Chapter Text
Michael was woken up by the sound of the removal truck beeping as it reversed into the driveway next door. The house had been empty for weeks now, ever since old Mrs. Bryant had moved away to be with her new boyfriend in Adelaide. Michael hoped there would be someone younger moving in next door. Maybe someone who would play video games with him! (Maybe someone hot.)
Michael hauled himself out of bed in his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle pyjamas. His sandy-coloured hair was sticking up messily and his green eyes were puffy with sleep when he padded out onto the landing to have a look through the hall window. Michael’s palm flattened on the cool glass and his heart did a funny little skip in his chest when he saw the man who was presumably his new next door neighbour.
Michael said man but the guy couldn’t have been that much older than him really. Michael was already sixteen - seventeen in about a month’s time, thank you very much - and the (worryingly attractive) dark-haired man standing outside now couldn’t have been much more than twenty.
Michael was seeing dark curls and chocolate brown eyes; he was seeing tanned, tattooed skin and lean muscles; he was seeing broad shoulders and loose shorts clinging to well-muscled thighs and - fuck - Michael kind of had a chub going on now.
The window was cracked open to let a largely non-existent breeze in and, almost like the stranger could tell that Michael was watching him, the older man looked up.
“Oh,” he said, dimples appearing in his cheeks as he smiled. “Hi there. I hope we didn’t wake you.” He gestured to the removal van as he said it, biceps flexing as he thumbed towards the four workers loading his furniture off the van.
He was moving in on his own? Michael felt his eyes widen in shock. This guy was like a real adult or something!
“How old are you?” Michael asked stupidly, instead of saying something normal like: “Welcome to the neighbourhood” or “Hi, my name’s Michael”.
The older man’s face crinkled up as he smiled but he wandered a little closer, trainers almost touching the low stone wall that separated their front gardens. Michael’s cat Teddy curled up on there sometimes in the sun. Michael loved Teddy.
“I’m twenty,” the dark-haired man said easily, running a hand through his curls and suppressing a smile when he saw Michael following the movement with wide eyes. “What about you? Hang on, let me guess… Seventeen? Eighteen?”
Michael was glowing with pride now.
“I’m sixteen. Almost seventeen though,” the younger boy said but some of the colour had faded from his cheeks now and his smile felt a little bit less like it was about to crack his face. “What’s your name? Where did you come from?”
“Is this an interrogation?” the older man teased but his dimples were still creasing his cheeks and Michael’s knees felt weak now. The guy was so, so nice to look at. Living next door to him was going to be painful. The stranger was probably the most beautiful person Michael (and his dick) had ever seen.
“My name’s Calum,” the dark-haired man said, still smiling. God, did he ever stop? “I moved here for my new job. I just came out of university.”
“Oh cool,” Michael said, giving the stiff window a shove with his shoulder in an attempt to open it wider. He squeaked when it suddenly creaked open and the dark-haired man looked worried.
“Please don’t fall out of the window,” the guy - Calum - said anxiously. “You’re way too cute to smush your face on the pavement.”
’He called me cute. Oh my god. Oh my god.’
Michael was about as red as Raphael’s mask now and, as he processed this, he immediately flushed even brighter because getting caught by the most beautiful godlike human being on the planet in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle pyjamas was probably not a good way to get the aforementioned human to fall in love with him… or at least kiss him a bit.
Michael wasn’t fussy. Just pretty gay. (And cute - Calum had said so!)
“I’m not cute,” Michael stammered suddenly, voice several octaves too high, cheeks still flaming. “I’m punk rock!”
“Very punk rock,” Calum said but he was smiling so wide now that Michael thought he might be having heart palpitations. Calum glanced back guiltily towards the removal van. “Well, I better go see if I can help them, mysterious-cute-boy-who-won’t-tell-me-his-name. I’m sure we’ll catch up again soon though.”
Calum loped away with an awkward wave that decidedly didn’t make Michael’s heart melt and the dark-haired man was already halfway across the driveway when the younger boy found his tongue.
“I’m Michael!” the golden-haired boy called as Calum looked back at him with a smile on his face. “My name is Michael.”
“Nice to meet you, Michael,” Calum said, chocolate brown eyes crinkling again. “I think living next door to you is going to be fun.”
Michael felt like he was walking on air as he stumbled back into his bedroom in a daze.
He was thinking just the same thing.
*
It had been a month.
