Work Text:
"Would you still love me if I was a worm?" Eiji asks, looking up from his phone.
Ash stops typing the questions for the weekly assignment and removes his earphones (he refuses to upgrade them). " What ?"
Eiji leaves his phone on the coffee table and heads to the kitchen, dragging a dining chair beside Ash. " I said , would you still love me if I was a worm?"
"Why would you become a worm?" Ash asks, utterly confused.
"Just answer the question," Eiji insists, looping his arms around Ash's and resting his head on his lover's shoulder.
He doesn't know how important his answer is or what it means to Eiji.
"I don't know; it depends on the type of worm," he teases and his husband stares at him, unamused. "Well, it's not easy to love a worm, Eiji. I should at least know the type of worm."
“You could have just said yes.”
“It’s a conditional yes.”
"I see how it is," Eiji huffs, getting up from his seat and biting Ash's cheek.
Ash grumbles, lightly pushing Eiji. "Stop doing that," he requests for the millionth time, wiping his cheek with his sleeve.
No, but seriously, why would Eiji ask him that question? He would love this man - who was sleeping soundly beside him, unbothered by the turbulence he has caused in Ash's peaceful life - even if he transformed into any species across the genomes known to man.
The fact that Eiji had to ask means that Ash isn't clearly expressing his undying love for his lover.
He needs to change that soon.
It takes him two days and two restless nights to properly compile the proofs.
Satisfied with his work, he turns around on his chair and reaches for his phone to call Eiji.
"Hello," Eiji greets and Ash feels the atmosphere in his cabin brightening up like magic. "Having lunch?"
"About to."
"Me too," Eiji answers and he hears the clinking sound of chopsticks. "Itadakimasu ."
"I actually called you to ask if you are free this Saturday."
"Hmm. Wait, let me check." He responds through a mouthful of food. Ash smiles to himself, imagining the picture in his head. "I can leave by 4. Works for you?"
Ash checks his schedule for the day. "Yeah, works."
"Where are we going?" Eiji asks, unable to control the delight in his voice. Ash suddenly feels the urge to reach through his phone and hold his lover's precious face in his hands.
"Nowhere. Just home."
"Oh ? Do you have something planned for me?" Eiji inquires, his voice low and flirty.
"Something like that."
"Tell me! You know I'm bad at waiting."
"Unfortunately, you'll have to be patient this time, love."
“Guess it can’t be helped,” Eiji sighs dramatically and Ash chuckles.
“Aw, poor you.”
“Not even a hint?”
“No.”
“How cruel of you to keep your husband waiting.”
“It is what it is.” A knock on his door interrupts their conversation.
“May I come in, sensei ?” His TA asks with a stack of papers in his hand. He gestures to the student to take a seat.
“I’ll call you later,” Ash promises.
“Someone came in?” Eiji guesses and Ash hums an affirmative. “Okay, bye. Love you.” He makes a loud kissing noise before cutting the call.
Ash purses his lips to refrain from smiling like an idiot and restoring his solemn expression before turning his seat to face his student.
Saturday finally arrives after a decade, much to Eiji’s dismay. Ash notifies him that he’ll be home before Eiji to ‘prepare’ for whatever he has in mind.
Eiji impatiently waits, unable to contain his excitement. He switches music between genres and plays a game on his phone to kill time. When his station is announced, he gets down and all but runs home.
“ Tadaima , Ash!” He sings his arrival, hurriedly removing his shoes to enter their home.
“ Okaeri , Eiji.” Ash comes out of the living room, blessing Eiji’s fluttering heart with his presence.
He steps over the genkan , beckoning his husband with a curled finger. Ash laughs and indulges his request, placing his hands on Eiji’s waist and pulling him closer. He loops his arms around his husband’s neck and they kiss, drowning him in that heavenly sensation called love.
Ash places a finger on his lips, suddenly interrupting the kiss.
“We’ll never stop if we start now,” he explains.
“Do we have to stop?” Eiji asks before leaning in to resume their kissing.
Ash dodges his attempt. “Yes.”
Eiji pouts and pays attention to their dog, who has been patiently waiting for them to finish their business so he can receive his head pats.
“You treat me worse than Buddy,” he whines, scratching the dog’s fur.
“Buddy is literally the best-treated member of our household. We both treat each other worse than Buddy.”
