"Get up!" Zach hollered as he tried (and failed) to put on his tie. "You need to get ready!"
Tooth and Alice let out a simultaneous squeal of excitement. "Yeah, we picked out the perfect dress for you!"
Ashley groaned into the pillow. "But I don't wanna wear a dress..."
The boy glared at the sprawled out form of Ashley and put his hands on his hips. "If you don't get up right now, I swear I will eat all of the cake!"
"There's... cake...?"
"Yup."
The girl laid there for a few milliseconds before jumping up onto her feet. "What are you standing around for?! Go go go!" When she saw him struggling with his tie, she rolled her eyes and slapped his hands away before doing it for him. Once she was done, she nuzzled the top of his head really quickly before lightly pushing him towards the door. "Okay, okay, I'll get dressed, get outta here you little bugger!"
He grinned at her before trotting out the door, limping a bit. The boy didn't even use his crutches anymore, and she was so proud of the little guy. It made her feel like a balloon was being filled with air in her chest...
However, when she turned to look at Alice and Tooth, the balloon got a hole and quickly deflated. Her shoulders slumped and she gave a low whine. "You're kidding, right...?"
The two women held up the fancy velvety-looking green dress and beamed at her, not answering her question. It had lace. Lace. Ew...
Ashley grimaced and bit her lip. "Yeah... see, it's a nice dress and all, but I really shouldn't wear it," She told them, trying to get out of it. "I would mess it up! The only reason I'm up at all is because I know there's going to be food. I'm dressed up well enough..."
"Nuh-uh!" Alice giggled. "Don't be silly, you're in jeans, flip-flops, and a long-sleeved shirt that has scorch marks in it."
"I can put on a tie..."
Tooth scoffed. "Oh, it needs to be more formal than that."
"Why...?"
Alice let Tooth hang onto the dress herself before walking over to Ashley and all but dragging her closer to the dreaded thing. Ashley was pretty sure she was leaving marks in the floor, in all her attempts to stop getting nearer.
"No, I don't wanna do this!" She whimpered, shaking her head vigorously as she got ever closer. "Noes! I'll-I'll whip out the whoop-ass on you guys, I swear I will!"
Alice let out a dismissing noise as she pulled the distressed girl. "No you won't..."
"Alice, Toothiana, stop tormenting the poor girl."
All but screaming with relief, Ashley quickly retreated to her favorite Slenderman and hid behind him. "Hallelujah! Slendy, I love you, you know that?"
His smooth, almost musical chuckle filled the room, and a black tentacle rubbed the top of her hair, much to Alice's distress.
"Stop messing up her hair!" The blonde woman screeched, "It's bad enough as it is, and I still need to fix it!"
Peeking out from behind Slendy, the girl snorted. "You ain't touchin' a hair on my head... It's fine the way it is, man!"
"No it's not! It could be so pretty if you'd just let me brush your hair!"
Ashley all but growled. "Nein!"
"Don't you speak to me in Russian!" Alice scolded playfully.
The girl grinned and stuck her tongue out. "It's German!"
"I don't care what it is-now come here and put on this d-"
"-Alice."
One word from Slendy was all it took. The woman stopped right away and bowed her head, glancing back at Tooth and nodding to the door before scuttling out, with the fairy right behind her. It made Ashley wonder if it was a good idea, being so rude to her Slenderman... People really, really, really respected him, it seemed... Maybe she should start, too...?
Nah. That's no fun...
"And I am quite glad you think so," Slendy told her gently, strolling across the room with his back to her. "The others hold me in such high esteem. It gets a bit grating, at times. You and Nate are the only ones who treat me normal."
"Well, as normal as anyone can treat a Slenderman..." She corrected, shrugging one shoulder before asking, "Speaking of which... why do you look like Slenderman?"
He turned his featureless face to hers and raised a hairless brow. "I... I do not know of this Slenderman of which you speak of, I'm afraid..."
She cocked her head to the side. "Slendy... you need to get with the times, man."
If he had eyes, he would have rolled them. But he didn't, so he just chose not to respond and pulled out a covered hanger, so that she couldn't see what it was holding, and set it on the bed she was just sprawled out on. With another tentacle, he pulled out a pair of black, shiny dress shoes and set them on the ground. "Here you are, young one. Get dressed, then make your way to to the globe room." He added when she opened her mouth to ask a question, "And yes, there will be plenty of food."
She gave a sheepish smile and his quiet chuckle filled the room, before her walked out of the room.
It appeared to her that he seemed to glide, more than walk... Pretty weird, but hey-he was Slenderman. She could manage to forgive him for being a little odd.
Walking over to the bed, resisting the urge to plop back into it, she started carefully pulling off her shirt, minding the bandages with caution. Having opened up the stitches just a day before, she wasn't terribly enthusiastic about doing it again.
Once her shirt was off, she put her back to a mirror that was hanging on a wall to double check. She hadn't felt anything, but she wanted to be sure... It would suck if she got blood all over the clothes Slendy got her...
And she didn't, yes! There was a little dried blood, she noticed, that had soaked through the gauze, but it would be fine.
Ashley started to turn away, but did a double take and looked back.
Woah. Her arm-the left one-had really been fucked up. Jagged, pale, pinkish scars of various shapes and sizes splotched her arm and a good bit of her shoulder. She'd never even noticed them...
Giving a curt hum and a frown to her reflection, she quickly turned from the mirror and walked over to the bed. Was she upset about it? A little... it wasn't the most attractive thing in thing in the world, and it did nothing to help her self-esteem, but what would throwing a hissy-fit do...?
Not a damn thing, that's what. So she just pushed the uncertainty and self-consciousness down. It wasn't all that hard, really... all she had to do was remind herself that Zach was always going love her, even if she ended up looking like Freddy Kruger. Hopefully...
Biting back a grimace, she pulled the hanger-cover off, only to break out into a grin. Oh, she could dig that...
Okay. She was dressed and ready to go, yet she was still hiding behind one of the columns. Why...? Because Ashley had this horrible feeling that if she went out into the party, someone was going to make her do a speech or something. And as loud and outgoing as she was, speaking in front of crowds by herself was... really, really nerve-racking, and it was something she'd always hated. She always ended up making herself look like a fool when doing that, too.
She looked back down at her clothes and studied them. It wasn't like she looked bad...
