For the writing-prompts I was doing on tumblr back in February/March and somehow forgot to post here. walkingmadness asked for "I'm not sure if they're a secret admirer or a stalker… but at least they have good taste in gifts." for BusterXAsh.
Trust
Buster doesn't remember what exactly it was that drew his attention towards this necklace.
Okay, he does know.
It reminded him of Ash.
The black stone of the pendant because she likes black.
The silver bordure, a little fancy, but not too fancy, just like her.
The necklace itself formed like a chain, giving it that rocker style Ash has perfected.
That alone made him stop and look at the necklace in the display window for five minutes straight.
Which is understandable.
What he doesn't get is that he walked into the shop and bought it.
Why did he do that?
It's not like he could give it to her.
And now he has this necklace, hiding it away in the drawer of his desk and finds himself looking at it at least five times an hour.
And the more he looks at it, the more he realizes that it doesn't belong there.
It belongs with Ash.
It belongs around her neck, making her look even more beautiful than she already is.
But how can he give it to her?
He has no idea.
It's not that he could walk up to her and hand her the necklace.
It would look too weird.
It's hard enough for him to hide his feelings when he's around her.
And giving her a necklace would definitely make him look like a lovestruck idiot even before he tried to make up an explanation why he bought her necklace.
No, he needs to think of something else.
And then he has the solution.
He might not be able to give her the necklace personally, but he can still give it to her.
In secret.
When the singers have left for the day Buster tiptoes into Ash's rehearsal room.
He doesn't even have to tiptoe, no one else is around.
He does it anyway.
Just because it feels good.
It reminds him of the time at high school when he sneaked to his crush's locker to pin a Valentine's card to it.
And now he places the necklace so Ash has to find it when she arrives at her rehearsal room first thing in the morning.
He can only do so much to not giggle like an idiot when he rushes back to his office.
When Ash arrives for a meeting at his office the next day she's wearing the necklace.
He catches his jaw just in time before dropping because it looks amazing on her.
They talk about her next performance, and when they're done and Ash gets up to leave, Buster can't hold his tongue.
"Nice necklace," he says, regretting his words immediately.
Nice necklace? Could he have thought about anything more stupid?
He feels the urge to slap his hand against his forehead.
Instead, he forces his mouth into a smile.
Ash looks down on her necklace, letting her fingers stroke over the pendant.
"I know," she says. "I found it in my rehearsal room today." She shrugs. "I'm not sure if they're a secret admirer or a stalker… but at least they have good taste in gifts."
"A stalker?" Buster asks, his eyes wide.
Why would she think he's a stalker?
Okay, she doesn't know it's him, but still, it hurts a bit.
He clears his throat.
"Do you know who it might be?"
He needs to be sure.
Ash shakes her head. "No," she says, and he feels a little relieved. "A lot of people work around here. Who knows? I better look out not to be around someone alone." She shrugs. "Better safe than sorry."
"I see."
And then it hits him.
"But you're around me alone now," he says.
Ash rolls her eyes. "I meant around someone I don't trust," she specifies.
"So," - his voice sounds a little too husky for his taste, so he clears his throat again - "does this mean you trust me?"
Still a bit husky, but not too much. He can live with that.
"Of course!" Ash says and smiles at him, and he can't help, but return the smile.
And then Ash leaves.
But he still thinks about what she said before.
Does this mean you trust me? - Of course!
It makes him smile.