Voodoo Doll 🧸 @ashtons-babylon - Tumblr Blog

Jul 17

Beside You

Michael's loud while gaming, and a regressed Luke just wants to be near his boyfriend. 2.7k words

A/N: I'm not as proud of this one, but I still think it's really cute. I'm thinking of leaving this as just a oneshot, but if you'd like to see more of this, please let me know!

Or, read this on ao3!

Michael frustratingly threw down his controller, hitting his desk, and leaning back in his chair as he lost another match in Overwatch. “Fuck! Stupid fucking game…” He muttered to himself before sitting up and starting another round. This was the typical cycle, playing Overwatch for hours on end even though he was pissed as hell every time he lost. It was still fun though; that was just the way games worked. Also, from that competitive spirit in Michael, he didn’t want to quit until he at least ranked up again. He had been playing for most of the morning, having gotten a quick bowl of cereal, then went right to it. It wasn’t like he had anything else to do today.

Except for the fact Luke was downstairs, making a complete mess in the kitchen. He had woken up little, but was determined to do things himself today. He knew Mikey liked to sleep in, so why bother him? Now, he was pouring milk into his bowl of cereal, spilling half of it on the counter. There were little pieces of cereal around his bowl too. “Oh- shoot.” He mumbled as he noticed the spilt milk. He grabbed a paper towel and set it down, drying up the milk, even though it really didn’t do much. He took his bowl of cereal and sat in one of the chairs at the kitchen counter, happily munching away, oblivious to what he was spilling on his shirt. He swung his legs back and forth, very content this morning.

“Asshole! What the fuck!?” Luke heard Michael shout from his room upstairs. The boy didn’t really think of why Michael might be shouting; he was just happy to know he was awake! Luke slurped up some of the milk from his cereal bowl before setting it down a bit too loudly on the table and practically bolting his way to Michael’s room.

Luke barely knocked on the door before pushing it open. “Mikey?”

“Hey-“ Michael was facing his monitor still. “I’m- I’m in the middle of a match right now, so I can’t- uh- do you need something?”

Luke could hear the loud pressing of buttons on Michael’s controller. His eyes flickered to the older boy's monitor before looking down at his feet. He shuffled against the carpet, admiring the light green colour of his socks for only a moment. “Heard you from the kitchen, so came to say hi.”

“Well, hi Luke, g’morning.” Michael might have sounded uninterested, but Luke knew it was just cause he was focused on the game.

Luke shyly stepped into the room, closing the door so quietly you’d almost miss it. “Watcha playing?”

“Overwatch.”

“That’s the one you were telling me about, with the um… Juno character?”

“Yeah, it’s my main.” Michael slightly leaned forward on his chair, eyes still locked to the screen.

Luke shuffled over to sit on Michael’s bed, fidgeting with his hands and watching his boyfriend game. He didn’t like to talk too much while Michael was playing cause he knew how focused the boy could get, and he didn’t want to distract him. Luke was very fidgety today, though, as all he wanted was some attention from his caregiver. “Um, do you—“ The rest of Luke’s words were mumbled.

“What was that?” Michael spoke quickly, still very focused on the game. “Fuck! This guy's gonna kill me!” Michael didn’t see the way Luke flinched from his shouting.

“Do you—“ Luke mumbled out his words again, feeling shy. He looked back down at his hands.

“Luke, I can’t understand what you’re say- DUDE! Where is my support- holy shit!” Michael groaned as he threw himself back in his chair, having lost yet another round. He then spun around in his chair to finally face Luke. “Okay, what’s u— Luke, you’re soaked.” Michael cut himself off after seeing Luke’s shirt that had milk all down the front.

“Oh-“ Luke looked at his shirt, just now realizing how much of a mess he actually made. “Sorry, spilled a little.”

Michael’s mouth quirked in confusion, held open like he was about to say something, but then his eyes widened as he realized. Luke was regressed. “Hey… are you feeling little today?”

Luke nodded. “But I was big boy and got bweakfast all by myself!”

Michael chuckled a little. “Seems like you got most of it on yourself. Come on, buddy. Let’s go get you changed.” He set his controller aside and held his hand out for Luke.

“Carry?”

Michael was still getting the strength to be able to carry Luke as often as he wanted. Even if it got tiring, he could never deny the boy. “Sure, buddy.” He lifted Luke up into his arms, holding him on his hip and trying to make sure the boy’s milk-stained shirt didn’t get on his own clothes.

Luke wrapped his arms around Michael’s neck and put his head down on the older boy’s shoulder. He nuzzled against Michael.

“Alright, bud. What’re we thinking for clothes?” Michael spoke as he walked into Luke’s room, setting him down on the bed.

“Ummmm.. can stay in pjs?”

“Sure! We’re not doing much today, so you can stay all cozy.” Michael started to look through Luke’s closet for a different set of pajamas. He set aside a pair of grey sweatpants, then went to look for a top. He paused upon seeing a familiar hoodie, pulling it out and turning to Luke. “I don’t think this is yours, buddy.”

Luke’s cheeks tinted a light red, and he looked to the side, still messing with his hands. “I’s nice.. smells like you..”

“Aww,” Michael was only teasing the boy for taking his sweater, but knowing Luke just genuinely liked having the presence of his boyfriend in that way was sweet. “Do you wanna wear this right now?”

Luke nodded. “Please.”

“Okay, I just need to get you a shirt—“

“No.”

“No?”

“Jus’ want sweater, nofing else.”

Michael laughed a little, but shrugged and grabbed the pants he had set aside before walking over to Luke. “Do you need help getting dressed?” At Luke’s nod, Michael carefully changed him out of his other clothes and into the new ones. Some comfy sweatpants and Michael’s hoodie covering his frame. “There we go, you look so cute. Are you all cozy?”

“Mhm! Up!” Luke reached out to Michael again. He squealed when he got lifted up, immediately nuzzling into his boyfriend. Everything felt safe like this.

Michael left Luke’s room and began to walk downstairs to the kitchen. He was just holding Luke close and rubbing his back, whispering sweet nothings, until he stopped at the sight of the kitchen counter.

There was a huge puddle of milk on the counter that was dripping off the edge, making a smaller puddle on the floor. There were some small pieces of cereal scattered about, and a little clump of paper towels having barely soaked up the mess from Luke’s attempt to clean earlier.

“Lukey, baby? What happened here?” Michael spoke softly, not wanting to make the boy think he was upset.

“Huh?” Luke lifted his head and stared at the counter. He had made a bigger mess than he thought. His mind was too fuzzy to fully realize. “Oh.. um.. spilled a bit ge’ing bweakfast, but I cweaned it!”

Michael sighs as he walks closer to the mess. “I can see that… You definitely tried to clean it, and I appreciate that, but there’s still a lot, baby.”

Luke pouted, tucking his head under Michael’s chin. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay, it’s just a bit of milk; we can clean it up, but next time you should come tell me when you make a mess, okay?”

“Otay… Mikey not mad?”

“Of course not. Spills happen all the time; it’s no big deal. I’d just like it if, when you spill like this, you come tell me so we can get it cleaned up.”

Luke nodded in agreement. He did let out a small whine, though, when Michael set him down in a chair.

“It’s okay, babe. I just gotta clean this up first.” Michael made quick work of getting some paper towels and wiping down the counter. He put away the box of cereal Luke had left out and set the boy’s bowl in the sink. Once he was done, he prepared a quick bottle for Luke, then lifted the boy back into his arms, starting to walk back to his own room.

Luke was already reaching for the bottle in Michael’s hand as they walked, mumbling small ‘gimmies’

“Just one minute, buddy.” Michael chuckled at Luke’s eagerness for his bottle. When they got to Michael’s room, he set Luke in his bed and handed off the bottle. “I’m going to keep gaming, but if you need anything, just let me know, okay? I’ll have my headphones off.”

“Can I cowour?” Luke spoke while nibbling on the teat of his bottle.

“Yeah, let me get your stuff.” Michael ruffled Luke’s hair, making the blonde giggle, before he opened a drawer of his desk to pull out a colouring book. He set it on the bed next to Luke, along with a box of crayons. He watched as Luke eagerly opened the book and found a page to start colouring on. Michael then went back over to his desk, sitting down and starting another match of Overwatch.

The only sounds in the room were Luke’s occasional babbles to himself, the crayon on paper, or Michael’s controller and his remarks at the game. Luke didn’t really mind that Michael would get loud when playing; he was beyond used to it after spending years and years with the boy. It just reassured him that Michael was there and he was having a good time. Although sometimes Luke questioned that by the way Michael would yell at the game.

“This asshole! What are you doing?!” Michael shouted, his button pressing getting louder. Luke made a small sound, cowering in on himself a little.

“Stupid fucking game-!” Michael shouted again, but this time he noticed Luke’s little whimper. When the match ended, he spun around in his chair to face the boy, taking in how he was holding himself while he coloured. “Luke? Are you okay?”

“M-mhm…” He mumbled, but Michael could see how his colouring slowed a little.

“Lukey bear, look at me.” Luke shyly looked to Michael, not able to ignore him when he used that nickname. “What’s going on? I heard you whine.”

“Um.. just- just don’t like the- the words…” Luke mumbled again.

“The words? What do you mean, baby?”

“You- you shouting..”

“You being honest with me, love?”

Luke was silent before shaking his head a little. “Just… the cussing, I don’t like.”

“Oh, shi- shoot. I’m sorry, buddy. You could’ve just said that; I’ll try and stop.”

“Fanks…” Luke smiled slightly when Michael pressed a kiss to his forehead. Sometimes he forgot how easy it was to make things better. Michael always understood.

Luke went back to colouring, and Michael went back to his gaming after making sure Luke was actually okay. He toned back his random outbursts in general, but still sometimes the game got the best of him. “Motherfuuu— fudger!” Michael corrected himself.

Luke looked up at Michael’s attempt to censor his words, giggling a little. “Fudge.” He giggled more.

“Oh- what? You think that’s funny?” Michael teased.

“Yeah.” Luke giggled more.

Michael just rolled his eyes, a smile on his face, and looked back at his screen. He kept playing Overwatch, remembering to censor himself by saying stuff like, “butthole!” “motherfudger!” and “you piece of shiitake!”

Each exclamation would get a burst of giggles from Luke. He thought the replacement words were the funniest thing ever. It made Michael smile knowing that even something so small could make his boy happy. Every little laugh from Luke made Michael want to drop everything and cuddle the life out of him. He would do anything to keep hearing that sweet sound.

It was only an hour later when Michael decided he was done playing Overwatch. He turned his pc off and sat by Luke on the bed, lightly brushing his fingers over Luke’s hair. “Watcha colouring?”

Luke pulled his bottle away from his mouth and spoke. “Buncha fish.” He was currently using a green crayon to fill in fins on a blue coloured fish.

“Oo, those look really good, buddy.” The whole page was filled with different coloured fish and some small underwater plants. “Can I colour with you?”

“Yeah! I have to cowour those, then done so you can do those.” Luke pointed at two fish that weren’t filled in yet, then handed a crayon to Michael.

Michael happily accepted the crayon and got to work colouring with Luke. They finished the little underwater scene together, and Luke had them both sign their names on the bottom of the page.

“Yay! This looks so good, Mikey!” Luke clapped his hands after putting his crayons away.

“Yeah! You did such a good job, I love it.” Michael ruffled Luke’s hair.

“We did good job.” Luke corrects with a bright smile.

