one. This time it was the housekeeper and Yuu. They hadn't noticed that I had arrived yet and Yuu was smiling at the older woman. "Thank you, Mrs. Ito. You've been a big help. It was nice meeting you." Yuu's short hair was tucked behind his ears while he wore one of the housekeeper's purple aprons. He was dressed more casually today, wearing a gray and form-fitting sweater and black skinny jeans. I liked the way it showed the shape of his body. It made him look more earth-bound, rather than some kind of Edo period fairy who was trapped in our century.

"Oh, hello Kouyou." His warm smile turned its focus away from the housekeeper to me. "How was school?"

"...Fine." I said, glancing over at Mrs. Ito who was packing up for the evening. She looked tired, ready to go home. I felt an odd little ball of anxiety in the pit of my stomach. Don't leave me alone with him, I wanted to tell her, but she quickly said her goodbyes and I waved half-heartedly. The front door closed and then it was just us. "Is my father home?" I asked, giving in, sitting down at the breakfast bar to have my tea and snack.

"No, but he should be soon enough." Yuu smiled. "He knows I'm here. I promised I would make us dinner."

"You can cook?" I asked, surprised. Most of my father's past lovers had very... limited talents and they usually didn't involve practical things like cooking. Not that I could really cook, but still.

"I hope so." He smiled in an obviously joking manner, going back to his pasta. "I was also hoping that if I started early enough, we'd have time to talk." He said, looking at me over his shoulder.

I put down my tea. "Talk?" I asked, getting suspicious. There wasn't a lot of things that people wanted to 'talk' about with the children of their wealthy older lovers.

"Yeah, talk. If you don't mind." He smiled, turning again to face me. "You might be seeing a lot of me and I would like it if we got to know each other. And... when we met your father didn't exactly give you a chance to talk much."

So he had noticed. There was no way he couldn't, I suppose, but I was just so used to it that it hadn't even crossed my mind. Still, all of this was new to me. This 'wanting to get to know me' stuff. It was a first. "Yeah..." I nodded, picking my tea back up. "He's like that." I shrugged.

"He can be... a little forceful in his views." He nodded. "But it's alright to assert yourself once in a while. Right?" He offered me a gentle smile.