Work Text:
This better work , Ash sighs as he stares at the building. The uniform is too tight and the students are somehow rowdier than the ones back in New York. Still, there was a small chance Japan might be the break he so desperately needs.
Cherry blossoms begin to fall around him, highlighting the already delightful atmosphere. If Ash still believed in God, he'd pray. What God would force him through this hell? He tightens his grip on his bag and walks inside. He has to remind himself he's doing this for Griffin. He can't keep letting his brother take the fall for his misfortune (even if he did get a boyfriend out of it, the miscommunication trope was bound to arrive at some point).
The halls aren't too crowded yet, allowing Ash to walk around relatively unnoticed, or as unnoticed as one tall blond kid in Japan could be. What was he thinking? This was going to be a disaster, new kid tropes were going to start appearing any second now. For Griffin , he thinks again.
The school was pretty nice though, Ash could admit that. A few kids in the halls stopped and stared at him but he did his best not to pay attention. He just had to ignore attention from everyone for a few years. That'll be easy.
He finds his classroom right as the bell rings. Perfect timing. All the kids look up, but Ash can't help but notice one kid in the back staring intently at the window. He's staring at the sky like he's waiting to strike down God. If that isn't a mood.
The teacher coughs. Oh shit. Ash steps closer to the whiteboard as the teacher writes his name out. Everyone is staring, Ash expected this, he prepared for this, but the other kid is still staring outside. Why is that bothering him so much? He stares at the kid, he looks younger than him. Black messy hair covered his eyes and his posture was atrocious, hunched back like a gargoyle while a hand on his chin kept his head up. Sitting in the back next to the window meant one thing, and unfortunately the only empty seat was next to him.
"Ok, please introduce yourself Ash-san." The teacher almost says his last name before correcting himself. It felt too weird to be referred to by his last name so Ash asked in advance if he could be called by his first name. That only seems to draw more attention to him. At least this time it's probably because he's a strange American and not a hot American.
He stands up a little straighter and clears his throat. He's practiced for a while now, he's got this. "Hello—"
Everyone jumps when the sound of thunder could be heard. Heads turn toward the windows to see once clear skies now turn gray as dark clouds threaten to rain down on the school. A chorus of groans echoes through the halls as the quiet kid mutters a "Knew it" and finally faces the front. He looks at Ash for a split second before staring at his desk.
The girl in front of him turns around and laughs. "Dang, for once I was hoping your crazy weather predictions would be wrong."
The kid laughs and fuck is that a beautiful sound. "I will never be wrong about the weather for as long as I live. Enjoy walking home in the rain."
Ash can't help but laugh as everyone else makes lighthearted comments. The teacher coughs and gestures to Ash. "As you were saying?"
And Ash thought he could get out of speaking with his bad accent. He waves awkwardly as the attention shifts to him. "Um, hi. My name is Aslan Callenreese and I'm 17 and I'm excited to be here. Um, but please call me Ash." Perfect. He sees a few kids whisper his name, trying to pronounce it.
"Ok, um let's see…" The teacher starts scanning the room for an empty seat. Ash glares at the empty one, hoping maybe someone will walk in and claim it. The teacher points at the seat. "Sit next to Okumura. Okumura, raise your hand."
The kid reluctantly looks up to reveal dark brown eyes. He raises his hand sheepishly and Ash takes a seat next to him. Great, he's pretty sure this is at least two tropes already done. New kid at school and sitting next to the weird emo kid that can predict the weather. It's only the first day too. Ash takes a deep breath. It's ok. He's got this.
The teacher starts talking and Ash already begins the process of tuning him out. He's smart, and he'll have to put in a little more effort than usual, but he'll do fine this year. Emo kid leans over and taps his shoulder.
"Hey, my name is Eiji." He says, and Ash can stop calling him emo kid in his head. "Ash, huh? Like cinders?"
"My real name means dawn." Ash whispers back. "What about yours?"
"It's nothing special." Eiji shrugs. "Glad to know you're ok with being next to the weird kid."
Class somehow goes fast with Eiji talking to him. He didn't seem to care about the class and was more than happy to hear Ash talk about America. It's only towards the end of class that they end up having to listen. Ash doesn't remember everything, but he definitely heard the words project and partners.
