Page 43 of Love Limits

In fact, were they still in one now?

It was too much to think about. Zhong pulled his phone out, smiling again at the pajama party GIF and sent Ash a text that he was on his way.

Sometime soon, he’d pour out all of his thoughts into his notebook and try to fit the pieces together for the jigsaw puzzle in his head. Not tonight, though.

Tonight, he needed Ash’s infectious happiness and easy presence.

When he parked in front of his apartment building, Zhong could see Ash through the glass in the vestibule.

They had what looked like an overnight bag resting at their feet, a different one from last night. They must have stopped by at home first. That made it even nicer that they were here, since they could have just stayed there, even though Zhong’s place was closer to their work.

They were also wearing… pajamas. Definitely pajamas. On top was their usual puffy green coat, but beneath they wore flannel pants with some sort of cartoon character that he was too far away to make out. That was really cute.

He watched them thumb through something on their phone as he approached. Just then, they happened to look up and their whole face lit up in a grin.

Zhong started signing as he walked up the sidewalk, making his motions large for the distance. I didn’t think the Disastrous Date Club was responsible for other people’s Disastrous Dates.

Ash threw their head back in laughter. Seriously. Can we be, like, the Dating Triumph Club, just for the night? They signed DATE, their fingertips all meeting together with their index fingers raised, then spun their index fingers out in little circles above their head to indicate SUCCESS. It was a great compound word, very poetic.

What does the Dating Triumph Club do? Zhong asked as he reached the door that Ash was holding open for him.

We have perfect dates. That sign was even better, as the words for PERFECT and DATE were already so close, only the fingers that were raised switching places and the angle shifting a little. Zhong wondered if Ash ever performed poetry or music. We play board games and you make me dinner. Unless you’re too tired, in which case we order in. Then you cuddle me all night.

Yeah, that really did sound like a perfect date. Not that he was dating Ash or anything. But after all of Ash’s crappy dates and his, well, his one bad one and hanging out at the wretched ace meet-up, he figured they both deserved a good date to remind themselves of what it could be.

Something easy, relaxing, and fun. Just like all of his time with Ash.

Maybe he could even let himself imagine it as a date, kind of a comparison point for finding someone just as compatible as Ash, though they would be ace, of course.

Or he could just enjoy Ash’s company.

Lead the way.

Once they got upstairs, he helped Ash out of their coat and took in the pajamas. He’d never seen the cartoon before, if it even had a name, but there was a cute little pig wearing clothes.

Then Ash wouldn’t let him do anything until he changed into his PJs, too. He laughed as they pushed him into his room. They were so light he was sure he could pick them up and swing them around, but he let himself be herded by their two smaller hands on his back.

They shut the door behind them, leaving him in privacy to change his clothes.

He usually slept in a pair of loose pajama pants in the winter or just boxers in the summer, but in the spirit of things, he put on a navy blue pajama set that his mother had given him one year for his birthday.

It felt festive. Definitely something special and sweet. Like a date, even.

Well, a date for him, at least. One where he put more clothes on instead of taking them off.

Back in the living room, Ash was standing in front of the game closet, looking over the options. It was nice having them in his space.

Hungry? Zhong asked.

Please. Starving. We had a late lunch, but it was shitty museum food.

Zhong had planned out a whole meal, but since it was getting late he just heated up a few leftovers and let Ash loose on the snacks he’d picked up.

Ash sat at the counter, swinging their feet. Like before, they ended up sorting through the bowl of snack mix, covering the counter with a cluster of puffed rice stars surrounded by a swirl of dried green peas.

In between eating handfuls of the mix and chatting with Zhong, they added another layer, a wavy circle composed of spicy speckled squares resting in a ripple of sesame sticks. It was fascinating how everything that they touched became a work of art.

Zhong took out his phone to snap a photo. He wasn’t sure whether he wanted to capture the artistry or just the feeling of having Ash’s creativity and enthusiasm in his home. It felt like one of those pictures that would mark some important moment in his life.