Hey gu-. Wait. This can't be right. An update on this fanfiction? It can't be. The author of this, RomanRuler, yeah he's a jerk. He never finishes up those chapters he said he would. Kidding aside, that break I took lasted a bit longer than I said, huh? Truth of the matter is, I lost interest in my story. I just didn't have the same spark as when I first started up this story, and I felt like I was just writing just for the sake of writing. I felt that the chapters were becoming mundane and they were all starting to look exactly like the previous chapter, just in a different setting. And then with work ramping up, free time always gets limited, but I digress. I wanna start this Chrashley fanfiction up again, but I can't keep up the pace that I was able to in the summer. I felt that I was writing chapters to meet a deadline, rather than writing them for you guys or even myself to enjoy. Recently, I started writing up a new fanfiction, and it took me around a week and a half to complete, despite it only being around 2.5-3k words. But I really liked that story, and I felt that I dedicated time to it rather than just throwing words together on a page and clicking submit. So to that end, yes I will be re-starting my Chrashley fanfiction. But this time, I'm not going to give a set time on when I'm going to update it. I won't do another long drought where there won't be an update for months, but I don't want to pressure myself with setting up a deadline. I wanna write up this chapters for mine and your guys' enjoyment, and I feel that having a set deadline didn't really accomplish that.

Alright, well enough of my sob story and onto this actual chapter. This chapter has absolutely nothing to do with any of the previous chapters. This is actually adapted from a fanfiction/story I recently posted, (the one I talked about earlier. I know, shameless plug) except I ripped out parts of that one and tried to input Chrashley moments into this one. With that in mind, if you see anything that was never mentioned before randomly come up, it's probably a part of the original story that I forgot to take out, so I'm sorry about that. It's by far not my best work, but I'm hoping you guys enjoy it all the same! As always, I'm honored whenever you guys take time out of your day to simply read my story. And, as a side note, I really wanna thank anyone who supported my Chrashley fanfiction up to now, and maybe still does. I genuinely appreciate that you bothered to stick with me. Alright, if I don't watch it, this author's note is gonna wind up being longer than the actual chapter. Any criticisms, reviews, comments, suggestions, whatever you guys might wanna say is always greatly appreciated! I hope you enjoy this long awaited update, and without further ado, onto the story!

Ashley let out a groan as she woke up, hearing the pattering of rain against the window outside. It was an unusually cool, rainy October day in New York, and she was in no mood to wake up.

"5 more minutes" Ashley groggily thought to herself as she rolled over and snuggled next to Chris, instantly smiling.

It had been about a year and a half ever since the whole lodge incident involving Josh and the Wendigos happened. It was also a year and a half ago when Chris and Ashley had finally confessed their feelings for each other and begun dating. Ever since then, they had spent a lot more time together, invoking a lot of teasing from their friends. It's not that they hadn't spent a fair amount of time together prior to the lodge incident, but everything kinda changed after the lodge. They still joked around and playfully teased each other every now and then, but there was a much more caring, loving atmosphere between them. They no longer had to skirt around their feelings and pretend to just be friends, and they were both glad that was finally over.

As a result, Chris and Ashley decided to purchase a decently sized house with the money they saved college scholarships, as well as their parents' own help with the money. Even their friends decided to chip in and help them out. It was only about an hour drive from their house to New York City, a feature of the house that Ashley especially loved. Despite her generally shy personality, she loved the city, with all the different people and cultures helping her think of essay and book ideas for her classes. Also, there was a Starbucks, Dunkin', or some form of a coffee shop on every block, so that helped to satiate her desire for coffee. And with so many places to go and visit, her and Chris would always go on a date to the city at least once a week. While it was usually just to walk around Central Park, Ashley still loved their early evening walks.

Ashley frowned as she heard the wind whip against the side of the house and the rain get heavier outside. She snuggled a bit closer to Chris and pulled the blankets closer to her, relishing in the warmth. "Maybe Chris and I can take the day off?" Ashley thought to herself as she gently placed her head on his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat. It was a cold, wet day after all, and Ashley loved nothing more than lazy days with Chris. And the weather outside definitely called for a lazy day. Her thoughts were broken by Chris shuffling about as he began to wake up himself. He let out a small yawn and looked down at Ashley.

"Morning Ash" he said as he kissed the top of her head.

"Morning" Ashley replied, smiling up at Chris as well. She shifted herself around so that her body now faced Chris, and snuggled her head back onto his chest "Sorry if I woke you up"

"It's alright, you didn't wake me up" Chris responded, a reassuring smile on his face. "Besides, we need to start getting up anyway" he added, nodding his head in the direction of the alarm clock on the nightstand. Their classes started at 10:30, and when you took into account the thirty minute drive to the campus, they generally had to get up at around 8:00-8:30. Ashley glanced over, saw the clock read 8:23 AM, and rested her head back comfortably on Chris's chest, signaling she really was in no mood to get up.