Almost immediately, Eiji leans forward to talk to the girl in front. "Hey, you're gonna be with me again, right?"
She shakes her head and smiles sympathetically. "Sorry, I promised Akamatsu I'd partner with her for the next one. Can't you work with the new kid? You guys were talking to each other the whole time."
Eiji whines. "You know why I can't. Please, just work with me again."
"It's a group project Eiji, and you always do the work yourself." She turns to Ash. "Don't worry, you'll get a good grade if you let him do everything. Have fun."
Eiji opens his mouth to protest but the bell rings. "Shit." he mutters, quickly gathering his belongings and darting out of the classroom before Ash could react. That was… Odd.
Ash doesn't see him for the rest of the day. The girl finds him during lunch, Maki is her name, and tells him Eiji's probably on the roof. In the rain.
"Don't worry about his weird habits." She tells him. "He does this a lot, and you'll hear some weird things about him but I'm pretty sure they're mostly false. People just like to bully the kid because they think his parents kicked him out the house."
Ouch. First of all, she's saying all this without Eiji's permission. Second of all, Ash can empathize with Eiji. He and Griffin got kicked out, but they've been doing pretty well in New York before… before Ash's weird string of bad luck.
"Where does he live?" Ash asks, because now he's worried about living in an unsafe place.
Maki shrugs. "Some apartment that's not too far from here. He takes the train, or his bike if there's clear skies. Again, don't worry too much about him. He's pretty cheerful once you get past the whole doom and gloom mask he puts on."
She leaves him alone after that, also leaving him with a whole bunch of questions. It's a stretch but… maybe Eiji's like him. There's not enough evidence though, and Ash can't risk talking to him for another couple days. He groans. God, this whole avoiding tropes thing is harder without Shorter around to help. He watched so many rom coms that he knew exactly what to avoid. Romantic sap.
Ash doesn't see Eiji again until he ends up standing right outside the building after school in the pouring rain. It hasn't let up since morning, and he's watching students make a run for it. He wants to do the same, but he's barely learned the layout of the area and his phone isn't waterproof. No way he's going to figure out how to get back to his apartment when he can barely see through the rain.
"Oh."
Ash turns around to see Eiji, umbrella in hand as he stares at Ash and the rain. He sighs and opens it up, motioning for Ash to stand next to him. "Where do you live?"
Ash steps underneath the umbrella. "Thank you. Um, wait, I have it written down." He pulls out his phone and shows Eiji the address. Eiji mutters something he can't hear before he begins walking away. Ash almost gets drenched in the rain trying to keep up.
"You live in my building, lucky you." Eiji says sarcastically, walking faster and stepping in puddles as he goes. Fuck, Ash's socks are definitely wet.
"What's wrong with your building? Shady people?" Ash asks, genuinely curious, and mainly because Griffin will freak if his little brother is living in a bad area.
Eiji shakes his head. "Nah, the place is just… odd."
They make it to the building in one piece but slightly wet. Eiji shakes his umbrella off and watches raindrops splatter onto the floor. He points at the set of elevators. "Don't take those," he warns. "Those things are death traps. The stairs too, but mainly those."
Ash looks at the rusty elevators and the flickering lights above them. Yeah, he'll take his chances with the stairs. "Thanks for the warning. Oh, and you know we have to—"
"Nice meeting you, bye!" Eiji cuts him off, already headed for the stairs. Ash follows him, fumbling for the key in his bag. He ends up catching up to Eiji… and gets to the same floor as him… Oh no.
"Are you kidding me?" Eiji sighs, clearly exasperated. Ash laughs and points at his apartment door and Eiji's.
"Uh, I guess we're neighbors?"
"We are not going to be walking to school." Eiji warns, unlocking his door and slamming it in Ash's face. Despite the rudeness, Ash agrees.
They end up walking to school together. It wasn't intended, obviously, but a series of events led to them leaving the building at the same time. At least instead of awkward silence, Eiji's curiosity seemed to get the best of him and he asked a few questions about Ash. Simple stuff, but it was nice to talk about his brother to someone else.
It also became clear along the way that Eiji might be someone he either wants to stick close to or stay far away from depending on the circumstances. When they almost make it to school, Eiji suddenly stops and grabs Ash's sleeve, pulling him back.
