If I owned ROTG so many spin offs would be in the making.
There were a lot of things Aster didn't like about summer.
For one, it came after spring. Meaning spring was over and he'd have to wait another year for that great time of year to come around again. And suffer through the not-so-great parts. The chilly autumn, the freezing winter.
The blistering summer. (You'd think a town like Burgess, which was bone-chilling cold in the winter, would be nice during the summer. You'd be wrong.)
Sidewalks turned into frying pans, the air was stuffy as could be, and walking outside without sunscreen was practically suicide.
There was only a couple of things Aster did enjoy about summer. One of them was the fact that school was out. The other was carefully leaning over North's pool, skimming a few leaves out of the water.
Aster wasn't much of the swimming type, but he spent every summer at his friend's North's pool. North had a huge house, filled with so many rooms that a map would probably be necessary if Aster went any farther than the few rooms he knew. Thankfully, his mansion also featured a big pool that may have been the only thing that kept Aster from dying during the horrid season.
As a repayment, his friends always helped North get it sparkling in the beginning of the summer after it's been uncovered. Or rather, Sandy and Tooth helped while Aster got distracted by the view and Jack stood next to the pool, impatiently waiting to get in. He had been banned from cleaning the pool after the incident from two years ago.
He was pulled out of his thoughts when he saw Tooth leaning a little too far into the pool and quickly grabbed her arm to keep her from plunging in. "Oh, thanks, Bunny!" She chimed happily, giving him a flash of her perfect pearly whites. "Guess I can't reach that leaf," she giggled before skipping to another part of the pool to clean it.
Aster just smiled and nodded after her, before feeling someone next to him. Sure enough, there was Sandy, giving him a smug look.
"What? I just noticed she was falling," he said defensively. Sandy raised his eyebrows and slowly nodded as he backed away, implying a sarcastic 'suuure.'
Aster shook his head angrily, muttering, "he sees bloody everything."
"Pool looks great, does it not?" North exclaimed excitedly, pulling his skimmer from the water and taking a few steps to put it away.
"Finally!" Jack threw his towel behind him. "It's so hot out here."
"Then get in the pool," Aster said dryly before giving the boy a shove into the pool. Gasps were heard until everyone grinned. It had begun.
As if the group didn't have enough summer traditions, another was pushing, pulling, or shoving into the pool the first time it was enjoyed each year.
Laughter and splashing water filled the air as the five friends spent the next hour getting each other soaked. After as Sandy lazily laid on a raft in the shallow end, North piled up tubes to make a creative sort of pool toy, and Jack tried to flip from the diving board, Aster and Tooth were still playing the game. Each stood next to the pool, carefully watching the other and looking for a way to him or her into the pool.
"I'm going to push you into the pool," Tooth said in a sing-song, teasing voice while giggling. Her long hair stuck to her dripping arms, which were in front of her, ready to push when she was given the chance.
"You think you're gonna push this in, sheila?" Aster boasted confidently, taking a step back as his opponent took one forward. "Nerves of steel, master of Tai-Chi," At this Tooth snorted and Aster pointed warningly. "Besides I'm a lot quicker than you."
"Almost quick…as a bunny?" She asked, having trouble getting the words out she was laughing so hard at her own pun.
"Oh, you're going in for that one." His reply was immediately followed by a shriek as Tooth took off running around the pool, Aster quickly following behind. It didn't take him long to catch up and before she could make it to the other side, his arms were around her tiny waist and they both plunged into the refreshing pool.
As they popped up, Aster couldn't remember another time when he was this close to the girl. The girl who could talk nonstop about the shades of someone's and its meaning for hours. The girl who he didn't actually mind listening to talk about teeth as long as she continued smiling through it and touched his arm when saying something especially exciting. The girl who actually made him not mind summer as long as he got a few more seconds of being so close to her, feeling her warm breath on his face, and watching her gorgeous, exotic eyes stare into his.
"I guess you win." Her voice was soft, rid of the giggles and shrieks of a few moments ago.
Aster simply nodded in reply, reaching out and pushing a piece of dark hair that was plastered to her cheek.
"And the winner needs a prize." There was a mysterious spark in her eyes and before he could question it, her arm were around his neck and pulling him under.
His curiosity didn't last long because as soon as they were submerged, Tooth pulled Aster even to her by wrapping her legs around his waist. He didn't have the chance to react as her lips lightly brushed across his next and his eyes practically popped right out of his head. Ignoring the stinging from the chlorine, he closed his eyes and tilted his head to deepen the kiss. As soon as he did Tooth detached herself from him and swam up to the surface of the water.
Following her up, Aster surfaced to see her swimming backwards, a smirk placed upon her red face. "Where do you think you're going?" He asked with scrunched brows, full of confusion. And a lot of glee, the smile on his face proved.
"You're going to have to catch me, Mr. Tai-Chi" was her only response before she dived back under, bubbles coming up as she laughed even under the water.
Aster was fast to follow after her, determined to catch up and return to the..pool game. After all, he was the quicker one.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, behind all the painting ideas, Easter facts, and thoughts of a certain dark-haired sheila, he rethought his opinion of the hottest season.
Summer may just be his favorite now.
I can officially say Sweet Tooth has taken over my life. There are not enough AU's out there of them!
I don't know if I should leave this as a one-shot or make this into a story of drabbles. I have a few other ideas for other chapters if I do, but I also suck at updating so I'm unsure if I can handle the responsibility of actually writing a story that needs to have updates.
Also! I'd like to give a shoutout to leonhartous (she probably won't ever see this but still). She was the one who made me originally fall in love with this pairing. Her AU story of them is absolutely adorable so if you liked this you'd LOVE hers. And even if you hated this you'd still probably love hers, hah.
Another shoutout to OhhEmmGeeOlivia for reading over this and fixing a few errors for me before I posted it.
Thanks for reading!