“Yeah, we did.” Michael kisses Luke’s cheek, making the boy blush. “Do you wanna keep colouring or do something else?”

“Um.. something else.”

“Alright, how about we go down to the living room and watch a movie?”

“Yeah! Movie!” Luke gave a wide, toothy smile up at Michael.

“Okay, sick! Come on, buddy.” Michael stood up, holding out his hand, but Luke stopped like he suddenly remembered something.

“Wait! I gotta grab somefing.” And before Michael could even question the boy, he was sprinting out of the room towards his own.

Michael just chuckled at the boy’s eagerness and started grabbing his softest blankets, which he knew Luke loved, while he waited for Luke to return.

“Otay! I’m back.” Luke rocked on his heels as he stood in the doorway.

“Hey, what’d ya get?”

“Pengy!” Luke held out his arms, a well-loved penguin plush clutched between his hands.

“Ah, needed Pengy for movie time, huh?” Michael chuckled at Luke’s nod. The boy was so smiley today; it made Michael happy. “Alright, I got us some blankets, so let’s head to the living room.”

Luke eagerly started bounding down the hall and to the stairs. Almost tripping on his feet in the process. He plopped himself smack dab in the center of the couch the second he got to the living room, turning his head to see Michael walking down the stairs at a much steadier pace.

Michael got over to the couch and threw the blankets onto Luke, covering the boy. “Gotcha!”

Luke squealed loudly, his hands moving to try and get out from under the blankets. “Mikeyyy!! I can’t see!”

Michael giggled at the boy and leaned forward to scoop him into his arms, still trapped in the blankets. He plopped Luke down onto his lap after sitting himself on the couch. “Can’t let you get away, can I?”

“Michaeeelllll!!” Luke squirmed, still giggling.

The blankets were moved off of Luke’s face, but Michael kept him wrapped up in his lap. He started pressing kisses all over the boy’s face. “My precious boy.”

Luke giggled more, blushing and leaning into Michael. He pressed Pengy up close to his face as if trying to hide behind the stuffed animal. “Love you, Mikey.”

“I love you too, Lukey bear. Now, how about that movie?”

“Yeah.” Luke nodded, watching as Michael turned on the tv and pulled up one of his favourite movies. “Do I get to move?”

“Nope. You gotta stay wrapped up in these blankets, nice and safe with me.” Michael leaned back, pulling Luke closer against him.

Luke let out a little huff, but it wasn’t mad. He was really just adorable. As long as he had his boyfriend there with him, he would happily stay curled up like this. Once the movie was started, he settled against Michael, wrapped up in the blankets, with his penguin. He brought his thumb up to his mouth, sucking on it.

Michael kept his hand moving gently up and down the boy’s back, relaxing as they watched the movie. He pressed occasional kisses to Luke’s temple. He watched as the blonde slowly drifted off. Hearing those soft snores was his signal that Luke was out. Michael just kept him close, continuing to watch tv while his boy slept. Another gentle kiss was pressed to the boy’s forehead.

“Sleep well, baby boy, I love you.”

#5sos #5 seconds of summer #5 seconds of summer agere #5sos agere #sfw agere #agere fanfic #luke hemmings #little!luke #michael clifford #caregiver michael

ashtons-babylon

Jun 23

Starting Line

Chapter 4

The first show of three after days of Luke being regressed. 15.6k words A/N: There is a scene that gets a bit heated of all the boys making out, but otherwise it does not go into more than that. There will never be any nsfw content in my agere fics. Ch. 1, Ch. 2, Ch. 3

Or, read this on ao3!

The next morning, Luke had been feeling pretty energetic, which was a far cry from how sleepy and clingy he had been previously. He was squirming in Ashton’s arms when lifted out of bed, and the moment he was put down, he bolted across the bus to where Calum was making breakfast.

Luke squeezed Calum tightly, giggling and swaying a bit, making the tail on his dinosaur onesie hit against the wall. “Dada!!”

Calum was caught off guard by the boy’s eagerness, but he smiled and wrapped his arms around him. “Morning, baby. Someone’s excited, huh?”

“Jus’ happy!” Luke beamed.

Calum ruffled his hair, smiling back. “I’m glad. Do you wanna go wake up Mikey for me?”

“Otay!” Luke pressed a quick kiss to Calum’s cheek, then giggled and bounded off back down the bus. He stood by Michael’s bunk and opened the curtain. The red-haired boy was drooling onto his pillow. Luke poked at his cheek. “Dadddyyyyy! Wake up!”

Michael grumbled and rolled over, pulling his blanket higher. “Noo…”

Luke pouted and kept poking at him, now moving to his back. “You gotta wake up, daddy! Calum wants you.”

Michael groaned before rubbing at his eyes, coming too, and turning to the blonde. “Hi, Luke.” His voice was deep and raspy from sleep.

“Morning, daddy!” Luke rocked on his heels. “Dada Cal told me to wake you up.”

Michael hums in response. He yawned and threw his legs over the side of the bunk, hopping out and standing next to Luke. It warmed his heart to see Luke so upbeat today; the stress from tour was definitely leaving him after getting to regress for a bit. Michael just hoped that happiness wouldn’t go away when they told him he had to age up later.

Michael walked across the bus to Calum, with Luke trailing closely behind. He stopped near the older boy who was currently scrambling some eggs. “Morning, babe.”

“G’morning.” Calum looked over for a moment to smile at Michael.

“Luke said you needed me?”

“Oh, yeah. It was just getting late, and I didn’t want you to sleep through breakfast.”

“Ah, alright. Do you need any help?”

“That would be great, actually,” Calum told Michael what he could help with, both boys now making breakfast. Luke was still standing there, watching happily, swaying back and forth. “How about you go sit on the couch with Ashy, love? Then we’ll bring you breakfast when it’s done.” Calum directed to Luke, not wanting him to just stand there aimlessly.

“Okay!” Luke turned around and went over to the couch where Ashton was scrolling on his phone and drinking a cup of coffee. “Hi, daddy.” He plopped down next to Ashton.

“Hey, baby.” Ashton put his arm around Luke’s shoulders, pulling him in.

“What that?” Luke pointed at the mug.

“My coffee, buddy.”

“Can I have some?”

Ashton genuinely considered for a moment. They normally didn’t let Luke have any caffeine in his little space, he was already being really energetic this morning. “Sorry, buddy, no can do. Maybe if you’re good, you can have some soda later, though.”

Luke pouted slightly, but the possibility of soda kept him calm. “Okie.” He nuzzled further into Ashton’s side, content to just rest until breakfast.

About ten minutes later, Calum and Michael were bringing over plates. They set everyone’s food down on the table and scooted onto the couch, settling in. Luke was feeling independent today and ate his food all by himself, only getting a little messy around his mouth, which Ashton casually cleaned up with a napkin.

As they were finishing up their breakfast, the bus started to rumble a bit as it slowed. “What’s happening, daddy?” Luke turned to Michael.

“The bus is just pulling over, honey, it’s okay.” Michael leaned back to pull aside the curtain over the window and look out. He looked at Calum with a raised eyebrow, who just shrugged in response. It didn’t look like they were in the city yet. They weren’t supposed to get there til later that night.

“I’ll see what’s going on,” Ashton spoke before getting up, gently prying Luke from him and telling him to sit with the others. When the bus fully came to a stop, Ashton slid his shoes on and stepped out. Calum shifted Luke onto his lap, carding his fingers through the blonde curls and reassuring the boy that everything was okay.

Ashton closed the door of the bus behind him, looking around once outside. Their bus driver and a couple people who were in their second bus were talking frantically. Ashton strode over. “Hey, what’s going on?”

One of the crew looks up. Right. It’d probably be important for the literal band they are transporting to know what’s going on. “There’s just some issues with the engine right now, but we’re going to refuel- check it out- and we’ll be back on the road shortly.”

Part of Ashton wanted to know every little detail of what was wrong and what they had to do, but he also didn’t want to stress himself out. He had faith in the crew; they knew how to handle these situations more than he did. He also didn’t want to go back to Luke with that information and freak the boy out. “Alright… How long is it gonna be?”

“Uh…” They looked over at the bus and some of the other crew for a moment before turning back to Ashton. “Shouldn’t be more than a couple hours. We’ll still make it to the city on time as long as nothing goes wrong here.”

Well. That wasn’t a very specific answer, but Ashton just took it. He groaned a little, pinching his nose bridge and taking a long breath, before nodding. “Alright…” Ashton stood silently only a minute longer before turning on his heel and going back inside their bus.

Luke was sitting in Calum’s lap, clinging to the boy while Calum whispered reassurances to him, and Michael was sitting, waiting impatiently. He stood up almost on instinct when Ashton walked back in with that frustrated expression on his face. “What’s going on?”

“They said there’s issues with the engine, don’t know how long it’s gonna be, probably a couple hours.” Ashton just sighs.

“Jeez, well, looks like we’ve got time to kill.” Michael sits back down.

“I don’t wanna kill my time with somebody else.” Luke quietly chirped in a sing-songy voice.

“Yeah, baby?” Calum laughs a little.

“I’s just what Mikey said..” Luke pouted.

“Aw,” Michael spoke up, reaching over to squish Luke’s cheek. “Yknow, if you really want to sing that, we can put it on the secret song options.”

“We don’t need to add more than we already have lined up.” Ashton chimed in.

“God, we’re going to get to heartbreak girl at one point, and everyone is going to switch up on us.” Calum groaned, dreading the day he’d have to play that song live again.

They all just laughed. Luke was quietly singing 5sos songs to himself now while messing with his hands. Michael was racking his brain for something they could do while they waited. Oh! The bus was stopped so they could leave. A walk would be nice, get them to stretch their legs after being in a stuffy bus for days on end.

“How does a walk sound?” Michael spoke up, question left out in the air for anyone to answer.

“Yeah, that sounds nice,” Ashton said.

“Little one here could use some fresh air.” Calum chuckled, patting Luke’s leg.

“Sick. I’m going to change.” Ashton got up, heading to the back of the bus.

“Me too.” Calum set Luke on the couch and followed Ash.

Once they were gone, Michael turned to Luke, who was still in his own little world. “Hey, baby. Do you wanna go on a quick walk outside? It’s nice and sunny out.”

Luke looked up at Michael, eyes lighting up at the idea of going outside. He had been stuck in this bus for so long. He was starting to miss the backyard back home, where he could run around and play. “Yeah! Wanna walk!”

Michael was so glad Luke was excited about it. Sometimes Luke would agree to walks, but he’d actually want to be carried the whole time, and that was a whole different story. “Alright. Let’s go get you changed, then we can—“

“No.” Luke huffed immediately, crossing his arms over his chest and sinking into the couch.

“No?” Michael tilted his head in confusion.

“Don’t wanna change.. like my onesie.”

Michael sighed. “I know you do, buddy, but we can’t wear that outside.”

“Yes, we can, have before.” Luke tried to refute Michael’s words. Technically, the boy wasn’t wrong; he had worn his dinosaur onesie outside before, but that was when they were in the private space of their home.

“We just don’t want it to get dirty, we can’t do laundry til we’re at a hotel.” Michael tried to add on, still avoiding bringing up the actual reasons to Luke.

“Don’t care.” Luke pouted. “Want to wear it.”

“Lukey, you can’t wear your onesie on our walk.”

“I don’t care! Want my onesie!” So much for Luke’s previous good mood. The boy was kicking his legs against the seat and whining loudly now.