"What the—" the words barely leave his mouth before a car speeds past them at inhumane speed. It was definitely past the limit, Ash can feel the breeze as it zooms past. Once it's gone, Eiji continues walking like he didn't prevent a murder. "Wait, how did you even know?"
He shrugs, which manages to end any more conversation. It feels like the car took their lighthearted mood with it. Eiji barely talks to him for the whole day and disappears during lunch before Ash can even ask what the hell they're supposed to be doing for the project. He gets the info from Maki, who keeps reassuring him Eiji's behavior has nothing to do with him. It doesn't make him feel better.
At least he still has to go home. The quickest route is the one he showed Ash, so they pretty much walk back to the apartment together. There's silence for the whole walk until they step into the building.
"I'm sorry." Eiji whispers. "It's hard to explain to other people."
If only he knew. "It's alright. You can't be weirder than Shorter."
At least he can hear him laugh. One of the elevator doors open, and an older woman pushing a stroller steps out. She smiles when she sees Eiji. "Hello, dear. How are you?"
"I'm alright." he says before peeking into the stroller. "And hello little Sakura-chan."
They start engaging in small talk, something about an issue in her apartment and how the manager won't pay for it to be fixed when Ash tries to peek into the stroller. He hastily steps back when he sees nothing in there. From the way Eiji looked inside so casually, does he know?
The woman notices his discomfort. "Not a fan of children, huh? It's alright dear, not everyone can handle being around babies twenty four hours a day." She quickly glances down at the empty stroller. "Oh, don't make a fuss, dear. We're on our way."
Eiji makes space for her to pass. "Have a good day, Sakimoto."
Sakimoto smiles and walks past, ignoring the odd look Ash is giving. She suddenly stops and turns back. "I know you aren't a fan of the elevator, but people have been smoking in the stairways way too often. Young boys like you shouldn't breathe in so much smoke."
Eiji's smile turns into a grimace. "Ah, I'll take the elevator today, then."
Satisfied he won't be damaging his lungs from secondhand smoke, Sakimoto leaves the building. Ash realizes he's been holding his breath and lets out a sigh of relief when she's gone. "There's nothing in there." he whispers.
"Yeah, she lost her child in an accident." Eiji harshly whispers back. He hits Ash's shoulder, but there isn't much force behind it. "Don't judge."
And yeah, that knowledge feels like a punch to the gut. "I won't." he promises, getting ready to take the stairs when Eiji stops him.
"I said these things are death traps but do you really want to smell like cigarettes?"
He's about to retort that he's smelled like worse when the doors open again and Eiji steps inside. The stairs are fine, but being in there alone makes Ash feel like he'll get murdered so he takes his chance with the elevator. In his experience, the worst that can happen in an elevator is getting stuck, and that usually only happens to him once every few months.
Quiet elevator music fills the air. However, it does little to counter the flickering lights above them and on the pad displaying the floor number. The glass on both sides are cracked and dirty, creating distorted reflections no matter where he looks. Unsettling is the best word to describe this place, which might be a good thing in the long run. Horror and romance generally don't mix.
He thinks so anyway. He's not sure how you can fit a romance side plot into a horror story.
They're almost at their floor when the elevator makes a horrible creaking noise and stops abruptly. The floor number rapidly alternates between the floor they passed and theirs. There's only one way to describe it and it's trapped in an elevator. A common trope made to get them to talk about each other in order to pass the time, but that's why Ash always keeps his phone charged and multiple pairs of headphones.
He's already pulling them out when Eiji groans and slumps down onto the dirty floor. "The call button doesn't work but the security guard checks the elevators often." He takes off his backpack and grabs a book, "Might as well do homework."
Glad to know he isn't planning on talking, Ash pulls out his phone and puts his playlist on shuffle. This'll take an hour at most. A few minutes in and he sits down, tired of standing. Eiji is surprisingly studious, his entire backpack is practically sprawled out on the floor as he flips through pages. He might get a decent amount of it done by the time it's fixed.
Twenty minutes in and almost done with his playlist, a shrill sound plays in Ash's ear. He yanks his earbuds out, wincing at the sudden sound. The action doesn't go unnoticed by Eiji.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I think my headphones are broken."
