Disclaimer: Not mine
Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow: Yeah, Zhane and Karone are soulmates too. Please, please, please, update soon yourself. : ) It's okay, I'll be patient...
DV2: I got lazy, so I jumped ahead in time four months, so just assume that they captured Astronema. : )
Juzblue: Here's more.
Jenny: That's what would have happened, if I'd written that chapter, but I didn't want him to find out the same way, and I couldn't think of anything else, and I was feeling lazy, so I skipped a couple of months. Someday, I will write a story that you can't guess. : )
Melissa: Here's more. I hope it gets your mind off things for awhile. The little blond boy was Zhane, in case you're wondering.
Princess Emmie: Thanks.
Chapter 18
The Observatory - Four Months Later
Andros stared up at the stars, feeling oddly out of place. He'd never thought that he'd ever get Karone back, or that Zhane would live, and now he had them both back, but it felt like he'd lost them again when they'd fallen in love with each other.
He heard footsteps behind him, and someone entered the observatory. Andros sighed heavily when he felt Ashley's arms wrap around his neck. She rested her chin on the top of his head for a moment before coming around to sit next to him. Andros pulled her sideways into his lap, his arms curving around her waist in a firm grip.
"What's wrong?"
Andros looked at her, unable to word his conflicting emotions. He stared at her for several minutes, trying to think of a way to explain everything. Closing his eyes, he tried to project his jumbled thoughts at her, hoping that she'd understand. Immediately, Ashley pulled him into her arms again, her touch reassuring him that everything was all right.
"They love each other," Ashley said softly. "You don't have to worry. Karone's more likely to hurt Zhane than he is to hurt her."
"But she doesn't need me anymore," Andros whispered.
"She doesn't need you to protect her her every waking moment," Ashley said. "But she still needs her brother."
"I know," Andros sighed. "But I guess I always thought that when I found her, everything would be... different."
"Nothing's ever perfect," Ashley told him. "No matter how much we wish it was."
Andros sighed again, and wrapped his arms around Ashley, not wishing for his life to be perfect, but only for the courage to tell her that he loved her. He'd known for quite awhile now how he'd felt about her, but he didn't know if she loved him, and he didn't want to risk losing her.
"Andros?" Ashley asked quietly. "Everything's going to be okay, isn't it?"
Her voice was unusually small, and when Andros pulled back enough to see into her eyes, he saw all her fears and doubts.
"What's wrong, Ash?"
Ashley sighed, and Andros tightened his hold on her. "It's just a feeling, that's all," Ashley muttered. "It's probably nothing."
"But?" Andros prompted gently, his hands taking hers.
"Nothing's happened for almost a month," Ashley said softly. "It's only the calm before the storm, Andros, and - and..."
Her voice trailed off, and when Andros looked at her, he saw her biting her lip, tears glistening in her eyes.
"Ash?"
"I'm scared," Ashley admitted, a single tear escaping her eye, making its way slowly down her cheek. Andros brushed it away, staring at her with concerned eyes.
"I won't ever let anything happen to you, Ash," he promised, pulling her as close to him as he could. If anything happened to her, he would never forgive himself for it.
"That's what I'm afraid of," Ashley whispered, burying her face in his neck. "If you got hurt because of me, I wouldn't be able to stand it because..."
"You're starting to sound like me," Andros said seriously, gently stroking her hair with one hand, his other arm holding her to him. "That can't be a good sign."
"I'm serious, Andros," Ashley said, pulling back to look him in the eye. "I don't want to lose you."
"You won't," Andros whispered fiercely. "Not ever. I'd never let you go."
Ashley relaxed against him once again, her head resting on his shoulder, and her legs dangling over the side of the chair.
"Ashley?" he said timidly, his heart starting to pound. She pulled her head back to look at him questioningly.
"I love you," Andros confessed in a rushed whisper. His hazel eyes met her brown ones tentatively, afraid of what he might see there, but in place of whatever he had expected, he saw what he felt for her mirrored back at him. Ashley wrapped her arms around his neck, almost hiding her face against him.
"I love you too," she whispered in his ear.
Gently, Andros tilted her face towards him, kissing her, softly at first, then with growing passion, thinking that he could spend his entire life here, with her, under the sparkling stars.
