#we said soft lashton is sweaters in the library Rights in the chat

[tirednotflirting]

and I'll make a cup of coffee, with the right amount of sugar (how you like it)

prompt: A sitting next to me in the library has been grinding on an assignment all day (like i’d have been in the library from 10-3 with breaks in between for classes but they’d been sitting there the whole time) and B would come in every few hours, put down food or coffee on their table, kiss the top of A’s head, and walk away without a word

meg: look at these prompts me: i want to? write these? meg: || totally not why i sent these ||

prompt adapted from this post.

this isn’t too long at all but if you wanna read on ao3, link is here

for @kaleidoscopeminds, the Hot Wine Mom of The Club <3

Luke is very stressed.

He has been stressed for the better part of the last two weeks. Classes were over and he’s only got one real final this semester and it’s in this Advanced Number Theory course he decided was a good idea to take. He was the only junior in the course and had just barely been scraping by and he needs a B on this exam if he wants to pass the class.

So on the day of the exam, he marches his way to campus at 9am to find his usual spot on the silent study floor where he has decided he will stay until the exam begins at 7pm. It might be a little overboard and Ashton’s concern with the plan was obvious from the way he pouted at Luke from the bed as he got ready to leave that morning (which Luke suspects was a strategy since on a normal day, if Luke saw Ashton pouting in bed, he would immediately toss his bag to the ground and crawl back under the covers to cuddle until he stopped). But Luke knows that if he had stayed back at their apartment to study instead, he would be distracted and barely touch more than one practice exam. 

So the quiet study floor, on the coldest day so far that winter, it is. 

He spends the first three hours pouring over his notes to decide what needs to go on the index card he’s being allowed to take into the exam. He adds sticky notes to the pages of the three different notebooks he’s filled for the course, using a color coded system to decide what is ‘Probably Maybe Important’ and ‘If You Don’t Spend At Least Half an Hour Staring At This One Page You Will Forget About This Thing’. It’s a very chaotic system and if he had the time, he would probably question how it’s worked for him so far during the last three years. But there is no time and he is very stressed and the library is cold, so he keeps up organizing.

It’s around noon when Luke jumps just slightly as a coffee cup from the shop near his apartment and a to go bowl appear in front of him. He doesn’t lift his face from the table but hears some rustling and then a plastic spoon is left on top of the bowl. A warm hand is placed against his shoulder and he can feel a kiss being placed against the top of his head. 

Ashton mumbles something soft against his hair, his hand squeezing Luke’s shoulder before heading off. For just a moment, Luke feels some of the tension in his back lift off, as though Ashton’s touch were able to pull some of that away. He turns just slightly, a small smile pulling at his lips, and watches Ashton head back in the direction of the elevators, likely heading to his job in the advising center.

Luke knows his stomach will start growling soon if he does not eat and he really likes to avoid being that guy so after taking a sip from the coffee (its one of those winter-y lattes he likes but Ashton hates), he opens up the little bowl. It’s one of those soups from the campus dining hall (the good one not the freshmen one). Luke giggles softly to himself as he tries to picture Ashton making his way around the part of campus he usually tends to avoid just to buy the soup he knows Luke likes. As he takes a bite, he can’t tell whether he feels more warm from the food and drink or the love from the boy who just brought him some study snacks without any prompting.

*

It’s around 3 when Luke starts actually shivering from how cold the library is.

He’s just taken a short walk around the floor (a girl from his stats class showed up nearby so she offered to watch his things), thinking it might help warm him up but if anything he was somehow colder than before. He could put his coat back on but then the sleeves would get in the way of his writing and basically, Luke is frustrated and cold and regretting ever making the choice to study this horrible subject.

He’s on question four on his third practice exam when he hears quiet footsteps approaching his corner spot. He lifts his eyes in a daze as the lights actually sting his eyes some after staring at paper and ink for so long. Once his vision clears up, he sees the gentle smile of his boyfriend, the Thermos designated specifically for his favorite herbal tea in his hand. 

