"Ok, so we all agree it's going to be on the 25th. We don't have a lot of time to prepare so we need to plan it out now."
"The old man better be grateful we're doing this for him," Ash grumbled. "This is a lot of work for a stupid surprise party."
"Wasn't it your idea?" Shorter poked Ash. Ash glared at him.
"I said I wanted to do something nice to pay him back for helping me. I didn't say I wanted to throw him a stupid surprise party!" Ash threw up his hands.
Eiji laughed softly as Shorter and Ash bickered. Despite all of Ash's griping Eiji knew he wanted this party to happen. Ever since the whole Banana Fish ordeal ended and Eiji returned to back to New York, Ash had realized how much Max had done for him. He had confided in Eiji one evening about his feelings and Eiji had suggested a party. Max wouldn't see it coming because his birthday was a week after the 25th. Ash had agreed though reluctantly since he never threw a surprise party before and wasn't sure what to do. That was why Eiji got everyone together for this meeting.
"You're going soft Ash Lynx." Shorter sniggered. Ash whacked the back of his head.
"Shut up." He growled. Shorter grumbled rubbing his head and shooting Ash a look. Eiji decided to take control.
"Ok everyone let's get back to planning." Everyone turned to look at him. "Although Jessica can't join us today, she's on board as well. She said she would be in charge of the music and activities. Ash, can you be in charge of the cake?" Ash nodded. "Shorter, you said you'd help me do the decorations?"
Shorter gave a thumbs up "We're totally going to have a balloon arch."
"Right, ok that means we just need to figure out where we are going to have the party and who's invited."
"I'll set my guys out to find a place for the party." Ash leaned back in his chair. "I'll also work with Jessica to make the guest list."
"Great." Eiji sighed with relief. This is going smoother than he thought it would.
"If that's settled." Shorter stood up. "We should probably get started. We have a lot of work to do!" Everyone murmured in agreement and headed out the door. As they left Chang Dai and started down the street a thought occurred to Eiji and he stopped suddenly. Ash nearly walked into him.
"Shorter, you mentioned a balloon arch, right? I forgot to say this but the place nearby that sold balloons has shut down."
"Can you find another place?"
"There's one place downtown. That sells them by the hundreds at a good price" Ash said causally.
Eiji frowned. "That's halfway across New York City! Do you know how weird we're going to look carrying over a hundred balloons on the train?" The panic in Eiji's voice didn't go unnoticed.
"Calm down, I'll get someone to loan you a car for the day." Ash gently put his hand on Eiji's shoulder. "You can take multiple trips or even do it over a couple of days. As long as you get them all there before the 25th it's fine."
"What's going on, on the 25th?" a voice asked. Everyone spun around to see Max standing a few feet away.
"W-what are you doing here?" Eiji stammered.
"I came to grab some take out." Max nodded at Shorter. "Your sister's cooking is amazing." He turned his attention back to Eiji. "But you didn't answer my question. What's on the 25th? Is it a party? Shorter did say something about a balloon arch."
Eiji gulped. Max was looking at him and waiting for a reply. Eiji was bad at lying. What was he going to say? What excuse could he make that would involve a balloon arch? Finally, he stammered weakly
"W-well you know!"
"I do?" Max raised an eyebrow. Shorter groaned from beside him and Eiji started panicking, his mind going blank. He knew if he didn't think of something quick, he'd end up telling Max the truth. Ash stepped forward, probably to cover for Eiji, but before he said anything Eiji blurted out.
"It's mine and Ash's wedding!"
This comment was met by silence. Eiji shut his mouth wishing he stayed quiet and just let Ash handle it. What kind of excuse was that? Of all the stupid things he could have said that was the one that he was going for? Next to him, Ash had frozen. He could feel his eyes boring into his skull.
Max had a slightly zoned out look on his face. He stared blankly at Eiji; his eyes unfocused. A whole minute passed before Max's seemed to return to himself. Eiji could practically see the meaning of his words sinking into Max's brain. With a jolt, Max stepped forward and opened his mouth before pausing and closing it again.
"What?" he finally managed to get out.
Eiji knew his face was heating up He was so bad at this. Before he had time to do some damage control Ash slinked his arm around his shoulder.
