Hanging by a Moment

When Legacy’s birthday rolled around not quite two months later, Ash found himself wondering where the time had gone. It’d already been a year since his baby girl was born, and nearly that long since he’d first found her on his doorstep that chilly March night. It’d also been nearly that long since he’d met Rebel as a result of that discovery.

Even as he set up for his baby girl’s birthday party, he couldn’t believe that so much had happened in the last year. It felt like it hadn’t been nearly that long, more like only a few months, but at the same time, it felt like it’d been far longer. Maybe it was just because for the majority of the last year, he’d been on the road touring more often than not, as well as in the studio once again. The latter was only because Andy’d decided that, since they were all coming up with so much new material, it was time for another Black Veil Brides album.

Once everything was set up, he finally took a breather by sitting on the couch with a can of Pepsi. The bassist chuckled softly as he realized that, this time a year ago, he’d have been sitting on the couch with Tokyo and Killer, a can of beer in his hand instead of a can of soda. Then again, maybe it would’ve been a glass that had both soda and whiskey in it instead, considering how much he liked Jack.

“Outlaw! We’re back!” Rebel called as she walked in, Logan toddling next to her as Legacy rested on her hip.

“I see that, mio acciaio rosa,” he chuckled, rising after setting his can on the coffee table so he could take his baby girl.

“Da-da!” Legacy cried happily, reaching out to him.

Logan echoed her with a matching cry, latching herself onto his leg since she was too short to hug anything else.

“I think both of ’em missed you, Ashie,” his sweetheart chuckled, a twinkle in her eyes.

“I’d say they did,” Ash laughed, grinning as he divided his attention between the toddlers. “But that’s okay because I missed them, too.”

The young woman smiled almost serenely as she took in the same changes that he’d noticed about himself. This time a year ago, just about everyone on the planet knew him as a debauchery-addicted man-whore who’d fuck just about anything that drew breath and had a pulse. But now…now she could see the more loving, caring side of him, the side that was ferociously protective of those who meant the most to him and would take a bullet for anyone he loved rather than watch them die if he could save them.

It warmed Rebel’s heart to know that, of all the women on the planet he could’ve chosen, he’d picked her to all but settle down with. Nothing was official aside from their exclusively dating one another, but that was good enough for her. She didn’t really consider herself ready for marriage, nor was she sure she wanted to go that far.

Even though he knew she thought he hadn’t noticed, the bassist knew his sweetheart didn’t necessarily want to get married, but definitely not this soon. They hadn’t known each other, much less been dating, for a full year yet. He knew that didn’t mean she wouldn’t eventually consider and possibly want that, but even if she did, he was a bit indecisive about such a topic himself.

He’d once sworn he’d never get married, that he’d forever stay a childless bachelor who could do whatever he wanted with whomever he wanted. But now that he was a proud father and would-be stepfather, things had changed a bit. He couldn’t help but ask himself if that was what he really wanted, or if he’d just been too afraid things would fall apart when he least expected it after what Kina’d done to him. However, he was beginning to realize that, while maybe not anytime soon, maybe marrying Rebel and becoming a true family was what he really wanted, after all.



Time continued to pass for the happy couple, and by their one-year anniversary, Ash was seriously considering popping the big question. The past few months had been nothing but happy, even if his steel rose had gotten mad at him and even thrown a few things in his direction when she was PMS’ing. Still, he’d stayed by her side through it all, even the one time he’d honestly wanted to call the cops on her for domestic abuse.

One of the things he’d begged the guys to help him out with was his unorthodox way of popping the question. They’d since decided that, regardless of the timing, they eventually wanted to get married. But there was one thing that Rebel wasn’t, and that was definitely orthodox in any manner.

As befitting what he’d finally found out was her nickname, she rebelled against the idea of a typical fancy dinner that involved moon- or candlelight, roses, and the norm. And while the idea of being on the beach, the waves lapping at their bare feet, as he proposed appealed slightly, she still considered it far too mainstream. Quite frankly, now that he thought about it, she was definitely right on that count, and if there was one thing that neither of them were, it was mainstream. So that was what led him to his current activity, which involved the rest of the guys and their talents.

