Guardian Angel - Cake AU

Chapter 8

"Luke, when do you have to be back at your house? You sure you won't get in trouble?"

He laughs at Calum's worried expression and keeps on playing with his fingers. "I'm sure. I've done it before, Calum. As long as I'm home by 10:30 tonight, he won't do anything. It's like he's an alarm. He goes off only at certain times and only if you activate it."

He looks down, giving all his attention to holding the older boy's hand in his two.

Calum nods in understanding, then pauses. "I think you have a hand fetish."

Luke throws his head back and laughs. "No," he giggles, "your hands are just really intriguing. All the lines on your palms, the veins on the back of your hands, how long your fingers are, where the bones stick out, how soft they are."

"Like I said: a hand fetish."

He nods, "Maybe."

Joy unintentionally interrupts when she walks in the living room. "Do you boys want anything to eat?"

Calum shakes his head, looking over to Luke. He smiles politely, "No, thank you, Mrs. Hood."

"Such a polite boy," she says to herself, shaking her head on her way out.

Luke turns to Calum and they both burst out laughing.

After that, they talk for hours.

***

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" Calum asks, resting his chin in his hands. The two are sitting criss-cross opposite from each other on the floor, their knees touching.

Luke thinks, jokingly stroking an imaginary beard. Calum laughs. "Hmmm... I don't know, Calum. I kind of want to be a musician. I wanna write inspirational songs because music is the only thing that had gotten me through my dad before you."

Calum nods, grinning. "That sounds awesome, Lukey." It's the first nickname Calum gives him and he looks startled at first, but then he relaxes again. He smiles then, his dimple showing adorably.

"What about you? What do you want to do when you grow up?"

He shrugs. "I want to write. Basically everything; fiction, nonfiction, an autobiography. Stuff that I've gone through that can help others and hopefully help someone understand that they're valid and not alone. And I want to travel around the world. I've always wanted to learn how to play guitar, too, like as a side hobby."

Luke fucking admires Calum as he speaks. What a fucking great guy. And then he gasps, "I want to travel, too! I've never been anywhere besides Australia and here and I've always wanted somebody to travel with. Do you think, maybe, someday...?"

Calum finds himself nodding excitedly, "And you can teach me how to play guitar!"

Luke laughs and nods along, "I'm not that great at guitar, though."

"Oh, hush, I'm sure you're frickin' fantastic. I know you can sing, too. I heard you humming this morning in the hospital."

His face turns red and Calum laughs. "Th-that was nothing."

"Luke, it was great! I love your voice."

He looks down at the floor and smiles softly, "Thanks."

"What's wrong?"

"No one's ever told me that before. He always tells me to shut up."

"Luke, fuck, I'm sorry," Calum sighs as he keeps his head down and just shrugs. "Oh, Luke... what if..." He looks up at Luke as an idea pops into his head. "What if we went somewhere? Somewhere quiet and beautiful and away from everything else."