{ Did someone order fluff? :D well... for the most part.}

The sun was setting and the moon was creeping above the New York skyline, and Eiji had come inside of the condo by then. He looked around the open concept design and the expensive flooring and wall art, his jaw dropping. How the hell had Ash managed to afford this? Eiji knew that if he asked, Ash might've deflected the question, so he didn't for right then.

" This will be where you live for a while, Eiji... I hope you like it." Ash told him, leaning against the counter. He was truthfully a little nervous that Eiji would get bored of the space, but he had tried his absolute best to make sure the other wouldn't get cooped up. He'd bought the most expensive and comfortable beds and couches, as well as other furniture to assure Eiji would be at home. He'd made sure everything had curtains they could shut if need be, and only one of the windows wasn't tinted from the outside.

Eiji was still floored as he looked back to Ash.

" I would be a total snob if I didn't like this place, Ash." The Japanese male replied. " This is like three times the size of my house..."

Ash smiled. Maybe it made his heart flutter to be giving Eiji what he deserved, maybe it didn't. The world wouldn't know until he decided to say so.

" Here, let's get you settled in." Ash picked up one of the duffel bags Eiji had and took it back into the hall, and Eiji followed him with two suitcases dragging behind. He couldn't help but think of earlier with Shorter and his parents. Keeping how he felt from Ash was taxing, but what could he even do about it? Love declarations in Japan were the way that relationships began. Most of the time, people didn't even go on dates before one was made. And for all Eiji knew, the last thing Ash wanted was a relationship.

" You alright?" Ash asked, and Eiji nearly bumped into him as he walked with his mind wandering. His face grew red and he nervously chuckled, looking to the side.

" Fine. I'm fine." He lied. " Just... this place. It's gonna take me awhile to get used to, that's all..."

Ash looked at Eiji skeptically. His gut instincts were usually right on point, and he knew that something was going on with Eiji. He would have to keep his eye on him to figure out exactly what, but he knew that he would get to the bottom of it eventually.

" I understand that. It is pretty big." Ash let out a tiny laugh, hoping to fool Eiji. The last thing he would ever want to do was make him worry. " Now what are we gonna do about dinner? I didn't really get any food..."

Eiji perked up at that.

" Don't think this is a cop out. We're not just gonna order pizza every night." He poked his finger against Ash's chest, making the blonde gulp. Eiji could be a little scary at times, not like he'd ever admit to it.

" Well what do you suggest we do then?" He asked Eiji, raising a brow. And Eiji was fully aware that Ash was in dire need of nutrients and he didn't eat nearly enough good food to sustain all the physical activity he did.

" I saw a grocery store downstairs on the way in. I'll go grocery shopping and I'll cook us something healthy." Eiji smiled. He was going to help Ash in any way he could, and home cooked meals would be one of the first steps of that. In Japan, they had cup noodles and shit food just like in America, but they also ate dinner almost every night together. His dad was only there every other two weeks because of work, but his mom was always sure that the kids ate well. Plus, Eiji was an athlete. His protein and carb intake had been pretty steady for years.

Ash grimaced.

" If you cook that stinky food again-"

" You'll eat it." Eiji continued smiling, pressing his finger against Ash's chest. " You can't live on potato chips."

" What are you, my mom?" Ash replied, huffing and folding his arms.

" If I was your mom you would've been eating better years ago." Eiji replied, and in his eyes Ash could tell that he was serious, so he forked over money for groceries. And Eiji was relieved to be escaping the apartment. Just being so close to Ash after his confession to his family... it was nerve wracking. What if he impulsively told Ash next? There was no telling what could happen, and he was scared that he would make things weird.

Ash sighed and flopped on the couch after Eiji left. He knew he was safe in the supermarket down there, and now his mind was spinning. They were going to be officially living together, and he wondered how long it would be before Eiji knew the truth.

Even Dino and Arthur knew what his feelings were by then, so Eiji wouldn't have been far off. Hell, what if he already knew and just hadn't said it? Ash covered his face with one of the luxury couch pillows and almost felt like he was going to roll on the floor. He was frustrated with himself.

" Just tell him... coward." He grumbled. " Everyone already knows..."

Then there was a little voice in the back of Ash's head, which reminded him of where he'd come from and who he was. Involvement with Eiji could very well get him killed just like everyone else.

