July 7th
Ashton isn't dumb; he knows something isn't quite right.
After his night with Sophie and the carousal and the kissing, Ashton feels more drained then ever before. He awoke the next day only to still feel faint. So Ashton spends the day in his dome, revitalizing the essence of summer to the strongest degree. His brothers don't question it-Calum doesn't mind him any attention and Luke is all too thrilled to spend the day with Ashton. Mother was able to see him for a little bit before having to go to Earth to help the bees colonialize and multiple.
Michael makes side eyed glances at him, ones full of concern and questions, but he doesn't say anything to him all day. Ashton appreciates this greatly as he doesn't want another lecture from his winter brother.
Ashton wakes up the following morning and his mother requests his help her. Apparently there was a dry patch in China farmlands and there was a significant fire, ruining the soil for planting and any existing crops. So Mother needed Ashton's help in making the soil rich again and though Ashton wanted to say no and go be with Sophie instead, Ashton agreed. It was a nice day with his mother. Ashton used his hands and his powers given by nature to turn the dead soil into lush soil, ready for the farmers to plant and grow produce for the humans.
Ashton still has dirt under his finger nails the next day when he walks into Sophie's office. He's greeted by Hannah at the front desk.
"Hi Ashton!" She says to him, "How have you been?"
"Fine," Ashton tells her, "Is um-"
"Sophie's working on a project," Hannah informs him reluctantly.
"Oh," Ashton sighs discouraged.
"But," Hannah exclaims cheerfully, "Miss Pashley said that if you came into today I am to take you out to buy you a swimsuit or two."
Ashton frowns, "Swimsuit?" Hannah grins.
"Yes, Miss Pashley says she has plans for you two that require swimsuits," Hannah nudges Ashton's side playfully, "Lucky you, Ashton!"
Hannah takes his hand, along with Sophie's credit card, and walks out of the building.
"How about these?" Hannah asks, holding up some sort of human shorts like thing. Ashton studies the piece of clothing. It's green with purple spots on them. He shakes his head and Hannah sighs, "Ashton, I swear you're worse at picking out swimsuits then I am."
Ashton flushes, "I'm sorry."
"I'm only kidding Ashton," she tells him kindly, "Now, are you more of a speedo guy?"
"What's a speedo?" Ashton asks curiously. Hannah glares at him stoically before picking up something. Ashton's eyes bug out because there's hardly any fabric on that thing-that speedo thing, "Oh, um. No thank you."
"Alright then," Hannah moves over to a different section and Ashton follows, "Well, Miss Pashley said I need to get you at least two swimsuits. So we're staying here or going to other stores until we get you two swimsuits!"
Ashton throws his head back and groans. Being a human can be so boring sometimes.
It's well into the afternoon when Ashton and Hannah return to the office. Sophie's in the lobby waiting for them and Ashton runs up to him and kisses her right then and there.
"Whoa," Sophie draws back a few seconds later, a dazed smile laced on her lips.
"Hi," Ashton whispers. He likes kissing Sophie a lot. Sophie laughs and combs her fingers in Ashton's hair.
"I was hoping I'd see you today," she confesses and pulls Ashton in for a hug. The sway for a beat and Sophie leans in and tells Ashton, "I've missed you."
Ashton feels both flattered and guilty, "I'm sorry, Sophie. I was busy-"
"I know," Sophie assures him easily, "You had things to do and so did I but now we're together."
Ashton bits his lip cutely, "Yeah."
"So," Sophie hums lightly, her thumb stroking over Ashton's cheek where the painting of the sun once resided. He wore off in the middle of the night and never returned. Ashton was quite upset about this, "I took the rest of the afternoon off. We can do whatever we want."
Ashton grins happily, "Can we go on the carousal?"
"Of course we can sunshine."
When Ashton transports back home later on, his head is still spinning from going on the carousel countless times. But it's worth it, considering he spent hours with holding Sophie's hand and basking in the summer heat together.
July 19th
The middle of July comes faster then Ashton likes. Ashton doesn't see Sophie as much as he would want to.
He knows he can stay in Sheffield with Sophie but Ashton is also aware that he has an entire planet to look after as well. It's well into summer now and Ashton needs to keep an eye how summer is progressing in other places in the world.
It's weird, how Mother created Earth to be taller in some places then others. Like when Ashton went to Ecuador for the day. Because he was in the mountains, the summer wasn't has hot there then it is in Sheffield. And then there were places like Australia or Africa where the weather was too hot and made some vegetation die.
It really makes Ashton miss Sheffield more because the weather is just perfect there. Plus, Sophie's there which makes it Ashton's top choice.
"Are you able to spend the day with me?" Sophie asks while embracing Ashton. Ashton can hear Sophie pouting even if he can't see it because she's on his chest, "I haven't seen you in ages."
"You saw me yesterday!" Ashton reasons with a dopy smile on.
"Only for a couple of hours!" Sophie retorts sourly. And well, Sophie had a point. Ashton spent the day in the Artic to make sure the summer heat wasn't hurting the icecaps too much. And though Ashton's naturally hot like the sun, being in that environment drained him because it is so unnatural to Ashton. Snow is Michael's thing, not Ashton's. So by the time Ashton got to Sophie it was well into the afternoon and Ashton was exhausted. They walked around Sheffield some more and feed chucks of bread to some ducks in a river before Ashton told Sophie of his exhaustion and transported back home.
Ashton's still a little tired today, but he hopes that he can spend the day out in the sun to help him regain some of his energy.
"I can stay all day," Ashton tells her and it's worth it because Sophie's smile is bright and consuming.
"I know a place we can go," Sophie says slyly, "It's a bit of a drive from here, but it's totally worth it. I know you'd love it."
Ashton nods eagerly, "Okay."
Ashton's never been in a car before. He's seen them, of course he has, and he knows that humans use them to get from one place to the next. Mother described cars to Ashton when he was a young boy as the human version of transporting, but it's not as fast.
Ashton now, though, repeats Sophie's actions and secures a weird stripe of material across his body. Inside the car, it looks completely strange to Ashton. Nothing he sees makes sense to him, like the circle thing Sophie holds onto and spins in circles as they move on. But Ashton trusts Sophie, and the ride is calming and smooth. He notes that they're out of the city now and heading east.
Again, Ashton trusts Sophie. He trusts her so much that he falls asleep in the car.
"Ashton?" Ashton opens his eyes to Sophie's voice. Sophie smiles down at him, "We're here."
Sophie helps Ashton out of the car and the first thing that hits him is the scent of flowers, all kinds of flowers. Ashton looks around and confirms what he smells. Sophie brought him to some type of meadow and it stunning. The wildflowers come up to Ashton's knees and pops of yellow, white, pink and purple flowers are all around him. The sun is blazing hot and sky is clear and Ashton's surrounded by gorgeous flowers.
Ashton couldn't have made a better day if he tried.
"You and your flowers," Sophie remarks fondly a little while later. They're both among the wildflowers. Ashton's body is sprawled out with the cornflowers and the daisies. She has herhis head on Ashton's lap, who's sitting up and brushing Sophie's face with yellow verbena flower, "You look right at home here, with nature."
Ashton blushes and fights off the urge to say that he is Mother Nature's son, after all.
"And the butterflies seem to like you too," Sophie points out. Ashton blinks and takes a look around him. It's the first time he's truly noticed the dozen or so butterflies fluttering around him. An orange butterfly lands on Ashton's shoulder and a white one grazes their wing on Ashton's cheek.
Ashton grins sheepishly at Sophie, "What can I say-animals love me."
Sophie chuckles as she leans up and fishes something out of the basket Sophie brought with her. Ashton stares at the sky and admires the heat of the sun on his face. He loves this, he loves being one with his true self. But most of all he loves being himself with Sophie. It must be a little obvious, Ashton thinks. Sophie must have noticed that Ashton loves the sun and the flowers and the heat. Maybe Sophie knows more then Ashton realizes.
A click goes off and Ashton looks down to Sophie. She has some weird looking device in her hands it's covering her face. Ashton looks at the black object and frowns at her.
"What's that?"
Sophie tells him, "It's a polaroid camera." Ashton bites back the, "what's a polaroid camera?" that's on the tip of his tongue. But something pops out of the device and Ashton watches as Sophie takes the white thing out. She shakes it and Sophie smiles at it before showing it to Ashton.
Ashton sees himself on the thing, doing what he was doing seconds before.
"Look how handsome you are," Sophie tells him and Ashton's too curious about this polaroid camera thing to grow insanely shy at Sophie's words.
"How do you use it?" Ashton questions, gesturing towards the device. Sophie scoffs and shows Ashton how to use the device.
