organic. ➵ lashton

nine>

[warnings: last chapter was a drama bomb, so double update, forgot to mention that this is going to be a full-length fic and not one of those awkward short ones so bear with me for this, i update when i want, i am punk rock, wow this chapter is muke af, sorry, notice this is a lashton story, it will always be lashton, sorry again, bad things happen, michael has a plan]

[ships: luke hemmings + michael clifford]

Luke went numb when Ashton left. He didn't go to his therapy sessions because he resisted against the nurses and cried when they touched him.

Luke had a lot of places he wouldn't let anyone touch, like his chest, his stomach, his thighs.

Places where he saw the most fat in the mirror.

Luke left calls on Ashton's machine, begging him through sniffles and whimpers to come back and be with him because he missed him. Then the message would cut off because the limit had been reached and Luke would cry again.

He really didn't have much in his hospital room besides some abstract art on the ceiling that he couldn't wrap his head around and gaudy curtains of all colors.

Luke hated TV, because he felt it gave everyone an incorrect representation of normal life.

So the miniature TV in the top corner of the room was never used and Luke was left alone with only his phone.

His mother had wanted to visit, but she hadn't come around when they'd planned. Luke supposed she'd forgotten about her fat son.

So Luke sat, alone, under the scratchy sheets that somehow felt so much more comfortable when he was in Ashton's arms.

"Knock knock, Luke.."

Luke didn't know why people felt the need to knock on the door, open the door without his consent, and say knock knock. He found it redundant and quite stupid.

Not to mention, he hadn't spoken since the incident with Ashton, and therefore didn't plan on voicing his acknowledgement of a visitor out loud anyway.

"There's someone here to see you."

Luke's heart began pumping. Ashton. Ashton was back. He would be standing right there and Luke would jump up and hug him and-

Michael. It was Michael.

"Hey. Ashton didn't show up at work this morning. Did something happen?"

Luke didn't look at him, staring exclusively at his lap.

The nurse allowed them privacy, shutting the door behind Michael and walking off.

"Luke... I know you don't like me, but I hope we can get past that, okay?"

Michael's hand brushed Luke's and Luke recoiled immediately, giving Michael a harsh look.

"You hit my best friend and broke his heart." Luke's voice was hoarse, having not spoken for a while.

"We've all done bad things, Luke. Can't we forgive each other?"

Luke looked at Michael, shrugging.

"Why are you here?" Luke cut to the chase after a few minutes of silence.

"To talk to you," Michael whispered soothingly, sitting down in the chair that had been occupied by Ashton not twenty-four hours before.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"What did you plan to talk about?"

"I didn't plan to get through that door, Luke."

Luke let out a little giggle, chewing on the inside of his lip.

"What do you like to do, Michael?"

Michael looked surprised. Nobody asked him what he liked to do.

"I play the guitar."

"Oh?" Luke asked, interested. "Do you sing, too?"

"Sometimes," Michael answered, "I sing."

"That's so cool," Luke breathed.

"I wish I could sing."

Michael smiled at the awestruck boy. "I'm not very good. I like to think that I'm better at guitar than singing."

Luke gave him a look. "I bet that isn't true. I bet you're wonderful at both."

This caused Michael to grin again.

"If you don't mind me asking," Michael began, "what happened between you and Ashton?"

Luke returned to his pensive, quiet status for a few minutes of silence before he met Michael's eyes and eased up a bit.

"He just... I don't know. Got into a bit of a touchy subject. I kind of pushed him out of the room. Not physically, of course. Me pushing Ashton is like an ant trying to push a boulder."

Michael laughed at the analogy, staring at Luke.

Luke looked into his eyes and watched the smile fade, Michael's eyes flickering to his lips and back.

Lips and back.

Lips and back.

"M-Michael," Luke murmured, "are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just... REALLY want to kiss you..."

Luke's eyes widened a bit. He'd barely ever been kissed before. Not by someone who liked him romantically or by someone who was sober.

"Go ahead," Luke mumbled.

"I just want to make sure that the first person who kisses you actually means it."

Michael fell into Luke, their lips pressing together like adhesive. It was difficult to separate themselves.

Luke quite liked Michael's lips, he thought that they were smooth and plump.

Similarly, Michael quite enjoyed kissing Luke, how they sat on Luke's hospital bed, apart from each other, kissing with nothing but their lips touching.

Luke's lips felt like heaven, like red clouds of beauty and softness. Just like Michael had imagined since he saw the frail boy standing at the grocery.

Ever since he'd sworn to wreck the boy before Ashton so much as touched him.

[IF YOU'RE CONFUSED: GOOD]