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[startingl1ne]

Welcome to Startingl1ne!

this blog will not contain adult content

Luke 𑣲⋆ he/him. 4/4 lane. Michael leaning.

inbox is open. requests: open.

i. masterlist

ii. asks

iii. twitter / ao3

16+ warnings may apply.

Be sure to pay attention to all warnings & tags.

I will NOT write: non-con/dub-con, implied past rape/sa, incest, abuse/trauma, pedophilia, racism, transphobia, homophobia, death, detailed self harm/eating disorders, etc.

[sheepyboo]

Another Emre! I wanted to make his as Robert Pattinsons batman

[steelart]

Commission: "How many?"

With many thanks to @measlyfurball13 / @terrible-overwatch-fan for commissioning this piece, it was super fun to work on! I had a great time with this really cool idea.

[startingl1ne]

Could you do a Luke boyfriend headcannons? It’s okay if not 💙

WELL YES ILL GET RIGHT ON IT ANON

[lunarweave0]

[ashtons-babylon]

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.

[startingl1ne]

I want you

WHY THE FUCK IS IT IN FONT BRO

[vicisastar]

i love you

[startingl1ne]

I want you

WHY THE FUCK IS IT IN FONT BRO

[startingl1ne]

michael boyfriend headcanons 💋

⧽ he will convince you to play every multiplayer video game with him and he’ll talk you through the lore of the game and each character until you fall asleep. you don’t even end up playing the game because he won’t stop lore dumping

⧽ he’s a sucker for matching clothes, pajamas, wallpapers, profile pictures, etc. he’ll make you download every social media app just so he can match with you on everything, and he’ll spend hours scrolling through pinterest to find the best pictures even though you insist to just use pictures the two of you have taken together

⧽ he’ll have a pinned section in his notes app where he organises everything you like so that he’ll always remember. he has your go-to fast food orders, your coffee and boba orders, your favourite songs, artists, albums. he writes down everything

⧽ if you’re playing a competitive video game against him, he’ll let you win out of pity, but what he won’t admit to anyone is that he’s not actually letting you win, and that you’re actually just a billion times better than him

⧽ he’ll wake up an hour earlier than you just to make the most gorgeous breakfast ever, but you’d be too in awe to actually eat it, so he ends up eating the whole thing on his own while making you low effort pancakes

⧽ he’ll cuddle up to you super gently in bed while you’re about to go to sleep, but when you wake up and he hasn’t managed to wake up before you, he’ll be sprawled out all over the bed like a starfish and you’ll have bruises everywhere because he managed to kick you in his sleep

⧽ he checks your stock of makeup, shower, and any other products weekly, and if he finds that you’re low on anything, he’ll go to the store immediately and buy replacements before you even notice that you need more of said product

⧽ he genuinely spoils you to hell even when you argue against it. he’ll come home with the largest bouquets randomly, and they’ll always be paired with pieces of jewellery you didn’t even know you wanted, but you end up wearing daily anyway

⧽ he’s like a puppy. he’ll follow you around everywhere just slightly behind you, holding your pinkie instead of your whole hand for some odd reason that he refuses to elaborate on, but when you’re home with him, he’s all over you like he wasn’t just acting shy as fuck outside. idiot.

⧽ he loves having movie nights with you. he’ll rearrange the whole living room or bedroom to make it seem like a movie theatre, and he’ll make the best tasting popcorn ever. he’ll have a bunch of blankets and pillows, ready to cuddle up to you. he ends up falling asleep before the movies even reach the halfway marks because you’re too comfortable

⧽ he has a huge soft spot for any type of animal. you get into so many “fights” with him just because you told him that you can’t actually adopt a whole ass lion to live with you?? your two dogs and one cat isn’t enough for him; he needs every species ever to fulfil his dreams

⧽ he’ll write you the sweetest love songs and put them away in a folder on his computer where he keeps everything he wants to eventually put on an album made specifically for you. he’ll even hide hints of you in songs that he’s planning to casually release. of course, you (and all the fans) end up noticing immediately because he’s too much of a hopeless romantic

[startingl1ne]

Luke licking up his guitar except it’s not his guitar it’s Michael’s neck

oh yeah i’m so on this 🤤🤤

[startingl1ne]

send me fic requests in my inbox!

[startingl1ne]

The Space Between a Rock and a Hard Place — Michael x Ashton [Part 1]

16+

Ashton works at a record store, Michael streams Overwatch, but Michael has a secret he’s been hiding from Ashton for quite some time.

warnings/tags: streamer!michael clifford, cashier!ashton irwin, t-girl!michael clifford, alternate universe: roommates, anxious attachment, fluff to angst to fluff, body insecurity, arguments, internalised transphobia (?), self acceptance, reassurance, i don’t know how to tag, domestic (?), long-time lovers, past best friends to lovers, flirting

wc: 3.3k (i’ll try to write more in the future 🥹)

authors note: so many people seem excited to read this from twt im so excited!! i’ve had this idea for a while, i just never really knew how to write it out. there might be a few holes here and there, sorry! not proof read either

inbox is open!

come find me on twitter!

Michael and Ashton had known each other since 5th year (6th grade), and they’ve been attached at the hip ever since Michael tripped in the lunchroom in front of Ashton and spilled all his chocolate milk all over his white uniform.

Now, they had a small apartment right above the record store that Ashton worked at. When Michael and Ashton were looking at apartments and came across the one they were in now, the landlord only agreed to sell it if one of them decided to work at the record store below.

Ashton, the more physically motivated than Michael, decided to take the job. He made enough for monthly rent, but when Michael took notice of the fact that they ended up with barely enough money for basic needs after rent was collected, he decided to take advantage of his best skill—gaming.

Michael had been playing video games since he was 9, and he was very good at shooter-type games. He would play with his sisters a lot, and he was always competitive with them. Of course, because of this, Michael decided to start a streamer account on twitch.

What would be the quickest way to get popular and bring in that cash him and Ashton desperately needed, you ask?

V-tubing as a female model, of course!

This surely would not have any future impact on Michael Clifford as a person gender-wise.

—-

Ashton knew about Michael’s streaming. I mean, he kind of had to; it would be weird for Michael to start gaining tons of money out of nowhere with no explanation. What Ashton didn’t know, however, was that Michael streamed as a v-tuber, used a female model of himself that he designed himself, and used a voice changer to pitch his voice up.

Surely, those details, and not sharing those details, didn’t have any sort of connotation whatsoever.

Michael very much underrated what good gaming skills and a good looking model can do, because he was rolling in hundreds by the first week. He had a routine: wake up around noon, shower, eat, stream, log off around the time Ashton got home, eat, sleep, and do it all over again the next day.

It worked insanely well, too. Ashton was always gone by the time Michael woke up, but it gave Michael more time to stream. Ashton worked from 7am-4pm, and him and Michael ended up going to bed around 9pm.

Ashton never ended up questioning Michael’s streaming habits, nor did he go out of his way to find out about them. They had money, and Ashton didn’t see a reason to get in the way of how Michael was making said money.

That was until, a few months later, Michael started acting really weird.

He was starting to get a little more nervy around Ashton, holding himself back from saying certain things, or being overly cautious of what Ashton was watching on his phone.

Ashton didn’t understand it at all; never once had Michael been worried about him cheating, but this almost seemed like something more than that, and Ashton started to wonder if he should be the one worried about Michael cheating.

That worry disappeared less than a week later, because one day when Ashton came home and they were eating dinner together on their table..

“Is Walgreens still open?” Michael asked, eating away at his Chicken Katsu and taking sips of his strawberry milk. He was in his pink overwatch pj pants and a baggy white tee, an outfit he sported more regularly than not these days.

Ashton raised an eyebrow, it was about 7:30pm, Walgreens was usually open til around 9 at their location, though he thought it was really random of Michael to ask that out of nowhere.

“Uh, yeah, they don’t usually close til around nine,” Ashton replied, taking a bite of his own chicken katsu, “Did you need something?”

Obviously, Michael needed something. What reason would he have to ask if the convenience store was open if he didn’t need anything? Sometimes, Michael just thought Ashton was stupid.

“Yeah, of course I need something, Ash.” Michael muttered, rolling his eyes and scoffing slightly.

Ashton rolled his eyes back, shaking his head. “You know what I meant. What do you need? We can go after we finish dinner.” He offered, taking the last few bites of his food.

Michael bit down on his lower lip for a second, thinking, and then he spoke. “I was thinking of dying my hair pink, and I also wanted make up.”

Ashton didn’t pause at the mention of hair dye—Michael changed the color of his hair regularly—but it was the last part of his sentence that surprised him.

Makeup? Ashton knew that Michael would sometimes put eyeliner on his lower waterline, but the way it was worded made Ashton think he meant a little more than just eyeliner this time.

He didn’t push it, though; he just nodded, waited for Michael to finish his food, and then they got up together to walk to Walgreens. It was only a few blocks away, so it didn’t take that long, and as usual, Michael bolted over to the hair and cosmetics section.

It didn’t take long for Michael to meet Ashton back at the registers, but what Michael was holding in his hands surprised Ashton.

He was holding a whole pallet of bright eyeshadows, pale foundation and concealer, cool toned bronzer and contour, mascara, blush, and lipstick. Ashton’s eyebrows raised when he looked over at the products, but he decided not to ask about it.

If Michael had something to tell him.. he could do that on his own time. Ashton wouldn’t force a thing out of him, but he was definitely getting a little suspicious. Of course, Michael could’ve just been exploring self expression, but the way he looked so excited to be holding said products..

Well, Ashton definitely had some suspicions.

—-

Michael was playing a makeup tutorial on his phone while he waited for the hair dye to process in his previously blonde hair. Ashton was laying on the bathroom floor, mindlessly tapping away on his phone. Michael followed the tutorial perfectly, blending everything together with brushes instead of beauty blenders, and he was already very into this.

He originally didn’t think that makeup was going to be something that he was going to be able to pick up and get a hang of, but this tutorial was so easy to follow; he wasn’t having any trouble at all. He thought he’d freak out when he had to put that mascara so close to his eyeball, but he didn’t even flinch once.

It took him about 30 minutes to perfect the look he wanted, and by that time, his hair had finished processing. Michael washed the dye out in the shower by the sink, dried it, and styled it. He got Ashton’s attention by gently kicking at his leg, and when Ashton looked up at Michael, his eyes sparkled with something he’d never felt before.

Ashton sat his phone down, sitting up on the tile floor. He stared at Michael for a few seconds, causing the younger to flush slightly.

“You don’t like it?” Michael asked, frowning slightly.

“Don’t like it? Mikey, love, you look so pretty. I love it. I love you.” Ashton replied, eyes sparkling. He had never used the word pretty on Mike before, but the pink hair and matching makeup?

He wasn’t sure there was any other word to describe how Michael looked right now. Maybe gorgeous, stunning, perfect.

Michael smiled wide, his perfect canine teeth peaking through. He’d never been called pretty before, but coming from Ashton? He couldn’t help but feel like the word was made for him.

“Thanks..” Michael started, nervously rubbing his arm, “I kinda fucked up on the wings, but—”

Michael didn’t get a chance to finish nitpicking the work he’d done on himself because Ashton had gotten off the floor and pressed his lips against Michael’s lightly painted ones. Sure, Ashton got pink smudged on his lips, but this was Michael Clifford, his boyfriend of basically forever, that he was kissing; he couldn’t care less about what he was getting on himself.

“Shut the hell up, Mike. You’re stunning. I didn’t even notice that they were uneven.” Ashton muttered against Michael’s lips, one of his hands running through the freshly dyed hair.

Michael didn’t let himself talk back, Ashton would probably lecture him to hell if he did. He just kissed back and let Ashton mutter on about how pretty he was, and for the first time in what felt like forever, Michael actually let himself believe what Ashton was saying.

