(( The unholy laughter that escaped my body while proofreading this chapter... 

have fun, loves o-o ))

Ash decided to be bold, grabbing Eiji's hand again once his family was out of the room. The feeling... it was warm and fuzzy and made him feel like everything was okay. Eiji was like the sun to him, and Ash knew he couldn't live without him.

Eiji smiled at his feet like an idiot.

" I think... they have us figured out..." He whispered, and Ash scoffed in an amused way.

" You think?" He replied sarcastically. " I'm happy you didn't know what to call us... I have no clue, either..."

Eiji was blushing while staring into Ash's eyes, hoping that they would be able to establish some normalcy soon. Right then, they were just going day to day with what felt good in the moment. And that was fine, but it couldn't keep up if things were actually serious between them. Eiji had never been with someone before, but in Japan, he had never seen it so casual. Oftentimes, people were too shy to even hold hands or hug in public, let alone do what he and Ash did.

" Um..." Ash began, not liking the silence. " Can I show you upstairs?"

Eiji looked around the area of the house they were in, which seemed to be a sitting area and mudroom. He nodded, liking what he was seeing so far. It was home-like, and he knew that Ash had at least had some sort of upbringing there. It made him feel less bad for Ash for just a moment.

Ash guided Eiji up the staircase into a hallway, which had many doors. One was a closet, another a bathroom, and three of them were leading to bedrooms.

" This is my room, when I'm here anyways. It's not much anymore now that we got mixed up with Dino's stuff... but..." He opened the door and let Eiji in first, flipping on the light. The walls were dark, and the windows had been covered with black or very dark sheets. Ash even had pocket knives sitting on the nightstand still.

The room smelled like Ash, and Eiji didn't feel uncomfortable at all, despite the lack of style. He went over and made himself comfortable on the green bedding, smiling.

" I like it. It reminds me of you..." He replied.

Ash blushed and shut the door behind him. It was so weird having a guest in there that wasn't Shorter or Skip.

" Thanks... I wish I could say I had fond memories here..." He said, slowly coming over and sitting on the bed beside him. " I've had a lot of nightmares in this bed..."

Eiji put his hand on Ash's shoulder and gently rubbed it, hoping to comfort him and ease the past trauma.

" I'm here now... you don't have to go through it alone anymore..." He whispered.

Ash looked over at Eiji and he felt such a powerful emotion taking place in his chest. He admired him more than words could say. It was like no matter what happened, Eiji would be by his side. It felt like even if the universe turned on him, Eiji would still love him. That was the sense of security he'd been missing for his entire life, but now he didn't have to worry anymore.

" Eiji..." He said, turning more to face him. In that moment, he felt like he could say anything. " I love you... at least... I think this is what love feels like..." He grabbed Eiji's hand off of his shoulder, grasping it in his own. Any physical things that would've scared him with anyone else didn't apply to Eiji.

Eiji's eyes beaded and he smiled, easing. It should've made him flustered, but really, hearing Ash say it so openly was a relief. He didn't want to feel like a burden to him.

" I love you too..." The Japanese male murmured back. There was no question about it.

Ash wondered if he should've stopped this and drawn some lines in the sand, but then again... he found himself forgetting. He leaned in close to Eiji, turning his face toward himself. And Eiji watched Ash with beading eyes, looking at him in a trusting, yet unsure way. Why was Ash pulling him closer and cupping his cheek?

" Can I?"

Eiji didn't even know what he was agreeing to, but he found himself nodding.

That was when Eiji felt Ash's lips on his own, realizing that he'd kissed him. It took him a few seconds to settle against the contact, but after he did, his eyes closed. He had begun to grip Ash's shirt by then, shy and trying to mimic what Ash was doing.

Ash slowly began to lean Eiji back on the bed, careful as he kissed him. It was technically the first time he'd kissed someone by choice, romantically at least. He was grateful he got to share that with Eiji, and he didn't feel scared at all.

Eiji had never felt more connected to someone in his life, wrapping his arms behind Ash's neck. He was definitely shy, but he tried his best to kiss back. Ash tasted good... better than he'd thought was possible. This felt good... even if he was kissing another guy. Eiji would've never guessed that his first kiss would be like that had he not come to America.

