Very merry Christmas indeed

Alex's problem

"What THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO DO NOW?"  Alex was panicking. He ran his hands through his hair, gripping at the roots, all in an effort not to cry.

"I don't care what you do but it's not going to be here." Vanessa, his girlfriend, now ex-girlfriend, had moved on. She no l0nger loved him, she no longer cared. He was out before he knew what was going on.

Bones was a blessing from God in the way that he picked Alex and all of this stuff up. He looked like he was dying to ask questions but he controled himself until Alex was ready to talk.

"She's kicking me out because she doesn't love me anymore."

Bones whistled through his teeth. "That's rough buddy."

"It's not just that. She won't live with me anymore becuase not only is she not in love with me, she's in love with Ash and for some reason she's mad at me because he doesn't like her. So now i'm homeless."

They sat in silence for a while longer while Bones weaved through side streets and back alleys.

"Where are we going?"

"Boss's."

Alex sat up straight. "Why? You actually expect me to ask him for more help? I've already asked for a lot and he's supposed to be travelling soon for New Years."

"And you think Eiji won't help?"

This silenced Alex for a minute. It did make sense. If he didn't want to be homeless during the coldest part of the year, he would have to appeal to the boss's kinder side. Which was entirely Eiji. They sat in silence until they reached the building. Bones started talking about what he was planning to do for the holiday season and something about flowers and soup but Alex wasn't listening. He was too worried.

"Uhh, hi." The bright hair snapped Alex out of his trance. He was taking out three black bags of trash when the met in the hallway.

Bones shoved Alex to make him talk. "Hi." Alex stuttered. "Wha- uh. I- Is the boss here?"

"Yeah, they're inside preparing for the holidays. Eiji loves Christmas so they're decorating the house, cooking, cleaning, things like that."

Bones fidgetted behind Alex, a clear sign that he was not going to speak today. After the incident. no one expected Bones to speak to Shorter again. It would be a Christmas miracle if he even looked him in the eyes.

"Okay, thanks. We'll be heading in now." They edged across suspiciously. "Bye now."

Shorter stared at them stalkerishly before they slid into the apartment and shut the door. They could still hear his laughter as he walked down the hallway."

"Boss? Eiji? uh.. Skip? Who's here?" They were greeted by Aika, who came around the corner and wound herself around their knees. Bones picked her up, holding the black kitten to the ceiling and watchign her try to paw at his face.

Alex went ahead to meet their boss face to face. The scene infront of him was not one that he expected.

Both Ash and Eiji were standing at their island counter, cutting vegetables and preparing meat for the large soup pot on the stove. Ash wore an apron that had little clouds and birds painted across it, while Eiji wore one that looked homemade, the pattern sported constellations.  They were talking easily. Alex could see the weight taken off his shoulders.

Alex was speechless for a moment, until Ash realized he was standing there watching. His entire demeanor instantly changed, turning hard and protective of Eiji's soft smile. Eiji on the other hand, looked happy to see him.

"Oh- HI! Uh, what's up bro." He fumbled around with his english slang before stumbling across something that he liked. "What brings you here?"

Reluctantly, Alex explained his difficult situation, then asked if he could stay with Ash and Eiji.

Ash grimaced silently for a moment and put his hand to his chin, deep in thought. "I mean... hm. it seems like a lot of people are going through a hard time right now. There's—"

"We'd love to!" Eiji spoke over Ash. He never once stopped chopping carrots and celery but at the same time it seemed like he was giving his  complete and undivided attention to Alex.

"But," Ash murmered from behind him "there are so many-"

"It woud be an honor." Eiji's sweet face turned hard as he looked into Ash's eyes. They stood there locked in eye contact for a while until Ash's face gave the slightest indication of release. Eiji's smile returned.

"It'll be fun." Ash looked away, blushing. HIs attention was now wrapped into the chicken he was peeling off the bones.

"Shorter lives down the hall with Sing. TEMPORARILY." He emphasized as if Shorter could hear him. "Cain drops by every once in a while, Skip lives in our second bedroom and Max, Jessica and Michael are coming for Christmas dinner and the gift giving and games part after. Oh, and also Blanca said something a few weeks ago about flying in. We're unsure about him though."

"I can set you up in the apartment next door! How long do you think you'll be staying?"

"At least until I find an apartment. That should be a month, no more."

"That should be no problem." The two worked in an easy flow, squeezing around each other, flavoring the soup and complimenting it to perfection.

Alex joined Skip on the couch, both of them wrapt in their own cooking show, watching Ash and Eiji work in a dance of sorts. Their easy flowing conversation and little flashes of love held their attention for at least an hour. When Eiji finally called for everyone to announce the soup was ready, the entire crowd of people that showed up was dying to taste their creation.

It was marvelous. It had a velvety thickness that felt as if it had bursts of flavor that made the taste palette sing. When he finished off his bowl, Alex felt a warm feeling take over his body. Contentment and fullness in his stomach, Alex felt like this wouldn't be as bad as he had feared. This might actually be a good Christmas.