Work Text:
Plus One?
Two little words which seemed to be the cause of so much stress to thousand upon thousands of people, it was stupid really Ashton had always thought. Why get in a state about something as simple as ticking a box, you either had a partner or you didn't, there was your answer.
Then again that was the thinking of a guy who had never been given the option in his twenty four years on this earth, the thinking of a guy who severely underestimated the power of the oncoming storm that was his mother. Despite his nearly quarter of a century of life and the fact that he was a fully functioning adult in society (how the hell had that happened?), Ashton Irwin was still afraid of his mum.
In his defence, Anne-Marie was a force to be reckoned with and he would dare anyone to turn that woman down.
That was where Ashton's problems started, with his mother, an invitation and two incredibly irritating words.
“Hi, honey, did you get the invite? Isn't it gorgeous and the picture is just adorable.” his mum said over the phone.
Ashton rolled his eyes fondly, pressing the phone between his shoulder and cheek as he washed up. “Yeah, the golden swirls are bang on trend this season.” he joked and he could actually feel his mum's unimpressed stare through the phone.
“Have you replied yet?” she asked, breezing over her son's comment.
“It only came through the post this morning, mum.” Ashton said, frowning as he worked at a particularly stubborn mark on a pan. “Besides, it's Chloe's wedding she knows we're coming, she is my cousin.”
Anne-Marie sighed through the phone, “We know you are, Ash but I was just hoping someone else might be too?”
“Like that plus one thing?”
“Yes, I thought since Lauren was bringing this boy maybe you-”
Ashton dropped the pan he was holding and it landed in the sink with a splash. “Lauren's bringing a boy?!” his voice going so high that he was thankful for the lack of company.
“She's eighteen now, Ash she is allowed-”
“No she's not.” Ashton grumbled.
“Stop being so childish.” his mum scolded. “At least she's dating, unlike her brother.”
Ashton snorted, locating the pan and resuming his attack on the mark, “Harry's fourteen I'm pretty sure he still believes in 'girl germs'.”
“You know what I mean, Ashton.” Anne-Marie said, tone turning stern, always a clear warning sign. “I just want you to be happy. You've been there nearly a year now and I can't remember you saying having so much as a date before, I'm just worried about you sweetheart. You don't do well on your own, you need someone-”
“I don't need someone, mum. And I'm not alone, I have Cal and Mikey, I'm just busy is all. Work takes up so much time and I barely get the chance to go out never mind date anyone.”
The line is silent for a moment and all Ashton can hear is the clink of pots before his mum speaks again. “I know you're busy, honey and we're all so proud of you and I know you're happy there...I just want you to be very happy is all. I'm your mother it's my job, maybe the wedding is a good chance to do that?”
Ashton sighs, “If I say I'll bring someone will you stop worrying?” he offers, he never said he would but if he just says then well, hows she going to know?
“Yes!” his mum says, voice instantly brighter. “Send me a picture of the invite once you've ticked it so I can see.”
Damnit. “Fine.” He'll use a pencil and then rub it out later.
“In pen, actual ink. Don't think I don't know you would just use a pencil, do you forget who you're talking to?” Anne-Marie said sternly, and how just how did she know that!?
“I wasn't going to!” Ashton said, trying to sound offended at the very suggestion.
His mum wasn't having it. “Mmmhhmm. Picture, promise me. I love you, talk soon.”
“I promise. Love you too.”
~
And that was how Ashton had been guilted into ticking (in ink damnit mum.) the yes box on the invite and posting it.
That had been a month and three weeks ago and honestly Ashton had forgotten about the whole thing. It was not his fault alright, it wasn't he had just been distracted by other things. Work things, the school he was a music teacher at was putting on a production and so all Ashton time had been put into doing the music for them. It wasn't until Chloe had called asking about the guy he was bringing a week before the wedding that he actually remembered.
Naturally, Michael and Calum where so understanding when he told them and Ashton was practically blown away at their eagerness to help. Once they had stopped laughing that is.
“You're both dicks.” Ashton declared. He had called a emergency meeting at the coffee shop they go to that same day and explained the whole thing to the couple. “I'm going through a crisis here and you two are nearly pissing yourselves!”
“Sorry, mate.” Calum managed to get out between bursts of laughter. “But this is just too good.” he says, resting his head on Michael's shoulder.
