With Eiji

His eyes slowly opened and the first thing he realized was that there was no pain. He felt strange. It was as if he somehow was the healthiest he had ever felt. Then there was another thing that he picked up was that someone was lying on top of him.

His eyes looked down and he blinked owlishly at the blond man on top of him. That person had some kind of similarity to Ash, though not really. The stranger was way more muscular and adding to this, the person's height was slightly bigger. Not a lot but still slightly.

"Ugh, why do I feel-" The person's voice was even deeper yet there was this hint of Ash.

"Um, Ash is that you?" Eiji couldn't help but ask in a hopeful voice.

"What the fuck is going on, Eiji. Shouldn't you be in the hospital?"

He let out a nod, yet the relief to see Ash made him hug his friend tightly. Ash was more than just a simple friend and seeing him alive and healthy, even though in a different body was making him feel such a relief.

"Uh, Eiji are you alright?"

"Yeah, just glad to see that we both are healthy. Even when not really in our bodies." His voice was chipper.

Ash pulled away and hummed. His gaze shifted around and he could not help doing the same. The place reminded him of the medieval times. Even what Ash was wearing reminded him of the times. From what he could tell Eiji was wearing something like that too.

"Ash, do you also have weird second memories?"

The man instantly looked back at him as looking thoughtful. "Yeah, but that does remind me, why in god's name didn't I knock?"

"From what I see, it seems like something that we both do." Eiji mused.

"Yeah, also uh there seems to be some kind of more than the typical friendship going on." Ash awkwardly said.

"How so?" Eiji was curious.

"Uh, Arthur, the guy I am in, is married and Gwen told him that he should just tell how he feels about Merlin," Ash explained.

His brows furrowed before a realization hit him. His entire face felt slowly full-blown blush. The fact that the guy he was in had his own feelings towards the body that Ash was in.

"Uh, I don't think telling you this will be helpful because well um..." Eiji felt shy.

Now that he felt Merlin's feelings towards Arthur, he knew that they were identical to those he held towards Ash. Though it was so much more and from what he could tell it was how Merlin felt too.

"Let me guess he feels the same way?" Ash held amusement.

"Um, I mean uh." He could not get any sentences out.

"Awe, are you embarrassed?"

Eiji puffed his cheeks out. What could he even say to this? Eiji did not want to make Ash believe that those feelings only came because of the person he was right now.

"Ash." His voice was hesitant, not fully sure how to start a conversation like that.

"You don't need to be nervous. I won't judge." Ash reassured, yet Eiji was unsure that this conversation would go well.

Even though he loves his friend, he does not want to make things awkward after telling this to Ash. Yet farther they came not as the door ended up snapped open.

"Merlin, I need your help with some magic-related things." A man's voice called out.

How does he even help with this? Eiji was not the person that he would be able to help. Ash looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Don't." He grumbled out.

"Are you alright?" The man asked and for a moment he had no idea who this was.

"Gwaine, is it that important?" Ash's voice made it clear that he did not want to leave him alone with this person.

How Ash was even remembering who this person was, showed once more how good Ash was at memorizing things. 

"Jeez, princess. I am not going to harm your dear crush." Gwaine teased.

Ash gave Gwaine a blank look, he on the other hand could feel his entire face heat up. It was such a typical thing of Gwaine to say.

"Gwaine, when you're only here to embarrass me you can leave." His voice showed that he was not in the mood.

"Merlin, are you good?" Gwaine carefully asked, showing concern for his health.

"Yes, I just had no time to rest yet. Back to your question: what do you need help with?"

There was a pause of Merlin's best friend -at least from what he could tell from the memories that he had- before Gwaine decided to put an arm around Eiji. A thing that Ash did not like and from the expression Eiji could only assume that his friend was feeling overprotective again. Not unsurprising as this was not someone that either of them really knew well. Yes, their memories too but for both Eiji and Ash the person was essentially a stranger.

