"What a feeling to be right here beside you now

Holding you in my arms

When the air ran out and we both started running wild

The sky fell down

But you've got stars, they're in your eyes..."

~ One Direction

"There, all done," Dawn said as she slipped in the passenger seat, closing the door behind her. She fastened her seat belt and leaned back, looking sideways to find Ash grinning at her. A smile crept up on her face too as she asked,"What happened?''

"I was in a call with Johanna," He laughed,"Apparently Oli and Loki aren't happy as they are left behind."

"In few hours, they'll forget about us," Dawn shook her head, amused,"Mom somehow makes them very attached to her."

Turning the key to start the car, Ash nodded,"That's true. Okay, lets go?''

Nodding, Dawn took in a deep breath. Her heart was on overdrive as she felt a various waves of emotions rush into her. This vacation had been on their to-do-list for ages and now that she was actually going on it was something her heart couldn't believe. There was excited, scared and anxious at the same time. Noticing her deep in thought, Ash pinched her cheek slightly,"What's troubling you?"

"This just doesn't feel real," She shifted to face him and noticed how cute he looked in morning light. "We had been planning this for ages and now that we are actually going on it is filling me up with worry. What if it is not as good as we expect it to be? What if all the excitement we have turns into a bummer because of high hopes? It's just-"

"Love," Ash ran his finger over her cheek, the touch calming her down. "It is going to be a blast, I know it. The place is breathtaking, and aurora borealis is something we both have been wanting to witness for years. Even if the trip is just ordinary, I would cherish every moment of it because I am with you."

Dawn blinked and faced the road,"Smooth-talker."

"I know."

"Your keys, Mam," The receptionist passed the keys to Dawn and began typing on her computer again,"Everything you need has been taken care of. If you need help with anything else, you can contact me and someone will reach out to you as soon as they can."

Taking the keys, Dawn thanked her and turned around to see Ash talking to someone on his phone. On seeing her done with the formalities, he rushed to her side and wrapped his arms around hers, grinning,"I have a surprise for you."

Perking up, she couldn't help but ask,"What?"

"Lets go to our room first."

Dawn could feel her heart thumping wildly against her chest as he wrapped his fingers around hers as he led the way. Being like this made her feel like a teenager again and she could feel her cheeks getting warm.

"Feels like we are back in highschool right?" He asked and she nodded, scooting closer to him.

"You look very affectionate today," Ash teased her at the close proximity but all she did was cling to him further.

"Finally no paparazzi! I can actually walk next to you without getting photographed, so yeah, abusing this freedom till it lasts," She laughed,"I like this peace. Its like you are not a doctor and I am not a business woman, in this place you are just Ash and I am just Dawn."

He couldn't help but press a kiss on her temple as she talked. "For the next few days, professional us is on a rest."

"Damn right!" She was literally skipping with joy. Doing her best to open the door, she felt his presence hovering behind her and she leaned back into his chest, smiling as he wrapped his arms around her torso. She twisted the keys and pushed the door open, saying,"Lets freshen up and get something to eat? I am starving."

He pressed a kiss on the back of her head and slowly unwrapped his arms around her, going inside after her. "Let me take a quick shower first," He put down his bag on the table beside hers and went over to where she was and placed a small kiss on her lips. "And you take your time in the bath while I prepare your surprise."

She quickly wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest. Her mind was overwhelmed with his smell yet she couldn't get enough of it. "Sure. I am excited."

"Me too my love," Ash lifted her chin and pressed his lips against hers, kissing her again. "But it is nothing fancy. So don't get your hopes up, alright?"

"Hmm," She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his nose and then his lips,"I love you."

"I love you too my love," Ash mumbled between kisses, his arms resting on her lower back. She pressed herself against him even more and cupped his cheeks, deepening the kiss. Her heart was beating wildly against her chest and she couldn't help but run her fingers through his hair, feeling everything around her go wild. There was something so captivating about him that she couldn't ever get enough of him.

