Live in the Moment - Lashton

Chapter Thirty-two

Chapter Thirty-two

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Luke sketches around the outline of a celebrities face, one he did not know of, with a cheap pen he had gotten with the magazine Ashton has brought him.

He'd left it on the stand beside his bed whilst he was sleeping, with a note on the front cover saying 'to keep you sane until tomorrow'.

Luke found the magazine particularly dull and boring, despite one page that presented the most popular diet for me — exercise and food. Luke knew exercise was the best thing for his body yet it had never interested him. But now that it was currently 'on fashion' he thought that maybe he should jump on the bandwagon, folding over the corner to consult Ashton to see if it was a good idea. He had read the section at least four times, the information vivid in his mind.

"Daddy!" Theo squealed as he saw the blonde man lead in bed. Luke grinned at his son as he threw the magazine and pen on the side and opened his arms wide for the small boy to hug him. He scrambles onto the bed cuddles into his father.

"Careful Theo," Ashton said from the doorway, a little behind the exited brunette. "Dad is still weak and has lots of wires and tubes attached to him, you don't want to pull them out."

"It fine," Luke dismissed running his hands through his son's hair, finding comfort in the familiar scent of the six-year-olds shampoo that the blonde had always used on him. "Have you been a good boy?" Luke asked, hugging his son tightly as he rested his head on his chest.

Theo nodded confidently. "Nanny said I was. But I miss you a lot, when can we go home?" the small boy asked sadly.

Luke sighed knowing this experience would feel foreign to the young boy and he would have a difficult time accepting it. "Not for a little while I have to get a bit better first," Luke explained, letting Ashton take his free hand and play with it comfortingly.

"Why? Are you really really sick? Are you going to die?" the six-year-old asked worriedly, looking up at his father.

Luke opened his mouth but failed to utter any words as his eyes filled with tears at the sight of his son looking so scared.

"As long as daddy stays here he won't die," Ashton confirmed. "They are going to make him stronger!"

"How?" the small boy asked curiously, still watching his father interestedly, taking in the tears falling down his cheeks which were hollow and the dark circles under his eyes which may his blue eyes illuminate more.

"These tubes—" the older man explained, holding up one of the tubes attached to an iv, Theo took one gently in his hand to inspect. "Is giving him special ingredients from food that he has not been getting himself, that will help him to be stronger."

Theo sat up and looked at his father again. "But why does daddy not get the special ingredients?"

Ashton sighed. "Daddy doesn't eat very much Theo, and he is very thin which makes him sick like you used to be. And you need to help daddy eat like you do so he can be strong like you."

Theo nodded, and Luke took his small hands in his own. "You can teach me to be as strong as you," he smiled, placing a hand on the young boy's stomach.

"I like helping people!" Theo exclaimed. "You just have to eat lots and lots of food!"

Both Luke and Ashton chuckled as the small boy rambled on about how easy it was, too naive to understand how difficult his father found it and the complexity of his illness.

"Thanks for the magazine, it was dreadful, but it was a cute gesture," Luke said to Ashton, as Theo led back down on his chest, fiddling gently with the wires, making small noises.

"I knew you'd go crazy otherwise, it was bloody expensive too!" Both smiled at each other, and Luke tethered on whether to mention his find, before just sighing and deciding too.

"I bookmarked a page, I thought it was a good idea," he muttered, looking down at his son who was at peace with his mind, happily playing.

Ashton looked at the young man quizzically, taking the magazine in his hands and finding the folded page, frowning at the sight of the word diet. "I don't think this is a good idea," Ashton confirmed before even reading the article.

Luke objected. "I do. Look. Read it! It says that you can eat whatever you want, to an extent of course, but the best thing for the body is exercise. You all want me to eat more, and that way we both win. I can be healthy and eat enough! And we can do it together, we could go swimming. Theo loves swimming!"

Ashton bit his lip. "I think it would be a great idea, for when you are healthy. The last thing you should be doing right now is exercising. You're barely eating, and you need to be gaining weight, you'd only burn it all."

Luke pouted in a sulk, before nodding in agreement. "But when I am, don't you think it would be a great idea?" he asked.

"I do. I think Theo would love it too, and I would be more than happy to join you when you are healthy."

Luke thanked him, before kissing Ashton on the lips.

"That is gross," Theo cut them off. "You are spreading nasty germs." Both laughed at the young boy who looked at them both disgusted, not understanding the act of love as it had been absent in his life the past 6 years.

"You're going to have to get used to it little one, Ashton isn't going anywhere anytime soon."

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