Ashton learns just how pictures are made. He recalls Sophie talking about pictures when they were back at Sophie's home. He thought they were drawings but he was mistaken, clearly, since they're not drawing these things. Ashton points at something, clicks a button on the device and it pops out a picture!
Ashton is quite amazed by the polaroid camera. He takes handfuls of pictures of the gorgeous flowers all around them. And then Sophie laughs at him and tells Ashton how cute he his and then…well. Ashton turns the camera to Sophie and starts taking pictures of her.
"Hey!" Sophie whines and tries to grab the device, "Don't waste good film on me!"
Ashton doesn't know what "film" is or how it can be good or bad. But Ashton knows that if he's taking pictures of Sophie, then it's not being wasteful.
"You look beautiful," Ashton tells him before taking another picture of Sophie. Ashton can tell in the camera that Sophie is blushing before he clicks the magical button.
"Says the most beautiful being to ever walk the planet," Ashton blushes again and Sophie swoops in to kiss Ashton's cheek, "But that's kind of you to say that."
"It's true," Ashton retorts seriously. Sophie doesn't reply so he says and asks, "How do you even know this place? It's so quiet out here and no one's around."
Sophie remains quiet for a second before saying, "When my parents spilt up, my dad moved down here to start up the company I own now and my mom stayed in Rotherham," Ashton doesn't know how humans can spilt up but he knows it must not be a pleasant thing, based on Sophie's face, "I mainly lived with my mom but she would force me and my sisters to spend the summers with my dad.
"My dad worked too much and didn't hang out with us nearly as much has he should've. But me and my sisters ventured out on our own and I grew to love the city at a young age. One day, we discovered this place while my sister Megan was driving me and my other sister around. We just, hung out day after day here."
Sophie stops and smirks at Ashton, "I knew you would enjoy it too."
"Thank you for bringing me here," Ashton says. He links their hands together and kisses Sophie's fingers, "I do love it here."
"I have a feeling this will be the best summer ever!" Sophie gloats happily. She kisses Ashton softly and looks at him tenderly when she draws back. She whispers lowly, "And I have a feeling it will be because of you."
Ashton can't help but think that might not be true. Maybe once fall comes, Sophie will feel differently. For now, he takes in the smells of the flowers and special heat from Sophie's body that even the sun can't match up to.
July 27th
Ashton visits Sophie when he can. He makes sure to check on the summer in other places on Earth and see how the animals and plants are fairing in the summer heat. Ashton finds time here and there for Sophie, usually spending a few days a week with her. They usually spend time outside in the blazing heat and the sun. It's nice though, the little time they get to have together. Ashton just wishes it didn't have to be so little.
Ashton finds himself in Sophie's home on a rainy day in late July with a song playing on the record machine and Ashton capturing the fleeting moments he has with Sophie in pictures.
"Stop!" Sophie complains and tackles Ashton to the ground. Ashton is relentless and keeps snapping pictures of Sophie. Watson comes over to them and Sophie calls on him, "Watson! Quick-lick Ashton's face!"
Watson looks at both of them before laying down on his belly, bowing submission to Ashton. Ashton grins victoriously up at Sophie and takes another picture of Sophie's adorably confused face.
"Some dog," Sophie tuts. The camera makes another sound and Sophie frowns playfully at Ashton as another picture pops out of the camera, "Stop!"
Ashton giggles and this time lets Sophie take the camera from him. Sophie sets the camera on the table beside them and then Sophie hovers back over him. Sophie's it just too pretty, Ashton thinks, as he reaches his hand up to cup Sophie's jaw. Her jaw is so delicate and petite. Ashton so badly wants to tell Sophie that he's touched many mountain sides from mountains all over the world. Ashton's touched the clouds and nearly every blade of grass in the world. But nothing on Earth compares to touching Sophie.
Ashton's never touched anything in nature that compares to Sophie.
"Hi," Sophie grins and Ashton feels it in his palm.
Ashton smiles deeply up at her, "Hi."
Ashton brings her down for a scorching kiss. Sophie smirks into Ashton's lips before kissing him back. Ashton thinks he doesn't kiss Sophie nearly enough as he should. I likes kissing Sophie, he likes having Sophie as close as possible. Sophie pulls back and she has this goofy little grin on his lips that Ashton finds cute. Sophie tucks herself on Ashton's chest.
They stay there, on the floor, wrapped in each other's arms for Mother Earth knows how long but Ashton doesn't mind it. Ashton runs his hands up and down Sophie's back. Ashton giggles as Sophie's nose skims Ashton's neck.
"Sophie!" He squeals, "You're tickling me!"
Sophie shakes her head against Ashton, "I just don't get it."
"What?"
Sophie picks his head up and looks fondly upon Ashton, "You smell like sunshine," she tells him, "I mean, you always do, like all the time really. But it's been raining all day and you somehow still smell like sunshine."
Ashton's face falls slightly, "Oh?" Sophie laughs at him.
"It's a wonderful thing, Ashton," Sophie says, her fingers twirling around one of Ashton's curls, "I like it, a lot. I just am perplexed really."
Ashton shrugs and changes the subject, "What are we going to do with all these pictures?"
Sophie cocks an eyebrow at him, "Oh so you take hundreds of pictures and I'm stuck dealing with what to do with them?" Ashton laughs.
"Hey! I took great pictures!" Ashton pouts, "And I want the whole world to see!"
Sophie's chuckle against Ashton's body, "The whole world?" Ashton bites his lip and nods, "Would just me and Watson do?"
Ashton ponders on that for a bit before breaking out into a wide grin, "I guess so."
Sophie gets up and leaves the room without saying anything to Ashton. When she comes back in a bit later, Sophie is carrying a box in her hands. Watson goes over to Sophie to see what his owner has and Ashton sits up with interest. Sophie goes to the wall beside where the front door is. Ashton watches as Sophie takes items out of the box before turning to Ashton.
"Can you hold this string up?" and Ashton nods as he walks to the wall.
Ashton learns what string, clothespins, hammer and nails are fairly quickly. He helps Sophie nail in rows of string into the wall with a space in between each line. Ashton still has no idea what they're doing until Sophie smiles and hands him some of his pictures and what Sophie tells him are clothespins.
Ashton waits until Sophie puts a picture up to the string and keeps the picture on with the clothespin. Ashton gets excited now that he knows what they're doing and adds on more pictures to the string until that string is full. Sophie and Ashton quickly fill up all the strings with rows and rows of pictures-pictures that Ashton took of the sun and flowers and Sophie. It's a beautiful sight and he thanks Sophie with tender kisses.
"We still have all those to hang up," Ashton reminds Sophie of the pile of nearly hundred more pictures. Sophie scoffs and rolls her eyes.
"Sunny, we'll hang those up another time," Sophie kisses his cheek and pulls Ashton into her side, "I have space on the walls in the hallway. We can easily fit all those pictures, plus all the ones the other pictures you're gonna take between now and then."
Ashton giggles and bites his lip, "Okay."
Before Ashton leaves Sophie with a few chaste kisses, he takes a picture from the pile. Of course it's one of Sophie but Ashton's in the picture too. It was one of them back in the meadow. They're looking fondly at each other with their faces creased with happiness and noses touching. Ashton's hand is on Sophie's cheek in the picture and there's a tiny white daisy tucked in Sophie's left ear.
It's Ashton's favorite picture and he so desperately wants to carry it everywhere with him.
The problem is Ashton cannot take Earthly processions back to his home.
Mother says it's because things that belong on Earth must stay on Earth and do not belong in within the cloud dwelling. Ashton used to think that made sense, but now as he looks down at the picture of him and Sophie, Ashton's not so sure anymore. He just wants something to remember Sophie by when they're hundreds of miles apart-why is that so wrong?
Ashton closes the door to his apartment and breathes in deeply. He focuses his attention on the picture and how badly he wants to bring it back to his dome. He sees the picture hanging from the branch above his bed and Ashton loves that image. He closes his eyes tightly and holds desperately onto the picture and thinks of summery thoughts.
When Ashton lands back in the clouds, his hands are empty and Ashton's dome is pouring with rain for the rest of the night.
August 15th
Ashton places the last seashell into the sand and steps back to look at his masterpiece.
The day has been beyond wonderful! Sophie took Ashton to the beach, which Ashton learns is just a fancy term for where the shore and the ocean meet. It must be a big deal for humans as there are lots of people on the beach for an early afternoon. But Ashton doesn't blame them for wanting to be here.
It's a gorgeous day! The sun bright and high in the sky with no clouds in sight. There's a little stickiness to the in air that sometimes is swept away when a salty breeze from the ocean sweeps up onto the shore. People are laughing and running in the hot sand and Ashton sits back to observe them. He smiles at them, knowing that it's his season that is making all these people so happy.