Michael who was actually crying at this point. “You're such a idiot.” he breathes, “You're a screwed idiot.”
“Your mum's gonna kill you if you turn up alone, you know.” Calum points out, quite unnecessarily in Ashton's opinion.
“Of course she is.” Ashton cries, “Hence: the crisis!”
Michael looks up, wiping the genuine tears from his face. “It's not really a crisis though is it, you just need to find someone to go with.”
“Thank you captain obvious.” Ashton mutters dryly.
“He's kinda right though, Ash.” Calum says.
Ashton snorts into his coffee. “You're only siding with him because he sucks your dick.”
Calum blushes still in his place leaning on Michael's shoulder, who pipes up with “Regularly, welcome to the perks of a committed relationship, Ashton. Maybe you should try it some time?”
Ashton fell back into his chair, taking another gulp of coffee as he watched Calum's hand reach up behind Michael to play with the strands of hair at the back of his neck. They did look happy, he would have said 'cute' too but as someone who knew as much information as he did about their sex life, without actually being an active participant, he just couldn't bring himself to do it.
He knows that he told his mum that he was happy, and he was, Ashton loved his job he had amazing friends. But then he would be lying if he said a part of him didn't crave the kind of closeness that Calum and Michael had. He did want that with someone, he had for as long as he could remember he was just a tactile person by nature. Maybe his mum was right and he did need someone, he was just so deep in the pit of denial he'd dug himself into that he couldn't see it?
“Guys what do I doooo?” he whines, kicking his legs out like a petulant child to get their attention. “The wedding's in a week. A week!”
“You're gonna find someone.” Calum says, putting his empty cup down on the table, “Right now. In this coffee shop.”
“Here?” Ashton squeaks, nearly choking on his coffee as Michael says, “You're a genius babe.” smiling at his boyfriend.
Calum shrugs, “I know. Yep, in this coffee shop is the guy you're taking to this wedding and we're not leaving until you pick.”
“This is ridiculous.” Ashton mutters.
“No, what's ridiculous is the thought of being around you for the rest of the week, listening to how you haven't found anyone yet.” Michael says, “Honestly just thinking about it is making me want to throw this boiling coffee in my face. And I don't even like coffee. We're doing this.”
“I don't think, you not liking coffee makes much difference when its been thrown in your face.” Ashton points out.
“Shut up and start looking, Irwin.”
~
“What about him?”
“Nah, looks like he needs to wash.”
“That guy in the corner?”
“Bald.”
“Yeah so?”
“I'm a young man with a headful of hair, I will not date a bald guy.”
“How bout the guy...oh no, he's reading fifty shades of grey, never mind.”
“Him by the door?”
“What, 'man-bun', you serious?”
“Oooh, the dude paying at the counter is pretty cute.”
“Heeeeyyy.”
“Sorry, babe. You're still the cutest.”
“Too right.”
“I guess he's alright. Tall, good face...oh wait he has a savoury muffin. No.”
“What's wrong with a savoury muffin?”
“What's right with a savoury muffin is the real question, Cal.”
“Sorry babe, he's right.”
“That's it I give up.” Calum declared, throwing his hands up as the shops door bell dings. “If you're gonna start using muffin habits as a reason not to pick someone, then you're on your own.”
Ashton wasn't listening to a word. When the shops bell chimed he had looked up towards the door and everything else had fallen away leaving only the guy who had entered the cafe at that moment. Dressed entirely in black, a muscle shirt and black skinnies with a burgundy snap back on his head, he towered over everyone in the rest of the small queue. And his legs, good god, his legs. Ashton could only see part of his face, the slight day-old stubble which decorated his jaw, but it didn't even matter.
“Him.” he says, raising a hand and pointing the new guy out to the others.
Michael and Calum arch their necks to see over the few people in front of them. “Who, Lanky Snap Back?” Michael asks and Ashton nods quickly.
“Nice.” Calum approves, “You gonna go ask him then?”
“What, just walk up to him and go 'Hey, stranger, would you mind pretending to date me, a crazy guy you have never met before, surrounded by more people you don't know for a wedding this weekend?'?”
“Yeah, exactly. Just ease up on the crazy, maybe.” Michael says.
