Naoto held the other man for what seemed a long time, rubbing his back and just simply letting his anxiety attack run its course. Venturing one hand upward, he massaged the nape of Koji-san’s neck. The man had a gracefully curved neck. Naoto had noticed it when unbuttoning his collar, and the skin there was warm and smooth. Not only that, but he smelled good, like clean laundry and soap with just a hint of male musk.

What a waste. A guy like this with such beauty, holed up in some office somewhere, driving himself insane over what was probably nonsense. Since his own father was a garbage collector, Naoto had always felt that Take Shimura provided a necessary service for society, something people just couldn’t go without. So had Lee when he’d stopped teaching at the university to run his parents’ grocery store in Little Asia. People always needed food. But some of the men who came here in suits, it seemed they’d be so much happier digging in the earth and growing things or building cabinets and soji screens. The man in his arms probably tapped on a computer the whole damn day. And night, from the looks of him.

Koji-san’s trembling began to lessen. He seemed to like Naoto’s fingertips on the tendons of his neck and on the smooth sides of his throat. Naoto resisted the urge to turn his face and press a kiss to the side of his head, but he did dare to let his massaging fingers venture upward, into Koji-san’s hair. Naoto’s breath caught. How sleek Koji-san’s hair was. He raked gently upwards and nearly closed his eyes in pleasure as if tasting a luscious pastry. Naturally luxurious this hair was, like Lee’s had been, sifting so easily between his fingers, teasing the pads of his fingertips with its soft beauty.

With each slide of his hand into Koji-san’s hair, the other man grew calmer. His trembling ebbed to a slight shiver and his breathing, thankfully, began to lose that choked panicky sound of a man in his death throes. It was only then that Naoto felt Koji-san’s arms around him, his hands gripping the back of his vest with the force of a man hanging on for his life.

Suddenly, Koji-san released him and sat up. His eyes were wide and still haunted, though he looked more sheepish than anything else. He took a deep breath. “I’m sorry.” His gaze darted back and forth and then he looked down, shoulders slouching again. “This has been nothing but a shameful day.” One hand came up and raked a second time through his hair.

Naoto sat back on his heels and watched him a moment. “What happened, Koji-san? Perhaps it would help if you tell me about it. That is, if you want to.” Some men just needed to unload at first, and he was used to playing the role of simple listener, too.

Koji-san heaved a deep sigh. “I’ve been forced to go on vacation.” Slowly, he looked up, eyes sheepish. “I begged my boss to let me choose a place to go, and he finally agreed. But I had to do it right then and there. He even had those security guards escort me all the way here without letting me stop to get a change of clothes. He knew I’d refuse to take the time otherwise.”

“What do you do?”

Koji-san pushed his hands into his hair. “Software engineer.”

“Computers?”

He nodded.

Just as I thought. Not unlike his older brother, Shin, who’d turned out to be a math genius by age five and now did some kind of work for the government he couldn’t talk about. Shin was two years older than he was and since Naoto could remember, he’d watched Shin get all kinds of special schooling while his parents let Naoto run wild. Of course, being left alone had its good points. He might never have met Lee if his parents had roped him in the way most parents did. But still…

Naoto gently took hold of Koji-san’s wrists. “Well, as long as you’re here, I can try to help you.” He expected the other man to resist him, but to his surprise, Koji remained passive, letting Naoto draw his hands down to his sides so that he could move in closer and undo more buttons on his shirt. He worked open the second and then the third, trying to ignore the invasion of intense heat in his groin as the opening shirt revealed more smooth golden skin. No undershirt. “You’ll see, Koji-san, if you relax and give yourself time to unwind, you’ll begin to feel better. That’s what I’m here for.”

Koji-san made a sound that was somewhere between a huff and a wry chuckle. “I don’t know how to relax.”

Naoto smiled up at him. “Don’t worry. I’ll show you how.” He undid the last couple of buttons and pulled in another breath.

Though Koji-san was a bit too thin, Naoto could see that at the proper weight, the man was shaped like a swimmer or diver. Slim yet finely muscled, v-shaped torso. And those large dark nipples. Naoto’s mouth watered to taste them, to feel them pebble against his tongue…

Wordlessly, he lifted one of Koji-san’s wrists and undid the cuff, repeating the same with the other one. The tightening in his groin intensified as he slipped the shirt off Koji-san’s arms and set it aside. “I would recommend a massage to start with.”

Koji-san was staring at him like before, as if just noticing him. “Hai,” he said softly. “A massage.” He continued to stare at Naoto, letting Naoto undo his belt and the fastening of his slacks.

Naoto swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. He perused Koji-san’s toned abdomen down to the waistband of his thoroughly conventional yet still alluring white briefs.