Tomorrow's Medals, Underwear, and the Miraculous Power
part 4
Yukata, Fireworks, and Ankh's Honesty
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I miss summer so bad I had to write about it.
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“You're one to talk,” Ankh said, turning in the mirror to appraise himself. Hina followed his movements with her phone in hand, snapping quick photos of her handiwork on its model.
“It only looks bright to you because yours and Shingo's are so understated,” Hina said, sagely. She tapped Ankh's elbow and he obediently stuck his arm out straight so she could observe the drape of his sleeve. “Besides, red works so well with yellow hair. Right?”
Eiji sighed and slumped on the couch. “I never said it didn't work.”
On the contrary, it worked quite well. Of the three yukata Hina had volunteered to make them, it suited its wearer best. It was a strong, warm red and decorated around the cuffs and hem with lotus blossoms rendered in thin white lines. The effect was more geometric than floral, but compared to the blue pinstripe pattern Hina had planned for Shingo Ankh's outfit was dangerously close to needing a bow to top it all off. But it worked.
“You don't mind if I send these photos to my classmates, right, Ankh?” Hina asked. By the way her fingers moved fast and furious over her phone, Eiji gathered she was at least sending them to Chiyoko. She had demanded them, after all.
“Why would I care?” Ankh turned again and let her snap another photo. Eiji suspected he enjoyed this kind of attention, even if he never came out and said it.
“What about me?” Eiji asked. He'd changed back into his street clothes to wait around on the couch while Hina fussed with Ankh, but not before Hina finished his little photo shoot.
“I knew you would say yes, so I just sent them.” Hina gave him a playful smile and pocketed her phone.
Eiji slumped. “Ah. Well, that's true, but...” He shook his head and smiled. “Never mind. They shouldn't have to wait until the festival to see all your hard work.”
“It's not that special,” Hina said. She shifted on her feet and grinned. “Although, it's definitely selfish, but I'm grateful it was delayed so long so that I had time to do this. It feels weird to be so far into summer without seeing the fireworks, but it's worth this.”
“Right.” Eiji's middle cooled so fast his stomach ached for a second. He didn't let it show on his face. “You want to stay for the fireworks, right?”
“Of course.” Hina ducked into the kitchen and Ankh followed her like a pet hoping for a treat. “It's half the reason you go, isn't it?”
“Yeah.” Eiji fell back on the couch. “Shingo doesn't mind staying out so late?”
“Oh, no, we always go,” she said. The crinkly rasp of packaging followed, along with a withering aside to Ankh. “You're gonna pay if that drips on you.”
“Whatever.” A moment later, Ankh appeared over Eiji, studying his face with his lips around a popsicle. Hina had given him a paper towel to wrap around the stick. Clearly, she wasn't taking any chances. He bit the end off and chewed it, his gaze fixed on Eiji's face.
“What's that look for?” Eiji asked as he slipped off the couch.
“You were making a weird face. It distracted me.”
“There's got to be a more polite way to say that...”
Ankh grinned like a child with a secret. “I'm only ever polite or honest. You don't get both.”
Strange. Eiji felt he wasn't getting either at the moment.
.oOo..oOo..oOo..oOo..oOo..oOo..oOo..oOo.
“Ankh, sweetheart, just sit still for a second.”
“What for?” Ankh asked as he ducked under Chiyoko's hovering hand.
“I just want to give you something before we take the picture, now be a good boy and sit still.”
Ankh did, though Eiji knew better than to assume it was out of anything beyond resignation. He watched Chiyoko fuss with Ankh's hair and pull something from the pocket of her apron, all the while waiting for Ankh to flinch away and stalk over to sit with the rest of them for the photo around the table. He didn't. He even stooped down a bit, though he made obvious effort to ensure everyone saw him scowling the whole time.
“There!” Chiyoko stepped back and clapped her hands while Ankh straightened up. He touched the little gossamer flower she'd pinned to the wave of his hair and pulled his scowl down further. “You can take it off right after pictures, okay?”
Gotou was the first to break the silence that followed, and he did it with a strangled half-second laugh that sounded entirely alien coming from him. Ankh rounded on him and cocked his head to the side with a sneer.
“At least I don't look like the last potato in the bag,” Ankh said as he swished over to take his seat between Eiji and Hina.
“A man's is supposed to be baggy,” Gotou said, folding his arms. The way the shoulders of his yukata bunched up did lend some weight to Ankh's comment, as much as Eiji hated to admit it. “Having your collar stand up like that doesn't help either.”
“It is a little much,” Shingo put in, very quietly
“Hey!” Everyone but Date jumped when Ankh snapped and planted both hands on the table. “Hina made this for me, so remember you're making fun of her instead of me before you start flapping your stupid mouths.”
“Ankh.” Eiji pinched the elbow of his sleeve and delicately pulled him back into his chair. “Let's get along for at least a little while tonight, okay?”
Hina leaned around and, much to Eiji's relief, offered. Ankh a placating smile. “It's not a big deal, Ankh. These things are subjective, and Gotou can think whatever he wants.”