“Look.” Calum says, pointing at Lanky Snap Back, “he's sitting down, just go over there and ask.”
“Fine,” Ashton mutters, “but if I end up getting arrested for this I'm blaming you assholes.”
He gets up and makes his way over, flipping off Michael's whispered “Remember, less crazy.” and with his heart racing.
Putting on his best 'i-promise-im-not-a-creep-face' Ashton walks over to Lanky Snap Back's table. He's on his phone, head bent down and doesn't seen Ashton standing there so he clears his throat and jumps. “Hi.”
Lanky Snap Back looks up and jesus fuck, he's gorgeous. This guy has the bluest eyes he's ever seen and they stand out even more against the black clothes, with his hair beneath the hat. Ashton has to physically hold back a moan when he sees the thin black lip ring because he was not prepared for this shit.
“Um, hi?” Lanky Snap Back says, brows scrunching adorably as he looks up at Ashton, who swallows loudly.
“I -er- is anyone sat here?” wow he is just the king of smooth today. Lanky Snap Back shakes his head. “Do you mind if I...?” Ashton nods at the chair, “I promise I'm not trying to rob you or sell you anything.”
Lanky Snap Back smiles, (Dimples!!!) “Sure, I don't mind.”
Ashton sits down and he goes back to his phone. “Do you mind if I ask you something?” he asks after a minute or so, breath hitching slightly as blue eyes meet his again. “Like a favour type of thing, really?”
“It doesn't involve me giving you any of my organs does it?” the guy says.
i wouldn't mind your heart
no stop that
Ashton laughs,“No, no surgery necessary. I'm Ashton by the way.”
“Luke.” Lanky Snap Back says, raising a hand in greeting.
“Um okay so I'm just gonna dive right in here, basically what happened was that, just over a month ago I told my mum that I would be bring someone to this family wedding and then totally forgot, like the idiot that I am. So now the wedding is this weekend, I still don't have anyone to take and I'm fairly certain my mum is going to kill me. Which is why I'm sat here, ranting to you because I was hoping that maybe if you don't think I'm absolutely bat-shit crazy, that you might actually agree to pretend to be the guy I'm dating for one day and the most part of an evening?”
Luke stared at him, mouth slightly open and eyebrows raised so far up Ashton thought they might disappear and a thousand other things just ran through his head. “Oh, god I'm sorry, I didn't even...it's fine if you don't swing that way, I'm sorry if I off-”
“You didn't offend me, it's fine!” Luke says quickly, cheeks reddening slightly as he adds, “In regards to the 'swinging' I actually don't have a preference, so that's not a problem.”
Ashton let out a breath he hadn't realised he had been holding. “Okay, well that's good I guess. Is there any chance that you still don't find me really, really creepy or weird or any of the things you were probably thinking at the start of this train wreck of a convocation?”
Luke grins shyly, “Just one actually.” he says, leaning forward slightly. “I still think you're really cute.”
Now it's Ashton who's blushing, picking at his thumb nail and not meeting Luke's eyes. “Oh...thanks I guess.”
“No problem.” Luke smiles, taking a sip of his coffee. “Now, when did you say this wedding was?”
~
Somehow they both left the coffee shop with Luke agreeing to fake-date Ashton, each others numbers and a promise to meet up again later in the week to go over the plan. All Ashton could think was holy shit.
holy shit, i found someone
holy shit, he actually agreed
holy shit, he's freakin gorgeous
“Holy, shit!” he yelled at Calum and Michael when he met them around the corner. “He said yes, I can't believe it.”
“Me neither.” Michael mutters and Calum swats his arm.
“That's great, Ash. Are you seeing him again?”
Ashton nods, “In a few days, we need to know enough about each other so that it doesn't sound like we just met in a coffee shop.”
“Even though that exactly what happened.” Michael says and Calum hits him again, “Ow! This relationship is becoming abusive and I don't like it.”
His boyfriend only rolls his eyes, “Stop being a asshat then.” Ashton ignored them in favour of looking for his phone which just beeped. “So what you're gonna make up a fake relationship?”
“Yeah,” Ashton says, finally finding his phone, “We need to convince my family we're actually dating each other.”
There's a text from Luke on his lock screen:
Luke: looking forward to fake-dating you ;) x
Ashton beams at his phone and Calum half expects hearts to actually start flying from his eyes, “I don't think that'll be a problem.” he says.
