A/N: This is the last part and I'd like to thank Leah and Katie from JB who proof read this for me. It was a big help since my last two beta's have ditched me so thanks again guys!

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Ashton groaned softly as he lay on Kane’s bed, which had slowly but surely become his own bed in the past four months. Yanking the thick blanket over his tired and aching body, he had just about closed his eyes when he heard a loud crash followed by several curse words which pretty much made it very obvious to him that he wouldn’t be sleeping anytime soon. Determined to ignore the noise, it only got worse as another person joined in the swearing and soon two angry voices were having an all out screaming match right in front of Kane’s door. “I’m never going to get any rest at this point,” he grumbled under his breath, climbing out of bed and shuffling towards the door as he reluctantly left the room to find out what all the fuss was about.

It had been a little over four months since Ashton had come to live with the seven hit men, and Ashton wasn’t allowed to do much outside of the house. Since the black haired male was pretty much confined to the two story building, he had become a maid of all sorts; cleaning, cooking, and basically taking care of the seven hit men who he had noticed barely took care of the place before he had come around. It was an exhausting job that he didn’t even get paid for, but Ashton figured it was the least he could do since he was constantly in the house and an uninvited guest to boot. The hit men had become somewhat friendlier than when he had first arrived with the exception of McKenzie, who he tended to avoid. Out of all the hit men, Hikaru and Simon were the two he considered his friends, and despite his perverted tendencies, he had even gone to consider Riley his friend. The twins he really didn’t converse with much, but they were friendly towards him and Kane. Well, Ashton wasn’t sure where he stood with him. Kane was nicer than he had been when they had first met, and while he did think of Kane as a friend, there was just something different with him then there was with the other hit men he lived with.

The arguing, it turned out, had been over just a simple lamp breaking. Apparently, Hikaru hadn’t been paying attention to where he was walking and walked right into the table it was sitting on, which sent the said lamp toppling to the floor and shattering into pieces. The lamp had been a favorite of Finnigan’s, and when he found out what Hikaru did, he started shouting at him, which made Hikaru cry, whine for Riley, and then get his over-protective boyfriend involved in the fight. Once it was over, Ashton just groaned again and then climbed back into bed, praying to God that nothing bothered him while he attempted to sleep this time. Nothing did, or, at least, this was the case until he was woken up by someone barging in early the next morning.

“Where the fuck is it?” Ashton heard someone mutter, and it didn’t take him long to figure out it was Kane. Normally, Kane either slept on a futon on the floor or on the couch, but it didn’t matter where he slept because either way he was going to be as loud as hell. “Brat, where did you put my gun?” Kane growled, glaring over at the slender figure that was curled up under the tangled blankets.

“For the millionth time, it’s Ashton, and why the hell should I know where your gun is? Do you think I even want to touch that thing?” Ashton grumbled, glaring back at Kane as he poked his head out of the covers for just a millisecond before yanking them back over his tired form as he tried to sleep some more.

“Well, get up anyway. We can’t have our housekeeper sleeping in.”

“Your housekeeper?!” Ashton snapped, jerking up in bed as he narrowed his eyes at the smirking Kane. “How dare you call me your housekeeper after all I’ve done for you, you bastard!”

“No name calling, brat. It’s rude to speak to your boss that way,” he teased, laughing when Ashton told him to get out and, ignoring the fact that it was his room, did as he was asked, still laughing as he closed the door behind him.

“You really shouldn’t tease the kid so much,” Riley said as he walked past Kane, earning him a small glare from his friend. “I’m just saying that you should find another way to express your feelings for the little one. I mean, you aren’t in grade school anymore, Kane,” he said and this time he was the one laughing as Kane just growled and flipped him off as he stormed past him.

Ashton had happened to hear the last part of the conversation, and he couldn’t help but snort in disbelief as he shuffled out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. What Riley had said was a load of shit. Kane would never, ever feel that way about him, and while he considered him a friend, Ashton wasn’t sure if Kane even held platonic feelings for him. Shaking his head, he tried to clear all thoughts of Kane from his mind but it was then that his mind started to drift towards his father. He did worry about how he was doing because as far as he knew, he could be dead. Kane had told him that his stepmother bought the lie and was apparently satisfied with the bloody shirt. Lightly sinking his teeth into a plump lower lip, he wondered how long he was going to actually hide and torture his father, who was probably withering away a little bit each day. It sounded dramatic, but he knew how much his father loved him and to get up each morning and not know if your son was dead had to be killing him. His stepmother was the only one who thought he was actually dead. What she had told his father was beyond him, but he figured she probably passed it off as a typical teenage-runaway situation.

