#markashe

Oh dang this took a while, sorry Anon

If there was one thing Ashe hated about Markus, it was his tendency to leap first, look later - usually while screaming.

Rather than focus on the fact that they - that she - had nearly lost him today, she turned all of her attention to the task of stitching his wounds closed.

Two wide gashes across his side were the ‘souvenirs’ from this particular brush with death.

“You’re mad at me, aren’t you?” He asked softly, breath hitching as she tugged the needle through once more.

Dammit, how did he always know?

“No, ’m not.” She replied, the half-truth bitter on her tongue, “Just upset.”

“Ah. OK.”

“There, all done with the stitches.” She sighed, forcing the words through clenched teeth as she began the process of wrapping him in bandages. 

Thankfully, Markus wasn’t budging from his spot, and she couldn’t help but let her gaze drift across his torso, and thought, not for the first time, that he didn’t look like someone who should have as many scars as he did.

But there they were, off-colour lines across his pale skin: starbursts, slashes, and crisscrossing lines.

“No, you’re definitely mad at me.” He said, squirming as the poultice made contact with his skin, “Just tell me what’s wrong.”

She tied off the bandages, glad that he was still sitting so she could look him straight in the eyes, “You really wanna know?”

He met her gaze, resolute, “Yes. I do.”

“You almost… I almost lost you, Markus.” She began, hands clenching into fists, “Like, not ‘Oh, you got hurt pretty bad, and I was scared’, but…”

She broke off with a exasperated huff, turning away; part of her still hated it when people saw her cry.

“What the hell were you thinking, using the Utter Dark Blast while you were so injured?” the question was tinged with desperation, as she uncurled one hand and raised it to swipe at the tears.

“Ashe, I…”

“I don’t want to hear it, I don’t want you to justify it! Because I know. Gods, I know that it was the only way, but…”

She heard him hop down from the table and walk towards her, before his arms wrapped around her waist. He pulled her close, resting his chin on her head.

Finally, Ashe let herself relax, leaning back against his chest, placing her hands over his own.

“Is it really so wrong that I want you to stay alive, with me?”She whispered, terrified of the answer, “Can’t I be selfish with just this one thing?”

He hummed a few bars of a melody under his breath, the first one she had helped him write.

I’ve been without computer for a couple days, but @averymerrymorning mentioned a fishekus coffee shop au and it’s all I’ve been able to think about so

Ashe is a regular customer at a local small coffee shop that’s fairly popular, in part because of its good coffee, but also because of its great service with baristas like Firi and the musician Markus, who comes in every Tuesday and Friday to perform.

Whenever he plays, the coffee shop draws quite a crowd, but Markus only ever pays attention to the reactions of two people

1: The sweet barista who applauds and cheers after every song, regardless of others’ reactions or even whether or not the performance was all that good

2: The regular who by all accounts must have a caffeine addiction, what with how often she’s here and how many cups she goes through in one sitting. She barely seems to register Markus’ playing, which is why it feels like a major victory whenever he can get her to smile or give a polite snap 

Firi is a barista who’s struggling to afford living expenses with her roommate Narn, who most would consider to be strange, but she loves

Despite her hardships, she takes every day in stride and always has a smile on her face

She’s immediately charmed by Ashe, with her messy hair and the eyes of someone who hasn’t seen a good night’s sleep in years 

But Firi also loves listening to the local guitarist Markus play, and finds it endearing whenever he goes out of his way to strike up a conversation with her when he’s setting up or breaking down

She quickly learns just how Ashe and Markus likes their coffee, and is always sure to pay their drinks a little extra attention and fill them to the brim

(This does eventually cause a problem where Ashe and Markus only like the coffee she makes, because it’s never right when someone else does it)

Ashe is a grad student at a local university, working on her M.S. in environmental sciences and was just looking for a nice place to do her work and forcibly keep her body awake 

Then she fell for the barista, resulting in even longer periods of time spent at the shop and even more coffee nervously chugged down because Was Firi looking at me or was that just my imagination

Markus the guitarist is cute too, she supposes, but she’s too stressed about his occasional flirting with Firi to think about it for too long 

She’s pretty sure he’s constantly glaring at her to psych her out

(Spoiler: He was staring, and it wasn’t because he was trying to compete with her for Firi’s attention)

After much flirting and skirting around it, Ashe finally asks out Firi, who responds with a cheery "Yes!“

Markus overhears and congratulates them (“well it was about time”) when Firi invites him along on the date

“I mean, if its alright with you Ashe, of course”

Surprised and a little reluctant, Ashe agrees

And much to her shock they all have a wonderful time! The date is all laughter and compliments and kindness, and she’s pretty sure there isn’t a moment when she’s not smiling 

So they book the next date

And the next

15. things you said with too many miles between us

Something of a modern!au I guess!

“I miss you,” Aesling said, with a small sniffle, “so damn much right now.”

Markus angled his phone, trying to make sure she had a clear view of him, and grimaced at the sadness in her voice.

“Ashe, the semester is almost over, I’ll be back before you kn-”

“I miss your coffee, your dumb jokes, hell, even the way you mutter in your sleep…” She continued, half-smiling, before rubbing furiously at her eyes with a sleeve, “It’s been almost a year since you left, an’ now you’re telling me you can’t make it for our anniversary?” 

“Dandelion,” Her old nickname slipped off his tongue without thinking, and he was rewarded with a embarrassed huff and shy smile from his girlfriend, “I’ll make this up to you. I promise.”

“Like, I really, really promise. In less than two months, I’ll be on the plane back, and then… and then I won’t have to leave again, not for a while. Not for a long time.”

She sighed, running a hand through her messy white hair, “Alright… I can live with that.”

“Well, technically, you’ll have to. I sold my apartment, remember? We’re finally moving in together.” He laughed, glad she had brightened up.