A pair of a sun kissed arms wrap around Ashton's bare torso. Ashton wraps his arms around Sophie's back, playing with the ends of her hair, lightly curled by the sea salt in the air.
"You made a heart out of seashells?" Sophie says curiously. Ashton smirks.
"Yes I did," he retorts playfully. Sophie laughs and kisses Ashton's neck.
"It's beautiful," Sophie mumbles into Ashton's skin, "Your heart is beautiful."
Ashton blushes madly just as Watson trots right through Ashton's seashell art.
"Hey!" Ashton gasps.
Sophie yells "Watson! Bad dog."
Watson doesn't react to Sophie's comment as she still has a dopy smile on his face. But then Watson looks over to Ashton and sees Ashton pouting and he changes instantly. Watson lowers his head in shame and whimpers loudly.
"Oh stop complaining Watson," Sophie scolds him slightly before turning to Ashton. She kisses Ashton's nose and is frowning when he pulls back, "I'm sorry."
"It's alright," Ashton smiles down at the dog and scratches behind his ear, "You're still a sweet dog, Watson."
Watson perks up at that and Sophie shakes his head.
"You're too good to him," Sophie comments and Ashton is appalled.
"You can't be too good to animals Sophie!"
Sophie chuckles fondly, "You're right," she sighs, "but Watson is a menace."
Ashton bites a smile back as Watson runs into the water as a wave crashes onto the beach.
"But he's so cute," Ashton reasons. Sophie snickers onto his shoulder; her hands gliding up Ashton's side.
"You're cute," Sophie tells him, "in your cute little yellow swimming trunks."
Ashton brushes madly, "Thank you. Yellow is my favorite color."
"I know it is, sunny."
As the sun journeys over the sky, Ashton stays close to Sophie as possible. He's feeling weak towards the end of the day, but he doesn't want to dwell on that too much. Ashton just can't leave, the day's been so perfect, and he doesn't want to leave yet.
So him and Sophie draw pictures into the sand, just silly little doodles that do nothing but make them laugh. They stroll until the beach and take pictures of the sea and all of its beauty. They leave footprints in the sand as they walk and Ashton wishes more then anything that their drawings and footprints could stay there forever.
Ashton wishes he can stay here with Sophie forever.
As the sun sets, Ashton's exhausted. He spent nearly a full day on Earth, amongst people and breathing in air that's just a little too thick then what he's used to back home. But it's worth it, Ashton thinks, as he rests his head on Sophie's shoulder and the sun starts to dissolve into the ocean in swirls of pinks and lavenders. But Ashton's also sad to see the sun go down. He plays with the idea of using his powers to reverse the day by a few hours, just so he can be with Sophie a little bit longer. But even the idea of lifting his hand up sounds too tiresome.
Maybe try that on another day.
"Are you sure you don't want a lick?" Sophie asks once more.
Sophie got something called an ice cream cone at one of the stands along the beach. Sophie has offered Ashton a bit of her food and if Ashton was being honest, it does look appealing. It's white and has little speaks of colors on top. Ashton's never had any kind of human food before but this ice cream cone thing does sound interesting…
"Sure," Ashton says and he sits up a little. Sophie smiles as she brings the ice cream to Ashton's mouth. So you lick it, hm? Ashton carefully licks the ice cream and-
Ashton recoils like a snake and looks at the food in horror. His body is trembling and a weird sensation spreads across Ashton's body. He's never felt this way before-it feels unnatural to him and he can't put a name on it. Ashton just doesn't feel as warm anymore…
"You're shaking," Sophie note slowly, "Come here, sunny."
Sophie gives the rest of his food to Watson and pulls Ashton into her arms. Ashton is cocooned in Sophie's hold, his back pressed to Sophie's chest and Sophie's legs wrapped around his. Ashton's still shivering and he doesn't know why, but Sophie's skin feels hot from being in the sun all day and he takes relief in that.
"So I'm never letting you have ice cream ever again," Sophie says seriously and Ashton manages a tiny laugh.
"Yeah…" he ponders before adding on, "It's just not my thing."
Sophie nods, "Duly noted," and then she says, "So, um. Next weekend I was thinking about taking my yacht out on the ocean. I can't believe it's August and I haven't taken Brielle out all summer yet."
"Brielle?" Ashton asks.
Sophie explains a chuckle, "That's what I named my yacht-Brielle the boat."
And that clears something up for Ashton-so a yacht is just a boat? Okay then.
"You named your boat Brielle?!" Ashton cries out. Sophie's laugh rumbles into Ashton's back.
"I couldn't think of anything better," Sophie admits. She nuzzles her head against Ashton's, "Anyway, the point is I thought it'd be nice to have a little weekend on the yacht, and I'd like you to come with me."
Ashton gulps thickly, "What?"
"Think about it, sunny-the open sea and plenty of sunshine, you and me on a gorgeous yacht for two days," Sophie sighs dreamily, "Sounds wonderful, doesn't it?"
Ashton stops and thinks about it.
Two straight days on Earth? Ashton's not sure if that's even possible. Even thinking about being on Earth for that long makes Ashton tense. He knows he will be drained within a few hours, especially if he's active and doing stuff-it'll just drain him out even more so.
No, Ashton knows he can't do this. It's too much, it could drain him into nonexistence! He knows he needs to make an excuse not to go-something, anything that sounds convincing enough.
But Sophie kisses Ashton's neck. Her hands dig into Ashton's sides and her lips hum into Ashton's skin.
"Please?" Sophie begs softly, with a little playfulness, "It'll be amazing, just the two of us. Doesn't that sound nice?"
The thing is, that does sound incredibly nice. Ashton wants that so bad.
"Okay," Ashton agrees heavily and he feels Sophie smirk into his neck.
"Perfect! I'll have to make sure the shipping yard prepares my yacht for next weekend! How about we leave late afternoon on Friday?"
Ashton makes himself nod despite the fear he's feeling, "Okay."
It's worth it, the risk and his fears, but Sophie squeezes Ashton as tight as she can and excitedly babbles on and on about all the fun they'll have.
It's worth everything just make Sophie happy.
August 24th
"Your face is all red," Ashton frowns as he cups Sophie's cheek.
Sophie chuckles, "Ashton, we spent all day at the beach on Monday! I'm surprised you're not sunburned."
Ashton's eyes widen-can the sun actually burn people? Surely not, Ashton thinks.
"The sun just likes me," Ashton says playfully and shrugs.
"Of course the sun does!" Sophie smirks, "Everyone loves you-even Hannah likes you and she hardly likes anyone!"
Ashton gasps, "I don't believe that! Hannah's amazing."
"She is," Sophie agrees, "But most of the time she doesn't let people see her true self."
Sophie thought it would be a good idea to have lunch outside and Ashton transported just in time to join her. It's a fair enough day, Ashton knows it'll rain in the afternoon and even if he wasn't the on in charge of summer, anyone could tell that it's gonna rain. There's pressure in the air, thick and musky air that is lingering low in the atmosphere. The thicker clouds slowly drifting in from the West is also a tall tale sign of what's to come. But Ashton gives it another hour before the rain will come.
It's nice though, just the two of them on a park bench talking and holding each other's hand.
Sophie sighs as her smile drops from her face, "I wish I didn't have to go back to work," she confesses, "I love being here with you but I'm trying to finish everything at work before our getaway this weekend." Ashton coos and kisses Sophie's cute little nose.
"I'm sorry."
Sophie shakes her head, "Don't be," she smirks while Ashton curls his fingers around Sophie's waist, "What's getting me through this is knowing how amazing our weekend will be." Ashton smiles and leans in to connect their lips. Sophie's grinning foolishly when they separate.
But then Sophie's stupid, awful cellphone thingy trills and Sophie groans.
"God, I can't even have a peaceful lunch," she sighs and looks at Ashton woefully, "I'm sorry sunny. But I have a ton of work to get done."
"I get it," Ashton kisses Sophie swiftly, "You do what you need to." Sophie sighs and fondly looks at him, her finger wrapping around of strand of Ashton's hair.
"What did I do to deserve you?" she smirks and Ashton feels his stomach dancing, "Three more days sunshine, and then I'm all yours."
Ashton nods stiffly and grins, "Two more days."
When he transports back home after dropping Sophie back at her office, Ashton wasn't expecting to see Luke waiting for him.
"Luke?" Ashton asks because Luke looks stunned. His dark blue eyes that mimic the ocean are wide and confused and can't seem to look at Ashton at all.
Finally, Luke speaks up, "I um-I'm working on new breeds of flowers with mother-as you know. And um, I had a great idea to mix up peonies with dandelions and I wanted to tell you but you weren't in your dome," he looks at Ashton then, his lips slack and face shell-shocked, "So I looked for you in the Vision Cloud."
