{ Domestic AshEiji makes me soft...}

It was way past noon the next day when Ash's eyes popped open. He was alone in bed, rolled up like a burrito in the comforter. He was completely encased, but unlike hours before... he wasn't wrapped around Eiji.

His eyes bulged and he nearly choked as he remembered what happened in the middle of the night, curling up in a tiny ball of embarrassment. How could he have fucked up like that?! No one ever got to see that side of him... until last night. Damn it. Hopefully Eiji just wouldn't ever bring it up again. He prayed to any god out there that it would be the case.

Sitting up, he raked a hand through his hair. Where even was Eiji? He wasn't in bed. Ash's first instinct was to panic, but he figured that Eiji had to have been awake by then. Making his way out of bed, he headed to the kitchen, finding that Eiji was on his laptop in the living room, his school textbooks sitting on the coffee table in front of him.

" Good morning, sleepy head." Eiji teased as he heard Ash's footsteps, all the while he continued to type and catch up on the shit ton of work he'd missed. If he had any hopes of graduating on time, he had to haul ass, but it wasn't like he didn't have all day. He'd be fine. Ash on the other hand... after last night, he wasn't so sure.

" Oh shut it." Ash grumbled, pouring himself some coffee.

Eiji huffed, knowing Ash was always grumpy when he woke up. He wasn't bothered about it, though, remembering the night before. Ash had finally been a little bit honest about the way that he felt, even if he hadn't spilled his feelings completely. There had been enough said and done where Eiji had an idea: he wasn't crazy and Shorter's advice was spot on.

" Has my phone been ringing at all?" Ash asked, sitting in the arm chair to the side of where Eiji was doing his work.

" No. I'm sure Shorter is waiting to hear from you..." Eiji replied. He knew he couldn't bring up what happened. Ash seemed pretty flustered by it, and he figured if he just left it alone, then Ash would've been more likely to be honest and bring it up, right? Cause the tension would've been too much? Maybe Eiji actually had no idea what he was doing.

" Probably. I don't even know." Ash rubbed his forehead and drank some of the steamy coffee. " I think I'm gonna hop in the shower really quick." He told Eiji, but it was really just because he needed to clear his head and let his feelings settle. He'd shown Eiji his most vulnerable side... and he didn't even bring it up.

He knew what the right thing to do was, he really did. But as he kept thinking about it, it was even harder to admit. All he could do was wait for the courage to come to him, and maybe he could do something about it.

Eiji shut his computer and put it aside as he heard the water running. He didn't even know what to do with himself, having gotten so sick of math and essays. He turned on the TV as background noise so he wouldn't go insane as he thought about it.

He, Eiji Okumura, 18, a foreign exchange student, had fallen in love with Ash. He loved him, and it was clear to him at that point, especially after he'd confessed it to his parents and Ibe on a whim. It wasn't obvious what kind of love he had... not sure if it was sexual or physical or emotional, but whatever it was, it was unconditional. Even as he pondered it, he couldn't ponder life if Ash wasn't in it. The thought of returning to Japan and never hearing Ash's voice or his laugh, without seeing his face ever again... it was a nightmare. Someone might as well have kicked his world like a soccer ball if that happened.

" I can't tell..." He whispered to himself. " Shorter said to wait..."

And so he would, even if it killed him.

When Ash emerged from the bedroom again. His hair was wet and he had a towel draped over his shoulders. Even if he was wearing a sweatshirt and jeans, as well as socks, Eiji felt himself beginning to lose it. He needed to derail any thoughts of how attractive Ash was in that very instant.

Ash's phone began to ring, and he was quick to snatch it up and talk to Shorter.

" What do you know?" He asked.

" Well, we don't have much on Yut-Lung, but we do know that Arthur is planning for something big. He's had his guys selling hard stuff on the south side of town... he must need cash for something behind Dino's back." Shorter explained from the other end of the phone.

" Or maybe Dino is pissed and won't give him money... I'm sure he doesn't have much to spare these days anyways." Ash smirked to himself, knowing that it was completely his fault. Man, it felt good to sabotage the old man.

" Maybe. We're sure he needs guns or something on the underground market. Ash, it's probably in our best interest to make some allies. We could be looking at a full on gang war here... and Arthur has the whole mafia at his disposal." Shorter said.

" Who do you think we can call? It's not like I can snap my fingers and make everyone work together." Ash replied, and Eiji looked over at him as the conversation got more intense. He hoped that there wasn't going to be anything too dangerous coming up soon. If Ash ended up killed from some bullshit, it would've been enough to put him in a permanent depression.