Ash is nonchalant about the headphones, grabbing a new pair and plugging them in while Eiji watches him get the same result. He tries another. He tries his last pair.
"Ok, now something is definitely wrong." Ash shoves the wires into his backpack. "They all make the same shrieking sound."
"Shriek? Like the sound when you try adjusting a radio?" Eiji asks.
Ash nods, "Yeah, exactly like that."
Eiji quickly stands up. "This is bad." he mumbles, pacing back and forth. "Very, very bad.""
"It's a sound. What's the worst that can happen?"
It's at that moment a gigantic eye appears on the back wall. It would've at least been better if it was a graffiti-esque eye but no, it's an actual eye. Ash jumps back, his back to the elevator doors as two more appear.
"What the fuck?!"
Eiji stops his pacing and stares at the eyes. They blink at him, all at different paces. He blinks back, like it's some sort of nonverbal communication.
"Eiji? Explain?" His voice is definitely not high pitched.
"Um, the elevators are actually alive and sentient?" Eiji replies, giving an answer he didn't want to hear. "It's not, you know, dangerous. I think it's just curious."
"Curious? Curious about what? Curious about how it now has a meal?" Ash hisses as another eye opens next to him. Why so many eyes?
"I don't think it has a mouth." Eiji says, sitting back down again. "It usually just keeps me inside for a little. Sometimes it wants to see my homework."
No way that can be all. "That's it?"
"Yeah, not all monsters are horrible and out to get you. Some just want to judge your test scores."
This has to be a dream. It's the only explanation. Yet, it's not. This is real. Eiji is suddenly nicer too, and the two end up talking while trapped in the elevator. He was right, Eiji is like him. Unluckily for him, his life doesn't revolve around cliche rom com tropes but horror. It makes more sense in hindsight; keeping a distance from others, the weird weather predictions, his shady rundown apartment complex, all leading up to an elevator monster.
Eiji ends up telling his life story, about growing up with danger around every corner and how he distanced himself from his family to keep them safe. It's a little similar to Ash, except his worries aren't as deadly. It makes him feel weak, the fact he ran to the other side of the world and left his support system while Eiji is dealing with everything by himself.
"But hey, at least someone understands me." Eiji finishes, smiling a little as he does. Ash can't help but smile back.
"Yeah."
Things have changed drastically since the elevator incident. Their shared experiences bring them closer, and their apartments being right next to each other means they frequently barge into the other's place whenever they want. They keep each other in check, making sure they don't die or get trapped in a love triangle (which is always less of a triangle and more of a corner).
Two months after Ash moved to Japan, he finally video calls Shorter. Ash hoped their close proximity would cancel out whatever weirdness is going on, but it only made things slightly better. Slightly better means Ash's place is the only one with decent internet but high chance of calls and video feed not working. It's taken a lot of time to figure out how to call Shorter while inside the building, but he's finally figured it out.
"Fucking finally!" Shorter cheers when the call goes through. It's late in New York, but that's never stopped him from constantly pestering Ash. It's almost like he never left. "I've been waiting forever!"
"Well, here's the grand reveal of my place!" Ash picks up his laptop and shows off the tiny area. He doesn't mind the space, it's comfy and he has everything he needs. Shorter wolf whistles when he notices the clothes on the floor, clothes with a horrible bird on all of them that signify it isn't Ash's.
"Damn, you already found a partner? They grow up so fast!" Shorter exclaims, wiping a fake tear from his eye.
"I did not!" Ash yells, blushing slightly. "Eiji leaves his dumb bird clothes all over the place. He claims it'll give my room charm."
"Oh, Eiji, huh? How'd you meet?"
Ash goes over their first meeting, leaving out a few key details such as their creepy ass building and the monsters inside said building. So far, Ash only met the elevator one, but he knows there'll be more lurking around. Creepiness aside, Shorter appears intrigued by their friendship.
"And you two have been getting closer? Say, closer than you and I?" The shit eating grin on his face makes it clear what he's implying.
"We're just friends." Ash says bluntly.
"That's what they all say!" Shorter counters. "You might be falling in love already. You guys shared an umbrella!"
"It means nothing! It's only been two months anyway, that's no time to develop a crush on someone!"
"What's this about a crush?
Shit, Eiji decided now would be the perfect time to waltz into his apartment.