"A shower," He mumbled, breaking the kiss and rested his forehead against hers. "Please can you turn up the heat, it's a little cold."

"Hmm," She kissed his cheek and smiled,"See you soon."

"So," Dawn sat down on the table and took the mug in her hands, cupping it to warm her hands,"This is your surprise?" She was grinning ear to ear as she took a sip of the warm tea he prepared for her and her heart did a flip on seeing his embarrassed smile.

"I mean, most of the times it's Luca cooking for us so I thought why not?" He passed her a plate which had hot, steaming dumplings on it.

"When did you-"

"In the morning," Ash laughed as he watched her eyes lit up like a child. "Had to wake up a little early to prepare them since we had to meet around 9. But yeah," He sat down beside her and grinned,"I just warmed it up. Dumplings are perfect for cold weather."

"Oh god," She leaped into his arms and kissed him on his lips,"I love you and I love these dumplings too." She pressed another kiss on his lips,"Thank you."

"As much as I am enjoying this with you," He brushed the hair off her face and smiled,"I still want you to eat first. Then we can do whatever we want to."

Like a happy baby, she began enjoying the food and planning their agenda for the day.

"Since its going to be evening soon, we can't go sight-seeing today, can we?" Dawn asked, getting a nod from him.

"According to Red, the hotels arrange campfires for the tourists to hangout. We can go there, and then with a good rest, go skiing tomorrow." Ash plopped another dumpling into his mouth,"These turned out decent."

"Are you kidding me? These taste heavenly!" Dawn hummed as she took another bite,"I missed your cooking."

"I can see that." He laughed and got up to get her some more. "I was planning on making something else too but was short on time."

She grinned,"You can feed me when we are back. I can be a good girl and wait."

"I know you can be good," He gave her a sly grin,"I know that well."

Her cheeks flaring up at the comment, she quickly bit another dumpling and looked away embarrassed,"Idiot!"

"I was just saying what you were saying," He pinched her cheeks again,"Complimenting you got me insulted, haww?"

"Oh really?" She kicked him slightly on his leg,"Well you are an idiot and a lot of idiot things goes inside that idiot brain of yours so don't be surprised I called you an idiot because you are an idiot."

"I am having a strong sense of deja vu," He laughed,"It's been a while since I came across this side of you."

"The side you fell in love with,'' She laughed,"I am still amazed you found getting teased so attractive. Like a masochist-"

"Oi," He pulled her cheeks, laughing," I found your personality attractive. And yeah, I like it when my woman can kick my ass."

Finishing off her plate, she rubbed her belly in content. "Good food, really. Makes me feel guilty I didn't prepare anything for you."

"I didn't do it because I was expecting anything in return," He said and watched as she wrapped her fingers around his and placed a kiss on his fingers.

"Still," She mumbled and kissed his hands again,"You must be tired from all the driving. Lets rest for a while before we go watch the bonfire."

She got up and placed the dirty dishes infront of them in the sink while he cleaned the table. She contemplated washing the dishes but his hand on her back pushed the thought out of her mind. "Dawn, we can clean later. Lets rest for a while."

"Yeah." The choice was easy. Who would like cleaning instead of snuggling with their lover?

He lied down on the bed and watched as she put up her hair in a bun. Noticing his stare, she felt a weird sensation creeping up in her mind. "What?''

"You can keep your hair loose," Ash said and patted the seat next to him. She let her hair down and laughed.

"Don't blame me if you get hair in your mouth."

"Never."

She scooted up closer to him and placed her head on his arm, staring at the glass ceiling. "The sky should look better when it gets darker outside."

"Yes," He kissed her temple and she snuggled herself more comfortably around him.

"Ash," She laughed,"I am going to call Mom and ask how the cats are holding up." She pulled her phone out of her pocket. "I miss them."

"Yes, yes, sure."

