Chapter Fifty-Six: Infallible
Eiji paced in front of the sliding glass doors that looked out to their private pool. Outside, the world was dark and stormy. The palm trees in the distance swayed and bent in the wind, seemingly in danger of snapping. White-capped waves relentlessly cascaded onto the shore where tourists and seagulls should have been. The wind whistled through the small gaps in the doors and windowpanes of their suite, creating an eerie atmosphere.
"We've wasted two whole days!" Eiji complained as he paced, eyes fixed on the darkened world outside.
"Hardly wasted," Ash said from the couch where he lounged in a complimentary bathrobe, book in hand, and a mug of steaming tea on the end table beside him. His eyes scanned over the page, lazily taking in the plot he'd read several times already.
Eiji glanced over his shoulder at Ash who lay with messy hair and a fair amount of visible love marks, lips still red and puffy from their most recent escapade. "Yeah, okay, not wasted, but…" he glanced back outside, "we're in Hawaii. We should be out there."
"Storms supposed to blow over tonight, tomorrow looks sunny. I checked earlier."
Eiji groaned as he continued to stare outside but said nothing further.
Ash set his book aside and rose from the couch with a sleepy stretch. "Okay then, Mr. Grumpy-pants, let's go find something to do." He disappeared into the bedroom. "I'm sure there's something we could do indoors," he shouted from the other room, "Who knows, there might even be an indoor pool!"
"There's not," Eiji responded, "I already checked." His head swiveled back to the stormy ocean. "I wanted to go snorkeling."
"Eiji," Ash returned dressed in real clothes, "we still have five more days. You'll get to snorkel." He walked to the door and slipped on his shoes. He opened the bright orange umbrella, patterned with tropical fish, that they had purchased at the ridiculously overpriced resort gift shop the day before.
Eiji followed him to the door. "And where are we going? Is anything even still open?" Eiji glanced at the clock that read 9:45 PM.
Ash used his foot to push Eiji's shoes towards him. "I dunno, but that's half the fun, right?"
Eiji slipped his feet into his sneakers, not even bothering to untie them, desperate and excited to do anything at all.
Ash opened their front door and stuck a long arm outside. "Grab a jacket, otherwise you'll just end up stealing mine."
"But I already put on my shoes," Eiji complained, looking sadly back into the suite, fully knowing the only jacket he'd brought was in the bedroom.
"For fuck's sake," Ash rolled his eyes with a smile and strutted across the suite to retrieve the jacket.
"Ash! Shoes!"
"It's fine!" He laughed.
Ash returned, tossing Eiji a jacket. Around his neck hung Eiji's camera.
Eiji raised his eyebrows, nodding towards the camera with questioning eyes. "Bringing the camera?"
Ash shrugged, "You never know, we might want it."
Despite their umbrella, they were plenty wet by the time they arrived at their destination. Their shoes and feet stood no chance against the brutal wind that blew the rain at a harsh 45-degree angle.
Ash opened the door to the destination he had led them to; a decent-sized building that housed a fitness room and rec center. Eiji's face lit up.
"Ooooo! A game room!" Eiji clapped his hands and immediately gravitated to the air hockey table like a dog to a bone.
There was a click and a flash behind him, causing him to turn. And then came another. He smiled softly at Ash. A third click and then a flash.
Ash pulled the camera from his face and reviewed the picture on the small, digital screen. He smiled at the moment he'd just captured. "I'm framing that when we get home."
Eiji's eyes softened to convey an expression that could only be read as 'I love you.' Ash snapped a fourth photo.
Ash's words from earlier rang in his head, "Hardly wasted."
"Shall we?" Ash asked, gesturing to the air hockey table.
Eiji snapped out of his love-filled haze and nodded joyfully. He walked to the table and grabbed a paddle.
Ash set his camera and jacket on the floor beside him. "You'll have to teach me," Ash said, picking up a paddle of his own.
Eiji's jaw nearly dropped, "Wha— you don't know how to play?"