Slendy had given her clothes that reminded her of a marine's dress uniform. A form-fitting navy blue jacket with red trim, golden buttons, a standing collar, and a white web belt with a golden buckle. The coat hung over a plain, white, dress shirt. Lighter blue pants that, again, were a little more form-fitting than she usually wore... pretty much ever. She'd even put her hair up in a messy bun... Alice would've been proud of her.
Even though it was a little uncomfortable, she felt pretty damn fancy, if she did say so herself.
Ashley walked out from behind one of the massive columns, to see a rather crowded globe room, and a small stage with a podium that was empty, save for Slendy. Yetis and people crowded the floor, as well as these cute yet kinda ugly creatures that barely passed the middle of her calf. Tiny shapes flew through the air, and one of them paused right in front of Ashley's face.
Neat. The girl grinned and held out a finger for the small, hummingbird-like fairy. It looked awfully similar to Tooth, and she breathed a laugh as the little thing made various excited squeaks and squeals. It beamed at her before taking off into the crowd.
A shout rang out, and a smaller yeti shot out of the crowd and ran at her. "Ashley!" Fitz's puppy-like face beamed at her, and he skid to stop right in front of her, eyes bright. He started to reach out for her to hug her but stopped himself, settling with fidgeting his hands together. "I uh... prob'ly shouldn't hug you, right...? Might hurt you more or something?"
She snorted in response and wrapped her arms as best she could around the abominable snowman. "I don't care if I'm missing a leg and an arm, I am getting my hugs. And why haven't you come and seen me while I was all hospitalized, you ass?"
Fitz snorted a laugh and hugged her back. "I would've if I could've, but North's been workin' us like dogs. Christmas is in a month and a half, remember?"
Grunting, she briefly nuzzled his chest before pulling away and looking over at the crowd of people who were watching. She grinned at them and waved before gesturing to herself. "How do I look? Pretty snazzy, yeah?"
Zach nodded and beamed before pushing his way through the crowd and wrapping his arms around her. While he did that, she noticed something very unfair...
"Slendy!" She complained, "How come Zach gets to wear jeans and a t-shirt, but I don't?!"
"It has a tie and stuff on it!" Zach defended.
Ashley snorted before retorting, "Yeah, but they're not real!" She looked over at the Slenderman, who was still alone on the stage. "What kind of custom, Slendy?!"
North came over and rolled his eyes, though smiling while he did so, and lightly pushed her towards the stage. "You are guest of honor, not him. Is customary-now go on stage!" Once he said that, the crowd parted like the Red fuckin' Sea did to Moses, and... it kind of made her start internally screaming. Just a little...
Oh yeah... She could definitely feel the fear now, as she walked past all the people. Some familiar, and some not-so-familiar faces smiled at her. It made her feel a little better, but her stomach was still doing flips and twisting with unease.
And then, the little red things...? They started playing music as she got to the steps. And it just made her feel that much more terrified. Swallowing thickly, she made her way to Slendy and stopped in front of him, nodding in greeting.
"Hey, Slendy," She mumbled lowly so that only he could hear. "I'm kind of fearin' for my life, here, so let's just try to make this as easy as possible."
If he had a face, he would have smiled. "We shall see..." He told her before turning her towards the crowd and holding up a single hand for silence.
Slendy straightened up and folded his hands behind his back before beginning. "Everyone, we are here today to honor the bravery of our friend, Ashley Catherine Edgewood. She has gone above the line of duty and, while it was incredibly foolish and nearly took her life, went against the Nightmare King and won-bringing balance back to the world."
Ashley bit back a sarcastic comment before studying the crowd, more or less zoning Slendy out. The Guardians and Spirits stood together, and in the way back she caught sight of Vergil.
A big grin crossed her face as Vergil waved frantically from the back of the crowd and made various goofy faces at her. Hell, she even forgot to be nervous, as she fought back laughter and started making faces back at the former spirit of courage. People were snickering and trying not to laugh at some of the faces she was making, but she didn't even notice them.
She continued to do that, until Slendy suddenly turned to her while she was in the middle of making a face, tongue out and all. Her face exploded with red as she quickly composed herself and cleared her throat, putting her hands behind her back innocently and giving a winning smile.
Slendy would've rolled his eyes if he had any, but he didn't, so he just chose to ignore the antics the girl had been in... "It is with great pride," Slendy told her gently, "That I present you with these three medals."
Ashley nodded without really listening, just going on with it, when it hit her. "Wait-what-three?"
Slendy nodded. "Yes."
First, he pinned on a purple and gold medal that was a rather misshapen heart. "I present to you this Purple Heart. No one has been injured more than you, in this." He told her dryly. "Out of all of them, you deserve this one the most..."
The next one was darker, with faded colors on the ribbon and an eagle surrounded by barbed wire as the medal itself. "The Prisoner of War Medal," He told her, considerably quieter so that Zach wouldn't hear. "I am sure I do not need to tell you why you deserve this..." Ashley gave a curt nod, and Slendy cleared his throat.
"And lastly, I present to you this... For your outstanding and almost idiotic willingness to confront the Nightmare King against all odds, at risk of life above and beyond the call of your responsibilities. For returning to us, despite the fact that you had the desire and every right to not do so... I give you the Medal of Honor."
Her heart jumped in her throat as Slendy placed the ribbon over her head and glanced down to make sure she hadn't been hallucinating when she heard him say 'Medal of Honor.' But she hadn't been hallucinating...
A gold star hung around her neck, surrounded by an emerald-green laurel wreath held up by a gold bar with an eagle on top. Each end of the star was an oak leaf, and VALOR was printed across the bar. It was hung on a light blue ribbon with-she counted-thirteen little white stars.
"Holy shit," Ashley breathed, eyes wide as she gaped at the sight. "This is... You gave me a... Woah."
Everyone broke out into cheers, yelling and whooping and whistling... Poor old Ash didn't know what to do, as Slendy started leading her.
And then, she realized just where he was leading her. The Podium.
She gave a yelp that was lost in the cheers, and dug her heels in the ground. Nononono, this was exactly what she didn't want!
But alas, it turned out that Slendy was packing some power behind his scrawny limbs, and he pushed her to the podium with ease. A voice filtered through her panicked thoughts, a familiarly calm voice...
Calm yourself, young one... If you truly wish to leave, you may.
She blinked before narrowing her eyebrows. Get the fuck out of my head, Slendy!
As you wish. But do remember that it is your choice.