Ashton's stomach drops.
"You were," Luke shakes his head, "Y-You were with a human-a girl. And-she had her, and you had your-" Luke tilts his head and looks helplessly perplexed at Ashton, "Your lips were touching his lips…why were your lips touching, Ashton?"
Ashton doesn't even have time to dwell on the sensation of guilt that crashes into the pit of his core because Michael is dragging them away.
"Not here," Michael hisses to Luke as he takes them towards Luke's dome.
Ashton knows that there he'll have to tell Luke everything.
"So," Luke breathes out, his face hardened with uncertainty, "You and this Sophie girl-you two are like-"
Ashton can't put a name on what he has with Sophie. He's not sure if humans even have a word for whatever he has with Sophie.
"She's my Sophie," Ashton says softly and can't fight back the tiny smile that stretches on his mouth, "And she calls me her sunshine."
Luke grows intensely happy at that, "Aw!" Michael rolls his eyes.
"I think humans would call it a girlfriend," Ashton's eyes widen with interest so Michael farther explains, "Like, if two humans are together they're either boyfriends or girlfriends. Sounds like Sophie's your girlfriend and you're her boyfriend."
Ashton doesn't know why but the term boyfriend makes him all giddy.
"Does she know about you?" Luke questions and Ashton shrugs before admitting.
"She keeps…saying these things." Michael looks at his summer brother scolding him with his gaze.
"What?!"
Ashton sighs, "Sophie says I smell like sunshine and she calls me sunny or sunshine usually," he blushes at that before going on, "And like-we were in a meadow recently and all these butterflies were on me and Sophie made a comment. Then one time she complimented me and it just made so happy that dandelions popped up from the ground and Sophie noticed it."
"Ashton," Michael chides, shaking his head.
Luke blinks, "That's not so bad Ashton," he reasons. Ashton weakly shrugs at that, "I mean, Sophie sounds nice-"
"It doesn't matter how nice she is, Luke," Michael says before turning to Ashton, "You know how I feel about all this, Ashton. And it's better for both of you guys if you just stop this now!"
"Wait-Michael you knew about this Sophie girl?!" Luke asks accusingly. Ashton sees the bit of betrayal in his brother's eyes.
Michael rolls his eyes, "Unfortunately, yes. I've known since the second week of summer."
At that admission, Luke's dome grows dark with deep gray clouds and the flowers all around them wilt noticeably. Ashton feels guilt settle into his gut; Michael sighs carelessly.
"Luke, please. I forced Ashton to tell me, he didn't fess up about Sophie willingly."
"It's true!" Ashton adds on quickly and sits by Luke's side, "I would have told you eventually!"
Luke looks at him carefully, "Would you have, though?"
Ashton purses his lips and looks away.
"Okay," Michael speaks up and briskly heads towards the door, "It's getting too hot in here for my taste. I'll let you two be."
It takes a while after Michael leaves Luke's dome for Ashton to admit, "I'm…not sure if I would've told you or anyone about Sophie for that matter."
The clouds thicken within the dome and hard pellets of rain drop land on Ashton's arms.
Ashton sighs, "Luke-"
"You're my best friend, Ashton," Luke confesses somberly. He looks up at his summer brother, eyes misty like morning dew in the grass, "We've always been close, because we're so similar. Michael and Calum are close and we've been left out of their adventures. And I was okay with that, because we've had our own adventures too. We did everything together-kick clouds together, watch the sun come over the moon, make flower crowns. We made up silly stories about humans-not having any idea who or what they were other then things that live on Mother's planet."
Ashton fondly looks back on those days with a lopsided grin. They were so young back then, completely unaware of what was to come for them, all of their responsibilities and whatnot. They were two young, carefree little boys with special powers to rule an entire season. They can move clouds; they command the sun and the moon to rise and fall. They plan the course of a whole season and yet neither one of them knew just how amazing having these powers one day would mean to them, how much it would change them.
"We told each other everything," Luke goes on with a sad smirk, "I just-I figured you would have told me something like this. You've been really happy lately and I've been wondering why-now I guess I know it's because of this Sophie person."
Ashton sighs and his shoulders wilt, "I'm sorry, Luke. I just-Michael's older and he found out and was all mad about it. I just-I wasn't deliberately trying to keep this from you. It just happened. I'm sorry, Luke."
Luke doesn't look convinced at all so Ashton scrambles for something to make Luke happy.
"Look-I'll tell you something Michael doesn't know," Ashton promises him. Luke perks up and eagerly looks at his summer brother.
"Really?!" Luke all but squeals in delight and the environment shifts a bit. There's the sun once more, tucked behind a few clouds. Ashton giggles as he nods.
"Yes, but don tell anyone! Especially mother."
Luke grows serious and nods firmly, "I swear on every one of Mother's flowers I will not tell."
And-wow. That's a serious promise for sure.
"Okay," Ashton caves and an excited smile takes over his face, "Sophie has this thing called a yacht-it's basically a boat, I guess-maybe bigger? I don't know. Anyway, Sophie invited me to stay on her boat this weekend and I said yes!"
Ashton's expecting to see Luke to be happy for him.
Instead, Luke's jaw drops.
"Two days on Earth-two entire days?!" Luke shakes his head and looks concerned, "Ashton, I don't think that's a good idea. I've never gone longer then ten hours before."
Ashton's smile drops and he thinks on that, "…Neither have I," he confesses but then is quick to add on, "But I'll be outside most of time, if we're on a boat. So maybe it won't be so bad?"
"Ashton," Luke says lowly, voice heavy with worry, "I don't think you should go."
"But-it's Sophie Luke! I have to go!"
Luke reminds him, "But you'll get drained and I dunno what will happen to you but it sounds bad and Mother says it is bad and-no. Ashton you can't go."
Ashton frowns down at the flowers beneath him that are trembling with what Ashton thinks is Luke's fear. He sighs before admitting.
"There's only a month left of summer, Luke," he says and that terrifies Ashton. He swallows thickly and goes on, "I need all the time I can get with Sophie. So I don't care if being on Earth for too long drains me up. I-I have to do this, and no matter what you say or do it's not going to stop me."
Ashton figures Luke would be mad at him. But Luke hugs Ashton closely to him, as tight as he can.
"Oh Ashton," he hums into Ashton's ear, "You really care for Sophie don't you?"
Ashton nods and confesses weakly, "More then anything-more then myself."
Luke pulls back and looks at his brother dead on, "Then I won't tell anyone about this, Ashton. I promise I won't." A shaky smile stretches over Ashton's lips.
"Thanks, Luke."
A little while later the two of them are leaving Luke's dome with flower crowns made of daisies on their heads and Ashton whispers a late minute secret about Sophie to his spring brother. Ashton told him every cute thing Sophie's ever said and done and Luke has cooed at every bit of information.
Calum is walking past them and frowns suspiciously at them. Ashton and Luke stop their quiet conversation.
"What are you two up to?" The fall brother confronts them. Luke is quick to reply.
"Nothing!" he states, voice painfully higher then normal-so much so it makes Ashton wince. Ashton glances from the corner of his eye and sees Luke pasting on a huge grin, "What are you up to, Calum?"
Calum looks curiously at Ashton for a few slow seconds before a slow smirk curls over his lips. His dark ember eyes are gleaming with delight, "Just going over some front patterns for my season."
Ashton's face drops; Luke keeps the awkward conversation alive, "Oh?"
"Yeah," Calum nods and flashes anther smile towards Ashton, "Isn't crazy how fast the seasons go by? Why, there's only a month left of summer and then it'll be fall already!"
Ashton mentally sends hailstones in the back of Calum's head as his fall brother walks away with an odd pip in his step. Usually Calum's never happy, ever, and Ashton knows that Calum is playing this act just to mess with him. And Ashton lets Calum mess with him and Ashton knows he shouldn't but Calum is terrifying.
Luke shakes his head beside Ashton, "He's the worst! He's a sudden rainstorm on a perfect sunny day. He's like a bitter frost that kills innocent plants in the middle of the night! He's-" Ashton's laugh cuts Luke off. The summer brother wraps his arm around the spring brother's shoulder.
"Luke its fine!" he insists.
Ashton thinks about how he'll spend two full days with Sophie. He focuses on that as best as he can, instead of focusing on what might happen to him.
August 27th
Ashton meets Sophie outside of Sophie's office. He was told to bring clothes, swim trunks and some shoes too. So Ashton shows up to Sophie's office with an arm full of his clothes. When Sophie sees him, she has a perplexed but bemused look on his face as she leans in to kiss Ashton.
