When Ashton woke up the next morning, well, afternoon, he was laying on his side near the edge of the bed, facing the wall. His eyes fluttered in his half-conscious state, his brain slowly recounting the details of the day and night before. Gradually the earlier hours of the morning came into focus and his eyes widened. For a moment he was sure it must have been a dream. Cautiously, afraid to be proven right, he rolled over, his breath catching as he looked over the bed.
Noah was still sleeping.
Sprawled on his back, one hand on his chest and the other curled next to his face. His lips were slightly parted and he was breathing easily through his nose. Ashton inhaled, slowly and shaky, willing his body to relax into the blankets.
Finally he did manage to calm down and moved a little closer, curling onto his side and bending his arms in front of his chest, smiling as he watched Noah sleep. A gentle light filtering in through the blinds filled the room and Ashton knew it had to be well into the day. It didn't matter, though, what time it was. His mind wasn't thinking about the time or the classes they were missing today or the ones they had to be ready for tomorrow. All he could think about was this, this moment, and how much he loved waking up on his own, not to the sound of some stupid pop song on the radio, and with Noah sleeping next to him. Tenderly he reached out and brushed Noah's hair away. He smiled to himself, knowing that he liked Noah with shorter hair, but that if he were to cut it he would miss being able to push it back like this. He laughed softly to himself at the thought, the gentle sound making Noah stir.
His eyes scrunched and he let out a tired groan, body tensing for a moment before relaxing with a content sigh into the sheets. Ashton continued to stroke Noah's hair, sitting up a little on his arm and watching as sleep slowly faded away from the beautiful man beside him.
"Mm," Noah hummed tiredly, his voice a little raspy with sleep. "Morning?"
Ashton chuckled again. "Try afternoon."
Noah blinked, taking in a long, deep breath. "What time is it?"
"Honestly, no idea," sighed Ashton, letting himself fall down beside Noah, he turned onto his side, facing Ashton with his eyes still closed.
"Unless it's already Tuesday, let me sleep," said Noah groggily, a small smile gracing his lips. Ashton laughed.
"You really planning on sleeping all day?" he asked.
Noah just nodded, still smiling. He curled his arms in front of him, resting his folded hands beneath his head. Then he yawned.
"Actually, spending the day in bed sounds pretty good to me."
Noah's smile twitched a little, turning into more of a smirk as a small laugh rumbled through his chest.
Ashton blushed.
"I didn't mean it like that," he laughed in embarrassment, reaching out and poking Noah in the side, who recoiled and laughed in response.
"Hey now!" he chuckled, eyes finally opening a bit more as he shifted on the bed. He rolled onto his back again, sighing as he stretched. Once he relaxed he let both hands fall onto his chest, turning his head to face Ashton. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"Letting me stay."
Ashton shook his head, smiling. "You really think I was going to say no?"
"Good point," Noah laughed.
"I will say that at first I hated the idea," Ashton began, rolling onto his back and placing both hands behind his head. Noah smirked curiously. "I mean, me sleeping in here, you only a few yards away on the couch. Ugh, it was like slow torture," he said with a fake groan. Noah laughed, rolling over and allowing himself to press up against Ashton's side. Ashton laughed as well, dropping an arm around Noah's shoulders and rubbing them absently, relishing in the warm of Noah's body against his.
They laid like that for quite some time, both pairs of eyes falling shut as sleep threatened to claim them again, which neither was about to fight. That is, until Ashton's phone went off on the nightstand, just out of reach.
"Ugh," he moaned, tensing beneath Noah, who laughed quietly against him. "I should probably get that."
Noah silently rolled away and sat up, watching as Ashton sat up as well and reached for the phone. He opened it, a smile bursting across his face as he read whatever was on the screen, a loud, almost hysterical laugh escaping him moments later.
"What?" asked Noah, moving on the bed toward Ashton. He came to sit against him again, slightly behind him and hooking his chin over Ashton's shoulder, trying to see the small screen.
"Look," said Ashton, handing the phone to Noah. Noah sat back, reading the small print before laughing as well, though he was also blushing.
"Wow. Guess I should have texted her last night to let her know I was staying here," he said, handing Ashton his phone and rubbing the back of his neck.
"You think? I'm surprised this is the first we've heard from her. She sounds panicked," said Ashton, still laughing.
"Maddie likes to over react…" sighed Noah with a smile. Ashton's attention returned to his phone for a moment, texting Maddie back and confirming her frenzied suspicion that he was with Ashton.
"Did you see the time?" Ashton asked, nodding toward his clock. Noah took a glance, eyes widening.
"It's almost three?" he shouted. "Damn."
"No wonder she was worried," grinned Ashton.
"You are way too amused by this."
"Can you blame?" insisted Ashton. "Your roommate, who also happens to be your ex-girlfriend, just texting me saying that she desperately hopes that you are curled up in my bed right now because if not she was going to have to pull some strings with Oakdale PD to get the search and rescue unit in full swing."
Noah paused.
"Okay. So maybe it's a little funny," he said with his bright smile. Ashton dropped the phone back onto the table, scooting closer to Noah on the bed.
"Very funny," he corrected, wrapping his arms around Noah's neck. The grinned at each a moment longer before mutually leaning in, chapped lips meetings chapped lips. They kissed for a minute or so before Ashton pulled away with a laugh.
"Morning breath," he said, crinkling his nose. "Not so sexy."
"You're one to talk," Noah teased back. They laughed and rested their foreheads together for Ashton let out a dramatic sigh, breaking away and practically jumping off the bed.
"Alright. As much as I love the idea of spending this entire day in bed, we've practically done that already and should at the very least eat... and brush our teeth." He stood in front of the bed, wearing basketball shorts and an Oakdale U t-shirt, arms crossed and grinning down at Noah, who climbed off the bed beside him.
"Mm, food sounds good," he laughed, moving to stand in front of Ashton and dropping his arms around the other man's neck, thankful that they were almost exactly the same height. Ashton's arms instantly encircled Noah's small waist, holding him close. Noah pressed a fleeting kiss to Ashton's lips, smiling at the disappointment on Ashton's face. "And so does fresh breath."