Behind The Limelight 29: Pictures On The Wall

“Ash! Wake the fuck up!” Ryker screamed in Ashton’s ear, making him get up with the jolt. He looked around, his droopy eyes narrowing even further upon seeing the dark haired man in front of him.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Ashton muttered. “Why are you yelling?”

“Get up, sleeping beauty. We have to leave in fifteen,” Ryker stated.

“Who gave you permission to enter my room?” Ashton questioned.

“Technically it’s my room, y’know? ‘Cause it’s my house,” Ryker deadpanned.

“Yeah, but it’s called the guest room. That means it belongs to the guest. So for the time being it’s my room,” Ashton retorted. All Ryker could do was stare at him, speechless.

“Alright, Your Highness. I apologize for trespassing into your territory without your permission. Now would you please get your ass out of bed? Go take your morning piss so that we can leave,” Ryker said.

“You’re gross,” Ashton mumbled, before yawning and stretching his arms as if there was no rush at all. “What about breakfast?”

“Oh. Right. What would you like? Blueberry pancakes? Bacon? Sausages? How about some scrambled eggs and freshly squeezed orange juice too, huh?” Ryker’s voice was filled with sarcasm.

“Well,” Ashton hummed. “You know, I actually wouldn’t mind some sausa—”

“Get up!”

~~~

Ashton could barely keep his eyes open in the car.

Contrary to popular belief, he did sleep in the guest room. Though he got maybe an hour or two of shut eye. He kept twisting and turning, and when he finally did fall asleep…the next thing he knew, Ryker was yelling in his ear ordering him to get out of bed.

At least Ryker allowed Ashton to take a shower before they left. A very quick one. Ashton’s housekeeper had packed him a bag which his driver had dropped off at Ryker’s place the night before. So after munching on a couple pieces of toast, and grabbing an apple for the way— the two men were off.

“—I’m not going to listen to a fucking history podcast!” Ashton exclaimed, raising his arm forward to change what was playing on the Bluetooth screen, but Ryker swatted his hand away.

“It’s about mythology, not exactly history,” Ryker clarified. “It’s my car. So we’re listening to whatever I want to listen to.”

“No. We’re going to put on some nice music. Preferably something slow and soothing so that I can take a nap,” Ashton retorted.

“Who died and made you president, huh?” Ryker asked. “We’re listening to my podcast. Period.”

“Of course you wouldn’t want there to be a president, you stupid dictator!” Ashton scoffed. He tried to change the channel again, once again to get his hand pushed away by Ryker’s. “I’ll keep trying to change it, Ryker, I can be very persistent.”

“Don’t I know it,” Ryker muttered with a tired sigh. “You’re going to annoy me into driving the car into a fucking tree.”

“I won’t annoy you if you just let me listen to what I want!” Ashton argued.

“Fine. Play whatever,” Ryker mumbled.

Ashton grinned, feeling victorious as he put on some music. He settled into the passenger seat, looking out the window for a few seconds before closing his eyes, ready to take his nap.

Ryker glanced at Ashton a couple of times. When he could see the other actor’s chest rising and falling periodically, a calm expression on his face— he was certain that Ashton was asleep. Ryker let out a light chuckle, before putting on the podcast that he was listening to earlier.

Ashton woke up to someone shaking his arm violently, but at least this time Ryker wasn’t yelling in his ear. He rubbed his eyes, looking out to see that they were in Ryker’s parents’ driveway.  He parted his lips to say something, but paused when he noticed what was playing in the car. He furrowed his brows, turning to face Ryker with an angry expression.

“You put the podcast back on!” Ashton said.

“You were literally asleep,” Ryker blinked. “Just get out of the car, Ash, we’re here.”

“Asshole,” Ashton muttered.

“Dickhead,” Ryker retorted.

After getting the bags out of the trunk, both the men headed to the front door. Before Ryker could even knock, his mom opened up with a huge grin on her face. She pulled Ryker in for a hug, making him laugh. Her eyes then fell on Ashton, who was standing behind Ryker awkwardly.

“Ashton!” Helena exclaimed, unwrapping her arms from Ryker to walk towards Ashton and hug him instead. For a second Ashton couldn’t breath because of how tight she was holding him, but nonetheless, it brought a smile to his face.

“Hey, Mrs. Cohen,” Ashton greeted softly.

“Oh my boy,” Helena kept a hand on Ashton’s face, looking up at him how a mother seeing her son after a very long time would. “It’s so good to see you, Ash. We missed having you around the house.”

“I missed you all too,” Ashton replied, truthfully.

“Oh,” Helena frowned for a brief moment, before leaning up to quickly kiss Ashton’s forward. “Come on in now, boys! Everyone’s in the living room.”

