For three years now, Luke and Ashton have been roommates. They lived in an apartment in the city that Luke owned. His dad bought it for him some years back. He felt the place was too big for him to live alone and so he looked for a roommate.
It so happened that Calum, Luke and Ashton's common friend, knew that Ashton was looking for a place to live at that time since he just moved to the city. Calum introduced Luke and Ashton to each other and they immediately came into terms about the apartment rent.
They two boys also immediately became friends as Ashton is just very friendly in nature and Luke just felt very comfortable around Ashton as well. He has been nothing but very nice to him. He was also very happy with how good a roommate Ashton is. He is just the best, as Luke always thought.
Most of the time, the boys hang out with each other as since they became roommates, they also became best friends. They are both very comfortable with each other and the trust they had for one another is just impeccable. Ashton had even once said that he trusted Luke with his life. They both are also keen on taking care of each other and being there to tend for each other's needs. You can just see how thankful they both are for one another.
They have both been supportive of each other as well, regardless of whatever it is they do, even in their romantic relationships with other people. When Ashton likes someone, he always goes to Luke for advice and Luke's opinion of the person is always so important for Ashton. The same thing goes with Luke. Every time either of them goes through a break-up, the other is always the first one to comfort them.
But then, something so sudden happened to Luke. Well, it wasn't some kind of accident or whatsoever. It was just how he sees Ashton. One day he just suddenly realized that he felt something for the hazel-eyed boy - something that you don't just feel for your mere friend.
Well, Ashton is pretty much aware that Luke is gay and well, he himself is pansexual. But the thing is, Luke is just pretty much sure that he is not just Ashton's type. Of all people on this planet, he is the first person who knows pretty well what kind of people Ashton is most attracted to and he is just not among them.
Day by day, he felt that his attraction for the other boy grew stronger and it wasn't just purely physical anymore. He was falling in love with him. He just can't help but notice every little thing about Ashton and it attracts him to the older boy more and more like a strong magnet. He just keeps on thinking of Ashton all the damn time. There was even one time that he just suddenly grew a boner when he walked in on Ashton doing push-ups in his room, shirtless. He ended up jacking off with the thought of his roommate in the shower after he said to him that he needed to take one because he's feeling hot.
As months went by, it was starting to get more difficult on Luke's part. He never told anyone about his growing feelings for Ashton. He just kept it all to himself. He did try to push away the feeling and made himself believe that it was just something ridiculous. But, of course, it didn't work, especially when you see that fine creature every day and being the nicest person ever to you always.
Now, things have been growing insane for Luke. Since the COVID-19 outbreak and the whole city is in mandatory quarantine, he and Ashton have to stay home together and spend every waking hour with each other.
Luke tried his best to act normal and keep his true feelings to himself. He just acts as normally as how they always do, and he felt that he is doing a great job as Ashton had never pointed out anything and just acts as normally as he does as well.
Little did Luke know that he really isn't doing that well of a job as Ashton has been noticing that Luke has been acting a little weird since the quarantine started. Yes, they hang out together in the living room, watching movies and drinking beer and whatever it is that they can do in the apartment. But Ashton is very much aware of how Luke seemed to keep that bit of distance between them and that baffled Ashton a lot.
Ashton didn't like that. He didn't like that at all. He didn't like the distance even if it's just so subtle because what he wants is for Luke to be close to him all the time. He feels comfortable and warm with that.
One night then, an idea popped in Ashton's head and he decided to cook a nice dinner for them. He also plans on confronting Luke about what he had noticed the past couple of weeks. They're in quarantine together and have to stay with each other 24/7 in the apartment and Ashton just wanted for the both of them to enjoy their time together and maybe, just maybe, be much, much closer than how they already are.
Luke was asleep in his room when he started cooking and he tried his very best to not make too much noise in the kitchen as he planned it as a little surprise for the younger lad. He is also very keen on making this dinner a very nice one, despite being just in their apartment and only cooking whatever they have in their fridge.
He was successful enough to do so and was able to cook Luke's favorites. He also set the table presentably and even took a very quick shower after he got everything ready.
Luke was still asleep when Ashton was done showering and had changed. So he went to his room and woke the younger boy up.
"Hey..." he softly said as he gently shook Luke.