"I'm more of a pool and beer type-a guy. Air hockey is what Bones and Skip played," he began, "AKA it's for kids," he teased.
"Yeah, yeah, I understood the insult, asshole."
Ash couldn't help but laugh at Eiji's pissed face, cheeks puffed with faux anger. "I'm kidding, Ei-chan, I'm kidding. You teach me," he gestured at the table with his paddle, "Then I teach you pool."
Eiji's cheeks puffed, "I know how to play pool!"
Ash raised an eyebrow.
"I do!"
Ash remained silent, prompting Eiji to speak again.
"Okay fine, I've only watched other people play...but I understand how it works! How hard can it be?"
"Like I said, I'll teach you."
Miyuki sat with a pen and a stack of post-it notes. On the desk beside her were several crumpled attempts at what she wanted to say. She had been staring at it for the past half hour, crumpling note after note. She hadn't been able to find quite the right phrasing. The phone in her pocket buzzed. It was Aki, telling her she'd be around to pick her up for dinner in ten minutes.
"Crap," Miyuki muttered aloud.
Ten minutes to write this note and get dressed for dinner.
"Whatever! Just write it, Mi!" She said, scolding herself.
Her pen connected with the post-it note.
'Ash, I didn't mean to see this, I SWEAR...but I saw it all the same. And it will be impossible for me to pretend I didn't. Sorry. But I have an idea. An option 3. Ask me about it. -Miyuki.'She adhered the note to the fax and placed it back into the printer tray where she had found it, and rushed into the other room to get dressed for dinner.
"FUCK!" Ash shouted in pain as the puck connected painfully with his fingers as they gripped the edge of the table.
Eiji doubled over with laughter. "I told you not to put your hand there!" He said breathlessly.
Ash shook out his fingers. "Damn," he muttered to himself. "Why the hell'd you have to hit it so hard?"
"Cuz I'm trying to win!"
Ash positioned the puck in front of his paddle, "Well, fine! It's on!" He sent it soaring across the aerated white slab of plastic.
For a long moment, they were silent, only the sound of plastic violently hitting plastic filled the air. Ash cursed loudly as Eiji scored another goal. He slid his scorekeeper to 7.
"Maybe not just a game for babies, huh?" Eiji teased.
Ash grunted and hit the puck back towards Eiji. It went on like this for two more goals. When Eiji's score read 9, Ash's playing became more desperate. More violent. He scored a goal, cheering as he did so, and moved his marker to 3. Eiji held back his laughter. The onslaught continued.
"Watch. You'll see. Ever hear of an underdog? I can still. Fucking. Win!" The puck soared through the air, completely leaving the table, and collided with a loud clunk against the wall behind Eiji.
"Damn, Ash! Trying to kill me!?" Eiji shouted before breaking into laughter.
"Maybe!"
Eiji picked the puck off the floor and smacked it back towards Ash's goal. Ash sent it right back. Three volleys later and Eiji managed to ricochet the puck past Ash's paddle and into his goal. He cheered as he reached his final goal, claiming victory.
"Rematch!" Ash shouted.
Eiji smirked. He flipped the puck into the air and then snatched it with a swift flick of his wrist. "You're on."
Ash violently slid his point counter back to zero and readied his paddle, shoulders hunched for action like a quarterback.
[What was it you wanted to talk about?] Aki asked over dinner.
Miyuki unlocked her phone and slid it towards Aki. On it was a picture of the letter she'd found.
Aki squinted at the text before reaching into her purse for her reading glasses. She slipped the giant, round frames onto her face and returned her eyes to the phone. Miyuki studied her face as she read it, watching it go from confused to sad. She watched her eyes run out of words to read.
[They want kids,] Miyuki said.
Aki shook her head. [Miyuki, this wasn't yours to show me.]
[I know, Mom, I know.]
[And it wasn't yours to read either.]
