#hildash

This was different. There was no pain. Not physical, at least. But the mental pain, the heartache, more than made up for it. She was in the middle of getting groceries when it happened. Slowly at first, barely noticeable. Some dark shades of red faded. Then the rest followed after, disappearing one after the other from her vision forever. The last colour she saw was the brown that matched her loves shining eyes and dark hair.

Her hand went to her chest, over her heart. The grip was soft at first but quickly became crushing as the full force hit her. All the colours were gone. All the colour that she had given her… vanished.

The next moment jarred her out of her thoughts, her phone ringing mockingly from her pocket. She shakily took it out and looked at the screen. A name was displayed. A person that would never call again. A voice she would never hear again. She flipped the phone open, answering it.

Pairing: Ash/Hilda

Wordcount: ~500

“What did you need me for?” Ash asked as she entered Hilda’s lab. Her girlfriend texted her not long ago about seeing something she finished.

“This.” Hilda placed her hand on something covered by cloth. It looked bulky, but a lot of her inventions tended to be bulky. Ash had no idea what could be under that white sheet.

“I’m happy to test anything for you,” Ash said. “But isn’t this normally Vav and X-Ray’s thing?”

Hilda averted her eyes and she went a little pink around the cheeks. “It’s not for them.” The sheet was removed without any flourish to reveal a breastplate and vambraces. Two things that were definitely not made for the other heroes, given the fact that their colour scheme was red and gold. The breastplate was an unbroken red with darker bits at the sides. The vambraces were gold, with red etched into them to turn the gold into intricate feathers.

“Woah…” Sometimes with the things Hilda normally made, it was easy to forget she was truly an artist. It was just that she didn’t usually put much artistic ‘flare’ into her inventions. Ash walked up to run her fingers against the feathers. The metal was cool under her touch. Though everything was, but this metal seemed cooler than other materials. Enough so that Ash definitely noticed. “It’s beautiful.”

“Thank you,” Hilda said with a small, proud smile. Her eyes glittered with excitement as she moved to stand next to Ash and she reached out to run her own fingers along the breastplate. When Ash did the same, she discovered it held the same odd coolness. “I made it with a special metal that shouldn’t heat up too much, even with your powers. So it won’t burn you if you wear it during battle. Not that you burn, but it’ll remain cool on the outside, too.”

“That’s so cool. Literally,” Ash said with a little laugh.

Hilda snorted. She held up the breastplate. It glimmered slightly when the lights hit it. “Do you want to try it on?”

“Help me?” Ash her arms out at her sides when Hilda nodded.

Dark red fingerless gloves went under the vambraces. They were soft, and they seemed to share the same cool quality. Ash moved around a bit once the pieces of armour were on properly and wasn’t surprised to find her mobility not at all impeded. If she wanted to, Hilda could build a full set of armour and Ash knew it’d be as easy to move in as a spandex suit.

“I made special fabric to have the same properties as the metal,” Hilda said.

“You’re amazing,” Ash said honestly. Pink burned Hilda’s cheeks again and Ash reached up to cradle them in her hands, partly just to hold Hilda and partly to let the fabric cool them down. Hilda leaned just slightly into the touch.

“You like them?” Hilda asked.

“Of course I do,” Ash said. “Thank you.”

“I want you to remain safe,” Hilda said.

Ash walked into the living room and Hilda just barely inclined her head away from the circuit board she was working on to get a glimpse of her. There was a bottle in each of her hands, one pink and one purple. They weren't bottles she thought she recognized. “What are those?” Hilda asked, eyes back on the circuits but mind stuck on Ash.

“Soap, shampoo,” Ash said. Hilda didn't need to look to know she'd lifted each bottle in turn. Absently she wondered which was which. But she guessed she'd find out when she next remembered to take a shower. Or got reminded to.

“That's cool,” she said. A few blinks and the circuits swam back into focus. Alright… this should actually connect-

“Hilda,” Ash said, sounding fondly exasperated. Hilda hummed. The next words were leading and pointed, an explanation for the bottles when she'd never asked but she definitely apparently needed. “Come take a shower with me?”

Hilda’s head swiveled back to Ash slowly. “What?”

“A shower,” Ash said, propping the bottles up on her hips. She wasn't wearing makeup. That was unusual for work days. Usually she waited a few more hours after getting home, something about not wanting to waste it if she bothered to put it on. “Together.”

“Oh,” Hilda swallowed. That was… intimate. Not that they weren't intimate, but rarely like that. Ash just preferred morning showers and Hilda didn't. Her hands fumbled against the circuit board and the pair of tweezers she'd been using. “Uh- Now?”

Ash smothered a laugh. She could see her do it and a little bit of indignation rose up in her throat, but not a lot. Ash wasn't making fun of her. If anything, she probably thought she was adorable. Which should annoy her, but it never managed to when it was Ash. “If you can bear to separate from your project.”

