✔︎Baby | OT4

032

   Ashton's short, light brown eyelashes fluttered, as he awoke slowly and with a gentle, somehow adorable groan. "Baby," Luke said, softly and excitedly. He sprung from his seat in the thinly cushioned chair by the wall, grasping the newly-awoken brunette.

   "Hi," the small boy responded weakly, his voice breathy from lack of use. A slender hand slid to rest on his stomach hungrily, the skin pressed flush with his bones. Luke was handing him a sandwich that'd been sat off to the side, lettuce and meat sticking out the sides. Ashton removed the fatty meat and scraped the sauce off absentmindedly, leaving the lettuce, along with two tomatoes and a layer of thinly sliced cucumbers.

Luke was tempted to tell him to eat it all, that he was too slim. But the blonde could also see the only thing keeping Ashton from breaking down in tears was concentrating on the food. Unfortunately, he finished it quickly, and was left with a small glass of ice water. "Baby," Luke murmured at the sight of tears that formed almost immediately.

Ashton shook his head, curling into a tiny ball on the bed. His shoulders shook with silent tears, and a nurse was quickly entering the room. "You, out," she ordered Luke, pointing him to the door. A doctor in dark blue scrubs padded in on shiny white shoes, smiling warmly at Ashton. The nurse exited, closing the door with finality, looking dangerously at Luke.

Him, Michael, and Calum had taken shifts sitting by Ashton's side. The nurses had become annoyed; the lanky guys in all black were starting to scare some of the patients.

Meanwhile, the doctor was seating himself by Ashton. The brunette had calmed down, and glanced up shyly. "So, Ashton, would you mind standing on a scale for me?" the dark haired man asked delicately. Ash nodded easily, something Dr. Louis was surprised by. Most people with eating disorders had an aversion to seeing their weight, he'd found. Once Ashton was on the scale, Louis read the numbers with shock clear on his features. "Ninety-nine," he read.

   Ashton bit his lip anxiously. "That's extremely underweight," the doctor informed. "I'm going to set you up with someone to get you back on the right track, and—"

   Luke, Michael and Calum burst into the room. "Nobody backs baby in a corner!" Michael shouted, while the other two delicately helped Ashton to his feet, his clothes in hand. The hospital gown clad boy followed his ex-friends confusedly, while Michael shouted at Louis. "Go back to that sexy blue-haired patient you've got! My baby don't need your stupid face in his beautiful life!"

   Calum ducked back in the room to drag Mikey behind him.

—

"Harry, can I just—" Ashton's eight-year-old brother slammed their front door in Calum and Michael's faces. Since dropping Ashton off at home at his request, after the hospital, the young boy's kid siblings had guarded the door fiercely. And, unfortunately, they were at the perfect height to punch the older boys in the balls and kick their shins.

"Stupid-face!" Harry shouted through the window, before Cal and Michael were met with the sound of Ashton carrying Harry away.

"Come on, kiddo," the brunette murmured, hefting the child to sit on his back. "You have a play-date with Astrid and Jackson in twenty minutes."

   "You're driving me, right? Mummy doesn't like to use the car," Harry muttered. Ashton nodded, scooping up his gap-toothed brother.

   "Of course, Har. You're going to Astrid's house, right?" The blonde nodded, before disappearing into his room to get dressed.

   It was Saturday morning, after a few days of absolute torture for Ashton at school. Anne had disappeared with her most recent boyfriend, and Ashton had been left to chauffeur his siblings around. He'd already dropped Lauren off at her mate's house, and filled up on petrol. Ashton had even trudged through the London traffic with Harry bouncing a stuffed toy off his head; the blonde couldn't be left alone at home.

   Despite all that he'd done, the incessantly thin boy felt full of unused energy. Like the excitement a child might build up for their first play-date, or a teenager on their first date, only for the friend to cancel at the last second. His body was unsure of where to put the emotions, and Ashton was left dissatisfied and unhappy.

   Boredom, he realised. It was something he hadn't felt since the years before freshman year, when he met Michael, Calum and Luke. The thought had him knocking on Harry's door to distract himself.

   And a distraction he got indeed. The younger boy exited with his hair teased up with what looked like a mix of honey, peanut butter, and possibly gel, but was more likely a second layer of honey. "Do you think I'll impress Astrid? I love her," Harry announced.

   "I think the best way to impress Astrid is to wash your hair, and wow her with your Superman shirt," Ashton offered. His kid brother debated for a moment, before nodding affirmatively. He bounded back into his room, leaving Ash to wait in the sitting room.

   A few minutes later, Harry merrily hopped across the soft carpet, a backpack bouncing on his shoulders. "Come on then, kiddo," Ashton smiled, wrapping his brother's small hand in his long fingers. "Let's go see your mates."

a/n i wrote this a year ago and just now read the "nobody backs baby into a corner" part and why am i laughing, it's so bad (also dr. louis is related to my "to the moon tattoos" fic and i thought i was so clever) (i wasn't)