Chapter Seventeen
Sweet Memories
In sleep, the hard edges of Hiei softened until he had a look of innocence about him. Ashley had woken thirty minutes previously, but rather than stirring from where she lay in her futon next to this glorious person next to her, she stayed there, and remembered the night before with a light laugh bubbling up. The last time she'd had sex with anyone hadn't been even close to how it had been with Hiei. Yes, there had been a few awkward moments, where the dress wouldn't quite come off, and he'd tripped on it taking her to the bed, and she'd tried to kiss him as he came back for her mouth, only for them to bump heads with a chuckle.
But that seemed to be the perfect part. It wasn't perfect. It was completely imperfect, but it was better than anything she'd ever experienced.
How she wanted to reach out and touch him, to brush the hair out of his eyes, but she stayed her hand. He slept on his stomach, with his right arm curled beneath his head, the pillow forgotten above him.
For a moment, he was peaceful. The stress that came with feeling like he had to watch over her constantly, disappeared. The stress that came with Dion, disappeared. The stress that came with his life beyond this flat, whatever that was, disappeared.
It was strange, even in sleep he wore the headband across his forehead. Even though she'd been so curious about it before, she recognized it was his secret, and if he wanted to tell her about it he would.
And really, what did she actually know about him? He was a demon, yes, although that had only been new knowledge in the last month or so. He worked as a mediator… possibly as a mediator for the demon world? The image of him standing behind that demon that was mangled swam to the surface of her memories. Was he a mediator in those types of situations, then?
She knew he liked spaghetti, and just about anything else she decided to cook, with the exception of spotted dick, which he'd merely leveled his gaze at her in annoyance and refused to touch it once she told him what it was called. Even then, though, before she told him, he enjoyed it. Ashley also knew that more often than not, when Hiei was frustrated, sarcasm was the knee-jerk reaction he had.
Still, it felt to her, like she didn't really know him. What made him tick? What pushed him to his next goal? Was black his favorite color or just the color he had around himself most often? What was his biggest regret? What was on his bucket-list? Obviously demons and humans had the same sort of physiology, so that wasn't anything she needed to worry about. But what had made the scars that cris-crossed themselves across his back and stomach and arms that she had noticed? How on earth had he accrued so many, especially with being so young? And besides that, what was this dragon tattoo that wound so tightly on his right arm? Was it supposed to be part of a sleeve? Or did it have some sort of meaning? It barely peeked out from beneath his mess of hair, but she'd seen it once before: back on the bus on the way to Nikko. A dragon black as obsidian, set against a smoky background.
Who was this person who slept next to her so soundly?
A sense of deja vu settled over her, lying there next to Hiei's sleeping form. She was positive she had never been in this situation before, and usually she remembered her dreams, but this moment felt so familiar to her. A chill raised the hairs along the back of her neck, but she shook off the feeling. No, she had definitely never been in this moment before. Especially never with Hiei.
She stayed like that for several more minutes, simply watching him sleep, and then pulled a book to her when she realized how creepy she was being. Ashley wanted to take a peek at what was going on on Facebook, but her phone was with her clutch that she had dropped near the kitchen and she didn't feel like pulling herself up off the bed anytime soon. At least not until Hiei was also awake and she didn't run the risk of accidentally waking him.
Even though her attention was on her book, sneaking glances at Hiei every now and then when he shifted in sleep, really, she found herself reading and re-reading the same few pages over and over again. The thing on her mind, however, had little to do with the night they had shared, and more to do with playing the piano the night before.
That had been the first time she had played in years.
And even though she had been strong-armed into it, and had been nervous about it for weeks, the absolute joy that it had brought her instead was like an old friend returning.
Yes, it hadn't been a perfect performance; it had been years, after all, so she was going off of muscle memory alone, and she'd made mistakes, but she had played.
Maybe she could pick it back up again.
It was nearly another hour before the demon next to her began to stir. Slowly at first, hunkering down into the sheets that were draped over his body, and then his crimson eyes blinked open.
"Good morning," Ashley murmured, not bothering to put her bookmark in just yet.
"Is it morning already?" Hiei asked even as he turned over to see the sunlight filtering through the glass on the patio door.
"It is," she replied, nerves suddenly flooding her stomach. Why, she had no idea, especially since this person had now seen everything there was to her and then some. He knew what made her gasp, and what made her bored. "Are you hungry?" she asked instead. "I can make us food."
Unsure, Hiei hesitated before a quick, "Sure," as he rolled to his feet and padded to the bathroom.
He didn't seem to be undergoing the same nerves that she was, that was for sure. Finally bookmarking her page, Ashley rolled to her own stomach and waited until Hiei was re-entering her room from the bathroom. He wasn't wearing much, but even after spending all night with him intimately, the sight of him still created a low heat in her stomach that rose to her cheeks as she looked away, embarrassed. She was definitely not in the same toned shape as he was, and that thought only fueled her embarrassment further.
