inevitable entanglements » a.i. + l.h.

39

“Luke?” The voice was too soft, too gentle, to wake the sleeping boy up from his slumber, but Ashton was afraid that speaking any louder would break him into a million pieces, like the glass that Michael had gotten rid of.

“Baby, wake up.” Slowly running his hand over Luke’s skin, Ashton searched for an exposed part, a part that wasn’t covered by the fabric of his shirt or the seemingly never-ending bandage he was wrapped in. Once he actually found a spot, he pressed a kiss on it. “You need to wake up.” The vibrations of Ashton’s warm breath against his skin made Luke’s eyes flutter open. He had always been a light sleeper, but he had never woken up to something as wondrous as the boy who was currently bent over him.

“I’m going to lift you up, yeah?” Ashton asked, his voice still at the same volume. His boyfriend nodded sleepily, too tired to actually realise what he was saying until he was floating a few feet above the ground.

“Where are we going?”

Luke looked up at Ashton, his cheek brushing against the warm fabric of Ashton’s shirt. The boy’s warmth wasn’t helping him get out of his hazy state, only lulling him back to sleep even more. But then Ashton’s eyes met his and he looked back at him with a messy grin, completely ignoring his question, and Luke felt his heartbeat speed up. Ashton’s smile knocked the air out of his lungs, his eyes opening wider so he could take a closer look.

“We’re going to kick some ass, Lukey.”

The younger boy grinned at the misschievous tone in his boyfriend’s voice, his stomach doing somersaults, much like Ashton’s curls. He wriggled a little in his grip, wanting to stand on his own two feet. Ashton complied and set him down on the iron examination table.

“Where’s Michael?”

“Right here.”

Michael popped up right behind Luke, seductively whispering in his ear. Luke squealed in response, still as easily startled as always. Only now did he notice what Michael was holding in his hands, a tiny flacon with a needle.

“Are we kicking the ass of the person I think we’re kicking the ass of?”

He asked, his voice suddenly ridiculously low compared to Ashton’s happy chatting. The whole situation was ridiculous if you asked him. He had only just woken up. Michael let out an affirmative hum, happier than Luke had seen him since Calum had been taken away.

Though Luke was just as glad that they were about to get their best friend back, what was about to happen filled him with dread rather than happiness. He thought that, maybe, Michael and Ashton underestimated just how traumatising sexual abuse actually was, even for people who were just watching. But he figured that the two older boys had probably thought this thing through and wouldn't go in without a plan.

His suspicions were confirmed when, instead of the room Luke knew all too well, they entered the buttery, the room where they stocked all the food. A smile tugged at the corners of his lips, one he couldn't possible suppress, at the thought of his previous visit to this room. It was the first place Ashton ever took him and it was right there, rested against the wall, that he heard Hero and Leander for the very first time.