✔︎Baby | OT4

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   Ashton woke up to Michael's limbs wrapped possessively around him. After a tiring day of homeschool, the four lads had crowded onto Ash's bed. "Mm, hey baby," the porcelain-skinned boy murmured, cuddling him closer. They were still clad in black skinny jeans, yet the older boy's legs had managed to encircle the Ashton's tiny waist. Michael was tracing patterns across his chest, outlining his ribs and tapping lightly on his sunken in stomach. "Come downstairs, baby. I'll make you some chocolatey sugar-filled, rainbow-sprinkled, marshmallow-loaded hot chocolate."

Ashton giggled. The twinkling sound had Calum rolling over slightly, letting out a little snuffle in his slumber. Michael scooped the seventeen-year-old up bridal style, kissing across his face. The pastel-haired lad giggled, slinging his arms around Mikey's neck. "What about the other boys?" He whispered, head rested on the eighteen-year-old's shoulder.

"That learning took a lot of brain power; something they don't have much of," he joked. "We'll let them sleep." Ashton giggled, his nose scrunching up adorably. Michael kissed the tanned skin sweetly.

Soon they were in the kitchen, Ashton sat crisscross on the table and Michael dramatically making his "chocolatey sugar-filled, rainbow-sprinkled, marshmallow-loaded hot chocolate." It consisted of spinning across the tile in his loose black socks and exaggerated flourishes with his slim hand. "Throw in a dash of sugar, make it sweet," he sung, head banging and winking at Ashton when the junior's giggles would become particularly loud. "Baby, it's an awesome treat. Sugar and spice, everything nice. It's doubtlessly good, no roll of the dice."

Michael's voice was surprisingly melodic, and for a made up song, it had an incredible tune. The extremely unhealthy hot chocolate was soon finished, and was presented dramatically to Ash. "That is so much sugar," the pastel-haired boy giggled. The large mug had a small amount of the actual hot chocolate, with chocolate syrup piled on top of slowly melting marshmallows. Rainbow sprinkles were layered through the entire concoction, and an actual mountain of sugar was sliding across the mountain of sweets.

   "You need it," Michael coaxed, lightly poking his mate's caved in stomach. He leaned around the tiny boy to grab a store-bought chocolate chip cookie, breaking it into four and dropping the extra sugar into the mug. "Drink, baby. You had one cookie at Luke's, and a salad for dinner. Stop," he insisted, chuckling and handing the drink over.

   Ashton took a delicate sip—although it was more like a bite—and immediately started coughing violently. It subsided quickly, and the seventeen-year-old slumped against Mikey's shoulder. "That was yuck," he murmured. The porcelain skinned boy took a quick swig, and swallowed happily.

   "You're so adorably healthy. That's delicious." Ash blushed with a giggle, his response interrupted by Luke and Calum entering the room. The lanky blonde slid across the hardwood floor on white sock-clad feet, followed by the caramel-skinned lad moonwalking.

"What shall we do today, baby?" Luke smiled, scooping Ashton to his feet, wrapping his pale arms around the shorter boy's tiny waist. Ashton shrugged sweetly, absentmindedly brushing a strand of powder blue hair from over his eye. "Butterfly farm?" Luke offered. His older brother's girlfriend had accompanied him to one, and Jack had told his younger brother on their phone calls from Australia to London. Jack Hemmings had moved back home to Oz, where their father often visited despite the twenty-three hour flight.

   Ashton gasped softly, lightly grabbing onto Luke's pale hand. "Can we?" He asked excitedly, eyes hued a grassy green. The older boys chuckled adoringly at his excitement, Calum gently tugging him into a quick hug.

   "Of course, baby," he cooed, ghosting fond kisses across Ashton's tanned face. The seventeen-year-old hopped slightly in anticipation.

—

   "Oh my gosh," Ashton whispered, gripping Calum's hand excitedly. They stood in a large tent, delicate butterflies flittering around in a kaleidoscope of colors. Emerald stemmed plants hefted large, vivid flowers, the intoxicatingly saccharine scent clouding the large space. An array of girls in flowing, gossamer dresses and matching white flats pranced around, brightly hued blossoms threaded through their hair and kind smiles etched on their faces. They gently assisted young children in holding the delicate creatures, uncaring of their childish immaturity. "It's amazing," Ashton murmured.

Luke smiled, linking their arms and walking towards an area largely populated with the dizzyingly bright insects. The four boys were immediately swarmed by butterflies, though a majority of them landed on Ashton. It could have been his bright clothing made him the most flower-like—with his mint green sweater and bright hair—but his mates had a feeling it was something more. Butterflies were a lot smarter than they'd thought.

   "Wow," a feminine voice said. It was one of the flowery girls that'd been floating about, accompanied by one other. "You're so adorable," she cooed, the eighteen-year-olds smiling widely at Ashton. Despite the small age difference, Ash had such an innocent, flower child personality, the same one that had drawn his best friends to him.

   The pastel-haired boy blushed and immediately seemed to shrink, biting his lip shyly. "This is Ashton," Luke said, smiling slightly.

   "Hey," the blonde girl greeted. "I'm Miranda," she grinned.

   "Rena," her raven haired companion added. She had multicolored dreadlocks threaded through black tresses, blending with the bright flowers. "Anyways, Ashton, you're really cute," she smiled. The seventeen-year-old blushed a carnation pink, stuttering shyly for a response. The two girls smiled, already fond of Ashton. He was just such a sweet, innocent boy.

A/N
i googled images of butterflies and got a moth and just might've fallen off my couch.
don't judge me, i really don't like scary bugs that are attracted to my laptop in the middle of the night