haze / afi

part 38. best christmas ever

waking up on christmas morning, usually there would be snow. at least, that's what violet is used to. this is the first time she's experiencing a dry christmas, no snow, just bright sunshine.

ashton is first to wake up. even before his alarm has sounded to wake them both. the first thing he notices is the loss of warmth against his body from violet.

opening his eyes, he sees she must've moved during the night. she's close, body turned away from him, head still resting on his pillow.

before doing anything, he grabs his phone, seeing it's 8:50am. he's quick to turn his alarm off before it gets a chance to make any noise.

after doing so, he puts his phone down, rolling over towards violet. hooking his arms around her waist, he pulls her towards him so her back is resting against his chest. 

holding her tight against him, he leans down, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek. then another. and another. only then, does she begin to stir. he continues with the cheek kisses, not thinking about stopping anytime soon.

hearing a quiet giggle from violet, he knows she's definitely awake now. she opens her eyes, tilting her head back to look at ashton beside her. who presses one last lingering kiss to her now rosy cheeks.

"good morning," she cheerfully greets. "merry christmas."

"merry christmas." he replies with a smile. "how did you sleep?"

"really good," she shuffles herself, turning so she can hug ashton. "especially after you sang to me."

she glances up at ashton, noticing he didn't seem sure about whether she enjoyed hearing him sing or not.

"your voice is beautiful, ash," she smiles. "you basically put me to sleep with how calming your singing is."

"you really liked it?"

"course i did," she reassures. "why are you so unsure about your singing?"

"i never sing for anyone," he explains. "and when i do sing, i'm usually alone trying to write my emotions into songs, or figuring out guitar chords."

"was the song last night one that you wrote?"

he nods, "i wrote it about us, about you," he tucks her hair behind her ear as she keeps listening closely to what he's saying. "it's not completely finished, but you weren't feeling great so i hoped it would help."

"it did," she confirms. taking his hand in hers to intwine their fingers. "i love it."

she smiles again as he leans down to kiss her forehead. they lay together like this, tangled up, in silence, enjoying being in each others arms.

she couldn't remember the last time someone held her like this. made her feel safe. ashton does. he makes her feel as though she'll always be protected, and he'd make sure of that.

"what's your christmas normally like?" ashton asks. "tell me about the good things."

"well, the past couple christmas' i remember waking up to snow," she explains. "i'd get up, go outside in the snow, make a snowman. i love the snow, that's one of the only things i miss about ohio."

"i wouldn't know what that's like," ashton chuckles. "we get warm weather in sydney, and it never snows here."

"i'll take you to ohio one time, when it snows." she suggests. "that'll be fun."

ashton nods in agreement, then letting her continue to talk.

"we'd open presents, eat breakfast, then i'd get ready for the day." she says. "my grandparents were always first to arrive, and they'd always bring their dog—"