He listened as she asked her Mom about the cats and narrated their road journey so far. Feeling a little mischievous, he placed his other arm on her stomach and began running circles on her exposed skin. He felt her intake a breath and feeling bolder, he moved his hands up the t-shirt she was wearing and began drawing circles very close to her chest. She caught the glint in his eyes and mouthed,"Really?" and turned to face him directly. He could hear Johanna's voice from other end of the line and when he found her eyes challenging him, as if to go and take the next step, he cupped her breasts and found her taking in a deep breath.

"Okay Mom, take care," She cut her call short,"Be sure not to spoil the cats too much."

"Don't worry Darling. Have fun."

"Sure. See you soon." The second she disconnected the call, she almost jumped on him and kissed his lips with all her heart. Her heart felt so alive and she couldn't put it into words how wonderful it felt to be desired by the man she loved with her everything was.

"Someone is eager," She said as she felt him against her and placed a kiss on his neck. Applying a little more pressure, she let go when she felt she had left her mark on him. Running her fingers to the now red area, she smiled,"There. All good."

"How are the cats?" He caught her hand and kissed her fingers.

"Good actually," Dawn laughed,"Apparently your Mom and Dad are planning to go visit them and stay for a day with my Mom. I am sure Mom would love the company."

"That's some news," Ash looked surprised,"Doesn't it remind you of Ray when you look at Oli and call her Olivia?"

Surprised at the sudden question, she just stared at him as if he had sad a taboo word,"Who told you that?" She got off him and sat crossed legged, her eyes following his every move.

"Ray himself."

Dawn still had a quizzical look on her face which made Ash chuckle. He booped her nose and cupped her cheeks, explaining, "Remember Leaf's bachelorette party? The one where you got drunk and broadcasted how much you wanted to 'have' me all to yourself?"

Dawn could feel her cheeks reddening. The place where his hands touched her felt as if it were on fire and she diverted her gaze, mumbling, "You're never going to let me forget it, are you?"

"Nope."

"Meanie."

"And," Ash wrapped his arm around her and buried her red face in his chest. She could be so adorable at times. "When I went to pick you up, the topic of our cats came up and he told me how you both wanted to name your pet Olivia."

"Because it rhymes with I love ya?" Dawn asked, getting a nod from him. He was silent but Dawn could feel that the topic was still bothering him. It had been so long and she couldn't help but feel that this topic had been bothering him for a while.

"Olivia was a name my Mom wanted to give me before she settled on Dawn," Dawn explained, "You know, as a sign of saying that she loved me whenever she spoke my name. Apparently my Dad had an ex named Olivia so she didn't choose the name. I liked the story and told Ray that."

"I didn't know that." She kissed the tip of his nose, giggling.

"Well me and my Mom never talked about our past. Sometimes she would just tell me stuff out of the blue. But coming back to the topic, when I told Ray that story, he was like, 'Oh you can name our kids that. I don't have an ex named Olivia' and I just laughed it off, saying that a kid was not on my bucket list now but a pet surely was so I'll name it that. That's the whole story. He just told you the part which suited his narrative more. "

"So," He looked uneasy,"You chose the name because he liked it?"

"No?" She giggled again,"Because it was a name my Mom had chosen for me. Can you imagine that? I would have been named Olivia. And its such a pretty name too! And when I got Oli, I was sure this name fit her and so I was like why not? Ray contributed nothing to this name. That prick- I swear he can be such a pain in the ass sometimes."

"But I'm glad your Mom named you Dawn instead of Olivia," Ash rubbed his nose against hers,"I don't know, Dawn suits you."

"Because you are habituated to calling me that," Dawn booped his nose, giggling on seeing him smile,"Ash, ever wondered how it would have been if we never broke up in college?"

He stiffened and his expression made her smile drop. He knew she was just curious but how could he explain how much he hated himself for letting her go?

