#let ash and eiji be happy dammit

[heartsywritesthethings]

The City Boy Who Never Sleeps

Author: GA!Babe

Fandom: Banana Fish

Summary: In a wonderful au where the ending is happy and everyone is just fine. Sometimes you just gotta exist and cope together. (2097 words)

Eiji laid on his side, watching the twinkling lights of New York City through the window of their secret apartment. When he had first come to New York, he had never thought that this project would have pulled him out of his shell as much as it had. 

Not only did he find a reason to continue on, a reason to get up in the morning...but he found love. What had been a simple tagalong to get an in depth story of life in the biggest gang in America had turned into a whirlwind story of love, death, resurrection, betrayal, and drugs.

But now, it was all over. He would be leaving America soon, actually this time. After the multiple threats to send him back to Japan when things got too dangerous and sticky, he was actually heading home. And Ash was coming with.

"No," Ash whined in his sleep, twisting again in bed. 

Another nightmare. 

They were basically a package deal with Ash Lynx. All of the trauma he had gone through, it would be concerning if he didn't have nightmares regularly.

"Please, stop," Ash moaned right before a soft thud as his pillows hit the floor.

Eiji's heart was breaking as he listened to the blonde relive the worst parts of his life in the safety of his sleep. He wanted to help, of course he did, but Ash was... complicated, especially when it came to comfort. The last time Eiji tried to help Ash wake up from a nightmare, he had almost gotten punched in the face. Not on purpose, of course, but it was quite dangerous to wake up the gang leader in the middle of a traumatic nightmare.

"Leave me alone," Ash whined.

Eiji sighed and pulled himself out of bed. It hurt too much to hear him like this. Maybe if he started making breakfast, something American, then Ash would wake up naturally and the horrors of his life would fade away as he ate some of Eiji's cooking.

Never mind the fact that it was the ungodly hour of 3 AM or that Ash had not liked his cooking the last time. 

Eiji softly padded off to the kitchen, keeping the bedroom door open a crack in case Ash needed help. He opened the fridge and frowned. Of course, none of them had gone grocery shopping since they would be on a plane by tomorrow. So, there wasn't much in terms of variety... or food. Eiji closed his eyes and shut the fridge door. 

Okay, well, nowhere would be open right now, and even if places were open, it's not like he could just leave Ash alone in this apartment, especially when he was already having a bad night. What could he do?

Eiji took out his phone and began texting their friends Kong and Bones to bring some food if they were up.

Much to his dismay, they both responded relatively quickly. He pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned. Does no one sleep properly in America? Sure, he was also awake now, but still. 

THUD

That definitely sounded louder than a couple of pillows. Eiji set his phone down and as he was turning towards the bedroom, Ash was already bursting through the bedroom door.

He was beyond disheveled, the sheet still tangled around his pale legs, his blonde hair sticking to his sweaty forehead, and a gun hanging limply in his hand. 

"Eiji," He breathed, relief washing over his entire body. In just a few steps, Ash had closed the distance between them and thrown his arms around Eiji's shoulders. Almost automatically, Eiji's arms settled around Ash's waist and pulled him closer. The blonde stuck his face in the crook of Eiji's neck and inhaled deeply. 

Goosebumps ran up and down Eiji's skin. He pulled Ash closer and noticed that he was shaking ever so slightly in his arms. He pressed a gentle kiss on Ash's shoulder, almost afraid to do so. He didn't want to kiss anywhere that would bring terrible memories flooding back from all of Ash's time being used and abused by Dino.

But...if he were to fall into his fear, he wouldn't ever kiss Ash again and that was out of the question.

"Ash, how are you feeling?" Eiji whispered despite already knowing the answer. Ash just shook his head.

"Are you hungry?" Eiji asked, pressing another kiss to the side of Ash's head.

"For your cooking? Pass" Ash huffed.

Eiji had to mentally restrain himself from shoving the blonde away. He's struggling. He needs comfort. Just because he's an asshole doesn't mean he should be left alone. 