[And I didn't try to! I stumbled upon it and—]
[And you still read it. And then you showed it to me and now that I've read it there's no going back.] Aki's face heated with frustration. [You owe them both an apology.]
Miyuki's fingers rubbed upset circles into her temples. [I— I know, believe me, I know and I feel horrible about it.]
[So why did you show me?] She asked angrily.
[Because...that letter got me thinking.] She paused, collecting her thoughts. [Look, I know it sounds crazy, but Eiji and I share the same DNA...I...I could be their surrogate.]
[No,] Aki said instantly.
[Wha— Mom, I—]
[No. Miyuki, no. You're far too young to have a baby.]
[But Mom, I—]
[You wanted to talk about this because you wanted my opinion, right?] Miyuki stuttered, trying to form words, but Aki kept speaking, [Well, my answer is no. It's a nice gesture, but you can't put your life on hold.]
[I wouldn't be putting my life on hold! I could time it with the school year! Give birth over break and—]
[Things are never that easy, Mi-chan.]
Tears burned Miyuki's eyes, [I know but— but I— I have to try—]
[You don't. Besides, what do you think Ashu and Eiji would think? Do you really think they'd let you do that?]
Miyuki wiped away a single tear as it rolled down her cheek. She knew her mother was right. Ash would never let her do what she was plotting, not without a fight at least.
[Well?] Aki prompted.
Miyuki sighed. [No, they wouldn't want me to...but I still want to offer.]
[And what if you did convince them? Do you plan on,] she lowered her voice, [breaking the law for them? Or would you go with,] she lowered her voice even further, [option two?]
Miyuki was quiet for a solid minute. She stirred her drink nervously with her straw as she contemplated her answer. [I don't know, Mom,] she said finally. [I don't know. I hadn't really thought about how just yet.]
Aki couldn't help but scoff at her daughter's answer. She leaned back in her chair, rubbing frustrated hands across her face. [Miyuki, that's a pretty important thing to consider.]
[I know,] she said, almost inaudibly.
[And if you do decide to offer, you better have an answer before you bring it up.]
Miyuki's brows crinkled with confusion. [But you said—]
[It's your life and ultimately your choice.] Aki paused, sipped her tea, and processed her words mentally before speaking them. [I just don't want you getting hurt...like I did.]
Framed pictures of Aki and Shun holding the stillborn Koyuki, which still sat on her mother's dresser to this day, flashed through Miyuki's mind.
Her eyes fell to the table sadly and somewhat awkwardly. [I know, Mom.]
[I carried her for seven months only for her to be born— dead,] Aki said gravely. [You don't know what that will do to you until it happens. It destroyed me for months and months. I don't want to see that happen to you just because you wanted to do something nice for your brother.]
[But what if that doesn't happen...what if everything works out?]
Aki sighed at her daughter's optimism. [But if it doesn't? How will you go to school when you can't even eat or shower because you're so sad?]
[I—]
[And if it does work out...will it break you to give your baby away? Nothing about this is an easy decision, Miyuki, and you really need to consider it before offering.]
"Sorry, Ash, I guess this ain't your game," Eiji smirked as he scored his tenth and final goal.
Ash huffed, "Fine, whatever. Let's see how you do in pool."
Ash stalked across the room to the pool table while Eiji flipped the off switch on the air hockey table, silencing the electronic hum.
Ash set up the billiard balls and tossed Eiji a cue. "So," Ash began, sharpening his cue, "here's how it goes— one of us starts by hitting the cue ball at those," he pointed to the rest of the balls shaped like a triangle at the table's center. "And whatever you sink first, that's your type— solids or stripes. So, if I start and I sink stripes, then you try to sink solids for the rest of the game and I have stripes. And if I sink both types then I get to pick which ones I want. With me so far?"
Eiji nodded, "Yes, Ash, that's hardly complex."
Ash continued explaining the rules to Eiji, while Eiji listened intently. When he finished, Ash asked, "So, you wanna start us off?"
Eiji looked at the triangle formation of balls on the pool table. "Yeah, ok, I guess."
