A Different Kind of Ballgame

Ashleen's breath hitched as his fingers found her back; she kissed him back fiercely leaning into him, rising her hands back up to his head, fingers in hair, pushing him towards her. She couldn't do this - she couldn't let him go, be alone, not have... him.

A groan ripped its way through her throat as his shirt was gone, his hand pushing hers up - skin on skin - closer than they had been before, but not close enough.

She said his name, the word coming out more of a sigh than a word as he trailed about her skin again, wiggling her hips slightly anything to get closer. Letting out another name sigh she pushed against him, flipping them over so she could lean down on him, runnning her hand over his chest, letting her hair hang around them, keeping them in their own little world, where it was just the two of them.

Tre groaned, low in the back of his throat. No matter how good it felt, no matter how relieved he was to have her against him, it was all tinged with the bittersweetness. He felt as if she was going to be ripped away from him at any moment, and he couldn't take it.

He loved her hair. His hands went to her waist, and he rubbed circles in the skin he found there. It was hard to contain himself. He couldn't decide if he wanted to binge on her, never let him out of his sight, never stop touching her, for the next three days, or if he wanted to slowly wane himself off of her. Both would be as painful.

He moved his hips upward, groaning against her lips. Did he really have to go? Couldn't they find a way out of it... like... like...

His train of thought abruptly stopped as her hand ran over his chest. Capturing her lips once more.

It started with the barking, a muted sound through the door that Ashleen didn't even regester. She was too focused on Tre; everything was Tre and nothing else mattered. Not even the sound of the door openning, or the slight clearing of the throat - a repeat of only moments before - could distract her.

It was until the furry face wormed its way onto the bed, followed by the rest of Heaven's body that her thoughts were derailed enough for her to look up.

And see Lord Beneparte's stern face.

"Ashleen," he's voice was level, but authoratitive, "I think its time you went to you're own room now. I can only deter your father so much."

Shifting slightly, moving her shirt so it at least went back down to the hem of her shorts. She set a hand on the dog before attempting to look humbly at the man.

"I'm sorry Lord Beneparte, but couldn't I just-"

"Ashleen."

His tone left no room for negotiation. She looked back down at Tre. She knew her place, and her orders, but she just couldn't -

"No," she heard herself mutter, barely audiable but there none the less.

Tre's eyes didn't leave the girl, even as he recognized the voice of his father.

He did, however, move when she defied the order. This was a dangerous path to walk down, and he knew it. Hesitantly, he reached up and caressed her cheek, the touch feather light.

"Ash." He murmured, sitting upward and letting her rest in his lap. He met her eyes, steeling himself for what he was about to do. "Father's right."

He would have to let go of her now, wouldn't he? He moved his mouth to her ear and murmured his next words softly, almost incomprehensibly, careful to keep it out of his father's hearing. "If you go right now, I can have him in and out and be back to you in under ten minutes." His hold on her tightened, and his voice caught in his throat. "I-If you don't leave right now... I don't think I c-could let go."

Ashleen's bright blue eyes swam as she looked at the boy. She couldn't even leave his room for however long she'd have to be gone, how was she supposed to let him go for... well for what felt like forever.

She shook her head again but this time didn't verbally express her protest this time. Throwing her arms around him she held tightly as he whispered in her ear.

"I don't know if I can leave," she whispered back. "Tre..."

Nuzzling her way back over, Heaven let out a bark and pushed her way in between them making Ash let go. The dog had always been smarter than she had.

Giving Tre one more quick hug, lingering slightly to graze his cheek with a kiss she got off the bed, running through the door only stopping long enough to give Tre's father a quick "Sorry Sir."

Then with Heaven on her heals she slipped into her room, crashing on the bed with a strangled sob, allowing every tear she'd held back to fall before she got caught by any passing ear or eye.

Tre's eyes followed her, his hands reaching for her even as she moved farther away from him. He reached down to scratch between Heaven's ears before letting the dog go after the girl.

