AN: I am so sorry, guys, for taking forever to write this and breaking my promise. It is here now. The epilogue. Finally, it is here. And it's more than 15k words long. Will you stick around until the end?

Dedication: This is for everyone who didn't give up on this story and me, even if this did take nearly three years to finish. I love you all, and thank you for bearing with me throughout the whole thing. x

"Thank you, Manchester!" Ashton shouted, his voice echoing throughout the entire arena. "Have a good night!" He bowed before the audience, the cheers becoming louder as he did so. Then he stood up straighter, turned himself around, and ran straight to backstage.

There he heard those managing the show cheering for him and he couldn't help but smile as he received pats on the back and people telling him what an amazing job he did.

"Good show, Ash," Michael said as Ashton approached him. "One down, many more to go."

"I had a lot of fun performing tonight," the singer commented, "but my energy's been drained."

"You better get rested then. We've got another show tomorrow in another city. But first, before you head to the tour bus, turn around."

Raising his eyebrow at his manager, Ashton twisted his whole body around and his jaw dropped at what was in front of him. Bringing his hand up to his open mouth, he couldn't help the tears that prickled at his eyes.

"Hey, princess," said Luke, walking towards Ashton whose eyes were now very much teary. "It's been so long."

"T-Too long," Ashton whispered as he himself started to go over to Luke. He bit his bottom lip and then threw his arms around Luke who safely wrapped his around the older boy. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you, too." Luke's hold on Ashton tightened before he pulled away and the two gazed into each other's eyes. He moved Ashton's hair from his eyes, making the shorter boy giggle. "Rise and shine."

Ashton's eyebrows furrowed. "Wh-What?"

"Wake up, Ashton!"

Snapping his eyes open, Ashton let out a loud gasp before he let his hazel eyes look around where he was. He sat upright and then looked towards his left where Michael was sitting on the edge of the bed, a frown on his face.

"It's time for you to wake up," Michael said. "Come on, today's your first show, and we've got a lot of work to do."

"Oh, right," was all Ashton responded with. When his manager left the room, Ashton lay back down on the bed and rubbed his hands over his tired face.

It was only a dream--him meeting Luke again after several months. Of course, it was nothing but a dream.

He had been having dreams of Luke since being separated back in Los Angeles, and they would all seem real to him, but disappointment would take over him when he woke up each time and only found out that it wasn't real.

As Michael left the room, Ashton turned onto his side and felt his chest hurting. He really missed his boyfriend and wanted nothing more than for Luke to be here with him.

They haven't spoken to each other in months. Work was taking up Ashton's schedule and he had no time to talk to Luke, which really sucked to Ashton. He was so busy before and now that he was starting his world tour, his free time would only consist of him catching up on sleep.

"Ashton!"

The singer turned his attention to his manager who was calling for him. He groaned and sat upright. "Okay, I'm up," he responded. "Just stop yelling already."

Michael once again left the room and Ashton this time forced himself out of bed. He stretched his arms in the air and then twisted his upper body so he cracked his back. It was satisfying to him.

Ashton ran his fingers through his long, wavy hair, ruffling it a bit before pushing it back. He hadn't gotten a hair cut in months and his hair grew out. He honestly was too busy to get his hair cut, but he didn't mind it long. His fans didn't mind either. If anything, a lot of them (not all, but a lot of them) loved his long hair and prayed that he didn't make his hair short again. The thought was a bit amusing to him, although he'd have to cut his hair eventually.

The singer reluctantly made his way over to the bathroom, flipping the light switch on and closing the bathroom door. He stripped out of the clothes that he was currently wearing and kicked them off to the side towards the pile of his other dirty clothes. He kept making mental notes to do the laundry, but he'd either forget to do so or was too lazy.

Before stepping into the shower, Ashton turned the shower head on and adjusted the temperature so he could shower in warm water. While doing so, he cupped his hands together to collect water and then splash it over his face. He was a bit more awake, but not entirely. Perhaps after his morning shower Ashton would have more energy to go through the rest of the day.

As the wavy-haired boy proceeded his shower, he thought of Luke. Not in any sexual way whatsoever. He just thought of Luke, because he honestly missed him so much. Why wouldn't he? He hadn't seen his boyfriend in months. Of course, he was going to miss him.

If he was being quite honest, Ashton was wondering if he was ever going to see Luke again. He might have been busy during the months they couple have been away from each other, but Luke never made any attempt to contact Ashton. According to what Calum had told Michael, Luke was doing pretty okay and missed Ashton as well and that was all Ashton knew. But after Calum's time in London was finished and he had to fly elsewhere, no one would tell Ashton how Luke was, because they said they didn't know how Luke was doing.

Somehow, Luke just... fell off the face of the earth.

His heart aching even more than before, Ashton closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against the cool shower wall. The water ran down his face and his tears that were forming in his eyes did a very good job and blending in.

Ashton inhaled before letting out a shaky breath. He didn't realize that his right arm was squeezing his left arm tightly until he felt his nails digging into his skin. He was doing his best to hold back his tears, but it wasn't enough.

Due to his crying in the shower, Ashton spent a longer time under the water than he planned. It would have been longer than that if Michael didn't impatiently bang his fist against the door and snapping at the singer to "hurry the fuck up." Ashton didn't even feel like yelling back; he was too brokenhearted to do so.

Finally, after brushing his teeth and fixing his towel-dried-but-still-wet hair, Ashton left the bathroom with only a towel wrapped around his waist. He walked back into his hotel room where Michael was just exiting the room to answer a phone call (obviously from Calum, since Ashton heard his manager answer the phone in a mawkish voice).

He went over to where his luggage was, seeing that he was down to two clean outfits. He grabbed a pair of boxer shorts first and slipped them on, removing the towel and tossing it towards a chair. Reaching for his jeans and pulled them out of his luggage, his eyes caught sight of something and that something made him freeze in place.

On the very bottom of his luggage were pictures of him and Luke from one of their dates back in California. Ashton remembered that they had taken four photos that day and that he had kept the bottom half (he wondered if Luke still had the top half).

One of the photos consisted of Ashton laughing and Luke looking at him with the fondest expression. The other photo was of them kissing, and Ashton cracked a small smile. Despite it being months ago since he had last been in Luke's presence, Ashton could still recall the feeling of Luke's lips against his, and he could honestly say that he missed the feeling.

Setting down his jeans, Ashton sat himself on the ground and picked up the photos. He brought it closer to his face and looked at every detail of the photographs. He paid more attention to the very last photo, because seeing him and Luke kissing made his heart flutter and he was feeling a little better (except for the possibility that he may never feel Luke's lips on his again, but he was trying to stay on the more positive side of things).

Ashton gently placed the two photos on his bed and then resumed to getting dressed. He made sure that he was as comfortable as possible in his black skinny jeans before grabbing a navy blue T-shirt and pulling that over his head. He smoothed out the material of the shirt and then picked up his black and grey flannel, putting that on and buttoning two or three buttons.

After he finished getting dressed, he walked back into the bathroom so he could use the mirror to check how he looked. He didn't need to do so, because he knew he looked very good, but he still wanted to see the results anyway.

The next thing the singer heard when he left the bathroom was, "Happy twenty-first birthday, Ashton!"

Ashton's eyes went wide as he took a step back, looking at his two best friends and seeing Michael holding a chocolate cupcake with a single lit candle. Then a smile grew on his face and he said, "Thanks, guys."

"You're so old now," Calum said.

"Says you," Ashton snapped back. "You guys are two years older."

"He got you there," Michael said, laughing a bit. "You turned twenty-three back in January, and we weren't there with you to celebrate it." He started to pout and Calum just chuckled a bit, ruffling Michael's hair and pulling him into a hug.

"But you did buy me cake the day we were reunited," the brunet reminded.

Michael nodded his head. "True, true." He drew away from his boyfriend and turned his attention back to Ashton, handing him the birthday cupcake. "Happy birthday, Ash. Make a wish."

Ashton's lips curved upwards and he glanced down at the cupcake, closing his eyes and silently making a wish. Then he blew out the candle and his best friends cheered and clapped.

"Now," Michael began as he placed his hand on Ashton's shoulder, making the singer look up at him, "what did you wish for?"

"Michael!" Calum lightly smacked his boyfriend's arm. "You can't ask that! If he tells you, then his wish won't come true."

Frowning, Michael sighed. "Fine." He glanced back at Ashton. "Ready for the first concert ever of your tour?"

Nodding his head, Ashton answered, "Ready as I'll ever be."

-

Prior to the show the upcoming evening, Ashton received many happy birthday wishes from fans when he was out on in public and even got some messages from fans and other celebrities on social media websites. He didn't reply to anyone, but all of the messages he had read had honestly made him smile.

Now Ashton was currently backstage, getting himself ready to run out and face his fans. The moment was drawing near and his heart was pounding in his chest.

"Ashton! You're on in one minute!" shouted a guy and Ashton nodded at him as Michael was helping the singer fix the in-ears. He could hear the band that were going to be playing his songs blasting the instrumental of one of his songs, probably to get the entire arena pumped for the concert tonight.

