the sound, settle down [mashton af]

// t h i r t y //

30. For crying out loud, settle down!/ You know I can't be found with you

Ashton picked at his flatbread sandwich as he sat in Michael's office, waiting for the man to, once again, get off the phone. Ash was halfway done when the bleached blonde hung up the phone and sighed.

"Sorry," Mike apologized, "I swear my secretary doesn't exist sometimes."

Ashton smiled, "It's fine."

"Anyways, what were you saying?"

"Nothing really important. Tim and I have been getting along and, I don't know, it's really nice." Ashton leant back in the office chair, curling up in the cushions. "Like, I'm sure most fathers are able to say they're the best of buds with their son, but our situation isn't like most."

Michel nodded as he began eating his own lunch. "That's good, I'm glad to hear that, really. I mean, you two are seeing each other for hours on end now, so you kind of need to get along."

"He's such a cool kid, we have such a cool kid."

Michael smiled and wiped at his lips. "We do, we do." He liked when Ashton visited him at work, it made his day a little better. "Did you do any more snooping of him and my intern?"

"Why do you call Calum your intern? He gets paid to be here, he's been here for almost a year, yeah?"

Michael shrugged, "Because he's a teenager and fucks up my scans at least twice a week. If his father wasn't the other partner, I might have fired him by now."

"Wow, I'm so glad I'm dating a man with such compassion." Ashton rolled his eyes and finished off his meal. "Anyways, no, I have no idea what they are."

"Do you think they're sneaking around? Like you and I back then?"

Ash swallowed a lump in his throat. He promised to make changes in his life, and this would have to be the start. "No, I don't think so." Lying to Michael wasn't new, but lying in order to keep Tim's trust was new.

Michael tsked, "Should I interrogate the boy?" Mike leant over a few inches, looking through the glass of his office to see Calum tossing a ball of rubber bands up in the air.

"You're gonna make him shit his pants."

"That's the fun part."

Ashton got up, crumbling up the Panera bag and throwing it into the garbage. "Please don't torture college students. I don't want to be here when you do it."

Mike groaned, "When did you become so compassionate?"

He shrugged, "I grew up, like you asked." Ashton picked up wallet and phone, shoving them into the pockets of his jeans. "I'm gonna get some things at the grocery store then head home. I'll see you tonight?"

"Yeah." Michael stood up, licking over his fingers to get the grease off as he got closer to Ashton. He wrapped his arms around Ash's shoulders, pulling him in for a hug and kissing his cheek. "Thanks for coming by and bringing me lunch, I love it when you do that."

Ashton smiled, "Of course." He took a step back, leaning in once more to peck at Michael's lips. He was so in love, so infatuated. "I love you."

Ashton didn't want any of this to end but he didn't know how to keep it alive. He was so scared of everything ending again, it all leaving him alone.

This all started as a call for attention, but now it's so much more. Ashton genuinely wants to be here now, here in Michael's arms, here in Tim's life, here on this earth.

Mike walked Ashton to the elevator doors, giving him an excuse to have a stare down with Calum.

Ashton couldn't get the image of his son sobbing in the passenger seat those few nights ago. His precious treasure. That's why Ash leant in to Mike as the elevator got closer to the twenty-eighth floor. "Tear Calum apart," he whispered before stepping into the opening doors.

Michael gave Ashton a smile and Ashton smiled back. The elevator doors closed and Michael stared at his reflection in the reflective metal doors.

He fixed his tie, ran a hand through his hair, and took a step back. Mike turned around and headed back towards his office.

A few steps before his door, he made a sudden right. He took a few more steps until he was stopped at Calum's desk. He leant on the side, moving over his outbox tray to sit on the wooden top.

"Uh, hey," Cal said, looking up after Michael didn't say anything. It wasn't a normal thing to Michael to just sit on Calum's desk without a complaint followed. "I sent out that email to that bitchy law firm and scheduled your meeting with that famous client."

Michael nodded, still not saying much. He crossed his arms over his chest and looking down at his intern/secretary/trainee. "Let me ask you something."

"Of course, Sir."

"Are you fucking my son?"

Calum quirked up an eyebrow, "No, of course not. He's fifteen, Michael." He could feel his own heart pounding against his chest as his breaths remained shallow.

"Yeah, he is, and he came into my life when I was fifteen. I trust you with him, yeah? You're not gonna screw that up like my inbox, correct?"

"I know, we're nothing more than friends. I promise you that. It's never going to be anything more." Calum wasn't necessarily scared of Michael, but he wasn't necessarily not scared of Michael.

Mike bit down on his bottom lip, running his teeth over the soft skin. "Let him live his childhood, alright?"

Calum nodded, "I don't want to break his heart, though. I know what you're saying—."

"I never got a childhood," Michael said, "I will not have my son repeating history."

"Yes, Sir."

Michael got up, readjusting his tucked in shirt. "And, can you get a fucking tie, please?" He looked at the boy in his polo and black slacks, "We're a firm, not a golf course."

I can't believe there's only one chapter left.....,,,plus a three part prologue and a three part epilogue.......

Would you rather read the prologue or the epilogue first?