Behind The Limelight 47: Golden

‘Ashton pushed Ryker roughly against the wall, his grey orbs glaring into Ryker’s dark ones, his lips twisted evilly in a devilish smirk as Ashton gripped the collar of Ryker’s shirt.

“You bastard! How dare you come here?” Ashton growled, making his archnemesis laugh.

“I don’t remember needing your permission, princess,” Ryker snapped, his eyes trailing down at Ashton’s lips.

“You should know your place, Cohen,” Ashton warned with gritted teeth. “It’s beneath me.”

“Is that so?” Ryker hummed. “Show me, then. Show me what it’s like to be underneath you.”

Ashton could not control himself any longer as he attacked Ryker’s lips. Both the men made out hungrily, their tongues fighting for dominance as—’

“Nope! Stop, just stop!” Ashton groaned. “I can’t read these any more.”

“But we were just getting to the good part!” Ryker protested.

“The good part? You mean me attacking your lips and our…tongues fighting for dominance? What the fuck is that even supposed to mean?” Ashton huffed, closing his laptop shut before keeping it aside.

“Well, uh, maybe it means, like, fighting with our tongues?” Ryker tried to answer, Ashton blinked at him with a blank look on his face, as if the other man had clearly lost his mind. “Also you’ve got to admit, Asher is a really great ship name for us.”

“Did this fanfic kill your existing braincells or what?”

“Shut up,” Ryker muttered. “At least the author got one thing right.”

“Which was?” Ashton asked.

“The undeniable sexual tension between us,” Ryker grinned. “Also you would totally call me a bastard, press me against a wall and have your way with me.”

“Not anymore! I would’ve done that maybe a year ago,” Ashton mumbled. “The bastard part, I mean. Not the latter. I’d do that even now.”

“Oh, Ash baby, show me my place underneath you, muah muah,” Ryker spoke in a high pitched voice as he ended up laughing out loud before he could even finish the sentence. Ashton simply rolled his eyes, but couldn’t stop the smile from finding its way on to his face.

“I hate you,” Ashton stated.

“Nah, you love me. No take backs,” Ryker retorted. Ashton sighed dramatically as he shrugged before speaking up again.

“Stop being a bitch or I’ll fight you for dominance right here and right now,” Ashton threatened. The corner of Ryker’s lips turned upwards in a smirk as he kept his hand on Ashton’s thigh, sliding it upwards slowly.

“Do it. I dare you.”

Ashton seemed to forget that Ryker had a little bit of physical advantage over him, and he ended up getting pinned down as Ryker pushed his head against the pillow while he fucked him. Ashton returned the favor, though, bending Ryker over the desk later as he put the red fuzzy handcuffs he bought last week to use.

Life had changed a lot for Ashton in the past year. He never would’ve imagined that he would be voluntarily spending time with his sworn enemy, let alone sleeping with him and dating him. But there he was, sitting on the kitchen counter dressed only in his boxers as he watched the other man cook.

No matter what Ryker did or didn’t do, Ashton couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of him. They could simply be sitting next to each other, both working on their own things, and Ashton would still have a great time. He spent pretty much every day after work at Ryker’s, and the other man didn’t seem to mind. He even dropped and picked Ashton up from the set at times, and it was almost as if Ashton had unofficially moved in. He already had claimed a good portion of space in Ryker’s closet too.

Ryker even taught Ashton how to cook for himself, just a few simple dishes, nothing fancy, but enough so that he wouldn’t go hungry without a chef or a take-out menu. He also showed him how to do laundry, which for some reason really fascinated Ashton.

On the other hand, Ashton helped out Ryker with a few of his contacts. Ashton got him in touch with an up and coming entrepreneur and restaurateur, Reece Kingsley, and the two were already finalizing their plans to start a restaurant together.

Ryker decided to do a degree in business on the side. He did some short acting gigs here and there, and was getting back into theatre as well. Overall, he seemed happy with not being an actor full time. Ashton was glad that Ryker had finally found what made him content, and that he was pursuing it.

Ashton still loved to act. Sometimes he had his doubts, sure. Acting was the only thing he had ever known, he had grown into it and there had never been any other option for him. But now that he had the choice to opt for a different path— he still didn’t want to. Acting fulfilled him, and it was his passion.

Ashton’s career seemed to have taken off. He had already signed two movie deals after working with Erick Tate, and the shoot for one of them was already halfway over. A couple of famous brands made him their ambassador too, and Ashton was heading off to fashion week in a month. His following was at an all time high, and it was only bound to increase once his movie with Ryker and Tabby would release.

