Work Text
Now Accepting Applications
Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.
The rhythmic whoosh and clicking of the ceiling fan in Harper’s bedroom always lulled her sleep. It typically provided enough white noise to drown out ambient city noises and footsteps of the guy who lived in the flat above her. He was new to the building she thought, remembering the moving boxes heaped in the lobby last week. Prior to his arrival the flat had sat empty since Harper had moved in last year and she was already lamenting its vacancy.However, tonight was different. A siren wailed in the distance and Harper’s ceiling fan wobbled precariously as her upstairs neighbor paced above her. At first the light footsteps thudded hollowly against the floor but over the past twenty minutes they’d become increasingly quicker, almost aggressive.Harper could never really hear voices or audible sounds coming from the flat above her, but the building was old; the floors and walls often creaked and groaned as if they were spilling out secrets. The minutes passed by and Harper’s neighbor continued to pace. Occasional he’d hit a floorboard just right and her entire apartment would shake. Tonight she was convinced he was either walking the Indy 5000 around his flat or raising an elephant up there.In the dark, Harper squinted at the clock across the room. Without her glasses, she wasn’t 100% sure that she was reading the right numbers. She sighed and rolled over. It didn’t matter. It was getting later by the minute and she couldn’t sleep. She silently prayed that she’d fall asleep soon and wake up on time to catch her six am train; she had a long day ahead of her serving on a committee out of town for work.Suddenly, the pacing stopped. Several long seconds ticked by. The night stilled and and Harper let out a loud sigh of relief; she relaxed into her mattress and pulled the light throw blanket up to her chin. Harper was seconds away from dozing off when she was jolted awake by the sound of a maniacal vacuum coming from the flat above her.Desperate for sleep, she jumped out of bed angrily, determined to put a stop to the incessant noise coming from flat 304.Harper slid on a long sleeve tee over her pajama shorts and tank, stuffed her feet into flip flops, grabbed her eyeglasses, keys, and phone then marched out her door, down the hallway, and up the stairs.Harper approached his door and raised her hand in a fist to pound on the door but she stilled for a moment, afraid to wake his neighbors. Fuck it she thought and rapped three times on the door quite loudly. She stood there quietly for several heart beats, there was no answer. Just as she was about to rap again, the deadbolt flipped and the door slid open enough to see shadows.Harper launched into her verbal attack. “It’s after midnight! What the fuck are you vacuuming for??!! Some of us need to sleep! Including me, but I can’t. Because I hear you practically stomping around the flat all night long!”The door opened the rest of the way and her mystery neighbor’s body slipped through the crack, gently nudging Harper out of the way. He quickly checked the lock and gently closed the door. “Shut up before you wake her!” he hissed.“Her??!” Harper was pissed. She assumed he had female company.The man’s hands came up to cradle his face. He rubbed at his own temples. Harper looked him up and down. Even disheveled, he was gorgeous. And Harper was breathless. His gray joggers rode low on his slim hips, feet bare, and white tee clung to his broad shoulders and sculpted arms in all the right ways. His fingers moved from his temples and carded through his unkempt and dirty ash brown curls. Finally, he looked at Harper. His unblinking hazel eyes looked straight into hers and her heart skipped a beat. She had never felt eye contact this intense before.“My daughter. She’s teething. I don’t think either of us have slept since we moved in last week,” he explained.Harper studied his face carefully; she could see the exhaustion and stress. “We’re still getting used to the single dad routine,” he added.Harper thinks her jaw dropped. “Oh,” she exhaled. “I’m so sorry. Here I am bitching and clearly you need help. I’m Harper. I live in 204 right below you.”“Ashton.” He extended a hand to shake it, but Harper instinctively pulled him in for a hug. Ashton’s body stiffened against her arms but Harper held on for a few more seconds anyway.When she released him, she gave him a sheepish grin. “I’m so sorry. I’m a hugger by nature and I couldn’t resist. You looked like you needed human touch.”Now it was Ashton’s turn to study Harper. Her caramel hair was piled on top of her head in a messy bun. Even in the dimly lit hallway, he could see her green eyes were sparkling. It was a striking contrast from seconds ago when she was angrily banging on his door. Her plump, pink lips curved into a half smile.Sapphire blue bra straps, or maybe tank top straps, he thought, were peeking out under a gray hooded tee. Matching blue shorts cut off at mid thigh leaving the rest of her legs and feet exposed. Ashton wanted to feel her touch