Archive of Our Own

Ashton sits on his couch, staring into a pair of big hazel eyes that stare back at him with interest. They’ve been having a staring contest all morning, mainly because Ashton isn’t sure of how to react to this bizarre situation at hand.

It all began the night before, when he’d been rudely awakened by someone or something scratching at the front door of his apartment. If not for his superior intuition, he would have assumed that it was just the rain and fell back to sleep. However, something in his mind possessed him to believe that the extraterrestrial beings had finally come to take him away. Evidently, Ashton was still half-asleep, but even if he wasn’t, he likes to imagine that he’s much smarter than that.

So, thinking that it could possibly be a burglar, he grabbed a frying pan from a cabinet in his kitchen and tiptoed to the source of the sound. The plan was to whack the enemy unconscious and then call the police, but when he noticed that the scratching sound was accompanied by someone whimpering, well, he didn’t know what to think. That’s why when he unlocked the door and snatched it open, the last thing that he expected was the dark figure that shot past him on all fours, taking cover behind his couch.

The ‘dark figure’ is what Ashton is currently staring at, not because it would’ve made him feel bad to force a dog back out into the rain, but because… okay, so that’s exactly the reason that he allowed the intruder to stay. But what can he say? He has a weakness for dogs, and from the looks of it, this one is a puppy. Well, it isn’t a baby puppy, but it’s a puppy nonetheless because he can tell that it hasn’t finish growing yet. Speaking of ‘it’, he should probably figure out the sex of the dog.

“Do you… have a name?”

Of course the dog simply stares at him, and Ashton feels silly for even remotely expecting an answer from a being that can’t speak the same language as him. There’s a collar but no nametag, so he has no idea what the puppy’s name is, but what he can tell is that the puppy before him is a chocolate Labrador who yawns a lot and looks absolutely adorable when it does. Ashton has the urge to keep it and make the dog his own, though he knows that that wouldn’t be a good idea. After all, it must belong to someone and they’re probably looking for it, so he should at least try to be a good person by helping them out.

“You can’t stay here for much longer,” he says aloud. When the puppy only yawns again and buries its face into the soft cushion of the arm chair, he adds, “I’m being serious and no amount of cuteness will change my mind, so you can give it up already.”

This time the puppy barks—just a tiny, adorable little bark that makes Ashton’s heart melt in ten different ways.

“Nope, I’m not falling for it!” he exclaims, turning up his nose. Can it be more obvious that he has already lost this battle? Probably not, but Ashton Irwin is stubborn and prefers to go down fighting—and in this case, ‘fighting’ just means forcing himself not to give in to the cuteness. That’s literally impossible, though, so he ultimately surrenders. “Alright, alright, fine… but we’re finding your owner as soon as we can, okay?”

When the puppy merely barks again and starts to wag its tail, Ashton shamelessly coos over it, and if he takes the time to scratch behind the puppy’s ears and rub its tummy, then no one else has to know. At least now he knows that it’s female, so he decides to give it a temporary name to keep from calling it ‘dog’ and whatnot.

“Daisy?” Ashton suggests, but then he quickly shakes his head in distaste. “Too general for a unique lil pup like yourself, huh?”

The puppy doesn’t seem to have an opinion on the matter, but Ashton’s sure that that’ll change soon enough.

“For now, how about something to eat, hm? Would you like that?”

Ashton giggles when the puppy leans up and licks his cheek. After carefully lifting her from the chair and setting her down on the floor, Ashton leaves the living room and strolls into the kitchen area, the puppy eagerly following his trail. Since he doesn’t actually own a dog, he doesn’t have any dog food, either, so he searches through his refrigerator for something that won’t give the puppy a tummy ache.

“Apples are pretty healthy. Wanna try that?” Ashton glances down at the puppy sitting near his feet, and since all that she does is gaze up at him with her tongue sticking out of her mouth, he takes that as a yes.

He cuts the apple into little slices and feeds them to her one by one, totally fawning over the way that she happily nibbles on the fruit. After that, she continues to follow him around the apartment as he finally gets to the chores that he’s been too busy to do, and she even attempts to join him in the bathroom when he goes to take a quick shower.

Ashton doesn’t mind any of it, though. He hasn’t been living alone for that long, so he tends to get lonely, not having anyone around. But it’s obvious that the puppy adores him and he can’t deny that he adores her, too. In fact, he’s so busy playing with her that he completely forgets that he was expecting a visitor, so it startles him when there’s a knock at the door.

“Calum?” Ashton says, surprised. He steps aside to let his friend in regardless. “I didn’t know that you were coming over.”

Calum raises a brow, his lips forming a disapproving frown. “You’re kidding, right? ‘Cause like, you’re the one who told me to show up on time, otherwise you were gonna kick my—” He stops all of a sudden, his attention now focused on the little creature standing in the middle of the hallway. “Puppy! ”

Ashton should’ve known that this would happen. He watches Calum drop to his knees in front of the puppy and begins fawning over her, laughing hysterically when she licks his chin. If there’s one person who adores dogs more than Ashton does, it’s Calum. As a matter of fact, if the world suddenly decided to hold a dog loving contest, then Calum would definitely be in the top three. As he excitedly plays with the adorable canine, Ashton can’t help but think that Calum resembles a little puppy, too.

“Ashton Fletcher Irwin, when the hell did you get a puppy?!” he asks, his eyes still focused on the dog as he scratches her tummy.

“Last night, apparently,” Ashton answers. “I woke up to the sound of her whimpering and scratching at my front door, I think that she was afraid of the thunder… no idea where she came from, though, or why she chose my apartment, of all places. But, yeah, that’s pretty much the gist of it.”

Calum doesn’t say anything for a few moments and Ashton wonders if he was even listening, but then his friend asks, “Maybe she belongs to one of your neighbors or something?”

Ashton shakes his head. “Pets aren’t allowed in these apartments, so I doubt it.”

“Hm… she doesn’t have a nametag, either, so there really is no way of knowing who she belongs to or if she belongs to anyone. What do you plan to do with her?”

“Give her to back her owner, of course. I’m sure she belongs to someone, there’s no way a pup like her could be a wild dog.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Calum temporarily goes back to cooing over the dog, such as calling her a good girl and talking to her in the same way that one would talk to a baby. Ashton doesn’t even try to contain his amused laugh. “Well, since we don’t know her name, what should we call her for now?”

Ashton hums for a moment, thinking back to all of the names that he’s been considering for the past few hours. “What about… Pepper?”

Calum stares up at him as if he’d just said the stupidest thing possible. “Pepper? Seriously? It’s a brown dog, Ashton. Where the hell did you get ‘Pepper’ from?”

“I didn’t come up with it based on her looks!” Ashton argues with a pout. “I was thinking of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, obviously. But what do you suggest I name her, then? Brownie? That’s, like, the most stereotypical name in the entire universe. It’s boring.”

Calum snorts. “It’s still better than Pepper. But, fine… if you wanna go down the music route, then how about a favorite song of yours or something?”

That’s an interesting suggestion, though Ashton isn’t sure of which song to pick. He loves far too many songs and artists to choose from, but just when he considers giving up for now, a certain title pops into his head.

“Jasey!” he exclaims. “Y’know, like Jasey Rae? Only we’ll call her Jasey for short. That’s pretty cool, yeah?”

Calum agrees with that name rather quickly. “I guess that’s good enough.” He then goes back to giving the puppy, Jasey, his undivided attention, which comes to an end when Ashton clears his throat.

“C’mon, Cal, we have things to do,” Ashton says. “You can play with Jasey later.”

Calum instantly begins to pout like a child. “Oh, so now you decide to remember! I see how it is.”

Ashton rolls his eyes with fond. “Yeah, well, she’ll still be around while we’re baking. Now let’s get this done because I still need to go out and see if anyone is looking for her.”

“Fine, fine.” Calum kisses Jasey on top of her head and stands up once more, still pouting like a puppy himself. The pout remains when he follows Ashton into the kitchen and washes his hands when he’s instructed to do so, but eventually he’s smiling again when he sees Jasey sniffing around the kitchen and watching them work.

Trying out new recipes in Ashton’s kitchen is a normal occurrence for them. Whenever Ashton wants to add another item to the menu at his bakery, they practice making it first before trying to sell it to the customers. And if it does well in the shop, then he’ll make it a permanent item on the menu for people to enjoy whenever they want to. It’s a plan that’s been working nicely so far, so Ashton continues with it.

He wouldn’t be able to do any of it without Calum, though. Although he occasionally shows up to work late, Calum is actually really good at helping Ashton keep the bakery going and he’s a talented baker himself. Ashton constantly tells Calum that he would do well as a pastry chef, but Calum has his mind set on becoming Australia’s next best professional soccer player, and working at the bakery is only a temporary thing because he needs the income. Ashton can understand that, even though he would’ve loved to have Calum as a permanent partner.

Sometimes Calum can be unbearable, though. Specifically right now, since he’s giving all of his attention to Jasey instead of helping Ashton with the tarts that they’re trying to make. Although usually a hard worker, it’s clear that he can’t concentrate with the adorable puppy near their feet, so Ashton threatens to put Jasey in his bedroom until they’re finished unless Calum gets his act together. Calum calls him an evil dictator, but at least they begin to work at a faster pace.

Even though the pastries turn out to be a success, they don’t get much else done because Calum immediately leaves the kitchen in favor of playing with Jasey in the living room. Ashton supposes that he might as well do the same, so they half-heartedly watch a movie while playing with Jasey until she falls asleep on the couch, all of her energy spent.