"Your friends are bringing food soon." Eiji said through gritted teeth.

"Mm good. You read my mind," Ash said and kissed Eiji's neck. Eiji rolled his eyes and flicked Ash in the ear.

Ash yelped and jumped back, covering his ear with one hand and pouting. How this man ran the most powerful gang in all of New York City was just beyond him sometimes.

"Why'd you do that?" Ash whined, rubbing his ear with the butt of the gun he still held in his hand. 

"You're being mean." Eiji said simply and crossed his arms over his chest. 

"Mean? You're the one who flicked me." Ash scoffed and finally set the gun down on a nearby counter. "You're the mean one."

"I can get meaner." Eiji warned with a raised eyebrow, mischief brewing in his mind. It had been a while since he had seen Ash smile...maybe there was a way to fix that.

"What are you thinking?" Ash asked, looking his Japanese boyfriend up and down. Something was brewing in that boy's mind.

"あなたはくすぐったいですか、アッシュ?" Eiji asked, not wanting to immediately let Ash know his plan.

"Uhhh...?" Ash responded, not sure what any of that meant. It was very rare for Eiji to speak to him in japanese, but whenever he did, it meant that playful trouble was about to ensue.

Eiji pounced, wiggling fingers ready to make contact with Ash's sides. 

And then... he didn't make contact. One second Ash was standing right there and the next he wasn't. Eiji didn't even get a second to think before he was swept off of his feet and landed -- surprisingly softly -- face first on the floor. Ash sighed as he straddled Eiji's waist, as if this whole ordeal was just another day. 

"Now, I have a feeling as to what you thought you were doing, Eiji, but I just don't understand why you thought you would win," Ash said, smirking as Eiji huffed and wiggled in frustration underneath him. Maybe jumping onto New York's more powerful gang boss wasn't the best idea. 

"Let me go," Eiji sighed, pressing his forehead against the cold wooden floor. This was quite humiliating. Bones and Kong would be here any minute now with the snacks he had asked for not too long ago and if they were found like this it would be... embarrassing at best. 

"Tell me what you said in Japanese." Ash said, pressing a hand against Eiji's back. 

"There's... no translation." Eiji lied, his face flushing pink. He was suddenly very aware of his position here and how helpless he was underneath Ash.

"I'm sure there is, Eiji. I'll let you think about it." Ash said and for a moment, Eiji felt as if he was going to get out of his whole ordeal without any sort of consequences.

And then Ash's fingers began wiggling against his sides and Eiji felt his entire body go rigid. 

"Are you ticklish, Eiji?" Ash asked teasingly. Eiji groaned and grit his teeth together in an attempt to hide his bubbling giggles. The wiggling fingers tickled over to his ribcage and Eiji began kicking his legs desperately. 

"You seem to be struggling for your words there? I can help with your english if you need," Ash teased, noticing how much Eiji was struggling to hold in his laughter. It was kind of cute actually and it definitely helped with his post-nightmare mood. 

There was one thing though, he did want to see Eiji's smile. In a quick fluid movement, Ash flipped Eiji onto his back.

"Hello there," Ash said and gave Eiji a quick kiss on his nose.

"Are you going to let me go now, Ash?" Eiji asked, trying his best to look as cute and vulnerable as possible so that Ash would have to release him instead of unleashing ticklish hell upon his poor ticklish self. 

"Sure thing, Eiji, once you tell me what you said in Japanese," Ash said sweetly. And Eiji's stomach dropped. Should he just tell Ash what he asked? Would that help or hurt his predicament?

"I don't know the translation, sorry Ash," Eiji said with a very overdramatic sigh. He was very bad at lying.

"You're cute," Ash said with a shake of his head. "But if I have to kill you, I will."

That would have been absolutely terrifying coming from the Ash Lynx. In fact, Eiji was absolutely terrified of him right now. Sure it was a different type of terrified, but still. 

Ash began wiggling and pinching his fingers up and down Eiji's soft sides. Eiji squeezed his eyes shut and his face scrunched up as he struggled not to laugh or giggle.