The moment she disappeared, he was limbless, falling like someone had cut his strings. That's all he was without her; a broken marionette.

"Stop being so dramatic." His father chastised, closing the door after a quick nod at the guards. "You are only fifteen, you know nothing of-"

"Of what?!" Tre demanded weakly from his place on the couch. "A normal childhood? The ability to kiss whoever I want? A life I can live completely without fear of accidentally insulting some man over a sea?"

"Shawn!"

"My name is Tre!"

"If you do not lock those thoughts up and burn them, it could be the end of all of us, including your partner!" This shut Tre up, and his father nodded. "How long do you think the rest of us could have kept this from D'Angelo? We can barely walk down the halls without hearing about the two of you, can't keep your hands off each other for more than five minutes, they say, and if we happen to avoid all the rumors, we walk in on you ourselves!"

"Well, bugger off and there wouldn't be a problem..."

"Shawn." His father's voice had lost the few threads of comfort and softness it had contained. Tre bit his tongue, stopping himself from correcting his dad once again. "You must realize that your actions have consequences. You know that Papa wants you to marry-"

"I don't want to marry that snot nosed little brat!"

"YOU WILL STAY SILENT WHEN I SPEAK!" Tre tensed as his father's hazel eyes pierced him. He averted his eyes as his father continued. "Every moment you spend with her, allowing yourself to get close to her, is only going to make it worse when the time comes." His father sighed. "I know that since your mother died-" Tre's lower lip found itself suddenly clenched between his teeth. "-we haven't really been close, but you need to trust me on this one thing if you never listen again. If you trully care for her, you'd end it."

Tre's eyes, so much like his mother's, met his father's completely different gaze. They stared each other down, neither of them bending, until at last Tre looked away. "Is that all?"

His father, unseen to the stubborn teenage boy, seemed to almost struggle before he nodded, stepping to the side.

Tre was gone, energy coursing through him at the thought of holding Ash again. His promise had been cept. It had barely been six minutes.

He crashed through her bedroom door, almost too impatient to open it properly, he had to backpedal to stop his momentum, almost tripping before regaining his balance...

And coming face to face with Phillipe D'Angelo.

Ash's Father.

Ash had burried her face into Heaven's fur, relying on the poor dog more that its title of 'man's best friend' should ever call from it. She knew she must have been hugging her far too tight, but instead of yelping the dog just licked her face, showing the only sign of comfort that she knew how.

The girl raised her eyes at the sound of her door openning, her red and puffy eyes expecting to see Tre.

Instead she got the stern glare of her father.

"Get yourself together," he scoffed, glaring at her on the bed. "We do not let people see us like this; I know I trained you better."

Ashleen glared at the man for a moment before shaking her head, "No - besides no one supposed to see me. Last time I checked my room was Private."

His nostrals flaired and the man took a step forward, "Listen here girly-"

Instead of backing away she stood up, facing him. Ashleen was many things at different times, but right now - right now she was his daughter.

And she could be just as angry, just as intimidating as he could.

"No! You know what daddy you listen! I didn't want this life - I wasn't supposed to be here - I was supposed to be somewhere with Mama, sheltered and-and NORMAL!" she swung her arms dramatically as she screamed, "But then that damn van had to crash into us and-and-and ... I did you a favour! It wasn't me who was going to be in trouble when they had no one to take their place - it was going to be you; I did you a favour and I didn't even get a choice! I was just shoved into it; I'd lost everything but instead of getting to recoverd - instead of hugging me and telling me it would be alright - no you shoved a gun in my hand and told me how to use it!"

She stood there, her breathing in and out as she stared at him for a long moment. When she spoke again her voice was low, flat, almost devoid of emotion.

"Now, now you are taking the only - the god damn only - good thing I ever got from this life, so forgive me father if I take a moment to express my displeasure at that."

