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Paris isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. It’s dirty, packed full of people, and smells like either weed or piss. Sometimes both.
Still, Eiji’s having fun, so that’s what matters, really. He’s snapping pictures of the Eiffel Tower from every conceivable angle, wrapped up in the supposed beauty of it. Eiji’s repeated the same action about a million times, now - hold the camera still, take a picture, frown at said picture, and try again.
And Ash is content to watch him, of course, but he does feel a little ignored. While everyone around him is marvelling over the famous landmark, he’s squinting up at it, trying to figure out why a hunk of rusted metal with some lore is so terribly pretty. He’s like a twelve-year-old girl at her first concert, acting uninterested in the hope her favourite band member will notice her.
The lead singer finally looks over the top of his camera, and beams. Ash’s heart flutters a little, and he grins back.
“You done?”
“I think so!” Eiji readjusts the strap that holds it secure around his neck. “Do you want to see them?”
“Hm. Not now.” Grimacing, Ash shakes a leg. “If I have to stand for any longer, I’m gonna collapse.”
Eiji laughs lightly. “What if we found a cafe to sit in - then I could show you?”
“That sounds more like it. Somewhere with shade, though.” The sweltering heat renders Ash’s forehead disgustingly sweaty and leaves him regretting wearing - well, anything, really.
Eiji sighs. “Agreed!" The shutter closes over the lens as he switches the camera off, and lets it hang at his neck as he takes Ash’s hand in his.
"Gross. Your hand’s all damp.” Ash pulls an exaggerated face of discomfort.
“I could say the same thing to you, mister!” Pouting, Eiji lets go, only to link their pinky fingers a moment later. “Better?”
“Hm...” Now, Ash could be nice here and say something equally as sweet as Eiji’s actions. Or he could be an asshole. “...your hands are tiny.”
He gets shoulder-checked for his efforts.
They find a small ice-cream shop that’s quietly busy - hidden from the masses, but still holds a small crowd of people sitting at various tables. The queue is a decent size, and as they wait for their turn, Eiji switches on his camera and starts fiddling with things.
When their turn rolls around and the cashier is waiting for their order, he’s still fiddling with things.
“Eiji.” He nudges him.
“Hold on…” Eiji murmurs, clearly with no idea where he is, or any intention of stopping any time soon.
Ash sighs. He might as well do it himself.
“Uh…” He holds two fingers up to the cashier. “Deux glaces… s'il vous plaît?”
“Quels parfums?” The clerk responds with all the enthusiasm of a teenager at their first part-time job.
“Une boule de pistache, et…” He turns to Eiji, who’s stopped messing with his camera; instead, he’s openly staring at Ash like he’s never seen him before. “What flavour do you want?”
“You- What?” Eiji continues to look at him, eyes wide.
“Eiji. Ice cream. Flavour.” Ash can’t help but smirk - he knows exactly what’s tripping Eiji up.
“…Strawberry?”
“Une boule de fraise,” He finishes. The cashier nods, and once their ice creams are handed over, rings up the total. It’s significantly more expensive than two ice creams should be - although Ash doesn’t expect anything less from Paris. He pays the price, and the two take a seat at one of the outside tables.
“You speak French?” Eiji asks, incredulous. “And you managed to hide it from me, somehow?”
Ash takes a good, long lick of his ice cream, before responding with a self-satisfied smirk. ”Surprise!“
"Why wouldn’t you tell me?"
"It wasn’t the right time?”
“Ash.” Eiji fixes him with a withering stare. “We are in France.”
Ash sighs dramatically. “Look, I just wanted to surprise you with some French in some prestigious art gallery or fancy opera house, you’d think I was cool and hot for speaking said universally proclaimed love language, then kiss me.” He raises an eyebrow as Eiji flushes a very visible shade of pink. “Is that too much to ask for?”
“Wh-” Eiji’s face displays a myriad of emotions before he erupts into soft giggles. “You’re ridiculous.”
“Thanks, asshole." And Ash probably should feel more offended than he is, but he can’t bring himself to be when it’s Eiji. Instead, he tries to change the subject so he can avoid being the butt of the joke again. "You said you wanted to show me your pictures?”
“Oh!” Eiji perks up and hands his ice cream to Ash so he can switch on the camera. “I took this one I think you’ll like! There was a bird flying past, just by the top of the tower, and I accidentally got it in the shot… but it turned out quite pretty!"
He angles the screen so Ash can see. Although he doesn’t know much about photography, he does have eyes that tell him it’s a damn good picture. Eiji has the right to be proud - and the sheer elation on his face is enough to melt Ash’s resting bitch face into a smile, almost as fast as the ice cream he’s holding.
"Yeah.” He pauses, leaning in, and presses a soft kiss into Eiji’s hair. “You did good, mon chéri.”
Eiji scrunches his nose. “What does that mean?”
“Nerd.”
He gets shoulder-checked, again.
Although, he supposes he deserves it.