"Why are you acting so surprised old man?" Ash said easily "You got the invitation months ago. Weren't you going on and on about how you'd always knew this day would come? I almost blocked you on my phone because of how many times you called just to make sure you didn't dream it up." He smirked and Eiji marveled at his lying skills.
"I did?" Max narrowed his eyes in concentration trying to remember.
"Not going senile on us, are you?" Ash was too good. Max's face twisted in a fake smile. Eiji felt guilt wield up in his chest. He didn't stand a chance against Ash's lying skills.
"Of course!" Max laughed uneasily. "I just forgot the date." He glanced down at his watch "Well would you look at the time! I have to get home."
"I thought you were going to get takeout?" Ash smile innocently. Eiji stepped on his foot and tried to glare inconspicuously. Now Ash was just being mean.
Max blinked "Right…uh I should go do that then." He turned and staggered into the restaurant. Ash watched him go amusement gleaming in his eyes. Once he was out of sight Ash straightened up and let Eiji go.
"Oh, this is going to be fun. I'll get Bones to quickly print out a convincing-looking invitation and run it to Jessica's place. Shorter you need to call Jessica and explain everything. Eiji, call Ibe and make sure he's on board."
"Isn't this going too far? Eiji asked weakly.
"If we drop the act now, he'll know we were hiding something from him."
"Do you really think we can keep up the facade that we're engaged?" Eiji blushed slightly. It wasn't that they hadn't talked about marriage but to act as if they were engaged already seemed difficult. How did he suppose emulate how happy he would really be if he was going to marry Ash in two weeks? He would feel both excited and nervous. Eiji didn't think he could pull that off.
Ash noticed. "Don't worry about it Eiji. Just act how we always do."
"Yeah, you're such a lovey-dovey couple that no one would question it." Shorter joked. Ash whacked him on the back of the head again.
"If he notices something's wrong just claim you're nervous." Ash took Eiji's hand and squeezed it. "Leave the rest up to me." Ash paused a minute before his eyes lit up. "Oh, and we'll need to wear rings. I'll go buy some cheap ones that look nice. It's a good thing Max didn't notice."
"Rings?" Eiji squeaked. Even if it was fake, wearing a pair of matching rings with Ash felt very intimate.
"They'll only be cheap ones." He shot Eiji an apologetic look "Don't worry though, when we do get married, I'll buy you a nice ring."
If Eiji's face could heat up any more it would burst into flames. "Ok enough about that. We need to get Max's party planned." To Eiji's relief, Ash nodded and pulled out his phone.
"Let's get this started."
"Jessica!"
Jessica looked up from the book she was reading as Max charged into the room panting slightly. His hair was disheveled, and he looked panicked. In one hand he carried a slightly manhandled bag of takeout, the other, his cell phone. Jessica kept her face neutral and slightly confused. Shorter had warned her of the situation and asked her to play along. It wasn't hard. It sounded fun to both prank, and plan a party for her husband. She was going to milk this for all it's worth.
"Yes?"
"You didn't answer your phone!"
"I was talking to Charlie." Jessica closed her book and placed it on the side table. "Why is there a problem?"
"Eiji and Ash are getting married!"
"Yes?" Jessica cocked her head confused. "What about it."
Max stared at her. "You already knew?"
"We got the invitation months ago." Jessica gestured at a card sitting on the side table. Max narrowed his eyes at it suspiciously. Slowly, as if he thought it would bite him, he approached and opened it. Jessica tried to keep a straight face as her husband scanned the invite his expression truing dumfounded. Finally, he put it down.
"I totally forgot." He tossed the take out on the side table and collapses on the couch across from here. "I forgot about my boys' wedding." Put his hand to his forehead he glanced horrified at the calendar. "And the 25th is only two weeks away."
"Max." Jessica leaned in. "Are you tell me you really forgot Ash's and Eiji's wedding?"
"Yes." Max covered his eyes. "What should I do?"
"Probably go to the doctor." She paused. "But do it after the wedding. You don't want to ruin this for Eiji and Ash by making them worry about you." If her husband was really suffering from memory loss, she would have been much more concerned. Thankfully Max was too riled up by the prospect of the wedding to notice.
