"Can we go play now, grandma?" Leon asked as he jumped up and down on his chair as he was sitting down.

"Are you you done with your food?" Liz asked and looked at the two toddlers by the end of the table. Both of them nodded their heads, making Liz smile.

"Then it's okay to go play" she said and nodded at them. The small ones grinned big before climbing off their chairs.

"Hey," Ashton said softly, catching the attention of the toddlers before they had time to run away, "What do you say before you leave the table?"

Both toddlers looked at Ashton with big eyes, Leon furrowing his eyebrows as he was thinking about what Ashton meant. Peach smiled big though.

"Thank you very much for the food, it was very nice" she said and smiled up at Liz and Andrew with those soft pink lips and those clear green eyes.

"Yeah, thank you grandma and grandpa!" Leon said as he understood.

"You're welcome sweethearts, now go play" Liz said and laughed fondly when seeing the two toddlers run out to play in the garden.

Luke ran his hand up and down Ashton's thigh as they looked at their kids running off while giggling happily. Ashton placed one hand over Luke's and intertwined their fingers, letting his thumb caressed Luke's soft skin.

"She is so adorable and well behaved" Liz said and looked up at Ashton, earning a bashful smile from the older one of the fathers.

"Thank you" Ashton spoke and tightened his grip around Luke's hand under the table, making the blonde smile.

"It must be very comfortable to know the two of them get along so well" Andrew spoke and nodded over to where the two toddlers had ran away before taking a sip of his beer.

Luke nodded his head and picked up his own bottle of beer, taking a sip of it before answering, "Yeah, it's really nice"

"I just have to ask," Liz said and smiled at Ashton, "Peach is a very rare name, how did you come up with it and how did you decide that's what you wanted?"

Ashton bit the inside of his lip, looking like he thought about an answer, before speaking up.

"I never thought about it before, me and her mother had decided on Payton even before the fourth month had gone by, but then Peach's mother died right after the birth. I named our girl Peach because of memories and, yeah, it's more sentimental than it seems, it's not just a fruit" Ashton chuckled lightly but Luke frowned slightly since he's never heard this story.

Luke tightened the hold around Ashton's hand and brought it to his own lap before placing his other hand over it as well, giving Ashton some kind of reminder that it was okay.

"Oh I'm so sorry, I didn't know about her mother" Liz said and Andrew was frowning slightly beside her. Ashton only shrugged and smiled small.

"It's fine, it's not something I avoid talking about, she deserves better than that" Ashton spoke.

"So she's not named after the fruit then?" Andrew asked and laughed warm and friendly.

"Oh no, she is actually. It's not just that I saw the fruit and decided that that was what I wanted to name my child. It was just that Macy, Peach mother, had this weird cravings for that fruit when she was pregnant and I had no clue why since I was so ready to buy her bunch of jars filled with pickles, but that's the only thing she wanted.

"I kind of started to tease her about it and called her Peach and she always acted like she hated it when I called her that but she didn't. We both started joking about it and how our baby would probably turn out as the fruit itself. But when when she was born, she was a really pretty little girl and I hate that Macy never got to see that, you know?" Ashton spoke.

All the Hemmings around the table had a frown on their faces and sad looks in their eyes, but Ashton smiled small.

"So the day after Macy passed away, when I was alone with Peach in the newborns room, I just looked at the baby and she didn't look like a Peyton. So I named her Peach, because I knew Macy would have loved it, it's sentimental and a way for Peach to always have her mother close, I guess" Ashton said and shrugged.

Luke didn't care that his parents were watching them both, he just brought Ashton's hand to his lips and placed light kisses on it. Ashton smiled at Luke warmly, feeling so secure while holding his hand.

"Oh Ashton," Liz said and it almost looked like she was close to tears, making Ashton nervous that he had done something wrong, "That's so beautifully thoughtful of you. I'm sure she would had loved it"

Ashton smiled at her and they grew silent for a few seconds before Andrew stood up and smiled. "We're not here to cry, we're here to smile" he said. He walked over to Ashton and patted his shoulder before pointing down at Ashton's empty glass of water.

