muse ; afi

five

part five;

little tourists

It was dark inside. However, the pair were easily able to navigate their way around due to the city lights which casted enough light for them to see the ground. Belle had seen most of Paris before in her childhood, but her family steered away from doing anything in touristy nature, so when Ashton had pulled her into the building that had the best view of the Eiffel Tower without even knowing how much she had wanted to, her heart began to soar.

The night was still relatively young, Ashton pulled back his sleeve only to see that it was barely nine in the evening, and ushered Belle to the observation deck, both of them leaning into the small poles for support as they fixed their gaze on one of the most famous pieces of architecture known to man. His arms crossed, Ashton looked to his right only to see Belle with a lazy smile on her face as she attempted to take in everything from the window that there was to offer.

"You have a beautiful smile." Ashton muttered, thinking she would be too transfixed with the view to even hear what he had said. But she heard him, and met his gaze with the pinkest cheeks.

"Thanks." She said breathlessly. In all honesty, she wasn't quite sure how to respond. She had a fair share of people compliment her on her looks and her personality, but she was shy, and never quite knew what to say. Her childhood nickname was Belle, another french word for beauty. And although she knew too well that she was beautiful, she rarely got compliments on her smile alone. Ashton smiled at her politely, glad that she had accepted his compliment through her flustered state. "So," She began, looking to break the silence. "If you could do any one thing in the world with nothing to stop you, what would it be?" He sent her a quizzical glance. It was a way to make conversation, and she had never been more intrigued about what went on in a person's head than when she met Ashton

"Anything?" He questioned.

"Absolutely anything." She explained, allowing his mind a moment to explore the endless options.

"Is it in the prospect of making money, like a job? or just the pursuit of my own happiness?"

"Happiness." She ventured. His mind worked quickly, landing on an answer.

"Writing." He said without a second thought. She cocked her head at the response, unsure what to make of it considering the conversation they'd shared while outside the building. "Or maybe music. Who knows." 

"Why?" Belle implored. His eyes went soft as he leaned further into the railing, allowing himself to rest his body with his back to the view, and his arms crossed.

"Well," He began. "I know I said it's been a while since I've written anything, and I most likely have one of the world's most severe cases of writer's block known to humankind, I adore it. I love everything about it, and I don't think I would change that for anything," He confided. "It's really hard. Not having anything to say, but I know someday it will come to me, and I'll jump back into it." He sent Belle a lazy smile as she nodded, completely understanding where he was coming from. "Music because it's the last thing I have that reminds me of home."

"What was the last thing you wrote?" Belle pushed, not knowing if it was a sore topic or not.

"Maison." He said easily. "The last thing I've completed, at least." Belle nodded in acknowledgement, and he looked up from his hands towards her.

"What about you?" He pondered. "If you could do anything out of your own happiness, with nothing to stop you, what would you do?" Bele sat for a moment, mulling over all of the possible options there were. There were many things she would've wanted to do for her own happiness, but one thing in particular that made her heart ache.