"Remember," Michael said once he handed Ashton his microphone, "don't worry about anything. Just have fun out there, okay?"

"Okay," Ashton said and then his attention shifted towards the noise of the crowd that was cheering and chanting his name as it grew louder from the opposite side of the barrier that separated him from them.

Despite this not being his first concert performance, Ashton couldn't help but feel both nervous and excited, adrenaline coursing through his veins. Just hearing his fans cheering for him put the widest smile on his face.

He was ready to have one of the greatest nights of his life.

As the band went on, Ashton's manager wished him luck one last time before Ashton rushed through the stage entrance, hearing the whole arena going wild just by the sight of him.

He wasn't able to see the crowd, due to the bright lights shining down on him, but according to what Michael had told him all of his shows were sold out, and every single seat in the arena was most likely filled.

The band continued playing the music as Ashton took in everything before him. He inhaled deeply before bringing the microphone up to his face and shouting:

"Manchester, I'm ready for one of the greatest nights of my life! Are you?!"

-

After the show ended, Ashton bowed before the screaming audience as he ran off the stage to the back where a group of people who put together the concert were clapping for the singer. He felt a hand clamp on his shoulder and he glanced in the direction to see Calum smiling at him.

"Great job tonight, Ash," said the brunet as the crowd dispersed. He began patting Ashton's shoulder twice before stepping back. "You ready to go celebrate?"

"Celebrate?" Ashton questioned, tilting his head to the side. "Celebrate what?"

"Your first successful concert of this tour and your birthday!"

Ashton knit his brows. "I already got a cupcake today, didn't I?"

"And tonight you will get an actual cake," Michael added when he appeared beside Calum. "Like, a gigantic one where everyone can have two slices of cake!" Michael used his hands to spread his arms out, emphasizing the size of the cake. Ashton just snorted, shaking his head.

"I don't need to celebrate my birthday or the concert's success," Ashton said, "but feel free to bring in the cake."

Michael huffed. "We are going to celebrate, whether you like it or not. Understand?"

The singer rolled his eyes. "Understood."

"Okay, great!" Michael grabbed Ashton's wrist. "It starts in fifteen minutes. Let's get moving!"

"Hey, wait!" Ashton began, but he was already being dragged away as Michael yelled out 'Party at the hotel! Be there or be square!'

Calum just sighed, shaking his head in amusement at his friend and boyfriend before he followed behind them.

-

"Let's give it up for Ashton Irwin, ladies and gentlemen!" Michael exclaimed as he wrapped an arm around Ashton, giving his friend a tight side hug. Everyone in the room began applauding and the singer just blushed, thanking everyone for supporting him. "Now, let's get this party started!"

"It already started," Calum said and Michael looked over at him.

"A wise person once said: 'The party don't start 'til I walk in.'"

Calum raised an eyebrow. "Wasn't that wise person KE$HA?"

"Shh!" Michael left Ashton's side and went over to Calum, placing his hand over his boyfriend's face. "Less talking, more partying."

"Uh, okay." Calum let Michael take his hand and lead him deeper into the crowd, leaving Ashton to himself.

The singer watched as his friends started chatting with other people in the party before he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned himself around and smiled.

"Your concert tonight was great," said an orange-haired man who was shorter than Ashton.

Ashton's smile grew wider. "Thank you," he said. "The tour is already off to a great start, and it'll only get better from this point on."

He and the other guy continued chatting for a while and two more people joined in on the conversation to personally congratulate the singer on his successful show this evening.

To Ashton, the party consisted of him drinking wine and talking to random people, whether the chats were about this evening's concert or anything else in general. However, Ashton was feeling a little tired after continuing with this for nearly an hour, energy completely drained from him. He set his empty wine glass down somewhere and went over to his friends who were chatting with other people and tapped Michael on the shoulder.

The manager turned himself around and grinned when seeing the singer. "Hey, Ash. Enjoying yourself?"

"Actually," Ashton began, "I'm going to head back to my hotel room. I'm really tired."

"Oh, can't you stay a little longer? We haven't even had cake yet."

Ashton shook his head. "I feel like I'll pass out at any given moment."

"Okay. We'll save some cake for you tomorrow. Good night and sleep well."

"Yeah, okay. Thanks." Ashton then waved goodbye to his manager before leaving the party, telling anyone asking where he was going that he was heading off to bed.

By the time the elevator was in his eyesight, he noticed that it was about to close. He rushed over, yelling for the person to hold the doors for him.

Thankfully, the person heard Ashton and pushed the doors aside and opened them wider so the singer could make his way inside. Ashton was about to tell the person which floor he was going to, but he noticed that the light was already on.

"Which floor?" a voice asked, Ashton looking over to see a guy just a little bit taller than he was smiling at him.

"Oh, um, fourth floor," Ashton said, taking a small step away from the guy as the two waited for the doors to close and the elevator to move.

Other than soft music playing, the elevator was quiet. Ashton was tempted to reach into his pocket for his phone to get away from the awkward silence, but he kept his hands clasped in front of him instead.

He glanced over at the guy whose eyes were staring straight forward at the elevator door, the soft smile still on his face. Ashton was a little uncomfortable, but he tried not to be too weirded out.

Eventually, the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened. The other guy stepped to the side, gestured his arm out and said, "After you."

"T-Thanks," Ashton said awkwardly before stepping out of the elevator and making his way to his hotel room.

He could hear the guy walk past him, turning his head to see the guy still walking down the hall. Ashton just shook his head before finally unlocking the door and stepping inside.

He kicked off his shoes to the side and made a beeline for his bed. He fell face first onto the bed before sitting upright and wrapping the blanket around him.

Ashton didn't feel like doing his nightly thinking. Him sitting upright and making the blanket hug him tightly was done out of habit. And oddly enough, he felt sort of comfortable and didn't mind all that much if he were to fall asleep in the position he was in.

He closed his eyes and just let himself relax where he sat, breathing in and out peacefully. He didn't realize that he was leaning until his side hit the bed, but now he didn't want to get up again. Instead, he moved himself around until his head was comfortably on the pillows, snuggling his face into it before quickly falling asleep.

-

It was always cold in Manchester to Ashton; it was almost like it was winter year-round--definitely different compared to Los Angeles where at least there were days when he didn't feel like he was walking in freezer.

He wore a thick coat to cover his body as a beanie sat upon his head. A wool scarf was wrapped around his neck, covering his mouth too to keep himself warmer. He didn't have any pants other than his jeans to wear, so he was stuck with those along with his brown leather boots. The sun might have been peeking through the grey clouds in the sky, yet it provided minimal to no warmth for him. The only source of heat he could rely on was the one his body was producing and depended on the outfit he wore to keep him from freezing to death.

Whatever reason he had for getting out of his hotel room that morning slipped his mind--he didn't even remember waking up that morning--but he decided to try his best to enjoy his surroundings. He still had a couple of hours before his second show at Manchester, so he might as well take his leisure time to himself and release whatever stress he was feeling.

When he wasn't looking around, Ashton's eyes were focused on the ground beneath him as he walked. Sometimes he'd do this to avoid making contact with people around him. He didn't want to draw too much attention to himself--and that was hard to do because of the kind of person he was.

During his walk, he felt his shoulder bump into someone and he said a quick apology before continuing his way to nowhere in particular. Maybe he should really look where he was going.

"Princess?"

Ashton stopped walking, heart racing as his eyes widened. He slowly turned around and saw a pair of beautiful blue eyes that he had missed so much.

His mouth fell open, making him pull the scarf down to let the cold air touch his lips. He could feel the hard thumping in his chest, the pace of his heart increasing as seconds went by.

He prayed to God this wasn't a dream.

"Oh, my God," Ashton mumbled, wanting to cry. He was frozen in place, and it wasn't because of the cold. His body refused to let him move. But he really, really, really wanted to run over to the man he loved and hug him to death.

Despite him not moving, it seemed like the distance between them was only increasing, and all Ashton wished for was to embrace his lover and feel his arms encircle him. It looked as if his former bodyguard was walking towards him, yet he was moving farther and farther away, making Ashton cry out for him.

"Luke!" he yelled, his legs finally obeying his mind's orders and making him run.

The more he ran, the farther Luke was. It wasn't until Ashton tried his very best to run after him did he finally find himself getting closer to Luke. He was so ready to hug Luke. He was ready.

He no longer felt cold. He was being hugged. But it wasn't Luke who was hugging him, but the blanket from his hotel room.

Ashton had woken up.

Heart was still beating fast, sweat had developed near his face, and he was breathing heavily. He kicked the blanket off of him and sat up, wide eyes now staring at his legs.

He supposed that when he prayed that his dream was anything but that, it was too good to be true when he believed it was his reality.

There was knocking at his door before he heard it open and a voice call out, "Ashton, you awake?"

Bringing his hands up to his face, Ashton could feel his beating heart start to break into pieces, tears forming by his eyes.

