no mader how strong the wind blows

chapter 7 Hello Los Angeles!

Chapter 7: Hello, Los Angeles!

Summary:

Ash and Eiji share a little moment on the plane, and as they arrive in Los Angeles, a surprise awaits them.

Notes:

For everyone's guidance, Ash is 11 and Eiji is 13.
Anyways, enjoy the update!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

"Good afternoon passengers, this is the pre-boarding announcement for flight 24B to Los Angeles. We are now inviting all passengers to begin boarding at this time. Please have your boarding pass and identification ready. Thank you."
"Did you hear that, Ashu? Waaaaah! We're going to LA! We're going to LA!" an ecstatic Eiji squealed upon hearing the boarding announcement, shaking Ash's shoulders out of excitement.
"I know, Ei-chan. I'm excited to get to LA, too," Ash answered, chuckling. "But you're gonna ruin my shirt if you keep pulling it."
Eiji giggled in response, flashing the peace sign with his fingers. "Sorry!"
"Do we have our passports and boarding passes ready, Jim?" Jennifer asked her husband as the two families fell in line to get their documents checked.
"Yep," Jim answered, showing her four passports and four boarding passes. "I have them right here." He pointed at each one of them. "Here's mine, here's yours, here's Griffin's, and here's Ash's."
"How about you, honey? Do you have our passports and boarding passes?" asked Mr. Okumura, who was holding Eika's hand.
Mrs. Okumura smiled in response, showing him four passports and four boarding passes. "I have them with me, don't worry." She then turned to her youngest daughter. "Are you excited, Eika-chan? Don't let go of Daddy's hand, okay?"
"Yes, Mommy," answered Eika.
"Did we forget anything, Griffin?" Jennifer asked. "Be sure that we have all our luggage with us before we board the plane."
"Everything's clear, Mom," Griffin answered after looking back at the benches they were sitting on, pulling his luggage bag along with him. "We're all set."
"Eiji and Ash, be sure to hold on to your backpacks, okay?" Mrs. Okumura told the two boys. "We don't wanna forget or lose anything on the way to LA, do we?"
The two best friends looked at each other, checking if they have their backpacks on, then smiled when they saw that they were indeed carrying their bags.
"Are you ready, Ashu?" Eiji asked, holding out his hand.
"Ready when you are, Ei-chan," Ash answered, taking his best friend's hand.
"Oh yeah! Los Angeles, here we come! Woooo!" Eiji exclaimed.
"This is it boys, we're going to LA," said Mr. Okumura. "Are you excited?"
"YES!" Ash and Eiji chorused, smiling widely as their eyes twinkled in excitement.
***
Inside the airplane, Eiji was seated beside the window next to Ash and Griffin. Meanwhile, Ash's parents were seated behind the trio, while Eiji's parents and sister were seated on the next aisle. Two hours passed since the plane took off, and because they were seated next to each other, the two boys have been talking non-stop about the randomest of things.
This continued on, until Ash noticed Eiji's body shaking.
"Are you alright, Ei-chan?" he asked. "Are you feeling cold?"
Eiji, unable to speak because of the cold, just nodded his head as he continued to rub his hands over his arms in an attempt to warm himself. His teeth were chattering, tightly wrapping his entire body with a blanket the airline provided for its passengers. Why did the plane's air conditioning unit have to be so cold in the first place? It was so bone-chilling, he had a feeling that he would freeze by the time they would reach Los Angeles, to think that it would take four more hours before they actually arrive there.
Seeing his best friend shivering, Ash took off the blue jacket he was wearing and wrapped it around Eiji's shoulders.
"Here, Ei-chan, you can wear this," he said.
"Th-Thanks, A-Ashu," Eiji tried to speak with his teeth still chattering. He somehow felt warm with Ash's jacket on him, but it still wasn't enough to make him stop shivering.
Just then, Ash hugged Eiji tightly, much to the older boy's surprise.
"There, are you feeling warm now?" he asked, resting his head on Eiji's shoulder.
"Y-Yeah," Eiji replied as he felt the warmth of Ash's arms around him, a few strands of his light blonde hair brushing lightly against his cheek and neck. He could hear his heart pounding hard against his chest, and he honestly feared that Ash might hear it.
"You know, I'm surprised that a jacket still isn't enough to make you warm, Ei-chan. Your skin must be so thin," he heard Ash say, followed by a soft chuckle.
Eiji rolled his eyes, chuckling as well. "Whatever you say, Mr. Thick Skin."
Ash just smiled as he tightened the hug, snuggling closer to Eiji. In response, the raven-haired boy leaned closer, resting his head on Ash's, suddenly feeling sleepy.
