Chapter Twenty-Two: Not So Old Fashioned

Birds chirped in the crisp spring air. Light poured through the slatted blinds, despite their closed state. The lamp on the dresser was still shining brightly into the room, left on from the previous night. Eiji wiggled free from Ash's grasp as gently as he could. He stepped out of the bed, dressed, and crossed the room silently. He made a detour to turn off the bright lamp on his way to the door. As quietly as humanly possible, he opened and shut the door behind him and made his way to the bathroom down the hall.

While Eiji was away, Ash stirred. The warmth that was beside him all night was suddenly gone. His eyes opened lazily at first, but then shot open wide when he realized Eiji was no longer there. He sat and his blond, tangled hair ruffled in the wind his whipping head created as he searched the small room for Eiji. For a brief, illogical moment, he was scared. Scared Eiji had left him. Then the distant flush of a toilet made him realize just how crazy that thought was. Eiji lived here, he couldn't leave him. And more importantly, he wouldn't do that. Last night etched it in stone; they were made for each other. Ash could hear Eiji returning down the hall. He quickly laid down and pretended to still be sleeping, he didn't want to start the day off by admitting to his illogical thoughts.

The door opened and Eiji stepped inside. Ash opened one eye just enough to see Eiji. Through the tiny slit in his eyelids, he saw the boy clothed in boxers and one of Ash's shirts. He was turned around, closing the door painfully slow. It wasn't until he saw Eiji that Ash realized he was still naked from the previous night. Uneven. They were uneven. Ash tried not to let it bother him. This was Eiji, this was fine. He closed his eyes completely and tried to assume the peaceful expression of sleep as Eiji began to turn towards the bed. Ash couldn't see a thing, but he could hear the rustling of clothing. Eiji was getting dressed for the day. But then, the bed creaked under Eiji's weight and he was laying back down. Ash's brain churned in confusion. He couldn't bet his life on it, but it felt like Eiji was staring at him. And after a moment, his suspicions were confirmed.

"I can tell you're awake," Eiji whispered almost comically.

Piercing green eyes fluttered open and stared at Eiji. To his surprise, Eiji's face was just inches from him. And he was no longer wearing the shirt Ash had seen him in just seconds ago.

Even.

"You undressed?" Ash asked, his voice rough with sleep.

"Good morning to you too, Ash," Eiji chuckled.

Ash's face remained strained with confusion.

"We couldn't start the day off uneven," Eiji explained.

"Mmmm, no. That'd be no good," Ash agreed flatly.

Eiji's eyes narrowed just slightly. "Something's off, what is it?"

"Nothing's off," he responded defensively.

Eiji's face turned cold as stone as he looked deep into Ash's eyes. Ash averted his gaze nervously. It was sometimes unnerving how well Eiji could read him.

"Tell me," he instructed, not buying Ash's lie.

"It's stupid."

"So what?" He replied, still staring Ash down. "I won't judge you, you know that."

"I just-it unsettled me to wake up with you gone," Ash admitted.

Eiji's face softened and he placed a gentle hand on Ash's exposed arm. "Sorry."

"I know it's illogical," Ash told him.

"That doesn't make it any less real."

Ash simply nodded.

"It's only 6:15," Eiji told him. "Let's go back to sleep. And when you wake, I'll be right here." Eiji smiled.

"I like the sound of that," Ash smiled right back.

They fell back asleep as the sun continued to rise.

Several hours passed before a shrill knock landed on their door.

"Boys! Breakfast!" Aki yelled through the door.

Eiji and Ash stirred groggily.

"Ooof, Sunday," Eiji complained.

Sunday. Sunday mornings were devoted to family breakfast, which was normally a fun time, but today they'd rather just stay in bed.

Eiji always knew what to do, going back to sleep had been the perfect idea, because now, Ash was in a different mood entirely. Eiji took one look at the devilish grin he was wearing and knew today, he'd be acting like a shithead.

"What?" Eiji drew the word out with dread.

"She said," he leaned close to Eiji's ear and whispered, "boys."

