The Road

And back into the darkness Asher knew so well. Lucian sighed. "Really, Asher. How many times is this, fainting from lack of energy? Get a hold of yourself."

"..." Asher couldn't respond, even if he wanted to. The sounds of Persephone's whispers of his name resounded within the icy prison in Asher's subconscious.

"Well?"

"Well, what?"

"Are you going to keep a lady waiting? You said you should always treat a girl well." Lucian smirked. Asher rolled his eyes at the quote that Lucian made. "Besides, isn't she your girlfriend?"

"...." Taking Lucian's advice, Asher turned and began to walk out of the icy prison again. Light flooded his vision again, but Asher stopped and turned to his dark side for one last statement before going back into the world. "She's not my girlfriend."

---

"My... girlfriend...." Asher muttered as he slept. Those two words were used to deny his disposition with Persephone, but then again, maybe that's what Asher wanted his companion to be. He was known to be like that, to easily fall in love with a girl. He always beat himself up like that. There were many times when Asher did feel affectionate towards someone. He was always too stubborn or fearful to say it though, as if it was the cue for the God he believed in to take away that one person in his long lasting life.

Asher felt nothing as he rose from his subconscious. It was like when he was first revived from the dead. No pains, no happiness. No pleasure or shame. Just... nothing. Well, for the first few seconds. As his body began to start up, Asher began to feel a tugging... As if someone's holding on to him for dear life. Then the hearing went back on. "Asher...." was repeatedly muttered into his ear by a familiar voice. Sight came. He was looking at the sky, but from his peripheral vision, Asher saw another figure. Smell. It was a scent Asher was acquainted with a few times, when he had come close to a certain someone. Someone he should know... but who?

As if without thinking, Asher muttered a name. "Persephone..." He said. Gathering all his strength, Asher turned to his side to see Persephone holding on to him. Asher smiled. She's okay... He thought. Thank God... But maybe he's thinking that statement so soon....

Persephone gasped slowly as she heard Asher, his words reaching her gradually through the mist that muffled his tone. She didn't even have the energy to think about what he said. Girlfriend? The word couldn't even surprise her. She just clutched him tight, and heard her name whispered from his own lips. She claimed that name, and her mind clung to it as much as her body clung to Asher for the slightest breath of warmth.

Tears were still rolling lethargically down her stained and dirty face, even as she turned her face into his chest, pressing her body to his. His hand was warm on her stomach, and she almost curled around that small contact. She looked up at him when she remembered that he too was conscious, her eyes bleary. It took her a long time to focus on him, and even longer before she found the breath to speak.

"A...Asher. Asher. I'm so cold"

The words were breathy, little more than a soft exhalation. Her shadow feebly attempted to wrap itself around her, but the lack of substance just cast her face in darkness and made her skin look even more deathly.

Persephone had never felt like this before in life or death. Her body simply hurt, and it felt wrong. She should have died, and now her body rejected her as much as it locked her mind back in place. Her fingertips were numb, but her arms tingled as though it wasn't blood, but fireworks of ice. Her head pounded, and each sound was both muffled and extremely loud. Everything echoed. Her chest burned, her lungs almost failing to expand and capture the air that she needed. But she was alive, and the pain that she felt was proof of that.

"A...Asher. Asher. I'm so cold" Persephone said. She had a hard time talking, and her face was pallor. Her shadow tried to warm her by covering her, but only made the poor girl look worse. "Persephone...." Asher whispered. It pained him that she was so weak. No, it pained him that he had nearly lost his companion. Even though it has been such a short time, this girl... this mortal... this human... Persephone is his only line to keeping his sanity. Not only that, but she's the only person Asher has that he can actually trust... Maybe Lucian, but he wasn't supposed to be free.

Asher hugged Persephone close to him, as if she was a life jacket in a sea. Then again, this whole place was a sea of madness, Lucian being the shark that threatens to eat up Asher. "I... I know how you feel..." Asher whispered. "Just... just rest. You can beat me up later if you did want to die, but.... just don't leave me alone now...." There were hot tears on the Immortalis's face. He can't be alone. Not now. Not when his deepest secrets of the past are coming back to haunt him. "... Please..."