"It's nothing."
"Is that Eiji?" Shorter asks, cleaning his neck to try and see behind Ash. "Hi! I'm his friend!"
Ash scowls but lets Eiji wave back. "Hello! Nice to meet you!" He says in an adorable accent. Suddenly, Shorter and Eiji are talking in a weird jumble of broken English and Japanese. Ash quickly butts in.
"Actually, Shorter was just about to leave."
"What? No! I wanna talk to him!" Shorter whines.
"Talk with him tomorrow or something. I'll give you his number." He turns to Eiji. "Is it alright if I give him your number?"
Eiji nods. "Yes! I'd love to talk with your friends." Damn, why is he so adorable when he's excited? Wait shit, that's admitting he likes him.
Truthfully, he does, just a little. He's one of the few people that understands what Ash is going through, even more because he's also going through something similar. It's also nice getting to see Eiji warm up to him and be more comfortable now that he trusts him. It's sweet, not that he'll admit it.
"So bye!" Ash smiles, quickly hanging up the call.
Eiji huffs. "Are all Americans this rude to their friends?" he asks, smiling.
"Maybe. Why are you here?"
"Thin walls. I wanted to say hi." He laughs as Ash reaches for a pillow and throws it at him.
"Ash, seriously, I don't need—"
"We are having a sleepover and I don't wanna hear you say you don't need it so shut." Ash refutes, putting his finger to Eiji's lips to keep him from talking while he grabs more soda. He's had plenty of sleepovers before with Shorter, and both boys were shocked to learn Eiji's never had one before. It was something they were eager to change.
"Do they usually have this much soda?"
Ash smirks. "Nah, I just wanna make fun of Shorter's broke ass."
"Of course you do."
Despite the time difference, Shorter picks up immediately when called. The windows are covered with black curtains and there's a small light in the corner of the room. Ash and Eiji are sitting on the floor, covered in blankets and pillows. Ash tried making a pillow fort for them, but that's more of Shorter's expertise and it fell apart before they could properly enjoy it.
"Seriously?" Ash scoffs.
"Gotta get in the mood!" Shorter laughs. "Speaking of the mood, I'm playing all my romcom movies."
"Why do you have so many?" Eiji asks, opening a box of pocky and nibbling on a stick.
"He likes romcoms." Ash says first. Shorter huffs.
"I bought them to help you! Me liking them is secondary."
"Sure they are."
"Anyways," Shorter continues, "romcom movies are way better than horror. The ones here are super gory and super gross."
Eiji grimaces at the idea of a gory movie and turns to Ash. "What about you? Do you like romcoms too?"
Ash shrugs. "I'm not a big fan of them. I'm more sci-fi."
"Nerd! Did he tell you he has a big IQ?" Shorter asks. "It's almost 200!"
"200?" Eiji gasps, looking at Ash for confirmation. To his delight, Ash nods.
"180 to be precise."
"Wow, so smart but you still can't get rid of your accent." Eiji smiles, making Shorter start laughing. Ash lets out an indignant huff.
"It gives me character! Plus, your accent when you speak English is just as bad."
Surprisingly, Shorter defends Eiji. "Hey, Eiji sounds like a fucking angel when he speaks."
Eiji smiles innocently at him. "Thank you, Shorter. At least someone thinks so."
"Alright, alright, it's two to one. I accept defeat." Ash laughs, raising his hands in mock defeat as he adjusts his position on the floor. "We're ready to start?"
"I've been ready, baby!" Shorter hollers, quickly setting up and hitting play. They make it through the first movie in relative silence, with only Shorter talking often because he claimed he was giving quality commentary. Ash didn't mind; he was less focused on the movie and more on Eiji's reaction to it. He's seen American movies with Ash before, but this one in particular seemed to get to him in a way the others haven't. Maybe it's the way characters are constantly declaring their love and doing huge romantic gestures every twenty minutes. Maybe it's how romanticized New York looks in these films. Either way, he's been entranced and Ash finds himself slowly falling as well.
The second one is about to start when their video starts glitching out. Ash's about to chalk it up to apartment weirdness and suggest something else to do when he remembers they're with Shorter , who's never experienced their apartment weirdness and can only contact them via phone because he's never sent letters in his life.
