Work Text
Michael’s POV
My alarm rings, waking me from my peaceful slumber, as I roll over to silence it and quickly check the time out of habit. I yawn, collapsing back on the bed when I see that it’s barely 6am. I hear other alarms going off one by one as the minutes pass but I still lay there, half asleep, limbs heavy and uncooperative at such an early time.Suddenly there is an insistent round of banging on the door and a loud voice to match. “Get your ass out of bed, we have half an hour and we are not going to be late again.” Ashton lectures me through the door.I pull the covers over my head and block everything out, well that it until the door opens and my blankets are stolen, leaving me curled in a ball in just my boxers while Ashton stands there holding my covers raising an eyebrow in silent warning. I groan, thrashing around for a few seconds, before crawling my way off the bed to get ready for the day ahead.“That’s better, now get before you make us late.” He grumbles, using a nearby t-shirt to whip my ass to motivate me to move quicker, before walking out like nothing happened, off to make sure the other 2 are moving.“Yes dad.” I grumble, making him freeze as he reaches the door, glaring over his shoulder, before slamming the door to emphasis his annoyance. I roll my eyes before finding some decent clothes while mumbling, “...and they call me the violent one.”After throwing on the clothes I found, I walk out of my room and trudge into the kitchen, grabbing a piece of toast off of Calum's plate before wondering off again to find my shoes.“Michael Gordon Clifford, stop stealing peoples food and find your shoes before I make you go in just your socks.” Ashton barks, in work mode already and its only quarter past 6.“Just my socks, eh?” I smirk, receiving a glare in return. I laugh before finding my shoes by the door, the hunt for my shoes was surprisingly easier than I thought it would be.Now you may think that Ashton is being a bit of an asshole right now but there are two reasons for that. One being an interview we have this morning that we cannot be late for under any circumstances, the other reason being that I have been teasing him and getting on his nerves for two days straight now and I’m waiting for him to snap.As I finish tying my laces, the car taking us to the interview pulls up outside. Ashton appears, herding the other two along, eyes wide when he notices me waiting by the door but otherwise ignoring me completely. I sigh, this is bound to be a long day and it’s barely even started.-----------------------------------------------------It’s currently 10pm and I’m exhausted but I cannot sleep right now. Other then barking orders at me, Ashton has been ignoring me all day and I feel bad now for annoying him. I mean, if I was in his situation I guess I would have done the same, but I was enjoying the attention I got from annoying him and now I just feel so left out. He has been laughing and joking around with the other two but anytime I go to speak he glares at me and honestly, I want to say sorry but I am a bit scared that he might have a go at me for even being in his sight right now.There is a tentative knock on my door, breaking my thoughts. I sigh before mumbling for whoever to come in, which they obviously hear as the next second the door swings open. Standing there is Ashton, I instantly sit up to see what he wants but he just shuffles in, closing the door softly, before climbing onto the bed next to me and laying down on his stomach.I watch him but stay silent. He turns his head to the side so he that is facing me, “I’m sorry I’ve been shouting at you all day-“He starts softly, but I cut him off.“I deserved it for being an asshole.” I mumble.“No you don’t Michael. You deserve so much better. I took out my frustration on you and it was so wrong.” He says and I can see in his eyes that he is telling the truth so I just nod and lay back like I was before he came in, him now lying next to me.“It’s fine. You're alright now though...right?” I ask softly.He sighs, closing his eyes as our eyes meet, before nodding. “Yeah, I’m just fine. Just annoyed with myself... and everything but I’ll get over it.” He explains.I take a deep breath, thinking. “Maybe I can help...call it payback for getting on your nerves.” I offer.“Not really. Just stupid crushes on people I can’t have.” He mumbles, eyes still closed. I feel my heart sink at those words but let him go on nonetheless.”They’re just so perfect but they don’t see it, always making jokes about themselves. I want to tell them what I see but I can’t... it wouldn’t be right. I mean, even early in the morning when they're barely awake, they look so perfect to me but I can’t show it because I’m scared of what they’ll say.” He takes a deep breath, shuddering slightly indicating he is trying not to cry. When he opens his eyes, I feel like crying too. He looks so conflicted on what to do, his eyes swimming with unshed tears and pouting slightly.“Do I know this person?” I ask reluctantly.He nods before whispering, “Yeah, probably better than anyone.”I think over what I am going to say carefully not wanting to make the situation any worse by saying the wrong thing. “Life is about taking risks, taking chances on things we think we may never achieve but still hoping for the best. You wanna know what I think? I think you should tell them, take the chance. I’m not going to promise it will work out because I don’t know but what I do know is that just the simple act of telling them and hearing their answer can do so much. If you never tell them, you’ll never know how it would have ended and you will always find yourself wondering what would have happened if you had taken the chance and even if they say no, at least you had some closure and heard it from them that it wouldn’t have worked out.” I take a deep breath, before summarising it quickly with a simple sentence. “Sometimes taking the chance is worth the heartache it causes because it gives you closure if it all falls apart, and you will never have to consider the ‘what ifs’ because you’ll already know the outcome.”It’s silent for a moment and I worry that I've said too much. “That’s deep words from someone whose vocabulary is 90% swear words.” He jokes weakly, making me laugh nodding because I guess it’s true. “But, about what you said...thank you.” I smile in return and sitting up as I play with my hands.“You wanna know who I like...” He trails off as I return my focus to him. “Then go back to the first word.” he continues. I think over what he just said, my jaw dropping when it clicks what he just said.I gulp, “What..?” I ask confused.“You told me to take the chance, and that’s exactly what I’m doing. You drive me insane but I could never be mad at you for long. Every joke you make about yourself, I want to pull you into my arms and keep you there until you believe you are perfect. Waking you up every morning has been the hardest thing, seeing you laying there half asleep, hair going all ways and pouting away to yourself, I wanted to get in there with you and just spend my morning with you but I couldn’t and it wasn’t always because of our schedules. I was scared, so scared, but I am willing to take the chance for you.” He blurts out.I stay silent for a moment, trying to wrap my head around the situation. “I honestly don’t know what to say...” I mumble, looking down sadly. He sits up and wraps an arm around my shoulders.“You’re even cute when you’re confused.” He laughs to himself, a short sad sound which is nothing like the laughter I am used to hearing from him.“You mean all this time I was being an asshole to you to get your attention and all I had to do was look sleepy?” I ask with a smirk after a few seconds.He blushes, “Yeah, probably. I would most likely do nearly anything for that sleepy boy I see every morning” He laughs.“Anything?” I raise an eyebrow, smirking.He whines, “Don’t be evil.”I laugh, “I might be a little to happy that you took the chance... you got any remedies for that?” I ask.“Hmm... a few.” He hums before pushing my back gently as he kisses me softly.
Ashton’s POV
If I knew months ago that taking a chance would have had similar results then I would have done it sooner. But maybe I’m glad things worked out the way they did, because I got to see the caring lad that knows the right words to say when his friends are in need.That caring lad that has owned my heart for so long and didn’t even know it.That caring lad that will do anything to see his friends smile again, even if it means making a fool of himself.That caring lad that I now call my boyfriend.