dream chaser

Whatever conversation they were having prior to the younger blonde's question fell by the wayside in favor of whatever it was that was clearly on the other's mind, Sage playing clueless despite the fact that she may have had a slight inkling as to what it was. Her little foray with Yasemin at the recent charity ball had gotten back to her sister, and despite doing absolutely nothing to try and keep it from getting back to her, she was still just a little taken aback by Asher's bluntness. What had she expected when she'd shown up to a charity ball with all of Asher's coworkers on the arm of her best friend?

Her temper had always gotten the best of her, even as a teenager, it was Sage who'd been the levelheaded one between them. Too many jokes had been passed around that it was a wonder they'd even let her into medical school in the first place. With age came maturity and with maturity came with a little bit more control, but clearly not enough. What little calm she'd possessed had melted away the moment her older sister acted as if she'd never heard of such a terrible thing before, even if someone she had deemed trustworthy had given her the full rundown on how the night had gone and just how cozy the older Franklin had gotten to her best friend.

"Ha ha, very funny," Sage mimicked an incredibly faux laugh, complete with an eye roll that only mocked annoyance. Being compared to their dad wasn't something that struck as deeply for her as the other ever intended for it to, knowing that both had grown up with a completely different father figure, as far as life experiences went. While she'd gotten a dad who was attentive and stable for nine years of her life, one whose side she would always stick by, successfully being labeled a daddy's girl by anyone who knew the Franklin family, Asher had gotten a father who was barely present, leaving the parental duties to the older sister more often than not.

The other's mocking tone, playful or not, struck a nerve within the younger Franklin that couldn't quite be ignored. How dare the other think that she had any right to that kind of response when she'd been playing secret keeper. Red hot anger flowed freely through her veins and every pulse point hammered harshly as if threatening to go and hemorrhage in retaliation to how she felt. "There has to be something you can do for him to stop the flakes, right? I work with people, not animals." She didn't flash a grin or any kind of playful look towards her sister. Instead, she stewed over the truth she'd choked down not long ago and fought as it clawed it's way back up.

Silent nights felt like something that was made up purely for a good Christmas carol, because she hadn't seen many of those since Maggie was born (and even before that, she'd had her late nights full of bad decisions at the bar and even further, Ruby). However, that night had gone as sweet as the carol, with the tiny blonde settling into bed early and Sage able to clean up the kitchen, wrap some presents she subsequently shoved under the tree, and settle down with some wine and a comfy blanket.

The younger Franklin had contemplated coming home at all and if it weren't for the sleeping toddler a floor above, she probably wouldn't have even bothered. A surge of emotion had sparked in her veins upon seeing how casually her sister had settled into the couch and how little worry she had of virtually anything. Had she no shame in the parade she'd put on with a woman Asher had considered her best friend? One of her coworkers had mentioned seeing Sage in attendance, no surprise, but the added bit about Yas being wrapped around her arm had thrown the surgeon-to-be for an unpleasant loop. Her sister... her best friend... what the fuck?

A snort of amusement fell from Dani's nose as she watched the other's eyes roll in the dim light of dusk. It felt like the noise echoed over the eerily quiet grounds, no hungry growls or screams to be heard for miles, though the memories of such laid faintly in the back of her mind forever. Just the sounds of people chattering in the distance, laughs occasionally bursting through the air. "I've heard she has one that wears a sweater... completely naked otherwise. Might be a little up your alley?" Though, she couldn't help but assume that if a cat that looked like a washed up rat with baby smooth skin was up anyone's alley, the last thing they'd want to do is go near it.

Allergy aside, dogs were far more her speed. They served more of a purpose than cats ever could. Besides, who wanted a pet with murder mittens and that only had an interest in being loved when it wanted? "Hard pass," she countered smoothly. There were a hundred other things she would have wanted to do, but she assumed that was the whole playful point. "If you ever confirm though..." she trailed off, neck craning to the side as amusement welled in her chest, "let me know?" Partly out of curiosity, mostly for a good laugh.

She never thought that he was a particularly bad guy, just someone who's presence in her sister's life annoyed her, mostly because she was bored and thought teasing him was fun. The days of teasing fun were long gone, buried with her sister, and in their place remained a heightened sense of anxiety struggling to rip apart every fiber of her being. It was somehow like drowning and being burned alive all at once. The man's words from just a few weeks before echoed in her ears, the threat that initially made her place the call with the private investigator in the first place. She scoffed slightly, just loud enough to show her disbelief without tempting to wake up the sleeping girl in the room nearby. "She's moving in with me. That's what you said. You aren't her mother. Does that ring a bell?" Asher knew that emotions had been heightened in that moment, but it didn't mean he wasn't saying something he meant deep down. People often spoke what they wanted to when they knew they had nothing to lose. "I know I have no right to her," the blonde admitted, voice quieting to not much more than an utterance of syllables smashed together to make what she knew they both knew was the truth. "Legally... biologically. But she's my life. You have Alex and your brother and your parents here... she's all I have left and I'll do everything in my power not to lose her too."

