Sep 12 2008
If this had been a story
Title: If this had been a story
Author: dorrie6
Fandom: Banana Fish
Pairing: Ash/Eiji
Rating: G
Disclaimer: The characters and universe presented in this story are the property of Akimi Yoshida.
Summary: “If this had been a story, they would have slipped away to the garden.”
Notes: Originally written 7/1/08 for marginalia’s First Lines Challenge. Not spoilery. First line by marginalia, the rest by me. Comment-fic.
*****
If this had been a story
If this had been a story, they would have slipped away to the garden. They would have made their excuses to Eiji’s family, cheeks tinged pink with too much sake, ignored his sister’s giggles as their arms brushed once too often, and slipped away into the moonlight, the thick summer air, and the heavy scent of jasmine. Ash and Eiji, just boys after all, they’d have joked and laughed and indulged their precious happiness under the wide night sky.
But there was no story, no garden, no Japanese jasmine, just the cold, dark city where they would always be hunted, and Ash’s hands covered in blood Eiji couldn’t see and would never be able to forget.
The boys had mostly left or passed out, and Eiji was grateful for Ash’s steady arm around him as he stumbled toward the bedroom.
“Lightweight,” said Ash, with something closer to a smile than Eiji had seen on him in weeks.
Eiji fell on to his bed, eyes closed to try to stop the spinning. “Why is it only I am drunk, when you drink the same as me?” he asked. “I am not the one who is underage!” He opened his eyes then, blinking into the not-quite-dark, and turned carefully on his side, expecting to face the endless, familiar space between his bed and Ash’s, and instead coming face-to-face with Ash, who was sitting on the floor next to him. Ash’s eyes glittered, reflecting the late-night city lights glaring through the window. They were focused on something far away. “Ash?” Eiji whispered.
“I was thinking,” Ash said, “what it would be like if we were in Japan.” His eyes returned to Eiji, warm and open.
Eiji smiled. “Me too.” He held Ash’s gaze longer than he would have dared without all that beer, and for one crazy moment he thought Ash was leaning toward him, inches away from changing the whole world as they knew it. Eiji’s breath hitched, and in the next second Ash’s eyes had shuttered and he was standing up across the room, as though he’d never been anyplace else.
“No point in dwelling on stuff that can’t happen,” Ash said, pulling off his jeans and shirt, and climbing into his own bed, back facing Eiji.
“No,” Eiji said, weakly, unsure if he was agreeing or protesting, and unable to articulate either. “Ash–” he began, eyelids drooping.
“G’night, Eiji,” Ash said.
Eiji forced his eyes back open, focusing on Ash’s shoulder blade where it faded from light into shadow. He struggled to remember where his last thought was leading–how to get that moment back. Ash’s back was completely still.
“Goodnight, Ash,” he said finally, pulling his sheets close around him, letting himself drift into darkness.