—-

Michael and Ashton were laying together on their shared bed, Michael mindlessly playing a video game on his phone, and Ashton scrolling through instagram reels.

Michael didn’t have the volume up on his phone, so he was audibly tuned into whatever Ashton had on his feed. Everything was normal, until Michael heard a familiar feminine voice coming from Ashton’s phone.

He tensed up immediately—that was one of his Overwatch clips off of one of his streams, his pitched up voice, that is. Michael knew it wasn’t odd that Ashton was getting one of his videos on his feed, he was a pretty popular Overwatch streamer, after all.

People mainly liked to watch him for who he mained: D.Va, Juno, and Tracer. He was really good with Juno, learning how to use her as soon as she came out, so a lot of people watched him for tips.

He had an aggressive style with D.Va, middle ground with Tracer, and a softer style for Juno. Ashton also played Overwatch every now and then when he had free time, so it wasn’t weird how he’d probably have that type of content on his feed.

The only thing that really worried Michael—would Ashton pay too much attention to the gaming style and figure out that this was him just from this video?

Ashton was very observant, so of course, being someone who was trying to get better at Overwatch himself, he paid far too much attention to the gaming style.

Ashton glanced over in Michael’s direction. He was still playing a game on his phone, but Ash noticed immediately that he seemed tense, like something was bothering him. It made Ashton raise an eyebrow, and he slowly started putting two and two together.

“Mike?” Ashton asked, keeping his eyes on Michael as the instagram video still played.

Michael let out a small breath. He wasn’t the best at keeping poker faces, but he’d try his best—he knew what was coming.

“Yes, love?” He responded, cocking his head to make eye contact with Ashton, making sure that his facial expression stayed neutral.

“Have you ever heard of CliffedTracer?” Ashton wouldn’t force anything out of Michael, he just wanted to see what he’d say. CliffedTracer was a huge streamer, more than 2 million followers, and it would be really weird for Michael, someone who plays Overwatch every day, to not know this name.

Michael furrowed his eyebrows, thinking for a second. “I’ve heard of her, yeah. Why do you ask?”

“I was just watching one of her clips, and I noticed that you and her have really similar gaming styles.”

Michael swallowed hard. Sure, their styles were similar but that didn’t really mean anything. A lot of people had similar styles throughout their mains.

“Yeah? I mean, she’s usually the person I’ll watch for gaming tips, so that’s probably why.” He responded, making sure his voice didn’t shake. He was getting nervous, and he begged that Ashton would just drop whatever this was and they could cuddle and go to sleep.

“Tips? Mikey, she literally has the exact same style as you with each of her mains, and you know what’s funny? She started streaming right around the same time you did.” Ashton narrowed his eyes. He usually never got mad at Michael, but he was just lying to his face for no reason.

Why would Ashton ever be upset that Michael streamed with a female model? Had he ever made Michael feel like he would judge him over something as small as gender identity? He didn’t think so, but he felt bad either way.

Michael frowned at Ashton’s words, crossing his arms to his chest and rolling his eyes. “A lot of people start streaming around the same time. Why the hell would I pretend to be a girl on the internet? That’s stupid, Ashton. You’re being ridiculous.”

“Ridiculous? I’m being ridiculous, Michael? Are you hearing yourself? You’re lying to my face about something so small, and you’re not doing it that well. The hair dye, the makeup, and now this? You’re hiding from me, and I don’t know why. If I have ever done anything to make you think that you can’t talk to me about shit like this, i’m sorry.”

Ashton was losing his patience. he just wanted Michael to be honest with him. All the evidence pointed to one thing: this streamer was Michael in disguise. He just didn’t understand why Michael couldn’t admit to that.

“You’re wrong, Ashton. I’m not lying to you. I’m not her, I don’t even know how that would make sense. I’m not even on her gaming level! You’re jumping to conclusions.” Michael huffed, turning away from Ashton and lying down on the bed.

That was the last straw for Ashton. Michael was going to deny the truth straight to his face and then turn away from him? Fine.

Ashton got off of the bed, grabbing his jacket off the floor. Michaels eyes followed his movements, panic suddenly setting it. Ashton put his jacket on and stormed out of the house angrily without even looking back at Michael.

Shit.

Michael suddenly couldn’t breathe properly. He sat up quickly in the bed, holding his arms tight to his chest. He didn’t realise he had an anxious attachment style until just now. Tears welled up in his eyes—was Ashton really going to leave him over this?

Michael didn’t think it was that big of a deal, but obviously, Ashton thought otherwise.

Michael couldn’t follow after Ashton, no way. He’d come back. He had to, right? Michael didn’t even register tears starting to pour out of his eyes, and he didn’t register falling asleep soon after.

He woke up to an empty bed, usual, but he started panicking all over again when he remembered what had happened the previous night. He couldn’t bring himself to get out of bed, not even to stream, and he streamed everyday. He started crying again, and before he knew it, he was back asleep.

He woke up later in the day, around the time Ashton would be home, but he wasn’t there. Michaels lack of getting up was finally getting to him, and he needed water and food.

He got up, feeling dizzy, and went over to get a glass of water. He downed the whole glass in one sip, and as soon as it was in his system, he collapsed on the kitchen floor, hugging his knees to himself and starting to cry all over again. He didn’t register falling asleep that time either.

He woke up the next day, still on the floor. That meant that Ashton didn’t come home last night, either, because if he did, he’d set his anger aside and at least place Michael in bed. Michael sniffled. If he knew that hiding something as small as how he streamed would ruin him and Ashton, he would’ve told Ashton immediately.

He couldn’t take much more of this. With his knees up to his chest and his face buried in his knees, he didn’t register the sound of the front door lock clicking. He didn’t register footsteps walking towards the kitchen, or the panicked voice calling out his name.

—-

Ashton had finally decided to come home, three grocery bags in his hands full of food and other necessities. He didn’t expect to find Michael curled up on the kitchen floor, sobbing his eyes out. He knew it was wrong to leave Michael alone for so long, but he did it thinking that Mike would be able to go at least a day without him.

He was wrong, very, obviously wrong.

Ashton set the bags down on the table and rushed to Michael, shaking him awake. His face was full of concern. Michael looked paler than usual, his eyes were sunken in, and his hair was a little matted from lack of shower.

Ashton bit down on his lip, grabbing a cup of water and placing it in Michael’s hands. He drank it all in one gulp, Ashton filled the glass up again. Michael went through three whole glasses of water before looking at least a little able to function again.

Ashton gave Michael a sandwich he had picked up from the floor and watched him eat it like he hadn’t eaten in days—which he hadn’t.

When Michael finally looked like he wasn’t death’s reincarnation, he looked up into Ashton’s eyes, tears threatening to fall again.

Ashton places his hands on Michael’s cheeks, rubbing the skin underneath his thumbs before placing a gentle kiss to Michael’s lips. Michael kissed back weakly, one of his hands managing to grip at Ashton’s forearm.

“I’m so sorry, Mikey.. I shouldn’t have left you like that.” Ashton started, muttering against Michael’s lips.

Michael pulled away and shook his head, looking down at the tile ground in shame. “No, I should’ve been honest with you, but I was just so scared..”

Ashton let Michael explain in a ramble.

“It just— I don’t know. I guess I just felt more like me when I was her, and the thought of that scared me. I’ve been insecure about myself my whole life. My sisters would practice makeup on me, and i’d enjoy it. I always played as girl characters in video games, and I always ended up seeing myself in them in a way. I just.. I thought you’d might see me differently because of that. I don’t.. i don’t really know if I want to be a boy.”

Ashton listened as Michael hesitated and stuttered through his words. See Michael differently? He’d never do that. All this information was doing to Ashton was making him feel more in love. He understood the way Michael felt—not fully—and he loved him so much more for it.

“Michael, baby, I love you so much. Something like this would never change the way I see you. I love you for you, not because of the way you identify or the way you look. I fell in love with you because you know how to make me laugh, you know how to brighten up a room just by walking into it. You know all the secret ways to pull me out of the darkness. None of that could change because you identify differently, and i’d never think you’re weird for wanting to identify differently.”

Ashton’s voice dripped pure honesty, pure love. He’d be caught dead before he was caught loving Michael conditionally. Michael teared up on instinct, falling limp into Ashton’s arms.

Ashton held him tight, running his fingers through Michael’s beautiful hair. “You’re so perfect to me, Mikey, I hope you know that.” He muttered out, pressing a small kiss to Michael’s head.

Michael just hummed in response, he was too busy trying not to sob again to form a real response. He appreciated Ashton so much, and he was so glad that he was in love with someone like him. He wouldn’t trade this kind of love for the world.

“I love you more.”

“Impossible, i’m the one sitting on the dirty floor holding you.”

“..Whatever.”

[babylonradio]

play stupid games, win stupid prizes — michael x calum [part 2]

MDNI—18+

calum moves into a new apartment, but the walls are really thin. also, his new neighbour is annoyingly loud

READ PART 1 HERE

warnings: streamer!michael clifford. teacher!calum hood. alternate universe: neighbors. romance. comedy. fluff. sexual tension. flirting. (bad flirting. sorry). eventual smut. pranks/prank wars. meet-cutes. mutual pining. light dom/sub. dom!calum hood. sub!michael clifford. mutual masturbation. voyeurism. calum has a thing for being called 'sir'. anal sex. anal fingering.

wc: 25.3k (13.3k in this part)

author's note: posted this in two parts bc it was too big for one post 🤭

inbox is open <3

come find me on twitter!

Everything goes to shit immediately. 

Calum obviously doesn’t sleep that night. He stays up, taking the longest cold shower in history, after which he paces up and down again, freaking the fuck out. He thinks a few times maybe he hears something from Michael’s apartment, but it’s really just the building settling or something. 

He thinks of calling Luke and spilling his guts, but when he reaches for his phone, it's out of charge. He plugs it in, and half an hour later, when he checks it, he learns its half-past one in the morning. And then when he sits with the thought for a while he realizes he can’t fucking tell Luke what he heard without having to also tell him that Calum was perving on his neighbour. And Calum would never live something like that down. 

So instead he eats half a loaf of bread—the only thing in his fridge that won’t come right back out again—and decides to finish correcting the essays he’s collecting from his students. He gets about halfway through before he starts nodding off. 

The earliest morning birds are chirping by the time Calum sets his pen down and drops his head into his arms. The sun isn’t up yet, so Calum tries to get at least a few hours of rest before he has to be up for work. 

Except the second his head hits the pillow, he’s hearing Michael’s voice. Seeing Michael, spread out on his bedsheets, whining and moaning into his hand as he pumps two fingers in and out of himself. Calling Calum‘s name. 

The image shocks him so bad, he sits straight up in bed. He’s chubbing up again, but he refuses to acknowledge it. It’s an uncomfortable walk to the washroom, where he splashes cold water on his face and forces himself to discard the memory of Michael’s voice as he comes apart. How he’d said Calum’s name so sweetly. 

Fuck.

The rest of Calum’s day predictably trash. He feels like a walking corpse, going through his routines numbly, because all he can think about is his name on Michael’s tongue. During his lectures, he’s so completely out of it that he puts on a documentary film for the class and zones out over a book. Which he realized later he’d been holding upside-down. 

At lunch, Calum trips over nothing in the teacher’s lounge. Luke looks at him like he’s insane—which Calum might as well be, because even seated across the most unappealing, boring pile of messy notebooks that demand his immediate attention, Calum’s thinking of Michael. 

All he wants to do is go home and sleep. He thinks maybe if he sleeps well enough, he’ll wake up tomorrow to learn that all this had just been a terrible dream. His evil neighbour would turn out to be an ugly, disdainful old man with bunions. He never heard Michael call his name as he came all over himself. All of it was just a nightmare. 

But nothing ever goes Calum’s way. 