" You know who I'm talking about. I have the Chinese rallied and you have your guys... but we're missing the west side of town. You should go see Cain..."

" Cain Blood? The guy probably has too much going on to give a shit about us. He's dealing too much to the schools..."

" What other option do we have? He has almost all of the west side guys and a big number of them. If we can get them to help us, we might have a fighting chance against Arthur."

" As far as I know, he hates white guys. Why would he listen to me?" Ash scoffed.

" You had the entire downtown controlled before all this Dino mess broke out. I'm sure he'll respect you." Shorter told him. " Please just think about it. I have my guys stretched thin trying to figure this shit out, so if you could do this for me, it would be great."

Ash rolled his eyes.

" I'll think it over..." He told Shorter honestly, but his hopes for anything turning out were still grim.

" Thanks. We'll be in touch."

The phone call ended and Ash continued to dry his hair, leaning back in the chair.

" Should I even ask about what that was?" Eiji asked.

" Nothing you need to worry about... just focus on school." Ash assured, drinking some of his coffee, which was nearly cold by then. Eiji sighed, knowing that Ash didn't want to worry him.

" Are you going out today?" Eiji asked him, and Ash perked up.

" I have to check some stuff out at the library... and I should check up on Max." Ash replied. " Why?"

Eiji had come to an agreement in his head. Maybe if he could give an opportunity for Ash to explain himself from the night before, say everything, it would be easier.

" Well... can you just try and be back by seven? I have something I'd like to do." He asked the blonde, and Ash was visibly confused, but didn't argue. It wasn't in his best interest to start questioning Eiji right then and he knew it better than anyone.

He just was curious about what the other was up to, wondering if he should've been worried.

...

Eiji had snuck out of the condo while Ash was busy at the library and handling business. There were multiple stores down there which he didn't even have to leave to visit. With the extra money Ash had given him, Eiji knew he could pamper the blonde male. He bought a couple cozy sweaters for Ash, knowing he liked baggier clothing. He found him some nice jeans and pajama pants as well, based off of the ones that were in his drawers. It had clearly been a while since Ash had bought clothes and he wanted to surprise him.

And aside from that, Eiji went into the movie store. He knew that he and Ash had been through a lot lately, and one American thing he'd read about was called a "movie night". It was supposed to be a fun way to spend the night together, so Eiji decided to try it and see how it went. He grabbed a couple movies, not quite sure what genre Ash was a fan of. He saw that Kevin Hart was a popular American comedian, so he grabbed one of his movies. He also grabbed a horror movie, wondering if Ash liked those. And finally, the last movie he picked was a romance, The Fault in Our Stars. Eiji had never really watched any American movies, other than with his English classes, so he was excited.

By the time he'd gotten the movie player and everything hooked up at the condo, as well as washed Ash's new clothes and put them in the drawers, it was nearly seven. Eiji just hoped that Ash would think the idea was a good one and he would be able to distract him for a while.

The door opened, and in walked Ash with a backpack on that was filled with books. He was doing research on Banana Fish and chemical compounds, hoping he could figure out the makeup of the drug and fight against it. All of the research was gone, so he had to start from scratch. But even so, he had been thinking about what Shorter and he had discussed, about the alliance he needed to form.

Shorter was right, and over the course of the day, Ash had come to realize that. But when he smelled butter on the way in, his mind cleared.

" Eiji?" He asked, coming in and looking around. He saw Eiji on the couch and then knelt down, untying his own Converse and getting them off before coming more into the condo. " What are you up to?"

Eiji turned over his shoulder and smiled.

" Come here and pick one of these." The Japanese male told him, and Ash was still confused while coming over. Was this why Eiji had asked him to be home before seven? He saw that there were movies sitting on the coffee table, ones that he recognized but had never really watched.

" What is all this?" Ash asked.

" I thought we could have a movie night." Eiji told him, and his face read how excited he was. " That's something fun to do in America, right?"

Ash had never really had a movie night, other than with his brother when he was young, and even then it was movies like Shrek or older Pixar films. There was never anything adult. And the only other movies he'd seen were old ones Dino had forced him to watch, like To Kill a Mockingbird, or Of Mice and Men.

" Yeah... Americans like movie nights." Ash told him with his lips curving upwards. Eiji didn't need to know he had never done this.

" What one do you want to watch?" Eiji asked, gesturing to the movies.