~oOo~
A few days after their meeting and Ashton is waiting in the very same coffee shop for Luke to arrive. They had been texting on and off for the past few days but texting was a lot different to actually speaking face to face and Ashton was just a little nervous.
He had no idea why though. Texting Luke had been easier than breathing to be honest, they had just seemed to have clicked and the very thought of that sent Ashton's stomach doing backflips. Sometimes he worried he text too much, was it weird? Should I send that? Am I bothering him? After all he didn't want to appear...clingy.
When he asked Michael and Calum about it, Michael just burst into laughter (Ashton seriously questioned their friendship sometimes.) which only resulted in Calum throwing a chip at him. “Well he messages back, doesn't he?” he asks Ashton.
“Yeah, sometimes its like a few hours later but yeah he does.”
“Then you're fine, you bloody donut.”
Ashton knew Calum was right, he also knew that he shouldn't get attached, after all this whole deal was just a one-off thing. He just wouldn't get so attached, that'll be easy enough right? Just ignore how funny, smart, lovely, completely charmingly dorky, Luke was....
yeah i'm fucked
There was a jingle of the shop bell and he looked up.
fuck i forgot how hot he was
Luke found Ashton immediately, striding over with his never ending legs as Ashton resisted the urge to face-plant into his coffee. It just wasn't fair.
“Hi.” Luke says taking the seat opposite, “Oh, you ordered for me, thanks.” he smiles, seeing the steaming mug on the table in front of him.
Ashton shifts in his seat, fingers flexing around his own mug. “Yeah, I remembered you said you liked latte, hope that's alright?”
“Perfect.” he says, taking a sip and outright moaning, tongue slipping out to swipe the bit of froth from his lip, making the curly haired boy nearly drop his drink.
Ashton clears his throat. “So!” he squeaks, not meaning for it to be such a high squeak but considering the mini soft-porn show he had just witnessed he figured it was understandable. “Plans! Planning! We should start to planning out our plan for the big plan at the weekend. So we know what the plan is. Is 'plan' starting to not sound like a word to you now?”
Luke just cocked a brow, looking at him with a tiny grin, “How many of those coffee's have you had, exactly?”
“Just this one, and one before that.” Ashton smiled sheepishly, “And I may have had one of Cal's expresso's before I left.”
The blonde shook his head, shoulders shaking slightly, “You're so cute.” Ashton didn't blush. He didn't. “Well, I was thinking, since we've got to know each other pretty well already we should just do a background brainstorm type of thing?”
“What, like where we met, first date that sort of thing?”
“Yeah, exactly. All those little things that, if your mum's anything like mine, will ask about.” Luke shrugs.
Ashton nods, “Okay, so how bout we met in a coffee shop? It'll be one less thing to remember.”
“Sounds good.” Luke agrees, sipping his drink. “We need details though.”
“Umm, oh! It was really busy and you tripped and spilled your drink on me-”
“Really, you're going with the cliché 'drink spill'? And why am I the one being klutz of the year?”
“Because it's a classic, no one can resist a 'drink spill' story, it's science. As for the tripping, have you seen your legs, you're like a baby giraffe, it's just more believable.” Ashton explained. “Anyway,” he continues, ignoring Luke's muttered 'my legs aren't that long' “You trip, you spill, you help, we bond. Voilà!”
Luke sighs, “Fine, I shall indulge you and your cheesy ass story. First date?”
“Woah, woah woah.” Ashton laughs, holding his hands up, “It's your turn mister, I'm not doing all the brain work. C'mon, dazzle me!”
Luke pouts so he fixes him with a look before the other boy rolls his eyes in defeat. “Fiiine, just give me a minute.” he says, resting his head in his hands and locking eyes with Ashton. “Right,” he starts after a few moments of silence, “there's this really nice italian down by the front, just opposite the pier, fairy lights good live music, the whole thing. We went there, got a nice booth in the corner but near enough to the stage, we sat next to each other not opposite but that's just for me I prefer to sit next to the person I'm out with.”
Ashton thinks his heart skips a beat because real people don't think like this! “Anyway so we eat, I pay since I ruined your shirt. We get a bottle of wine to go and head to the beach, which we walk along and then across the pier to drink the wine as we watch the sunset.”