No matter how much Ashton loved his job, his favorite part of the day was coming back home to his boyfriend. And also video calling his brother, Dakota. Ashton was pretty much obsessed with him, offering to babysit whenever Cora was busy. Ryker loved the little one too, and he had already turned a guest room into a nursery for whenever Dakota stayed over.

The media seemed to have figured out that Ashton and Ryker were no longer rivals, as they had been seen hanging out a few times. But everyone just thought that they were friends, nobody was none the wiser.

“Do you ever wonder what would have happened if my mom didn’t interfere with our friendship?” Ashton said out loud. He had been discussing his issues with his mother in his therapy sessions lately, and it had given him a lot to think about.

“I don’t know,” Ryker shrugged. “We would’ve stayed friends for sure.”

“Would we have dated though?” Ashton asked. “You did say you were scared of telling me how you felt because you didn’t want to ruin our friendship.”

“I probably would’ve told you at some point, I guess,” Ryker answered. “It’s hard to tell what would have happened. There’s no point in thinking that way either. What matters is what did happen.”

“Fair enough.”

“And what did happen was that you fell for my dark chocolate orbs and mouthwatering washboard abs,” Ryker stated. Ashton groaned as he picked up a napkin, before crumbling it up and throwing it at his boyfriend’s head.

“You’re disgusting.”

“Says the man who licked cum off my—”

“Oh my God just shut up!” Ashton exclaimed, throwing another napkin ball at the other man, making him chuckle as he tried to dodge it this time.

“But on a very serious note…” Ryker paused as he walked closer to Ashton. He stood between his knees, keeping his palm on Ashton’s cheek as he kissed his forehead tenderly. “I’m so happy to have you, Ash.”

“I’m happy too. Happiest I’ve ever been,” Ashton replied, meaning every word.

“I know we have a bunch of shit to figure out. We’re living in a bubble right now which will eventually burst but…fuck Ash, I love you so much and I want to spend the rest of my life with you,” Ryker continued, “I have never felt this way and you’ve always been the one for me, even when both you and I didn’t know it. You’ve been the one ever since we did that stupid cereal commercial back when we were kids.”

“Don’t call it stupid. I like that ad,” Ashton mumbled, his cheeks flushing pink.

“You’re also stupid and I still like you, so my point stands,” Ryker retorted. “I don’t want to imagine a life without you. I can’t imagine a reality where I’m not with you.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Ashton whispered. He grabbed Ryker’s hand, hooking their pinky fingers together as a way to make a promise. “I’m with you. Always.”

“You better be,” Ryker spoke with a soft hum.

“Or what, huh?” Ashton questioned.

“I don’t know,” Ryker wasn’t in the mood to joke anymore. “I don’t know what I’d do. I’d break, probably.”

“Hey,” Ashton furrowed his brows as he intertwined their fingers. “Don’t say that.”

“But it’s true.”

“Fuck you, you’re not breaking with or without me. I forbid you from doing that,” Ashton stated. “You’re the love of my life but we’re also strong, independent men, okay? So don’t say shit like that ever again.”

“Okay,” Ryker said softly, before clearing his throat. “The premiere is this weekend. Are you ready?”

“Yeah,” Ashton muttered, slight hesitation in his voice. “I was thinking… I was wondering if, you know, like, it was just a random thought and you can say no if you want to but, actually nevermind, it’s stupid—”

“Out with it, Ash.”

“I think I’m ready to, you know, be public. About us,” Ashton revealed. “And I suppose what better way to do it than at the premiere?”

“Are you serious?” Ryker was caught completely off-guard as he stared at his boyfriend, a grin forming on his face.

“Yeah.”

Ryker leaned forward to press his lips against Ashton’s, kissing him deeply before hugging the man. He was holding Ashton so tight that the brunette feared that his air supply might get cut.

“Fuck yeah! Let’s do this.”

“It’s not too dramatic for you?” Ashton asked.

“Baby, we’re actors. Drama is in our blood.”

Ashton’s laugh filled the air as he leaned closer to Ryker’s lips for another sweet, affectionate kiss. Ashton couldn’t help but dwell on how fortunate he was. His heart was overflowing with gratitude. Before Ryker, it was as if his life was surrounded by a perpetual dark cloud. But the extraordinary man in front of him brought light brighter than any star.

He used to feel like the weight of the world was on his shoulders, crushing him down, but Ryker pulled him back up. He breathed new life back into Ashton’s soul, his love illuminating the darkness Ashton was terrified of. 

Ryker was Ashton’s sun, who fought through the thunderstorm to turn his grey world into a dazzling golden.

***

fin.

epilogue will be up soon.