Bittersweet Sundown

On the plane at last, Ash sat on the edge of her seat, stiff like a wooden doll. She already located the toilet and debated now, should she run there or not. Her stomach was turning like a washing machine.

“Just relax,” Brian said reassuringly, smirking at her. Ash snorted, fighting the urge to throw up. She was sure Brian had never even felt that sick. Otherwise he’d known that telling her to relax was totally pointless.

Brian only laughed at her painful look and pulled her against his side. He put both of his hands around her and hugged her closer than his tight shirt. Ash felt kind of uncomfortable and she tried to pull away.

“I can’t be like this,” she muttered, not able to get out of his grip.

“Yes you can. Just try to relax,” he commanded, not letting her anywhere. Seeing that he wasn’t gonna let her go, she stopped fighting. After a minute or two, she couldn’t resist the warmness radiating from him and she leaned her head against his shoulder.

“You’ll be fine, I promise. And if you don’t feel fine when we get off the plane then you can do what ever you want with me,” he laughed lightly, stroking her side with his thumb.

“I’m gonna marinate you in acid and then let you roll in a mix of sea salt and chili, and if you’re still alive, then you can bathe in lemon juice,” she threatened, feeling sleepy all of a sudden.

“Ouch! How can someone so cute be so cruel?” he asked with a painful expression.

“I’m small. Small girls learn how to take care of themselves, so we can be very cruel if we have to,” she laughed menacingly, suppressing a yawn.

“Guess I’ve deserved that,” Brian muttered, leaning his head back.

Stewardess asked them to fasten their seat belts and Ash had to move away from Brian. Once done, she leaned her head back against his shoulder. She had to feel that he was really there and she wasn’t alone. Brian took her hand in his.

“Just fall to sleep. Once we’re up, I’ll take off your belt and get you in a better position,” he promised, squeezing her hand lightly. Once that time came, she was only wake enough to realize that she can move closer to Brian. So she raised her legs up to the seat and snuggled as close as she could, falling into deep sleep only seconds later.

“Ash! Wake up! We landed already,” Brian tried to get her up three and a half hours later. Ash didn’t wanna get up, she just pushed his hand away and tried to turn on her other side.

“Come on, sleeping beauty, time to rise and shine,” he laughed, shaking her slightly.

“Go away,” she mumbled, not opening her eyes. She was still too sleepy to do that.

“Fine then,” Brian snorted and lifted her up, then started to walk out.

“Is everything alright?” a stewardess asked, looking worriedly at the sleeping girl in his arms.

“Yeah, she took a sleeping pill earlier, guess it was a little too much for her. She’s fine, I got a response from her, she just can’t keep herself awake yet,” Brian explained calmly, smiling at the woman in front of him.

“Oh, okay. Have a good evening then and thank you for flying with Delta Airlines,” she smiled back allowing them to go at last.

Brian carried Ash all they way to security check. There were three inspectors, none of them available at the moment and Brian had to wait. He lifted Ash a little higher, to get a better grip on her, ignoring all the stares other passengers were giving him. At last, a young looking man, wearing a security uniform, signaled him to step closer.

​“Put her down,” he instructed, standing in front of them.

“Ash, you really have to get up now, were in security check,” Brian tried once again, without a result. “Sorry, she took a sleeping pill before the flight,” he tried to apologize to the security guy.

“Yo, Blondy, get your stupid ass up,” he tried another tactic, insulting her and shaking her at the same time. He remembered how fired up Ash got one night when Johnny had been picking on her and naming her Blondy.

“Stop that damn earthquake,” Ash growled, not happy at all.

“Get up then,” Brian growled back, not as menacingly ‘tho.

“Miss? Do you know where you are?” security man asked, trying to look at her face.

“If we’re not in LA, then Minneapolis. Or somewhere in between,” Ash mumbled, attempting to hide her face against Brian’s neck. She only wanted to sleep a little more.

“Can you look at me for a moment?” security guy didn’t give up.

“Do I have to?” she moaned, not wanting to move.

“Yes, open your eyes or I’m letting go of you,” Brian commanded firmly.

Ash lifted her head unwillingly and opened her eyes only narrowly. There was a sudden burst of light in one of her eye when a security guy directed his tiny flashlight in to it.

“What the hell, man? You wanna get yourself killed?” she huffed, closing her eyes quickly and turning her face against Brian’s neck again.

“Well, I guess she’s normal enough,” security guy laughed, checked Brian for weapons and other forbidden things and then let them through.