Noah woke to the sound of a faint beeping nearby, groaning a little at the familiar but annoying sound as he reached over Ashton to hit the snooze button. Again. Ashton stirred a bit beneath him but remained asleep, curled close to Noah's bare chest with an arm draped over Noah's waist. Noah smiled, reaching down to brush away some of Ashton's hair as he let his head fall back onto the pillow. He kept this up for a few minutes, just watching Ashton as he slept, until Ashton's breathing changed and his eyes began to flutter.

"Mm?" mumbled Ashton sleepily. Noah let out an airy laugh, still running his fingers through Ashton's hair and tucking it behind his ear. Ashton's lips pulled into a smile.

"Good morning," Noah whispered.

"Mm, morning," Ashton said, followed by a large yawn. "Time is it?"

"Almost ten."

"Mm. Sleep."

Noah laughed, moving closer.

"No sleeping. I've already hit your snooze button three times," he smiled, kissing Ashton on the nose before resting their foreheads together.

"So?" Ashton yawned again.

"We have class at 11," he laughed. "And then I have to work at two and you are coming with me because you have that chess game."

"Oh yeah," said Ashton with a smile. His eyes were still closed.

Noah leaned forward, kissing each of his eyelids gently. Ashton sighed contently beneath the show of affection. Lips then traveled lower to Ashton's cheek, then along his jaw line, finally coming to place feather soft kisses along his bare shoulder and collar bone.

"Keep that up and we're never going to make it to class on time," said Ashton, voice still heavy with sleep but lustful as well. He rolled onto his back, giving Noah more room and finally opening his eyes with a smile as Noah rolled with him, now leaning over him with a similar grin on his lips.

"Sounds alright to me," said Noah with that wide smile that made Ashton completely swoon. Both men were grinning like fools at each other, though it only lasted a moment or two before Ashton was leaning up and Noah was lowering himself down, lips finally capturing lips, bodies becoming tangled in the streams of morning sunlight.

...

"My class usually gets out before yours anyway, I don't mind walking over," insisted Noah. He and Ashton were walking hand in hand, fingers almost lazily tangled together, each with a bag over their shoulder as they crossed campus. They'd just gotten out of their lecture and had a few minutes to kill before their next, separate classes started.

"Yeah, that's fine," shrugged Ashton. "I have to chat with Professor Dryden about studio schedules anyway, so don't rush or anything."

Noah smiled. "Alright."

"And you work at two, right?" Ashton asked as they approached their building, steering them to an outside wall and leaning against the brick, the gentle sun warming their faces. This was the time of year Ashton loved, especially in the Midwest. The leaves were just beginning to change and the sun was always warm. If only it could stay like this, he thought.

"Yep. That's when you're meeting Luke and Reid, right?" he asked.

Ashton nodded. "You don't have to come over, by the way. I mean, I know you and Luke haven't really talked yet, and I'm sure that when your boyfriends are duking it out over chess is going to be the best time to try and reconcile," he laughed gently. Noah joined him.

"You're probably right," he agreed. "Though I don't plan to avoid them or anything, either."

Again Ashton nodded. "Alright. Sounds good," he said with a slightly nervous laugh. Noah leaned into Ashton a bit, bumping their shoulders playfully.

"You know, you better kick Reid Oliver's ass today," he whispered with a grin. Ashton immediately began laughing.

"Oh, you know I will," he smiled, leaning over to kiss Noah sweetly on the mouth, a kiss broken by laughter from both men. "Alright, we better go or we'll both be late. Again," he added with a knowing smile that made Noah blush a bit.

"Alright. I'll see you later," said Noah, still smiling ear to ear. He kissed Ashton again before begrudgingly releasing his hand, giving him one last lingering smile before they turned and walk in opposite directions.