Work Text:
The night air was cool against Ashlyn's skin as she climbed up the old fire escape, her orange hair catching the soft glow from the streetlights below. The metal groaned under her weight, but she'd done this enough times to know which steps were solid and which ones to avoid.
"You're sure this is safe?" Aiden's voice drifted up from below, tinged with that excitement he carried everywhere.
"No," Ashlyn said flatly, not looking back, “But you’re still following me anyway.”
She heard his laugh as he scrambled up behind her. That was Aiden for you- always ready to jump into whatever chaos revealed itself.
The rooftop of the building wasn't much to look at during the day. But at night, away from the city lights, it transformed into something else entirely.
Ashlyn pulled herself over the ledge and onto the flat surface, then turned to offer Aiden a hand. He took it, his palm warm despite the outside chill, and hoisted himself up with more energy than necessary.
"Whoa," he breathed, and Ashlyn found herself smiling despite her usual stoicness and reserve.
The sky stretched out above them like spilled ink, dotted with countless points of light.
"See? Worth the climb," Ashlyn smirked, moving toward the center of the roof where she'd stashed an old blanket during her last visit.
Aiden followed, tilting his head back so far he nearly stumbled, "I've never really looked at the stars before. I mean… I have, but… not like this."
"You've been missing out," Ashlyn spread the blanket across the least debris-covered section and sat down, patting the space beside her.
Aiden dropped down, all elbows and knees, before finally settling. For a moment, they sat there in silence- something Ashlyn appreciated. Aiden might talk constantly around the others, might fill every silence with jokes and observations, but around her, he'd learned when to be quiet.
She looked at him, then pointed upwards, "That's Cygnus- the swan."
"A swan?" Aiden squinted at it, "I'm not seeing it."
Ashlyn rolled her eyes, "Use your imagination, idiot. The cross is the swan's body and wings.”
She traced the pattern with her finger, "In the myth, Zeus disguised himself as a swan to seduce Leda, who was the queen of Sparta."
"...okay, that's weird."
"Greek myths usually are," Ashlyn shifted, pulling her jacket tighter, "See that bright star at its tail? That's Deneb, one of the farthest stars we can see with the naked eye. It’s over 2,600 light-years away."
Aiden whistled low, "So when we're looking at it..."
"We're seeing light that left that star 2,600 years ago. Before… all of us."
"Huh. That's insane," Aiden lay back on the blanket, hands behind his head, "We're basically looking at the past."
"Technically, we're always looking at the past. Even looking at each other, the light takes time to reach our eyes."
"And now you're just trying to hurt my brain."
Ashlyn giggled, lying back beside him, "There's another one. See those five stars?"
"Yeah! I actually recognize that one. Who is that?"
"Cassiopeia,." Ashlyn explained, "She bragged that she and her daughter were more beautiful than the sea nymphs, so Poseidon sent a sea monster to destroy her kingdom. She was chained to a throne in the sky as punishment."
“Oh! That’s harsh. Wait… what happened to the daughter?"
"Andromeda," Ashlyn pointed to a fainter group of stars, "Her constellation is right there. She was chained to a rock as a sacrifice to the sea monster, but Perseus saved her."
"Well, at least that one of them has a happy ending?"
"Sort of? I mean, she still got turned into a constellation," Ashlyn looked at Aiden, "Sometimes I wonder if that was really a reward or just another kind of prison.”
The way she said it made Aiden frown, and he tilted his head to look at her.
"Is that why you come up here?" Aiden asked quietly, "To look at the stars?"
"Sometimes," Ashlyn pulled her knees up to her chest, "Mostly I come up here to not think about anything."
Aiden nodded, his usual energy dimming to something softer, "I get that. It's like... everything's always so intense now. Even when we're safe, there's this part of my brain that's still just waiting for the next disaster."
"Yeah," She glanced at him. His profile was outlined in starlight, that ridiculous blond hair sticking up at odd angles like he'd forgotten to brush it. Knowing Aiden, he probably had.
Hesitantly, she asked, "Does it help you? Being up here?"
"I think so," He smiled, "The good company helps too."
Ashlyn feels warmth bloom in her chest, unexpected and not entirely unwelcome.
When had Aiden become someone she respected so much? When had he become her friend?
It was strange how that had happened. Before the phantom dimension, before meeting her friends, Ashlyn had been content with her quietness. People were exhausting, their voices too loud, their emotions too much. She'd built her walls carefully and maintained them religiously.
Then Aiden had shown up, with his chaos and his insanity and his complete disregard for personal boundaries, and somehow... somehow they worked. Maybe it was because he understood what it was like to be different, or maybe because when everything went to hell, he'd been right there beside her, watching her back.
Maybe it’s because he balanced her out, his manic energy and her stoicness.
"There's Orion," Aiden said suddenly, pointing, pulling Ashlyn out of her thoughts, "Even I know that one. The three stars in a row, right?"
"His belt, yeah. If you follow it down, that bright star is Sirius."
"Like the dude in Harry Potter?"
Ashlyn snorted, "Like the star he was named after, you mean."
"Semantics, semantics," Aiden lay back fully on the blanket, hands behind his head, "Tell me more. I want to know all of them."
“You can’t know all of them. Even I don’t know all of them.”
He rolled his eyes, “Then tell me the ones you do know.”
So Ashlyn did.