Calum had been living next door to Michael for a month now and they’d barely spoken to each other yet. Michael thought Calum had probably had more conversations with the younger boy’s parents than him now and it was very unfortunate.
Michael was slightly heartbroken about it honestly; they only ever said hello when they were leaving the house at the same time, just waved at each other through windows.
The last time Michael had even seen Calum now had been several days ago; the younger boy had been in the supermarket with his mum when he’d seen Calum, got over-excited and dropped a bag of kiwi fruits. Michael had watched in dismay as the fruits rolled all over the floor and Karen had batted him round the head lightly with her shopping list, much to Calum’s amusement.
Maybe the older man was doing Michael a favour by actually having a social life and going outside to interact with other humans every day.
Maybe he was saving Michael from a whole lot of embarrassment and the newly-turned-seventeen year old should try to forget about him -
And then Calum started working out in his back garden every morning and all thoughts of forgetting about the dark-haired man went out of the window.
Michael had started setting his alarm to wake up in time to see it now, even if it was during his break from school. The golden-haired boy sat hunched up in his swivel chair and watched out of the window as Calum strode out into the early morning light, generally wearing nothing but shorts and a tank top because even that early in the morning it was still hot.
Calum always did stretches first, muscles rippling beneath his soft-looking tanned skin as he warmed up. It was usually getting brighter by this point, the early morning sunlight just clearing the roofs so that Calum glowed golden. Michael didn’t even care that he was being dramatic probably; Calum was an honest-to-god masterpiece.
Next came the jogging. Calum ran laps up and down the garden like a puppy, trainers moving lightly over the short grass. (Calum was always outside mowing the lawn and it was rapidly becoming one of Michael’s favourite things, even if it did give him hay fever because - sometimes if he was very lucky - Calum did it shirtless. It was honestly the best thing ever.)
Calum started doing spotty dogs and high knee lifts after that, his breathing loud in the quiet of the morning as his curls began to stick to his forehead with sweat. Michael hadn’t known what those exercises were called before but he’d looked them up recently (and if his hand had been down his pants at the time, that was impossible to prove.)
After the jogging, Calum almost always went to take a drink from the plastic bottle of water he brought outside with him. The back of his vest slipped up when he bent down to pick it up sometimes, and Michael could see the muscles flexing in Calum’s back where he was hot and starting to sweat.
Next came the push-ups and sit-ups (and possibly the sexual frustration but, again, nothing could be proved). Michael liked watching Calum working out; he liked the way his muscles tensed and relaxed, how the sweat made his skin gleam… and also potentially how great his arse looked in the shorts he was wearing. (Michael couldn’t deny that one but he wasn’t ashamed. He was only human after all.)
Calum usually disappeared into his garage after that, where the sounds of weights clinking and fists hitting a punch bag could be heard for the next twenty minutes. Michael wished he could watch what Calum was doing in there but the garage was on the wrong side of the house and Michael wouldn’t be able to look in without one of those weird mirror things they used on submarines. Periscopes, were they called? Michael wasn’t totally sure.
That was beside the point though. He didn’t want to get arrested or creep the poor guy out. He just kind of… fancied Calum. A lot.
The dark-haired man was currently lying on his back now, having just finished his sit-ups. His water bottle was empty and he looked tired as he lay there on the sun-warmed ground. Michael’s emerald green eyes were probably a little bit dark as he traced Calum’s tanned skin hungrily but it didn’t matter because Michael was lurking half-hidden behind his curtains and there was literally no chance of him being spotted.
For the second time since he’d moved in, Calum seemed to know that Michael was watching him.
The dark-haired man looked up with twinkling eyes and dimpled sweetly at Michael, winking when the golden-haired boy flushed scarlet at having been caught spying. The younger boy took his hand out of his pants meekly, praying that whatever he may or may not have been doing was hidden beneath the window - and again, nothing could be proved. Michael was innocent or something. Honestly.
Calum mouthed something at him but Michael had never been very good at lip-reading. He screwed his eyes up against the sun as he looked at Calum, cupping his eyes against the glass as the bright light outside momentarily dazzled him. Michael was literally a vampire bat… who still had no clue what Calum was saying. Damnit.
The younger boy motioned for Calum to wait before he glanced at the empty water bottle and disappeared from his room. At least he wasn’t wearing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle pyjamas this time; instead he was wearing grey denim shorts and a bright orange Dragon Ball Z t-shirt that was probably his favourite thing ever.