Still, she worked out the words on her mind, "Would you want to go on a date with me?" When he didn't respond right away, she added, "Like, for real?"
She couldn't look at him directly, suddenly terrified that he would say "no," or that last night had been a mistake.
"Would you like that?" he replied instead, coming to lean against her door frame, arms crossed over his chest.
The gentleness in his voice was unlike the brash sort of clipped responses he usually gave. It was odd, but last night was a testament that Hiei was capable of being gentle.
In the time span of less than a day, Hiei had managed to glimpse just who she was. Feeling the blush in her cheeks deepen, she replied, "I would."
"Then let's do it," he offered with a slight smile. Truly, even though it was small, it was the first real one he'd really offered her, lighting his eyes.
Or at least, it was the first real one he'd offered away from the intimate night they'd shared.
"You seem to be in a good mood," he said as Ashley glanced up, catching her gaze.
It was a perfect Sunday morning, really. "Well, after the night we had," she began, acknowledging the evening without bringing it directly into the light. For some reason, nerves bubbled in her stomach with a warning that if she brought it up, then Hiei might push her away and deny that anything had taken place. "And Hiei, that was the first time I've played the piano in years. And," she paused, trying to find the right words to convey exactly how she felt in Japanese. "And I loved it. I want to keep playing."
He watched her in the doorway for a long moment, watching her joy. Finally, she pulled herself out of bed and padded over to him, Knox falling back on his side in exhaustion. He'd been up half the night watching them. She didn't reach out to him, however, even though she so wanted to. She wanted to wrap her arms around his torso and feel his warmth seep into her body again.
But she didn't. Instead, Ashley stood in front of him, the blanket from the bed wrapped around her shoulders like a cape.
"I think you should," he replied, his voice husky in the morning. "You were incredible last night." He looked awkward admitting it, looking out the window behind her head, and a soft flush rising to his cheeks. Ashley was sure that was the first time he had ever blushed in front of her.
Instead, she placed her palm flat against his pectorals, which was more touching than she was sure he was comfortable with. "Thank you," she replied simply, withdrawing her hand almost immediately and stepping around him to head to the bathroom, herself.
"This is ridiculous," Hiei snipped, rolling his eyes. They stood in line behind a set of double doors, waiting with the other dozens of people waiting to get into the light exhibit. They were next, and waiting for the green light above the door to come on indicating they could enter, but the sheer amount of time they'd spent waiting for the thing had been excessive. It was the last weekend of the exhibit, but still. It had been a few years since Ashley had been to any University-held exhibit, but for it to be nearly eight at night and still this many people waited to get in after months of the exhibit being open screamed that some people had procrastinated their coming to it.
"I agree," Ashley muttered absentmindedly. At some point, she'd gotten her phone out and had started scrolling through the photos that Sophia had sent to her. There was one of the writing on the wall, or really, it was more like carvings in the wall. She'd also sent some video of one of the broken-for-a-century clocks that had suddenly started working again, even if they were constantly chiming at 11 pm. That didn't interest her nearly as much as the carvings did, which was to say she was barely interested at all. Maybe one of the cousins had started carving that as a prank.
"What are you looking at?" Hiei had finally asked, leaning over her shoulder to sneak a glance.
"Just some stuff going on at the House," Ashley replied evenly, locking her phone and putting it away. "Sophia sent it over earlier and I thought I'd take a look; that's all," she replied with a grin. A haunted house and some family drama was nothing that Hiei needed to concern himself with.
He dropped the conversation easily, and silence descended upon them once more. Ashley began picking at a thread on her sleeve anxiously. She stood as close as she dared to Hiei. Really, what she wanted to do was reach out and take his hand, but his right hand was shoved into his pocket at the moment, thereby preventing any inconspicuous hand-holding. "But, we've waited this long. If we were to get out of line now it would all be for nothing." She glanced at him from the corner of her eye, a smirk growing as she caught sight of his scowl.
He didn't seem to be the type of person at all to crave intimacy, or even physical contact, content enough to stand next to her without any offering of a touch.
She told herself it was fine, and reminded herself that everyone was different, but oh, how she wished she could reach out and take his hand, if only just to feel his presence next to her. As it was, he stood there quietly, lost in his own thoughts, conversation coming at a ragged pace, and Ashley stood next to him, trying not to be disappointed at all. In the beginning she'd tried to hold conversation, but his few replies that sounded like he was trying to end conversation altogether. Which didn't make sense at all. They'd been intimate the night before, and he'd agreed to go out with her on a real date. But all evening it felt as if he wanted to be anywhere except next to her.