“Luke. Look at me. You don’t get to wear your onesie outside. I’m not arguing with you on this. So, we either change or we don’t go on a walk.” Michael wasn’t actually going to go through with the latter; they really needed the fresh air, but he was going to get Luke changed one way or another.

Luke just whined harder. He didn’t like either of those options! “Nooooo!”

“I’ll let you choose your outfit-?” Michael tried to compromise.

Luke only whined harder. “Papa let me wear dino.” He huffed.

Michael’s mouth widened a little in shock. Luke was really going to pull the other daddy card? “Seriously, Luke? Calum’s just going to give you the same answer.” Michael sighed at Luke’s continued whines and decided to fetch Calum.

Calum was dressed in jeans and his favourite orange hoodie, chatting with Ashton, who was still looking through his bag to find something to wear. They both looked up at Michael when he approached. “Calum, can you come help me? Luke’s whining because he doesn’t want to change, and now he’s saying you’ll let him stay in his pajamas and I t—“

“Hey, slow down.” Calum could tell Michael was a little frustrated. He placed a hand on the boy’s upper arm, squeezing lightly. “Let’s take a breath, it’s okay.” Calum slowly breathed in, getting Michael to follow, before breathing out.

Michael followed suit. Letting out his breath and closing his eyes for a brief moment. He blinked and looked back at Calum. “Sorry… I was just not ready for him to get fussy so fast with how happy he was before breakfast.”

“It’s alright, I understand. Come on.” Calum took Michael’s hand and walked back over to the couch, where Luke was still sitting with his arms crossed over his chest and a sad little pout on his face.

Luke looked up at the boys' re-entry. “Papa! Papa, tell dada I don’t wanna not wear dino!”

Calum squeezed Michael’s hand before letting go and walking closer to Luke, sitting next to the boy. “You know that’s not how that works, baby.” He kept his voice soft; he didn’t want Luke to think he was mad at him, even if he was technically lecturing. “You can’t just call upon one of your other daddies when we say something you don’t like, expecting another answer. Michael already told you no, so that means no, okay?”

“But sometimes that does happen..” Luke shyly pointed out.

“But things like if you can have another cookie before bed are different, Luke.” Calum’s gaze softened at Luke’s little frown. As much as he wished they could just drop it, it was a good learning opportunity for little Luke. “It’s okay to be upset about it, but we’re supposed to talk out our feelings, remember?”

“Yeah…” Luke mumbled.

“So, what did Mikey tell you?”

“Um.. he sai’ I can’t wear my onesie on our walk.”

“Okay, and how did you respond to that?”

“Got upset, and was whining…”

Calum reached out to gently rub Luke’s back. “Did you tell Michael why you didn’t want to change?”

Luke shook his head. “N-no..”

Calum was going slow, taking his time to work over everything, mostly allowing time for Luke to calm down a little. “Did Michael tell you why you can’t wear your onesie?”

“Um, he- he said is cause it could get dirty and we can’t do laundwy here…”

Calum glanced back at Michael. Sure, the redhead’s statement was true, but it wasn’t the full truth. He shared a silent word with Michael when they locked eyes. Calum sighed and looked back at the blonde boy. He was debating telling Luke or not. The only real reason Luke couldn’t wear his onesie outside was because they couldn’t risk any sort of fans or paparazzi seeing him like this. Luke understood this, but not as well when he was in his headspace, because it was never really an issue that came up. He got to go outside in his pajamas a lot at home! So why couldn’t he now? The boys just didn’t want Luke to have to worry; this was his safe space. Calum decided it was better to explain at least a bit to Luke.

“That is true…” Calum reached out, lightly rubbing Luke’s leg. “But it’s also because we’re in public, baby. We’re near a big city where a bunch of people are coming to see us, and we don’t want anyone to recognize you while you’re little.”

“Oh…” Luke looked down, rethinking. “So dada jus’ wants me to be safe?”

“Exactly, love. We all do. I know you’re more comfy in your onesie right now, but it’d be better if you changed for the walk because we don’t want to risk anything happening. Understand?”

Luke nods a little. He was still upset about having to change when he was already so cozy, but he understood why it was necessary.

“Once we’re back on the bus, I promise you can go right back to your pj’s, alright?”

“Okay, papa.”

“Now, can you apologize to Michael?”

Luke pouted for a moment and looked up at Michael, who was standing across the way. “S-sorry for getting upset, dada. Should’ve listened…”

Michael smiled softly and came over to the boys. He wasn’t in the mood to lecture Luke any more than he had been. He just accepted the apology. “Thank you, baby. I forgive you, but next time we gotta talk things out, okay?”

Luke nods. He shyly leans over and presses a quick kiss to Michael’s cheek. “Promise. I be good.”

Michael ruffled Luke’s hair before giving a kiss to his forehead. “Now, can we get you dressed?” Michael lets out a relieved sound at Luke’s agreement.

The boys go to the back of the bus together to get clothes for Luke. Luke sat down where Michael directed, and the redhead started looking through his clothes. He wanted something Luke could be comfortable in, but was also something he would wear on an average day when big. As he was searching through the clothes, Luke spoke up.

“Want daddy’s pants.”

“Luke, you can’t wear Ashton’s pants.”

“Please?” Luke wanted to whine, but he didn’t want to frustrate Michael more than he already had.

“Fine..” Michael just gave in. It really wasn’t the end of the world. They would all share clothes; fans had pointed it out before when they’d be seen on different days wearing the same jacket. Michael grabbed a pair of Ashton’s pants and Luke’s shirt, plus a jacket. After a little bit of fuss, he finally got Luke dressed and was pulling the boy's shoes on.

Once Luke was dressed and up, they walked back over to the main area of the bus where Calum and Ashton were.

Ashton gave a small smirk, seeing Luke’s pants. “Nice pants, buddy.”

Luke just blushed and looked down shyly. He hesitantly held his arms out to Ash. “Carry?”

“Sorry, Luke. I can’t carry you outside, but you can hold my hand.” Ashton offered up.

Luke huffed a little but took Ashton’s hand. He liked the feeling of his smaller hand enclosed in Ashton’s larger one.

All of the boys then stepped out of the bus, starting to walk down the street. It wasn’t too cold outside, just a slight breeze. The bright sun coming down made it better. Luke was feeling a lot better now that he got some fresh air. He swung his hand that was holding Ashton’s back and forth, babbling away to his daddies.

Their walk was peaceful; nothing else going on at all. Until, a bit a-ways down the street, there were three girls walking in the opposite direction. Which really wouldn’t be a problem normally, but one of them gasped and pointed in their direction, saying something to their friends, who then started freaking out, and they all sped up their pace, coming closer. Oh no. The older boys all shared a look. They couldn’t just turn around; they had already been spotted, but could they really get out of this? Luke was very much in his headspace. This could not get out to the public.

Calum looked to Luke, speaking quietly but quickly. “Hey, love. There’s some fans coming up, okay? We c—“

“What?!” Luke’s eyes widened; he froze.

“Hey, hey, shhh, it’s okay. It’s going to be okay. Just stay near us, we’ll do the talking.” Calum reassured Luke as best as he could for the moment. Internally, all of them were freaking out, but they put on brave faces.

The girls came up, saying how they were really big fans, and all the usual things they got when meeting people. Ashton kept Luke slightly behind him, just in case. It was easier when they were addressed as a group, then Luke could stand silently, and it wouldn’t seem odd. He was introverted after all, people knew that, so maybe they wouldn’t think it was weird if he didn’t talk. Michael nodded along to what one of the girls was saying. They didn’t want to be rude and brush them off, but they really weren’t paying that much attention. All of their focus was on Luke and making sure absolutely nothing happened to him. They loved meeting fans, truly, but moments like this made them wish they weren’t famous. They wished the world could understand Luke’s coping mechanism and not judge him, but especially with the internet, people just weren’t like that.

After trying to rush the conversation a bit, Ashton vaguely saying they needed to get going, they took a photo with the girls, and said their goodbyes. Ready to turn around and go back to the bus, but one of the girls spoke up.

“Could I have a hug?” She was addressing Luke directly.

Luke stood in slight shock for a moment. He was trying to work through the fuzziness in his brain to remember what to do in situations like this. Ashton noticed and was about to step in, but Luke spoke, voice having a slight lilt to it. “Not now, sorry.”

The girl frowns for a moment, but then nods. “Okay. Bye!” She follows along with her friends, who walk away.

The boys hoped they weren’t secretly evil fans who would go online and start making stuff up about how Luke was evil and mean for not letting them hug him, but they could live with that. Right now, they just needed to make sure Luke was okay.

Once the girls were a far enough distance away, they stepped to the side more, all turning their attention to Luke.

“Are you okay, baby?” Michael asked.

Luke just silently nodded. He was looking at the ground and fidgeting with his hands.

“Luke, look at us. We’re here for you.” Michael gently tilted the blonde's head up. “I know that was scary, but it’s over now.” The fans had been really sweet, but Michael could only imagine how overwhelming it must’ve been in Luke’s head. “Can you talk to me? Are you okay?” He needed the verbal confirmation from Luke to know if the boy was shutting down or not.

“Y-yeah…” He mumbled out. “Are they mad?”

“What? Who would be mad at you, honey?” Ashton chimed in.

“The- the fans… cause I didn’t talk to them and I said no to a hug…”

“Baby. You didn’t do anything wrong, okay?” Michael responded. “There’s nothing wrong with saying no to a hug, whether you’re little or not. You didn’t upset anyone.”

“Do you want to keep walking or go back to the bus?” Calum spoke softly to Luke, sensing he was a bit overwhelmed.

“Bus… please.”

The second the words left Luke’s mouth, they were turned around and headed towards the tour bus. They got a bit of a walk and some nice air in, and now Luke needed to be back in his safe space, so that’s what they’d do. The crew was still working on fixing the bus, but they just ignored them as they stepped back inside. Luke sat on the couch, and Michael made quick work of taking off his shoes. Calum went to the back of the bus to grab some things.

Ashton crouched in front of Luke, speaking softly. “You doing okay, buddy? Do you want some lunch?” That perked Luke up only slightly as he nodded. “Alright. How about I make you a cheese toastie?” Ashton smiled when Luke agreed. He ruffled the boy's hair and kissed his forehead before getting up and walking to the small kitchen area.

“I’m going to go get you a change of clothes. Are you gonna be okay here by yourself?” Michael asked. Maybe they were all being a bit overprotective of Luke right now, but they knew how he was. This attention was a lot better for him than if they acted like he was fine and did nothing. When Luke nodded, Michael kissed his cheek and got up.

He walked to the back of the bus to see Calum looking through one of the duffel bags. “Hey.”

“Hey, Mikey.”

Michael moved to search through the clothes. Pulling out one of his shirts for Luke and finding another pair of Ashton’s pants for him. “Watcha looking for?”

“Luke’s penguin. He hasn’t had it in a while, but I swear I saw him pack it.”

“It should be in the side pocket.” Michael pointed.

“Oh! Found it. Thanks.” He stood up, holding Luke’s penguin plushie, which was slightly worn from years of love, in his hands. Luke had gotten it when they were teenagers, but it’s been with him ever since. He couldn’t part with it. “Have you told Luke yet?”

“Told him what?” Michael asked.

“Have you told him he has to age up soon? With how things have been going today, I don’t know how he’s going to react to that.”

Michael groaned, tilting his head back in frustration before looking back to Calum. “No, I haven’t told him… I will soon, I just- let’s at least wait til after lunch.”

