Work Text:
Its in the smallest of things. Its in the morning sun.
Mornings, something that the Japanese photojournalist once hated as it only brought nothing but memories of the past, was becoming one of his favourite things.
Maybe it was the way he would feel basking under the warm light of the sun that was entering from the many windows of their flat and then he would be making breakfast that wasn’t natto—Ash had made it clear he despised that stuff though this opinion doesn’t stop mad Eiji though.
Or maybe it was when after he’d prepared breakfast, he would go to their shared room and wake Ash up and fail, leaving Eiji with no choice but carry him to the dining table where they would eat breakfast together. That is of course if Ash wakes up. Delicate American.
There was window overlooking NYC by the table and the sun was up, hitting Ash and the sides of his figure. His blond hair would glow, a halo, and more golden than ever. Eiji would find himself mesmerized every single time, staring for far more longer than he ought to and would often blush at that.
The dark haired boy felt that this was some sort of elaborate scheme of Ash’s. Ash had to know he looked absolutely pretty under the sun even if his hair looked like a hurricane sat atop his hair in his sleep, or he had drool and his eyes barely open and slouched all over the top—Eiji decides to stop there. He always did. He does what he should do. Wake Ash up some more. The blonde does eventually by some miracle and they eat together. There would be banter, and Ash making fun of him whenever he tried to but Eiji loves it.
He liked mornings. He also liked waking up early. It was a habit he had from all those practices he had to do for pole vaulting but Eiji believes, well at least he has noticed now that there is more to just waking up early to make time and be able to do something. He believed that it was the nature loving, country bumpkin side of him.
The darkness and silence would remind of him Izumo. Sometimes Eiji likes to believe that he is alone, the only one awake at this (this time, state of place) and often time this would leave him nothing but with his thoughts as his companion—loud and clear, though these thoughts are more of wishes and the thoughts of the future brought on by the memory of Izumo and warm summers and the stars evoked by the dark sky where he wishes, wants, and maybe needs to see the star there (maybe they would stargaze. Eiji always wanted to do that) rather than the late night thoughts filled with worrying over, pacing around the room, and endless praying over a certain blond. Ones that would inevitably break his heart whenever he would ask Ash. Eiji knows its dangerous but sometimes he can’t help it but want for Ash to trust him. He just keeps on lying or dismissing it.
Eiji laid in his bed, staring up at the white ceiling of the bedroom, waiting for his brain to be fully awake, to gather his thoughts and the schedule for the day, which didn’t really mean anything. It was just making meals, having idle chats with the neighbors and the housewives that he had made friends with that one time he went down to the grocery in the basement floor. They were in the building’s complex building and Eiji had fast become their instant favorite, often fawning over him and his handsome blonde partner (Eiji knew he and Ash were partners but the way the old ladies eyes shone and sighed made Eiji doubt and think that maybe just maybe they may have meant something else and maybe Eiji should ask them about it but it seems that he couldn’t find the time to spring it up on. He should have done it as fast as he could.) and of course the one task Ash had asked of the boy: taking pictures of whoever entered and exited over the other building.
Eiji finally sat up, blankets rustling. He reaches for his phone to check the time. Nothing would have prepared him for the blue light of his cell phone smacking him right in the face as soon as he opens it and the Japanese squints, pulling his phone a couple of inches away from his face as he tries to make sense of the time plastered on the screen.
He puts it back on the bedside drawer and looks at the New York City skyline. It was going to be a few minutes before the sunrise.
Eiji gets the sudden urge to take a picture—a remembrance of sorts, but those thoughts are immediately pushed away when his gaze moves from the window to the curled up figure on the other bed, deep asleep.
Ash was sleeping on his side facing Eiji and It does not miss Eiji how there was a little furrow between the blond’s eyebrows nor did he miss the dip on the sides of his lips. Eiji feels heart being squeezed and before he knows it he has gotten out of bed and was already crossing the small feet of distance that their beds had, stumbling in the dark.
