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Eiji wasn't sure when he got a stalker. He just knew he had one. He felt safe in the apartment with Ash but the minute he stepped out he felt vulnerable. It felt like something or someone was going to drag him into the darkness. Even simple things such as going to the supermarket and taking Buddy for a walk felt dangerous. It was starting to become less terrifying and more annoying.
He debated telling Ash but ultimately decided not to. Ash had enough to deal with and Eiji didn't want to bother him. That was the first mistake.
The second mistake was thinking he was safe. For the first time in weeks Eiji had found the courage to go out. There wasn't anything in particular he wanted to do so he headed to a small coffee shop to get something to drink.
"Holy shit, is that you Eiji?"
A part of Eiji hoped that voice didn't belong to who he was thinking of. He turned around to see a familiar face. In front of him was Frederick Arthur with the same arrogant smirk he had in college. "Yeah, it's me." Eiji replied.
"It's good to see you." Arthur said. He was… uncharacteristically enthusiastic to see Eiji, especially considering their history. Still, it was possible he really did change. "I didn't realize you stayed in New York." He continued.
"Everyone likes to assume I went home after graduating." His eyes trailed down to Arthur's hands, which were now scarred. The blond noticed and laughed. "Got into some trouble a few years ago. Nothing serious." Eiji wasn't sure what Arthur's definition of 'nothing serious' was because his hands weren't pretty to look at. He put an arm around Eiji and started walking. His grip was tight, forcing Eiji to follow. "C'mon, it's been a while. I know somewhere where we can talk."
He led Eiji to a bar he was sure wasn't there the last time he was in the area. But to be fair, there were all kinds of places tucked away in alleys. He bought him a drink, ignoring Eiji's meek protests. He felt small again, and he didn't like it. It felt like college all over again, right before he met Yue and things were slightly more bearable.
Arthur noticed his discomfort and slowly inched away from him. "Sorry," he said as his finger tapped the rim of his glass. "Shit, you know I'm bad with words Eiji. I just wanted to say sorry for, well, everything."
Eiji wasn't ready for that. He never expected Arthur to apologize to him in a dingy bar. "That came from out of nowhere." He told him.
Arthur focused on his drink. "I've been doing a lot of thinking and I know I've done some pretty bad things to you and I'm sorry. I didn't think I'd get a chance to make things right but then you walked out of that building and I knew I wouldn't get another chance like this again. So, I'm sorry and I'd really like to be friends again."
It was a lot to take in. Arthur downed his drink while he waited. "Again, this is really coming out of nowhere but I appreciate it. I'm glad I got to see you again and I'm happy to know you've changed." Eiji told him. Arthur huffed, "Why do I feel like you're about to say something I'm not gonna like?"
"But, I can't just forget everything you did to me. It took a long time to get over and it and, if I'm honest, I'm still not fully over it. I'd love to be your friend again but I don't think I could handle that right now." Eiji explained patiently. It almost felt like a small weight was lifted off his shoulders. The feeling didn't last long as he watched Arthur's face morph from confusion to amusement.
"Really? You saying you don't wanna be with me?" Arthur asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "No babe, I'm pretty sure you still want me. You broke up with me because that whore you call a friend said to and now you're dating that blond guy because you regret it."
" Don't punch him, don't punch him. " A mantra played in Eiji's head. 'I'm sorry, what ?" He asked.
Arthur looked at him like he was dumb before elaborating, "C'mon, I've seen you go into his apartment. What, you graduate just to become someone's little fuck toy?"
"For your information we've been dating for a while." Eiji snapped before fully processing what his ex said. "Wait, before…" A few patrons looked in their direction as Eiji burst into laughter. "Oh my god, you've been stalking me. What were you thinking? You were gonna walk up to me and pretend to be my friend and I would just forget everything?"
"I wouldn't call it stalking." Arthur answered, and Eiji wondered what kind of mental gymnastics he had to go through to believe his own bullshit. He got up and avoided Arthur's hand trying to grab him.
"Fuck you." The blond spat out. He quickly gave up his facade and his normal personality returned. Eiji couldn't tell which was better.
