Ashley Emmerson, esq. (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
legalistic) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
dreamlikenewyork2013-07-23 07:08 pm
legalistic) wrote in dreamlikenewyork2013-07-23 07:08 pm
"I need to know, darling, what is on your mind."
Who: Ash Emmerson with Gabe George
What: For better or for worse
Where: Rhett, Gabe and Ash's apartment, NYC
When: Early Tuesday morning
Ash had a little bit of a headache not unlike a hangover one when he woke up slowly in the early hours of Tuesday morning. It was only when he realised the his arm and shoulder were aching too that he figured it was probably a sore neck giving him the headache. His arm was still wrapped protectively around a deeply sleeping Gabe, pretty much like it had been since he coaxed Gabe to bed Sunday evening. It wasn't like he hadn't moved at all, because he had, but somewhere during the night, he must have grabbed hold of Gabe and not wanted to let go. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, he was exhausted too and he must have fallen into a deep sleep himself for a few hours rather than waking up on and off to make sure Gabe was still okay. Now he felt kind of seedy waking up. He needed a shower and a shave, and despite the fact the air conditioning was on low, it was a little hot in their room with the early morning sunlight streaming in through the window.
He carefully unwound himself from Gabe, being extra slow and cautious not to wake him. Gabe hadn't been asleep the entire time. There were a couple of nightmares that woke him up in a panic. No doubt flashbacks from the way he had been screaming in his sleep. Unfortunately, it was inevitable with his state of mind. Gabe's biggest downfall was lack of sleep. He very occasionally had these patches of insomnia and if he couldn't sleep, that was when he started to depressed again. This time, neither Ash nor Rhett had been there to help veer him off that course. Ash had learned quick in their relationship that if Gabe started to get ill with anxiety or depression, the best thing was just to get him to go to bed. And since they had started dating, Ash would usually go with him and just hold him so he knew he wasn't dealing with it alone.
Which is what he had done when he had finally made it home really late Sunday afternoon. It had been one pile of shit after another, and he would never understand how things seemed to get more mental and messy when you were trying to get something done quickly. The original flight he had been booked on arrived back in New York at 4.15pm. He had put that off and asked to be put on stand-by for to earlier flights. No seats opened up on the first, and he managed to get on the second. But there had been some fault with the thermostat and they grounded the flight at the last minute, but by that time, Ash had lost his original seat on the 4.15pm flight. He ended up getting on the one that landed at JFK at 6.10pm, and that was only by threatening to sue the airline. He as in a panic by this time because he hadn't heard from Gabe since Friday, and was really worried something had happened.
His gut was twisted with fear riding the elevator up to the floor of their apartment block. He was shouting out Gabe's name as soon as he fumbled with his keys in the lock and got the door open. Finding Gabe in the bathroom in nothing but his underwear with his pills scattered around him and a hand covered in dried blood had scared the living crap out of Ash. In fact, he was pretty sure he very nearly did soil his pants. When Gabe started crying when he saw him, though, he knew what had happened. Depression sometimes had the claws of those dark demons getting into you before you could stop it and with Julian's attack, and spending a lot of time with Tyler, his own ordeal had been dragged to the forefront. Without Rhett or Ash there, he probably just got lost and had no anchor to work through it running on empty with no sleep.
Ash had cleaned him up, dressed the wound on his hand and then took him to bed. He had stripped out of his own suit he had been in for the last session of the conference that morning, and went to bed with his fiancé, spooning him from behind and murmuring a reminder into his ear that he wasn't alone, and he needed to sleep. Gabe was miserable, and he had clung to Ash, wounded apologies falling from his lips every now and then as he still continued to fight the urge his sleep that his body was pleading to him. Ash just held him, rubbing his hand in soothing strokes over his stomach, finding it hard to relax himself. Had Gabe just dropped his pills because he had been drinking the bourbon? He shouldn't have been drinking anything on his pills, but maybe he was just trying to get it to help him sleep and switch the insomnia off. They would talk, they had to because communication was the key to everything, but not until Gabe caught up on his sleep.