Ashley tried not to let the overwhelming sadness and rejection overwhelm her, but all she could think about was if Hiei was regretting it all.
Still, the light above the door didn't come on.
"You know, if you're not having a good time, we can go," she heard herself say, but didn't take the words back. It was similar to what she'd said to him over dinner weeks ago, right before he'd jerked her world to a halt and practically told her he didn't want anything to do with her anymore.
But if he didn't want to be here, why should she force him to stay? Because she'd had a good night with him the night before? No. Maybe it was all lust. Maybe he wasn't falling for her as quickly or as hard as she was. Of course, after a thought, Ashley realized that was the truth of the matter. Hiei was always stand off-ish, and every relationship or crush she'd ever had had turned out that she fell much harder and faster than the other person. Hiei would not be an exception.
But then again, it didn't make sense why he always came around her flat if he wanted nothing to do with her.
He sucked in a breath through his nose. "Let's stay," he replied. He didn't move; didn't reach out to bridge the distance between them, but he wanted to stay.
And that was enough for now.
The green light came on over the door and they shuffled through the doors along with a dozen other people.
The abrupt difference between the room where they had been waiting in line and the maze that started on the other side was stark.
Immediately they were plunged into darkness, and Ashley faltered, her steps unsure as she was suddenly blind in the dark. Vaguely, there was a dim light coming from ahead, but trying to see to get there was the difficult part.
In an instant she felt warmth near her arm, and then the hand that accompanied it grazed her arm. "What's wrong?" Hiei asked, his tone alarmed.
Ashley shook her head, before realizing he likely couldn't see her in the dark. Unless demons had excellent sight, too. "I can't see. I just need a minute… to adjust."
Everyone else had proceeded forward, walking towards the dim light. Laughter and squeals could be heard from them as they tripped over each other. But Ashley didn't feel confident enough to walk toward the light and not fall flat on her face.
Slowly she could see better - painstakingly slow - but it was as if her pupils had decided they wanted to take the slow route.
She could feel Hiei next to her, silent as ever, but he didn't leave her side. "You humans and your lackluster senses. How did your evolution ever get to this point?" He muttered under his breath, and the sentiment caught a smile from Ashley. He huffed and then said, "I can see." Vaguely she thought she saw him offer his hand before another annoyed huff came from him.
The next thing she knew he'd taken her hand.
His hand was warm, but not uncomfortably so. Especially in the room where it felt like they'd pumped up the AC to mimic the Arctic, it was nice. And she never thought rough-worked hands would feel good to her, but they were Hiei's. Warmth spread from the hand he had taken and grew low in her belly.
He led her through the maze until light spilled over their path, illuminating the way to step. As soon as it did, Hiei let go of her hand, taking it back and standing off to the side again. Even as he did, however, she couldn't help but smile. Lights shone from every direction, twirling and spinning, and blinking. They created patterns on the floor and walls. It was like a maze, but in the dark. They had to find their way to the main room, where the advertisements said all 72 types of lights were displayed. When she had told Hiei of this, as they sat in her flat trying to figure out where to go for their first date, he snorted in derision. "How could there possibly be 72 types of light to begin with?"
Ashley glanced at Hiei now, who was eyeing the lights with a hint of distaste and distrust. "Shall we begin?" she offered with a grin.
He didn't respond, but she set off, wandering through the maze herself, although she could feel him on the edges of her feet, his warmth radiating off him.
As they approached a dead-end, Ashley slowed, careful not to stop too suddenly. "Which way should we go?" Hiei came to a stop beside her, glancing left and right, before suddenly walking left, not bothering to speak his decision.
It was fun to see his mind work, and see his surprised reactions as the lights did different things around them. Images were projected onto the walls, but at times an image would appear so suddenly, it would be like it jumped out from the shadows. His immediate reaction was to try to punch through whatever scared him.
By the second time, Ashley was able to anticipate his reaction and grabbed his arm before it happened again.
The muscles in his forearms were taut as the image of a clown popped up in front of them, blinking and music playing around them in a teasing way, before it disappeared again. Quickly, Ashley released him, noticing the way he tensed the longer she held onto him.
For the most part they were alone on their way through the maze, but could hear the other patrons speaking loudly and squealing every once in a while.
By the time they got to the main room, so many people were jam-packed into the small space, that it was difficult to move. Hiei and Ashley tried to navigate through the crowds without losing each other, but with Hiei leading the way and Ashley trying not to bump into anyone, there were a few times that they got cut off from each other. Finally, Hiei's hand shot out behind him; Ashley took it without a second thought, his grip firm.