“Okay.. but Michael, we seriously need to tell him today. We have a show tomorrow, he can’t be little then.”

“I know! I know… it’ll be fine.”

They walked back over to where Luke was on the couch. Calum stood off to the side while Michael helped Luke get changed. Calum then stepped forward.

“Guess what I have for you, baby”

Luke tilted his head, seeing Calum’s hands hidden behind his back. “What is it?”

Calum brought his hands around, holding out the stuffed penguin. “I got p—“

“PENGY!!!” Luke practically shouted, immediately bouncing in place and making desperate grabby hands towards the stuffed animal. Calum chuckled and handed it over, smiling at the way Luke clutched it to his chest like it was the most prized possession in the world, which, to the little boy, it was.

Both Calum and Michael laughed a little at his eagerness. At least he was happy; that was what mattered. They sat down on opposite sides of Luke, relaxing with the boy until Ashton came over with plates of food.

He set a plate with two perfectly cooked grilled cheeses in front of Luke. They were cut in half, in triangles, just how the boy liked. “Here you go, babe. Eat up.” Ashton took pengy when Luke handed it to him, setting it safely on the table where Luke could see, but it wouldn’t get messy.

Luke happily munched on his food, humming slightly from how good it tasted. The other boys ate their own lunch. A quiet, peaceful moment between all of them. Calum shared a look with Michael. He knew they needed to tell Luke sooner than later about having to age up.

Michael just sighed, swallowing his last bite and pushing his plate forward to the center of the table. He turned to Luke, who had just finished his food too, and was carefully wiping his fingers with the napkin Ashton had provided him. “Luke, we need to talk to you about something.”

Luke looked up almost instantly, eyes wide. “Did I do somefing?”

“Oh- no, no baby. Nothing’s wrong.”

“Oh… otay, what’s going on then?” Luke grabbed Pengy from off the table, holding it close.

“Well, we have to play a show tomorrow. So we were hoping you could try and age up a bit tonight…”

Luke’s expression instantly dropped. “Like being small…”

“I know you do, buddy, but we’re going to be in the city later tonight, and then we have to perform tomorrow. You can’t be little during that.”

Calum spoke up as well, trying to explain to Luke. “We know when you’ve been little for a couple of days, it takes you a bit longer to get back to your big boy headspace, so we just wanted to tell you ahead of time so you wouldn’t be overwhelmed tomorrow.”

“I don’t wanna be big.”

“Don’t you wanna get to perform?” Ashton spoke.

“Yeah…” Luke admitted shyly. Even in his little space, there was always a place in his mind for his love of performing. He adored singing and playing on stage.

“So, how about we start trying to be big?” Michael said.

“Don’t wanna.” The little boy pouted, bringing Pengy closer to his chest and leaning back.

“Luke, if you don’t now, it’s going to be a lot harder tomorrow. We don’t want you to be fussy and have to struggle through your headspace while we’re getting ready to perform.”

“But I don’t wanna!”

Ashton moved closer, reaching out to place a hand on Luke’s knee. They had to try and compromise at least a little. “How about this.. you can stay little for a bit longer, but when we get to the city you gotta start trying to age back up, okay?”

Luke huffed, thinking over how much he actually wanted to do that. Part of him wished he could stay in his headspace as long as he wanted, but the other part of him knew that couldn’t happen. “Get to be little longer..?”

“Just for a couple more hours, love.”

Luke let out another huff of air, closer to a sigh this time. “I guess I can do that…”

“Thank you, baby.” Michael kissed Luke’s cheek.

Luke blushed slightly from the action. He tried to hide his smile; he was supposed to be grumpy right now! Luke shyly held out his penguin. “Kiss for Pengy?”

Michael giggled slightly. “Of course, buddy.” He pressed a quick kiss to the top of the penguin plush. He tried to ignore the way his heart fluttered, hearing Luke’s happy giggle.

“So, what do you want to do while we wait, buddy?” Calum said. They’d let Luke choose how he wanted to spend the rest of his regression for the day.

“Um.. movie?”

“Yeah? A movie sounds great. I’ll go get my laptop.” Calum pecked Luke’s forehead before getting up.

“Do you need anything else for our little movie night?” Michael spoke up.

“Can have blankies? And- and my dummy, pwease?”

“Of course, I’ll be right back.” Michael scooted off the side of the couch and went off to grab everything.

Ashton got up as well, heading to the kitchen to grab some snacks.

Shortly, all the boys came back to the couch. Michael had laid out a couple of fluffy blankets across all of their laps. Ashton set some bags of chips on the table. He also brought a sippy cup for Luke, and Calum was scrolling through a streaming service on his computer to find a movie. Luke popped his dummy in his mouth when offered it and curled up between his daddies. Maybe it was time for a nap.

Soon after they had a movie loaded up, Luke was falling asleep on Calum’s shoulder, dummy bobbing lightly in his mouth, and arms wrapped around Pengy.

There was a knock on the bus door, and Ashton quickly got up to deal with it. He opened the door only partially, standing in the way so someone couldn’t look in and see Luke.

It was one of the crew members. “Hey, just letting you know we got everything all fixed up, and we’ll be back on the road in a few moments here.”

“Alright, thank you,” Ashton spoke quickly to the person before coming back inside. He sat back on the couch, cuddling up to Michael.

Luke slept for a good couple hours, the bus was back on the road, and they’d be in the city they were to perform in very soon. As the bus hit a particularly rough bump, Luke started to stir.

Calum gently shushed him, running his fingers through the boy's locks. “Shh, it’s okay, buddy. You can keep sleeping.”

Still, Luke made small sounds, moving slightly and starting to stretch out. He almost kicked Michael’s side in the process. “Careful there, baby.” Michael chuckles, moving Luke’s leg carefully.

“Mm.. wha’ time is it?” Luke yawns as he rubs his eyes.

“Almost eight, love,” Ashton spoke.

“Are we there yet?”

“Almost. We should be stopping soon, I think.” Michael put his hand on Luke’s back as he sat up.

“Do we gotta leave?” Luke was referring to getting a hotel room.

“No, we got one more night on the bus, but tomorrow we’ll have a hotel room.”

“It’ll be nice to sleep on a comfy bed, huh?” Calum said.

“Mm, yeah… bed’s nice.” Sleeping on a hotel bed had never seemed as much of a luxury as it was until you were stuck in a cramped bunk for nights on end. Those beds you could really stretch out and get comfy. Luke was also excited to get to cuddle with all of his daddies. They could really only fit two of them in a bunk at a time.

“I’m gonna start making some dinner, does that sound nice, baby boy?” Ashton asked sweetly to Luke, who nodded.

Michael messed with the hem of his sweater for a moment before looking to Luke. God, how Michael could stare into those baby blues forever. He couldn’t right now, though. “You know we gotta start trying to be a big boy soon, Luke.”

Luke frowned, looking down at his lap. “Do I haf to?”

“I’d really appreciate it if you would..”

“Can I please be little for longer? Jus’ for the rest of tonight?” Luke looked at Michael with those wide puppy eyes and a big pouty lip.

“Awh, come on, don’t give me that look-“ Michael sighed, running his hand down his face. “Just for tonight, okay? As long as you promise to be big tomorrow. We have a show to play.” He really hoped this wouldn’t come back to bite him in the butt later.

“Promise! Fank you, daddy!” Luke squeezed Michael tightly.

“Yeah, yeah… I love you, baby.”

“L-love you too!”

“Hey, where’s my hug?” Calum pretended to pout from his spot on the other side of Luke.

“Oh! Papa gets hugs too.” Luke pulled off Michael to hug Calum close. “You’re so warm.”

“Probably from you lying on me the past hour.” Calum chuckles, patting Luke’s back.

Luke stayed curled up with Calum and Michael, now watching some cartoons on Calum’s laptop as they waited for dinner. It was a peaceful night. The bus lightly rumbled on the road, inching closer and closer to their destination.

Soon, Ashton was bringing over bowls of warm pasta with sauce for the boys. Calum set aside his computer so they could all eat, and Luke wouldn’t be distracted by the show. He was allowed to watch tv while eating, sure, but he somehow always managed to get even messier than normal. And with this pasta sauce, they really didn’t want to have to clean that off of Luke’s clothes. It was decently quiet while they ate, aside from any small sounds or babbles Luke would make.

By the time they were all done eating, Luke was yawning and rubbing at his eyes again. “‘M tired…”

“Yeah? I think that means it’s bedtime, buddy.” Ashton smiled as he collected their empty bowls.

“Hey, don’t worry, I’ll get them,” Michael said, grabbing a bowl from Ashton and pecking his cheek. “You go get Luke settled.”

Ashton faltered for a moment before smiling. It’s not like he didn’t enjoy helping in this way, but getting help from the others was always appreciated. He rested a hand on Michael’s arm for a moment, giving him a warm look before the redhead walked away. He turned back to Luke. “Alright, baby boy, let’s get ready for bed.”

Luke stretched his arms out, making repeated grabby hands at Ashton. He clutched onto the older boy the moment he got lifted up. He rested his head on Ashton’s shoulder and ran his finger along the fabric of his clothes, tracing small patterns. “Daddy, I want—“ The rest of Luke’s soft words were cut into incomprehensible babbles.

Ashton just chuckled as he started carrying Luke to the bathroom. “I can’t understand ya, buddy.”

“Wanna have unicorns and wainbows.” Luke’s voice didn’t do well at hiding his sleepiness.

“Yeah, baby? You want unicorns and rainbows? And how do you suppose we get those?” Ashton would happily entertain little Luke’s fantasies.

“Um… we gotta buy ‘em,” Luke said, like it was the most reasonable answer in the world.

“You have the money for that?” Ashton gently set Luke on the small counter of the bathroom.

“Mhm.” Luke rubbed at his eyes again.

“Alright, buddy.” Ashton chuckles, his heart was melting at Luke’s sweet words. “Well, we can get you some rainbows and unicorns another day, okay? Right now we gotta get ready for bed.”

“Mm, okay, daddy.”

Ashton opened a drawer and pulled out Luke’s toothpaste and toothbrush, putting a dollop on the bristles. He wet the brush a little before holding it out to Luke. “I’m gonna go grab your jammies, can you start brushing your teeth?”

Luke just nodded and took the brush. His movements were a little slow from how tired he was, but he listened to his daddy. At least he wasn’t being fussy. He started brushing his teeth, foam from the toothpaste getting around his mouth.

Ashton left the bathroom to quickly rummage through Luke’s bag. He found a soft baby blue onesie for the boy. He hadn’t worn it in so long, but he always looked adorable in it. Luke would definitely love the choice.

Ashton came back to see Luke spitting into the sink and rinsing off his brush. “All done?”

“Mhm! All clean.” Luke flashed his teeth at Ashton in a bright smile.

“Good job, babe. You got a little messy there.” Ashton smiles warmly and grabs a piece of toilet paper, wiping around Luke’s mouth.

“Fank ‘ou… what you got?” Luke swung his legs back and forth.

“I got your jammies. Do ya like this one?” He held up the blue onesie.

Luke’s eyes lit up instantly. “Yes! Bwue!”

Ashton couldn’t help but laugh a little, enjoying Luke’s excitement. “Let me help you get dressed, alright? We also gotta change your nappy.”

Luke pouted slightly at the mention of his nappy, but he nodded, reaching out and letting Ashton start to undress him.

“You’re such a good boy, yknow that? Always so perfect for us.” Ashton kissed Luke’s forehead.

“I am?”