Because him finally meeting the love of his life once again... it was all just a dream.

"Hey, you're awake! Great, Calum and I wanted to see--Ashton?"

Watered eyes gazed over at Michael. Ashton couldn't stop himself now. He let the tears fall as choked sobs left his throat.

Instantly he felt Michael's arms wrap around him and he let himself lean against his friend, not even trying to hold his tears back. He wished that the arms that were around him where Luke's, but for now Michael was enough. Now he just needed someone to hold him.

"I miss him," he wept. "Where is he? Where did Luke go?"

"I... I wish I knew," Michael said with a heavy sigh. His hand rubbed against Ashton's arm. "I'm sorry, Ash."

"I j-just want him to be here with me. That's all I-I want. I'd give up everything to have L-Luke here."

"You poor baby." Michael pressed a kiss to the top of Ashton's head. "Do you want to stay at the hotel today? Do you want to have breakfast here? I'll call Calum to get something for us to eat."

Ashton nodded and Michael almost drew himself away before he stopped. He looked as if he was reaching for something before he gave that 'something' to Ashton.

It was the pictures.

More tears fell from his eyes when they lingered onto the kissing picture. His thumb brushed over the photograph, like he was trying to find a way to touch Luke again. It had been so long since he felt Luke's touch, he wanted to remember what it felt like.

While Michael had managed to reach Calum and tell him to buy food, Ashton hugged the pictures close to his chest and continued to cry. His already broken heart was shattering even more.

Other than saying 'I love you' to Luke, Ashton had never meant anything more when he said he would give up everything to have Luke back.

-

For most of the day Ashton lay quiet in bed while Calum and Michael stayed with him in his hotel room, not saying much to him as they stood around. They wanted to give him some peace and only talked when Ashton would talk to them first. And when they needed to make a call, they would exit the room and do that outside. At least one of them stayed with Ashton throughout the entire day. They wanted to make sure that if Ashton were have another breakdown, they would be there for him right at that moment.

It was already two in the afternoon. The next show was in a couple of hours, but it was painfully obvious--even to Ashton--that he wasn't emotionally stable to perform.

However, Ashton didn't want to cancel tonight's show. The tour was only starting and he would feel too bad if he had to disappoint thousands of his fans just because he couldn't keep himself from crying over Luke. It probably wasn't a good idea, but Ashton did not want to let down so many people just because one person was affecting his mood (even if that one person was the one person he loved).

Sniffling, Ashton looked at the photo strip that was now lying face down. The pictures made him happy, but it also pained him to look at them. They were a reminder about how amazing of a guy Luke was, but they were also a reminder of how that amazing guy wasn't here with him.

He turned himself around until he was now facing Michael whose green eyes were watching him with worry. With his arm stretched out, Ashton opened and closed his hand at Michael, wanting him to come closer to him.

Michael did, sitting down on the edge of the bed and placing his hand into Ashton's. His thumb rubbed circles against the back of Ashton's hand in an attempt to soothe him in some way.

After a moment of silence, Ashton quietly asked, "Can you and Calum hold me?"

"Of course," Michael answered, glancing over at Calum who nodded and walked over to the bed. The couple were now on opposite sides of Ashton, Michael in front while Calum was behind. Ashton used Calum's arm as a pillow while Michael wrapped his arms around Ashton, Calum draping his other arm over the two.

"Do you think I'll ever see Luke again?" Ashton mumbled. "It's been months since I last talked to him."

"I'm sure you'll see Luke again," Calum said. "He loves you. He'll find his way back to you."

Ashton wanted to believe Calum, but a majority of him kept thinking that Calum was only causing him to have wishful thinking--bringing up false hope only for Ashton to be utterly disappointed and even more sad.

"I agree with Calum," Michael said. "I know it's been so long, but this is Luke we're talking about. You know more than anyone how much he loves you. He won't just completely disappear from your life and pretend that you two didn't even know each other."

"The last thing Luke told me at the airport was that he'd see me soon," Ashton said, "but I don't know how much longer I can wait before I completely go insane."

"Whatever happens, Calum and I are here for you. We will try our very best to make sure you're okay."

Ashton merely nodded. "Okay."

"Is there anything else you want to talk about?"

The singer shook his head.

"Actually, can I tell you somethin'?" Calum spoke up, causing Ashton to glance back at him. "I probably should've asked sooner, but I wrote a song for you to sing tonight."

"A song?" Ashton raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Yeah. It's sorta based off of you and Luke, not entirely. Do you want to briefly go through it? If you like it enough, Michael can add it to the set list for the rest of the tour."

"Gee, Calum, you couldn't have introduced us to the song before the tour actually started?" Michael said, laughing a little.

Calum grimaced. "I just recently finished it." He turned his attention back to Ashton. "I can go get my guitar and show you how the song goes."

Ashton thought for a moment before he agreed, Calum slipping out of the bed and leaving the hotel room to fetch his guitar. Ashton and Michael just cuddled with each other as they waited for Calum's return.

To say the least, by the time Calum returned and played the entire song to Ashton, the singer really liked the song and was debating whether he wanted to perform it for the rest of the tour. However, because Calum wrote the song, Ashton had suggested that they did a duet together, so they started to assign parts of the song to one another.

While the two were going over the song, Michael had to leave for a bit because he received a call where he had to go somewhere that was planned at the last minute. It was frustrating to him when things like that happened, but he still went and wished Ashton and Calum the best of luck with the song.

Three hours had gone by and Ashton and Calum had felt more than ready to perform the song tonight. Ashton managed to get the tune down and managed to remember the lyrics to the song. He almost told Calum that they didn't have to do the duet anymore, but he wanted to give it a shot. It would be fun singing with one of his friends.

Calum really hoped that the crowd would like the song, while Ashton was confident that they would. It was a beautiful song, and even though it did remind him of Luke, it made the song more special to him. He couldn't wait to perform it tonight for the fans to hear.

-

"You sure you're okay?" Michael asked, placing his hands over Ashton's cheeks after adjusting the singer's in-ear monitors and handing Ashton the microphone. There were still two minutes left before Ashton had to get onto stage and perform for his second concert of the tour. Right now the two were currently in the back dealing with some last minute talking before the show started. "You're totally fine right now, right?"

"Yes, I'm okay," Ashton said as he smiled, reaching for Michael's wrists and moving his hands away. "I'll be all right. I can make it through this."

"If anything bad happens, I'm going to drag you off the stage and tell your fans that the show cannot go on. Your fans may be disappointed, but hopefully they will understand."

"Thanks, Mikey."

"Ashton." Ashton glanced over to see Calum walk up towards them. "When do you want to sing the song?"

"Well, Michael said I should replace the last song with yours," Ashton said.

Calum gave him a thumbs up. "I'll have my guitar ready by then. I gotta go somewhere real quick. Good luck with tonight's show." He placed his hand on Michael's shoulder, making Michael look up at him. "I'll see you later, babe."

Michael smiled and then Calum leaned down, giving him a quick kiss on the lips before leaving.

Taking out his phone, Michael looked at the time and then said to Ashton, "Okay, it's almost time for you to go. Come on, get into place. This will be your best show yet."

Ashton just shook his head. "I've still got hundreds more to go. This will be one of my best, but I can't promise it will be the best."

"Good. Best of luck to you, and have fun."

The singer gave Michael a hug. "Thanks. I'll see you after the show." He drew away and then rushed off to where he needed to be. He took in a deep breath before letting it out, calming his racing heart. He was never going to get used to the pre-show feeling he'd always get.

While the music was playing, Ashton was mentally preparing himself for the concert. He kept repeating to himself in his head how tonight he was going to do great and that he was going to make it an unforgettable show for him and his fans.

Finally he ran out onto the stage, cheering filling the whole stadium. Ashton brought the microphone close to his lips and yelled out, "How're you all doin' tonight, Manchester?"

As usual, the response he got was more screaming. His smile grew wider than it had been before.

"Let's get this show finally started." Ashton glanced back at the people playing the instruments as the time for Ashton to start singing End Up Here was drawing near.

For the rest of the concert Ashton had managed his best to focus on tonight's show and only tonight's show. For the most part he was actually having fun singing the songs on the tour set list and sometimes he'd stop singing to hear the crowd singing as well. It nearly brought tears to his eyes. Hearing the many beautiful voices with his own ears was so moving for him.

Sometimes when he listened to the singing of the audience, Ashton would take out his in-ears, close his eyes and just breathe. Whatever stress he felt was relieved at those moments, and it was all thanks to his fans.

The night went on and he had finished up the second to last song on the set list. While the whole arena was cheering loudly, Ashton went closer to the edge of the stage and waited for the noise to die down a little more.

"Thank you for being a wonderful crowd, Manchester," Ashton said into his microphone as thousands of fans screamed with excitement. "Now, I've actually have something new for you guys. Well, I do along with another friend of mine. First, let me invite that one friend out. Calum Hood, everybody!"