Calum eventually leaves later that evening, claiming that he needs to get back to his place to make dinner for himself and his boyfriend, who will otherwise die of starvation. Ashton can actually see that happening, so he bids farewell to his apprentice and decides to get started on his own dinner.

By the time that he finishes, Jasey awakens from her nap and moves across the couch, curiously sniffing at Ashton’s plate of food. It’s incredibly difficult to resist those big puppy eyes, but he does it because it’s for her own good. He also makes a mental note to buy dog food for her to eat in the meantime, but to buy dog food he’ll have to buy a dog bowl and…

Ashton is getting way too comfortable with the idea of owning this dog. He even forgot to go out and see if anyone in the area had been searching for her, because she has to belong to someone else. Not him. Oh well, he’ll just have to do it the following day or something because it’s getting late now. Plus, he’s sure that Jasey’s actual owner will still be searching for her, so he has plenty of time to return her to her home.

“Don’t get too comfortable,” he says as she curls up against his side and stares at the TV. “By this time tomorrow, you’ll probably be reunited with your best friend. Doesn’t that make you happy?”

Jasey simply yawns and blinks up at him before returning her attention to the TV. Ashton giggles and decides to do the same, so he stuffs another forkful of spaghetti into his mouth and goes back to unironically watching the soap opera on the screen. Yes, this is what his life has become, but he doesn’t mind it so much—especially now that he isn’t as lonely. It’s hard to believe that it took him a single day to fall in love with a dog that isn’t even his, but then again, it’s not hard at all. Puppies certainly are irresistible.

Ashton knows that he won’t have a problem giving this one up, though.

***

Admittedly, this whole situation isn’t as easy as Ashton thought it would be.

It all began the next day on his way to work. It’s terribly early and the sun hasn’t fully risen yet, but Ashton is used to his rather hectic schedule. Every work day he awakens before dawn so that he can get through his morning routine and whatnot, and then he has to drive down to the bakery to get things ready before the customers show up. Calum joins him about half an hour before opening time, and together they complete whatever tasks that still need finishing.

However, this morning is much different from usual. Ashton is bringing a special guest with him to the shop, a last minute decision that he made just before leaving his apartment about ten minutes before. Maybe it was reckless, maybe it was necessary. Ashton tells himself that it’s a bit of both, so he doesn’t feel too worried about bringing Jasey into the bakery with him.

Just before they enter, Ashton notices a piece of paper attached to a nearby lamppost. It certainly wasn’t there before, so out of curiosity, he takes a few steps closer to read what it says. The first things that he notices are the words ‘LOST DOG’ written in all caps above an image of the dog that’s apparently lost. Unsurprisingly, the dog looks very familiar to him.

“She looks like you, Jasey,” Ashton says, though mainly to himself.

But he was certainly correct. The dog featured in the image is a chocolate Labrador with the same hazel eyes and curious stare. She even looks to be around the same size as Jasey, which most likely indicates that she’s around the same age, too. Logic tells Ashton that it’s the exact same dog, but anyone with eyes could see that. In other words, it’s quite obvious.

Yet, Ashton chooses to ignore all of the signs and tells himself that it’s just a coincidence. He tells himself that someone else could’ve lost a similar dog, so there’s no reason to assume that they’re her rightful owner. Thus, he turns back around to enter the bakery, Jasey following closely by his side.

Once Calum arrives shortly before opening time, he reacts differently to seeing Jasey than Ashton had expected.

“You brought her here?” he asks in disbelief, though he’s looking at the puppy with his own two eyes. “Why?”

“Well I couldn’t just leave her alone for so many hours,” Ashton argues. “What if she had made a mess of things or gotten lonely? She would’ve started to whine and then my neighbors might’ve heard, which would lead to my landlord finding out and I’d be in trouble. So! Now that she’s here with us, I can keep an eye on her.”

Despite Ashton’s very reasonable explanation—at least, it sounds reasonable to him—Calum simply looks at him with the most unamused expression, as if this was his worst idea yet.

“But what if she whines and makes a lot of noise here? The customers would be able to hear it, and no one would want to buy anything from us if they thought that we had a dog in the kitchen.”

“She’s not in the kitchen, though!”

“They won’t know that!”

Ashton lets out an exasperated sigh. “Look, I know what you’re thinking, but I’ve already thought this through. See, watch this.”

Ashton moves across the small room and grabs the wide, empty cardboard box that he’s already set up, and begins demonstrating his ‘brilliant’ plan while Calum looks more and more unimpressed. He shows Calum the blanket and pillows tucked into the bottom of the box, and then he sets it next to Jasey. Next, he picks up the backpack that he brought with him and removes the laptop from it, turning it on in an instant.

“Okay, I don’t get it,” Calum says at last, and he’s probably tired of waiting for an explanation.

“I’ve formed a little bed for her,” Ashton proudly says, setting the laptop down into the box. “Jasey really likes watching TV, and I think there’s something about it that calms her? But since I obviously can’t bring one here, I brought my laptop instead.”

Calum arches a brow. “Ashton, you do realize that she’s a dog, not a toddler. Right?”

“But look, it still works!”

To further demonstrate what he means, Ashton gently lifts the puppy and kisses her on the nose before setting her in the box. He then reaches down and begins navigating through the menu screen of a movie that he shoved into the laptop as a last minute thought. Once it begins, Jasey merely sniffs at the laptop curiously before settling down and staring at the screen, already mesmerized by it. In Ashton’s opinion, she looks pretty comfortable, nuzzled into the blanket and pillows that he brought for her.

“See,” he says with a smile. “A makeshift bed!”

Calum snorts. “You mean a prison?” but he gives in with a sigh when Ashton glares at him. “Okay, okay. I guess it’s not that bad of an idea… she won’t be in there the entire time, right?”

Ashton shakes his head. “Of course not, I just want to make sure that she doesn’t run around and get into anything while we’re handling customers in the front. It’d be especially bad if she licked up any chocolate residue from the floor or something. I plan to let her run around during lunch hour, though.”

“If you say so.” Calum leans down and pets the fur along the puppy’s back before standing up again. “See ya, Jasey! Have fun watching Finding Nemo, and I’m sorry that Ashton is responsible for you at the moment.”

“Hey!” Ashton whines. Calum laughs and sticks out his tongue, successfully dodging the towel that Ashton throws at him as he runs into the main room. Rolling his eyes, Ashton leans down to press another kiss to Jasey’s head. “It’s opening time now, so I’ll be back to check on you in a bit. Be a good girl for me, okay?”

Jasey only lets out a yawn and continues watching the movie. She’s probably still pretty tired from having to wake up so early, and Ashton has a feeling that she’ll fall asleep soon so he isn’t too worried about her. After making sure that she’s as comfortable as can be, Ashton joins Calum in the front of the bakery.

The day goes by rather slowly.

Some of the usual customers come and go, including Calum’s boyfriend, Michael, who ‘just so happened to be passing by’, but he says that every time that he visits. Ashton doesn’t mind it so much, though, because Michael always makes sure to buy at least one thing. And when they’re not busy serving customers, he’s actually quite fun to talk to.

Ashton’s just relieved that Calum and Michael aren’t one of those couples who can’t keep their tongues out of each other mouths for more than five minutes, and the only time that he caught them being lovey-dovey was the time that Calum fed Michael one of the new cupcakes that they added to the menu, and then Michael proceeded to lick the icing from Calum’s fingers. It was their anniversary, though, and no one else had been in the shop at the time, so Ashton tried not to be too grossed out by it. He can’t deny that a part of him craves that type of relationship, though.

For now, Ashton is in a very committed relationship with the bakery itself. He’s been in love with baking for as long as he can remember, and it puts a smile on his face when he recalls memories of running around his mother’s bakery and stuffing his face with éclairs when she wasn’t looking. She’s the one who taught him the art of making pastries and other sweet things, so it was only natural that he would one day follow in her food steps and become a pastry chef. It’s the family business, after all. Of course, there were plenty of other things that Ashton considered being when he grew up, and once in a while he still practices on his own drum kit. But nowadays, he mainly puts his hands to use in the kitchen.

As one would guess, he’s pretty damn good at it, too. Ashton’s sweet creations are a favorite among the inner city dwellers, and they never fail to fall in love with anything that he makes. Today, it seems that the new tarts that he and Calum put together have already become a favorite. Ashton knew that butter pecan tartlets would be a hit, so he’s glad that he finally tried them out.

At lunchtime, Ashton can hardly wait to play with Jasey in the backroom. As expected, she can hardly wait to play with him, too. After taking her outside to the nearest patch of grass for a bathroom break, they return to the backroom and end up playing fetch with a tennis ball while Ashton simultaneously eats a sandwich. When Calum eventually joins him, they take turns tossing the ball to Jasey. It’s much more entertaining than it probably should be, but they find themselves laughing the entire time, anyway. In fact, Ashton is almost reluctant to go back to work when lunch is over, but he promises Jasey that they’ll have lots of fun later that evening.

The day drags on until closing time, and Ashton lets Jasey briefly explore the bakery while he and Calum clean everything. Somehow, she’s even more adorable when she’s curiously sniffing at everything and barking at appliances. Ashton simply watches her for a while, a fond smile on his face and adoration in his eyes. He hardly notices when Calum is about to exit the bakery, now that they’ve finished cleaning up.

“Find her owner before you get too attached.”

Ashton finally looks away from the puppy and glances over to where Calum is standing near the front door. He expected to see that teasing grin that sometimes appears on Calum’s face, but he actually looks quite serious—which is rather odd.

“I’m not getting attached,” Ashton mutters, returning his attention to Jasey.

