#ashtonsnova

Today is the first day of one of those trips.  You can tell by the way Ashton’s guitar case is waiting against the wall near the door when you come in.  He’d been growing restless, you could see that in the last few days.  Though he had written some, he told you he felt like he was just skimming the surface.  There was more he wasn’t getting, more that was trapped in his head.  You find him in your shared bedroom, haphazardly shoving clothes into a bag.

“About to head out?” you ask, hugging him from behind and pressing a kiss to his back, causing him to still for a moment.

“Yeah, that alright?” There was little that could stop Ashton from leaving when he felt he was on the urge of a breakthrough, but if he thought you needed him here, he’d stay, no questions asked.

“Course,” you mumble into his shirt before pulling away. “Need any help packing?”

“I think I’ve got just about everything.” He rummages through the duffle, takes a quick inventory of what he’s packed, and disappears into the bathroom for a few moments to gather what he forgot.

Some people might be upset by how little warning Ashton gave before his travels, but it didn’t bother you.  He was never gone for more than a couple of days, and he always returned more bright-eyed and content than when he left.  Nothing could put him at ease and fill his heart quite like getting away from it all with his guitar.  Ashton lived to create, and this helped him do that.

Things were even better between the two of you after his writing getaways.  He’d still be buzzing with the passion of writing breath-taking verses, and he loved you impossibly better because of it.  His emotions were always close to the surface after these trips.  They were times of uninhibited feeling, of love and pleasure and pain laid bare all for the sake of unearthing the right words to string together.  When he got home, he would crash into you full force.  It was something you never fully expected.  He’d be on you in an instant, just desperate to be close to you.  You’d spend forever under the sheets.  Clothed or not, day or night.  It didn’t matter, Ashton just needed to be with you.  And you were more than okay with that.  You wouldn’t trade the heartfelt conversations or impassioned lovemaking for anything.

He picks up his bag and makes his way to the door, and you trail behind him to see him off. 

“Be safe please.” You have just the one request each time he leaves.

“I will, promise.”

The two of you meet each other halfway, Ashton leaning down and you on tiptoes, for one last kiss.  It’s deep and comforting and will have to hold you over for a day or two, but you remind yourself it’s nothing compared to what you’re in for when he comes home.