The familiarity of that sentence hit her like a semi-truck, and she bit her lip as she looked out at her friends who were all cheering madly with support. Zach caught her eyes, and the boy gave her a big grin and a thumbs up from his perch on North's huge shoulder.
Okay... maybe it wouldn't hurt to say something... But what?!
Slendy cleared his throat and held up his hands for silence. Silence followed, and he looked down at Ashley, gesturing for her to go. She bit her lip before leaning on the podium.
"Uhh... hi...? I'm... well, you know who I am." Wow, only two sentences came out and she was already making a fool of herself. "I got these medals because... well, Slendy doesn't know when to take a joke and he never listens." Said Slenderman whipped her upside the head with a tentacle and she yelped while rubbing the back of her head. "What?! We both know that it's true!" She heard snickers from several yetis, and she raised her eyebrows at Slendy, resting her chin on her hand. "Fine then... If you don't want me to speak the truth, what do you want me to say?"
"Well... what is courage? You are the spirit-the very embodiment of it. Care to tell us just what it is...?"
Ashley gave him a look before looking down at the podium, rubbing her hands over the aged wood. "Well... It's when people do brave stuff, and..."
She paused mid-sentence when a thought hit her. An idea. A small voice in her head that was telling her what to say. It was kind of deep (for her). It was the type of thing that she normally pushed away from her thoughts, into a locked box to keep for later when she had one of those long talks with Zach. Maybe... maybe it was time she actually said what the voice told her to, instead of pushing it down and just spouting anything that came to mind...
Meh... It would be better than what she was going to say.
Ashley gave a short laugh and ran her fingers through her hair. "I used to think that courage was like one those old war movies me and my dad used to watch. The big guy with the big guns and the even bigger arms, running through the abandoned town and killing the bad guys... I was wrong." Suddenly, it got really quiet... Like everyone was holding their breath.
"I think," she continued, "It's something a lot more... well, more. Sometimes, it's doing something small, like letting someone help you out. It might not seem like a big deal to someone, but for some people, it is. It's a very big thing, and it scares people. It scared me. I'd never done it before, and I... I won't lie, it was terrifying and it made me want to go hide under the biggest rock I could find... Sometimes, courage is just reminding yourself that people care. It's remembering why you're here. And despite what anyone-even yourself-thinks, you are here for a reason. It's reminding yourself that everyone, no matter how big and scary they are, gets lonely."
"It's everywhere, and can be found in the smallest things." She bit her lip and stared at her hands, refusing to look anyone in the face. "It's your hopes. It's your dreams. Loves, friends, family... Courage is the arm that picks you back up when you've fallen down. It doesn't need to be big... sometimes all it is, is a small, gentle nudge that tells you that maybe, just maybe it's okay. Maybe you won't get hurt from letting some people in your walls. That doing what you're doing is for a reason. It's... everything. It's hope, and curiosity, love. For dreams, and for the thought that maybe things will turn out alright, and maybe there'll be a time when you reach the end of the dark, lonely forest, and you're able to enjoy things and have fun again..."
"It's realizing that nothing's gonna get better unless you make it get better." God, her heart was beating so fast and so loud, she was sure everyone could hear it. Why were they so quiet...? An even better question, why did she listen to that voice in her head?! Maybe everyone would forget about it in a few years...? Whatever... She leaned back a little bit, clearing her throat. "I'm uh... I'm done."
Slendy's hand lightly touched her shoulder, and he leaned down. "That was fantastic. Thank you."
Ashley made a face. "Me thinks you're a liar. But I don't care, I'm getting some food, man, I'm starving."
So with her pride crushed, she walked over to the edge of the stage and just as she was about to jump off, a ridiculously loud voice came from behind her.
"LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!"
Yelping, she jerked her arm back and turned sharply, only to have her foot slide off the edge of the stage and fall back on the ground, head-first...
Laughter and music filled the air as a group of people and yetis came over to help her.
"Slendy!" Ashley called with a groan, "I need some Neosporin and another Purple Heart, STAT!"
Zach bit back a laugh and just settled with grinning at her. "You okay?"
"No, I'm dying," She grunted sarcastically, sitting up and rubbing the back of her head. Zach rolled his eyes and lightly smacked her shoulder before helping her up. Or trying to, anyways.
After a few minutes of him trying to pull her up, Ashley rolled her eyes and tugged him into her lap. The young boy cried out in surprise as she wrapped her arms around him and nuzzled his cheek. The show of affection wasn't because she was getting ready to go fight a battle. Nor was it because she had seen her worst fears and seen the kid after he had committed suicide after seeing all her friends die. It was just because... well, she could.
She did it because she wanted to. There didn't need to be a reason. There simply wasn't a way to describe the feeling... For the first time in a while, she didn't need to worry about leaving the kid all alone, or finding another fearling tormenting her baby... It wasn't quite bliss, but it was damn close.
"I love ya, babe." She mumbled. "You know that, right? You're a little punk, but I still love you..." Kissing his temple once before dragging herself (and the boy) up from the ground. The music reverberated in her chest as she rubbed Zach's head before heading straight to the food table.
Or she started to, anyways, before arms wrapped around her waist and lifted her high in the air. A deep, accented laugh rang just behind her and she grinned as she reached back, wrapping her arm around Bunnymund's furry neck... And holy crap, he was wearing clothes for the first time since she had ever seen him! It was just a plain, black suit jacket with nothing else, but still...
"Way to go, Ash," Bunnymund told her with a big smile. "Ya done went an' made this ol' pooka proud." He ruffled her hair and set her down, and then one of Slendy's tentacles pinned another Purple Heart to her chest as well as a small tube of Neosporin.
Ashley raised a brow. "Slendy... I was kidding when I asked for this stuff."
The Slenderman's featureless face turned to hers. She didn't know why, but she pictured a kicked puppy expression on his face as his skinny shoulders slumped, and he started to reach for the Neosporin and medal. She jumped back, clutching the stuff to her chest.
"That doesn't mean I don't want it!" She added quickly, "I want the Neosporin, I'm probably gonna need it sometime by the end of the day, anyways! I want it, man, I want it!"
Slendy chuckled lightly and nodded. "Very well, young one. And," he added, "I left you something in your left pocket. When you go outside, check what it is."
Ashley nodded in acknowledgement before getting tackled by Tooth, who was squealing at the top of lungs. The younger girl snorted and grabbed one of the fairy's arms. "Hey there."