The other boy groaned in response and pushed his face deeper into his pillow. Ashton chuckled as he found it very cute. Luke has always been adorably cute in Ashton's eyes. Though the younger one didn't really need to know that.
"Lukey, wake up," he said again with a little shake of the other boy, and this time, Luke opened his eyes slowly and looked up at Ashton.
Ashton watched as the younger boy slowly adjusted his eyes to the light in the room and he laughed when Luke was clearly startled when he clearly saw Ashton's face hovering over him.
"Ash? What are you doing?" Luke asked, rather consciously.
Ashton smiled as he stood back up, "You have to get out of bed now. Dinner's ready. I made your favorite."
Luke furrowed his eyebrows together and asked Ashton with confusion written all over his face, "Why? What's the occasion?"
Ashton shrugged, "Nothing. I just felt like cooking. So come on now, let's eat."
The younger one stared at his roommate skeptically and well, he can't deny the fact that he is also feeling a little nervous. He can't help it though. Ashton made dinner for them tonight and he made his favorite meal. That is a very thoughtful gesture from Ashton, and surely, it will add more to his forbidden feelings for his roommate.
It will, of course, make his situation even worse, but he can't say no because first, Ashton will surely wonder if he would tell him that he doesn't want to eat dinner with him. He'd ask why and Luke just can't think of a valid enough reason why he can't. Second, he knows Ashton will be disappointed and hurt if Luke won't acknowledge his effort of making dinner and cooking his favorite meal. Third, they're in fucking quarantine. He just really doesn't have any choice.
So he sat up from his bed and stretched out his limbs before he got out of bed while his roommate waited for him with an excited look on his face. Luke then grabbed his t-shirt, put it on and quickly fixed his hair to make it look less messy, especially now that it's longer than usual and growing.
He walked towards his bedroom door and Ashton followed him and as they walked down the hallway, the older lad put his arm around Luke's shoulder, making the younger one subtly glance at it.
They reached the kitchen slash dining area and Luke was surprised how Ashton really did some effort with the dinner. The table was presentably set with Ashton putting their small cactus plant at the center as a replacement for flowers and their lava lamp as a replacement for candles. The food Ashton prepared looked good and smelled so good and the whole table just looked so nice that it looked like a dinner date table.
Luke did his best not to think about it like that though because he knew Ashton never meant for this whole thing to be like that. He pretty much is aware that Ashton is kind of spontaneous in a way and just does random and unexpected things sometimes. So Luke knows that this one is just one of those times for Ashton.
Ashton smiled brightly at Luke and he helped him sit down on a chair before he himself sat down opposite his roommate.
"So, are you really that bored already that you ended up doing this?" Luke asked jokingly at Ashton.
The hazel-eyed boy laughed then said, "Well, what can I say, this quarantine thing makes you do stuff you don't normally do."
"True," Luke said with a chuckle as he helped himself with the French Onion Soup that Ashton made. "I mean, you barely touched anything in the kitchen before."
"Hey...that's not true. I cook sometimes before," Ashton jokingly protested.
"Yeah, maybe just those three or four times that you did since we lived together. Not to mention, you were only forced to cook those times because I was sick."
"But I did take care of you those times and I was pretty good at it."
"Yeah, I'll give you that, so you won't cry."
Ashton laughed, "You can be really mean to me when you want to, don't you?"
Luke just shrugged and started eating his soup. He almost moaned when it hit his tongue and the flavor exploded in his mouth. It was just so good. Ashton is really good in the kitchen but he is just too lazy to cook most of the time.
"Is it good?" Ashton asked with anticipation.
Luke lightly laughed as he saw the look on his roommate's face. He looked like a child but still so beautiful, he thought. "It is really good," he said.
Ashton smiled brightly at him, and well, it made Luke's stomach flutter.
"I'm so happy you love it," Ashton commented, making Luke look up at him again. Ashton smiled at the blue-eyed boy across him and he said, "I just really wanted to impress you."
Luke furrowed his eyebrows together in confusion, "Impress me?"
"Yeah...and also to be able to do something nice and thoughtful for you during this time because you deserve it."
Ashton really shouldn't be saying things like this to Luke because it makes a different effect on the blue-eyed boy. He just tried his best to brush it off and joke about it by saying with a laugh, "Quarantine really has fucked up your brain, huh?"