“Yeah, of course you are-“

“Sometimes I worry.” Luke starts, looking down.

“About what, love?”

“That- that I’m too much… or- or you guys are tired… cause you guys need love too, but I’m jus’ always being taken care of.”

“Hey, none of that.” Ashton sets the clothes in his hands down and cups Luke’s face. “We love you so much, and we love taking care of you. You trusting us and letting us love you like this is enough. It makes us feel so loved and important when you need us. If- if there were ever problems or we needed a break or anything- we would tell you, okay? You are not a burden in any way, Luke.”

Luke was silent for a moment. He avoided Ashton’s eyes, but the way his large, warm hands were holding his face made him cave. He looked into Ashton’s soft hazel eyes; he could see the love radiating off of him. He couldn’t think of the right words, so he leaned forward and kissed Ashton quickly on the lips. Once he pulled back, his face was a pale red, and he looked down again. “Thank you, love you lots.”

Ashton was a bit surprised by Luke’s forwardness, but he just smiled. “I love you too, baby boy, so much. Don’t ever forget that.”

“Can I have jammies now?”

Ashton chuckles at Luke’s redirect. “Yeah, just let me change your nappy real quick.” Ashton made quick work of removing and disposing of Luke’s old nappy before putting him in a new one. He then picked the boy up off the counter and helped him into the onesie. Once Luke was situated in his new clothes, Ashton lifted him back into his arms. “Alright, you think you’re ready for bed now?”

Luke nuzzled into Ashton’s chest. He felt so warm and secure in his pajamas and in Ashton’s arms. “I wanna sleep wif papa.”

“You want papa Cal? I’m sure he’d love some cuddles from you.” Ashton pats Luke’s side and walks out of the bathroom. He finds Calum on the couch still, but now in different clothes for sleep.

“Aw, there’s our little boy.” Calum sits up slightly, cooing at the sight of Luke.

“Papa-!” Luke reaches his arms out.

“Our baby here wanted to sleep with you,” Ashton says, passing Luke off to Calum.

“Aw, c’mere baby.” Calum adjusted Luke on his lap, holding him close against his chest. Luke settled easily. He was straddling Calum’s lap, holding onto his shirt, and burying his face into his chest.

“Wan’ my dummy,” Luke mumbled, nibbling on the end of his thumb.

Calum glanced up. “Ash?”

“I’m on it.” He walked away and returned not even a minute later with Luke’s dummy, popping it into the boy's mouth.

Calum was beaming at the sight of Luke, so content in his lap. The blonde was already half-asleep. “Let’s head to the bunks, bub.” He pat Luke’s back, ready to stand up.

“Nooo…” Luke sleepily mumbled around the pacifier. “Papa, stay.”

“I’m not going anywhere, we’re just going to move to the bed, it’s more comfortable there.”

Luke huffed but didn’t protest. He also didn’t let go of Calum. He didn’t want to be separated from his daddy. Calum patted the boy's back again and stood up. He secured Luke in his hold before walking to the bunks and lying down. Luke was content to stay right on top of Calum, not that the older boy minded anyway. He pulled the blankets over their bodies, surrounding them in warmth. He was about to curl up and drift off with Luke as well, but the bus started rumbling.

Luke stirred, lifting his head up, eyes droopy from trying to sleep. “Papa? What’s happening?” There was a slight edge in his voice that Calum could instantly read as him being scared.

“Shh, it’s okay, bub. I think the bus is just parking. We’re finally in the city.”

“Safe?”

“Mhm. We’re safe, nothing’s wrong, you’re okay. Just close your eyes.” Calum rubbed Luke’s back. He started to quietly sing to the boy, slowly calming him down. The bus's wheels rumbling against the asphalt was annoying, but it would stop soon, and as long as Luke knew he was safe, it wouldn’t bother him.

Soon enough, the bus came to a halt, parking for the night. Calum kept softly singing to Luke, waiting until he was deep in sleep before closing his own eyes. Ashton and Michael went to bed soon after, too. The next morning, they’d have a lot to do to prepare for their shows.

The next morning rolled around before they knew it. Calum yawned and rubbed his eyes, but when he went to roll over, he froze. He blinked for a moment, fully coming to, and realizing Luke wasn’t in his bunk anymore. Luke always stayed in his bunk in the morning until someone else said they could get up. Where was he? Calum rolled out of his bunk way too fast, making his head spin for a moment. He stood up and walked down the hall of the bus. But he stopped and let out a breath of relief when he saw Luke standing near the stove. Luke was at the kitchenette, dressed and cooking. Calum raised an eyebrow and walked over. “Morning, baby.”

Luke turned his head to Calum and smiled. “Morning!”

“Watcha doing?” Calum moved closer, putting a hand on the small of Luke’s back.

“Just making breakfast. Michael’s still asleep, but Ash is in the shower.”

“Did Ashton tell you to start breakfast?”

“Nope.”

“Baby, you know you can’t be using the sto—“ Calum started, but Luke cut him off.

“I’m not little right now…”

“Oh- alright, carry along then.” Calum chuckled a little and kissed Luke’s cheek. At least this meant Luke would be okay to play the shows today. Calum was a bit worried they’d have to struggle to get Luke to age up all morning. He maneuvered around Luke to start himself a cup of coffee.

Luke hummed to himself as he worked on breakfast. He always liked contributing in this way after coming out of his headspace, especially if he had been little for a couple of days. It felt like a nice way to give the other boys a break and return the favour. He liked taking care of them when he was big just as much as they liked taking care of him.

Luke and Calum chatted lightly with each other while Luke cooked. He was feeling a lot more active today. A good couple days of being in his littlespace really calmed his nerves. He was excited to get back to performing.

It was peaceful until they heard a hard thud and looked over to see Michael quite literally rolling out of his bunk. He laid on the floor for a moment before groaning and pushing himself up. He rubbed at his eyes, still grumbling to himself, before starting to walk over.

“Well, that’s one way to wake up.” Calum laughed.

“Shut up.” Michael flipped him off and moved over to where Luke was. He wrapped his arms around the boy's waist and put his chin down on his shoulder. “Morning, baby boy.”

“‘M not little.”

“I know, doesn’t mean you’re not still my boy.” Michael pressed a soft kiss to Luke’s jawline.

Luke rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah.. mornin’ babe.”

“Food smells really good.”

“Of course you’re hungry right as you wake up.” Calum chimes in.

“Heyy! I didn’t say that, I just said it smells good. There’s a difference.” Michael grumbled.

“Sure there is.” Calum patted Michael on the shoulder as he walked around the two boys. “There’s coffee if you want some.” Calum took his own mug and went over to the couch.

Michael stayed nuzzled against Luke for another moment before walking around and getting his own cup of coffee. As Luke was finishing up breakfast, Ashton also came out of the shower. He had light sweatpants on but was shirtless and actively drying his hair with a towel. He walked to the back of the bus, where his bags were, to find a shirt to put on.

Ashton pulled on a random black shirt and walked back over, now seeing Michael and Calum on the couch and Luke starting to plate food. “You’re both finally up, morning sleepyheads.” He chuckled, especially at Michael, who was practically sunk into the couch and had the worst bed head you’ve ever seen.

“G’morning.” Calum looked up from his phone to give a small smile. Michael just made a grunt of recognition and closed his eyes.

Ashton’s gaze fell on Luke, instantly taking in the sight of him busy in the kitchenette. He thought Luke looked adorable like this. He took a seat next to Calum but spoke up to Luke. “You know you didn’t have to cook for us, love.” Ashton was the one who made meals for the boys, mostly.

“I wanted to,” Luke stated firmly, eyes still focused on setting food on plates.

At his statement, Ashton and Calum exchanged a quick look amongst themselves. They all knew Luke had that independent and slightly bossy attitude this morning. The usual when he was feeling big. They knew there was no point in arguing with him when he was like this.

Luke started bringing some items over to the table, making everything nice for their breakfast. Michael grumbled and leaned forward, pretty much face-planting onto the table. He mumbled out a complaint of how it was ‘too damn early.’

“You’re so cute.” Luke laughed a little, reaching over to ruffle Michael’s hair.

“Not cute. Tired, damnit.” He mumbled out against the table.

“Well, breakfast is about to be done. I made eggs and bacon, but do any of you want toast?”

“Hell yes, I’d like some toast. With butter.” Ashton immediately replied.

Michael grumbled something about wanting toast but still being super tired. Luke just chuckled at the redhead, then looked to Calum. “Me too. Extra butter and jam, please, gorgeous.”

“That wasn’t even an option.” Luke joked, knowing he was going to give Calum what he wanted anyway.

Calum jokingly held his hands up in surrender, laughing quietly as he replied. “Damn, just giving it a shot, babe.”

Luke just laughed and rolled his eyes before going over to work on toast. He quickly finished up breakfast, making each plate specific, just how the boys liked it, and brought them over to the table. Once they had their food, Ashton and Calum began to dig in like a pack of wild animals. They all really enjoyed food, could you blame them? The boys may act like rowdy, playful, immature idiots half the time, but when it came to food, they could be feral.

Calum looked up at Luke as the boy was getting his own drink. “You’re gonna sit and eat with us, too, right? You’re not just going to make breakfast and not have any yourself, are you, gorgeous?”

“Yeah, of course I’m joining.”

Calum looked satisfied with that answer. Luke had a tendency to focus so much on making sure they were all well taken care of that he would forget to take the time to take care of himself. That’s why they tried to keep him on a schedule when little; he listened a lot easier in his headspace. Big Luke, not so much. He was much more prone on doing things himself. Calum just wanted to make sure Luke wasn’t skipping meals, even if it was by accident. “Good. Sit that ass down.”

Luke came to the table with his own food and sat next to Michael. The boy still had his head down. Luke pushed Michael’s plate closer and watched as the boy perked up a little. Michael rubbed at his eyes and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. He totally wasn’t drooling and half asleep moments ago. He sat up slightly and slowly started to eat his food, still very much waking up.

There was silence for the first couple minutes, everyone just eating their breakfast. As it started to slow down, Ashton spoke up. “Yknow, we need something we can do as a group. Some hang-out that can bring us all together more, that’s outside of all the band stuff. Being in a bus all the time is getting to my head, and we’re in this city for a couple of days anyway.”

Luke’s quiet for a minute as he thinks. “Well, there’s not a lot we can do considering the fact we’re on tour… but we do have that after party after these three shows.”

The boys seemed interested upon the mention of the after-party. They hoped Luke had some sort of idea or plan up his sleeve, considering he mentioned it. They all wanted that party to be more than just another lame after-show gathering.

Calum spoke up, his tone slightly curious now. “Yeah, we do… so?”

“Soo..” Luke starts. “I dunno, we get drunk, have fun? Just.. not care about everything for a while.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Ashton said. That was something all of them could get behind. Getting completely wasted and letting go for a night would be amazing compared to the chaos of tour.

“God, I need a good drink and to just be completely and utterly stupid for a night,” Luke said.

“You’re already stupid.” Calum joked.

Luke instantly reached forward to swat at Calum, a light smile on his face. “Shut up. Not the point.”

The others laughed at the bantering. It was nice to see Luke back to his natural self. Michael suddenly spoke up. “To be fair, you’re all stupid in your own ways.”

“Says you,” Luke spoke.

Michael huffed and reached over to ruffle Luke’s hair in annoyance. “Oh, shut up, pipsqueak.”

“Pipsqueak?” Luke said in an appalled voice.

