Note/s: This is based on my hermit!jack au, which I've done quite a lot on tumblr. This is also part of my Arranging the Universe series. Any mistakes found will be corrected later. Thank you!

Morning, Noon and Nighttime

"No you can't die on me! Not now! Please!" Ashi pleaded, turning the key over and over in the ignition. "Come on! You can't do this to me!" With a cry, she slammed her fist on the horn, scaring away a couple of birds from a nearby tree.

" Great ." She muttered, releasing the seatbelt. As she got out, she could not resist slamming the door shut. The anger had to go somewhere and she had it in excess. With a huff, she stood in front of her car, surveying her surroundings to find nothing but trees and grass. Nature was even encroaching on the unmaintained road with wildflowers and weeds sprouting in the cracks of concrete. Ashi would have appreciated the resilient beauty of it all if she wasn't well…. here .

A rush of cold wind blew at her. Shivering, she checked her phone. Still no signal and the battery was on its last leg. Reviewing screenshots of her map, she made an unsettling discovery. She had taken a wrong turn... three hundred kilometers ago . Then, the screen turned black and Ashi stared in horror at her own reflection.

In a fit of all her mounting frustrations, she hurled the device to the side of the road, watching it disappear into the bushes in momentary satisfaction. Then, with a calming sigh, stomped over to retrieve it. It was when she was detangling it from the wild roots did she see it: a dirt path. It was barely a foot wide and it snaked deep into the thicket. Did she really have a choice? Swallowing caution, she followed it, praying at the back of her head it would lead to some cutesy farming village straight out of a Ghibli movie.

Ashi moved carefully, crunching dead leaves and undergrowth with her thankfully sensible shoes, all while keeping her arms close to her sides to avoid the low hanging branches. Every time she heard a noise, her head whipped over to the source only to find a rabbit or a bird. She hoped it stayed that way. Last thing she wanted was to unwittingly star in a horror movie.

The path soon began to widen and Ashi began to see signs of human activity such as neatly stacked logs and tilled land. Her spirit soared when she spotted a fence post and what looked to be a house. She immediately broke into a run, relieved to find shelter. However, she slowed down the moment she got close enough for a better look.

It was...a shack, and that was putting it politely. To be exact, it was a dilapidated wooden structure with broken and missing planks, curled-up splinters, and unhammered nail ends that offered free tetanus. On the droopy roof was a crooked metal cylinder of a chimney that looked more like an exhaust pipe. The small lean-to shed attached to the side of the house completed the serial killer aesthetic.

Ashi shuddered, feeling a chill run through her spine. Taking a chance with the wilderness seemed like a better option. Who knew what kind of scary hillbilly inhabited this place?

Ashi let out a sigh. She had come this far and she truthfully did not want to have to go all the way back down without checking all her options. Taking a deep breath, she marched through the gateless fence, and up the creaky front steps. She tried peering into the dirty windows but found the shades drawn. Judging from the accumulated dust, it looked like the windows had not been opened in a long time. Ashi stepped back, wrinkling her nose in disgust at her soiled hands and sleeves. She had to be careful, she did not bring a whole lot of clothes to—she slapped her forehead.

She had forgotten her traveling bag in the car.

…

...

And she had just dirtied her hair and face too. Great. Perfect.

"Ugh." Ashi grunted. "This place better have a shower…" Before she knocked on the door, she picked up a glass bottle stuffed in one of the holes of the porch and held it behind her back. No sense coming in unarmed.

She rapped her knuckles at the door.

No answer.

Ashi tried again, this time louder.

It worked. The floorboards vibrated from the heavy footsteps moving inside. Ashi straightened herself up to full height, gripping the neck of her weapon tightly as her heart thudded wildly in her ribcage.

The steps ended on the other side of the door. Then, several clicks. Finally, the knob moved in an almost ominous rotation and the door pulled back to allow just a slight gap.

It was too dark to see inside but Ashi could make out the glimmer of a chain from the door lock and one glaring eye.

"Hi there!" She forced some cheer into her words. "I was wondering if you could help me. You see, my car broke down and I was wondering if you"—

SLAM.

Ashi blinked. Did he just...slam the door in her face?!

She knocked again.

The door barely opened again.

"Hey." Ashi tried to remain civil. "I'm really sorry to bother you but I'm lost and"—

"Go away," came the person's gruff reply, which momentarily threw Ashi off.

