Behind The Limelight 40: Two Kinds Of Fathers

Ashton couldn’t help but feel nervous as he walked into the restaurant. One of the servers was leading him to the private booth that Malcolm had reserved for the two of them, and Ashton was picking at his nails as he followed her.

There were a lot of things that he needed to discuss with his agent. Not only about Ryker, but regarding his mother too. Ashton wondered whether Malcolm was aware of his father’s deeds or not, and if he was, then did he keep it from Ashton?

Malcolm was already seated at the table, a glass of white wine in front of him that he sipped as he read something on his phone. Once Ashton arrived, he took off his glasses and kept them on the table. He got up to give Ashton a hug, which the actor returned. Regardless of everything, Ashton had missed the old man while he was in London for work.

The two ordered dinner as they made small talk, mainly about Malcolm’s time in the UK, how the shoot was going and what all other projects Ashton had ahead in his schedule. Once all these matters were dealt with, the actor knew it was time for the more serious topics of conversation.

“So,” Malcolm cleared his throat as he cut into his steak, “the other day when you called me. When you…weren’t feeling well. What happened then, Ash?”

“I want to ask you something else before we talk about that,” Ashton said. Malcolm furrowed his brows in confusion, but nodded nonetheless, motioning Ashton to go on. “Did you know?”

“Know what?”

“About my dad?”

“I’m afraid you’ll have to be a bit more specific here,” Malcolm muttered.

“Did you know that my father impregnated a woman half his age and that my mother is trying to threaten her into signing an NDA?” Ashton asked.

Malcolm paused what he was doing, he stared at his plate for a few seconds, before finally looking up at Ashton. There was a soft frown on his face, he exhaled deeply, before nodding. Ashton’s jaw tightened as he stared at one of the only few people he trusted in the world, wondering why the hell would he keep something like that from him.

“I suppose you finally spoke to Rebecca,” Malcolm said.

“I did,” Ashton replied. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“She didn’t want me to,” Malcolm answered. Ashton scoffed as he leaned back on his chair, staring at the older man in disbelief.

“You’re not her agent anymore. You’re mine,” Ashton retorted. “And you know that you’re more than that too. How could…how could you keep me in the dark about something this massive?”

“It’s not so simple, Ash,” Malcolm explained. “You had just accepted the movie offer and were already stressed about having to work with Ryker. I didn’t…I didn’t want you to worry about the fucked up shit your family is doing too. I was only trying to protect you.”

“Then why—”

“Why do you think Rebecca showed up at my office instead of your house? Because I told her you weren’t home. I only took her to your place after checking with Vivian and confirming that you weren’t there because I knew how much you wanted to avoid her. I know the kind of damage that woman is capable of doing and I…I just wanted to keep you away from that,” Malcolm spoke.

“Mal…”

“I apologize if I was out of line. Maybe it wasn’t my place to do so but I just… You’ve been making so much progress and I didn’t want to see her ruin it,” Malcolm said softly. “She’s already done enough.”

“I understand,” and Ashton did. He really did. Malcolm had tried to protect him from his parents ever since he was a kid. He was originally his mother’s agent, but stepped down from the job when he saw what a horrible mother she was. Ever since then, he’s the only actual parent figure Ashton has had. “You don’t need to apologize. It’s fine.”

“How do you feel about it all?” Malcolm asked.

“I don’t know,” Ashton shrugged. “I spoke with Cora. Told her I’ve got her back and she doesn’t need to give in to my mother’s demands.”

“That’s nice of you,” Malcolm said, passing the actor a small but geniune smile.

“Other than that…I mean, it’s fucked up. The power dynamics even more so. But she said it was consensual and that she had feelings for my dad so…I don’t know if it’s my place to make any judgements,” Ashton paused. “All I know is that I’ve got a little brother coming soon and I want to be in his life. Hopefully Cora will let me.”

“I hope so too,” Malcolm replied. “Are you worried about the public backlash if this gets out?”

“It is what it is,” Ashton’s voice was determined and strong. “I’ll cross that bridge if I ever get to it. I’ve accepted the fame and power that comes with the Archer name so if someday…if someday the same name brings trouble then, well, I’ll learn to deal with that too.”

“You have…” Malcolm trailed off, his eyes slightly narrowed as he stared at the young man in front of him. It was almost as if he was caught off-guard by how well Ashton was handing everything. “You have changed. You sound much more mature.”