Luke only blinks up at Ashton as he sets the tall blue container on the table since he’s not really sure what his voice would sound like after not speaking for the last six hours. Ashton pulls off his backpack and quietly unzips the main compartment and pulls his favorite, dark green sweater out. He places it in Luke’s lap and lets his hand drop to cup the blonde’s cheek for a moment. Luke can’t help the way he leans into the touch, Ashton’s warm and rough palm being an instant comfort. The hazel eyed boy’s smile grows some more and he leans down, pressing his lips to Luke’s forehead briefly. 

Then he steps back, zips the backpack up, and once again, heads off in the direction of the elevators. Luke takes a deep breath and sighs as he watches his boyfriend turn the corner. His brows rise in surprise when he hears the quiet cooing of the girl who had watched his things earlier. He turns to face her and finds her smiling, her hand against her heart. Luke feels himself blush, the intimacy of the silent exchange he had just had with Ashton being one that made him forget they had been in such a public setting. He smiles and shrugs, unsure of how to respond. 

He reaches for the sweater and pulls it over the longsleeve he had thrown on before leaving that morning. The sweater is thick and worn in, providing him an instant warmth that he knows will aid the rest of his studying. (Plus it doesn’t hurt that Ashton must have worn it recently, the collar smelling like a mix of his body wash and cologne.) Luke takes a quick sip from the tea (noting the honey that was added) and picks up his pen to keep going.

*

It’s 6pm and Luke feels okay. It’s not the best he’s ever felt about a final but it’s also not the worst, so he figures there’s a positive in there somewhere.

He likes to arrive at his exams about a half hour early and it doesn’t take too long to get to the math building, so he decides there’s time to do a few more problems. The floor he’s on is nearly deserted. It’s the last day of finals and his exam is during the last time block. He figures there’s probably only about four people left in the building. 

He’s checking the solution to the problem he’s just finished when he hears footsteps approaching once again. A coffee cup from the same shop as the one dropped off to him at noon appears in the corner of his eye and a warm hand cups the back of his neck before a pair of lips peck gently at top of his head. Luke lets his eyes close, a brief moment of calm before the storm it seems like as he feels Ashton’s hand gently run through the curls at the back of his head. He feels a chill when the hand drops and then the footsteps pick up to leave him in his cozy corner.

Ashton’s just turned the corner when Luke suddenly gets to his feet, abandoning his study materials to chase after his sweet boy. He runs in the direction of the elevators, his socked feet (he had kicked off his shoes around 2) oddly loud against the carpeted floor. He turns the corner and Ashton is still there, pulling a beanie over his head when Luke lands in front of him. He pulls Ashton toward him by the waist and bends his neck just slightly, letting their lips meet for just longer than a moment. The elevator ding breaks them apart and as the doors opens, Ashton steps back so his body keeps them from closing. Luke is certain the blush he can see on Ashton’s cheeks must match the one painting his own. “Thank you for today, I don’t know how I got so lucky with you.”

“Text me when you’re leaving campus afterwards so I can make you something warm to drink for when you get in, okay?” Ashton instructs with a gentle grin and Luke nods his understanding, his bottom lip pulling between his teeth. “And make sure to put your hat on when you’re walking back, I don’t want you to get a cold.”

“Love you, Ash.” Luke wonders if he looks as lovestruck as he sounds.

Ashton steps back into the elevator to allow the doors to close. “Love you too, Luke. You’re gonna kill it.”

(When Luke gets back from the exam, his smile is bright and his nose is red from running all the way home because he felt really really good about how he did and really really wanted to get home to tell Ashton all about it. He’s treated to cuddles on the couch and a movie after changing into sweats and a different one of Ashton’s sweaters. Luke spends the rest of the night with one hand holding a mug of hot chocolate and the other holding his love. Ashton let him pick the movie so Luke knows he should be paying attention, but his head is a mix of numbers and equations and the thoughts of how all he wants is to spend the rest of his life with someone who will bring him disgustingly sweet coffee and their sweater on a cold winter day.)

*