Chapter Text
Eiji POV
Eiji threw the last load of laundry into the washing machine. As he wandered to the living room, trying to find another chore, he ran through his checklist. Laundry, done. Dinner, done. Dishes, done.
He let out a heavy sigh as he plopped down on the couch, wondering what else he could do until Ash made his way home. Before he could think of another chore, he heard the front door unlock. Huh, that's strange. Usually Ash didn’t come home until midnight.
He checked the clock. 8:31. ‘Yeah, he's really early’ he thought.
“Hey Eiji! I'm home,” Ash called, closing the door behind him.
The shorter boy made his way over to his taller counterpart, trying to tone down his excitement so he wouldn’t overwhelm the younger one. Ash never came home this early, but tonight he could have just a little extra time to hang out with him before they went to bed.
"Welcome home,”Eiji chirped.
“Hey,” the blond greeted.
The Japanese boy noticed that he spoke strangely. He couldn't quite describe it, but it was off. He had this small smile on his face, and he looked almost carefree. It wasn’t like Ash was never calm, but it wasn't a frequent occurrence that he came home with this kind of expression. He was often distant, exhausted, or aggravated, but he couldn't blame him. He was sure it was hard to run a gang, and investigating a top secret government drug was bound to be taxing. When the American came home exasperated, He usually left him alone, opting for smaller gestures like cups of tea or setting a book on his bedside table. Then, if he started a conversation or dropped his book the brown eyed boy would ask what he wanted for dinner. Though it looked like he didn't have to deal with tonight.
Eiji was excited, though he couldn't help but be a little nervous. The taller boy was usually only this calm when he lied, and it automatically sounded off alarms in his head.
Still not sure on why Ash was acting strange, Eiji decided to test the waters. If he refused food there was something to be worried about, but if he didn't make eye contact or let you near him there was something wrong. Ash was allowing him to stand pretty close to him, and it seemed that the blond was holding better eye contact than he had on a regular basis. “Hey Ash. I made salmon and rice. If you are hungry?”
“Yeah that sounds good,” he said with a smile as he walked into the kitchen.
Okay, he's eating, but where did the whole ‘that sounds good’ come from? He liked Eiji's cooking, but would never admit to it. He always opted for an ‘at least it's not natto’ or ‘yeah it was alright’ while showing him a plate practically licked clean.
“You comin?” Ash called over his shoulder.
“Uh, yes I am coming” Eiji blurted, jogging over to him. “Um are you…Feeling okay ash?” Eiji quizzed, trying to read his roommate's mood.
“I'm okay, How are you?” Ash asked, his tone softer than usual as he looked up from his bowl.
Okay, that was strange. Again, it's not like the green eyed boy never asked him how he was, he just wasn't ever this soft spoken about it.
“I-I'm okay,” Eiji said skeptically, eyeing the taller one. A horrible thought suddenly popped into his head. Was Ash trying to send him home? He hadn’t been as useful this month. He wasn’t able to do as much house work since his ankle was flaring up, and he hadn’t caught any new people coming in or out of Dino’s building. What if Ash was planning to do something dangerous again? Was he going to sneak off to do god knows what?
Crap! He may be letting his mind get the best of him, but he couldn't help it. It was awful when Bones and Kong tried to take him to the airport with no notice or knowledge of what Ash was doing. It was why the black haired boy panicked everytime the blond acted out of the ordinary.
Ash’s voice cut through Eijis thoughts. “Hey come on, the foods gonna get cold,” he said.
“Ah sorry,” the raven haired mumbled as he grabbed food. They ended up on the couch, Eiji was quiet and stiff as he tried his hardest to not make his nerves noticeable. Ash, on the other hand, was laid out on the couch, relaxed and lazy.
“What do you wanna watch?” Ash asked casually.
“Um.. Anything is fine,” Eiji said tentatively, trying to figure his roommate out.
The gangleader hummed before saying, “Well, I don't really watch shows. I wouldn't know what's good.” He spoke low and sweetly, like the way couples greet each other.
“I guess we can watch 90 Day Fiance.”
“What the hell is that?” The younger boy asked with an amused smile, taken aback by the name.
“Oh- It's this American TV show where people fall in love online and try to get married in 90 days,” the older boy explained.
“Sounds like a shit show.”
“It is.” Eiji snickered at how Ash perfectly described the show.
A soft huff of laughter became a chuckle. The brown eyed boy looked over, alarmed, only to find that the green eyed boy was chuckling at his remark. It made his heart skip a beat; he wasn’t used to the American laughing so freely. He liked it, but it also made him uneasy.
“O-okay. I assume you want to watch.”
His laughter dying down, the gang leader replied with, “Yeah, That sounds like fun.” He flashed the doe eyed boy a soft smile, loose and sincere. His eyes held the same affection. It was an extremely different look from the gang leader.
Eiji smiled in response and looked at the TV. Oh shit. Something was definitely wrong. Ash was never this carefree, never this peaceful. What was he planning? Eiji sat with that question until they finished the episode.
“Well, That was a shit show!” Ash said as the preview for the next episode rolled on. He shifted slightly, glancing at the clock. “It’s late. We should probably go to bed.” He held out his hand for Eiji's plate, which was still relatively full. “Not hungry?” Ash remarked when he took it.
“No, not really.” The stress made his stomach do flips, so food wasn’t at the forefront of his mind. Ash hummed understandably in response, disappearing into the kitchen with the plates of food. He appeared 10 minutes later, having put the food away and washed their plates. A couple of minutes later the older boy found himself sat on his bed in a striped blue and white pajama set. The younger boy emerged from the bathroom in Eijis favorite shirt, a baby blue short sleeve with Nori Nori plastered on the chest. It wasn't like them to not share clothes, but neither of them ever wore each others’ clothes to bed.
“Thanks for dinner tonight,” Ash muttered after he sat on his bed, his back to his roomate. It was said so softly that he almost didn't hear him. Ash never said things like that; he never told him upfront when he enjoyed things, so it really threw him for a loop.
“I uh- It was an easy dish anyway.” The shorter boy stumbled through his sentence, trying hard to be normal about his racing heart rate.
“I know it’s an easy dish, but you still put your time and energy into making it,” he said, his words barely a whisper. “No one’s ever done something like that for me.” He let out a breath and added, “It means a lot. You.. You mean a lot to me.” After a moment of silence he finished with, “I just wanted to thank you, is all.”
The blond then settled into bed, leaving Eiji lost. Ash was going to do something; He was sure of it now. He was going to disappear into the night for him to never see again. The older boy gripped his sheets, his mind spiraling out of control. What risk was he going to take this time? After a while he laid down, hoping to slow his speeding heart rate. Breathing in slowly and exhaling even slower, sweat dripped down Eiji's forehead and soaked into his pillow. He lied wide awake. He wouldn't sleep tonight. He wasn't gonna lose him.