“Right, and I don’t have eyeballs,” Calum sarcastically remarks. This time he really is wearing the teasing grin. “Anyway, see ya tomorrow?”

“If I don’t decide to fire you, then yeah,” Ashton teases in return.

Calum simply laughs a little, undeterred by the threat. “You love me too much to do that and we both know it. G’night!”

Well, he definitely has a point, so Ashton waves goodbye with a smile. It nearly startles him when something bumps into his leg a moment later, and he glances down to see Jasey sniffing at his jeans. She probably smells the sugary dough, a scent that always sticks to him at the end of the day. Giggling, he bends in front of her and nuzzles against her nose.

“You’ve been such a good girl today! I think you deserve a treat. Does Jasey want a treat?” Jasey licks his nose, so that must be a yes. “How about I make you a delicious doggy dinner, then? I’ll find the yummiest recipe on google. How does that sound? Would you like that?”

When Jasey barks and wags her tail excitedly, Ashton supposes that that’s another yes. He plants another kiss on her nose, declaring that it’s time to lock up and return home, and Jasey eagerly follows him around the bakery while he completes the task. By the time that they get back to his apartment and Ashton finds a delicious, doggy-friendly recipe, Jasey sticks by his side the entire time that he fixes it for her. Of course Ashton doesn’t mind it a single bit, and he feels incredibly proud when she scarfs down the food on the little saucer that has become her own.

Evidently, Ashton begins to forget that Jasey isn’t his puppy.

That is, until he begins to see more of those ‘LOST DOG’ fliers around the area.

It’s getting harder and harder to ignore them now. At first Ashton was able to tell himself that it was a coincidence, but when he realizes that he’s actively ignoring all of the fliers, he immediately feels a bit guilty. Okay, so he feels very guilty about neglecting to contact the number on flyer, at least to make sure that Jasey really isn’t the puppy that the person is looking for. But, what’s the point in doing that if, deep down, Ashton knows that she really is the lost dog on fliers? He knows and he’s pretending to be ignorant, because he failed to heed Calum’s advice about returning Jasey before he got too attached to her. In fact, there comes a day when even Calum begins to notice the fliers that seem to be everywhere now, although that could just be Ashton’s guilty conscience.

“Hey,” Calum says as he arrives at work one morning. “Have you seen all of those—”

“Yeah,” Ashton cuts him off, knowing how that sentence was bound to end. “I have.”

“Oh. So what did they say when you talked to them?”

“Nothing,” he mutters, busying himself with the dough in front of him to avoid looking into Calum’s eyes. “I… actually haven’t contacted them yet.”

Even though he isn’t looking, he can tell that Calum is wearing that unimpressed look of his right now.

“Ashton…”

“I know, I know. I, uh, I was actually going to do it later today. Y’know, after work and stuff.”

It’s only half a lie, since Ashton had no plan to do so whatsoever. He will now, though. Otherwise, he’ll feel even guiltier for lying to Calum and keeping Jasey from her owner for longer than he already has. It won’t be easy to give her up, he already knows that. But Calum tells him that he’s doing the right thing, and well, Ashton can’t argue with that.

After Calum goes home and everything is locked up, Ashton leaves the bakery with an anxious feeling in his stomach. While walking to his car, he spots one of the many fliers on yet another lamppost. Only this time, he grabs it instead of ignoring it.

Half an hour later, Ashton is sitting on his couch, his phone in one hand and the flier in the other. He’s been staring at it for a while now, telling himself to dial it once and for all. For some reason, it’s much harder in practice. When he sees Jasey staring at him from the corner of his eye, he pouts.

“This is your fault,” he grumbles.

Jasey replies with a bark, as per usual.

Ashton groans in frustration. It’s been eleven days. Eleven. And yet it feels like so much time has passed since that night, when Jasey had scratched at his front door and whined until he opened it. Maybe it’s silly to feel so strongly about a puppy that he’s known for eleven days, a puppy that isn’t even his, and maybe it’s just further proof that Ashton really is incredibly lonely. Either way, he’s glad for the short time that they spent together and he knows what he has to do now.

With that in mind, Ashton dials the number at last. It feels like ages before anyone answers the call.

“Hello?” says an exhausted voice on the other end.

It makes Ashton shiver a little.

“Uh, hi,” he nervously replies.

It’s dead silent after that. According to the rules of phone conversations, Ashton is supposed to be stating why he’s calling and whatnot, but the words just won’t form on his lips. God, this is much more difficult that it should be.

Finally, the voice asks, “Um… can I help you?”

“Oh.” Ashton forces himself to snap out of it, remembering his mission. That mission is to get Jasey home. “So, uh… I think that I may have found your dog.”

***

They decide to meet at the park the next morning.

The only reason that they couldn’t meet up right after their phone call is because it was getting late, and this ‘Luke’ guy claimed to be quite a distance away, apparently visiting a relative or something like that. Ashton didn’t really listen to the details nor does he care for them. His mind has been focused on other things, such as how he will say goodbye to Jasey once and for all.

She really was his dog for eleven days and he’s obviously going to miss her, but when he’d awoken that morning, he told himself that there wasn’t any reason to be sad. Jasey will finally be reunited with her owner, who will provide for her in ways that Ashton cannot. While it was fun having her around, Ashton’s life currently revolves around the steady growth of his bakery and he doesn’t really have the time or energy to care for a dog, despite how much he wants one of his own. So, at least Jasey will be with someone who presumably has much more time on their hands.

Suddenly, Ashton begins to wonder if the opposite of true. What if Jasey’s owner doesn’t have that much time for her? Like, what if the reason that she’s constantly following him around is because she craves the attention that she was never given? Or worse, what if her rightful owner was cruel and didn’t give her the nurturement that she required, which is why she ran away? Was she escaping poor treatment? It’s definitely a possibility, and now Ashton fears that he might be returning Jasey to her worst nightmare!

The only way to know for sure is to see how Jasey reacts to seeing this ‘Luke’ guy again. If she bares her teeth and growls, or whimpers and cowards behind Ashton’s legs, then he’ll know that something most certainly isn’t right. There’s no way in hell that Ashton is going to hand over this angelic little puppy to some asshole. No sir.

However, things go a bit differently when Luke finally arrives. Or, Ashton assumes that it’s Luke since he’s staring in their direction as soon as he gets out of his car. And…

Okay, so, this guy is much younger than Ashton had expected. There’s also the fact that he’s pretty fucking attractive, but that little detail doesn’t matter. After all, looks can be deceiving. It’s possible that he’s still an abusive asshole and therefore, Ashton must protect Jasey from him at all costs!

Again, things go a bit differently than he had imagined.

“Ginger!” Luke shouts, and it takes Ashton a moment to realize that that must be the puppy’s actual name.

It actually makes sense, because Jasey (Ginger?) responds to the name with a bark. After that, it’s like watching a scene from a movie or something. Luke runs towards them with the biggest, most relieved smile that Ashton has ever seen, and Ginger runs to meet him in the middle. Her tongue is hanging out and her eyes are wide, she’s obviously happy to see Luke; and even though Ashton feels a pang of jealousy, he supposes that it’s much better than the possibility of Luke having treated her poorly.

Luke falls to his knees and scoops the puppy into his arms, who eagerly licks every spot of his face that she can reach. Yep, she’s really stoked to see him again, and Ashton has to admit that it’s pretty damn adorable. He doesn’t want to interrupt their reunion, especially when Luke begins murmuring to her in that baby voice that Calum used, too; but he feels rather awkward simply standing there as his existence goes unacknowledged.

So, Ashton clears his throat. Just as he’d hoped, Luke finally looks up and notices him.

“Ah, you must be Ashton!” he says with a laugh, mainly because Ginger is nuzzling against his neck and tickling him.

There isn’t anyone else that he could possibly be, but Ashton manages to contain his sarcasm and answers genuinely.

“Yeah, that’s… that’s me. Nice to meet you.”

Luke stands up from the grass as Ashton walks over to them and he extends a hand. “It’s nice to meet you, too.  I mean it’s really, really nice. Like, I can’t even begin to thank you for all of this…”

Although a bit hesitant, Ashton takes the boy’s hand and accepts the handshake just to be polite.

“Eh, it’s no biggie. If I’d lost my dog, I’d want someone to return her, too. Although… you really should get a nametag for her. Maybe one with a contact number on it, just in case something like this happens again.”

Luke suddenly looks very embarrassed. Instead of making eye contact, he looks down at Ginger while speaking. “Yeah, I-I know. Ginger’s first nametag fell off one day while I was taking her for a walk, so I had just gotten her a new one the night that she ran away. Never got a chance to put it on her, though…”

Sighing, he reaches down and scratches behind her ear. “I really am lucky, to be honest. After the first few days, I started to think that I was never going to see her again… but then you called, and suddenly I was hopeful again. By the way, how did you find her?”

“Well… she found me, actually.” Ashton smiles down at the wide-eyed puppy, recalling the memory. “And I’m really glad that she did.”

Luke finally looks him in the eye and grins. “I’m glad that she found you, too. From the looks of it, you’ve been taking great care of her. So, thank you.”

Not really knowing what to say, Ashton merely returns the smile. “It’s fine… she’s a well-behaved pup, y’know.”

Luke chuckles softly. “Sometimes. The majority of the time, I have no idea what to do with her excessive energy. But, I guess that’s what it means to be a puppy. They’re, like, little balls of energy who like to take naps every once in a while.”

“That they are,” he agrees, giggling. “So, how long have you had her? Is she your first pet?”