"You look great!" Tooth told her cheerfully.
"Pssh, I always look great."
Bunnymund barked a laugh. "Ya got that right!"
Zach grinned and started to respond, but got cut off by North's loud, roaring laugh. Jack Frost's protesting, exasperated yell came next.
"How come everyone keeps laughing at me?!"
Everyone looked over to see Jack stumble over past the yetis with a scowl on his face.
Needless to say, it didn't take Ashley long to understand why North was laughing... The awkward, skinny teen had been forced into a white dress shirt, a dark blue suit vest, some gray skinny jeans that didn't have any tears. He must have run away when they'd tried to get him into some shoes, because he didn't have any. In all honesty, Ashley thought he looked pretty good, save for one thing...
His bow tie (at least, she thought it was supposed to be a bow tie) was... it was a mess. She didn't even know how it got like that, it was all over the place, and just... really made her wish she had a camera.
Ashley bit back a snicker under her hand. But no one else other than Tooth considered to do so, and they all laughed, and her hiding her amusement ended up being pointless.
Finally, at the poor teen's exasperated and indignant look, Ashley swallowed a bout of laughter and walked over to the him, putting her arm around his shoulders as she led him away. She took note of the fact that Bunny looked awfully proud of himself...
"Frost, babe," She told him with an amused grin, "You know your bow tie is like... an abomination, right?"
He raised a brow. "What-no it's not... I even asked Bunny, he told me it was right!"
She hid a bark of laughter with a fit of coughing into her shoulder. Her shoulders shook as she smiled at him. "Jack... you... I... He lied to you."
His face fell as they stopped in a quiet(ish) corner. "I'm gonna prank him so hard. Do you think a random blizzard in the middle of spring would make him mad?"
She laughed. "Yeah... yeah, I think that would piss him off. Now," Ashley told him, turning him so that he was facing her, "Let me fix your tie. If it's possible... seriously, Frost, how did that even happen? It's ridiculous! And how could you believe Bunny when he said that was right?!"
"Hey, give me a break!" He defended as the girl started to untie some of the knots, "I was excited, and I've never needed to dress up fancy, so I didn't know!"
"Never?"
"Never." He confirmed with a huff.
"That's..." She mumbled quietly, "That's kind of stupid. Do you... do you want to find you a date or a wedding to go to or something...? So you can do stuff like this more often...?"
"No, it's okay," He muttered. "Thanks, though."
She hummed in reply, and grinned in victory as she held up the two ends of the bow tie, completely unmangled. "Got it! Alright, Frost, pay attention, right? These are actually pretty simple. I'll go slow-just keep up with the program."
She leaned down a bit, sticking her tongue out the side of her mouth in concentration, thinking to herself that he'd better be watching, because she wasn't gonna show him again.
Jack was watching. Just not what she wanted him to be watching. Instead of watching her make the bow tie, he was watching her, with his breath hitched in his throat because she was really close. He could feel the heat radiating from her hands, and every time her skin brushed against his neck, his skin jumped in place. And his stomach was doing flips, too...
He figured he might be sick, but... he couldn't really be sure. He hasn't been sick since he'd been human.
Just as Ashley finished, she froze. She felt someone watching her from her side, and just before she looked over to see what or who was staring so intently, she heard something.
"Now kiss."
She closed her eyes and heaved a sigh, leaning back as her face exploded in red. She peeked an eye over at the expectant-looking ginger, who was donning a plain black dress shirt.. Her hand tightened into a fist.
"Why did you stop?!" Eros complained, "Get back to it! You were doing so well, and I didn't even need to take any part of it! Just go right back to it, stare into each others' eyes-and then what you do is lean in all slowly and-Agh, my face!" He cried out, falling back onto the ground after getting punched by Ashley. "My beautiful face! This is the money right here, why would you do that?!"
The girl ignored his question as several yetis and the little impish creatures looked over at the rather over-dramatic man.
"I hate you." Ashley sighed matter-of-factly, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I just... really loathe your existence, and hope you die in a cobra-filled pit that's on fire. Truly."
A gruff voice shouted through the yetis. "The cobras would burn, too, ya stupid bitch!"
"Go to hell, Natas!" She yelled back playfully.
"'Ey! Don't bring my goddamn lame-as-hell name into this! I can't help my name, yo! My mom chose that shit, not me! Fuck you!"
She smirked. "I'd rather not! I like guys with a little more class and a lot less diseases! I don't wanna get infected, Natas!"
The scrawny man finally shoved through the yetis with a scowl on his face. The only dressing up he did was putting on a gray tank-top. What a bunch of bull. "I don't got any fuckin' diseases, you bitch!"
Her smirk grew as the Guardians and Spirits of Humanity filtered past the yetis to watch the show as Eros still curled up on the floor, whimpering about his beautiful face. Ashley chuckled before replying to Nate. "That's not what your momma told me."
Nate's eye twitched and he spit his cigarette to the floor, stomping on it with his shoe. "I'll fucking kill you."
Alice squeaked in fear for the girl's life, but Ashley wasn't worried. She could see the small twitch up of his lips... So she crouched down a bit and grinned at the scraggly man, completely ready to wrestle. She glanced over at Zachary, who gave her a supportive smile and two thumbs up, before looking back at tattooed man.
"Bring it! Let me school you in the ways of ass-kickery!"
Ashley glanced over at Fitz, who was carrying a sleeping Zach in his arms. A fond smile broke out on her face as she watched Zach snuggle into the yeti's furry chest. Poor kid... he was all tuckered out. And to be honest, she was just about done, too. She'd been wrestling, dancing, stuffing her face, and telling funny stories for a long time, and quite frankly, she was tired. The party had gone on so long, it was dark out.
The girl walked over to a door that lead to a balcony and pushed it open with a grunt, walking over the the railing and resting her arms on it. Her breath billowed from her mouth, and she watched it dissipate into the air with mild fascination.
It was nice out... The moon was bright-so bright, she didn't even really need to leave the door open to let light out.
A thought hit her, and she reached into her pockets only to pull out a long, somewhat thick object out. She smelled it, and broke out in a grin.
"Slendy," She laughed to herself giddily, "Slendy, I love you, baby! You're amazing, man! You got me one of my things, and you just-fucking fantastic!"
