A/N.
Well, hello!
Just a note that this work does contain very minor and brief mentions of Ash's past, but nothing very specific nor graphic. Mostly this story is just Ash and Shorter being two idiot friends, because that's the content that I feel we've been robbed of the most in Banana Fish universe.
Happy reading!
The sounds of the entrance door's opening, followed by muffled voices and shuffling steps were the last thing the exhausted over-night cashier would expect.
Ugh. Customers. And to make it worse, those were the customers at the most ungodly hour of the night. Or was it morning already? While the clock showed 4:57am, the streets were still enveloped in the night's darkness and soaking wet with an ongoing thunderstorm at that. Who in their sane mind would even want to stick their nose outside, and, needless to say, make all their way to a shabby KFC joint in a concrete maze of this godforsaken neighbourhood? Evidently enough, the whole hell broke loose on the streets of NYC tonight. Thunderbolts and lightning, and all that.
Stupid customers.
But then again, uni's tuition didn't come cheap and summer jobs didn't come easy, so the server sucked in a deep breath, stretched his lips in what he hoped to be a pleasant, welcoming smile and got ready to assist the two approaching young men. Both in their late teens, both drenched from the rain all the way to their bones, and both covered in dirt and quite roughed up. Radiating with dark aura, they trudged towards the counter, tracking tiny puddles of water and mud across the freshly polished tiles and muttering nonsense about some Arthur-guy being a 'shithead', the turf and the casualties.
Lovely.
Street gang fights. Again.
Growing wary, the cashier could only pray these two didn't bring trouble, as his finger hovered over the panic button at the counter, but let out a sigh of relief when they simply started to place their order.
"What are you taking, Ash?" Questioned the taller and seemingly older boy. He wringed out his now completely ruined purple mohawk and went on to squeeze some of the water out of his rumpled white hoodie with thick, canary yellow stripes running down its loose sleeves. For some reason, the dude also felt the need to walk around sporting a pair of very tinted shades. At this hour. In the rain. Well, to each his own.
The one called 'Ash' ran a hand through his blond hair to shake off the last remains of the downpour, as his sharp green eyes briefly darted across the digital menu screens. "I'll go for a Twister with grilled chicken. Ranch sauce and small fries on the side, please," he ordered and removed his soaked denim jacket, leaving himself in an equally sodden grey sweatshirt with copper elbow patches, before turning to his companion. "You?"
The intensity of the older boy's stare seemed to emanate through his sunglasses.
"That's really all you're taking? Keep going like that and all your raw power won't be enough to beat these fuckers. Don't you dare fade away on me now, when we're so close!"
The scolded blond heaved a sigh. "Shorter –"
"Nah-uh, not hearing it." Teenager shook his head decisively, and his wet purple locks bounced, sending droplets of water everywhere. He turned back to the dumbfounded cashier and graced him with a big smile. "Good sir, I'd like to get two large fries, two sweet and sour and two cheese sauces, and one bucket of hot chicken wings to share – the sixteen-piece one, and one Chicken Longer for me, please."
Ash folded his arms, shrugging nonchalantly. "Don't think I need to worry about my food intake, when you're eating for the two of us already."
"Quit yapping and go pick us a seat, Lynx," the purple-haired guy shooed the other away. "It's my treat today."
Ash obliged, casually turning around and strolling off in the direction of one of the window booths in the furthest corners of the restaurant with a simple, "Easy now, Shorter, your bitter betty is showing."
Disoriented cashier could only marvel at the blond's reflexes, when the boy dodged a tiny box of cheese sauce catapulted at him without as much as a glance back.
The dangerous air surrounding the young men had suddenly dissipated, revealing the menacing two delinquents to be a real-life meme incarnation of an excited cockatoo overwhelming his pal, a grumpy bobcat. As feline grew more and more annoyed, it switched into the coy mode, stretching it's claws playfully to tease the loud bird.