Ash re-enters the living room, leaving Eiji and Buddy to follow him.
He notices his husband’s laptop connected to their TV screen which is currently blank. It’s also the time when Eiji realizes Ash is still clad in his work clothes - cream-coloured shirt, tie and formal pants - except for his jacket.
Ash grabs a small remote (the one that’s used to change the slides during a presentation) from the coffee table and puts on his glasses.
The man in front of him isn’t his husband anymore; it’s Professor Ash Callenreese.
All the patience over the week was finally delivering its fruit.
He feels the butterflies in his stomach perform all sorts of acrobatics. He immediately guides Buddy out of the room and into his kennel, feeling only a little guilty. He’ll apologize later; he has to prioritize himself right now.
Eiji bites his lip expectantly. “Are we role-playing?”
Ash only smiles. "Get a book and a pen."
"So detailed," Eiji complains fondly, fishing out his stationeries.
He ties his hair in a knot to prevent them from getting in the way later. Assuming his position beside the coffee table, he obediently waits for his lover to start.
Ash clicks his screen awake.
“100+ reasons why I would still love Eiji is he was a worm,” Eiji reads off the slide. “You made a presentation on that?” Eiji laughs.
Ash wordlessly pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “We are going to speed run through this.” He clicks the next slide, and Eiji gasps when a little floating box in the lower right corner tells him the total number of slides in the presentation.
“I can’t believe you made one forty-three on that silly little thing-” The way Ash stares at him tells him it isn’t a joke anymore. “Oh, my God, you’re serious about this!” Eiji notes, bewildered.
“Of course, darling. I’m always serious about you. And you,” he taps at the screen with his remote, “are going to learn how much I love you.”
“No !” Eiji replies incredulously.
“Yes,” Ash clicks on the next slide, continuing calmly. “I tried to keep this short and only divided this into seven modules -”
“Seven ?!”
“And each module is further divided into ten units -”
“Ten? Ten ?!”
“Unfortunately, only ten.”
“Ash,” he whines, rubbing his face with his hands, “there’s no need for this. I get it.”
“What do you ‘get’?”
“That you love me…?”
“See? You don’t get it! I don’t love you. I love you. And I’m hoping to teach you that difference.”
“Ash,” Eiji makes a pitiful face, “I am truly, genuinely sorry, from the bottom of my heart, that I asked you if you would still love me if I was a worm. I’m sorry I doubted you. I was a fool. I get it now. You don’t have to go such lengths to knock some sense in me.”
Ash smiles sympathetically. He walks to Eiji and places a chaste kiss on his lips, caressing his jaw with his thumbs. His husband fixes him an earnest look. “I am glad you asked me that question. It made me realize that I was still lacking in declaring my infinite love for you.”
“There are other ways -”
“Later. As soon as we’re done,” he promises. “Let’s focus on this now.”
Ash leaves and Eiji mourns for his loss.
“And you’re going to make notes. I’m going to check. If I find any part missing, I’m going to go back and explain it again.” Ash says sweetly.
“That’s insane! Is this how you behave with your students?”
“Of course not. It’s just you who deserves my undivided attention.”
“Why me?” Eiji asks, almost crying.
Ash smiles. “Because I love you.”
“What about me?” Ash asks, comfortably nestling between the blankets.
Eiji places his phone on the nightstand and turns to face him. “What about you?”
“Would you still love me if I was a worm?”
Eiji smiles like a breeze on a dry day and Ash feels his heart beat faster. He softly combs his fingers through the loose hair on his temple, gently tucking them behind his ear.
“I actually don’t like worms.”
Ash blinks. “What?”
“They’re just so ew .”
Ash stares at him blankly, unable to parse his broken heart. “So I am ew to you?”
Eiji laughs, unable to continue his prank. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding. I’ll try my best to love you. At a hand’s distance, of course.”
Ash peers through the blankets, squinting his eyes judgementally.
Eiji laughs louder, cuddling him through his blanket. “Don’t look at me like that.”
“I’m going to start finding a divorce lawyer.”
Eiji gasps, yet his voice remains unserious. “No, don’t leave me! What will I do without you?” He makes a show of wiping fake tears and wailing melodramatically.
He takes his pillow and promptly starts a one-sided pillow fight.
Eiji uses his hands to shield himself. “This is also why I hate worms; they’re so violent.”
“Shut up !”