Michael was still squinting at the sunlight when he emerged into the garden, peering around through his eyelashes until his eyes had adjusted to the light. Calum was waiting by their fence, arms folded on top as he smiled at Michael, his white teeth gleaming.
The fence still smelt faintly of creosote where Daryl and Michael had painted it a few months earlier, and it came all the way up to Michael’s chin. It was barely chest height for Calum though and Michael had this revelation where he realised quite how tall Calum was… and broad… and muscular… and beautiful.
Michael sloshed water onto the paving stones when he reached up to pass Calum the glass of water he’d collected for him from the kitchen. The older man’s face creased into a smile, dark eyes crinkling as he took it.
“Thank you, Mike!” Calum grinned, downing most of it in one go. He let out a contented sigh as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and Michael tried to be more subtle as he watched the muscles in Calum’s tanned throat working as he swallowed. (Michael’s excitement at being called ‘Mike’ by Calum was hopefully suitably masked.) The older man smelt like sweat and grass now from where he’d been lying down but Michael was still a tiny bit hard, and he hoped Calum couldn’t tell.
“What were you saying when I was upstairs?” Michael asked to distract him. Calum let out a soft peal of laughter.
“I just said good morning to you. Didn’t realise you couldn’t lip-read,” the dark-haired man teased.
“Oh god,” Michael groaned, cheeks flaming. He laughed awkwardly. “Well, good morning anyway.” Michael took in the sweat beading on Calum’s forehead and the muscles relaxing in his broad shoulders as his expression softened. “Doesn’t doing all this exercise make you tired?”
“Kind of.” Calum shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal and Michael smiled shyly as he took the now-empty glass back, setting it on the rusting iron table nearby.
“You work out a lot,” Michael said. “Which I think is impressive, given how fucking hot it is here.” Even for Australia, they were having a ridiculously hot summer. Michael’s golden hair was sticking to his pale forehead with sweat already and his t-shirt was clinging to his skin which was probably ridiculously unappealing.
The sky overhead was vast and empty, stretching a vibrant blue as far as the eye could see.
“Well, I’m bulking up,” Calum said defensively although his lips were still tugging up into a smile. “For football, see? I’m captain of the team and I have to be in top form for this season. It’s an important one.”
Michael had never been bothered about football before but now his mouth was kind of watering as he imagined Calum running around a field in shorts; muscles rippling, tanned skin glowing in the sunlight, dark curls pushed back out of his face as his expression became determined, well-muscled leg drawing back to boot the football into the goal.
“You watch me work out a lot,” Calum said suddenly, drawing Michael back. The seventeen year old’s cheeks flushed scarlet and Calum suppressed his smile with difficulty.
“Well, you’re fit,” Michael explained like it made perfect sense. He immediately blushed brighter but, this time, Calum’s soft cheeks reddened too. The older man smiled bashfully.
“Thanks,” he said and Michael covered his face with his hands, smiling stupidly despite himself. “What’re you laughing at?” Calum asked curiously and Michael shrugged.
“Your biceps are bigger than my future,” he said. Calum snorted, reaching over the fence to brush Michael’s shoulder lightly with his knuckles. It was the first time Calum had ever touched him and Michael felt like he’d been shocked with an electric current. Calum’s skin was soft and warm, and Michael’s head almost hit the fence when he stumbled.
“That’s probably not true,” Calum said teasingly, chocolate brown eyes sparkling. “But, y’know, I do weights a lot too… in my garage. And I punch stuff.”
“Stuff?” Michael teased, emerald green eyes twinkling. Calum smiled, teeth sinking into his full bottom lip.
“Punching bags. Sometimes with boxing gloves, y’know?” The dark-haired man grinned but he still looked faintly embarrassed as he rubbed the back of his neck. His arm muscles flexed again and Michael wished he didn’t look so undoubtedly noodle-like by comparison. “It’s a very good stress-reliever. You should try it.”
“Honestly? Can you actually imagine me punching something and not breaking my hand in the process?” Michael asked, eyebrow raised. Calum grinned, rolling his eyes as he reached over.
“Give me your hand,” he said and Michael totally wasn’t shaking when he reached out towards Calum with a questioning look on his face. The dark-haired man curled Michael’s hand up gently, untucking his thumb and giving the younger boy’s hand a comforting squeeze as he helped him form a fist. “Punch like that and you won’t break your hand. I’ll show you properly sometime.”