"Don't follow me. Don't talk to me. Don't bother me or anyone I know because trust me, if Yue knew I spoke to you you'd probably be sent to the hospital." Eiji spoke with the same amount of venom Arthur's words had. "It was good to see you." He left his ex in the bar, the drink that was bought for him forgotten.
Arthur stopped stalking him but the victory was short lived. The uncomfortable feeling of being watched returned shortly. Whether it was from paranoia or not, Eiji continued to not say anything.
Ash noticed, because of course he would notice. But he never brought up the fact Eiji was spending more time at the station than at home, the constant looking back while claiming he heard something, him peeking out the window three times in a row because he thought he saw something. He trusted Eiji, trusted he would speak up if something was wrong.
The night Ash planned to confront Eiji about it happened to become one of their busiest nights. Eiji got the text that Ash would be home late right when he was about to leave the house to visit.
"Well Buddy, it'll just be you and me again." Eiji sighed as he began taking off his shoes. Buddy whined and nudged his shoes closer to him. "What are you trying to say?"
Buddy, Ash and Eiji quickly learned, was very expressive and very talkative if you understood how he spoke. It took a while to understand but they eventually figured out the few key actions that Buddy does often. The retriever put one of Eiji's shoes in his mouth and put it down by the door. He looked up expectedly, waiting for his owner to figure out what he was saying.
"You want me out?" Eiji asked. Buddy barked and wagged his tail like he was saying "you guessed right!"
Eiji thought it over. Was going out really the best thing to do? It was late, the streets and bars would be crowded, not to mention he still felt like he was being watched. Was it worth it? Buddy nudged him, like he knew he was second guessing himself. Eiji sighed. "No, I should go. I should enjoy myself and not let this stupid feeling stop me." He told himself. He put his shoes back on and left the apartment. Damn it, he was going to have fun and no one could stop him!
That's how Eiji found himself in a small bar near the apartment. He didn't even know it was there, which was strange considering he's been living in the apartment for the past few months. " I really should start paying attention to my surroundings. " He thought to himself.
The bar itself was as crowded as he thought it would be. People were hanging out in groups so he sat on a barstool in the corner next to some old guy. Not the best place but he made it work. He spent the first few minutes sitting there awkwardly swinging his legs, debating if he should go back home and watch disney movies.
A drink was handed to him. He looked up at the bartender. "Oh, I didn't order it."
"I know, it was from him." The bartender replied, pointing to a man on the other end of the bar. Eiji froze, " Oh god this'll be weird. "
The man in question got up from his spot and sat next to him, the guy originally next to Eiji gone. "Hope that wasn't a weird thing to do." The man apologized. He hha grayish brown hair that was slicked back and a long scar that went across his left cheek. He was wearing a suit and Eiji suddenly felt underdressed with his sweater and sweatpants.
"How rude of me," The man held out his hand. "My friends call me Foxx."
Eiji hesitantly shook his hand. "I'm… Yuki."
"Yuki?" He raised an eyebrow at the fake name.
"... Yeah." Eiji answered meekly. He started fidgeting in his seat. Foxx seemed to know he was lying but didn't say a word. "Well Yuki , what's a cute guy like you doing all by yourself?"
Being blunt should've been the solution, right? Yeah, it'll clear up all misconceptions and Eiji could continue with his night.
"My boyfriend's at work." There. He knows he has a boyfriend, he'll be left alone now.
Instead of that, Foxx seemed to inch closer to him. "He doesn't come home often I assume?"
Eiji nodded slowly. The older man grinned, "You must be pretty lonely then." A hand made its way to Eiji's thigh, drawing gentle circles as he tensed.
"I'm fine by myself." Eiji managed to spit out as Foxx's hand inched higher and higher. He shivered, and hated how the elder smirked . "You look a little tense." Foxx whispered, leaning closer. "Why don't we go somewhere a little more private?"
Eiji found the strength to try and push Foxx away, but his hands didn't stop him from closing the distance. Did no one notice this? Was everyone so caught up in their own worlds they didn't notice?
Eiji flinched when Foxx grabbed one of his hands and lowered it, letting it trail down his chest before forcing it to palm the hardness between his legs. "Don't you see what you're doing to me?" He moaned, and Eiji wanted to die right there and then.
