Yours, Mine, & Ours//Lashton AU

Eight

"Don't go." Luke mumbled into Ashton's neck.

"Luke. I have to go." Ashton laughed as he struggled to break free from the grip Luke had around his waist. "I'm going to be late."

Luke finally let go of Ashton then propped himself up on his elbow.

"What's 20 minutes?" He asked.

Ashton smiled then kissed Luke gently. "20 minutes less pay."

Luke sighed. "Okay fine. Leave me here all by myself."

"Oh stop it I'll be back by 5." Ashton was now out of bed and getting dressed. Luke watched him from his place in bed.

"That's still 8 hours away!" Luke whined and shoved his face back in the pillow.

"Okay well how about this, meet me there at 12. We'll go out for lunch."

Luke thought about this then nodded. "Okay. Deal."

Ashton smiled before walking back over to Luke and kissing him once more.

"I'll see you in a few hours. I love you."

"I love you too."

Don't go.

Ashton could have sworn Luke was with him. He heard his voice. He heard it. He heard it, but only in his mind.

Luke had said these words before. Two years ago.

Even though he knew this, Ashton still slid down the fridge and placed his head in his hand. It wasn't Luke. It was Luke but it was two years ago. It was just a memory. Luke was gone.

Except why? And this time he had so many other questions starting with why but these were different.

Why had he heard these words? Why had he remembered this specific moment from two years ago? Why did it hurt so much?

This last question was of course easy to answer: because he heard Luke's voice. Not through a recording and not even just in his thoughts but he heard his voice. Loud and clear. As if he had been standing right there. And yet, he hadn't. It was only in his head.

That night, Ashton didn't sleep like he told Michael he would. Instead, he listened to the few recordings he had of Luke's voice over and over again. He watched all the videos he had of the two together and he listened to all the songs Luke loved to sing so loud he was sure he would go deaf.

The next morning when he discovered he hadn't, he was disappointed.

-

"You're leaving? What do you mean you're leaving?"

Ashton sat at his mothers table the next morning stirring a spoon around in his coffee and poking at the waffle he hadn't yet taken a bite of.

"I can't stay here." Ashton told her.

This had been his biggest purpose to come over that morning. He had a feeling his mum wouldn't be totally okay with this but she would try to understand.

"Ashton I know it's hard right now but it's still so fresh and new. Wouldn't you rather wait a little bit and see if you still feel this way then?"

"No. I wouldn't. This place has too many memories. It's so painful to live here. Do you know how hard it is to even walk through my apartment door? It's hard even just looking at it knowing that when I step inside, it will just be me there. That apartment was never just mine. It has always been mine and Luke's but now, now it really is just mine. And I don't like that. That apartment was our home and now it's my home. It is so hard to live somewhere by yourself when anytime before, you were never alone. Now it's just me and I'm haunted by it. He's gone and I'm all alone in that apartment."