“Hmm… almost five months? I got her when she was just a couple of weeks old.” Luke glances down at Ginger again, who circles his legs twice before sticking her head between them. It appears that she’s getting antsy. “And no, I had another dog growing up, her name was Molly. She was a lot more obedient, though, because my whole family took care of her. But… she passed away a few months after I started university. I was really torn up about it, at the time, so I figured that a new puppy was exactly what I needed. I… guess I overestimated myself a bit.”

Ashton laughs at the same time that Luke does, and because she probably doesn’t want to feel left out, Ginger barks up at them.

“It takes a bit of time, but I’m sure you’ll get used to it,” Ashton says, and he grins down at the puppy. “Like I said, she’s a good pup.”

Luke hums in agreement. A moment later he gasps as if having suddenly remembered something. “Oh! Before I forget, let me hurry up and give you the reward that I owe you.”

In truth, Ashton had completely forgotten about the supposed ‘reward’ that was offered to whoever found Ginger. It was stated on all of the fliers, but he hadn’t paid any attention to that part. So when Luke pulls out a wallet and begins sifting through it, Ashton stops him.

“Mate, it’s fine. You don’t have to give me anything,” he says, shaking his head.

Luke looks quite shocked to hear it. “Are… are you sure?”

Ashton confirms it with a nod. “Yep. I’m happy just knowing that Jas—I mean, Ginger, is finally going home.”

Even though he still doesn’t want to, Ashton knows that it’s time to say goodbye. He keeps a smile on his face when he kneels down in front of Ginger, who eagerly leans forward to lick at his stubbly chin. Ashton automatically giggles and he returns the kiss to her forehead.

“Be a good girl for Luke now, okay?” he murmurs, nuzzling her nose. When she lets out a small whine, he giggles again. “I know… I’ll miss you, too.”

Not wanting things to be sadder than they already are, Ashton pets her one last time before standing up and trying his best not to look too emotional. He’s probably failing, but whatever.

“Anyway, uh, I’m glad that I could reunite you with your dog.” Ashton smiles at Luke this time, albeit a little awkwardly.

Luke gives him a sympathetic smile in return. “Heh, yeah… well, thank you so much for returning her to me. It means a lot.”

After bidding farewell and watching Luke’s car drive away, Ashton leaves the park and decides to return home because it’s his day off. He knows that he’ll eventually have to go out again to do a bit of shopping, since they’re running low on certain ingredients back at the bakery. But for now, he isn’t in the mood to do anything in particular.

As Ashton enters the front door of his apartment, he can’t shake off the empty feeling, knowing that no one is waiting for him.

***

Two months later, things are basically back to normal.

After giving Ginger back to Luke, Ashton only sulked about it for a week or so, which is pretty impressive in his opinion. It was worth it, though, and Calum was proud of him for doing the right thing. So, Ashton easily falls back into the groove of things, giving all of his attention to the bakery and coming up with new ideas to draw in more customers. It’s fairly easy to focus on important things such as that, since baking is what he’s best at.

One day, something incredibly strange but good happens while Ashton is outside of the bakery. He’s currently busy wiping the windows to keep them squeaky clean, just how he prefers them to be. His mother always taught him that the most appealing shop is one that’s clean on the inside, and the outside. After all, the exterior is the first thing that customers will see, and if it looks hideous or unkempt, they’ll most likely assume that the inside is the same.

Therefore, Ashton makes it a top priority to keep the outside of the bakery neat and the windows clean. He whistles to himself as he works, his mind focused on the delicious cupcakes that he recently made and how perfect they turned out. For him, a recipe turning out perfectly always means that it’s going to be a good day. As a matter of fact, today appears to be a very good day, which is why he receives the surprise of his life when something pounces on him out of nowhere.

“Ginger, wait!” a familiar voice yells.

Suddenly Ashton finds himself falling on his bum and a warm tongue licking his cheek. When he opens his eyes, he’s met with a face full of chocolate colored fur and two big, hazel eyes that he’ll probably be able to recognize anywhere. And just like that, Ashton is immediately filled with joy as a smile spreads on his face.

“Ginger!” Ashton squeals with laughter and brings his arms up to wrap around the dog’s neck, hugging her closely. “Hiya, girl! Where in the world did you come from, hm? Wow, you sure have grown!”

Ashton is so absorbed in fawning over Ginger that he hardly notices the person approaching them.

“Oh my god, I am so, so sorry about this. Ginger, leave the man alone—down, girl!”

When the dog moves out of the way, Ashton looks up and locks eyes with a familiar pair to match the familiar voice that had just spoken. He almost feels like an idiot for not immediately figuring out that it was Luke, but Luke seems just as surprised to see him there on the ground.

“It’s… it’s you,” Luke says, stunned.

Ashton glances down at himself before looking back up with a smile. “Yeah, it’s me… hi?”

“Um, hey,” he replies, smiling awkwardly. Upon remembering that Ashton was on the ground because of his dog, Luke quickly extends a hand and helps him up to his feet, already muttering apologies. “Are you okay? I’m really, really sorry. I was taking her for a walk as usual when suddenly she just… took off running and I could hardly keep up with her. I guess she recognized your scent?”

Since Ginger is currently sniffing at Ashton’s pant leg and pawing at him for attention, that assumption doesn’t seem too farfetched. Though, it’s also possible that she simply smelled the bakery, since its strong aroma dominates the entire street.

“I think she really missed you,” Luke points out, laughing a little. He definitely wouldn’t be wrong and it’s clear to see that.

Ashton reaches down to scratch beneath Ginger’s chin. “Aw, I missed you, too! But you have to stop running away from daddy Luke, okay? I’m sure that he was very worried about you.”

Of course the dog won’t understand a single word that was just said, but Ashton feels like it was necessary. When he turns back to Luke, the blond-haired boy has a subtle blush on his cheeks for some odd reason. Although Ashton knew that Luke was quite attractive from the last time that they spoke, he never really took the time to appreciate such a gorgeous face because he had been sad about having to hand over Ginger. However, now that he’s in a much better mood and this day has been so kind to him, he finally realizes that Luke literally is the definition of cutie. He appears to be around Calum’s age, which would make him just a couple of years younger and totally attainable.

Er, not that Ashton is hoping for anything. But, he doesn’t feel too guilty about letting his eyes wander as he checks Luke out. And can he really be blamed for doing so? The younger boy is cute, a little awkward, but hot as fuck when you actually take the time to look at him properly. Maybe Ashton should be a bit more subtle with his staring, though, because Luke begins to fidget uncomfortably.

“So, uh, how have you been?” Luke asks, probably hoping to get rid of the awkward silence with a bit of conversation.

“I’ve been pretty great, actually.” Ashton gestures towards the bakery with his thumb. “Y’know, just cleaning windows and stuff.”

Okay, so maybe Ashton is the awkward one, because that was the lamest response that he could’ve possibly come up. Perhaps Luke thinks otherwise, because his eyes widen a little and his mouth forms an ‘o’ shape as if he’s intrigued.

“Crap, you were working, weren’t you?” he says, looking apologetically all of a sudden. “I hope that we’re not bothering you or anything… I mean, I wouldn’t want you to get in trouble because of us.”

Ashton huffs out a laugh. “No, no you’re fine, I promise. I actually own the place, so I’m my own boss.”

“Wow, really? That’s amazing.” Luke looks legitimately impressed now, which may or may not give Ashton an ego boost. “You know, I often pass by this place but I’ve never been inside before… it smells really good, though.”

Upon hearing that confession, Ashton instantly switches to salesmen mode and puts on a big smile.

“You mean you’ve never tried one of my pastries before? Not even a little cupcake?”

When Luke shakes his head, Ashton actually pities him.

“That’s not good. That’s not good at all… but, we’ll just have to change that, won’t we?”

Bending down, Ashton picks up his cleaning supplies and walks towards the entrance of the bakery, gesturing for Luke to follow him if he wants a taste of heaven. Luke decides that it couldn’t hurt to try at least one of the pastries, so he clutches Ginger’s leash in his hand and makes his way over to the door. He stops just before entering, though.

“Oh, um—is it… okay if I bring her inside?” he timidly asks.

Ashton nods and answers casually, “Yeah, yeah of course. She’s already been in here before, so.”

He pauses, then, forgetting that he hasn’t disclosed that particular information to Luke before. In other words, Luke has no idea that Ashton purposely kept Ginger all those weeks ago and took her to work with him numerous times. It would be incredibly awkward to have to explain that, but luckily, Luke doesn’t question it. He simply enters the bakery with Ginger beside him, and he curiously looks around at the interior of the place, reminding Ashton of how Ginger used to be so curious about everything, too.

“You definitely won’t regret trying one,” Ashton says as they walk over to the display case. He walks behind the counter and briefly disappears into the supply closet to put away the cleaning supplies, a confident grin on his face when he returns. “My baking is the best in the area—maybe even the best in Sydney, but I like to stay humble.”

“Is that so?” Luke says, his lips forming a little smirk.

Ashton nods with confidence. “Yep, you’ll just have to take my word for it. So! What would you like to try?”

Luke actually spends quite a few minutes looking at everything before he finally chooses something. Ashton has never been the patient type, but it’s a requirement when dealing with customers so he complies. He doesn’t mind waiting for Luke, though; mainly because Luke asks interesting questions about each dessert, giving Ashton the chance to spew his infinite knowledge about them. The fact that Luke is very cute may also have something to do with it.

In the end, Luke chooses a simple chocolate éclair. Apparently he’d never had the pleasure of tasting one before, which Ashton finds absolutely appalling. And since he pities the poor boy, Ashton decides to give Luke a second one for free. Luke thanks him profusely and consumes the second one at a much slower pace than the first, savoring the delicious taste. As he hums in pleasure and licks the chocolate from his slender fingers, Ashton will forever deny the fact that it made him a little hot and bothered to have to watch such a thing.

