𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 ⚣ 𝙘𝙩𝙝+𝙖𝙛𝙞 ✔

61

Love. It's a tricky thing. One word, one syllable. A million meanings.

The same as sunlight enters raindrops and emerges a rainbow, love enters the soul of each person and emerges as passion. Whether it be for arts, sciences, nature, or a person, it is always the same.

It is how you find your truth and purpose. It is how you give yourself to others. Love is what makes us who we are. It is essentially the energy that brings us to life.

Each night, they climbed into the bed with the intentions of sleeping. And instead, each night, Ashton would carefully intertwine their bodies and leave soft kisses down Calum's neck as the boy went on to explain how he didn't deserve the man holding him.

Each night, Ashton would whisper the most calming, caring things into Calum's ears and hold him as close as he possibly could.

Every word made Calum blush, and each touch made him shudder.

Even tonight, the fifth night they'd been together during this trip, Ashton held Calum in his arms and kissed away every single doubt the boy had. Ashton made Calum feel safe.

Calum breathlessly whispered the older lads name, his mind too preoccupied by Ashton's actions to form a proper sentence.

The older lad continued feathering sweet kisses along Calum's neck and shoulders. "Yes?"

"I love you, and I can't even begin to explain how much." Calum's voice wavered as he spoke. "It's so scary, a-and I don't know how it'll work, but I love you more than anything."

"I love you too, baby." Ashton whispered, hands tracing patterns on Calum's bare torso. "You don't need to explain it to me, I understand."

Suddenly, Calum was tearing up.

Ashton brought his hands up to Calum's face, thumbs brushing gently over his cheeks. "Please don't cry, angel. If you cry, I'll cry, and that's one dam you don't want to break."

Calum smiled sadly, but his vision was still blurred by the tears he was fighting so hard not to let spill.

Ashton rested his forehead against Calum's, trying to lock their eyes together.

"Please look at me, Calum."

Calum lifted his gaze to meet Ashton's. The tears slipped from his eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Ash."

"Why are you sorry, my love?"

"I don't deserve you and I'm wasting your time and-"

Ashton interrupted the boy by merging their lips. "You deserve so much better than me and you know it."

Calum shook his head.

"Yes."

Ashton pulled just far enough away from Calum's face to lock their eyes together once more. He then pressed a kiss to Calum's forehead, nose, all over his cheeks, then went back to his lips. The salt from his tears were on Ashton's lips, then on Calum's as they slowly kissed.

Calum savoured every second that their lips touched, and he made a mental note of each point of contact between their bodies.

It wasn't as though they'd never touched before. Calum simply wanted to remember.

-

During the night, Calum had rolled over and pressed his back against Ashton's chest, but the older lads arms still remained around him.

Neither were asleep anymore, they simply enjoyed being in each other's company.

Calum allowed his body to fall forward slightly as he let a content sigh escape his lips, and Ashton took advantage of this position; immediately pressing light kisses along Calum's shoulders and stopping his lips in between the boy's shoulder blades.

Calum shuddered from Ashton's soft touch, and it made Ashton smile to watch the goosebumps rise onto his boyfriends tanned skin.

"How did you sleep, angel?" Ashton quietly asked. He loved being with Calum, and he loved these moments, but sometimes, quiet is violent.

"With my eyes closed." Calum absentmindedly replied, coaxing a low chuckle from Ashton's lips in response.

Calum hummed softly, curling and uncurling his fists in front of him. "I love sleeping when you're here with me." He grinned. "I feel safe, and happy-and you're so warm and you smell amazing."

Calum took a deep breath. "I don't know what it is, but I swear I could drown myself in the way you smell." Realizing what he was saying, Calum blushed and bit his lip. "That probably sounds weird, I-I'm sorry-"

Ashton smiled at Calum's comment, rolling onto his back. "It's not weird, baby. I think it's cute."

Calum's head fell onto his shoulder, and Ashton brought a large hand to Calum's hair. As his fingers combed through his boyfriends blonde locks, he couldn't help thinking about how they met.

Ashton had sent a simple greeting, and Calum's odd responses to everything-though sometimes annoying or frustrating-were part of the reason he'd fallen in love with him.

Calum allowed a sigh to once more leave his lips. He absolutely adored how gentle Ashton was with him, and he was astonished by how flustered Ashton could make him feel.

Smiling, Calum turned his head and nuzzled his face into Ashton's neck. He brought his hand up to Ashton's chest, and his fingertips danced across the smooth skin. His fingers then trailed further down, tracing patterns above the waistband of Ashton's boxers before making their way back up to his collarbones.

Ashton rested his cheek atop Calum's head as the boy's delicate fingers continued to run along his bare chest. It almost made Ashton shudder, but he resisted.

Calum then decided to drag his lips from Ashton's neck down to his collarbone, leaving gentle kisses and letting his teeth graze occasionally.

Calum's hand paused overtop of Ashton's heart, and he felt it flutter. The only real movement between them was the rise and fall of Ashton's chest.

He loved knowing that he could make Ashton feel like this.

"Calum-" Ashton cooed, hand reaching for the boy's chin and forcing their eyes to meet.

Calum smiled up at his boyfriend, and he moved his hand from Ashton's chest to cup his face, now tracing careful patterns on Ashton's jaw.

"I love you." Ashton whispered, his voice sounding distant.

Calum loved Ashton, but he wanted to show him instead.

He quickly brought their lips together in a soft, almost tired kiss. Calum smiled against Ashton's lips, and both of their eyes fluttered closed.

Calum's hands moved to Ashton's hair, forcing the older lads lips to stay connected to his own. Calum didn't need to force it, however, because Ashton would've stayed there kissing Calum all day without any second thoughts.

After another few moments of their lips lazily, almost sloppily sliding together, Ashton was first to pull away.

"I wanna fuckin' marry you." He whispered, brushing his mouth against Calum's.

Calum smiled at Ashton's words. "I don't understand the point of marriage. It's a lot of money, and it's only to prove to everyone else that you love each other. You know that I love you, right?"

"Of course, angel."

"That's all that matters." Calum giggled quietly. "And I don't have anyone to invite."

"You don't need to invite anyone, baby. It can just be small-" He paused, a grin etched onto his face. "It could just be us."

Calum rested their foreheads together and continued running his fingers through Ashton's hair. He hummed quietly, tugging his bottom lip between his teeth. "Let's just get matching tattoos."

"Okay, beautiful." Ashton mumbled, lost in Calum's eyes. "Whatever you want."

-

i forgot about this book for like 8 days whoops

i've had this written for 6 days but i got distracted so uh

sorry

love you guys

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