"Hey, do you think we could maybe take the day off?" she asked, looking up at Chris. "It's a pretty bad day out, and we haven't taken any days off from our classes yet, so we definitely could". Ashley looked up at Chris hopefully, waiting for his response.

"Well, it is a pretty bad day out" Chris agreed, wrapping an arm around Ashley's waist to pull her in closer. "And besides, I can't say no to you"

Ashley smiled up at him and quickly kissed his cheek, making him smile in response.

The two of them leaned back into the bed and Chris nuzzled her neck, gently kissing the nape of her neck. Ashley giggled as Chris's kisses tickled the back of her neck, making the both of them smile. Once Chris decided she was sufficiently tickled enough, he leaned back into the bed and stretched.

"Alright, well just because we're taking the day off doesn't mean I'm not going to shower" Chris said with a smirk, slowly getting out of their bed. Ashley responded with a small smile back and stretched as Chris headed off to the bathroom.

"I'll go make us breakfast while you're taking a shower!" she called out to Chris, getting out of the bed herself. "Bacon and eggs sound good?"

"Yep!" he said through the door. Ashley stretched one more time and changed out of her pajamas and into a fresh set of clothes, which included a pair of fuzzy pajama pants as well as one of Chris's hoodies, which was just a little big on her. After putting on her final article of clothing, Ashley pocketed her phone, took her glasses off the nightstand, and headed downstairs.

"Jeez, it's cold" she said to herself as she walked down the stairs, pulling the hoodie closer to herself. Ashley went over to the thermostat and passed by a sleeping Sparky, who looked comfortable and snug in her dog bed.

Sparky was a golden labrador that Ashley and Chris decided to get upon moving to New York. She was a calm, temperate, peaceful dog, who never bit and rarely barked. In fact, they had never actually heard Sparky bark since they got her. If you asked them why they got Sparky, Chris and Ashley would both say it was to keep one of them company while the other was in class, or by walking her to help out with exercise. The actual excuse, however, was that they simply just wanted a dog.

After raising the heat a little, Ashley quickly used the downstairs bathroom and lazily walked over to the kitchen, where she took out a carton of eggs and a package of bacon from the fridge. Once the oven was on, she got to work getting breakfast ready, taking out her phone and putting on music from her iTunes playlist while she cooked breakfast. A couple of songs later, however, Ashley heard a patter of footsteps in the kitchen and looked up from her phone to see Sparky walking up to her, happily panting.

"Hey baby" Ashley cheerfully said as she put her phone down on the kitchen table to play with Sparky's fur. She happily panted in reply, and nuzzled Ashley's hand, trying to bring her attention to something.

"Do you need to use the bathroom?" Ashley asked as she lead Sparky outside, making sure to keep an eye on the oven. "Be quick though, it's raining". One bathroom break later, Ashley lead Sparky back inside the house and fed her, turning her attention back to the food on the stove. After a few more minutes of cooking, Ashley turned off the stove and brought the pan of cooked bacon and eggs over to the counter when Sparky's head immediately perked up. Ashley laughed as Sparky mosied her way over to the counter to get a better smell at the freshly cooked bacon.

"Aww, sorry baby, but this isn't for you" Ashley told Sparky with a sympathetic smile as she nudged her. The golden furred dog cocked her head to the right and looked up at Ashley in confusion before returning her attention to the pan of meat on the counter. Ashley simply smiled and sighed at Sparky's persistence in wanting the bacon.

"Alright girl" She began, pushing the pan of bacon a little further on the counter to ensure that Sparky couldn't reach it. "If you sit down and be a good girl, I'll give you a treat". At hearing this, Sparky gave up on her attempts at the bacon and sat down on the kitchen floor, patiently looking up at Ashley. She let out another laugh before retrieving a dog treat from one of the cabinets in the kitchen for Sparky, much to the dog's delight. Just as Ashley gave Sparky the treat, Chris walked into the kitchen, wearing a flannel shirt and pajama bottoms himself, his hair slightly messy from the shower.

"Oh, I see how it is" Chris said, feigning hurt on his face. "You care more about Sparky than me". Ashley laughed and walked over to Chris, a smile slowly appearing on his face. Chris wrapped his arms around her waist and Ashley wrapped her arms around his neck, the two of them smiling at each other.

"Sparky's definitely cute, but I love you" Ashley genuinely said softly, leaning her forehead against Chris's.

"I love you too" Chris replied genuinely in an equally soft voice. Almost as if on cue, the current song playing from Ashley's iPhone ended, and was replaced with "Rhythm of Love", causing the both of them to blush slightly. Both Ashley and Chris turned their attention back towards each other, and the smiles on their faces grew larger as their lips met and they shared a simple, sweet kiss. It lasted only a few seconds, but Ashley cherished every second. In that moment, everything was perfect, and the only thing that mattered in the world was the two of them.