“You promise?” Michael asked and Calum grinned, drawing his arm back over the fence.
“Promise,” the dark-haired man confirmed. “I helped out at this summer camp thing last year for extra credit and I had to teach all of the kids there about self-defence and stuff. It’s cool honestly.”
Michael felt like Calum had punched him in the stomach as all of his breath tore out of him in a small hurt sound. ‘All of the kids.’ Michael was kind of pouting now and Calum was watching him with worried confusion, like he didn’t know what he’d done wrong.
“I’m not a kid,” Michael pointed out, fiddling with the hem of his t-shirt nervously. “I’m seventeen. I’m not a kid,” he repeated for good measure. His bottom lip was jutting out though and his pale cheeks were stained red. When Michael finally dragged his gaze up unwillingly, it was to discover that Calum’s puzzled expression was much softer.
“I know you’re not,” the dark-haired man said sincerely and it sounded like he meant it. “I just mean that I’d actually have a clue what I was teaching you, y’know? I wouldn’t be, like, talking rubbish to try and impress you or something.”
Michael smiled despite himself, cherry-red lips tugging up into an unwilling grin as he looked up at Calum, squinting against the sun.
“You’re already quite impressive,” the younger boy said honestly. "That's why I was watching you."
*
Michael was just having an afternoon nap when he woke up to the sound of laughter coming from the garden next door. His green eyes blinked open slowly and he stared up hazily at the ceiling as he tried to wake up. Daryl was out now but Michael could hear his mum singing in the kitchen as she did the washing up. Michael padded out on bare feet to see her.
“Your friend Calum’s outside,” Karen said as she put a plate in the drying rack. “He’s with his friends. Why don’t you go and say hello?”
“Calum’s not my friend,” Michael said automatically, hoping (probably in vain) that his bitterness was hidden. “He’s twenty. I’m only seventeen. I don’t think it counts.”
“Your father was four years older than me when I met him,” Karen said cheerfully as she began to wash a glass. “And now he’s my husband.”
Michael spluttered indignantly from the doorway, folding his arms over his chest as he bristled.
“I thought you just said he was my friend! And now you’re talking about marriage? I’m not going to marry Calum!” Michael exclaimed, flushed bright red. The dark-haired man looked over at that, winking at Michael although he was apparently doing his best to pretend to be offended anyway.
That was when Michael realised the window was open.
“Oh my god,” Michael breathed, mortified. “Kill me. Just drown me in the washing up bowl. Please. If you love me, you will.”
Karen laughed. “Maybe later,” she said. “Go outside and get some vitamin D first. We can discuss your untimely demise tonight.”
Michael was sulking when he stamped out into the back garden, easing his mobile phone out of his pocket. The glare of the sunlight was way too bright considering he hadn’t put any sunscreen on so Michael headed over to the shade of the eucalyptus trees in their back garden, towering up into the cloudless blue sky with their silvery bark. Michael sat down against the trunk of one of them, opening the Twitter app on his phone so that he could low-key stalk Harry Styles.
Calum was still in the garden, dressed only in a pair of three-quarter length denim jeans and a backwards snapback. He had so many tattoos and it was only when Michael was scanning the feather inked into the older man’s collarbone that he realised his phone screen had gone black.
There were three other people in the garden with Calum and Michael’s green eyes drifted over to them unconsciously when the dark-haired man disappeared into the house to get something.
There were two guys and one girl, and all of them looked about Calum’s age. A curly-haired man was standing at the barbecue, glasses sliding down his nose as he grilled burgers and hummed along to whatever song was playing on the radio. Michael figured the pretty blonde lady standing beside him was the curly-haired man’s girlfriend; she was dressed in a pretty blue sundress that Michael’s mum probably would have liked and her sunkissed skin was glowing in the sunlight.
The other guy was taller than the rest of them and his shoulders were even broader than Calum’s. The man had blond hair and piercing blue eyes, and his lip-ring caught the sunlight when he smiled upon Calum’s return, throwing his arm easily around the dark-haired man’s shoulders.
“C’mon, Cal,” the blond man grinned, voice carrying into the golden-haired boy’s garden. “Ash says the burgers are almost ready.”