Persephone whimpered softly, curling her body close to Asher's as he held her tightly. His arms felt good around her. The touch felt right, as though his touch was anchoring her here, in the present time. She was hunched over, as small as possible, even though the forced tension in her body only made her ache more.

"I... I know how you feel..." Asher whispered. "Just... just rest. You can beat me up later if you did want to die, but.... just don't leave me alone now....Please..."

The simple need in her companions tone made her look up at him, his face, and the sight made tears flow afresh from her own eyes. He looked heart broken, desperate, and she knew that his emotions were reflected in her own gaze. She rested her forehead against his, and felt his breath warm on her face. She shivered, but her face slowly began to feel again, just as she lifted both her hands to his face, and brushed away his tears with her frigid fingers. Her renewed crying warmed her marginally, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs.

His tears were hot and wet on her fingers, and despite the source, the warmth felt good. She found herself talking to him, without realizing what she said, or even that she had been talking to him for several moments.

"I wont, Asher...Asher, I wont, I promise...I'm sorry...I can't leave you...I won't leave you, Asher..."

She forced herself to stop talking and took a series of deep, gulping breaths, as she whispered shakily, so cold, needing him to hold her.

"Hold me, Asher, just hold me, please..."

"Hold me, Asher, just hold me, please..." Persephone whispered.

Asher nodded in reply, hugging his companion ever so closely. If this was just a normal situation right now, he'd be blushing and shaking his head. Of course, this isn't normal. Asher just saved the life of his friend and companion in this place, and they were just begging each other not to leave. With wants like that, why would they, anyway?

Finally feeling that Persephone was actually cold (a few thousand years with fire and ice? Please, that'll make anyone numb to temperature.), Asher hugged her even more, radiating heat like a small fire. "Just... sleep... alright? We need... our rest." Asher explained to his companion, sniffing between a few words and trying not to let his voice falter. "Just... sleep... I'll take care of you."

"Just... sleep... alright? We need... our rest. Just... sleep... I'll take care of you."

His words barely registered, and when they did, it took Persephone a long time to process the information. She shivered, and looked up at him with complete dependency, her lips a painful looking blue and her skin a deathly sheen of white. Sleep...Rest...They seemed like foreign thoughts, dangerous, but ponderous and alluring. Maybe she would. Maybe sleep would make the cold and the pain go away.

So she did. Persephone curled up as tight as she could against Asher's chest, which lifted with each sniffle. Again, it took her a long time to process the sniffling, and then she looked up, her eyes searching for his as she whispered in a labored voice that was barely a whisper "Asher...Asher, don't cry. Sleep with me? ...Please" She asked, her hands cold through his clothes as she pressed her small body closer.

"Asher...Asher, don't cry. Sleep with me? ...Please." Persephone asked him. Asher stopped his crying, something he knew how to do quickly, and leaned against his companion. She was icy cold, yet soft and comfortable to lean on. Asher couldn't help but blush at that thought.

"Yes... Persephone..." Asher whispered. Asher grabbed his companion and pressed his body against hers, trying to make some kind of cushion for her. Then, he closed his eyes as he held on to her. "Not my girlfriend" indeed. Lucian smirked.

Persephone felt Asher's arms around her, and the warmth from his body seemed to be an almost alien feeling. But it felt right, and it felt comfortable, so as she eased back into Asher's embrace, Persephone felt sleep reclaiming her once more.

In her dreams, there was warmth and light, and Asher was there too. In her dreams, she realized, he was always there. He was relaxed. Laughing and teasing, and almost playful. And they were together beneath the wheeling stars and the bright sun, and in her dreams he kissed her, and she liked it. In her sleep, she whispered his name, and shifted occasionally to move her small body closer to his.

Her dreams were erratic, and she acknowledged that when she woke, she would blush a whole new shade of red, but for now, there was warmth and comfort in his embrace, and her own body was slowly warming too.

Asher woke up in a white room, instead of the usual dark and empty space that would lead to his dark side. He'd be alone, almost sad, but Asher felt like he should just stay there. Of course, then his companion showed up. She wore a pair of ripped jeans, an open light blue vest over a white blouse and a white knee-length skirt. In all, Persephone was just beautiful.

