Title: Tea

Author: everything . minni

Pairings: Vest Duo (Eduardo Dorado Jr. x Asami Koizumi)

Word Count: 3,285

disclaimer: disclaimed.

Unfortunately he's responsible for the team's grocery shopping for the week. With an angry puff he makes his way to the supermarket not too far from their hideout. Honestly, it's between Virgil, Tye, and him because Asami's English isn't good enough for her to roam the streets by herself, and even if it was, none of them would let the young Japanese girl leave their sight. They saw her as a little sister, give or take.

When Ed entered the supermarket, he was still in awe at the capacity that one store could carry. The young Argentinean couldn't help but stare a bit at all the aisles and produce, and he couldn't help but become dizzy.

Too much. Too much. He doesn't understand how Americans don't get lost in these places. They're so large and confusing.

"Welcome to Foods R' Us!" It's a young girl, maybe his age or older, who welcomes him into the store. Too much. He thinks again as he brushes the girl off and retrieves a shopping cart. Ed pulls a crumpled up piece of paper out of his pocket as he walks to the dairy aisle.

"Okay, um milk, chocolate milk, strawberry milk, cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese, salt, red peppers, chili peppers, kiwis, apples, bananas, blueberries…ugh!" With an angry huff, Eduardo chucks the intimidating list into the carpet and starts mumbling in Spanish.

"Dios Mios! Esto es demasiado. Será fácil dijeron. Será divertido dijeron. Mentirosos. Todos ellos son mentirosos!" (My God! This is too much. It will be easy they said. It will be fun they said. Liars. All of them are liars!) The young boy couldn't help but remember that back home his lively grandfather had done the grocery shopping, and when he wasn't in a fickly mood, he would accompany his grandfather to the open market. And when his father would make those rare visits, all three of them would go together; three generations of Dorado. El Dorado.

Ed pulled himself out of his reverie because if he began to think about his grandfather, and father, and Argentina, he would break. So with a jolt Eduardo started to get the items on the list, one-by-one until all the items on the list were in the cart. Slowly, he made his way to the checkout lane, his eyes digesting in everything.

He couldn't understand why the supermarket would be this busy at such a late hour, but he shrugged it off and entered the shortest line. He just wanted to get out quickly and go to sleep, or something. Running his fingers through his thick, unruly hair he started to think about the team.

At first, he most certainly did not want to form an equipo with people he barely knew, nor had anything in common with. Yet, the longer he stayed with them, the more he realized that they weren't completely different. Virgil, who did not run away, understood why each member left, sans Asami, and he never judged them for their past. He believed in all of them and believed in their little rag-tag team of mischievous teenagers. Tye on the other hand, understood the neglect he felt, though he hadn't completely opened up to the group, it was obvious that his family life had not been peachy. And Roy was on their side. He proved how no one was clearly evil or good. People's decisions are good or evil, but that doesn't mean that their good guys or bad guys. Plus, the dude had been stuck in a piece of ice for eight years; eight years he would never get back, and that deserved sympathy from Ed, or everyone.

Asami couldn't really open up because of the language barrier, but it seemed that even if she could, she wouldn't. There were days that he could tell that she missed her home, wherever that be, and she would get sad. Her green and brown eyes would lose that innocent spunk that they held, and she would sigh, a lot. Yet, none of the boys knew how to approach her on those days, especially Eduardo. He wasn't good with comforting people at all and anyway, that was what Virgil was for. But still, he almost wished that there was a way to help her through her dark times.

He hadn't even realized that he could start putting his items on the scanner-line-thingy, he had no idea what it was actually called. Hurriedly, he started to load the groceries as he waited for the other person's items to be paid for. Once he was done, the same girl that had welcomed him into the store to scan his items. He looked at the candy stacked next to her and remembered that since he had to go shopping, he was allowed to buy one special item for himself.