If he was having heart troubles a second earlier then it well and truly packed in now. He just sits there staring blankly at Luke, who the smug bastard that he is, just sits back in his chair, brow quirked and carries on sipping his damn coffee as if he hasn't just caused Ashton to have a emotional coronary.
“I...um...wow, okay then.” he says once he's found the connection between his mouth and brain again. “Yeah, that sounds good. What else?” He asks, bringing the cup to his mouth.
Luke shrugs and says innocently, “Pet names?”
Ashton may or may not choke on his coffee.
~
They spend another hour or so just going over other little details that a normal couple who have been together for nearly two months would know, before deciding to head back home. Since the wedding was back in Ashton's home town, a few hours away, they had agreed to travel down together the day before, after Ashton finished at the school and Luke had done with work.
The pair walked to Ashton's car, going over the final points of their plan and agreeing on a time he would pick Luke up to travel down. “Do you want a lift?” Ashton asked, once they got to his car, really just looking for an excuse to spend more time with the blonde boy.
Luke shakes his head, “It's alright, I like the walk.” he says, edging slightly closer to him. “You know we forgot one tiny detail.”
“W-which bit?” Ashton stutters slightly, Luke is less then a arms reach away and that fact was doing funny things to his chest.
“The first date.” Luke explains, Ashton swears his voice has lowered, “We missed something off the end.”
“What?”
He holds his breath as Luke presses forward and then there are a soft pair of lips pressing against his cheek before Luke pulls away, a shit eating grin on his face. “That.” and then he's sauntering off, throwing back a wave with a “See you in two days, Ash.”
“I hate him” Ashton muttered to himself as he watched the blonde boy walk off.
no you really don't
~
Ashton: btw, sunset?? that's such a cliché xx
Luke: i thought it was a classic ;) x
~ oOo ~
Forty eight hours later and Ashton was stressed.
There had been an incident involving the percussion section of the theatre band which he had to stay and fix after school. That meant that he was five hours late picking Luke up by which time it was ten at night and the drive to the wedding was seven hours at the least. Ashton called his mum when he got to Luke's, since she would have been expecting them to arrive soon, and explained what happened. She told him to wait until morning, not wanting him to drive all that way in the dark and when he hadn't had a proper sleep.
When he told Luke that they would be better setting off in the morning (the wedding was at three so if they set of early they'd be fine.) the blonde boy agreed, Ashton turned to leave only to have a pair of sweats thrown at him. “If we're up early you may as well stay here.”
So, that's what Ashton did, bunking on the couch for the night, it smelled like Luke and he took full advantage of that. The words one off thing floating round his head all night.
The drive down was perfectly fine until they reached a set of road works with about an hours drive to go, which only made it that much more frustrating. He could feel himself getting antsy, legs fidgeting and craning his neck to see over the sea of traffic every other minute. Then there was a hand on his shoulder and Luke saying they'd be fine and that the traffic was starting to ease up, thumb rubbing circles into Ashton's skin through his shirt.
They arrived at Ashton's mum's house with an hour to get ready and get to the church. His family had already left earlier so they had the house to themselves and Luke had taken his bags to a spare room to change while Ashton used his old room.
With twenty minutes to go and Ashton was stressing out, it would take them at least ten minutes to get to the church and his hair just wasn't behaving. He was stood in front of his mirror running his long fingers through the mess of curls just trying to get them to look somewhat groomed, when there was a knock on his door.
It was Luke, dressed in a black slim fit suit with a simple black tie slung open around his neck, hair quiffed to impossible perfection, somehow he looked even taller as he stood in Ashton's childhood room. “You alright, Ash?”
“No,” the older boy huffed, “my hair is shit. I wish I'd brought a posh bandanna with me.”
Luke chuckled, “Funny you should say that.” he says, stepping further into the room and searching his pockets, pulling out a long strip of black material with the tiniest of silver/grey swirls dotted about it. “Don't worry, your mum said it would match the colour scheme.”
Ashton just stared as the bandanna was dropped in his hand. “Luke, I – wait when did you talk to my mum?”
Luke shifted on his feet, hand rubbing the back of his neck. “Well she kinda found me...on facebook about two days ago, the night we planned everything.”
“But how! I never told her about you?”