Slouching in his seat, Ash tried to block out the tension in his muscles and dull ache radiating from the bruises all over his body. The blond had not realized just how drained he was until he assumed a resting position. It had been a long night and one hell of a brawl, but also it was a thing of the past now. Running a hand down his face, sixteen-year-old savoured the rare moment of calm and enveloping warmth, lulled by a sound of raindrops peppering the windows. As his body went on an instinctual auto-pilot mode, Ash folded his arms on the table, nuzzling in them and resting his eyes, if only for a moment. It had barely been a few minutes, when he heard approaching and slightly sloshing, yet familiar foot-steps with a following light thud on the table. He cracked his eyes open only to be instantly blessed with a sight of a large, steaming cup of coffee standing right in front of him; drink's strong, enticing aroma wafted his nose.
"Wake up, lil' sunshine. You'll get your beauty sleep after you eat," Shorter sighed, slumping on a couch across his best friend and sipping on a coffee of his own. Drinking up to his content, young man hummed in satisfaction. "My stomach is happy, my ass is happy. Now this is what I call a proper aftercare…"
A loud snort had erupted and quickly transitioned into a coughing fit, as Ash tried to catch his breath from a successfully ruined coffee intake.
"I'm talking about the all-nighter spent fighting, you Ash-hole," Shorter said with a feigned growl, his sunglasses concealing a humorous glint in his dark eyes. In a span of one year, the change in the boy would go unnoticed to many, but Shorter knew it was there. He could see it: the tiniest of openings – just a crack, really – of the gates within the walls of steel that shielded his friend from the world, still somewhat hesitant to let the boy in fully. The process required time, and Shorter didn't mind. He was grateful that this hurting, lonely soul had found enough courage to accept his help and supporting shoulder all these months back. It was a bumpy journey with more downs than ups, and there was an excruciatingly long way to go still. In no sense was Ash free, not yet, but Shorter had hope that drove him to be there for his new friend every step of the way. The world could definitely use more of a happily giggling Lynx, and he would stand by it.
"Guess that's something we can both agree on," croaked the blond, as he finally evened out his breathing. He had never imagined he could laugh like that, truly and wholeheartedly, but Shorter, he made it so easy that it came naturally with time. He gave him the reason to find himself time and again.
"What, that you're an Ash-hole?"
Shorter was met with a piercing glare, all the former glee abandoned in a heartbeat.
"That's my name. Don't wear it out," a deceptively impassive tone paired with a heavily glinting pools of jade made up the most chilling contradiction that would've send an entire East Village scattering away. Shorter though simply smirked in his amusement, used to this daily dose of intimidation through and through by now. He nodded enthusiastically.
"Cool! Make sure to update your library membership card. Ash-hole Jade Callenreese, the real deal."
Goddammit, when did this guy learn how to press his buttons? Letting all his defences crumble and fall, Ash released a loud groan and rubbed his face in annoyance.
"How did I ever get stuck with you of all people?"
"Hey now, you know you love me," Shorter declared, a large grin plastered across his face. "Besides, you were the one who reached out to me."
"Not before your marble head stalked the hell out of me in juvie," Lynx grumbled. "Creep."
"That's what we call the 'protective instincts', little one."
"That's what I call a 'harassment of my privacy', you doofus."
Shorter's witty come back was cut short by the long-awaited announcement of their orders being ready for pick up.
"Make yourself useful, would ya?" Ash's voice drawled like honey, as he winked at his friend over a savouring sip of coffee.
"Brat," Shorter dead-panned before scrambling to his feet and making his way over to the counter.
Still smirking self-indulgently, Ash took a moment to glance through the window once more, only to be greeted with a storm roaring through the gaping darkness. The boys were sure lucky to had made it to their temporary shelter safely.
