Ash woke slowly, trying to snuggle back into the warmth of the bed. She knew something had woke her up, but she couldn't place it at first. Then she heard it. Someone was singing. It was soft at first, but grew louder until Chris popped his head in the door. She couldn't help but giggle at the huge smile that he had on his face.
"Hey sleepyhead," Chris grinned even wider, if that was possible. "You hungry?"
Ash sat up, pulling the comforter up around her. She didn't know why, but she was suddenly shy and didn't want Chris to see her. Ash's stomach growled loudly, not giving her the chance to say anything and Chris chuckled. "Ok, that's a yes," he said, moving towards the bed. "I made breakfast."
"You cook too?" Ash was a bit surprised.
"Mmmm...I'm a man of many talents."
"That you are," she murmured and he kissed her quickly before leaving so she could get dressed. Ash jumped out of bed and ran to her dresser. She grabbed some clothes and headed to the bathroom, coming out a few minutes later, showered and dressed. Unable to keep the satisfied smile from her face, she went in search of Chris.
Chris had cleaned up the dinner from last night and now he had plates of eggs, bacon and toast sitting on the island. He was setting down two cups of coffee when he realized he wasn't alone. "Hey there," he said quietly.
"Hey yourself."
They each took a stool and sat, immediately digging into the food. It was simple, but Chris had gotten up and made it so, to Ash, it tasted that much better. When they finished, Chris gathered their plates and rinsed them off in the sink. He refilled their coffee and sat down again.
"Ash?"
"I wanted to talk to you about something."
"What's that?"
Ash watched as he took a sip of his coffee and frowned. "Look," he began, "I meant what I said last night. I just wanted to tell you.... just..." Chris sighed and ran his hand through his already tousled hair. Just as he opened his mouth to speak again, the door banged open and Chaz came bounding into the room. He stopped when he saw his mom and Chris sitting at the island. It was obvious that something was going on, but he wasn't sure what.
"Hey, mom," he said, "Hiya, Chris."
"Hi, Chaz." Chris and Ash spoke at the same time, but Chaz was confused when they wouldn't look him in the eye. Giving them a suspicious look, Chaz trotted off to dump his backpack in his room before heading to the bathroom. While he was in there, he saw that there were two towels on the rack and both of them were still damp. He may be just a kid, but he knew what that meant and he snickered to himself. Chris had spent the night.
When he came back out to the kitchen, his mom was still sitting at the island and Chris was talking quietly on the phone. Chaz sidled up next to his mom and grinned at her. "Way to go mom," he giggled.
"CHAZ!!"
"What? You don't think I'm dumb enough not to know that he was here all night do you?"
"I...I don't know what you're talking about."
"Mom, chill. I'm cool with it. I like Chris."
"I know I haven't talked to you about this..."
Chaz rolled his eyes and grabbed his mom by the shoulders. "Look, if you wanna date Chris or whatever, it's FINE. I don't know why you worry so much, but stop it, alright? Geez!"
Ash watched him as he went to his room and sighed. He was right. She needed to quit being so damn worried about everything. She picked up her coffee mug and went over to the sink to rinse it. She was lost in thought when a pair of arms, dusted with black hair, slipped around her waist, pulling her back against a firm body.
"I gotta go, hon," Chris said quietly. Ash turned in his arms and loosely hung hers around his neck, running her fingers through the tufts at the nape of his neck. She leaned up and pressed her lips to his, opening to him when his tongue flicked against her lips. Chris pulled her tighter to him, his hips twisting against hers, making her moan softly, before letting her go.
"How about we all go to a movie or something tomorrow?"
"I was planning on taking Chaz shopping for some new clothes. He really needs them."
"Oh."
Chris looked so disappointed that Ash had to laugh. "You could come with us if you want. It's not the excitement you're used to, but we could do something afterwards."
"Sounds great!" Chris instantly perked up again and he kissed her soundly before calling a goodbye to Chaz. There was a muffled reply from behind the door and Ash walked him out. They kissed again and she watched him until he got on the elevator. Shutting the door, Ash walked back inside and picked up the phone. She had to call Aprille.
It was almost an hour later when she finally hung up the phone and smiled. Since she was on a roll, she went to Chaz's room and knocked on the door before opening it. He was sitting at his desk, playing some kind of game on his computer and he glanced at her before going back to the images on the screen.
"Can I talk to you about something, hon?" He shrugged, figuring it was going to be another 'birds and bees' thing. He kept his eyes on the computer screen, even when his mom sat down on the chair beside his desk. "Chaz, how would you feel...if we stayed here?"
Chaz turned the computer off and stared at his mom. She hadn't just said that, had she? God, he hoped he was right about what she'd said. "What do you mean?"
"How would you feel if we stayed in California...permanently? If we didn't move back to Ohio."
Chaz's eyes grew wide and a smile was beginning to tug at his lips. "Are you serious?"
Ash nodded and Chaz jumped up from the chair, letting out a whoop of pure joy. He nearly tackled her, trying to hug her and she tightened her arms around him, knowing that it was the right decision. Now, all she had to do was make a trip back to Ohio so she could put her house up for sale and sign the papers for Aprille to buy the studio. Ash smiled when she thought about the way Aprille had shrieked when she'd offered to let her buy the studio. Ash had finally decided to stay.
~*~
"Mom," Chaz whined, "that looks stupid."
Ash was holding out a pair of jeans and a shirt for Chaz to try on, but the face he was making told her that he wouldn't wear it. Chris just hung back, shaking his head, taking it all in. It was comical watching those two together. Before Ash could stammer a reply, Chris stepped forward and laid an arm around her shoulder.
"Why don't we go look over there," he said, pointing toward the women's department, "and Chaz can come find us when he's finished?"
"Yeah, Mom," Chaz said, " I can pick out my own clothes. I'm not three anymore, ya know."
"No, you're not," Ash replied, ruffling his hair. "Alright. We'll be right over there. Just come find us when you're through." Chaz grinned and took off, his lean, gangly body loping through the racks of clothes. About an hour later Chaz had returned with what he wanted and Ash paid for them, only wincing slightly at the style.
The day went quickly after that. They went to see a movie, laughing at the antics of the characters and then ended up at Ash's loft, eating pizza and trading funny stories. It seemed like they'd been together forever. By the time Chris left, Chaz was asleep on the couch and Ash was dozing off herself. By the time she crawled under the covers, snuggling deeply into their warmth, all she could think about was the way Chris had touched her; not just physically, but emotionally as well.
The following week passed by in a blur. It seemed all they did was work on the routine and Ash was completely exhausted by the time Thursday rolled around. They had Friday off and the awards show was on Saturday. She hadn't even had time to look for anything to wear so she called Shay and Whip, setting up a date in the morning to go shopping. She'd never been to anything like this before and she wanted to find something that would be proper to wear, but that would also knock Chris's socks off.
She had yet to tell Chris about her decision as well. With all the work and preparing, there just hadn't been any time. She planned on telling him the night of the show however and was looking forward to how he would react. They also hadn't had time to talk about the night he'd stayed there. In a way, that worried her, but she was trying not to think about it too much. Chaz was happy and that's what mattered to her the most.