For once, he didn't want to roll over and give someone what they wanted because it was easier than fighting for his own needs. What he and Sage had before her early departure from the world had worked, but it wasn't exactly coparenting if the other side of the parental coin was Maggie's aunt. His respect for Asher was the only reason he wasn't immediately shutting it down with a bitter scoff, though one burned at the back of his throat. "Why would her living with me change anything? She could still stay here a couple of days a week. I mean, when it comes to school, I have to sign all of the paperwork. I have to sign her medical stuff. I'm the one who has the rights and I don't know. I just thought that," he trailed off, shaking his head. Sure, he had Alex, but the child's mother was her primary caretaker. He had rights, but the woman didn't need his signature on most things. "You mean a brother who can't stand me and parents who act like they never wanted me? Sure. I'm just surrounded by people who give a shit."

Her time had been split between secret meetings outside of the walls and pretending to be someone she just wasn't anymore inside of them — but somewhere in between fit a semblance of normalcy, one that she sometimes felt herself slipping away to, relaxing into the sight of Rey from across the dining hall, an old community center where the neighborhood would often meet for dinner before everyone eventually parted ways again to go about their evening, whether that happened to be a certain job in the community they had to take care of or loved ones they had left to spend time with. It was difficult for Dani to wrap her head around, people acting like they were still existing a decade ago when the world outside of the walls had gone to shit. It was a delusion she'd never let herself fall into and, soon enough, the people inside would realize they'd mistakenly fell into too.

Trusting that the walls would hold had been difficult at first. She'd awoke with so many nightmares that they'd opted to house her with a founding family for the first few months. Their home was nicer than the others, but the care and attention they'd offered her had gone a long way into her trust. They'd protected her, had welcomed her in and had given her a job based on what she'd told them. A nurse, she'd lied. Why the hell hadn't they questioned her more? What she knew wasn't from any kind of schooling, no, it was all thanks to the woman who'd found her way into the same group by mistake. If the dead wasn't the most ironic thing about the world, then seeing Dani again most certainly was.

Her sister had been old school; go to a mattress, test a dozen mattresses, and overpay to have the nicest one delivered to her home. Asher didn't have the time or energy for that process, the convenience of a mattress being delivered by an online website in a simple box more appealing to her, even if the quality wasn't on par with what she could have gotten in a local furniture store. "I've slept on plenty and they've been comfortable enough," She told him, focusing on her reflection in the mirror in a feeble attempt to mask the fact that she'd banged her dead sister's baby daddy the night before. The guilt threatened to eat her alive before her foundation even dried. "Because in case you haven't noticed, this is a one man show." Asher argued, capping her mascara before turning around to face him. "The last thing I need is for you to show up in some court claiming that I can't handle taking care of her and that you should have her fulltime. I can't... I won't let her down like that."

He wasn't sure where the lack of trust had been bred between them. He'd wanted his daughter more, but he wasn't looking to kick Asher from the picture. She'd lost more than he had with Sage and pulling Maggie away would have been cruel. He was a lot of things, but he wasn't that. "Right." He saw the way she looked at him through the mirror, could see the regret in her eyes. If she were trying to hide it, she'd done a shit job. The base of the bed creaked as he pushed himself up from it once more, this time, he was at least dressed. "Why do you think I'm going to take her? I'm not some bad guy who's trying to get on the inside," he assured between slow steps towards the bathroom where she stood. Even while towering over her, he felt small. "I don't want to take her from you. I wouldn't do that to her. Just because I'm offering to help doesn't mean there's some ulterior motive. Come on, you gotta trust me more than that."

Relaxing wasn't usually a motto she followed, especially when it came to the two things that were most important to her now; Maggie and her job, both of which required her to have her shit together. "I'll probably just order one that comes in a box when I have the time," She told him, shutting down any offer of help he'd given. She could do it, she had the money and the will, just never much of the time and in the end, why fix what wasn't broken? Of course, it'd occurred to her that there was a not-so-old mattress in the room across the hallway from her own, but she would rather sleep another twenty years on her own before she ever step foot in that room. Asher knew it would be awhile before she worked up the courage and admitted to herself that her sister wasn't coming back.

