Archive of Our Own

Calum's hand is still tucked under Luke's shirt when he tries to readjust himself in the nothingness of space he has between Ashton and Luke's sleeping forms. As a result, he bumps his shoulder into Ashton's chest and pulls Luke backward into himself by a centimeter or two, earning a growl from Ashton and a barely-there whimper from Luke who has the distant, subconscious comprehension of being moved. Calum freezes for a moment. He doesn't want to wake anyone up, he just wants to move his other arm so he can regain feeling in his fingers. Sometime between falling asleep last night and this very moment they had gone numb; his arm angled backward in an awkward position under his weight and Ashton's.

Although Calum's ninety-nine percent sure they're both still asleep, he strokes his fingers against the warm skin beside Luke's naval as an apology and mumbles "Sorry, Ash," anyway. He speaks so softly he barely hears his own words, but he thinks it's the thought that counts. The only answer he's presented with is the slow, even breathing of the other three.

They're all still in the same position they fell asleep in: Michael on his back with Luke slotted into his side and his head tucked into Michael's neck, Calum and Luke back-to-chest with Calum's fingers bent around Luke's side, and Ashton pressed so close to Calum he can feel each time he breathes out against his neck. When they first layed down Ashton had his arm over both Calum and Luke, but some time during the night Ashton had retracted his arm and it now encased Calum only.

They lay there twisted and tangled into each other, using each other as pillows. The bed is big enough for them to be spaced out a little more if they wanted to, but Calum figures that kind of defeats the purpose of sharing a bed. They like being this close. It's comfortable.

The room is a peaceful type of quiet. With the television off and the curtains drawn it feels like they've got the whole world to themselves. The only real noises coming from the ceiling fan spinning rhythmically above the bed, Michael's breathing that has a bit of a snore to it, and the faint sounds Luke makes now and then that tells Calum he's dreaming. Calum's been told numerous times he moves around when he sleeps, and it makes him wonder how Ashton puts up with sharing a bed with the three of them when he's the only one that stays relatively still and silent. Calum thinks maybe Ashton enjoys the little mannerisms he and the other two have while sleeping; maybe it reminds him he's not alone.

On his second attempt to retrieve his arm, Calum's a little more forceful and a lot less successful. He jerks his arm at the shoulder and he feels it slide against Ashton's hipbone, but stays trapped nonetheless. This time he feels Ashton's hand, which is slotted between his midsection and Luke's back, squeeze into a ball as he mumbles out, "Stop moving," in a low, warning type of tone. Calum allows his eyes to slide shut and he sighs. 

"My hand is numb," Calum whines back, pulling his hand from under Ashton with slightly more assertiveness now that he's a little more awake.

Ashton lifts his side off of the bed with an annoyed huff attached to it that makes Calum roll his eyes. "Sor-ry for wanting to keep all five of my fingers," Calum says, breaking the word in half heavily for sarcastic impact. Ashton makes another noise, definitely a sound of indifference to Calum's sarcasm, and nudges his head forward just enough to slide his lips against Calum's hairline in a way that could be a failed attempt at a headbutt or a kiss. Calum thinks it's a little bit of both and it makes him smile. He feels the bit of annoyance he had bubbling up begin to melt away. Ashton's always had that affect on him. 

A moment later, Ashton's lips are there again; bumping softly against the heated skin just under the spot where Calum's hair comes to an end, and lingering there for a moment. Calum feels the gentle press of Ashton's lips to the base of his spine and then traveling upward toward his hair again. Definitely a kiss. Ashton's mouth is soft and inviting so Calum tips his head backward a little into the touch, craving more of anything Ashton's willing to give him. It's not nearly enough and it doesn't last long enough to get either of them going, especially when they're still as tired as they are, but it does steal a little bit of Calum's air from his lungs. 

"Well don't stop now," Calum whispers, wagging his eyebrows despite the fact that Ashton can't see his face. His voice is soft and playful, but he wouldn't object if Ashton did in fact keep going. He thinks he can wake himself up a little more for morning sex if he has to. In fact, he knows he can. 

"Go back to sleep, okay? It's still early," Ashton mumbles back to him evenly with his eyes remaining closed. His lips go slack against Calum's neck as begins to trace the indents of Calum's ribs over his shirt in a soothing pace. His hand rises and falls with Calum's stomach as he takes in a breath. 

Just because he can, Calum rolls his hips back into Ashton; a mischievous, satisfied smirk growing on his face when he hears the slight, abrupt change in Ashton's breathing and the way his hand grips the front of his shirt. He does it again, slower this time, and Ashton digs his nails into Calum's skin through the thin fabric. He groans out, "Jesus, Calum," into the space between Calum's ear and the pillow they're sharing.

Ashton pushes back, a quick snap of his hips into Calum's ass. It's less sexual, more forceful, and unmistakably a warning. It makes Calum nudge forward into Luke. Instantly, Calum's sliding his thumb against Luke's skin in a soothing motion when a whining sound escapes his lips from the sudden movement. He whispers "Sorry, Lukey," and then with a bit of a laugh in Ashton's direction, "You asshole."

There's a few ticks of silence that go by before Ashton says again, with a smile on his face that Calum can hear, "Go to sleep."

This time Calum listens. 

*** *** ***

When Calum wakes again, it feels like later in the morning but not by much. The sun is definitely more prominent through the thin curtain on the right side of Michael's room, and it's raised the temperature by at least a few degrees. With all four of them packed together and under the blanket, Calum's aware of how uncomfortable it should be, but is also aware of how comfortable it actually is. Or maybe it's just familiar. 

Ashton's arm around him is the first thing he registers as his brain begins to become more aware of his surroundings. The next thing he picks up on is Luke's sluggish, even breathing. Calum moves his hand downward a few inches on Luke's stomach, sliding his fingers over soft skin and the indents of relaxed muscles. He likes Luke like this: peaceful, resting, unguarded. Things have been crazier than ever lately; and although it's been hectic and stressful for all of them, Luke really wears his exhaustion. Thirdly, Calum becomes aware of Ashton's fingers as they stroke over his midsection absently. His breathing is a little more forceful against Calum's neck than it would be if he were asleep. He's awake, Calum concludes. 

Actually, Ashton's been awake for a while. Never fully went back to sleep after Calum woke him up the first time. Instead, he just let his eyes fall shut and counted the minutes until Calum's breathing slowed and evened out to a speed that told him he was asleep again. Then, he just listened. And it's sort of lame, and kind of mushy, Ashton knows, but he's beginning to make a habit out of this: being awake when the other three are asleep. But he likes it this way. It makes him feel like exactly what he is: a protector. And he likes being a protector; doesn't really know what else he would be if his need to look out for people died. It's probably the biggest part of him. 

When he's at home, he's the man of the house. The eldest brother. He takes care of his siblings along with his mom. On the road, he's the man of the bus. The eldest member. He takes care of his bandmates, who he loves like brothers (and maybe a little more), along with the people on the crew. It's just part of who he is, and he loves it. The feeling of taking care of people and keeping them safe; that type of responsibility is something Ashton takes very seriously. Calum called him the "dad-father" of the band once in an interview, and as ridiculous as it sounds, he's right. If that's what they think of him, Ashton'll take it-- stupid name and all. 