Wincing when he realized he had been worrying at his bottom lip enough so he drew blood, he once again tried to clear his mind and just attempted to focus on washing the dishes. After he had finished the dishes, he went towards the fridge so he could start on making himself some breakfast. When he opened the fridge, he found the entire thing to be empty. That was what he had forgotten to remind the guys of before they left this morning to do whatever the fuck they needed to do. He was supposed to let them know that they needed to pick up food and now all of them were gone, which left him stuck in the house without any food- well, almost. There was some stuff in the cabinet, but it didn’t look that edible, so the only choices were for him to starve or to go out shopping. The second option was something he knew Kane would instantly object to, but it had been four months, and what were the chances of him running into his stepmother in town? She rarely, if ever, went shopping, and he really wasn’t worried about running into anyone else.

No one will even know that I was gone,” Ashton told himself firmly, slipping on his shoes and grabbing a hoodie from Kane’s closet as he headed towards the door, despite how many doubts he was having at the moment.

Life had been fucking perfect for the past four months, and she couldn’t understand why she hadn’t thought of a plan to kill her stepson sooner. Yes, her husband was suffering, but she was the one he came to for comfort, and everyone in the neighborhood felt sorry for her because Ashton was missing. However, this wasn’t the kind of attention that she wanted. The last thing that she wanted was attention because the brat was missing, dead, or whatever. Eventually that would pass, and things would be back to normal. All that she had to do was wait and that was something she would be able to do now that Ashton was out of the picture for good.

Marissa almost giggled to herself before finally realizing she was in a public setting. The woman quickly regained her composure as she stepped into the super market. She had to go out to buy some drinks and appetizers for the dinner party tonight. She had convinced her husband to let her throw a party because she felt that it might cheer him up a bit if he got together with their friends. He had reluctantly agreed, and she was determined to make tonight perfect. Nothing was going to ruin the dinner party tonight, and this would be just the thing to get that little fruit out of everyone’s mind for at least one night. Smiling, despite the warning she had given herself to remain completely calm and not act as if she were crazy, she turned the corner, and just as she was about to reach for some liquor for the party tonight, she heard a very familiar voice say something like “excuse me” or whatever. “It couldn’t be. Ashton’s dead,” she muttered under her breath, trying to tell herself that it was impossible for her to hear Ashton’s voice, and whoever she had heard probably just sounded like him.

Convinced she was losing it, she grabbed everything else she needed for the dinner party, and just as she was about to get in line, she saw a very much alive Ashton walk right past her and out the door. “What the fuck…?” she whispered, paling as she watched him walk away. Without even thinking, she dropped the food and rushed out of the market, climbing into her car as she followed him. She drove slowly and made sure to stay a good two or three cars behind him so he wouldn’t notice her. During the drive, she was in shock, which soon turned into anger, her hands gripping the steering wheel in a death grip as she watched him enter a two-story house just a few blocks away from the market. That son-of-a-bitch had lied to her. He hadn’t killed her fucking nuisance of a stepson at all. He had let him live, and she was almost positive that he had something to do with this housing arrangement. Whether he lived here with him or knew the people was unknown to her, but Marissa didn’t really care at this point. The only thing she cared about was somehow fixing this little problem.

She couldn’t let Ashton stay alive, even if he was still in hiding or whatever. Eventually, he would get the nerve to come home, and what would happen if he told someone what happened to him? Maybe they wouldn’t believe him, but it might tarnish her reputation, and she would be ruined. No fucking way was she going to let that happen. She wasn’t going to lose everything she had worked so hard for, and Ashton of all people wasn’t going to take that away from her.

