#ashton irwin drumming | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

nicksbestie · 1 year

Note

Ash teaching Y/N to drum or seeing them drumming and feeling proud

Loved this request <3

Enjoy!!!

Drummer Boy

Pairing - Ashton Irwin x reader

Warnings - none

Word Count - 3583(!!!)

You couldn’t believe your life had ended up like this. An incredibly fortunate twist of fate brought you into what you had only dreamt of as a child. A pop star's partner. You had run into Ashton Irwin at a coffee shop while he and the rest of 5 Seconds Of Summer were on tour. It had been purely coincidence, and honestly an embarrassing experience that he loves to remind you of. You’d turned around too quickly, rushing, looking down at your phone, and collided with him. Luckily he’d found the fluster amusing, and continued to come in.

That coffee shop had always been one of your routine trips in the morning, and after conversation after conversation, he’d finally weaseled his way into getting your number, and things had spiraled from there and here you were, waking up, albeit alone, in his bed, all of your stuff covering half of the walls and dressers.

And he was a drummer, no less. You’d always had a thing for drummers. Maybe it was the easy workout they get, or maybe it was just the fact that you’d always had a thing for members of the rhythm section. You know what they say.

You’d slid out of bed and had walked down to make coffee in the kitchen, not feeling like going out today. Wandering into the home studio that Ashton had created while working on Superbloom, you sat down at the small stool behind the piano. You knew a few of their songs off the top of your head, playing a slow rendition of Lover Of Mine when an idea popped into your head.

You decided to create a cover of Lover Of Mine just for Ashton. Valentine’s Day was quickly approaching and you thought it would be super sweet to do. Although, you didn’t quite know how to play Ashton’s drum part. So, you would leave that for last. You knew how to play guitar, piano, and bass, so you’d record those first. Ashton had shown you enough on mics to know how to professionally create a demo, instead of just recording and doing overlays on your music app on your phone.

Picking through specific tabs, you decided to start with the bass ones to record because they’d be the most suspicious to be caught recording. Ashton already knew you knew how to play Lover Of Mine on the piano, so that wouldn’t be a surprise, and the chords for the song aren’t the only song using them, so guitar could be played off easily. However, the bass tabs were unique so that would have to be the first one that was recorded.

You’d always had a love for the bass guitar. The other half of the rhythm section had always called your name. It wasn’t too difficult to quickly get used to the movement of tabs and the adjustment of holding the instrument, and it wasn’t hard to quickly record the beat of it. Listening over the track many ,many times until you decided that it was good enough for you to move on, you quickly made sure it was saved so you wouldn’t lose all of your work. Not like it would take a while to redo it, but still. More hassle with not enough time in the day.

Moving on to the guitar part, you remembered the main reason you liked bass better. It was easier. The guitar chords hurt your fingers as the thin strings dug into them, and the chords made annoying buzzy sounds, but eventually you got the hang of it. You’d been playing guitar for years, but you still weren’t a huge fan of it, or amazing at it. It just wasn’t your best instrument. That’s okay though, you mastered the few simple chords fairly quickly, almost finishing the guitar part just as quickly as the bass tabs.

This left the piano and drum parts left. Knowing the piano version by heart, you moved back over to work on it quickly. You got caught up in it, enjoying the way that the keys pressed down under your fingers and the pedal amplified the gentle sound. Piano has always been a way to relax and let stress roll off of you. It was like Ashton’s drumming. He used it as stress relief as well. But piano felt different, in a way. There was gentle piano, like Lover Of Mine, and then there was your angry songs, like Take Me To Church, with the trauma-filled lyrics and the pounding beat to it. You sat, recording the piano parts, letting yourself get lost in the melody, and the lyrics rolling through your head.

Drums. The drumming part was gonna be hard. You didn’t know drums. But you were going to try your best to get it done. It might take a few days, and you might have to ask Ashton for help, which you would have to try really hard to not raise his suspicion about it. He had a creepy way of always knowing what was going through your head, and while this may help most of the time, right now it definitely wouldn’t.

