AN: Well! Since it's almost advanceshipping week, I decided to finally show my advanceshipping week 2015 ficlets to countdown to Advanceshipping week 2016! Go check it out on the Advancers site if you're interested! I will also post my ficlets on the Advancers site first (a few days before I post it here)! ^_^

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Value of the Sun

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Day 1. AU. 810.

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Ash had absolutely no clue what he was doing. None.

He felt really bad, actually. He lied to his mother.

She called earlier, asking if he was doing well, and he lied.

He told her how great things were going to college, how he was working hard, and how he was loving his major in criminal justice.

And she was so proud of him, he couldn't break her heart. He couldn't tell her how he dropped out the first month of college.

So he lied.

College was fun. It was definitely a great experience living in the dorms and meeting so many new people. A part of him kept on telling himself that he should go back, and maybe if he talked to his professors, he would be able to turn things around and end up becoming the police officer he wanted to be.

But another part of him knew that wasn't the life for him. He wanted a different life for himself. He didn't want to conform to the traditional ways of working a nine to five job for the rest of his life. He wanted to travel still, experience new things.

So, he found himself in front of a giant circus tent, hoping to smile, hoping to follow them. As a child, his mother would take him to the circus and that would instantly make him smile in awe at the show, from the lion tamer to the amazing acrobats to the funny clown. Memories of laughter and joy were the only thing he could remember, and so, since the circus was in town, he figured he might as well go see since he had nothing better to do anymore. He was hoping he could find a way to follow, or join, too.

He used to always joke to Gary that he would someday when they were younger. Now he wasn't joking at all. Maybe it was the fact that he wanted new experiences, that he decided to do this spur of the moment.

The circus was one of those places that made him happy, anyways. Might as well try, he figured.

He found himself deciding to watch the show, first, to put him in a good mood.

He was more put in awe when he saw the acts. He laughed harder than any college student should at a clown squirting water in another clown's face. He was excited to see the lion tamer and cheered when the Strongman lifted a car.

But it was the last act that left him speechless.

On a line, who knows how high, but high enough to make him feel nervous, stood one girl. She was in a deep red suit with gold designs. Her face was painted with red and gold, and her hair was styled unusual, her light brown hair seeming to not understand gravity. She posed confidently, not saying a word - not needing to.

And then she began.

Ash was entranced by the acrobat on the top rope, no net - no safety, but he can tell she has walked that line numerous times, for she did it so effortlessly, her toned legs moving across, inch by inch.

She sure knew how to bring the suspense.

Music in the background turned much more dramatic, this girl about to do, he guessed, the riskiest move yet.

She was up so high, her strong legs on the rope. It looked like she was ready to jump, though. He wondered what was going to happen next.

And she took that leap.

"Watch out!" Ash stood, not sure what he was doing standing up so abruptly. For a split second, her eyes glanced at him, and their eyes locked.

Silence.

For a moment, Ash's heart stopped.

Cheers began when she grabbed the trapeze in the nick of time, swinging to the platform on the other side.

Ash placed his hand on his chest in a failed attempt to settle his heart. He was happy she was safe.

She was so incredibly talented. She was a risk taker - a big one at that! She elegantly danced, her legs kicking up high and her body in complete control of the situation.

He wondered, what made her able to take that leap.

In a way, she inspired Ash, the way she could put her life on the line and still perform like that. And here Ash was, a criminal justice major drop out, now deciding to join the circus with his mediocre skills. But for some reason, he felt more motivated to do so, for he wanted to know the girl on that tightrope, risking her life without a care in the world.

If he was unsure of joining the circus before, he now made up his mind completely.

At that moment, however, he just wanted to know her name.

The girl who took the leap.

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AN: When I first wrote this, I actually imagined this being a Pearlshipping fic. xD But then I decided against it, haha.