The older one smiled fondly at his roommate and then said, "You know, why don't you try the chicken? I followed your recipe. I hope I did it some justice."
Luke chuckled then said, "All right, let's try that chicken."
With a proud smile, Ashton sliced and placed some of the garlic roast chicken he made on Luke's plate.
"You pretty much know that I am very much capable of serving myself, right?" Luke asked jokingly as he watched Ashton serve him some chicken.
Ashton just gave him a sweet smile, making Luke confused. Well, if it were all up to him, he wouldn't want Ashton to give him smiles like that because it would make him fall more in love with him and it will be more difficult for him. But he can't just tell that to his roommate so he just brushed it off again and pretended that he didn't exactly see the kind of smile Ashton gave him.
"Wait," Ashton suddenly said, making Luke look up at him. He smiled before he stood up, saying, "I gotta go get the wine."
"Wine? What for? And do we even have wine?" Luke asked Ashton curiously as he watched him go behind the kitchen counter and took something out from the cupboard.
He grinned big and showed the bottle of wine to Luke. "I saw this earlier and I was even surprised myself. I thought we've run out of wine already."
He took two glasses and went back to the table and opened the wine bottle. He poured wine into both of the glasses and gave one to his roommate.
Luke stared at him skeptically as he took the glass from Ashton and he said, "You're being weird."
Ashton chuckled, "Then that makes the two of us."
With furrowed eyebrows, Luke asked in confusion, "What's that supposed to mean?"
Ashton just gave him a smirk, making the younger lad even more confused.
They continued with, what Ashton would like to call, their "quarantine dinner." Both boys even agreed to watch movies after, while they finished their bottle of wine.
Ashton also insisted on cleaning up despite Luke's protests. Luke just waited for him by the kitchen counter as he spent his time scrolling through his phone. He didn't notice that Ashton was done and silently made his way over to him.
Luke was standing up, leaning his hip against the counter while his eyes were glued to his phone. Ashton sneakily stood beside him and stood very close to Luke with both of his arms on each side of the younger boy, gripping the edge of the counter and trapping Luke in between him and the counter.
As he did so, Luke noticed his presence and immediately looked up, only to be met by Ashton's curious hazel eyes. Luke did his best to at least move away from Ashton but it was quite impossible, considering their position.
"What are you doing, Ash?" Luke warily asked his roommate.
Ashton chuckled and questioned Luke directly, "What's your problem?"
"Well, my problem is you're standing too close to me and you're trapping me here," Luke immediately shot back. He definitely isn't comfortable with their position right now. Ashton is just too close to him. His face is too close to his and he can't have that. It's just not good for him and his current emotional situation.
Ashton just playfully rolled his eyes and didn't make a move of stepping back and away from Luke. "Something is wrong with you, Lukey."
"Well, why don't you tell me what's wrong?"
"You are the one who has something wrong going on in you."
"Really?" Ashton asked with a raised eyebrow. "The last time I checked, I'm not the one who is keeping a distance between us."
Luke was utterly surprised by what Ashton just said. How did he even notice that? Luke was being too careful of his actions. He didn't want Ashton to notice that. Luke thought he was doing a good job.
"So, tell me, Luke, why are you subtly avoiding me?" Ashton asked him again and this time, he stared into Luke's eyes sincerely.
"I'm not avoiding you, Ash," Luke tried to lie, but Ashton wasn't having it.
"Luke, we've been living together for three years. We've known each other too well. We've memorized how each other moves and how we act around each other. You're my best friend, Luke, and it bothers me so much that you are keeping a distance from me. I mean, yes, social distancing is very much needed to be applied right now, but we're quarantining together for more than a month now. We've been staying healthy and we've been both very careful. We both can be sure that we don't have the coronavirus. So you can't use social distancing as an excuse."
"Ash..." Luke said but he didn't say anything after and just stood there in between Ashton's arms, contemplating how he could escape this situation.
Ashton kept his gaze on Luke, and this time he looked at him intensely with a serious tone in his voice as he said, "I'm going to ask you again, Luke. Why are you keeping your distance from me?"
As Luke looked into his roommate's eyes, he just realized right then and there as he stared back into those hypnotizing haze-green orbs that there is no point in lying anymore. So he let out a sigh in defeat and looked away from Ashton's eyes as he softly said, "Because I have to, Ash. It's the only way I can stop myself."
