Hanahaki

t e n

- Dedicated to enpenn2003 for being a cool kid -

×××

With a slight smile of his own, Ashton wraps his arms around Tobi in response. Her grip tightens slightly and he chuckles. When he does, she feels it reverberate through his entire body and shake her own. Once he's finished chuckling and still with his smile intact, he asks her, "So what did you run all the way here to tell me, anyway?" 

Tobi's face flushes and she blinks rapidly, searching her mind for any kind of excuse. Quickly separating from him and turning away so he can't see her now red face, she waves him off by saying, "It's not important right now."

Ashton makes a face but doesn't say anything. Instead, he tilts his head and stares at her inquisitively, his eyes narrowed in concentration. Finally, he shrugs with a sigh and replies, "Alright, I guess." When she doesn't respond, he walks past her and bumps her shoulder as he passes. He turns to look at her, a teasing smile dancing on his lips only to see her deep in thought. "Hey, Tobi." She jumps and looks up at him, a smile broadening his face. "You hungry?"

When her face breaks into a smile, Ashton's eyes soften. "Sure am. How'd ya know?" 

Giving another laugh, he starts towards the kitchen, saying, "Just my amazing intuition." 

❀❀❀

"You know, I totally could've cooked this by myself," Ashton whines as he leans back in one of the dining room chairs. 

Tobi laughs as she continues preparing the dinner. "Okay, well you had me a little worried when you were having trouble turning on the stove, so," She trails off and throws a teasing smile his way. "Forgive me for not believing in your amazing cooking skills." 

Throwing his arms up in mock surrender, he pouts, "Hey, no need for sarcasm." 

She chuckles as she strains the noodles in the sink. "Yeah, okay, Ashton." 

Following her sarcastic statement is a long silence filled only by the sounds of Tobi preparing their dinner. Finally, out of nowhere, Ashton says with a shrug, "Y'know, I think I'm okay with you calling me Ash now." 

Glancing at him from the corner of her eye, Tobi hums, "Oh yeah? What's with that all of a sudden?" 

Ashton hums and puts the legs of the chair back on the floor, his leg bouncing. "I dunno why I don't like people calling me that anymore." He sighs and drags a hand through his unruly black curls. "I think it just... When Nira had just passed away, all it did was remind me of her. I dunno, it's kinda dumb, but I just couldn't handle it. It drove me crazy every time. My own name made me feel guilty, so I just told people to start calling me Ashton again." 

Tobi pauses and turns her head to face him fully, a soft look to her eyes. He flushes and continues, "But after what you said earlier," After a short pause, he offers a slight smile to her. "I think it's okay." 

Offering him a wide smile in return, she turns back to the stove and hums, "I'm glad. That I could help you, I mean." She gives an airy laugh and pours the steaming noodles into the pot on the counter followed by the sauce and meat. "You're always so helpful and considerate with all my Hanahaki business, so it makes me happy to know that I could do the same for you." As she stirs all of the contents together, she adds with a grin, "And I hope that I can continue to be there for you for a long time." Even as she said it though, she knew that she wouldn't be able to. Her disease was progressing too fast for her to continue to be there for him like this.