The five of them were sitting at the studio, as it was the only place they could even begin this venture where his sweetheart wouldn’t find out what was going on…yet. He’d noticed how much she seemed to love a song she said was called Hanging by a Moment, and after finally looking it up, he did, too. As far as he was concerned, it was basically exactly how he felt about her and their relationship, and he planned to make it part of his proposal when he finally got ready to pop the question.

However, rather than being even the slightest bit orthodox and just playing it on the stereo for her at home, he’d decided to stick to typical rock star fashion. It took a bit of begging and pleading on his part, but Ash finally talked the others into learning the individual parts of the song. Only Andy really had nothing to learn, as his voice was far too deep to sing lead, and besides, the bassist wanted to sing that himself. Even if they had to rewrite it in a key that fit his vocal range better, he didn’t care. He wanted to play it at the very end of one of their concerts, obviously after getting the permission of the original artist, as part of his proposal since it meant so much to Rebel…and now him.

By the end of another long day in the studio, which his sweetheart thought was spent working on new material of their own they’d finished a couple weeks ago, the bassist was exhausted. He was more than ready to call it a day and get some rest when the others, especially poor CC, started complaining of the same desire. Considering that they really only had a bit of fine-tuning to do on the parts to Hanging by a Moment, he was more than happy to agree. Still, they’d have to finish up that fine-tuning soon so he could start plotting out when he wanted to take this huge step in his life.

“Rebel! Mio acciaio rosa! I’m home!” he called out softly when he finally got home.

“In the living room,” the young woman answered, sounding tired herself.

“You didn’t have to wait up, sweetheart,” Ash said, frowning when he saw how tired she looked.

“I woke up from a nightmare and couldn’t get back to sleep,” she told him, pouting.

“Awww, my poor steel rose,” he murmured, hugging her tightly after sitting down next to her on the couch. “Do you wanna talk about it?”

“Not really,” Rebel answered, shaking her head. “It’s…too traumatic.”

Anyone who didn’t know her as well as he, and even Bandita, did wouldn’t have known what she meant, but he was able to put the pieces together. “Ahhh, I see. Well, you know I’m not gonna do that to you, and he’s far from being a part of yours or Logan’s lives.”

“I know, but considering what happened…well, it’s no wonder that I have flashbacks sometimes,” his sweetheart admitted. “Besides…this is the date…”

Without having to ask, Ash knew she meant that it was the date on which she’d been raped by Logan’s father, and he hugged her tighter.

“The flashbacks are the worst on this date, especially after dark since that’s when it happened,” she whimpered.

“Shhh, shhh, shhh,” he whispered, gently rubbing her back. “It’s in the past, and I’m never gonna let that happen to you again…not unless I’m on tour and too far away to protect you, or dead.”

“I love you so much, mio subdulo angelo,” Rebel said so softly her voice was almost a whisper. “More than words…”

“I love you just as much, mio acciaio rosa,” he returned, gently kissing her. “More than I can ever scream.”

It wasn’t long afterward that his sweetheart was able to drift back into the Land of Dreams, even though she still clung to him. Ash continued rocking her back and forth for a bit to make sure she wouldn’t wake again, then slowly rose. It was pushing two o’ clock in the morning, and he was beyond exhausted. Despite being a great father and usually waking when the girls did, he knew he wouldn’t hear either of them when they woke the next morning.

With movements as slow and careful as he could make them, the bassist carried his sweetheart up to their bedroom. Even in her sleep, Rebel was reluctant to let him go, but he managed to pry himself from her grip so he could go back downstairs and lock up. That, and turn out the lights he’d been unable to on his way up.

After making sure all was secure, he headed back upstairs so he could crawl into bed beside her. Considering how tired he was, it was no surprise that he merely stripped to his birthday suit before joining her, too exhausted to bother with pajamas, much less showering beforehand. He released a soft sigh as he snuggled against and wrapped his arms around her, smiling when he heard her do the same. It wasn’t long afterward that he joined her, his sleep restful and dreams sweet.

Notes