Rayla sighed contentedly, staring at her parents’ backs. From the sofa in the living area she had a clear view of her two fathers washing dishes together, like they used to when she was young. Every so often they’d bump hips with each other, or lean their shoulders into one another; just small affectionate gestures to remind them that they were together again.
Rayla smiled and looked over at her boyfriend. Callum was sitting on the other side of the sofa, leaving a generous space between them, with his sketchbook and charcoal out. She admired him while he drew. Sometimes he was so concentrated on what he was drawing that his face would scrunch up, while other times he barely looked like he was trying. Like this was just second nature to him.
She looked back up at her parents, who were passing plates wordlessly between them. They were so accustomed to each other that, even after two full years apart, they hardly needed to communicate. They just worked with the rhythm of two people so in love. Would her and Callum be like this, someday? Doing dishes and laundry quietly, their love filling in the silence? Would they have a child, sitting and watching them work, wondering these same thoughts? She hoped so. She watched Runaan gently grab Ethari’s elbow.
“I’m going to get some fresh air quick,” the former assassin said softly, “I’ll be right back.”
“Don’t worry, my heart, I’m not going anywhere,” Ethari replied.
The two shared a brief kiss, and Runaan slipped out the front door. Rayla frowned.
“Why don’t we do that?” she asked, turning to face Callum again.
“Hm?” Callum looked up from his work, then glanced at Ethari, confused. “You mean the dishes? I thought your dads requested it, so that they could spend some time together.”
“Not the dishes,” Rayla corrected, “The names.”
Callum frowned. “Names?”
“Yeah, y’know, like pet-names.”
“You…want to call me your pet?” Callum’s face turned amusingly pink.
Rayla shot him a sidelong glance, tucking that reaction into her brain for later.
“Nicknames, Callum. Why don’t we have nicknames for each other?”
He tapped his charcoal against his chin thoughtfully. Rayla smirked as she noticed that he was holding the wrong end of it, leaving a black mark behind on his skin. She didn’t say anything. It was cute.
“There was that one time you called me ‘Mr. Mage,’” he offered up unhelpfully.
“I don’t mean platonic nicknames, Callum, I mean like… cute, romantic ones.”
“Hm. You’re right, we don’t really have any of those.” He thought about it for a moment longer, then smiled at her. “Do you want to…try some?”
“Sure. Um, what are you drawing, babe?”
Callum winced.
“Yeah, that wasn’t it,” Rayla agreed. “How about… what are you drawing, love?”
Callum blushed a little bit, smiling.
“I like that one.”
“Me too.” Rayla raised her eyebrows at him. “Are you… going to tell me what you’re drawing?”
“Oh! Right,” Callum held up his sketchbook.
It was a beautiful sketch of his younger brother, standing proud and tall. Rayla frowned, concern knitting its way into her eyebrows.
“Are you alright, love?”
“Yeah,” he shrugged to brush her off, turning back to his work. “Yeah, I’ll be fine.”
She kept her eyes on him, but stayed quiet. She knew that sometimes talking about things took time. Callum smiled.
“I think you were right about nicknames,” he said, eyes still on his sketchbook, “That felt… nice.”
She smiled. “I’m glad. It’s your turn now, though.”
He looked up, surprised.
“What, I can’t just call you ‘love’ too?”
“Well you could, and I won’t stop you if you do, but this way you’ll have options.”
He nodded. He face scrunched up in concentrated thought. Rayla grinned. It was always adorable when he did that. A few seconds later his expression softened. He looked up at her; eyes bright, but melancholy.
“My stepdad used to call my mom his light,” he said softly.
Rayla stilled. Callum rarely talked about his parents. Whenever he did, his voice was filled with such reverence. It felt intimate to Rayla. The details he held were sacred to him; hearing them was like being invited to the most special place of worship.
“Would you like that, my light?”
Rayla blushed. She had thought it would feel cheesy or over the top, but it actually made her feel tingly inside. Like he was all hers. Callum grinned.
“You liked that one, didn’t you?”
“Maybe…” Rayla admitted.
Callum set his sketchbook and charcoal down on the table in front of the couch.
“My light,”
He slid across the sofa, closing the gap between them. Rayla felt her cheeks grow redder.
“My truth,”
He grabbed her hand, lifting it to his face and planting a kiss inside her palm.
“My world,”
He wrapped his other hand around her waist, pulling her closer. The tingly sensation grew, the way it always did when he was this close.
“My everything,” he whispered, inches away from her face now.
Rayla let her eyes flutter closed, anticipating the kiss and the rush of warmth that always accompanied it. She leaned forward slowly.
Someone cleared their throat.
Callum immediately jumped back, returning to his earlier position farther away from her. Rayla glared fiercely at her dad. Runaan turned slightly to address Callum.
“You have charcoal on your chin.”
Runaan walked away. Callum’s eyes went wide and his cheeks turned red. He quickly raised his hands to his chin, then groaned as his fingers pulled away with black smudged on them. He threw his head back against the couch in defeat and looked over at her across the distance between them.
“Your dads probably think I’m a loser, huh?”
“Maybe,” Rayla giggled, “but you’re my loser.”
Callum’s mouth opened, then shut wordlessly.
“I’m… not sure how I feel about that one,” he admitted after a moment.
“You’ll get used to it.” Rayla reached over and grabbed his hand, grazing his knuckles with her lips.
“Love,” she added, mumbling it against his fingers.
His cheeks went delightfully red again, and Rayla smiled.
Glee won three awards at the 2012 Teen Choice Awards- Choice TV: Comedy, Choice TV Actor: Comedy (Chris Colfer), and Choice TV Actress: Comedy (Lea Michele).
The awards were held at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, California, and were attended by Lea Michele, Chord Overstreet, host Kevin McHale, Chris Colfer, and Darren Criss.