"You were my first everything, Dawn," He placed his palm on her face and squeezed a little. "One of the worst things I've ever done is allowing you to feel unworthy of love. I knew how much you hated your father still went behind your back to mend the bridges I wasn't supposed to mend. I knew Miette made you uncomfortable yet I kept her around, dismissing your feelings. If anything, the break-up was a wake up call to me because I actually thought you will never leave me. Now I know now to half-ass things. Yes, I do think about our life if hadn't broken up. I actually thought we would be the first to settle down among our friends. But this break has shown me a lot of things. I appreciate you more than I ever did before."

He wiped the tears forming in her eyes and placed another kiss on her lips. Pressing his forehead against hers, he continued,"I would like to believe that I am more matured and perceptive now. And more patient because of my line of practice. I am sure I can actually make you happy now that I have you. I know I have hurt you in the past but I will make you the happiest woman, I promise."

She snuggled closer to him and exhaled, her tears soaking his shirt. "I am so glad you fell in love with me again. So glad.""

"Yeaah," He said and kissed her temple, "Me too. We should start getting ready for the bonfire, right? I wanna catch a good seat."

"Sure!" She tried getting up but his arms were keeping her locked in. She placed another kiss on his nose,"I can't get up if you keep holding me this way."

"I know."

"I have a little surprise for you too though. Nothing special but I think you'll remember."

"Is that so?" He loosened his grip on her and she got up, making her way to her bag. She pulled out a small bag and placed it on the bed, grinning.

"Its a dress for you though," He crooked his head, "I have a matching red shirt in my bag, let me check."

"Ash," Dawn stopped him and hugged him from behind,"Don't think too much about what happened in college okay? We were young and emotional. Well I am still emotional now but I guess I have learnt to control it better and you have gotten better at maintaining me."

Placing his hand above hers, he gave it a small squeeze. God, he can't believe she was his. Only his. "I mean, we broke off and you just zoned out of our friends group. It was sad but none of us knew how to handle that and before we knew, the gap had widened so much that we couldn't reach you. "

"I was that friend who can be easily replaced, you know," Dawn could feel herself trembling,"But with you, it just felt so right. Almost as if its fine. I had a weird reassurance that no matter what, you wouldn't replace me. After that break-up it was hard to go in the group and not feel weird. No one knew what to do and I just didn't want to put your childhood friends in a position where they had to chose. And it was hard, you know, seeing them and not getting reminded of us. So just pulled back and immersed myself in studies."

"Dawn-" He turned to face her. Seeing her glossy eyes, he placed a quick kiss on her forehead and mumbled a sorry, not knowing how to react. "I -"

"And," Dawn placed her index finger on his lips to shut him up, "I know a lot of stuff happened but I was always in the back of your mind, wasn't I?"

"How can you be so sure?" Ash asked, raising his eyebrows. She knew that he knew she was right.

"You kept tabs on me even though you had a hectic schedule. You knew about Ray. You knew we broke up. You kept a record of my sister's health and progress. Those kinda things."

"You knew?" Dawn couldn't help but giggle at his wide-eyed expression. She couldn't put it into words but he was so adorable. So cute and all hers.

"You weren't exactly trying to hide it so," She felt a warm going around her waist and she stopped, making herself comfortable in his embrace. She placed her head on his shoulder, pressing a small kiss at the base of his neck, giggling when she heard him take in a sharp breath.

"What about you huh?" Ash whispered in her ears, making a weird tingling sensation go down her spine.

"What do you mean?" She feebly mumbled, trying to hold her ground against him.

"This red dress. Do you think I don't remember where this is from?"

"Oh."

"I thought you didn't buy it."

"Guess what?" She looked up and her eyes met his. "I did." She placed a kiss on his lips, pulling away before he could do anything else.

"Why?"

"It looked good," Dawn said. She could feel his arms resting on her back, rubbing circles. "But I didn't want to give you that satisfaction. So I didn't tell you."

"Petty."

"Obviously."

Dawn pulled the jacket around her and bundled up like a panda as she watched the fire gaining intensity. Ash sat down beside her and pulled a blanket over them, his arm going around her shoulder. She watched as some hotel staff handed them hot cocoa and she took one with a wide smile on her face. Ash took one too and couldn't help but place a kiss on her temple, making her smile.

