#fun fact the precious girl in that gif is also called charlie v cute

[ashton-ryder]

"Yeah.." Ashton exhaled his own tension he held in him, mist dancing in the cold air before evaporating. He folded his arms on the edge and rested his chin on them as he gazed up at the natural wonder of the universe. The world can be on fire and the universe will still go on. "It's why I really wanted to study it, it's beautiful, and terrifying, and exciting," his voice soft and murmured at the discussion of space. The night sky had always gave him a weird sense of comfort since young, whenever he was scared, or lonely, or angry, it remained at peace, a reminder that they're so small in the grand scheme of things, that surely whatever they have going on, life goes on. And every single person at least shared one thing in common, that everyone came from the same place in the universe.

He was caught off guard by the sudden arms around him as he straightened his back again, arms awkwardly in the arm for a moment before settling to return the comforting embrace. "Hey, it's nothing, you did most of the work anyways. You got yourself up here, I just pointed out some things to look at," Ash threw her a smile when he pulled back. Truly, the courage for her to come up to the roof's entrance was probably the hardest part of it all and she did that by herself. "Had enough of the heights? We can head back down, I was thinking about getting some tea at the diner anyways after all this cold."

Brows lifting at his hesitation, Charlie gave her little finger a little wag to push him toward linking his own with it, refusing to let him pull down the feel food vibes they'd managed to replace her anxiety with. Smile somehow managing to grow even larger as his pinkie wrapped around her own, Charlie gave a little bounce of their joined hands before letting go. At least of their conjoined pinkies, for his other hand was still held oh so securely in her other, at least until they were at the edge and he finally let go.

Transferring her grip to the bar along the top of the ledge wall, she refused to look down even a little, instead keeping her eyes on the upper windows of the floors across from her in case she could catch movement in them as well. "Not so bad..." Though breathless, she had to admit that he was right, because the view itself was breath taking, especially with the blanket of stars painting the sky above them. "It's so beautiful...." Even so she wasn't sure she'd be able to get back to the ledge yet by herself, but it would be easier to do in the future. Spending time with Roman beneath a sky more beautiful than any artist could do justice seemed like a dream that was actually within reach. A moment of peace and beauty among all the horror of the time.

Turning her attention back to Ashton, she didn't even think before turning to wrap her arms around him in a tight hug. "Thank you for this, Ashton. I wish I could tell you how much it means to me."