Michael scowled. He was trying hard not to be jealous but… but it looked like this blond man might be Calum’s boyfriend and… yeah, okay, Michael was probably going to die alone with only his worryingly large collection of Tamagotchis for companionship.
Michael wasn’t even sad now. He wasn’t even going to cry later so shut up.
Calum looked up suddenly, maybe like he’d glimpsed Michael wilting out of the corner of his dark eyes. The older man’s expression softened as he came over to the fence, pausing to wave at Karen who was still watching very obviously through the window before he looked over at Michael, beckoning him over. The golden-haired boy was still frowning distractedly when he got to his feet. “Are you okay, Mike?” Calum asked gently, his dark puppy eyes worried. “You look sad.”
“I’m not sad,” Michael grumbled. “You should go back to your boyfriend. You don’t want your burgers to burn.”
“What?” Calum asked blankly, staring at Michael with absolute confusion for a moment before his expression cleared. “Oh, do you mean Ashton? No, he’s going out with Bryana.”
Michael gave Calum a funny look and the dark-haired man gawped at him for a moment before he pulled a face (which, admittedly, did make Michael feel better). “Oh wait, do you mean Luke? God, not a chance!”
The blond man - Luke - looked up at the mention of his name, blue eyes glittering as he trotted over to the pair of them. Bryana looked up too and she nudged her boyfriend Ashton, nodding towards Michael where he could just about see over the fence. The curly-haired man had dished the burgers up now and it looked like there were a few extra. Michael’s mouth watered despite himself.
“Hello, sweetheart,” Bryana said, smiling encouragingly at him. Michael went red because, sure, maybe he was gay but the blonde woman looked like a real-life angel. “What’s your name?”
“This is Michael,” Calum said, chocolate brown eyes twinkling.
“Oh, Cal’s told us all about you,” Ashton said kindly, much to Calum’s apparent chagrin. He had dimples when he smiled too. Luke’s expression was almost challenging now but there was something faintly teasing in his eyes all the same. Michael kind of wanted to crouch down and hide behind the fence. He hated being the centre of attention.
“You weren’t kidding about how cute he is,” Bryana said teasingly, nudging Calum in the bare ribs with her elbow. Michael’s eyes flickered down, took in the tanned skin and the tattoos… swallowed audibly as he dragged his gaze back up to Calum’s beautiful face.
Luke stuck his tongue out at Michael but he also winked at him which made hating him hard. He was only teasing. Michael should stop being such a gigantic five year old for getting upset about it probably.
“Yeah, Mikey is pretty cute,” Calum said and Michael actually had to hold onto the fence upon hearing that because had Calum seriously just said that to him? God, Michael could die happy now; he wasn’t even thinking about Tamagotchis anymore.
Luke gave Michael a knowing look as he wrapped his arm around Calum, blue eyes twinkling when Michael immediately started sulking again. It wasn’t fair that Calum was always separated from him by a fence - or some runaway kiwi fruits - and Luke got to hug him. Michael was almost at Hulk levels of (probably unrighteous) jealous anger right now.
“What’s wrong, Michael?” Luke asked cheerfully, his voice practically a chirp as he beamed at the younger boy who was beyond disgruntled. Calum rolled his eyes, shoving Luke off goodnaturedly, even as the blond man pressed a purposefully sloppy kiss to his friend’s cheek.
“Don’t be a dick,” Calum said, fighting a smile when Luke pretended to be offended. “Sorry, you’re not my type, Hemmings. I prefer green eyes.” Calum’s gaze flickered over to Michael’s overheated face and the younger boy stared at him, vaguely flailing to death now because how was this even happening?! Calum was hot and amazing and Michael was… not.
“Better go dish out the burgers,” Ashton said into the slightly strained silence that followed - only strained because Michael was sort of hyperventilating now but that was okay; no one seemed to be judging him. “You want to help me, you little shit?” the curly-haired man asked Luke, snagging the blond man’s collar and hauling him away.
Bryana smiled fondly as she followed them, leaving only Calum standing by the fence.
“I’m sorry about my friends,” he said, soft cheeks heating a little as he held onto the top of the fence with both hands. “They can be a bit full-on… Luke especially.” Michael forced a shrug and Calum bit his lip, watching the younger boy carefully. “Come round the front, okay? I’ll let you in. You look like you need a burger, Mikey.”
“Okay,” Michael murmured, smiling despite himself. “But only if you teach me how to punch afterwards. Deal?”