Despite the rough and restless sleep initially, Gabe had no slept right through the night. In fact, he had been consistently sleeping for about 15 hours now. Ash had no intentions of interrupting that until Gabe was ready to wake naturally. He slipped off the bed and pulled the loose cotton sheet back up over Gabe, who was lying on his side curled up a little with his right hand resting on the pillow beside his face, his engagement ring catching the sunlight. Ash rounded the bed and dropped a couple of soft kisses to Gabe's bare shoulder, just relieved he was okay. He had made a mental note to himself to not wait so long next time if Gabe wasn't answering calls or messages. He turned the air conditioner in their room off and instead opened the window to let some of the morning breeze come in, but he pulled the curtains over so it wasn't so bright. The joys of having an apartment so high up with a room on the side with a back street was you didn't hear the city traffic noise. It was a little tranquil, and that was a sensation he wanted to invite for Gabe right now. His stomach hurt when he thought of Gabe in turmoil without him, and he knew a lot of that was guilt.
Gabe was still fast asleep, so Ash sat down on the side of the bed next to him and stroked his hair back from his face. Seeing Julian in the state he had been, covered in those horrific bruises and riddled with broken bones, Ash hadn't been able to not think about Gabe in the same condition. Of course, they hadn't been in each others lives at the time. Gabe had only been a teenager. But he had told Ash all about it, leaving out no details. About the mess physically and mentally he had been in because of it, how he took up boxing as self-defence, how he still feared occasionally even to this day that it might happen to him again. Ash wished he could just wrap his arms around him and take it all away. He loved Gabe so fucking much that it literally hurt sometimes. He wanted to protect him and take care of him, and suddenly, more than anything, he wanted to marry him. It was summer. The weather was perfect.
With a sigh, he looked down at Gabe's sleeping face, a small frown furrowing his brow. Instead of going to the bathroom and making some coffee like he planned, he just climbed right back into the spot behind Gabe spooning him that he had just vacated, brushing his lips over the nape of Gabe's neck. "Fuck, I love you so much..." he whispered against his skin, closing his eyes again. Life was so damn precarious and fragile sometimes. Maybe Robin Williams really was right. Maybe seizing the day was exactly what you had to do so you never wasted a valuable moment.
NARRATIVE, SCENE COMPLETE
What: For better or for worse
Where: Rhett, Gabe and Ash's apartment, NYC
When: Early Tuesday morning
Ash had a little bit of a headache not unlike a hangover one when he woke up slowly in the early hours of Tuesday morning. It was only when he realised the his arm and shoulder were aching too that he figured it was probably a sore neck giving him the headache. His arm was still wrapped protectively around a deeply sleeping Gabe, pretty much like it had been since he coaxed Gabe to bed Sunday evening. It wasn't like he hadn't moved at all, because he had, but somewhere during the night, he must have grabbed hold of Gabe and not wanted to let go. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, he was exhausted too and he must have fallen into a deep sleep himself for a few hours rather than waking up on and off to make sure Gabe was still okay. Now he felt kind of seedy waking up. He needed a shower and a shave, and despite the fact the air conditioning was on low, it was a little hot in their room with the early morning sunlight streaming in through the window.
He carefully unwound himself from Gabe, being extra slow and cautious not to wake him. Gabe hadn't been asleep the entire time. There were a couple of nightmares that woke him up in a panic. No doubt flashbacks from the way he had been screaming in his sleep. Unfortunately, it was inevitable with his state of mind. Gabe's biggest downfall was lack of sleep. He very occasionally had these patches of insomnia and if he couldn't sleep, that was when he started to depressed again. This time, neither Ash nor Rhett had been there to help veer him off that course. Ash had learned quick in their relationship that if Gabe started to get ill with anxiety or depression, the best thing was just to get him to go to bed. And since they had started dating, Ash would usually go with him and just hold him so he knew he wasn't dealing with it alone.