They found their own corner of the room, a few feet in any direction away from everyone else, just to stand there and take it in. It was incredible the way the lights played over the dozens of bodies, and it felt weird to be able to see the light filaments covering her exposed arms, but not be able to physically feel anything.
Hiei didn't let go of her hand for a moment longer than she thought he would. When he did, Ashley pointed to his face with a grin. The lights looked like threads of color dancing over him. He smirked, but didn't say anything. Typical Hiei.
She never heard or felt anyone pass behind them, but she definitely felt the hand slide up her thigh to grip her butt cheek.
Ashley shrieked, immediately knowing that the touch did not belong to Hiei, whose hands had been in his pockets.
It was like a fucking switch got flipped. A chain reaction. Dominoes falling against one another.
Immediately everyone else erupted in screams, the darkness suddenly pressing down very hard; suffocating. Hiei had grabbed her in an instant, pulling her body into his and away from the assault. People rushed towards the exit, knocking into them until Hiei pulled them away from where they had stood, his eyes wide and scanning the area where they had stood.
"What happened?" He yelled over the screaming, pulling her close. Ashley, however, couldn't concentrate on what he said, trying desperately to find the asshole who had touched her. "What happened?" He gripped her tighter, his voice nearly a roar in her ear.
"S-Someone," she stuttered, trying to get the words out. "Someone t-touched me!"
He tensed, but with the dozens of people running for the exit, and the room still dark and the lights flickering over the bodies, there was no way to decipher which of these people had been the one to touch her.
Pulling her close, he led her from the room, pushing past people to get out of the room and back into the normal fluorescents outside. Flushing bright pink, he led her to the side of the crowd as everyone who had exited suddenly stopped on the other side of the exit doors, wondering what had happened. Three security guards rushed past in their haste to enter the light show to see what had happened.
Ashley couldn't stand to look out from Hiei's chest. She'd caused this panic. The embarrassment was almost too much.
"Let's get out of here. Please, Hiei." She pleaded, looking anywhere but at the crowd around them or at Hiei, himself.
"But we need to find the guy-"
Ashley didn't need to cut him off with the way she was vehemently shaking her head. "No. No. Please. Let's just go."
Hiei opened his mouth to argue, but Ashley set off away from the crowd, away from Hiei, toward the exit as she pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, ducking her head.
He finally caught up with her as she exited the building, slowing to a stop next to the small garden outside to let Hiei catch up with her.
"What the hell was that?" he snapped, catching her arm and pulling her around to face him.
"I just-" she tried and failed, trying a different route. "I couldn't be in there. I needed to get out."
Hiei's face scrunched up in confusion. "What? You know I don't understand that."
English. She'd been speaking in English. She'd converted and didn't even know it. Great. There was that to add to her embarrassments for the night.
Ashley pulled away from Hiei, walking over to the rock wall that someone had constructed around the landscaping. The night was vaguely lit from the florescents that flooded through the windows, their light barely reaching the garden.
"Why didn't you do something?"
"I could have found the guy."
Every sentence that came out of Hiei's mouth felt like an accusation.
"Where did he touch you?"
"No one should get away with touching you."
Hiei had gone full-protector on her, and while she knew she would appreciate it in a few days, as it was now, it was just annoying and he needed to stop.
But he didn't. His eyes narrowed, arms crossed over his chest, and speaking to her like she was the one he was angry at, she had to remind herself that wasn't the case.
Through the embarrassment and the knowledge that she was surely flushed from neck to ears just from the heat that radiated through her, Ashley struggled on her Japanese, trying to form what she wanted to say in English to the Japanese equivalent, going slow and bogging down the conversation, which only made her flush harder, this time with frustration.
"I just-" she tried again in Japanese, "Hiei, can you please just stop for a moment?"
The desperation had slipped into her voice and while he heeded her request and he stopped talking, she turned away from him, her hands moving to cover her face as she walked a few away, trying to put words into other words for him to understand.
After having a moment to collect her thoughts and circling back around, she took a shaky breath and began. "Yes. He touched me, okay? And I screamed. I shouldn't have screamed, but I screamed and I hate myself for it." The embarrassment itself was too much. "It caused unnecessary panic. And I don't want to go back and talk to the authorities because that'll just cause too much of a scene-" Ashley glanced back at Hiei for a moment, but she immediately realized she shouldn't have. He was outright glaring at her, arms crossed defiantly over his chest.
"Look, okay," she sighed, exasperated at herself for the whole thing. "This happens. It sucks but it fucking happens. The room was dark and I didn't see anyone. I just want this to be over. Can we go?"
"No."
Ashley rolled her eyes and walked away from him, knowing he would follow, back to the brick wall where she pulled herself up to sit on it, feet dangling off. It was only a few inches higher than her hips, so she was able to look down at him from her perch. "You're being ridiculous about this."
