it's quiet as you wake. you hear nothing besides the soft ruffling of the sheets as you roll over onto your back, cal's arm heavy over your waist. knuckling the sleep away from your eyes, you blink up at the early morning light splayed across the ceiling. it's early, even for you — six or seven in the morning if you had to guess.
you're about to roll over and fall back asleep when you glance over at calum on your right. his body is turned towards you, one arm under his pillow and the other is still slung haphazardly over your waist. his face looks soft, relaxed, calm, all the things his life probably hasn't been the past five months.
the band had just finished the north american leg of their tour and they had a couple weeks to rest up before heading to australia for six shows and an extra week to catch up with their families. you're sure between radio interviews, meet and greets, sound checks, shows, and any after show drinks, he probably hasn't been getting as much sleep as he needs.
at the mention of the australia trip, your stomach flips. not only will it be your first time to australia, it'll be the first time meeting cal's family in person and you couldn't be more nervous. you've briefly chatted to them on facetime and you occasionally exchange instagram dm's with his sister, but being there, with them, for a whole week, is an entirely different thing. cal's whole heart is his family and you don't want to mess up. or worse — they shun you, say you're not good enough for calum, say he could do better than you, say all the things you constantly think about yourself.
you shake your head slightly, trying to shake that train of thought away, before closing your eyes and inhaling deeply through your nose and then slowly out your mouth, letting the newfound tension roll of your shoulders. as you go to inhale a second time, cal's arm tightens around your midriff. your eyes open as you turn your head to face him, eyebrows raised. you can tell he's still asleep, but his brow is furrowed and his lips are pulled down slightly at the corners.
his grip suddenly tightens on your hip and a small whine works its way out of his throat as he attempts to pull you closer to him. your worry is easily forgotten as you bite your lip to try to stop your giggles as he sleepily tries to tug you closer to him. when that doesn't seem to work for him, he's sliding himself across the bed until his nose is stuck in the crook of your neck and his one leg is casually tossed over both of your own.
he'll probably wake up soon; he always seems to wrap himself around you right before he gets up. you manage to pull your right arm out from between the both of your bodies and wrap it around his back, letting your fingers trace lines up and down his bare shoulders. leaning your cheek against the top of his head, you relax into his warm grip.
you stare at the ceiling and watch as the shadows of the trees outside sway in the morning breeze across the white paint. you close your eyes as your hands rub soft circles into the space between cal's shoulder blades, enjoying the way he pushes his face further into your neck.
it's rare for you two to spend a quiet morning like this together. usually, someone has work or a meeting or a writing session or brunch with a friend and you're both quick to get up and start the day. it's a nice change of pace to just lay in bed with each other; to sleep in, or eat breakfast in bed, maybe talk about everything and nothing at all, watch the sun paint your walls, take your time joining the world.
your stomach growls and it fills the quiet of your bedroom. glancing over to the clock on your bedside table, you see it's almost eight. you should really start breakfast. looking down at calum, then to his arm and leg draped over your body, you know you won't be able to get up without waking him. you pick your hand up off his back to drag your fingers over his buzzcut, letting your nails scrape his scalp gently.
"cal? baby? time to get up," you whisper, your voice, drenched in sleep, cracks. he doesn't move, just snores softly into your neck. you clear your throat and try again.
