Wildflower - {lashton au}

Alstroemeria.

"Luke, if you shake your leg any harder, you're going to shove your foot through the floor of this poor guy's car," Ashton said with a slight laugh.

Luke chuckled, trying to cease the shaking in his legs. Their Uber driver was super nice, Luke definitely didn't want to shove a hole through the floorboard. "I'm just nervous," he answered honestly, rubbing his hands down his black jeans. "I've never met any famous people. What if I make a complete idiot of myself?"

Ashton nudged Luke gently. "I don't think you could even if you tried," he said with a genuine smile.

Luke scoffed, looking away so Ashton wouldn't see the blush coating his cheeks. "God," he said with a chuckle, "sometimes it's like you walked right out of a RomCom and straight into my life."

Ashton let out a loud laugh at that, his head tipping back and his dimples on full display. "What movie, though? It's gotta be a good one."

Luke thought it over for a minute before smiling widely. "The Back-up Plan."

Ashton rose an eyebrow, smile still present. "So," he started, thinking it over, "am I J-Lo or Alex O'Laughlin?"

Luke didn't even miss a beat as he answered, "Alex. Definitely. I've got amazing birthing hips, you can't even deny it."

Ashton shook his head, looking at Luke like rainbows cane out of his mouth every time he spoke. "I agree with you there," he said. "You're prettier than J-Lo, though."

Luke blushed again, looking out of the window as he rested his chin in his hand. He had his hand slightly covering his mouth so his smile wouldn't be too obvious, but he knew Ashton could tell anyway. Once they pulled up to the venue, Ashton thanked their driver and guided Luke to the ticket booth so that they could be told where to go.

"Hi," he said cheerily to the lady behind the window. He pulled out two pieces of paper from his back pocket and slid them through the slot. "We need to get our VIP passes for the entrance, please."

The lady nodded, smiling politely as she took the paper tickets from Ashton's hands. Ashton turned back to give Luke a soft smile as the lady put in the information before handing Ashton back the tickets and the lanyards with the VIP passes on them. "So," she started, going through her - most likely - normal script, "these passes give you access to the Q and A session before the Meet and Greet, as well as all access to the VIP booth at the front of the stage. You do not have to sit in the VIP booth, it is completely optional. Once the Meet an Greet is over, you have full access to the venue before and during the show. Make sure to keep these passes with you at all times, or you will not have your VIP access. Any questions?"

Both men shook their heads with soft smiles before they were thanking the woman and heading off to the VIP entrance line. Once in line, Ashton took Luke's hand in his and squeezed gently, giving him a reassuring smile. "Get ready for the best night of your life, Blondie."

Luke smiled, no doubt in his mind that this would be a wonderful experience.

———

"They were so nice!"

Ashton chuckled softly as he and Luke wandered around the venue after the Meet and Greet, waiting for the show to start. Luke looked like an awestruck child the whole time, his smile never leaving his face as he watched the band interact with their audience in wonder. Ashton couldn't help but feel a burning sadness in his chest as he watched Luke practically shine with happiness. "So," he said with a smile, "I take it you're having a good time so far?"

Luke beamed at him, his smile reaching his eyes effortlessly. "The best time of my life," he answered honestly. "Ashton, I can never thank you enough for this."

Ashton waved a hand in dismissal. "You never have to, Blondie."

Luke just smiled sincerely before looking down at his watch. "Shit," he exclaimed softly, "the rest of the fans will be coming in soon! Can we stand up at the barricade? Please!?"

The hazel eyed man laughed heartily as he nodded. "Yes, Luke," he said, grabbing the taller man's hand. "Let's go enjoy the show."

———

"I can't believe you know every word to Gypsy Woman," Ashton said as they headed out of the venue to wait on their Uber. "Sixteen year old me could never."

Luke laughed loudly; happily. "I told you they were my favorite band," he said matter-of-factly. "But you knew every word to 18! That counts for something!"

Ashton rolled his eyes with a fond smile. "Everyone knows all the words to 18, Luke." He pulled out his phone to check for a text from his Uber, looking around to see the black Kia sitting on the other side of the street. "It's hardly an accomplishment."

Luke rolled his eyes as he followed Ashton to the Uber, sliding into the car as he opened the door. "Why do you have to be so modest?" Ashton laughed as he slid in next to Luke, who kept talking. "I just want to praise you for a minute."

"Hi," Ashton said to the Uber driver, laughing at Luke's words, "we're going to the Sheridan on East 5th Street."

The Uber driver nodded with a smile as Ashton leaned back against his seat. The ride back was mostly silent, as both men were equally tired from the show. Ashton could still practically feel the happiness radiating off of Luke, and it made a soft smile etch onto his face as he watched Luke go through his photos and videos he took of the show.

As he watched him swipe through them, he noticed that Luke had stopped on a selfie that he had someone take of them outside of the venue. Ashton's salmon colored polo fit perfectly around his muscles and his curls hung loosely over his forehead. Luke's white shirt was tucked into his black skinny jeans and his leather jacket hugged his broad shoulders as he smiled and leaned toward Ashton. The curly haired man felt a smile creep onto his face as he noticed Luke smiling down at it, too.

The thing he noticed the most, however, was, even though he was barely smiling, Ashton looked happy. Not the fake kind of happy either; he looked actually happy.

Ashton felt lost. As he realized how happy he looked in the photo, he felt like something was tugging at his heart strings, and he didn't want to admit the feeling that was bubbling in his chest to himself.

His inner torment was disrupted when Luke looked over to him. "By the way," he said softly, "I know this is completely out of nowhere but they've been asking about you for a couple of weeks now. My friends wanted to know if you wanted to get together and we could all have dinner together? I mean, obviously you don't have to, and I don't know how you are with groups of people you don't know. There's only three of them, and they're kind of loud and embarrassing, but I love them! But I understand if you don't want to meet them and—"

"Luke," Ashton said, silencing him, "you're going to run out of air if you keep rambling like that. I would love to have dinner with your friends. Three of them, you said?"

Luke nodded. "Yeah, they're my best friends. I've known Calum and Michael since middle school, and I've known Crystal for about three years now. They're.." He cut himself off as he thought about how he actually felt about his friends. "They're mostly the reason I am where I am and who I am today. They've taken me out of my darkest places and made me realize that I'm human and I'm allowed to be loved like one. They're my family."

Ashton smiled an actual smile, reaching over and setting his hand on top of Luke's thigh gently. "Then, yes. I would love to meet them."

All Luke could do was smile.