Anonymous || Malum ✓

nineteen

The sound of the fast-food chain's bell brought Calum to attention.  He hadn't had a customer in about ten minutes, the dullness of it being quite a bit past three o'clock hitting the shop and not having any type of lunch rush. The brown boy liked times like these when no one was entering the restaurant every ten seconds and that he could take a break and finally breathe.

Calum looked up from the counter he was wiping up and watched as the boy that had been clouding his thoughts for the past few weeks was walking in.

"Hey babe," Michael said smiling widely, mentally cooing at the paper hat Calum was forced to wear if he forgot his baseball cap. His black curls were flattened against his forehead and Michael was grinning at the sight. The brown boy walked out from behind the counter and stood next to the smiling boy.

"Don't mention it," Calum groaned, knowing what Michael was about to say. He held up a bottle of cleaning spray in Michael's direction as if to threaten him but Michael batted his hands away and hugged the small boy instead.

"When are you off? I want to show you something," Michael said, pressing a light kiss to Calum's lips. He didn't want to go further, risking Calum his job.

"At four, but I want to change if you're taking me outside," Calum responded, turning back to start filling the napkin dispensers that were left empty by his manager. The man had completely emptied them out for no reason and now Calum had another vendetta against his boss.

Michael shrugged his phone out of his pocket and turned it on so the main screen was up. Calum noticed that the screensaver was picture of the two in Michael's bed from a few days prior. The time was the main thing he was checking, seeing Calum had fourteen minutes left in his shift.

"I can wait," Michael said, deciding to finally learn on how to refill a napkin dispenser.

***

Calum felt like punching a wall, he considered it quite a bit mentally, but physically he stayed stoic.  Actually pouring the hot coffee he was holding in his hands seemed more painful. More masochistic but definitely more useful.

He had actually been thankful at first. Michael had set up something for them that wasn't too horribly physically demanding. It was just a simple pizza in bed type of thing but now Michael had brought out his guitar and fuck, it was a really nice guitar. It was a Agron 86 and it had been a guitar that Calum could only admire. What he would do to get his hands on the smooth wood and play it to his hearts content but sadly Michael was in the room and Michael could not suspect a thing.

Calum shifted so that he was more comfortable in Michael's lap and allowed the boy to wrap his arms around him. The guitar was resting on his lap, a giant vice to the brown boy as Michael played the instrument but still holding Calum closely.

It was all a bit too much but incredibly nice at the same time. Michael would occasionally mouth along to the words of the song he was playing, his lips dragging across Calum's neck. His voice was soft if he did sing and it had a nice rasp that the brown boy was loving. Mostly he loved the guitar but still. Just two words and he could have his hands on the smooth wood that had been crafted by the gods.

"Have you ever played before?" Michael asked, his voice coming out slowly and softly. Calum could listen to the pale boy talk all day. Michael was just so gentle and calm with everything that approached when it had to do with Calum.

The brown boy was easily frightened and got nervous easily and Michael took that into account. The pale boy of course was loud every chance that he could be, but with moments like these he'd never want to.

"A bit."

Two words. Not the original two words that Calum had planned. Yet the guitar was in his hands now. Michael was still holding him close. Their fingers were loosely entwining.

"Place your pointer finger here, and your middle finger here. Hey that's rude. Don't flip me the bird. And your ring finger here," Michael spoke slowly, "This is E flat."

Calum felt as if he were being condescended. He knew how to play the fucking guitar yet here he was, learning things he had known since he was seven years old. He couldn't blame Michael but he just wished that secrets were so much more easier to tell. Calum moved his fingers the way Michael explained and strummed so the noise would come out.

"And here's A flat," Michael explained, placing his fingers in a different but familiar position and he strummed again, hearing the noise. They continued until Michael had "taught" Calum Twink Twinkle Little Star. It went by slowly, the brown boy occasionally fucking up purposefully.

"You're a natural," Michael said, once they had finished playing through the child's nursery rhyme.

Calum just nodded his head before starting up his playing again and playing through the child's song once more, hoping that he wouldn't "mess up" when he got to the "up above the world so high" part yet he knew Michael wouldn't care anyways. Because to the pale boy, anything that the brown boy did was incredible. Amazing. A true masterpiece.

***

I'm on vacation but sorry this took so long!! I'll be updating soon!!

-Lee