Ashton looked around the familiar hallway as he walked behind Ryker. There were pictures up on the wall, from different times and occasions. There were a few with Ashton in the frame too. The house still looked pretty much the same, despite it having been a long time since he had last visited.

Ashton didn’t know how to feel as the nostalgia hit him like a bullet train. His eyes were taking in everything, noticing every little detail of the house. His nose was flooded with the smell of the apple pie Helena always made every Sunday. He touched the snowglobe on one of the tables, remembering that he had gotten it for Ryker’s dad, Jim, when he was shooting abroad.

Ashton followed the mother and son into the living room. Jim got up from the couch to hug both of them, Ashton first. Abi was next, going on and on about how eagerly everyone had been waiting for them to arrive.

“This is Parker, my fiancé,” Abi introduced.

Ashton almost broke Parker’s hand as he shook it. His face was intense as he, undoubtedly, tried to intimidate the man that was marrying Abi. She was like his own sister, and he cared about her a lot. Parker just smiled politely as he rubbed his palm. Ryker couldn’t help but smirk as he noticed the little exchange.

“Nice to see you again, man,” Ryker patted Parker’s shoulder, making sure not to do it too hard. Unlike Ashton, he had met Parker a couple of times before. He seemed like a nice, geniune guy, and Abi was happy with him. That’s all that mattered to Ryker.

“Why don’t you boys go settle in first? Freshen up and get some sleep. I’ll wake you up when it’s time for lunch,” Helena suggested.

“Sounds good, mamãe,” Ryker replied.

“I’ve set up your room. You boys good with sharing it?” Helena questioned. Ashton furrowed his brows in confusion, why would they be doing that?

“What about the guest room?” Ryker asked, glancing from Ashton to his mom.

“Parker is staying there,” Helena said, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

“Why?” Ryker questioned. “Shouldn’t be stay with—”

“Mamãe doesn’t want us sharing a room until we’re married,” Abi answered, rolling her eyes. Ashton tried to control his laugh at the annoyed look on Abi’s face.

“Don’t you two live together?” Ryker looked amused too.

“As long as they’re under my roof and aren’t married, they’ll be in different rooms,” Helena state.

“But—”

“Don’t even bother trying, trust me we already had a debate on this when I arrived,” Abi cut her brother off.

“If that’s the case then we’ll be good. Right, Ash?”

“Right. Of course,” Ashton nodded. He didn’t want to act entitled by demanding a separate room for himself. Even if that meant sharing one with Ryker. “Thank you again for having me here.”

“Nonsense, you have no need to thank us,” Jim said. “You’re welcome here anytime, son.”

Ashton couldn’t explain the feeling of warmth that he was experiencing. It wasn’t just in his heart, but his entire body. It felt good to be back there, to see the people that had treated him with so much love back when he was kid. They were once again welcoming him with open arms, and it brought up something that Ashton hadn’t felt in a long time.

The feeling of being home.

Ryker’s room was exactly how he remembered it. It still looked like it belonged to a teenager, with posters up on the walls and a huge shelf of comic books. Ashton smiled as he looked around, noticing so many things he hadn’t seen in years.

“You still have these,” Ashton said softly, picking up a couple of pebbles from a bowl full of them.

Back as kids, whenever they would head to the beach, the two best friends would have a competition to see who could find the prettiest rock. They would then exchange whatever they found, growing their own personal collection at home.

Ashton frowned. He had thrown his back when he and Ryker had a falling out. Along with a lot of other things that reminded him of the other man. He couldn’t believe that Ryker still had them. That he would still keep a stupid bowl of stupid rocks.

“Of course, I wouldn’t just throw them away,” Ryker replied casually. Ashton gulped, there was a sting in his heart. He couldn’t help but feel guilty.

“I did,” Ashton admitted, his voice low.

“Oh.” Ryker cleared his throat before speaking up again. “I mean, they’re just rocks anyway. And you hate me. So. Yeah. It’s fine.”

“Yeah,” Ashton replied with a nod, trying not to show how much everything was affecting him. Ryker sighed, walking closer to the other man. Ryker kept a hand on the other actor’s cheek, making Ashton face him.

“Hey, look at me,” Ryker spoke. “Let’s get some sleep, okay? I know that it must be overwhelming for you to come back here. Just rest for a few hours, Ash.”

“Okay,” Ashton mumbled, trying his hardest to keep up a tough exterior.

Ryker sighed, leaning forward to press his lips against Ashton’s. The kiss was short and soft. Ashton was staring at Ryker with a confused expression once he pulled back. He didn’t know why Ryker was doing this. Why was he kissing him so gently? Ashton wanted to ask him. Badly.

“I’m not sleeping on the goddamn air mattress though,” Ashton said instead.

***

Where have I heard the name Parker before, hm?