He speed-walks the way from the bus stop to the building, jams his finger repeatedly into the elevator call-button like it’d make the lift come any faster, and nearly sprints through the hallway into his apartment. He was desperate to get some sleep, but worse than that, he was terrified to run into Michael. 

He falls into bed comfortably that evening. There was not a peep from the other apartment. Calum knows Michael’s home because he heard him come in, following which he shoved balls of cotton into his ears and retired to the corner of his apartment furthest away from the shared wall. 

But Calum can’t sleep. No, he stares at his ceiling, listens to the hum of the aircon. His heart is in his throat. It was around this time yesterday that he’d heard Michael, and somehow his brain registered the event as a high-threat situation, because the adrenaline pumping through his blood has his fingertips thrumming with energy. The cotton balls in his ears only amplify the silence on his head, the sound of the blood pumping through his veins. He tugs them out. 

Big mistake. 

Calum hears it then. 

Michael—across the wall. Touching himself. Doing god-knows-what to draw those sickly sweet, wicked moans from his lips. 

Again, he gasps like the first time. He whines, moans, whimpers through gritted teeth. Calum can almost see his lips, bitten raw, abused. He wants to replace Michael’s teeth with his own bites. He wants it to be his own hands, rather than Michael’s, that are making him feel so good. He wants to see Michael writhe and cry as he takes Calum’s cock—

Calum’s hard again. 

He sighs. Goddammit. He should've expected this. 

—

It’s torture. 

Almost every night. Every fucking night. Of the whole week.  Michael must be pent up as all hell, because there’s really no other way to explain it. And it’s driving Calum up the wall because—it’s giving him blue balls. Calum listens, ashamed and yet shameless, as Michael plays with himself every night, and every time he gasps Calum’s name, it’s another hard-on in Calum’s trousers. 

He’s mortified. But Calum’s gone over a week now, popping boners every night without so much as daring to even adjust himself in his pants. He’s afraid to touch himself. That would be—wrong. It would be an invasion of Michael’s privacy. It would be morally irredeemable. Calum wouldn’t do that to Michael. 

Michael doesn’t seem to have any reservations, though. He whines Calum’s name unabashedly, uncaring that the sound might carry through the wall. Calum might be making it up, but it’s like he gets louder, more desperate, more pornographic with each passing day. Calum’s having a hard time blocking it out. 

It’s almost funny. First it was the livestreaming. Now it’s Calum’s own personal hell. 

Those fucking sounds are taking over his mind. He’s thinking of Michael constantly. He goes through his days on autopilot, simultaneously dreading and anticipating getting home, because Michael will be there, across the wall, singing Calum’s name on the edge of a gasp, a moan, a whimper. 

The next day at work, during a free lecture, he slouches to the teachers’ lounge, dragging his feet miserably as he collapses into the seat beside Luke. He drops his head so hard on the desk that the sound startles Luke, and the old Miss Amari across the room. 

“Mate,” Luke says, poking Calum with a pencil. He doesn’t react. “What’s wrong with you?” 

Calum groans in response. It sounds like wind whistling through a corpse. Luke tells him so. 

“Jus’ kill me,” Calum murmurs. His nose is painfully smushed against the table, but he doesn’t have the energy to move. “Just do it. I’m ready. It’s my time.” Luke shoots him a look akin to one he’d give a slug as it creepy-crawled over his best shoes. 

“Calum.” he prods Calum in the rib. It usually works, because Calum’s freakishly ticklish. But Calum barely feels it this time. He just sighs through his mouth. He’s miserable, and he knows he looks pathetic, but he can’t bring himself to care. 

“Calum,” Luke says. “You look like you swallowed someone’s grandma’s ashes.”

Calum lifts his head a little, only to drop it against the desk again. “I might as well,” Calum gets out. “I might swallow poison while I’m at it.” 

“Tragic,” Luke tuts. “I’ll write out your obituary.” “Don’t make fun. I’ll take you down with me.” He tries to disappear into the desk. If he squishes up against it hard enough, maybe he’ll melt into it. 

Luke looks on. He keeps shooting Calum these pitiful looks. Eventually, he puts away the attendance register he was working on and scoots his chair over to Calum. He nudges him in the ankle. 

“Hey,” Luke says. “I don’t know what the fuck’s up with you, but you can tell me over drinks tonight.” 

Calum sits up, frowning. He does desperately need a drink, but—

“It’s a school night.” 

“Oh my god,” Luke rolls his eyes. “You’ll live.” 

Calum goes to drop his head back on the desk but Luke catches the back of his collar. Scruffs him like a cat. 

“Besides,” he says, voice lower now, like he’s sharing a secret. “I want you to meet someone.” His cheeks have a slight pink tinge. Calum’s eyes widen in recognition. 

“Oh,” Calum gasps. “Oh.” 

Luke turns away. “Don’t fuckin—” 

“Luke Hemmings, you secretive whore,” Calum accuses. “Why didn’t you tell me?” 

Luke blinks at him. “Because,” he enunciates. Calum feels patronized. “Every time I tried, you’d bring up your fucking neighbour again.”

Oh, right. 

Calum’s neighbour. 

The occurrences of the past week flash through Calum’s mind. Like a migraine. He groans dramatically and drops onto the desk. 

“There, there,” Luke pats his back placatingly as he gets back to his work. “I’ll text you the address.” 

—-

When Calum walks into the place Luke asked to meet, the first thing he spots is the massive bar counter. He’s headed for it, straight through the dancefloor like a buffoon, when someone steps in his way, and he walks face-first into the guy’s back. 

He lets out an oof! involuntarily. The guy turns around, and Calum’s ready to get into his first bar-fight of the evening when—

“Calum!”

Calum blinks. 

It’s Ashton. 

“Ashton!” Calum breathes. “I mean—Ash. What are you doing here?” 

Ashton tilts his head at Calum, perplexed. He kind of looks like an overgrown, super beefy puppy. “Luke didn’t tell you?” 

“Luke didn’t tell me wh—oh,” the realization comes to him in the silence between two songs over the club stereo. Ashton is the guy Luke wants Calum to meet. 

An arm lands around Calum’s shoulders and he looks to see Luke. Blond, grinning, tipsy Luke, who’s already making heart-eyes at Ashton. 

“You’ve met!” he yells, directly into Calum’s ear. Calum winces at the decibel of his voice. 

Calum looks between Luke hanging off of him, and Ashton, who smiles fondly at his boyfriend, and thinks: 

This is going to be a long night.

“I need a drink,” Calum mutters. Ashton picks up on it. “I’m on it!” he says, over the buzz of the crowd. Meanwhile, Luke’s already tugging at Calum’s sleeve. 

“We’re going to talk,” Luke tells him. “About whatever’s got you so down in the dumps.” 

“I’m not down in th—” “You’ve looked constipated for the entire week,” Luke replies. “Either we leave here with seven cocktails in your system, or a laxative. Which is it?” 

Calum rolls his eyes. He lets Luke weave him through the crowd. It’s a surprisingly busy bar, especially for a week night, but Luke seems to know his way around. He leads them into a little circular table on one end of the club. 

“So,” Luke says, resting his chin in his palm. “What’s bothering you?” 

Calum sighs. He considers telling Luke everything, but first he has a few questions of his own. 

“When did…you and Ashton?” he asks. 

Luke’s face breaks into a dreamy smile. 

“I took his number that first day,” Luke says. “We texted a bit back and forth and then a week later he asked me out.” 

Calum smiles. He’s happy for Luke. The guy deserves someone who’ll love him for the way he is. God knows Luke’s had terrible experiences in the past. “I’m happy for you,” Calum tells him.

“I really like him…” Luke trails off. Then, as though coming back to his senses, he snaps upright. “Don’t change the subject. What’s the matter with you?”

Calum wants to tell him. He really, really does, but he’s afraid Luke’s going to make fun of him. If the roles were reversed, Calum would do the same. Plus, it’s not an easy story to narrate out loud. Calum’s so deathly ashamed of himself, and so terribly pent up that he’s afraid he’d word-vomit all his feelings towards Michael right there, and Luke would be left reeling. 

And yet…this is Luke. His Luke. His best friend. They’d seen the best and worst of each other. Maybe…maybe Luke would get it. After all, this can’t be the worst thing that’s ever happened in their entire friendship, can it? 

So Calum takes a deep breath, and spills his fucking guts. 

He tells Luke about the elevator ride with Ashton, their conversation about Michael. How Calum watched Ashton unlock Michael’s door and step in. How he freaked out and spiralled until Ashton eventually left. The ensuing silence. And then…Michael. How he listened in even though he shouldn’t have. How he sat there, picturing it all. How Michael called out Calum’s name. 

How it’s been this way for a week, and it’s getting to a point where Calum can’t close his eyes anymore without seeing Michael, without hearing him. 

And when Calum is all done talking, he looks at Luke, waiting for him to say something. Anything at all. Maybe for Luke to say he understands. Hopefully not that Luke thinks Calum is a disgusting pervert. 

But Luke blinks at Calum slowly, like a cat. Then, he throws his head back, and cackles. 

What the fuck.

Calum furrows his brows. “What’s so funny?” 

But Luke just continues laughing, like Calum’s made the world’s most hilarious joke. There’s genuine tears in his eyes as he holds a finger up, gesturing for Calum to ‘wait a minute’. He gasps and chokes on his own heaving laughter, all while Calum sits frozen across from him, arms crossed defensively. Of all the reactions Calum had predicted, this certainly wasn’t in his cards. 

“Luke,” Calum grits. “Stop laughing.” 

Luke clutches his belly, wheezing. He sounds a bit like a dying cat. 

“What’s so fucking funny?” 

And when Calum sits in silence for another whole minute, Luke still giggling and snorting into his hands, drawing the attention of people around, Calum flushes down to his chest. 

“I’m—I’m leaving,” he mutters. This is—this was a bad idea. Calum knows it now. Calum also knows never to trust Luke with a secret again. 

As Calum rises from his seat, Luke waves desperately at him, like he’s asking Calum to wait, but he can barely speak through his gasping snickers. Calum turns to grab his wallet off the table when Ashton returns, slamming three beers down on the table and turning to grin at him. 

Luke finally catches his breath. “I’m—I’m laughing because this whole thing is funny,” he says, wiping the tears of mirth streaming down his cheeks. 

Ashton hands Calum a bottle as he slips into his seat beside Luke. Calum just stands there, numb. The condensation from the bottle drips down over his fingers. 

“Calum,” Ashton calls, and Calum meets his eyes. Ash smiles like he knows something Calum doesn’t. That look is beginning to piss Calum off, but then Ashton continues. “Michael’s known this whole time that you were his neighbour.” 

And suddenly it's like the world drops out from under his feet. 

He falls back into his place on the couch. “What.”

Ashton nods. “He saw you move in,” he says. “Your very first day in. He freaked the fuck out about having a hot neighbour.” Calum thinks maybe he needs to chug all three bottles of alcohol on the table. Effective immediately. 

“But—” he starts, then stops. There’s so many things flitting around in his head. So many pieces coming together. “But the—the livestreaming. All those fucking pranks. The…this past week…”

Ashton laughs. Luke looks absolutely ecstatic. A nearby table goes quiet, as though they’re listening in. 

“He did that shit knowing it was you,” Ash says, matter-of-factly. “He’s a stubborn fuck. You know this, don’t you?” 

And Calum does know. His heart is beating loudly in his ears. He can barely think. 

“Why?” Calum asks. He has so many questions. So many things he needs to sort out. 

“He’s…” Ashton seems to struggle to find the words. Under the table, Calum is tapping his foot impatiently. Luke only smiles knowingly, taking a swig from his bottle. “Michael doesn’t like making the first move. He likes getting what he wants, but on his own terms. He was hoping all those pranks would make you go talk to him, instead of him having to come ask you out.” 