Like she was actually contemplating it, Hilda looked back at the coffee table. There was a huff of amusement behind her. Of course Ash didn't believe her. Her wife always had a talent for sussing out the truth- and not just from her. Hilda hid a small smile. “I suppose so.”

“Good,” Ash said. “I expect to see you in the bathroom in a few minutes.” And she left Hilda to clean up what she had to. This time Hilda didn't bother to hide the smile, putting away what she absolutely had to and keeping out what she didn't need to. She could figure out what she was doing later. Some time away from it would most likely be good, anyhow.

Especially if it was spent with Ash.

Hilda stood, brushing imaginary dirt from her pant legs. Only now did she notice her knees felt a little sore from kneeling for so long.

By the time she got into their bathroom, Ash was stripped to her underwear and her hand was under the spicket to test the temperature. Hilda undressed, not shivering despite the cold February day. At some point before she'd even asked Hilda, she must have warmed it. She sat her clothes in a pile next to Ash’s. When Ash finally looked back, apparently pleased with the water’s temperature, she smiled. Then she added the rest of her clothes to the pile and stepped into their shower, holding a hand out to Hilda. Obviously, Hilda took the hand.

She was guided in front of Ash, a short distance from the water, so they were facing each other. They washed each other with the rose shampoo and the lavender body wash Ash had picked up from somewhere just for today. (The bottles were completely full. Never been used. That’s why Hilda didn’t think she recognized them, she hadn’t.) Their touches were gentle, like working with complex circuitry. Or if she wanted to be more romantic- an urge only Ash ever put into her- like touching a god made flesh– soft and lingering. Ash tipped her head back as Hilda rinsed the shampoo from her hair and she watched water droplets run races down freckled cheeks. Cheeks that she then kissed, knowing Ash wouldn’t begrudge her it. Even after they were clean and rinsed Hilda didn’t move. Content to exist in the steam for as long as Ash kept her there.

Ash kissed her nose under the warm spray of the shower head. “Happy Valentine’s Day,” she said quietly and Hilda’s eyes widened in surprise.

“That's today?”

“Yep,” Ash smiled at her, fond and amused. Hilda is eternally grateful she's never been upset at her inability to remember any holiday that wasn't Christmas. “Don’t worry, this is all I wanted.”

Hilda raised an eyebrow. “Your V-day plans were to take a shower?”

“With you,” Ash added, “Yes.” And she kissed her again.

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: X-Ray & Vav (Cartoon) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Ash Samaya/Hilda (X-Ray & Vav) Characters: Ash Samaya, ORF (X-Ray & Vav), Hilda (X-Ray & Vav) Additional Tags: Fluff, Established Relationship, married hildash, takes place sometime after xnv: chapter two, Femslash February 2020, and the tradition continues, Valentine's Day Series: Part 11 of Femslash February Summary:

Ash makes Hilda a surprise breakfast

So this is the first time I’ve ever posted one of these here but I have my own Singles Awareness Day tradition of writing and posting (often a crappy) Hildash fic and here it is. Small snippet under the cut

Chapters: 1/? Fandom: X-Ray & Vav (Cartoon), Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Ash Samaya/Hilda (X-Ray & Vav), Mogar/Vav (X-Ray & Vav), Jack Pattillo/Geoff Ramsey Characters: X-Ray (X-Ray & Vav), Vav (X-Ray & Vav), Mogar (X-Ray & Vav), Hilda (X-Ray & Vav), Ash Samaya, Dragonface (X-Ray & Vav), The Mad King (X-Ray & Vav), Edgar (X-Ray & Vav), Jon Risinger, Corpirate (X-Ray & Vav), Jack Pattillo, Jeremy Dooley, Matt Bragg, Miles Luna Additional Tags: Canon Divergence, Female Jack, michael is mogar, altering pov, fake ah crew inspiration, vav has Big Gay Thoughts, hilda is not ceo, minecraft au inspiration, Canon Rewrite, more heroes, more villains - Freeform, More Powers, and more idiots, Alternate Season Two Summary:

In the city Hilda lives in, there are heroes. Two heros that she helps by creating tech through scientific means. It makes sense. Until more heroes show up that don’t seem to be helped by any form of tech she can recognize. And her city feels upended.

It’s Friday, so here’s the first chapter! Not too Femslash yet, but it’ll get there! Short snippet from the beginning under the cut

summary:

Let’s leave this blue neighbourhood

AKA that Hildash high school au with a dash of angst because I’ve been listening to Halsey and Troye Sivan

notes:

okay, Hilda's parents are bigoted and homophobic in this (as well as being in general, prissy and imposing) so if any of that doesn't sit well with you, I'd give this a second thought to be honest.

Also I’ve been hinting this fic for ages on here and I finally finished it