Eiji stands by Ash’s bed. He reaches a hand out but stops. He remembers that time where he and Ash shared the same room, that by night, the untameable lynx was nothing but a scared boy whimpering and crying. Of how Ash woke up from the nightmare, immediately sitting up, panting and sweating and how Eiji pretended he was sound asleep. Of how this continued on for quite some time until one night. Of how he tries to wake him up, how his heart breaks when he sees the pain in Ash’s eyes and how he flinched as Eiji tries to calm him down, of hoe when he finally does Eiji couldn’t do anything else but wrap his arms around him. Of how after that it seemed to be an occasional thing with them for Ash to just crawl into bed and sleep and wake up in the next morning to find his side empty. Of this heavy feeling of disappointment that settles in his stomach every time it happened. Eiji hated that the most. He shouldn’t feel this way.
But today it wasn’t that. The sun wasn’t up yet, nor was the coldness of the air nipped at the skin, leaving him hollow and empty on the inside. No. Today, the sun was slowly peeking out from the sky. It was lazily climbing, chasing the darkness of the night. Its lukewarm rays illuminate the buildings it hit, bathing it in its golden light.
Eiji would have noticed all of these. He would have noticed the sun going higher and higher until it reached the window of their bedroom. He would have noticed how it crawled on to the floor and climbed up Ash’s bed and colored him a golden yellow. He would have if he wasn’t far away from the world currently, off somewhere his brain took him. He would have noticed that if he hadn’t followed that train of thought and he started to think of everything else.
(He thinks that have happened and that was to happen, and of Ash: the prayers he had made and whispered at nights for him, hie nightmares, lies amd the secrets, of how Eiji had an inkling of why Ash wouldn’t trust Eiji with any of those, but most especially, Eiji thinks of these feeling in his chest. The one where it felt like it was going to explode with the way it felt like it had expanded and filled over the brim and it feels so full that it may as well flow and pour out . But most especially Eiji think about how all he wanted was for all this things woth Dino and banana fish to end. For Ash to be happy because for Eiji, there was nothing more wonderful than seeing him be happy.)
He does notice it at some point when he notices the warmth on his face. The sun had finally reached him.
Eiji looks at Ash and he finds himself getting mesmerized. He crouches on the floor, the idea of taking pictures long forgotten and he stares at Ash.
The sun is warm, Eiji notes. So warm but so far away. Golden and brilliant. Alone. No matter how much you might want it to stay itll always leave. Itll always slip away. Just like Ash. That’s just like Ash.
He raises a hand and place his pointer finger on the furrow on the blonde’s forehead and he poke at it to smooth it over but Ash twitches. Eiji would have frozen. He didn’t mean to wake him up but for some unknown reason he didn’t. He was nothing but calm.
Those piercing green eyes peek out as the opens slowly opens his eyes only to squint with his eyebrows and nose scrunched up. Eiji was sure Ash was going to quip something up to him or just cover himself with the blanket and turn the other way around to go back to sleep. Instead all the blonde did was actually stare at him, the sour expression gone replace with…something soft that Eiji couldn’t name. It reminded him of the cat when it would stare at you while slowly blinking. It had a lazy thing to it. Ash looked at peace.
Eiji still hasn’t taken his finger off of Ash’s forehead. They stare at each other.
Eiji is the first to break the break the eye contact as he feels his legs growing numb. How long had he been sitting? He takes his finger off from the other’s forehead, but not before giving it a soft little nudge.
Ash starts to open his mouth.
“You should go back to sleep,” Eiji says as he gets up from the floor. He is surprised how his face hasn’t burned with embarrassment then.
Ah closes his mouth and hums. “Seriously oni-chan, it is way too early for me to wake up yet.” He shifts and covers himself up until his eyes with his blanket.
Eiji hums in agreement as he heads for the door, and faintly he hears a soft ‘good morning’ from behind him after the click of the door.
“Good morning too Ash,” Eiji says.