Ash is hoping to ignore the glitching and continue watching when Shorter stares at them, mouth agape. "Holy shit…" he whispers, pointing at their screen. "Guys, that's an actual fucking ghost."
Rather than turn around, Ash stares at their camera to confirm yes, there's a small ghost child in their room. They're holding onto one of the blankets, so small that the blanket almost swallows them. They look so real , it'd be hard to convince Shorter they're ok. At that moment, Eiji grabs a handful of popcorn and brings it to his mouth.
"Play along." he smirks at Ash while his hand is covering it and he shoves the snack into his mouth before turning to Shorter. "What ghost, Shorter? I don't see anything."
Shorter stares at him like he's lost it and keeps jabbing his finger at the screen where the ghost stands. "It is literally right there! I wouldn't make this up, Ash. You believe me, right?"
Ash glances at the ghost behind him. They look relatively harmless, and a closer look at them reveals they're shivering and clutching the blanket like a lifeline. They're fine as long as the ghost is only interested in the blanket. However, Ash isn't going to pass up on the chance to mess with Shorter.
"I have no idea what you're talking about. Do you need to lie down?" Ash asks, doing his best to maintain a straight face as their combined efforts make Shorter starts freaking out. Ash sees the ghost in the camera smile before putting the blanket down and vanishing.
"It— it was right there!" Shorter screams. "I swear it was right there. Oh fuck, I might be going insane." He buries his face in his hands as Ash suppresses a snicker.
"Guess you're finally losing it, old man." he teases.
"But I'm not even that old!"
Despite his cat-like reflexes to hide when there's thunder, Ash likes thunderstorms. There's something about them that he finds charming but he's not sure what. Maybe it's the way Eiji will stare out the window, curled up on the couch and buried under blankets claiming he's cold.
Their project's been done for about two months now, yet they continue visiting each other. No one's willing to let the other go. Even if they did stop talking, there's too much of each other left in their apartments; fancy english books in Eiji's and horrible bird patterns in Ash's.
"You know, I was kind of hoping us being together would cancel out our weird effects on the world." Ash says out of the blue. It's been on his mind all day, the silly reason he chose to stick near Eiji. They still don't know much about how it works or why it only affects them, but they've slowly learnt to deal with it as it happens. Shorter's still terrified to call at night because of it, Ash has people confessing their love to him every other week, and Eiji attracts a lot of cats, but it doesn't feel as bad as it used to feel.
Eiji looks his way. "I think I did too, just in the beginning," he admits. "But I kind of like it now."
They're not immune to each other. Ghosts and various monsters still haunt the halls and Ash's miscommunication issues have caused problems multiple times, but they always manage to make it work. It didn't seem possible for the two to get along considering that drastic difference, but Ash is glad they managed to get this far.
The little ghost kid they met during their sleepover with Shorter visits a lot, often disappearing with a blanket and leaving it in some random place in Ash's apartment. "The kids like you." Eiji said once, which was weird for Ash considering he thinks the opposite, but he's warmed up to the ghosts that come and go.
"Would you ever want to go back to America?" Eiji asks. Before, Ash might've immediately said no and claimed it'd be a hassle. But now?
"What, you wanna live in a romcom scenario in New York?" Ash teases, to which Eiji hides his blush under his blanket. Who knew he'd be a fan of rom coms?
"It'd be fun with you." Eiji smiles. "We'd get lost in New York and have a fight in the rain before making up in the airport."
"You've been watching too many of those with Shorter."
"Can you blame me? It's romantic."
There's a brief moment of silence with only the rain and thunder for sound. It's not as bad as it was an hour ago…
"Wanna act it out?"
Eiji stares at him like he grew two heads. "You want to go out in the rain?"
Ash nods.
"Right now?"
He nods again.
"You're crazy," but Eiji's smiling. He lets Ash grab his hand and pull him up. "You're absolutely crazy."
Ash smiles back. "I know. C'mon, you said it'd be romantic."
"I meant a light drizzle and you know it."
"Light drizzle, thunderstorm, it's still raining regardless." Ash grabs a pair of coats from the closet and tosses one at Eiji. "Don't tell me you haven't thought about doing it at least once."
Eiji catches the coat, stares at it for a brief moment, and shrugs it on with a smile. "Alright, you got me."