"You look like you're really struggling there. Would you like my help finding the English words?" Ash asked as Eiji weakly tried to fight back. 

Eiji didn't know what was worse, the actual teasing or Ash pretending not to be absolutely taking him apart right now. 

"Does this tickle, Eiji? How about here? I can't tell," Ash asked as he poked, pinched, and prodded at Eiji's ribs and sides. Something was bound to make him crack. 

Then, it hit him. He took both of Eiji's wrists and held them above his head with one hand.

"W-wait, Ash, I-i was just going to--" Eiji began desperately as his most ticklish spot was suddenly available for Ash to fully exploit. Ash pressed their lips together, stopping Eiji from speaking. Sure, he wanted to know what Eiji said, but he was having too much fun tormenting his boyfriend to stop now. 

With his free hand, he began spidering his fingers underneath Eiji's arm. Immediately, the trapped giggles began to flow from his lips. Those giggles quickly turned to laughter as Ash began kissing his neck as well. 

"Ahahahahaahahahash!" Eiji laughed, his feet kicking against the floor as the ticklish feelings overwhelmed him. 

"Your laugh is so cute," Ash hummed though he hoped that his soft musing would be lost amongst the laughter in the air. 

"Ahahahasshu! Quihihihihihit it! Teihihhihihishi!" Eiji laughed, unable to keep translating to english as the ticklish feelings took up every thought in his brain.

"Did you forget how to speak English, Eiji?" Ash chuckled, a little proud of himself. 

He took his hand away from Eiji's wrists and stuffed them both under Eiji's arms. With a screech, Eiji's laughter jumped up several octaves and tears of mirth pricked at his eyes. 

And finally, Ash stopped. Eiji was left as a giggly puddle on the floor, attempting to catch his breath. When he opened his eyes, he saw not only Ash standing above him, but also Bones and Kong. They were all looking at him fondly.

Quickly, Eiji stood up, his face turning bright red. 

"We brought some Mickey D's." Bones said in a sing-song voice as he pulled up several greasy brown bags. Eiji wanted to make a comment about how any sensible restaurant should be closed at this hour, but decided to keep to himself.

"And I'm going to beat you in smash this time around, boss!" Kong said excitedly, taking a bag from Bones and then hopping onto the couch. Ash chuckled and took a bag from Bones as well then settled next to his friend.

"You alright?" Bones asked in a low voice so the others wouldn't hear. If it were possible for Eiji to turn a deeper shade of red, he would have. Bones just laughed and handed over a bag of food. Eiji begrudgingly took it then went to take a seat next to his boyfriend. 

As the game loaded up, Eiji wrapped an arm around Ash's waist and sighed.

"Would you like to know what I asked, Ash?" Eiji asked, his voice barely above a whisper. As tilted his head in curiosity, but his gaze remained on the game.

"Are you ticklish, Ash?" 

#tickle fic #submission #ga!babe #y'all I am #so soft for these two #I'm begging for them to be happy #bless this for making things okay #the fix it we all needed #let ash and eiji be happy dammit #also I need everyone to know when ash said 'hello there' I fucking lost it laughing because all I could think was GENERAL KENOBI #I had to stop reading for a hot minute to laugh my ass off and text babe the hello there gif and let her know exactly where my brain went #she said she's never using that combination of words again #I think she should still #anyway besides the point #killed it again babe always a pleasure to get your fics #banana fish #ash lynx #eiji okumura

[head-full-of-fish]

maybe my hyperfixation with SK8 is a little much but like it comes from the fact that i wholeheartedly see Langa and Reiki as Ash and Eiji’s reincarnations. cant think about it too much or i’ll literally start sobbing but i’m just gonna call it a coping mechanism and move on.

#banana fish #eiji #ash #aslan #ash and eiji #reiki and langa #reiki #langa #sk8 #sk8 the infinity #like it’s literally them don’t come at me #of course ash/langa has a tragic backstory in this life too #literally cut him some slack #let the boy be happy and gay dammit #anime

[lightgirlification]

Let’s talk Banana Fish *SPOILERS*

Yup guess whose finally ready to talk about this story? And let me start off by saying...Damn.