With that she folded her arms across her chest and waited. She could see him working away at his jaw. He was right furious now, but she didn't care. She didn't care about anything. He had no right to be upset - only she did.

He reached out a hand, pulling her closer - he wanted to intimidate her like everyone else, but she refused to look away. If he was going to smack her around he was going to look in her eyes as he did it.

They stayed in that stalement for a long moment; until finally with one more spiteful glance, he let her go with enough force to send her stumbling back. She caught herself on the bed and watched as he turned to leave.

Only to come face to face with Tre.

Again the mans jaw clenched as he looked at the boy, contempt in every facet of his gaze. Ash waiting her breath held, waiting to see what the man who raised her would do to the boy she -

"You have the night, Angel," he growled. "When I come back tomorrow I better see you in you're room and her in her - and if you don't behave yourself I don't give a damn about you're father or Papa, do you hear me?"

Giving them both his angry gaze one more time, he pushed past the boy and left the room.

Tre barely contained himself from moving closer to her, balling his fists in barely contained cravings. He met the man's eyes squarely, before remembering his dad's words and dropping his gaze.

A whole night?

The man was barely past him when he was moving back toward Ash, wrapping his arms around her and quaking with the satisfaction of having her against him once more. With strength he hadn't realized he'd lost, he was picking her up and pressing her into her bed with his body once more.

His lips found hers, and a moan of contentment rumbling up from low in his chest.

This was as it should be.

Ashleen didn't waste a moment, pulling him closer as he pulled her onto her bed, sinking into her butterfly bedspread she'd had since she was five. She pulled and pushed needing to be as close as possible, make up for the time they had lost, the time she was going to lose.

Padding around the room, completely ignorant of her owner, Heaven nosed the door her father had left open closed, before going to curl up in her corner. Staying still for once.

Running her hands through his hair, trailing kisses away from his mouth, and back again she began to mumble apologizes into his skin, unsure what she was apologizing for and yet unable to stop.

Tre groaned, moving against her with a newfound urgency. His eyes fluttered close as her lips wondered, it taking in her words. What... what was she...?

He growled before pushing himself upward, holding himself above her. His arms wobbled with the effort of fighting the gravity that was trying to pull him closer to her, but he held firm, looking down into her eyes.

"Don't you dare blame yourself, Ashleen." He said, his voice firm. He couldn't stay away from her for more than the time it took to form that sentence, and he was back on top of her, kissing her cheek sweetly before rolling off her and curling his arm around her. They'd never done this before, but he just wanted to hold her, just wanted to feel her against him.

Positioning himself so that her back was flush to his chest, he curled himself around her, burying his nose in the crook of her neck. He pressed a soft kiss against her shoulder, wrapping both of his arms more firmly around her waist. "I really don't know what I'll do without you, wings." He said, his voice soft, almost scared. "But we'll get through it. We get through everything, you and me."

She sighed as he moved behind her, just wrapping his arms around her. Resting her head on her pillow, she shuffled just slightly, leaning into him, as she threaded her hands with his, playing with his fingers.

"I read this book once," she spoke softly, closing her eyes as she thought about what she was saying, trying to recall the lines of the book she had found on one mission or another, and decided to keep. "And one of the characters... he said 'I feel as if there is a string between you and I, but you go too far, I fear it will snap.' I never understood that line... not really, but now..."

"What if Russia's too far, Tre? What if our string strenches too far and just... snaps."

Tre listened intently, nuzzling his nose into her neck. "We'll just have to make more string." He said softly. "They have this wonderful invention now a days... some call it magic." With a grin, he moved himself to press a quick kiss to her lips before settling back down again, peppering kisses along the back of her shoulder blade, trailing kisses along her neck.

"With magic, we can make our sting extra tough." He comforted. "Extra long, too. I'll tie it around my little finger... and you tie the other end... around... your..." He nipped at her neck.

"You know what would be nice." He pressed his lips against her shoulder blade once more. "Wings. Right here." He murmured into her skin. "For my wings."

