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"You ditched me to see the guy and you won't even tell me what happened?" Shorter groaned as he collapsed onto the couch. He wanted all the details first thing in the morning but they ended up having to respond to a call and the morning slowly turned into the afternoon. Everyone was exhausted. Well, everyone except Ash Lynx. He was in a good mood all day which made the rest of the crew terrified. The boss was never this happy, and Shorter was the only one that knew why.
"I don't get why you're so interested." Ash responded, taking a seat next to him. His eyes were glued to his phone, a small smile forming as he typed. Shorter gestured to his friend's appearance. "This is why I wanna know! Someone is important enough for you to not hang out with your best friend."
"Who said you were my best friend?"
Shorter gasped loudly, a hand dramatically placed over his chest as he slumped down. "Betrayed by some cute Asian guy. I never thought this day would come."
The rest of the crew quietly laughed at Shorter's antics. They all relished the moments of peace they get in between calls. This was probably the first time in days where they could actually make it through lunch.
"Boss, the pinball machine is broken!"
"Ah," Shorter thought as he saw Ash look up with a scowl on his face. "I knew it wouldn't last long."
"How the fuck is it broken already? I thought we fixed it last week." He asked Bones, who was kicking the poor thing to get it to work. Bones was a little odd, but he was a damn good firefighter and always knew how to lighten the mood. "I dunno! Just wanted to play." He replied. Ash sighed. "Leave it, I'll get Alex to fix it tomorrow."
Shorter stretched and got up. There was no way Ash would tell him anything now. He went downstairs and nearly bumped into someone. "Oh shit, I'm so sorry. Are you-"
He knew the guy in front of him. This was the dude Ash went to see! He smirked, this would be fun. The guy, Eiji, was looking much better than when Shorter last saw him. He was holding a small container in his arms. "I'm sorry!" He cried. "I wasn't looking."
"What? No, I was the one not paying attention. You're good." Shorter assured him. The commotion was enough to get some of the crew to go downstairs. Shorter couldn't help but laugh as he watched Eiji stare at everyone. They were an odd crew, but they took care of each other.
"H-hi." Eiji managed to say. "I'm Eiji Okumura. I just wanted to say thank you and um…" He scanned the crowd, most likely looking for Ash. The blond was the only one who wasn't there.
"Ash you got a visitor!" Shorter yelled. He could hear Ash groan as he leaned over the railing to look. "Griff, I swear to god if you keep showing up unannounced..."
He paused mid sentence. Imagine that, the infamous Ash Lynx left speechless just by seeing this guy. The guys would never let that down. "Eiji!" He finally said once he found his voice. He practically ran down the stairs as Eiji smiled.
"I made cookies!" Eiji said, proudly handing Ash the container. Ash opened it up and the room was filled with the smell of chocolate chip cookies. They were all practically drooling, baked goods were a rarity due to how busy they usually were. Hands reached into the container, grabbing the treats as the crew started eating them. Ash put the lid back on as Eiji stared in shock at how fast they were eating. "Jesus," Ash started, "You guys aren't animals!"
Shorter nearly moaned when he bit into his cookie. "Ohmagwad." He said, covering his mouth to prevent anything from falling out ("I take it back, you're all animals." Ash muttered). "You're an angel, Eiji. This is so fucking good."
Eiji's face flushed. "Thank you." Shorter yanked the container from Ash. "What are you-" A cookie was shoved into Ash's mouth. The crew stared at Shorter, mouths agape. They knew Shorter was close to Ash but they could never imagine being able to do that to him.
He stayed like that for a second before breaking off a piece. "Mmm." He chewed slowly as Eiji watched with bated breath.
"Is good. Real good." Ash said, which startled the crew again. He usually had a colorful vocabulary. They expected a curse or two similar to how Shorter reacted. Eiji didn't seem to mind Ash's limited praise, his smile only widened. "I guess I'll have to bring sweets more often." He decided.
As everyone continued praising Eiji and lightly teasing Ash, (this might be the only chance they could do something like that and damn it they were going to enjoy it), someone else slipped inside the station. They had extremely long hair that was kept in a ponytail. Ash could never forget their face even if he tried and believe me, he has tried.
"Excuse me, I'm looking for…" Yut-Lung paused once he saw Ash and Eiji together. "Eiji!" He exclaimed, a hand over his heart. He was just as dramatic as Shorter and judging by Eiji's face this wasn't the first time something like this happened. "Hi Yue."
"Oh so you'll bake cookies for people you barely know and not for me?"
"Well," Eiji started, trying to figure out the right thing to say, " Technically , they're also for you. I made them for the station and, ya know, you're working with them now?"
Ash was taken aback. "Wait, so when they said we were getting a new paramedic tomorrow they meant you?" He pointed at Yue.
"Yes, they meant me. I look forward to working with you." Yue answered, stealing a cookie. He moaned loudly as he bit into it, causing Eiji's face to redden. "They say sushi is an aphrodisiac but clearly they've never had Eiji's cooking. You think this is good just wait till you see what else he can make."
"Ok, that's enough Yue!" Eiji cried, clearly flustered. "I already said I'd bring more sweets."
"Oh? So you're going to not give them a small portion of whatever you make?" Yue asked, slightly raising an eyebrow. "You're going to let these men eat whatever trash they have to make themselves?" ("Hey, I make good food!" Shorter interjected)
"He doesn't have to make us anything you whiny bitch." Ash said for Eiji. Yue rolled his eyes. “Well sorry for wanting you guys to have more in life. Let him make you one meal and you’ll be begging him for more.”
“Beg is a strong word." Eiji said before muttering, "But I wouldn't mind…"
Ash was ready to scream "Hell yeah I'd like to eat whatever you make" but right when he opened his mouth someone apparently decided now was the best time to call 9-1-1 and the sirens began to wail. "Alright, let's do our job!" Ash yelled as the team groaned. Shorter handed Eiji the container, "Thanks for the cookies!"
As the blond jumped into the truck he turned back to look at the two. "You guys can make yourselves comfortable if you're planning to wait for us. And Eiji, the guys would love it if you did make something small for us."
"You mean you'll love it." Shorter teased. Ash glared at him before looking back at Eiji, who gave him a small wave. "I'll see what's in your fridge." He told Ash.
As the trucks sped out of the station Eiji turned to Yue, who was smirking. "What?"
"You didn't notice the sparks? The way a certain blond devil was staring at you?" Yue asked, looking like he was ready to start jumping up and down like a middle school girl that noticed her friend had a crush on someone. "I may hate his guts but I can tell he likes you."
"Not everyone that looks at me has a crush on me, Yue."
"I may have been wrong the last couple years but I swear he does like you. I bet if no one was around he would've said he wouldn't mind having a Japanese meal-"
"Alright that's enough!" Eiji yelled, face turning red again. "I'm going to make food, do you want to help me this time?"
"Hmmmm," Yue dragged the word out before deciding, "Eh, why not? Someone has to make sure you don't burn the station down."
"It was one time!"