“She called Calum and Michael, to make sure you were coming with someone, since you had told her nothing.” he raised a eyebrow at Ashton at this, “And they gave her my name. Your mum should be a detective honestly, the police would be lucky to have her.”
Ashton was fairly certain that he very much resembled a gold fish at this point, completely forgetting that they had to be at a wedding. “I'm gonna kill her.” he muttered, running a hand down his face.
“Stop that, she is a very nice lady.” Luke winked. “Now you putting that on or what?”
Ashton grinned despite himself, reaching around the back of his head to put the bandanna on, Luke coming up behind him to tie it. “There, that better?” he asked, hands resting on Ashton's shoulders as he looked over them to see the other boy in the mirror.
we look like a couple
“Perfect, thanks Luke. What about your tie?”
The blonde's cheeks reddened slightly, “I can't actually tie tie's.” he mumbled.
“Did you not have one at school?” Ashton asked.
The redness increased, “My mum always did it.”
Ashton laughed, turning to face him, “That's adorable. Come here.” he says, taking the tie in his hands and fitting it properly, feeling Luke's gaze on him the whole time. “There, one day I'll teach you how to do it.” he promises before realising what he just suggested. That they'd see each other again after this.
Luke didn't seem to notice. “I'd like that.” he smiled. “You look gorgeous, I don't think I told you that yet, so...”
“Says the real life Armani model here.” Ashton jokes, grabbing Luke's hand and pulling him from the room, “C'mon, we're late.”
~
Amazingly, they got to the church on time, slipping in and sliding into seats just behind Ashton's family, who all turned to wave at the pair just as the music started. It wasn't a long ceremony, Chloe looked amazing and her new husband cried a bit, so it was basically everything you could have wanted at a wedding.
His family met with them later on the way to the reception, Ashton immediately pouncing on his mum for digging up on Luke, who slotted their hands together and told him to “be nice to you're mother.”
“I like this one.” Anne-Marie declared beaming at Luke, “Nice to actually meet you, love.”
“You too, Mrs Irwin.” Luke replied, naturally being the very hight of politeness.
She waved him off, “oh, enough of that, you'll make me feel old.” she says, slipping her arm through Luke's and steering him off to the cars, “Now, how was he today because I know how stressed he gets?” she asks as Luke looks back over his shoulder at Ashton smiling apologetically.
Harry comes and stands next to Ashton, both watching their mother pull the blonde boy into the car, chatting away all the while. “I think she likes him better then you, dude.” his brother says.
“It's impossible not to like him to be honest.” he tells him.
Harry makes a gagging noise. “Oh, god. You sound just like Lauren, it's disgusting.”
Ashton shoves him.
~
“I think my family wants to adopt you.”
They're at the reception, sat at a table with Ashton's family under a huge white, wedding tent, waiting for the desserts to come around. Under the table, their hands are laced together, Ashton would point out the fact that no one can actually see their hands from under there, making the whole notion pointless, but he's feeling selfish and lets it pass.
“I wouldn't mind, they're great.” Luke chuckles, watching Harry make a hat from a pink napkin on the other side of the table. He leans in closer so that Ashton can actually feel his lips move against his ear when he says, “You have an amazing family, you know.”
Ashton blinks, opening his mouth to say something when plates are placed in front of them and the moment has passed. “Here.” Luke says, holding up a spoon of the gooeyest chocolate cake Ashton's ever seen, he looks at the spoon then at Luke, confused for a moment before the other boy winks and...
oooohh
couple stuff, right
He rolls his eyes, leaning forward just as Luke moves the spoon so Ashton ends up with a nose covered in chocolate sauce. “Heeeey, no fair.” he pouts but Luke is giggling, his nose is scrunched up and his eyes are closed, chocolate cake dangerously close to falling off the spoon. Ashton wants to keep him forever.
He knows it's impossible for someone to fall in love in a week. But he's looking at Luke's face right now, his own covered in chocolate sauce, with the rest of his family laughing around him, and yeah, he's not in love. But Ashton reckons he's already about half way there.
~
It's gotten dark by the time the food clears and the party part of the evening gets into full swing.