“That was… that was really fucking delicious,” Luke says, and then he gasps when he realizes that he had cursed.

Ashton just giggles. “So, I’m assuming that you liked it?”

Luke nods rapidly. “I loved it. Do you make all of them yourself?”

“Nah, I have a bit of help.”

Almost on cue, Calum appears from the backroom. “Hey, Ashton. Do you know if we have any…” He trails off when it appears that Ashton is busy helping a customer, but just before he can walk away, a sudden barking sound grabs his attention. It’s safe to say that when Calum leans over the display case to find a puppy staring back at him, he’s absolutely ecstatic. “Jasey!”

Less than five seconds later, Calum is on the other side of the display case and happily rubbing Ginger’s tummy.

“Jasey…?” Luke mutters, confused.

“That’s what we had been calling her when we didn’t know her name,” Ashton explains, smiling at the cute scene before him. “Um, I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of it, but it’s from the song—”

“Jasey Rae,” Luke finishes for him. “I love that song!”

Honestly? Hearing that almost makes Ashton want to grab Luke by the shirt and kiss him over the counter. They end up discussing All Time Low songs for a while before listing other bands that they love, hoping to find more that they both enjoy listening to. Ashton learns that Luke is not only hot, but he has a great taste in music, too. That’s almost like a package deal of sorts—not that Ashton is shopping for cute boys right now (he definitely isn’t, okay) but perhaps he’ll keep a reference.

When a young couple comes in, only then does Calum redirect his attention from Ginger to serve them. Ashton continues talking to Luke the entire time, their conversation eventually shifting back to the sweet treats in the display case. Ginger stares at them with her tongue hanging out of her mouth, her breath fogging up the glass a little. She then stares at the yummy cinnamon roll that Luke buys so that he can eat it later, and Ashton sympathizes with her greatly. Working in a bakery, he sometimes gives in to temptation and eats one of the pastries; but it’s not fun burning off those calories in the gym, so he learned to restrain himself. In Ginger’s case, the dough would upset her doggy tummy and make her sick.

“If you’re a good girl, maybe Luke will give you a yummy treat when you get back home!” Ashton says to her when she begins to whine. She may not understand all that was said, but she definitely understands the work ‘treat’, so she barks and begins to wag her tail. Ashton finds it adorable, and when he kneels down, he pretends to whisper to her. “Maybe someday I’ll make a special treat just for you. But, you’ll have to convince Luke to keep bringing you back, okay?”

Afterwards, Ashton glances up at Luke and winks, making the younger boy laugh.

“Will there be more of the chocolate things?” he asks, biting on his bottom lip to keep from smiling too much.

“Éclairs? Maybe there will be, but you’ll have to come and see for yourself,” Ashton teases. If anything, éclairs would be the one item that he’s positive they’ll never run out of, but Luke doesn’t need to know that.   

Luke hums, considering his options. “It’s very tempting… okay. I’ll definitely come back, then.”

“With Ginger, right? ‘Cause that’s part of the deal.”

“Of course,” Luke says with a laugh. Somehow, that laugh is just as adorable as Ginger’s yawn. Maybe even more so, because Luke’s baby blue eyes light up and the dimple in his right cheek makes Ashton want to reach out and poke it—as strange as that sounds.

“I look forward to it,” Ashton says, grinning. And it’s the absolute truth.

Once Luke and Ginger have left, Ashton serves the three customers that come in right afterwards. As soon as they’ve gone as well, Calum resurfaces from the backroom.

“Now that you’re finally done flirting with Jasey’s owner, can you tell me if we have any powdered sugar left?”

Ashton instantly glares at him, and the half-smirk on Calum’s face says that he expected such a reaction.

“First of all, I wasn’t flirting with him—”

“And once again, I don’t have eyeballs.”

“Shut up. Second of all, her name is Ginger and his name is Luke, so try to remember that.”

“Ginger is a cute name,” Calum says absentmindedly. “Luke is cute, too. I hope that he gave you his number.”

“He didn’t, and I obviously didn’t ask. That would’ve been rude.” Ashton fiddles with the loose string on his apron, hoping that Calum won’t notice the growing blush on his cheeks.

Calum sighs and pats him on the shoulder. “It’s okay, maybe he’ll give it to you next time. Now, do we have any powdered sugar or not?”

“The powdered sugar is where it always is,” he grumbles, annoyed. “Just move the brown sugar out of the way and you should see it.”

As soon as Ashton is alone again, he begins to daydream. Even though Calum had only been teasing him, Ashton most certainly wouldn’t mind having Luke’s number; although technically he already does. Two months ago he’d thrown away Luke’s flier once he no longer had a use for it, but he knows that if he scrolls down in the recent calls list on his phone, Luke’s number will still be there. He almost wants to search through his phone right now just to see it, but he can’t imagine actually calling it. That would be weird, right? And Ashton doesn’t want to scare Luke away, not when the guy promised to come back again soon. So he manages to restrain himself, his mind focused on soft eyes and a laugh that fills him with warmth.

Ashton gets so lost in his thoughts that he doesn’t notice the new customers until they approach the counter.

***

Ashton gets his wish.

Luke starts to visit the bakery a couple of times each week, and just as promised, he brings Ginger with him. Ashton really looks forward to Luke’s visits, and not just because he wants to see the adorable puppy. He looks forward to seeing the expression on Luke’s face when he tries a new dessert; he looks forward to telling Luke all about the sweet treat in his mouth and how it’s made; and most of all, Ashton looks forward to their lengthy conversations about anything and everything.

Usually, he really likes it when there are many customers in the bakery at once. It makes things exciting and brings more life to the place. However, when he’s busy talking to Luke, Ashton actually finds himself resenting the customers who show up and interrupt them. Of course he simply smiles and helps them out, though; and as soon as they’ve been taken care of, he can resume his conversation with Luke. Best of all, Luke always waits for him.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that Ashton is completely smitten with the blue-eyed cutie. Calum constantly teases him about it, which sucks because Ashton can’t tease him back about the hearts in his eyes whenever Michael randomly visits. It’s obvious that they’re in love, they’re already dating and they even live together. So it isn’t the same as Calum teasing him about his obvious crush on Luke, no matter how much Ashton denies that it’s a crush at all. The first few visits he was able to tell himself that he merely enjoyed Luke’s company, but it quickly became more than that as time passed on. Now, Ashton literally turns into the sun as soon as Luke walks through the door with Ginger by his side.

But despite their consistent flirting, neither of them have made a move yet by asking the other out. Ashton figures that perhaps Luke just doesn’t like him that way, but Calum insists that Luke does and if he believes otherwise, then he’s an oblivious idiot. It actually kind of makes sense, because why else would Luke continue to come back so often with Ginger unless he wanted to please Ashton? In fact, Luke even admitted once that he shares the pastries with his family so that he won’t have to eat them all by himself, since that wouldn’t be the healthiest decision. But he doesn’t want to stop buying things from the bakery, either, so he continues to visit. Ashton thinks that that’s really sweet of him.

Still, their flirting doesn’t go beyond that. Ashton doesn’t mind it too much, he’s just happy to see Luke and Ginger.

One particularly cloudy day, Ashton isn’t sure if they will come or not. He’s been alone in the shop for the majority of the day, a few customers coming and going but not many. It’s supposed to begin raining at any moment and the weather station claims that it’ll fall really hard, so he can understand why people wouldn’t venture outside of their homes. To top it all off, Calum called in sick earlier that morning. His voice was so rough that he sounded at least thirty years older than he actually is, and Ashton felt sorry for him. At least Michael is taking good care of him, though.

Unfortunately, this means that Ashton will be quite lonely today. He finds solace in listening to the quiet music that plays through the speakers of the bakery, and every once in a while, a song that he loves comes on the radio. Although he would prefer being at home with a blanket wrapped around him as he watches a movie on the couch, this is nice, too.

It gets even better when the very person that he had been hoping for walks through the door, the bell chiming above it to alert him of a new customer.

“Hey, chef.” Luke greets him with a smile. Ashton loves it when Luke calls him that.

“Hi,” he says, and then he leans over the counter to wave down at Ginger. “Hello to you, too! I honestly didn’t think that you guys would be coming in today, but I’m really glad that you did.”

“Of course we’d come. I wouldn’t want to miss a chance to see you,” Luke nonchalantly replies. When he realizes what he had just said, his face goes almost as red as Ashton’s. “I… I mean, because Ginger would miss you too much! And… y-you said that you had a treat to give her the next time that we came so, uh, I guess we’re here?”

In all honesty, that train wreck of a reply and Luke’s flustered face just makes Ashton want to kiss him even more. But instead of mustering up the courage to actually do that, he simply smiles and nods his head.

“That’s right, I do have a treat for her! Stay right there, I’ll go and get it.”

Ashton temporarily disappears to retrieve the promised gift from the refrigerator. When he returns, he’s carefully carrying a delicious looking cupcake on a small platter. Ginger instantly takes interest in it, licking her lips and whining like she always does when she sees something yummy. For the first time, she won’t be denied.

“As promised, I made a dog-friendly cupcake just for you,” Ashton says, setting the platter on the floor in front of Ginger. The cupcake is fluffy and yellow with pink icing, and he even topped it with a bone shaped doggy biscuit. Surprisingly, it wasn’t difficult at all to make, but Ashton had to resist the urge to taste it because it isn’t made with normal cupcake ingredients. To the human tongue, it might not taste right; but after sniffing it, Ginger eagerly digs in and gets pink icing all over her nose.