"Yeah." Max agreed warily. "What is left that needs to be done?"
Well, there's not much left. We already bought gifts for them and bought our outfits. If you want to help, there are a few things you pick up." If he thought it was Eiji and Ash's wedding, then he wouldn't suspect that he was helping set up his own party.
Max pulled himself to his feet. "Ok, but before anything, I need to make a phone call."
Ibe looked down at his phone as it started ringing. It was still very early but needed to pack before leaving to go to New York. He was already heading out there to visit Max on his birthday and had moved his trip a few days earlier to make it in time for the surprise party. To his dismay, he saw it was Max. Eiji had warned him that Max might call. He had explained the whole situation. Ibe was not happy. He didn't want to lie to Max, but he wasn't about to ruin the surprise party. Taking a deep breath, Ibe picking up.
"Mushi, Mushi?"
"Ibe, I think I'm going crazy." He could hear Max pacing on the other end. "I completely forgot about Eiji's and Ash's wedding."
"Oh?" Ibe knew he sounded fake, but Max was too distracted to hear it.
"I don't even remember getting the invite or going present shopping or congratulating them. I'm happy for them but I'm worried about this memory loss. What if I start forgetting other things? What if I forget the wedding again." He paused "Oh god what if I forget Michael exists? Will he grow up without a father?"
This was not good. Max's mind was jumping all over the place. Ibe knew he had to calm him down before he did something rash. "Max, have you talked to Jessica about this?"
"Yeah, she says I should wait until after the wedding to go to the doctors."
"If she thinks you should wait then it doesn't sound like she's too concerned about it." Ibe reasoned. "I think you should listen to her. If it happened again then I would go to the doctors sooner."
"Yeah, I guess so." Max didn't sound happy at all. "But that's not the only problem here! The 25th is so close! I'm not ready to give Ash over to Eiji yet. I'm not ready to have a son-in-law. And what will I do when they adopt grandkids! I'm not old enough to be grampa Max!"
"Ash isn't your son…"
"He is as good as my son!" Max's voice raised in panic. "I don't have a speech prepared. I'm not mentally prepared. I'm going to end up crying at their wedding! Ash is getting married! What happened to that little punk I met in prison?"
Ibe rubbed his temples. It was way too early to deal with Max right now. "Ok calm down. Eiji and Ash will just be happy that you're there. Try to be happy for them ok?"
"I know. I guess it's just I can't believe I forgot." Max sighed. "I better go. Jessica wants me to help get stuff for the wedding. See you soon."
"Yeah," Ibe muttered hanging up. This was going to be a nightmare.
If Ash was being honest, he felt slightly bad for Max. Of course, he mostly felt amused. After the initial freak out, Max started throwing himself full heatedly into the planning process. He wanted to do anything and everything. Ash would tease him by pointing out things he was supposed to know. Max took it with the awkward grace he always had. Truthfully Max was surprisingly good at planning weddings and had a lot of good ideas. Ash was going to keep some of those ideas for when he and Eiji did get married. There were other benefits to having Max think there was a wedding. It did make it easier to plan the party when Max was trying to be as helpful as possible. They no longer really had to meet in secret or sneak around.
"Max really thinks we're going to get married tomorrow," Eiji said the night before the party. "It makes me feel bad."
"Don't" Ash rolled his eyes as he finished wrapping the last gift. "It was your idea."
"I know." Eiji frowned at him. "But he's taking it so seriously. He actually pulled me aside today and had "the talk". He told me he knew I loved you and you loved me but to be careful with your heart. He said 'Ash might act tough but he's still sensitive. He's going to need all the love you can give.' It made me want to cry."
That put a damper on Ash's mood. It was one thing to trick Max and watch him wander around confusedly. It was another to be reminded of how much he actually cared. Throughout the two weeks, he would catch Max getting misty eyed around him. It was not what he wanted to deal with,
"He's annoying." Ash looked away. "It's not like he's my father."
"He's as good as." Eiji began collecting wrapping paper from the ground. "He sees himself your father."
