#brought to you by the great ao3 shutdown of july 10th 2023

[your-enby-antihero]

It's Okay to feel Betrayed Sometime (Even as a Punk Rock)

Look, look, look I might have hoped for FCG to be more concerned about Ashton when they were separated. I love Love Letters, it is simply adorable but I'm an Ashton Greymoore kinnie and I have abandonment issues so :p. Anyway, I also think Deanna and Ashton should get to be drinking buddies. 

Also on ao3

Ashton is a little bitter about how they reunited with FCG, and Deanna tries to comfort. They mostly yell.

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Ashton was bitter, okay maybe bitter was the wrong word. Angry was more like it, maybe a little defeated, maybe a little scorned, possibly a bit sad. It isn’t like they haven’t been left behind before, fucking hell he has the hole in their head to prove it. Ashton just expected a little more excitement when he reunited with Fresh Cut Grass. When you spend multiple months being teammates and protecting someone and making sure that they don’t go fucking murderous rage bot on the populace of Jrusar you’d think they’d be more worried about you when you get separated at a fucking world-ending event. But unlike the fucking romance novel that was Imogen and Laudna running to each other with the shimmery shojo manga filter overlaying it. Ashton and FCG didn’t even speak a word to each other until FCG started talking about the Changebringer. Maybe Ashton was jealous, not of Imogen and Laudna that was a whole different bag, maybe closer to how Fearne and Orym had reunited. The way that Ashton saw Orym’s eyes light up when he saw the small animal that had scurried back to the table filled with the Hells. Orym who hadn’t really been sleeping, Orym who really hadn’t sighed a sad smile in the past few days, Orym who Ashton had been keeping on “going off the deep end” watch. Even Chetney had been more excited to see Ashton. Ashton had been glancing over to the yellow and cyan aeormaton, but their glowing eyes seemed more focused on the new rose gold and emerald frame in the room. It was fine, they weren’t jealous, Ashton didn’t feel like they had lost a close friend. It wasn’t like Ashton hadn’t noticed that FCG had continuously drifted farther and farther from Ashton and that they’d once again be left behind. Ashton wasn’t deflecting by pretending to be offended by Prism calling Orym her “new best friend” no that was truly his actual literal offence for sure (he was lying).

Just as the groups had gotten ready to part ways Ashton felt a tug on the back of their jacket. Turning around, at a frankly very frightening speed, with fist ready to deck a motherfucker (look it's been very stressful and there had been a lot of bad shit recently can anyone fault Ashton for being fucking paranoid?) Ashton saw the small armoured gnomish woman who had introduced herself as Deanna.

“Hey buddy you doing okay,” she questioned.

Ashton was not one to be comforted, he was always the comfort, a literal rock in the lives of his people. He simply couldn’t just crack and let this total stranger worm her way into his very carefully guarded heart. They had always used anger as a defense, keeping even the closest people like an arm away.

“Fuck off,” they spat, throwing Deanna a bit backward as he was trying to move back down to the bar area.

Who was the Dawnfather chucklefuck to try and interrogate him about how he was feeling? But as he walked he felt a hard grip on their arm.

“Now listen here, I know what you might think of me but I can see you feel like Fresh Cut Grass is leaving you for FRIDA.”

“Fuck off I’m not talking to a priest of the fucking Dawnfather about my fucking business.”

“Listen to me for one fucking second. Look I know how that feels, how do you think it feels for me?! FRIDA is my best friend.”

“Great, glad for you! Fuck off.”

“Hey don’t- listen finally I get someone who genuinely cares about me after being fucking dead and suddenly they’re more concerned about a fucking stranger! Do you know how it feels to just lose everything?”

“No shit,” they huffed, hitting the glassy crystal on his head.

“Then get the stick out of your ass and stop bottling it up. It looks like you and your friends have been through a lot, didn’t the spooky ladies kill a man? You can’t be strong for everyone if you aren’t taking care of yourself!”

“Have you seen Orym? Or Laudna? Imogen? Fucking hell even Chetney. Fearne? Do you know who is after her? Hell, even Letters. They all have so much shit going on, I can deal with my shit on my own. Now. Fuck. Off.”

Deanna sighed sitting down at an empty table off in the corner and deconded Ashton over.

“Least I can do is offer you some company, even if you don’t talk about it right now.”

Ashton begrudgingly sat, arms crossed on the opposite side of the table.

“You drink,” Deanna asked, producing a large bottle of a certainly fucked up type of alcohol.

Ashton let out an exhausted laugh and took the offered bottle. They pulled out the most jank ass Taste of Tal'Dorei shot glass and poured some of the murky liquid into the glass and quickly shot it back.

They sat in amicable silence for a few minutes before finally, Ashton said, “So what the fuck is up with you and Chetney?”