"Why are you holding your clothes?" Sophie asks him and Ashton's smile drops. He must have done something wrong, "Where's your suitcase?"
Ashton's quick to tell her, "I don't have a suitcase."
"Right," Sophie says, sounding very guilty. She shakes her head, "Of course-I should've known. Here, I have plenty of space in my duffle bag."
Sophie shrugs off the tubular looking thing off her shoulder and plops it on the ground. Ashton stands over it and watches Sophie opening this duffle bag up. He hands Sophie his clothes just as Hannah comes bouncing up to him.
"Ashton," Hannah greets him happily with a side hug, "I have to thank you for agreeing to go on this little vacation! Miss Pashley has been so excited for this that she gave us the rest of the day off!"
Ashton's not sure why this is a good thing, but he smiles anyway, "That's great!"
"Though I do have to dog sit Watson for the weekend," Hannah looks over at Sophie and proceeds to vigorously eye roll. Sophie laugh laughs her off.
"You're getting paid way more then my past dog sitters," Hannah waves her hand at that, making Ashton giggle slightly.
"If that beast you call a dog eats anything-anything at all I'm sending him to a kennel."
Sophie scoffs at Hannah as she struts away, "Take Watson on his morning walks at six! And he's a cuddlier so beware!" Ashton laughs and Sophie glares at him playfully, "Hey you."
"Hi," Ashton breathes out. Sophie hums as her lips touch Ashton's for a chaste kiss.
"I'm so excited for this weekend," Sophie confesses when she draws back. Her fingers trace up Ashton's arm, leaving a tingling trail in their wake and Ashton's slightly breathless from it.
But Ashton snaps out of his trance. He needs to keep his strength up for the weekend.
Ashton swears on the Sun and all the stars that he will make it through this weekend with no problems.
The boat is…large, very large. The boat, or Brielle as Sophie keeps reminding Ashton, is white and has very comfy seats. It looks nice and shiny-Ashton's never seen a boat quite like this before.
Ashton stands at the back of the boat and watches the city of Sheffield disappear as they take off. It's strange-Ashton knows that they're moving and yet he feels steady on the boat. It's a bit loud as the boat speeds through the wind. The waves hit the side of the boat as the glide through the water and the lowering sun is beating down on his face. Ashton thinks this is all amazing and he doesn't know why humans just live on boats.
After Sophie sails for a bit, she makes the boat stop. She joins Ashton at the front of the boat and she wraps his arms around Ashton's front and kisses Ashton's chest.
"Ashton?" she whispers perplexed, "Are those dolphins?"
Ashton looks at the three cute dolphins peaking up through the water beside the boat and grins, "Yep," he says easily and Sophie just nods.
"That's so awesome!" she replies and Ashton giggles at her enthusiasm. Sophie kisses the side of Ashton's neck and the two listen to the dolphins squeal in the water.
Ashton hasn't spent much time with aquatic animals as he should.
They sit and Sophie cracks open a bottle of something called champagne just as the sun is starting to set. She pours the pink-ish liquid into a glass and hands it to Ashton.
"Oh um-no thanks," Ashton says weakly. Sophie's smile drops.
"Do you not like champagne?" he asks in a panic, "I think I have some wine too. Would you like that instead?"
And Ashton knows that Sophie is star-bent on giving Ashton something to drink and he can't talk his way out of this one.
So he smiles tightly at Sophie, "Actually, I'll have some champagne." He tries to sound happy and pronounce that strange word properly. Fortunately, Sophie beams at this and pours Ashton a glass.
Ashton watches from the corner of his eye and repeats Sophie's actions. She raises the glass to her lip and tilts her head back, making whatever is in said glass fall into her mouth. Ashton's seen Sophie and plenty of other humans drink before but Ashton just wants to make sure he's doing this right.
The champagne is something that Ashton doesn't expect. He isn't sure what he thought champagne would be like since taste is the one thing Ashton and his brothers and mother is the one human sense that they don't experience all that often. He's pretty sure Luke hasn't eaten or drunk any human foods but Michael? Ashton's not sure if his winter brother has.
But the champagne leaves a trail of airy-like affects on his tongue and Ashton's delighted by this. He feels lighter then air after the first sip and Ashton thinks that taste wise its okay-it's better then that weird ice cream thing he tried.
Ashton happily drinks up everything in the glass in two sips.
Sophie laughs at him, "Whoa, easy there Ashton!"
"I like this," Ashton comments, suddenly feeling a bit chipper then before. Sophie fondly rolls her eyes at him.
"I can see that sunshine," Sophie sets her glass down and crawls under Ashton's ar, to watch the sun drop off the face of the Earth.
As the moon comes up, Ashton sweet talks Sophie into pouring him another glass of champagne and Sophie is eager to please him. More warm, fuzzy feelings settle into the pit of Ashton's gut. His hands seem to find Sophie's waist and his lips never leave Sophie's skin. And he just can't stop giggling! Everything is a delight to Ashton and he just can't help himself.
"It's so pretty," Ashton babbles on, his eyes stuck on the zillions of stars above them. He shakes his head in awe with Sophie's head on his chest, "I've never really get to see the stars from here."
Ashton's hazy mind suddenly goes clear and he realizes the epic mistake he's made.
Sophie chuckles at the comment.
"What? You mean out here in the ocean?" she asks curiously. Ashton freezes before everything goes silly again. He laughs hard into Sophie's hair and smirks.
"Oh Sophie," he muses playfully, his finger tapping on Sophie's chin, "You are so precious, like a precious little furry bunny." Ashton watches as Sophie tilts her head back and chuckles fondly but Ashton doesn't get it, "What?! It's the truth!" he insists with a pout.
Sophie's eyes are just so lovely in the moonlight-so pretty and big and very, very pretty.
"You're pretty," Ashton confesses in a wonderstruck tone. He mumbles softly, "My pretty girlfriend."
The last thing Ashton sees, before the weight of being on Earth for a significant time takes over him and he drifts to sleep with Sophie's in his arms, is Sophie turning redder then a rose in full bloom with a wide grin on her lips.
August 28th
"Come on in!" Sophie yells as she floats within the ocean a few feet away from the boat.
Ashton timidly looks at the murky waters from his spot at the deck of the boat. Sophie laughs at his worrisome look.
"Ashton it's so warm!" Sophie tells him excitedly, "Jump in! Jump towards me!"
Ashton nervously curls his hands under the hem of his black and red striped swimming trunks. The thing is, Ashton knows that there's nothing really to be afraid of. He knows all sorts of wonderful creatures live in the ocean. And yeah there are big scary animals that swim in the ocean too, but Sophie wouldn't bring him to a part of the ocean if it was infested with sharks. Plus, sharks wouldn't hurt Ashton since he's Mother Earth's son and all. It's just Ashton doesn't like the fact that he can't see what's in the water-it's all dark blue and scary.
Sophie picks up on Ashton's hesitation again and kindly reminds him, "Sunny, I'm right here, okay? Everything's fine, I promise."
Everything's fine, okay-Sophie said so.
Ashton jumps in.
His plummets under the water and flails his arms about until his heads pops up to the surface. Ashton gasps and desperately moves his arms about to keep himself up. He feels himself being pulled back under-
But
Sophie's there thankfully.
"Hey, hey," Sophie softly, her firm hands wrapped on Ashton's shoulder. Ashton's trembling as he curls into Sophie's chest like a koala bear to a tree and wraps his legs around Sophie's sides though Sophie's skin is slippery and wet and tinier than Ashton is. He tries to catch his breath and settle his rapid heartbeat. Sophie's kisses to his scalp help a lot, "Sunny, breathe more for me."
Ashton sniffles, "I-I'm sorry."
"Ashton, why didn't you tell me you couldn't swim?" Sophie asks him seriously. Ashton wants to reply honestly; that Mother said that only fish needed to swim so he never saw the need to learn how to do something that fish do. But people swim as well, Ashton's seen humans swim in the ocean before while at the beach. He was interested in the activity but never imagined he'd be in the water one day!
Instead Ashton shrug lamely and sighs as he says, "I never learned how to swim."
"Oh sunny," Sophie glooms kisses Ashton's neck, "I wish you would've told me this. I wouldn't have pressured you into jumping in."
"I didn't want to ruin our trip," Ashton tells him sadly. Sophie must think he's silly or something because she laughs kindly. But Ashton doesn't think it's funny at all.
"You wouldn't have ruined this trip, Ashton," Sophie's hold tightens on Ashton's body, "We could just sit on the deck all day and hang out in the sunshine. Or-" she stops abruptly and a slow grin flourishes from his lips, "Ashton, sunny-put your legs down."
Ashton frowns and questions, "What?"