The audience grew wild as Calum walked out onto the stage with a guitar hanging off his shoulder from the strap. He took a seat down on one of the steps behind Ashton while Ashton remained where he was standing, smiling at his friend who was readjusting his guitar.

"Hello," Calum said into the earset microphone by his face. "I'm Calum. I'm kinda like Ashton but a lot cooler."

"Keep dreaming, Hood," Ashton said with a laugh. He turned back to the audience and continued, "Anyway, Calum wrote a song, and tonight you guys will be the first to hear it."

At that moment Ashton was pretty sure the screaming he heard was the loudest he had ever experienced.

"Unfortunately," Calum said, "Ashton won't be singing Beside You, but you guys get somethin' new, so I guess it's a pretty good exchange."

"Well, yeah, but I'm positive you guys will like this song. I like it and I wish I had the honor of writing it with Calum, but I've the honor to perform a duet with him instead. Anyway, this song--composed and written by Calum Hood himself--is called Wherever You Are."

While the fans were cheering with joy, Calum started to strum at the guitar, the stadium soon becoming quieter as the music went on. Ashton gave Calum a quick glance before turning his eyes back to the audience. Then Calum started to sing.

"For a while we pretended that we never had to end it, but we knew we'd have to say goodbye..."

Ashton closed his eyes to listen to the lyrics of the song. Luke's face popped up in his mind and he felt his heart clench, but he willed himself to not cry thinking about him. He didn't want to cry now while so many people were watching him perform. He could wait until after the show.

As Calum was finishing up the first verse of the song, Ashton wrapped his fingers around the microphone and then started singing, keeping his eyes shut so he could see nothing but the image of Luke in his head.

"Torn in two, and I know I shouldn't tell you but I just can't stop thinking of you--" The crowd had gotten louder at that point, making Ashton's smile grow "--wherever you are..."

He continued to sing the chorus and the screaming of the fans hadn't gone away yet. They must have really liked the song, and they were just only in the chorus.

"Every night I almost call you," Ashton continued on, "just to say it always will be you, wherever you a--"

He felt something go around his waist and that caused him to gasp loudly into the microphone, eyes opening and staring straight into the sea of the crowd. The next thing that happened was something hooking onto his left shoulder--it felt like someone's chin.

It couldn't have been Calum, because the guitar was still playing, and it obviously wasn't Michael because he'd never go out onto stage just to hug Ashton while he was performing. He couldn't think of anyone else who would be holding him right now, except...

Ashton was supposed to be singing the next verse, but he was too in shock to even continue. However, Calum, obviously knowing what was happening more than Ashton did, continued on with the song while the singer remained speechless. And judging from how Calum sounded while he was singing, it seemed like he was smiling.

The person behind pulled out the in-ear monitor from Ashton's left side before bringing their face close to his ear and saying, "You sound beautiful."

"I'm dreaming," Ashton said, forgetting that the microphone was still close to his face. He lowered the equipment to his side, his free hand going over his face as his heart began to beat hard. He felt the tears already forming at his eyes. He had to be dreaming right now. "I-I'm asleep right now. This isn't real."

"Turn around, princess. This is definitely real."

Ashton couldn't. This couldn't have been reality, but it also felt too real to be a dream. From complete shock, Ashton had lost his grip onto the microphone, the item falling to the ground and causing a loud thud sound to fill the arena. The show didn't stop, but Ashton felt like his heart might.

Instead, he now had both his hands over his face. He was trying his hardest to not cry. He didn't want to right now. He had a show to finish, but no matter what he did he couldn't stop himself when the person finally let go of him and stepped in front of him.

Ashton ignored everything else around him as his hazel eyes gazed upwards, and there were blue eyes looking back at him. The blue eyes he had wanted to see for so long were now before him.

"L-Luke?" Ashton whimpered, his hands slowly withdrawing from his face as the tears now started to run down his face. He looked over at Luke to take in his appearance. There was a beanie covering most of his hair except for a part of it that looked more brown now. His lip ring no longer sat at his bottom lip and he was wearing a red flannel over his black shirt and skinny jeans ripped at the knees along with completely black Converses covering his feet. There was stubble growing on his face, and--wow, Luke looked really different (in a good way) compared to the last time Ashton had seen him.

Luke placed his hands over Ashton's cheeks, his thumbs brushing away the fallen droplets. He smiled and said, "Princess."

A choked sob escaped from Ashton's throat and then he immediately threw his arms around Luke's neck, pulling him into a tight embrace as he let himself cry into his shoulder. He felt Luke's arms encircle him and hug him just as tight.

"Oh, my God," Ashton mumbled to himself. "Y-You're really here. This is real."

His ears decided to pick up the loud noise that was coming from the crowd who were shouting loudly and Calum who was nearing the end of the song. He hadn't wanted to cry during his concert, but right now he couldn't help himself. But at least the tears he was having right now were not from sadness, but from extreme happiness. Because Luke, his one and only, was finally here with him--in his arms. And he was finally in Luke's arms, where he felt loved and protected.

"... Every night I almost call you, just to say it always will be you wherever you are," Calum sang as he played the last chords on his guitar.

Ashton felt Luke pull away slightly, but he was reluctant to let Luke move. He wanted to stay in the position they were in a little longer.

However, Ashton felt someone place their hand on his shoulder, causing him to turn his head and see Calum looking at him, his eyes also watering as a smile was plastered on his face.

"Best show ever, huh?" Calum said.

Ashton sniffled and nodded his head before his arms fell to his side, Luke following suit. Ashton wiped at his eyes with the back of his hand and Luke moved to Ashton's side, lacing their fingers together as the two and Calum were now facing the crowd.

After Ashton had managed to dry his eyes a little more, he let his hand hold Calum's. He then noticed that Michael was also on stage, standing on the other side of Calum with their hands holding one another.

All four of the guys looked right into the crowd before raising their hands up and taking a bow. Calum yelled out into his earset to tell the audience to have a good rest of the evening. Luke knelt down to the ground and picked up the microphone Ashton had dropped earlier, handing it over to the singer.

Ashton took the microphone, smiled at Luke before looking back at the crowd and saying, "Thank you, Manchester! And good night!"

Before he could start walking, he felt arms go under his legs and behind his back and pick him up off the ground, causing him to squeal as his arms immediately went around Luke's neck. He found himself looking into Luke's eyes and then laughing when Luke smiled widely at him, carrying him off stage bridal style.

Luke didn't even put Ashton down right away once they were backstage. The crew members in the back clapped once they appeared, congratulating Ashton on the show he had tonight along with the reunion with Luke.

Ashton squirmed around a bit, indicating he had wanted to be put down, so Luke did just that. He once again wiped at his eyes as he thanked everyone for helping put together the show. After the small celebration, everyone was scrambling around to clean up and call it a night.

The singer turned around to look at Luke, seeing that he had removed the beanie to adjust his externals. Once Luke finished, he placed it back over his head and turned his eyes over to Ashton.

"Princess," Luke said, his eyes close to forming tears, "you were amazing tonight."

Blushing, Ashton gazed down at the ground and said, "Thank you."

Luke wrapped his arms around Ashton again, one of his hands resting on the back of Ashton's head as his fingers combed through his long hair. "I told you I'd see you again, didn't I?"

"I missed you, you jerk." Ashton hugged Luke back. "Where were you these last few months? Do you know how close to hell my life was like without you?"

"I'm sorry, princess. I made you wait too long for me and that is a good enough reason for you to punch me."

Ashton didn't hesitate to pull away and punch Luke right in the arm, causing Luke to wince and laugh a little. "You definitely deserve more where that came from," Ashton said with a huff.

"I'm not going to disagree." He rubbed at the spot where Ashton hit him. "Wow, you got stronger. Have you been working out?"

"I think you just got weaker, because the only time I ever worked out was when I was forced to back when I was still in school. Why, do you want to get punched some more?"

"I think I'm good for now." He let his hand fall to his side. "May I--"

The singer didn't let Luke finish as he immediately squished Luke's face and pulled him down for a kiss. After two seconds Ashton drew away to see Luke's eyes completely wide from shock.

Ashton smiled. "After so many months, I finally get to kiss you again."

"Th-That was completely unexpected," Luke said, clearing his throat, "but I liked it, nevertheless. A warning would've been nice though."

"Right, because you like to be in charge. Now give me a kiss, you idiot." Ashton moved his hands to Luke's shoulders and leaned up to kiss him, Luke leaned towards Ashton as well as he placed his hands on the singer's waist.

While the two were kissing, they heard Michael speak behind them, "Finally, the lovebirds are reunited after forever."

Luke and Ashton didn't break away from the kiss.

"Seriously? You're going to pretend that I'm not here?"

They continued to completely ignored Michael and letting their lips move against each other.

Michael scoffed. "Jeez, you can't wait to eat each other after you get back to the hotel, can you? I bring Luke here and you repay me by ignoring me to make out with your boyfriend?"

Ashton pulled away, gave Luke a quick kiss to the cheek before turning to look at Michael. "You were the one that found Luke? When?" he asked.