Calum smiled, dimples creasing his cheeks as he reached to give Michael’s shoulder a gentle squeeze.
“Deal.”
*
Ashton was a good barbecue chef. (His words, not Michael’s.) He’d burnt the burgers just enough that Michael wasn’t worried about food poisoning but he could still kind of taste the beef. Considering how Daryl’s barbecued food tasted like it had been tossed into a volcano, Michael was going to consider this one a win.
Karen had given her son a knowing look when he’d passed through the kitchen with flaming cheeks. She’d said: “Oh, I thought he wasn’t your friend?” Michael had just rolled his eyes at her and she’d reached to flatten a lock of his golden hair carefully. Michael loved his mum.
She was back in the house making dinner for Michael’s dad now though and the golden-haired boy was sitting in the garden with Calum’s friends. Bryana was sitting cross-legged on the grass beside him, petting his hair like he was a tiny kitten while Ashton watched them fondly. Calum and Luke were chatting about football, lounging easily on the grass too, muscled arms stretched out behind them to support them. Calum’s wrist was warm where it was brushing lightly against Michael’s thigh and the younger boy kept feeling himself getting distracted by it so answering Bryana’s curious questions about how his classes at school were going was actually surprisingly difficult.
“We’re going down to that Grandma’s Bar place later,” Ashton said when the sun began to set. The sky was lavender overhead now, and Michael was sleepy and content, full of food as he sat in the grass. Somehow during the last hour his head had fallen to rest on Calum’s broad shoulder. Neither of them mentioned it.
“That’s the place that does jaffles, right?” Luke asked, looking up hopefully. “God, I love jaffles.”
“Dude, you just ate like four burgers,” Calum grinned, kicking Luke lightly in the shin because he was apparently too comfy to get up. “You can’t want toasted sandwiches too.”
“Cal, I always want toasted sandwiches. A body like this doesn’t just happen overnight,” Luke joked, patting his totally flat stomach stupidly. Michael went red, his arms folding over his own soft belly protectively. Maybe he shouldn’t have eaten all those burgers. Calum was probably going to think he was such a pig now.
“You talk so much shit, Hemmings,” Calum said but he was grinning. “I’m not gonna go out tonight though. I’m staying in with Mikey instead. I’m gonna teach him how to throw a punch.”
“Don’t forget to keep your thumb outside your fist,” Ashton said helpfully as he got to his feet, helping his girlfriend up. Bryana smiled as she brushed her dress down before reaching to pick a strand of dried grass from Ashton’s curls.
“I hope I get to see you very soon,” Bryana told Michael, giving him a soft smile before she stooped to draw Calum into a hug. “You take care of yourself. Give us a call if you need dinner, okay? I know your cooking skills leave a lot to be desired.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Calum grinned but he pushed himself to his feet too, grabbing Luke’s extended hand and hauling the blond man up. “Go on now. You guys have a good time.”
Michael waved goodbye to them timidly but one of his arms was still wrapped tight around his tummy and his face fell when he saw Luke lean in close to mutter something in Calum’s ear. The dark-haired man’s cheeks flushed red but his expression was soft when he looked back over at Michael as his friends let themselves out of the house.
The seventeen year old was sitting forlornly on his own now, head bowed as he bit down hard on his bottom lip. Luke had probably teased him, made jokes about how he was just a stupid little kid. Calum probably agreed with him.
Michael swallowed past the lump in his throat when Calum came to a stop in front of him, bare feet sinking into the grass. Michael wasn’t wearing shoes either and his feet looked really soft when he frowned down at them. They looked like baby feet probably.
God, maybe Calum would be better off with someone like Luke. He had broad shoulders and painfully pretty blue eyes, and he made Calum laugh.
‘You’re not my type, Hemmings. I prefer green eyes.’
“You look like a grumpy kitten,” Calum said and Michael shrugged as his expression became sulky, refusing to look up at the older man. It wasn’t the most inaccurate thing he’d ever been called but it didn’t exactly sound punk rock; Michael didn’t know if he should be offended or not.
“I have a kitten,” Michael said suddenly before he pulled a face. “Well, he’s really more of a cat now. He’s this little siamese one that hates everyone. He hisses at people.” Michael’s expression was softer as he drew his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them. “His name’s Teddy.”
