Fault Line

Rated: T

Story Summary: Ash and Johnny have been skating on this thin line between friendship and something more for awhile now. So when she shows up his place unannounced looking completely exhausted and worn, Johnny is determined to find out why.

This was more or less just supposed to be a short one-shot to go along with a picture I drew but it turned out to be longer than I intended. :-/ Oh well. Hope you enjoy anyway.

Also, I am struggling with the next chapter of the Rocker and the Mechanic (and Set Me Free tbh) so I thought in the mean time, I needed to write some random Johnny x Ash fanfiction to work through it. Hopefully it works. ;-p

Oh, and I am not used to writing from Johnny's perspective at all so if it's awful, I'm sorry haha.

"Dammit, Johnny! For the last time, I told you - I am not tired."

It was an innocent observation of "Ya look kinda of tuckered out" that had Ash lashing out but that was pretty much all the fight the porcupine had in her at that moment. To growl lowly at him and cutely pout her black bottom lip as she blatantly denied the fact her baggy eyes were already giving her exhausted state away…but dammit, she was gonna try anyway.

Johnny hid a knowing smirk but allowed a sigh to escape as Ash stared up at him in defiance with those icy blues he could easily lose himself in.

The young gorilla had to admit that Ash could be bloody frustrating at times.

Stubborn as all hell when it came to even questioning if she merely was tired or not. All Johnny wanted to do was to be a good friend so it was no wonder why that he began to worry about her when she came over to his house unannounced tonight looking more fatigued and pissed than he'd ever remembered seeing her.

Johnny may be innocent but he was not as naive as others may have believed.

He saw the dark purple bags lining her bottom lids and how her steps weren't as quick and bouncy as they had been the previous day yet he kept that information to himself. There was no way he wanted to rupture the trust and comfort Ash found in his presence - didn't want to push her away in fear of ruining the closeness they had.

Long story short, he would rather bite his tongue than face her wrath, so he uttered, "I was just askin' is all, Ash. Forget I said anything."

"Gladly…"

Johnny let out an inaudible sign before gingerly asking, "So, uh, ya want some popcorn? We could watch a movie or something on the telly."

"Sure. Whatever." Ash muttered before roaming over to his refrigerator and pulling it open. The porcupine glanced around the tall shelves and at the few options he had available. "Seriously? No beer? Not even hard lemonade? What the hell? You'd think with a dad like BD, you'd even have some decent vodka or scotch stocked somewhere around here…" she grumbled, pulling out a Coke with an adorable pursed mouth and furrowed eyebrows.

"Ash!" Johnny bemused, "Ya know we're not old enough to drink yet!" he replied. Not even telling her that the only reason he stocked soda in the fridge at all was because of her…

He'd never tell her that…

"Stop being such a square, J! I told you that you can pass for 23 easy - just get a fake ID to buy some booze. Hell, if ya want one, I know a guy." the seriousness of her statement had him reeling.

Johnny fondly rolled his eyes and reached for the box of microwave popcorn in the pantry. "Nah, I don't think so, Ash. I'll just wait the extra two years so I can buy alcohol legally - even if I ain't really interested in drinking." he spoke while plopping the bag into the microwave and pressing the worn buttons. As many gang dealings he'd done with his dad throughout his life and the criminality of it all, Ash was still able to surprise him.

"Yeah, yeah, Mr. Goody Two-Shoes. Wouldn't want to soil your perfect record but if you change your mind, lemme know. I'll make sure he gives you a good deal on that ID."

Johnny couldn't help but chuckle at that. "I will," he humored her anyway.

Ash didn't respond, just opened the soda with a satisfying hissing of carbonation before making her way over to his worn gray couch and climbing atop its cozy cushions.

While waiting for the popcorn to finish, Johnny's eyes flicked back over to the porcupine already making herself comfortable on his couch. Ash pushed some worn pillows behind her quilled back, grabbed the remote and slowly began flipping through the channels. Johnny couldn't help the slight flush that bloomed across his cheeks from seeing her in his house - no matter how many times she came over and hung out, the fluttery feeling in his stomach never fully dissipated.

As much as he wanted to let her know how he felt or outright ask her out, he still was still coming to terms with wanting to.

It wasn't as if he was completely naive - he'd had crushes and whatnot before meeting the pretty porcupine, but with a dad like BD, he was never able to do anything about them. Substantial fear of bringing a girl into his house and the possibility of her figuring out about his dad's "profession" was too high of a risk he never took.

Yet now was a different story entirely.