Ashton's been staring at the back of Calum's head for what feels like centuries now, but he heard Michael wake about ten minutes ago. Michael doesn't snore heavily whatsoever; but in the relative silence, when it stopped it seemed like something from the room was missing. Instantly, Ashton's eyes flicked up and over both Calum and Luke's heads to see Michael's eyes slide open slowly. He stared at the ceiling for a moment, then his eyes slid down to Luke and there was a smile on his face that held something Ashton was too scared to name. It was too pure to put a name to, but it was beautiful. 

He and Michael have been here before, it tends to happen quite often actually. Especially since bed-sharing has been basically a regular thing for who knows how long now. They'll both wake up before Calum and Luke do, and neither of them having the heart to disturb them, lay there as motionless as possible until they both begin to make their way toward consciousness again. And Ashton's seen a lot of astounding things in those moments. Like the way Michael's made a habit of sliding his fingers through Luke's hair and tracing his jawline while he sleeps. Always the lightest of touches; barely there, honestly. Ghost-like. But it's loving. And he just stares at Luke; blinking slowly, breathing slower, and taking everything about him in. And Ashton watches the way Michael's eyes zig-zag over Luke's soft features, and the way the very edges of Michael's mouth curve upward when Luke leans a little more into his touch, like even in his sleep he knows Michael's there. He's seen Michael rest his head against Luke's and just listen to him breathe; and he's seen Michael make soft shushing sounds against his ear when Luke makes a noise that signals a bad dream approaching. 

And he knows Michael's seen things too. Like the way Ashton has a tendency of pulling Calum a little closer when he's still sleeping in his arms. And the way his lips always seem to find their way into Calum's hair or his forehead, placing kisses arbitrarily every so often when the urge to do so becomes too much to ignore. He thinks Michael's noticed that he likes to put his hand right over Calum's heart and feel the steady, rhythmic thumping of it against the palm of his hand. Ashton thinks maybe it's the drummer in him, but he loves the pattern of Calum's heartbeat. It's slightly irregular, just a smidgen off beat, but Ashton's memorized it. And sometimes, even when Calum's not near him, he can feel it. And he thinks Michael's noticed how Ashton's starting to have a harder time letting Calum go when he finally wakes up and rolls over. 

Below him, Ashton hears a soft "Hey," from Calum and he can feel a smile forcing it's way onto his face. He smears his smirk against Calum's shoulder as he whispers back, "Morning." 

Calum stretches his leg out, knocking it into Ashton's for a moment and then curling it back up to mirror the position Luke's still in. He asks groggily, "What time is it?"

"I dunno, I can't see the clock. Michael's obnoxious blue hair is in the way," Ashton says back in a teasing tone.

He watches Michael's eyebrows scrunch for a second and he mumbles back, "Fuck off," but he doesn't take his eyes off of Luke who's still fast asleep on his shoulder. Ashton watches Michael tip his head forward until his lips rest against the side of Luke's head. Not much of a kiss, just the result of wanting more contact really, but Ashton still finds it sweet even if he doesn't say it aloud.

They've gotten to a place where they've never felt more comfortable with each other than they do right now. The ease in which they're able to express their love for each other is something they've been working toward since their cuddle sessions became an every night thing and resulting in boners and feelings none of them were ready or willing to address head-on. But Ashton thinks it's nice that they're in the place they're in now. And that's something he never thought he'd say, for a number of reasons that he thinks are pretty obvious. And then he tells himself that there's no one else in the world he loves more than his band, so maybe, in some twisted logical sense, all of this does make sense. Whatever the hell this is. 

And he knows they've sort of broken off into pairs. It's no secret that Luke and Michael look at each other in a way that's truly special-- and maybe a little scary. Because Ashton's never seen Luke's eyes light up quite like they do when he's looking at Michael; and Ashton thinks Michael's gentleness with Luke when they're all alone like this goes far passed the infatuation type of spirit this whole thing started out in, because he looks at Luke like he's made of pure gold and it takes even Ashton's breath away sometimes to see it.

But maybe it's a little more of a secret the nights he and Calum have had together, and how many nights they've sneaked into each other's bunk or hotel room for more than just a good talk and a cuddle. But then he thinks about how close Luke and Calum are, and how their cuddle sessions have ended in more than just experimental makeouts more than a handful of times. And he thinks about the moments he and Luke have had when they're alone, Luke's curiosity and eagerness overpowering Ashton's logic and willpower. And Ashton knows for sure Michael and Calum have had plenty of drunken nights that have transitioned into blowjobs. And then he thinks about how all their individual makeouts, cuddle sessions and sex has turned into this group activity because no one gets left out, apparently. It should be weird to say the least. It should be awkward. But it isn't. It's just them. 

It's messy, Ashton knows it. They all know it. They're just a bunch of tangled wires, intertwining with each other whenever they please. But they like it that way. They share everything else in the world, so why not each other? He thinks maybe between the four of them is the only time their hearts and their bodies are completely safe, because there's no one in the world they trust more than each other. 

"Turn over and see what time it is," Calum says to Michael. Almost instantly, Michael shakes his head and gestures to the pile of sleeping Luke he still has against the side of his body and not quite ready to unsettle yet. Calum makes a huffing noise, like he's annoyed, and mumbles something about special treatment. It gets a smile out of Michael and the tightening of his arm around Calum from Ashton. Naturally, he sinks back into Ashton's touch. 

But like on queue, Michael and Calum feel Luke beginning to wake between them. He presses his head deeper into Michael's neck for a moment, like he's fighting his body's willingness to wake up. Michael watches him squeeze his eyes shut tighter and then slowly flutter open. The sunlight through the curtain grazes across his face, brightening his eyes by a shade or two. Michael thinks he's beautiful, but he doesn't say it. Instead he says with a smile, "G'morning, sleepyhead." 

Luke smiles, a soft happy sound to accompany it, and whispers back, "Hi."

Michael drops his head, his nose bumping into Luke's as he dips his head a little lower. Luke leans upward, smiling all the way until he presses his lips to Michael's, and even after. They laugh, small and quiet against each other's mouths; and stay like that for a few moments, just pressing their lips together until Michael says gently, "How'd you sleep?"

And before Luke can answer Calum's mumbling, "Get a room," which earns a laugh out of Ashton.

"You're all in my room!" Michael shoots back instantly.

Luke rolls off of Michael and onto his other side, now facing Calum. He takes the side of Calum's face with his hand to keep him in place and kisses him. The kiss is soft-- loving, and almost instantly Calum's parting his lips a little to try and deepen it. Luke pulls back first, smirking up at Calum before he says sarcastically, "Good morning, Cal, how'd you sleep?"

Michael and Ashton giggle, but Calum acts like he doesn't notice. He leans forward on the pillow, catching Luke's mouth again before he says back with just as much sarcasm, "Great, Lukey, thanks for asking!"

Through a smile, Luke mumbles back, "Fuck you." 

Ashton laughs, rolling his eyes a little. He says, "Alright, you two," in his best authoritative tone he can muster up this early. He hears the gravel in his voice and the way it trails off toward the end of his sentence. It's too early for anything than lying still, Ashton thinks. 

Then they resettle, Luke and Calum face to face between Ashton and Michael who are both now on their sides and an arm over either of them. Between the little bit of space between Luke and Calum, Michael and Ashton slide their fingers together, then pull them apart. Touching just to touch, basically. Michael traces Ashton's fingers for a while, and then keeps his hands still as Ashton slides his thumb against his palm. It's soothing to be here like this. It feels like the whole world is spinning but they're at a standstill. Michael closes his eyes and wonders if he keeps them closed, maybe they can say like this forever. 