“Teddy sounds cute,” Calum said seriously but he reached down to poke Michael’s pouty lips lightly with his fingertip and the golden-haired boy briefly considered biting him, just because. “You still look like a kitten. Not one that hisses at people though, I don’t think.”
Michael hissed at Calum just because he could and, even as the dark-haired man let out a soft bark of laughter, Michael let his chin fall to settle on his knees. His cheeks flamed and he swallowed harder past the lump in his throat. Calum hesitated before he dropped back down onto the grass beside the younger boy, arm finding its way carefully around Michael’s shoulders.
Calum was warm and he smelt good - a mixture of smoke from the barbecue and his shower gel that smelt a little like lemons - and Michael let himself melt into it despite himself.
“Y’know… Luke just said something to me,” Calum said slowly and Michael tensed up.
“What?” he asked, looking up at Calum with wide emerald green eyes. The dark-haired man gave him a comforting squeeze.
“He said he thinks maybe you have a crush on me.” Calum’s smile was vaguely self-deprecating and Michael pulled a face.
“I don’t like Luke,” he decided. Calum snorted, free hand falling down to run over the short grass. The sky was rapidly darkening overhead now but Michael could see two gulls wheeling in the emptiness, calling to each other as the night approached.
“Oh please, everyone likes Luke,” Calum grinned, dimples creasing his cheeks suddenly when he saw Michael fighting not to smile. “And I never said it wasn’t reciprocated.” Michael gawped at him wordlessly and Calum laughed. “You wanna try punching that punch bag now, Mikey?”
Michael mumbled something along the lines of: “Actually I’d much rather punch Luke instead” and it was worth it when Calum laughed, the sound so delighted that it made the younger boy’s heart pound unevenly in his chest.
“C’mon, grumpy kitten,” Calum grinned, rising and helping Michael up with an arm around his waist. “Do you remember what I showed you?”
It was dark in the garage until Calum flicked a switch and the light of a naked bulb overhead illuminated the space. To one side, there was a rack of weights and a standing punch bag, much like the ones boxers used to train with in the films Michael sometimes watched with his dad. On the other side of the room, there was a low sofa covered with blankets, a worn-looking rug and a TV with a crate of DVDs beside it. There was even a little fridge nearby that probably had beers in it, if the few empty ones on top of it were any indication.
“Sure. Don’t tuck my thumb inside, right?” Michael checked, showing Calum. The dark-haired man grinned when he saw Michael’s fist.
“That’s perfect! Okay, we won’t use the gloves the first time - but don’t do it too hard, okay? I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”
“Okay,” Michael said, coming to an awkward stop in front of the punch bag and shooting Calum a pleading look before he flung his arm out uneasily, his fist smacking uselessly against the hard material. “Ow,” Michael mumbled, shaking his wrist out. Calum frowned, stepping up behind him and reaching around to help Michael form a better fist.
“Like this,” Calum said softly, his breath warm on the back of Michael’s neck, making him shiver as he helped the golden-haired boy throw a proper punch. It was a lot more controlled but Michael barely noticed it. He was too focused on the warmth of Calum’s body soaking into his from behind and the way he could feel Calum’s smile pressed to his shoulder.
“There,” Calum said softly, hands moving hesitantly as he stepped away, taking his warmth with him. “I think you’ve got it now, Mike.”
“Thank you,” Michael said shakily. He smiled at Calum and the dark-haired man grinned back at him, gesturing towards the sofa hesitantly. It was lower than it looked when Michael dropped down onto it and he let out a shocked little squeak that seemed to make Calum’s heart melt as fondness bloomed on his face.
“Luke didn’t upset you today, did he?” Calum asked quietly as he sat down too, cross-legged as Michael drew his knees up to his chest again. “He kids around sometimes but he wouldn’t actually want to hurt your feelings… so if he upset you then please tell me so I can tell him to quit being an arsehole.”
“It’s fine,” Michael promised but his voice sounded faint and he was still worrying that Calum thought he looked fat… that he thought Michael was just a stupid little kid who should stop clinging to him. “It doesn’t even matter.”
“It does,” Calum said instantly, reaching out to pat Michael’s pale ankle gently because it was the only thing he could reach. “He’s just silly, right? I’ve known him since I was five years old and he’s ridiculous but… y’know, he’s one of my best friends... but he doesn’t mean what he was doing today. He’s just a tease.”