The recent brawl went by messier, than he had anticipated, when the Arthur – the deceiving, sly fox he is – pulled a number on their crews. And just when it seemed like the tables had finally taken a much welcome turn, Mother Nature unexpectedly decided to play against Ash and Shorter and slammed them with a winning card of the raging cataclysm. Claiming his lucky chance, Arthur took a rain check and immediately bolted for the shelter with his gang, leaving his rivals to soak and roar profanities to his retreating back. Thoroughly beat down in both body and mind, two friends released their boys and found themselves on their way to the closest food joint, hoping to recharge and reassess their battle strategy.
A heavy sigh escaped Ash's mouth, his eyes following the racing raindrops down the window glass. Well, at least this time he wasn't fighting alone.
That comforting thought got interrupted with a loud 'bang' of a loaded tray hitting the table, amplified by a rolling thunder outside. If Lynx hadn't flinched, it was all due to the long years of living through the nonstop gunfire storm.
"Alright!" Shorter plopped down and rubbed his hands in excitement before digging through the food portions. "So, we got some Coke, spicy wings and fries to share, a Twister for Ash-boy and a Longer for Shorter."
Ash's hand froze half-way to his wrap.
"Shorter," the blond's voice sounded unnaturally shaky. "Your sandwich is really called… 'Longer'?"
"Ah, yeah?" Receiving a tiny curl of lips in response, Shorter cocked an eyebrow, confused. "Why?"
"Y-you really don't hear it?"
Wong tilted his head, studying his friend with uncertainty. "Man, they got ya in a head or something back there? You ain't making no sense."
Ash's smile rivalled that of a Cheshire cat, his green eyes wide with wonder. "Wow. A walking self-contradiction." He shook his head with a breathy chuckle, and his damp locks whipped across his face from the act. "You sure ain't no tub, but I'm pretty sure Archimedes is cartwheeling in his grave right now."
Shorter's features assumed what some might call a human embodiment of the term 'bamboozled'. "Whatcha talking about, Willis? What's Merlin's owl got to do with this?"
In a splinter of a moment the look in Ash's eyes transitioned from the state of sheer amusement to brief horror to furious indignation with boy's blond brows finally joining in a heavy frown.
Next thing Shorter knew, an undignified squawk was escaping his lips, forced out by an angry whack from a rolled-up KFC brochure skillfully wielded by the hollering Lynx.
"I'm talking science here, not fucking Disneyland, you dimwit! First thing I do after socking a big fucking one to Arthur is smacking your idiot head with the latest edition of 'Physics for Dummies'!"
"Hey!" Shorter quickly brought his hands up to shield himself from another blow. "Don't go giving me this 'It was a warm summer evening in Ancient Greece' bullshit!" He barked back, snatching the makeshift weapon out of boy's hands and swatting him once in return before throwing the paper out of reach.
"It's science, bitch!"
"Respect your seniors, brat!"
"Half-assed bozos don't get respect till they learn!"
Knocked down by frustration, Shorter looked heavenward, dragging both hands over his face. "Haiya! This stupid ang moh boy…"
"Your ass is stupid! Since when do I have red hair?!"
"Since when do you speak Hokkien?!"
"It's called Google! Since when do you speak Hokkien?!"
"Since my mom grew up in Taiwan!"
"Fuckin' neat!"
"I know!"
The word-sparring match ended with both youths slumping against their sofas' backrests and panting, while trying to calm their frenzied nerves.
"Dumbass," Ash muttered softly.
"Asshole," Shorter shrugged, a ghost of a smile lingering over his lips.
The blond huffed and reached for his Coke, eyeing the barely touched food hoarded on the table. It was cooling down fast. Feeling the guilt nag at the corner of his mind, he glanced up at his friend.
"Go ahead, eat your monster sandwich," Ash nodded pointedly at the other boy's order.
"Longer is not a sandwich. It's a burger." Shorter said as a matter-of-factly, all the while picking up and unwrapping his order – a foot-long bun stuffed with fried chicken breast and veggie goodness, doused with a generous layer of signature KFC sauce.
"That's not burger. Burger buns are round in shape by default."
It took Shorter a moment to process his misconception and accept his sole existence as a lie. He stared down at his meal with a bewildered look. "Ash. What am I eating?"
