#ashor

-

When he returned, Ash sharply looked up. When he saw it was just Shorter, he slumped in his seat. A bunch of crumpled, bloody napkins lay on the bar in front of him and there were small puddles of rain water on the floor under him.

Shorter slid a bowl of stew and a plate of roasted meat on sticks under his nose and dropped himself on the stool next to him. “You’re in luck. We still had some barbecue meat left. It’s a little spicy though, I don’t know if your white ass can handle it.”

“Don’t take me for a coward,” Ash spat back, but Shorter didn’t miss him staring at the food like he was offered a meal fit for royalty. When Ash didn't make any attempts at touching it, he nudged him with his elbow.

“Eat up, it's gonna get cold. Don't worry, it's not poisoned and it tastes a hell lot better than the crap they served in juvie.”

Ash shot him another glare, but then reached for a set of chopsticks, broke them apart and took a hesitant first bite of the stew. Shorter grinned when he saw his eyes light up and dive at the food like his life depended on it.

The realisation that it probably did was a like a stab to the side.

To distract himself from that distressing thought and to fill the silence as Ash chomped down on the food, he started talking. He told him about the annoying customers of today, the process of making the stew he was eating, and run-ins he had recently had on the streets, hands gesturing wildly and pushing up his sunglasses. He hadn't even noticed Ash had finished until he pushed the plate away and tried to hide a yawn.

“Right, you must be tired.” A little embarrassed he had let the conversation run away from him, he pushed himself up and stacked the dishes to bring them to the kitchen later. “I’ll show you to your room.”

From the corner of his eye he saw Ash tense up again before rising from his own seat but he didn’t comment on it. He locked the entrance and flipped the “Closed” sign before gesturing Ash to follow him upstairs.

-

The door to the guest room was ajar. Shorter pushed it further open and stepped inside. Nadia had just finished making the bed and was fluffing up the pillow when she heard the two come in and looked up.

“You can sleep here,” she said. “There’s a towel in the dresser in case you want to shower. Bathroom is down the hall to the right.”

Shorter smiled. “Thanks, sis.”

She nodded at him, returning Ash’s unsure nod as well, before leaving them alone again.

“You can stay here as long as you need to.” Shorter stuffed his hands in his pockets and watched as Ash stepped further into the room and took it all in. “If you want I can get you one of my shirts to sleep in too.”

Ash came to a halt in the middle of the room. He stood there for a moment, before turning around and smiling. “Thanks, Shorter.”

He shrugged and grinned back. “Of course. No problem, bud.”

Then, something inside Ash seemed to shift. The tension flew out of his shoulders and his smile morphed into a more relaxed smirk. “Close the door,” he said.

Shorter frowned. The unexpected change in behaviour set him on edge, but he wasn’t quite sure why. “Why?” “Just close it.” He regarded him for another moment. When it was clear Ash was unwavering, he sighed and complied. He shut the door and when he looked back, Ash was suddenly a lot closer than he had been before. Surprised, Shorter took a step back and felt his back hit the wood behind him. Ash trailed his fingertips over his chest before flattening his palms, rubbing them up and down.

Panic set in. He recognised this behaviour now. He had seen this before, when Ash was seducing Riccardo. “Ash, what are you doing?”

“I’m thanking you, of course.”

Shorter reached up to push him away, but instead his hands landed on his sides.

“I know you’ve jerked off to me after you left juvie. There’s no need to hide it. You like me, don’t you?” Ash batted his eyelashes and let his hands slide down to tug on the loops on the waistband of his jeans.

Shorter groaned in frustration. Ash was right and he hated it. It was true that he liked him, and more than once he had wondered what it would be like to fool around with Ash. What it would be like to kiss those venomous lips, to touch and admire the scars he had caught glimpses of in the showers in juvie. What it would be like to have those lips around his cock, feel that sharp tongue work in gentler ways. He had thought about fucking him. Pounding him into the mattress or watching him as Ash rode him, his ever present façade replaced with closed eyes and open mouth, slack with ecstacy.

With Ash’s expertise, it was sure to be truly extraordinary. But this was not how he had expected it to go.

“Ash, please…” He lightly pushed him away, but Ash only seemed to take this as encouragement and sank down to his knees. He unbuckled Shorter’s belt with the skill of someone who had done it countless times, and palmed his rapidly hardening member through his boxers.

