Chapter Text
Eiji finished scrubbing the kitchen clean for Nadia who was out on an errand. Shorter was at work, performing his own tasks as well as covering for Ash's. It had been a good two weeks since Ash had been well enough to spend time at the garage. The rains that had been a constant assault from New York's skies had seized, but Ash's fever lingered. In fact, Eiji feared that it was growing worse since he'd told his friend Sing about it.
Looking out at the bright blue sky, Eiji tried to find comfort in the fact that Sing must have done something to keep the young water god he worked for under control. It couldn't have been an easy task to quell Yut Lung. Every supernatural being alive seemed to know of his temper, but Sing had been as capable as Eiji figured and gotten the job done. Eiji should be happy for him, for the whole world that wouldn't have to suffer a devastating flood, but he couldn't quiet the anxieties worming around inside him.
Ash's groan reverberated from the other room, signaling that he was awake. Of course, this was the seventh time he'd woken up since last night, having stirred himself awake a number of times before sunrise. Eiji quickly grabbed a washcloth from the bathroom and wet it with cold water before rushing to Ash's side.
“You rang?” Eiji asked in a mock Franken-butler voice, but his sense of humor wilted when he saw how weak Ash looked. It hadn't been thirty minutes since he'd last peeked in at him, but Ash was in a cold sweat, gasping for breath, eyes scrunched in suffering. “Ash?”
Ash opened his eyes. They were clouded and unfocused as they traveled to Eiji, likely following the sound of Eiji's voice rather than actually seeing him.
“Eiji? Where are we?”
As Eiji suspected, Ash was delirious. He often asked where they were, though they'd moved to Shorter's place over a month ago. Eiji walked over and began wiping Ash's face. His heart shook when Ash leaned into his touch, enjoying the refreshing chill on his hot skin. “I wish you'd let me take you to the hospital,” Eiji whispered. “They did a good job with me, remember? And if they can save a tengu, I'm sure a human like you would be easy work. They see hundreds a day, I'm sure.”
It was difficult to keep up a light and playful tone. Worry was making Eiji all but beg Ash to seek help, but he didn't want to be a bother, didn't want to force him if Ash wasn't comfortable with doctors. Eiji hadn't known it when he was the one laid up in a hospital bed, but Ash saw the medical facilities as a one-way road; he'd had a grandparent and even a friend he'd met before finding Max and his current friends go in and not come back out. He'd confided one night through a fever dream that he felt so happy, he could die, and if he died Eiji would be all alone, and he'd hate that. Eiji had only listened with misty eyes and offered hums to show he was listening.
“I know you want me to go,” Ash whispered now, practicing the telepathy they'd gained by knowing each other's minds better than their own. “But the stink of antiseptic covering up the sick, the cold of the blasting AC feeling like spirits slipping past . . .” Ash swallowed to wet his throat. “I know you made it out alive, but I have a hunch that I won't.”
Eiji fought to not click his tongue, taking a deep breath in and out before speaking. “I have a hunch you won't make if you stay here. How do you feel about that?” Softer, finally desperate enough to plea, he begged. “Please, Ash. For me.”
Ash's eyes widen and gained the focus they'd been lacking earlier. He looked Eiji dead in the eye with a look so pained, it punched Eiji hard in the stomach. “I'd do anything for you, really, but I'm scared, Eiji . . . All the things I've faced and death is still what haunts me. But now, it's not my leaving this world that bothers me; I don't want to abandon you here, Eiji. After you came down for me, I don't want to leave you alone.”
“Do you remember what I told you?” Eiji asked him. “Time went by faster in the Tengu Kingdom. Even if you left this world, which I hope you won't anytime soon, I'll be all right, waiting for you here. You should think about yourself. If you go first, it'll be a longer wait for me to join you than the one you suffered on Earth when I visited the Kingdom.”
“We just can't win, can we?” Ash asked. His tone was still sad, but he managed a smirk that made Eiji realize he was the one now trying to lighten the mood. Eiji gave a half smile of his own, though he wasn't feeling it. He passed the washcloth over Ash's face once more before sitting on the bed with his hands in his lap. It was a good thing that the cloth had mostly dried out because, the way he was squeezing it, his thighs would have been soaked in no time.