Ash slowly pulled back, running his hand back through Eiji's hair.

" Was... that... okay?" He asked, hesitant. It had kind of come out of nowhere, but the urge and desire to do it had not. If he didn't act, then Ash wondered if he would've imploded.

Eiji was a blushing mess, but he nodded.

" I-... it felt nice." He told him, pulling Ash closer with his grip behind his neck. There was courage building inside of his chest as he put together some more words. " Maybe... we could do it again?" It was a question because Eiji was surprised Ash liked to do those things after his history as Dino's slave. He didn't want to push him if he didn't want to.

Ash raised an eyebrow and blushed. That was a shocker. He didn't think all of this would happen just from them being alone in his room.

" You want to?" He asked in a quiet voice. Eiji nodded, and Ash leaned back down, letting his lips graze on Eiji's as he replied to him.

" Then we will..."

Ash ran his hand back through Eiji's hair and continued to kiss him, enjoying every second of it. His lips were soft and he was so gentle in the way he returned the contact. Ash felt like he was in control of everything that was going on, and that made him able to keep it up.

Eiji felt Ash crawl over him a little more, then wrapped his legs behind him. He found his fingers running through Ash's hair, but he became embarrassed when he realized he'd let out some... suspect sounds... against Ash's lips.

Ash chuckled into the contact and licked at Eiji's lower lip, deepening the contact.

Eiji felt his cheeks burning and his heart rate picking up, and it was only a minute more of that before he nearly jumped to the ceiling. Behind them, knocks were placed on Ash's door. It opened and Max popped his head and chest in.

" Ash-" He was saying, but then his eyes bulged when he saw Ash and Eiji's position on the bed. " Oh- um- sorry! I-..." He shut the door.

Eiji's face was completely red. He stared up at Ash in terror, not sure what to even do.

" He... never was the best at knocking..." Ash awkwardly said. He tried to shake it off, not wanting to let it ruin his visit with the family. That had been a big milestone for he and Eiji, their kiss.

" Maybe..." Eiji covered his mouth and looked to the side. " We should pick this up when we're alone?" He asked, not wanting to get walked in on again. That was about the most embarrassing thing he could ever recall happening to him.

" Good idea..." Ash chuckled, hoping that Max wouldn't be scarred for life, or worse, tell Jessica.

" What do you think he wanted?" Eiji asked.

" It's probably about lunch... I bet it's ready." Ash explained. " How much do you wanna bet that Jessica made grilled cheese sandwiches?"

" I don't know, I don't know her the way you do." Eiji laughed, and Ash leaned down, letting a final kiss land on Eiji's cheek.

" I bet she did." He said, pulling back and standing up.

Eiji didn't know how the hell they were supposed to show their faces downstairs after that, but he tried to pull himself together. The last thing he needed to do was waste away in Ash's room forever because of it.

They exited, and Ash took a deep breath.

" Let's just pretend that he didn't see that..." Ash said, scratching the back of his neck. Gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss.

" Agreed."

They both slunk down the stairs, and when they arrived in the kitchen, Max was sitting there and having an internal breakdown.

" Jeez, Max. You look like you saw a ghost." Jessica said. " What is it?"

" What's wrong, Daddy?" Michael asked.

" N-Nothing..."

Ash and Eiji both looked so guilty as they took a seat at the table. And Ash had been right about Jessica making grilled cheeses. It wasn't fancy, but at the same time, they all liked it that way.

" Thank you for the food..." Eiji said as Jessica offered him a sandwich from the plate.

" Not a problem at all. Now, Eiji, tell me about yourself." She said, taking her seat. And Ash felt like he could've crawled under the table as he munched on his sandwich. It was painfully obvious that Max was avoiding eye contact with him.

" Well... what do you know about me already? I'm not sure where to start." Eiji awkwardly laughed to himself. He wanted to run out the back door from being so embarrassed.

Jessica thought for a moment. Max and Ash had said a few things.

" You're an exchange student from Japan... and you pole vault, and you've been kidnapped a lot." She listed, hoping that last part would make him laugh.