Just, this is some HEAVY stuff right here; not for the faint of heart that’s for sure.

There were moments were I was shaking and in tears; fighting between wanting to continue watching or stopping, mainly due to some subjects hitting to close to home. It’s been a LONG while since a series has done this but dammit, this is such a good story! Such a dramatic, interesting plot with wonderful, interesting characters!

I love our leading boys so much, SO LEMME TELL YOU ‘BOUT THEM KAY

First let me talk about Eiji Okumura. Or as I like to call him, ‘Sweet, Photographer Japanese man’ 83

JUST LOOK AT HIM  HOW CAN YOU HATE THAT FACE? If you do your a big heartless jerk >BT

Eiji should have a picture next to the word ‘Pure’ in the dictionary. Seriously his innocent and calm demeanor is one of my favorite things about him, to the point where, along with Ash, I myself feel calm just listening to him speak. Not a lot of characters can do that, yet Eiji is a special kind of character that I could listen to when I’m anxious or upset and I could feel all better.

Of course that doesn’t mean he is not badass, BECAUSE HOO BOY DOES THIS 19 YEAR OLD HAVE SUCH BADASSERY

I WAS SHOOK THIS BOY POLE VAULTED OVER THIS DAMN WALL WITH A RUSTY PIPE I DON’T CARE WHAT HE SAYS HE STILL GOT IT

See this? This is what happens when you tick Eiji off. He may not shoot you, but dear God is he tempted. Not for his sake, but for the sake of those he cares about; specifically Ash.

Speaking of Ash, let’s get to him because OMG THIS BOY

Yes 911 I believe I am dying. Why? Because I saw a man so beautiful I started crying, then I couldn’t stop and thus became dehydrated. Although I will admit saying he’s handsome and seeing him act so attractive makes me feel guilty cause of...Well what he’s gone through.  I feel so bad but at the same time I can’t help but keep complimenting this guy!

Seriously, Look at him!

LOOK. AT. HIM!

This added 100 years onto my life, I’d like more plz.

Honestly it’s kinda hard to describe Ash with just one word. He’s brash yet eloquent, serious yet childish, cunning yet emotional. He’s a character that’s done wrong, but he’s someone whose also been wronged in much worse ways.

Like, dear GOD what did he do to deserve all that he’s gone through??? 17-18 years old, and he’s been through the 9 circles of Hell and back.  Can I petition to send him and Eiji someone far away where they can be safe? PLEASE???  Yes them together because their relationship is freaking precious and canon and JUST LET THEM BE HAPPY OKAY?

MANGA WHY YOU END SO SAD WHIOGHSADOGSORHWA

*Ahem* A-As I was saying, Ash and Eiji’s moments together are done so well and feel so real. I never once feel like the story is pandering to me or shoving their relationship in my face. I see two boys slowly falling in love; one finally getting actual love in a relationship. Touches range from hand holding to hugs, things that Ash probably dissociated from due to the life he’s lived. And Eiji brings them all back, slowly but surely.

Eiji is the one that brought light back into Ash’s life, and he’d stick by his side no matter what. He loves Ash so much that he’s willing to put his life on the line to rescue him; it doesn’t matter how dangerous the situation is. He is someone who vowed to Ash, “Even if the rest of the world hates you, I’ll remain by your side.” 

Much like Victor and Yuuri, they are soulmates. One cannot live without the other, or at least fall in love ever again should one pass on.

I just...I love these two so much <3

Listen Anime...Can you not? C-Can you NOT???  I ALREADY PUT UP WITH THE MANGA DID YOU REALLY HAVE TO DO THIS IN THE OPENING????

Guh... Anyway, Banana Fish is honestly a wonderful tale and I am so happy I found and experienced it.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go weep into my pillow for the next 10,000,000 years. <B.....T

#banana fish #eiji okumura #ash lynx #ash x eiji #asheiji #someone save these two #please #give them the happy ending they deserve #</3