Jashi Week 2018


Day One

Anniversary


Summary: Jack and Ashi get their first moment alone since returning to Jack's home.


Stars painted the sky in brilliance. The wind gently whistled. The scent of the air was heavy with burgeoning rain. It did not smell like gloom as rain sometimes can. It smelled like spring. Like the flowers were ready to burst at their seams in bloom. Like the sun was begging to rise, though it was still late in the night, to spill warmth unto the earth.

It smelled like peace.

And after the days now fresh behind them, both the returning prince and former assassin deserved nothing but.

Aku had only been dead for hours. Jack had reunited with his loved ones. The kingdom breathed an enormous sigh of relief that the nightmare was finally over. Actions were taken quickly. To rebuild. To transform back into the thriving glory it once was.

But these were tiring efforts. And as the moon hung high in the sky, Jack and Ashi departed from their duties—from the cacophony of tearful welcomes, more tears to wash away their pain, and from the sweat of labor and celebration—to simply catch their breath.

"Jack?" Ashi asked. They were seated on a hill beneath a vast tree with branches that twisted diagonally as if to mock the curve of the wind's direction. Jack turned to her and noted her tone; one usually so strong and assured—unabashed and unashamed even while she explained her heritage to his parents only hours ago—and wondered why it now carried such a quiet quality.

"There's something I've been meaning to ask you," she continued. "When I was trapped... by Aku." Ashi eyes met him briefly and she turned away. "You... said something to me."

Blood rushed to his face in remembrance. The light of the moon was cruel in its brightness, for he could not hide it. Ashi's voice broke the silence once more, even quieter than before.

"Did you mean it?"

"What?" he whispered.

"It's just," she started. "I'm sorry, this is stupid." She attempted to laugh yet the sound of it came out like something broken. "It's just... no one has ever said that to me and I... well, I'm sorry," she said again. She looked up from where her eyes had been focused on the ground. "I can tell how uncomfortable you are."

"No!" Jack said. "Those were, uh... that is something I've never said before. Romantically, that is." He closed his mouth with the hopes to save himself the embarrassment. His eyes met hers and neither of them could look away.

There were a dozen things he could say at that moment. He could spill his heart, divulge his secrets to her. He could tell her how dearly he trusted her with his life; how grateful he was that she stood by him and returned him to his past to fulfill his destiny; how the sun seemed to shine brighter, the sounds of life sweeter when he was with her. How he would do his absolute best to make sure she never felt as lonely and unloved as her childhood once made her out to be. But the only words he could say at that moment were simple. Yet powerful.

"I meant it."

"Really?" Ashi's eyebrows lifted. "That's good." A quiet laughed escaped her. There were a dozen things she could say. How lucky she felt to be spared by a former enemy; how thankful she was to have seen the light of hope, the beauty of the world thanks to him. How scared she'd been of herself in that awful demonic form and how happy she was that he was not hurt. Yet the only words she could say at that moment were simple. Yet powerful.

"I love you, too."

The cool air of the night did nothing to ease the heat in their cheeks. Their gazes towards each other were bright and earnest like the stars that shone in the sky above them. Ashi's eyes flitted between his eyes and his lips. Only one more question separated the two.

"Jack?" Ashi drew her bottom lip between her teeth, making it inadvertently difficult for Jack to focus on anything else. It suddenly occurred to both of them that a moment like this had not happened since well... the last time.

Ashi spoke with receding hesitation.

"Will you kiss me again?"

And not another word was spoken.

Jack and Ashi laughed quietly as their noses bumped together in eagerness. The wind carried the sound through the air, through the trees and settled, leaving the couple in absolute peace and quiet as their lips met in gentle touch under the even gentler light of the moon.


Author's Note

Happy Jashi week everyone! One this day, one year ago, Jashi became canon and I became a useless heap of fangirl. I'll be off watching the video of the 'big kiss' five hundred times today while I try to write for other prompts. Aiming for shorter drabbles this year!

I am so excited for another year! I can't wait to see what other fiction and art is in store!

Jashi forever, babe. XD