"Just do it," Sophie says with a giggle in his voice. Ashton trusts him completely, without thought, so he lowers his legs off of Sophie's body and wraps his arms loosely around his neck. He points out his toes and-
"Oh!" Ashton gasps and then chuckles lightly. Sophie grins happily.
"There are fish swimming under us!" Sophie exclaims, "They've come to see you Ashton."
Ashton suddenly feels like he's sinking again. He lowly and seriously asks, "How'd you know?" Sophie scoffs.
"Because," he says plainly, "You draw a crowd wherever you go-everything from two legged mammals to those with four legs."
Phew! Ashton breathes out in relief. So he hasn't revealed true self after all.
"Don't forget those with fins," Ashton retorts playfully with a lazy smile curling over his lips, "and those with wings as well."
"Oh no!" Sophie agrees, "We can't forget about our finned and winged friends, can we?"
They share a laugh, one where Sophie's eyes are creased and she looks way too delighted.
"You know, I don't want you to feel uncomfortable," Sophie tells him a second later, her nose brushing against Ashton's, "We can go back to the boat."
Ashton finds himself saying, "No. Um, I mean-it's kinda nice? Like, us floating like this-this is nice. I like it-we can stay like this."
So they stay in the ocean, with tiny flakes of sea salt in their noses and eyes. The sun reflects off the waters around them and sunlight glistens all around them. Their cheeks sting from smiling so much and Sophie twirls Ashton around in the water as the afternoon drifts away.
They watch the sun set from the back dock of the boat later on. It's gorgeous, with swirls of pinks and orange reflecting in the waters far away. Ashton can watch the sunrise and the sunset every day, especial with his arms wrapped around Sophie from behind.
It's perfect, but it somehow gets better.
"I got you something," Sophie tells him. They're in dry clothes now, with Ashton wearing a long sleeved shirt and a pair of jean shorts. The moon is high above them and the stars are out again. Tonight there are a few clouds in the sky but Ashton has no concern over that. What is puzzling him is just what Sophie means that she has something for him?
"Oh?" he asks curiously. Sophie nods and links their hands together. She leads Ashton to the back of the cabin in the boat, which is where the bedroom is. Ashton looks at the mattress with heavy eyes. He's exhausted-more frail and weaker then he's ever felt before. But today has been amazing and Ashton doesn't want to think about his tiredness. He won't let it ruin these final hours of their time together.
Sophie sets Ashton down on the edge of the mattress. Ashton watches Sophie move to her duffle bag and pulls something out of it. She's being awfully secretive and keeps a coy grin on her face as she keeps his hands behind her back.
"Sophie!" Ashton's whine turns into a giggle, "what have you got for me?"
Sophie sinks to her knees and wiggles to the spot in between Ashton's knees. Ashton's heart clinches when Sophie drops a kiss to Ashton's thigh before looking up at him with soft eyes.
"I know we haven't known each other for that long," Sophie admits, "but I feel like-I dunno, Ashton. You are so different-so, so lovely. I can't-you're just simply amazing, way too good for me."
Sadness aches in Ashton's chest, "Sop-"
"I know I'm saying a lot right now-maybe too much. But couldn't, I just had to show you how much I can for you. I'll always care for you, no matter what."
With that, Sophie moves her hand in front of him.
It's a sun, a tiny glittery sun on some sort of chain. It's stunning, truly stunning and Ashton isn't sure how to respond.
"You're my sunshine, Ash," Sophie tells him, "And I wanted to show you how much I love you."
I love you.
For some odd reason, Ashton's heart flips around in his chest at those words. Maybe it's the way that Sophie said them with such conviction yet tender at the same time. Maybe it's the way Sophie's looking at him now, with wide and gentle eyes and an elegant smile on her lips. Or perhaps it's the fact that Sophie's telling him that she loves him. Maybe that's what has Ashton feeling like he's levitating on the clouds back home.
"I love you too, Sophie," Ashton finally says. Ashton knows he's said the right thing because Sophie smile is like staring into the face of the sun-all bright and incredibly beautiful.
"Really?!" Ashton nods sheepishly, "Oh sunny! You don't realize how happy I am to hear that."
She kisses Ashton swiftly, making Ashton topple backwards onto the mattress. Ashton giggles into her lips and relishes in the feeling of being cocooned like a caterpillar in transformation by the one thing he cherishes more then his beloved season.
Sophie pulls back eventually and her smile is still blazing, "I love you."
"I love you," Ashton repeats, because it just feels right.
Sophie chuckles, her eyes still shining, "I should put this necklace on you, hm?"
She pulls Ashton back up from the mattress. They sit with their legs laced together as Sophie puts the necklace over Ashton's head. Ashton beams down at the glimmering sun hanging against his chest.
"Thank you Sophie," he says softly, and fails to stifle a yawn.
Sophie smirks at him knowingly, "My pleasure sunny. Now lets go to bed, you look so tired."
Ashton drifts off to sleep quickly with Sophie's head pillowed on his chest and the sun tangling from his neck.
August 28th
Ashton's startled awake rudely.
He wakes up in a panic and looks around him. There's rain pounding against the windows. The boat is tossing around like a small bird in a gust of wind. Lightening strikes outside of the boat and thunder claps, making the boat jolt in the water.
Ashton braces himself on the headboard. He finds Sophie, on the other side of the bed on the ground as well.
"Sophie!" He yells. Ashton watches as Sophie startles awake and sees the fear in Sophie's face that Ashton's feeling too. Sophie jumps up and struggles to reach Ashton as the boat takes a harsh jolt.
When Sophie gets to him, she cups Ashton's cheek, "Are you okay?" Ashton nods timidly, "I-It'll be okay Ashton-it's just a passing storm. I need to stir the boat, okay? Everything's fine sunny."
Ashton knows Sophie's wrong, but he nods tightly for Sophie's own good. Sophie moves to the front of the boat and Ashton holds onto the sides of the door that leads to the back deck. He squints to watch the dark clouds in the sky swirling about. A beaming bolt of lightening hits on the water not too far from the boat and Ashton jumps back from it along with the loud thunder that comes with it.
No, Ashton thinks desperately. It wasn't supposed to rain at all this weekend-Ashton was sure of it.
Ashton gasps-he did this. He made this storm, he did this.
Sophie's struggling to keep the boat tamed. Ashton closes his eyes and breathes in and out. Sophie's trying her best but she can't-she can't beat the winds that are whistling around them. The winds are strong, the rain is heavy and the lightening is terrifying.
Ashton should know; he's brought this on upon Sophie.
He just can't stand here holding onto the door; not when Sophie's trying her hardest to fight the elements and save them from it.
Ashton wonders if…no. He couldn't. He's moved small clouds before with no problem but moving an entire storm front is another game. Ashton's never done something like that before. Storm fronts are large and powerful and Ashton is weakened by the Earth. No, we can't do such a thing.
But Ashton concludes that he has to try.
Piercing raindrops hit Ashton in the face when he walks onto the deck, making him drenched in an instant. The boat sways harshly to the right and Ashton grabs onto the railing to brace himself. He stares up at the eye of the storm with fear in his eyes. The storm must sense he's scared because a rippling of thunder spreads across the sky. Lightening moves along with it likes the veins that run up Sophie's arms that Ashton's followed with his finger countless times before.
Ashton breathes in deeply and calms himself down. He looks at the boisterous clouds high up in the early morning sky. He trains his gaze on them, and focuses his thoughts. He silently commands them to move every fiber of his being. He's shaking profusely and feels incredibly weak standing amongst the storm he's created but he remains calm. He thinks about the most summer-y thoughts his hazy mind can muster up. Most of those thoughts include Sophie in them, because Sophie loves him and Ashton loves Sophie.
Ashton can feel it when the storm starts to move away. Ashton breathes a quick breath of relief and keeps his mind on the passing storm. The raindrops become less harsh on his skin and eventually, it's not raining anymore. The boat settles into a gentle rocking motion and Ashton's chest fills with air. He opens his eyes and sees the glorious sight of tinny tiny stars scattered over the sky, with hazes of pinks and orange spreading over the eastern horizon.
Ashton smiles at the sight before collapsing onto the deck.
When Ashton reopens his eyes, Sophie's face is pressed up against his, their noses slightly touching. Sophie's eyes are large with concern and perhaps fear, Ashton isn't sure.
"Hey sunny," Sophie whispers, eyes studying him closely, "Are you alright? You blacked out for a bit there. I was so worried."
Ashton blinks before nodding quickly, "Yeah, I'm fine." He insists, but Sophie doesn't seem to believe him.
"Sunny, why were you on the dock during the storm?" Ashton swallows thickly, as his tired mind scrambles for ideas.