“It’s okay,” Michael said but he was biting his full bottom lip now, worrying it between his teeth before he glanced up at Calum cautiously. “I just felt… really young.” Michael shrugged half-heartedly, looking away as his brow creased with a frown. “I haven’t even kissed anyone yet,” Michael said with a humourless laugh. “I must seem like such a fucking baby… I’m just a little kid to you.”
“Not at all.” Calum sounded like he meant it but Michael didn’t want to look at him. He just pulled his knees tighter to his chest and blinked back what definitely weren’t tears. “I haven’t kissed anyone and had it mean anything,” Calum added with a slight shrug. “So I guess we’re in the same boat, huh?”
“Stop saying things like that,” Michael grumbled, hiding his relieved smile in his knees. “Stop being nice to me.”
“Can’t help it,” Calum said easily, settling back more comfortably on the sofa as Michael relaxed against him, curling up like a little cat. “You’re too cute. It just keeps happening.”
“Stop,” Michael whined but he was burying his smile in the warm skin of Calum’s bare shoulder now and Michael liked feeling the muscles shifting against his full lips. It made him want to kiss Calum kind of… but he shouldn’t do that probably.
Michael had no clue how to kiss someone. It would just be embarrassing.
“I don’t think you’re a little kid at all,” Calum said suddenly, apparently still dwelling on what the golden-haired boy had said. Michael looked up at him with interest, emerald green eyes glittering in the dim light. Calum shrugged, holding his gaze steadily. “I don’t think you’re a baby,” he said calmly.
Michael’s cheeks coloured and he suppressed his smile with difficulty.
“I’m very mature for my age,” Michael lied, thinking about the drawer of Tamagotchis he had at home and snorting with ridiculous laughter. “I even know how to make mac and cheese.”
“Mac and cheese, huh?” Calum teased, scooting forwards to press a tiny kiss to the corner of Michael’s mouth. The younger boy stiffened in shock but his whole face lit up and it made Calum giggle. “Mac and cheese is my favourite.”
“I’ll make you mac and cheese,” Michael said instantly, voice faint. His fingertips were trembling when they rose to brush his lips but Calum was kind enough to pretend that he hadn’t noticed. “I’m really good at making it.”
“Y’know what? I might actually take you up on that,” Calum said, dimples creasing his blushing cheeks. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly as he looked down but he was still smiling. “Bry wasn’t joking when she said I can’t cook. All I know how to make is stir-fry. I mean, it’s healthy but… I don’t know… There’s not much variety when you’re as lazy as I am.”
“You? Lazy? As if!” Michael scoffed, rolling his eyes fondly. “You work out every single day!” The younger boy’s face fell suddenly and he remembered how he’d felt earlier as his hands slipped to cover his stomach. “I don’t work out ever. That’s why I’m all fat.”
Calum made a small hurt sound as his arm slipped around Michael’s shoulders again.
“You’re soft,” Calum said quietly, brushing his lips chastely against Michael’s overheated cheek. “It’s cute. You’re cute.”
“Oh,” Michael breathed and his hand stopped shaking when he curled his fingers hesitantly around Calum’s jaw, tilting his head to press a gentle kiss to the older man’s full lips. Calum sighed contentedly as his long fingers threaded gently through Michael’s golden hair, stroking his scalp lightly. The younger boy was practically purring when Calum drew back with a drunk-looking smile tugging at his lips.
“You really are like a kitten,” he said softly before his cheeks suddenly coloured as he smiled, biting at his lip. “Y’know, I didn’t think this was going to happen.”
“Me neither,” Michael breathed but he was smiling so wide now.
“You really don’t want to marry me, kitten?” Calum laughed, smile becoming teasing as he nudged Michael lightly in the ribs. The golden-haired boy groaned, burying his face in his hands.
“Shut up!” Michael grumbled, flushing the colour of a beetroot now. “I’m not marrying anyone! I’m seventeen! I’m just a kid!”
“I thought you weren’t a kid,” Calum grinned, tilting Michael’s chin up gently with his fingertip to press a soft kiss to the younger boy’s mouth. Michael’s cheeks heated up again.
“I’m very indecisive,” the golden-haired boy joked as his hands slipped up to cover Calum’s bare shoulders. Michael’s head felt like it was spinning with how elated he felt now. “It’s getting to be a problem.”
Calum’s bark of laughter was loud in the garage as he pulled Michael into a hug.
Calum’s warmth kept the darkness at bay.