"Look," This time, Ashi no longer bothered hiding her annoyance. "I'd love to leave but unfortunately I can't. So I'm appealing to your decency as a human being to"—

He interrupted her with a beastlike snarl.

"Not my problem."

He was about to close the door again but Ashi was not having it. She jammed her hand in the closing gap...which she quickly learned was a stupid idea.

She screeched in pain, withdrawing her fingers as she dropped to her knees. Her other hand discarded her weapon to clutch her injured hand. She was too engrossed in her agony to notice the door swinging open behind her. She was only aware of the man's presence when he knelt down beside her. He grabbed her wrist and Ashi lifted her tear-fringed lashes to see. She was taken aback by the size of his hand as it engulfed hers. The pads of his fingers and palm were roughly textured and calloused as he turned her hand over. She could also see that the back of his hand was scarred and his knuckles prominent.

Her gaze then moved to his arm, following the veins that ran along it, stopping at a plaid sleeve, which made her take note of the rest of his shirt that was filled in very well. Then she caught the end of his beard and slowly panned up to the rest of his face.

He was still studying her hand, his black eyes deep in focus with thick eyebrows furrowed down. A lock of his long black hair fell along the bridge of his straight nose that flared slightly at the bottom. These were all the features Ashi could make out as the rest of his face was obscured by his beard. What little skin was visible looked tanned and leathery.

His eyes suddenly snapped up to hers, startling Ashi.

"It's bruised, but not broken." He said, releasing her hand to stand, acquainting Ashi with his long denim-clad legs. "Run it under cool water and you'll be fine." He made a move for the door.

Ashi's mouth dropped in outrage. "Wait! You're really still just going to leave me out here? Especially when this is all your fault?!"

He stopped at her words, turning back to her with a frightening expression.

"Woman, you did that to yourself." He said, pointing at her hand. "You're also the one who got yourself lost, so you can get yourself un-lost on your own." He waved a dismissive hand at her as he started back inside.

Ashi was not going to stand for this treatment! She launched herself from her feet and with an unnecessary battle cry charged through before he could close the door. She crashed into a table with a solid "Oof!".

"CRAZY WOMAN!" yelled the man. "This is my property! Get out!"

Ashi ignored her added pain to glare at the neanderthal.

"I'm not leaving until you agree to let me stay!"

…

…

"Oh, how wonderful." He deadpanned. "What an advantageous bargain on my end."

"Please." Ashi lifted her chin haughtily. "Don't use up all your big words on me. I know you don't have much to start." She suppressed a smile as she caught a twitch in his eye.

"Get out or I'll toss you out."

With his bigger size, she would weigh no less than a feather to him. Ashi moved behind the table, creating more distance between them in the small space. She ignored the mildewy scent as she took a deep breath.

"Look, mister." She said. "It's already late and cold outside and your… house is the only shelter around as far as I can see. Is it so unreasonable for me to stay here?"

…

…

"Get out or I'll toss you out."

"Oh, you'd want that, wouldn't you?" Ashi snorted. "To have a chance to get your hands on a woman. I bet I'm the first one you've seen in ages."

His eyes nearly bulged out. "WHAT?!"

Ashi crossed her arms. "You heard me."

"Woman!" Jack sputtered furiously. "I'd sooner be attracted to a rabid boar than be so desperate enough to look at you!"

Instead of outrage, Ashi felt overwhelming relief that she would not be considered a worthy mate to this neanthertal's species. That was one thing to cross out of her worry list.

"Look!" Ashi said, her words brimming with conviction, slamming her uninjured hand on the table. "I don't want to die. I'm not going to die. I'm staying whether you like it or not, which obviously you don't. Hang your pride! Even if you kick me out, I'll get in. Even if it means prying every board in this dump loose or squeezing myself in your chimney, I'll get in. You'll never know peace otherwise! I'll poison your water supply! Break your windows! I'll do everything to take you down with me! So what's it going to be?!"

Ashi was ready to fight tooth and nail as the man gave her a look that one reserved for a deranged lunatic. There was silence, save for their breathing and a faint ticking sound that came from a clock somewhere Ashi could not be bothered to look for in the moment.

Then finally, the man sighed.

He placed a hand over his eyes, groaned and dragged it all the way down his face.

He glared at her again but there was resignation within the hostility of his eyes.

"Do what you want then!" He spun around, walked outside of his own house, and slammed the door behind him.

Ashi had won.