Wildflower - {lashton au}

Begonia.

"Lucas Hemmings!"

Luke groaned as he pulled his phone away from his ear and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "My name isn't even Lucas," he said as he sat up in bed. "And I'm starting to regret giving you my number. I haven't slept past 6 AM for two weeks because of you."

Ashton laughed giddily on the other end of the phone, and Luke heard slight shuffling as he spoke happily. "I have another adventure for us today!"

Luke couldn't help but cringe softly as he smiled. "No more bungee jumping, right?"

Ashton laughed again. "No more bungee jumping," he said softly. "Although I think you really should try it sometime." The sound of a zipper echoed through the receiver and Luke blushed violently as he tried to rid his mind of the image of Ashton getting dressed. "You don't work tomorrow, right?"

Luke shook his head, even though the curly haired man couldn't see him. "No," he said softly, stretching as he climbed out of bed. "I have an office job, so it's only Monday through Friday."

"Great," Ashton exclaimed. "Because this adventure is going to require me kidnapping you for the whole weekend."

Luke felt his cheeks flush again at the thought of spending a whole weekend with the hazel eyed man. "Okay, what are we doing?"

Luke could practically feel Ashton's dimpled smile radiating through the phone. "I seem to remember you saying you liked a certain band called Anarbor," he started slowly, but excitedly, "and I may or may not have gotten last minute VIP tickets to see them tonight!"

Luke could have dropped his phone at that moment. The excitement bubbling through him was almost too much to handle as he started stuttering over the phone. "Ashton, you cannot be joking around right now," he said in a shaky voice. "Please tell me you're not joking."

Ashton laughed, loud and happy. "Blondie, I would never joke about something like this. So what do you say?"

Luke sputtered out a disbelieving laugh. "I say I could fucking kiss you through the phone right now. When are we going?"

Ashton laughed again, a little more shy and reserved than the last time. "We leave in," he paused, most likely checking the time, "about three hours."

Luke looked at the time, seeing it flash 6:30 AM at him. "I'll be ready in one."

Ashton cheered triumphantly. "Awesome," he said. "I'll pick you up as soon as you're ready. Oh, and one more thing."

Luke quirked an eyebrow to himself. "What's that?"

"You're not afraid of planes, are you?"

———

"I'm starting to think you're only friends with me because you like to see me squirm," Luke said as he settled himself in his seat on the plane next to Ashton.

Ashton laughed as he pulled the cover over his window up. "Not me finding your fears amusing," he said with a slight hint of sarcasm in his voice.

Luke shook his head as he rolled his eyes and smiled. "How did you even get these plane tickets last minute?"

Ashton waved his hand in dismissal. "I had some unused air miles," he said, removing his jacket and placing it in his lap. "My family liked to travel a lot when I was younger, so we got my own account with American Airlines when I was eighteen. They've just built up over the years."

Luke nodded, trying his best to slouch in his seat despite his long legs. "How old are you, anyway?"

"I'm twenty-four," he said, smiling softly. "How old are you, Blondie?"

"I'm twenty-two," he answered softly. "I'll be twenty-three next month."

"Interesting," Ashton said, and Luke could see the gears turning in his head. "I'll be twenty-five next month."

Luke raised an eyebrow. "What are you planning in the brain of yours?"

Ashton shrugged. "That's for me to know," he said, in that disturbingly secretive voice of his, "and for you to go along with."

Luke rolled his eyes gently. "I'll never have a say in anything we do together, will I?"

Ashton laughed heartily. "That's not true," he said smiling at the stewardess as she passed them. "I didn't make you bungee jump because I could see how much it scared you."

Luke flushed softly, looking down at his lap. "I've just never been a big fan of heights."

Ashton smiled softly. "Just don't look out of the window as we're flying, and you'll be fine."

Soon enough, the plane took off, and Luke was gripping the armrest of his seat as his nerves kicked in. Ashton noticed and reached over without thinking, and took Luke's hand in his, letting him adjust his grip however he liked. Luke couldn't even focus on the fact that Ashton was holding his hand as he closed his eyes and breathed out slowly as the slight turbulence shook the plane.

Ashton seemed to notice how Luke's nerves weren't lessening so he reached over and put a hand on his cheek, turning the blonde to face him. "Hey," he said softly, watching as Luke's eyes moved up to his, "just keep your focus on me until it passes, okay? Breathe slowly for me."

Luke nodded, relishing in the feeling of Ashton's large hands on his skin, the pad of his thumb stroking his cheekbone softly. He reached up slowly and wrapped his free hand around Ashton's wrist, leaning in to his touch as he closed his eyes and took another slow breath. He felt a million times calmer as he rested his head in Ashton's hand, and soon enough the turbulence ended and his eyes were opening to look at Ashton's again.

When their eyes met, Ashton smiled shyly, his cheeks tinting a soft pink as he leaned forward and kissed the top of Luke's forehead. He allowed the kiss to linger before he pulled away slowly and whispered softly to him. "Try and get some sleep, okay? I know I woke you up early, and this flight is two hours long. Rest."

Luke nodded vigorously, his head still feeling like it was floating as Ashton took his hands away. Luke felt his exhaustion hit him as he slouched a little lower in his seat and leaned to his side, putting his head on Ashton's shoulder as the older man plugged in his headphones. He gave Luke one more soft smile before beginning to scroll through his phone to find music to listen to.

Luke smiled softly to himself as he felt his eyes slip closed, and the tension fade from his body as he allowed himself to fall asleep easily.