"I disagree. No one should be able to touch you without your consent." He was angry about this. His concern for her, while appreciated, at this moment was also underwhelming.
"I agree with you." She replied evenly as Hiei approached her, bracing his hands on the wall on either side of her legs. Looking over his head back at the building, she realized she should be too, but she just couldn't find the energy to be angry. "But, as much as it sucks to admit this, it actually happens a lot. Not this exact thing so to speak, but being female, don't know if you've noticed this, but it kind of comes with the annoying expectation that other people are going to touch you without your permission quite a lot. And it sucks. And it shouldn't happen. But, Hiei, I've had people try to touch my hair because they thought it looked pretty."
She paused, then, "Thank you for your concern, but at this point, I just want it to be over. Does that make sense?"
He clenched his fists on either side of her legs; the only sign that no, he really didn't want to move on, but aloud he consented with a grumble. He was glaring a hole into her stomach. "I'd love to get my hands on that guy," he muttered to no one in particular.
His reply got a giggle out of Ashley. The first time Ashley had ever heard Hiei say he wanted to end someone's life had been weeks ago. At the time, she had been disturbed and horrified, and had shakily talked him out of that. But she'd found that he actually threatened this around her towards others quite a lot. It was more of an empty threat than anything. This time, though, it felt less like an empty threat and more like a full-blooded threat.
If he was willing to waste his time on hunting down the guy, she should take it as a compliment. He never wasted even a minute of time on meaningless or mediocre things. Something had to be worth his time for him to do it.
Still, it was interesting to note that the first time he'd mentioned he casually wanted to kill someone, he had now softened the phrase. Whether it was for her benefit or not, it was still endearing.
"I'd love if you did, too, but I'm also really glad you didn't." With a sigh, she relaxed. "Sorry for ruining the night. Maybe we can try again soon?"
He snorted with a roll of his eyes. "Uzai. You didn't ruin the night."
"Hiding?" Oliver's voice came from the doorway. Ashley immediately stopped playing her piece, the keys creating an awful noise as she jumped and hit them by accident.
"Oliver!" Ashley snapped back, "Don't scare me like that!"
He cocked a brow. "Hiding?" He repeated it. He leaned against the door frame in that gray suit of his, a crystal glass of some spirit dangling from his fingertips. They had always had the same blond hair and gray eyes, and had looked exactly like each other in their baby photos. While he usually dressed well and slicked his hair back, tonight he seemed to have overdone the hair gel, making his hair seem to have a helmet sort of look to it. It looked hard as a rock.
She rolled her eyes, as her fourteen year old self often did. "I hate people," she groused. "Why do we have to come to this stupid thing anyway?" Really, it wasn't the party that had her upset, although that was as good a reason as any. Her mother had picked out the absolute worst dresses that any fourteen year old could possibly wear, especially while she was trying to find her place in all this upscale hullabaloo. The other girls her age didn't have to wear dresses that looked like they were straight out of the forties. Theirs didn't have lace. "You're better at this than I am."
"Really, I'm not," Oliver assured her. "I just have more experience in this than you do. And you've got the instinct for the tech more than I do. I just know how to talk to people."
He stood there, fiddling with his phone in his left hand. "You're phone's broken, isn't it?"
"Gah!" He reacted. "You caught me! But I was wanting to come up to find you." As if she was the magical being who only fixed phones. Still, he at least knew how much she abhorred parties like this one.
He handed the device to her and she started sliding pieces apart, knowing how to access the interior of the phone and which wires connected where and did what without ever really studying it. It was a top of the line phone. Not a smart phone yet, but it was still good. Dad kept trying to get him to get a smart phone, but Oll still hung onto his older technology. Quickly, she worked, her fingers nimble inside the thing, connecting wires that could go elsewhere.
"How's your piece coming?" Oliver tried for conversation as she worked. She knew immediately what he was talking about. The competition was in three weeks and Ashley had been playing pretty much non-stop, working out the kinks.
She said as much in reply. "There's just a few bars I can't seem to get the notes right on. I keep playing them and playing them, but I just can't seem to do it."
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him shake his head. "Honestly, how you're able to read all that at all is amazing."
"Don't you remember any of your lessons?" Dad had put them all through a year of music when they were ten. Oliver had taken violin, Sophia had taken the French horn, and Ashley had taken the piano. Ashley was the only one that actually wanted to continue with her lessons once the year was up. Then the lessons turned to competitions. Now her dream was to get into the Dean's College: the largest group of young musicians in England. It was an honor to get in; you had to be the best or one of the best in your instrument, or instruments, and it was a lifetime membership. It took recommendation letters, an audition, and an interview, sometimes two, and they looked at your competitive history, although that didn't always have influence on whether you were able to join or not. The Dean's College paid to put you in competitions, and often hosted concerts for their members to play in. Most of those concerts raised money for one cause or another, but they were always set up first and foremost to showcase their members' talents. Scholarships were available to those who wanted to study their music as a career. And Ashley wanted in more than anything. Charlotte Brealey, a girl in Ashley's class at school, had already joined, but she always placed first or second in any competition she played in.
