// && ; lost boy !

“yes you are, love, and i think you can,” romeo replied, his voice having a rather playful undertone as he felt fondness swelling up inside his chest as soon as ash tugged on his own sleeves. he wasn’t entirely sure why or how, but it just made ash look so small and cute, which unavoidably gave romeo the urge to just wrap his arms around him. however, as soon as he realised what he had been thinking, something nagged inside his head. he was romeo de luca — he didn’t think people were cute, let alone boys. yet there he was; unable to keep his walls up when he was looking at him like that. “shit, ash, i pretty much left you all high and dry after our night out and left the following day. that’s not something a good person would do,” he replied, suddenly feeling awkward about bringing up their last night together. “probably. i reckon people thrive off of the drama and the mess — that’s probably why your sister’s still relevant.” 

romeo stood motionless in front of his door as asher told him he wouldn’t mind him claiming him. honestly, if he hadn’t been so shocked he’d probably smile —- feeling proud there was at least one person who thought that way. he wasn’t even fully aware he had moved when he heard himself close the door before stepping into ash’s direction. romeo was towering over him, staring at the younger boy’s features as he tried to remain calm. “of course you don’t,” he stated matter-of-factly, despite his voice not being louder than a whisper. already knowing he’d regret this, romeo lowered his head and let his lips graze over ash’s jawline before placing a soft kiss on his neck. “d’you want me to mark up your skin, then? ‘letting everyone know you’re mine?” before actually connecting his lips with his necks once again, romeo searched ash’s eyes and placed a hand against his cheek. “are you okay with this, though? i can stop if you want to,” he explained, sounding rather serious as he didn’t want him to regret it. “i promise we can forget about it.”

"well i think i might get pretty boring if i have no secrets left!” asher tried not to dwell too long on the petname; reminding himself that they were englishmen -- words like ‘love’ were just how they spoke, there was nothing to it (and yet, still). everything was so confusing, because on one hand he was certain romeo was straight, and his personality spoke for itself. but then there was also the romeo from that night at the bar, warm and passionate. and asher didn’t even want to start on himself and his own sexuality. “i’m sure you had your reasons,” he reasoned, fighting a blush. “anyway, doing one not-so-nice thing doesn’t make you evil or summat.” he couldn’t help chuckling at his comment about his sister, though he tried to stifle it.

when romeo suddenly advanced on him, however, asher felt his heart jump up into his throat and he instinctively stepped back -- simply out of nerves, of course. god knew he wanted to be close to the other male. “thought i was being subtle,” he murmured, not quite able to hold romeo’s intense gaze -- he was even more handsome up close, and more lethal. especially when he was talking about leaving marks on his skin. “um... i... yes...?” asher felt his knees wobble when romeo’s mouth found his neck, shivers sliding down his spine. well, maybe thinking about this wasn’t really necessary... he was always all about living in the moment anyway, and people experimented all the time; right? “no, i don’t want to stop,” he quickly answered, before he put both hands on romeo’s chest and leaned up to kiss him square on the mouth; almost desperately.

romeo stared at him, blinking slowly as he tried to figure out why ash acted this way. sure, he looked insanely pretty like that and the older lad felt his eyes linger on cheeks and lips a tad too long, but the whole thing was still so strange. only then it hit him; he probably wasn’t able to forget about the kiss, either. “s’that your reply? mate, don’t call me mysterious when you’re this vague,” he joked, placing his hands deeper in his pockets. romeo couldn’t help but smile at asher telling him he could lie, though, and it made him wonder how someone could be so pure. however, an unpleasant twist tugged in the pit of his stomach as asher threw him a rather sad frown, as romeo wanting anything but his pity. “don’t say shit like that; i know i’m not. and besides, i’m not even a people person. m’good on my own,” he commented rather harshly, without even intending to. romeo calmed down as soon as ash started to talk about some gossip, despite still feeling a little moody. “yeah? m’not even surprised, actually. this school is a mess.” romeo had almost expected ash to tease him about it, so he couldn’t help but feel a bit shocked that he seemed just as startled as he was. upon noticing how pink his cheeks were, a rather playful smirk toyed on his lips. “fuck me, did i just discover a kink of yours? d’you like it when people claim you like that? i should’ve known. but sure —- we can go inside. no funny business, though.” 