Across her, a family of four was roasting marshmallows and she locked eyes with a teen girl who was staring at her intently. "Aren't you Ms. Berlitz?"

Dawn perked up and nodded. "And you are?"

"I am Ruhani," The girl nodded, "I didn't think I'll meet a celebrity while on vacation."

"Oh," Dawn said and Ash could feel her anxious self taking over. Coughing a little to get their attention, he said,"Miss Ruhani, we are here on a vacation so if possible, please don't tweet about her being here. She deserves this break."

The girl quickly waved her hands, signaling no,"I would never. But it is a surprise seeing someone famous here, pardon me for the question."

Dawn smiled to ease her senses,"Its alright. Sorry for being so direct." She intertwined her fingers with Ash's and squeezed them gently. It was these kind of little things which made her swoon over him so much. Anyone can do grand gestures but for her, these sweet small trivial attention to detail meant the whole world.

The girl giggled,"But it is nice seeing you so relaxed like this. All your paparazzi photos make you look so irritated."

"Cameras up your face all the time will have that effect on anyone."

The girl glanced at Ash and gave him a thumbs up,"Good work on getting your childhood love back!"

Dawn giggled and looked at him, his face showing turned up into a smile,"You were team Ash, huh?"

Ruhani laughed,"Obviously. Ray is nice but I liked your chemistry more than his."

Dawn couldn't help but lean back into his embrace, laughing,"Will you look at that? Looks like our love story is hella famous."

Ash pinched her cheeks,"You are enjoying this, aren't you?"

A laughter reverberated through her chest at that. "Yes. You are not cold, are you?"

He wrapped his arms around her tightly and nuzzled his face on her neck,"No. Do you want some roasted marshmallows?"

"I do want them now. Looks appetizing."

Dawn reached out and placed her hands on his cheeks, the neon-greenish glow from the aurora borealis looking like a halo around him. All she could think about was him. Only him. Nothing else but him. The way his eyes glistened in the dark as he leaned down to kiss her was engraved so deeply in her mind that she could never forget it. She didn't want to forget it.

His hands sneaked up on her chest, cupping her breasts and he slowly squeezed them, making her moan out his name.

With his body hovering over hers, she snaked her arms around him, pulling him on top of her completely and whispered how much she loved him in his ears. Hearing him say it back sent shivers down her spine and she placed a kiss on his cheeks, her hands cupping his face as she placed a slow kiss on his lips. He wasted no time in kissing her back.

"Can I?" She asked as she moved her hands up his back, feeling his strong back against her palms. She felt as if she was on fire. It was a weird feeling. She was burning at his every touch yet her body was craving for it. She tugged at his shirt again and he smiled against her lips.

"Sure?" He rested his forehead against hers as she slowly began taking off his shirt, him helping her to get it off completely. He pressed his lips on her neck, and Dawn could swear she saw stars at the touch.

Her heart was so damn happy. The euphoria she felt at the moment was something she could never put into words. The way he fit into her arms, the way their bodies just melted together and the way he was pleasing her with all the gentle kisses and teasing touches was sending her on overdrive. How do you tell a person they mean the world to you when your words fail you? So she did what she could and kissed him on his lips again with all she had. He was her air and she just couldn't get enough of him.

.

Okay, I had been reading Hold My Hand and to be very honest, I am quite surprised at myself for writing such a long story. You guys might have received notifications about the story being updated so sorry about that. I was correcting the mistakes as I was going through those and those might be responsible for the notifications. Finally found a way to end this story (EUREKA MOMENT) and I am going to work towards it as fast as I can, good luck to me!

AN (26 April 2023)-Okay, I am so sorry for not updating in so long. Life is in the way and to be frank, getting my life back at track is exhausting. I will update once I feel like I can finally breathe. thank you for supporting me till now. I will surely complete this, don't you guys worry.

~ darkestlightofhope