room // malum au [in progress]

january 4th, 2021

"daddy!" tucker yelled. "daddy wake up!" calum was jolted awake at the five year olds yelling and sat up rather fast.

"what?" calum asked worriedly. "what's the matter?" his eyes scanned the room to see tucker standing over by old fashioned heater.

"it's not growling." tucker exclaimed pointing to hunk of metal. he turned back towards the heater and started to poke at it.

"tucker don't touch it!" calum screeched jumping out of bed. "you'll burn yourself!" calum rushed over to the little boy and scooped him up in his arms.

"but it's cold." tucker explained. "and the light won't turn on either."

"what do you mean the light won't turn on?" calum asked confusingly. he walked tucker back over to the bed and placed him down.

"the switchy thingy isn't working." calum turned toward the lamp and started to fiddle with the switch only to confirm what tucker had told him. the light wasn't turning on. calum raced back over to the heater and placed his hand on it. ice cold. calum quickly picked up the remote off of the small table and tried to turn on the tv. nothing. he checked the fridge. light didn't turn on and it wasn't as cold as it should be.

"fuck!" he yelled. the raven haired boy slammed the door closed and punched the wall. he leaned back against the wall and slid to the floor.

"daddy what's wrong?" tucker cried as he watched calum breakdown. "why are you crying?" the five year old climbed off the bed and ran over to calum. tucker pulled calum's hands off his face and cupped his face. "daddy what's going on?" calum let out a choked sob and pulled tucker into his chest.

"he turned the power off tuck." calum whimpered. "the heat, the lights, everything. turned off."

"why would he do that?" tucker asked.

"because of last night. because he's mad."

"what are we going to do?" tucker cried. "i'm cold and my stomach won't stop making noises."

"fuck baby. i don't know." calum sobbed. "i'm so sorry. i'm so fucking sorry." calum sat there with tucker in his arms until his eyes dried up and sobs reduced to occasional sniffles. tucker stayed silent curled up in calum's arms to keep warm.

"daddy." tucker whispered when he realized the crying had ceased.

"yeah baby?" calum mumbled, voice scratchy from so much crying.

"can we eat something?" calum stiffened when he realized he's been ignoring tucker.

"oh my god. fuck. yeah let's eat something." calum carefully stood up without loosening his grip on the five year old and walked him over to the table.

"you swear a lot daddy." tucker giggled as calum placed him down on the chair.

"i do don't i?"

"yup." tucker emphasized the p as he watched calum rummage through the cabinets.

"since the power's off we gotta use to milk before it goes bad so cereal is the only option today." tucker groaned.

"but cereal is cold!" tucker complained. "i want toast!"

"you can't have toast." calum snapped. "we don't have power therefore we can't make toast." tucker crossed his arms and pouted at calum. calum ignored him and placed a bowl of cereal for each of them on the table and began to eat.

"well are you going to eat or not?" calum asked motioning to the bowl. tucker gave calum a big sigh before giving in and following his father's actions and eating the cereal.

"i'm cold." tucker whined after eating the last spoonful of cheerios. calum nodded and took the bowl from the little boy.

"go brush your teeth." he instructed. "i'll get you some warm clothes." tucker nodded and ran off to the sink while calum put the bowls in the sink and walked over to the wardrobe to find some clothes. he dug through the messy pile t-shirts and pants until he found a suitable long sleeve shirt, under shirt, sweatshirt and pair of sweatpants for the five year old.

"did you find something?" tucker asked tottering over to calum.

"yeah put this all on and then socks. it should keep you warm." tucker nodded and quickly began to change, not wanting to be without clothes for long. calum brushed his teeth and then pulled on warm clothes to match tucker.

"what are we gonna do today?" calum looked down at the little boy tugging on his pants.

"i think we should snuggle in bed and tell some stories, look through some pictures, draw. maybe you can play with your car but staying under the blankets will keep us warm." he answered picking up the little boy.

"okay i like snuggling with you." tucker yawned. "you're warm."

"you're pretty warm as well." calum said playfully tossing the little boy on the bed and crawling in next to him.

they wasted the day away making up stories to make each other laugh and distract themselves from the ever growing coldness of the room. when calum's watch beeped tucker stiffened scared of the thought of john.

"is he coming today?" tucker asked shakily. calum shook his head.

"no i don't think he is." calum sighed. "he's mad." tucker nodded.

"so no wardrobe?" calum pulled tucker up so he was lying directly on top of him instead of being curled up into his side.

"no wardrobe."

"i don't like wardrobe. it's too small." tucker mumbled into calum's chest. "and you're not in there. i like being with you."

"i know." calum said. "i like you being with me too."

"is john gonna come tomorrow?"

"i don't know bud."

"are the lights going to be back on and the metal thingy too?"

"tuck i don't know."

"but i wanna know!" tucker whined.

"stop it tucker." calum cried. "i don't know the answers to anything right now. i know just as much as you."

"i'm sorry." tucker whispered.

"i know." calum said softly. "it's okay."

"i'm tired."

"let's go to bed then" calum said running his hand through tucker's hair. tucker nuzzled his head into calum's neck and slowly started to drift off to sleep.

"i love you daddy." tucker whispered sleepily half awake.

"good night tuck." calum whispered back. "i love you too."