So they'd been found out. Not that she hadn't already suspected. She must've.

Eiji's face turned bright red. "Shit!" he muttered. "Shittt!" Eiji sat hastily and began running fingers through his hair to calm it. Ash laughed as he began to hastily dress in what he'd been wearing the previous day.

"Aw, not gonna put my shirt back on?" Ash teased.

Eiji shot him a death glare. "That'd be openly admitting everything."

"She already knows we're in love. I'm sure at this point she suspects we do more than we actually do."

Eiji cringed at the thought as he pulled his jeans on. He looked at Ash who was still laying in bed. He motioned vaguely with his hand. "Get up!" He pleaded with an anxious smile.

"Alright, alright." Ash sat and threw on some fresh clothes. Eiji became suddenly interested in one of Ash's books as he dressed.

"Okay, I'm ready," Ash said, causing Eiji's head to turn towards him. He was unlocking and opening the door.

"No, Ash!" Eiji pleaded quietly. He crossed the room quickly and grabbed Ash by the shoulder to pull him back inside. He closed the door again.

Ash was wearing jeans with no shirt, just to give Eiji a scare. All the marks Eiji had given him the previous night were clearly visible upon his naked torso.

"You can't go out there like that, you ass!" Eiji was trying not to laugh, for it would only egg him on.

Ash rolled his eyes, "So conservative," he teased. He pulled a t-shirt over his head. "Better?"

"Much," Eiji sighed in relief. "Now, please, please, please, don't make it obvious."

"Make what obvious?" Ash asked, pretending to be confused.

Eiji slapped his arm lightly with the back of his hand. "You're impossible," Eiji complained with a smile that betrayed his words.

"I'll be good," Ash said, although his words were very unconvincing. His fingers graced the door handle for a second time.

"Wait," Eiji said. He ran his fingers through Ash's tangled hair as he tried to tame it. "Okay, good enough," he conceded.

They walked to the kitchen table together. Miyuki stared at the couple with huge, investigative eyes. Aki, on the other hand, seemed completely disinterested. She was too busy pouring tea for everyone to even look up.

"Ohayo gozaimasu," Aki said as she finally met their eyes. She smiled sweetly, almost knowingly, and then turned to return the teapot to the stovetop. She fussed over a few dirty dishes in the sink.

Meanwhile, Miyuki's eyes traced every inch of bare skin, looking for further evidence to confirm her suspicions. She thought she was being subtle, but both Eiji and Ash noticed immediately.

"What?" Eiji said venomously under his breath.

"Nothing," she said innocently. But she didn't stop staring.

Ash fanned himself dramatically with his loose shirt collar, knowing full well the action allowed Miyuki to see exactly what she was searching for. "Gosh, it's hot in here," he said inauthentically.

Miyuki let out a small gasp. Her face went red, but not redder than her brother's, as her eyes locked onto two - no three - areas of discolored skin. And if Ash had come to the table shirtless, as he had teased, she'd have seen plenty more than that.

"Hot, Ashu?" Aki asked as she returned to the table.

"A bit."

"Open a window," she suggested with a gesture to the living room windows.

"Oh, I'll be alright," he said dismissively. Even in his current mood, he was in no hurry for them to all watch him struggle to hide his discomfort as he crossed the room.

Without a word, Eiji pushed back his chair and crossed the living room to open a few windows. Just as Ash had feared, Miyuki watched him like a hawk as he did so. There was no stiffness, no sign of pain, in Eiji's step. Aki's face was focused on her plate as she began to eat. Miyuki's head, on the other hand, swiveled mechanically to meet Ash's eyes. Her mouth dropped slightly as her eyes widened. She expected things to be the other way around.

"What?" Ash asked, deciding to call her out. He knew she wasn't so bold as to speak her mind in front of her mother.

Aki looked up. Miyuki blushed and shook her head dismissively.

"What?" Ash pressed with a smirk.

"I, um, I-" She stalled as she tied up her hair nervously. "I just realized there's some homework I forgot about - that I need to do before school starts again tomorrow," she lied.