Ashton closes his eyes too as his and Michael's thumbs fall into a rhythm of circling each other. He makes his breathing match Calum's, who's whispering something to Luke as he covers his mouth and tries to be quiet, and not laugh too loud. Behind him, Luke feels Michael press his lips to his ear, and then his cheek, before resting back on the pillow again. And Ashton thinks he must've drifted off to sleep because the next thing he hears is, "...going to, right, Ashton?"

It takes him a moment to realize his name was being said. He says back a little disoriented, "Wha-?"

Then Luke's repeating himself. "You're gonna make breakfast, right?"

Ashton breathes out slowly. "Why can't you make breakfast for a change?" he asks with his mouth against the back of Calum's head. 

"There's no cereal here," Luke says back simply. It makes Ashton laugh. 

It takes a minute to mentally prepare to sit up, but eventually Ashton does. He says, "Fine, but you all better get out of bed. I'm not bringing it to you, I'm not your damn servant," as he's removing himself from the tangled mess they've gotten themselves in and standing up. 

Just as he's leaving the room he hears Michael call out after him with fake astonishment, "Wait, you're not?"

If Ashton had something to throw, he would've. 

*** *** ***

All three of them emerge from Michael's bedroom less than five minutes of Ashton being in the kitchen. He's rummaged through the items they have in the refrigerator of the hotel and he thinks there's enough eggs, bread, and fruit to go around so he settles for that. For a moment he opens and closes the cabinets until he finds a pan that will work well enough, grabs it, and places it over the fire. 

Calum takes a seat on the counter to the right of Ashton and he hears one of them pull a chair out from the table and sit down. Just as he's about to crack open the second egg and watch it begin to fry in the pan, hands surround his midsection and there's a chin on his shoulder. Then there's a voice mumbling sweetly against his ear, "Thanks for not letting us starve to death."

The voice is soft and there's a real undertone of thankfulness to the dramatic statement. Luke. Definitely Luke.

A moment later, Calum's pushing himself off of the counter and throwing his arms around both Ashton and Luke. He kisses Ashton's neck and then buries his forehead against his collar bone. He mumbles softly, "Thanks Ash." 

Honestly, Ashton doesn't know why he's startled when there's a third pair of arms around him, but he is. Michael hugs his other side silently. He doesn't say anything to him like the other two, but the way he's rubbing the side of his face into Ashton's hair lets him know he's grateful too. Ashton shakes himself, trying to free his hands. 

"Alright, alright, enough," he says as he feels himself being released by someone, he's not sure who. Then he says, "You're not gonna be so grateful when you have burnt eggs for breakfast are you?" 

Luke and Michael walk back toward the table and Calum returns to the counter, watching Ashton intently. Every so often, they catch each other's eyes and smile at each other. Ashton tries not to think about how happy Calum actually makes him. It's too much to think about. Too much to sort out. 

Behind him he barely hears Luke and Michael talking. Luke says, "You wanna go to that anime shop thingy you saw up the road today?"

Michael shrugs. He wanted to go. Kinda. But he also didn't want to leave the hotel today. Sometimes being alone with just the four of them was too good to pass up. It didn't happen too often anymore, and sometimes Michael felt like he had to cherish the moments they had alone, because they seemed to reoccur far and few. That's another thing they tried not to think about. "I dunno. Not really."

Luke, who's claimed the top of the table as his seat instead of the chair, slides a little closer to Michael. He says, "You sure? I'll go with you if you wanna."

Again, Michael shrugs. "It'll be there tomorrow," he says, pushing out his bottom lip a little. "I'd rather stay here today anyway."

Luke thinks about mentioning that they have a tightly stringed number of interviews tomorrow that will probably take up their whole day, but he gets the point Michael's trying to make. He smiles. 

"A day in, huh?" Calum says from the counter, looking over at Luke and Michael who were now intertwining their fingers together. Luke's moved closer and Michael's hand has made its way to Luke's thigh, pulling gently at the fabric of his sweatpants. "What are we gonna do?"

"I vote for sleep," Luke says instantly, raising his free hand. At the stove, Ashton laughs a little. He shakes his head as he flips the eggs in the pan before going to see if there was any type of seasoning in the pantry. He thinks Luke would be a professional sleeper if they'd let him. 

Calum groans a little before inputting, "Well, I vote for a movie day."

"We'll do both," Ashton concludes quickly before it turns into the debate he can sense it's heading to. "Eat, movie, then sleep."

Ashton looks over his shoulder at Calum who offers up a little nod, then he glances over at Luke and Michael who nod too. 

And just like that, it was settled. 

*** *** ***

The moment he's done eating, Luke heads toward the couch in the main area of the hotel. He finds a huge purple blanket and drapes it over himself. Behind him, still in the kitchen area, he hears the rest of them talking about something he has no interest in. At least not anymore. The dark gray couch is the most comforting thing he's felt in a while as he drops stomach-down on the cushions. He turns his head to the side and watches the other three talking and cleaning the dishes. Michael grabs the plate Luke left in front of his place at the table without a word, like second nature, and hands it to Calum who it seems Ashton has put in charge of doing the dishes. Luke smiles. 

Michael exits the kitchen next, smiling at Luke from a few feet away as he approaches him. He wastes no time climbing on top of him and immediately pressing kisses to his cheek and his temple, drawing a small laugh out of Luke as he instinctively curls up into him self as his only defense mechanism. Not that he wants to get away from Michael at all or wants him to stop whatsoever. Michael's hand wraps around Luke's midsection and he kisses the side of his face one more time, this time less playful and more lovingly, before he whispers to him softly, "What's wrong, babe?"

Michael's voice is gentle, like there's a thousand other people in the room and he's trying to keep the conversation between just him and Luke. But Luke likes when Michael's like this. When the rough outer shell he likes to pretend he's acquired has completely melted away and Michael's reduced to nothing but benevolent, gentle acts of loving kindness. He likes when Michael's open about how much he really cares for him. Of course Luke knows he does, even when he purposely picks Calum over him in interviews just to make Luke's face scrunch up the way it does. And he knows all the mean things Michael says to him are just jokes, and he doesn't mean them in the slightest. But it doesn't mean he doesn't get to miss when Michael's like this: sweet, caring, and affectionate.

He likes Michael's voice when they're close like this and he's whispering to him. He likes the velvet-like tone Michael has; he likes the calmness of his words. Michael's voice has always been soothing to him. Maybe it's because he's calmed him down a thousand times, for a thousands reasons over the years they've known each other. Something about Michael just made Luke feel safe, and he decided a long time ago he never wants to do anything without Michael ever again. Just something about Michael being near made Luke feel like everything would be okay. Like a safety net at the bottom of a huge jump. Michael's never let him hit the ground. 

"Nothing," Luke answers. He smiles up at Michael and then looks back at Ashton and Calum in the kitchen as they elbow past each other. He watches Calum's smile grow when Ashton's shove turns into a hug and he pulls him in close, kissing the skin just under his jawline. Still smiling, Luke says, "Just tired."

Atop of him, Michael settles. He rests his weight against Luke's back and his head on top of his. Luke's hair is the fluffy kind of flat. Sort of a mess from not doing anything to it but sleeping on it and absentmindedly rummaging his fingers through it every so often, but Michael prefers it this way. Luke always looks soft, but it makes him look softer. Like he's begging to be cuddled. More than his usual amount of begging to be cuddled, that is. It reminds him more of the Luke he's always known and less of the Luke he sees on television screens and magazine covers. 

