Speaking to Ichiro over the phone felt both satisfying and yet insufficient. Zee had sensed softening in Ichiro's tone and he didn't end the call at the quickest moment. These points were small, not too significant when he considered the stubborn streak within the skittish Omega, but it was enough to increase the ray of hope within him. Naturally, that meant that the Alpha could not allow his ex's shadow to continue to linger in the background. Having not bothered to leave a message last time, the onus remained on him to finally make clean this break. "'Lani, we have to talk." "Zandre, darling!" There was clear affection in her voice, not even a tremor of discomfort. It couldn't be more transparent to Zandre than at this moment how she either hadn't taken their break up seriously or had convinced herself that they truly were on some sort of 'break.' "How are you? I missed you so much! Is everything alright with you now?" "Everything is fine..." he began, but she quickly interrupted, not letting him finish. It was another bad habit of hers that never used to bother him. Used to not. "I'm so glad!" Her tone was bubbly and sweet. It had been what had drawn Zee to the woman in the first place, rather than her willowy frame and beautiful face. She always leaned towards the positive. He had thought that would be a wonderful trait in a wife. He felt a bit guilty that he had used his past ideals to chose her as a partner rather than any real feeling. His whole relationship with her felt calculated now, at least on his part. "It was so hard not to text and call you everyday. I just wanted to listen to your voice!" She, on the other hand, really liked him. "'Lani..." he sighed, heavily, trying to get this over with. It's not like he hadn't broken up with girlfriends before, just that after a slap around the face and some harsh, bitter words, it was over. Oh except for the one who broke up with him in some vain hope that it would move him or something. He hadn't been too eloquent with words nor actions and had been pretty much a cold, unfeeling bastard during his school and university years. "But I understand that you needed some space," she continued as if she hadn't heard a word, "so I kept my distance like you wanted. Oh I just can't wait to see you, my love." Shit! "'Lani..." He swept a hand over his face in frustration. "I'll come over now!" What the fuck? "Actually, the timing is excellent! Have you had dinner yet? Because there is this great little restaurant that's just opened. It's only three stars, but the atmosphere is so romantic!" His whole body tensed and he sprang to his feet as if he could somehow stop her from across the phone. "'Lani, I don't think that's a great idea..." "I'll come pick you up..." her voice petered off for a moment and Zandre was about to interject, however a second female voice in the background made him pause. "Dammit, my agent is saying that I have to attend some thing tonight. Tell you what, I'll call you tomorrow, okay! Okay! Ciao, darling!" Zandre tossed his phone onto the oversize of the couch in irritation and rubbed at his eyes with a sigh. However, he understood that leaving the situation as was was not good for him, so after stretching his taut muscles, he grabbed the phone once more. Quickly, he sent Elani a text mentioning once more that they seriously need to talk, but that he is not free tomorrow. Tomorrow, he had training and then he also had plans to visit his Omega in an attempt to woo him. But the latter plans were not ones that he was willing to divulge to his ex-girlfriend, so he left the message at that. ***** What did one purchase a guy who was refusing to let a man court him? Flowers, he suspected, were a no go, considering this was definitely a time honoured traditional gift for women; for dates, for valentine's, for Mother's Day or simply to say 'I care.' Not that there were not men who wouldn't like their dates to buy them a beautiful bouquet or a single rose, but Zee had the inkling that Ichiro would not be one of them. Sweets or chocolate? He also didn't believe these were too good an idea. Ichiro did have a dessert that night, but it was a slice of lemon cheesecake, not something overly sweet, but he never managed to finish it either. He also commented afterwards, that actually, he wasn't huge on desserts and chocolates, usually had to be in the mood, but the cheesecake had just looked appealing. In the end, he glanced down at the item in the paper bag and felt his choice really wasn't that great, but he didn't want to appear empty handed. Zee was currently hanging around outside the rundown Hall where the Omega was leading a small group of teenagers in cool down stretches, leaning against his car, cap on, the brim down low to hide his face. Not that it wasn't already shadowed beneath a lamp post whose shattered bulb had not been replaced. He could just about see