“I can't force you, I realize that,” Eiji admitted. “But if you got help, I would be grateful. You're scared, but so am I. You don't want to lose me, but I don't want to lose you. We're going in circles and there is no other solution but to face your fears. Aren't you named for the phoenix who rose from the ashes? Rise!” Eiji's voice had grown louder than he'd meant it to. “Sorry. For raising my voice.”
Eiji had his eyes down, too frustrated to look Ash in the face, to have to realize again how weak Ash was. He couldn't bear it anymore.
“Eiji . . . Give me today.”
That snapped Eiji from his thoughts and he did look at Ash now. Ash had tears in his eyes and Eiji could feel some lacing his own. “You mean you'll go to the hospital? You'll get help?”
“Tomorrow,” Ash nodded. “Just let me collect myself, then I'll be a big boy.”
They both chuckled and Eiji could have kissed him, but Ash had forbidden him to so that Eiji wouldn't catch his sickness, never mind that Eiji was always at his bedside, breathing the same air. “I love you,” Eiji said.
“I love you too. I'm sorry I worry you sick.”
Eiji took a deep breath before saying, “As long as this stubborn streak of yours ends tomorrow like you say. Always remember, you being inflexible just makes me push harder. You're not the only stubborn one.”
“Thank God,” Ash grinned. “I'm lucky to have you, Eiji.”
“Yes, you are.” Eiji wore a smug face for a bit then he broke it to laugh with Ash again. “You're almost yourself already. The doctors will put you back at one hundred percent. Just you wait. For now, I'm going to the kitchen to make you soup. Call if you need me.”
“Okay.”
Ash looked like he was settling to fall back asleep again. Experiencing the first peace of mind he'd had in ages, Eiji left the room humming and kept up the tune as he busied himself at the stove. The aroma of cooked carrots and tomatoes wafted through the apartment. It was a very basic broth that Eiji refrained from spicing up though he knew Ash would complain about its being bland to his already bud-numbed tongue. Mild things were best when the body was fighting infections and bacteria, Nadia had taught him. Eiji had been surprised by how much she knew, and not just about healthcare. If he didn't know any better he'd think—
At that moment, Eiji heard the front door click open and soon spotted Nadia poking her head around the corner.
“Ah, hello,” Eiji greeted her. “Just making Ash breakfast. I hope I'm not in the way.”
Nadia shook her head. “I've told you, this is yours and Ash's home as much as mine and Shorter's. Do as you please.”
“Thank you, um—”
“Ash's fever . . .” Nadia started. “It's still rising, isn't it?”
Eiji nodded. “Yes.” He turned back to the soup and gave it a few stirs. “I'm very worried, but Ash assured me that he'll go to the hospital tomorrow. I'm sure they'll be able to help him there.”
When Nadia said nothing, Eiji turned back around. “Some things can't be helped,” she said. “Not by human hands. Be strong, Eiji. And don't forget what I said, for you and Ash, here is home.”
Before Eiji could say a word, Nadia ducked out of the kitchen, out of the apartment if the click-boom of the front door opening and closing again was any indication. Eiji stood dumbfounded. It wasn't like Nadia to say anything pessimistic. What had she meant that some things couldn't be helped?
Not by human hands . . .
Those words struck Eiji as the most strange. She and Shorter weren't opposed to praying, but it didn't sound like a god's help was what she was referring too.
“Eiji!”
As though pulled, Eiji ran from the room without a second's thought. His mind screamed the worst, even as he realized that Ash couldn't be shouting for him if he was too weak, if he had fainted or was knocking on Heaven's door. But there was an urgency that made Eiji break into a sweat.
When he got to the room, he halted, caught off guard by the scene before him. Ash was where he'd left him, sitting up in bed, but the flames springing from his hands were definitely new. Ash looked stunned but obviously wasn't hurting as he didn't scream or writhe, just stared at his glowing hands.
“Whatever I've got,” Ash whispered. “I don't think a hospital can help me.”