Ash hissed in pain as he stared at his mangled face in the small mirror of the bathroom.
His brow bone had stopped bleeding but the blood was now dried around the wound. His torso was marred with blue bruises and he had deep cuts on his fists.

He sighed. That's what he got for playing the hero.
Trey had no idea how lucky he was.

Ash heard the small boy opening the door at that moment.
Trey saw the open bathroom, decided to enter the cramped room and gasped when he saw the state of Ash's face.

"Ashton your face it's-"
"Fucked up I noticed." Replied Ash with a sour laugh.
"I was going to say bruised, but yes it's pretty f-fucked up. Do you need any help? You look like you're struggling. I know the basics." Offered Trey.

"What don't you know?" Grumbled Ash.
It wasn't against him personally but he was tired and had taken quite a few punches so he was sore and in a foul mood.
"Fine get over here, at least you'll do something useful."

He handed him a damp cotton ball and sat on the sink, Trey inched closer.
In order to remove the dried blood on Ash's forehead, he needed to stand between his legs.

He slowly patted Ash's brow bone with extreme care. The tall boy hissed when the product touched his skin but didn't dare move. He was already too close to Trey for his liking and was getting a sense of deja vu. So he tried as hard as possible to even his breath and gripped the edges of the sink while Trey tended to his wounds in silence.

"Where did you learn all this?" Finally asked Ash as Trey delicately wrapped his fist in a clean gauze before applying a bandage.

"My father died when I was twelve, and my m-mother married a new man not long after. I think she was cheating on my father because he was sick but she never admitted it."

"I shouldn't have asked."

"It's fine, it's the past.
The man's name was Robert. He was f-fine at first but always busy at work and my mother was lonely most of the time so she went out a lot.

Because both of them were rarely at home, I had to learn how to look after myself. Robert never admitted it but he didn't like me. He thought I was a nuisance. And he had very bad drinking habits. Replied Trey in a frown as the painful memories surfaced once again.

However, unlike with the headmaster, he felt safe with Ash and trusted him enough to unravel little bits of his past.

"You got lucky, I don't think you need stitches. You should keep the wounds clean and disinfect them, but you already know how to do that." He added with a smile, referring to their first meeting when Ash had disinfected his books.

"Did he ever hit you?" Asked Ash, resting his thumb on Trey's cheek as if to make sure he wasn't injured.
Trey was so comfortable that he didn't even realise the proximity.
His voice almost dropped down to a gentle whisper:

"No he didn't, but he did hit my mom. Though immediately after he would apologise and buy her gifts so she would forgive him but things just kept getting worse.
I never understood why my mother forgave him every time. And it scared me to think that love could be so fickle it could trap you without you realising.

Robert would accuse my mother of going out too much and spending all the money he brought home. His words were also always very harsh and he easily got angry against me for the most ridiculous things, like dozing off on the couch before on of his matches, forgetting to set the table... So I avoided him as much as I could.
Until that night at least."

"Right, about the anger issue, I'm sorry, I shouldn't loose my temper like that. I don't want you to think I'm like that guy.
I hope you're not mad at me."
"No it's okay, even I get mad sometimes." Shrugged Trey.
"Still it's not an excuse. I would kill myself before I could even hurt you."
"Don't say that, it's corny." Giggled Trey.
"I know, I know. It sounded better in my head I'll admit it." Replied Ash with a short laugh. Both his hands were now lightly resting on Trey's warm cheeks and he had somehow gotten closer to him.

"Peace?"

He asked and held out his pinky.
Trey smiled.
"That's childish, but fine. Peace." He answered before hooking his much smaller pinky with Ash's.

The tall boy felt his cheeks slightly heat up so he turned his face away from Trey and unhooked his pinky. His skin was tingling pleasantly in the spot where it had touched Trey's.

He cleared his throat and got up, towering over Trey's smaller frame.
"I think I'm okay, you did a good job at patching me up, thank you Trey." He said scratching the base of his neck.

Trey had come to realize that he did that when he was embarrassed which didn't happen often. So he nodded and looked up at Ash.
"You're welcome." He whispered.