Still laughing to herself, she pulled a lighter out from her back pocket and lit it up before taking a good, long puff. Shuddering with delight, she sighed contentedly.
"That's the stuff... I missed this."
"What'd you miss...?"
She jerked back in surprise and fright, but was pretty quick to relax. Ashley nodded once in greeting before answering his question, as the guy walked over leisurely. "My cigars... They're kind of delicious, if that doesn't sound too weird."
A scowl crossed his face as he neared her, and she pulled the cigar out of his reach. "Don't you dare freeze my cigar, man. I'll take you down if you do that crap to this one."
Jack huffed and leaned back against the rail. "I don't know why you smoke those... They smell disgusting."
"Oh no, not one of these babies," She informed him with a grin. "They smell so good, you could almost eat them. Almost. I wouldn't, because... that'd be kind of nasty."
"Well, they are nasty. They smell gross, too." He countered. She raised a brow.
"Do not." She decided to take the risk, and put her cigar near his face. "Smell. It's delicious, man!"
Jack jerked his head back and turned away, face twisted with disgust. "Gross, don't put it near my face, that's nasty!"
"No, it isn't!" She insisted. "Just take a quick smell, it's good, honest it is!"
"I don't wanna smell your cigar!"
She narrowed her eyes, but stopped as an idea hit her. Pulling it back, she took a big puff and held it in before leaning over, getting as close as she could before blowing it in his face, holding the back of his head so he couldn't just step back.
Why was she so determined to show him it wasn't as bad as he thought...? She didn't really know. She guessed she just didn't like him dissing her thing.
The first few milliseconds, his face was twisted with disgust. But that was before he breathed it in... His nose twitched as he inhaled through his nose, and his eyes widened in surprise as the scent of various spices and tropical fruit invaded his senses.
She hadn't been lying to him... It did smell good. And it was written all over his face...
Ashley gave a cocky grin at the boy as he leaned in unconsciously. "Told you," She teased, "But no one listens to poor ol' Ash..." She leaned back and chuckled as Jack pouted.
It got quiet for a while after that. It wasn't an awkward silence, more of a companionable one. Ashley dwelled on her thoughts, and Jack on his.
The thing that was really bugging her was that stupid promise she'd made to Jack... She was conflicted as hell about it. When she'd told him she hadn't wanted to talk about it, she had really meant it. It made her stomach twist and chest squeeze and was really, really uncomfortable just to think about.
But, she had made a promise, and now seemed to be a good time to spill. The only person around to really hear it was Jack, and she figured that he probably-hopefully-wouldn't go and run his mouth about it to everyone else...
"Hey, Frost," Ashley cleared her throat. "Do you uh... want me to tell you about my nightmare thingy now, or...?"
His eyebrows shot into his hair, and he nodded vigorously. "Yeah, I wanna know what messed you up so bad!" He faltered. "Are you sure you want to do this right now? I mean, I want to know what happened, but you might need a little time..."
"It ain't getting any better," She told him dryly. "So yes or no. This is your only shot, man."
The winter spirit nodded at her like she was a really, really stupid kid that had answered a really obvious question that everyone already knew the answer to. "Yeah."
The girl heaved a sigh. "Okay... let's get this over with. I'm gonna keep this short, sweet, and simple to keep it as painless as possible. It's the abridged version, yeah?" He nodded, and Ashley took a puff of the cigar before beginning. "Well... it started off with you. You were... you were messed up really bad, and... it was my fault. And I couldn't fix it. And it just kept getting worse... I kept finding you guys, dead or dying and it was fucking horrible. Sandy, Aleksei, Tooth, North..."
She stared at her feet like they were the most interesting thing in the world, even when a light snow began to fall.
"And then I found Zach," Her voice cracked as a lump grew in her throat, and she cleared her throat. "He... he'd killed himself. And it was me-it was my fault and-shit." She set her cigar on the broad railing and rubbed her face. "It was already fucking horrible that he'd died. But it was his own hand that did it, and it was because of me... And then you guys showed up-to mock me, I guess-and started beating me around. And you-you pulled out a knife, goin' on about how you should kill me. And I told you to do it, and pressed the knife harder into my throat..." she lightly traced the thin scar across her neck with her finger. "You'd almost done it, too... I was so close... And, man, was I upset when Vergil came and scared 'em off."
She dared to look over, and his face was a mixture of horror and sympathy. Straightening up and rubbing her scarred cheek, she asked defensively, "What?!"
Jack opened his mouth to say something, but must have changed his mind and shut it, before opening it again and holding his arms out. "Come here."
She raised a brow and stepped back a little bit. "I... I'd rather not. It's really no biggie, man, it's over. I'm okay."
"No, you're not." He corrected sternly, with exasperation lacing his voice. "Now come here."
Ashley blinked and glanced into the door. No one was looking over, so... "What the hell," She shrugged, heaving a sigh, "I like hugs, it won't hurt... probably." She took two long strides and let Jack enfold his arms around her. He wasn't very warm, but she radiated heat enough for the both of them.
It wasn't unfamiliar or anything, so she was pretty quick to just let herself melt into it. There was just something about hugs, man, that she really, really liked. Maybe it was just her, but they always made her chest fill up like a balloon. It made her feel like everything was going to be okay, and like she was safe, and wanted... she could go on for hours about why she loved 'em.
And hugs from Jack were something else entirely, as she already knew. They weren't warm like she was used to, and somehow they were a bit different from other hugs... but they felt good nonetheless, in an odd sort of way.. Like when she would sit in the hottest room in the house when she was younger, only to run out into three feet of snow with nothing but shorts and a t-shirt. It was that first feeling, right when she would get outside-the relief, the giddiness... only it didn't end after a few minutes. It stayed and lingered, and it made her chest squeeze with unease because she'd almost lost it. She almost lost him...
Damn, that scared her a lot more than she would have prefered it to... Now that she thought about it, Jack had seemed to have always been... there. Ever since she started this whole spirit thing. And she cared about him a whole lot more than she was willing to admit out loud. He wasn't quite at Zach level, but he wasn't nothing to her, either.
"Hey Jack," The girl mumbled into his shoulder. "Do me a favor...?" He hummed questioningly, and she nuzzled his neck., "Try not to scare me like you did in the Big Boss fight, alright...? Try not get hurt and stuff, because I..." She trailed off and cleared her throat when any and all words she was going to say jumped out of her head. A very vaguely familiar feeling of awkwardness and uncertainty came over her, and she began fidgeting with her hands. "Uh... Zach likes you, ya know? And if he's sad, then I'm sad. So... stop getting into trouble, you damned delinquent."
