Calum's a creature of habit. He's big and soft and quiet, but he's always there. He hasn't surprised Michael in all thirteen years they've known each other, and he probably never will. Calum is predictable, but Michael can't tell if it's because they know each other so in depth or because Calum doesn't do anything out of the ordinary.
He figures it the former, because Luke always acts surprised if Calum's awake before him on a Saturday morning. But, Michael knows that Calum likes to wake up first, because he likes to make sure they're all there and together and safe, before anything else.
Ashton's always surprised when Calum says he's going to the oldest boy's galleries, but Michael knows that he likes to go. He's always liked seeing Ashton's art, and he's always like watching him do something he lives. That, and it's like Luke's gigs and Michael's ride to work, he likes to make sure they're all safe.
Calum is set on a path, and he likes sticking to it. He doesn't stray or veer, he keeps to his habits. Always.
It's hardest for Calum to let go of Michael's dead name and pronouns. He's always said "she" and "Bell" and "her", so it's hard for him to stop as abruptly as Michael asks him to. Michael had expected this, honestly. Calum reminds him of the saying, "can't teach an old dog new tricks."
The only time Calum remembers his pronouns is if they're being repeated or if he's been thinking about what he's going to say.
If Ashton says, "Michael said that he would," Calum will remember and follow up with the right pronouns.
If it's quiet, and Calum's been thinking to himself for a while, calculating his response and quirking his words in his head until they sound absolutely perfect (like he often does), he'll remember to use the right pronouns.
It's when things get hot, when he's angry or stressed, that he forgets. He starts spitting out the word she and a name that makes Michael cringe, wildly talking without thinking. It makes to atmosphere tense and awkward, and Michael feel like he's been stabbed. His stomach flips every time the words come from Calum's mouth. It's probably the closest Calum will ever come to surprising him.
Michael knows Calum almost better than he knows himself, and he expected it to happen, but it doesn't hurt any less.
((Unfortunately, part of this chapter deleted itself. I'm working on rewriting it, so hopefully it will be up soon!! I'll post an author's note when it is!!
Sorry wattpad wants me dead :///
-Mel))
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TRANS // ot4
Fanfiction"I'm, uh, yeah. A boy, I guess. I'm a boy." "Okay but you still like cock though, right?" Or the one where Michael's trans and the others are only worried about his lack of transition and whether or not he still likes them.