"Hell yeah! Let's go!" And maybe Ash feels extra childish today as he all but drags Eiji out the door. They're almost to the elevator when the lights go out. "Oh c'mon!" Ash groans. "The one time I actually wanted to do it." Yeah, he definitely feels extra childish today.
Eiji laughs and pulls out his phone, pressing a button and filling the hallway with light. "Maybe we should wait for a less rainy day."
"Fine." Ash grumbles, letting Eiji pull him back into the apartment. He can see the raindrops attacking the windows as Eiji starts lighting a few candles. Giggles echo around the room as Ash briefly sees the blank eyes of a small kid and a smile on their face as they disappear.
"Hiro, did you destroy the power?"
They get another giggle as an answer, and Ash has a feeling that's a yes. He can't even be mad at that. Eiji takes his spot back on the couch and Ash sits next to him, a little closer than before. He stares at the rain and puddle filled streets as he realizes he's an idiot for thinking he would be invincible to the rain. He's not even sure why he was so excited about it. Sure, he wanted Eiji to have his little romcom moment, but that wasn't really a reason for him to be excited about it, right?
Or maybe he's just been fooling himself the whole time. Because outside where standing outside for two seconds meant getting completely drenched was where he wanted to be right now, twirling Eiji around and pretending they were the only ones in the world. Maybe he's in love, maybe he's been in love for a while now. Maybe being super cliche and confessing in the rain was something he wanted rather than avoid. Shorter would be laughing at him if he knew this was how he wanted to confess; he's known about his crush before Ash even knew.
Still, there's something fitting about confessing in the middle of a blackout with a couple ghosts floating around. He nudges Eiji, a lopsided smile on his face as he turns around. "Hey." he starts.
"Hey," Eiji laughs, giving him his undivided attention. "What's on your mind?"
"Remember how we first met?" He asks, "The weird weather and your beautiful laugh?"
"You thought I had a nice laugh?" Eiji smirks because of course that's the detail he focuses on.
"Shh, let me focus." Ash tries to focus on the script he made up on the spot, but it's hard to do that when Eiji keeps laughing. He puts a finger to his mouth, which doesn't really do anything to keep him quiet but he'll take it. "You— and don't judge me for this— you're like a light that keeps brightening my life."
… yeah that might have been the stupidest thing Ash has ever said in his life. "Fuck, wait no lemme start over." He groans as both him and Eiji start laughing, clinging onto each other as they fail to hold it in.
"Ok, ok, I'm done. Continue." Eiji says, still laughing but doing his best to hold it in. Ash grabs his hands and looks him dead in the eye, ready to say it before they lose the moment.
"I love you." Is all he says. He says it again just to see Eiji stare at him in disbelief. "I'm not sure when it happened, but—"
The words disappear before he can say them because before he knows it, Eiji is leaning forward and his lips are on his. Holy fuck Eiji is kissing him. He hesitantly wraps his arms around him. He thought he'd have a week to prepare! It doesn't matter now as he closes his eyes and gives in to the feeling of pure bliss. He finally understands all those stupid romance movies Shorter loves, where the main characters finally have their big kiss at the end and all is right with the world.
He's not sure when they remember breathing is a thing but when they part, all he can think of is doing it again. As they slowly come back to their senses and remember where they are, Ash feels something light touch his hair. It falls onto Eiji 's shoulder too, and he picks it up and huffs as he recognizes it. Pink cherry blossoms. He looks up to see two ghosts, one kid and one… apparition that somewhat resembles a person, holding a bunch of petals in their arms.
"Does this mean you're gonna get married now?" The kid asks, excitedly dumping the rest onto them. Eiji picks a petal out of his hair and dramatically leans on Ash.
"Yep! The wedding will be in two days and in New York." he smiles, throwing the petals in the air as he starts talking about some very in depth wedding plans. Ash isn't sure how long he's been planning that and if he should mention he has his own. Either way, the idea of marriage makes Ash way too happy.
"So… you're alright being with me?" Ash asks, getting an exasperated sigh and another kiss.
"Forever and always, in life and in death." Eiji whispers. "In other words, you're stuck with me for eternity."
Ash knows Eiji meant for it to sound ominous, but it doesn't sound so bad when Eiji says it.