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"Griff I love you but you really don't have to be here." Ash told his brother as he watched doctors and nurses walk past them. They were in the hospital, both wearing casual clothes instead of their usual work outfits. It was a nice change, work outfits had a tendency to stay on for more than a week before being washed (Griffin had tried to fix that years ago but has now been resigned to the fact they're doomed to wear smelly clothes for long periods of time).
Griffin laughed. "I'm just here to make sure you don't beat yourself up thinking you could've prevented-"
"It was my fault." Ash interrupted, grabbing his hair as the frustration of that night returned to him. "If we had cleared the building out faster or got there, I don't know, five minutes earlier that kid wouldn't have had to jump out the window!"
"You know he's actually older than you." Griffin said, causing Ash to scoff and raise an eyebrow. "I'm serious, do you remember Shunichi? That's his nephew. Guy has a serious baby face."
Ash groaned and covered his face. "That's even worse. I'm the reason he's stuck here and Ibe probably hates me now."
Griffin sighed, partially because after all these years of knowing him Ash should have no problem calling Ibe by his first name and mainly because he hates seeing Ash get angry at things he couldn't prevent. "Aslan," The use of Ash's real name got him to look at Griffin. "Do not blame yourself for what happened. Your team did everything they could to stop that fire and get everyone out safely. He was the one that chose to jump out and you know damn well that you probably wouldn't have been able to talk him out of it." He watched Ash slowly nod, not because he understood but because he knew Griffin wouldn't let him believe anything else was true.
"Also, Shunichi isn't mad at you." Griffin added. "He told me that if you weren't going to see Eiji on your own then I'd have to drag you here to see him." He smirked. "I also remember you having a gay panic attack this morning when you googled him and learned he was a pole vaulter."
"I didn't have a gay panic attack. Your memory seems to be getting worse every day." Ash quipped.
"You sure? Because I clearly remember you blushing when you watched that video. You haven't blushed like that since what, high school?"
"It's a good thing we're at the hospital, I think you're hallucinating." Ash grumbled. Before Griffin could make another remark they heard a familiar voice.
"Griff! It's good to see you again." Shunichi Ibe appeared, smiling even though Ash was 90% sure the Japanese man was secretly pissed at him.
"Good to see you too." Griffin said, getting up to give his friend a hug. Ever since Ash was born, Griffin, Max, and Ibe were inseparable (except for the few times Ibe went back to Japan. He always came back though, which was something Ash's parents didn't do.) He doesn't remember the whole story on how they met, just that they found each other in high school and always kept in touch. Griffin and Max became journalists while Ibe became a photographer.
He followed them to the hospital room, tuning out their conversation as he pulled out his phone. He had cancelled his plans with Shorter to go to the hospital instead but with how often Shorter texted him it felt like he was right next to him.
"What are you, an angsty teen? C'mon, socialise!" Griffin turned around to ask. Ash groaned but stuffed the device into his pocket.
Eiji Okumura was his full name according to wikipedia articles. He had gotten into an accident during practice and was injured. Ash had watched all the videos he could find. Watching Eiji fly for just a few seconds before falling down, it took his breath away. And maybe, just maybe, he did have a gay panic attack. He wasn't going to admit that out loud though.
When they got to the room Ash started sweating. Would Eiji want to see him? Would it be weird that he showed up? Is he expecting him? Should he have worn the one clean shirt he had instead of the semi clean one he found on his floor? He felt Griffin put a hand on his shoulder. "You'll be fine." Ash didn't feel fine. Ibe opened the door and let them in.
"Hey, Ei-chan. How are you feeling?"
Eiji was propped up on the bed, his face clear of soot. Ash was relieved to see that his left arm was bandaged. "Tired." Eiji replied as Griffin and Ibe sat down. Ash stood there awkwardly as he watched them talk. The events that led to this began to play in Ash's mind.
~~~~~~~~
Last night
~~~~~~~~
"How the hell are we supposed to get up there?" Shorter yelled over the sound of sirens. Ash and his team were looking up at an apartment complex that was burning up. Most of the people evacuated by they still needed to clear out the top floors that were engulfed in flames.
"There!" Ash pointed to the building next to it. There was a small gap between them. He pointed to two of his teammates. "See if you can get up there and jump across."
Right as they were about to make their move they heard the sound of glass breaking. They turned their attention back to the burning building and saw a blurry figure and shards fall onto the rescue cushion below. "Shit." Ash muttered as he ran to see who fell. Shorter followed him.
"Do you have any idea how dangerous that was!?" The blond yelled at the figure before stopping. Laying on the cushion was a short man with messy hair and big brown eyes. His shirt was soaked with blood, glass shards dug into his shoulder and arm. In his arms was a small calico cat. He wasn't listening to Ash, his attention focused on the small creature in his arms. He tried to hand her to him.
"Please," he said in a slight accent. "Take care of her."
Ash found it hard to say no to him. He found himself holding the cat in his arms as Shorter grabbed the man and led him to an ambulance. She cried out for the stranger but Ash kept her secure and handed her over to Alex, who was able to find her owner. The people around kept talking about the stranger.
"He came rushing in…"
"That was quite a fall…"
"He was like an angel…"
Ash agreed with whoever made that statement. He made a mental note to find him later. He still had work to do.
~~~~~~~~
"Jesus, stop staring and say hi!"
Griffin's voice snapped Ash out of his trance. He felt his face go red. Damn, he really was staring. Eiji's eyes were on him. "Are you ok?" He asked, even though Ash should be asking him that since he's the one in the hospital.
"Don't worry about me, I'm fine." Ash said, shrugging nonchalantly. Griffin coughed obnoxiously. "Oh, I'm Ash. Ash Lynx."