Jack snorted and started to retort, but got cut off by Ashley. Her screaming, to be more precise...
Why was she screaming...? Well, that's because there was a particularly large dart stuck in her arm.
"There's an arrow stuck in my arm!" She screeched, being just a bit over dramatic. "I'm dying!" She'd meant it as a joke, when she had said she was dying-to lighten the mood a little. Although, it might have been a bit too soon to pull a death joke, she found, as cold fear flashed in the boy's eyes. "I was just joking!" She quickly grunted in assurance, "But still... pull it out!"
Jack stuttered a bit before grabbing it and pulling it out, giving a meek apology at the girl's yelp.
Ashley turned over to the still-open door, murder screaming in her eyes when she caught sight of a confused and a rather disappointed Eros... Was her punching him in the face once not enough?!
She stalked over, and grabbed the ginger by the collar. "What's your deal, man?! Do you want to be murdered brutally or what?!"
He hummed thoughtfully as he studied the raging girl, waggling his finger like she had done something wrong. "You, madam, are one stubborn nut to crack. Granted, my darts aren't even close to being as strong as my arrows, but there are still a very small number of people who can completely and utterly ignore the effects."
The girl froze for a moment before heaving a sigh and pinching the bridge of her nose. "Eros... First of all, if you were trying to make me fall for Jack-that's pedophilia. I'm twenty, and he's like, what-sixteen?"
"I'm seventeen, thank you very much!" Jack defended, adding, "And technically, it'd be more like three hundred and seventeen."
Ashley pointedly ignored that and continued. "Second, I don't need the crap! It's not that important!"
Eros froze and gave her a blank look. His arms fell limply to his sides as he stared. She wasn't entirely sure, but he may or may not have stopped breathing. It looked like it, anyhow. He continued to gape at her for a few very uncomfortable minutes, until finally snapping out of it.
But once he did, she kinda wished that he would have stayed like that. His eyes blazed with green flames, and she was just a little worried.
"Not important." He repeated emotionlessly. "Did you really just tell me that love isn't important...?"
She gave a small, barely noticeable nod. She almost wished she hadn't, and was extremely grateful that Fitz had taken Zach to bed already, because Eros... well, he lost his shit, for lack of a better word.
"How could you say that?! Love is one of the most powerful things-it-you-you don't know shit!" He barked. His face turned so red that even his freckles darkened. "Look at you and Zach! It's one of the most important things out there! Now, the love I'm trying to get you in on isn't nearly as pure, and there's a chance that yours won't last-But that's the beauty of it, you stupid-!" Eros stopped himself when he realized he lost his cool, but he still looked incredibly frustrated.
"I've always hated that about you," The ginger man grumbled sourly. "You've always surrounded-no, drowned yourself in possible loves, yet you never took the bait! Sure, you'd go on the occasional date but you never went farther than that, and it's always pissed me off! Don't you realize how much happier you could be if you just let me hook you up with someone?!"
Ashley heaved a sigh and gave the man a look. "Have you ever considered that maybe, just maybe... no quiero en el amor?" Jack nudged her side and gave her a questioning look. "I don't wanna fall in love," She curtly translated before looking back at Eros. "What's the big deal, anyways? So what if I don't want to deal with love? It doesn't ever last, and that crap can mess you up-big time. Like you said, look at me and Zach, I flipped my shit when he got hurt... It's already a hell of a lot of work, I don't want to add to it."
Her words didn't seem to bring much ease to the spirit of love, as he slapped his hand to his forehead. "You still don't really get it," Eros sighed. "You get some of it, but not the parts that matter. Love is complicated. There's so many variables and factors that no one can predict what will happen in it-not even me. And I'm the very embodiment of it. Shit happens, alright? And that's okay. Twenty years from now, Jack could be with Tooth or Alice, and you could be with Captain Sea-Blood or Nate, or even me!" He huffed impatiently and slapped his hands together to accentuate his words, "You can never know. But that doesn't mean you should avoid it! Just because it's unpredictable doesn't mean it's a bad thing, you stubborn ass. You have to live in the moment, and enjoy what you have while you have it... You're not getting any younger-or older... so if you don't kiss someone by the end of the day, I swear to the gods that I will hog-tie you down and shoot you full of my arrows until either you fall in love or I run out of arrows," He told her, raising his arms in emphasis. "I don't care which!"
The girl raised a brow and crossed her arms in slight rebellion. "Kissing someone isn't gonna make me fall in love with them."
Eros heaved an exhausted sigh. "Yeah, I know... but do it, so I can at least pretend I was successful with you, for a few seconds...? Or I can relieve some very much pent up stress. Your choice." He made a very convincing argument...
Hmm... get her hide shot full of arrows, or kiss someone...? Decisions, decisions. On the shooting side, she would still have her dignity, maybe. On the kissing side, she wouldn't get assaulted several times at once... She hummed, sticking her tongue out in thought as she idly scratched her scarred cheek for a while before coming up with a decision.
The girl heaved a sigh and gave Eros a rather annoyed look. "How long...?"
A victorious grin broke out on the ginger's face. "The longer you kiss, the less likely you are to wake up with me above you with an arrow in your face." Her shoulders slumped, and Eros's smirk grew as she glanced over at Jack. "I don't suppose you've ever been kissed...?"
The teen's face turned bright red, and yelped. "What?! I... you... no, I've never been kissed before."
She gave a crooked grin at the sight of the winter spirit's blush and barked a laugh. "Cool... Do you want to? I'd prefer to know I'm kissing someone who's less experienced and more awkward than me than me." His face turned even darker, and he began to stutter. "Dude, do you have a crush on me or something? Because even I wouldn't have a crush on me! I mean, look at me!"
He faltered. "What's wrong with you...?"
Ashley snorted good-naturedly. "Come on... Before the car crash I was like a six, maybe a seven point two on a good day. And that was before the car accident. Have you seen me...? Scars aren't nearly as attractive as some people make them out to be. And I'm kind of stupid... I could write a series of novels about why I wouldn't be attracted to myself." The white-haired boy gave her a look and started to say something-presumably a scolding, but she cut him off. "Look, we can discuss my personal image later. I don't wanna get shot up, so yes or no...? If it's a no, then I can do it with, I dunno, Eros or Nate or someone. Ginger didn't tell me who I had to kiss," She quickly added when Eros moved to protest, "And it's too late to change the deal!"