Ash's heart skipped a beat. He quickly left the bathroom as the atmosphere was to intense. He needed to calm down.

Now.

Having Trey so close to him in such a confined space made his head spin. In seconds he had envisioned too many ways of how he could have had him right then and there.

He pinched his nose and got out of the cramped room. He hoped some fresh air would be enough to get his mind off the small boy's stare, his face, his body and his soft smile.

Fuck.

It wasn't working at all.

He sighed.

Meanwhile, Trey was still in the bathroom, heart thumping and cheeks red.
What had just happened? Had Ash felt the same tension he had felt?
He truly hoped so.

And at the same time, he was glad that Ash hadn't pushed further when he had talked about his family situation. Trey felt at ease with him and also hoped it was mutual.

                               ***

Later that evening, Ash had finally calmed down after a much needed walk and was peacefully reading on his bunk when Trey looked over his shoulder and shyly asked:

"Could you read out loud to me again?"

"I can. But please don't sit on the floor I had to drag you to your bed last time." (And almost kissed you while you were asleep) he thought.

"Um okay but where should I sit?"
"Just go at the other end of the bed and lean back against the wall." Suggested Ash as if it was completely normal for him to share his bed with someone else.

Trey nodded and quickly sat down in case Ash changed his mind. He hugged his knees and tried to take as little space as he could.

"That won't do. I don't feel like raising my voice come closer." Added Ash, finding an excuse to have Trey close to him even though he didn't want to admit it. Since he hadn't felt the least repulsed this morning when he had touched Trey's cheeks, he thought he could maybe push a little further tonight.
He was ready to test his limits.

Or so he thought.

Trey silently inched closer until his shoulder brushed Ash's.
"That's better don't you think?" Asked Ash in a whisper.

"Yes. You can read now." Replied Trey.
He was a little intimidated: Ash's broad shoulders took up most of the space and he could feel the muscles rolling under the bronze skin. Even though they were both wearing shirts, he could feel the heat radiating from the other boy. He found it to be quite pleasant even if he was too shy to admit it.

The more Ash read, the more he and Trey slumped further in the bed. The small boy ended up with his head lightly resting on Ash's muscular torso. He could hear the soothing sound of his heart beating as well as his deep voice. He closed his eyes.

"Why is your heart beating so fast?" He asked in a barely audible whisper. Ash stopped reading.
"I guess it's overwhelmed by having you so close." He laughed lightly.

"Are you?"
"What, overwhelmed?"
"Yes."
"I am. Always with you, I have to be careful with you around, I have to change my behavior and pay attention to another human being. Of course I'm overwhelmed."

"Is it a bad thing?"
"No. It means I care even though
I shouldn't."
"Why shouldn't you?" Asked Trey still whispering. He was now absentmindedly tracing circles on Ash's abdomen, concentrating on his heartbeat.

When Ash didn't respond, Trey moved his head to look at his face. He could see the turmoil in his eyes. He waited patiently, still tracing small circles.

"You shouldn't because one day I'm going to hurt you even if I don't want to. Didn't you see who I am and what I can do?"
"I did, but please try not to get into fights as much, I can't stand violence and I don't want to see you get beaten up."

Ash smiled, Trey had dodged the question.
"And if I stop fighting who will defend you?" He asked with a grin.

"I can defend myself!" Objected Trey.
"Of course you can't." Replied Ash, threading his hands into Trey's chocolate curls. The small boy almost sighed in content.

"Whatever, I'm serious please stop useless fights."
"I'll stop fighting only if you're not implied."
"Okay I can work with that."
"Can you now?" Retorted Ash with a playful smile.

Trey rolled his eyes.
"I was really scared for you, you know?"
"I know. But I promise I won't do it again. Promise?" Asked Ash, waving his pinky in front of Trey's face.
"Promise." He replied and hooked their fingers together once again.

There,
the feeling was back. It fired up in Ash's stomach and spread through his whole body like a wildfire. It was as if his skin on his finger was prickling. He was fighting against his desire. Trey's lips were so close, and it was hard to resist. He was so focused on them that he didn't hear what Trey said.