Ash watched Eiji, with a hand on his hip and the other leaning on his cue stick, watching humorously as Eiji fumbled with his own, figuring out how to hold it. He finally positioned it in a semi-decent way and struck the cue ball, breaking the formation of balls, though his hit was so soft and hesitant, the balls didn't go far.
"Stripes," Ash said, watching a striped ball sink. "But barely." Ash smirked, "You'll have to hit with a bit more force than that, Lovely."
Eiji pouted, "Yeah, yeah. I've never played, cut me some slack."
"Hey, at least I didn't pull a rom-com and show you how to hold the cue stick, all seductive-like."
Eiji laughed, "I wouldn't have minded."
"Yeah?" He raised a single eyebrow.
Eiji met his eyes, "Yeah."
"Hmm," Ash hummed. "Well, you sunk one, so you get to go again," he made a sweeping motion with his hand, indicating for Eiji to take his turn.
As Eiji fumbled awkwardly with the cue stick, Ash positioned himself behind him so that their bodies touched. He put a hand on Eiji's arm and repositioned his grip so that he held it properly. "Now, give it some force but not too much."
"Sounds like something else I know," Eiji quipped.
"Eiji," Ash tsked teasingly, "such a filthy mind."
Eiji struck the cue ball, sinking the striped ball he was aiming for. "Score!"
Ash released an over-the-top breathy moan in Eiji's ear. Eiji stumbled forward, hands wrapping around his own sides as he laughed. "You're sick!" He managed to say between laughs.
"You started it!"
Miyuki walked back into Ash and Eiji's office somberly. She grabbed the letter from the printer and stared at the sticky note she'd adhered to it only hours before. She peeled it off the paper and crumpled it. Her mother was right, this was no easy decision. She needed to think it over before offering such a huge favor. She tossed the crumpled yellow paper into the trash bin near the door. It sounded much too loud as it fell into the empty bin.
She left the office and wandered back downstairs where a kettle was screaming loudly in the kitchen. She paused on her way to the kitchen to stop in front of Shorter's shrine. Ignoring the chaotic sound that was piercing the air, she stared at the photo of Ash and Shorter.
[How did you die, Mohawk?] She asked him. She paused as if actually expecting an answer. [Ash has brought it up twice to me? But he never told me what happened. Must have been bad…] Buddy barked, clearly upset by the noisy kettle. Miyuki ignored him completely, still fixated on the photo. [Did it destroy Ash for months just like my Mom with Koyuki? Would it destroy him again if I miscarried his child? Could he even handle more pain in his life? Am I more likely to miscarry because she did? Is it genetic? Is it even right for me to offer?] She stared at the smiling boy in the photo. [Do you have any answers from beyond the grave, Mohawk?]
She waited for an answer but, of course, nothing came. Buddy barked again and she finally heard the kettle screaming. She shook her head to clear it. "I'm sorry, you don't even speak Japanese and here I am talking to you like you can understand me." She smiled sadly at the photo. "Do you want some tea…" She tried to remember Shorter's name. "I'm sorry, Mohawk, I can't remember your name. It was something funny...something…"
Buddy barked again.
"I'll ask Ash," she told Shorter. "Let me get that tea."
"Finally!" Ash practically cheered as Eiji finally missed, meaning Ash could finally take his turn.
"Better at this than you thought I'd be?"
"I'd admit, you can hold your own." Ash finally hunched over the table as he prepared to take his first shot.
Eiji stared shamelessly, watching the way his muscles tensed beneath his shirt and his long fingers expertly prop up the end of the cue stick.
Ash finally took his shot, sinking not one, but two of the solid-colored balls. When he stood up straight again, his eyes flashed to the entranced Eiji.
"How do you make that look so damn attractive?"
Ash simply smirked and walked around the table, positioning himself in front of the cue ball and making another shot, sinking another solid ball. He looked good playing pool, cool. He'd been told so enough times. Most of those comments had been unwelcomed, Eiji's was obviously not. As he walked to the other side of the table, the door to the game room opened. Both their heads turned towards it.