Calum considers this. Lets Ashton’s words sink in. 

Michael knew Calum was his neighbour all along. 

All those silly pranks. The notes. Michael, looking exhausted over his ‘side hustle’. Michael, telling Calum he was buying batteries for a cheap amazon order. Michael, avoiding getting into the elevator with Calum. Michael, who fucked with Calum knowing who was on the other side of the wall. 

Michael, calling out Calum’s name with his hand around his cock, knowing Calum would hear. 

Oh, okay, Calum thinks. 

He stands up suddenly. “I think I’m going to go figure some things out.” Luke raises his bottle in cheers. “Have fun, loverboy.” 

Calum flips him off. He downs his bottle. He disappears into the crowd. 

In the taxi ride home, Calum thinks about everything he’s just learned. He feels a bit angry at first. Michael basically fucked with Calum’s head for no reason. But then the hot anger simmers into something else. Something warmer, smoother. Just under the surface. 

For so long, Calum was playing with only half the cards. Now that he’s got the whole set, he’s planning on raising the stakes. Michael’s not the only one with tricks up his sleeve.

Two can play that game. 

— Three days down the line, Calum’s hit with an incredible stroke of luck. He walks into his building lobby just in time to see a flash of dyed hair enter the elevator, and the doors begin to fall shut. 

He strides across the floor, calls out a firm, “Hold the lift, please.” 

And Michael does, if only because he didn’t know it was Calum asking. 

As soon as Calum steps into the lift, his eyes find Michael’s. Michael’s face grows red, in recognition, in guilt. In shame. Maybe, in arousal. 

Calum backs into the corner of the elevator and leans against the railing lazily. Michael, meanwhile, stands stock still, refusing to move. His back straightens. He looks pointedly straight ahead, and he doesn’t say anything to Calum. So Calum stands back, relaxes against the elevator wall, and lets his eyes drag up the length of Michael’s body. He knows Michael can feel his eyes on him. In the silence, he can hear Michael’s breath as it stutters from his lungs.

Calum clears his throat conversationally. 

“Been sleeping well lately?” he asks, voice dripping in innocent curiosity. With morbid satisfaction, Calum watches Michael stiffen. 

The elevator doors fall shut. Trapping them both together, in the suffocating tension. 

“Yes,” Michael replies, still facing away, then coughs a little when his voice comes out raspy. “Yes, I have.” 

“Hm,” Calum shrugs to himself. Crosses his arms. “Can’t say the same, really.” 

Calum lets the words linger uncomfortably, until Michael takes the bait and replies. “Why…why’s that?” 

Calum grins. He watches Michael’s lashes flutter. 

“Trouble with the neighbour again,” Calum replies. His voice is low, husky. It folds into the air in the lift. Gets under Michael’s skin. 

Michael’s gaze falls. He fiddles with the rings on his fingers, but doesn’t respond. Calum audibly hears him gulp. 

Calum straightens up, and Michael watches his movements from the corner of his eye. 

“He’s just so loud,” Calum tells him, the lilt of his voice dripping with suggestion. “Especially late at night.” The air is thick. Saturated. Michael stays still, forces himself not to move as Calum takes a step closer to him. 

“Walls are thin, y’know?” Calum breathes. 

Michael’s eyes squeeze shut. Tension lines his shoulders. His hands shake slightly, with the effort of holding back, of keeping his breath steady. Calum’s grin grows cruel. 

The elevator signals they’ve arrived on their floor. Calum steps further into Michael’s space, until his breath is fanning the hair at the base of his neck. He watches goosebumps arise on Michael’s skin. 

“Relax, Mikey,” Calum whispers to him. “You sound pretty when you cry f’me.” 

The doors open, and Calum steps back. He watches Michael let out a relieved breath. 

Calum steps past him and out into the hallway. As he goes, he lets his fingertips graze Michael’s waist. He looks over his shoulder. Slowly, deliberately, he licks his lips upon a devilish smirk, meeting Michael’s gaze. 

The doors close on Michael’s flustered face. Calum chuckles. 

That’s 1-0.

Calum sleeps well and smug that night, because the apartment next door is quiet for once. 

—

Calum’s distracted at work the next day, buzzing with energy and anticipation at his plans for later tonight. He goes through his lectures in a daze, eyes flitting to the clock every five minutes, counting down the seconds in his head. If his students take note of his dizzy agitation, they don’t mention it to him. Luke keeps shooting him these smug looks, but Calum ignores him. He’s got better things to worry about. 

He has to leave later that day because of a mishap between two of his seniors, but ultimately it all ends well, and Calum’s off the clock by six p.m. Boarding his bus, he's nearly vibrating in his seat, fingers tapping away anxiously at the plastic armrest, which has a few people shooting him odd looks. He doesn’t care. 

He basically power-walks up to his apartment. Doesn’t run into anyone on the way there, which is good because he’s so anxious he might snap at them.

Once he’s inside, he forces himself to relax. For about half an hour, he sits at his kitchen table, meditating, getting all his excited energy out with each exhale. He puts on his favourite playlist and turns it up while he settles into a warm shower, letting the tension flow out of his muscles. His heart flutters in his chest at the thought of Michael, who should be getting home soon. 

When he gets out, he dresses in a comfortable pair of sweatpants. He forgoes his shirt. For what he’s got planned—if it works—he won’t need his shirt at all. 

Like clockwork, Calum’s ears perk up at the telltale click of Michael’s key sliding into place, the door opening and shutting behind him. Everything is going according to plan. 

Calum waits. Bides his time until the clatter of Michael going about his chores has died down. 

He settles into the plush cushions of his couch, where he knows the sound carries. 

Slowly, he slips his hand under his sweats. He squeezes himself, just testing the feel of himself under his palm. He drops his head back against the headrest and hisses through his teeth. 

After over a week of cockblocking himself, Callum feels like he deserves to savour this. He pushes his pants lower, just enough to get his hardening cock out. He licks his palm, wraps a hand around his base and strokes once along the length of his shaft. 

The stimulation is delicious. He allows himself to moan, a low sound under his breath. 

In the dim light of the doom, Calum coaxes himself until he’s fully erect, worrying his bottom lip as he tries not to give in and chase a quick release. He gathers the precome leaking from his tip and smears it down his cock, his eyes falling shut at the feeling. 

He lets his imagination have free reign. Pictures Michael sitting between his thighs, stroking him teasingly slow, licking his lips in anticipation. At last, his mouth falls open, and he moans loudly. 

There’s a muffled crash from across the wall, and Calum knows Michael has heard. 

He smiles to himself, twisting his wrist just the way he likes, fist curled tightly around himself. 

“Yeah, just like that, baby,” he murmurs, just loud enough. Pointedly picturing Michael’s hands in place of his own. 

“Fuck,” comes Michael’s voice, soft like he’d been trying to stay quiet. Like it slipped out against his will. 

Empowered, Calum continues. He imagines going over to the other’s apartment. Imagines slamming Michael against the closed door, taking him against every surface in the fucking room. He groans, a deep rumble from within his chest. 

“Shit,” he breathes. “Shit, you're so fuckin’ good f’me.” 

He works up a steady rhythm, using his precome as lube, biting his lip. Would Michael use his spit? Would he lick along the veins on Calum’s cock? Ask politely for a taste, look at him through tears because he wants it so bad? “I know you’d beg for it,” Calum says, because he knows Michael’s listening. “Ah—take me so nice.”

He tightens his grip, squeezing his head at every upward stroke. He gasps, moans, putting on a show for Michael, the way Michael had been doing for the past week. 

“F-fucking—think about you all the time,” Calum moans. “On y’knees. Sitting pretty for me. Taking whatever I give you like a good girl.” 

His hips buck up into his fist. He can almost feel it: the phantom touch of Michael’s lips, the scratch of his nails against Calum’s thighs as he opens wide for him, takes him down his throat like he’s made for it. 

“Mmmn, fuck, you’d be so easy, wouldn’t you? I’d make it so good for you, sweetheart.” 

Calum flicks his wrist, stroking himself faster, savouring the pressure, the vision of Michael in his head—

“F-fuck, Michael—” 

A door slams open and shut across the wall. Calum startles so hard, heart jumping to his throat. And then there’s a sudden pounding at his front door, and Calum’s laughing to himself because this is exactly what he’d expected.  

He tucks himself into his sweats, still hard. He takes his own sweet time, wiping his hands and pushing his glasses up his nose. 

Michael’s still banging on his front door when he tugs it open. Calum smirks at the violent blush lighting his cheeks. He leans against the doorframe, letting Michael take a moment to look down the length of his body. Michael’s eyes trail down his chest, where a bit of sweat gathers in the valley between his pecs…down his abs…down to his hips , where his dick tents his sweats, straining against the fabric. 

Michael’s eyes snap back up. He points accusingly at Calum. “Y-you…” 

“Michael?” Calum asks innocently. “Is there anything you need at this late hour?” 

Michael bites his lip, trying and failing to meet Calum’s eyes. “You…you’re…this isn’t fair.” 

Calum crosses his arms, brow quirked in amusement. “What’s not fair?”

Michael squints at him. The colour travels further down his neck, dipping under his shirt. Calum licks his lips. 

“I know what you’re doing,” Michael takes a shaky breath. “I kn-know what you’re doing, and—” 

“And?” 

Michael gulps. God, he looks fucking pathetic. Standing at Calum’s doorstep, fidgety and stuttering, skin glowing a bright shade of red. Calum almost gives in. 

“And…” Michael trails off. He takes a little step back as Calum leans into his space. Calum derives a sick satisfaction from it. 

“Did you need anything, Michael?” he asks, and there’s a touch of authority in his tone. Calum’s in charge now, and it’s about time Michael gets that into his head. 

Michael looks away. “Um,” he breathes. “N-no.” 

“No?” 

“Y—no, I don’t need anything.” 

Calum pulls back. Tilts his head and smiles patronizingly at Michael. “Good.” Michael turns away to return to his apartment. Then, seemingly rethinking it, turns back to Calum. He clears his throat, but his voice sounds small. 

“I’m sorry,” he murmurs, cheeks burning. 

“You’re sorry?” Calum prompts. Michael inhales, meets his eyes. 

“I’m sorry, sir.” 

Ah, he’s learning. 

Calum smiles, satisfied.

“Good,” he says. “Now go on off to bed, Mikey.” 

—-

The next week is uneventful. Calum works very hard to keep it that way. 

The next time Calum meets Michael in the lobby, he’s friendly, but keeps his distance. Michael can barely make eye-contact. 

It’s good. It’s easy. It puts Michael on edge. Michael will be expecting something from Calum now, and Calum won’t give it to him until Michael’s fucking begging for it. 

“Have—have a good day at work,” Michael says to him, the playful, teasing glint gone from his eyes. A genuine warmth replaces it now, and an underlying ache of desire. 

“Thank you, Mikey,” Calum replies, because he knows the nickname would trigger the memories from that night. It works, because then Michael’s flushing up to his roots. 

This is their routine. In the mornings, if they meet, Michael wishes Calum a good day. In the evenings, if Michael streams, he keeps the volume down. He’s ashamed, now. He knows his place, now. 

Calum’s not a monster. He doesn’t touch himself every night. In fact, Calum doesn’t touch himself at all. On occasion, though, he’ll squeeze himself or palm himself, and let his eyes fall shut, his mouth fall open to the pleasure. Michael’s apartment is always very quiet afterwards. 

Calum becomes increasingly conservative with the attention he gives Michael. Over the week, their formal greetings go from a few sparse words to Calum brushing past Michael with a hand on his waist, or even just a friendly wave. The disappointed, flustered rage on Michael’s face keeps Calum going for the whole day. 

But then Finals start at school, and Calum is flooded with work. 

He has students staying back hours after class to clear doubts and ask questions, which means he doesn’t get time to finish up his own workload. He stays up late at night, loses track of time as he pours over textbooks and looks over his students’ study notes, busy setting and rechecking paper and correction patterns. 