He had a single idea in mind.

Trey say up in the bed and asked:
"Are you okay? You've been silent for a moment."
"I'm fine. Just trying to figure some things out." Replied Ash.
Trey slightly tilted his head to the side, trying to understand what was wrong with him.

When he saw Trey's large innocent eyes and the freckles sprinkled over his nose, Ash finally surrendered.
"Trey close your eyes for me please." He asked in a strangled breath.
"O-okay."
Trey closed his eyes without prying any further and Ash was thankful as he could now feel his confidence dwindling by the second.

This was a bad idea.

But he wanted it so much...

With the small boy's eyes closed, Ash was more at ease. He slowly inched closer until his breath hit Trey's lips. The small boy let out a small gasp of surprise, not expecting it.

Ash took advantage of it by gently closing the distance between their lips. And a second later they were kissing.

For real this time.

Ash's brain completely shut down, the only thing he was sure of now was that Trey wasn't close enough.

He solved the problem by taking Trey's hand into his and bringing him closer so that he was practically sitting in his lap. Trey broke the kiss off to breath, slightly dazed.

"O-okay Ashton I was not expecting that."
"Was it bad? I'm sorry it was a stupid idea, you didn't like it! I shouldn't have done that out of the blu-"

Trey interrupted him by boldly wrapping his lean arms around Ash's nape and bringing their needy lips together once again.

"Who said I didn't like it?" He murmured against Ash's lips.
Sparks suddenly exploded in his navel and a shiver ran down his spine when Ash shyly slipped a warm hand under his shirt and rested it on the small of his back. The other hand was already in his curls, pulling them gently.

Trey somehow felt even bolder, drunk on Ash's kiss, he slid one leg over Ash's and sat right on top of him.

He smiled when he felt the other boy's breath catch in his throat. He was the reason why Ash was in such a state and he was oddly proud of himself.
He slowly rolled his hips, gradually creating a pleasant friction that Ash felt immediately.

So Trey wanted to play that game? Fine by him, he would loose anyway.

Ash responded by skimming the small boy's ribcage all the way up until his fingers grazed the two hardened nubs on Trey's chest. He earned strangled moan, not wasting any second and slipped his tongue into Trey's mouth.

Damn did he taste good.

Trey smiled into the kiss and rolled his pelvis even harder, feeling all of Ash through his light pyjama pants.

He was definitely reacting.

"Someone's bold today." Whispered Ash as he nipped at the soft skin under Trey's ear.
"A-Ahh s-says the one who's biting at my neck like a vampire."
"Guilty." Replied Ash with a chuckle.

They kissed some more, hands exploring each other's burning skin and Ash finally decided that he didn't want to ruin the moment by going to fast even though Trey seemed more than willing to continue. He wanted to take his time. Unravel the secrets of Treys body one by one and leave him drunk on pleasure, begging for more.
Ash gently pushed Trey away by the shoulders with a grin.

"Fine you win. But we have to stop now, or I won't be able to control myself any longer."

Trey looked at him with hooded eyes,  messed up hair and it took everything Ash had to not take him the same instant.
"Are you sure?" Asked Trey innocently.

"Yes and stop playing the innocent card, I've seen what you're capable of you demon. Now come here and get some sleep." He replied before pulling him forward and turning the lights of.

Even if they were both incredibly turned on, Ash knew that taking things slow was the right thing to do. Besides he was already very thankful that Trey appeared to be attracted to him.

The small boy was lying almost completely on top of him and his soft breathing soothed Ash's mind. He delicately raked his fingers through his hair once again until he felt his breathing slow down.

Now that Trey was asleep, Ash was caught up by dark thoughts, torn between wanting more and knowing what was best for the other boy: staying away from him. Deep down, he knew that he couldn't always be there to protect him and that he would have to learn on his own.

But for now, he would allow him to get past his barriers.

Just this once.

{AN: weeee progress! Some insight on Trey's past and a kiss, what could happen next? See you at chapter 18 to find out!
Moonlightshow 🌙}