Luckily, he took a lot of interest and fun into showing other people how to play his favorite instrument, so you knew a little bit. But not nearly enough to learn a full song, so you spent hours googling and tinkering with it trying to figure out how it would all come together. You relistened to the studio track and the live versions of Lover Of Mine, trying to figure out just how important the drumming was to the song. (Obviously, it’s very important, but you were weighing your options of seeing if it would sound remotely similar or close enough without the drumming in it. That way you could just leave the drums out and you’d be more likely to get away with keeping this secret until Valentine’s Day, and you wouldn’t have to ask Ashton for his help.)

You slipped headphones on to listen to the track while trying to match the sounds on the instrument in front of you. Time was quickly passing by, as you kept the song on loop, slowly working part by part to make progress through the song. You’d gotten about halfway through, completely oblivious to your audience.

Ashton was standing there, leaning against the doorway. He’d decided to not make you aware of his existence yet. He’d been standing there for quite some time, watching your frustration and your moments of elation when you finally matched them and got some of the notes and beat right. He knew he’d taught you most of what you were using, but it also made him super proud that you were even attempting on your own. It shot fondness straight to his heart, knowing that you were trying to figure out and enjoy the instrument he built his entire life on, the one thing that he loved the most, second only to you.

He didn’t yet recognize the beat you were attempting to play, but that was fine. He didn’t need to know everything. There was enough he could figure out with just watching that he didn’t want to disturb you. He did wonder why you didn’t just wait and ask him for help when he got back, but shrugged it off. You didn’t have to tell him everything, and he’d always admired your strong sense of independence. It was only when your forehead lines started to crease in frustration and your mouth turned into a thin line in anger, that he decided to step in. Your back was to him, the door being behind the drum kit. He didn’t want to scare you, so he walked up and gently placed a hand on your shoulder.

“Do you need some help with that?”

Despite the gentle touch, you were still a bit startled, not expecting him to be there. You quickly pulled off the headphones and switched off of the tab showing the Lover Of Mine tutorial, hoping desperately he hadn’t seen it. You weren’t quite so lucky. He didn’t say anything about it, but he had a small smile on his face that clearly showed he’d seen it. You were happy he didn’t ask questions. Instead, he just reached for the drumsticks in your hands.

“May I?”

You nodded, and let go of them, letting him take them from your grip. You stood up and let him take the stool. He sat down and started to play the song. You had taken a seat on the couch across the room, listening and watching the way he easily hit all the correct notes, all the right rhythms. You were slightly jealous of his ability to easily pick up any single instrument that he tried. You’d never been able to do that. But at the same time it was a talent that you admired in him. Among other things, of course. But it was definitely at the top of the list. He finished the song, smiling.

“That the one you were going for?”

You nodded.

“Yea.”

“Any specific reason?”

“Nope.”

He cocked an eyebrow.

“You sure? You shook your head oddly fast for it to be a coincidence.”

“I’m sure.”

He smiled. You knew he could tell you were lying about it, but he didn’t seem to be too hurt. He was many things, but a fool did not happen to be one of them. He knew there was some secret you were holding, but he wasn’t offended by you not wanting to tell him. He’d always respected your privacy when it came to things you didn’t want to tell him, as long as you weren’t holding back hurtful things. However, he did want to help, if you’d let him.

“Alright then. Come over here, I’ll teach you to play it.”

About an hour later, you’d pretty much mastered the song. Thank god. You knew full well that you wouldn’t have been able to do it without him, but you were also incredibly relieved that you didn’t completely spill your secret and surprise for the upcoming week when he walked in. Thank god he never asked any questions, and didn’t push you to answer anything you didn’t want to.

“I think you’ve got it!”

You smiled. Finally.

“I think so too. Only took forever.”

He laughed, a real laugh, not one of the chuckles he forces out in interviews when he’s uncomfortable. That made you so much more relieved.

“It actually didn’t take that long. I expected more time, to be completely honest. Not like I mind. I love spending time with my two favorite things to do.”