"No one asked him to do that," Ash grumbled, shoving the wrapped presents into a bag. Ash didn't need a father figure. It didn't matter if it felt nice to rely on the old man. It didn't matter that he could talk to Max freely. It didn't matter that Max gave him a place to sleep after he got back from the hospital. It didn't matter.
"Damn it." Ash did not want to feel guilty for tricking him. It was for his god damn party. He was doing something nice for the idiot.
Eiji, sensing Ash's racing thoughts came over and wrapped his arms around him. "When we do get married, you should have Max walk you up the aisle. He would be overjoyed." Ash hummed and gently reached back to touch Eiji's face. All this talk of marriage really made him want to get married now. Perhaps after the party, he would ask Max's help in proposing. It would make up for tricking and then the guilt would go away. It wasn't like he had many other people to confide in anyways. Shorter's proposal ideas were terrible and impractical and most of his gang had no idea how romance worked. As much as he didn't want to admit it, Max would be his best choice.
Max arrived at the address given to him. He was told to meet here before the wedding so everyone could get ready together. Jessica had even gone ahead with Michael to bring the gifts and their outfits. Max took a deep breath. He wasn't ready for this. He wanted Ash and Eiji to be happy, but it didn't feel like he had time to really get excited. Max hated feeling out of the loop. Despite the fact that at some point he knew about it, it felt like everyone else did the planning. He wanted to be there for Ash. He wanted to help pick out a suit for him and be with him when he picked the rings. He didn't even have time to throw a prewedding party and reminisce about how much of a little angry punk Ash was.
Max shook his head agitatedly. This wasn't about him. Yes, he was hurt that he was somehow out of the loop. Yes, he regretted not being there for Ash. Yes, it worried him that he forgot something so important but today was not about him. It was about Ash and Eiji. He would go in there and watch Ash marry the love of his life. t
Throwing open the door with a new air of confidence he strutted in. Instantly he noticed something was off. The room was dark and quiet. Max paused and scratched his head, checking the address Jessica gave him. This was the place. Max took another step forward and suddenly the doors slammed behind him. His heart pounded as he was plunged into darkness. Was this a trap? Who would be trapping him? Did Ash have more enemies he didn't know about? Max was about to get ready for a fight when the lights came on.
"Surprise! Happy Birthday, Max!"
Max stared blankly at the sight in front of him. There stood Michael, Jessica, Ash, Eiji, Ibe, Shorter, Charlie, and a handful of other people ranging from gang members to his coworkers. All of them stood under a large balloon arch with a hanging banner that read
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAX!"
On one side was a table with a punch fountain and cake. In the middle of the table was a stack of presents. On the other side of the room, there were games and activity set up. They even a karaoke area. This was definitely not a wedding.
"What?" Max finally asked.
"It's a surprise party." Shorter nudged Ash "Ash wanted to do something nice for you to thank you for all your help." Ash glared at the ground.
"But what about the wedding?" Max couldn't wrap his head around what he was seeing. All his mental preparations were flying out the window. Eiji clapped his hands together in front of his face.
I'm so sorry! It was the first thing I thought of!"
"But the invite! The rings! Everyone knew!" Max looked around the group. A ripple of laughter passed through them.
"I warned everyone beforehand and got all the required items needed." Ash smiled evilly. "It was fun to watch your confusion."
Max groaned "You're going to be the death of me." But he was touched. No one had thrown him a surprise party before. The fact that it was Ash's idea was extremely sweet. He had grown so much since Max had first met him. There was also a part of Max that was relieved. He wasn't going crazy. He wasn't losing his memories. He still had time to mentally prepare himself for the wedding.
"Alright let's do this!" Shorter clicked a button and music filled the room. Jessica pulled out some plates and everyone started to get food. Max grinned as he joined them.
"Thank you." He muttered to Ash as he took his own plate.
Ash glanced away again. "It's the least I could do. You helped a lot…." Ash shut his mouth. Max could have sworn he was embarrassed. Before he could comment on its a sly grin crossed Ash's face.
"Well go enjoy your party, you aren't getting any younger."
"Very funny." Max rolled his eyes. Ash laughed softly and disappeared to find Eiji. Max looked around the room. This was going to be a night to remember.