habits | cake

four.

[lol literally half of this is edited im sorry]

"l-look, i know what i did last month was rude and horrible and totally uncalled for, but," he began, stopping only to take a deep breath, "i- i want to be there, ok? i want to help you a-and the baby. i don't want to be one of those dads that completely ignores their kid, you know? i just- i just wanna be there."

luke sighed heavily and rubbed his hands over his face, probably out of frustration, and looked at the desperate boy. "if you really meant that, you would have said it a month ago." luke said with an eye roll as he began to shut the door.

calum threw a hand to the door because it could close. "luke, please, i'll do anything." he pleaded.

all the blonde boy could do was scoff and give him yet another dramatic eye roll, opening the door back up and crossing his arms over his chest. "like what, cal? i know you. when you're not smoking, you're doing drugs. when you're not doing drugs, you're getting drunk at parties. you do realize it's hard to have faith in someone like that, right?"

calum nodded his head and looked down at his feet, slightly embarrassed. he never took the time to realize that that was his life; cigarettes, drugs, alcohol, and sex were literally what his life consisted of, and he hated it.

"w-what if i changed, huh? what if i stopped doing all that and just focused on you and the baby? luke.. please hear me out. i want so bad to just be able to help you. i know what i did was fucked up and stupid of me, but please believe me when i say that i'm sorry and that i truly want to be here for you and the little one." the older boy explained.

"why weren't you saying all this a month ago when i first told you? you left me terrified and all alone, and now i'm supposed to just act like that never happened and just let you back in? i don't want to be let down again, calum -- i can't be let down again. you're either in or you're out; pick one and stick with it. either way, you have to fix your lifestyle. whether you're going to parent this kid of not," he began, putting a hand over his ever so slightly protruding tummy, "what you're doing isn't healthy."

"i'm in. one hundred percent in. i really want this, luke. i really want to be a part of yours and the baby's life. and you have my word about changing myself. no more of that stupid shit. i'm here to stay, i promise you that."

"alright, how about this: you help me get through being pregnant and i'll help you get over all of your bad habits." luke suggested, a yawn interrupting him halfway through.

"you have my word, hemmings."

"good, good. can we talk more about this tomorrow? i can barely keep myself up anymore." he said as he rubbed his eyes and giggled a little bit.

"yeah, of course. sorry for dropping in like this, i just- i really needed to say it. I've been thinking about it since i left here last month and i couldn't stand it anymore-"

he stopped when he noticed luke leaning against the door with his eyes closed, falling asleep if he hadn't reached it quite yet. calum laughed lightly and picked the boy up carefully. all the blonde could do was groan slightly as he draped an arm around the brunette's neck. he skillfully carried luke up the steps and made his way into his room, laying him down carefully in his bed. he pulled the blankets up and made sure he looked comfortable.

"night, love." he said, bending down to kiss his forehead before turning to walk out.

"cal?" a groggy voice said lowly.

"yeah, luke?"

"stay with me?"

the raven-haired boy smiled and replied with a "sure, babe."

with that, he stripped off his jeans, leaving them in a heap on the floor, and crawled into the spot next to luke.

it was silent for a while, the only audible sound being luke's soft snores. finally, calum rolled onto his side facing luke and threw a protective arm around him, mumbling a "fuck it" as he did so. his hand found its way to the small bump under the blonde's t-shirt and calum swore he stopped breathing for a hot minute.

"holy shit, that's my baby." he muttered quietly enough that only he could hear. he rubbed his hand around the soft skin on luke's belly.

he may or may not have fallen asleep with a smile on his face that night.