He walks around like a ghost, drained of any social and emotional capacity. All he can spare for Michael is an occasional tired smile. He sees Michael’s concern etched into his cheeks as he smiles back, always almost-reaching out to talk, to comfort Calum. Maybe just to spend their silences together. To share space. Coexist. And Calum finds that he wants that with Michael, more and more with each passing day. 

There’s just so much work. Calum’s days begin to blur into just school, his desk at home, and his bed. In all the grey, the only colour he sometimes finds is in Michael—in the dye of his hair, in the pink of his lips, the glint of his jewellery, the green of his eyes. 

Except Calum is exhausted. Too exhausted to reach out and talk to the man. All he does is scribble away, and check and recheck notes, and sink into the dull throb of pain as his neck and back protest in response to all those hours spent hunched over. 

He knows, in two weeks, once all the examinations are over, the papers will be sent out for grading, and then he’ll be free. Next week, while his students are away on their school-issued study break, Calum will take advantage of all the free time he gets.

It’s late at night on a Thursday that Calum finally caves and decides to have a smoke. If for nothing else, then to have a few minutes of silence. 

He’s out on his balcony, leaning against the railing, cigarette pinched between two fingers. There’s a pleasant breeze, and the sounds of the city are almost melodic in their thrum. The lights seem so far away, stretching out for miles ahead of him until they disappear into the smog of the horizon. It’s serene. Peaceful.

Calum brings the cig to his lips. 

“Hey, handsome,” comes a playful voice, somewhere to his left. Calum turns to find Michael stepping out into his own balcony, wearing a fond smile. “Fancy seeing you out here.” 

Calum exhales the smoke before smiling back. 

“Hi, pretty,” he says, then almost backpedals because the nickname wasn’t meant to slip out. Except it brings a warm glow to Michael’s cheeks as his eyes flit over their view. He comes over to lean against the railing of his own balcony.  

The wind carries the faint scent of Michael’s cologne over to Calum. In the darkness, under the faint moonlight, Michael’s skin seems to glow. The image before him is just like Calum had wanted—to share silences with Michael. To share space, comfortably. 

“You’ve been busy,” Michael observes. His eyes follow a couple, far below, as they stroll along a street, before turning a corner and disappearing. 

Calum takes another drag before replying. “Work has been crazy,” he sighs. 

Michael looks at him. “Tired?” 

Calum lets his head drop. “Exhausted.” 

“I’m sorry,” Michael says, and his voice is so sweet, so genuine. “I wish I could help.” Calum shakes his head, meets Michael’s gaze and smiles. “You’re helping right now.” 

It draws a melodic laugh from the man. 

They fall into a comfortable silence. The breeze whistles, rattling the glass doors of their balconies gently. Far below, flower petals from a tree catch the wind and drag across the sidewalk. The moon dims and glows as the clouds pass before her, and Calum sips deeply from his cigarette, eyes closed to the world. 

“I’m…” Michael starts. “I’m sorry. About everything.” 

Calum opens his eyes. He raises a brow, turning to the other man. Michael fidgets with the sleeves of his shirt. “I shouldn’t have done…all of that,” he goes on. “I know the sound bothered you, and I kept it up still. The…um, the pranks too. Some of them—some of them weren’t okay.” Michael flushes. Calum knows they’re both thinking of ‘The Speaker Incident.’ 

Michael clears his throat. “They were all stupid,” he says, shaking his head. “I just…I guess I just wanted you to talk to me, and I was childish about it. I’m sorry.” Michael takes a deep breath, like he’s trying to get out the words that are stuck in his chest. 

“I should’ve been braver,” he says, cheeks burning. He can’t bring his eyes to meet Calum’s. “I should’ve done something else, but I was stupid because—because I really, really like you, and I still want something with you.” 

Michael looks at Calum, a worried frown marring his beautiful features. “If you’ll have me,” he adds, self-conscious. 

Calum breathes in the night air. He puts out his cigarette, tosses it to the side. 

“I’m sorry, too,” Calum says. “I shouldn’t have…acted the way I did.” 

Michael smiles. Understanding. Warm. 

“It’s okay,” he breathes. “I guess we were both stupid.” 

He tilts his head, like they’re sharing some kind of secret, and chuckles under his breath. Calum’s chest aches at the sound. His heart flutters. 

Oh, he thinks. I’m absolutely fucked for this guy. 

Michael looks out at the city again, and the breeze ruffles his hair a little. 

“I should…probably get back inside,” he says. “It’s getting late.” “Yeah,” Calum says, even though he really wants to say no stay please lets talk forever let me make you laugh again stay stay stay—

“Goodnight, Calum,” Michael says. He slides his balcony door open and steps in.

“Michael,” Calum says, because really, he’s waited long enough. He’s fucked around long enough. And now that they’ve finally had this conversation, told each other the truth, what more is left to do? 

Michael pauses. Meets Calum’s gaze. 

Calum looks at him, at the hopeful shine of his eyes, the way his fingers tighten around the doorframe. 

“I’ll pick you up at seven tomorrow,” Calum tells him. “Dress nice.” 

Michael’s face splits into the most beautiful smile. 

“Okay,” he says, unable to hide his relief, his excitement. He closes the balcony door, but pauses to look back at Calum before he disappears into his apartment. 

Calum thinks, I might be in love. 

—-

Calum knocks on Michael’s door at seven o'clock on the dot. Michael swings the door open with the biggest smile on his face, and Calum has to resist the urge to pounce on him right then and there. But he doesn’t. No, he’s got a plan. 

The date goes wonderfully. Calum takes Michael to a place with warm lights and fantastic liquor. They talk for hours, forgetting the food on their plates, laughing and smiling and flirting like they’d been this way for years. Calum wants to stay there forever, watching the light catch Michael’s eyes, the whisper of mirth on his lips, the way their fingers intertwine as though coming home. 

They go out for ice-cream after. Michael picks something exotic and tangy. Calum wants to lick it from his tongue.

On the walk home, Michael’s hand finds Calum’s, and the memory etches itself into place. Under streetlights, under stars, Calum’s shoulder brushes Michael’s, and he feels like he can finally breathe. 

When they get home, Michael leans against his door, biting his lip shyly. They’re standing far too close together, and Calum’s fingers are buzzing with anticipation. 

Michael’s hand finds Calum’s collar and he pulls him in. Calum goes willingly. All alone in that hallway, Calum kisses Michael, sweet and lingering. He breathes Michael in, tastes the tip of his tongue, memorizes the way his body curves into Calum’s. Michael moans, licks into Calum’s mouth, deepening the kiss, desperate, wanting—

With an enormous effort, Calum pulls away. He stays close, nearly speaking into Michael’s lips. 

“It’s late,” he says. 

“Mm,” Michael responds, distracted as he chases Calum’s lips. Calum stops him with a hand on his lip. 

“I have to be up early tomorrow,” he smiles. It’s a lie. It’s Saturday tomorrow. 

But the disappointment on Michael’s face is immediately evident. It makes Calum’s knees weak, the way he pouts up at him. 

Calum steps back from Michael, and all the warmth leaves him immediately. God, it’s an effort not to take Michael right there in the hallway with the way he’s looking at him so invitingly. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow, pretty,” he tells Michael. He moves to unlock his door. 

Michael gulps. “Oh,” he says, voice small. Almost hurt. “Okay.” 

He watches as Calum opens the door to his apartment and pockets the keys. Calum smiles tenderly at Michael, even as he shuts the door in his face. 

Calum waits by his door, listening intently as Michael stands there for a moment, then unlocks his own door and steps in. 

It’s funny. Calum steps back from his door, grinning to himself. He unbuttons his shirt, smiling like an idiot, because he’s teased Michael for so long now. Let Michael have a little taste through that kiss, then took it all away. 

Michael must be—frustrated. Pissed off, even, and rightfully so because to him, it probably looks like Calum led him on only to leave him high and dry. Calum expects Michael to crack any moment now. Either he’d stand there, pressed against his door, getting himself off with his shirt held up between his teeth, or—

There’s an impatient pounding at Calum’s door. 

Ah, there it is. 

Shirt still half-undone, Calum waits a few moments, just to torture Michael a little. He swings open his door. 

Michael stands there, cheeks flushed, brows furrowed because he’s upset. It’s a cute look on him, as he looks Calum over, then lunges at him. 

His hands go around Calum’s shoulders immediately, pulling him in, and Calum catches him by his waist. The door shuts loudly as Calum presses him back into it, and Michael captures his lips. 

“You—fuckin’ tease,” Michael accuses, as he nips at Calum’s bottom lip. He’s insatiable. The kiss is hungry—violent, almost, in how messily Michael sucks at Calum’s tongue, moans into him, grinds his hips against the other man’s. 

Calum laughs into the kiss. Michael draws him impossibly closer, one leg coming up to wrap around Calum’s thigh, to press him further into himself. His hand goes down Calum’s chest, fingers exploring the bare skin. 

Calum’s painting small, biting kisses down Michael’s neck, and Michael turns his head to give him better access. His teeth scrape dangerously along Michael’s jugular, and the man lets out a high-pitched whine. 

“Fff—Calum,” he gasps, nails digging into Calum’s shoulder. Calum only chuckles into his skin. “Calum—” 

“Yeah?” Calum calls, busy tracing a path down to his collarbones with his lips. When Michael tugs at his sleeve, Calum knows he’s asking for his attention. He pauses. 

Michael looks down at him, uncertainty bleeding into confidence in his eyes. “You…” he licks his lips. “You’re going to let me suck your cock.” 

Calum’s belly swoops, his heart skipping like ten beats in a row. Fuck. He really wants that, but…not yet. 

Calum tilts his head, grinning up at Michael. “I am?” 

Calum’s hands creep up to find purchase on Michael's hips as the other man fumbles. “Y-yes,” Michael breathes, clearly struggling to pay attention. “You are.” 

“Hm,” Calum tilts his head. He comes up to press a quick kiss to Michael’s lips before using his grip on his waist to spin him around. Michael gasps, hands coming up to find support against the door. Calum crowds him into the wall, licking along the line of his shoulder and nibbling at a spot under his ear. Michael whines. 

“I think,” Calum starts, drunk on the taste of Michael’s skin. “I ought to teach you a thing or two about manners, hm?” 

Michael bites his lip, trying and failing to keep his little noises hidden. When he doesn’t reply, Calum trails a hand up from Michael’s bellow, up his throat, and settles his hand there, squeezing just enough to get Michael’s attention Michael’s eyes flutter shut and his head falls back on Calum’s shoulder. 

“What do you say, Michael?” Calum breathes, lips brushing his ear. 

“Y-es, sir,” Michael gasps. His fingers curl into fists, scrabbling for something to hold on to against the door. Calum presses one last kiss to Michael’s neck, then steps back altogether. Michael’s knees nearly give out, but he catches himself. Supporting his weight, he turns to meet Calum’s eyes. 

He looks—he looks fucking ruined already. Skin flushed and warm, pupils blown wide, lips bitten and raw. He takes Calum in. Calum, who stands tall, arms crossed, looking down his nose at Michael. He exhales through his mouth. He can’t wait to take Michael apart, piece by piece. 

Calum gestures towards the corridor leading further into his apartment. 

“Go find my room,” he says. “I want you naked on my bed when I get there.” 

Michael hesitates for just a moment, before a sly smile parts his lips and he pads confidently towards Calum’s room, tugging his shirt up and over his head as he goes. He looks over his shoulder, gauging Calum’s reaction as the skin of his torso comes into view. Calum entertains him, letting his eyes trail appreciatively down his back. 