again.He chuckled. “I should be used to that. My best mate, Luke, is a total hugger too.” He looked at her through his eyelashes. “Maybe we can try that again?”Was he flirting?! He didn’t know where that came from. Harper giggled and extended her arms. Ashton stepped into her arms. When he felt her arms wrap around his shoulders he sighed and melted against her body. Instinctively his arms wound around her lower back and he gently guided her back against the wall; his brain shut off and without him thinking, his thumbs hooked over the waistband of her shorts, and he pushed his hips closer to hers. He rested his chin on the top of her head, a loose hair from her bun tickling his nose.Harper’s hands slid up his tightly muscled back. Her left thumb stroked at the soft spot behind his ear while her right hand found its way up his neck and began to card through the curls at the nape of his neck.Ashton’s heart beat wildly in his chest. He didn’t know how, but this felt so intimate and he craved more. It had been almost a year since his fiancé left him alone and broken with a new baby. Over a year since he felt the warm embrace of a female body.At the age of 32, Ashton’s heart was broken, left shattered on the floor by the love of his life who decided she wasn’t ready to be a mom, even after they spent hours and hours, days really, having lengthy discussions about their options when they found out they were pregnant.However, when the baby arrived she decided she just couldn’t do it. She packed her things and left quietly; she didn’t have the strength to argue or attempt to explain herself.Ashton barely functioned the first four months of his daughter’s life. He didn’t know where he would be if Luke wasn’t by his side. He wasn’t ready to be a single parent, or a heartbroken man. Dealing with both of those was an emotional rollercoaster Ashton never wanted to repeat. But his best friend was incredible. All of his close friends were incredible. Luke cleared his schedule and subleased his flat to a summer intern at his firm so he could temporarily move in with Ashton and newborn Evelyn.The first ten weeks were the worst for Ashton as he tried to develop a new rhythm that included Evelyn. By then though, Luke recruited the remainder of their squad, Calum and Michael, to take turns checking in on the new family and helping out when they could.When Ashton’s lease was up on the three bedroom flat he previously shared with his fiancé, he decided it was time to move into something smaller. Something more affordable. Something closer to Luke so he would have a big part of his support system near by but far enough for him to be independent so he could let Luke get back to his life.Ashton was lost in thought when he felt Harper shift in front of him. She gazed up at him and her fingers stilled, entwined in his hair, when he spoke. “It’s my turn to be sorry. I completely zoned out for a minute. I was thinking about this year. My fiancé left me with Evie when she was ten days old. This year has been strenuous and maddening but I wouldn’t change it for the world. And even with my best friends helping me every day, it’s been lonely. So lonely.”Harper’s eyes glistened, she was on the brink of tears for a man she’d known less than five minutes. His story was like the start of a Hallmark movie, she thought. She pulled him closer yet.“Oh my gosh,” she blinked twice trying to clear her eyes. “I can’t even imagine what you’ve gone through but I can kind of relate. I split from my boyfriend of half a decade earlier this year when we decided we wanted different paths in life. It was an amicable split and we sometimes talk still. But I miss his touch. Maybe not even his touch, but touch in general. I miss having a warm body to snuggle into when I’m cold. I miss hugging and hand holding. I miss the intimacy of closeness.”She didn’t know why but she felt like it was okay to open up to him too. Ashton gazed at her, a small smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. “Well, I guess I could start taking applications for a cuddle buddy. Luke failed me in that department.”Harper’s grin mirrored his and she giggled. “I guess I could drop my resume off tomorrow after work!”Ashton belly laughed and immediately slapped a hand over his mouth, afraid his laugh would wake Evie sleeping on the other side of the door. “You should probably bring a bottle of wine and a hearty appetite with your resume. I’ll see you at 7:30 tomorrow for your interview.”Harper stood on her tiptoes and brushed a feathery kiss across his stubbled jawline. “Goodnight Ashton.”“Goodnight Harper.” He stepped away from her and watched her walk down the hall. He retreated into the flat and and quietly entered the small study turned nursery adjacent to his room. He placed a kiss on his daughter’s forehead as she slept peacefully in her crib.As he climbed into bed, Ashton tapped out a quick message to Luke. “I think I met someone.” Ashton closed his eyes, and for the first time in many weeks, he slept soundly.One floor below him slept Harper, finally asleep, dreaming about Ashton and his baby.