Harry is hitting the top of his sugar high, flinging himself around the dance floor like a puppet who's strings have been cut, a good meter wide perimeter around him. Ashton's attempting to force down the urge to storm over to Lauren and her boyfriend, who's hands are getting far to touchy feely in his opinion. Luke can seem to sense the death glare he's shooting the boy across the room and pulls him up off his chair, taking the beer from his hand and setting it down. “C'mon, I want to dance.”
Ashton goes to protest, but he's slightly tipsy and it's Luke so he decides to go with it just this once. The dance floor is not that big so there's a bit of a squeeze as they push through the wedding goers, all in various states of intoxication by this point. Luke releases Ashton's hand once they get near the middle and he whines at the loss without thinking, but then Luke's hands are on his waist, pulling him in closer and everything is so much better.
He doesn't know the song that well, but the beat is simple and repetitive so it's easy enough to go along with Luke as he moves against Ashton, grinning ear to ear. The coloured lights are flashing across his face, making his eyes sparkle and Ashton's in awe.
Maybe it was the fact that he'd had a bit to drink, maybe it was the way they were moving together, maybe it was the fact that he could always say 'it was for the act' if Luke questioned it. Maybe it was because Ashton had thought of doing nothing else the whole week.
What ever his reason, he found himself bringing a hand to the back of Luke's neck and pulling him down those extra inches between them and slotting their lips together.
Luke froze at first and Ashton's heart stopped in his chest because oh god he messed up , but then the other boys lips were moving back against his own and it was the best thing Ashton had ever felt. Luke's arms hooked around his waist, pulling him in so they were pressed against each other completely as he took Ashton's bottom lip between his own, the cool metal of the lip ring a stark contrast to the burning heat everywhere else.
Ashton didn't know if Luke was just putting on a show for the sake of the act or if he actually wanted this as much as he did, but he didn't care, he didn't want to think about it, about anything, he just wanted to get lost in the feeling of Luke's lips on his.
His tongue darted out to flick at the ring and he felt the other boy smile as he opened his mouth to meet Ashton's with his own. The curly haired boy moaned, fingers grasping at the hair at the nape of Luke's neck, arching back so their hips brushed together and they both let out a gasp at the contact.
There was a tap on Ashton's shoulder and he suddenly remembered where they were as he turned to face a very amused looking Chloe, who was stood smirking at them with her arms crossed. “Ash, you know how happy everyone is for you, but could you please continue this little foreplay act, away from the dance floor at my wedding.”
Ashton blushed furiously and he could feel Luke's little breaths of laugher against his neck where his head was buried. “Yeah, god. I'm sorry Chloe.”
His cousin rolled her eyes, “Get out of here you horny bastards.” she says, slapping his arse with a wink as he and Luke stumble from the dance floor.
They head outside of the tent, the fresh air hitting them like a brick wall and Ashton is suddenly aware of how close he is still holding Luke, who is still giggling, against him. “Sorry.” he says letting go and taking a step back, watching the blonde's smile drop from his face as he does so.
“Oh,” he says quietly, bringing his arms around himself, “no, it's fine I just thought that you – it doesn't matter.”
“That I what?” Ashton asks, somewhat desperately, a tiny part of him holding on the to hope that Luke feels the same.
He takes a deep breath, “Back there, was that all for the act or...or did you actually mean it?”
Ashton's heart feels like it's about to beat out of his chest as he takes a step forward, reaching out and unwrapping Luke's arms from around himself, sliding down and taking his hands in his. He didn't even try to pull away which gave Ashton the guts to say, “I meant it. Every bit, all of it, that was all me. No act, just me.”
“Thank god!” Luke breathes out, surging forward and pressing their lips together. This kiss was softer then before, slower and Ashton thinks he likes it better. Not just more than the last one but better than any other kiss in his life.
When they part, the music from in the tent has changed to a soft, slow dance song and Ashton wraps his arms around Luke's neck as they both sway on the spot, foreheads pressed against one another.
“So, I kinda like you.” Ashton mutters. “If you hadn't noticed.”
Luke laughs, “Good, cos I kinda like you too.”
“Do you think, we could go out, for real this time?”
“I would love that.” Luke smiles. “Any ideas?”
Ashton shrugs and says in his best casual voice, “This guy once told me about this italian place. It's right opposite the pier apparently, fancy it?”
“Sure, I just have one question." Luke leans in kissing Ashton softly before whispering against his lips:
“How do you feel about sunsets?”