Promise » [cashton] √

2.3

[3rd of August - Sacramento]

He heard the door creak, and his eyes opened to see a dark shadow creeping through it, eyes not adjusted from the light in the hall. It could only be Ashton or a very Ashton-shaped robber.

"Calum," his voice came, quiet.

"Yeah," he replied.

"I didn't wake you did I?"

"No," he paused, "what are you doing in here?"

He was standing in front of the bed now, and he lifted the thin sheet, and Calum took the hint to shuffle back from the edge, and Ashton climbed in front of him.

"I wasn't ready to say goodnight," there was a shy smile on his face as he slid an arm around Calum's waist.

Calum shifted, his own thoughts from earlier coming back to him; he had been tempted to do just this, "we really shouldn't be in here like this,"

Ashton's eyes shifted uncomfortably, and disappointment flashed across his face, "you're right- I-uh- I'm sorry," he moved to pull away from Calum, and Calum found he wasn't able to bare the disappointment.

"You're already here now; we'll just make sure you make it back to your bed," he knew he shouldn't, that this could easily lead to crawling into one another's beds night after night. Falling into an ease together, pressing one another closer, waking up with a hard-on, and the other is just there anyway, so why not? He wouldn't let it get to that.

The younger man's face immediately shifted, pleased by Calum's change of heart, "I do feel bad, though; your parents won't be cross, will they?"

Calum spoke without thinking, "until I told them about your celibacy, they fully expected us to sleep in the other room and probably have sex," he was laughing quietly and then he remembered who he was talking to. They had, at almost every turn, avoided talking about sex since they'd gotten together.

Ashton stilled in Calum's arms, "I thought your parents would be more opposed to sex before marriage," he admitted, "but I guess, considering-"

"They had kids without getting married? Yeah, they're more than aware it happens," he was chuckling, trying to let Ashton know this wasn't a heavy topic for him. Considering in the past what Ashton had told him about divorce in his church, he didn't think defactos and bastards would be held in high honour.

"Why didn't they get married? I'm not judging just everyone I know who's in love is married," he was playing with the hair at the base of Calum's neck now, eyes looking there rather than meeting Calum's.

He couldn't help but shrug, "I don't know; when I was a kid, I asked, and they just said they never got around to it, got too busy with us and life, I suppose,"

Ashton's hand moved from playing with the curls, dragging a finger thoughtfully along Calum's jaw. "They moved countries, had babies, built a life; I guess in the grand scheme of things, I can see how one day might not feel so important."

He could see Ashton was deep in thought, though it was clear his parents hadn't dissuaded the younger man one bit about marriage. His own thoughts drifted to KayKay; he wasn't fucking Ashton around; he liked him, and wasn't that enough reason to be together?

"You know," he said, deciding now was not the time to mull over a scenario that might never even present itself, "my mum, she was mostly joking, but my mum thought me bringing you home was because I was going to propose to you," he chuckled.

Ashton's fingers slowed on his face, sliding back to tangle in his hair again, "didn't you tell them that we haven't even been together a month?" he was laughing softly, eyes finally meeting Calum's again.