He closes his eyes and lets the scent of Luke's hair fill his nostrils for a moment. He smells faintly of the hotel soap, the apple he ate last, and a mix of Michael's and Calum's cologne; probably from sleeping pressed between them for nine hours. And Michael likes that, too. The way Luke sort of smells like them. Like they've marked him, staked a claim on him before the rest of the world could. With his eyes closed, he reaches for Luke's hand and lets their fingers interlock. Just another way to keep them close. Under him, he feels Luke let out a breath; happy and content. 

"You sure you don't wanna go to that store? I could go shower an--"

"I only wanna be right here today," Michael says back softly, cutting him off. Again, he kisses the side of his head, then readjusts himself to lay his head back down atop of Luke's. Luke doesn't answer, but he makes a humming sound as he brings Michael's knuckles to his mouth to kiss. 

The weight that's seems to appear out of thin air startles Michael and instantly brings out an exaggerated groan from Luke. Soft hair hangs against Michael's that lets him know it's Ashton, but a second later he's giggling and that gives away his identity better than any fingerprint or piece of DNA could. Honestly, Ashton doesn't weigh that much, so his added weight isn't too much for either of them to handle but Luke groans out, "I'm gonna suffocate," despite the fact. 

"Good," Ashton says back evilly with a giggle, and bounces on top of Michael. This time it does knock the air out of Luke and he whines. Ashton laughs, does it again, and then one more time for good measure. 

"Stop dry humping me, you animal," Michael shouts, swatting backward at Ashton with his other hand that's not entangled with Luke's. 

From the kitchen, Calum yells, "Everybody stop humping without me!". The real twinge of jealousy in his voice is what makes the other three crack up. A moment later they hear a plate drop in the sink and the water shut off abruptly as Calum's heading toward the opening of the kitchen to get a proper look at what seems to be some type of weird foreplay that Calum's honestly mad he's missing out on. 

Once Calum's fully visible, Ashton's saying to him with a laugh, "Calm down you horndog, we're just playing."

"Well stop playing without me," Calum mumbles as he crosses his arms across his chest and leans against the wall. It's a childish thing to do, he knows it. And he wishes he could say he was over-exaggerating for the purpose of a few laughs but he really did get jealous sometimes whenever something happened with the rest of the band that he wasn't a part of. He figures since they've all committed to this four-way-whatever thing they've got going on there should never be any secret three-way-whatever things... even if it's just pretend. 

Ashton laughs out an "Aww," before outstretching his hand and saying, "C'mere, Cal-Cal." 

It makes Calum smile. He loves that stupid nickname, he always has. Maybe because only Ashton calls him it. And despite the teasing tone to Ashton's voice, Calum approaches the couch anyway just as Ashton's pushing himself off of Michael's back and sitting next to them on the couch instead. He pats the space beside him and Calum sits down and immediately rests his head on Ashton's shoulder. To the left of them, Michael and Luke are untangling themselves and readjusting to a sitting position next to Calum and Ashton. 

Luke leans over and presses his lips to Calum's jaw as he whispers, "Sorry we had fake dry humping sex without you."

Beside him, Michael chokes on his breath, and on the other side Ashton has to cover his mouth to keep from outright laughing. And they're not sure which is funnier: the fact it was an actual sentence that made sense to them, or the genuine tone in which Luke said it. Always the polite one, Luke is, they guessed. Still funny, though. 

Calum rolls his eyes.  "Yeah, well, don't let it happen again."

"Alright, grumpy," Ashton says as he wraps his arm around Calum. "How 'bout you just pick a movie already since this was your bright idea."

No one's surprised when he searches through the rental possibilities on the television screen until he finds Anchorman 1 & 2. 

"Oh wow, Anchorman," Ashton says in the dryest voice possible. "We've never seen this before."

That earns him a smack in the chest from Calum as he whispers, "Shut up, you know it's my favorite." 

*** *** ***

It's actually surprising that they got through the whole movie in relative silence. And considering they've all see it a thousand times, it's also shocking the amount of attention they gave to the screen; giggling at certain parts and mouthing the lines back to the screen every so often. But by the second movie, they got antsy. 

The sun was still shining brightly in the sky, considering it was only about two in the afternoon, but with the blinds closed and all the curtains pulled, it seemed later in the day. Inside of their hotel room, it was nearly pitch black with the exception of the huge television screen illuminating everything that was placed directly in front of it. Settled on the couch on the other side of the room, Calum's head has found its way to Ashton's shoulder and made a home of it with no objections from Ashton at all. Instantly, his thumb began to pet Calum's forearm and Calum moved a little closer, burying his nose into Ashton's neck. 

To his right, Calum feels Luke move. Nothing much, just a slide of his shoulders against the back of the couch as he leans over toward Michael a little more. And at first he doesn't think anything of it-- for a couple seconds, actually. And he probably wouldn't have thought much of it if it didn't come followed by the little, almost silent gasp from Luke that he tries to hide by pressing his mouth into Michael's shoulder. He pulls his lips between his teeth and bites down on them in a poor attempt to keep himself quiet, but as usual with him, he's unsuccessful. 

Michael's breathy laugh catches Ashton's ear and a moment later both he and Calum are glancing over at them, and then down at the very obvious movement of Michael's hand under the blanket Luke's draped over them. Luke's got his face turned into Michael's neck, leaving a string of kisses and gentle bites there. He's whispering something to Michael that neither of them can quite catch but they watch as Michael smiles again, speeding up his hand, making the blanket rise and fall quicker. 

Calum wants to say something just because it feels like maybe he should. Something about them not actually paying attention to the movie or some sarcastic comment about them not being able to keep their hands off each other for more than an hour. Something like, "And I'm the horny one?", but he can't make his brain register anything other than the little sounds Luke's making into Michael's skin and the way Michael's hand is moving. 

And for a while they just watch and listen. The movie becomes nothing but background noise to the show that's happening literally inches away from them. They think maybe Michael catches them staring from the corner of his eyes because there's an unmistakably cocky smirk on his face when he does something with his hand that makes Luke bite down into him with a whimper far too loud to not cause attention to them, although their secret was out long ago. Luke grips Michael's leg and Calum hears him moan out a helpless "Oh my god," into Michael's neck.

"Oh my god," Calum repeats softly under his breath. His eyes expand just slightly when he realizes he's spoken aloud and Luke pulls his mouth away from Michael's neck to look over at him with hooded eyes. Calum's not sure why he feels guilty, or like this was something he wasn't supposed to see, but he does. Now that Luke's looking over at him and Michael's grinning in his direction he feels caught-- like he's the one that's been spotted jerking off his bandmate next to his other bandmates on the couch. 

There's no time for the weird feeling of guilt to boil over because Luke's lifting his chin in Calum's direction like a desperate invitation and Calum couldn't resist if he tried. He leans downward and catches Luke's mouth with his, inhaling the breath he lets out and brings his hand up to the side of his face. Almost immediately he feels Ashton's lips on his neck, kissing down the side of it, his tongue licking over gentle bites he leaves only moments ago. Ashton's hand slides down Calum's midsection teasingly slow and it has him lifting his hips off of the couch before Ashton's fingers even make it to his belly button. 

"Never were patient," Ashton mumbles to him, voice husky and slow, a smile pressed to the vein in Calum's neck. Then Calum's pulling from Luke's mouth and searching for Ashton's. With his other hand he lifts Ashton's head and keeps him in place as he kisses him. His fingers are digging into the hinges of Ashton's jaw in a way that's just painful enough to feel good. He can't close his mouth and has no choice but to let Calum's tongue inside, wringing a moan out of him. He feels Calum's tongue against his lips, and his own tongue, and over the tops of his teeth. Then he's pulling back just a little and taking Ashton's lip between his lips and sucking a little. Ashton makes a noise, like a growl, and tugs at the drawstring on Calum's basketball shorts. 