"Stop yourself from what?" Ashton asked in both confusion and curiosity.
Luke turned his gaze back up to match with Ashton's and he said with a small sad smile, "From falling more in love with you."
Upon hearing Luke's words, Ashton slowly dropped his arms from the kitchen counter to his sides. He stared up at Luke with a gaping mouth as he was surprised by what his roommate just confessed to him. It really is a big surprise to him because he never thought that Luke would even like him like that.
From what he had observed before with Luke's past relationships, he just doesn't seem to be Luke's type. But now, his roommate who is also his best friend just told him that he is in love with him. It surprised him a lot, but it made him feel so happy as well because he thought Luke liking him romantically will only happen in his dreams that he mostly had given up on.
"I'm sorry, Ash," Luke quietly said. "I never really meant for this to happen. I don't want things to be awkward between us. But what else can I do, right? When we're both stu-"
Luke wasn't able to finish what he was trying to say as Ashton suddenly just held his face and crashed his lips against Luke's. The blue-eyed boy was too stunned to react right away and he just froze there with wide eyes as Ashton tried to kiss him properly.
Ashton seemed to notice Luke's unresponsive state, so he pulled away and looked at the other boy with worried eyes as he dropped his hands again and said, "Oh my god, I'm sorry, Luke. I should have asked. I have no right to just assume it's okay for me to kiss you without your permission. I'm very sorry, Luke."
Luke seemed to have recovered from his stunned state as he listened to Ashton ramble. He looked at the older boy with a curious expression and asked, "Why did you do that? Ash, it's not okay for you to play with my feelings, you know?"
"I know, Luke, and I'm sorry that I just kissed you like that. But please, let me say something."
Ashton let out a deep breath before he looked at Luke straight into his eyes and said, "Luke, I also have a secret that I have been keeping from you for a long time now. Ever since I met you, I already like you. I just never had the nerve to tell you that because we became good friends. You became my best friend and I just don't want to ruin that. Never have I ever thought that you would ever like me the same way, you know?"
"You like me?" Luke asked so softly that it just came out like a whisper. He couldn't believe what he just heard. Was it even really true or his mind is just making him hear things?
"Well, more like in love with you too," Ashton told him with a sweet smile playing on his lips.
"What?" Luke whispered out as he continued to look at Ashton, still not being able to believe anything that's happening right now.
"Luke Hemmings," Ashton said as he held Luke's hands which were shaking. He chuckled in amusement as he always found it really cute every time Luke felt nervous. He smiled at the younger boy, "I am in love with you. Well, I could really say since the day I met you. You are just so beautiful and funny and really nice. You are very talented too and you have just been the very best friend that I ever had in my entire life. I fall more in love with you every day and it's really hard, I gotta admit that because I just knew then that I am just not the type of person that will fall in love with. I tried to give my attention to other people, though, but it never worked. I can't even keep a relationship for more than three months, and maybe that was because they weren't you."
"Are you really telling me the truth right now?" Luke asked Ashton, slowly recovering from his doubting state and he held his roommate's hands back tightly as he stood there shaking. His tears were also brimming in his eyes as he can't control his nerves anymore and he is just filled with emotions right now.
"Yes, Luke, and this is the most honest time that I have ever been in my entire life. I love you. I have always been in love with you."
"Shit," was all Luke could utter.
"Fucking kiss me now," Luke ordered and Ashton grinned big before he let go of Luke's hands and gently held his face and pulled the younger boy to him and kissed him deeply.
Luke responded immediately to the kiss as he let his arms circle around Ashton's body. Never has he ever thought that this day would come. For months he struggled with his feelings for Ashton and he even thought it was the hardest thing that has happened to him because he just believed that Ashton would never like him the same way. And now, he learns that the very person that he fell in love with oh so suddenly has been in love with him as well for three years now.
They both pulled away from the kiss and smiled at each other before Luke pulled Ashton into a warm hug. He buried his face into the hazel-eyed boy's neck and breathed in his smell as he smiled softly to himself.
"I love you, Luke Hemmings," Ashton whispered against his shoulder as he hugged the younger boy back.
"Fuck, I love you too, Ashton Irwin. This quarantine thing may have been one of the best things that have ever happened to me because I got you."