Unsure of how she was going to take care of this problem, she started her car, backing out of the parking space as she started to drive away; managing to cast a glare at the two-story house as she drove past it. Marissa really had no idea what she should do next, and acting hastily would do her no good. She had to think carefully and plan ahead so she could make sure that Ashton truly did die this time. However, instead of hiring someone to do it, she would do it herself. At least if she did it herself, she could make sure it got done properly and see the look of horror on the brat’s face just before he closed his eyes for the last time.

The second Ashton stepped inside, he immediately stiffened. Something felt off, and before he had a second to comprehend anything, the bag he had been holding was quickly yanked from his hands, and he was roughly pushed against the wall. Wincing, Ashton stared into the angry eyes of Kane once his vision had finally returned, and the only thing he could think of asking was: “Why are you home so early? I thought you had a hit?”

“It went quicker than I had expected it to, but that isn’t fucking important right now, Ashton. What I want to know is why the hell you weren’t here when I got home.”

“… I went out to get some food. There was nothing left in the fridge, and I didn’t feel like waiting for you, so I went out, but no one saw me,” Ashton said, wincing when Kane leaned down, their noses almost touching as he glared down at him. “Kane, I promise I was extra careful. I made sure-”

“It doesn’t fucking matter how careful you were, Ashton! If someone had seen you then you could’ve not only fucked yourself over, but everyone else in this house as well, you idiot!”

“Don’t call me an idiot, you bastard! I just wanted to get out because I’m sick and tired of being cooped up in this stupid house!”

“Then you should’ve never stayed here in the first place if you couldn’t deal with the consequences, brat,” Kane snapped.

“There are consequences because my stepmother hired someone to kill me?” Ashton muttered. “Why should I have to deal with the consequences over something that isn’t even my fault?” he added, his face falling as he roughly attempted to shove Kane away from him. All he managed to do was to push him just two or three inches away from him. “I might as well just leave if my presence here is bothering you so much, and if I’m gone then you don’t have to worry about me ruining your little hit men business,” he said, unable to say anything else because the second he finished his sentence, or rather when he was about to finish it, Kane pushed him up against the wall again and kissed him firmly on the lips. At first, all Ashton could do was stiffen and let out a muffled gasp at the surprise and intensity of the kiss. He hadn’t even suspected that Kane might feel the same way about him or hold any sort of feelings for him at all, but here he was kissing the hell out of him. Eventually, starting to relax, Ashton soon found himself kissing back with just as much passion, if not more. Just as the two had to part for air, Hikaru burst into the house while shouting at the top of his lungs that he and Riley had brought home doughnuts. “I’ll go put the groceries away,” Ashton blurted out, reaching down to quickly grab the bag as he shuffled into the kitchen, unaware that his swollen lips, flushed cheeks, and mussed curls gave him what Hikaru would consider a fuckable appearance.

“Did we interrupt something?” Riley asked as he appeared beside Kane, grinning as he looked his best friend up and down while Hikaru went to go bother Ashton, who was putting away things in the kitchen.

“No, you jackass,” Kane grumbled, folding his arms over his chest as he walked past Riley.

“Where are you going?”

“To take a shower,” was Kane’s annoyed response, his eyes narrowing when Riley started laughing.

“Make sure it’s a cold one!” Riley shouted after him, and the object that was thrown at his head, which he barely dodged, really was his entire fault. He should’ve known better then to push Kane’s buttons because he almost had a temper as bad as McKenzie’s. “So, Ashton, how was your day?”

“Fine,” was all he said, trying to concentrate on putting the food away.

“It was just fine? Nothing interesting happened?”

“No, Riley.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, damn it! Would you just drop it?” Ashton snapped, shoving the last item of food into the fridge before he stormed off to ‘his’ room. Throwing himself onto the bed, he shut his eyes and just tried to ignore everything going on around him. The kiss had been a big, fucking mistake, and Kane probably felt the same way. They had just gotten caught up in the moment, which meant that the feeling of complete bliss he felt when he thought Kane might actually feel something for him was wrong. Thinking about that made him want to cry, and Ashton really didn’t want to admit the reason as to why he felt this way. Doing that would make it all the more real. Puffing his cheeks out in what was most likely frustration, he went about the rest of his day trying to avoid Kane. He succeeded in doing just that because by the time it was night time, he hadn’t run into Kane once. The most he had done was simply lock eyes with him for a quick second, which had honestly been torture enough.

