Chapter 27

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"Pass the sauce, this hot dog sure is dry,"

"Get it yourself, it's literally in front of you,"

"Nooo, hand it over," Michael whined, slouching back in his chair and miserably waving his hand to show that he indeed couldn't reach the red bottle that was directly in front of his plate.

"Mikey, you're pathetic, babe," Luke shook his head as Calum took pity on him and placed the ketchup in his hand.

"You're my new favourite, Cally," Michael exclaimed, leaning over to kiss his cheek. Even though Calum knew he was joking, he blushed anyway, revelling in the attention from his other boyfriends.

They'd settled into a nice routine since Calum came around and decided to Help them. Go to work, eat dinner, relax together before bed before doing it over again. On days off, they'd spend time lounging in bed until the afternoon before someone got hungry and forced them to get up. Calum was excited to find out that all four of them fit comfortably in the giant king sized bed they'd already had.

Today though was a special day. Michael had finally been allowed to grill (apparently before Calum knew them, Luke wouldn't let Michael outside in the cold to cook on the barbecue) but the blonde had finally decided it was warm enough for hotdogs.

Aside from the hotdogs, Ashton had decided Calum was going to be able to Help with a patient tomorrow. After they finished eating, they were going to go through the plan.

"So, what do I get to do?" Calum questioned Ashton, excitedly bouncing in his chair. He was getting impatient, having waited all day to hear the plan. There was no question in his mind that Ashton was the boss, the one who came up with the details, and the rest of them simply obeyed his orders. He had no issue with that, he was just happy to be there. He felt like he finally had a family, that there were people who actually cared about what happened to him. With his parents divorce and their fighting with each other, Calum was simply a pawn used to get the best move, but here with these boys, he was part of something bigger. He was also cared for and loved, which is something he always craved but never had.

"Slow down, Cal, we gotta help Mikey clean up first, and then we'll go over it,"

Calum groaned, throwing his head back over the wooden backrest of his chair dramatically.

"Well, I guess if you don't want to go over it later," Ashton began, immediately catching Calum's attention. He sat up, grinning. "We could just do it another day."

He instantly deflated, frowning and looking down at his mostly unfinished salad.

"No, I can be patient,"

"That's good baby, I think that would be the best choice," Ashton smirked, getting up and kissing Calum's forehead on his way to the kitchen to dump his dirty plate in the dishwasher. "Finish up, you three. When you're done, join me in the bedroom." He commanded, walking upstairs to finalise the plans.

"You still working on that, Cally?" Luke asked, noting Calum's almost full plate.

He shook his head, but Michael cleared his throat. Calum looked up, noting his stern glare and glance at the plate.

"Yeah, I'm still eating," they were very strict about making sure everyone ate a full meal. Calum used to skip lunch or dinner sometimes when he got busy, but Ashton and Michael never let him do that now. They knew he didn't always get to eat at work, neither did Ash, so when they were home, they always stopped what they were doing to get a proper meal. "You have to take care of yourself so you can take care of others," he'd heard more times than he could count when he tried to brush aside his personal care. He supposed they had a point.

"Good, we'll wait with you," Michael said. "Wanna talk about anything?"

The three of them chatted casually about work, tv shows, random things before they cleaned up the table and got the dishes put away. Towards the end, Calum could barely concentrate on anything as anticipation grew for The Plan.

"Okay, Cal, go up to—" Michael allowed, but Calum had already dashed up the stairs before he could finish. Luke laughed at his eager attitude as he took Michael's hands and followed after him.

"Cally, baby, sit down, please don't jump all over the place," they heard Ashton pleading as they entered the bedroom, but he sounded like he was holding back a laugh.

Calum was actually jumping up and down on the bed like a child, face-splitting grin as he laughed and plopped down on his back curls spread around his head like a halo.

"Are we ready?" he asked, propping himself up on an elbow as he watched his boyfriends watch him.

"We're trying to be,"

"Then let's get on with it! I want to help!"

Ashton smiled, taking his laptop from the dresser where he'd safely stowed it when Calum came barreling into the room like a tornado.

He didn't use the laptop to write out a list of their plans for anyone to find it. No, the laptop was just a cover, they put a tv show on at loud volume, just on the off chance someone was listening they wouldn't be able to make anything out.

"So, here's what we're gonna do," Ashton started.

***

Next chapter is the last!! I'll try to post it soon!

~ashtonfortherwin

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