" True, true." Eiji chuckled. " Hopefully that doesn't happen anymore... but... anyways... I'm 18, and I want to be a photographer." He just hoped that he wouldn't have to talk about himself the whole time. He was really bad at that and knew that he would say the wrong thing. Eiji had always preferred observing others instead.

" That's wonderful. Have you ever considered modeling? You have the face for it." Jessica said.

" Knock it off." Ash cut in. He knew what she was implying, and he didn't want Eiji to get messed up in that. " He's too shy for your company's kind of photo shoots anyways."

Jessica raised her hands in surrender, and Max still looked like he wanted to crawl out of his own skin. He wasn't supposed to see Ash in that position, but even worse, he'd seen Eiji in that position, too. That made it ten times worse, since Eiji was so innocent. Or... at least that was what he made everyone think.

Eiji didn't know what was happening, but he figured he'd better get used to it. This was Ash's family. But still... it was hard to get over the fact that Max had walked in on them. He swore he'd be haunted by that for the next ten years at least.

When it was time to leave, Ash had already played around with Michael in the yard and seen Eiji interact with him. Though Michael had been really shy at first, he had come to really like Eiji over that hour.

" So... um... sorry for barging in on you two..." Max said, having pulled Ash aside before the blonde could leave.

" It's..." Ash blushed and looked aside. " Just don't tell anyone, okay? We haven't told anyone anything..."

Max rapidly nodded.

" Just be careful. I-"

" I don't need sexual advice from you, old man." Ash scoffed, folding his arms. Max gasped.

" Fine! Just be safe after you leave, okay? I know it was you and your guys who killed the Lee's." Max said, getting more serious.

" I had to. They had Eiji..." Ash wondered if he should've been telling Max that Eiji wanted him to go to Japan. But he figured that he could always do it later. In the meantime, he made sure that they said their goodbyes to everyone.

" Thank you for having me." Eiji said to Jessica, and Michael had clung onto his leg, not wanting him to go.

" Pleaseeee stay!" He whined.

" Michael. You'll see us again, okay?" Ash knelt down and pried him off of Eiji, then picked him up. He hugged him and hoped that the boy would calm down. After all, they had other places to be. Shorter was down the street, and they'd have to make a stop there to check on him.

Michael wiped his eyes and nodded, and Jessica watched while feeling sad about it. Even if Ash was a pain in her ass sometimes, Michael liked to have him around. Plus, Eiji was such a nice boy, too. She knew she couldn't ask him to stay or even force it, but still, it was sad to see them go.

" Just make sure if you have more big issues with anything, you call." Max said. " I'll come and help if you need."

Ash nodded, then gave his little brother one more hug goodbye.

" Come back anytime." Jessica said.

" Don't worry, we will." Eiji replied with a smile. " If you want."

When they left, Eiji felt like he had a weight off of his shoulders. He felt way better knowing that Max would have some time to forget about what happened. He grabbed Ash's hand, and Ash was looking around to make sure that no one was around to see. No one from his gang, at least. He had to be careful, since Kong, Bones, and Alex were supposed to be keeping watch on the house. Maybe he should've considered that earlier.

But still... he didn't feel quite right. Ash didn't see his guys, figuring they were probably hidden well. He trusted that. He knew that they weren't alone, though.

" Stay close to me, Eiji..." Ash muttered in his ear, his voice low. He moved away from holding Eiji's hand, instead pulling him against his side.

Eiji noticed that Ash's voice had changed. That was his serious voice, one reserved for when they were in danger.

" Ash, what's going on?" Eiji whispered. He felt like they should've been walking faster what with all of this intensity, but they didn't. Ash clearly wanted them to look calm, cool and collected.

Ash knew someone was following them, but he couldn't quite figure out where they were.

" I'm not sure... let's just get to Shorter's..."

Eiji really had no clue what was going on. He knew that Ash's instincts were always on point when someone was following them. Was that what was going on? Eiji didn't know, but he stayed close to Ash and hoped that they could make it in time. They couldn't just turn around and take whoever it was back to Max and Jessica.

Ash knew someone was there. They had to be... but where were they?

(( I'm so sorry for the secondhand embarrassment! 

... no I'm not. Sorry Max not sorry :P ))