"I don't remember anything that had to do with that horrible experience," Oll sighed, finally crossing the room and joining Ashley on the piano bench. It wasn't like he'd ever sat at a piano. He used to teach Ashley how to read sheet music when she was first learning how to play, the summer before he started his first year at Cambridge, and they'd sit at the piano for hours at a time. "I try to block it out of my memory, honestly. And I've purposefully forgotten how to read sheet music so one of these wankers can't ask me to play at these stupid dinner parties."
Ashley crinkled her nose. Yes, that was a thing she was often asked to do.
It was silent for a moment, allowing Ashley to work and think through the issue with his phone. It was obvious it wasn't turning on. It looked like it had lost power without warning.
"I don't know how you do that." Oll finally muttered, mystified.
"It's easy, once you know how it all fits together. But you'd actually have to crack open a book now and then." Ashley couldn't help but through the jibe in. Oliver, for his credit, had never been the studious sort until finals came down to the wire.
Oliver snorted. He replied easily, "I've never seen you do that for this."
Ashley shrugged. It'd always been an innate talent of hers with technology: just knowing the device and how it worked, no matter what it was. If she was given something she'd never laid hands on, she was able to take it apart, fiddle with it some to learn it, and then she'd be able re-connect wires inside of it so it would work better. No instruction manual needed. She could probably write the instruction manual if she understood what any of the jargon actually meant. She knew it in practice, not theory.
Which made her the perfect person to take over the company one day.
And that idea she just couldn't stand.
She put the phone back together and handed it to her brother. He held down the power button and immediately the screen lit up. Oliver shook the phone at her. "You're good at this."
"Don't start that nonsense again. I hate it." She changed the subject. "How'd you know where I'd be?"
"Because, as much as you are wont to believe, you and Sophia are actually sisters," he replied. "And she's in the guest bedroom down the hall as well, 'hiding' with… what's the bloke's name this month?"
"Michael. And they've been dating for three months." It was just like Oliver not to realize that.
"Oh. Huh. Hadn't noticed that," he admitted. "Think it's serious?"
"As serious as it can be. He's the longest one this year." Ashley replied. It wasn't like her sister was dating someone every other month, although it felt like it. She and Oll often teased her for it, but really Sophia just had very high standards, and if she found that the guy she was with wasn't living up to those standards, she found no fault with ending things before they took off.
"Do you have anyone special you're looking at? Any blokes I should know about?" Oliver asked that question out of left field. It was common knowledge that Ashley didn't date, didn't have time to date, and even if someone did catch her fancy, she was too busy to date. Most likely he was trying to get a rise out of her.
Unfortunately his question had the opposite effect. "Why would I possibly start dating someone if Dad's about to make me leave?"
"Ah," Oliver replied, a light bulb flicking on in his head. "I found the reason for the hiding."
"No!" Ashley quickly snapped, but eased back as Oliver's brows shot straight in the air. She never used that tone with him. "Well, it's part of it," she admitted. "But I really do hate people."
"What are you thinking about all of it?" All of it being that her Dad had heard of a school over in Japan called Ouran High School through his new friends in the tech sector. Wright United had passed a certain point in the industry and now they were getting invited to dinner party after dinner party that served said dinner on actual china plates, and spirits in crystal glasses, and everyone wearing the most expensive formal wear sold in the boutiques. Ashley had always wondered while growing up what "high society" was like, and now that she was getting a taste of it, she'd discovered she really didn't like it all too much.
All of which boiled down to a couple of the industry leaders drinking with Dad one night and telling him that they sent all their kids to this international high school over in Japan and that he really should consider it. It is a school for people like them: in the folds of high society, for their kids to get to know one another, and learn something internationally as well.
Dad latched onto that idea like a duck to water. Now she had applied to go and school was getting ready to start soon, but she still hadn't allowed herself to respond to the letter of acceptance letting the school know if they should prepare a room for her for the year or not. Dad was pushing for it, but something held her back.
