Ease [Cashton/Muke]

Chapter ten

Calum went home and swapped his shirt and tie for a plain black tee before deciding to take Ashton's car with him. Ashton chose the car that would stick out the least in his neighbourhood so Calum thought it felt fair to use it tonight.

"What's the miracle?" Is the first thing he says when he answers Maggie's call through the Bluetooth system of the car.
"The suppliers meeting is now 11:30 instead is 12, I've already scheduled you a meeting with Riersack at 2:30 for 45 minutes tops and the design meeting is pushed back to 5. Still allowing you 45 minutes of in office prep."
"Wow." Calum breathes out. "I knew you were a miracle worker." Maggie chortles out a laugh in response. "Design meeting now doesn't finish till 7 then... they all agreed to that?" Calum asks concernedly, always conscious of his employees work/life balance.
"Yes. One is going to be there via Skype but the other six have no issues."
"Okay." Calum lets thought trail off in his head before he reaches a decision. "Pay all seven of them double time for those two hours."
"Noted. Anything else?" Maggie replies, typing down the message about their pay.
"Not that I can think. Thanks Mags."
"Anytime. Good luck tonight, bye Cal."
"Bye."

They end the call and Calum sits in silence for all of about 30 seconds before he turns the radio on and starts quietly signing along. He pulls up to Ashton's house a little before 5:30 and is more nervous than he should be. Maybe he's a dominant but it's still important he makes a good impression on Ashton's family.

He grabs the bottle of wine he brought before approaching the front door and taking a deep breath as he knocks.
"Hey." Ashton blushes slightly as he opens the front door for his dom.
"Hi Sweetheart." Calum smiles, instantly at ease as he leans in to kiss the younger boy lightly on the cheek.

"Lovely to see you again Anne Marie." Calum says, as charming as ever, as he's led into the kitchen.
"Oh! Calum! So glad you could make it." She beams, graciously taking the wine when he hands it to her and insists it's nothing. "Dinner won't be ready for a bit so Ashton why don't you show him around and I'll call you when it's done." Ashton blushes, slightly embarrassed by his mother's antics, as he drags Calum from the kitchen.

Ashton gives a rushed tour of the house, seeming keen to get it over with, before finishing at his bedroom. Calum doesn't force him to slow down.
"Um yeah so that's the house, this is my room. I know it isn't much but uh... yeah." Ashton trails off, looking down and not meeting Calum's fond eyes.
"It's lovely." The older smiles softly as they sit on his bed.

"I hate to make things so serious but we need to talk about school." Calum says warily, placing a hand on Ashton's knee in an effort to soothe him. Ashton gulps. "Tell me what happened."
"I- there's not much to tell." Ashton says quietly.
"Ashton. I can't let this go on. Something needs to be done. I'm willing to move mountains for your happiness but more than that this is about your safety." Calum says firmly.
"It's fine. It'll calm down." Ashton squeaks.
"Is it just words? Has there been anything physical? Anything at all?" Calum asks.
"Um-" Ashton stops himself. Not willing to lie but not wanting to tell. He looks at his dom to try and convey the fact he would rather swallow nails than talk about this but Calum keeps his look firm, as much as he wants to cave because his sub makes him so weak.

"Last week it didn't-" Ashton stops to gulp.
"But today?" Calum says, far too shakily. He's not too sure he'll be able to contain himself once he knows the answer. He might be sick.
"A couple people spat on me when they talked and then when I, when I was leaving someone nudged me a bit." Ashton's voice is weak and quiet.
"Nudged?" Calum says, taking deep breaths as he tries to remain calm.
"Yeah." Ashton replies weakly. "Just my shoulder and it wasn't that hard. I didn't fall or hit anything."
"But they hit you." Calum snaps, a little too harshly.
"Nudged." Ashton says, quickly and quietly.

Calum heaves some deep breaths. Not wanting to believe any of this. Ashton is the one to break the silence a couple of minutes later.
"Please don't be mad at me." His voice is a whisper, wouldn't be audible if the room wasn't so pindrop silent. Calum thinks the loudest thing in that moment is the sound of his heart breaking.
"Ashton." Calum says as he looks at his soulmate. "None of this is your fault. I'm not mad at you at all. I couldn't be. Please- please don't ever doubt how much you mean to me."
"Okay."

"Ashton," Calum breathes out as he moves closer to his soulmate, hearing the younger's breath hitch slightly. "Can I kiss you?" Ashton nods, too terrified about how his mouth might betray him if he tried to talk. Calum gently cups one of Ashton's cheeks and leans closer, hyper aware of the weight being placed on this kiss.

The kiss is slow, though not overly sensual. With their eyes closed, they focus on the feeling of being so close to each other. Calum's lips are rougher, no doubt due to his age and all the drugs -legal and otherwise- that he experimented with during high school. Ashton's smooth lips, possibly the smoothest he's ever kissed, Calum considers, mean that he can feel all the small lines and indents across Calum's lips.

Calum opens his mouth a little, to test the waters of Ashton's comfort. Ashton likes where it's going but he's still too afraid to deepen it himself so he's grateful when Calum opens his mouth a little more and sticks his tongue out. The sensation of Calum's tongue running across his bottom lip is purely intoxicating for Ashton. Too soon than either would have liked, they pull back to catch their breath. With their foreheads pressed against one another they stare into their partner's eyes to just take all of this in.

A/N: chapter tennnnnnn! They kissed yay yay yay this is still going a little slow I feel :/// I promise it gets more exciting soon

-Grace Williams xo