To the left of him Calum feels Luke's mouth on his neck and his jawline and his shoulder, kissing his skin just to have something to do with his mouth while Michael keeps up a purposely unsteady pace with him. Luke squeezes Michael's thigh, nails digging into flesh, breathing out heavily. A moment later, his fingers are detaching from Michael's muscle and crawling their way upward. He hears Michael lets out a bit of a laugh, anticipating and anxious, before Luke's hand even makes it to where he wants it to be. 

Luke wastes no time slipping his hand into Michael's pants and getting a firm grip on his dick. He watches Michael's eyes flutter shut for a few seconds, a stuttered "O-oh," escaping from the back of his throat from the initial contact. He bites the inside of his lip for a moment, then lets it turn into a smile as he leans forward to press his forehead against Luke's. Luke watches Michael's teeth squeeze his lip tighter, draining the color, then loosen up slowly enough to witness the pale pink transform into a deep red as blood rushes back into place, leaving his bottom lip looking used. Its sexy. So fucking sexy. And Luke wants to tilt his head upward and see if he can feel the blood traveling back into Michael's lips with his own.

It's an awkward angle for Luke's wrist to be at, but he'd gladly stay like this forever if it ensures Michael will keeping moaning like he is. It's so easy for Luke to get lost in Michael, especially when they're like this. Michael's mouth is captivating and it feels like he's put under some type of spell because it doesn't take long for him to block out everything else in the world and focus on just Michael. Like the way his fingers are tightening and loosening as he jerks him off, remembering the way he likes it. And how he keeps fighting the urge to close his eyes when closes the space between their mouths and kisses Luke. How soft his lips are, and the way he's sliding his forehead against Luke's. Up this close, he can't see much of Michael's face but their eyes are locked and they're breathing in each other's air and it feels like they're floating. 

Faintly, like an almost forgotten memory, he feels Calum pressing up against him and can only subconsciously piece together bits of what Ashton and Calum are saying to each other. With the movie still playing, the own sound of his heart, and Michael's breathy moans eating up most of his attention, Luke only catches small parts of their sentences. Just a "...so fucking hot..", and a "...faster, oh god..." Then there's something like a, "...fuck you so bad...." from Ashton, and maybe Calum whispers back, "Please, please..." but Luke's not entirely sure.

But the next thing Luke can fully comprehend is the way Michael's pulling at him, like he wants him to stand up. Then he's whispering, "C'mere," against Luke's lips and pulling at him again. And even though he doesn't want to, Luke stands up. It's only for a moment though, before Michael's pulling him back down and onto his lap. Luke steadies himself by bracing his hands on Michael's shoulders before he has enough coordination to dip his head to kiss Michael and grind downward on him at the same time. Michael makes a greedy sound into Luke mouth like what he's getting isn't enough; but that's just how Michael is when he's turned on, Luke's learned. He just wants everything right now. Luke has to remind him to slow down sometimes. 

So he does. Luke whispers, "Slower, slower," in a voice that's drawn out just enough to be teasing; between kisses that come farther and farther apart until Michael's literally chasing his mouth and digging his fingertips into his sides. Luke smiles, partly amused and partly enamored at how hot Michael is like this. (And only a little cocky that he can make Michael this way). Just so strung out for anything at this point that he's settled for kissing Luke's collarbones through his shirt and bucking himself upward into Luke since Luke pulled his mouth away and stopped moving. Luke tucks his fingers under Michael's chin, regaining his attention, and kisses him again. They laugh a little when their teeth knock against each other, and then settle back into a rhythm quickly after.

Michael grabs Luke's ass, pulls him downward and into him in a way that makes them both lose their breath a little. Falling forward, Luke wraps his arm around Michael's neck. He leaves a sloppy trail of open-mouthed kisses from the crook of Michael's neck all the way up to this ear lobe, and then to his mouth. Their lips collapse on each other the best way they can with how much Luke's moving on top of Michael. He's adjusted his grip on the back of Michael's neck for leverage, now properly grinding down on Michael like he's wanted since he pulled Luke over. And it's just after they fall into a pattern that has them both gasping when Ashton's saying loud enough to make sure everyone can hear, "We should go to Michael's room... y'know, a real bed."

"Fuck a real bed," Michael's mumbling back almost instantly, never taking his eyes or his mouth off of Luke. Luke feels his nail dig into his lower back like he's trying to keep him in place, refusing to give up what he's feeling right now for the promise of a mattress. Luke lets out a breathy laugh and brushes his lips with Michael's, still moving in his lap.

But then he stiffens his back to keep himself completely still, earning a whine out of Michael. He kisses Michael again, soft and quick, before he says to him, "C'mon, he's right. Let's go." 

Michael whines again, completely child-like, with a few fake cries to accompany. It could've easily been followed up by, "I don't wanna go to school tomorrow!" or a "But do I have to eat all of my vegetables?". It makes Luke laugh and he's smiling down at Michael with his hand out after he pushes himself off of Michael's thighs and onto his feet. The lack of contact is enough convincing for Michael, so he stands up too, ignoring Luke's hand and wrapping his arm around Luke's midsection instead. Then Luke's tucking back his chin a little to reach Michael's mouth, sliding their lips together as they feel their way to Michael's room. 

Luke turns Michael around, so he's the one forced to walk backward and he can see the smile of Michael's face is a little weary-- he's used to being in control, even in little situation's like this. But Luke keeps his hand on Michael's waist and doesn't stop his feet from walking toward the door on the other side of the room. He doesn't remember exactly when Ashton and Calum got up, but they've beaten them there. Although Michael's room is almost as dark as the main area, with the blinds and curtains also pulled, Luke catches Calum on top of Ashton on Michael's bed out of the corner of his eye. So he leads Michael backward to the foot of his bed and mumbles, "Down," before gently shoving his shoulder backward. 

Easily, Michael falls onto his back right next to Ashton and stares up at Luke with anticipation in his eyes that looks like it's daring to get the very last of his self-control. Quickly, Luke tosses his shirt to the floor and shimmies out of his sweatpants. Michael holds his hand out toward Luke and waves his fingers in a manner to tell him to come closer, but Luke stays by Michael's legs instead. His hands wrap around Michael's knees and slowly begin to make their way upward. He watches Michael's head fall backward onto the mattress with a prevalent smile and just the slightest bit of laughter. Just as Luke leans over Michael, his hand grips his shoulder and then the side of his neck, urging him lower. 

Luke smiles. "Someone's pushy, huh?" he says as he begins to yank down Michael's sweatpants a few inches at a time just to make him squirm a little more. He figures Michael should've learned this by now: whenever he wants Luke to go faster, he just goes slower. It's a horrible game they play; but Michael does it too, so he sees it as even. Neither of them can ever pass up a chance to tease one another. It's too much of a sight to see. It's too hot. 

Michael gives Luke's shoulder muscle another squeeze before he lets his hand slide off of Luke and flop onto the bed next to him. Ashton hears him let out a deep sigh that catches his attention only long enough to glance over in time to see Luke parting his lips and taking Michael into his mouth. Beside him, he feels Michael's fingers grip the bed sheet and faintly hears him moan out in a whisper, "Fuck, Luke..."

