𝙛𝙖𝙩𝙚 ⚣ 𝙘𝙩𝙝+𝙖𝙛𝙞 ✔

70

5 months later ; january . dis one got a lil bit of smut because i got inspo for a scene and it's been living in my head for days

-

Calum was stressed out. Between work, wedding planning and making sure everything was okay at home, he hardly had any free time.

Of course, Ashton was helping, but it didn't change the fact that he felt overwhelmed. There were so many things he had to do, so many decisions to make, and he was a very indecisive person.

He thought he'd be better at making these calls since they were for his own wedding, but having all that option only made it more difficult. These were things he'd have pictures of forever, things people would remember. He wanted to be happy with his choices, he wanted not a doubt in his mind.

And the strange thing was, lately, Ashton didn't seem to care. For the last week, he'd been passive with his answers, telling Calum to 'do whatever he wanted', and that only made things worse. It made him feel like it didn't matter to Ashton at all, like he didn't matter to him at all.

So, on the night of his birthday, he decided to ask him about it. They were getting ready to go out for dinner, and were just adding finishing touches to their outfits. Ashton actually had other plans. A surprise. But for that reason, Calum couldn't know.

"Hey, um, Ashy?"

"Yes?"

"I'm not gonna beat around the bush, so, uh, it seems to me like you don't much care how our wedding looks, and I just wanted to know why."

"Because it doesn't matter."

"So you don't care?" That kind of hurt to hear. A lot, actually.

"Baby, listen..." He crossed the room in long strides and grabbed ahold of his lover's hips. "No, I don't care. 'Cause I would marry you anywhere, anytime. It doesn't need to be fancy or elegant or expensive. I just can't wait to call you my husband, and I just want you to be happy."

"So...a simple wedding." He repeated as if he was taking mental notes. "I can probably do that..."

"Let's just take the night off from stressing, my love. We have somewhere to be."

"Dinner. Right."

"Sure." He replied. He fiddled with the cuffs of his dress shirt for a moment, then led Calum down the steps and to the front door, pressing reassuring kisses to the top of his head. "Oh, shit. Just wait here a moment, I forgot my phone."

"Okay."

Eventually, Ashton returned, and they headed out. Calum was still worrying--he didn't know if he could stop--but at least he knew he looked cute. He was wearing a cream coloured long sleeve shirt, underneath a plaid mahogany dress that reached mid-thigh. He also wore white knee-high socks.

Ashton thought he looked cute too. Stunning, actually. He told him so the first second he'd seen him in it. Plus, the entire car ride to their destination, his hand kept a firm grip on Calum's inner thigh. Which, of course, Calum loved. He also loved that since it was his birthday, he got to pick the music.

He picked 'Dancing Queen' by ABBA because it made him laugh and was fun to sing along to as loud as possible. He slowly felt his stress melt away in that car with Ashton.

Then, shortly after that song was over and the next began playing, he realized they were not at the restaurant. They were at Harry's bar.

"Ash, did you get lost? Why are we here?"

"Just gonna stop by for a minute. I'm sure they all wanna wish you a happy birthday."

"Okay." He mumbled quietly, unbuckling his seatbelt. Ashton did the same. He and the older man joined hands and walked up to the entrance. Ashton pecked his cheek before pushing open the door and sending him in first.