In the dream, Asher and Persephone went all around New York City, with Asher explaining every single thing and Persephone becoming interested and amazed. At night, the New Years' Ball was about to drop, and the second it did... their lips touched....

"I love you...." Asher whispered into Persephone's ear in an audible volume. (This was when she was awake.) He brought himself closer to her and hugged his companion from behind, not noticing his closeness to her and the words that he had uttered. "Always...."

Persephone stirred a little, feeling Asher moving against her. She opened her eyes, and blinked a few times. How long had she been asleep? Sunlight filtered down through the receding layers of fog. It was bright. Much brighter than it was warm, but that didn't mean she was cold. Instinctively, Persephone shied away from the memories of the night before, and took stock of her situation.

She was laying, on the ground, but she was far from uncomfortable. Asher was there, and that's when she realized his slight movements had woken her. He was embracing her, much like her dream, and she blushed as she recalled it.

"I love you....Always...."

His voice wasn't quite quiet as he spoke in her ear, and she heard, more than felt, herself gasp. At first, she doubted that it was her that he dreamed of, and then his grip tightened on her in his sleep, and she felt an answering skip of her heart. Her? Possibly? Of course, she couldn't be sure...But there was no doubt what she wanted.

Should she wake him? Persephone bit her lower lip. On the one hand, she didn't think that it was safe to stop on the Road for too long. On the other, it felt so good to feel his embrace. After several long moments of indecision, she knew that they had to move on.

Rolling over, careful not to jolt him, Persephone looked at his unconscious form. Asher looked so peaceful. So youthful. On impulse, she reached out, and let the tips of her fingers feel the side of his cheek. She whispered to him gently, murmuring insistently "Asher...Asher, wake up..."

The dream continued, and it progressed the way Asher wanted, which never happened to him before. Next thing he knew, the Immortalis finds himself in a hotel, checking in with Persephone. It continued and continued, the moon shining brightly. Asher blushed in his sleep as he saw the things in his dream, but it felt too good to escape from it. It felt right.

"Asher...Asher, wake up..." Persephone whispered into his ear. The Persephone in his dream echoed the same statement, causing Asher's dream self to be confused. Of course, he finally got the idea- this was only just a dream. Sadly, Asher woke up from the sweet, sweet image of an impossible ending for him.

Asher opened his eyes, slowly. Maybe this is just the dream... Maybe That world was real, and this is all an illusion. Asher thought. He was desperate; he didn't want to take to the Road again. Of course, his subconscious didn't let him sleep again, and Asher remained awake, but only partially. Then Asher felt fingers on his cheek, and he realized that Persephone was laying next to him, and Asher's face turned into a deeper shade of red. "Uh..... B-Buona.... sera..." Asher muttered in a different language, trying to hide his blushing face. "... How long were we like this...?" He couldn't help but ask.

Persephone watched him, smiling at his embarrassment. She had no idea what he had been dreaming of, and found that it no longer mattered to her. She simply liked laying her with him, feeling the side of his cheek against the back of her hand. She was tired, if not exhausted, but tired enough to no longer care what she did. She was sick to death of this god damned place, and if she couldn't be happy here with someone that she had decided she loved, then she didn't know what she'd do.

Sephi smiled, listening to him sort through his languages. "Uh..... B-Buona.... sera..."

She laughed softly, and would have shrugged if the action wouldn't disturb their embrace. She whispered to him softly, not wanting to ruin the peace and quiet. "I...I don't know, really..." She hesitated, but didn't move away. In fact, if anything, she closed what little gap remained between them. "But I don't really want to move away" Her voice was little more than a pleading murmur, asking for both his embrace and, well, him. She finally blushed, her pale cheeks gaining a little color.

"But I don't really want to move away." Persephone whispered as she moved a bit closer. Asher knew what that hidden meaning was. Asher, nodding, moved closer to her and hugged her, blushing as much as she is.

"Neither... do I... really..." Asher whispered as he embraced her. in his mind, he's practically panicking on what to do. Should he allow this to happen? Would the Immortalis allow this to happen? It's not like all the other times- Asher was practically in a sort of normal state by now and... would he need someone in his life again? Asher sighed at the thought, closing his eyes and just appreciating the calm and peaceful situation he's in.