And then just like that, Michael's gone. He closes his eyes and focuses his entire brain on the way Luke's tongue is moving. He makes a point to recognize the movement of his hand, and mentally pictures when the side of his index finger meets his lips. He pictures the way he knows Luke's got his eyes closed, enjoying this almost as much as Michael is. But that's just the type of person Luke is. He's a giver. He likes giving, even in the smallest situations. Michael has seen him go out of his way plenty of times to ensure someone else was happy. Other people's happiness makes Luke happy and this was no exception. He'd never admit it, it's too blunt of a thing for Luke to ever say a lot, but Michael knows how much he loves giving head. Michael knows it turns him on just as much as getting it-- shit, maybe even more. 

So lost in thought and pleasure, Michael almost doesn't notice the extra pair of hands on his inner thighs and the weight against his knee. He lifts his head up and opens his eyes just in time to see Calum fighting Luke for space between Michael's legs. And Michael knows he would've said something if he could, but he can't. He has no choice but to lay there open-mouthed and taken for words as Luke and Calum both bring their lips to his cock, still shouldering each other for space, but it's playful. Calum's thumb is tracing the curve of Michael's hip bone and he and Luke fall into an opposite up-down rhythm on either side of Michael's cock. Both with their eyes closed and their tongues out Michael thinks it's enough of a sight to push him over the edge right now. And if he's honest, he's thought about this before: Luke and Calum blowing him at the same time, but fuck it's a lot hotter than he thought. 

Thickly, Michael swallows as he fores himself to sit up enough to get a handful of hair from both of them; not too tight, but enough to help guide them. For a while he just keeps his fingers tangled in the mess of their hair, transfixed on the way they're both working their tongues and their lips on him-- each of them doing something completely different but paired together it feels like the most amazing thing Michael's ever lived through. They both look completely focused, and maybe that's what gets Michael the most: how dedicated they both look while doing this. With their eyes close they both work on Michael, repeating motions with their tongues that make Michael's breath hitch in his throat a little.

"So good...it's...so, so fucking good," he tells them in a slow, broken whisper. He can hear the cracks in his voice when he speaks but he doesn't care. It's too late to be self-conscious about anything.

Breathing heavily, mouth open and head down, Michael watches how their tongues just miss each other in passing of Luke going lower and Calum moving upward toward his head. So Michael pulls at Luke's hair, bringing him upward too. And with a steady lift of both hands he guides their heads closer until their lips are pressed together and their tongues are brushing against Michael's cock before they find their way into each other's mouths. He can feel their mouths connecting as their lips and tongue brush thehead of his cock and he couldn't stop himself from whispering, "Fuck, that's hot," even if he wanted to. 

Then Luke pulls back and regains his grip on Michael's cock. He glances at Calum, then down at Michael's cock, and back at Calum again. A second later Calum's dropping his head again, this time taking Michael in his mouth as far as he can go on the first time down. He makes a muffled sound that makes Michael loosen his hold on his hair so he can pull back if he wants to, but he doesn't. Calum stays there for a moment, one hand still around Michael's side, the other stroking his own dick as Luke raises his fist on Michael and he pulls back far enough to give Luke's hand space. They fall into a rhythm again, synchronized this time with Luke's hand and Calum's mouth, and Michael still can't catch his breath. He reaches for Luke, pulls him upward and kisses him. 

"Alright, come here," Ashton says from somewhere behind Michael and before he has a chance to properly process what's happening, Calum's being pulled away. The weight of his body falling on the bed shakes the whole mattress and he can hear Calum laughing as he and Ashton rumble for a moment before they settle with Calum on his back and Ashton between his legs. Luke watches as Ashton pops open the small bottle he has in his hands, squeezes some of the liquid onto his fingers, then mindlessly tosses it in Michael's direction before focusing completely on Calum. 

Michael thinks about making a comment about Ashton throwing the bottle at him but the way Luke's looking at him redirects his train of thought and suddenly the only thing he can think of is getting Luke on his back and moaning. So he grabs Luke by the waist, spins him, and lays him on the bed beside Calum. And when he glances over, he and Ashton have already started. Those two have always moved quickly. Surveying the way Calum's moaning, Ashton's already got at least a finger inside him. Ashton's stating down at him hungrily, just waiting for the moment Calum tells him he's ready for another; but there's something gentle and loving about the way his hand is moving inside him and the way he's brushing his lips across Calum's pulse every so often. 

Hooking his fingers under the waistband of Luke's boxers, Michael slides them down his legs quickly, not seeing the need in wasting any more time at all. Michael's palm runs up the length of Luke's cock before taking it in his hand, only half-hard now with the time passing. Using both his hand and his mouth, Michael gets him back completely hard in a matter of minutes. Under him, Luke's squirming already, trying to keep his eyes open but wanting so badly to close them. He pushes at Michael's hand, trying to move him lower, mumbling out with a desperate type of whine to his voice, "Mikey, come on."

With his eyes closed, Luke doesn't catch the smile on Michael's face as he slicks his finger and presses it against Luke's entrance. Luke's faint moan dances passed Calum's ear and causes him to look over for a second. He sees Michael hovering over Luke, one hand between his legs, the other holding himself up by Luke's head. For a few seconds he watches Michael leave bite marks and smeared kisses on Luke's neck, and hears Luke saying to Michael in a quiet voice, "More." 

Ashton grabs Calum's face, regains his attention, asking jokingly with a grin, "Am I boring you?" 

Calum lifts his head off of the mattress, kissing him gently, and answering, "Not for a second." 

"Better not be," Ashton whispers back as he crawls forward a few inches and lines himself up. Calum's hand is on lower back instantly, urging him to go quicker and Ashton's doesn't hesitate at all. Ashton's fingers take hold of Calum's side to keep him in place as he pushes his hips forward into Calum, trying to ease him into it despite the way Calum already pushing back. Calum's always said he didn't think trying to start off slow made the initial sting hurt any less, but Ashton still figured it was the thought that counts. The last things he'd ever want to do is take it too fast with Calum and turn this into something they both regret. He doesn't even think he can handle the thought of it, so he shakes his head like he's trying to literally shake the thought out of his head, and brings his attention back to Calum and the way he's rolling his hips up into Ashton, meeting him halfway. 

Calum's pretty captivating like this. It's one of the few times he actually lets his guard completely down and is no longer thinking about what other people might see him doing. And he's carefree in the way he lets his head lull to the side and allows his mouth to go slack, moans and whimpers escaping whenever they please. He isn't self-conscious of the way his face goes red a little when Ashton speeds up, and isn't afraid to reach out and grab his hand if he needs him to go slower. Calum's always been pretty blunt when it comes to speaking his mind, but it seems like here is the only place he becomes at a loss for words. His thoughts are reduced to a string of half-sentences as Ashton changes his angle and brings him to another level of pleasure. 

He's moaning out weakly between gasps for breath, "Ash...A-ashton, I-- fuck... faster, faster, fa-- god, oh god... fuck..."

Ashton's nose bumps against Calum's jaw as he kisses up to his temple, mumbling back to him, "You like that? Yeah? Faster? God, you look so hot." 

And for a while Ashton's completely lost in Calum; in the way he's moaning and grabbing for him, in the way his breath is brushing against his neck, in the way his fingers are grabbing at his hair. He's completely lost until his ear catches a whining kind of moan that's very definitely from Luke and forces him to look over. 

