Disclaimer: Andros and Ashley aren't mine, but they're so fun to write. So is Twilight, but he is mine. ;)
A/N: This is a (belated!) Christmas fic to Marieke, Rosa, Ruby, Nicole, Alex, Matt, Mara and all my dear friends and readers. Hugs to you all, and Merry Christmas!
A Christmas to Remember
Ashley woke up early that morning. Stretching and wiping at her eyes, she rolled over to find an empty space beside her. A part of her sighed as she stretched once more. They still weren't back. She knew that they would be gone for a while, but she figured that they would be back before now.
Andros and Zhane had gone off planet to go to a League meeting as representatives for KO-35 while Ashley had stayed to help the newly reestablished colony on KO-35. The three of them and Karone had come back to Andros' planet after Ashley's graduation in May. They were all staying in Andros' and Karone's parents old house, until Karone left to help the Galaxy rangers. Since then, Zhane had been staying over at his grandparents house more often.
Ashley sat up slowly, glancing at the empty place beside her and a smile lit her face. There, laying on top of one of the pillows beside her, was a beautiful red rose. She picked it up, being wary of the thorns, and brought it to her nose, inhaling the wonderful scent.
When she looked back at the pillow, she noticed that there was something else there. A little piece of paper folded up that had been hidden by the rose. She smiled again as she picked it up and unfolded it. On the inside were three words written in Andros' handwriting.
Follow the roses.
She looked over the edge of the bed and saw a rose petal on the floor. Her eyes followed it to another by the end of the bed.
Grinning at the excitement of an adventure, she rolled off the bed and started following the petals. Around the bed, out the door, and halfway down the hall to a sign that said Stop and had an arrow pointing to the bathroom. Frowning, Ashley followed the petals into the bathroom, where there was another sign on the mirror that said, Go through other door into den. There was another door on the opposite end of the bathroom that indeed led into the den but they never used that entrance. Andros was definitely scheming.
Ashley excitement grew when she entered the den. She could now hear the sounds of someone cooking in the kitchen. Her feet padded over the carpeted floor of the den and into the dining room, where the rose petals stopped.
There was a folded blank white card sitting on end in front of one of the chairs at the table. She walked over and picked it up, opening it. Good morning, it said. Have a seat and your breakfast will be right out.
Barely concealing her temptation to run into the kitchen and throw her arms around Andros, she obediently sat down. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath when the aroma of breakfast hit her senses. Getting impatient, she decided that she was going to call out to Andros telepathically. She opened her eyes and found him standing in the doorway holding a tray, just watching her with a grin on his face.
"Andros," she said beaming at him.
"Ash," he said smiling in return. He walked over to the table and sat the tray down just before Ashley engulfed him in a hug.
"I missed you," she said into his shoulder.
Andros let out a sigh as he replied, "I missed you too, Ash." Pulling back to look into her eyes, he sighed again, giving her a guilty smile. "I'm sorry I left you alone for so long, Zhane and I had to stop a few places on the way back and--"
"Shh," Ashley whispered putting two fingers over his lips, effectively silencing him. "Just kiss me." He smiled, knowing he was forgiven, and pulled her in for a long, passionate kiss.
When they broke apart, Andros pulled out her chair for her, or rather pushed it up to the table when she sat down since it was still scooted back from Ashley's haste to hug Andros. He placed her plate in front of her and then took a seat next to her.
Ashley was staring with wide eyes at the many breakfast foods in front of her. There were some things from Earth and some of her favorites from KO-35. "You made all this?" she asked, astonished.
He grinned sheepishly. "No," he said honestly, "Zhane helped, of course."
Ashley giggled softly and took a bite of one of the Karovan items on her plate. "You mean Zhane cooked and you assisted. This is really good," she said belatedly.
Andros just smiled and said, "It's the least I can do, since I didn't get to go to Earth with you."
They had planned on going to Earth together for Christmas with Ashley's family, but since Andros hadn't returned by Christmas Eve, Ashley had gone by herself. It was now the day before New Year's Eve on Earth and Ashley was surprised that Andros had done all this for her, with the roses and the breakfast. He had never been much of a cook; or much of a romantic for that matter, but sometimes he surprised her.
Once they finished breakfast, Ashley thanked him with another kiss. "Don't thank me yet, that's not all," he told her. Ashley gave him a mischievous look. "You've been scheming," she said shaking her finger at him. "Always," he said winking at her. "Come on, I've got something to show you."
Ashley followed him into the living room and covered he mouth in surprise. "Oh Andros, it's beautiful!" she whispered.
The living room was decorated with Christmas decorations. There was tinsel strung up around the room and in the far corner was a Christmas tree, lit up with lights. Andros walked over and put his arm around her. "Merry Christmas Ash," he said squeezing her shoulders a little
"How did you get all this? They don't have this stuff on KO-35 do they?" she asked turning to look at him.
Andros smiled at her, "Nope, only the tree, and those kind aren't that abundant here. Zhane and I stopped off at Earth on the way back and got some things. Including..." He reached into his pocket and knelt down in front of her.
Tears sprung up in her eyes as Andros took her hand and said, "Ashley, we've been together for a long time and you've made me learn how to love again. My only wish is that you'll let me love you forever. Will you marry me?" He let go of her hand briefly and opened the little box in his other hand.
Ashley giggled softly and pulled him in to a hug, tears now flowing freely down her cheeks. "Of course I'll marry you, I love you." She pulled back and looked down as Andros slid the ring on her finger.
"It's beautiful," she whispered. She thought her face would break if she smiled any wider. Andros reached up to brush her tears away. "You're beautiful," he told her, kissing her cheek where he had wiped her tears. She reached up and slowly turned his head, covering his mouth with hers.
They both pulled away, at the sound of a crash upstairs. Ashley straightened and put her hand on Andros' arm as he started to get up. "Wait here," she said as she stood. "I have something for you, too."
Minutes later she was back with a little furry thing in her arms. "This is Twilight," she said sitting on the floor in front of where Andros still sat. She transfered the little gray kitten to Andros' arms. "And he's for you, Merry Christmas."
Andros looked at the kitten adoringly as he patted it's head lovingly. "It's so tiny," he said aloud.
"It's a baby. Mom and Dad's cat had two kittens and they didn't know what they were going to do with them, so I told them I'd take one. I think Jeff took the other one so they wouldn't have to worry about finding homes for them. What do you think?" she asked after a pause.
"I love him, thanks Ash," he told her with a grin.
Ashley smiled back and looked down at her ring admiring the yellow and red stones inlaid in it. "Thank you Andros, for all of this. This will be a Christmas to remember."
He reached out and pulled her into a one-armed hug, the kitten still in his other arm, hugged up to his chest.
"I love you," Ashley whispered.
"I love you too, Ash. Merry Christmas."
"Morrow?"
The two pulled back laughing. "We love you too, Twilight," Ashley said, tapping it's nose with her finger.
It reached up to paw at Andros' hair. He chuckled and pulled the kitten away. "This will definitely be a Christmas to remember," he said with a smile.
A/N: Once again, sorry it's late, but I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!