“Fine, but I'm wearing this all night now,” Ankh said. He turned his nose up at Gotou and Shingo, and Eiji's face burned.
“I wish you wouldn't.” Shingo appeared to be collapsing in on himself.
“I will!”
Date rose above the table just as Eiji was in danger of melting under it, hands up like a father presiding over a dinner table crowded with rowdy children. “All right, simmer down! Hina, you did a great job. Brotou, you look fine. Anko, wear whatever you want and don't needle the detective about it. Hino, quit slouching. Chiyoko, take the picture. We're all gonna smile nice for for the ten seconds it takes to take it and go have fun. All right? All right.”
Chiyoko nodded her thanks to Date and set the timer before rushing to the table. Just before the flash snapped, Ankh leaned into Eiji's shoulder. He smelled warm and subtly sweet. Eiji's smile, though lopsided, was genuine.
.oOo..oOo..oOo..oOo..oOo..oOo..oOo..oOo.
“Is he really going to wear that flower all night long?” Hina and Eiji had fallen back from the group a bit, under the silently shared need for a little distance from their colorful constructed family.
Eiji sighed and fooled with his collar. It was deep indigo, the closest he'd let Hina come to dressing him in purple. “Probably. He seems to like it, even if it's out of spite.”
“Yeah.” Hina made a thoughtful sound and adjusted the brim of her straw hat. “What about you?”
“What do you mean, what about me?”
“I mean, do you like it?”
Eiji cleared his throat and scanned the sky. Half past seven, still bright. That reassured him. “It's fine.”
“You can't keep saying stuff like that when it comes to things like this. You can't leave room for confusion.”
Eiji frowned. He had to wonder if Chiyoko had put her up to this little pep talk. “It is fine, though. There's nothing wrong with it.”
“Is that what you really think, though?”
“He might punch me if I said what I really think.”
“So you don't like it?”
“I do!” Eiji said, throwing his hands uselessly to his sides. The crowd chatter and music swallowed up the words so that only the two of them could hear, or so he hoped. “But... It's Ankh.”
“Ah.” Hina nodded to herself and sidestepped closer to him. “Eiji, have you ever liked anybody before now?”
“Of course! It's just... come on.” Eiji feigned interest in a food stall as they passed, just to keep his red face out of Hina's line of sight. The heat rolling off the grill intermingled with hot summer air, and his neck started to sweat. “This is different.”
“It can't be that different.”
At that moment, Ankh came shoving his way through the gathering crowd to rescue him. The hairpin he insisted on wearing clashed with the sharp, snotty look on his face. Eiji almost wanted to take a photo just to send it to him later.
“Hey, keep up!” He stalked up to Hina and snatched her hand, pausing just long enough for her to grab Eiji before hauling them both off. “What time does the noise start, anyway?”
Hina gave a hard tug on Ankh's arm and brought him back to a moderate pace. “Noise?”
“The fireworks start at nine.” The response was an automatic one, and one he regretted when they both turned t o look at him, Ankh with a little more scrutiny than Hina.
“Ah.” He swapped Hina's hand for Eiji's and took off again. “Come on, there's a walk-through haunted house and I want to see if Gotou screams like a girl.”
.oOo..oOo..oOo..oOo..oOo..oOo..oOo..oOo.
If Gotou did scream like a girl when spooked, Ankh didn't get to find out that night. Gotou had resisted the suggestion vehemently and, deprived of potential entertainment, so had Ankh. It was probably for the best. Eiji wasn't in any mood to see how Ankh reacted to being surprised from behind, or to explain in as normal terms as possible why he'd whirled around to punch a performer.
As the evening wore on, the group gradually broke up into fragments with the understanding that they would converge somewhere to watch the fireworks. The girls swept along in a chatty wave with Hina's friends, and Date led Gotou and a visibly relieved Shingo off to find somewhere to sit down and eat dinner. Ankh, meanwhile, stuck close to Eiji. Closer than usual, too close. Sandalwood scent rising into hot summer air close. It crowded out the swirling food and sparkler smells, but only because Eiji knew the source and his focus fell on it. It wasn't the strongest smell in the air, but his brain picked it out as the most significant.
Warm fingers found his under the yellow lights strung from stall to stall as they wandered the festival. Eiji started and looked to his side. For just a second, he caught a glimpse of Ankh's face looking uncharacteristically soft, lips turned up in the smallest smile and eyes full of warmth and reflected lights. He swallowed and let his fingers close lightly. That's right. He was in love with Ankh, wasn't he? That was the feeling, so sharp and strong in that split second. The warm tug of something outside himself, the dangerous need to entangle himself with another person. Yes. He loved Ankh.
“You look nice.”
That broke the spell, and some small part of him was glad for it. Ankh scoffed and straightened up, his smile turning crooked and irreverent. “You don't look as stupid as usual.”
“Thanks,” Eiji said, shaking his head with a wry smile. “Was there anything you wanted to do before we have to meet everyone else?”
