Cailen giggled, curling into a ball on the couch as he tried to get his neck away from a pair of ticklish lips.
He didn't mind Asher kissing his neck. It was actually one of his new favorite things, but Asher was trying to tickle him and it was working. He would lightly brush his lips down his neck, smiling to himself and then chasing Cailen's neck when he pulled away.
It was irritating and childish and pretty much the most amazing thing in the world right now, especially since they were laying out in the open on the couch in the living room- Dean in his office with the door cracked so he could easily see them, and ‘keep an eye on them’ his father had said teasingly, but Cailen didn't have to worry.
He was allowed to do this, he was allowed to be with Asher like this whenever and wherever he wanted and it was amazing.
He knew Eden was just in the kitchen, Stella was downstairs doing whatever she does, and he knew that either of them could walk in at any moment, but it didn't matter.
Cailen had gone downstairs that day last week to fulfill his promise and let Eden and Dean in on everything that was going on.
Asher had come with him, his hand in his and it had been easier than telling the boys. He had Asher reassuring him that everything would be fine- that Eden and Dean had been nothing but accepting when they found out about Asher. But that didn't stop his initial instincts from making that doubt in himself appear again.
Eden's eyes had immediately gone to their entwined hands and Cailen knew then that she already knew and the beaming smile he had received wiped out any and all fear in him.
Asher was right, they were nothing but accepting, assuring Cailen that they loved him and nothing could ever change that and Cailen kind of had to mentally smack himself.
He still couldn't believe he had been that stupid, but he supposed he couldn't change that now.
"Stooppp it." Cailen whined, placing his palm on Asher's cheek and pushing slightly, turning his face away from his neck.
Cailen was on his back, nearly falling off the edge because Asher was on his side, wedged in between him and the back of the couch. Asher chuckled, moving his face away from Cailen's hand, only to dive in again, but this time with a different purpose.
Asher's lips connected with Cailen's neck, a warm pressure against his skin that was no longer ticklish but something else entirely.
Cailen's eyes fell shut as Asher began to suck and nip at the skin- something that should probably hurt at least a little but Cailen found that he didn't mind.
"You want me to stop?" Asher asked, pulling away to look down at him.
Cailen isn't ashamed of the whine that left his mouth. Asher connected their lips, but only briefly, making Cailen bite his lip to prevent another whine from leaving his mouth.
"Are you sure?" He asked, his voice low because although they were allowed to be like this without hiding it, Asher still had some respect for Cailen's family and didn't want to make Dean uncomfortable because who wanted to listen to their son snogging their boyfriend on their couch?
"Not if you're going to do that." Cailen replied, angling his neck a little to allow Asher easier access.
Asher chuckled but took the hint and re-attached his lips, making quick work of making Cailen a complete mess.
By the time Asher let up- his lips traveling up his neck while peppering Cailen in tiny kisses until he met his lips again- Cailen was squirming in his spot, his lips raw from chewing on them too much.
"Oi, we sit on that couch!" William's deep voice came and then a heavy weight was falling on top of his legs.
"You're going to break my fucking legs, Wil." Cailen complained, breaking away from Asher to look down at the curly haired guy currently sitting on both Asher and Cailen's legs.
William grinned at him but stood, lifting their legs then sitting back down and placing them back on his lap.
"Not exactly what I had in mind..." Cailen mumbled, letting his head fall back onto the couch.
"Enough with the honeymoon. We've got work to do." Noah said, flopping down into the arm chair, followed by Matthew who took a seat on the armrest of the chair.
"Work?" Asher questioned, fingers absentmindedly playing with Cailen's hair.
Cailen's eyes fell shut at the feeling and he adjusted himself so he had easier access to that as well.
"Yeah, we've got an eighteenth birthday to plan!" Noah said as if Asher should have known this, and since it was his birthday, he probably should have.
"Yeah, man, you're turning eighteen in like... two weeks." Matthew reminded him.
"Oh." Asher mumbled.
Cailen could hear the frown in his voice. Apparently, Asher forgot that tiny detail.
"Eden already said we could use the house. We can invite everyone!" Noah said excitedly. "We'll have drinking games, loud music, lots of people; a real proper party."
Cailen chuckled at this, thinking about how well Noah would fit in with the Uni life back at school.
"Yeah, it's your big birthday, you've got to do it right." Matthew commented.
Asher's fingers had stilled in Cailen's hair- the first indicator that something was wrong. The second was when Cailen opened his eyes to see Asher frowning.
"I don't know guys..." Asher said, his eyes falling down to look at Cailen's shirt, though it was a plain shirt and Cailen knew it wasn't that interesting.
"What's wrong, Ash?" He asked, wiggling his arm out to gently touch his cheek in order to coax it out of him.
Asher shrugged, sort of, because it was an awkward position to do that kind of movement.
"Ash, come on. Do you not want a party?" He asked because he did know Asher and he knew that although he tagged along to a lot of them with the boys, he much preferred to stay in.
"I just- I'd rather just spend it with you guys. I don't need a big party with a bunch of people I don't really know." Asher explained, looking up between William and the two boys on the arm chair.
There was silence for a brief moment but then Cailen was jumping in to the rescue.
"How about we go down to the beach again? Just the five of us." Cailen suggested, smiling fondly at Asher.
Asher smiled sheepishly and nodded, leaning down to peck his lips.
"Okay, fine. But I'm getting you properly drunk." Noah grumbled, seeming upset that he wasn't getting his party even though it wasn't really his party.
"Who's going to drive home?" Asher asked, knowing that none of the boys would be willing to stay sober while the rest of them get drunk.
"I say we fill your truck with blankets and pillows and just sleep on the beach." William suggested, making all the boys smile.
"Okay. Sounds good." Asher nodded with a smile on his face.
"Seriously though, enough with the honeymoon. We miss you guys." Matthew said, the boys nodding along.
"Yeah, we're happy for you but come on, we've barely seen you in a week." Noah complained.
Cailen couldn't help but chuckle because, yeah, they have been kind of holing up in his room. They haven't been doing what the boys probably thought they were doing, but they have been spending a lot of time alone together and they supposed that wasn't really fair of them.
"Okay, what do you want to do?" Cailen asked, craning his neck to look at Noah.
"What I want to do is point out the massive love bite on your neck, Cai. Holy shit." William said, his eyes glued to Cailen's exposed neck.
Cailen's hand flew to cover up the mark, glaring slightly at Asher who smirked and ducked his head.
"Sorry." He whispered, lifting his head to kiss Cailen's cheek.
"Ooh, I bet he's got more than just that one." Noah teased.
"I know he's got more than just that one." Came a new voice.
Cailen sat up to see Stella climbing the stairs, smirking at him over her shoulder. He lifted his hand high enough for her to see the finger he was holding up at her. She only laughed and continued her way up the stairs.
The boys didn't end up doing much of anything but sitting around together and taking the teasing thrown their way.
Cailen got a couple of shots in of course, pointing out that they were all just sore about not having any love bites at all. That shut them up for a short while before they started up again.
It was ridiculous and a little annoying but Cailen wouldn't have it any other way.
He was happy like this. He was happy sitting here with his boyfriend, his brother and two best friends while they teased him to no end.
All his life, he's wanted nothing more than a family that accepted him for who he was, a family where he could be himself, bring home his boyfriend to meet them, share his problems and worries without worrying about losing them and he finally had that.
But then again, he's had it all along
It just took him a while to see that.