He yanked his hands away when something cold went down his back. A young woman with a red streak in her dark hair had bumped against him, her drink spilling down the back of his sweater. She held onto the table for support, her legs shaking slightly and eyes hazy.
"Oh my god I'm sooo sorry." She cried, putting her cup down as she reached out to Eiji. "Shit hold on, I think I have napkins somewhere." She patted herself down before realizing she didn't have her purse with her.
"Jesus, Amber! Did you forget you're a lightweight?" A guy chastised as he ran up to his friend. He looked at her and Eiji, assessing the damage. Eiji glanced at Foxx, who was now a respectable distance away from him.
"I am so sorry about her." The guy said, slipping an arm around Amber's waist so she was leaning on him. Eiji shook his head, "It's alright." The guy didn't seem so sure. "Danielle!" He yelled and another girl came up to them. "Watch Amber for me?" He asked before shoving Amber towards her and grabbed Eiji, leading him to the bathroom. Danielle didn't ask questions, just sighed as she looked at her friend and Eiji's soaked sweater.
Once in the bathroom, the guy sighed. "It's actually really hard to get Amber drunk." He shrugged his jacket off and draped it over Eiji. "I'm sorry about your clothes. Amber kept noticing how uncomfortable you looked and wanted to intervene and did that without telling us." He explained and Eiji wanted to cry because someone noticed .
"It's fine," He sobbed, feeling slightly pathetic. "Thank you so much."
The guy smiled, "You really should thank Amber. I'm Jack, by the way."
Jack led him back to his friends. Foxx was gone and Danielle was sitting in his seat. Eiji couldn't help but notice how similar Jack and Danielle looked, short brown hair and piercings that marked their ears and lips.
Amber sighed. She was more much composed now, leaning against the table as she held a new drink in her hand. "Hope I didn't ruin your sweater." She apologized.
"No, it's alright. Thank you so much." Out of habit he bowed slightly. Danielle handed him a sticky note. "Guy said to give this to you and left. Want me to throw it out?"
Eiji looked at the note. It was Foxx's number. "Burn it." He said, and Danielle grinned. "Sweet." She replied, taking a lighter out of her jeans. Jack's eyes widened. "Not in here!"
Eiji sighed, taking in the normalcy of it all. Jack turned to him. "Are you gonna head home?" They offered to give him a ride but Eiji declined, continuing to thank them for what they already did. Jack let him keep the jacket and Amber slid her pepper spray into the pocket.
When he got home Ash was sleeping in Eiji's bed. Eiji crawled in next to him and Ash immediately hugged him, opting to use his boyfriend's chest as a pillow.
"What happened to sleeping in separate beds until we could get a bigger one?" Eiji teased. Ash grumbled and held him tighter. "Missed you."
"How was your night?" He asked, opening one eye to look at Eiji.
Eiji opened his mouth but closed it, deciding to run a hand through the blond's hair. "Uneventful."
"Then just leave! That seems to be something you're good at." Ash yelled, slamming his hands on the table.
"You're one to talk." Eiji snapped back, backpack slung over his shoulder as he slammed the door shut. He blinked back tears as he walked out of the apartment, refusing to stop until he was a few blocks away.
He ran into a nearby store when the drizzle turned into a downpour. He cursed himself for not grabbing the umbrella by the door as he looked at the sky. The cloudy weather matched his mood. He fished his phone out of his pocket and debated who to call. He settled on Yue and called before he could feel guilty for possibly ruining their date night.
"Eiji? Is everything alright?" It was Sing. That was fine.
"Can you get Yue?"
Silence, and then he heard muffled footsteps and Yue's voice. "What's wrong, kitten?"
Now that Eiji had time to calm down, he realized how shitty he was to Ash. There was no reason for their disagreement to escalate that fast. There was no reason to raise their voices. The fight was Eiji's fault and he didn't even stick around to apologize, he just stormed out without even listening to Ash.
"Eiji?" Yue asked again.
Eiji couldn't hold back the tears. "Do you know who Blanca is?"
More silence on the other end. He huffed. "Don't bother thinking of a lie. He talked to me... about you and Ash." His voice cracked when he said his boyfriend's name. "Ash and I sort of got into a fight about it and we started yelling and I know Sing is living with you in the apartment now but can I just stay with you guys for a bit?"