Luke's got his legs wrapped around Michael's lower back, clasped at the ankles, and his arms slung over his neck. And they're about as close as they can get, so much so they almost look like one person. With Michael's chest right against Luke's chest and the way Luke keeps burying his face in the crook of Michael's neck, Ashton's still amazed at how they so easily make it look like so much more than fucking. Because there's no rush to the way they're pushing their bodies against each other and Michael's reaching for Luke's hand, interlocking their fingers. And Luke's kissing the side of Michael's head, breathlessly whispering something that sounds dangerously close to, "I love you, I love you," and Ashton's glad they've both tuned the world out because he knows his eyes are expanding and his mouth is hung open a little. He watches Luke place kisses on Michael's temple and then his cheek before reaching his mouth. Luke's fingers slide through Michael's hair, a little damp now with a thin layer of sweat beginning to form, as he tells Michael to go faster.

Ashton tries to refocus on Calum, although his stroke hasn't slowed down at all, but he keeps glancing over at Luke and Michael. And he can't help but find himself lingering on the sounds Luke's making. The dark shadows in the room makes Luke's face a little hard to see but he can still spot the way his eyebrows are furrowed together and the way his mouth his hung open against Michael's shoulder. He's making aborted whining sounds mixed with deep moans that he tries to silence by sinking his teeth into Michael's shoulder muscle. Then Michael's tucking his fingers under Luke's chin to keep him still and kissing him deeply, only breaking apart when they need air, and Ashton thinks it's partly to keep Luke quiet. He smiles for a second but he can't help but thinking of how sweet Luke would sound when he's moaning right against his ear, his name stumbling off his lips, and his fingers sliding down his back. 

At some point Michael glances over his shoulder at Ashton and finds him staring because the next thing that steals Ashton's attention is his winded laugh as he asks, "Like what you see?" Michael hinges his eyebrow, it's mean to be cocky but it's playful and makes Ashton laugh.

He shakes his head, mumbles back a weak "Shut up," with a bit of a roll to this eyes, then looks back down at Calum who's still a mess of moans and grasps at Ashton's hand that planted firmly on his stomach. Leaning down, Ashton kisses across Calum's collar bone, dragging his teeth every so often to make Calum flinch under him. But then he's looking over at Luke again and the vein in his neck that more prominent with the way he's got his head turned into the mattress. With one hand gripping the bed sheet under him and the other locked around Michae's waist, he just looks so open. Ashton's not sure how to describe it but the way he's just completely giving himself to Michael is starting to sort of make his heart race and his eyes linger a lot longer than he means to and he doesn't know why he can't look away. 

"Do you wanna switch or something?" Michael's asking suddenly, his voice a little winded and wild. There's a tone to his voice that tells Ashton's he's not completely serious, just a reaction to the very noticeable staring Ashton's been doing. And he's turning his face back down to look at Luke when Ashton's saying, even to his surprise, "Y-yeah."

Michael stops moving almost immediately, so sharply he resembles a machine that just got its plug pulled. It makes Luke's eyes fly open and he stares big-eyed up at Michael questioningly. Then Ashton's still too and Calum's sitting up a little, equally confused. Then they're all sort of just staring at each other and it's kind of awkward and Ashton's really beginning to hate himself. 

"If that's okay with....," he looks down at Calum, then over at Michael, then across at Luke. "...everyone."

There's another moment of silence before Michael's leaning back over Luke. He speaks softy but Ashton can hear him saying, "You okay with that? You and Ash?"

He looks over at Ashton with a gentle smile on his face. He says to Michael, and to Ashton, "Yeah, okay."

Ashton pets over Calum's hipbone as he asks, "Yeah?"

"Better bring your A-game, Clifford," is Calum's own version of yes. Ashton pulls back and waits as Michael detaches himself from Luke. He takes notice of how his hand lingers on Luke's leg for a while before he stands up and waits for Ashton to do the same.

They pass each other with small smiles on their faces and Ashton pulls Michael in for a quick kiss before shoving him softly in Calum's direction. He gestures to Calum and says with a growing smirk, "Be careful with this one, Mike. He's not as tough as he thinks he is. He's fragile." It earns a quick, "Am not!" from Calum and he crosses his arms over his chest as he snaps his head from Ashton's direction and refocuses on Michael. 

And like he's trying to prove a point, Calum's reaching for Michael's side, trying to pull him closer. Michael falls forward and does all he can to not land completely flat on top of Calum. Quickly, he extends his right arm out, fingers digging into the sheets for traction, and halts himself just inches from Calum's face. And when he looks down, Calum's looking up at him with dark eyes that are shining like they always are and he's sliding his thumb across Michael's cheekbone before he tilts his chin upward to kiss him.

Michael likes kissing Calum because he always puts so much effort into it. With the way he wastes no time using his tongue, and the way he bites at Michael's bottom lip in a way he's managed to make completely cute and completely sexy. And they're only kissing for about a minute before Michael doesn't think he can do it anymore and he's asking into Calum's mouth, "Ready?"

Their lips are still sliding together when Calum says back, "Mmhm," and is reaching for Michael's dick himself. Michael stays still as Calum pulls him closer, lines him up, and then lifts his hips to allow himself to sink down on Michael's dick. The sound Michael makes he's sure is borderline embarrassing but he doesn't care. He kisses over the faint marks on Calum's neck left by Ashton not too long ago and then searches for untouched skin to make a few marks of his own. 

To his left, Michael hears Ashton groan out short-windedly, "You feel so fucking good." He's got his hands firmly on Luke's lower back, pulling him back as he's pushing forward; so quickly he's lifting Luke off of the bed a little. Michael can see Ashton's muscles flexing from supporting Luke's weight but he doesn't look spent at all. In fact, he looks like he could keep this up for hours. He looks focused-- zoned in, captivated on nothing but Luke and the way he's trying to keep up with how quickly Ashton's pushing into him. 

Luke's got a tight grip on the back of Ashton's hair, and it hurts a little but Ashton likes it. He likes the way he can feel Luke's fist tighten when he hits a spot inside of him that makes him gasp for breath. Ashton's name and desperate moans are spilling out of Luke's mouth recklessly, stealing everyone's attention for a moment. He keeps whining, eyebrows pulled tightly together and lips parted. Biting at his lip and lip ring aren't enough so he lets go of Ashton's hair, lets himself flop backward on the bed and bites the pillow under his head instead. 

Michael rips his eyes way from them and says, "Put your leg up here," to Calum. He pulls at his ankle until it's resting on his shoulder and Calum's smiling up at him and nodding. He has to roll himself onto his side to get his leg the way Michael wants it.

"Kinky. I like it."

"Shut up," Michael says back with a small laugh, leaning forward a little to get just the right angle for the both of them. He sees Calum's stomach muscles tighten when he goes deeper inside him. The definition of his abs are outlined so perfectly Michael has to reach out and run his fingers over them. He keeps his hand on Calum's stomach and feels the changes in his breathing when he speeds up and when he slows down. He likes the way Calum sucks in sharply when he rolls his hips so he does it again...and again... and again until Calum's reduced to noises that resemble a wounded puppy.

"Fu--Mike--fuck, Michael...Mi--" he's saying with his words intertwining like they're tripping over each other to race out of his mouth. His moans are encouraging; makes Michael want to go faster. It makes him want to make Calum moan louder, makes him want to fuck him until he can't speak anymore at all. 

Ashton taps at Luke's side, telling him, "Turn over, turn over." Although his eyes are closed, Calum feels the shake of the bed as Luke flips himself over onto his stomach. Then suddenly there's a pair of lips on his and doesn't know why he's sure it's Luke kissing him, but he is. Something about the softness of the kiss and how they appeared gradually like they were trying ease him into the kiss. It's just something Luke would do. 