You gave a playful glare.

“You really chose that wording?”

He laughed again.

“Sorry babe. Couldn’t resist.”

“You definitely could.”

It was just banter, there was no legitimate anger behind your words.

Now, you just had to wait until the next day when he wasn’t around so you could record the drum part without him being suspicious over what you were up to. Which turns out, wouldn’t take that long. Just the next day, he walked into your doorway and gently knocked on the frame.

“Hey love?”

You looked up from scrolling on your phone.

“Yea, what’s up?”

He gave a soft, yet sad smile.

“I have to go to the studio for a few hours. I know that we were supposed to spend today together, and I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright! I know you guys have a lot to do, with the album release coming up and all the promo. No worries!! Just text me when you’re on your way back okay? We can take a rain check for now.”

He walked over and hugged you.

“I don’t deserve you.”

You rolled your eyes.

“You deserve me and more. Go get your work done. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

You were really happy actually, that he finally got out of the house. Not because you didn’t want to spend time with him, but Valentine’s Day was tomorrow, and you had to be able to finish the cover before that morning. Now you would have the opportunity to finish the drum part and the singing part in your short time alone. And that was exactly what you got done. Still remembering the way and rhythm of the drumming, you knocked that out first. You barely made any mistakes and got it done in just a few takes, quickly overlaying it with all of the guitar, bass, and piano cover parts, making sure that it sounded satisfactory to gift. It did.

You were incredibly happy with the way it was sounding so far, and moved on to start recording the lyrics. You truly enjoyed singing, and had almost gone into it as a career. It was still a heavy secondary part of you. Because of that, you were heavily critical of your own voice. You couldn’t stand listening to it back, which was going to make the recording of it so much more difficult. You recorded triple the takes of every single instrument you’d recorded already put together. You hated the way they all sounded, and you knew in the back of your mind that it was really just your anxiety speaking and that they all sounded fine. However, that didn’t stop the perfectionism in you, so you continued to do take after take until you were satisfied with the results given.

Finally, you were happy with it, and you moved on to making sure that everything sounded good when it was overlaid and mixed together. It was fairly easy to make sure that all the instruments sounded good, and you decided to just leave it there. You thought the acoustic idea gave it more authenticity and you wanted to keep it that way. It felt more real, more loving. You liked the feeling of it and you hoped Ashton would too. Your phone dinged, right as you were thinking about him, with a message from the devil himself.

“Hi love, be home in 10. Got everything done, tomorrow is ours!”

“Sounds great. See you soon! <;3”

You quickly finished up everything you were working on, and made sure the demo was saved, but hid it under a folder of other recordings, hoping he wouldn’t look into that specific one later that night. Right as you finished closing everything off and making sure that the drums didn’t look touched, you heard the door open. You slipped behind the piano, pulling up some of the current songs you’d been working on in your free time, gently beginning to play them and waiting for Ash to walk in on his own. It didn’t take him long at all. He came and sat in the room with you, seating himself on the couch and simply listening. The longer the song went, the more a smile grew across his face. As the song drew to a close, you met eyes and smiled back at him.

“I love listening to you play.”

The smile remained on your face.

“I could say the same.”

A ton of songs were covered that night, singing, playing, mostly soft loving ones for the upcoming holiday.

Waking and sitting up the next morning you let out a small sigh of relief. You’d kept the secret until Valentine’s Day. Admittedly one of your favorite smaller holidays. You liked the special days, the ones filled with love and care, even if you both received and shared that same amount of love and care every day. You wouldn’t have settled for less, but you’d never felt like you settled for anything with Ashton. He was truly above and beyond anything you’d ever asked for. You couldn’t wait to show him the gift you’d made him, but you were going to have to wait a bit, for two reasons. The first being that he wasn’t even awake, and the second one being that you had another thing for him. It wasn’t as huge as the cover, but you’d gotten him sunflower seeds to plant in the backyard, knowing he’d been wanting to for a while, along with a card.

He shifted next to you, rising. His arm reached out, grabbing yours and pulling you back down to lay next to him.