Right. People no longer went into stores to pick out the most comfortable mattress in the bunch. No, they ordered them in boxes, let them set for a day or two, and only then were they ready for use. "Are those really any good? I mean, they come in a box. How comfortable can they be?" He'd paid a bit too much for the mattress at his place a couple of months earlier, the suggestion having come from the very blonde who was no longer with them. Apparently, his bed wasn't nearly as comfortable as hers. It was funny looking back on it, but now he much preferred the couch. At least he didn't feel so alone when backed into the cushions.

Her eyes ached more than anything and no doubt there were puffy remnants of the way she'd settled into sleep the night before, heated droplets falling onto the man who now sat at the edge of her bed until they'd eventually slowed and she'd fallen asleep herself. The sun peeked through the window in the room, curtain-less as usual, preferring to wake up with the sun when she had the opportunity to sleep in later than her five in the morning alarm usually allowed. "Shit, what time is it?" Asher mumbled immediately as she opened her eyes, rubbing her hands against the aching corners of her eyelids as she sat up and tapped at the screen of her phone. It thankfully wasn't a day she had to be into work earlier than eight and she assumed if it were after that time, Maggie would have long-since barged into her room. From the sounds of the silent house outside of her bedroom, it seemed like her niece was still fast asleep down the hallway.

He wasn't convinced that one night of screwing the grief away had fixed everything between them. In fact, the only thing he was certain of was that it might have done quite the opposite. "Relax, it's early enough." His routine of waking up with the sun wasn't one that he favored, but his days were far too busy to sleep even a couple of extra minutes away. "If you ever needed a hand, I could help. Just point me in the right direction. I've got the hitch on the jeep and a trailer that doesn't get nearly enough use. Or you know, if they deliver, I could always hang out and point them in the right direction." The joke left a pang of guilt coursing through him. If it wasn't her room they'd try and drop the mattress in, it was Sage's room and that stung a little bit more than he'd wanted it to.

There was an ache to answer his question, the easing smirk that had quickly curved on her lips buried along with her words in the way their lips were pressed together, the way his palms settled against her cheeks and his thumb softly brushed against her damp skin was enough to make her forget about any words that had almost made it to the tip of her tongue. She had no clue what she was doing or what this was, but Asher found herself voicing a whispered noise of complaint as they parted, the action in itself leaving her wanting more, even as the water surrounding them turned from boiling to cold in one swift moment. Swiftly, she switched the handle into the off position, killing the shower and leaving them standing in the chill of the air as droplets from their skin dripped onto the shower floor.

He wasn't sure how long he'd held her against his chest, or when sleep had consumed him. His fingers had traced shapes into the dip of her back up until he'd been lulled to sleep by the sound of his own thudding heart. It was the flicker of light that had him blinking awake, the sun's rays welcoming them into the following morning. How long had they been out? Was Maggie wandering through the home looking for the blonde and if so, what were the odds she'd come stumbling into the room? Regretfully, Atlas peeled himself from the woman's side and brushed at the sleep in his eyes. It couldn't have been too late and considering there was no quiet padding in the hallway, it was safe to assume that Maggie had yet to stir.

There were so many stages throughout the night where she should have stopped, looked around, and wondered what in the hell she was doing and yet, there she was, naked and in the shower with the same man who managed to knock her sister up four years prior and who hadn't exactly been shy about messing around with the woman they'd both lost in the time after that. Asher couldn't help but wonder what this was for him; an outlet for the grief and anger he felt from the loss or, possibly, a way to get even a little bit close to the woman who he no longer had? They both had their own agendas, their own feelings they were trying to bury in their weird bubble for the night, to forget about until it all inevitably came crashing back down again. She'd lean into it, into him, if it meant avoiding that for as long as possible. And, while she would never tell him straight to his face, he wasn't half bad at anything he had done that night, including the way he moved his fingers against her scalp, rubbing to soap through the wet blonde strands, eliciting a soft moan of approval that tumbled from her lips. "C'mon, you can't tell me you weren't a hairstylist in some past life," She half-complimented, a teasing grin lifting the corners of her lips just slightly as she tilted her head back into his touch. It felt good, to have someone care for her after being the one taking care of everything over the last few weeks, the one responsible for funerals and wakes and bills and her dad an her niece and still waking up and going to work every morning.

Atlas was the epitome of a gentle giant, despite his long rap sheet and tendency to get himself kicked out of bars. All he'd ever wanted was to give someone the softest parts of himself, but how could he when he always ruined it? Sage had been different though. She hadn't cared much about his past and cared even the less about what the future would hold for either of them. Good fun, they'd said. Absolutely no strings attached and yet, when he'd lost her, it felt like he'd lost a part of himself. For the first time since that loss, he felt somewhat whole as his fingers curled into the golden locks of another. Maybe it wouldn't last and come morning, he'd back to feeling that void, but for one night... he felt like everything would be okay. "Maybe I was, maybe I wasn't. I've heard you can make bank. Think I've got a chance?"

