organic. ➵ lashton

fifteen>

Ashton didn't know how many times he'd seen the episode of Spongebob that was on the TV, where Spongebob and Patrick catch the wrong bus and end up in the strange city of Rock Bottom.

Somehow, he ended up comparing the episode to Luke.

Luke was with the wrong people, who were giving him the wrong ideas and the wrong images of himself, and he ended up falling deeper and deeper into this hole. This depression. Rock bottom.

"What are you thinking about?" Luke asked hesitantly, peeling off a bit of the bread and pushing it between his lips.

"You," Ashton answered quietly.

Luke seemed shocked. "Me?"

"Yes, you," Ashton chuckled, turning to face him and drawing his legs into his lap.

He balanced his plate on his knee and pulled Luke close to him, staring into his grey-blue eyes.

Luke's cheeks were shading themselves a soft pink, and a small smile graced his features.

"You're very beautiful, you know," Ashton told him quietly. He watched as Luke's cheeks grew even redder.

"N-Nah, I--"

"Don't argue with me!" Ashton suddenly wailed, making Luke shriek as the older boy reached in to pull him close.

Ashton held Luke's head close to his chest while he crooned some nonsense about Luke's beauty and Luke tried fruitlessly to get away, moaning and groaning about Ashton being a 'total wanker' and a 'piece of shit'.

"Ugh, you got processed ham juice on my face," Luke whined when Ashton finally let him go.

Ashton pressed a kiss to Luke's cheek. "Sorry, babe."

Luke's mind suddenly went on autopilot. Babe babe babe babe babe babe babebabebabebsbbebsbebabbrjkelsjs.

"Don't you, like, have your own house to live in?" Luke asked, examining Ashton's ill-fitting pants and sweatshirt. "My clothes don't fit you."

"I do have my own house, but I would gladly relinquish clothes that fit to have every-night slumber parties with you."

"We sleep in different rooms."

"So?"

"That's not what slumber parties are about, Ashton!"

"Then what are they about, Mr. Slumber Party King?"

Luke pursed his lips together, angrily set his plate to the side, and pounced, gripping Ashton's neck tightly with one hand and kissing him hard.

It was the first real kiss they'd ever had. Sure, there were pecks here and there, but when Ashton had Luke straddled across his waist it was real and tangible and wicked cool.

"Luke, you're gonna snog my face off, get off," Ashton complained, pushing him away.

"Do you mind? I was trying to be romantic." Luke straightened out his slightly-crumpled shirt, looking at Ashton.

"So if that's what slumber parties are about, can we have more of them in the future?" Ashton asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Cheeky," Luke sighed, pushing the older boy towards the door.

"Go home and bring back a bag full of clothes that actually fit and I may think about using my slumber party knowledge on you."

"Alright, but think long and hard about whether or not you'll use it again," Ashton smirked while walking towards Luke's door, causing Luke to blush again.

"No dirty jokes," Luke mumbled shyly.

"It wasn't dirty!"

"Yes, it was," Luke replied, feeding his cats and picking up Michael out of their pen.

"We should make a band with Michael. He meows the loudest and the most often," Luke sighed. "So fuckin' annoying, aren't you Mikey?"

Luke held the kitten out in front of him, Ashton raising his eyebrows in mild interest. "So annoying!" Luke chirped in a baby voice. "So so annoying!"

Luke gasped when Michael's paw reached out and scratched his nose, a droplet of blood dripping onto his lips.

"Fuck!"

Ashton shrugged when Luke looked at him. "Better not anger that one."

"Go get your clothes!" Luke shouted playfully, watching Ashton leave and setting Michael back in the cat pen with a glare that wouldn't normally be directed towards a kitten.

Luke made his way to the bathroom and washed his nose, inspecting the two cuts and finding some expired Neosporin to use.

He spread it evenly across the cuts and pressed a circular bandage to his nose, sighing at how utterly stupid he looked.

Ashton came back later and had a laughter fit at the bandage on Luke's nose, calling him all sorts of names.

"Lucas the Band-Aid Nose Cat-Hater!"

"Shut up, you dick!" Luke whined, smacking at Ashton's chest and giggling when the taller boy pulled him in and held him there.

"You're very mean to me," Luke commented.

"I know."

Ashton ran his hands through Luke's unhealthy hair and sighed.

"I think we're gonna be okay," he said, feeling Luke nodding against his chest.

"Me too."