"i’m not being vague! i’m just --i can’t tell you aaaall my secrets.” asher kept tugging at his sleeves, something he remembered his mother scolding him for (”you’re going to stretch and ruin them!”) but he had nothing else to distract him from the fact that there were butterflies going mad in his tummy every time he managed to make romeo smile a little. “you are a good person,” asher insisted, brow furrowed in confusion. even romeo’s obvious distaste for the topic wasn’t enough to dissuade him. “you’re... you’re the best person.” at the mention of the state of the school he grinned, shrugging. “yeah, but sometimes it’s fun just because it’s a mess.” asher felt his heart pounding so fast he was certain it would break his ribcage any second. he was aware that romeo was teasing him, but it didn’t matter. all his mind could comprehend was romeo claiming him -- flirting with him? -- and the possibility that asher might have a really bad, hopeless crush on him. that asher might have a crush on a boy. “not all people,” he murmured, stepping inside the dorm with a little smile; not quite meeting romeo’s gaze. “but i don’t -- like, i don’t mind if it’s you.”

a smirk settled on his lips as he noticed ash’s cheeks heat up. “you suppose? what happened, then? did ya meet someone new while i was gone?” romeo teased, putting his hands in his pockets as he gently bumped his shoulder against ash’s. “but you are, honestly. m’fairly certain you aren’t able to lie. that’s nothing bad, though, s’actually nice to be around people who won’t fuck me over for once.” noticing how his voice had gotten a bit unsteady near the ending of his sentence, he coughed rather awkwardly before starting to walk ash’s direction and trying to smile. “did many stuff happen, then? and i honestly couldn’t care less about how mature you think you are, you’ll always stay my little boy.” realizing what he had said, romeo stopped dead in his tracks, wide eyed and feeling something twist in his chest. “i meant their, obviously —- you’ll – erm, you’ll always stay your parents little boy.” 

“emm, no… nothing like that,” asher said bashfully, rubbing the back of his head; feeling out of his element being all shy like this. “well i mean, i can lie… just not that great at it, you know?” ash sobered up at that, frowning sadly at romeo. “you’re a good person, you should have more good people around you.” he shrugged, the twinkle back in his eye. “just the usual amount that happens around here. someone got expelled because there were drugs found in their dorm! and my sister’s best friend slept with her boyfriend which was… chaos.” his smile suddenly faded and he stopped walking backward, freezing just short of romeo’s dorm. oh. “your boy?” asher murmured, all wide eyes and pink cheeks. "i mean... ah. of course, yeah -- um, let's go inside?"

“just some family issues, y’know? the usual stuff,” romeo explained, hoping that’d be enough for now. “i reckon you like the mysterious types, then? not everyone can be an open book like you are, though.” the male couldn’t help but feel a small smile tug on his lips as soon as he saw ash’s attitude change. “s’actually cute you think i’d bother travelling to the other side of europe after a night out with you. but m’sorry, i guess —- for not messaging you.” the smile fell from romeo’s lips then, acting as if he were annoyed despite him already expecting this type of answer. “i bet mommy and daddy wouldn’t approve their precious little boy skipping. m’not really in the mood to talk, though, so if you come with you probably have to tell me about everything i missed.” 

“oh.” asher nodded quickly and then quickly beamed, a light blush covering his face. “suppose i do kinda like ‘em, but i didn’t really know that i did until like... recent. am i really an open book?” asher pursed his lips, tugging his sleeves over his knuckles. “well, my grades are good, and i mean… they’re really busy, you know. so i don’t think they’d notice.” he wore a big, pleased grin; mutely clapping his sleeve-covered hands. “deal! i’ll tell ya’ everything i’ve seen. and everything i’ve overheard from me sister, too! do you have beer?” he turned himself around yet kept walking in the same direction, just so he could look at romeo face-to-face (and maybe just to get his full attention). “i’m almost eighteen, you know! i’m all mature and that now.”

romeo tried his hardest not to frown when asher let go, reminding himself that he shouldn’t enjoy his touch —- let alone miss it. “yeah, something came up,” he stated matter-of-factly, trying to shrug it off. it wasn’t as if he could just come clean about him panicking after their night out and deciding to go home. “you really did that?” he inquired, feeling something twist inside his chest. perhaps that was the moment he realized ash was the closest thing he had to a friend. “i was actually planning on sleeping a bit, y’know? m’still a bit jetlagged.” he decided not to comment on the way he suddenly latched onto his arm, and for a moment he could’ve sworn a faint smile toyed on his lips. “i think you might have more important stuff to do than watch me take a nap. and besides, i don’t reckon you being the type to skip classes.” 

“that’s it? something came up? oh my god you are so mysterious,” he teased. “not gonna say where you went? and why? i mean, you didn’t leave because of me, did you?” asher laughed and then stopped abruptly, eyes widening. “you didn’t – did you??” he bit his lip with a frown. “of course i did, why wouldn’t i? i was so worried!” asher shook his head, smiling widely. “that’s okay, i can skip one class for this special occasion! i’ll just talk to you until you fall asleep, it’s cool. you can tell me all about your trip!”