Asher sat on the bed, his back against the headboard and feet stretched out in front of him. A magazine was open across his lap but it was merely a pretense to watch Haille. She sat cross legged at the foot of the bed her eyebrows furrowed as she worked out a crossword puzzle. They had been partners for almost a month, and in that time Asher had set to work memorizing her. It started as a way to earn her trust, if they were supposed to be together he would rather it be something she wanted than something she was forced into. As time went on, he did it because he was genuinely interested. Her habits weren't something he needed to know, they were something he wanted to know. He wanted to know more about the three sisters she had only mentioned once. He wanted to know the things that made her laugh and cry, her hopes and dreams. He wanted to know Haille inside and out, but he wasn't sure how to approach the subject with her. Asher had never been the pursuer in a relationship, always the pursued. Relationships happened to him, not that his track record for actual relationships was that big. A truer statement would be, sex happened to him. Ambitious Rocket grunts who wanted a story were all too eager to bed the next heir, and that was all he was to most of the people here, the next in line for this wicked throne. Things could be different with her, she seemed to take little interest in who he was to the company, she spoke to him like a normal person. Unafraid to contradict things he said, and always willing to put him back in his place. Asher's thoughts were interrupted by Haille groaning softly from the other side of the bed.
"Do you want help?" He asked startling her. She looked up at him with an expression of confusion.
"Help? From you?"
"Yeah, I think I'm pretty good at crossword puzzles," Asher shrugged. She hesitated but moved over to sit next to him. They both stared at the newspaper in silence until he pointed to an open space "Evolution."
"What?"
"Sixteen across, evolution," her hand didn't move so he continued. "Professor Elm's focus, it's evolution."
She nodded slowly and wrote the letters into the small boxes, "Oh, right. Have you ever met him?"
Asher shook his head, "No, but I've read some of his research." She looked up at him but didn't hide her smirk fast enough,
"What?" He laughed.
"Nothing, I just didn't realize you read." she smiled.
"I have a lot of downtime," he scanned the puzzle again, "seven down is The Great Gatsby."
She filled in the answer then set the newspaper on the bedside table and leaned back against the headboard, shutting her eyes.
He studied her for a moment, weighing his options before leaning forward and pressing his lips gently against hers. He ended it almost as quickly as it started, leaving Haille feeling dizzy for a moment. She opened her eyes surprised to see that he had gone back to reading his magazine, almost as if nothing had happened.
"Asher?" she asked softly, her voice cracking.
"Yeah," he turned his head and gave her a strange look. She didn't say anything else so he sighed, "I'm sorry. I thought maybe..." he trailed off and shook his head, "you didn't kiss me back, it's fine."
She broke eye contact briefly, trying to gather her thoughts.
"I just, I don't..." she looked back up at him, "I haven't really dated much since my last serious relationship. My only serious relationship. It didn't end well, and you remind me so much of him."
"What happened?" Asher asked, "I mean, if you don't mind talking about it."
"We were friends for a long time and I guess I had always had a crush on him, one of those childhood things that you expect to just go away with time, but it didn't. Everything just got deeper and I guess he had feelings for me to, or at least thought I was cute. We dated for a few years and then we were older and obviously people started joking about marriage," she drew in a deep breath, unsure if she wanted to tell the rest of the story.
"I don't know what happened, maybe he got scared with how serious things were getting. Maybe he just realized that he didn't like me all that much, maybe he found someone else. He just took off, I tried calling him and asking his friends and family. But no one knew where he went, or maybe they weren't telling me."
She finally broke her gaze away with a slight laugh, "And that's that."
"He never tried to talk to you?" Asher's expression looked more confused than anything.
"He did, a few weeks after he left but at that point I had nothing to say to him. I haven't really spoken to him in years." She smiled but it didn't reach her eyes. She wanted him to remember and feel horrible, but he still just looked confused.
Haille couldn't blame him for being confused, she was confused. She was mad, sad, heartbroken, and amidst it all, hungry. Hungry for what she used to have, what her life used to be. That gentle kiss awakened something inside of her that she had worked so hard to push down. Months and years of denial and anger all undone in a single moment. Her head told her that she should yell, scream, or hit him. But all she wanted to do was kiss him again.
Asher kicked his legs over the side of bed and sighed, "I have a meeting with my father tonight." Haille turned to look at him but didn't respond, so he continued, "I have the day off tomorrow, do you think you would want to go out."
"Out?" She asked, her expression unreadable.
"To dinner. Maybe a movie. Whatever you would like, we haven't spent any time outside of the tower since you arrived."
"Oh, yeah. That sounds fun." Haille answered slowly, wondering what had brought his sudden interest on.
He nodded and stood, walking over to the door and leaving without another word. Haille stared at it, as if waiting for him to reappear. When he didn't, she laid her head down on the pillow and closed her eyes, willing sleep to fall over her.
Haille didn't wake up again until late the next morning. She was still wearing her uniform, although Asher must have taken her jacket off while she slept. She rolled onto her back and yawned, feeling like she hadn't slept in days although according to the alarm on the nightstand she had been out for almost 11 hours. She moved her fingers up to her lips, Haille could still feel Asher's lips against hers. She shivered slightly and dropped her hand down quickly, startled by a sudden snore from her right. She turned her head and saw Asher sleeping next to her, dressed in a long sleeved t-shirt and jeans, he looked comfortable and safe.
The wall she had built up was slowly starting to crumble, leaving her feeling scared and vulnerable. But when he slept he looked so harmless that she couldn't figure out why she had been so afraid in the first place. Her hand shot out and gently brushed an errant strand of hair out of his eyes. The gesture surprised her but she didn't pull her hand away, not until his lips parted and he exhaled softly.
Haille froze, unsure of what she heard. She only had to wait a few moments, lying there so still she was barely breathing, before he whispered it again. One word that caused her eyes to widen and heart to beat faster.
Misty.
A/N: Sorry for the delay in updates, things have been really crazy with work and having a social life. I promise, I do plan on continuing and finishing every fic I have going right now, it might just take a bit.
This chapter was a little bit filler, that's why it's so short. But I had to explain (finally) what Ash had done to Misty, and to me, it doesn't seem out of character. It's not the nicest thing to do, but I can completely see him freaking out and running. And I can completely see Misty ignoring his calls once he figures out what he's done. Also the next chapter is pretty big and I didn't want to make it too long by including this and that.