"Dad says that if I go, I could study my music to a much higher degree than I likely would get to here," she began. "They have an entire music program over there. And you're about to go away anyway, so I'd be stuck here without anyone who really understands me." Oliver was about to move up to the University of Edinburgh to study and obtain his master's degree, leaving her at home alone again. "Dad says Ouran will allow me to get to know international studies first hand, which could help out the company, but I know I don't want to work at the company at all. But since you're going away, maybe it would be good for me to have my own adventure? But if I go, I lose the opportunity to join the Dean's college. Yes, I could study music in Japan, but I'd lose the opportunity to join completely. They don't accept anyone over the age of seventeen, so by the time I finished at Ouran my time would be passed to join the college. And even if I didn't go to Ouran, I could get a scholarship and study at university."
It was a major decision and she was completely torn between wanting to please her father and do what was right, and do what she wanted to do. "If I could give some advice?" Oliver asked.
"I'll take anything you offer," Ashley said, exhausted from thinking about it all. It was all so much.
"Do what you want to do. Maybe make a Pro/Con list. Write out your thoughts. That should tell you what you should do." All seriousness aside, he bounced up to his feet. "Now, enough hiding. Come on back down, and play for us all so I can sing to these wankers at that top of my lungs and make their ears bleed!"
Ashley cringed. "Oh, please, Oll, don't embarrass me!"
"But you're my seeeester!" He drew out the word teasingly, hugging her tight enough that she squeaked. "I have to embarrass you!"
Before he could release her from his embrace, she stopped him, gripping her hands around his arms. "I don't want you to go."
If he could hear the emotion in her voice, what she thought was obvious, try as she might not to cry - Oliver hated crying from anyone, but her stupid cycle seemed to have other plans - but he didn't comment on it. "I won't be far. Just up the road a ways. Maybe you could come visit me? See the University. Maybe you'll want to study there someday, too, if Dad doesn't make you go to Cambridge, as well." He chuckled. "But I'll always come back for you." He squeezed her once more, then released her shoulders and made his way to the door. Ashley placed the fall board back over the keys and stood as well, blinking rapidly before she turned, praying the air dried up the extra moisture in her eyes. Edinburgh seemed like so far away for her brother to go. Cambridge had been easier; at least it had been in the same country, and Oliver had come back to visit every weekend that he could. "Plus, I've got to defend your honor from any boy who looks at you."
She crossed the room in a flash, throwing her arms around him. For a moment, he let her hug him, then pretended to wig out. "Ugh! Sister germs! Get off me! You're touching me!" It was the same game they played with Sophia, who hated anyone to come within her space. Hug or no. His reaction brought a laugh bubbling up as they headed back to the party.
Edinburgh just seemed so far.
He wasn't here.
Barely four days after the interview and photo shoot with Jacob, which had also been that incredible night with Hiei, the article was released. Within a day, Sophia had had a copy of it overnighted to Japan, and as soon as she'd gotten her hands on it, she immediately flipped to the spread of gorgeous photos of her family against the historically urban backdrop of London, and three smaller photos of herself and Jacob lounging in the park in Tokyo.
The missing piece came to her like a bolt of lightning. The cafe she sat at suddenly narrowed until her ears were ringing with the shock.
She flipped through the pages again, looking for his familiar hearty smile that he always seemed to draw on for photos. Since they were growing up he always looked like the happiest child when he smiled because he usually was laughing at something whenever the photo was taken.
But even after a third glance through and then a quick skim, it was frighteningly obvious: Oliver had been left out of the article completely.
Jacob said he would be, but really, a part of her hadn't believed him.
Her brother, who she'd always been able to talk to, who was the most down-to-earth of everyone in her family, was missing from the article.
Immediately she was unlocking her phone to call her father.
"Dad!"
"Ashley?" His groggy voice croaked. He must have looked at the clock because all sleep was cleared from his voice immediately. "Are you okay? Why are you calling so early?"
In a flash, Ashley did the mental math for what time it was over there. Barely twelve in the morning. Oops.
In the background she could hear her Mum rouse from sleep as well, asking her father what was wrong.
"No, Dad, no," she hurriedly said in English, and kicking herself at the same time for calling without thinking. "I'm okay, I promise. I just forgot about timezones." Stupid fucking timezones.
The sigh that he let lose could be heard half a world away. "She's fine, Susan." He said away from the receiver, his voice slightly muffled. "Go back to sleep."
Ashley waited until he told her to continue, after a door clicked shut in the background. Knowing him, he was moving to his study where he could talk with her and not have to worry about waking her mum. She could see the house in her mind's eye and the halls he walked through to get to his study on the first floor.
"I just got the article that Jacob did and…" she trailed off, still as dumbfounded over it as she was the first time ten minutes previously. "Dad, why is Oliver not in here?"
"Your Mum and I were wondering if you were going to call about that," he relented, groaning as he likely sat in his favorite armchair. "It was a decision we made together, with Oliver. As I'm sure you're aware, he's going through some issues right now that he's working through."
Issues.
Did her dad really mean what she thought he meant?