"Dunno." Lynx shrugged, going for a chicken wing. "But you better finish your existential crisis bread soon."
Shorter gasped. "You heartless jerk, it has a name!"
"Y'know what else has a name? What was that thing you've been force-feeding me for one week straight? Ah, yes. Xiaolongbao. You got an inferiority complex or something, Shorter?"
"Piss the fuck off. KFC Longers and Chinese food are the best thing in the whole damn world."
"Hey, you're the one who started with the name calling."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Eat up. I'm beat – and so are you, don't lie – but we got a lot on our plate, like literally, so better keep it short and sweet."
Oh?
A winding flash of lightning tore across the looming clouds and ignited an ominous gleam in Ash's eyes before letting the darkness resume its reign to an accompaniment of thunderclaps and pattering sounds of rain.
Lynx slurped on his Coke pensively and cleared his throat, his beautiful face wearing a steeled expression now with his eyes locked on the storm behind the window glass.
"I was so sure we had them this time, but apparently our shortcomings are a big fucking turn on for the universe. What a surprise." Boy breathed, his low voice traced with a hint of bitter undertones. Shorter was quick to pick up on them. He paused his chewing and looked up to his friend, speaking in a soft, yet firm, voice.
"Hey, don't go beating yourself up over this. Ash Lynx may be one hellova mastermind and fighter, but even he can't control the weather. And it sure ain't your fault Arthur and his dogs scattered with their tails tucked between the legs. Now, the question is – what's our next step? I sure as hell won't mind settling a score with them once and for all." He studied blond's face closely then and grinned. "You have a plan."
Ash nodded.
"Spill it. What's on your mind?"
"A heist." Dangerous flames sprang to life inside the boy's green orbs. "That's to make a long story short."
Shorter's eyebrows perked up from behind his shades. "Explain."
Ash pulled out his phone clad in a worn-out blue case, unlocked it and quickly opened up a Maps app before placing it in front of his friend and zooming in on a specific city area appearing on a shuttered screen. An acquirement of a new phone had been long overdue on his to-do list, but life had a tendency of getting in his way lately. Since his birth, actually. Then again even second-handed and damaged, this was his phone that he had gotten on his own terms. Something outside of the old and bald bastard's grasp.
"There is a certain shipment that comes in twice a month to this pier right here – "
"That's a neutral territory, man!" Shorter cried ridiculously after taking a good look at the location. "You got a death wish?"
Truly, the Lower East's area in question had been known as a no-man's-turf for years. The appeal of the trade potential and profitable deals had fueled the gang wars for decades and marked the black tops with plenty of blood, spilled in a vain attempt of claiming the territory. Lucky winners never quite had a chance of savouring their reward for the new rival always followed suit. As the number of deaths and casualties had kept growing, it drew in a much unwanted attention of the force, pressuring the involved gangs into a truce. And even though the agreement had been an impelled one, the streets were finally breathing with a long-forgotten sense of peace. Since then the area had been strictly utilized for gang's negotiations, deals, one-on-ones, and even as an occasional sanctuary; the rule of trade immunity of the place had lived through several generations, until someone decided to make his own call unbeknown to the other bosses. All, but one.
"Ah, but that's not entirely true," Ash said through his stuffed cheeks, licking leftover sauce off of his fingers with gusto. His etiquette tutor would've gotten a mental breakdown, if he saw him now. Would serve that perverted scumbag right. "Our best bud Arthur had his ways with the guards and his hands on the goods for months now."
Shorter gaped. Then he slammed his clenched fist on the table, letting the harsh sound of the impact resonate through the empty restaurant and make the dozing cashier startle awake.
"This fucking snake! Who the hell does he think he is?!"
"He's a dictator fetus. What else's new?"
Wong breathed out a humorless chuckle and locked his eyes with a pair of sharp green. "How do you know for sure?"