Michael smirked, an amused glint in his eyes. “Pipsqueak. You heard me. You’re short and little.” That was far from true, but who was to question the logistics of their teasing?

“Woowwww.”

Michael laughed again at Luke’s annoyed reaction. He reached forward again, this time pinching Luke’s cheek. “But you’re cute too, so you’ve got that going for you at least.”

“Yeah, yeah- I’m gonna get dressed, you guys should too. We have to be at the venue soon.” Luke pulled away from Michael’s touch and stood up, already going to walk down the bus.

Before he could walk off to get dressed, Ashton spoke up. “Wait, before you go. Come here real quick.”

“Hm?”

Ashton patted his lap, gesturing for Luke to come over and sit. He wanted a minute with the boy, both out of his own desire and also just to check in with him real quick. “C’mere. Just for a minute.”

“Ash—“

The moment Luke started to protest, Ashton cut him off and gave a slight warning look. He wasn’t going to take no for an answer in this instance. He spoke in a firm tone and patted his lap again. “Babe, just for a second. Just humour me.”

Luke huffs slightly but moves over into Ashton’s lap.

The second Luke was in his lap, Ashton immediately wrapped his arms around the boy, pulling him against his chest and holding Luke close. Ashton hummed lightly and nuzzled his face into the crook of Luke’s neck. He spoke again, his voice a bit softer and quieter as he held Luke. “You alright, darling?”

“Yeah? Why.” Luke tended to get a bit stubborn the first day coming up from his littlespace. He’d always get a bit frustrated with how the boys kept babying him, even if he appreciated it in the end. They were just looking out for him.

Ashton kept his face buried against Luke’s neck, his lips brushing against the skin and starting to press feather-light kisses along the skin. “Just checking in, darling.” His voice was a murmur against the boy's skin. “You look bothered. Is something upsetting you, baby?”

“I’m not a baby.” Ah, back to that usual statement Luke would make while big. Even if Luke wouldn’t say it, Ashton knew he didn’t like being treated like he was still so small when he wasn’t. Luke functioned just fine when he was big; it was only when he was little that he really needed to be looked after.

“I know, love.” Ashton was silent for a moment, just holding Luke close and pressing more tiny kisses against his skin. After a second, he spoke again, tone slightly softer. “You’ll still be alright to perform tonight? The crowd's going to be big, and the show's going to be long.”

“Yeah, of course, I’m not in my headspace right now.”

Ashton hummed in response, glad that Luke had said that. He knew Luke didn’t let his regression get in the way of things like their shows, but he still had to double-check. It was that protectiveness in Ashton. He needed his boys to be safe at all times. “Just checking, doll. I knew you’d be good.”

Luke turned and pressed his lips to Ashton’s, kissing him deeply. It felt good to kiss his boyfriend after so long without getting these kisses. Ashton immediately melted against Luke’s lips and instantly returned the kiss, despite knowing Calum and Michael were right next to them. Not like they cared much anyway. Ashton pulled Luke impossibly closer, one of his hands moving up to cup Luke’s face and hold him there.

The kiss quickly turned more intense as time went on. Luke took initiative and gently pushed his tongue into Ashton’s mouth, craving more and more of him. He slipped his hand underneath Ashton’s shirt and ran his hand up his side. His touch was gentle and warm against the older boy’s skin. Luke wanted to have Ashton as close as possible.

Calum jokingly groaned at the two of them making out like love-struck teenagers. They were all used to each other showing affection, but goddamn, watching them suck each other’s faces off in front of them was something else.

Michael spoke up in a slightly exasperated, but playful, tone. “Jesus christ. Get a goddamn room, you two.”

Luke pulled away from Ashton at Michael’s words, his cheeks instantly coating with a deep blush. The other boys giggled at how quickly Luke got flustered after being called out. Ashton just snickered lightly and pulled Luke closer, loving how cute he looked.

Luke gathered himself and spoke in a teasing voice. “What? You jealous, Mikey?”

Michael rolled his eyes in feigned annoyance at Luke’s retort. Deep down, he wasn’t actually irritated, but he pretended to be to mess with Luke. “Oh, shut up, smartass.”

Luke smirked before climbing off of Ashton. He moved around to the other side of the couch and got real close to Michael before kissing him. Michael instantly hummed and relaxed into the kiss. His arms came up to wrap around Luke and pull him in. As the kiss between Luke and Michael grew more intense, Calum continued to watch, finding it adorable and somewhat amusing to watch one of his boyfriends get ditched for another.

Ashton suddenly spoke up. He was, of course, teasing, but he was a bit upset that Luke wasn’t in his lap anymore. “Hey, that’s not fair. You were sitting in my lap first, you can’t abandon me for Mikey.”

“Hey, we can all share.” Luke pulled back from Michael.

The boys knew that was usually the go-to argument whenever one of them got a bit jealous of someone giving their affection to someone else. Ashton huffed a little. “Yeah, we all know that excuse. I should be first priority, though, since you were in my lap first.”

Luke moved off Michael’s lap and gestured between the two. “Well, how about you two just kiss.”

Michael whined a little when Luke moved off, wishing he could’ve kept him there.

Ashton instantly smirked at Luke’s suggestion, his eyes then going over to Michael. “Now that’s a thought.”

Michael raised an eyebrow at the smug look on Ashton’s face, his competitive side kicking in a bit. “Oh, that does sound good, actually.”

“Aw, you guys are so cute. Now kiss.”

“And if we say no?” Michael said.

“Don’t know why you would- he’s your boyfriend.” Calum butt in.

Michael rolled his eyes at Calum’s words. He knew he wanted to kiss Ashton more than anything right now, and the other boys knew it as well. It was just Michael’s stubborn side refusing to actually give in.

“You’re just being difficult on purpose, Mikey,” Ashton spoke up again. “Just kiss me, for gods sake.”

Michael rolled his eyes again, but he felt his resolve starting to waver. “Oh shut up. Come here and kiss me yourself, dumbass.”

Calum whistles, making Luke giggle at the action. They all found this whole situation adorable and hilarious. Both boys were hoping Michael would just give in.

Michael huffed at the whistle. “Oh, you little- Goddamn it, fine. Ashton, get your ass over here.” The banter was even funnier considering they were all very close together on this couch.

“Gladly.” Ashton’s voice held a hint of cockiness as he scooted over to Michael.

The next thing they knew, Ashton and Michael were pressed up to each other, kissing like it was the first time all over again.

Luke moved over to Calum, leaning against him as they were pretty much watching the two make out. Luke mumbled out a “hot.”

Calum laughed at Luke’s comment, agreeing with his words. He put his arm around the blonde's waist, bringing him closer. “You’re enjoying the show, huh?”

“Obviously. They can barely go two seconds kissing before one of them is grinding on the other.”

“They do get carried away pretty quickly, I’ll give you that.”

“We got time anyway.”

Calum chuckled again. He looked back at the two boys, watching as their kiss got messier and needier. “That we do, beautiful.” Before Calum could even say anything more, Luke was leaning in and kissing him.

The space on the couch soon turned into a heated makeout session between all four boys. They’d be deep in a kiss with one another before one of the other boys is pulling them away just to steal a kiss.

Michael whined the first time he was pulled away from Ashton by Calum kissing him. “Goddamnit, can’t a guy make out with his boyfriend without you butting in?”

“I’m also your boyfriend, asshole,” Calum spoke.

Michael huffed against Calum’s lips. “Still. You’re such a damn cockblock sometimes, you know that?”

“God forbid I want some action.” Calum pulled off Michael to kiss Ashton.

The boys kept going at it for who knows how long. It was messy, and they’d always get a tinge of jealousy when one of the boys was kissing another, but it’d quickly be stopped when they were pulled into another kiss. To an outside perspective, it’d seem like pure chaos. There was a lot of kissing and switching between each other like their lives depended on it. This was all the usual for the four, though. They all loved each other so much. This makeout session was just what they needed to blow off some steam.

It went on for a while, until Luke was startled out of a heated kiss with Michael to the sound of his phone buzzing.

The sound of Luke’s phone obnoxiously blaring startled everyone. They paused as they heard it, turning to Luke, who was sitting up to look at his phone.

Michael huffed a little. “Who the hell is texting you right now? I was just getting into it.”

“Shit- guys, we gotta get to the venue,” Luke spoke quickly. They were going to be late. Sure, the show wasn’t until way later, but they had to be there earlier to set up and get through soundcheck.

The minute the words left Luke’s mouth, the mood in the room changed as everyone realized the time. They pulled off each other, already scrambling to get up.

Calum swore under his breath. “Crap, you’re right. We need to go, like right now. We’re going to be so goddamn late.”

“Fuck-“ Luke gets up, almost jogging to the back of the bus to get his clothes.

The other boys instantly scramble, moving to the back of the bus to get their clothes and get changed. They were running around like headless chickens, quickly pulling on their shirts and fixing their hair as they tried to make themselves presentable.

Michael had that higher-pitched- clearly panicked- tone in his voice. “Jesus christ, we’re going to be so late. Hurry up and get changed, we gotta get going, or our manager is going to kill us!”

They could all feel the urgency and panic setting in as they realized how late they were going to be. They went as fast as they could to get presentable and put on a bit of makeup. Once ready, they all made their way out of the bus and down the parking lot, going to the venue. They were dreading the lecture they were likely to get from being late, but they quickly pushed those thoughts to the back of their mind and focused on getting to the venue and backstage as fast as possible. They jogged along silently, taking a few minutes to get to the venue, then they quickly made their way backstage. They went through the halls and towards their green room.

As they entered, they saw their manager standing with arms crossed and a stern look on their face. He spoke up the moment he saw them enter, voice irritated. “You’re late.”

Michael immediately tried to cover. “I’m so sorry! We just got distracted and lost track of time. We were trying to make sure we ate before we got here-“

The others cringed the moment Michael tried to come up with an excuse.

The man’s expression didn’t soften at all, the stern look still on his face as he listened to Michael’s words. “Distracted, hm? Lost track of time? Seriously? I told you all to be here a half hour ago. You know we have soundcheck in less than an hour.”

The boys winced again, and Michael spoke up again, trying to defend them. He tried to sound innocent, hoping maybe the man would be a bit more lenient. “We’re really sorry, we just wanted to make sure we ate before we got here, yknow? We didn’t wanna be hungry while practicing and playing, we’d be all out of sorts.”

“Besides, it’s the same soundcheck as always; if we’re a couple minutes late, it’s not that bad,” Ashton spoke up. It wasn’t like they cared much anyway. They weren’t teenagers anymore who were terrified of any manager's opinions of them being even slightly negative. They were adults now and could control a lot of what went on with their own music. It still didn’t feel good to have people mad at you, though.

“It’s not about the practice itself; we have a set schedule, and you guys need to stick to it. I don’t care if it’s the same soundcheck as always; we need to be on time and prepared. No exceptions.” The manager went on.

“If anything, this is taking more time,” Calum muttered to Ashton, making him laugh a little.

Fortunately, they got through their mini lecture fast and got to setting up. They had a crew to make sure every aspect of the tour was going smoothly, but they still had to check their own instruments. You’d be shocked at how much guitars will go out of tune from one day to the next. They were mostly fucking around on stage, filming some random tiktoks, and just having fun as friends. They were laughing about some joke Calum had said until they were being snapped at to actually finish up their soundcheck. Fans were already lining up outside for the fan soundcheck that would happen soon.