Changing into a pair of pajama’s he had stolen from Kane once he decided he was ready for bed, Ashton started to climb into bed when Kane suddenly burst into the room, closing the door behind him as he just stared at Ashton. “Would it kill you to knock?” asked Ashton.

“It is my room, kid, and considering that I am nice enough to let you stay, I think that I should be able to walk in and out when I please without you complaining, Kane murmured, sitting on the edge of the bed as he watched Ashton quickly scramble into a sitting position with amused eyes. “I’m sorry for yelling at you earlier.”

“… What?” Ashton asked, his jaw dropping as he tried to understand what had just come out of Kane’s mouth. “Did you just say that you were sorry?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sick?” Ashton asked seriously, almost smiling when Kane gave him an annoyed growl. “Um… thanks,” he was able to say once he finally felt the need to be serious. “So, do you really regret having saved me that night?” Ashton asked, shuffling closer to Kane as he stared at him, wanting an answer to a question that had been bothering him for quite a while now. “I mean, if you do, that’s all right. I kind of did just drop in on-”

“Ashton, shut up,” Kane interrupted, a look of surprise appearing on the boy’s face when he heard him use his actual name. Leaning down and capturing his lips in a much softer version of the kiss they had shared earlier, he was quick to gently but firmly push the boy down before he could protest, one of his hands sliding under the boy’s shirt.

“K-Kane, what are you doing?” Ashton whispered, panting softly as his hand continued its journey upwards, stopping once it came to one of his nipples. The man gave it a light pinch just so he could see the reaction on the younger male’s face. “Seriously, what are you doing?” he managed to squeak out, his face starting to turn a fine shade of crimson as Kane started to push up his shirt, not stopping until it was bunched up around his upper chest. “Stop it!” he gasped out as Kane reached down to gently trace one of his pale, pink nipples with his tongue, a reluctant whimper of pleasure escaping him as he did this. Grasping the sheets tightly between his clenched hands, Ashton threw his head back and slapped a hand over his mouth in order to muffle his moan when Kane lightly bit down on his sensitive nipple.

“Do you still want me to stop?” Kane whispered, smirking when all Ashton did was turn a darker shade of red and look away. Leaning down so his mouth was just a few inches away from his ear, he whispered, “Lift up,” in a soft voice, tugging the t-shirt off the boy’s head in one swift movement. Dropping the annoying garment on the floor, he took a moment to study his partner, who was a bit skinny in his opinion, but other than that, was really almost flawless- well, at least in his mind he was, but that was probably because his judgment was clouded by lust, which was beside the point.

“Why are you doing this?” Ashton whispered, shuddering in pleasure as Kane started to tug down his pajama pants. “I thought that you didn’t like me.”

“Ashton, you think too much,” Kane growled, silencing anything that he might say with a violent kiss, as he also yanked down his pajama pants in the process. “However, if you must know the answer, it is yes. I do like you, brat.”

It might not have been a confession of love, but for Ashton, it was good enough because at least now he had some kind of conformation about Kane’s feelings for him, and maybe one day it would turn into love.

Ashton was in a grumpy mood when he woke up the next morning, and he didn’t get up until the hit men had finally left. Last night had been interesting, to say the least. Okay, it was more then interesting. It was fucking wonderful, but the morning after was a draw back because every time he moved, a twinge of pain shot up his spine. Cursing Kane under his breath and also smiling at the same time he did this, Ashton made himself some breakfast, and the day was relatively normal until Ashton heard a knock at the door. Stiffening the second he heard the knock, he remained quiet and stayed where he was, but the knocking continued for a full five minutes until it suddenly stopped. Figuring it was nothing and probably just a mistaken address or something, he calmed back down, but the second he let his guard down, he heard her voice.

“Ashton, I saw everyone but you leave, so I know that you’re in there.”

Marissa? What the hell was Marissa doing here? Had one of the hit men betrayed him? No, that would never happen, but at least it was an explanation as to how Marissa had figured out how he was still alive. Shit. Maybe when he had been out that day, he hadn’t been as careful as he thought he was being. Fuck. This was probably why Kane had been so pissed off at him yesterday afternoon, and now he was starting to understand what a dumbass he had been.