Jack raised his arms in protest . "No, no, no, I'll do it!"
She grinned. "Getting all enthusiastic, hmm?" His face turned dark again, and he began to protest but Ashley cut him off. "I have the feeling that the more time we waste, the more likely I am to get shot."
Eros nodded in confirmation. "That feeling is right." Oh shit.
Ashley quickly grabbed Jack by the collar and pulled him to her, muttering a quick apology before pressing her lips to his.
Jack's eyes widened for a second before sliding closed. He was quick to relax, especially when Ashley started running her fingers through his hair. He had noticed she had this thing about hair... she's always ran her fingers through Zachary's hair in affection, and tangled her fingers in her hair when she was upset or frustrated... and he was quite glad she did at that point, because it felt good. Actually, everything about it felt good.
Her lips were surprisingly soft, but he could still feel the light rips in the skin from where she had chewed them. And when he cupped her face with his right hand, he could feel every velvety-soft scar. She was still just as warm as ever, and her lips almost burned... though, in a good way. It was just as he had imagined... not-not that he had ever imagined it.
When she pulled away, they were both equally red-faced, though Ashley looked a bit more indignant. The ginger had the widest grin on his face, and Phil as well as Bunny were now standing beside Eros.
Phil raised a furry brow. "'ve no' ever seen yer face so red, lad. Should I ge' ya some ice...?" The yeti snorted and laughed at his own joke, hi-fiving himself as he turned and strolled away.
Bunny stared at Ashley, which didn't really do much to help her red face as she asked defensively, "What?! I didn't wanna get shot-so sue me!"
The old pooka hummed and rocked back on his heels. "Well... I reckon ya could'a picked a bodgier one... He ain't exactly built like a brick shit house, but Jack's a good enough guy. Just don't be goin' an' havin' a pash around me, eh...?"
She raised arms exasperatedly. "I don't like him like that!" She faltered before adding, "And what does that even mean?! I didn't even understand half of what you said!"
Eros gave a rather odd chuckle and grinned, but didn't say anything-and it was really starting to creep her out.
"What are you laughing at, you bitchy ginger?!" She asked with a scowl, "You're creepin' me out, man."
"Nothing, nothing," Eros told her calmly, "It's just... I do believe I've helped plant the seeds."
Ashley raised a brow and cocked her head to the side. "Seeds? Seeds of what? Are you losing your mind on me...?"
Eros laughed and shook his head. "Nope... well, maybe... Hanging around you isn't very good for me." Maybe she should have been insulted, but...
"I completely agree." She told him, elbowing Jack without looking at him. "Isn't that right, Frost?"
"Huh? Uh... y-yeah."
That didn't sound very Jack-like... She looked over, only to see his face still red, and a strange look on his face. Her shoulders drooped and she groaned. "Oh no... is that was they were talking about?" She looked over at said men and pointed to Jack. "Is that what you guys were talking about?"
Eros laughed and grinned along with Bunny. "I am not at liberty to say."
"So, yes, in other words," She concluded dryly before looking over at Jack. "Look... I think you're fuckin' fantastic. And you were a year or two older, I would probably like you, but... it's illegal, and you can find way better." A look of hurt crossed his face, and she flinched as her heart cracked. "Oh no, please don't do that. You're really killing me here, babe..." He averted his eyes to his feet and she grimaced. "See, right there, that's why I suck. Talking and emotions aren't my forte. I'm-I'm gonna go... take a nap with Zach, I think."
She walked away, albeit a bit awkwardly, feeling pretty damn crummy about herself as she did.
Once she got out of sight, Eros leaned closed and nudged his side.
"Hey... Don't worry, bud. She's a stubborn ass, and she's especially emotionally retarded when other people are around. You go on up and follow her, me and Bunnymund will try to keep anyone from bugging you guys. You have to remember that she's stubborn, so you have to be, too. Or, maybe not," The ginger man shrugged, "She's got quite the soft side for you, so I wouldn't be surprised if it were to not take much for you to get her wrapped around your finger."
Jack gave the man a doubtful look. "I... I don't know if your right, Eros. She really doesn't seem to be that into me."
The taller man snorted and threw his arm over the winter spirit's shoulder. "Kid, I don't know everything about Ash, but I know that she likes you. It's just... buried down under. It's like a burnt out coal... If you want to start up the fire, you've got to breathe some air into it, and give it something to catch on to."
The teen still looked pretty uncertain, but he looked a bit more confident. "I guess I haven't got anything else to lose," He sighed. "Might as well try."
Bunnymund beamed as he clapped Jack on the back. "Tha's the spirit! Hop to it, Jackie-boy!"
The teen grunted in acknowledgement before walking after her.
When Jack was out of sight, Bunnymund leaned over to Eros. His furry brows were narrowed just an inch as he inquired, "Now... what was that ya were talkin' about, how ya could end up with my sheila...?"
Eros's eyes widened and he swallowed thickly before laughing nervously, "What? What are you talking about Bunny, I-I never!"
"Tha's what I thought." He rumbled, standing up straighter and crossing his arms. "Bloody figjam..."
The ginger man blinked and opened his mouth, only to shut it and open it again. "I... I'm a what now?"
Ashley kneeled down by the bed and lightly brushed some hair from Zach's face. The boy muttered something in his sleep about frogs, causing the girl to snort and give a fond smile. She glanced over at his legs, with had presumably kicked the blankets away. His right leg (or would it be half a leg?) was still covered with bandages, but she could see the faintest edges of stitches and scabbing. It made her wince, and then raise a brow as a question formed in her head.
If Zach was still healing, why wasn't she...?
Actually, now that she thought about it, it had only taken some days for her back to (mostly) heal. Jack, too. Was that a spirit thing...? She'd have to remember to ask Slendy about it...
Pssh, who was she kidding... She couldn't even remember her own birthday most of the time, how was she going to remember all of the questions she had for him? She wasn't. She had wanted to ask pretty much everyone a question, but she hadn't remembered. Fuck. She needed to go to that one website, luminosity or whatever, because she forgot things more than her grandma had. Sheesh...
Ashley shook her head, clearing any thoughts from it, before shooting up when one of the floorboards creaked. She turned, fists raised, only to drop them and then groan under her breath. Jack fuckin' Frost.