Tye always bought Shockers and the first time that Asami and he had tasted one, they both spit it out in disgust. He remembers screaming "demasiado amargo" and Asami mumbling something that sounded like "amini mosami" (amarini mosanmi). Virgil burst out laughing at the two youngest members reactions as Tye just shrugged and walked away to enjoy his Shockers in peace. Roy hadn't been home, but when he got back and Virgil told him what happened, he had chuckled a bit with a sly smirk.

Virgil on the other hand either bought Hershey, grapes, or ribs. He always shared, so it wasn't really anything especial per say, but Eduardo was definitely not complaining. Roy always bought some kind of weapons magazine, and that was on his free time. He never went grocery shopping because of his hands, and no one complained about it because he provided them with the money for the food and the hideout. Apparently, it was from his Justice League mentor who felt "bad about everything" and gave him a check with more zeros then any of them were able to count. Even Asami knew that it was a lot of money, enough to last years. But, Roy had seemed unhappy about it and would have burned it if it weren't for them. He had a heart enough to not let them starve or freeze to death; he wasn't a bad guy.

He realized that his red-hair cashier was almost down to the last items and he still hadn't decided what he wanted. He usually got gum or some Mexican juice. He never shared, ever. Not to mention he got that spicy, cinnamon gum that no one liked, and none of them knew how to even pronounce the name of the Mexican juice he bought. But, it was too late to go get that Mexican juice, and he didn't feel like gum. Maybe he could get candy? He should get Shockers so that he and Sam could make fun of them and make sour faces at each other. That could be fun.

Then he realized, since Asami never went grocery shopping, she never got a special item! Maybe he could get her something that she would like. Asami didn't seem to be addicted to candy, but still there must be something she might like. His eyes started to frantically roam the store when they landed on a box of assorted tea. As a kid, Eduardo had never liked tea, but his grandfather had and he could bet that Sam did to. It was a long stretch, but he could try.

He quickly sprinted to the aisle, not even telling the cashier to hold on, and grabbed a can of tea. Equally as fast, he ran back to the cashier, gave her the tea and watched as her face scrunched up with confusion as she rang it up. Panting, Ed asked her to put the tea in its only little bag. He paid for all the items and quickly left the supermarket, realizing how much of a fool he had made of himself because of Asami.

If she didn't like it, well – mejor guste, mejor guste. Juggling the bags in his hand, Eduardo quickly made his way back home, a bit paranoid about being snatched up again. None of them probably wanted to admit it, but they were all really afraid of being stolen again. That's why they lived close to the supermarket and other resources they needed.

In short five minutes, Eduardo had made it back to their hideout, an abandoned house. Virgil and Roy had been able to get the electricity to work, so the house ran as good as any. Afterwards, all five of them had worked hard to clean it and set up a room system. Asami got her own room, which had a window and a small bathroom, while Virgil and Tye had decided to share a room. This allowed Roy and Eduardo to have their own rooms. Eduardo's room was in between Asami's and Virgil / Tye's rooms, and Roy's room was next to Virgil / Tye's room and was always locked.

Entering the house, Eduardo headed straight for the kitchen to dump the grocery bags, holding onto the bag with the tea. The others came to put away the items and to make sure that he had gotten everything on the list. Eduardo was too tired and beaten to really help and started to make his way up to the stairs.

"Hey Ed. What did you buy as your special item?" Virgil asked before he could leave. Virgil had noticed the grocery bag that he held tightly in his hand, and he – plus everyone else – knew that Ed did not share, but still he didn't have to worry about them stealing it.

Eduardo couldn't help the little, "joder" that escaped his lips. Virgil was such a hawk, a mama's hawk. Sometimes, when Eduardo envisioned this little family, he imagined Virgil as their mom. The all-seeing mother. Mother mode is kicking in. How awkward.

"Nothing." He mumbled quickly before he transported to his room. He was glad that he knew the house enough to be able to transfer to any of the rooms. Realizing how incredibly tired he was, Ed fell to his bed and slept clutching the canister of tea in his hand.

