I think I remember quite clearly that Eric was like, eight when his parents died, but let's pretend that never got stated. I could just go and erase the line that says he doesn't remember, but let's just assume that he was guessing he was eight. If it even says he was eight. Maybe it doesn't, and this long speech was for nothing.

Our Family

Eric's first night at Fujishima's house was...interesting, to say the least. First, his parents, (who were under the impression that Eric was just a friend who needed a place to stay until he got things at home sorted out) wanted to come meet him. Eric, of course, tensed up the second they were in sight. He started to slide behind Fujishima, and other circumstances, the other boy would have let him. But he didn't want Eric to be afraid of his parents, so he gently moved Eric out from behind him. The blond boy froze, and his eyes darted between the two adults as they came closer.

"Hello! You're Eric, right? I'm Kousuke's mother, Minashi, and this is his father, Hajime." Both of them smiled at him broadly, and Eric responded by looking at the ground, and mumbling under his breath.

"Nice...to meet you. Thank you...for having me."

They looked at each other, noting his tense and odd behavior, but they didn't comment on it.

"How old are you, Eric?" Minashi asked politely, and Eric noticed they weren't using a kun or san at the end of his name. They were probably under the impression that he was a foreigner.

"Oh. Um..." Eric tried to answer, but trailed off, because he wasn't exactly one hundred percent sure how old he was. He knew he couldn't be older than eighteen, but he didn't remember how hold he was when his parents had died, nor was he sure how long he had been forced to be the dog of his previous master.

Again, Minashi and Hajime looked at each other, taking note of this odd behavior, and Eric saw, so he quickly came up with his best estimated guess.

"Eighteen." he said lowly, and this time, after they stared at him silently for a couple seconds, smiling comfortably, but looking confused, Fujishima let him slide behind him.

"We're going to go upstairs. I'll show Eric his room." Fujishima said. His father nodded, and his mother let him know that she'd bring snacks up in a few minutes. A few feet up the stairs, Eric mumbled a question under his breath that Fujishima barely managed to hear.

"We're not...sharing a room?"

The brunette boy looked over his shoulder at the blonde following behind him.

"Oh. You're using our guest room. It's usually only used when my grandparents are over for visit." was his casual reply, apparently not aware that Eric had clearly been against the idea.

"Grandparents." Eric repeated, looking at the pictures that were hung along the wall, of Fujishima and his sister, mostly.

"You have a sister." Eric said. It was the first time all night he'd managed to get a sentence out without hesitating, which meant he was starting to calm down. It hadn't been a question, so Fujishima didn't treat it as one.

"Chiyu."

Eric took in her features in a picture. She was only about eight or nine, with brown hair like her brother. She had kind eyes and a sweet smile.

"Where is she?"

As if she'd been listening, the door nearest to the stairs suddenly opened, and a young girl, with her hair tied up, the girl from the pictures, peaked her head out the door, alerted by the sounds of their voices.

"Big brother!" she said with a smile, stepping out from her room. "Is this our new roomate?" She looked behind Fujishima and smiled brightly. Immediately tense, Eric started to back away again, hiding behind his fellow Homra member. Eric, once again, gently pushed him out.

"Chiyu, this is Eric."

"Eric...kun? Eric...san?" she asked Eric directly. It took him a few seconds to understand what she was asking.

"Whatever...is fine.." he whispered, and she nodded, still smiling.

"Nice to meet you then, Eric-chan!" she giggled, holding out her hand to shake. Eric remained frozen for a few extra seconds as he took in what he'd been called. He looked at Fujishima for confirmation, and Fujishima simply smiled and laughed quickly.

Eric took a few seconds to consider everything. Should he be offended? Wasn't she making fun of him? Shouldn't he be angry at her? But the way she was smiling at him, nothing but kindness and laughter, made him think that maybe she wasn't trying to upset him.

Maybe it was just a nickname.

"Nice to meet you too...Chiyu-kun."

Chiyu smiled, and Fujishima laughed, and they shook hands.

A few minutes later, Fujishima was changing clothes, alone in his room, when he heard a loud crash come from across the hall. He quickly realized it had come from what was formerly the guest room, now Eric's room. Still shirtless, he ran out into the hall. From downstairs, he could hear footsteps pounding up the stairs, and Chiyu's door popped open too.

"What was that?" she asked, her hair let loose, as she'd clearly been getting ready for sleep.

Throwing the door open, Fujishima got the answer to his sister's question. Eric was standing next to the bedside table, that had previously held a nice, and expensive vase, one that had been a gift from his mother's close friend. The vase itself was laying on the floor, in many, many pieces.

Eric turned and looked when the door opened, his eyes wide and terrified as he took in his fellow Homra member, his sister, and now, his parents.

"I'm sorry!" he gasped, holding up his hands like they were holding him at gunpoint. "It was-it was an a-accident!" he stuttered, and suddenly he fell to his knees, and started to frantically clean up the pieces, his hands shaking.

"Please...please...it was an accident!" he begged, and Fujishima rushed over.

"Eric, it's alright." he whispered softly, but it was like his friend didn't hear him. He simply continued to pick up the glass pieces, his eyes filling with tears.

"Don't hurt me, I'm sorry." he gasped out. "I won't do it again. I won't. I'm sorry. Please don't…" He was seeing something the rest of them weren't. He was no longer in a guest room at a friend's house, but in a dark room, with a chain around his neck, and an angry man looming over him, about to punish him for what he'd just done...

