A Human’s Guide to Surviving Magical Mishaps

There are a few moments where the room is dead silent. Then Ashton makes a strange choking sound and Fin starts laughing so hard that he flares his wings out which in turn causes him to roll off the couch, landing awkwardly on the floor between the couch and coffee table. There's a crunching sound where he smashes his elbow into the table followed by a groan of pain.

"I am fine." Fin calls out while pulling himself up off of the floor. Somehow between grunts of pain he is STILL laughing. Fin is usually so reserved and somehow that makes this so much more embarrassing.

"It's not THAT funny." I tell him blandly, hoping it's too dark for him to realise how much I'm blushing. This was not meant to cause so much drama. Ashton still hasn't answered me and I'm trying to figure out if I asked for something that was more of a big deal than I thought. I hurry to explain myself further.noveldrama

"Just to make sure I don't drown or anything." I add. Ashton finally seems to pull himself together. After Fin's reaction I kind of expect him to say no and explain that it's a bad idea. Instead he steps forward, loops his arm around my waist and starts tugging me towards the hallway.

"That sounds like fun. We should go do that. Right now." His words are innocent enough but the urgency in his tone makes me look up at him suspiciously. Fin is still laughing. I plant my feet and pull us both to a stop in front of the bathroom doors, narrowing my eyes at Ashton suspiciously. I step away from him and poke him in the chest.

"This is just for safety, alright. Nothing else. I trust you to keep your eyes and every other part of you to yourself." I say firmly. In the dark hall I can't really see his expression clearly but I think he's smiling. Still, he nods.

"Of course." He agrees easily as he opens the bathroom door and gestures for me to enter. I stay where I am, suddenly second guessing my decision to ask for his help. He seems way too happy about being basically asked to sit on the bathroom floor with his back to me. That can't actually be fun. Ashton takes my hand gently and kisses it.

"Relax. I will be a perfect gentleman. I am just pleased that you trust me enough to ask." He explains, clearly seeing that I'm nervous.

"Okay..." I walk past him into the bathroom and start running the water.

"Also I want to make it clear, I'm not drunk. At MOST I'm tipsy. But I'm fairly sure I'm just hungover and tired." I state firmly.

"I understand."

Five minutes later I'm relaxing in a hot bath and Ashton has made himself comfortable sitting on a stack of towels. The bathroom isn't a large room so he pretty much has his back up against the tub to be facing away from me, but it's dark in here and as long as he doesn't turn around he can't see anything. Even if he did look I doubt he could see much more than patches of half washed off glowing paint. Little flakes of the paint are floating on top of the water and I make a mental note to rinse the bathtub out thoroughly later.

"So, so be clear. Keeping my eyes and every other part of me to myself, does that mean I am not allowed to speak to you? I do not want to interrupt your relaxation." He says with a sincerity that makes me want to kiss him. What woman wouldn't love a guy who is willing to stand guard on a cold tile floor so she can enjoy a nice bath?

"I'm happy to talk. Was there something specific you had in mind?" I ask.

"Not exactly. I was just wondering..." He trails off as if unsure.

"Wondering what?" I prompt him. Ashton sighs.

"I wanted to be sure that you are okay. Last time you were in your home you were attacked. It would be... Understandable if you did not feel comfortable here, or if you feel anxious or unsafe. I do not know if it is something that bothers you, or if you want to discuss it. But if you did want to talk to someone about it... I would be happy to listen." He finishes quietly. I sit up a little in the bathtub, leaning over to look at him.

"Well... It's not something that I was particularly worried about, but it seems like you might be. Are YOU okay?" I turn the question back on him. Ashton is quiet for a minute as he thinks over his answer.

"It was... Frightening for me, seeing you like that. One moment we were talking and the next I honestly believed that you were going to die. I did not know if I would be able to save you, honestly I am not totally sure HOW I managed to keep you alive. I have never used my magic that way before and I had no reason to expect it to work. I thought you were going to die, and it would have been all my fault." Ashton goes quiet again and I frown. Without thinking, I reach over the edge of the bath and stroke a hand through his hair.

"It wouldn't have been your fault. There are a million ways someone can get hurt, you can't keep me safe from everything and I wouldn't expect you to. I knew what I was doing when I volunteered to help you. I knew that the task you had taken upon yourself was difficult and potentially dangerous. My dad has been a cop my whole life, he's come home injured before and I've heard about all sorts of awful things that awful people do. The only actions you are responsible for are your own. You weren't the one who attacked me, you weren't the one who poisoned me. You warned me constantly to keep myself safe, to stay out of danger and gave me plenty of chances to back out. I chose to help you, and those fae were the ones who attacked me. Not to mention, you DID manage to save my life. No one else could have done that. Not to mention now I get to visit your home and that's pretty cool too. I'm going to look on the bright side, so you should too. Okay? Also I promise to do my best not to let myself almost die again. That wasn't particularly fun. I'm sorry I scared you so much." I finish. While I'm talking, Ashton tilts his head to lean further into my hand so I continue stroking his hair, tracing around his horns gently.

"I will... Try to keep that in mind. I hope you will forgive me if I am a little paranoid about letting you near the dangerous fae for a while. Do you understand now why fae are so careful about being touched by others. It only took a few moments and you were near death. You were poisoned, TWICE, and we had no idea. Not until it was far too late." Ashton sounds devastated. Yeah, he definitely isn't over that yet. It might take a while for him to feel secure again. It actually seems worse now that we're back here. I suppose back in his home he's comfortable. He knows the people there and he knows what to expect. As much as it feels like I've known him forever, it's only been a few weeks and we have spent most of that time investigating. I doubt he will ever be as comfortable here as he would back home.

"On the topic of touching. I am not sure how I am supposed to be keeping my distance while you touch my hair. Does that rule only apply to one of us now?" Ashton says pointedly. I yank my hand back into the bath with a small splash. "I'm so sorry. I didn't think. You're right, that was totally not fair of me." I apologise.

"You did not need to stop. I was enjoying it. I just wanted you to be aware that your actions do not quite line up with the expectations you set." he says, a hint of amusement in his voice. I guess he's right. Maybe I'm not all that worried about this situation after all.

"I... Suppose you're right. I'm actually pretty comfortable with you around. More so than I thought I would be." I admit.

"In that case, would you mind if I used this time to get cleaned up too?" He asks.