"Hey, this place closes at 11," one of the resort workers informed them.
Their heads swiveled again to find the large analog clock that hung on the wall. It read 11:15.
"Shit, sorry, man," Ash said.
The man shook his head in annoyance. He stood in the doorway, arms crossed as he watched Eiji and Ash scramble to put away the pool equipment. They walked hastily from the room, quiet with their heads down like reprimanded children. The man walked into the room after they left. He scurried back down the hallway and outside, lights turning off behind them.
Ash opened the orange umbrella under the night sky still pouring down rain. They laughed at the awkward situation as they began their walk home. The wind was stronger now than it was when they left their suite. A strong gust surged through, nearly stealing their umbrella. Ash gripped it tighter with one hand, his other arm wrapped around Eiji's waist, pulling him close.
"Let's make a run for it!" He shouted over the rain and wind.
"Kay!"
They ran, feet finding puddles, soaking their shoes almost instantly.
They practically fell into the room, laughing and soaking wet. Ash used his feet to rid himself of his shoes and wet socks, not even he would walk across the suite in soaking wet shoes and socks.
"Towels," he said as he walked into the suite, disappearing into the bedroom as Eiji still fumbled with his shoes. He returned with a towel for each of them.
"Thanks," Eiji took a towel. "I feel so incomplete," he told Ash as he ran the towel through his hair, "now we'll never know who's better at pool."
"Ha! Sorry, love, but that's most certainly me."
"But I was winning."
"But you also went first," Ash reminded him, "And I only got two shots in before he kicked us out." He ran a towel through his hair with reckless abandon, misting Eiji with water droplets. As he pulled the towel away, he noticed Eiji staring at him again, just like he had been earlier.
"We're a walking rom-com tonight," Ash commented, "teaching you to play pool and running home in the rain..."
"And then making love like it's our first time?"
Ash let the towel in his hand fall to the floor. He stepped closer to Eiji, "Hmm, yes, that sounds nice."
As they inched closer together, the phone in Ash's pocket buzzed. He ignored it, leaning in and closing the space between them. He kissed Eiji lazily, but with an underlying passion just beneath the surface. But then his phone buzzed again and then a final time. "Ugh," he groaned, pulling away from Eiji. His hand plunged into his pocket and fished out his phone, finding it still damp from the rain-soaked pants. Ash planned on simply flipping on do not disturb, but his eyes read the texts he'd received without even trying.
Eiji watched his face go from slightly annoyed at the disruption to sad in an instant. His shoulders slouched and his face fell.
"What? Who is it?" Eiji asked, concerned.
There were three texts, all from Miyuki.
'Random question!' 'What is your friend's name?' 'The one in the picture with the mohawk?'Ash's knees bent without his permission, pulling him to the floor. Eiji joined him on the floor, peeking over his shoulder to read the texts.
"Shit, she can be such an idiot sometimes," Eiji muttered.
"Did she forget he's dead?" Ash asked almost angrily as his eyes glared at the word 'is,' which should have read 'was.'
Eiji wrapped an arm around Ash, head finding his shoulder. "No," Eiji said softly, "She's always treated death differently than most. When grandma— Dad's mom— died, she liked to visit her grave and talk to her as if she were right there. She has a bad habit of talking about the deceased in the present tense. She forgets that most people don't do that. She forgets it upsets most people." Eiji rubbed a hand over Ash's arm in a comforting manner. "She didn't mean anything by it."
Ash relaxed into Eiji's touch. "I know," he said quietly. "I know she wouldn't mean to—" his sentence stopped short. He pulled away from Eiji just enough to see his face. "You said she would sit at your grandma's grave? Think that means she's talking to his picture like he's there?"
"Hmm, yeah, maybe so. I wouldn't be surprised."