“Ashton, sweetie, please come out. I’m really sorry for this misunderstanding, and I want to make it up to you.”

“Yeah right,” Ashton thought, huffing as he sat down on the couch and pretty much refusing to take an open step towards the door.

“All right, Ashton, I can see that you still are holding a grudge against me, so I’m just going to go. I will be back later, sweetie and maybe then you can open the door. I really do want to see you, and if you can forgive me, your father can stop worrying about what happened to you,” Marissa said, and with that, she was gone. At least, it sounded like she was gone.

Ashton didn’t move after he heard her say she was going. He was just in awe that she thought he would forgive her for hiring someone to kill him! Yes, he had forgiven Kane, but the man had given him a place to stay and told him he liked him. Great. Now he was blushing. Shaking his head as if that could make the blush staining his cheeks disappear, he cast a nervous glance over at the door, and for a good hour he just sat there before he finally got the nerve to make his way over towards the said door and open it.

It was empty, and after poking his head out and doing a quick sweep of the street, he realized that she really was gone. “That was way too weird,” he muttered, and when Kane got home that day, he didn’t tell him that his stepmother had come to the house. He didn’t want Kane to know that he had been right, and he also didn’t want to worry the older man, so he kept it to himself. Nevertheless, over the next week his stepmother would show up at the door, ask to be let in, and when it became obvious that he wouldn’t open the door, she finally would give up and leave. However, one day Hikaru made the mistake of forgetting to lock the door when he was the last one to leave, so after Marissa did her whole routine, she tried the door, and to her amazement and amusement, she was able to get in without even a fuss.

“Who’s there? - How the hell did you get in here?!” Ashton cried, nearly tripping over his own two feet as he started backing up once he spotted his stepmother coming over towards him. “Marissa-”

“Ashton, I just wanted the chance to apologize.”

“Apologize for trying to kill me?” Ashton snorted, glaring at her when Marissa just smiled.

“What will it take for you to forgive me?”

“Well, you could start by telling Dad the truth. I’m sure he’d love to know his oh-so loving wife plotted to kill his son.”

“Ashton, come with me and we’ll tell him together.”

“Please just leave, Marissa, before I call the police!” Ashton snapped, inwardly flinching because there was no way he could call the police without fear of exposing everyone who lived here.

“It’s fine. I can see where I’m not wanted, but just to say that I’m sorry, I want to give you this,” she said sweetly, pulling out a small gift bag out of her purse.

“You think a gift bag can make up for what you’ve done?!”

“Just open it, please.”

Huffing, Ashton reluctantly obeyed and found a card and a candy apple -something that happened to be a favorite sweet of his- in the bag. “Well, thank you, Marissa. I’m sure that candy will make up for hiring someone to kill me,” he hissed. “Will you please just go?”

“Of course, Ashton, but be sure to eat the candy apple. Your father made them for you,” Marissa said sadly. “He’s been making them for you every weekend since you left, and I’m sure that it would mean a lot to him if you did eat it. He has been suffering so much lately.”

Frowning, Ashton looked down at the candy apple, and he was able to tell his father had made it because of the way it had been made. His dad had a signature way of making stuff like this, and this only made him feel even guiltier. “Marissa, just leave,” he muttered, grabbing the candy apple out of the bag as he just stared at it, sighing as he opened it. “Sorry, Dad,” Ashton whispered, taking a bite of the apple, and it was at this point that Marissa, who hadn’t really left at all, grinned and started walking back towards Ashton. “Marissa, I thought that I told you to get the hell out!”

“Oh, don’t worry, Ashton, I’ll leave. I just want to wait and see the show.”

“… What are you talking about?” Ashton whispered, his face paling as his stepmother started to laugh.

“Why, your death, sweetie. You didn’t think that I was just going to go, did you?” she asked, and it was around this point that Ashton’s vision started to blur. The boy suddenly collapsed a second later, and the last thing he heard before he passed out was: “Bye, bye, Ashton, sweetie. I’ll miss you dearly.”