But what if he never let that happen? Ash was convinced he was the only one who could protect him anyhow. It was a practical tug of war going on in his head as he laid there, almost like a toddler having a temper tantrum. Tell him or don't tell him? Be with him or don't?

Ash threw the pillow aside and stared at the ceiling. He felt like half the time he was hiding his feelings from Eiji and it hurt, it hurt to keep running away from it. It also hurt to think of Eiji potentially getting slaughtered for being with him. But wasn't it obvious that they were more than friends at that point? Eiji was the only guy who was living with him... what else would people think?

" God damn it." Ash murmured. He knew what the right thing to do was.

Eiji knocked on the apartment door a while later and Ash was up, opening it for him.

" Holy hell... that's a lot." The blonde remarked, taking some of the bags off of Eiji's arms.

" Well-" Eiji shrugged, walking in and slipping off his shoes. He took the grocery bags to the counter and looked over at Ash. " If we're going to be living here then we should probably have some staples."

" This whole bag is full of rice-"

" And?"

Ash decided to not fight it and shut the door, locking it back up. He took his bags to the kitchen and helped Eiji unpack all the food. He knew that he was going to be eating whatever Eiji cooked, so there was no use in starting an argument about it.

" Nevermind... looks like I'm stuck eating the stinky food." Ash chuckled. He was somewhat relieved when he found some breakfast cereal and some crackers, bread, and regular American food. But then there were certain Japanese things he didn't recognize.

" I also picked up a frying pan and a spatula, some paper plates. Stuff like that until we can order in some cookware." Eiji explained, and Ash figured that was smart. He cracked open a soda from the twelve pack Eiji had brought. It was baffling to him that he'd even brought it all up in one trip, but whatever. He wasn't about to piss Eiji off by joking about it.

" Um... is there anything you want help with? For cooking?" Ash asked. He didn't want to look like a freeloader, even if he knew he wasn't. He wasn't expecting Eiji to be some sort of housewife just because they were living together long term.

Eiji was actually touched when Ash offered to help, but given Ash's knowledge of cooking, he wondered if the other could even do something basic.

" Do you know how to cook rice?" He asked, and Ash shrugged.

" I'm sure the box would tell me how..." The blonde replied confidently.

Eiji rose a brow.

" Alright, have fun." He slid the minute rice over to him. Part of him died a little inside when he bought the more instant stuff instead of the authentic kind he cooked back home, but he figured he wasn't in a position to be picky about it.

It was about a half hour later by the time they had food on the table, and Ash was mildly horrified by the fish Eiji cooked. The mackerel he'd cooked in the oven smelled like the sea, but Ash knew he was stuck eating it. However, the vegetables and rice and miso soup all looked okay.

" Don't look so scared." Eiji said, dishing up some fish for himself. It really wasn't as bad as Ash was making it.

" I'm not scared." Ash gulped, looking down at his plate and wondering if he could stomach it. He knew he couldn't just sit there and wait for it to get cold, cutting up some fish with his fork and eating it quickly.

Eiji stared at him from across the table, praying that Ash would at least find it edible.

" Okay... it tastes better than it smells..." Ash admitted, going after the rice and vegetables next. He was just happy Eiji wasn't making him use chopsticks. That was a lot of work, even if he was good with his fingers.

" Good. Maybe I'll fix how picky of an eater you are." Eiji laughed and began to eat some more.

Ash smiled a tad, holding his soda in his hand and getting bombarded with flashbacks from his childhood. It didn't take Eiji long to realize that Ash was somewhat zoned out.

" What is it?"

Ash shook his head and chuckled.

" Nothing... just... Griff always used to call me that." He confessed and gulped back some soda.

Eiji panicked internally, but he didn't see Ash getting upset, so he wondered what he really was feeling in that moment.

" You haven't really told me much about him..." Eiji said, setting down his fork. And it occurred to Ash in that moment that Eiji was right, and he'd been pretty tight lipped about his family.

" Well..." Ash began. " My childhood wasn't all bad. Griff would always play with me in the woods, or wherever we were. I remember this one time on Halloween, he took me trick or treating in the neighborhood down the road." He chuckled. " We stole some pumpkins from one of the farmers and carved them, and he gave me the biggest one to wear as my costume, like a pumpkin head. I got lost in the woods that night when he met up with a couple of his friends, but I swore there was a monster in there."