Ash quickly replied to her texts with Shorter's name and then relaxed into Eiji's arms once more. "Maybe he'll appreciate the company— if you believe in that sort of thing."
"Ghosts?"
"Or heaven. An afterlife. Whatever you want to call it."
Miyuki returned to the shrine with two mugs of peach tea. "Shorter," she said happily. "I texted Ash. That's some name. Shorter. Was it your real name? Or was it just something they called you?"
She placed Shorter's mug on the table below his photo that acted as a shrine. She then struck a match, a box of which was in the table's drawer, and lit the citrus candle that sat on the table. She retreated to the kitchen and returned with a kitchen chair. She sat in front of the shrine with her mug of steaming tea.
"I hope you don't mind me talking to you." She blew on her tea, dispersing the trails of steam that poured from the hot, amber liquid. "I've only been house-sitting for a few days but...I get lonely so easily. And that conversation with Mom put me in...I don't know some type of funk." She blew on the tea again. She stared at the photo in contemplation. "You look like a fun guy, you probably appreciate the company. I know I'd want someone to talk to me if I died so young. It must be lonely up there...all your friends are probably still living."
She sipped her tea. "How'd you die, Shorter?" She asked again. "When Ash brought it up, he looked haunted, so I'm guessing someone killed you." She took another sip of tea, "That's so unfair, being killed so young. I wonder if Ash saw it happen. Hmmm, he has enough trauma, he shouldn't have had to deal with that too."
She brought her knees to her chest, readjusting herself on the wooden chair.
"Maybe you don't even know about Ash's trauma. But if you were his best friend...then I'd bet you do." She drank more tea. "I wish you could talk back to me. I don't even know you but," she tilted her head and smiled, "I don't know, I just think we would have gotten along nicely. I can just feel it, ya know? Ash said you were friends with Eiji too...so I bet we'd be friends too."
Just then a chill ran through the air and a daisy petal fell from the vase of flowers that perpetually sat beneath Shorter's picture. She saw the flame of the candle she'd lit flicker slightly as if it had been caught in a breeze. The steam that rose from his tea dispersed just like it had on her own when she blew on it to cool it. A shiver ran through Miyuki, raising goosebumps on her skin.
Some may have been spooked, may have screamed. Miyuki smiled. "So you are here...Thanks for the sign." She raised her mug to her lips, taking a long, slow drink. "I'll tell Ash and Eiji you say hi." She smiled again. "Were you at the wedding? It was gorgeous. I'll tell you about it in case you weren't there. I don't know how ghosts work. Are you bound to your grave and shrines? Or can you just roam as you please? Or are you only here when someone is speaking with you? Anyway, the wedding…"
Miyuki talked at length about the wedding. She told him all about the venue, what they wore, their vows, the guest from New York. And then she talked about the reception and everything that transpired there. And when she ran out of things to say about the wedding she paused. She watched the flame of the candle dance. The tea she'd made him had long past stopped steaming and she swore the boy in the photo was smiling wider than he was before she sat down.
"They're madly in love. Stupidly in love." She set her empty mug on the floor. "Sometimes it makes me sad because I don't think I'll ever find a love like that. But Mom says Eiji used to think the same thing and look where he is now. He was depressed for a long time, I'm not sure if you ever knew. He had an accident and couldn't do much for a long while. He couldn't go to school or work and he wasn't dating anyone, he had never even kissed a girl before."
The flame flickered as if Shorter was laughing.
"Shit, don't tell him I told you that." Suddenly her eyes burned as she realized Shorter couldn't possibly tell her brother. She wiped tears from her eyes. "I don't...don't know why I'm crying, sorry." She took a deep breath and released it slowly. Once she composed herself, she spoke again. "Anyway, Eiji felt behind in life, even in the dating department. He didn't know he was gay then, no one did, and he'd never dated anyone so was worried he never would find a girl he liked. He was right, I guess, he never found a girl, but he found Ash. Sometimes you want things you aren't meant to have and things have a way of working out better than you expected. That's what I tell myself at least...because I look at their love and I want something like that, but maybe I'm not meant to have it yet. And maybe that's because I'm meant to be...their surrogate and if I was with someone else maybe that'd feel wrong...I don't know. "
She stood then, grabbing her empty mug from the ground. "Anyway, thanks for listening to me ramble...not like you had much of a choice," she smiled, "you're a captive audience, I suppose." She took a step closer to the table, "I'll take this," she said as she reached for his tea.
