Ashton Enchanted » [cashton] √

Epilogue

Luke and Ashton had stayed in touch the entire year they'd been apart, and he even came to visit during his school breaks with Michael. Their apartment wasn't huge, so he almost always shared Ashton's bed, except the one time Ashton had come home and found Luke asleep across the entire thing, and he'd taken a single pillow and a thin sheet and slept on the lumpy couch. 

Luke had made the very split-second decision to follow everyone else to Hobart; it had been for no other reason than that he was sick of Sydney, and he missed everyone. He hadn't even picked a date, though, before he was calling Ashton in tears; Sierra had broken up with him as soon as he'd told her he wanted to move to Hobart. She'd said that if he was going to go and live with his secret boyfriend, 'yes, I'm not stupid, Luke', then there was no point sticking around. He'd cried and laughed as he told Ashton, in complete disbelief, that someone he loved so much could think so little of him.

That had been the night Sierra and Luke broke up, and Luke packed up the next day and came to Hobart. He arrived before Michael, despite him having planned his move since the moment Crystal and Ashton had left the year earlier. So Luke had moved in with Crystal and Ashton, 'it's just temporary,' he'd told them. He'd packed no winter clothes, three pairs of underwear, a drumstick, toothpaste but no toothbrush and his laptop. And Ashton had held him on the couch when he cried, made him cups of coffee, sang him dumb songs and kept a watchful eye on him at night when he would get the loneliest. 

It took time, but slowly Luke got better. He found a job, made some friends and started applying to universities. That was when Crystal and Michael had decided it was time to get their own place, so they'd moved out of the apartment, and Luke moved out of Ashton's bed and into Crystal's old room. 

And Calum.

Calum had taken the longest to move. Ashton had thought for a while that maybe he didn't want to leave Sydney, and he just didn't know how to tell him. They still texted every day and called all the time, but no mention of moving came, and Ashton didn't want to push it, so he didn't mention it. Satisfying himself with the fact that they loved each other, and he knew that much. Then came the day everyone else had prepared for, and Ashton had no clue coming. 

"Get the door," Luke told him through a handful of popcorn. 

Ashton had scoffed at him, "you know you can't just boss me around; this was my apartment first," 

"Jesus Christ, stop starting drama cause you're bored and open the damn door,"

He sighed, knowing Luke was right and dislodged himself from his couch divet and headed for the door, only a second after Luke was getting up and heading for his bedroom, "Seriously? You were just going to get up anyway?" he called after him, but got no response. 

He groaned and pulled the door open, a frown marring his face. And Calum was there, and the frown was gone, and he'd launched himself into the younger boys arms. Calum squeezed him tight, but not tight enough, as Ashton pulled back and repositioned himself to attach his lips to the younger man's. I love you's, and I missed you's pressed into one another's mouths.  It really hadn't been that long since they'd seen each other; Ashton went home during his breaks; Calum had been to visit him last year during his school holidays. But none of it was enough, not after they'd spent all summer before he left for Hobart together, the rest of Ashton's senior year seeing each other every day. 

So, Ashton couldn't help himself when he pulled Calum the rest of the way into the apartment, separating their lips just long enough that he could tug Calum's suitcase in from the hall and close the door in a hurry. Then it was Calum moving them toward the couch and tugging at the hem of his shirt, pulling it up and over Ashton's head, and then the pants, well they had to go to.