The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was a blurry white ceiling. Blinking, he tried to focus his vision, and after a few attempts, the ceiling became clearer. Slowly turning his head to the side, his eyes started gazing around the room, the male trying to take in everything as he desperately tried to figure out where the heck he was.

"Ashton!" someone suddenly cried, which broke Ashton out of his daze, and before he could even begin to figure out who it was, the person had roughly yanked him into a sitting position and was hugging the life out of him. "Dad?" he managed to cough out, letting out a sigh of relief when his father finally loosened his grip, and it was at this point that everything was explained to him. Apparently, his stepmother had attempted to poison him, and he had nearly died because of the attempted poisoning. His father told him that the police contacted him a few days ago to let him know he was in the hospital and the reason why he was in it as well. Someone had apparently tipped the police off and given them all the evidence they needed against Marissa, which was how they managed to get her into custody and start pressing charges.

"Ashton, I'm so sorry that I didn't see it before," he whispered, kissing his son on the forehead as he hugged him one last time before letting him go.

"Dad, you have nothing to be sorry for. There was no way you could've known that Marissa would try to do something so horrible."

"I know, but I still feel the need to apologize," he murmured, and the next few hours were just spent catching up and spending some much needed quality time together. "The doctors say that you can come home in a few days. They just want to make sure that you’re okay before they even think of releasing you."

"Mmm," Ashton murmured, wrinkling his nose as he took a bite of his disgusting hospital food. "Dad, could I ask you a question?"

"What do you want to ask me?"

"What's going to happen to Marissa?"

"The police are still working on it, Ashton, but I promise you that she'll be punished for what she did to you."

Ashton nodded and then realized that he had another question he wanted to ask him. “Dad, could I ask you another question?"

His father nodded.

"How did I get in the hospital?"

"I honestly don't know, son. From what the police told me, you were dropped off here by some man-"

"What man?"

"They didn't tell me. The hospital staff was so busy trying to get you into the ER that they barely got a glimpse of him before they whisked you off, but the police think it might've been the same man who tipped them off about Marissa."

"Oh," Ashton muttered, and within two weeks, he was finally released from the hospital. He had told the police that he had been staying in whatever place he could find after he overheard his stepmother wanted to kill him. This is what caused him to runaway because he feared no one would believe him. He purposely left out everything about Kane and the six other hit men because the last thing he wanted was for any of them to get discovered by the police. Ashton never even told his father the truth, and the second he was released from the hospital, he convinced his father to let him go out for an hour or two. He didn’t know how he managed to do this, but he did, and the first place he went to was the house he had been trapped in for over four months.

He wondered why they hadn't visited him in the hospital -especially Kane- but overall, he was worried. Swallowing nervously, he knocked on the door once he had found the nerve to walk up the steps, and it was a good five minutes before the door opened, and Hikaru wasted no time in squealing and throwing his arms around him. "Ashton, you’re really all right!"

"Hikaru, I survived death once, and I don't want to see if I can-" he said, his words getting caught in his throat when Kane suddenly appeared behind Hikaru, and before he could even blink, Hikaru was gone, leaving just him and Kane at the doorstep. "Were you the one who found me that day?"

"Well, hello to you too.”

"Kane, answer the question."

"No, it was actually McKenzie."

"… McKenzie brought me to the hospital and contacted the police?"

"No, I did the second one."

"Oh. Well… I'm glad that no one found out who you guys were."

"We got our boss to pull a few strings, and we owe him big, but that doesn't really matter."

"That's good," Ashton muttered, biting down on his lower lip as he averted his gaze to the ground. "Why didn't you visit me in the hospital?"

"What?"

"You never fucking visited me the entire time I was in the hospital, you bastard! I thought that you liked me!" Ashton finally snapped, blinking in confusion when Kane yanked him forward so he could hug him, and then started chuckling. "What the hell is so funny?"

"I did try to visit you, you brat, but they weren't letting anyone near you, and I knew that if I went and was caught, I'd never see you again."

"So… you were worried about me?" Ashton asked seriously.

"Ashton, just shut up," Kane said, cutting off anything he might say with a soft kiss, and just like that, the hit man and Snow White lived happily ever after.