Michael finds Calum’s room, pushes past the door and disappears out of view. Calum gives him a few minutes, generously. The apartment is so quiet, but Calum can hear his heartbeat as it pounds against his ribcage. His skin is crawling, blood thrumming as he tries not to fidget with excitement, anticipation. He knows Michael’s stripping just one wall over. Michael’s stripping for him. 

It sends a zip of energy up his spine. He’s going to break Michael down until he’s fucking sobbing, until he’s begging for Calum’s cock—and then some. It’s a little sadistic, sure. But Calum never claimed to be nice. 

The minutes stretch out into eternity. Calum knows he’s waited much longer than it would take for Michael to get his clothes off. But he revels in the wait, in the desperate itch of impatience in his bones. Michael will be squirming, belly turning as he tries to piece together what happens next. 

Calum gives in.

It’s a lazy stroll, unhurried and aimless, down to his room. He walks through the doorframe, and lets his eyes just barely flit over Michael. 

His breath catches in his lungs. 

The moonlight dances across Michael’s skin in the dark room. He sits at the edge of the bed, thighs spread, already half-hard. Michael’s cock is, like the rest of him, predictably pretty. Flushed pink, it sits untouched between his legs, even as his shoulders shake in restraint. He wants to be good, Calum can tell—because Michael’s hands are fisted tight beside him. He’s looking straight down, cheeks on fire, but he’s aware of Calum when he walks in. 

Intentionally, Calum doesn’t look too long, hides the arousal in his eyes. He walks across the room, to his dresser. Basically ignoring the fucking incarnation of Venus sitting on his bedsheets. 

“You know the colour system, Michael?” Calum asks, back turned as he looks through the top drawer. He finds what he’s looking for and pockets it. Then crouches to open his bottom drawer. 

Michael nods—then, realizing Calum can’t see him, clears his throat. “Yes.” 

“Good,” Calum says. “I have a few rules for you before we start. Is that okay?” 

Michael is quiet this time. He stays silent, until Calum locates the item he’s seeking in his drawer and hides it in his palm. He turns and meets Michael’s gaze expectantly. 

“We speak when spoken to, Mikey,” Calum tells him. Michael’s eyes fall away, and he flushes. 

“Yes,” he murmurs. Then, catching himself, “Yes, sir.” 

Calum lets him sit there, silent and uncomfortable once he notices just how undressed he is compared to the fully-clothed Calum. How exposed he is. How much Calum can see. Softly, he mutters, “I don’t like rules.”

Calum chuckles. The sound clearly gets under Michael’s skin, for he shifts a little on his thighs. Tries to draw his legs closed. Calum crosses the room again, not looking at Michael, not giving him the attention he needs. 

“You’ll need them tonight if you want me to fuck you, pretty,” Calum replies. He hears Michael’s sharp intake of breath. 

Calum drags the chair from his desk to the centre of the room. Sets it so that it’s facing Michael on the bed. 

“Now,” Calum says. He looks at Michael fully, checking him out as Michael’s skin heats under his gaze. It settles the man, though. He needs the attention. “I want you to use your words tonight.” 

Calum approaches Michael. As he stands over him, Michael’s gaze moves up to meet his eyes. Calum cups his cheek gently. 

“If you want something from me,” Calum tells him, voice gentle, coaxing. “You’re going to ask for permission. You’re going to say ‘please’.” 

Michael’s eyes flutter. 

“I won’t give you what you want unless you ask real nice, okay?” he continues. 

Michael nods. Calum lets this one slide because Michael’s still learning. He’ll catch up. Calum will make sure of it. 

“I don’t like to be disappointed, Michael,” Calum says, thumb tracing Michael’s lower lip. “You know that, don’t you?” 

Michael meets his eyes. “Yes, sir.” 

“And if you disappoint me, what do you say?” 

Michael bites his lip. He pauses, considering—but that’s okay. Calum can wait. He wants Michael to figure it out for himself. 

“That…” Michael ventures. “That I’m sorry.” 

Calum smiles. “Very good.” 

Michael exhales through his nose, relieved at Calum’s approval. Calum’s hand finds its place around Michael’s neck again. Just feeling him out, never applying pressure. He feels Michael’s adams apple bob as he swallows deeply. 

“And when you feel good,” Calum tells him, voice low, barely above a whisper. “I want you to thank me.” 

Michael makes a noise low in his throat. Calum leans in, breath fanning Michael’s cheek. The other man chases Calum’s lips, but Calum holds him in place. 

“I need you to understand something,” Calum murmurs, eyes fixed on Michael’s lips because he can’t look away. 

Michael hums. 

“You’ve gotta understand none of this is for you, baby,” Calum says, and Michael’s eyes snap open to meet Calum’s. They’re dilated, green devoured entirely by the black of his pupils. He licks his lips as Calum continues. “Everything that happens tonight is for my pleasure. ” 

Michael’s eyebrows quiver. He moulds into Calum’s touch, but then Calum is pulling away. He lays out the things he’d recovered from his dresser onto the bed. 

“Am I understood?” he says, voice firm now. 

Michael nods, quick and desperate. “Yes,” he gasps. “God, yes.” 

Calum presses one last kiss to his lips, just barely brushing, before he steps back and falls into the chair he’d pulled out earlier. Michael’s eyes fall onto the items laid out beside him. 

A bottle of lube. And a bullet vibe. 

His face flushes. He turns to Calum, who stretches out his legs lazily. Michael’s eyes catch the bulge in his trousers before they come up to his face. 

“You’re not going to—?”

“Me?” Calum laughs, loud and mocking. “Oh, no, baby.” Calum rests his knuckles against his temple, supporting himself with an elbow along his armrest. He looks at Michael through a smirk. 

“After all your teasing?” Calum goes on. Michael’ eyes widen, fist tightening around the little bottle. “Fucking yourself while I could hear, whining my name like a whore…I don’t think you’ve earned my touch just yet, sweetheart.”

Michael folds into himself, thighs pulling shut. He falls back onto the bed, looking between Calum and the bottle in his hands. Calum leans forward, resting his hands on his knees. 

“Michael,” he calls softly, and Michael looks at him immediately. So obedient. It brings a smile to Calum’s lips. “You want to be good for me, don’t you?” 

Michae bites his lip. “I do.” “Then touch yourself, pretty,” Calum says. “Show me what you did across that wall.” 

“But I want—” “I don’t care what you want,” Calum says, sitting back. “You’re gonna work for it, aren’t you? Not gonna touch you until you cry nice and pretty f’me.” 

Michael still looks like he wants to disagree. He unbuttons his shirt all the way, watching as Michael wets his lips, following the movement of Calum’s fingers. He goes as far as undoing the button of his trousers, but that’s all he’ll let Michael have at the moment. Sitting shirtless there, he rolls his shoulders. 

“Lean back for me, baby,” he murmurs. He watches as the command in his voice sinks into Michael’s skin. Michael slides further up and leans back against the headboard of the bed. He slides his legs open, looking to the side as he does, cheeks stained red. The blush travels further down his chest. 

Calum’s mouth goes dry. 

“I…I’m—” Michael can’t seem to get the words out, stuttering as he struggles to relax, to adjust to how vulnerable he is, how he’s at Calum’s mercy right now. 

It makes Calum’s chest grow warm, arousal gathering low in his belly. Good. 

“I know,” he shushes, condescending. “Embarassing, isn’t it? All spread out like this, for me to look at?” 

Michael nods. 

“Words, Michael,” Calum says, sharper now. “Tell me how you feel.” 

“I feel—” Michael cuts himself off. “I feel…open.” 

“Y’like being looked at?” 

“Yes, sir.”

Calum hums. “Go on,” he prompts. “Put on a show for me.” Michael pauses, hesitant. Then, he uncaps the bottle in his hand. Slicks up his fingers. 

“Can I?” he pleads, and his voice is so sweet. 

“Go ahead,” Calum consents. 

Michael sinks his index finger knuckle deep, all in one go. He drops his head back against the headboard, eyes falling shut. A reverberating moan slips from his lips. Calum’s eyes are locked on his slick hole, how he slowly pumps his finger in and out. 

“What do we say?” Calum prompts, even as his voice is low, heavy with desire.

Michael clearly struggles to register Calum’s words, but when he does, he fumbles through the words. “Th-thank you, sir, ah—” 

“Tell me what you thought about,” Calum breathes. “Across the wall, all those days.” 

Michael bites his lip upon a moan. “Ah-ah,” Calum tuts. “Commit to it, baby. Let me hear you.” 

Michael’s so fucking obedient, he lets his lips drop open and whines obscenely.

“I thought about you,” he gasps. “Your—your hands’ around m’waist. Thought about sucking you off in that fuckin’ grocery store.” 

Calum’s pants suddenly grow extremely uncomfortable at the image of Michael, taking him down to the base in one of the aisles of the grocery store. Michael gasps as he curls his finger, drawing Calum back. 

“I thought of…sitting on your cock while y’worked,” Michael breathes, eyes fluttering open. “Would you bend me over your desk? Fuck me…ah—against that wall between us?” 

“Anything you want, gorgeous,” Calum replies, transfixed. The world disappears, everything coming down to just him and Michael and the distance separating them. He can see how the resistance disappears while Michael fucks himself. “Add another finger.” 

“Shit,” Michael pants, pushing another finger inside himself. 

“Thank you,” he says. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.” 

His fingers stutter clumsily inside himself, pace unstable as he loses himself to pleasure. Calum commits it all to memory, biting his tongue as he takes in how Michael writhes against the headboard. Michael’s fingers thrust in and out of himself, hips jumping as he grinds down onto himself. 

“How do you feel, princess?” Calum asks. He wants to know. He wants Michael to feel his absence, not just be aware of it. Wants Michael to know it could be Calum’s fingers instead, but it won’t be until Michael gives in completely.

“So good,” Michael whines. “So full, but—y-your hands—sir—” 

“Yeah? Want me to come over there, stretch y’out on my fingers? 

“Yes…fuck—” 

“Y’fingers just don’t reach, do they? Need someone to open you out nice and wide, fuck up against that spot inside?” 

“P-please—” 

“There we go,” Calum grins. “Now you’re getting it, baby.” 

Michael’s back arches, his whines growing more and more desperate as he increases his pace. Calum stretches out to pick up the forgotten vibe from the foot of the bed. He tosses it gently, so that it lands where it’d get Michael’s attention. Michael pauses his movements, eyes flitting between the toy and Calum, perplexed. 

Calum tilts his head, mocking Michael’s confusion. “Use that pretty head, Mikey,” Calum smiles. “Turn it on. I want you to hold it against your cock.” 

Michael’s knees draw in, as though withdrawing from the viberator. “N-no, sir…I—” 

“No?” Calum pouts mockingly. “Maybe I should use it f’myself then. Get myself off right here and leave you all fucked out on my bed. What do you think?” 

Michael’s brows draw together. He’s so pink and perfectly flushed, sweat glittering along his milky skin as it catches the light. “I’m sorry,” Michael whispers, upset, ashamed. 

Calum tsks. “Prove it to me,” he says. “Turn it on. Use it.” 

Michael complies. Calum nods his approval when Michael sets it to the lowest setting and presses it to his shaft. He shudders, the muscles in his abdomen tightening. Slowly, almost fearfully, he begins pumping his fingers again. 

“Ah…” 

His toes curl into the bedsheets. Sweat lines his collarbone, the low hum of the vibrator fills the room, paired with the slick sound of Michael’s fingers inside himself. The muscles in his whole body are tense. He looks like a fucking dream. 

“Shit, baby, look at you,” Calum breathes. He sees rather than hears Michael react to his words, in the way his spine curves, the way his eyes flutter, the way his pace stumbles as he opens himself up. “So fuckin’ pretty. So perfect for me. What a vision.” 

Michael bites the inside of his cheek, eyes shut as he shudders through the stimulation. 