Ash had a secret desire in his mind as he surveyed the movies. Would Eiji get closer to him during a horror movie if he was scared? God he fucking hoped so.

" How about this one?" Ash slid the scary movie toward him, the one called Scream.

Eiji gulped to himself.

" Sure..." He told Ash. " Maybe you should go put on your pajamas first." He added a wink at the end, and Ash felt his heart trying to jump out of his chest when that happened. So. Cute.

" Alright..." He said, heading to the bedroom and wondering what else Eiji had up his sleeve. And when he opened his drawer, he nearly cried. It had been so long since he'd had nice clothes. Most of them were ones he'd ripped off from Manhattan department stores. And they were fancy casual clothes, not the posh ones Dino made him wear so long ago.

Putting on a pair of green plaid, soft pajama bottoms, and a nice v-neck t-shirt, Ash came out. He smiled at Eiji with clear admiration in his eyes.

" Thank you, Eiji... this was really kind of you." He told him, and Eiji blushed to himself a little while kneeling in front of the DVD player and TV. He had just put in the movie, so previews were playing.

" You're welcome... I picked ones I knew you'd like..." He replied, standing. It was tempting to maybe give Ash a hug before going to the kitchen, but he skipped it, remembering what Shorter had told him and fighting off the urge. In the microwave, there was some melted butter, and on the stove, he'd made some popcorn from the kernels. He drizzled it all over and put it in a bowl, and Ash knew it was missing something.

" Want me to show you something? My brother taught me this..." He said to Eiji, who was definitely curious as Ash ducked into the pantry, eventually emerging with some M&M candies. He poured them in with the popcorn, smirking. " Makes it so much better... trust me."

" Alright." Eiji chuckled, willing to try it.

And after that, they went to the couch, taking a seat next to each other. They had some soda, the popcorn, and Ash gave himself a mental pep talk. He knew what he had to do. He knew he was probably confusing the hell out of Eiji with the way he'd been acting. He knew what the fair thing to do was.

Pulling the couch blanket down and over them both, Ash sat shoulder to shoulder with the other male. He thought about how if he was really about to enter a full gang war... and they were resorting to alliances, there was a real possibility he could be killed. What if he died without ever letting Eiji know how he felt?

Eiji felt his face flushing from being so close with Ash, but he wondered if he was just blowing the whole thing out of proportion because of his love for him. He grabbed the bowl of popcorn and put it in his lap, and Ash was quick to snatch some of it as the movie played.

" How do you like it?" He asked Eiji after the other had taken a couple handfuls as well.

" It's really good..." Eiji replied.

There was such an awkward tension between them for a while, being as Scream was not just a movie about teenagers getting murdered by a knife-wielding psycho. It was about romance as well, and when the teenagers made out on screen, Eiji was completely red.

Ash coughed slightly and turned his head to the side, trying to get a hold of himself.

Really, though, he found that his theory about Eiji was right. Later into the movie, as more people began to die and they'd eaten most of the popcorn and put the bowl aside, Eiji had practically curled up by him.

" You scared?" Ash asked him, sneaking his arm around Eiji's shoulders and pulling him in snug. It was a little gesture, but it was really important. Ash usually hated when people touched him, but somehow, being close with Eiji was something he liked.

Eiji felt his features raise in surprise when Ash's arm draped around him. Was this... a signal?

" Maybe a little." He chuckled, honest.

Ash wasn't really much of a words person. He had a particular way of showing how he felt, and in that moment, he felt comfortable opening up to Eiji. He didn't feel right hiding from his feelings. It wasn't fair to Eiji, who was only trying to be there for him.

Guiding Eiji to lay on his side, Ash positioned himself behind him, essentially spooning Eiji as they watched the movie. He kept his arm over him, keeping him secure and pulled against his chest.

Eiji was red, flustered, but he tried not to show it. Ash was finally starting to come around, even if slowly. He settled back against him and felt much better, completely safe in his arms.

" Better?" Ash asked him quietly.

" Better..." Eiji told him.

And they stayed like that for the rest of the movie, eventually dozing off on the couch. Eiji had passed out way before Ash, and Ash thought about many things before he fell asleep. But mainly, he knew how Eiji felt now, or at least he had a general idea. And he was proud of himself for finally being honest, even if he hadn't explained everything yet.

Soon. 

{ Ya'll might wanna hunt me down and hurt me in a couple chapters but... heh... enjoy the fluff while it lasts... cus tea is next on the menu.}