She sighed as his lips ran alonng her skin, tickling every time he spoke. She let her eyes blink open as he leaned over to kiss her. It wasn't fair. If only she could bottle this night up, freeze time so that it would never be day again...

If only, if only.

She let out a soft giggle as he found her neck again, before moving back to her shoulders.

"Wings right there?" she repeated softly, "Daddy would hate it," her smile grew at the though, "But what about my angel? What does he get?"

He nuzzled into her, rubbing his nose along her skin just to take in her scent. "I'll get wings too." He murmured. "I'm sure there's a handy little charm we could use... one that only works when we're near each other..." He nibbled along the curve of her shoulder, leaving little bite marks. "Invisable when apart." his hold on her tightened at the word. Apart. It was such a simply cruel word. Two sylables of complete misfortune. He couldn't say it again. It was still burning in his throat, still hanging in the air around him.

He pulled her closer, the word having a phantom effect. He felt as if he'd already been ripped away from her. He buried his face in the crook of her neck, telling himself over and over that she was still here, they were still together... but it wasn't perminant.

Perminant.

"We should get tattoos." He murmured. "Something no one can take away from us."

She shook her head as he held her closer, "Not apart - just not seen. We're always together just sometimes... we can't be together. Then we just-just have to remember that the others still there... somehow."

Her voice had started off low, and got quieter with each word as she got more self-conscious, more worried that she wasn't making sense. But, nothing made sense any more, at least not to her. Her world was suddenly off its axis, spinning backwards...

Crashing in around her.

"Tattoos," she repeated. "Forever... yes."

Tre nodded, her words making the first sense since the order. He gently took her hand and led it behind her, rolling her in his arms so that he could meet her eyes. He already missed her. He'd never seen someone with eyes as perfectly blue as hers... he'd miss them too. He'd miss everything about her.

Kissing her hand softly, he lowered it to his still-bare chest, over the pounding of his heart. Regardless of the intention, his heartbeat still spiked as he felt her skin against his. He closed his eyes, releasing all the air in his lungs in a long, low gush. "This is why." He said softly. "Why we'll never be without each other. You'll be in my heart." His voice lowered, and his eyes slowly opened as he caught her gaze in his and held. "From this day on, now, and forever more. Always."

He pressed a kiss against her forehead, then sat up, letting go of her hand. "We'll have to go tonight." He said softly. "We only have..." His voice disappeared, and he shook his head. "Not long enough."

Letting him take her hand, she roll over with out protest, blinking up at his golden eyes; she had never appriciated that colour before she met Tre. As a child she could care less about the shimmering shade that everyone associated with wealth, but now if anyone asked her what her favourite colour was...

She'd say gold without a hesitiation.

Her breath caught for just a moment, as she pressed her hand to his skin; she glanced down at it for a moment, at the heart she couldn't see but feel thumping away under her hand.

Ba-bum; ba-bum Rising and lowering.

Slowly she looked back up, her eyes swimming once more as she met his gaze. She refused to let any tears spill - not again.

Her voice was hoarse as she repeated the world, "Always."

Ashleen blinked slightly as he pulled away, before following him up.

"Then we don't have time to waste."

~Four Hours Later~

Tre glanced left and right before throwing open the window to Ash's room, his perch on the fire escape easy, one of his arms wrapped around Ash's waist. Her bed being right below the window was his favorite part of the decorating.

His entire back burned, but the tingle of magic hovering over it, healing and binding them together, made it almost bearable. The pain was like a symbol. They'd never trully be away from each other now, because... because now she was under his skin. Now she was - was a part of him. And nothing could remove her. Not even distance. Even if it went unseen, even if no one else noticed, it would be there. A part of him.

Without another thought, his lips were on hers, just as it began to rain.

Despite everything Ash couldn't help but let out a laugh as they got to the top of the fire escape. It was almost -for the moment - like the whole afternoon never happened.