“Gonna fuck you so good, Mikey,” Calum tells him, and it elicits a melodic whimper from the other man. “Shit, you’d take it so good for me, won’t you? Soak my cock like you were made for it.” 

Michael curls his fingers inside himself. “Hng—sir…I—” 

“Turn it all the way up, pretty girl,” Calum says. He catches the way Michael’s lashes flutter at his words, both in shock and in shame for how much he likes it.

“I can’t.” Michael gasps. 

“Turn it up, Mikey,” Calum repeats. Michael frowns, sweat gathering on his brows. His hands shake as he pulls the toy away, turning it to the highest setting. Nervously, he looks at Calum. Calum leans further back in his seat, folding his arms. He spreads his thighs, intentionally guiding Michael’s gaze down his body. Michael’s lower lip parts in a shaky sigh. 

He presses the vibrator down on himself. Immediately, his hips buck up. He chokes on a moan. “Calum.” 

Calum’s cock twitches in his trousers. He adjusts himself unsubtly. The vibrator is loud—almost louder than the moans and curses spilling from Michael’s lips. His fingers still inside himself. 

“Keep fucking yourself, princess,” Calum tells Michael, but he’s gone completely. Tears gather along his lashes. “I can’t,” Michael gasps. “I can’t…ah—it hurts, it hurts, please—”

“You can handle it, baby, can’t you?” Calum urges. “For me?” 

Michael mewls, a high-pitched, wet sound. His grip tightens around the vibe as he slowly starts moving his fingers again, almost slipping out multiple times. His back arches clean off the bed, hips jumping erratically. Calum knows he’s getting overwhelmed by his own touch. He opens his eyes. His gaze is unfocused and his lashes are wet. 

“Add another finger,” Calum orders, authority heavy in his voice. 

Michael cries out, frustrated, on the verge of tears. Both his hands shake, unsteady as his hips grind up into the vibe, as his fingers twist inside himself. Painfully slow, he adds a third finger. The stretch makes him hiss, and his face scrunches up in pleasure, in discomfort. 

He thrusts his fingers in a slow, deliberate, prolonged drag. Nearly immobile with pleasure, Calum watches as the precome dribbles down his flushed cock. 

It’s barely a few minutes until he’s clenching down around his fingers, shoulders shaking in pleasure as he whines and mewls and whimpers, lips slick with spit, eyes red with unshed tears. Calum smiles sweetly. 

“Gonna cum?” he asks. 

Michael gasps, breathing shallow and uneven as he haltingly pumps his fingers. “Yes.” 

“Yeah?” Calum presses. “Gonna make a mess? Fall apart for me?” 

Michael’s nearly sobbing now, tears slipping freely down his red cheeks. 

“Yes,” he whines. “Yes, yes, please, fuck—” 

“Stop.” 

Michael’s eyes fly open. He meets Calum’s gaze, steady in contrast to the way Michael shudders in pleasure. He’s so fucking close. He’s nearly there, he just…“N-no, pl—” 

“Stop now, Michael,” Calum says, his voice dangerous, like a warning. The command is there. Michael is supposed to obey. Those were the rules. It’s all for Calum. 

Michael makes a frustrated sound, somewhere between a groan and a sob. His fingers curl deeply inside of him, the toy buzzing loudly against his shaft. He whines, eyes falling shut as he squirms, the pleasure overwhelming him. His thighs shake, and he gasps Calum’s name over and over. And then he’s coming, streaking his belly in ropes of white, the room filling with the broken sounds of his orgasm crashing over him like a tidal wave. 

He collapses back against the pillows, sapped of energy. He catches his breath for a moment, before he notices the silence. Before he notices that Calum gave him an order, and he disobeyed it. 

“Feel good?” comes Calum’s voice. Michael sits up on shaking limbs to meet his eyes. Calum reclines lazily against his chair, like he didn’t just watch the hottest fucking scene unfold before him. He schools his expression, looks Michael over with languid disinterest. 

He knows his gaze will sting. It’s meant to. 

“I—” Michael starts. 

“I should just leave you here,” Calum says. 

“N-no, I…” 

“What?” Calum mocks, sitting up. “I was so nice to you, wasn’t I? Letting you touch yourself when I could’ve just used you to get myself off and left you hard and wanting.” 

Michael shifts uncomfortably. He knows he’s disappointed Calum. “‘M sorry, sir.” 

“Yeah? You’re sorry?” Calum pouts, condescending. “That’s not gonna cut it, sweetheart.” 

Michael looks away. “‘M sorry for…coming without permission.” 

“Yeah?” 

“For…for not listening. For being bad.” 

Calum tilts his head, catches the glint of tears along Michael’s lashes. “Aw,” he nearly fucking laughs. “Gonna cry f’me?” 

Michael sniffs. He shakes his head. 

“No?” Calum says. He sighs dramatically. “I’m almost insulted y’don’t trust me to get you off. Don’t think I can get you there, baby?” 

Michael meets his eyes. 

“Could’ve bent you over that balcony out there, have the whole city hear just how good I can give it to you…if you’d just waited,” Calum continues. He hears Michael’s breath catch. 

“No, that doesn’t sound right,” Calum shakes his head. “Maybe I could’ve let you ride my face…make a mess all over those pretty thighs?” 

Michael whimpers. The sound cuts through the air, goes straight to Calum’s cock. 

“How do you think I should punish you, Michael?” Calum asks. It’s a trick question. He wants to see if Michael’s been paying attention. 

Michael’s hands fist the sheets. He bites his lip, cheeks flaming. “That’s not…f’me to decide, sir.” 

Calum smiles, pleased. “Good.” 

The tension ebbs out of Michael’s frame, just from that simple word of approval. God, he’s so fucking desperate for it. Even though he’s ashamed, Calum can see him chubbing up between his thighs. Calum’s going to fucking destroy him. 

“Crawl to me, Michael,” Calum says. 

Michael’s head jerks up. “What?” 

Calum sighs through his nose, irritated. “I won’t say it again.” 

Michael hesitates for barely a split second, before he’s sliding off the bed and onto the ground. It’s humiliating, and that’s exactly what Calum wants from him. His cheeks are burning, the flush travelling down his neck as he grovels on his hands and knees, across the room, to come sit between Calum’s thighs. 

He looks up at him through wet lashes, lips pink, mouth watering already. Calum cups Michael’s face, and the man leans into his touch. Calum knows now that Michael wears mascara, because it smudges across his cheek. Fuck. 

With his thumb, Calum wipes away a stray tear. 

“What’s this?” he smiles. “Thought you said you could handle mean?” 

Michael frowns. “I can.” 

“Michael, sweetheart,” Calum laughs. “Y’couldn’t even handle a bullet vibe.” 

Michael flushes, looking away, blinking fast. 

“I should fuck your face for the way you acted tonight,” Calum tells him, and Michael inhales sharply, eyes snapping to the outline of Calum’s cock. His pupils dilate in anticipation. Eager. 

“But I have a feeling you’d enjoy that, won’t you?” Calum continues. His thumb traces Michael’s bottom lip, pressing down slightly. Michael takes him into his mouth, licking the tip of his thumb. 

“Asked you a question, baby,” Calum reminds him. Michael lets him go with a wet pop. 

“Please,” he says. His voice is deep, sultry with arousal.

“Hm,” Calum feigns consideration. Then, “Beg for it.”

Michael rises to the task immediately. He brings his hands to slide along Calum’s thighs. Looks up at him sweetly, licks his lips. Fuckin’ slut, Calum wants to say. Tempress. You know what you do to me, don’t you?  

“Please let me suck your cock,” Michael breathes, voice dripping in seduction. “Please, sir?” 

It’s an effort to keep the bored look on his face, to keep his posture relaxed, to keep his muscles from tensing under Michael’s touch. 

“I’ll make it so good for you,” Michael stresses. “I’ll take you so deep, make a mess—just the way you like.” 

He leans in, mouths wetly at the outline of Calum’s dick in his trousers. Calum has to force himself not to move, not to buck up against him.

“Don’t you want to know?” Michael goes on, eyes hooded. “What it’s like? Want me to choke on it? Take you down to the base, memorize the taste of you?” 

Calum holds his breath without realizing it. Michael nips at the zipper of his trousers. 

“Please, sir? Wanna taste you. Wanna feel you in my mouth.” 

“Shit,” Calum gasps. “Fuck, go on, baby.”

Michael’s fingers shake as he tugs Calum’s zip down. Calum lifts his hips so that Michael can pull his trousers down, just enough to reach for Calum’s cock, to pull him out, exposing his hard-on to the low chill of the room. 

Michael sits back on his haunches as Calum’s cock bounces against his abdomen. He’s painfully hard—has been since the first moan Michael let spill from his lips, nearly half an hour ago. 

“Shit,” Michael says, staring unabashedly. “This…y’won’t fit.”

It goes straight to Calum’s ego. He smirks, unashamed. “We’ll make it fit, won’t we, princess?” 

Michael gulps. He reaches for Calum, goes to wrap his hands around the base but Calum stops him with a click of his tongue. 

“Put your hands behind your back,” Calum tells Michael. “Gonna fuck that pretty mouth. Shut y’up for once.” 

Michael complies. Calum’s sweet with him with how pliantly he goes. Calum tucks stray strands of Michael’s hair behind his ear, even as Michael’s lips part, how he loosens his jaw and sticks his tongue out, trying to hide the excited glint in his eyes. Tease.

“Tap my thigh twice if you want out,” Calum tells him. He presses the tip of his cock to Michael’s mouth, spreading the precome over his lips, before he feeds himself into Michael’s mouth completely. 

Michael takes him like a champ. He chokes quietly when Calum hits the back of throat, eyes falling shut. Calum strokes his cheek to get his attention.

“Look at me,” Calum instructs. “You take your eyes off me, I’ll stop.” 

Michael moans around him, and the vibrations are delicious. Calum threads his hand into Michael’s hair and tightens his grip. Slowly, he rolls his hips in and out, watching the tears gather in Michael’s eyes as he struggles to take him. The spit as it dribbles past Michael’s lips, slips down his chin. 

“Shit, made for this, weren’t you?” Calum groans. 

Michael tries to nod, but his breath hitches, throat closing. The wet heat draws Calum in further. He uses his hold on Michael’s hair to tug him up and down on his cock, hissing every time Michael groans. His mouth feels like heaven. 

“That’s my good fucking girl,” Calum breathes, as Michael swirls his tongue, hollowing his cheeks as he tries to take more of Calum. Tears slip down his face. Calum’s pace steadily increases. He moves his hand from Michael’s hair to his throat, feels it bulge as Calum fucks his mouth. He presses down lightly, if only to feel Michael panic, the way his eyes go wide, his throat constricting. 

It draws a laugh from Calum. “Look perfect on your knees,” Calum tells Michael, as the man struggles to keep his eyes open. “Should keep you under my desk all day, cock buried down these pretty lips.” 

Michael licks slyly around the ridge of Calum’s cockhead. A string of curses spill from Calum’s lips as the movement of his hips grow rougher, faster, more desperate. The wet sounds of Michael as he chokes around him fill the room, tears streaming freely down his cheeks. 

Calum feels the hot coil of pleasure tighten in his belly. Without warning, he pulls off from Michael. The other man gasps, heaving as he catches his breath. He coughs as Calum strokes his cheek. “So good for me, baby,” Calum praises. “Can’t wait t’be inside you.” 

Michael keens. “Please, sir.” 

His voice is deliciously hoarse, wrecked completely as he begs so pretty on his knees for Calum to fuck him. 

Calum guides him up from his knees, meets him halfway with a kiss so gentle, it clearly takes the other man by surprise. Michael responds in fervour, hands travelling mindlessly over Calum’s skin as Calum grips him by the hips, walks him back till they hit the edge of the bed. Calum nips at Michael’s lip, pushing gently so Michael falls back onto the bed. 