For some reason, he didn't feel cold anymore.
***
Four more hours later, Eiji roused from his sleep when he felt a finger poke on his cheek.
"Ei-chan, wake up," he heard a familiar voice say. "Look out the window."
"Mmmm, later, Ashu," Eiji mumbled, his eyes still closed. "I'm sleepy."
He shifted into a more comfortable position in his seat as he tried to go back to sleep, but failed when he felt Ash's finger poking his cheek again.
"Knock it off, Aslan," he said in an annoyed tone, pushing Ash's hand away from his face. "I'm trying to sleep here."
"But Ei-chan, you have to see what's outside the window," answered Ash. "The view's awesome!"
Knowing that his best friend wouldn't stop until he gives in, Eiji had no choice but to open his eyes and look outside the airplane window, where he saw a breathtaking view of the city. A wide smile slowly formed on his lips as he saw the towering skyscrapers of Los Angeles below the clouds, along with a view of the Californian mountains in the distance.
"Wow!" he exclaimed, placing his hands against the window. "It's beautiful!"
"See? I told you the view's awesome," Ash commented, looking outside the window as well.
"Ashu!" Eiji excitedly turned to his best friend. "Let's take a picture, come on!" Then he looked at his parents on the other aisle. "Mom, may we borrow the camera? We just wanna take a picture of the view."
Without any hesitations, his mother immediately brought out their DSLR camera from its bag, handing it over to Griffin, who happened to sit next to her.
"Griffin," Ash told his brother. "Could you take a picture of us? Be sure to include the window and the view."
"Alright," Griffin replied, pointing the camera's lens on the two boys. Ash just smiled while Eiji flashed the peace sign, grinning from ear to ear.
"Um, could you move a little closer to Ash, Eiji?" he asked.
Eiji obeyed in response, moving a bit closer to Ash, then did the same pose as before.
"Move a bit more, Eiji, so I could get a good view of the window," Griffin added, gesturing for the raven-haired boy to move closer to Ash.
Eiji felt his heart beginning to race as he moved a little bit closer to his best friend, but he tried his best not to show it. For a second he thought Griffin was up to something, but knowing how playful he could be sometimes, he just ignored the thought.
"Now Ash," Griffin told his younger brother. "Could you move a bit closer to Ei---"
Griffin didn't finish his sentence when Ash suddenly wrapped an arm around Eiji's shoulder, making the older man smile.
"Perfect! Okay, smile!"
A few clicks were heard, then a few seconds later Griffin showed the boys their picture. Ash was smiling widely, his arm wrapped around Eiji, while Eiji's eyes were widened, his mouth open and his cheeks reddish, obviously looking surprised by his best friend's sudden gesture.
"Hey, you actually look good together, you two," he said, grinning at the two best friends. "Just look at you, so adorable."
"Hahahaha!" Ash laughed as he looked at their picture. "You really look so cute when you blush, Ei-chan!"
Eiji was about to open his mouth to say something when all of a sudden, a voice sounded through the plane's speakers, announcing that they would be landing at Los Angeles International Airport soon, making him squeal in excitement instead.
"We're here! We're here! We're finally in Los Angeles! We're finally here!"
"I know, Ei-chan. I know," said Ash.
"Oh come on, Ashu," Eiji answered. "I know you're excited as well, don't even try to hide it."
"Well, who wouldn't be excited?" Ash grinned at him.
***
It was already nighttime when they arrived in Los Angeles, so upon landing at the airport, the two families immediately headed to the nearest hotel to rest after a long, tiring six-hour flight from New York.
"Okay," Jim told everyone once they were checked in, holding three room key cards in his hand as they stood in front of three doors. "We would be staying in three rooms, and we have already decided who would be staying in each room."
"So Jim, Griffin and I would be staying in one room," said Jennifer.
"And Eika, my wife and I would be staying in the other room," Mr. Okumura added.
"So if you and Griffin are gonna stay in one room," Ash said to his Dad and stepmom. "That means I would be staying there too, right?"
"No, son," Jim answered. "You'll be staying in the third room."
"If you'll be staying in one room, so that means," Eiji told his parents, who apparently didn't hear what Jim just said. "I would be staying with Mom, Dad and Ei---"
"Oh, you'll be staying in the third room as well, Ei-chan," Mrs. Okumura told his son.
It took a few seconds before the boys' eyes widened in shock, realizing what their parents just said.
"WHAT?!"