“I’m gonna take a guess and say that she really enjoys it,” Luke says, laughing. He then looks up at Ashton, his smile warm and sincere. “Thank you.”

If Ashton giggles like a schoolgirl then, well, no one else has to know. “It’s no big deal, y’know, just wanted to… give her something nice. Um, I actually made something for you, too! Be right back.”

This time Ashton disappears and brings back a caramel tart with a bit of fudge drizzled on top. He made it especially for Luke, which is why it’s a bit bigger than the usual tarts that are sold in the display case. Luke thanks him profusely as usual, and once he takes a bite out of the dessert, he looks extremely pleased with the taste and he compliments Ashton’s baking. Hearing that gives Ashton the biggest confidence boost, even though Luke always claims to love everything that he tastes. He doesn’t know whether Luke is just being nice or if he actually loves everything that touches his tongue, but the compliments makes Ashton feel good nonetheless.

As soon as Luke finishes the delicious caramel tart, it begins to rain. The weather forecasters were right when they predicted that it would rain really hard, because the water splashing down outside quickly begins to rise. Not wanting to get soaked, Luke asks if it would be alright if he and Ginger stayed until the rain ceased. Of course Ashton says yes.

As a result, Ashton’s lonely, boring day instantly begins to turn around. Since he assumes that no one else will be coming into the bakery for a while, he makes two mugs of hot cocoa and joins Luke at one of the tables. They watch with amused grins as Ginger tries to lick up every bit of icing from the platter, and then from her nose. Afterwards, she joins them and lies down near the table, yawning with satisfaction.

 “So, where’s Calum?” Luke asks.

“Sore throat,” he answers. “So it’s just me today.”

“Well, not anymore. Ginger and I will keep you company. Won’t we, Ginger?”

Ginger merely glances up at them and yawns again, making the both of them laugh.

“She’s probably stuffed from the yummy cupcake that you gave her,” Luke says. He picks up his mug of hot cocoa and slowly sips from it, humming in delight as the warm liquid slithers down his throat. When he sets it down again, there’s a bit of whipped cream left on the tip of his nose.

Ashton doesn’t think twice about picking up a napkin from the side and reaching out to gently wipe the cream away. “Just a bit of cream. Anyway, since she liked it so much, how about I give you the recipe? It’s not that difficult to make. If you want, you can fix it for her on special occasions or something. Maybe give it to her as a reward for good behavior?”

Instead of answering, Luke merely stares at him for a few seconds before looking down at the table, a bashful smile on his face. It takes Ashton another moment to realize why, and he supposes that what he’d just done was a little more than a friendly gesture. Oops. He hopes that he hadn’t just made things awkward between them, but Luke doesn’t appear to be uncomfortable at all. If anything, it simply took him by surprise.

“This, um… this hot cocoa is really good! You have to tell me what you put in it,” Luke says, speaking a little too fast out of nervousness. When he picks up the mug again, he takes too big of a gulp and ends up burning his tongue. As he winces in pain with a hand over his mouth, he looks incredibly embarrassed.

Maybe Ashton should feel bad because it’s mainly his fault, but he actually finds this whole thing to be quite endearing. Luke is undeniably adorable when he’s flustered, and Ashton can no longer deny the fact that just being in Luke’s presence makes him weak in the knees. In fact, he literally might be falling for this lovable dork.

“Be careful, it’s really hot,” Ashton teases him, because that’s pretty much obvious. “I just put a bit of vanilla extract and cream in it, but I can give you the recipe for that, too.”

Luke nods in agreement and goes back to staring at his mug, still inhaling air to cool his burnt tongue. He looks a little tense, for some reason. Hoping to relax him a bit, Ashton inches his foot forward and gently nudges Luke’s. When Luke glances up at him in confusion, Ashton smiles and nudges him again, bringing an even brighter smile to Luke’s face. He returns the gesture by nudging Ashton’s foot and then looking away as he sips from his mug, pretending that he hadn’t done anything. Well, two can play at that game.

Somehow, this is what Ashton’s life has become; playing footsie beneath a table with his crush while the rain pours down outside, the only sound filling their ears coming from the water hitting the window and the soft music playing from the radio. It’s fun, it’s relaxing, and it’s exactly the kind of thing that Ashton has been craving for. He no longer feels lonely whenever he’s talking to Luke, and while he adores Ginger more than anything, it’s Luke that he looks forward to seeing every now and then. He doesn’t know how that happened over the span of just a few weeks, but he’s glad that it did.

“You know something?”

Ashton looks up when Luke suddenly speaks, brows raised in interest. “Hm?”

“You’re a really great chef,” he says, grinning.

Aside from the compliment coming out of nowhere, it wouldn’t be the first time that Luke has told him that. Ashton blushes regardless, because he may be confident in his baking skills but it never fails to warm his tummy when someone else says it aloud. Especially when that person is Luke.

“Thanks,” Ashton murmurs, and he tries to hide his blushing face behind the mug in his hands.

“I’m serious,” Luke goes on, “Everything that you create is just so… awesome. Would you ever consider teaching me how to make something good? Or would that be a disaster just waiting to happen?”

Ashton quickly nods. “Yeah! I mean, to the first part. Like, I totally wouldn’t mind showing you a few tricks in the kitchen. Definitely.”

He cringes at his choice of words, but the happy expression on Luke’s face tells him that it may not be as bad as he thinks. Luke begins to talk about all of the dishes that he’d like to try making, claiming that Ashton has inspired him to become a much better cook. Ashton is absolutely flattered to hear that, and he makes a joke about firing Calum in order to hire Luke as his apprentice. That’s certainly the opposite of what Ashton wants to do, though, because there are specific things that they wouldn’t be able to do together if Luke was working under him. Ashton has to force himself to push aside such dirty thoughts, especially since Luke is sitting right there in front of him.

While they’re discussing a possible day for Luke to visit Ashton’s place for his first baking lesson, Ginger suddenly begins to howl.

Luke shushes her and she quiets down for a short moment before starting up again, howling and moving her mouth up and down as if trying to speak or something. It’s pretty amusing, but Luke doesn’t seem to think so, judging by the fact that he’s covering his face with one of his hands.

“What is it?” Ashton asks, confused as ever.

Luke shakes his head and points upwards, though Ashton has no idea what that means. Thankfully, he explains. “It’s the song. She’s… trying to sing along to it. Probably because I listen to it a lot, especially in my car.”

Now, if that isn’t the most adorable thing in the universe, then Ashton doesn’t know what is. He can just barely hear Teenage Dream playing on the radio over Ginger’s howling—well, technically she’s singing.

Luke goes on to tell him about how he’s unable to sing at home or in the car without Ginger joining in, which she randomly started to do about a month or so ago. Sometimes she even overhears him singing in the shower, and she’ll sit outside the bathroom door, howling in tune with him. Luke says that it was cute at first, but now it’s simply irritating.

Ashton believes otherwise.

“Aw! She’s just having a bit of fun. Aren’t you, Ginger?” he says.

Ginger stands on her hind legs and continues singing along to Katy Perry, howling towards the ceiling. Wanting to have a bit of fun as well, Ashton stands up from his seat and takes Ginger’s paws into his hands, pretending to dance with her. It’s definitely the silliest thing that he’s done all week, but he’s having fun and that’s all that matters.

Luke is absolutely dying with laughter as he watches them. Ashton has to awkwardly bend down a bit because he’s so tall, which makes it look like an elderly man dancing with a circus dog or something. But, Ginger looks like she’s having lots of fun, too.

Once the song has ended, she immediately stops singing and suddenly looks bored, even as Ashton continues trying to dance with her. Ashton isn’t hurt by it, though. He’ll simply change dancing partners.

Moving over to stand in front of Luke, Ashton holds out a hand. In a deep tone, he asks, “May I have this dance?”

Luke merely stares at him for a moment before giggling. But, then he nods and takes Ashton’s hand, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet. Ashton pulls him towards the center of the bakery where there aren’t any chairs or tables to obstruct their dancing, and in a single movement, he tugs Luke closer until their bodies are basically pressed together. Luke seems to freeze up then, unsure of what to do or what he should do. Thus, Ashton guides him until he finally loosens up and, surprisingly, he begins to take the lead.

“Oh my, I didn’t know that you could dance so well,” Ashton says, grinning up at him.

Luke only shrugs, wearing a smile of his own. “I’m improvising?”

Ashton giggles. “Well, you’re really good at improvising, then.”

They dance just like that to an unknown song, swaying back and forth across the floor, giggling practically the entire time. With her head curiously tilted to the side, Ginger watches them dance around the room, probably wondering what the hell it is that they’re doing and why. The thing is, they aren’t doing it for any particular reason and that’s what makes it so fun. They’re being very silly and uncoordinated, but it beats simply sitting there and doing nothing. Besides, Ashton has never been this close to Luke before, and he has to say that he likes it. He likes it a lot.

Luke is soft and warm and he smells like sweet caramel with a hint of whatever cologne that he put on that morning. The two scents combined form a sweet and spicy smell that Ashton inhales deeply, his chin resting on one of Luke’s broad shoulders. He decides that he really likes that, too. It kind of confuses him, though, because that’s one of the things that he just doesn’t understand about Luke.

See, Luke is like a complex mixture of sweet and spicy things. He’s a nice boy who never goes a day without somehow complimenting Ashton’s skills, but he’s also pretty witty and isn’t afraid to tease Ashton back. Another thing is that he’s incredibly cute with his awkward tendencies, but sometimes he’ll say things or look a certain way that nearly makes Ashton sweat because he’s just too damn hot. Some days Ashton just wants to cuddle with him in front of a fire while they talk about anything and everything on their minds. Other days, Ashton has to resist the urge to get down on his knees and give Luke the greatest blowjob of his life. Honestly, if Luke ever asked him to do such a thing, Ashton highly doubts that he would say no.

