Definition [ot4]

Twenty Six

((Yo I dyed my hair nice nice

-Mel))

Ashton hisses when his curtains are flung open, letting the sun into his bedroom. He rolls over, carrying the duvet with him, and presses his face into the pillow, while Michael bustles around the room loudly.

"I need you to let Luke sleep in here, yeah?" Michael says. He phrases it like a question, but his tone suggests that it's more of a statement. Ashton is going to let Luke sleep in their shared bedroom again, and he has no say in the matter.

"No," Ashton mumbles, voice muffled by the pillow against his face and the blanket around his neck. There's a sharp thwack against the side of his head, quickly followed by a few more in quick succession when he doesn't respond. He huffs and starts squirming in an attempt to get away, but Michael just crawls into bed with him. It only takes a few seconds for Michael to crawl on top of Ashton and latch on, arms locked around his waist tightly. Ashton fights it for a few seconds, but eventually groans and let's Michael do whatever the fuck he wants.

"Come on," Michael whispers, leaning close to press his lips behind Ashton's ear, making the older boy squirm again. "I made Luke take down his blanket fort in the living room, so he's started sleeping with Calum, and- and you know how whiny and needy they both are. They wake up for handjobs, like, three times a night."

Ashton pauses, but can't help the tiny smile that crawls onto his face. "From you or each other?"

"Each other, but they're really fucking loud," Michael mutters angrily. "If I have to hear," he pitches his voice an octave higher and gasps brokenly, right in Ashton's ear. "'Oh, oh, Luke! Right there, god!' One more time, I will physically chop off both their dicks."

Ashton giggles, but he's a little hesitant, given that Michael's literally moaning on top of him. He's still reveling in the noise when Michael starts talking again. Actually, now that Ashton thinks about it, they usually have pretty one sided conversations.

"Please just let Luke sleep in his bed," Michael says hopefully. "He's just a poor, homeless little boy."

"I said no," Ashton's giggles stop and his huffing begins again. He's annoyed, and he doesn't want Luke back in the room. Luke snores.

There's a little nudge at the back of his brain, though, telling him Luke's old man snore isn't the only problem. He's afraid of Luke, in a way, afraid of everyone, really. Luke could wake up at any time and touch him, thinking Ashton wants it. Luke could crawl on top of him and kiss his neck and grind against him, because Ashton would probably beg for it. That's what normal people do, he thinks, they beg for Luke and Luke's body and Luke's hands.

He knows Luke doesn't know him like Calum does, so he doesn't know when Ashton is having problems. Luke doesn't know how to handle Ashton when he wants to have sex just to fit in. Luke would probably do it. Calum would too, if Ashton tricked him. He could have sex with Calum if he really wanted to.

But, for some stupid reason, Ashton trusts Michael. He likes that Michael gives him a million chances to change his mind and say no, and he likes that Michael will stop if he seems the slightest bit hesitant. He likes that Michael can protect him and notice when he's faking attraction. He likes Michael.

"You- you sleep in here," Ashton says quietly.

Michael considers it for a few seconds, then shakes his head. "And let the sex hounds rule the other bedroom? Yeah, right."

"So what if they have sex?" Ashton blurts out. "They're going to do it anyway, let them have their privacy."

Michael stays silent for almost a full minute. Ashton's about to fall back asleep, with Michael's dead weight heavy and warm on top of him, when he starts speaking again. "Ash, I love Calum."