Ash was completely aware of his father's imprisonment and frankly, didn't give a shit. She never looked at Johnny differently even after he confessed his involvement in the crimes his father was currently serving in prison. If anything, Ash was interested to hear of his tales of all the elaborately planned bank robberies with a giddy smirk and biting her bottom lip as she listened intently. In those moments, everything in Johnny had to hold back from wondering if her mouth tasted like the iced caramel coffees she lived on…

It was times like that when Johnny knew his mere crush on his best friend was something far more; her stunning exterior nothing compared to the beauty of who she was inside. Prickly (no pun intended) when he first got to know her slowly morphing into the most trusting, loyal, funny, and wonderful friend he'd ever known.

Everything he could have ever wanted in one gorgeous package…

There was only one problem - Johnny had no idea if she could ever feel the same about him.

Although quite a bit of time had passed since her infamous break-up, Ash was still reeling. It had taken a lot of time and patience for Ash to agree to practice music with him let alone spending time together outside of Moon Theater. But once they did, Johnny was tempted to ask her out but something always held him back. Perhaps it was his own insecurities for he had never dated anyone before and here was Ash with five years of experience with relationships under her belt. Bad romantic experiences but experience nonetheless and Johnny hadn't even been on a single date…

The microwave beeping pulled him back into the present.

Shaking his head of the lingering thoughts, Johnny opened the microwave and pulled out the puffed paper package. Cautiously opening it to avoid the searing steam, Johnny poured the popcorn into the bowl. His brown eyes subconsciously lifting from his task and to the porcupine sitting on his couch nearby.

Johnny's excuses were just that - excuses.

He knew the real reason why he hadn't told her how he felt - and it was the inevitable, excruciating, and all-encompassing fear of losing her.

Ash was his best friend and if he outright told her that he harbored romantic feelings toward her, Johnny was terrified all of that would drastically change. For once he confessed, Ash would know how he felt and he could never take those words back. That stopped him cold. Terrified of confessing to Ash, who may only see him as a friend, maybe even a brother figure; the very inkling had his heart lurch in a way he didn't care to ponder.

If she didn't feel the same, their friendship may never recover. Even if she did feel similar towards him, what's to say he wouldn't absolutely fuck it up? The contradictions of meager experience in romance set him up to fail, but God, just looking at her made his heart ache with such want, he was certain it would explode in his chest…

He'd never felt this way about anyone…

"Is the popcorn ready or what?" Ash's frustrated voice carried over to him and Johnny dropped the mostly empty bag on the floor, a few unpopped kernels scattering on the linoleum.

"Uh, y-yeah! I'm comin', Ash," Johnny answered, pushing the stray kernels to the side with his socked foot before carrying the bowl over to the couch.

Taking a few deep breaths to calm the frantic beating of his heart, Johnny gingerly sat down beside her, leaving about a foot of space as per usual. He never was certain if it was appropriate to scoot closer and would rather be safe than sorry.

"'ere ya go." Ash glanced up at him when he spoke, handing her the bowl and she took it wordlessly.

The porcupine placing the gray plastic bowl on her lap before taking a handful of the fluffy, buttery kernels and popping them in her mouth. "I can't find anything to watch since everything is a damn commercial," Ash muttered, casually tossing the remote into Johnny's lap. "Maybe you'll have better luck."

"Oh… Alright," Johnny chuckled, flipping through the channels aimlessly as a comfortable silence enveloped them. The sounds of her rooting through the bowl with her tiny paw, munching on her popcorn were the only noises audible in the quiet room.

"Wait!" Ash mumbled around a mouthful and Johnny's finger froze on the remote. "Go back, go back!"

Johnny, wanting to admonish her for talking with her mouthful and what a choking hazard it was, bit his tongue and did as he was told. Flipping back channels until Ash told him to stop on a channel playing a movie from the 70's if the poor quality of the video was anything to go by.

"...This one?" Johnny gulped, the gritty atmosphere, harsh foreboding music and sudden dread he felt in the pit of his gut gave it away that it was indeed a horror movie.

"Yeah! I love this one! Hell, I watched it so many times that I wore out the VHS when I was a kid."

"...a kid? But isn't this a horror movie?"

"Yes! One of the best ones ever made!" Johnny didn't have to look at her to know she had the biggest smirk stretching across her face. "I actually jacked the VHS from my older cousin's house during a sleepover and would watch it after my parents went to sleep!" Ash outright giggled at the memory and Johnny's cheeks flushed at how bloody cute it sounded.

"Why am I not surprised?"

"Hey, you're not the only aspiring felon around here, Johnny," Ash laughed, her free hand that wasn't rooting around in the popcorn bowl playfully punched his side.