Overall, Ashton just thinks that Luke is really great and he certainly wouldn’t mind kissing him, among other things. He wonders if he’ll be able to do all of those things someday. But most of all, he wonders if Luke would want to do those things with him, too.

When Ashton pulls back a little and gazes into Luke’s eyes, he gets the feeling that his desire may be mutual. Luke stares back at him with that same intensity, and Ashton involuntarily gulps. Maybe he’s just seeing things when Luke glances down at his lips, but then it happens again and Ashton’s heart begins to race a little faster. They’ve completely stopped dancing now and a fast paced song starts to play, but neither of them really notice it. Just when Ashton is sure that Luke will lean in and kiss him at last, the shittiest thing occurs.

The bell above the door chimes as someone enters. “Hello? Are you open?”

Ashton breaks away from Luke so fast that he nearly bumps into a table behind him. Nonetheless, he manages to greet the customer with a welcoming smile and offers to take their soaking umbrella from them to put it in the rack. While he serves them at the counter, his eyes repeatedly wander over to where Luke is currently sitting at the table that they’d been using. Strangely enough, he doesn’t look at Ashton once.

What’s even worse is that the customer literally takes ages just to pick out a couple of slices of cheesecake. He’s an elderly man so Ashton tries his hardest to be patient, but he also resents them for interrupting the fun that he was having with Luke mere moments before. If that isn’t bad enough, the sun suddenly decides to make an appearance a few minutes later. Now that the pouring rain has transitioned into a pathetic sprinkle, it’ll be much easier to walk outside.

Apparently, Luke had been thinking the exact same thing, because he stands up from the chair and takes Ginger’s leash into his hand. Since Ashton is still stuck with the old man who is attempting to count the exact amount of change that he owes for the desserts, Luke waves goodbye to him with a sympathetic smile and exits the bakery.

In this moment, Ashton swears that he hates his life.

***

Over a week later, Ashton has all but forgotten about the rainy day incident.

Luke hasn’t visited the bakery since then, probably because he’s busy and hasn’t had the time to do so, but Ashton’s mind keeps coming up with illogical explanations just to make him feel even shittier than he already does. Oh well, he’ll just have to silently deal with it until Luke eventually does decide to come back. Hopefully it’ll be soon, because Ashton misses him and Ginger greatly.

He’s sweeping the bakery one evening after closing time, his movements automatic and unhurried because he’s currently lost in his thoughts. Today had been a successful one; customers came and went but there was always someone waiting to be served, as opposed to the days when the bakery is mostly empty. A crowd means good business and Ashton is happy about that, but he’s also pretty damn exhausted, too. It’s about time that he looks for someone else to hire, since he and Calum won’t be able to do everything themselves as traffic becomes heavier and heavier. But aside from his exhaustion, Ashton can’t deny that he’s also disappointed about not seeing Luke again. It is what it is, he supposes.

Ashton’s thoughts are suddenly interrupted when he hears something scraping across the floor. Glancing up, he finds Calum sweeping crumbs from under a table on the other side of the room, softly humming as he works. As much as Ashton appreciates the help, he doesn’t actually need it.

“It’s fine, Cal,” he says. “I’m already sweeping.”

Calum looks over at him with that signature unimpressed expression. “Yeah, but you’ve been sweeping that same area for, like, the past twenty minutes. I figured that I’d give you a hand to make the process go faster.”

Ashton looks down at the floor and, sure enough, he literally is in the same spot in which he’d started. With a sigh, he begins moving forward to sweep an area that actually needs sweeping.

“You took care of the dishes, though, so let me do the sweeping,” he insists. “You should go home, I’m sure that Mikey’s waiting for you.”

For once, Calum doesn’t argue. “Okay.”

Ashton watches as Calum returns to the supply closet to put away the broom and dustpan, before refocusing on the task at hand. To his annoyance, someone seems to have dropped almost an entire chocolate chip cookie beneath one of the tables. Apparently they stepped on it, too, because it’s been broken up into a million pieces and spread around a little. Ashton assumes that it was the bratty child from earlier who had begun to screech at the top of his lungs, after his mother denied him the colossal red velvet cupcake in the display case. Thanks to that little show, Ashton’s eardrums will probably never recover.

“Are you okay?”

Startled by Calum’s sudden approach, Ashton nearly jumps. He quickly nods his head and returns to sweeping up the crumbled cookie, avoiding the concerned look in Calum’s eyes. But it isn’t exactly easy to lie to someone that he’s known for so long. There’s also the fact that he knows that Calum will continue to pester him unless he speaks up, so Ashton has basically already lost.

“He’ll come back, you know,” Calum says.

Of course Ashton knows who he is, so there’s no need to ask. And while he would very much prefer not to talk about it, especially since he’s afraid that it’ll make him sound desperate and clingy, he finds himself responding in a rather vulnerable tone.

“What makes you think that…?”

Surprisingly, Calum snorts and playfully pokes him in the side, making Ashton squirm in protest. “Because he likes you, duh. And he obviously should, because you’re pretty great even when you’re grumpy. Like now, for instance.”

“I’m not grumpy!” Ashton protests, which basically defeats the purpose, so he sighs in defeat. “But thank you for the words of wisdom, mister fortune teller. I hope that you’ll read my palm next time.”

Calum merely sticks out his tongue and attempts to poke Ashton again, but Ashton is quick enough to dodge his finger.

“Just trying to cheer you up, mister grumpy bear. But hey, at least we did really well today, yeah? Like, it’s the first time that we actually ran out of a bunch of things and had to make more. Isn’t that great?”

Ashton hums in agreement since he definitely can’t argue with that. He has a feeling that they’ll do even better in the near future.

Coincidentally, Calum is thinking the same thing. “We’ll do really great tomorrow, too! Just wait and see.”

After being demanded of a hug, Ashton waves as Calum practically skips out of the door and leaves the bakery until the following morning. Now that he’s alone once more, Ashton quickly gets lost in his own thoughts again. He purposely tries to think about anything but Luke, knowing that he’ll just go back to sulking if he imagines those pretty blue eyes, that beautiful smile, and the way that Luke looks at him as if he were made of gold. Ashton really likes the attention that Luke gives him, but he’s beginning to think that perhaps he likes it a bit too much now.

As he finishes sweeping the floor at last, Ashton looks around the bakery and nods his head, impressed. He recalls wiping off the counters already, but he’s considering doing it a second time just in case. However, his thoughts are interrupted once again as the bell above the entrance chimes.

“Sorry, we’re closed,” Ashton says absentmindedly. Whoever entered doesn’t respond immediately, which prompts him to look up.

The last thing that Ashton would have expected to see is Luke standing in front of the door, hands behind his back and a shy smile on his face. Just seeing him again is enough to make Ashton’s heart leap in his chest, and it takes another moment for him to notice that, for once, Ginger isn’t with Luke. In an instant, his joy turns into worry.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen to Ginger?” he asks, trying not to panic. If something bad ever happened to Ginger, he wouldn’t know what to do with himself. Evidently, he loves that dog just as much as Luke does.

Thankfully, Luke quickly shakes his head. “No, no she’s fine! Really, I just… wanted to come and see you, is all.”

“Oh,” he replies, not knowing what else to say.

It appears that Luke isn’t sure of what to say, either, because he simply stands there for a moment, staring down at his feet as he nervously chews his lip. Honestly, his weird behavior is making Ashton nervous, too, and he wishes that Luke would just spit out what he wants to say. At the same time, he’s not even sure if he’s ready for whatever Luke wants to tell him. It doesn’t seem like it will be anything bad, but Ashton feels anxious nonetheless.

Finally, Luke murmurs, “Um… I want to give you something, if that’s okay?”

Ashton swallows nervously but nods anyway. Suddenly, Luke begins to walk towards him, that shy smile still on his face as he approaches. Once he’s close enough, he presents a small plastic container from behind his back and holds it out for Ashton to take.

“What’s this…” Ashton trails off as he takes the container into his hands and sees the cupcake inside of it. It’s a rather big cupcake, nearly the size of Ashton’s palm, in fact. But it’s very pretty and the baby blue colored icing stands out against the yellow cake. Best of all, the word Ash is written on top in caramel. Along with the lavender ribbon wrapped around the cupcake liner, it looks as if it were made professionally.

“It took a couple of times before I got it right,” Luke admits, nervously rubbing the back of his neck. “Er, a few times, technically…”

“I love it,” Ashton replies instantly. “It’s really beautiful, Luke.”

He looks up at Luke with the widest grin possible, wanting to show that he genuinely means it. It’s clear that it must’ve taken Luke a lot of effort to get it perfectly, and as far as Ashton can tell, it really is perfect. It’s perfect because Luke made it for him.

“I’m glad that you don’t think it looks like crap,” Luke jokes, but he looks incredibly relieved. “I just wanted to make you something because, y’know, you’re always giving me something for free whenever I come by and you’re really nice to Ginger, too… I-I guess that I just wanted to make you something sweet because you’re a really sweet person? Um, yeah.”

Who knew that being called sweet by his crush could make Ashton turn several shades of red in a matter of seconds? Because that’s basically what happens, and since he’s flustered he ends up giggling like an absolute dork. It’s hard not to giggle, though, because his heart beats a little faster every time that he glances down at the cupcake in his hands. And if there was ever a perfect time kiss Luke, he thinks that it would be now.