"You sure you don't want a beer?" he asked but Ashton shook his head, a small thankful smile on his face.

"No, someone needs to be sober enough to drive us home" Ashton said and chuckled at Luke who rolled his eyes.

"Nonsense, you can all stay the night," Andrew said and started walking towards the kitchen, "I'll get you a beer"

Luke looked at Ashton who was smiling down at his lap, a warm and happy smile on his face. Luke felt the same, because seeing his boyfriend so comfortable and joyful with his family made Luke feel even more for Ashton.

"I'll start cleaning the table" Liz said, smiling as she did so, and Luke just knew she was so happy as well.

"I'll help" Ashton said and started to stand up from his seat.

"Oh no honey, you sit. I can take care of this, stay here with Luke" she spoke and collected the plates, making Ashton hesitantly sit down on his chair again.

"Stop being so perfect," Luke said to Ashton as they were left alone by the table, "They're loving you more than they love me" he muttered jokingly before taking a sip of his beer and then handed it to Ashton.

Ashton breathed out a small giggle, making Luke smile, before taking the beer from his boyfriend and took a gulp from it.

"I've never felt so comfortable in someone else's house, except in my mother's and yours. I love it here" Ashton whispered and smiled over at Luke.

Luke looked at his boyfriend with big blue eyes and bit his lip before leaning in and placed a soft sweet kiss on Ashton's lips.

"I'm so happy seeing you like this, with my family," Luke whispered and caressed Ashton's cheek gently, "It's like you belong here"

"Here's the beer" Andrew said and stepped into the room, smiling slightly when seeing the two boys pull away from their previous closeness. He didn't mind them showing affection towards each other, he was just very happy his son had found someone he wanted to do that with.

"Thank you" Ashton said as he took the beer and handed Luke's back to the blonde. Ashton sat back in his chair and found Luke's hand under the table again, holding onto it gently.

"So Ashton, has Luke ever told you the story about how he came up with Leon's name?" Andrew asked and grinned towards Luke who was rolling his eyes.

"No? I didn't think there was any reasons for the name?" Ashton asked and glanced between the two Hemmings.

"There is," Andrew said and laughed when seeing Luke rub his face with his hands in embarrassment, "Luke was really into Kings of Leon during high school"

"Dad, it's not funny when you tell it to everyone" Luke muttered and Ashton only laughed.

"Oh Luke," Ashton said and chuckled as he looked at the slightly blushing blonde, "You named your son after a band"

"You named your daughter after a fruit" Luke defended himself, looking at Ashton with a raised eyebrow.

Ashton only grinned before speaking, his smile so happy Luke almost threw himself forward and to squeeze Ashton until he broke because he was just so damn adorable.

"Touché"

**

Luke pulled up the duvet over the two toddlers as they shared Ben's childhood bed. The usually quite small bed for a teenage boy was huge for the two 4 year olds and Luke smiled at the adorable sight.

"Can we stay long tomorrow? Me and Peach are having fun playing in the treehouse" Leon said and looked up at both Ashton and Luke as they tucked the toddlers in.

"We can stay until noon the latest, I need to work around 3" Luke said and ran a hand through Leon's soft locks.

"What's noon?" Peach asked and looked at Ashton has he laid down beside her, making Luke smile and lay down as well. The two fathers were lying on the far ends of the sides of the bed while the toddlers were between them.

"When the clock is 12" Ashton mumbled and Luke almost chuckled when seeing the older boy close his eyes and nuzzled his nose into his daughters hair.

"That's a good time" Leon said and Peach nodded in agreement. Luke chuckled and nodded as well.

"Great, then we decide on that time" Luke said and kissed Leon's forehead before leaning over and planted one on Peach's forehead as well.