Ash smirked. "The dude's sketchy, so I've been keeping my eye on him for a while now. Knew it'd come in handy in a long run."
Shorter nodded in approval and thought through boy's words. That sort of foresight was expected of Lynx, who had always went with his inhumane instincts; it seemed there was no occurrence that blond would fail to anticipate and plan for. They might get their breakthrough at last.
A new alien sensation sparked to life in Shorter's chest, and young man briefly wondered whether that was what hope felt like.
"So, the plan is to swoop in before that mofo and claim the prize?"
"And let him get the short end of the stick."
A thick black eyebrow arched above the rim of sunglasses. "What's your bidding for that? We're kinda low on dough right now."
"Knowledge is the best kind of currency that goes a long way and opens many doors, Shorter. And man, do these guys gotta pile of dirt on them. Docks sure are one shady place."
"Man, you and your James Bond moves," Shorter shook his head, smiling, and drank the last of his coffee. "Alright, we get the stuff and cause Arthur's funds to take a hit. And I'm assuming we're walking away clean?"
"Yup, but he's got a permanent short fuse; he'll come raging his way right back to us, his usual suspects, anyway. We will need to keep multiple lookouts planted across the downtown." Lynx pondered for a moment, somewhat hesitant. He spoke again in a quiet voice. "Think Genny can back us up from the midtown?"
Shorter froze half-way through the bite of his sandwich at the mention of the name. Young man lowered his food, his shoulder muscles all tensed up. While his chest was being constricted with a reignited emotion – or rather a remaining phantom of it, a series of memories danced across his mind.
A roar of the choppers and the rush of wind that played with thick, ruby red locks, flowing beneath a signature black with white skull prints bandana chosen over a helmet or "the bulky, sight-restricting gear for pansies". Slender hands bracing worn out and stained knuckledusters through a rough day prior to gently caressing his face through the night. The sound of the authoritative, thick-accented voice barking sharp commands to her crew, the very same voice that murmured sweet nothings, whenever they were alone. The heavy gaze of hazel blue eyes shining with fury through the heat of a fight, and a merry smile that she wore while setting a table for him with unfamiliar, yet satisfying homemade meals. True to her heritage, the girl was an embodiment of the ice-cold fierceness and scorching serenity.
Shorter swallowed thickly and shifted in his seat.
"She's not exactly the biggest supporter of the buddy system, as y'know," he answered in a small voice. "But once everyone learns how Arthur broke the pact, we will have all the backup we need. Hers included."
Ash nodded. He murmured a quiet "sorry", but Shorter just waved it off.
"Shit happens and dwelling on it won't help anyone."
"That's very mature of you, Shorter."
"Eh, learning from the best."
The boys held each other's knowing gazes for a brief moment before their lips curved into the tiniest, bittersweet smiles.
They shared a few bites in comfortable silence.
A raging storm had finally exhausted its fit and yielded to the anticipated peace of upcoming morning. The streets and the skies were growing shades lighter by a minute with thick grey clouds getting tangled up on the skyscrapers during their hasty retreat. The first vehicles went speeding down the roads without so much as slowing down before hitting the puddles and showering the pavements and early-bird citizens with more water.
Shorter was the first to speak up again.
"So, paranoid and pissed Arthur comes after our asses, but gets a meet and greet with a city wide coup, huh?"
"Pretty much," Lynx said. "But we will have him by short hair even before that. When he lashes out and throws his sets to do the field work for him, his boys will be met with lotta pressure that will go unpaid thanks to Arthur's thin treasury. That's our cue to refill our ranks before long."
"A low blow to his reputation with a test of loyalties. Much devious. I like it," Shorter flashed Ash an encouraging lopsided grin before joyfully inhaling an impressive number of fries.
Ash hummed, knitting his brows. "And yet, there's still a much bigger fish in the ocean. If all goes smoothly, I will get my claim on that turf. They'd want someone reliable in charge, and, well, who's the one bringing the sly, tyrannous snitch to his downfall? It won't be easy, not by a long shot, but it's worth a try."