"Well, on my way to the stupid meeting today, I ran into him. He was walking with..." Michael tilted his head to the side before glancing at Luke. "Crap, I forgot. Which one were you with again?"

"'Which one'?" Now Ashton was confused. He looked at Luke.

"Ben," Luke said before looking down at Ashton. "He's my older brother."

"Oh." Ashton nodded. Then he just realized what he said. "Wait, you found your family?!"

Luke grinned. "Yeah. How I found them was pretty weird, too. I took a small break from searching for my family and went to buy food one day, but before I could order food the cashier was like, 'Oh, you forgot your drink!' and then handed some soda to me. I tried to explain to him that I never ordered anything, let alone a drink. Turns out he mistook me for my other brother Jack who was just about to walk out of the place with my dad."

"Wow." Ashton shook his head, laughing. "That is pretty weird."

"Mhm. Jack is still back in London though, but Ben lives in Liverpool with his wife. Right now he's on some business trip here in Manchester and I decided to give him a surprise visit, thanks to Jack for telling me where he'd be and what he looks like. Oh, and I also found out that Ben apparently doesn't like surprises, because the first thing he did when he saw me and I told him who I was was smack me upside the head for not notifying him sooner and for finally seeing him many, many years later. But in the end he did get teary eyed and nearly hugged the living daylights out of me."

"Your brother doesn't like surprises?" Michael asked. "That's a shame. Surprises are the best."

"Boo!"

"AH!" Michael screamed as he jumped away. He then glared at Calum who had now joined the group and was laughing hysterically. "Why would you do that?!" he screamed at him.

"Didn't you just say that surprises are the best?" Calum reminded. 

"That was more than a surprise! That was a jumpscare!"

Ashton just giggled as Michael continued to scold Calum for scaring him like that. Then he turned his attention to Luke whose hands were on his processors while his face was showing that he was grimacing.

The singer's smile fell as he asked, "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Luke said, his hands falling to his side. "Sorry, for some reason Michael's screaming was just loud enough for these things to pick up some unwanted feedback. It rarely happens though, so don't worry about it."

"My poor baby." Ashton pouted as he placed his hands on Luke's cheeks, bringing his face closer to Luke's to give him a kiss on the lips. "Better?"

"My ears hurt, princess, not my lips. But yes, I'm better."

"Babe, I'm sorry," Calum said, causing Luke and Ashton to glance over at the couple. Michael had his back to Calum, arms crossed over his chest. He was obviously sulking. "Come on, look at me, please?"

"I'm mad at you, don't talk to me," Michael huffed.

"Please?" Calum used his arms to pull Michael towards him, the shorter boy squirming around to get out of Calum's hold.

"Calum, let go of me! Let go--No! Stop! That tickles!" Michael broke out into laughs when Calum let his fingers continuously brush against his sides. Michael was moving around even more, trying to get away from the tickling. "Stop it! Okay, okay! I forgive you! Just st-stop!"

"Yay!" Calum had stopped tickling Michael and planted a kiss on top of his head.

"I still hate you," Michael mumbled.

"I love you, too, babe." Calum grinned.

"They're too cute," Luke commented, Ashton nodding in agreement.

"But we're cuter," Ashton added with a smile. He wrapped his arms around Luke and rested his head on his shoulder, closing his eyes and just being content with life right now. Everything was so much better now that Luke was here with him.

"We should probably go back to the hotel," Michael said, ignoring Calum who was trying to get his boyfriend's attention by pretending to eat his hair. "It's getting pretty late and we have to leave at ten in the morning to go to Sheffield."

Ashton pouted, hugging Luke tighter. "Is Luke coming with us?" He glanced up at his boyfriend. "Are you coming with us? Please say yes. Please?"

"Princess," Luke said, sighing a bit, "why don't we talk more back at the hotel? I'll at least go with you there, okay?"

"So you're not coming with us?" Ashton could feel his heart break a bit. He was finally reunited with Luke, but tomorrow he leaves and there was a possibility that he was going to be separated from Luke again.

"Come on, let's go," Luke said, placing his arm over Ashton's shoulder and keeping him close to him while Michael and Calum walked ahead of them. "There's somethin' I want to tell you in private before I answer your question. Is that okay?"

Frowning at the ground, Ashton just nodded, leaning his head against Luke the entire time. He felt his boyfriend place a gentle kiss to the top of his head and then they continued to walk out to go to the car and head back to the hotel.

-

By the time they reached the hotel, the two couples went their separate ways, Michael and Calum going to their own hotel room while Luke and Ashton went to Ashton's. The first thing Ashton did was kick off his shoes and walk over to the bed and sit down, grabbing the blanket and wrapping himself in it.

Luke took a seat next to Ashton, reaching for his hand and lacing their fingers together. He brought Ashton's hand up to his lips, leaving a long kiss to the back of it.

"So what is this something you want to tell me?" Ashton finally said after a while.

Drawing Ashton's hand away from his lips, Luke opened his mouth to speak. "To be honest," he began, "I knew you were here in Manchester. I mean, I always knew. I remembered from the meeting a couple months back. I knew you were staying here for a while, but... I didn't come for you immediately. I waited before doing anything."

Ashton frowned, his eyes now looking at his feet. "Why didn't you come to me right away?"

"Because there was something I planned to do. I didn't know how to come across it, but I decided that I want to do this between you and me."

Confused, the singer furrowed his eyebrows. He asked hesitantly. "Where is this going?"

This time, Luke took both of Ashton's hands into his, clasping them together and bringing them close to him. Ashton was now looking at Luke with wide eyes.

"Luke," he said, "what are you doing?"

"Princess, the moment we met I was not expecting to fall for you," Luke said. "In fact, I was pretty sure that after saving you the first day I would have nothing more to do with you. I just wanted to make sure you got back safely and that was it, but instead I was offered to become your bodyguard. If it weren't for Michael agreeing to give me a plane ticket to London in exchange to protect you I wouldn't have even bothered with you at all. But in the end, choosing to become your bodyguard was probably one of the best decisions I've ever made.

"If I hadn't become your bodyguard, I wouldn't have got to see you for who you are. Yes, my first impression of you was that you were haughty and annoying, and I only put up with you just so I could find my family. But after spending some time with you I found you more adorable than before and being with you made me happy, and we hadn't even known each other that long. Time seemed to have slowed down while I was with you.

"You, princess, have been the best thing to have ever come into my life. After being alone in the dark for so long, you became my light and led me out of the dark and into your arms. I know I protected you most of the time, but when I'm with you I myself feel safe. Wherever you are is where I want to be.

"And I know I haven't been the best person to you--I left you to find my family that I had a small possibility of finding and made you wait for me all this time and didn't even try to talk to you. I made you cry, and what I did to you these past few months is not okay; I have no excusable reason for my action, but I don't want to make you sad anymore." Luke brushed Ashton's hair from out of his eyes. "I want to make you the happiest man alive."

"Luke..." Ashton couldn't help the small smile forming on his face. His heart began to pound harder when Luke stood up from the bed, standing in front of Ashton and kneeling in front of him.

"A part of me wanted to do this back at your show," Luke began, "but I don't want to make you too embarrassed in front of thousands of people. Plus, it could be a bit pressuring to do it in front of people and I want you to give me your honest answer when I say this to you."

"Oh, my God..." Ashton covered his mouth with one of his hands, feeling tears developing at his eyes. His heart was beating faster than before while Luke reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black box.

"Ashton Irwin," Luke continued on, "I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to always be there for you to support you and protect you from anything and everything in this world. I don't ever want to hurt you like how I did ever again. You are my beautiful princess, my world, my sunshine, my everything. I love you and the only way my feelings will change is by me becoming even more in love with you, because my love for you is never going to stop growing.

"So, princess Ashton Irwin, will you--" Luke opened the small box to reveal a gold band ring with a small gem on top of it "--do me the highest honor that would ever be established upon me by becoming my husband and marrying me?"

Ashton was left speechless. He hadn't expected Luke to surprise him at his concert, and he most certainly didn't expect Luke to propose to him either. When he finally got to see Luke for the first time in a long time (at his concert where thousands of people were watching and at least a couple of hundreds were recording so the memory will forever live on) was already an unforgettable memory, but today will forever be the best day of his life.

"Yes," Ashton answered, nodding his head as his smile was the biggest it had ever been. "Yes, Luke!" He leaped off the bed and threw his arms around Luke, embracing him for what felt like the millionth time that night. "I will marry you." He then pressed a kiss to Luke's lips, drew away and sighed happily.

Luke picked the ring out of its box, took Ashton's left hand and proceeded to slip the item onto Ashton's ring finger. It fit perfectly.

"I didn't know your ring size, so assuming your fans knew everything about you I googled it and trusted them," Luke said, chuckling. "I can't believe how right they are."

Ashton laughed, bringing his hand close to his face so he could admire the piece of jewelry. "You know, I'm glad you asked me in private instead of doing it back at my show. I mean, you already stole some of my spotlight by showing up onto stage during my show."