When he woke up an hour later, he felt less beaten. He quickly got up and stretched his sore limbs. A light thump caused him to look down at the floor to see the forgotten can of tea.

"Ugh! Estúpido! ¿Cómo debo dar esto a Asami? Estúpido! (Stupid. How am I supposed to give this to Asami? Stupid.)" The Argentinean started pacing his room and decided that it would be best to see if she was downstairs and just shove it in her hands. So he grabbed the grocery bag and headed downstairs to the living room to see Virgil and Tye playing video games.

"Hermanos, where is Sam?" He didn't see the young Japanese girl anywhere. Tye and Virgil looked up at him and then his hands.

"Um I think she's in her room bro," Tye said slowly as he suspiciously eyed the grocery bag.

"Yaa. In her room," Virgil confirmed as he eyed the grocery bag just as suspiciously as Tye.

Rolling his eyes at both his amigos, he transported to the front door of Asami's room.

"Dude's got it bad for her, huh?" Tye mumbled as he began a combo attack against an incoming zombie. Virgil, who had stopped playing, vaguely nodded his head as he looked at the spot where Eduardo had been standing. He was the first to notice that Eduardo had feelings for the young Japanese girl, but he couldn't figure out if his feelings were reciprocated.

"You think he even knows that he likes her?" Virgil asked Tye as he impassively dodged a zombie. Tye, noticing his distress, paused the game and turned to Virgil.

Sighing he told Virgil, "Look bro, I highly doubt it. Eduardo is too angry to notice any sort of love. But why are you worried about it? Aren't you supposed to be the mother hen and be excited that your babies are finding love?"

Virgil sighed, "You're right Tye. He probably doesn't know, but what happens if she rejects him or if they get together? How does the dynamic of the team change? How would they even communicate? Sam doesn't know much English and I highly doubt that she understands Ed's Spanglish. Of course I'm glad that they might find happiness in each other, but…"

Tye couldn't help the twitch that took over his left eye. Virgil was such a mom. It was almost concerning, but he still reached out a hand and put in on Virgil's shoulder. "You're getting ahead of yourself dude. Ed doesn't even know that he likes her. He can't even give her a snack without freaking out. I think we're good for now. And not ALL change is bad. I'm pretty sure you told me that before," he said as he looked into Virgil's deep brown eyes. He picked up his controller and restarted the game slashing a zombie as concentration took over his face.

Virgil visibly relaxed as he wordlessly agreed with Tye. Ed was oblivious to his feelings and maybe a relationship would be good for both Sam and Ed. Anyway, they were all going to continue being friends whether or not Sam and Ed got into a relationship. With that, he picked up his remote control and started a combo to help Tye's avatar fight off a massive group of zombies.

"Wait just a tit-fucking second. The hell did you just say about me being the mother? What does that mean? Huh? You better answer me Tye Longshadow or I'll let your behind be devoured by these zombies!" Virgil dropped his controller as he turned to Tye who had his tongue out in concentration.

Tye turned to Virgil for a second and gave him a smirk before he continued to fight zombies all while ignoring him.

Eduardo had been outside Asami's room for five minutes now with his heart thumping in his ribcage. He had never felt so nervous in his life and all he was doing was giving someone a can of tea. What was he nervous for? Okay, so maybe the person was a girl and maybe the girl was Asami, but still Asami was a person therefore he shouldn't be nervous. He was only bolted out of his thoughts when he heard Virgil screaming at Tye about being called a mother. Well, it was true was all Ed could think about.

Virgil was the mother, but Asami was the girl of the group and Eduardo was the idiot boy standing outside her room too nervous to actual knock on her door. He couldn't help and wonder why this was so frustrating.

Then he heard footsteps, though in his panic he couldn't tell if they were coming from the stairs or from Roy's room, but all he knew was that someone was coming and before he knew it he was in Asami's room. He blinked as he saw Asami, who was on her bed staring out her window.