Johnny smiled to hide his grimace because Ash of all animals knew how he despised horror movies. But like the good friend he was, Johnny kept his mouth shut because that was the first sound of genuine happiness he'd heard from her tonight and if it cost him a week long bout of insomnia, it was worth it.

Accepting his fate, Johnny put the remote down. Stomach churning, he refused the popcorn bowl Ash tried to pass him; his appetite completely gone when he glanced up at the television at the worst possible time to see a rather intense decapitation. The movie may have been old but the graphics were a bit too realistic even by today's standards in cinema.

Ash apparently wasn't affected in the slightest, she kept eating and enjoying herself quite well even as blood-curdling screams, roar of a rusty chainsaw, and wet splattering sounds of viscera squirting and coating the walls and floor in puddles of blood did not deter her appetite.

Johnny may not sleep for a month…

Between closing his eyes and the urge to shove his face behind a pillow, Ash suddenly threw Johnny for a loop when he felt her small paw resting on his thigh.

"Thanks," Ash spoke out of nowhere what may have been hours later for all he knew.

Movie forgotten and focusing purely on the warmth of her hand, Johnny asked in a voice much more calmer than he felt, "For what?"

Suddenly ridiculously grateful for an excuse to not look at the television anymore, his eyes drifting down toward the porcupine on his right. Honing in on her hand resting near his knee - did she have any idea what she was doing to him?

But before he could focus on it long, she pulled her hand away almost shyly and he may have imagined it in the blood red-hued light from the telly scattering over them, but he swore her cheeks flushed. "…Just… Thanks. For this - for tonight. I really needed to get away - so, um, thanks, Johnny."

"You're welcome. Ya know you're welcome here anytime." Johnny replied, fully intending for the conversation to conclude but the expression on Ash's face had him ask, "…but what did you need to get away from, Ash?"

The porcupine grew silent for a long time; so long that Johnny was certain she wasn't going to answer.

But before the silence could grow too deafening, Ash let out a sign before uttering, "It's fuckin' Lance," Ash admitted lowly between nibbles of buttery popcorn. "He's such an asshole…"

Johnny glanced down at her to see her heavily-lidded eyes were staring down into the popcorn bowl; haphazardly pushing around a few kernels with her index. As tempted as he was to interrupt or butt in, the gorilla remained silent until she felt compelled to clarify.

"He's typically annoying as all hell anyway, calling me and texting me all hours of the day and night for weeks but I never answer, so guess my surprise when I came home tonight after practice and guess who was fuckin' waiting by the door with a severe case of 'kicked-puppy' syndrome? And fuck! I wanted to punch him in his stupid beaver-looking-ass face!"

"...Lance was there at your flat?" he muttered; not caring how the anger flitted in his normally calm voice.

Lance.

The one animal he'd admit that he hated.

How horrible he'd been to Ash - to hurt her and dare cheat on her made Johnny physically sick. To do that to anybody was awful, but to Ash? Especially knowing her how Johnny did - how strong, wonderful and just so blasted beautiful she was inside and out - to know the bugger did it anyway brought out real fury in him he never knew he was capable of. He'd known about his perpetual habit of calling her, hell, he'd been there a few times where she'd growl at her phone and throw it across the room - but now hearing that he was actually at Ash's apartment bothering her had his pulse skyrocketing. It took everything inside of him to not get in his truck, find Lance, and wallop the wanker into next week.

Ash's voice stopped his inner turmoil. "Yeah, he was and God, I was SO pissed! Like, who the hell does he think he is?! Just casually showing up at my place now of all times!? Doesn't he realize I will never take him back after what he did? If he thinks he can cheat on me in our apartment after five fucking years together and everything will be all hunky dory if he just dumped the bitch and gave a half-assed apology!? Um, fuck no. He's got another thing coming if he thinks I'll ever take him back..."

Johnny's jaw was clenched painfully; the anger boiling in his stomach at hearing the emotion abruptly clogging her throat. All of her pain caused by an ex-boyfriend who treated her in such an egregious way and even all of these months later, he still kept bothering her and making her recede back into the agony she still had yet to let go of.

It bloody pissed him off.

"What did you do when you saw him?" Johnny asked in a measured voice, not wanting to let Ash know just how much her story was affecting him.

Ash being comfortable enough to confess to him would have to be enough.

"Heh. Well, I said a few choice words that would even make your dad blush," she chuckled lowly and Johnny couldn't help but grin at that. "That and if he didn't get the fuck off my porch, I was calling the police."

"Good call."

"Yeah, it was either that or actually kick his stupid teeth in and spend the night or a few weeks in jail," Ash shrugged. "Hell, might have been worth it."