"The door flung open," he says, "The boat moved roughly and I just, sorta fell out and hit my head." Ashton barely believes his own story.
Sophie bites her lip and nods stiffly, "Poor thing," she leans down and kisses Ashton's cheek. She pulls back, her hand still in Ashton's curls and her face holds a soft, fond gaze, "I'm so sorry Sunny. I should've checked the forecast more often. I checked before I left and I swear it wasn't supposed to rain."
Ashton swallows thickly, "It's okay. These things pop up out of nowhere-no way to predict storms like that."
Ashton's the one way-the one thing that knows everything that summer has to offer. Ashton is the one thing that could've seen a storm like that coming eons away. But Ashton was careless, too wrapped up in Sophie and the dwindling hours of summer he has left with her.
Ashton is so foolish. Sophie could've gotten hurt, all because Ashton had forgotten that he made a pop-up storm.
"I guess you're right," Sophie shrugs and looks away. It's then that Ashton realizes their in the small room with the wheel that moves the boat. The sun is coming over the sky now, it greets Ashton with its glaring rays that he loves so much. But it's not enough to lift his sinking spirits. He's tired, eyes heavy and it's like his body is aching to be back in his dome in the clouds.
But Sophie.
"We're almost back home now," Sophie tells him, "We can hang out all day."
Ashton finds himself weakly shaking his head, his eyes crossing, "Sophie? That sounds nice but I can't hang out with you today."
Ashton's not expecting Sophie to sigh in anguish, "Sunny is this about the storm? I'm sorry, darling, I was dumb and should've looked at the weather reports. Please don't be mad at me."
Ashton's not mad at her at all is the thing. He's so mad at himself that he can't even look at Sophie. Sophie hasn't failed him; Ashton's failed Sophie.
"Sophie I just-" Ashton sighs heavily, "I'm so tired is all. I'll sleep all day and like-that's not fair to you."
Glancing up from where his head is on Sophie's lap, Ashton sees Sophie's jaw tightens as she nods and mumbles, "Okay."
Ashton feels defeated in so many ways when they reach the shore. Sophie hasn't said anything to him a bit, but she still helps Ashton off the boat and not the dock. Ashton nearly topples over when he's on land and forced to move on his own merit. He's just exhausted; he's never felt this way before.
"You okay?" Sophie asks again, her hand steadying Ashton.
"Yeah," Ashton's reply is quick, and rather nippy. But his head hurts and his joints ache and his body is pleading for him to go back home.
Sophie nods tightly and looks a little hurt as she lets Ashton go, "Alright. I'll, um-see ya around?"
"Of course," Ashton smiles feebly at her and reminds her softly, "I love you Sophie."
That earns a fond scoff from Sophie and a dazzling smile, "I love you too, Sunny."
Ashton grins into a gentle kiss onto Sophie's lips. He holds his breath until Sophie is out of sight and Ashton drags himself over to a deserted part of the dock. He moves behind a building and proceeds to cross his arms over his chest and thinks tirelessly of summer thoughts.
His feet barely touch the pillow-y ground of the clouds before he passes out once again.
September 2nd
Ashton still feels exhausted when he wakes up days later.
He finds himself in his cloud-bed; his dome surrounding him is muggy with a hazy fog settling low to the ground. Ashton knows he's been asleep for a while, but he still aches for slumber deep in his bones. He feels as though he can sleep for days and as nice as that sounds, a flash of Sophie's golden smile comes over his mind. His days with the human are already numbered so low, he can't afford to miss anymore days with him. But he's just so tired.
Ashton sits up and stretches as he stifles a yawn as a slight weight hits the center of his chest. He looks down and-
It's the necklace that Sophie gave him. The light in Ashton's dome reflects off the shiny sun shaped pendant and sparkles. He ahs no idea how he was able to bring his necklace to his realm but somehow it's here, proudly dangling over Ashton's chest. His heart swells at the sight of it, his mind fondly remembering the wonderful human man who gave him this piece.
He loves Sophie. He might not know what that fully means, but Ashton knows he loves Sophie completely.
There's a knock on the door to his dome and Ashton scrambles to hide his necklace under his robe. Just as the necklace is out of sight, Luke comes into Ashton's dome.
Michael is close behind him, looking clearly angry.
Ashton's glare moves to his spring brother, "You told him didn't you?"
"He didn't have to, Ashton," Michael replies sternly and then tells his youngest brother, "I was the one who found you passed out outside your dome. I dragged you in here and made Luke tell me hat exactly you did."
Luke nibbles on his lip nervously, "Yeah, A. I'm sorry, but I had to! You looked…so weak. I thought that you were-" Luke stops himself and Ashton's grateful for it. He can't imagine what Luke was going to say would be anything pleasant, "I saw what you did on Earth. Ashton that was incredibly dangerous!"
"What was I supposed to do?!" Ashton reasons, "It was bad out there-I forgot I made that storm and then," Ashton gulps, "Sophie could've gotten hurt. I did it to save her."
Michael sighs as he paces through the flowers drenched with morning dew, "So you moved an entire storm front for a human?" Ashton frowns at his brother.
"Not just any human," Ashton's quick to remind him, "I did it for Sophie. Because I love Sophie."
Michael's face drops at this bit of information, "You're in love this girl?" Ashton nods sternly.
"I wouldn't drain myself completely for her if I didn't love her."
Luke wearily looks back and forth between his brothers, "What's in mean to be in love?" and well, Ashton would like to know what love means as well. Michael doesn't look away from Ashton as he explains.
"Humans love all sorts of other humans in their loves, like their friends and family members. But, to be in love with someone is completely different. Love is like the deepest admiration for that being. No matter what happens, the beings in love stay with each other. They do anything for them, because they're bonded at the deepest level. Beings in love believe that they will spend the rest of their days in love with that other being. Animals can feel or express this kind of love, as it's not in their nature to. Only humans can love."
As the words sink in, Ashton knows for sure now: he does love Sophie.
"So Ashton draining himself for Sophie was an act of love?" Luke concludes. Michael nods stiffly.
"Apparently," he huffs and adds on, "Autumn is coming, Ashton-no matter how much you love this Sophie girl, it's not gonna stop what comes naturally."
There's a heavy weight on Ashton's chest, "I know that."
"I don't think you do, Ashton!" Michael laments, "What are you gonna do about this?! Are you gonna tell her the truth and hope that she believes you? Or are you just gonna disappear when autumn comes and let Sophie think you've left her?"
Ashton doesn't want to think about the first day of autumn creeping up. It means his time on Earth is over for now, that summer is over. It means that he can't see his beloved Sophie anymore. Just the thought of not experiencing summer with Sophie makes tears swell in his eyes.
"Michael," Luke chides his wintery brother as his sits besides Ashton, "You made Ashton upset."
Michael merely shrugs at this, "I'm telling him reality, as I have been this whole time. As usual he's not going to listen to me. He likes to think of his sunny times and hopes that everything will be perfect and wonderful-"
"Michael!" Luke hisses. Ashton bitterly eyes his oldest brother.
"But things aren't like that Ashton!" Michael is quick to remind him, "Things aren't all bright and cheery all the time! It's not how it's supposed to be, that's why Mother created the seasons. Because sometimes, it's not perfect Ashton! You can wish and hope and dream that everything will turn out perfect but doesn't sometimes!"
"Hush!" Luke squeezes Ashton's hand and frowns at Michael, "Go away! You're hurting him!"
Michael grits his teeth and mutters, "I'm trying to save him from more pain," before leaving Ashton's dome swiftly.
Ashton slumps, his eyes dropping and his body is a deadweight against Luke, "I'm so tired."
"It's alright Ashton," Luke tells him. Luke kneels beside Ashton's cloud-bed and tuck Ashton under the billowy sheets, "Go to sleep, everything will be alright."
Ashton just hopes Luke's right. He really does.
September 9th
It feels good to be back in the familiar city of Sheffield.
Ashton's missed weeks with Sophie. He woke up every day, eager to go see her. But when he tried to stand up, he still felt so dizzy and frail. Ashton would sigh, plop back down on bed and doze off. It got so bad that even Mother came in to check on him several times. She kept saying he looked pale, and his eyes were puffy and she demanded answers. Ashton merely shrugged and played coy, saying that it was probably because the weather was changing. Mother bought it, and even said that going back to Earth might help him.
So the first day when Ashton doesn't feel as tired as has, he goes back to Sophie.
"You look like shit," is how Hannah greets Ashton when he walks in. Ashton stops at this and frowns at her words. What exactly is shit and what does it look like? He assume it can't be good considering how harshly Hannah said it to him.
