Pretty Boys // cashton + muke \\

9

Chapter 9 (edited May 2021)

Calum laughed as Ashton chased him around the play structure and into the small wild flower field. The older man got a hold of Calum's hips, pulling the boy towards him as they fell to the grass, erupting with laughter. Calum had fallen into Ashton's lap, the older mans arms tightly wrapped around the boy's waist.

Calum leaned his head back against Ashton's chest as his giggles died down. Ashton leaned his chin on Calum's fluffy hair, breathing in deeply as he held the smaller boy close. Calum stared up at the sky, watching butterflies and birds fly above their heads.

"How was your week?" Calum asked, sliding his glasses over his eyes as he tilted his head back and looked up at Ashton. The man huffed dramatically.

"Pretty boring. I was stuck on a case for the past two weeks so there were a lot of late nights spent devouring the coffee machine, but I ended up winning the case in court," Ashton explained.

"What was the case?" Calum asked curiously.

"A women was accusing a teacher of raping her son. It took me forever to even get the son to testify
and the security footage 'mysteriously' disappeared, but we got her in the end" Ashton explained.

"Is the son okay?" Calum frowned. Ashton smiled warmly, cupping Calum's cheek and running his thumb in soothing circles against his cheek bone.

"No. He took his own life the night of the verdict. He wrote me a note thanking me for putting the woman away but he couldn't live with what happened to him," Ashton explained softly.

"Oh," Calum muttered, leaning into Ashton's touch as he frowned deeply.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you sad. Tell me how your week was," Ashton said. Calum forced himself to smile even as his stomach still churned.

"It was pretty good. I've been going into work immediately after class because one of the girls who work before me had been out sick with the flu. I honestly think she was faking it at first then karma bit her in the ass and actually gave her the flu," Calum rolled his eyes. Ashton chuckled, brushing a few curls away from Calum's forehead.

"Well are you free this Wednesday? There's this movie premier I was invited to and I was wondering if you'd like to go with me," Ashton asked, smiling down at the boy.

"Are you asking for a third date whilst on a second date?" Calum asked with a small giggle.

"I am," Ashton smiled, licking his dry lips, "is that okay with you?"

"Absolutely and yes, I'd love to. Do I have to wear anything fancy? I've been dying to try out this new dress that I bought the other day," Calum beamed.

"Well I'll be wearing a suit and it's sort of a dressy occasion so I'd say to dress pretty fancy, yeah. Just try not to out dress everyone else there, we both know you can," Ashton said. Calum blushed, leaning his cheek against Ashton's chest as he brought his legs to his chest, his knees almost touching Ashton's stomach. Ashton curled his arms around Calum's smaller body, holding him close as a gentle breeze blew past them.

"Stop complimenting me, you're making me blush," Calum giggled, burying his face in Ashton's shirt to hide his burning cheeks. Ashton chuckled, carding his fingers through Calum's hair.