Shorter couldn’t suppress the shiver that ran down his spine. He called out his name again, but before he could say any more, the words died in his throat. Ash had taken his dick into his mouth and the sudden wave of heat and pleasure made almost all coherent thoughts vaporize into thin air. His hands found their way to Ash’s head and he tangled his fingers in his hair. Vaguely he noticed just how easily Ash took all of him in, seemingly without any effort at all. He watched as Ash bobbed up and down, mesmerised by the sight he up to that point had only dreamed about. It was better than any fantasy he had ever come up with.

Then, Ash swallowed around his dick and with a cry he threw his head back against the door, the pain hardly registering in his foggy mind. His grip on Ash’s hair tightened. Sure, he had gotten head before, but it had mostly been fumbling around in a dirty bathroom, a back alley or in juvie. Never before had it been with someone who knew what he was doing as well as Ash did. Ash swallowed again and Shorter keened. There was no way he was going to hold out long with the way Ash was working his dick and he felt the telltale heat of his oncoming release pool in his abdomen.

“Ash, I’m close,” Shorter panted, tugging on Ash's hair to pull him away so he could finish himself with his hand, but Ash refused to let himself be moved. If anything, he only seemed to be more determined to push him over the edge, tonguing his slit before taking him fully in again and hollowing his cheeks.

Shorter moaned and with Ash’s name on his lips he came, shuddering as Ash guided him through his orgasm. His grip on Ash’s hair went slack and he felt his hands slip away when Ash stood up, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. As he slowly came down from his high, he looked back at his friend and was startled to see just how cold his eyes were. That coy behaviour from before was gone and instead there was just emptiness.

In that moment Shorter was thankful that he was still wearing his sunglasses. The last thing he wanted was for him to see how much that discovery terrified him. He had already known something was seriously wrong with Ash—no, that wasn’t right. It was more like his perception of the world was wrong—but he had never realised just how bad it was. And despite knowing that, he had still let Ash do this. Had hardly tried to stop him.

He tore his eyes away from Ash’s red and swollen lips and cleared his throat, tucking himself back into his pants. “I’ll get you a shirt to sleep in.”

Ash nodded. “Thanks,” he replied hoarsely.

The sound both infuriated and oddly satisfied him. Angry with Ash and angry with himself, he turned to open the door. “I’ll be back in a sec.”

-

When he returned, Ash was standing right where Shorter had left him. Although his clothes weren’t dripping anymore, they were still damp and he was shivering. Shorter held up the bundle of clothes he had brought.

“Got you some. Also got you some pants I don’t really use anymore. They might be a little big on you though.”

Ash didn’t move to take them from him, nor did he answer. It was like he hadn’t noticed Shorter come in at all. The silence hung thick and heavy between them. Shorter shifted his weight to his other foot and eventually tossed the clothes on the bed.

“You’re shivering,” he said.

“I’m not.”

Shorter sighed. “Yes, you are. Go take a shower, man. You’re gonna catch a cold. I’ll uh, I’ll be in the room across the hallway if you need me.” He scratched the back of his head. “If you’re hungry, you can grab some food from the kitchen downstairs. I’ll be up late tomorrow since it’s kinda 2am and I’m exhausted.” The lie tasted bitter on his tongue. He knew damn well he wasn’t going to be able to sleep tonight after what just had happened between them.

Ash nodded. He finally turned to Shorter and he smiled again, but it was hollow. “Thanks. If you had hair, I’d be out of it early tomorrow.”

Shorter chuckled humorlessly. “Yeah. Good night, Ash.”

“Good night, Shorter.”

-

Back in his own room, Shorter shut the door behind him and leaned back against it. He dragged his hands down his face as the events that just transpired slowly started sinking in. He had expected their first time - if it ever even happened - to be mutual and enthusiastic. Not… whatever this had been.

He peeked down through his fingers and the image of Ash between his legs, taking his dick deeper than anyone had ever done before, seemed to be burnt onto his retinae. It caused a flutter of excitement in his abdomen and he groaned. He was torn with both disgust and exhilaration. Although Ash had initiated it, he couldn’t help but feel like he just violated him. And despite all that, there was a part of him that hungered for more. It had tasted the sweetness that was Ash Lynx and it craved to ravish him again.