"Uh," Ashton responds, his voice still hoarse. At that, Hannah's eyes bug out and she looks incredibly guilty.
"Oh no-Ashton have you been sick all this time?" she asks him.
Sick: human lingo for not feeling well. Ashton knows this word at least.
Ashton decides to play along, "Yeah, um. Sorry I didn't tell anyone. I just felt really sick, but now I'm better." He smiles weakly at her.
Hannah hums, "You poor thing. Miss Pashley will be so happy to see you." Ashton flushes madly at that, "She's been so worried about you."
"Really?" Ashton ponders. Hannah smirks and reaches down in her desk.
"Miss Pashley? There's someone out here to see you," Hannah speaks loudly. She smiles back at Ashton, "She's been in a sour mood ever since your boat trip because you never reached out to her."
Ashton feels guilt settle in his chest. But then Sophie walks out and sees Ashton and there's a surprised, slow smile that draws up on Sophie's lips for a split second before her face drops.
"Hey Sophie," Ashton greets her unsurely. Sophie walks up to him and cups his cheek, her face full of worry.
"You look so tired," she pulls Ashton in for a tight hug and mumbles into Ashton's chest, "Are you okay, Sunny?"
Ashton sighs into Sophie's embrace, "I've been sick," he tells her, making Sophie coo.
"Sunny, why didn't you tell me? I would've taken care of you."
Ashton blushes madly, "I didn't want you to worry."
"Ashton," Sophie says in a scolding tone, "I was already worrying about you! You should've let me known you weren't feeling well."
"I'm sorry," Ashton mumbles weakly. Sophie smiles softly and kisses Ashton gently.
"I missed you so much," Sophie confesses. Ashton's heart patters in his chest.
"I missed you too," he kisses Sophie sweetly on her cheek and reminds her, "I love you."
Sophie grins brightly at that, "I love you too, Sunny."
"Ugh," Hannah groans loudly as she moves towards the door, "On that, I'm off to lunch! It was lovely to see you again, Ashton."
Ashton grins, "You too."
Hannah chuckles and nudges Sophie's shoulder, "Make you sure tell him!" Ashton frowns at that remark and watches Hannah leave. Sophie has a sheepish grin on her lips.
"Tell me what?" Ashton questions. Sophie just takes hold of Ashton's hand.
"I'll tell you later," he promises, "Come on, lets go in my office."
Sophie's office is full of black furniture, a deep cherry red desk, and huge windows at the back wall that shows the whole city of Sheffield. Ashton sits on a chair behind the desk and Sophie cuddles up to him on his lap.
"I've missed you," Sophie mumbles into Ashton's lips. She kisses Ashton deeply and Ashton can feel it deep within him. Sophie's hands firmly dig into Ashton's shoulders and it feels-Mother's stars, it feels so good, so beyond anything Ashton can understand. When Sophie pulls back, she rests her head against Ashton's and sighs deeply.
"I was so afraid," Sophie admits.
Ashton tilts his head, "Why?" Sophie links their hands together between them. Ashton notices Sophie has a tiny cut on her left hand at the base of the second finger. Ashton leans down and kisses it tenderly, swiftly. It makes Sophie scoff fondly and cups Ashton's face with her free hand.
"I thought you were mad at me."
Ashton flinches at the idea, "What?"
"It's just-you were so distant after that storm came on our trip," Sophie reasons with a slight shrug, "And I figured it was because you were mad at me." Something unsettling spreads over Ashton's chest.
"Sophie-"
"I'm so sorry," Sophie earnestly says, "I-I should've kept an eye on the weather. It's my fault."
"No it's not," Ashton insists but doesn't looks convinced, "It's not!" Ashton says firmly.
It's my fault, Ashton wants to tell Sophie. Instead, Ashton kisses Sophie's cheek.
"I love you Ashton," Sophie tells him again, "I know we haven't known each other for long, but I love you, so much. And the thought that I lost you-" Sophie gulps thickly, her eyes widening like a doe's.
Ashton's eyes widen too.
"I'm yours," Ashton tells her. He brings Sophie's hand to his lips and he kisses that same line on Sophie's hand. He cutely looks up at Sophie, "I'm your sunshine."
Sophie chuckles lightly, her eyes shining up to Ashton, "Yes you are." That makes Ashton's heart flutter like birds wings.
"Now tell me whatever Hannah told you to tell me," Ashton commands lightly. Sophie smirks.
"I've been named Entrepreneur of the Year by the Sheffield Chronical."
Ashton's not sure what that means or how this is a good thing. What's the Sheffield Chronical? What's a Chronical in general? Ashton's unsure of it all but he smiles for Sophie's sake.
"You have?" Ashton replies, playing up his excitement.
Sophie grins timidly, "They say my company is doing a lot of good for the city, which-I dunno if I think that's true. It's been a really prosperous year and it's so amazing that the paper is honoring me with an award."
"How wonderful!" Ashton beams, though he doesn't have a clue what's going on, "I'm so proud for you." Sophie's smile keeps getting larger and it makes Ashton happy.
"I hoped you would be," Sophie says sheepishly, "There's this event, a dinner plus an award ceremony for local businesses. They only do it once a year so of course they make it into this big thing but," She brushes her thumb along the inside of Ashton's elbow, "I want you to come with me as my date."
Ashton blushes, "You do?" Sophie laughs.
"Of course! Hannah even says she's found the perfect suit for you to wear. I have to take her word for it, because she refuses to let me see it. But I trust her," Sophie leans up and whispers in Ashton's ear, "I want to show you off-show the whole city how handsome you are."
Ashton squirms so hard he nearly pushes Sophie off his lap.
"Are you alright?" Sophie asks, her hands keeping Ashton in place. Ashton nods, feeling flustered.
"I'm fine!" He insists quickly and then adds with a smile, "And yes, I'd love to come!"
Sophie bites a bit of her lip as she smiles, "Great! It's on the twenty-first at eight. I can't pick you up because I need to go to…"
The ringing in Ashton's ears draws out Sophie's voice.
September 21st; the first day of autumn.
At 10: 48 pm on September 21st, it'll be autumn. Summer will be officially over and Ashton's time on will be done. Ashton knows this; he's had this dreaded date and time in the forefront of his mind since halfway through July. Ashton's known that his time with Sophie is limited but he always seemed so far away, until now that is.
"Ashton?" Sophie's voice snaps Ashton out of his worried haze, "Are you alright Sunny?"
"Y-Yes," Ashton says weakly, "I was um-just thinking about how…excited I am to come and support you."
Sophie leans up and hugs Ashton tightly, "Oh Ashton! You have no idea how happy I am to hear that!"
Ashton looks at his reflection in the window. He sees the bags under his eyes. He sees how drained he looks but he can't dwell on that. He can't dwell on the fact that he'll be on Earth for the very last day of summer and how that can drain him even more.
Ashton has to persevere for Sophie, he just has to.
September 16th
The tall tale signs of autumn's arrival are clear as sunshine in July to Ashton.
The leaves, the normally lush green leaves, have small patches of red and yellow near the tops of the trees. The sun stays on Earth for a shorter amount of time, making the days melt away faster then before. The worst though is when Ashton sees flowers wilting and dying around him, because their time is coming up too.
"Let's go back to my place," Sophie proposes. Watson is many paces ahead of them, and Sophie's hand is curled firmly on his leash.
(Ashton still and never will understand why some animals are kept on strings when they should roam free).
Ashton's about to dispute Sophie's request, saying that the sun is lovely and the sky is crisp and blue.
But then Sophie remarks, "It's getting kinda cold."
The words strike fear into Ashton's chest. And yes, he's noticed that the sun's intensity hasn't been has strong has it has earlier on in the summer. But Ashton still feels the summer heat pulsing inside him…but that too is not as strong as it used to feel before, when summer was at its peak.
Ashton does his best to ignore these unsettling realizations.
"Alright," Ashton mumbles weakly. He takes hold of Sophie's hand and heads back to his place. He's tired, very tired and should go back home but he doesn't want to, not quite yet. He can hold on for a bit longer, for Sophie's sake.
The magnolia tree that sits outside Sophie's home was once large and blooming with gorgeous magnolia flowers. Now however, the branches are drooping slightly. And the flowers are drained of their color, with the petals having a dusty brown hue to the tips.
There has to be a bit of summer left on Earth! There just has to be.
Ashton walks up to the tree as Sophie takes a phone call from work. He touches a magnolia flower that's low on a branch. At just his touch, the flower revives a little bit. For a moment, the dullness of the flower reverts back to a lovely white magnolia flower. It's enough to brim Ashton full of hope. But then the flower rapidly shrinks back into it's decaying state and Ashton's hopes for a bit more summer on Earth depletes just as quickly.