"Miyuki!" Aki scolded.

"It's okay, it won't take long, I just - almost forgot."

Eiji began his return to the table.

"What's the homework?" Ash inquired smartly.

"Oh! Um…."

Eiji gave Ash's shoulder a push as he sat back down. He took mercy on Miyuki and said, "I did that one year. I was supposed to write a paper and totally forgot about it until the last day of break. I was up all night."

"Did you really?" Ash asked, thoroughly amused. "What on?"

"Oh, just some book we were supposed to read."

"Supposed to?" Ash asked with a raised brow.

"I read most of it. Skimmed the last few chapters or so," Eiji smirked.

Aki shook her head in disappointment.

"Didn't take you as the rebellious type," Ash smirked.

"I wasn't- I'm not," he amended his words as Aki's eyes flashed to his, "but I can be forgetful."

"So," Aki began as she casually finished another bite, "What did you both do last night?" The question was asked so casually, yet she watched them with the same intensity Miyuki had moments ago. It was a curiosity filled with knowing. She had her suspicions and she was fairly certain they were right-and she was okay with it. If anything, she asked the question for her own amusement.

"I saw your light on when we came home, Ashu. Up late?" She added with a quirked brow.

Eiji sipped his tea, an extra long sip, hoping Ash would handle the question with ease.

"Well," Ash said, pointing his chopsticks at her enthusiastically, "I don't know how many American films you've seen, but last night, we watched this one, called Alien, and Eiji was scared like a child." He prodded Eiji's shoulder with his chopsticks. Eiji was already blushing, but maybe he could blame it on his childish embarrassment now.

"He was too scared to sleep in his own bed," he smirked at Eiji, "such a baby."

Eiji stuck out his tongue.

"And he made us sleep with the lights on. Can you believe it!?" Ash laughed.

A believable excuse.

But, Miyuki knew full well it was a lie based on their time in Tokyo. The story was based on her own reaction to the film. She was suddenly a bit salty, as if Ash was calling her a baby.

Aki studied him. He was a convincing liar. He was calm. Eiji would have seen through the lie in an instant because he was too calm, but it only made it more convincing to someone who hadn't seen him lie before. Because, until now, he really never had a reason to lie to her. It also helped that lies based on truth were only more believable.

He continued to eat casually, awaiting Aki's reply.

That was when Miyuki asked, "You watched Alien again? We just watched it in Tokyo," She was biting back a vengeful smirk, but her eyes conveyed her true feelings as she stared him down.

"No, Rear Window, Mi," he lied with ease.

"You said Alien," she argued.

"No, I said Rear Window, you must have heard me wrong," Ash looked around the table, as if Aki or Eiji would confirm the fact.

"No, she's right. You said Alien," Eiji replied.

"Did I?" He pretended to be confused. "Oh, well I meant Rear Window," he said with a small shrug. "Anyway the point is Eiji can't handle scary movies, apparently."

Aki stared at them silently. After months of Ash living with them, her English was improving and she was able to understand the whole exchange. Still, she mulled over her words for a moment before saying, "You own this movie?"

"Yeah. I actually bought it for the trip, but we never got around to watching that one."

"I don't like that," she said, shaking her head slightly as she looked at Ash.

"What? The movie?"

"You are very good liar," she stated, "I don't like that."

"I'm not lying," he said with a convincing expression.

"Then show me movie," she said with narrowing eyes.

The movie was still buried in the luggage he still hadn't unpacked. It'd be easy enough to dig out, but he'd have to walk, with Aki watching, to his bedroom. He must walk seamlessly, with no indication of pain. He could do this.

Ash scooted his chair back. And walked gracefully to his room. Easy. He returned after a few moments with the DVD case. He set it on the table. Aki picked it up and turned it over a few times in her hands. She opened it, looked at the disc, then closed it and handed it back to Ash. She seemed more suspicious now than she did before.

"Eiji," she commanded, "what's the movie about?"

