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Izumi's mother opened the door and smiled when she recognized the visitor.

"Takamiya-san," she said.

"Good morning," he greeted her. "I came to see if Izumi was all right."

"He was still asleep the last time I looked in on him, but I expect he'll be up soon, and I'm sure he'll want to thank you. Why don't you come in and have some tea."

She was a hospitable woman and soon had them both settled at the low table in the living room sipping and chatting.

"Were you on your way to work, Takamiya-san?"

"No, I'm self-employed and gave myself the day off."

"Really? I've always admired entrepreuners."

"It sounds impressive the way you say it, but it's not so grand as all that, I'm afraid. I'm a freelance translator."

"Oh, really, what language?"

"English to Japanese."

"How fascinating. Are you working on anything special at the moment?"

"A British author, Adam Harford, has written a memoir."

"The Adam Harford? My husband is such a fan of his spy novels."

"I translated the last two, which is partly how I landed this job."

"Really? Two of them? I'm sure we have some of his books in the house," she said, as she rose from her seat, padded down the corridor to another room, and re-emerged a minute later, flipping through the pages of a red-bound volume.

She knelt down at the table, glanced at the title page of the book and back up at the man sitting opposite her.

"'The Private Dossiers of Miles Winston' by Adam Harford, translated by Takamiya Katsura. Why, that's you!" she exclaimed. "That was a best-seller as I recall."

"A lucky break for me but, it's not like I wrote it myself," Takamiya blushed modestly.

"Well, of course not, but still...You must have studied abroad to be so capable. English is such a useful language to know. I keep telling my son not to neglect his English studies."

"I spent several years living in England, and only recently returned to Japan again."

"What an interesting life you must have. I always wanted to visit London. Paris, too."

"Yes, Paris is a beautiful city and certainly worth a trip."

"You've been to Paris? You must tell me all about it!"

Just then, the phone rang.

"Moshi, moshi," she answered. "Oh, Konno, it's you... Just a minute."

"Izumi," she called out. "Konno's on the phone."

A moment later, she hung up the receiver and said, "Oh, dear, look at the time. I was getting ready to go out to the store, when you arrived."

"I'm sorry. I'm interfering with your day," he apologized.

"Oh, not at all. It's nice to have company. I was just cutting up some vegetables for tonight's dinner, and discovered the ginger went moldy on me, so I was going to run out for that and a few more groceries. I just checked the pantry. Even though Izumi's only been off school a few days--well, it still surprises me how much food he can go through."

"When I was his age, my uncle used to call me a bottomless pit," Takamiya confessed. "I was always hungry."

"A bottomless pit?" Izumi's mother smiled. "That's a perfect description for a growing boy."

A growing boy, thought Takamiya with an inward sigh. His doubts about pursuing someone as young as Izumi came back to haunt him for a moment.

"I don't want to keep you from your errands," Takamiya said. "Maybe it would be better if I came back later?" he asked hesitantly.

"Oh, no, that's not necessary. It's fine with me if you wait here. I'm sure Izumi will be out soon. I need to shop though. I hope you don't mind me dashing off like this."

"Of course not. I don't mind waiting," said Takamiya.

"Thank you. Make yourself at home," she said, as she gathered her purse and left the house.

Fate was still on his side, Takamiya decided as he sat sipping his tea thinking that Izumi's mother seemed very nice...and very trusting. It was clear she was unaware of the details of her son's night out.

He heard the sound of shuffling steps, and then Izumi's voice called out, "Mom, I'm hungry. Is there anything to eat?"

Takamiya saw him emerge from the hallway, still clad in his pajamas. The boy yawned, stretched and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"Your mother just went out to the store," Takamiya said.

Izumi stiffened when he heard the voice.

"You!" the boy exclaimed in shock when he saw Takamiya seated at the table. "Why are you here? How do you know where I live?" The questions came rapid-fire.

"You told me the address last night so I could drive you home. Don't you remember?" Takamiya responded calmly enough, thinking how cute Izumi looked with his hair disheveled.

"I asked you why you're here," Izumi demanded again.

The tone of the question demanded a serious response, so Takamiya screwed up his courage and answered, "Well, for one thing, I was worried about you."

He looked up to gauge Izumi's reaction, but the boy just stood there before him in stony silence, so Takamiya continued.

"After I went home, I had some time to think about what happened last night..