"...I'm glad ya came here," the admission was out before he could stop it. His eyes widening slightly and he hoped to God she didn't hear the longing in his voice.

But Ash merely glanced up at him; perfect icy blue eyes skimming languidly over his face before she flashed him the most genuine smile he'd ever seen grace her face. "Me too," she replied before turning her attention back to the movie like nothing happened.

Johnny didn't fully know why, but it was as if a weight he wasn't aware of lifted off his shoulders. Heart beating frantically when he felt Ash scoot slightly closer to him and he couldn't hide his smile when their hips touched and she dug back into the popcorn as if this closeness was completely normal.

A comfortable silence fell across them, the sounds of the movie almost jarringly loud after their private moment faded but neither made a move to turn it down. The remote remaining beside him as his eyes scarcely left her even if her attention was back on the telly. There was so much he wanted to say, but he kept quiet; simply relishing the fact she was here…

…and for now, that was enough.

Johnny wasn't aware how much time had passed; the movie had to have been almost over considering nearly every character introduced in it had already been bloodily dispatched by this point. While he still wasn't thrilled about watching this and the images that would haunt him every time he blinked, it all suddenly changed when a warm pressure formed on his arm. Thinking Ash was trying to get his attention, he picked up the remote to turn down the volume before glancing down at Ash.

What he didn't expect was to see that Ash had fallen asleep.

Face burning, Johnny couldn't help but smile down at her as he turned the volume even lower until it was nearly muted.

In the silence that encompassed the room, Johnny was able to just look at her. Silently studying features he rarely got to while she was awake and it only made his heart hammer quicker against his sternum. Quilled head resting comfortably on his forearm, thick black lashes splayed beautifully across her cheeks, and pretty mouth slightly open with gentle breaths skirting over the fabric of his jumper and the fur of his arm.

Bloody hell, she was absolutely gorgeous…

Ash suddenly grumbled lightly in sleep and Johnny froze; terrified she'd wake up or that she somehow knew he was staring at her. Yet, a second later, she stopped; letting out a soft sigh before even growing laxer against him.

Johnny shook his head, acknowledging she needed to rest so he gently grabbed the bowl from her loose fingers and cautiously placed it open the coffee table as to not disturb her rest. The realization that Ash was indeed comfortable enough with him to fall asleep resting her face on his arm had his heart feel akin to a butterfly trying to escape captivity. Once all of the detours were removed, Johnny began to gently pull away in order to lay her down.

But then, Ash moaned in her sleep, her free hands now grasping at his green jumper, pulling it pleasantly into her small fist. Face turned to rest more fully on his bicep and Johnny didn't dare breathe, apprehensive it would stop her gentle nuzzling and wake her up.

A minute passed and Ash calmed. Once it seemed she wouldn't awaken, Johnny successfully pulled himself away from her; his hands cradling her small form as he slowly laid her down on the couch. Ash instantly melting into the cushions with a soft sigh escaping her lip. Johnny smiled, pulling an oversized quilt from one arm of the couch to lay it over her tiny form.

Johnny stood up, glancing down at her peaceful face and without even thinking about it, he reached out and brushed a few quills back that lay near her ear. After a few strokes, he fully intended to pull his hand away once the task was complete but his body had other ideas. Gingerly, he brushed the back of his knuckles gently across her cheek; the silky smoothness of her short fur had his face heating all over again yet it was nothing compared to his reaction to Ash's soft moan of what he swore was his name breathed out from her lips. The porcupine unconsciously chasing after his gentle touch; pushing her cheek further against his fingers when she stilled with the barest hints of a smile pulling at her lips.

It was as if his heart stopped mid-beat in his chest.

The small kernel of affection and love he had for her nestled deep in his heart had grown exponentially in that second. How vulnerable she looked yet so content falling asleep on him, to confess what she had been struggling without even being prompted. It shook him to the core just how much he cared for her - dare he say love her - even if he couldn't say it to her face. At least not yet.

Yet as she slept peacefully, Johnny was so tempted to say everything he wanted to; the yearning, the sensation of his heart beating to near arrhythmia with the sheer intensity of the feelings he had for her…

"G'nite, Ash," he whispered instead, fingers slipping from her face to smooth out the wrinkles in the blanket over her form. Merely content that Ash was here resting, comfortable and felt safe enough to seek his company.

Johnny knew one day he'd have the courage to her about how he felt…

Someday…just not today.

With that thought, Johnny smiled, gently brushed his hand over her cheek once more before he turned off the telly, the lights and went to bed; not noticing how she reached out for him in her sleep.