Ash's blood boiled. This is why he said they'd watched Alien initially. Eiji couldn't lie to his mother to save his life. She'd see right through him. He hadn't expected Miyuki to rat him out like that.

"Well," Eiji said rubbing the base of his neck anxiously, "it's um - er - a murder mystery, but I wouldn't want to spoil it," he lied pathetically.

"Spoil it," she demanded.

"Oh, uh, well…" he was sweating, he looked at Ash for help, who was just shaking his head in disappointment.

"Eiji is a bad liar," she decided. "So," she started slowly, "you can tell me truth, or I can," she paused looking for the right word, "assume what I will."

"Assume what you will," Ash said quickly as he ate another bite.

"You had sex," she said decidedly.

Eiji went beet red and lowered his face in shame. Miyuki exhaled a laugh. Her mom was bold. No one had expected her to actually say what she had assumed.

"Ding, ding, ding!" Ash said mockingly. "You want a gold star?" He asked with spite, as if he were back in New York talking with Max or one of the boys.

Aki didn't understand the comment, but she did understand his tone of voice. "You should know I'm no fool." Ash was glaring at her in a juvenile way that she'd never seen from him, although she'd seen it countless times from both of her own children.

"You misunderstand," she said calmly.

"Oh, do I?" He snapped.

"You do," she said firmly. "I assumed - wasn't very hard. Your lying makes me upset, but the sex?"

Ash cringed, flinched even, as the word left her mouth so casually. It was more than sex to him. It was love. Sex was dirty, but love was beautiful.

"The sex doesn't bother me. Happy for you," she said, much like Miyuki had back in Tokyo. She smiled at him slightly.

Ash relaxed a fraction. He wasn't getting yelled at as he assumed he was. "You were just trying to tease us, weren't you?"

"Mmm," she smiled, "I expected you to be-flustered?-but not to lie."

"Ash doesn't fluster," Miyuki said without missing a beat.

"I've seen it before," she contradicted, thinking back to months ago when she'd told him he smelled like Eiji. He'd flustered then.

"But I certainly flustered you," she said teasingly to Eiji.

He blushed deeper red and put his face in his arms on the table. "Yamete kudasai…" Eiji pleaded with his mother.

"Tsk, can't you see you're embarrassing my boy!" Ash said, keeping the teasing going. Ash gave him a tight one-handed hug and placed a quick kiss into his dark hair.

"Assshhhh! Stoppp!" Eiji whined like a baby.

Everyone laughed, even Eiji, though his laugh was more of prolonged embarrassed whining.

Although embarrassing, it was somewhat refreshing to have things out in the open. Especially since Aki was far more lenient than some parents would be. Eiji's dad, for example, would have been mortified. He was quite old-fashioned and hardly approved of their relationship in general, let alone a physical relationship.

After the laughter died down and Eiji's face returned to its normal complexion, Ash said "Thank you."

Aki flashed him a puzzled grin, "For what, Ashu?"

"For being such a cool mom," he said sincerely.

She laughed it off and waved her hand slightly, "I understand how the world works these days." Then she sobered a bit and added, "Their father and I" she said, gesturing to her children, "we waited, but still we never had a love like you two."

Ash's face tensed and went cold. He remembered what Eiji had told him about his parents falling out of love. It had scared him then, but scared him less now. It was obvious they wouldn't fall out of love as he previously feared. Still, it was not a pleasant thought. And it made him sad to think Aki married someone she didn't deeply love.

"Do not be sad, Ashu. I do not...regret?...I would not have these two if I did not marry him. And you would not be here now...with Eiji," she told him calmly.

Ash's head snapped to look at Eiji. Selfishly, he was very glad the two married. He couldn't imagine a life without Eiji. Eiji read his face perfectly. He reached for his hand below the table and squeezed it tightly.

Much to his surprise, Ash dropped Eiji's hand and rose from his seat. He crossed the room and squatted by Aki's chair. "Can I hug you?" He asked with a half-smile.

"Oh, Ashu," she smiled tenderly as she reached down to hug him, "you never need to ask."