Despite the boy's coldness, Takamiya went on bravely with his declaration, wanting to get it all out before he had second thoughts.

"I know it must have seemed like a nightmare to you, even though it was an accident, but the fact is, I really came to like you. From the moment we met really," he said, his voice full of gentle warmth.

"Even though I know you're straight, I still can't seem to help my feelings, somehow, so I wanted to let you just how much I've come to care for you," he finished sincerely as he studied Izumi's face and waited for a response.

To Takamiya's surprise, Izumi's glare seemed to soften, but then the boy's face went completely pale and his eyes rolled back in their sockets.

The man leaped to his feet, crying out, "What's wrong?" even as he rushed to catch the youth who fainted in his arms

" Izumi!" he exclaimed. "Izu...mi?" he said to rouse the youth cradled in his embrace.

With his head lolled back, Izumi's face radiated a vulnerable beauty that twisted Takamiya's heart in knots.

"He's so cute," he thought.

A split second later, with those innocent lips just inches from his own, a more daring impulse took over.

"I want to kiss him..."

Just as quickly, the stern voice of conscience warned him, "No! You need to earn his trust again!"

"But I can't help myself," Takamiya murmured, his resolve melted by the face so close to his.

"... I shouldn't," whispered the fading voice of conscience which was overwhelmed all too soon by temptation.

"He's just too cute...I .can't resist... Just a quick one then..."

He closed his eyes, leaned in and brushed his lips lightly on the ones below his. The feeling was heavenly though, so he lingered there...

"Gyaah!" yelled Izumi as he came to. "What the hell are you doing to me?"

Takamiya blanched and stammered out an explanation.

"You fainted again... I caught you before you fell...."

Izumi was having none of it.

"And that was mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, I suppose!" the boy declared sarcastically as he pulled away and stomped off to the bathroom.

"Yes! Sorry!" Takamiya called after him.

A few moments later, Takamiya heard the sound of water running in the shower.

With his cheeks hot from mixed embarrassment and happiness, Takamiya couldn't regret the memory of the kiss, but a troubling thought wiped the smile off his face.

"I hope I haven't ruined my chances with him."

Not a half-minute later, Izumi's mother returned from shopping.

It would have been embarrassing if she had come home a few minutes earlier, Takamiya reflected.

"I must rein in my impulses," he thought even as he volunteered to help her carry the parcels she purchased into the kitchen.

"So, did you see Izumi?" she asked as she quickly emptied the contents of her shopping bags into cupboards, refrigerator and freezer.

"Yes, for a minute. He's taking a shower now," said Takamiya.

"And how is he? Not hung-over, I hope."

"Well, he was still feeling a little faint. He mentioned he was hungry."

"That probably explains the faintness," she concluded as she turned on the range, set a pan on the burner and cracked an egg into it.

"Takamiya-san," she said, "I had been thinking of inviting you to dinner with us this evening, if it's not too short notice for you. I was so interested in what little you told me of your travels, I'd love to hear more and of course, I wanted to thank you..."

"Dinner tonight?" said Takamiya with a rush of pleasure. "I eat out so much, I haven't had a home-cooked meal in months, I'd love that. It already smells so good in here," he said with a gesture at the chopped vegetables on the counter.

Izumi came into the kitchen at that point, dressed for the day in casual clothes, his hair still damp from the shower.

"Are you still here?" he asked Takamiya.

"What kind of tone is that to take with a guest?" Izumi's mother scolded as she used a spatula to flip the egg frying in the pan over easy.

Takamiya wanted to ease the situation between mother and son, so he addressed Izumi, "I stayed because, when I asked the first time, you never answered...you see... That's why I'm still here. I came to find out if you were all right...after...after...fainting last night," Takamiya stumbled a bit as he chose his words.

"Well, I guess I'll survive," Izumi responded dryly.

"You could show a little more gratitude," his mother commented. "In any case, Takamiya-san will be joining us for dinner."

"Dinner?" exclaimed Izumi.

The woman turned to Takamiya with a smile saying, "So, we'll see you tonight, say around six?"

"Six o'clock? I'll be here," he responded. "I should go though, now. I have some errands of my own to run. Good-bye," he said with a last look at Izumi.

To Takamiya's regret, the boy would not meet his eyes, but as he walked out to the car, that small setback could not ruin his mood.

He was going to see Izumi again. He was so excited.