She looked up at the ceiling and raised her arms. "Can't I ever get a break from him?" She asked quietly, "Did I really do so much bad that you're punishing me this much is okay? Or do you just like to watch me squirm? Because that would be really kinky..."
Well... maybe if she was lucky, they could just continue to be how it used to be...?
Pssh, who was she kidding... She was the unluckiest person in the world.
Jack raised a brow. "Who are you talking to...?"
She shushed him. "I'm communing with Jesus."
He snorted. "You still believe after all that's happened?"
"Yup," She hummed, "I mean, after all, people believe in you. Why can't I believe in Jesus? Didn't you...?"
He shrugged. "Back when I was human... I forgot about all that when I became Jack Frost, and when I remembered, I realized that for three hundred years I asked for someone, anyone to notice me, and no one did. I just put two and two together. It's not real."
The girl winced. "Yeah... I can see why you would think that," She muttered. "Hey... how did you become Jack Frost?"
His lips tugged down, and he leaned back against the wall. "I went ice skating with my sister. She got to a thin patch, and the ice cracked beneath her..." Ashley's face fell. "I calmed her down enough to get her to move some... I told her we were just playing Hopscotch, like we did everyday." Oh no, bro, she had a sinking feeling that she knew where this was headed, "I picked up a stick and pulled her away, near the edge of the lake... but I ended up where she was, in doing that."
Ashley bit her lip as she pleaded inside her head for herself to not be right.
"For a minute," Jack breathed, "I thought I had saved her, and that everything would be okay."
Please don't say what I think you're gonna say.
"Then the ice broke from underneath me."
She covered her face and bit back a yell.
Jack raised a brow at the distressed girl, but continued. "The Man in the Moon saw that I had lost my life, saving my sister, so he brought me back... and when the time was right, he made me a guardian."
"Nope. Nope, not doing this," She stood up and made several hand gestures before walking over and hugging him. "You're too precious for this world," She told him quietly, nuzzling the side of his head as he tensed up. "Do you hear that...? It's the sound of my heart-guts imploding. Are you trying to kill me? You are. Stop."
He gave a breathy laugh and wrapped his arms around her. "Sorry." She grumbled a few obscenities under her breath, but let it slide. It got quiet, and that gave Jack the opportunity to ask, "Does this feel wrong...?"
Ashley gave him a confused look. "What'chu talkin' about, crazy person?"
His gestured to the two of them. "This."
Oh. "Man, don't tell me you're still on this," She groaned, "I really, really, really hate putting you down. I don't want to, but it's-"
"Okay, okay, let's suppose you're right," Jack interrupted with a roll of his eyes, "And this is paedo... pedo..."
"Pedophilia."
He nodded. "Right, that. So it's wrong. You're head is saying you shouldn't be doing this. But does it feel wrong?"
She gave him a look. "I thought you already clarified that it did."
"Not up here," He told her as he lightly tapped the side of her head. He tapped her chest, above her heart. "I mean right here. Does it feel wrong?"
God, he was being as stubborn as her. She lolled her head to the side, heaving a sigh. "Not particularly."
She could see his eyes light up, despite the fact that it was rather dim in the room, as he beamed. "Yeah, see? And even if we don't add the three hundred years I have on you, it's only three years. We can do this... We've just gotta try. We're pretty different, but we could work," He encouraged, "Like..."
"Peanut butter and jelly?" She offered.
Jack chuckled and nodded. "Yeah. Salt and pepper."
"Yin and yang."
"Fire and ice."
She pursed her lips in thought before grinning, and singing lowly under her breath. "I'm hot and you're cold, you're yes and I'm no~!"
He laughed and beamed. "Exactly. So...? Do you wanna try...?"
Why did he have to look so adorable...? Why was she such a sucker...? "I guess..." She sighed. "You're still a delinquent, though, so don't think I'm gonna stop insulting you, Frost."
Said winter spirit grinned. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
She blinked and chewed on her lip. "And, uh... You really could find someone way better than me, you know..."
"I don't want someone better," He told her, "I want you."
A smirk crossed her face, and she chortled to herself quietly. "You really make it too easy," She informed him, "I could have made like, ten different sex jokes right then."
Jack rolled his eyes like he was getting real tired of her shit, but his smile gave him away. "You have issues."
"I really do." She agreed with a laugh. "And for some reason, you have a crush on me!"
"Hey, you have a crush on me, too." He countered easily.
"Well, yeah, but you're not me," She retorted, only to falter. "Did you just get me...?"
"To admit you have a crush on me?" He smirked. "Yes."
Ashley blinked several times before huffing and crossing his arms. "I hate you..."
"No you don't," He sang with a laugh, "You love me."
She lightly punched his shoulder. "Shut up."
Author's Note~
Been a while, eh? Yup... Sorry about that. It seems like the universe has really not wanted me to write this. Everytime I get on to write, my pop's girlfriend comes out of nowhere, and she doesn't like me being on the computer for some reason... I don't know why. So I made this one as long as I could to make up for it. I even threw in some romance, even though I'm not very good at it. I TRIED, yo!
DUDE. DUDE. THERE IS 300 SOMETHING REVIEWS WHAT WHY. How is this even-why is this even dfsghfafhgjkfjkgdf! And I'm not gonna lie, I never even noticed until some one I was talking to pointed it out. When I first found out, I was all *PTERODACTYL SCREECH*. It was ridonkulous. I almost died from shock! I was just sitting there all, "WHY." ILU GUIZ, NO JOKE.
So. This is long. If there's anything wrong, let me know, and as always, I hope my goofy little tale made you smile :) No, really, I hope it did... I feel like the quality of this has been going down some :\ Maybe someday I'll go back and add some stuff-not just in this chapter, but all of them. Not today, though. Today, I just wanna goof off in tumblr. But the next one is probably just gonna be a lot of Ashley goofing off and playing with Zach. BEAR RIDES AND SNOWBALL FIGHTS HOMIES
Also, uh... There's some people I haven't been replying to. FORGIVE ME OTL I've been so hell-bent on getting this done, I just kinda threw it to the side. Right after this, I SWEAR I'm gonna go reply. I didn't forget about you or anything, I still love all of you D: WAIT FOR ME BBIES
ʕ´ᴥ`ʔ Just try to bear with me, guys!
,Blue