He did not just…and then Asami turned to look at him with a confused expression. He did! He did! He transported into Asami's room! What was wrong with him?

"Joder," he mumbled to himself as Asami stared at him. Panic began to rise up in Eduardo like never before. He felt his face become warmer and his hands trembled.

"Eduardo. Anata koko de nanishiteru no? (Why are you here?)" Asami asked as she cautiously rose up from her bed and walked towards the nervous Ed. Of all the members, Ed always eluded Asami. Roy was even easier to understand than Ed, plus he was always saying words that weren't English like joder. At least she was sure that it wasn't English, but what did she know.

With each hesitant step that Asami took towards Eduardo, the whiter his mind went and more his body shook. His face began to resemble a tamale and he was sweating buckets. And when Asami was right in front of him, he stopped. His labored breathing became normal. His body stood still. His face went back to his rich tan complexion, but his mind was blank.

He shoved the grocery bag filled with the tea can into her hand and then he transported to his room. He leaned against his door as his mind slowly came back to him.

Blinking furiously he slowly made his way to his bed in the corner of the room. However, each step felt like a brick was being simultaneously placed on his back until by the time he reached his bed, he felt a heavy load.

"Joder. What did I just do?" Eduardo whispered into a red covered pillow. Laying his head on another pillow, he felt tired and awake all at once. The feeling starting from his eyes and moving downwards until his whole body ached. He couldn't fathom why he had just bought Asami tea, unless….

Blinking furiously, Asami stared at the spot that Ed had once occupy. This just reaffirmed that she didn't understand much about Ed, and he said "joder" again. She shook her head of the perplexity that was Ed and looked down at the grocery bag that he had shoved into her hands.

Curiously, she opened the bag to find. She blinked once, twice, three times to make sure that she wasn't seeing things. But each time she opened her eyes, she was confronted with the tin silver can that had Gen Mai Cha Tea. Staring at the canister of tea in amazement, she felt something rise up in her and lodge itself in her throat.

Gingerly, she unscrewed the top of the can. The strong, nutty smell of the Gen Mai Cha rose up to her nose and before she could blink, the tears began to spill.

Eduardo continuously stared at his ceiling. His body felt heavy, but his mind was heavier. Doubts began to fill every nook and cranny of his mind, while fatigue overcame all the creases of his body. He felt so incredibly stupid. He should have just bought his Mexican juice and drank it all by himself, but then Asami never gets anything….but what if Asami didn't even like tea? Wasn't that stereotypical?

"Joder. Now I'm a racist too. Gracias Dios. Gracias," Eduardo mumbled to himself. He wasn't freaking out, but he was still freaking out. He had stayed in his room for hours forgoing dinner and "TV time," more like family time that Virgil made them all participate in. He didn't want to go out and face Asami or anyone. His embarrassment was still strong and fresh, and he wanted to wallow in his sorrows for a while longer. However, a gentle knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.

Angrily, he jumped up from his bed and stalked to his door yelling "I swear Virgil if it's you one more time, I'm going to kill. Te mata! Do you hear me Mama…" He trailed off as he slammed open the door to find Asami. Asami with two cups in her hand. Asami in front of his room. Asami.

Joder.

Tentatively Asami took a delicate step towards Ed and handed him a cup of tea. Her brown and green eyes found his deep chocolate brown ones. And without words, Eduardo could see a pretty emotion reflected in her eyes that made his body…caliente. Caliente like the soft steam rising calmly up from the cup in their hands that danced into his nostrils bringing a strong nutty scent. Caliente was nice.

"Gracias."

The word rolled off Asami's tongue smoothly and Eduardo couldn't help but let warmth fill his smile.

joder = fuck

Ed is a potty mouth and Virgil is the supreme mother. Vest Duo and a possible Virgil x Tye #feelsactivated :)

Thanks for reading