Aiden listened with surprising focus, occasionally asking questions that showed he was actually paying attention. When she mentioned that most of the stories involved someone angering the gods and being punished, he laughed.
"Sounds like our life now, doesn’t it? Except instead of gods, it's phantom monsters, and instead of being turned into stars, we just die horrendously."
"That's… morbid."
"It’s accurate."
Ashlyn couldn't really argue with that. She turned her head to look at him and found he was already watching her, something thoughtful in his expression.
"What?"
"Nothing. Just thinking how I never expected to be friends with someone who knows so much about stars," He grinned, "Or someone who climbs abandoned buildings for fun."
Ashlyn smirked, "I'm full of surprises."
"Yeah,” He shook his head and laughed, “You are."
A metor streaked across the sky, and Ashlyn gasped despite herself. Aiden sat up beside her, eyes wide.
"Did you see that?"
"Make a wish," Ashlyn said automatically, the old superstition still worth something to her.
They closed their eyes.
A few seconds passed before Aiden fell back down again.
"What did you wish for?"
"I can’t tell you,” Ashlyn reminds him, “Otherwise it won’t come true."
Aiden groaned dramatically, “You and your rules. Fine. I won't ask." He paused, "I wished we could have more nights like this."
"That's... actually really nice," Ashlyn admitted. "... And you just broke the rule."
"Whoops, sorry," He shrugged, sounding not sorry at all.
"Your turn. What did you wish for, Ash?"
Ashlyn hesitated. The honest answer was too revealing- she'd wished that whatever came next, whatever fresh horror the phantom dimension threw at them, they'd all survive it together. That she wouldn't lose any of them as she’d almost lost Tyler and Aiden. That she wouldn't lose this, whatever this was that she'd accidentally built with these people who'd somehow become important to her.
"Same as you," she said finally, "More nights like this."
"Awwww, Ash!!"
Ashlyn felt her cheeks warm and was grateful for the darkness, "Don't call me Ash."
"Ash. Ash, ash, ash-"
“Oh my god, fine!” She put her hands over her ears, “You can call me that, just stop being annoying.”
They fell into comfortable silence again, watching the stars overhead. A plane crossed the sky, blinking red and white, suddenly disrupting the illusion.
“Do you believe in parallel universes?”
“Hm?” Ashlyn frowned, “Why?”
"Do you?”
“I… dont know.”
He chuckled, “Can you imagine? A parallel universe of just, like, phantoms.”
It was an eerie thought, and Ashlyn shivered, “They can have their own sky and constellations. They can’t take mine."
"What would their constellations even look like? The Scary? The Little Nightmare?"
Despite the subject matter, Ashlyn smiled, "The Great Disaster? Oh, they’d definitely have one about the Spear Tree."
"Ooh, oh! I got a good one!! Hear me out… the Eternal Scream."
"...That's just you."
"Hey!" But Aiden was laughing, and Ashlyn found herself joining in. It felt good… to laugh about something so stupid when so much of their life was so serious.
As their laughter faded, Ashlyn became aware of how close they were lying, shoulders pressed together for warmth. It should have made her uncomfortable- she didn't like being touched.
But… this was different somehow. It was different because this was Aiden, who'd seen her at her worst and stuck around anyway. Who'd had her back in that hellish world more times than she could count.
"Thanks for bringing me up here," Aiden said softly.
"You invited yourself,” She reminded him.
"Yeah, but you didn’t kick me out."
He had a point. Ashlyn guarded her spaces jealously, especially this one. The fact that she'd allowed him to come spoke volumes she wasn't quite ready to examine too closely.
"You're welcome," she said instead.
Eventually, it became too cold to stay out. The temperature dropped as every chilling second passed by- two kids curled up into themselves in the dark.
Neither wanted to leave.
"Okay, last one," Aiden pointed to a bright star near the horizon, "I don't think you've told me about that one yet."
Ashlyn followed his finger, "That's actually Venus."
"How can you tell?"
"It's too bright and too steady. Planets don't twinkle like stars do," She tilted her head, explaining, "Venus is named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty. It's said to be the brightest thing in the night sky after the moon."
"The goddess of love, huh?" Aiden's tone was teasing, "How romantic."
"Shut up," Ashlyn said, but there was no heat in it. "It's also the hottest planet in our solar system- enough to melt lead. So, you know, love burns or whatever."
He snorted suddenly, starting the ginger beside him. "Oh god, that is literally the most Ashlyn thing you've ever said.”
She shoved his shoulder lightly, and he laughed, the sound carrying across the empty rooftop.
When Ashlyn's fingers finally went numb, she groaned, "Okay, we really need to go home before we get frostbite."
"Awww, but I was just getting comfortable."
"You're literally shivering. I think if we stay a second longer, you’ll turn blue."
He didn't argue, but Ashlyn could see his reluctance. It was sort of sweet... how happy he was to be around her.
The climb down was slower and more careful in the darkness. When they reached the ground, Aiden shoved his hands in his pockets and looked at her with a smile.
"Same time next week?"
Ashlyn pretended to consider it, though they both knew her answer, "Maybe. If you're not too annoying."
"I'm always annoying. That's my charm."
"Your charm is a damn curse, that’s what it is."
She was smiling as she said it, and Aiden's answering grin was bright enough to rival the stars they'd just left behind.
And as they walked back toward their homes, Ashlyn found herself already looking forward to next week.
The stars would still be there, patient as always.
And so would they.