She picked up the mug and stared at it, opened mouthed, a small gasp escaping her. It was ridiculous, impossible...but she knew it was less full than when she'd placed it. She looked back at the photograph. She smiled and placed two gentle fingers to the glass. "Good night, Shorter."
"She still has no idea how he died," Ash told Eiji as they laid side by side in bed, staring into the darkness.
Unfortunately, Miyuki's text ruined the mood and Ash had slipped into a funk, unable to purge Shorter from his thoughts.
"You have no obligation to tell her," Eiji replied softly.
"Eiji— I— I know I've talked about it so many times with Iku-san and you'd think by now I'd be over it but—"
"Ash, you don't have to be over it."
"I killed him, Eiji," Ash said, tears breaking his voice.
Eiji had long since given up on trying to convince Ash he hadn't killed Shorter. Because the truth of the matter was that he had killed him, but not by choice. Just like he didn't sell his body by choice or sleep with Dino's important guests by choice. It had happened, but it wasn't his fault. He'd discussed it multiple times with Iku-san.
"But you didn't want to," Eiji said sympathetically. Eiji propped himself up on one arm and found Ash's eyes even in the dark. "Hey. It's a shitty situation and it never should have happened. But if you hadn't done what you did, then I'd be dead by Shorter's knife. Shorter would still be a tortured, killing machine, and, let's face it, you'd probably be dead too...either from grief or Shorter's doing. Or you'd be experimented on too." He ran gentle fingers through Ash's hair. "And as much as I miss Shorter, I'm very glad you're still here with me, alive and in your right mind. And I know that's what Shorter would have wanted too."
Eiji leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss on Ash's cheekbone. "Please don't be so hard on yourself, love."
Eiji wanted to tell him he was perfect, or at least as close as a human can get to being perfect, but Ash never responded well to such statements. Instead, he kissed him again, this time on his temple.
"I'd be so sad if I never knew you. I was so sad before I knew you. You're the perfect person for me and I am so happy you're still with me now." He pressed a third kiss to Ash, this time on his lips. "I love you so much, Ash."
A tear rolled down Ash's cheek. He pulled Eiji close to him, "Fuck, Eiji, I swear you're infallible."
Eiji chuckled, sending puffs of warm air against his neck, "I don't know what that word means, Ash."
Ash's fingers wove into Eiji's dark, silky hair, "It means you're perfect and I love you."
Eiji smiled, "Alright then, keep your secrets."
In the morning, Miyuki flounced down the stairs, feet practically gliding over the wood. She smiled at the picture of Shorter as she passed, nodding slightly. "Morning." She let Buddy into the yard and stared at the kettle and coffee pot for several long minutes, trying to decide whether to make coffee or tea. She decided on coffee since it wasn't something Aki bought anymore now that Ash and Eiji had moved out.
And of course, she made two.
"You don't strike me as a morning person," she told the picture. "So I won't bother you with conversation. But look!" she set down the mug of coffee on the shrine, "Coffee." For some strange reason, she saluted the picture as she walked away to let Buddy back inside for his breakfast.
She went about her morning routine, forgetting about the picture. An hour later she passed it again and checked the cup of coffee. She frowned at it. She was sure that it was just as filled as it was when she set it down.
"Not a coffee guy, huh?" A moment passed and Miyuki smiled, "But I bet you like Ska, and Ash just so happens to own several records of the stuff." She put on a record and danced around the kitchen as she cleaned up the things she'd used for breakfast, hoping the angel framed in glass liked the music as much as she did.