Banana Fish - Another missed flight

The Sun Also Rises

The way your fingers fit in mine,
It's five plus five, not rocket science.
(Simple – Florida Georgia Line)

The Sun Also Rises

"It's nothing much. Compared to our hideout in New York...", Eiji said timidly while opening the door to their apartment. Eiji was still standing in the doorway, a trace of worry crossing his face when they entered their apartment for the first time. Following him inside, Ash smiled to himself. That was so typical Eiji. He had probably spent a lot of time looking for an apartment. Which couldn't have been easy from the US. And the only thing that mattered to him was if Ash liked it.

Ash walked around, taking a quick glance at  every room. Compared the their fancy hideout in New York their apartment here wasn't exactly big, but it had a room for each of them, a living room, a kitchen and one of these typical Japanese bath rooms he had read about where the toilet and the shower were in different rooms. And they even had a balcony. One he wouldn't get shot at. Probably.

Ash came back, putting an arm around Eiji's shoulder. "It's perfect, Eiji.", his eyes lighting up with joy. "We definitely need more furniture, but the apartment is great. Thanks for arranging that. That must have been hard from New York." Ash frowned barely noticeably, his smile fading. "Sorry I wasn't any help."

Eiji smiled back at him, visibly relieved, the tension instantly leaving his body."It was nothing. Ibe and my mom helped me a lot." Ash just couldn't hide his smirk. Eiji was always too modest. He was sure those two had helped with the formalities or the paperwork, but most of the work had probably been done by Eiji himself. Knowing Eiji, he'd carefully choose an apartment for them, bearing in mind that Ash had never had a real home. So he had probably chosen their apartment with great care before renting it. That's why it was so important to Eiji that Ash liked it as well. But downplaying it as if he hadn't helped at all was totally Eiji.

"You worry too much, Eiji.", he said, ruffling his hair. "You know I didn't buy an 8 million dollar condo because I love luxury. Besides, I like this apartment much more. It's smaller, but it looks much more comfy. And if we've really moved in here, it will look even better." Eiji relaxed, his eyes shining with happiness. "Yeah, you're right, I'm sure it will."

When Eiji woke Ash up the next morning, he was blinking a few times at the sunlight streaming through the window. Since he was a heavy sleeper, Ash wasn't able to remember where he was right away. The unfamiliar room wasn't helping. Panic shot through him, making him suddenly shoot up, nearly colliding with Eiji's head in the process. Until he heard Eiji's voice.

"Ash, calm down, you're in Japan. You're safe, ok?", Eiji calmly reminded him, gripping his shoulder softly. Ash immediately relaxed when seeing Eiji.

"Sorry, I didn't know where I was for a moment.", he apologized, slowly sitting up on the edge of the makeshift bed, a hand covering his face.

"It's ok. You're safe here, I promise. I'm really glad that you're finally here, in Japan, with me.", Eiji reassured him while sitting next to him.
Complete surprise ran over Ash's face while looking at him, then his eyes flashed with relief for a second. "Yeah, me, too...", Ash said hesitantly, still half-asleep, letting himself fall onto the bed again.

Ash, don't go to sleep again.", Eiji scolded him softly. But Ash still saw the trace of a smile hushing over his face."Get up. We have to organize some things.", he said while trying to pull him back up again. And miserably failing.

"Like what?", Ash asked, yawning, but not getting up again. So Eiji lay down next to him.
"Like cleaning the apartment and buying some furniture. And don't you want to see the area where we'll be living from now on? I wanted to show you around Izumo.", Eiji explained patiently.