But then he's one hundred percent certain it's Luke when he feels him moan out heavily into his mouth when Ashton pushes into him roughly. It knocks the breath out of him and he stops kissing Calum for a moment to try regain control of his lungs. Michael and Ashton are going at different paces and it's a bit of a challenge to try to keep their lips together when Luke's being pulled back at the same time Calum's being pushed forward. So Calum reaches up with his hand, hooks his fingers around the back of Luke's neck, and tries to keep him in place. It's only effective for a short while before Luke's pulling back and pressing his forehead into the bed under them instead. He buries his mouth in the mess of sheets and it looks like he's trying to smother himself. 

Crawling forward, Ashton leaves kisses up the indent of Luke's spine until he's at the back of his neck. There's a smug look of satisfaction on Ashton's face as he kisses around the curve of Luke's ear and asks, "You okay?"

"Faster," is all Luke says back to him, still with his face buried in the sheets. His fingers dig into the mattress in a pulsing manner, tightening whenever Ashton pushes in and loosening whenever Ashton pulls back. "Faster."

Ashton's compliant. He straightens his back, takes hold of Luke's waist and snaps his hips into him sharply. Luke falls apart even more, reaching for Calum just because he needs to do something with his hands. So Michael goes faster too. He takes hold of Calum's thigh for support and fucks into him like he knows he'd want to be fucked if he and Calum had stitched places. It earns a string of moans and chopped breaths from Calum who now seems to be competing with Luke for loudest person in the room. 

Luke's reaching back for Ashton as he whispers, "So close, Ash."

Michael's saying, "Switch back," quicker than he means to. He doesn't mean to blurt it out and mess up the flow they've all gotten to, but he does. Calum opens his eyes and sits up enough to push Michael's shoulder. "'m starting to get offended," he says with a bit of a fake pout.

It isn't that Michael doesn't want to be with Calum anymore, because honestly Calum feels amazing and he's pretty close to finishing himself, but somehow it doesn't seem quite right without it being with Luke. And he knows Luke's not his-- not officially or anything like that, but he'd be lying if he said they haven't gotten closer in the past year and haven't told each other embarrassing confessions about feelings toward each other. It was something about being able to see and hear Luke being pushed over the edge but him not being the reason that bugged him more than he was ready to admit. But he's clingy, Michael will admit that. So he uses that as a mental excuse. 

"Don't be," Ashton tells Calum, wasting no time untangling himself from Luke and making his way over to him. "I wanted you back anyway." 

It's comforting being in a group, and being able to be as open with each other as they are; but there's something even more secure when Luke's with Michael and Ashton's with Calum. There's something peaceful in the way they can still be a group of four while splitting into pairs. And it's fine when they sort of call switch and share each other. Michael sees nothing wrong with Luke kissing Calum, and Calum's totally fine with Luke cuddling up with Ashton, and Luke's perfectly okay with Michael and Calum going out when they want time with just the two of them, and Ashton's pretty indifferent when Michael and Luke lock themselves in their shared hotel room and shut off the rest of the world. All of that is perfectly fine with each of them, but there's something different about the way Calum kisses Ashton than when he's kissing someone else; and there's something special about the way Luke looks at Michael. And maybe they won't admit it tonight, or tomorrow, or the next day, but they all know it.

Michael keeps Luke on his stomach when he gets back on top of him and pushes himself inside. Luke's squirming under him a few moments later, just thankful someone's touching him again. He pulls at Michael's arm, lifting his hips off of the bed and urging Michael to stroke him. He's so close, he sounds completely desperate when he says, "Please, Mikey."

It only takes a couple jerks from Michael's hand before Luke's muscles are tightening and he's panting even more erratically than he was before. He comes without much of a warning besides a poor attempt at Michael's name that gets cut short at "Mi--," and then he's spilling out over Michael's knuckles, his own stomach, and the bed sheet. He feels Michael kissing the side of his neck and then down to his shoulder whispering things to him that he can't even comprehend right now.

There's a sharp inhale of breath from Calum that's followed closely by a deep moan that runs up a few octaves by the end. A second later his abs are painted with stripes of white as Ashton jerks him off while never slowing down at all with how quickly he's fucking him. Calum looks fucked out, the way he's got his mouth hung open, tongue pressed against the back of his bottom teeth, trying to gather enough strength and self control to open his eyes. But even with his eye lids shut, all he can see are little dots of white that he thinks are stars but he's not sure. The only thing he can feel now is Ashton's cock still sliding inside him, he feels every inch of him, so he squeezes his muscles around Ashton and hears him gasp out, "Fuck!"

Ashton's not completely sure, but he thinks him and Michael come at the same time. Just as he's finishing, he can hear Michael's moans, far too stuttered to be anything less than an orgasm, begin to fill the room. He hears Michael moaning out Luke's name, but it's muffled so he must have his mouth pressed to Luke's back, or maybe buried in his hair. Calum's hand is stroking Ashton's back soothingly as he comes down from his orgasm, kissing the side of his head softly. Calum gets super affectionate after sex and it's something Ashton never thought he'd find himself looking forward to, but he has. 

When Ashton looks over, Michael's pulling out of Luke and flopping on the bed next to him. Michael reaches his arm out, tucks his fingers around Luke's side, and pulls him closer. Instantly, Luke's pushing himself into Michael's space, wrapping his arm around Michael's midsection and resting his head on Michael's shoulder. Under Ashton, Calum's saying, "Get off me," in a playful voice. He doesn't let Ashton get far at all after he removes himself from Calum. Calum grabs Ashton's shoulder and pulls him back down for a kiss. It's a sweet kiss that they both let their eyes flutter shut for and take a few seconds to savor. 

They lay there in silence for a few solid minutes, all of their breathing returning to normal and then slowing down even more to a sluggish inhale-exhale as the tiredness starts to seep in. Michael begins to stroke his thumb over the soft skin that's stretched over Luke's rib cage when Luke's asking in a small, drained voice, "It's sleep time now, right Ash?"

It gets a smile out of the other three and Ashton says back, "Definitely sleep time," with this lips brushing against Calum's cheek. Then he adds, "We should get under the blankets."

Calum's quick to crawl upward on the bed and get himself a spot under the sheets. He pats the space next to him for Ashton to join him. Ashton pushes himself up on all fours and makes his way next to Calum. He takes a handful of the blanket with him and tugs it up to his and Calum's shoulders. Calum wraps his arms around Ashton again, needing him close, and settles into him. With a content sigh, Ashton feels Calum relax against him. 

Luke and Michael don't move an inch. They stay wrapped around each other at the foot of the bed despite Ashton implying everyone should get under the blankets. 

"You two are gonna be freezing in about twenty minutes," Ashton says, a warning tone to his voice. They don't answer right away, but he's pretty sure he sees Michael shrug. 

"Too tired t'move," Luke says back a second later like it took that long for Ashton's words to register in his lagging brain. Michael tightens his hold on Luke and they resettle. 

Ashton huffs, pulls the blankets up a little higher on him and Calum and says, "Fine. Freeze. See if I care."

Calum's hand is stroking Ashton's back and he's making almost silent shushing sounds, just wanting everyone to stop talking so he can fall asleep. Ashton lets his eyes fall shut too, not worrying too much about the other two being hardheaded right now.

He knows when he wakes up again all four of them will be together under the blankets. They always are.