Shorter whistled a surprised tune and rubbed neck. "Boy, you got one hellova Judgment Day brewing for Arthur. And with a new piece of land no less. Do I get my share?"
"That's the deal. Your usual," Ash confirmed, while munching away the last of his Twister.
"Sweetness," grinning, Shorter offered his friend a hand, and boys shook on it with their trademark handshake.
Swallowing his last bite, Ash scrunched up the wrapping paper into a ball and rolled it between his palms, his eyes locking on the item. After a few heartbeats he sighed, seemingly coming to the decision, and let go of his handmade toy before reaching for his cup of Coke. "But of course, there is a high probability that in his despair of keeping himself from falling short Arthur will throw in a one-on-one challenge invite way before the final face off with the bosses."
Wong cast him a look over the lowered sunglasses. "Ash."
"I cannot rule this possibility out! If push comes to shove, this is our chance to cut this mess short and reduce the number of casualties. No one else needs to get hurt."
Shorter sighed. After the literal hell this boy had been through and is going through constantly even now, Lynx still somehow managed to retain a heart of gold. An admirable quality, but a weakness on the streets. And despite of Ash's ruthless reputation spreading like fire, Shorter was relentlessly haunted by the sounds of boy's sharp, relieved laughter from after the pool cue fight in the juvie. He trusted Ash to make the right calls, but stayed vigilant nonetheless.
"I just want you to be careful, Ash. This guy plays dirty."
"And did I ever come short before? This is our best shot in a long term, Shorter."
Wong's stare was as sharp as a switchblade tucked away in the safety of his jeans' back pocket. He wasn't imagining things, was he now?
"And since the rest of the city bosses will still have to show up to the turf claim, that's when you're planning to swoop in with your 'trade offer', I'm guessing?" Shorter asked in a flat voice. "That's the big conclusion to your agenda?"
Lynx paused his slurping on the Coke and swirled the melting ice cubes with the straw, his gaze lowered and concealed beneath long, innocently trembling lashes. "The long and short of it…"
Shorter breathed in sharply, clenching his fists. All this time, this brat..!
"Ash, I swear to God..!"
"Took you long enough," Lynx murmured over an evil smirk, facing his friend now; his grown out blond bangs failed to hide a mischievous sparkle in his jade eyes.
Lips pressed into a thin line, older teen glared at him for a good few seconds. "I should've left you at the juvie," he spat before facing heavenward for the second time this morning. "What did I ever do to deserve this?"
Ash had the brazenness to shrug. "You started first." Then, as if he couldn't help himself, he graced Shorter with a taunting grin. "And hey, short reckonings make long friends."
Two hands slammed on top of the table, making the trays, cups and food packaging dance and leap in great distress. The next moment those same hands jerked up, tagging at the purple mohawk. "Goddammit, Ash! You know why I'm dying my hair? Do you?! That's 'cause my hair's turning white 'cause of ya, ya jackass! You and yer fucking shenanigans! Jesus-fucking-Christ, I'm only twenty, but I'm getting the geezer's hair already! What the fucking hell?!"
Lynx watched his best friend rant and whine with mild amusement, while finishing up his drink. Seeing the streets growing livelier with each passing moment out of the corner of his eye, he knew they'd have to take leave soon, if they wanted to avoid unwanted attention drawn to their beat up looks. He sighed and placed the emptied cup on the table with a mild thud.
"You done?"
"Yes!" Shorter barked sharply, grabbing his own Coke and slurping on it deliberately loud. He slumped against the couch's back, making the leather upholstery squeak in protest; his sunglasses did little to mask an obvious pout forming on his face.
"Drama queen," Ash muttered, picking up the leftover French fries and throwing them into his mouth.
"Fuck you." Shorter paused his slurping to spat angrily, but his voice carried more annoyance than hostility, and also a tad of exhaustion.
"Not interested, darling."
