050. Hopeful
"What is all this junk?" Oishi tried to get through to Eiji, but was having a lot of trouble because of all the random obects in his path. "How long have your parents been collecting this stuff? Or is most of it from you?"
The redhead turned around and grinned, "My parents are pack rats, what can I say?"
After dodging what looked to be a hamster cage, he finally was standing next to Eiji. The smaller boy with his acrobatic movements could easily make his way through the horror called his garage, but Oishi wasn't used to anything like this.
"My parents also asked me if we could clean up this place." Eiji didn't notice the look of reluctant look on Oishi's face as he surveyed the garage, "And they said anything that's broken can go outside and they'd get dumped later... but I can't seem to find the door..."
As strange as it sounded, it was true. Even Oishi had some trouble seeing where the garage door was, but eventually spotted a handle and pointed it out to Eiji. Once the boys opened the door, and stepped outside the mess looked even worse.
"We should get started soon before it gets too hot in there," Eiji seemed completely oblivious to what he was seeing. But then again, he must see it every day and it probably doesn't look as bad to him as it does anyone outside the family. "What's wrong Oishi?"
"Nothing, I'm just wondering if your parents hate me."
Eiji cocked his head in confusion, "Why would you say that?"
"Because," Oishi shoulders sagged as he walked toward the edge of the mess, "they're obviously trying to kill me."
---
The two boys had started by just dragging some of the stuff out into the open where they could actually see whether it was broken, in good condition, or just plain trash even if it isn't broken. There were old magazines piled up everywhere, boxes of things like broken dishes, and even a couple of radios that obviously looked like they had been through hell.
"Why would you want to keep those old tennis magazines? They're all ripped up, Eiji! Just throw them away!" Oishi tried to make Eiji hand them over, but he refused.
"I want them, they're mine so I get to keep them if I want!" The redhead argued, not listening to Oishi and put them to the side. "Not all of them are ripped up, so I'll throw away the ones that are really bad, okay?"
"Fine." Oishi rolled his eyes as he turned back and picked up the two radios. He put them out of the way and decided he would make a junk pile starting over there. "Whatever magazines you're throwing away, put them over there."
It wasn't until twenty minutes later that Oishi had noticed Eiji still was apparently sorting through his magazines. When the brunette turned around he saw that Eiji was sitting there reading through his magazines and apparently enjoying himself too.
"Eiji! Stop reading and help me!"
"Oh right! Sorry..." Eiji smiled apologetically as he got up, and Oishi watched as the magazines were left in Eiji's 'keep' pile.
Oishi tapped his friend on the shoulder, "Aren't you getting rid of some of those?"
"No, they're all still good, so I'm keeping them." Eiji turned back and looked at his brother's old bike and was about to put it in the junk pile when he noticed Oishi picking up the magazines. "Oishi no! I said I was keeping them!"
The two boys began to fight over the torn magazines, but eventually Oishi won.
"You know the first step to stop being a pack rat is to learn when to throw stuff away." The taller boy bent over and picked up what appeared to be a box full of old shoes when he noticed something under one of the shelves was staring at him.
"Eiji, did you know something is living in your garage?" Oishi slowly maneuvered his way over to the shelf and reached under it without hesitation. He gently grabbed the furry object and pulled it out into the light.
"What're you talking about, nya?" He looked over Oishi's shoulder and found the older boy to be staring incredulously at the thing in his hand. "Oh! You found my sister's old toy! It's so life-like, isn't it?"
Eiji grinned at Oishi but stopped as he saw the other boy preparing to throw the cat at him. He quickly turned and tried to avoid stuff as he started to run, but he tripped instead as the cat attacked the back of his head and he fell right onto what appeared to be an antique vase.
He heard it shatter beneath him, but Eiji got up anyway and didn't think anything of it until he heard Oishi yelling.
He turned around and put his hands on his hips, and as he was doing so he felt a sudden stinging in the side he had fallen on. He looked and found a medium sized gash that was bleeding freely, and nearly fainted.
He hated the sight of that much blood, but he also felt lucky that Oishi was there since he was pretty knowledgeable with how to treat injuries and such.
---
Oishi had eventually gotten over to Eiji and gotten a first aid kit from the bathroom. After bandaging the redhead up, Oishi continued to clean some more for only ten more minutes, but there was not much of an improvement from before. So the boys decided to take a break, and Oishi said he wanted Eiji to relax and rest.
"You worry too much Oishi! It doesn't hurt one bit since you fixed it up!" Eiji stood up too quickly and winced slightly.
The brunette lifted Eiji off the ground suddenly, "Well maybe I should carry you to make sure you don't injure yourself again."
The two went into the house and into the living room where they could relax. The two sprawled on the couch and Oishi abruptly leaned over and kissed Eiji. "So do you feel better now?"
"Yeah, I would feel even better if you got me some juice out of the fridge." Oishi rolled his eyes, but went to get it anyway. "Thanks Oishi! I really owe you one!"
"You owe me a lot more than just one." The brunette called from the kitchen.
Eiji was really hoping that he meant kisses.
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I really love the Golden Pair, don't you? Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this fic!
Please R & R !
Shari Maxwell