"Hey, what about Calum? He sang most of the song because you were too emotional to do so."

Ashton's jaw dropped. "Because of you, you idiot!"

Luke shrugged. "Well, you're not wrong." He stood up and pulled Ashton up with him. "It's gettin' late. Do you want to sleep?"

"Maybe. Wait, Luke." Ashton grabbed Luke's wrist before the both of them to go back onto the bed. "Will you... Are you going back to your family after tonight? Or are you coming with me to Sheffield?"

A soft smile was on Luke's face as he cupped Ashton's cheeks and gave him a kiss to the nose. When he pulled away he answered, "I'll be with you for the rest of your tour and every day after that. I mean, how can I perform my duty as your bodyguard if I'm not with you?"

"But you're not my bodyguard anymore," Ashton said, giving Luke a confused look.

"Actually, I am. I asked Michael if I can be your bodyguard again, and he was more than willing to let me. Now, you need to go get ready for bed so you can sleep and have enough energy for tomorrow."

A smile crept onto Ashton's face as he nodded eagerly, moving to the bed on his own. He dug through his luggage for something comfier to wear to bed, but frowned when seeing that he had shoved all his comfy clothes in the dirty clothes pile. He just sighed and turned himself around, seeing that Luke was in the middle of removing his shirt

Blush coated Ashton's cheeks while Luke tossed most of his clothes to the side and was about to unbutton his jeans before his blue eyes caught sight of Ashton staring at him. He grinned and said, "Enjoying the show?"

Ashton immediately averted his eyes. However, Luke climbed onto the bed and tugged at Ashton's sleeve, making the older man look over at him before quickly turning away again.

"Don't you have some nightly thinking to do?" Luke said.

"W-Well, I can just skip it tonight," Ashton mumbled.

Luke raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

"Or... do you think we can just talk to each other."

"Sure. Let's go brush our teeth and--Oh, crap. I left my toothbrush with my brother."

"Oh." Ashton pouted, knowing Luke would have to leave for a bit. He asked, "Where is your brother?"

"Well, there's something I forgot to mention... But my brother is actually staying here in this hotel right now."

Ashton's eyes widened. "Really?!"

Luke nodded. "That's how I knew you were staying here. Apparently my brother had seen you around the hotel before, recognized you, and told me about it. Not only that, but he's staying on the same floor, too. Coincidence, right?"

"How come I never saw you around?"

The younger of the two shrugged. "Bad timing I guess? He even told me how he was in the elevator with you last night."

Ashton remembered that. It was when he was tired and wanted to go sleep. He was now really surprised that the guy he had bumped into was actually Luke's brother.

Sticking his bottom lip out, Ashton looked down at the bed. "Wow, you were a lot closer to me than I thought."

"I'm sorry, but you have every right to be mad at me for not going to you first. On the bright side, we're together now, and that's all that matters." Luke pulled Ashton into a hug and kissed his head. "Don't worry, princess. I'm not going anywhere else but wherever you are. I'm staying with you."

Ashton smiled, patting Luke's hand and leaning towards him. "That better stay that way."

"Okay, well I'm going to be right back. You better be ready to go sleep by the time I come back. I won't be long. Got it, princess?"

Nodding his head, Ashton watched as Luke gave him one last kiss before leaving the hotel room. He did wish that Luke at least wore a shirt before leaving, but he supposed it was better than him walking around pretty much naked. Plus, where his brother was wasn't too far away from Ashton's room, so, like Luke said, he wouldn't be out for long.

Ashton went over to the bathroom and proceeded to brush his teeth and wash his face. By the time he was in the middle of washing his face, Luke had returned and walked over to the bathroom, stepping behind Ashton and placing his hands on his fiancé's waist.

Luke ran his fingers through Ashton's hair before commenting, "Your hair's really long."

"I know," Ashton said. "I don't feel like cutting it, but I'll eventually do it."

"I like your long hair. You look good. Well, you look good in anything. Especially food."

Ashton turned himself around and smacked Luke's side. "Stop bringing that up, you asshole."

"But it's true. My beautiful princess is perfect wearing everything."

"I can't disagree with that." Ashton grabbed a towel and used it to dry his face. Then he swung it at Luke and said, "Now you have to get ready. I'll be in bed waiting for you." He blew a kiss and then walked out of the bathroom.

Once Ashton got onto the bed he started to undo his jeans, pulling them down his legs and throwing them somewhere onto the ground. He then began to take off the rest of his clothes until he was in boxers. He then took the blanket, threw it over himself and lay down on the bed where he would wait for Luke to finish.

Luke went over to the bed a few minutes later, sitting down and taking off his jeans. He reached for the blanket and was about to cover himself with it but stopped when he saw Ashton. "Whoa," he said. "Even when you're not really wearing anything you're beautiful."

"D-Don't stare," Ashton said, curling up more into a ball. "It's embarrassing."

"Sorry, sorry." Luke covered Ashton with the blanket and scooted closer to him, the latter boy doing the same.

Now Ashton was snuggled up against Luke while Luke was sitting upright, his fingers combing through Ashton's hair.

"Luke, why don't you lie down with me?" Ashton asked, looking up at Luke's face. "I want to cuddle you."

"I can't," Luke answered. "I have to take out my externals if I want to lie down. And if I do that, then I won't be able to hear you."

"Oh."

"Before we sleep, Is there anything you want to say to me?"

"Yes." Ashton sat up and then crawled onto Luke's lap, straddling his thighs. He positioned his hands on Luke's shoulders and said, "I love you, Luke Hemmings."

Luke smiled. "And I love you, Ashton Hemmings."

"Hey, as much as I don't like my last name, my last name is not Hemmings."

"You don't like your last name? But it's so adorable."

"No, it isn't." Ashton shook his head. "But I'm still Irwin."

"Oh, but not for long. You'll then be my beautiful princess Ashton Hemmings."

Ashton giggled a bit. "I don't think I'll get used to that name change."

"I mean, you could always stick with Irwin. I could change my last name to Irwin, but frankly I like Hemmings more."

"Don't change your last name to Irwin. You'll regret it."

Luke pouted. "But it's your last name."

"No. After we marry, we'll be Hemmings. No Irwin. Forget Irwin. Hemmings all the way."

"You're so adorable." Luke lightly pinched Ashton's cheek, earning a smack to the hand from that. "Is that all you want to talk about?"

Biting his bottom lip, Ashton let his eyes look in between them. "Actually, there's one last thing I want to do before we go to sleep." He then started to slowly move off of Luke's lap.

Tilting his head to the side, Luke asked, "What's that?"

Ashton then completely submerged himself under the blanket.

******

"Oh, f-fuck," Luke swore when Ashton started to rub at his bulge through his boxer shorts. "Pr-Princess, a-a warning next time? Sh-Shit..."

Ashton tugged down Luke's boxer shorts and wrapped his hand around the base of his length, licking at the end of the growing erection. His mouth then covered the tip and he proceeded to let his saliva keep the tip wet.

Luke let out a moan he had tried to suppress when Ashton started to take more of him in, nearly making it to the bottom before he let his lips slide up and down Luke's cock.

"So good," Luke groaned, his hand finding its way back to Ashton's hair. "You're so good, princess."

Ashton's mouth came off Luke's erection, but he continued to lick up the underside of it. Then with the hand that was wrapped around Luke he continued to give him a few pumps.

Luke managed to push the blanket off of Ashton, seeing the pretty sight of his fiancé jerking him off with his mouth over the tip, like he was getting himself ready to taste Luke's cum.

"Fuck, you're so beautiful," Luke panted. His eyes squeezed shut as he felt his body approach the state of sexual euphoria, causing his breathing to become more uneven. "Ah, k-keep goin'. Almost th-there."

Ashton began to speed up, his tongue lapping at Luke's tip now. His hazel eyes gazed up at Luke, seeing that his lips were partly open and his head was tilted back. His nose was scrunched up a bit and suddenly Luke let out a gasp, Ashton feeling warm liquid hit his face before he put his lips over Luke's cock.

Cum was dripping down his cheek, his hand, and filling up his mouth. It was salty, but not as bad as he had thought it would taste (to be fair, it had been months). He went to sit upright, eyes locked onto Luke whose eyes were opening to meet Ashton's.

Luke noticed all the fluid he had got onto Ashton, but he especially noticed how Ashton's cheeks looked full, like he was holding something in his mouth.

"Princess, are--are you really gonna swallow all that?" Luke asked. "I feel like a lot came out."

Ashton gulped.

Luke blinked. "Oh, my God. You actually swallowed."

The older of the two looked down at his hand that was also covered in cum. With the dry spots on his hands, he wiped at his face before licking the remains off slowly his hands while making eye contact with Luke who was now biting his bottom lip.

"M-Maybe you should go wash up again," Luke said, gently nudging Ashton. "I, uh, I need to do the same."

"Or," the singer began, "I can just suck you off again until you're clean."

"You've done enough for one night, but I appreciate the suggestion. Let's go clean up."

