Edicius {5SOS;CASHTON&CAKE&MALUM}✔️

Twenty: "-and of Mine."

Harry watched Calum closely as the man sat beside him, his hands in his face and his leg bouncing in place. He hadn't spoke up yet, barely done anything outside of sitting on the couch in silence and covering him face. It had been a couple hours since they first came, silence thick and hanging over their faces like wet blankets laid over their features.

He had gotten himself to stop biting at his nails, knowing he had let his nerves and guilt get the best of him as he sat beside the brunet. He felt horrible for keeping it all from Calum, though he knew it wasn't his story to tell and wasn't his secret to reveal. Still, he couldn't help but feel responsible for something he could exactly place and name.

Luke came back into the kitchen, sitting the tea cups in his hand down in the table. Harry nodded shortly, taking the cup into his hand as Luke sat across from the pair, not wanting to be too close and setting Calum off from his presence. He glanced at the youngest among them, Harry merely shrugging and looking down at his cup as he waited for what would happen next between the two other men.

Luke let go of a puff of air as he leaned to sit forward onto his knees, watching the steam from his tea rise slowly and disappear. Each of them turned to Calum when he moved, letting his hands drop from in front of his face in favor of looking at his shoes. He flinched from Harry's touch, the younger immediately giving up and pulling back as he gave a deep breath and looked to the side.

"Why didn't you tell, at least, me that you were alive?" His voice was still, teetering onto cold, as he spoke, not making the effort to look at Luke, though he knew the man wanted him to.

He couldn't, not while he felt a lump in his throat that would lead into him breaking down. He didn't want to cry in front of Harry again, especially not in front of Luke when his tears were because of the other man. His body was fighting against his mind, Calum forcing his tears away as he focused on staring at the floor than either of the men beside him.

"I couldn't, not at first."

"And after that?"

Luke sighed, setting his cup away from him and running his hands down his face, "I thought you were still with Ashton and once I found out you weren't, China told me it'd be better to keep my distance since I necessarily couldn't get away from Ashton to get to you."

"Bullshit, Luke! You got away long enough to get to Harry and China but not me? You shouldn't have cared about what China had to say because she's not me. She's not the one who felt like they were dying when Ashton threatened your life, she didn't scream and cry for you while bleeding out of her back because Ashton thought she was such a slut that he needed to carve it into her back, she doesn't carry your ring around. I do!" He slipped the silver band of jewelry off his finger and held it up, as if Luke didn't know exactly what he was talking again, throwing it at the blond as he scoffed, "But that doesn't matter, does it?"

Luke looked down, picking the ring up from its place in the floor and letting it lay on his open hand. It glinted in his palm, Luke enclosing his fingers around it as he nodded. Harry took the short amount of silence to grab the cups and leave them to themselves, knowing it wasn't his business and walking to Luke's kitchen to give them their privacy.

"It does matter, Calum. I just- I couldn't get to you like I wanted or..." He trailed off, looking up when Calum stood and keeping to sitting to let Calum have his little bit of height over him as he shut his mouth and let Calum speak.

"Or what? China would've said something about a situation that has nothing to do with her? Or was it something about Harry saying something? Or was your loyalty to Ashton more important than me?"

"You know that you're more important to me, Calum. You know that I would've came back if I could. I was when I found out that you had gotten away but just because you think you walked away, you didn't. You don't know how many times I had to hold my tongue when Ashton threatened you, how I had to stand back and watch Michael become you and think that when he's done with Michael and he throws him away, are you what's next? I wanted to see you but I knew if I did the next time after that would be at your funeral. So, don't fucking stand there and accuse me of not caring about you."

He stood as he spoke, taking the advantage of Calum having to look up at him. He backed away when Calum did, watching the brunet shut back down with a sigh. He brushed his fingers through his hair, waiting for what Calum would say for what next that would lead to another snapping contest of words when all Luke wanted to do was hug Calum and pull him as close as he could.

He didn't want their first moments back with each other spent accusing and yelling, not even when he had prepared himself for this outcome because he knew Calum would be hurt. He wanted to see Calum, to finally be able to touch Calum how he wanted and let Calum know every thing he felt and thought of when he saw the brunet. He held his tongue even now, knowing that if Ashton found out Calum would wind up hurt and knowing that Calum probably didn't want his sentiments anymore.

He hesitated but shook off his fear, reaching to touch Calum when he recognized the soft, muffled cries into his hand before ultimately rounding the table keeping him at a distance to hug the broken boy tightly. That was what it took for Calum's body to defy him and his tears to trail down his face violently to match with his sobs.

He wrapped his arms around Luke, attempting to pull him closer, to intertwine their souls into one because he never thought he'd get the chance to touch the blond again. The tears he shed felt like blood pouring from his eyes, shoulders shaking and he knew he might've been holding a little too tight but couldn't get himself to loosen up his arms as the unconsciously tightened more, like Luke would disappear again if he didn't keep him close.

He rambled into Luke's chest, apologies and regrets dripping off his trembling lips in mumbles of his overwhelming feelings that drowned in from the inside and clogged up his pores and veins fill he was suffocating of his sins and his confusion and his love.

Luke let him go as far off as he needed, merely shutting his eyes as he laid his head on top of Calum's and thought to himself that if Ashton did want to lay a finger on his angel, he'd have to sell his soul to even try.

{~~~~}

Hiii.

Well, wasn't that emotional? Need a tissue? 😂, jkjk but Luke's finally back and that's good, am I right or am I right? So now we can all be happy and I can keep my teeth and nails.

Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. So, Take care of yourselves and drink some water or some tea, whatever you drink.

And, that's all. Au revoir....