"You mean that nonsense he's spouting about demons?" With Oliver, she'd always had a special connection. She'd always been able to be her blunt self without having to worry about accidentally offending him. With Sophia, they had banded together against the creep in the office. With Dad, she could be her true self to a point. Mum was a traditional Briton. She had always hated Ashley's bluntness, calling it rebellion. She'd never figured out where the "American" side of Ashley had come from.
Her Dad murmured in agreement. "It's not good for the company to be associated with those types of ideals. So, we decided, and your brother contributed to the idea himself, that he not be included in the article at all." Dad said it like he was proud of Oliver for making such an adult decision. Imagine, her nearly thirty one year old brother making an adult decision, when he practically ran the company already. Somehow, knowing Oliver, and how readily he stood behind his ideas once he had them, that decision to stay out of the article was not contributed to by him at all. Likely he didn't even suggest it.
Which made her wary of what her Dad wasn't telling her. But from the heavy silence, Ashley knew he was completely serious.
Her awe could probably be heard over the phone.
"You're serious."
He chuckled. "Of course I'm serious; this is serious. Your Mum and I personally think he made a very smart decision. He's taking some time off right now to get his head back on straight, and in a few months, when he's ready, he'll come back."
He paused, letting that sink in. Quietly, gently, he finished with, "It'll be okay, Ashley. I promise."
Her dad, making promises. When he used that voice with any of them, when they were scared of a thunderstorm when they were children, or the monsters under the bed, or the news when things got serious, he would pull out his "Dad" voice: firm, but gentle enough to remind them that everything would be okay, and somehow it would be. Even when everything felt like it was falling apart.
Everything would be okay. So, when he said it, she believed him.
Even so, once they hung up, Ashley kept her phone out, hesitantly typing out a message.
Would he even want to hear from her? How far in with this stuff was he if Dad was purposefully sending him away?
He was her brother, though, and she had to trust that. It had been ten years since they'd hid in that room during the dinner party with the piano, but his words from that night came back to her. You're my sister. I'll always come back for you.
She pressed send. -I miss you.-
- End of Chapter Seventeen -
I first have to give a massive shout out to Hereafter and WistfulSin. In Hereafter's "Blinded by Light", her main character, Michi, can see the emotions that every living person has by "threads" of color. While the date scene with the light exhibit at the museum was actually inspired by a museum exhibit I wanted to take a girl I was dating to, it reminded me a lot of Hereafter's fic once I was finished with the scene. So, I snuck a quick reference to it in there, and I've got to shout it out. Also a huge huge thank you to WistfulSin. We were talking about body autonomy in the last two months and I knew I wanted to include a chapter where that was the center of conversation for at least a scene. It's important to see, even in fic, and I hope I did it justice. WistfulSin also has a chapter which body autonomy plays a part and she did a wonderful job with it. Her fic is "The Reborn Forgotten: Rewrite." You all should read both fics if you're not already. I'm not kidding, they're amazing.
Second... we are halfway through part one, which is projected to be 34 chapters. (*silently freaks out*) HOW DID WE GET HERE?
Has anyone gotten my references to Ouran High School Host Club? No one's said anything yet. If you have noticed it, don't worry; it'll come up in reference alone. I'm not crossing this story with it in any way. I just saw the opportunity back in chapter 1 and I've run with it; that's all.
Thank you to Kimimakku, Oddity Empress, ZeroDarkNex14, DizyWillow, WistfulSin, JohnGreenGirl, and Guest (LostInThought) for reviewing chapter 16 and giving me all your lovely thoughts! Thank you to The Water Drinker for reviewing chapter 3, and musicnutftw for chapter 4. Oh my goodness; all your thoughts made my day, especially because pretty much every day this week was terrible. If you follow me on tumblr (follow me on tumblr: o-dragon05), I posted a note yesterday that said this chapter would be posted sometime Saturday afternoon. I was expecting to have it out at 3pm my time, but I ended up taking a nap and slept for 3 hours so apparently this week took a lot out of me. So I'm sorry, again, for how late in the day that this chapter is.
The chapter, itself, really means a lot to me. There are several things that are coming together in this chapter and I've been dying to post it since I wrote it, and especially since last week's chapter 16. I hope you all love it as much as I do. And I wrote in a last-minute-wrote in a scene that came to me on Thursday that I just had to include this chapter, which topped it off as the longest chapter to date. I think the scene makes it all the more special overall. So, if you like what you read, or if you want to offer any constructive criticism, please do so. I'm always looking to grow as an author.
I do not own, in any way, the characters, places, or ideas of the Yu Yu Hakusho universe created by Yoshihiro Togashi. I also do not own Ouran High School by Bisco Hatori. I only own my own characters and plot.