#streetprnce

Tala opens the door to pick up the morning paper when she sees the card. She blinked and picked it up, reading it before looking around.

Aslan?

She smiled, tearing up, and took it inside, where she put it on the fridge, where once she put Aslan’s little drawings when he was a child.

@streetprnce

YOUR friend. Oh, Ash had semblance of that in Shorter – and a little of that in Skip – but he was always too careful about what he decided to let them see. Share too little, he seemed uncaring, uninterested, heartless – show too much, they look at him with pity, patronized him, and saw more dirt among his grime. He gave a scoff to Eiji – trying to play this off as light as something he shouldn’t trouble himself with. But knowing the boy, he would place it upon himself to do something for Ash….something…anything.

“If that’s the case then you better get ready – steel your heart and what not. I’m not someone who is easy to be friends with.”

“I don’t mind. I know how stubborn you can be,” he teased him with a slight smile before it slowly softened as his gaze settled on Ash. He was only now getting to know the other, but it felt easy talking to him, despite what he was. Maybe it was naive to feel so at ease around someone that had the potential to be so dangerous, but he couldn’t find it in himself to be on guard around Ash.

@streetprnce

“There are days I can’t breathe. I look at the family pictures we took at the orchard festival last year. Eiji is holding a pumpkin and Ash is staring at it like it might come to life and eat him. Michael was holding up the bag of apples he wanted to buy with his own money, why apples? I have no idea. Ibe was the one taking the picture, he wanted all his boys in one shot together. Ash was so happy that day even with the pumpkins. There’s a christmas picture next to it. Ibe got us all these terrible sweaters and made everyone wear them. That was the Christmas card that year too by the way, I thought Jessica was going to laugh so hard at them. it was the worst.”

He laughed softly, wiping his eyes. “Eiji hasn’t gotten rid of his clothes. Michael wears one of his jackets a lot. its a little too big on him, but he’ll grow into it.”

He runs his fingers over a ring on his right index finger. “Ibe got these all for us…just after…” He swallowed hard. “It has Ash’s name on the inside. Like we’d forget him, heh, that’s impossible….its impossible.”

Impossible to forget the blonde, jade eyed boy who’d finally been allowed to breathe, to be himself. To love, to propose to Eiji, to be a big brother to Michael like Griffin had been for him. To be a young man without having to watch his back or run.

Goddamned that Chinese bastard. Max wanted to murder him. He’d been good at killing overseas. If he could just bring himself to add one more life…

“Ibe tries to keep us all together. He makes us all go to therapy. He helps with Eiji and the dogs. God, Ash’s dog Daisy…she still looks for him. Then she whimpers and lays down next to Eiji and I can see Eiji trying not to cry, trying to be strong.”

Michael. “Michael is angry. He should be angry, but I can see him slipping from my hands. He spends time in the city doing god knows what, I’m afraid its looking for Lao. I don’t want him to. He shouldn’t...I’m afraid for Michael. He looked up to Ash, Ash was his hero, his big brother, his best friend and without that anchor, I’m afraid Michael will do something he’ll regret later down the line. Or follow him to death.”

Does it get better?

“No. It never gets better. The pain is there. There may be moments its not worse, but its never better. Ash died too young. He touched so many lives…so many people.” He does remember the few years they had with Ash. The birthdays and vacations, the holidays, trips to places Ash had never been before, where he was safe and could be a kid.

It should have been me.