Ashley hit the keypad outside her door, letting her eyes slide shut as she waited for the computer to recognize her palm print and let her in. The system must have been backed up this evening, because it took a few seconds longer than usual. The delay only served to irritate her further, and she sighed when the door finally slid open.

The lights were on, and she wondered briefly if she had forgotten to turn them off when she left that afternoon. But the computer's power conserve mode should have done it for her when it detected the empty room. It was a mystery that she was too tired to contemplate right now, and she collapsed on the couch without further thought.

For a moment, she just lay there, staring up at the ceiling and wishing for the world to go away. Reaching up, she lifted her head enough to tug her ponytail free and push her shoes off before relaxing again. It was such a relief to just lie there and do nothing that she considered skipping dinner entirely and going straight to bed.

A noise from the small kitchen unit distracted her, though, and she wondered if Cassie was home already. She was too tired to actually get up and wander into the kitchen to check, but she did turn her head slightly and think about calling out to her friend.

Before she could, though, the person in the kitchen spoke first, and she smiled as she recognized Andros's voice. "Is that you, Ash?"

"Yeah," she answered, deciding it wasn't worth the effort to come up with some sarcastic remark about who else would be in her apartment. "Have you been here long?"

"Just a few minutes," he said, and she heard his footsteps, suddenly muffled on the carpet as he came into the room. "Want something to drink?"

"That depends," she said, a little suspicious as he entered her limited field of view carrying two mugs. "What is it?" Andros had, inexplicably as far as she was concerned, decided he liked tea. She couldn't stand it, but he kept trying to get her to drink the stuff.

"Just juice," he replied, giving her an amused look. "Here."

Setting one mug down on the table next to the end of the couch, he sat down next to her as she dragged herself into a sitting position. Taking her left hand, he wrapped her fingers around the mug. "You look tired," he observed, as she lifted the mug to her lips.

The juice was warm and rather pleasantly flavored, though she didn't recognize it. "This is good," she said involuntarily, looking down at her mug.

"Should be," he said with a shrug, but the corner of his mouth lifted and she knew he was pleased. "So what's up?"

She shifted a little, feeling a little better under his careful attention. "Nothing, really; it's just been a long day. Nothing a kiss wouldn't cure," she added hopefully, glancing sideways at him.

He smiled faintly and leaned closer, brushing her tangled hair away from her face. His lips touched hers gently, and she closed her eyes, feeling that simple touch wash away some of her annoyance.

"Thank you," she whispered, as he pulled away.

"Anytime," Andros murmured, and she found him staring at her as she opened her eyes.

"What?" she asked, a little uncomfortable with his expression. He looked at her like that more often now, an intense gaze that he had once reserved for the stars, or the pictures he kept in his locket.

She had often come across him staring off into the distance back when they'd been on the Megaship, and known he was thinking troubled thoughts about things long lost. But now he sometimes turned that focused look on her, and she wondered what he thought when he did. Was she just something else to be lost, another pain that he had to shield himself from?

She had thought him past that. He had his best friend, his sister, his entire world back, and he was so much more relaxed than he had once been. She had thought Andros knew what it was to be happy now, and she had hoped he could find that happiness with her. But when he looked at her with that unreadable gaze, she had to wonder what was going through his mind.

"You're staring," she said lightly, tapping his shoulder with one of the couch's throw pillows.

"And you're beautiful," he countered, snatching the pillow from her hand. "How could I *not* stare?"

The impassive look was gone as quickly as it had come, and his expression was affectionate as he tossed the pillow back into her lap. She had to lift her mug to keep the pillow from hitting it, and she shook her head. "Are you *trying* to make me spill this?"

"Sure, I compliment you and then I spill your drink on you," he said, giving her a wry look. "Now there's a plan."

She leaned across him to set her mug down, and saw him avert his eyes automatically. "Maybe you want me to change into something else?" she suggested slyly, and when he glanced at her, startled, she tossed the pillow back at him.

"Hey," he protested, slapping the pillow away. "You're the one who said it."

"Aha! You *do* want me to change," she exclaimed triumphantly, grabbing another pillow and throwing it at him. She knew that wasn't what he'd meant--he probably hadn't seen enough movies to understand the insinuation behind the comment in the first place. But it had been a long day, and she just wanted an excuse to be crazy for a while.

Andros looked a little confused, but he wasn't going to just let her throw pillows at him. Grabbing one off the floor, he tossed it back in her direction and shook his head at her. "I don't want you to change," he countered. "I like you just the way you are."

"That isn't--" She made the mistake of turning her back on him to look for another pillow, and she felt his arms wrap around her from behind.

"No more pillows," he said firmly.

"You can't tell me you're afraid of a few pillows," she argued, struggling against him and feeling her irritation flare again. She tried to suppress it, but when he didn't loosen his grip she complained, "Let me go, Andros!"

He did, and she twisted around to shove him, hard. "That wasn't funny," she snapped, then felt terrible for the hurt look she saw in his eyes. *What's wrong with me?* she wondered, annoyed with herself. *He's just trying to cheer me up.*

"I'm sorry," she said with a sigh. "I didn't mean to--"

"It's okay," he said softly, pressing his fingers against her lips. "You're tired, Ash. I think maybe you've been working too hard--I'm going to get you the next few days off, all right?"

"No, Andros, it's not that…" Suddenly his hand on her mouth felt very inviting, and she kissed his fingers on impulse. She saw him frown, and she tugged on his hand, leaning closer to kiss his mouth.

He let her do it for a moment, but when she moved closer, wanting more than just his passive participation, he pushed her away. "Ash, is something wrong?" he asked, looking worried.

"No," she said, more sharply than she'd intended. "Nothing's wrong with *me*."

"Ash…"

*Don't look at me like that!* she cried silently. His sad look cut through her heart, as it had so many times before, and she looked away. She had been crazy to think that they were right for each other. He was too serious, she too ebullient for their personalities to mesh.

*You're not like that anymore--look at yourself now,* she chastised herself. *That's the way you *were*; things are different now. Why would he want you at all?*

"Ashley," Andros whispered, concern evident in the way he said her name. She felt his arm go around her and she relaxed against his shoulder, letting him draw her into a gentle embrace. A single tear squeezed through her closed eyelids as she buried her face against his chest.