Luke still looks a bit nervous, though, so Ashton tilts his head and asks, “You okay?”

“Yeah, um… I’ve wanted to ask you something for a while now,” Luke says. “If… if that’s alright with you.”

Ashton can’t help it when he giggles again. “Luke, if you want to ask me something then just… ask? You don’t have to ask for permission before asking a question, silly.”

“Oh,” he mutters, obviously embarrassed. But he quickly shakes it off and clears his throat before speaking again. “Well, I know that you’re usually really busy with the bakery and stuff, but I was wondering if maybe you wanted to… hang out sometime? Just the two of us?”

“You mean like what we were talking about last week?” Ashton asks, oblivious as ever. “Sure, I’m still up for teaching you how to bake things. From the looks of it, you’re already pretty great at making cupcakes and—”

“No, no, that’s—I meant that I want to take you on a date!” Luke blurts out, and then he nervously licks his lips and adds, “Like, a real date where we go somewhere and do something… fun. Of course you don’t have to, but like, if you want to…”

Ashton’s reply comes immediately and without hesitation. “Okay.”

“Okay?” Luke legitimately seems surprised at the quick answer. He goes speechless for a moment before muttering, “Really?”

Despite the butterflies fluttering wildly in his tummy and the tingling beneath his skin, Ashton laughs. “What, did you really think that I would say no? You should have more confidence in yourself, Luke.”

Luke shakes his head at that. “No—I mean, I knew that you would probably say yes but I didn’t think that it would be so… easy?”

“You knew that I would say yes?” Ashton gasps, pretending to be offended. “That’s a bit arrogant, don’t ya think?”

Now he’s literally just messing around with Luke because it’s fun, and the deep blush on Luke’s cheeks is extremely adorable. Ashton doesn’t deny that he’s blushing as well, but he’s far too chirpy to care at the moment. After all, Luke just asked him out on a date, a real date that’ll probably be really romantic and cute and they may even hold hands! What can possibly be better than that? Nothing, that’s what.

Luke seems to have had enough of the teasing, though. In an effort to get revenge, he steps closer so that he’s invading Ashton’s personal space and there are only a few inches between them. The tiniest smirk is on his face and Ashton has the urge to get rid of it, preferably with a kiss. What happens instead is that Ashton’s breath hitches in his throat and he waits, wondering what Luke will say or do next.

“Friday,” he says, staring straight into Ashton’s eyes. “I’m picking you up Friday night, once you’re finished with work; maybe an hour after so that you’ll have enough time to get changed. I’m thinking something simple, like… dinner and a movie?  We can see whatever you want. How does that sound?”

The sudden confidence that Luke is displaying takes Ashton by complete surprise, and the tone of voice that he uses nearly makes him sound like an arrogant asshole. For some reason, it’s insanely hot. Like, Ashton has literally never found Luke as attractive as he does right now, and he might be a little turned on.

“That… that sounds perfect,” Ashton replies, excitement quite obvious in his voice. “Anything else that I should know?”

Luke hums thoughtfully, considering the question. “Nope, I think that’s it… oh, but you will remember about our date by the time that Friday comes around, right?”

“Of course,” Ashton says with a laugh. “Forgetting that I have a date with you would be the last thing that I ever do.”

Those words actually make Luke’s face light up with joy, as if he had really been afraid that Ashton might forget about him. He looks exceptionally pleased now, though, and Ashton must say that he is, too. He’s already counting down the hours until their date because he can hardly wait to spend time with Luke, especially since he knows that it could possibly lead to something more. Ashton can’t think of anything more exciting that kissing Luke—in fact, he wants to do it now.

From the way that Luke is staring at him, Ashton can tell that he’s thinking the same thing. And who says that it’s against the rules to kiss before the first date? It’s obvious that both of them want it equally as much, so there’s no point in waiting when those lips are right there. All that he has to do is lean forward, and…

Almost like some sort of evil curse, the bell above the door chimes as someone enters.

“Hey, have you seen my—woah.”

Both Luke and Ashton gasp in surprise upon hearing Calum’s voice. When they turn to him, Calum’s eyes are wide and he looks thoroughly impressed. To be completely honest, Ashton just wants to punch him.

“Why are you still here?” Ashton asks, and he won’t even pretend that he doesn’t sound aggressive.

Calum puts his hands up in defense. “Don’t mind me, I just forgot my sweater in the backroom and didn’t remember until after I searched every inch of my car. Oh, and hi Luke! See Ashton, I told you that he would come back.”

Ashton groans and covers his flustered face with both hands. “Oh my god…”

In the midst of his suffering, a gentle hand appears on his shoulder and Ashton removes his hands from his eyes, glancing up to find Luke smiling at him. Somehow he instantly feels better and he finds himself smiling back before he even realizes it.

“So, I’ll see you Friday?” Luke whispers, his tone soft and heavenly and wow, Ashton can’t believe how lucky he is.

“Definitely,” he whispers back. Just before Luke pulls away, Ashton takes a chance by leaning up to kiss his cheek. It’s quick and chaste, but it still manages to render Luke speechless. “Thanks for the cupcake, I can’t wait to finally taste it.”

“Heh, y-yeah… no problem,” Luke stutters. With a goofy smile on his red face, he attempts to walk backwards towards the door—only to bump into a table and nearly fall. Ashton didn’t think that it was possible for someone to be this fucking cute, and he tries his best not to laugh as Luke straightens himself up and quickly exits the bakery, muttering a hasty goodbye just before the door closes behind him.

“That was the most entertaining thing that I have ever seen in my life,” Calum says, and Ashton totally forgot that he was still here.

Ashton rolls his eyes. “Oh, leave Lukey alone. He’s cute when he’s flustered.”

“I was talking about you, too.”

“Calum, if you don’t get your sweater and leave already, I’m going to beat you with this broom.”

“Workplace harassment!” Calum shouts.

Ashton merely giggles, in too much of a good mood to care about anything else at the moment. He gets to go on a date with Luke at the end of the week, so he doubts that anything else that happens between now and then will matter much to him.

For now, he’s going to go home and enjoy the yummy cupcake that his crush made just for him.

***

It’s a very busy day in the bakery, especially for a Tuesday afternoon. It’s not a challenge for Ashton, though, because he has all the help that he needs.

“Calum, can you please bring more of the lemon sponge cakes to the front?” he asks as he counts a customer’s change and hands it back to them.

“Already on it,” Calum says. He carries the tray of sweets over to the display case and carefully places each of the cakes inside, making sure to leave one out so that he can hand it to the customer who just bought it. They thank him with a smile and he makes sure to return it.

Just before Ashton helps the next customer, he notices a small mess that someone left at one of the nearby tables. Luckily Harry walks by just then, a broom and dustpan in his hands since he just finished sweeping the backroom.

“Harry, can you sweep beneath that table, too?” he asks, pointing towards it.

Harry glances over at the dirtied area before looking back at Ashton and nodding. “Yes, sir—I mean, Ashton.”

It never fails to put a smile on Ashton’s face whenever the boy mistakenly calls him ‘sir’, no matter how many times Ashton tells him otherwise. For a sixteen year old, Harry is quite mature, and his deep voice makes him sound much older than he actually is. But he’s a good boy and a hard worker, so Ashton is extremely glad that he hired him a few months back.

As more and more people began to notice the little bakery tucked between a used book store and an antiques shop, it became increasingly difficult to manage it with just two people. And considering the rate at which his business continues to grow day after day, Ashton knows that he may have to start thinking about hiring yet another person. That’s completely fine with him, though. The more the merrier.

The line of people waiting to be served gradually becomes shorter, and although Ashton can’t wait to get home and relax, he’s happy that every work day leaves him totally exhausted. It means that he’s working hard at doing something that he loves, he’s on his way to fulfilling his dream of owning a highly successful bakery in the heart of Sydney. Well, technically his shop isn’t located in the heart, but it’s pretty damn close and he’s satisfied with that.

As the day comes to an end, the amount of customers in the bakery decreases and Ashton is finally able to take a breather—or so he thinks. He has only taken two steps away from the cash register when the bell above the door chimes, but he doesn’t complain for a single second. Instead, he puts a wide smile on his face and turns around to greet them.

It’s a wonderful surprise when he realizes who it is.

“Hey, chef,” Luke greets him. “Ginger said that she wanted to stop by before we went home. Isn’t that right, Ginger?”

The now fully-grown Labrador simply smiles up at Ashton with her tongue hanging out of her mouth as usual, and she sits obediently because she knows that Ashton won’t come around and pet her otherwise. And since he still adores her more than anything, Ashton walks to the other side of the counter and kneels down to give her a hug.

“Hi, baby!” he coos, kissing her temple. Ginger turns her head and licks beneath Ashton’s chin, making him giggle. “I missed you, too!”

“What about your other baby?” Luke asks.

Ashton looks up to see his boyfriend poking out his bottom lip in a pout, obviously wanting a bit of affection, too. He always gets this way whenever Ashton pays too much attention to Ginger, and it’s adorable as hell. Since Ashton believes that he’s a great boyfriend and all, he decides to give Luke what he wants. Once he’s standing again, Ashton brings a hand up to cup his boyfriend’s cheek before pressing their lips together for a brief kiss. He’d gladly give Luke more if they weren’t in public and in Ashton’s workplace, but this is good enough for now.

“Hi, sexy,” he murmurs against Luke’s lips. “Miss me?”

Luke hums and licks his lips, probably tasting the cinnamon roll that Ashton couldn’t resist during his lunch hour. With a satisfied grin, he nods.

“Always.”