"You liked it." Ashton winked.

Luke's cheeks turned bright pink. "O-Okay, I did. I'm not going to lie about that, but we really do need to go sleep."

"You can pay me back in the morning if you want, you know."

"Ashton." The younger man pointed towards the bathroom door. "Clean up. Now."

Ashton frowned before letting out a sigh and making his way to the restroom. By the time he got to the bathroom, he began to close the door behind him. However, it swung back open and Luke followed after him.

Caught by surprise, Ashton watched with surprise as Luke backed him up against the sink. His hands were resting upon the top of the counter while Luke's were on either side of him, keeping him in between Luke and the sink.

"We don't have to wait 'til morning," Luke said. "We can just do it right here, right now and then clean up and get ready for bed. Does that sound like a better idea?"

Ashton's eyes widened as he felt Luke's hands move to his waist, tugging him closer to him. Then he just grinned, placing his hand on Luke's chest and pushing him away.

"I'll think about it," he said, fluttering his lashes. "I still would like to do it tomorrow as well."

"You're such a tease." Luke pulled at his bottom lip with his top teeth. "Just say you want me and I'm yours."

"Oh, you're already mine, Hemmings. But yes, I do want you." He moved his hand to the back of Luke's neck, drawing him closer so their lips were only an inch apart.

"I'll make you feel so good, princess." Luke quickly gave Ashton a kiss, the latter boy giggling softly. "Now, do me a favor and turn your beautiful self around."

Ashton did as told, feeling Luke's once-again-hard erection against his bum as he was pressed more into the counter.

"I'm going to take out my processors now, okay?" Luke said. "I don't want to give them the chance to fall off while I make love to you."

"I want you to hear me," Ashton said. "Can't you wear your beanie?"

"I could, but it'll get pretty steamy in here and there's a possibility that I could damage them. And I don't have anything to protect them with. But--" Luke leaned in close to Ashton's ear "--maybe if we recorded this, I would be able to hear your beautiful voice afterwards."

"No, that's too much." Ashton placed his hand over Luke's face, shoving him away while the younger man laughed. "I'm not going to do that."

Luke shrugged. "Suit yourself. Now, princess, obviously I won't be able to hear you, so if you ever want me to stop, pinch my arm as hard as you can. Okay?"

Ashton nodded. "Okay."

Luke proceeded to switch off the externals and take them out, placing them on top of a towel that was left on the counter. Then he wrapped his right arm around Ashton, his hand on the singer's chest while his other slid down touching the material of Ashton's boxer shorts before massaging at his bulge.

"O-Oh!" Ashton gasped aloud, tilting his head back while Luke continued to touch him. He could feel the heat rush down to his lower region, Luke's hand giving him a good few squeezes that made Ashton's stomach do many flips. His breathing became uneven and his eyes closed as his mind focused on Luke and his hand.

He noticed that Luke's other hand was brought closer to his face, fingers touching his lips. Ashton then heard Luke order him to 'suck on his fingers' to which Ashton parted his lips as he felt three digits entering his mouth.

Ashton was finding it very hard to suck on Luke's fingers at the same time Luke was rubbing at his hard-on. He had to stop every once in a while, because a certain movement Luke did would make him moan in arousal and nearly forget about the fingers Luke told him to coat with his saliva.

When Luke dipped his hand into Ashton's boxers, the latter man whimpered as Luke wrapped his hand around him, moving his hand in an up-down motion and running his thumb every once in a while over the tip that was secreting precum.

One hand of Ashton's was holding onto Luke's wrist while the other was gripping tightly to the edge of the counter as he  moaned out his fiancé's name louder than he had wanted to. The sensation he was experiencing was an indescribable feeling; suppressing his moans were impossible.

Ashton felt Luke take his fingers out of his mouth while also struggling to pull the shorter man's boxers down. Groaning in annoyance, Luke ordered, "Take off, bend over."

Ashton proceeded to slip his boxer shorts down and began to lean forward a bit as he felt Luke's hand being placed on his back, keeping him from getting up.

His stomach was now against the counter while his hands were on either side of him. He could feel his hard-on throbbing and he really wanted Luke to continue touching him. However, before he could somehow get Luke's attention he felt a finger slip slowly into his entrance.

As the digit moved deeper inside him, Ashton closed his eyes and pushed himself back, taking more of Luke's finger while he was trying to get him to hit the right spot.

He could feel Luke wriggling his finger around once it was completely inside. Ashton was getting impatient and wanted Luke to stick another finger in. His erection was painful and he was desperate to touch himself.

Luke pulled out his finger from inside Ashton and then slipped it back in while also adding a second finger. Ashton winced in pain when Luke started to stretch his opening.

"L-Luke, it hurts," Ashton puled, despite Luke not being able to hear him. He reached his left hand behind him, searching for Luke's hand. When he found it, he felt Luke grab a hold of his hand, his thumb rubbing against Ashton's ring that hugged his ring finger.

"You okay?" Luke asked, causing Ashton to look into the mirror to see blue eyes staring back at him with worry in them.

Ashton nodded his head, tugging at his bottom lip with his teeth. He knew Luke was preparing him so he would feel more pleasure than pain, but right now while Luke was scissoring him it hurt. Even though it wasn't the first time the two had sex, it had been a couple of months since they did it.

Luke's two fingers were completely inside Ashton, moving in and out of the older man. Ashton tried to turn his attention away from the small pain, but then when Luke curled his fingers a certain way it caused Ashton to arch his back.

"A-Ah, Luke!" he cried out; what Luke did felt really good. He wanted more.

Luke had obviously noticed Ashton's reaction, because he just let out a small chuckle before he let his fingers brush against the spot over and over again. He began to kiss at Ashton's back soothingly before pulling his fingers out, the singer whining a bit.

"Want another, princess?" Luke said as his lips lightly touched Ashton's skin. He then stood straighter so he could see Ashton's face.

"W-Want you," Ashton panted, his half-open eyes looking at Luke's reflection. "Pl-Please, Luke."

Luke furrowed his eyebrows, showing that he was confused. It was clear that Luke hated not being able to hear what Ashton wanted.

To show Luke what he wanted, Ashton let one of his hands reach behind his body and find Luke's erection. Luke's eyes glanced down to where Ashton was touching him. When his eyes were looking into Ashton's through the mirror, the singer mouthed the best he could for Luke to be able to read his lips, "I'm ready."

Luke understood that. He nodded his head and aligned his hard-on to Ashton's opening once the singer had his hand on the sink counter again. His left hand that was still over Ashton's, so he brought Ashton's hand up to his lips, pressing a soft and gentle kiss to where the ring was.

"F-Fuck," Ashton moaned out loud when Luke started to push himself in, the younger man grunting with every thrust. Ashton whimpered when Luke started to move slowly inside him before pulling out a bit and going back in. His face twisted into an expression showing slight discomfort each time Luke repeated this action, but he didn't want Luke to stop. He actually wanted him to move faster.

It was almost like Luke read his mind, because his hips moved at a quicker pace, the friction between the two becoming more and more pleasurable for Ashton.

As Luke got deeper inside Ashton, he had managed to hit the singer's good spot again and Ashton tilted his head back and let out a choked gasp. He really wanted Luke to do that again. It felt so good.

Ashton felt Luke positioning his hands onto his hips, keeping him in place as he sped up his thrusts. He also felt Luke pressing his chest closer to Ashton and leaving kisses on his bare skin--especially near his neck, which sent chills up and down Ashton's spine.

"So pretty," he heard Luke moan as he continued his speed, maybe moving faster and hitting Ashton's prostate even more times. Ashton let one hand of his make its way behind him and into Luke's hair, tangling into the strands as he tried to catch his breath with every single thrust Luke made. He felt like he couldn't hold back.

"L-Luke, I-I can't--" His entire body--especially his boner--shivered and he knew he was about to come and his moans grew louder as he cried out in extreme pleasure when feeling his body was about to burst. He was unable to form any coherent words--he couldn't even get himself to say Luke's name as he screamed aloud when his cum poured out of his throbbing erection.

Luke immediately pulled out of Ashton, spilling his cum all over the singer's back. Hot fluid painted over Ashton's smooth skin before starting to slide downwards towards the ground. The two were panting heavily while Ashton was now resting on top of the counter, trying to even out his sporadic breathing.

Once the two had calmed down from their climax, Ashton felt Luke once again kiss at his shoulders before sucking on some spots to leave bruises on him.

Right now Ashton could barely feel his legs, but he managed to stand upright so he could turn himself around. He placed his hands on Luke's shoulders before pulling his fiancé towards him to give him a passionate kiss on the lips.

He glanced over to where Luke had put down his externals. He picked up one of them and handed them to Luke, the younger man taking it and adjusting it over his left ear.

"Next time," Ashton said once Luke had put on one processor, "use a condom, you idiot."

Luke just laughed. "Noted. Sorry, princess." He grabbed a bunch of toilet paper and did his best to wipe Ashton's back clean from his cum (and also the parts where Ashton had ejaculated all over). "In hindsight, you should've told me to use a condom before we did anything."

