News can travel quickly and were it a story of national interest, it was likely that the editors of daily newspapers would tear up their already edited prints for a new admission, but it wasn't. Plus the paparazzi involved was freelance and naturally wanted as much money for his merchandise as possible, such needed quick negotiation first and the man would seek more than one paper and magazine to negotiate with if he could not get decent remuneration from one source. However, the blurred images of images taken on mobile phones with either no flash or short recordings found their way on social media first. This did not hinder the paparazzi in anyway, just made his product more valuable as only he had the extension to the story... Thanks to the freelancer actually causing this short delay due to finance, there were no nasty surprises for the apartment on the tenth floor, although Saburo did shriek when Zandre exited the steamy bathroom with just a towel hanging from his hip that morning. Ichiro ran out to the hallway attempting to figure out what the problem was, only to find his little brother fanning his reddened face, a cheeky grin upon his face as well as a nearly naked Alpha being confronted. Ichiro's pupils dilated slightly as his eyes began to roam the sculpted, ebony figure before him with a sigh. Demon. And now he was tempting away his innocent little brother's soul with his incubus form! "What are you doing?! Stop corrupting people, go get dressed!" A wide grin spread the man's plush lips and he tugged Ichiro's arm, pulling him closer. "Am I corrupting you?" "Absolutely!" Saburo answered on his big brother's behalf, dragging out the word before giving his future in-law the thumbs up. Zee burst into laughter, his chest expanding and contracting as his clear amusement was fully expressed. Ichiro frowned and began to chase his naughty brother away, before finding himself recaptured, though this time by the waist as around two hundred and fifty pounds of pure man arched over his slender back. He shivered, his body responding to the heat and the scent of the Alpha pressed against him. Zandre had pushed himself to his limits in order to set things straight between himself, Elani and Ichiro, barely making it to Ichiro's apartment block before the fatigue nearly caused him to collapse. Fortunately, the elevator was working last night or the rugby star would be sleeping in his car until at least dawn. Ichiro's plan of making him sleep on the sofa, though, did not come to fruition, for Zee had followed him into his bedroom when he went to grab a pillow for him. The mattress was too much of a temptation and Zandre had fallen upon it, grabbing Ichiro as he did so and succumbing to sleep before his head touched the pillow. Trapped in his heavy embrace, Ichiro could only fume and curse the unconscious Alpha, before his own weariness had caught up with him and he had subconsciously snuggled deeper into Zee's embrace before falling asleep for the night. When his eyelids had fluttered open the next morning, he had found his head nestled upon Zandre's hard chest and his legs well entwined with the man's and startled, he'd pulled himself away. Only the grip upon his hip would not allow him to escape so easily and he had glanced at Zandre's face to find the man with a smug expression upon his face and twinkling, dark eyes. "Good morning," he'd greeted, cheerfully, not at all repentant. After that, Ichiro had muttered something incomprehensible and hinted that if Zandre was awake, he should leave. But he'd let the man have a shower first, if he wanted. Zee accepted the latter offer, but he clearly had no intention of leaving straight after. After removing the octopus from his back and telling him to dress, Ichiro slipped into the bathroom to have a quick wash himself. Plus he now had a small lower problem to deal with... not that a cold shower in the small bathroom now filled with the man's devilish pheromones did anything to help. He could only rush into his bedroom, open the window and hope that the fresh air would clear his senses enough that the stubborn object softened while he dressed. By the time he was done, he found that his Alpha had gone nowhere, chatting and laughing instead with Saburo, while even Jiro sat beside him, all three indulging in breakfast pancakes. "Ah, I want pancakes!" Ichiro called out, before being presented with a plate with two thin examples and a slice of bacon. Ichiro took his breakfast and curled up on the sofa, satisfied. It only took a brief moment for Zee to follow suit and the Omega leaned against him without thought as he munched happily away on his meal. But Zandre could not stay as long as he would have liked. His managing agent called about the endorsement that they had specifically flown over to deal with and he had no choice but to leave. He stole a kiss at the door, deepening it when Ichiro failed to object, not aware that there was a new witness. "The matter between yourself and Elani Van Zyl..." his agent mentioned after he arrived at Zandre's home in order to collect him that afternoon. Zandre pulled his seat belt over his form after setting in the back of the car with the man. The driver pulled away immediately following. "I spoke with her," Zandre admitted without deflection. "Let her know face to face that it's definitely over between us." "I know," the man sighed, dragging up a few well known social media sites with mention of it their argument upon the street. "Fortunately, the majority of the images were not too clear, so the most anyone could claim is that the man looks like you and the woman looks like Miss Van Zyl. Plus peoples accounts of the situation vary, with some swearing that you are having an affair, while others are saying that she tricked you into an engagement. The company has not answered any requests for clarification; the official statement was going to be issued in a few days, but will be announced tomorrow instead." "Why the initial delay?" He couldn't help but ask. "Frankly, it was something Miss Van Zyl's manager asked for," came the reply, "in order to mentally prepare her charge for it." He paused and scrolled through a few new rumours, some hit the mark, such as ones that brought up original rumours about the pair breaking up some months ago, which Elani had denied at the time. Others became ridiculous conspiracies, suggesting that this was all celebrity hype for the soap opera that Elani starred in. Who needed the small celebrity's love life or therefore current lack of to hype up a soap opera that had had excellent ratings for years?! "This affair of yours..." "I'm not having an affair," Zandre interrupted in order to make it clear. "I broke up with her after I found him. I'm not a bastard who goes stringing multiple people along." "Alright, who is he?" The agent insisted on knowing. The car stopped at a red light and the honk of a car horn caught their attention for a very brief moment. "He's an Omega," Zandre admitted a couple of minutes later, without offering more personal details. "He's my fated pair." His managing agent was silent for a moment, deep thoughts etched upon his brow before he finally stated; "I don't think such a line will work." "What line?" Zee couldn't help but frown. "Suggesting you left Miss Van Zyl for your fated pair," the man replied. The driver pulled into a small car park outside of a building created in a feat of engineering with glass and steel. They had arrived at their destination for the afternoon. "It's too soon after the situation with Mr Kobayashi and his wife. People will think that you have jumped on some sort of bandwagon." "I don't give a shit what other people think," Zandre said, flatly. "Ichiro is my Omega. I won't give up on him because of some ridiculous image." He exited the vehicle, slamming the door somewhat heavily in irritation. His agent spoke quickly in order to soothe the rugby player's emotions, all the while sighing inside. "Alright, I understand. The official statement mentions that you broke up with Miss Van Zyl some months ago and hints that the ring on her finger was purchased while she was abroad and others mistook her intentions, misdirecting public opinion. It doesn't appear that anyone really knows for sure what was discussed between the pair of you, but for my sake, keep any future relationship problems behind closed doors?" "You're right," Zee admitted. In hindsight, it was stupid of him to have gotten into an argument with her out on the streets and in full view of whomever was passing by. He'd just been so angry! The circumstances between him and Ichiro had been rocky from the start with his Omega's stubbornness and independent nature and his stupid lack of control and need for dominance over the other. The whole thing with Elani had nearly been a nail in their coffin. Fortunately, it hadn't seemed to cause any permanent damage or who knew how he'd smooth it over! In fact, he honestly believed that things had finally reached a good consensus; Ichiro had accepted him and his pursuit. The following day, as he stepped on the late night flight in order to head back to the rugby tournament, a small statement from an entertainment company, turned into a bigger news story than anyone was expecting.