"Where's my kiss?" Ashton asked and pouted like a small child. Luke chuckled before leaning down and placed a quick kiss on Ashton's lips as well.

"No! No kisses, that's gross!" the two toddlers whined out and the fathers laughed, exaggerating kissing noises while only pecking their lips lightly to tease the small ones.

Luke pulled away from Ashton and laughed lightly before climbing out of the bed, Ashton doing the same.

"Goodnight dad" Peach said and Ashton smiled before kissing the tip of her nose.

"Goodnight sweet Peach" he whispered and brushed his knuckles against Leon's soft cheek, saying goodnight to him as well before walking over to Luke's side.

"Goodnight dad" Leon called out quietly.

"Goodnight bud" Luke whispered and placed his hand on Ashton's lower back as they made their way towards the bedroom door.

"Goodnight dad" Peach said again, making Ashton chuckle.

"Goodnight P-"

"No, not you dad," Peach said and shook her head, "Luke dad"

Luke froze in his step and turned around to look at the small girl in the bed. His eyes were wide and a shocked look was on his face. His heart was beating hard because everything felt so.. real.

"I-- Um-" Luke spoke but couldn't find any words because his feelings were all over the place.

"Goodnight cutie, sweet dreams" he finally was able to speak out, a fond smile on his face.

"If you can call my dad 'dad', can I call your dad 'dad'?" Leon asked in a whisper to Peach. The small girl grinned and nodded, like what Leon asked was more than okay for her.

"Goodnight dad!" Leon said happily, smiling up at Ashton, making the older father smile so brightly that his dimples were full on showing.

"Goodnight, champ"

As the two toddlers started whispering to each other about the treehouse, Luke and Ashton made their way out of the room and closed the door enough for the toddlers to not get disturbed but so they still got some light from the hallway.

"I think I might cry" Ashton whispered as they walked further down the hallway.

"What, why?" Luke asked and frowned as he stopped Ashton gently and looked at the older boy.

Ashton smiled. "Because I'm so happy" he said and brought his hands up to Luke's cheeks.

Luke smiled softly and put his hands on Ashton's hips before gently walking them to the wall, making Ashton lean his back against it.

"I am too" Luke breathed out.

"I would really love to live like this forever" Ashton said and leaned forward to place his lips on Luke's clothed collarbone.

"I would love that too" Luke whispered and smiled before grabbing Ashton's chin between his fingers gently and moved his face up to his own. With a content sigh, Luke leaned forward and placed his lips against his boyfriend, enjoying the still and incredibly soft kiss they were sharing.

They pulled away from the kiss and looked at each other with gleaming eyes. Eyes that spoke love. It was like their eyes were saying those three powerful words the two fathers were yet not brave, or ready, enough to say out loud.

But by the glances they shared, and the soft smiles on their faces, they knew that they felt the same. Words didn't have to be spoke out loud for them to understand how they truly felt.

"You wanna go to bed?" Luke asked and Ashton thought about it before shaking his head.

"As much as I've truly looked forward to make out in your childhood room, I still want to spend some time and talk with your parents. I just really adore them" Ashton spoke softly.

"They adore you too, believe me" Luke whispered and kissed Ashton's lips a few times before taking a hold of the older boy's hand and started leading him downstairs again.

"Are the small ones in bed?" Liz asked as the two boys walked into the living room, both Liz and Andrew watching a movie on the TV.

"Yeah," Luke mumbled and nodded his head before sitting down on the couch and pulled Ashton down with him. Ashton was almost sitting in Luke's lap, making both Luke's parents smile without the boys noticing.

Luke's hand found it's way into Ashton's hair as Ashton's head landed on Luke's shoulder, both enjoying the closeness of each other.

They were close. They were safe. They were happy. They were in love.

•••

so many job applications to be written and sent out, my head hurts. the world as an adult is scary and fucking tough, i tell you

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