Ashton rolled his eyes. "Whatever. It already happened. We just need to remember next time, okay?"

"Of course, princess." Luke tapped Ashton's nose with his finger. "I wonder how pretty your voice was when we were doing it. God, I wish I could hear your moans."

"Maybe one day if you keep your externals in."

"Then I want you to ride me."

"Sure, I'll do that." Ashton grinned.

Luke chuckled. "We should go shower now. I'll help you wash up, since you're even dirtier than I am. I'll even dry your pretty hair and pretty body."

Ashton giggled, drawing circles on Luke's arm with his finger. "If you really want to. But I think I can manage."

"I really do want to."

"Then you at least have to kiss me every once in a while in the shower. Also, make sure you clean me well or else I won't blow you anymore."

Luke's jaw dropped. "That's mean."

"It is what it is." Ashton went to step into the shower, but Luke pulled him back towards him. Ashton feigned annoyance by sighing heavily, rolling his eyes for emphasis. "What now, Hemmings?"

"Your ring," Luke said. "You have to take it off. I'll put it back on your finger in the morning, okay?"

Ashton smiled, gazing down at the ring to admire it. "I still can't believe you proposed to me."

"Believe it, princess." He kissed Ashton's nose before slipping the piece of jewelry off, taking his own off his finger and placing them both on top of the counter by one of his processors. "Now, get your cute little bum into the shower so I can give you the best shower of your life."

"I don't think you can, but okay." Ashton laughed as he went into the shower and Luke removed his processor to join him afterwards.

******

Waking up the next morning, Ashton fluttered his eyes open and saw the sunlight shining into the hotel room. He stretched his arms out before flipping onto his other side to see Luke.

Except Luke wasn't there.

"Luke?" Ashton immediately shot up, eyes wide and heart pounding. He glanced around the room. There was no sign of him around.

"I didn't dream him up," Ashton said to himself. "He was really here. I swear to God, he was here!"

Remembering that Luke had proposed to him the night before, he looked down at his left hand, but saw no ring. Maybe he put it down somewhere. In the bathroom?

Ashton got out of the bed and started heading to the bathroom. He was about to open the door, but the knob had twisted itself and the door swung open, catching Ashton by surprise and making him scream.

"Fuck!" Luke swore, placing his hand over his chest. "Scared me."

Ashton couldn't help but smile now, because Luke was still here.

Luke looked like he was picking something up from the counter. Then Ashton saw that it was his externals, making Ashton realize that the reason Luke didn't answer him earlier was because he couldn't hear him.

As Luke finally put on both of his processors, he smiled at Ashton and said, "Good morning, princess--"

Ashton didn't let him finish as he instantly threw himself onto Luke, wrapping his arms around him. "God, Luke, you scared me! I woke up and you weren't in bed!"

Luke chuckled. "Sorry, princess. I went to clean up. And you were looking so peaceful, I didn't want to disturb you. Sorry, sorry."

"For a moment I thought I dreamed you up again and I got really scared, because last night was so--" His face flushed when he recalled the previous evening. He continued on, "--s-so real. I thought I was missing you so much I was confusing my dreams with reality."

"I'm sorry, princess." Luke ran his fingers through Ashton's messy hair. "Hey, look at me, princess. I'm here now, aren't I?"

Ashton glanced up to see Luke smiling down at him.

"Princess, I promise upon my life that I'm not leaving you like I did ever again."

"Th-That's a big promise you're making."

"Well--" Luke reached for another thing on the counter, holding it up for Ashton to see that it was the singer's ring "--I did propose to you, didn't I?"

Ashton just smiled as Luke took his left hand, placing the ring back on his finger. He then placed a gentle kiss to the top of Ashton's head.

"You better not leave me, you jerk," Ashton grumbled.

"I love you, too," Luke said with a laugh. When Ashton pulled away, Luke brushed his thumb against his fiancé's cheek. "Now go get ready. It's eight and we have to leave in about two hours. I'll go pack your stuff and then head back to my brother's room to get my stuff. Okay? Try not to miss me too much. I'll be back, I swear."

Ashton nodded his head, giving his fiancé (he was never going to get over the fact that Luke was now his fiancé and soon-to-be husband) a kiss before Luke walked away, Ashton stepping into the bathroom and closing the door.

He couldn't stop smiling, because yes, Luke was actually here and his dreams were now his reality but a whole lot better.

By the time he had finished cleaning up, he saw that Luke had just finished packing Ashton's stuff, only a pair of new change of clothes were lying on the bed now. Luke was now fully dressed in the clothes he wore the previous night, but he was looking at something in his hands. Ashton went to see what Luke was holding and found that he had the two booth pictures of them.

Luke laughed, "I remember this. Wow, look at our hair. It's so different compared to now."

Ashton smiled. "Yeah."

The younger man pointed at one of the pictures. "In this one, I look like I've seen the most beautiful thing in the world."

"Well, I've seen people look better," the singer joked with a shrug.

"But it's true. Because I did see the most beautiful thing in the world." Luke gazed over at Ashton. "And I can't wait to call him my husband."

That last bit made Ashton blush. He looked down at the ground, hands clasped together as his eyes were directed at the ring.

He felt Luke place his hands on his cheeks to make him look up at him. Luke leaned down and gave Ashton a kiss.

The next thing Ashton knew he was being picked up off the ground, causing him to squeak in surprise as Luke carried him over to the bed, plopping him on top of the clean clothes and letting himself hover over him.

The couple continued to make out right then and there, not caring for anything in the world. Tongues swiped together and Luke positioned himself between Ashton's legs. They drew away from the kiss for a break, gazing into each other's eyes--blue and hazel meeting.

"You're so beautiful, princess," Luke said, smiling down at Ashton. "I love you so much."

"I love you, stupid," Ashton said, giggling, giving Luke one more kiss before the two heard a loud knock at the door.

This caused the both of them to groan in annoyance, knowing that it had to have been Michael being the nagging manager he was wanting for them to be up and ready as early as possible. Luke reluctantly got off of Ashton, helping the singer stand up onto his feet.

"Now go put some clothes on," Luke said. "We've got a long day ahead of us."

"We've got an entire life ahead of us," Ashton corrected, smiling. He held onto Luke's hands. "A life together."

"Wow, are you trying to be smooth?"

"Did it work?"

Luke shrugged. "I've heard better."

Ashton playfully tapped at Luke's leg with his foot. "You're an idiot."

"You still love me." Luke nuzzled his nose against Ashton, making the singer laugh.

"Sure, whatever you say, big guy."

"Only you would know I'm big." Luke winked.

"Shut up, you."

A loud knock was heard from the door once again. Ashton was the first to pull away from Luke as he grabbed the boxer shorts on the bed. Luke then said, "I'll go tell Michael we're almost done. I just need to get my stuff and we're good to go. We've got plenty of time, anyway."

Ashton nodded and started to put his clothes on, Luke heading towards the door. However, Luke waited until Ashton had at least put on a shirt and pants before opening the door and greeting Michael with a smile on his face. Michael sounded a bit surprised when finding out that Ashton was all ready to go so early. In the end, he just told them to meet him and Calum downstairs in the hotel cafe.

Michael left and Luke closed the door, heading back over to where Ashton was now wearing a new set of clothes. He smiled. "You're beautiful, princess."

"You've said that so many times," Ashton said. "Don't you have packing to do?"

Luke nodded. "Yes, I do. Since you're done, do you want to come with? You get to meet my brother. He'll even be the first person to know about our engagement."

Ashton raised an eyebrow. "Michael didn't notice your ring?"

"If he did, he didn't say anything. Now, let's introduce my beautiful fiancé to my brother."

The singer couldn't help but smile as he grabbed the hotel room key, shoved it in his pocket and went over to Luke. The two put their shoes on before Luke opened the door, holding each other's hands and exiting the room.

At that moment, Ashton had only one thought in his mind: he was very much looking forward to spending the rest of his life with Luke Hemmings, the man who is his fiancé, his soon-to-be husband, and was (and still is) his bodyguard.

The end

-

AN: Well, I finally posted the epilogue. "JFC Max, it took you over a year, you fuq!" Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm a bad person for making you beautiful people wait for so long. And the smut wasn't as dank as I wanted it to be, haha. (Yes, I just said dank. That's been my favorite word lately, haha. Not even gonna apologize for it.)

How was this... epilogue? Can I even call it that? Seems more like chapter 31 than an epilogue. ^^; Oh well. Did you guys at least enjoy some parts of the story? :D Hopefully you all (or at least one of you) did.

Anyway, I stayed up until 2am finishing this and now it's officially over. I just want to say, thank you all so much for reading this story. (: It was a long, long journey, but this journey has finally come to an end and I'm grateful you all who've finished this crazy story.

You are all wonderful people and I hope you all have an amazing life. x I'll see you all in my other stories, if you guys choose to read them. ^^

Once again, thank you all for sticking around! Bye, everyone. x