Ashton was at his drums on the outer ring of the stage, working with some crew to make sure the mechanism that lifts the stage up is working. Luke was at his mic stand, singing random bits of songs. Calum was off to grab something while Michael was on the other side of Luke, strumming his own guitar.

As Luke adjusted his mic stand and went back to singing, the way his arms were up on the stand made the hem of his shirt come up a bit. Michael was looking at Luke, and he saw a bit of white material from under the waistband of his pants. Michael quickly walked over to Luke and tugged down his shirt a bit, making the boy pause and raise an eyebrow. “What was that-?”

Michael kept his voice lowered so no one could accidentally overhear. “Are you wearing a nappy?”

Luke’s face turned red, and he sputtered before speaking. “Um.. yeah.. it’s- it’s just in case.” He didn’t like admitting that to Michael. “I’ve kinda been on the edge all day.”

Michael’s gaze softens slightly. He knew the first day after being in littlespace for so long was always a bit iffy for Luke. “Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

“I- I just didn’t want to worry any of you. I can handle myself.” Luke let out a breath that almost sounded like an upset huff.

“I know, Luke, but we’re here for you. Just- you can see it when your shirt comes up, I don’t want anyone- especially not fans- seeing.”

Luke could see how worried Michael was. He understood, of course; they couldn’t have fans finding out about his regression, especially not like this. He would be absolutely humiliated if fans saw him wearing a nappy. “Oh… I can- uh-“ Luke wasn’t really sure what to say.

“Do you want to change before the show?” Michael didn’t want to force Luke out of it if he felt more comfortable, especially if he was teetering on the edge of his headspace, but he seriously could not risk anything happening.

“I can change after soundcheck.” He said it as more of a question, like he was asking for Mikey’s approval.

“Yeah, that’s fine, love. Just be careful when you bring your arms up; if your shirt goes up too much, you can see it.”

Luke nods in response, taking note of Michael’s words.

After they finished their private soundcheck, everything was set up for fans to come in for the press conference and fan soundcheck. Luke had briefly gone backstage to pull his pants up higher, tuck in his shirt, and tighten his belt by one more notch just so nothing would accidentally happen and show his nappy. He caught back up with the others as they were walking over to the table set up for the press conference. He felt a lot of his worries ease away at the sound of fans cheering for them. Seeing everyone who would show up and be so excited to see them made it all worth it. This segment was always nice cause they got to answer some fan questions and honestly just mess with each other the whole time. Luke kept randomly hitting at Michael’s mic, trying to knock it over. Ashton kept teasing Calum. All the usual between the boys. A small part in the back of Luke’s mind always got scared some fan would randomly ask a question about his regression and just know, but he kept having to remind himself that that wouldn’t happen. No one knew; he was okay. He found himself bouncing his leg under the table. It was hard trying to stay in his normal mindset when he really just wanted to be small again, or at least just be with his boyfriends privately.

Ashton noticed Luke’s fidgeting and gently placed a hand on his leg under the table, shooting him a warm glance to tell him everything’s okay. Luke was very strong for being able to push through everything. Not just now, but even when they were barely adults, or when they first started experimenting with Luke regressing. There were so many ups and downs between all of the boys, and the fact they were still here kicking was amazing. Ashton was very proud of his boyfriend.

The press conference and fan soundcheck went by quicker than Luke expected, but it was great as always. Once it was over, they were headed backstage to get ready for the show. Luke was sitting by a mirror, applying some dark eyeshadow, when Michael came up beside him.

“Hey, how’re you holding up?”

“Hm?” Luke looked up, one eye almost finished but the other barely streaked with makeup. “Oh- I’m good.”

“Yeah? That’s good… have you um- have you changed yet?”

“What? Michael, you literally saw me—“

“I mean your nappy, Luke,” Michael mumbles.

“Oh.” Luke’s cheeks tinted slightly darker, or maybe it was just the makeup. “Yeah, I did.”

“Okay, just making sure.” Michael rubs Luke’s arm gently. “You’ll be okay, no accidents on stage?”

“Yeah, mom, I’ll be fine.” Luke knew Michael was just looking out for him.

“I know, I know. When we’re at the hotel, you can do whatever you need. I just… I don’t want to risk anything, yknow.” Michael really didn’t want Luke to think he was against the boy doing what he needed to do.

“I get it, mate. I appreciate it… I’ll be alright.” Luke smiles, his usual smile where his mouth looks kinda lopsided and awkward, but he’s very happy.

“If you need anything, just tell us.” Michael quickly kisses Luke’s cheek before getting up to go finish his own makeup.

Once Luke’s finished his makeup, Calum found his way over to the boy, asking about chords and lyrics for the songs that he didn’t remember. All of the boys went about their usual pre-show routines until finally getting to make their way on stage when it was time.

The show was lively and just as amazing as ever. Luke always felt that adrenaline rush kick in as he bounded across the stage. All his worries got shoved to the back of his mind; the thought of being little wasn’t even there. He was so carefree on stage, so happy. He also got to tease the boys, and fans ate it up. They wouldn’t know that behind the scenes, they were all together. They just saw what happened on stage, and it was Luke blatantly flirting with the guys, and they were flirting back. Luke was singing his heart out and watching his boyfriends play their instruments. They all looked so good. He was so proud of them. They really all were stars.

They had just finished up a song and were now heading backstage. They quickly gathered themselves before getting ready to walk through the crowd. That was honestly the part that always scared Luke the most. Everyone had been great so far, but you never knew what could happen. People would always be excited and yelling and reaching out at them as they went past. That was usual, and they all expected it, but you’d never know when someone could go too far and do something bad. Luckily, that hadn’t happened yet, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t a present fear. He waited for the others to be ready, and on their cue, they started the walk. Michael kept grabbing onto Luke and leaning over to scream into his mic. It always made Luke laugh a little. Calum was following close by Ashton, drinking a beer and taking a final sip before handing it off to someone in the crowd. Ashton would occasionally put his hand on Calum to guide him back to where they were. Michael was laughing and was so excited to see all the fans. Everyone looked so cool! What really excited Michael was if any fans had things for them. Occasionally, people would be holding out bracelets or trinkets or other things they had made for them when they walked past; they tried to grab what they could. They really appreciated everything the fans gave them.

As they were walking, Luke heard a fan loudly call his name, and a little shark plushie was being held out to him. His eyes widened slightly, thankfully he was wearing sunglasses, and he took it from them. That little voice in the back of his mind was popping up again. Look how cute it is! It was so soft and such a pretty shade of blue! Pengy would be such good friends with the shark! Luke was almost looking at it in awe, just going through the motions but not fully present. He looked over to Michael. “Mikey- look!” He waved the shark a little.

Michael looked over to Luke. It was kinda hard to hear him over everything. He could tell where Luke’s mind was at, and yes, Michael thought Luke was absolutely adorable, being so excited over the shark, but they were actively doing a show. Michael nods a little and lightly pats Luke’s back, leaving his hand there afterwards to keep guiding his boyfriend.

“Shark-!”

“Not now, Luke… we’re doing our show, remember?” Michael whispered as quietly as he could, with Luke still being able to hear, into his ear. Calum walked over at that moment to take the mic from Luke, sensing what was happening.

“I can keep it?” Luke had that innocent lilt to his voice.

Michael was worried; the boy could not drop down right now. “Mhm, it’s for you. Just put it in your pocket. We have to keep performing.” He kept guiding Luke; they were getting closer to the stage. Calum and Ashton were doing well working the crowd right now.

Luke messed with the shark, fumbling a bit as he shoved it into his pocket. He was only really coming back to when they were walking up onto the stage. Right. They were performing. “Sorry…” He mumbled to Michael. He didn’t want to worry any of them, but he just couldn’t help it sometimes.

“It’s okay, you’re doing great.” Michael gave him a smile and a slight squeeze to his arm before going over to his spot on the stage.

The rest of the show went very smoothly. Luke would occasionally glance to his pocket to make sure the shark was still there, but otherwise, everything was great. Before he knew it, they were bowing and already heading backstage to their dressing room. They were all celebrating how amazing the show was, despite how exhausted they all were. When they got back to the dressing room, Luke flopped down onto the couch.

“Hey, you doing alright?” Ashton asked as he walked up and sat next to Luke.

“Yeah, ‘m just tired.” He yawned and stretched out his long limbs.

“Yeah, long show. We’ll try and finish up here fast, then we can get our stuff from the bus and head to the hotel.”

“Oh, thank god, I can’t wait to sleep on a nice hotel bed,” Michael spoke up, stretching his arms out from across the room.

“As long as you don’t hog all the blankets,” Calum spoke.

“Hey! I don’t hog them, you do!” Michael protested.

“No, I don’t!”

“You both hog the blankets.” Ashton chuckled as he stood up.

All the boys continued with their usual banter and getting undressed. Removing makeup and outer accessories, cleaning up from the show. Luke, however, stayed seated on the couch, hands fidgeting with the shark plushie and zoning in and out. He had done very well for the first day up since being in his littlespace for so long. Of course, it couldn’t stay that way for long. He was back to teetering on the edge of his littlespace.

The boys noticed; they always did. They knew how Luke operated, and the fact that he wasn’t getting cleaned up or being hyped about the show like they were gave them all the information they needed. Calum walked over, taking a seat next to the boy. “Hey, Luke, how’re you doing?” He placed a gentle hand on his thigh.

“Good… tired.”

“Yeah, you were really giving it your all out there.” Calum chuckles lightly. “How about we get cleaned up, then we can head back to the bus, okay?” Calum didn’t know where Luke’s head was at yet, so he had to start simple. He couldn’t rush to babying him, but he also didn’t want to assume Luke was perfectly mature right now.

“Don’t want to.”

“Why not?”

“Too much work.” Luke pouts slightly, eyes staring at his new shark friend that he was definitely thinking of a name for.

Calum moves his eyes over to Luke’s newest interest. It was a simple light blue shark plushie. A bit firmer than Luke’s penguin, but just as soft. “Did you get that from a fan?”

“Mhm. New friend.”

“Yeah, I think he’ll love Pengy.” That comment made Luke smile. “Although we might want to wash him before you snuggle up with him.” Calum didn’t know how long the fan had had it on them or where it had been. He wasn’t about to risk Luke getting sick from a plushie.

“No.” Not quite the typical regressed Luke whine, but a tone that showed he wasn’t quite in his normal headspace. Luke squeezed the shark close.

“Love, we don’t know where that’s been. I just want to make sure it’s all fresh and clean for ya.” Luke still didn’t budge, so Calum just sighed, deciding to at least try to compromise a bit. “You can hold onto him for now, but at the hotel, we should get him clean, okay?”

“Fine.” Luke huffed slightly.

“Now, can you come with me and the others? We gotta get cleaned up so we can leave.” Calum lightly coaxed.

“Carry?”

“Not now, buddy, I’m sorry. Too many people.” Luke frowned at Calum’s words but still got up. He lightly held onto Calum’s arm, letting the older boy guide him over to the table with all their makeup.

Luke wasn’t too far out of it to where he couldn’t remove his own makeup, but that was the extent. Once his face was cleaned, he refused to do anything else. He didn’t want to change out of his shirt that had a sweat stain all down the back, or remove the large boots that Michael knew were hurting his feet. So they gave up on pushing. Luke was really trying to be in his ‘big boy headspace,’ but it was hard for him to stay there. The boys weren’t upset with him; they never would be for something like this, but they just wished it happened after they left the venue.