Griffin groaned for what had to have been the fifth time that day. "Aslan Jade Callenreese don't you dare introduce yourself with the name your coworkers gave you." The use of his full name made Ash go red again and it didn't help that Eiji was laughing. Damn , his laugh was adorable.
"Both are nice names." He told Ash. "I hope you didn't feel pressured to come here. I know I what I did was very dumb."
"It wasn't dumb!" Ash blurted out. Griffin and Ibe scoffed. "...Ok maybe it was a little bit dumb but you did save a cat."
"Did you find the owner?" Eiji asked, his eyes brightening at the mention of the feline. Ash nodded. "Yeah, he was at the scene. You're like a local legend now. All they could talk about was how an angel ran in and got them out."
It was Eiji's turn to blush. "Well, I wanted to help. I know people called 911 but I was worried someone was seriously hurt so I...rushed in. I wasn't going to run back in but someone mentioned their cat was still inside."
"The cat could have probably gotten out on her own. I'm just glad you're ok." Ibe said. Eiji nodded. "It was almost like pole vaulting. I just skipped to the falling part."
During the conversation Ash found himself inching closer and closer to Eiji. It didn't look like anyone noticed. Griffin coughed and stood up. Ash took that back, he probably noticed. "Well, I actually have to talk to Shunichi about something. It was nice to meet you Eiji." He said, shaking Eiji's good arm.
"What do you need to talk about that's so important?" Ash questioned, already suspicious. His brother never mentioned this and judging by Ibe's face, he didn't know about this either.
"Work related stuff."
Ah. Ash knew that phrase. That was code for "I don't actually have to talk about work, I just need an excuse to leave so you can embarrass yourself." "Thanks a lot, Griffin." Ash thought as he watched them leave. It was just the two of them now. He wasn't sure what to say now. Ash Lynx would never act like this but Aslan? A complete mess, especially when he had to talk to a cute guy. "Anyone else know you're in the hospital?"
"My family was a little worried but they know I'll be fine." Eiji answered. "My friend Yue however…" he let out a small groan and rubbed his eye. "He kept me up all night. If whatever he was doing in France wasn't important I think he would stop by."
Yue. The name sounded familiar but there was no way…
"The whiny bitch from high school?"
Ash was ready to crawl into a hole and die. You don't insult someone's friend just because you thought you knew them in high school when in reality they were a snake but Eiji was laughing and it sounded really sweet and he could barely keep it together. Shorter would be making fun of him if he was here. He could hear him right now, "How could the great Ash Lynx be defeated by such an adorable angel?" or he'd just say "You're so fucking whipped bro." Either way Ash would be at a loss for words.
"I don't know what he was like in high school," Eiji started, still giggling while Ash thought he would melt into a puddle. "But he isn't as whiny as he was when we were in college. He is still a bitch though."
Damn Eiji swearing was hot. If Ash knew he was going thirst over this guy he… would probably still visit him.
They ended up talking about the aftermath of the fire, which led to Ash telling Eiji the stupid things his team would do when they were bored. He finally got to tell someone who wasn't Griffin about the Pinball Incident.
"They seem more like your family than coworkers." Eiji noted. Ash smiled, they really were his family. "I wouldn't trade them for the world. Don't tell them I said that." He told Eiji, who nodded and mimicked sealing his lips in response.
An hour nearly passed when Ibe walked back in. Eiji was busy explaining the difference between... cameras? Ash stopped paying attention after the first three sentences, he was distracted by how soft Eiji's hair looked (and he's never going to admit that out loud).
"Hey Ei-chan." He said, sitting down besides Eiji. He didn't seem surprised that Ash was still there. "Griffin went home already. He said you wouldn't be leaving anytime soon." Of course he'd leave his brother to fend for himself.
"I should probably be leaving anyways." Ash said, even though he didn't really want to go. "Aw, leaving already?" Eiji asked, struggling to keep his eyes open. Ash found himself smiling again. "Get some sleep old man," Eiji huffed in response, "I'll be back tomorrow."
Eiji gave him a small wave and a quiet "Bye" before closing his eyes and falling asleep shortly after he left.
~~~~~~~~
"He called me a whiny bitch!?" Yue yelled, causing Eiji to wince and move the phone away from his ear. "How dare he, I'm not a bitch!"
"So you admit you're whiny?"
"Do you agree with him? Oh, and here I thought I could trust you Eiji."
Eiji smiled as he listened to his friend rant. He just knew Yue threw himself onto his bed dramatically, at this point it would be weird if he didn't. "Promise me you'll be nice to him once you guys have to work together."
Another groan. "I have to ask for a transfer. There's no way we can work together."
"I'm sure it won't be that bad." Eiji assured him. "Besides, weren't you the one who said that station was the best one around?"
"That was before I realized it was run by the notorious Ash Lynx. God, if you knew him you'd understand why I can't work with him."
"He didn't seem all that bad…"
Eiji heard Yue shift around before he spoke. "Eiji Okumura if I didn't know any better I would say you have a crush on him."
Eiji shook his head furiously before remembering Yue couldn't see him. "I don't have a crush! I just thought it was sweet of him to visit someone he didn't know, especially when he was under no obligation to do so."
"Did you tell him you're supposed to interview him in a couple of days?" Eiji could feel Yue smirk. He already knew the answer. "Well, he's going to combust once he pieces two and two together."
"There's no way someone like him would be interested in me." Eiji glanced at the clock on the wall. "I gotta go, you have to stop calling this late."
"You always answer regardless of the time," Yue replied. "But fine. I'll see you soon kitten."
"Goodnight." Eiji put his phone down and tried to get comfortable.
"I do not have a crush." He muttered to himself.