Ichiro through the glass windows; his Gi wrapped around his thin waist, a black belt holding the jacket together, loose sleeves revealing the jade, slender arms. Ichiro looked confident, happy, in this martial arts world of his. The teenagers eventually left, only two wore gi's, one had an all black kit and the other all white, while the other three boys wore t-shirts and jogging bottoms. Zandre thought that there was something wrong with this picture, but as he couldn't figure out what it was, he let it go. The boys gave him strange looks, ogling his car for a moment before getting distracted with their own antics and disappearing off down the street. Five minutes past and Ichiro appeared in the door way, wearing joggers and a sweatshirt, looking ready for a run. He paused and glanced upward, before hesitantly approaching Zandre. "Hey," he said, in an almost nonchalant way. He couldn't hide the surprised expression upon his face, the slight curiosity and hint of annoyance. Zee wanted to chuckle. He also wanted to kiss him, see his reaction. How was it possible for a person to express so much upon their face at the same time? "What are you doing here?" "Came to see you," Zee replied, offhandedly, breathing in the drifting scent that he'd sorely missed in these few days. "Oh and I bought you something." A bright smile came unbidden to Ichiro's lips as he said; "For me? You shouldn't have!" Zee passed him the paper bag and inwardly chuckled once more as the Omega whipped it open to reveal its contents, eagerly. He pulled out the folded navy umbrella, with a wry face. "Ha, ha, very funny." "Sorry," Zee apologised as he admitted that he hadn't known what to bring. "You didn't need to bring anything, did you?" Ichiro replied, lightly, but the rejection in his tone didn't quite reach his eyes and his fingers were clenched around the umbrella tightly. Zandre's lips curved upward in satisfaction. "Come on," He indicated his car with a nod of his head. "I'll give you a lift home." Ichiro looked at the car, it was not the same as the one Zee had driven for their da... their evening out together and it didn't seem to be the one he'd mentioned that he actually drove, but it still had a nice appearance. "Thank you," he decided not to turn down the offer. He hadn't really wanted to work tonight, hadn't wanted to run back either. He'd not slept well, worrying over the rent increase and what he could do about money in general. Jiro had asked him last night if they would be alright, if his earnings could afford the rent increase and he had lied, stating it was not a problem as he'd had an increase of applicants for the lessons at the hall. In actual fact, even if those people became regulars, they would still struggle to pay the rent on the apartment, the rent on the Hall, the standard bills and not to mention food. Saburo had had a small growth spurt as well this winter and could do with new clothes and trainers. Jiro had stopped growing, his height reaching an inch below Ichiro's, but that didn't mean he had no need of some replacement clothes. So Ichiro had spent much of the day scouring through job openings on the internet. He only qualified for a handful and of those only three offered shifts during the day that did not include all of the weekend. So he'd completed three online applications and prepared a new C.V before coming to the Hall to give it a clean before the teens arrived for their session. He felt both mentally and physically drained. Sitting in the car, breathing in forest scents of pine and wood chips, Ichiro felt his whole body beginning to relax. It seemed the man's pheromones could somehow soothe as well as excite him. He glanced up at the Alpha focusing upon the road. The pillar of a man with a straight back and sturdy shoulders, he looked as if he could support the weight of a world. It wasn't possible that there was no women in his life, ex-girlfriends, current girlfriends or women who wanted to be his partner... there would probably be men after him as well if he gave even a nod at being interested. So although Ichiro didn't want to be the man in his life, being straight and all, he couldn't help but be a little flattered and pleased that this man would care enough to come pick him up from work, to bring him an umbrella remembering that he'd been caught in the rain yesterday. It was a nice feeling. The warmth within the car and the aroma emanating lightly from the Alpha lulled Ichiro until his heavy lids closed and sleep beckoned him. He wouldn't wake up until the next day, only to learn from a delighted Saburo that Zandre had princess carried him up numerous flights of stairs to the tenth floor, had knocked on every door until he found the correct apartment and then gently put him to bed, only removing socks and trainers. Ichiro wasn't sure whether to feel really, really embarrassed, or really quite moved.