Sweet Summer Sunsets- A Robert Irwin FanFic

Robert

That was kind of how Ashley worked- she lived in her own little world and if you wanted to be a part of it, you had to let her do her own thing and you had to adapt to it. She was a hurricane, bringing chaos but also laughter and smiles everywhere she went.

I heard the bathroom door open and looked up to see Ashley walking into my room, making me lose any sort of thoughts I may have been having. I smiled up at her. 

"What?" she asked, looking kind of confused as to why I might be smiling. 

"You're pretty," I said simply, getting up and kissing her on the top of her head as I walked by to go to the bathroom. I knew the expression that was probably on her face- her silly little half-smile and her shaking her head. I liked that I could predict her so easily, it made me feel like I really knew her, and I did, better than most people. 

I went to the bathroom, using the toilet and washing my hands and face before brushing my teeth. By the time I was done I could hear the soothing sounds of some nature documentary Ashley was watching, and realised that she must've gotten comfortable, and also tired of the Christmas movies, which was usually how it went every year. 

I opened the bathroom door to see that she had mostly closed my bedroom door, leaving it open only a small crack. My mum never worried about us closing the door or anything, she knew that 1) we were teenagers and if we wanted to do things we weren't supposed to, we were going to do them anyway and her telling us no would only make us want to do certain things more, and get sneakier with it, and 2) she simply trusted us. 

I slowly opened the door, thankful that it didn't make any squeaking sounds. Mum was sleeping and although she knew we'd be up late, I hated to wake her up on accident or bug her, especially with how much she works. 

Ashley lay in my bed, her beautiful green eyes half closed as she watched TV. Her sweats were draped over the back of my desk chair, which was not an unusual sight- Ashley didn't like pants, shoes, bras, or hats. She was funny about certain things like that, but I've learned to just go with it, as it wasn't necessarily a thing that bothered me too much. 

"What are we watching?" I asked, walking towards my desk and opening one of the drawers. I didn't forget about the painting of her on the surfboard, I just wanted to give it to her in a more private setting in case it invoked any strong feelings about Jackson and the shark bite and everything. 

"Our Planet," she said, yawning. She threw back the blankets, as a way to tell me to get in bed. It was a funny thing, and it made me feel more...adult, in a way. Like we were together, in our own place, in this little fantasy land where we had our own life together. 

I shook my head, pulling the painting out and going to sit next to her on my bed. As I sat down, I noticed the lights reflect off the scar on her leg, which made me question myself for a split second. 

"Before you fall asleep, Ash, I have something else to give you," I said.

"Hm?" She said, it sounding more like a whimper and I could tell she was tired. Nonetheless, she rolled so she was laying on her stomach, moving so she was laying in the area where she pulled the covers back, so I could see all of her.

The big shirt she was wearing came up with the twists of her body, showing the top of her butt, and I could see the back of her thighs. Her feet were still covered by the blanket, but I could see she had her legs crossed at the ankles. She tucked the pillow under her chest, wrapping her arms under it and resting her chin on it, looking up at me, her curly hair a mess around her. 

"You look adorable," I said, almost whispering, "but I painted this, for you. I just wanted to give it to you more privately."

 I showed it to her and she moved an arm out towards it, carefully feeling the paint's texture. "Robert," she said, "it's beautiful."