He's never wanted anything so much as to prove himself to her.

For her, he'll slay however many dragons he has to, including the ones inside himself. He's always laughed at lovesick fools willing to do anything for another, but now he's the worst of them all. He'd throw himself and how knows how many others off a bridge for her in a heartbeat. He'll jump in front of a million buses if she wants him to; he'll let her kill him slowly and painfully with eighteen wickedly sharp pencils.

Because he loves her.

If he's honest with himself, he doesn't even know what he's trying to show her. That he's not a killer, not a bad person? Because that's a lie, and he can't lie to her. To prove that he's capable of change, then? Maybe. It's not quite that the so-called goodness of his heart has made him suddenly decide to reform. He just wants to be anything she wants him to be. If she has a good heart, then so does he.

Anything for her. Anything.

He used to claim he didn't have a worst fear. It was probably Hunter, in actuality, or the fact that he was afraid of anything. Now, though, it's all about her. Losing her. Being rejected by her. Worst of all, seeing her suffer and knowing that it's his fault. In short, hurting her. Not being good enough for her. Not doing enough to save her.

He'll do whatever it takes to earn her love and her respect.

If it makes her happy, he'll kill dragons and knights alike, hunt evil spirits over seven and a half continents, stake himself through the heart.

Anything for her.


Look, more short oneshots! Woo? Anyway, I wrote this a while ago, while my laptop was still in for repairs, and then I kind of forgot about it while it sat in my notebook for months on end and I worked on other stuff. I do have a couple multi-chaptered fics in mind, but I want to finish up Those Left Behind and get up all of my written chapters of Stay With Me before I start anything else long-term.

Right, so, anyway... Just a cute little Ash/Mare oneshot that popped into my head one night. Hope you enjoyed it, and, as always, I'd love to hear your feedback!

Disclaimer: Oh, god, I WISH I owned Ash Redfern.