Eiji seemed perplexed but still listened.

" Turns out it was just my reflection off of an abandoned car. I've hated pumpkins ever since... but really it's all his fault." Ash chuckled a tad, and when he looked up he saw Eiji straining himself to keep from laughing. " What?!"

" Aha! Haha!" Eiji slapped his knee once or twice. " You, a ruthless gang leader who has the mafia basically eating out of his palm- scared of a pumpkin?" He burst out laughing until he had tiny tears in the corners of his eyes and his stomach hurt.

" Oh whatever." Ash blushed deep red and plucked up his soda, drinking more. Truthfully, though, Eiji laughing at him was something he secretly welcomed. It showed just how normal Eiji thought he was. Eiji didn't stand stiff whenever he talked, didn't flinch when and if he raised his voice, and didn't shy away from telling him when he screwed up. No one had ever treated him like that before.

Eiji smiled over at Ash when he was finally done laughing, realizing that the other was blushing and figuring it must've been his fault.

" Well... he sounds like he was a really good guy, Ash..." He told him, almost tempted to reach across the table and hold his hand as reassurance, but he didn't. He didn't have the guts.

Ash looked over at Eiji, letting a deep breath expel from his lungs.

" Yeah... he was."

They finished up their dinner, and while Eiji washed up the dishes, Ash was mulling around in the living room, watching the news and waiting for any calls from his guys. But as that didn't happen, he figured they hadn't gathered much information yet. Even as Eiji had finished up and joined him on the couch, he saw it was getting late.

Eiji yawned, glancing over at Ash.

" Don't you think it's about time to turn in for the night?" He asked him, and Ash was having an internal debate. He was tired indeed, and this might've been his first opportunity in weeks to get a decent night's sleep. He could've also hopped on the computer and tried to find intel on Arthur's gang's whereabouts or Dino's stocks. But he decided against it when he saw the look in Eiji's eyes.

" Yeah... I'll be in there in a minute. You go ahead..." Ash told him, to which Eiji nodded and headed to the bedroom. There were two queen sized beds in there, one for each of them. And Eiji put on his pj's, a random t-shirt and some sweatpants, then crawled into his bed and flicked off his lamp.

Ash came in a while later, not bothering to change from his normal clothes as he flopped over onto the mattress, pulling the covers over himself. He was nearly out cold from when his head hit the pillow.

" Goodnight, Ash..." Eiji murmured, and Ash realized in that moment that he'd forgotten to say goodnight.

" Night, Eiji..."

It didn't take long at all before Ash was tossing and turning, only having been able to get a couple hours of sleep. He woke awashed in a cold sweat and wiped his forehead, looking over at Eiji in a panicked way. Ash saw that the Japanese male's back was turned to him and he hadn't moved, so he assumed that he was still sleeping.

Rolling out of bed and going to the bathroom, Ash splashed cold water on his face and trembled. The haunting memories of his time with Dino never failed to rear their head at the worst times.

Ash still felt his heart beating out of his chest as he shut off the bathroom light, slowly making his way back to the bedroom. That was when he saw Eiji sitting at the end of the bed, clearly awake.

Neither of them said a word at first, with Eiji only getting up from his spot and coming over, wrapping his arms around Ash in a gentle hug. He stood on his tiptoes and closed his eyes, pained by the way the blonde trembled in his arms.

Ash's eyes filled with tears as Eiji showed him kindness and he slumped against him, almost losing his grip. He sniffled, and Eiji led him over to the bed, sitting him down and rubbing his back.

" Take a breath... you're safe..." Eiji whispered, and Ash nodded, wiping his eyes. He felt his self control withering away as he felt Eiji's soft hand on him and heard his soothing voice. Even as Eiji thought things were okay, and he was about to return to his own bed, Ash grabbed his wrist.

" Please... will you stay with me until I fall asleep?" Ash pleaded, his emerald eyes beading around in desperation. " It doesn't have to be forever... just for now? Please..."

Eiji was shocked to hear Ash's vulnerable words, but he knew he couldn't show it. He had to be there to help him no matter what.

" Of course..." He assured, sitting on the bed and leaning his back against the headboard. Letting Ash curl up against his body and practically use him as a pillow, Eiji stroked his hair and waited.

Ash needed him. 

{ Could it be... love? Ahhh they're getting so much closer I love it.}