Which is what he had done when he had finally made it home really late Sunday afternoon. It had been one pile of shit after another, and he would never understand how things seemed to get more mental and messy when you were trying to get something done quickly. The original flight he had been booked on arrived back in New York at 4.15pm. He had put that off and asked to be put on stand-by for to earlier flights. No seats opened up on the first, and he managed to get on the second. But there had been some fault with the thermostat and they grounded the flight at the last minute, but by that time, Ash had lost his original seat on the 4.15pm flight. He ended up getting on the one that landed at JFK at 6.10pm, and that was only by threatening to sue the airline. He as in a panic by this time because he hadn't heard from Gabe since Friday, and was really worried something had happened.
His gut was twisted with fear riding the elevator up to the floor of their apartment block. He was shouting out Gabe's name as soon as he fumbled with his keys in the lock and got the door open. Finding Gabe in the bathroom in nothing but his underwear with his pills scattered around him and a hand covered in dried blood had scared the living crap out of Ash. In fact, he was pretty sure he very nearly did soil his pants. When Gabe started crying when he saw him, though, he knew what had happened. Depression sometimes had the claws of those dark demons getting into you before you could stop it and with Julian's attack, and spending a lot of time with Tyler, his own ordeal had been dragged to the forefront. Without Rhett or Ash there, he probably just got lost and had no anchor to work through it running on empty with no sleep.
Ash had cleaned him up, dressed the wound on his hand and then took him to bed. He had stripped out of his own suit he had been in for the last session of the conference that morning, and went to bed with his fiancé, spooning him from behind and murmuring a reminder into his ear that he wasn't alone, and he needed to sleep. Gabe was miserable, and he had clung to Ash, wounded apologies falling from his lips every now and then as he still continued to fight the urge his sleep that his body was pleading to him. Ash just held him, rubbing his hand in soothing strokes over his stomach, finding it hard to relax himself. Had Gabe just dropped his pills because he had been drinking the bourbon? He shouldn't have been drinking anything on his pills, but maybe he was just trying to get it to help him sleep and switch the insomnia off. They would talk, they had to because communication was the key to everything, but not until Gabe caught up on his sleep.
Despite the rough and restless sleep initially, Gabe had no slept right through the night. In fact, he had been consistently sleeping for about 15 hours now. Ash had no intentions of interrupting that until Gabe was ready to wake naturally. He slipped off the bed and pulled the loose cotton sheet back up over Gabe, who was lying on his side curled up a little with his right hand resting on the pillow beside his face, his engagement ring catching the sunlight. Ash rounded the bed and dropped a couple of soft kisses to Gabe's bare shoulder, just relieved he was okay. He had made a mental note to himself to not wait so long next time if Gabe wasn't answering calls or messages. He turned the air conditioner in their room off and instead opened the window to let some of the morning breeze come in, but he pulled the curtains over so it wasn't so bright. The joys of having an apartment so high up with a room on the side with a back street was you didn't hear the city traffic noise. It was a little tranquil, and that was a sensation he wanted to invite for Gabe right now. His stomach hurt when he thought of Gabe in turmoil without him, and he knew a lot of that was guilt.
Gabe was still fast asleep, so Ash sat down on the side of the bed next to him and stroked his hair back from his face. Seeing Julian in the state he had been, covered in those horrific bruises and riddled with broken bones, Ash hadn't been able to not think about Gabe in the same condition. Of course, they hadn't been in each others lives at the time. Gabe had only been a teenager. But he had told Ash all about it, leaving out no details. About the mess physically and mentally he had been in because of it, how he took up boxing as self-defence, how he still feared occasionally even to this day that it might happen to him again. Ash wished he could just wrap his arms around him and take it all away. He loved Gabe so fucking much that it literally hurt sometimes. He wanted to protect him and take care of him, and suddenly, more than anything, he wanted to marry him. It was summer. The weather was perfect.
With a sigh, he looked down at Gabe's sleeping face, a small frown furrowing his brow. Instead of going to the bathroom and making some coffee like he planned, he just climbed right back into the spot behind Gabe spooning him that he had just vacated, brushing his lips over the nape of Gabe's neck. "Fuck, I love you so much..." he whispered against his skin, closing his eyes again. Life was so damn precarious and fragile sometimes. Maybe Robin Williams really was right. Maybe seizing the day was exactly what you had to do so you never wasted a valuable moment.
NARRATIVE, SCENE COMPLETE