"We have issues with protection and thought to ask you for some help. Because the novice magic group hasn't yet figured out a way to do that." Gwaine explained.

His brows furrowed and Eiji had no memory of that kind of spell. It made him think hard about this, yet even then he could not figure it out. "Sorry, I would need to check my book, before I will be able to tell you a good one," Eiji explained.

Ash folded his arms together and gave him one of those looks. A look that told Eiji that the man was not pleased. What he wasn't pleased at, Eiji was not sure but he could only assume that it had to do with Gwaine being that close to him. A thing that he could see was also something that Arthur had a similar look.

"Alright, I will let you work then. Oh princess, don't be that jealous, he's only a little brother to me." Gwaine teased before walking out of the room before Ash could possibly throw something at the man.

"Why is he that way?" Ash muttered under his breath.

"He reminds me a bit of Max whenever he teases you." Eiji quipped.

That was something that made Ash give him a pout as an answer. Though the man would never say that this is a pout. That made Ash always look adorable.

"So what now?" He asked next.

"That is a good question isn't it?"

Ash looked thoughtful and Eiji decided to get the magic book and try to figure out a protection spell. Though he was not sure that he could even use magic, knowing from his memories it might work. Hopefully, because him being unable to use magic was not going to go well. People would figure out that they are not the people that those who are friends with Merlin and Arthur are.

Eiji picked up the big book. Somehow he instantly knew what to do. He stopped at a familiar handwriting. It was put in the book. Ash was standing next to him and leaning closer to him, trying to decipher what the book was saying clearly.

"I think I know what my counterpart was trying to do," Eiji muttered thoughtfully.

"I could try and help with this, but I have never seen a language like that and even though it's clearly written in a language that my counterpart can read, I still don't really understand much. It's really strangely written." Ash looked frustrated.

"It's a shame that you're unable to understand this. It's rather easy for me to understand what the spell is used for, but what my counterpart has been trying to do is make a teleportation spell." He explained thoughtfully.

"It must have somewhat worked but knowing the panicked expression after the counterpart entered was pure panic. So, whatever Merlin was doing caused well, us being switched."

Eiji let out a groan. The fact that this had happened exactly at the worst time was not good. God knows what might happen when one of the others dies. Though Eiji doubted he would die, Ash had been planning on going to end this.

"Do you think the two are alright in our bodies?" His voice was full of worries.

"Fuck, you won't like what was happening when I switched places with Arthur," Ash said.

His eyes narrowed and Eiji felt dreaded to find out the answer. "What happened?"

"Well, I may or may not have almost gotten kidnapped." Ash sounded nervous now.

"Excuse me, what?!" His heart sank and he felt the panic overwhelm him.

"Look, I escaped and was in the middle of fighting Fox. Everything will be fine, as Arthur is good at fighting too and he knows how to handle this." Ash tried to reassure Eiji but this was not working.

His entire color drained at this and his body shook. Eiji could not handle losing Ash. It was the worst outcome in his eyes. It was now that he thought about it, he realized how much he had fallen for Ash.

"Sorry, I did not plan on worrying you." Ash sounded guilty.

"Too late. I hope to god that he did not get himself killed, for both Merlin and my health."

Ash pressed his lips together. The man gave him one look before taking a deep breath. "What do you need?"

He pressed his own lips together, uncertain what would help. Until he thought about it, Eiji could not let Ash out of his sight for a while. So he folded his arms together.

"I want you to always be in my sight and also please hold me because right now I doubt only seeing you will reassure me that you're healthy and here. You don't need to, but when you are comfortable with it." Eiji's voice was hesitant yet anxiety was clearly heard.

Ash gave him one look before he looked indecisive about this. Eiji knew that Ash was not good with touch and he could not blame his friend for this.

"I can't promise you that this will be the entire time because I don't feel fully comfortable with touch, but I can try," Ash said.

He nodded and that was how the two were now sitting down, with Ash curled on his side and the two looking through the book, trying to figure out a way to get back.