Chris was the one who gently broke the kiss, leaning his forehead against Ashley's. The two were slightly red and flushed from the kiss, with large goofy smiles on their faces.

"Nice hoodie" Chris teased her, glancing down at the hoodie Ashley was wearing.

"Shh" she replied, letting out a small laugh. She reached up and gave him a quick peck on the lips and leaned her head back against Chris's.

They had stayed like that for a few seconds, lovingly looking at each other as "Rythm of Love" finished playing in the background. Chris quickly kissed the top of her head before they gently separated, heading over to the breakfast on the kitchen counter.

" It looks really good!" he commented as he took out a plates for himself and Ashley and placed the bacon and eggs on them.

"Thanks" Ashley replied as she sat down at the table. Chris carried the pair of plates back to the kitchen table, placing one in front of Ashley and one in front of the spot where he planned on sitting. The two of them then ate breakfast, talking about a variety of things, from their friends to date ideas they had for each, all while cheery music played from Ashley's iPhone. Occasionally, Sparky would approach either Chris or Ashley and place her head in their lap, in an attempt to get some of their breakfast. While she failed to obtain any bacon, Sparky received a healthy petting from the both of them, which she happily accepted anyway. Around thirty minutes later, both Ashley and Chris had finished breakfast, with Chris carrying their dishes to the sink. Opting to wash them now and not have to do them later, Chris set out to scrubbing.

As Chris was washing the pair of plates, Ashley decided to check the weather for the day, in the hopes that the rain would clear up. However, she let out a disappointed sigh as the rain and wind wasn't predicted to let up until later on that night. "Sounds like a hot chocolate day".

"Hey, I'm gonna make hot chocolate, you want some?" Ashley asked as she approached the Keurig next to Chris.

"Hot chocolate? Not Dunkin'?" he asked over his shoulder, a smirk on his face.

"Anyone who goes out in this weather for a cup of coffee from Dunkin' needs to cut down on their coffee addiction" she replied, mirroring his smile.

Chris chuckled and said "Yeah, I'll have some hot chocolate. Thanks". With that, Ashley began to make the two of them hot chocolate, producing two mugs from the cabinet for them: a navy blue mug with stars depicted on it for Chris, and a white mug with a cardinal depicted on it for herself. Within 5 minutes, Chris had finished cleaning up and the sweet smell of hot chocolate could be smelled in the kitchen. Ashley handed Chris the navy blue mug, which he accepted with a smile and she grabbed her own. The two of them then proceeded to walk into the living room, with Sparky following close behind. Chris placed their mugs on the table near the couch as Ashley went upstairs to quickly grab a blanket, coming down with a large enough one for the two of them.

Both Ashley and Chris sat down on the couch together and cuddled as they searched for something to watch on Netflix, browsing through the various shows. Eventually, they settled on The Office, as they agreed that it was too early in the day for anything too actioned oriented and Ashley didn't particularly like anything horror related. Ashley let out a content sigh as Chris wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her in, letting her rest her head on his chest. Ashley wrapped an arm around Chris in return and the two of them happily cuddled on the couch as the opening theme to The Office began to play from the TV. They had both already seen this episode, but Ashley didn't care. She was happy just spending time with Chris, and he could say the same.

Out in the corner, Sparky was comfortably resting back in her dog bed, keeping herself busy with one of the dog toys that was located in the pile near her bed. Ashley couldn't help but smile as she thought about the cold, mucky weather outside, and how she was cuddling with Chris, happy and warm.

Ashley scooted a little closer to Chris and rested her head comfortably on his shoulder, causing him to gently lean his own head against hers. Ashley heard the roar of the wind pick up outside and Chris reached over to make sure she was covered up with the blanket, wanting her to be comfy and warm. Ashley couldn't help but smile and turned her head slightly to face Chris.

"I love you" she said, looking up at him lovingly. Chris turned his head to face Ashley and gave her a smile.

"I love you too" he responded, kissing the top of her head. The two of them turned their attention back to the TV, smiling and enjoying each other's company. It may have been a cold, miserable day outside, but inside their house, Chris and Ashley were warm, content, and, most of all, they loved each other with all their heart.

Thanks so much for reading this chapter! I really hope you enjoyed it! Just to recap, I will be re-starting this fanfiction/story, and I'll have the next chapter pick up where we left off on, which I quite frankly can't remember. Guess it's time for myself to re-read all these chapters again. Like I said earlier, I'm not going to put a set date/time on when I'll be updating this fanfiction, so make sure to just keep an eye on it from time to time. I promise I won't pull a Houdini and disappear for months at a time. As always, any critics/suggestions/ideas you might have for this chapter and future ones are always appreciated! I hope you all have a good day/afternoon/evening!