Michael rises on his elbows, licking his lips as Calum rids himself of his trousers and boxers. Calum wraps a hand around himself, pumping himself lazily as he looks down at Michael, waiting to split him open, to devour him. 

“Want me to fuck you?” Calum mocks, watching Michael spread his legs, arch his back invitingly. “Stretch you out, see how this pretty hole takes me?” 

Michael whimpers. “Please,” he breathes. “Shit, I need it. I need it.” 

 He slides further up the bed as Calum gets his knee on the edge of the bed. He wraps his palm around Michael’s ankle, traces a teasing palm up, up, up to high inner thigh. Calum crawls over him, kissing where his hand has stopped, then further along Michael’s chest, taking one of his nipples into his mouth and sucking gently. 

Michael’s hand drags up Calum’s back, into his hair. He fists his hand into the hair at the base of Calum’s neck and Calum hisses at the string. Michael drags him up, claiming Calum’s lips for his own. 

Calum finds the line of Michael’s jaw as they make out lazily. He sets his hand there as he pulls away, coaxes Michael to look at him.

“Open your mouth,” he breathes into the space between them. Michael does, brows furrowing in confusion. 

Unashamed, Calum spits on Michael’s tongue, guides his lips shut. “Swallow.” 

Michael’s eyes flutter. It makes Calum laugh as he draws back to shit on his knees. 

“Look at you,” Calum says. “Laid out like a whore, just begging f’me to fuck you.” 

“C-Calum,” Michael gasps. 

“I know, baby,” Calum says, teasing at Michael’s hole, abused but still loose. He slides two fingers in, curls them up just so, and Michael’s eyes are rolling back into his head. “But I think I’ll take my time, no? And you’ve waited so long. Hold on for a bit, Mikey.” 

Michael bucks up into his hand. Calum pulls out, lubes his fingers up before thrusting them back in. He’s just…trying to make sure Michael’s open enough for him, but the way Michael writhes at his mercy is an enormous pro. 

Calum brings his other hand to play with Michael’s chest. Michael immediately arches into his touch as Calum pinches and twists and teases his nipples. He’s so fucking responsive, it’s driving Calum insane. 

He fucks with Michael for a bit longer, easing another two fingers in, enjoying the way Michael shudders and gasps. When he’s had enough, Calum slips on a condom and lines himself up. Just at the touch of his tip to Michael’s entrance, the man is whimpering, already grinding down. 

Calum holds Michael still by a firm grip on his waist. Michael opens up so easily for him. The tight, wet heat is almost too much for Calum, and he digs his nails into Michael’s skin. In response, Michael clenches down, whining. 

When he bottoms out, it's with a barely-there gasp. Michael groans, eyes falling shut, fingers grappling for purchase on the bedsheets. They hold still for a moment, waiting to adjust and it’s so fucking good, Calum knows he won’t last long. They’ve both been on edge for far too long, and Calum’s just waiting to give Michael what he’s been asking for. 

Eventually, Michael starts squirming, and Calum takes it as his sign to move. 

It’s a slow drag as he pulls all the way out, allowing Michael to feel the emptiness where Calum's supposed to be, until he’s whimpering. Calum slams his hips back, burning himself to the hilt, and he moans at the feeling. It’s so fucking—hot and tight and slick. 

“S-sir,” Michael gasps, as Calum does the whole ordeal again. He goes slow—as slow as he can without bucking his hips forward into Michael, with the way his hole flutters around him, wanting, waiting, aching. 

He picks up the pace, and the sound of their skin slapping fills the room. Calum thrusts into Michael at a brutal pace, hard and fast, and Michael just takes it, slipping further up the bedsheet with each time Calum’s hips meet his ass. There’s sweat gathering along Michael’s bare chest. Calum slides his right hand up, all the way from Michael’s belly, up, up, until he’s got Michael’s throat underneath his palm. 

He squeezes, careful, just enough for Michael’s breath to stutter. He gasps, something raw and wanting, and his hand flies to Calum’s wrist. 

“Gripping me so fucking tight,” Calum grits, the pleasure overwhelming. “Gonna milk my cock, yeah? Show me what you’re really good for?” 

Michael’s eyes roll back again, and he bites his lip. The hand that’s not locked around Calum’s wrist moves, slowly and unsubtly towards his own leaking cock, abandoned between them. Calum watches, lets him get close enough to his aching shaft, then grabs his wrist harshly, pinning it instead to the mattress above Michael’s head. 

Michael’s eyes squeeze shut, and he openly sobs, turning his head to the side. Calum leans over him, nosing at the line of his jaw, nipping gently as he slows the movement of his hips to a tortuous, slow grind. 

“I know you weren’t going to touch yourself, were you, baby?” Calum breathes into Michael’s skin. Michael mewls, shaking his head. 

“Good,” Calum says. “You’re gonna come on just my cock today, or not at all.” 

Michael’s eyes fly open. “Sir, I—” “What?” Calum pouts, kissing the corner of Michael’s lip. “Don’t think you can do it? C’mon, sweetheart, work these fuckin’ hips. Let’s play.” 

Michael responds almost immediately. It warms Calum’s skin, just how compliant, how eager, how obedient Michael is. He lifts his hips, meeting Calum’s thrusts with a slow roll of his own. 

Calum leans over him, bringing his hands around Michael’s thighs to press them wide, to fold him in half. The new angle has him fucking into Michael harsher, deeper. 

Suddenly, Michael’s eyes go wide. He gasps, broken, wet, urgent, his hands flying to scratch down Calum’s back as Calum touches something inside him. He tightens around Calum, deliciously, coaxing Calum to slam into him. 

“There!” Michael sobs. “There, there—please!” 

His eyes are fixed to the feeling, glazed with tears and unfocused. Calum knows what he’s hit, and he keeps the angle, taking an unforgiving pace as he gives it to Michael hard, taking in the gasps and broken-off moans he lets out, the way his nails dig into Calum’s shoulders. Michael squeezes him like he doesn’t want to ever let go. Calum hisses, tightening his hold on Michael’s thighs, painting bruises into his skin that are sure to show up tomorrow. 

“Feel so good, princess,” Calum presses down on Michael’s belly, feels the shape of himself as he pistons in and out. Michael chokes at the feeling. “Can feel myself right here. Gonna fuck you into the shape of my cock.” 

“Sir, I—I can’t—I’m going t—” “Hold it f’me, pretty,” Calum tells him. His pace is unrelenting, Michael gasping little ah! ah! ah!s of pleasure every time Calum fucks into him. 

Michael brings his hand to his lips, bites at his knuckles. 

“Y-you’re so big,” he gasps. “It’s—sir, I w-won’t make it.” 

“Thirty seconds,” Calum tells him. “Then I want you to come when I tell you.” 

Michael shakes with the effort, his noises more punctuated as he struggles now. Calum’s close too, nearing the edge, sweat dripping from his hair onto Michael’s flushed skin. Michael’s clenching down on him just right, stealing the breath from his lungs. His movements grow harsher, more desperate and fractured. 

“Shit, Mikey,” he gasps. “Keep doing that, I’m—” 

Michael whines. It echoes through the room, punctuated by the sound of their skin meeting, the way he reaches blindly for Calum, pulls him in, wants him closer. 

“Now, baby,” Calum says. “Give it to me. Let go, c’mon.” 

On command, Michael makes a high keening sound, clenching down hard, He moans, shaking so violently, Calum has to press hand palm to Michael’s sternum to hold him down as he thrusts a few more times. Michael sobs, crying as his cock spurts ropes of cum across his chest. 

“Fuck,” Calum gasps, and then his vision goes white, Michael’s scent, his touch the only thing grounding him as he presses in deep and spills into the condom. Michael shudders, groans weakly at the feeling. 

It takes Calum a minute to catch his breath, and then he’s pulling out, tying off the condom and collapsing beside Michael on the bed. Michael seeks him out immediately, curling into him even as he winces at the movement. He presses a kiss to Calum's shoulder, and Calum throws an arm around him, even as he pants. 

He hadn’t expected to lose himself so quickly. But Michael just…seems to have that effect on him. He feels wrecked, ruined altogether for anyone else. 

He strokes the skin of Michael’s hips, sliding up to trace the ridges of his ribs. Michael shivers at the feeling. 

“How do you feel, baby?” 

“Mmm,” Michael hums, eyes falling shut. “Floaty.” 

Calum presses a kiss to his temple. 

“I was good?” Michael asks. 

“So good,” Calum murmurs back. “So pretty, so obedient.” 

Michael smiles to himself. Calum stays there with him, whispering praises and memorizing the feel of his skin until Michael dozes off. Then, carefully, he extracts himself and draws out a warm bath. He cleans Michael up with a wet cloth, and it rouses him. He blinks blearily at Calum. 

Calum only chuckles. “Wanna join me in the bath?” Calum asks, and he knows Michael will say yes.

Michael pouts, refusing to move, even though he wants in on the bath. Calum just hooks his arms under Michael and lifts him up, carries him to the bathroom while Michael giggles, hides his face in Calum's chest. 

They stay in the bath, Michael sitting between Calum’s legs, talking and laughing until Michael comes back down. 

The water’s cooling around them as Michael leans into Calum and fiddles with his fingers. 

“What are we, now?” he asks, hesitant, almost afraid. He doesn’t turn to meet Calum’s eyes, so Calum kisses his shoulder tenderly. 

“I want you in every way you’ll have me,” he replies. 

And Michael smiles. And Calum’s gone. 

—

Of course, the first thing Luke says to Calum when he finds out is a loud screech: “I fucking told you so!” 

They’re sitting across from each other in a pseudo-luxury restaurant somewhere downtown, because they’re all on measly salaries. Michael cackles, leaning into Calum as Calum resists the urge to lunge across the table and throttle Luke. Ashton, beside him, is snickering into his hand. 

“I hate all of you,” Calum frowns. But he squeezes Michael’s hand under the table. 

Ashton reaches across the table for the menu. “Sorry we were late,” he says, because it’s half past noon and they were supposed to meet nearly forty-five minutes ago, outside Luke’s house. But Luke had texted last minute that they’d meet Michael and Calum directly at the restaurant.

Michael squints suspiciously at them. “You were fucking, weren’t you?” 

The menu slips from Ashton’s hand, but Luke’s grin widens. “Oh, I like you.” 

Michael winks cheekily at him. Calum pinches him. “Hey—ow!” 

“Don’t fall for his tricks,” Calum tells Michael. “He’ll lure you in with promises of friendship and fuck you over when it comes down to it. Also, he’ll drink all your tequila.” “So that was one time—” 

“It was the expensive shit, Luke!”

“Your mom’s the expens—” “Hey!” 

Michael and Ashton are cackling. Their table is getting odd looks from the other guests. Across the room, the bartender’s eye twitches. 

“Oh,” Michael wonders aloud. He turns to Calum. “I never…asked you how you found out. That I was your neighbour.” 

Calum looks at Michael, and wonders why he’d ever waited so long to do something about how he felt for the man. Neighbour or not, he should’ve asked Michael out long ago. And—

“Oh, I told him,” Ashton chimes in. 

Michael’s neck nearly cracks with how suddenly he jerks to glare at Ashton. Luke is laughing in the background, and it’s beginning to annoy Calum how much enjoyment he’s deriving from all this. Michael stares at Ashton. “You what.” 

Ashton shrugs. “I mean, it was really j—” 

This time, Michael really does lunge across the table. 

Yeah, Calum thinks. That’s my fucking boyfriend. 

And the rest is history. 

Like, literally. Michael and Ashton make it into the local newspaper. 

—

READ PART 1 HERE

[babylonradio]

the concept of making ash cry has taken over my mind ...

[m5ra-sos]

No bc genuinely what was this about

[imaginaryboyfr]

God he looks too good in maroon 🫠🫠

[luke-hemmings-everyday]

day 109