Disclaimer: Power Rangers is not mine.
Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow: Nope, Zhane's not being very nice, but Andros isn't being very nice either. You should really love this. :D
Jessica01: You find out now.
Just Jill: No, her family didn't stick David on her... but that would have been really interesting.
Jenny: Does this story have an actual plot? Well, it was supposed to. And then it was supposed to be the sequel to the story that is now Somebody To Love Part II, and then the sequel to this story was supposed to be something else all off on it's own and now it's all a big mess and I have even less of an idea than usual of where it's going. So... no, not really. :P
Arwennicole: Well, things are definitely better in this chapter. :D
Chapter 21
"Andros?"
He jumped as Ashley laid a hand on his shoulder, tearing his gaze from the night sky.
"Sorry," she said softly. "Didn't mean to scare you... What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"Andros."
"I'm fine, Ash," he insisted. "I was just... thinking."
Ashley sighed. "Are you going to tell me what you're brooding about, or do I have to guess?"
"I'm not brooding," he insisted.
He could practically see Ashley roll her eyes. "What are you thinking about, then?" she asked softly.
He sighed and twisted out of her arms, only to find himself face-to-face with her. Her brown eyes were so reproachful he couldn't stand to look at her, and he found himself telling her half against his will.
"Zhane and Karone want to go home," he said finally, turning back to the window. "To KO-35."
Ashley slipped her arms around him, resting her chin against his shoulder. "And you want to go too."
"No," he mumbled, twisting out of her arms. "I don't."
"You do," Ashley said calmly, folding her arms across her chest. "Or else you wouldn't be staring out the living room window at midnight. Andros," she continued quietly, "you promised you'd talk to me."
"Yeah," he muttered. "I know."
"But you aren't," she said calmly. "Why?"
"I don't know," he mumbled, concentrating hard on the windowsill.
"I think you do," Ashley countered, her voice still even. "How long have you been feeling homesick?"
"I wasn't," he said. "Not until this afternoon when Zhane came to talk to me."
"What did he say?"
"That they need help," he said. "Food. Supplies. All the colonies are practically at war with each other for what supplies they do have. Someone has to help them."
"And you want to be that someone?"
There was no reproof in her voice, and Andros found himself nodding. "They're my people, Ash," he said quietly. "I feel like I've abandoned them."
"But you haven't," she insisted. "You've spent your life fighting for them. You shouldn't feel that you owe them anything."
"But I do owe them," he said, more sharply than he'd intended to. "I owe them everything, and just because I live on Earth now doesn't mean that KO-35 is any less important to me than it was before."
"I know that," Ashley said quickly. "That's not what I'm saying, Andros. I just meant that you shouldn't want to help them only to keep yourself from feeling that you've abandoned them. If you want to help them, it should be because you love them, not because you feel guilty."
"I do love them, Ash," he said.
"I know you do," she assured him. She paused. "So you want to go."
"Yeah," he admitted. "I do."
"Are you?"
"Am I what?"
"Going." When Andros stared at her strangely, Ashley rolled her eyes, asking, "Are you going?"
He blinked, surprised that she would even ask. "No."
"Why not?"
Her voice told him that she already knew the answer. "I can't just leave you, Ash."
"You shouldn't stay here just for me," she said quietly, glancing away. "You wouldn't be gone forever, and I can't ask you to stay if you'd rather be somewhere else."
"No, Ash," he said, shaking his head. "I need you, Ash, and I couldn't just leave you behind."
She looked away, but he thought he caught a smile on her face. "Andros," she said slowly, thinking as she spoke, "is this what you want? To go?"
He nodded. "But-"
"Is KO-35 what you want?" she continued, not giving him the chance to speak. "More than anything?"
"No," he admitted. "It's not. If I never went back, I'd be all right."
He almost laughed to see Ashley roll her eyes. "What do you want, then?" she demanded.
"You," he said simply. "You're all I'll ever need."
"You have me," Ashley whispered, the annoyance fading from her face, replaced by something almost sad. "You're saying that you'd spend your life here unhappy just to be with me."
"I wouldn't be unhappy," he insisted.
"You already are," Ashley pointed out. "It hurts to see you unhappy, you know."
"I-"
"I want to go with you."
He blinked at her. "What?"
"I want to go with you," Ashley repeated slowly. "If you go, I want to go to KO-35 with you."
"You... do?"
She nodded her head firmly. "If you wait until I finish the semester, I'll go with you. Forever, if you want."
"Ash, forever is a long time."
"A long time that I promised to spend with you," she retorted, laying her left hand over his. "Andros, I love you. If I'm the only reason you're here, I think we should go."
"Ash..." He hesitated. "You'd be giving up your home. Your life. Your friends."
"You gave that all up for me," Ashley said quietly. "I can do the same for you."
"Are you sure?"
"Were you?"
"No," he admitted, a slow smile spreading across his face. "I love you, Ash."
"I love you too," she whispered. Carefully, she reached out to him, brushing his hair back from his eyes. He leaned into the caress and she smiled, slipping her arms around his neck. Andros pulled her close, her lips sweet against his own as he kissed her hard.
Ashley shifted restlessly, realizing just how long it had been since he'd kissed her like that. She leaned into him as his grip on her grew, his kisses leaving her lightheaded and short of breath. She made a soft sound in protest as he pulled back, the sound dying away as he scooped her up into his arms. With a grin, she relaxed against his chest as he slowly carried her up the stairs to their bed.
Author's Note: All right, from here the story can go several different ways. I can't quite decide, and since you're the ones who have to read it, I figured I'd ask you. The only actual question is do you want this story to end happy or not so happy? The sequel will end happy no matter what, but the way this one ends pretty much determines which plot I go with for the sequel. Thanks.