He tried to steady his breathing as he waited for a response. He could hear the muffled voices of Yue and Sing whispering. Silent tears marked his face as the rain continued to fall. "Are you still in the apartment?" Yue asked. Eiji craned his neck to look for an address and Sing arrived in less than twenty minutes. Eiji rushed into the car, hair and clothes completely soaked despite not being outside for long.
"I hope you didn't run any red lights." He joked as Sing drove off. They continued the ride in silence until Sing couldn't handle it.
"You know you don't have to feel bad for wanting some time away from him, right?" The question made Eiji tense. "I'm sor-"
"Don't say you're sorry," Sing cut him off, "People argue, it happens. You need some space and that's what friends are for. Plus I'll kick his ass if you want me to."
Eiji laughed. "You don't have to do that."
When they got to Eiji's old apartment Yue forced him to take a bath and wrapped him in a blanket when he was done. He was sitting on their couch while Sing made popcorn and Yue browsed Netflix.
"If you're going to blame yourself then I'll let you know this is partially my fault," Yue started as he looked for the movies he used to watch with Eiji when they lived together. "I never told you about Blanca and I really should've when we met. He has a tendency to do that to people."
"I didn't even know he existed until I started dating Yue." Sing added, shivering a little at the thought. "He sent me a very threatening and very detailed letter about what would happen if I broke his heart."
"So you're staying with me out of fear?"
"Pretty much." Sing joked as he handed Eiji the bowl. "But we aren't going to think about that tonight. We're going to watch some movies, eat unhealthy snacks, and stay awake until four. Sounds good?"
That did sound good. Eiji nodded in agreement and Sing sat in between him and Yue.
"Ok, I found Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. We'll start with that?" Yue asked, not even bothering to hear their responses as he clicked play. "Oh and fair warning, Sing will start singing when Pure Imagination starts so cover your ears."
"My singing isn't that bad!"
Eiji smiled into the blanket as he listened to their playful bickering. He made a mental note to make breakfast in the morning to thank them.
"Thank you." He whispered. Sing and Yue turned to look at him and smiled. "No problem, kitten." Yue replied, leaning over Sing to grab a few pieces of popcorn.
Ash wasn't as lucky as Eiji.
He was lying on the couch, blanket covering his lower half as he cried into Buddy's fur. Buddy stood still, occasionally licking his face in an attempt to calm him down. He jerked up when the door opened, maybe he can apologize-
"You let your guard down." Blanca noted. Buddy growled at him as Ash put his head back down, petting Buddy's head to get him to stop.
"How did you get in?"
"The door was unlocked."
Yeah, that was Ash's fault (but he knew Eiji didn't take his keys and he hoped he would be back by now). "This is all your fault." Ash muttered, refusing to look at his former "guardian".
Blanca sat next to him, ignoring Ash's feeble attempt at kicking him. "You didn't tell him anything. Secrets aren't good in relationships."
"Yeah, I knew that! I was waiting!" Ash yelled, tears trailing down his face. Blanca looked at him. "Waiting for what? The right time? When would have been the right time?"
When Ash didn't respond he pressed further, "Would the right time be after someone tries to jump him? Or maybe when someone tries to assassinate him? Or will the right time be when Dino-"
"Don't say his name." Ash warned. "Eiji's safe. I'm making sure he's safe. We're all making sure he's safe. He didn't have to know everything at once. I wanted to go slow."
"By your definition of slow it would've taken years. Would he wait that long?"
"Of course he would." His voice got shaky. "He said he'd wait forever. And I know he'd want to hear it from me and not some stranger that found him and pulled him aside without so much as a warning."
"Then I apologize." Blanca stood up, adjusting his coat. "Lock your door when I leave."
"Eiji isn't your dead wife." Ash told him, getting up so he could stare at him. "I'm sorry for what happened to her but Eiji is different. For starters he's alive and I plan on making sure it stays that way."
He couldn't tell what Blanca was thinking. The older man walked away. "Take care." He said, closing the door. Ash made sure to lock the door this time. He had a feeling Eiji wasn't coming home.