"Eric!" Fujishima said, just loud enough to be heard, but not loud enough to be considered screaming. He reached out and grabbed Eric's hand, which was now bleeding, having been cut by one of the glass shards. Blood dripped onto the floor, and Eric quickly wrapped his hand around Eric's, to try and stop the bleeding.

At first, his touch only seemed to frighten Eric more, as the blonde twitched and gasped. But then he looked up, taking in Fujishima's face. His lips trembled, and the tears that had been gathering in his eyes trailed down his cheeks, mixing in with the blood on the floor.

"I'm sorry." he whispered again. Fujishima tightened his grip on Eric's hand, and Eric felt a warm and gentle heat wrap around him as Fujishima pulled him in to hug. For a second, Eric didn't move. Fujishima heard a small whisper in his ear.

"Mas...ter?"

"No." Fujishima whispered back, hugging him tighter. A few seconds later, he felt a pair of tentative hands wrap around his shoudlers, and Eric buried his head into Fujishima's shoulders, quiet sobs rocking his body.

Out of the corner of his eye, Fujishima could see that his family were all giving each other looks of shock and surprise, and he wanted to explain to them what was happening, but at the moment he couldn't take his attention off Eric, and just held him tighter.

*(*)

About thirty minutes later, Eric was in the shower, and Fujishima and his family were downstairs talking.

"What happened to him Kousuke?" his mother asked, looking up the stairs towards the bathroom Eric was occupying. Her eyes were heavy, and it looked like she might be about to cry. Though he hadn't told them the truth yet, Fujishima had a feeling her motherly instincts had pointed her in the right direction.

"Why does he have so many bruises?" asked Chiyu. Though most had gone away, Eric had too many, and at least ten were still visible on his body. There were still others too, hiding beneath his clothes.

"He was…" Fujishima paused, not sure how to tell them.

"He was abused?" his father guessed, arching an eyebrow knowingly. Fujishima nodded quietly, and his mother put a hand over her mouth, sniffling.

"By who?" she asked.

"Um…" he paused, trying to think it over. He couldn't very well tell them it was by a gang, and that they'd met when Eric came to kill Mikoto.

"It's not really my story to tell." This was the truth, he realized, and he was grateful for it.

"Alright." his mother said. "You're right. But…"

At that second, Eric came into view, hair wet, He was looking around, clearly scared, and he only calmed down when he spotted Fujishima. But then he spotted the rest of his family, and paused, not coming any closer, but also not retreating.

"Eric." Minashi said, and she stood up. Before Eric could understand what was going to happen, and get away, she was hugging him. Eric's body tensed up against hers, and he didn't move. In his mind, he was picturing his mother, wondering when she'd last hugged him. He couldn't remember. Had she even ever? She had to have…

He gently breathed in Minashi's scent, and when Hajime and Chiyu came over and joined in the hug, he did the same, wanting to remember this feeling. The feeling of being cared for.

He could get used to it.

*(*)

That night, Eric quietly made his way across the dark hall, and didn't bother knocking on Fujishima's door. It creaked open, and he peeked in, checking to see if Fujishima was asleep. The other boy seemed to be deep in sleep, eyes closed, and breathing evenly. Eric took a few seconds to take in his handsome face, then looked away, afraid his blush was lighting up the dark room.

He hadn't been planning on coming into Fujishima's room, just to check and make sure he was...still there. But something had propelled him across the room, until he was standing next to the bed, silently shifting from foot to foot.

Unsure what had made him think it was a good idea, Eric climbed into the bed, and lay down in the empty spot, shutting his eyes. They were only shut for a couple seconds before he felt a hand gently touch his head.

He only jumped a little, opening his eyes, and not sure what to do once he was looking into Fujishima's eyes. The other boy scooted over, so that Eric had more room, but in response, Eric only moved after him, shifting closer.

Once they'd shifted a few more times, Fujishima spoke quietly, his voice barely reaching Eric in the dark room. "My parents and I had a talk. They want you to stay."

That had more or less been Fujishima and Eric's plan anyway, to have him stay until eventually it had been long enough for his parents to realize he wasn't leaving. But now, they'd agreed to it beforehand.

"Why?"

"Because they like you."

Eric thought this over. "They like me?"

"Yeah. They want you to be part of the family."

"Fa-family?"

Fujishima smiled. "Yeah. Homra and my family. We're your family now."

Family. It had been a long time since Eric had heard that word, and a long time since he'd had one. Was it really true? Did Fujishima's family want him? Did Homra? He knew a lot of them didn't really like him that much, while others, particularly Tatara and Kamamoto seemed friendly. Would they all grow to care about him, the way they clearly cared for each other?

"O...okay." he finally replied, and Fujishima put an arm over his waist. Eric snuggled into him, and listened to him breath, shutting his eyes and hoping the other boy didn't feel the tears that dripped onto the bed.

It was the only the first day of many that would end this way.

Alright. Done. Sorry it's like, plotless and stuff, it's just supposed to be vague Fujishima and Eric fluff. Because those two are adorable and need way more love. I have another FujishimaxEric fanfiction that's about to go up too, if you're interested. If not, well, thank you for giving this one a chance.