There was a pressure lingering above her, a daunting feeling of being in the middle of one of those machines that crush cars or create solid cubes from garbage, one slip up and she'd be folding under that pressure and smashed to smithereens. She wondered if this would be the slip that managed to do her in; the way her her heartbeat picked up just slightly against her chest as her gaze caught Atlas' and she chose to ignore it in favor of glancing away to turn on the water and crank it up to 'melt steel beams kinda hot'. It was what she felt like she needed after their rendezvous downstairs, a level of heat that would manage to burn his touch from her skin, to melt off every single fingerprint he'd left behind. Of course, that method would have worked had they not been showering together in the first place, something that felt oddly even more intimate than the moment they'd just shared in the kitchen. "You coming in or are you just going to stand there all day?" Asher questioned, sticking her head out of the shower after she'd stepped in, hair already slightly damp, as she noticed his thoughts seemed to be somewhere else. She couldn't blame him. The flames that had ignited less than an hour before had simmered, leaving behind a numb feeling of avoidance instead, dreading when the sun would come up and they'd be left with an awkwardness about them.

For one night and one night alone, he'd lean into the reprieve offered by the one person who needed it as much as he did. Was it logical? Perhaps not. It hit too close to home and more likely than not, regret would follow, but for the night, it could be whatever they needed it to be and he saw that in every brief look they shared. "I was thinking about standing here a little longer. Really let the heat sink in," he hummed as he slowly trekked towards the shower before stepping into what he could only explain as the closest he'd ever get to hell. The warmth immediately consumed him and eased the ache in his bones that he hadn't even known was there. "You weren't joking about liking it hot." He took a single step closer, fingers brushing against her sides as the steam rolled up around them. "Turn around," he directed quietly, hands aiding her in his soft request. Stepping back, he tugged her beneath the water's drizzle and lifted his hands to course through her golden locks. If he couldn't take care of himself, at least he could do something for her. "And a little that way," he exhaled, only pulling away to lather her shampoo into his hands before he made decent work out of massaging it into her scalp. "You gotta tell me if I'm doing this right. I don't really do this often."

She was vaguely aware of how exposed she was as Atlas nudged her from the counter, her body slick with sweat from the heat of the moment. "Yeah," was the only thing that left her lips in a breath, head nodding in agreement as her gaze broke from his only to look around the counters, trying to find a piece of clothing she would be willing to pull back onto her body. There was absolutely no way she was tugging a pair of jeans up damp thighs, the thought alone was enough to send a shiver down her spine, and instead opted for the shirt that belonged to the man in front of her, pulling it over her head and stepping away from him and toward the stairs, her hand gliding along his arm for a millisecond as she passed by. She'd deal with the rest of her clothes in the morning.

A sense of longing hit him the moment they peeled away from one another. He watched in silence as she scooped his shirt from the floor and slipped it over her shoulders as if it were something she'd done a thousand times before. Atlas cleared his throat and swallowed down the need that now lingered in his bones. It wasn't fire fueled or desire driven, but it was something else that he wasn't willing to touch on in that moment. So, as her fingertips grazed against his skin, he forced a smile to his mouth and swiped his briefs from the kitchen floor, followed by his jeans.

Feeling the man's warmth spread inside of her as his lips pressed firmly against her own was enough to bring her back from the deep edge she'd tipped off of not a moment before, cheeks flushing with a heat that only seemed like it was meant for the other and she couldn't help but wonder how she'd gotten to the point of allowing Atlas to see her as anything akin to flustered. Her chest lifted as she tried to catch up with every breath that fell from her lips, her slightly sweaty forehead against his own, every muscle in her body still pulsating with the pleasure he'd caused. Her hands on his shoulders gave a little, leaving behind temporary marks of their time spent together, of how he managed to make her feel during that time. Asher was hesitant to pull away, finding herself regretting the guilt that was going to eat her alive after that night and the wave of memories and trauma that would return soon after.

Nothing could have made him walk through that front door and out into the real world where his pain and longing for someone who was never coming back would hit him full force. He wasn't nearly delusional enough to believe that their bubble could last forever, but it could last for the night and that was enough. Tongue trailed over her bottom lip as he inched back, forehead still pressed against hers as he nodded in response to her question. "We should," he hummed, voice dropping low as he tugged her from the counter. Their clothes were spread out on the floor, a fact he wouldn't forget come morning. "We should shower."