Random Angst And Fluff

Bad Habits

Tw: mentions of past bad habits re-arising, past rape, past drug addiction, and possible confusion since this isn't part of a revealed Canon timeline yet

Anything not in English was translated on Google!

"Hey, have any of you seen Ash?" Victor questioned the small group in the living room, "I've checked everywhere I could think of."

"Think he said something about going to the gym room," Isaac answered, "he's been there since breakfast, I think..."

Victor nodded, "Thanks Izzy," he then sunk out, appearing in the gym room just as Ash ran pass him.

Victor watched for a moment, concerned when he saw that none of the equipment seems to have been used. He ran over as Ash stumbled, rolling into the wall with a pained grunt.

"Ash! Are you alright?" Victor asked his boyfriend as he helped him stand, his concern growing when he saw just how exhausted and battered Ash looked, "Sit down, you look like you need a break."

"I-I'm fine" Ash gasped out, shaking his head, not quite fighting his boyfriend who dragged him over to a bench.

"Obviously you're not," Victor argued, summoning a water bottle when he realized there wasn't one already in the gym, "Drink."

Ash shook his head, coughing slightly as he pushed the water away, "Can't. Gotta keep running..."

Victor sighed, forcing Ash to sit on the bench, "You will drink some water and take a break." He frowned when Ash tried to get back up, "Ash, sit down. You need to hydrate."

Ash shook his head, squinting his eyes as he tried to make out the numbers on the clock, "I'm fine... just need to run for thirty more minutes..."

Victor rolled his eyes, getting slightly annoyed and even more worried, "Ash, sit your ass down, drink some water, and relax."

Ash looked at his boyfriend, seeming to weigh his options before reluctantly taking the water. Victor sat next to him, surprised to see Ash down almost the whole bottle before putting the lid back on it and going almost completely limp.

"How long have you been running?" Victor questioned, he had a feeling he didn't want to know...

"Shit..." Ash mumbled, "Four and a half hours? There were a lot of tumbles..." he shook his head, staring at the floor intently as his vision begins going in and out.

Victor's mouth dropped slightly, "Why would you run that long? You're absolutely exhausted, you did it without water, you can't push your body that far!" Victor placed a hand on Ash's cheek, making Ash look at him, "Why did you push yourself this far?"

"I just needed to let off some steam..." he lied, Victor didn't need to know that he was punishing himself for what happened with Matrix.

"For being the brother to the literal embodiment of deception, you're a terrible liar," Victor comments, causing Ash to laugh lightly, "Tell me the truth."

Ash shook his head, "That is-"

"The truth Ash."

Ash looked at a spot on the bench, eyes tracing the wood markings, "Don't worry about it... old habits die hard..."

Victor frowned slightly, "What old habits? Is this about what happened with Matrix?" He saw Ash flinch and begin fidgeting with his gloves, "Oh, hun, that was a week ago... we fixed that already..."

Ash shook his head slowly, "I still hurt you though... and I hurt Isaac, Varian, and I'm the reason their relationship-"

"Ash, you've already stated that you didn't want Matrix to kiss you, and you didn't know it would happen," Victor tried to comfort Ash, "and we already knew that their relationship was toxic, so now they have a chance to fix it."