Or maybe the pain in her shoulder, and assorted magic was going to her head.

She smiled against his lips, wraping her arms around his neck, wincing slightly as the movement pulled at the sensitive skin but she didn't care. She let out a sight squeal as the cold ran hit her skin.

"Tre," she muttered not pulling her lips away from his, still smiling, "You know I hate getting wet."

Tre found himself smirking. "Could have fooled me." He murmured, biting gently on her bottom lip. He pulled away from her long enough to gallantly bow at the waist and dramatically gesture to the window. "After you, milady."

Ashleen rolled her eyes, and shoved him lightly as she passed towards the window.

"You're immature you know that," she teased with a grin, "Maybe I should be glad to-" her words stopped halfway through. She had been going to finish with 'to be rid of you' but she couldn't say the words out loud. Just thinking them had done enough to her that she hovered half way through the window for a moment.

Taking a deep breath she flopped the rest of the way down on the bed, and attempted to flash another teasing smile back up at him but it wasn't nearly as strong as she'd hoped, "You're immature."

Tre's grin faltered at the look on her face, and he straightened, standing outside and looking at her through the glass, even as the rain continued to fall. By the time he actually slipped off his shoes and went in after her, he was thoroughly soaked. He tossed his shoes onto her floor and met her eyes, bringing his hands to cup the back of her head. "You aren't allowed to be sad tonight." He said softly. "Not on our last day of just each other."

He brought his lips to hers, softly, the softest kiss he'd ever given her.

Ash stood still as he came in and walked towards her. Not moving as he came closer, grabbing her, and kissing her. Lingering slightly, she smiled against his lips. She was scared if she did anything, moved or spoke she'd ruin the moment - shatter everything.

"Who's sad?" she mumbled softly, leaning against him. "Not me, nope - I don't even know the definition of the word. Sad? What's that?"

Tre grinned, a startled laugh coming out of nowhere. "You're so..." His fingers traced her jawline wonderingly. "Beautiful." He whispered. "Stop being timid, Wings. It doesn't suit you."

Tre wrapped his arms around her waist. "Yes... what is the meaning of the word sad." He repeated at a monotone. Then, with agility that came with practice, training, and maybe a bit of his oncoming powers, he was tickling her, determined to make her forget about the sadness they were both hiding. It was like a dark cloud, hovering just outside her room, waiting for him to leave her again.

But he still had hours left.

Stopping his assault, he pulled her against him, chest to chest, and grinned. "Top spot." He called, bringing back their usual game. "I just got my chance to be on top." He teased. That was, unless she stole the Top Spot back, but what could she possibly do?

She let out a squeal which turned into a laugh she couldn't hold back as Tre began to tickle her. Ash wiggled, and tried to get away, shoving at his shoulders.

"Stop," she said trying to use her 'I'm in charge' tone, but the laughing that she couldn't stop really ruined the affect. "Treshawn Beneparte! If you don't stop I'll-"

Her words died as he did stop and pull her closer. Her mouth pulled into a lopsided smirk as he spoke.

"Well now, at least you can say you get it every now and again," she teased, pulling a hand up to play with his wet hair, wraping a slightly too long strand around her finger, "Now how will I ever get it back."

She looked around the room, trying to plot her next move, when she reached back over to readjest her shirt, which was sticking to her, and her smirk deepened.

She wiggled out of his grasp a bit, not enjoying the seperation, but dealing with it for the moment.

"You know," she drawled slowly, playing with the hem of her shirt as she walked backwards towards her closet. The peice of clothing rising just a little bit higher with each step, "I should probably get out of this wet clothing; wouldn't want to catch a cold."

She smiled sweetly, eyes still twinkling with mischief as she felt her back lean up against the door of her closet. Leaning back she pushed on it, turning around and dissappearing, pulling the shirt off the rest of the way as she went, giving Tre possibly the slightest flash of her bare back before she was lost in her closet.