Hideous (Andley)

Beautiful

A/N: I know I said I wouldn't update anything all month, but I had a rly long car ride today so yeah

Andy awoke with a start, chest rising and falling rapidly as beads of sweat dotted his shaking body. He had just had the most peculiar dream- or... was it a nightmare?

Ashley seemed to share the feeling mutually, as he had, almost instantly after Andy, provided the same reaction.
They shared an equally confused glance, before Ashley got off the bed and staggered his way to the bathroom through the dark bedroom.

"Uh- You okay?" Andy cleared his throat, rubbing his eyes and pulling his knees up to rest his elbows on.
Ashley nodded as he turned the light on in the bathroom. "Sure." He muttered and leaned down to the sink as he lifted the handle. He cupped his hands together and held them under the steady stream of cold water, splashing it into his face a few times before he grabbed the towel behind him and buried his face in it. "What about you?" He looked over at Andy.

Andy shrugged and ran a hand through his hair. "I guess... Just- I dunno." He sighed heavily, voice still hoarse and groggy. He heard the light switch click in the bathroom and soon after felt a weight on Ashley's side of the bed. An arm slithered around Andy and pulled him close.

"Bad dream, too?" Ashley asked.
Andy nodded. "Yeah. It was so... real. It felt really, really real."
"Yeah." Ashley said and looked at the bed. "Me too."

They sat in silence for a good, long while, in each others arms comfortably.
Neither of the two could put a point on it, but something was definitely odd about the coincidence of them both awaking simultaneously, in the same startled manner, with the same startling dream. It was never spoken out loud but they could tell just by looking in the eyes of their partner that it was the same dream.
Something about it just... felt real. It felt familiar. It felt like watching a movie and knowing deep down you had seen it all before but not being able to remember a single detail of it. That's how the dream felt.
Neither Andy or Ashley could remember much of it, but then again, they didn't really want to.
They wanted to tuck it away into the deepest and darkest corner of their mind, where it'll be forgotten. Where it'll be... nothing more than a bad dream.

The two of them laid in the calming silence for the remainder of the night. Ashley's fingers found their way into Andy's long dark hair, gently combing out the snarls and knots.

"Should I cut it?" Andy mused softly, voice soft and low. He looked up at Ashley with only his eyes, not wanting to move out of the warmth of his embrace.
Ashley shrugged and continued to twirl strands between this fingers.
"If you want to... but I'll miss having this mop." He teased lightly. Andy rolled his eyes.
"You're not the one who has to deal with the mop."

Ashley leaned down and pressed his lips to Andy's forehead. His lips lingered, but Andy didn't mind. The gentle and tender contact sent waves of comfort and adoration through his body. When Ashley moved back, Andy burrowed into him closer.
"So... are you gonna cut your hair, or not?" Ashley hummed.
Andy shrugged. "I dunno. Depends. Will you be totally heart broken?"
"Not totally." Ashley gave him a lopsided grin. "I'm kidding, baby. I think you'd look very nice with short hair."

Andy sat up finally. "In that case, let's get to it." He climbed off of the bed.
He began to make his way to the bathroom, but paused a moment to glance out the window.
"Do you think it's just coincidence we both had the same dream last night?" He asked out of the blue, which earned a raised eyebrow in response from Ashley.
"What else would it be? We both had a few shots last night, not to mention we watched a bunch of cheesy horror movies and made fun of them. That's probably what it was." He rubbed his eyes and got up as well.
Andy rolled his tongue against the inside of his cheek. As much as he wanted to accept it as the truth, there was the tiniest tug at his gut that told him there was something more.

"Yeah. You're probably right." He said despite his doubt.
Ashley stopped beside him and sighed, looking over the younger man with a pitiful gaze. "You're okay, sweetheart. You're just a bit shaken, that's normal when you have a night terror." He connected their lips briefly and then proceeded to go into the bathroom and start the shower. "Now cmon. Let's get that mop of yours washed and chopped."
Andy ran a hand through his snarled hair and smiled faintly.
"Yeah, yeah... I'm coming."

Within a matter of hours, before noon, Andy's hair had been carefully cut off. Neither of the two men had realized that it was still morning when they had begun, but neither cared. They had nowhere to be, nothing to do. They had the day to themselves.
Andy stood in front of the mirror, a soft smile on his lips as he examined his new hair cut. It was shaved on the sides and short at the top. The black hair dye was fading at the roots, he could see the faint hint of dirty blonde peeking out from the jet black. He saw, in the mirror, Ashley reenter the bathroom, having put on a fresh pair of clothes. Blue skinny jeans with a significant amount of rips, and a classic red and black checkered flannel.

"Hey there, stranger." Ashley slid his arms around his waist from behind, resting his chin on Andy's shoulder.
Andy chuckled. "Hey yourself, handsome."
Ashley swayed a bit, and Andy moved with him. "Who are you, and what did you do with my boyfriend, hm?"  He murmured.
Andy rolled his eyes, turning around to have his back to the counter. "Ha ha. Very funn-"
Ashley cut him off by forcefully kissing him, and their lips moved in sync almost immediately.
The kiss wasn't one of overwhelming lust, Andy would be able to tell if it was. He'd already be stripped and on the bed by now if that were the case.
But here they stood, embraced in a deep, loving kiss. There was passion and love and so many other emotions bubbling inside of them both. The only odd thing was how sudden it was. Usually there'd be mushy small talk before a kiss as deep and sincere as the one they were currently engaged in.

Ashley was first to pull away, and Andy stared at him curiously. "What was that?" He laughed breathily.
Ashley shrugged and pulled him closer.
"Can I not kiss my beautiful, stunning, indescribably handsome and immeasurably gorgeous boyfriend?" Ashley cooed, grinning when he saw the blush creep up Andy's cheeks and stain the delicate ivory skin a rosy pink.
"Well- yeah but-" Andy couldn't hide his small smile. "Why so sudden?"
This question got Ashley thinking. He looked up at the ceiling momentarily.
"I dunno.  I guess I got the overwhelming sense that... I'm just- God damnit, Andy. I'm just so lucky to have you, and you should be reminded of how much I love you every day. And if I ever lost you I don't know how I'd be able to deal with that. You're my whole world. I just- wow, I love you." Ashley kissed him again.

Andy smiled and kissed back for a moment before pushing him a bit. "I'm gonna shower quick to rinse off all the stray pieces of hair, ok?" He laughed softly. "So... privacy please."
Ashley grinned. "What? It's not like I haven't seen it all before."
Andy rolled his eyes and hit his shoulder. "Go." He sighed.
Ashley laughed and left the bathroom, leaving Andy by himself. He shut the door and looked at his reflection briefly before going to turn the shower back on. He stopped and whirled back around, having thought he saw something a bit... off about it. He thought his eyes had changed some shade of purple or something, but looking back, they were a normal dull blue. He shrugged it off, blaming it on the poor bathroom lighting and the lack of sleep before undressing and stepping into the shower.

What he didn't know, though, was that somewhere deep into his mind, there was a beast that was locked away. That was something that would hopefully remain unknown, forever.
And currently was unknown to Andy.
Everything seemed fine. Everything seemed normal. And hopefully it'd stay that way.

A/N: hi this the end yo I hope you enjoyed yet another train wreck written by yours truly. I ended this in a way that would hopefully serve as a good, satisfactory ending but would work as a set up for a potential sequel in the future??? That isn't a guarantee so like dont expect it please thnx❤ thank you for reading this though seriously, it was fun! Love you fam