“Are you saying I was immature earlier?” Ashton rose a questioning brow, teasing his agent who chuckled at this before shrugging innocently.

“Your words, not mine,” Malcolm smirked as he went back to eating. Ashton let out a laugh too as he focused on his food as well. They were quiet for a few minutes before Ashton spoke up again.

“That day—” Ashton began, gulping. Well, here goes nothing. “When I called you. I…I was freaking out.”

“I see,” Malcolm kept his fork and knife down, looking up at Ashton and giving him his undivided attention. “And why was that?”

“Someone found out something about me that I didn’t want anyone to know,” Ashton answered, being vague on purpose. “And that scared me.”

“If it’s something that scared you then it’s terrifying to me, Ash,” Malcolm said carefully. “Both personally and professionally.”

Ashton kept his hands on his knees, his nails digging into his thighs as he looked around, making sure that nobody was in listening distance of the two. He couldn’t believe that he was going to come out to someone. But at least that someone was Malcolm. Ashton trusted him. He could do this.

“Ryker and I… we’ve sort of made up,” Ashton spoke. “It took us a while but we finally figured out what caused our falling out in the first place and we’ve put the rivalry bullshit behind us now.”

“That’s amazing. I know that you were great friends and I’m happy for you but what does that have to do with anything?” Malcolm questioned, looking even more confused now. Ashton knew he was talking in circles, but he was finding it difficult to come to the point. Thankfully, his agent was a patient man.

“Well, you know,” Ashton tried to act casual, glancing momentarily at the older man who was gazing at him rather intensely. “One thing led to the other and we, uh, Ryker and I, I mean. We, like, you know?”

“I…don’t know?” Malcolm blinked.

“We kinda sorta started hooking up,” Ashton muttered. “And we, uh, we have feelings for one another now so, like, we’re not dating dating. I mean we’re together? I think? I don’t know. We haven’t really talked about that. But we like each other. And we’re…yeah, we’re kinda hooking up.”

“You’re hooking up with Ryker? Ryker Cohen?” If Malcolm was surprised, he didn’t show it.

“Yes,” Ashton nodded.

“I see,” Malcolm hummed. “And someone found out and you panicked? Is this someone I need to talk to or worry about?”

“No, no,” Ashton shook his head. “It was Tabby. Tabitha. Our co-actress. I trust her, she won’t say a word to anyone.”

“That’s good, then,” Malcolm replied.

“That’s it?” Ashton frowned. “You have nothing else to say?”

“Well, are you happy?” Malcolm asked. “Does Ryker make you happy?”

“He does,” Ashton answered softly, a small smile forming on his face as he thought about the other man. He couldn’t wait to go over to his place after dinner and just hold him. Kiss him and cuddle with him and just…just be with him.

Fuck, I’m whipped already, Ashton thought.

“Good.”

“Again, that’s it?”

“Come on, Ash,” Malcolm chuckled. “You’re an actor. I’m shocked you’ve gone this long without ever sleeping with a man. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m kind of surprised that it’s Ryker but…also not that surprised.”

“Why not?” Ashton asked. “Who would ever think that Ryker and I would be hooking up? I mean…we hated each other’s guts! Come on, this was unexpected.”

“I’m pretty sure there’s a thousand something fanfics and even more so number of fans that ship you both,” Malcolm commented. “That’s the term, right? Ship? When you think two people—”

“Yes, you old fart, that’s the term,” Ashton mumbled. “I was panicking over coming out to you for nothing, it seems.”

“Oh Ash,” Malcolm sighed. “I hope you know that no matter what you do or who you love…I will always be here for you and that will never change. I might not…I might not have children of mine but you’re the closest thing I have to a son.”

“You’re not worried that this will be a PR disaster?” Ashton couldn’t help but melt at the older man’s words.

“Fuck that. Your happiness is more important. Don’t you worry about anything else, okay? I’ll handle the media and public. If you want to be with Ryker, then be with him,” Malcolm said.

“Thank you,” Ashton whispered.

“If you really want to thank me then…” Malcolm hesitated for a second before continuing. “Then please think about seeing a professional, Ash. You know that you have panic attacks. You know that. Seeing a therapist will help.”

“I’ll think about it,” Ashton said, but Malcolm didn’t look convinced. “I promise, Mal. I’ll…I’ll give it a shot, okay?”

“Okay,” Malcolm finally smiled. “I’m proud of you, son.”

***

mal? daddy?