“I want a watermelon popsicle from the convenience store down our street,” Ankh said, readily, as if he'd been considering it all night.
“Are you serious?” Eiji let Ankh turn him around and lead him back toward the entrance. “It's already eight thirty.”
“So?” Again, that piercing look, though softened around the edges. A firmer grip on his fingers.
“I guess we can be quick about it.”
They weren't. The streets were quiet and the night air was still, and the further they walked from the festival din the more Eiji felt himself lighten and unfold. They walked a while longer after Ankh bought his treat, wandering the neighborhood in rarely broken silence.
The first text from Gotou arrived just as they crested a hilly street and stepped far to one side to peer over the guard rail at the rooftops spread out below.
'Where are you two? It's going to start soon.'
Eiji tapped out a reply while Ankh watched the distant glow of the festival grounds.
'We went for a walk. We'll catch up. OK?'
'Fine by me. Everyone is going to Date's afterward. In case you take your time catching up.'
'OK. Thanks.'
A distant, harmless pop and the ensuing flash of color snatched his attention from the messages. There was no stomach pit lurch, no ribcage rattling drum strike. Just a sound proportionate to the threat it represented and a shower of sparks over a faraway field. He gasped, very softly, but not so softly that Ankh didn't hear and turn to him.
“Is this all right?”
“It's fine,” Eiji said. His gaze drifted between the sky and Ankh's eyes.
“I thought I could bring you further away before it started.” He scoffed. “Ah well. If it's good enough for you, that's fine.”
“Why?”
“I'm not stupid. I have ways of figuring things out. You would have put up with it, too, wouldn't you? For them.”
“Yeah.” Another fan of color and light sprayed out in the sky, then two more. “I would have tried, at least. That's stupid, isn't it?”
“Very.”
The light show crackled on overhead, filling the silence between their words with pops and sizzles and distant cheers. In the rainbow flashes, Eiji saw the softness return to Ankh's face. He saw wonder there, too, a childish appreciation for color and shine and hot summer air and sugar lingering on his lips.
When the crescendo roared to life and shook the air around them, Ankh moved wordlessly to stand behind him and wrap his arms around his middle. Tight, as if he were trying to hold something in. His sharp chin rested on Eiji's shoulder.
“Thank you,” Eiji said, quietly, once the bright thunder died and the world was still again. “Really. Thank you.”
Ankh's fingertips twitched against Eiji's stomach, and Eiji could feel him struggle with the urge to pull away. He laid a hand over Ankh's to hold him in place, if only for a moment.
Ankh's chest swelled with breath against his chest. “This wasn't the only reason I brought you here.” His grip on Eiji loosened, but he didn't move away.
“Yeah?”
“I wanted to...” Ankh trailed off, sneering. He was blushing. Eiji couldn't see it in the half-dark, but he could feel the growing warmth against his shoulder and neck. It rolled over his chest in a sigh. “Even after everything, you're the reason I'm here.”
He squeezed the thin hands folded over his stomach. “You don't have to thank me. Don't.”
“That's not what I'm doing.” He slipped his hands out from under Eiji's and stepped back. Even in the dark, his posture and the set of his shoulders made it easy to read him. He was wound tight around himself, trying to protect a secret inner something even as he offered it up to another.”Eiji...”
That one word, spoken with such plaintive tenderness, reached through Eiji's flesh and pinched his throat shut. He took a hesitant half step toward Ankh, who drew himself up a little taller and stepped back.
“I...” Ankh slumped, the narrowness of his shoulders suddenly so clear under the drape of his clothes. He pressed a hand against one eye and shook his head. “After everything, I never said it. Damn it.” He drew a big breath and looked up. “Eiji. I love you.”
A smile broke over Eiji's face, so warm and radiant that even he felt it. What could he say? A deeply buried instinct he had always thought he lacked answered, 'Nothing, not now.' This was Ankh lowering his defenses, baring his neck to him for something that to him must have seemed so tenuous and fragile compared to how deeply it could wound him. He stepped toward Ankh again, touched his sides as a silent invitation to come closer. He did, readily, soaking in the validation contact brought for just a moment.
“Let's go home,” Ankh said after a long moment.
Eiji paused and considered this just long enough for Ankh to grow impatient and rear back to glower at him.
“They can wait.” That raw fragility roiled under the thin veneer of Ankh's anger, and Eiji wondered how often he had seen it and not recognized it. 'They can wait,' those eyes seemed to say, while at the same time they asked, 'Aren't I important?'
Eiji nodded and Ankh lead him down the hill. The fingers grasping his trembled slightly. He held Ankh's hand a little tighter and walked close to him. “Are you tired? Is that it?”
“No.” Ankh shook his head and laughed, but not nastily. “Your desire gave me a human body. You'll take responsibility for that, right?”
Eiji blanched. “I-” The jingle of his phone cut off the words. He opened and shut it so quickly that the snap echoed up the street. “Yeah. Of course.”
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