Shorter winced. At times, his brain-to-mouth ratio worked painfully slow and sleepless nights of punching action were of no help. Idiot. But before he could even utter his rushed apology, Ash had already moved on.
"Bullshit aside, that's my action plan, Shorter. Point by point." The fierce and authoritative mien of a gang leader slid back in place of a humorous and child-like demeanor in a blink of an eye, and Wong knew that time for jokes was over. Now was the time to polish the steps.
The lazy rays of warming up, rising sun stretched over the table loaded with emptied trays and cartons with piled up towers of chicken bones, and littered with crumbs. The sounds of the passing cars grew more and more persistent, drowning out the rare songs of morning birds. The city that never sleeps was switching back to its daily routine with people slowly filling up the still wet streets of the concrete jungle. And as corrupted darkness had retreated at last, city's streets and alleys were now drowning in the shade of the high and mighty skyscrapers, stripped of the consoling light.
Their clothes mostly dried up and stomachs satisfyingly full, two young men finally concluded their plan of settling the score with their long-time rival just in time for the warm feeling of drowsiness to envelope them. Forcing their screaming with exhaustion bodies to assume standing positions once more, Ash and Shorter shuffled their way to the counter hoping to get another round of coffee to go.
Feeling the long-awaited shift's end approach by the second, the server sprang to life with the last bit of energy left from the night and accommodated the order eagerly, desperate to complete his duty and catch up on some rest himself.
The boys paid their new check and slowly made their way to the exit door, dragging their weary feet and taking big gulps of burning hot, cheap coffee. The much-needed drink miraculously managed to revive the smallest bits of the gang leaders' energy that would last enough to take them home.
The blond abruptly halted by the glass door that his friend was holding for him patiently and looked over his shoulder to face the cashier. The boy froze behind the counter under the piercing gaze of jade eyes, giving his best impression of a deer caught in a spotlight.
"So long, and thanks for all the fish," Ash gave a two-finger salute to the startled boy with his free hand before stuffing it back into his jacket's pocket and joining the young man waiting outside, a lazy smirk planted on his weary face.
"You never stop, do you?" Shorter gave his friend a light smack on the shoulder.
"Why, you can't take me any longer?" Lynx drawled, nudging his friend back and cracking a smile at the Wong's response with a whining fit. "You never finished it, by the way, so 'Shorter' loses this battle of evaluation…"
"Shut it already, you smartass!"
"Not on your life, you dumbass!"
A/N.
1. In no sense nor way do I own Banana Fish characters nor KFC production. I do love angst and hot chicken wings tho'.
2. Based on my BFF's prompt and on my own research, apparently the KFC chain in some countries (like Russia and India, from what I could find out) has a Longer sandwich, as a menu item. And even though I'm pretty sure that NYC KFC doesn't have it, this concept was too good to pass by. Sorry not sorry; this fic was created for the sake of our two boys having a good time, so pardon me this little inaccuracy.
3. If there's anyone, who truly deserves being whacked on the head with a "Physics for Dummies" manual, it's me. Science who? We don't know her in this household. But we do know and love Disney, which seems like a fair trade, amirite?
4. First Shorter's duty as a friend had been to marathon all the TV classics. For certain reasons, Big Bang Theory and Breaking Bad were Ash's favourite.
5. Let's play a game "Name that reference", shall we? Anyone?
6. Genny is an OC of mine born at a random moment of "how cool would it be to have a NY gang of badass girls?" train of thought. This girl can knock you out with a heavy punch just as effectively as with a big bright smile. I do have a multi-chapter story in plans, featuring her, Shorter and Ash; let me know if you'll be interested in going for a read!
7. Don't listen to Genny and do wear a helmet and protective gear, when riding a bike. Drive responsibly and stay safe.
8. Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed some Ash and Shorter content, I have many more on the way!
Reviews are very much welcome, do let me know what you think in the comments.
Also, find me on tumblr at metaleras-lair for a series of random headcanons, incorrect quotes and what not.