Calum had to hold Luke’s hand the entire time they were leaving, otherwise the boy would just not budge. Ashton was carrying Luke’s bag for him as they left the venue and headed to the bus. Michael helped Calum keep Luke hidden just in case any straggling fans were on the outskirts of the venue waiting to see them.

Once they made it back to the bus, Calum had Luke sit on the couch while they all started packing whatever they needed. They were able to come back to the bus, of course, but it was just easier to have what they needed in the hotel. They’d be at the same one for a couple of nights anyway. Michael and Calum had gone to the back of the bus while Ashton was across from where Luke was, cleaning things on the counter.

Luke tilted his head like a curious puppy, watching Ashton silently for a minute before speaking up. “Ash?”

“Mhm?” Ashton didn’t turn away from what he was doing.

“Can… can I have Pengy? And my dummy?” Luke’s voice got quieter, shy.

Ashton stopped what he was doing and turned to Luke, giving him a soft smile. “Yeah, one moment, buddy.” He walked over to Luke’s stuff and grabbed his requested items. He brought them back and watched as Luke happily took them. Clutching his penguin close alongside the new shark and popping the blue dummy in his mouth. He wasn’t quite in his headspace, but sometimes just having the items felt nice. Ashton did know that Luke being like this at the moment meant he’d have to pack up Luke’s things, but he already knew where everything was, so it wasn’t too big a deal.

Michael then came over from the back of the bus, setting his duffel bag on the table and taking a seat next to Luke. He wrapped an arm around the boy, pulling him close and happily watching as he played with the plushies.

Calum was still packing his things while Ashton was going back and forth to clean up the bus a little and collect his own items. Until there was a loud knock on the bus door. Who could that possibly be right now? They knew they weren’t getting escorted to the hotel, and it’s not like they had a time limit. Michael glanced over at Ashton, who shrugged and walked over to the door. He only partially opened it, just in case, so the person couldn’t peer in and see Luke.

Standing outside were two people with cameras. They smiled up at Ashton. “Hi! We’re here with bus invaders—“

Right. Ashton completely forgot that was something they were doing while here. Why did they have to come so late? He listened to whatever little introduction they were giving, occasionally glancing back at the boys on the couch, before finally getting a moment to speak. “Can you just give us a moment, please?” Ashton would actually freak if they just came on the bus with no warning.

“Yes, of course!” They smiled and took a step back, okay to wait for a minute.

Ashton left out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding as he closed the door. Luke was barely paying attention, but Michael was watching Ashton with wide eyes. Calum was also close by. “They want to film the bus invaders video.”

“Right now? It’s like almost midnight.” Michael’s tone didn’t hide his confusion.

“Yeah, right now apparently.”

“We can’t. Luke’s-“ Calum started, gesturing to the blonde boy who was still contentedly playing with his stuffed animals.

“I know! But what else are we supposed to do?” Ashton ran his hand through his hair in a frustrated manner.

“There’s no way we can get him to age up, right now. They’re going to want to mostly hear from him for it anyway.” Michael’s hand kept rubbing Luke’s back.

“Can we reschedule it? We’re here for another two days anyway.” Calum directed his question to Ashton.

“Uh, I can ask.” Ashton shrugged slightly before turning back to the door. Once he opened it, the people looked up, like they were ready to come in. Ashton debated for a moment before stepping down out of the bus. “Hey, I’m really sorry, but would we be able to reschedule? We have some.. stuff going on and now’s not a good time, but we’ll be here tomorrow and the day after.” Ashton tried to keep his voice as professional but kind as possible. Thankfully, they understood and were able to reschedule for tomorrow. They’d be able to have Luke aged up and okay by then. Ashton said his goodbyes to them and came back into the bus to see expectant faces. He held up both thumbs, smiling. “We’re all good.”

“Thank god.” Michael let out a breath of relief.

“They said tomorrow.”

Calum nods to Ashton’s words. “Yeah, tomorrow should work fine. We can make sure Luke’s big.”

“Wha’s going on?” Luke finally looked up, realizing something important had been discussed.

“Nothing you gotta worry about, baby.” Michael pressed a soft kiss to the boy's forehead. “Although we do need to head to the hotel. Do you think you can be a big boy for just a little so we can walk there?”

“Do I haf to?”

“I’m sorry, buddy.” Ashton chimes in. “There might still be lingering fans or other people that we can’t have seeing you. So you gotta walk.” They knew the boy really liked to be carried, but there was no way they could walk that far carrying Luke without anyone seeing.

“Can still have m’ dummy?”

Ashton held out a long ‘uh’ as he looked around for something. Once he pulled out a face mask from a drawer, he turned back to Luke. “If you want, but you gotta wear this, okay?”

Luke wasn’t too happy with it, but he agreed. In the chance anyone did see them, they’d just think Luke was wearing the mask for safety reasons, but it would be hiding his pacifier from view.

The boys finished gathering all their things and left the bus, starting down the street to the hotel they were staying at. Luke was staying close to Michael, while Calum and Ashton walked ahead of them. Ashton was again holding Luke’s bag alongside his own. The boy kept messing with his plushies, and Michael had to make sure he wasn’t going to drop them.

When they got to the hotel, Luke was lightly whining against Michael. He didn’t want to wait any longer. Luke wanted to curl up in a comfy bed for once with all of his boyfriends and get a good night's rest. The ache from performing for hours was finally catching up to him.

“Just one more minute, bud. Ash and Cal are getting us checked in.” Michael spoke softly to the boy, shifting his bag to his other arm so he could rub Luke’s back.

Thankfully, before Luke could whine more, they walked back over, holding the room keys triumphantly. All four boys crowded into the elevator and went up to their floor. By the time Calum had unlocked the door to their hotel room, Luke was over at a bed flopping down onto it. The entire back of his shirt was drenched in his sweat, his hair was sticking to his forehead, and he was rightfully exhausted. Ashton was already setting down their bags, while Calum and Michael shared a look.

Calum walked over to Luke, crouching down next to the bed and putting a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, bud. How about we go take a shower and get you ready for bed, okay?”

“Don’t wanna.” He mumbled into the pillows.

“I’ll be right there with you, it’ll be super quick, then we can get all cozy. I don’t think you wanna go to bed covered in sweat, do ya?”

Luke lifted his head up, shaking it no at Calum’s question. “You’ll be there?”

“Mhm, I also gotta get cleaned up.”

Luke let out a sigh and pushed himself up, letting Calum lead him to the bathroom. The bathroom was surprisingly spacious for a hotel bathroom, but that made everything a lot easier. Luke instinctively sat down on the lid of the toilet, waiting. Calum turned on the water so it could heat up before crouching down in front of Luke to remove his shoes and help get him undressed.

“God, your feet must be aching being in these all day, baby,” Calum commented as he removed the large shoes.

“Yeah, hurt a bit,” Luke said, wiggling his toes once they were free from his socks. The dull ache in the soles of his feet felt a lot worse now that the shoes were gone.

Calum carefully removed Luke’s clothes, folding them and setting them aside to be washed later. Luke could feel how much he had sweated when the shirt peeled from his back. He sat there still, waiting to go into the shower until Calum was ready.

“You look so pretty in the skirts…” Luke shyly commented while Calum was taking off his shirt, standing there in just his dark coloured skirt.

“Thank you, baby.” Calum smiled a little before shimmying down his skirt and underwear. He noticed Luke looking down and blushing lightly. It was always cute how shy he got, even if they’d seen each other like this countless times.

Calum adjusted the temperature of the water before stepping into the shower with Luke. It was a wholesome moment between the boys. Just standing against each other under the warm stream of water and rinsing away the hard work from today. Calum would occasionally press kisses to Luke’s face or shoulders as he shampooed the boy’s hair. Luke seemed very eager to wash Calum’s hair in turn, so Calum just relaxed into the boy, letting him take his time.

After a very relaxing thirty minutes, they were done showering. Calum stepped out and wrapped a towel around his waist before bundling Luke up in a fluffy towel. Calum walked out of the bathroom with Luke to see an outfit folded neatly on the bed for both of them. Luke’s stuffed animals were sitting next to the clothes, both clearly washed. Ashton was across the room, smiling brightly. Calum just smiled at him. His boyfriend was so perfect.

Calum turned back to Luke. “Do you need help getting dressed?”

“No, I can do it, papa.” Luke sat down on the bed and started pulling the change of clothes on. He wasn’t too far in his headspace, so Calum wasn’t worried about having him wear a nappy.

While Luke was getting dressed, Calum pulled his own clothes on and then walked over to Ashton. Ashton stood up, letting out a small gasp when Calum pulled him in by the waist. “You’re so cute, yknow that?”

“I’m just being helpful.” Ashton was trying not to blush.

“You even got his plushies washed.” Calum nuzzled into the crook of Ashton’s neck.

Ashton went to respond, but let out a laugh at the feeling of Cal’s lips tickling against his neck. “Calummm-“

“What?” Calum chuckled, pressing soft kisses to the skin.

“Papa?” Luke’s voice popped up. He was dressed now in a pair of Ashton’s shorts and one of Calum’s shirts, waiting patiently for Calum.

Calum pulled back from Ashton and placed one last kiss on his lips before going back to Luke. He sat down next to Luke and brought him into his lap. “You all dressed and ready for bed now?”

“Mhm.” Luke yawned a little. He grabbed his plushies and held them close while trying to snuggle closer to Calum. “Baba..”

“You want your bottle?” Luke nodded in response. Calum looked over to Michael, who was sitting in an armchair scrolling on his phone. “Mikey? Can you—“

“Already on it.” Michael stood up, opening the mini fridge and grabbing a bottle he had prepared earlier just for a case like this. He popped it in the microwave and, after a minute, brought it over.

Calum scooted up on the bed, making space for Michael to join them. Michael held the bottle to Luke’s lips, watching fondly as he started drinking the warm milk. Luke easily drank from the bottle, already feeling his body start to relax. His eyes were drooping, and the only thing on his mind was sleep and the comfort of his partners.

Luke pulled back from the bottle after drinking more than half of it. He curled up between Calum and Michael, mumbling out. “Wan’ all my daddies cuddles.”

Michael chuckled warmly and put an arm around Luke’s waist, snuggling close.

Calum looked over to Ashton, who was sitting on the other bed in the hotel room. Sure, they could spread out across the two beds, but they hadn’t gotten a good chance to cuddle all together like this on the tour bus. Bunks could barely fit two people, and cuddling on the couch was different. He gestured for Ashton to come over, scooting slightly closer to the middle.

Ashton smiled and set aside his phone, then climbed into bed beside Calum. Michael pulled all the blankets up over them and turned off the lamp that was on beside the bed. It was a bit of a squish with four guys on one bed, but they made it work. It was nice and cozy for Luke anyway.

The boy had his eyes closed but grabbed onto Michael’s hand, bringing it close to his face and lightly sucking on one of the knuckles. Michael didn’t care enough to scold Luke or replace his hand with Luke’s dummy. He just kissed the top of the blonde's head and closed his eyes.

Calum and Ashton cuddled as close as they could, whispering their goodnights. Calum had one arm around Luke, and the other was down by his side, where Ashton’s hand was over it, along with Michael’s free hand. They all fell asleep together in a cozy, loving pile of boyfriends. Hopefully, there wouldn’t be any problems with tomorrow’s show.

#5 seconds of summer #5sos #5 seconds of summer agere #5sos agere #sfw agere #agere fanfic #agere #luke hemmings #little!luke #caregiver calum #caregiver michael #caregiver ashton

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