“C’mere. It’s too early.”

You laughed.

“It’s 10:00, goofball. Get up.”

He shifted, making eye contact.

“Still too early. Not moving yet.”

“Happy Valentine's Day to you too, lovely.”

He lifted himself up to press a soft kiss to your lips.

“Happy Valentine’s Day. Give me another hour and I promise to woo you.”

You laughed.

“Fine. I’m getting up though.”

He pouted. You relented.

“Okay, I’ll stay for a bit.”

Watching as his breath evened out, you waited until you were completely sure that he was asleep. Once you were positive, you slipped out of bed to go set out his stuff on the counter, minus the demo. Doing this, you realized it would make more sense to do it in your home studio room, so that’s where you decided to do it. You moved everything into there, and smiled when you realized Ashton had had the same idea.

Walking in, there was a vase of flowers sitting on the piano bench, a note taped to them, and a card with your name written in cursive on the front. Deciding to open the card later, you read the small note.

“I set this up last night after you went to bed. If you’re reading this alone, I probably begged you to let me sleep a bit longer because I hate waking up early. I love you!!! Don’t open the card without me please. <;3”

“I see you found my note.”

You turned around to see Ash standing in the doorway, hair all ruffled and clearly having just gotten up.

“I did. It’s been less than an hour though, I’m shocked to see you awake.”

“The bed got cold without you. Happy Valentine’s Day. Wanna open cards? I got you flowers, obviously.”

You smiled.

“Absolutely.”

Cards were opened, and Ashton had the biggest smile opening the small packets of sunflower seeds.

“I can’t wait to plant these.”

You laughed.

“I was hoping you’d be excited. I know you love sunflowers.”

“You’re my sunflower.”

“Don’t be cheesy.”

He rolled his eyes. You gave him a side hug to placate him.

“I have one more thing for you.”

His eyebrows raised in questioning.

“Okay. Should I be scared?”

You gave a playful glare.

“No. You should be excited.”

Grabbing the headphones, you handed them to him.

“You have to put these on.”

He gave a skeptical look.

“I’m scared.”

You gave him a hit to the arm.

“Shut up and put the headphones on before I revoke my gift.”

He laughed.

“Fine, fine. Don’t play some creepy sounds.”

You didn’t dignify it with a reply, you just reached over and clicked play on your cover. It didn’t take him very long to realize what was playing in his ears, and his eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

“Babe-”

“Listen now, talk later, yeah?”

It didn’t take very long for the song to finish up, and his face was adorned in such a huge smile.

“You like it?”

“I loved it.”

“Thank you.”

“Wait a minute- that’s what you were learning the drums for?!”

You laughed.

“Yes. I had it all planned, I already had the guitar and bass and piano recorded before you got home. You came home earlier than I expected, and I had to accept your help and hope you wouldn’t ask too many questions. Luckily, you didn’t, although I could tell you had quite a few spinning around in your brain. You made my job amazingly easy when you had to disappear for a few hours to the studio for the next day, giving me all the time I needed. You almost caught me recording the vocals though, I had just finished saving, overlaying, and mixing it with all the instrument tracks when you walked in. I was terrified you’d see the nervousness on my face when I quickly moved over to play the piano right as you entered the room.”

He shook his head, shock and amusement on his face. He couldn’t believe you’d pulled this off right under his nose. Well, maybe that was a lie. You definitely had the guts and the persistence to pull it off, and you definitely contain the ability to create the element of surprise. The thing he was mostly shocked about was the fact that you didn’t have the ability to keep a secret for the life of you, so he was floored that you were able to keep this quiet and continue to work on it for two days. Although, I suppose it is easier when he wasn’t even there.

“I can’t decide whether to laugh, cry, or kiss you.”

You took a few steps closer to him.

“I’m good with all three, but I’m especially down for the last one.”

“I figured you would be.”

He smiled, pulling you a few steps closer for a long kiss.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, I love you.”

“Happy Valentine’s Day, I love you more.”

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