Both Sides of the Story [cake au.]

nine

a/n: today was actually a really good day, I'm really happy rn

When Calum arrived at Luke's house, he wasn't surprised to see both the girls rushing to their father's legs, trying to see who had come. However, what did surprise him was the fact that the two of them then went on to drag Calum into the house and show him everything there was to see - even the unicorn stickers they had put on the bathroom mirror.

Once Calum had had a satisfactory tour of the small house, Luke was able to stop the girls and tell them to go busy themselves while he made dinner.

"I'm sorry about that," Luke told Calum, cheeks tinted bashfully as he grabbed a saucepan from the shelf.

"It's okay," Calum answered, smiling. "Can I help you?"

"You don't have to." Luke shrugged. "There's not much to do."

"But I want to."

Luke smiled amusedly. "Okay, sure."

And so, the two of them got to work. It wasn't anything extravagant, just spaghetti and tomato sauce, so for the majority of the time Calum was just leaning against the counter, watching as Luke stirred the pot ever so often.

"Sorry again about this," Luke murmured, looking over at him. "I know you had it all planned out..."

"Luke," Calum chuckled, shaking his head. "Stop apologising. It's okay! Think about it this way: it's way more comfortable wearing sweatpants and just being here than being out at the movies, wearing jeans and having to be nicely dressed."

Luke gave him a look, obviously a little confused about Calum's logic but amused nonetheless. "I guess you're right."

"Yeah, I am. How's the food coming along?"

Luke stirred it once more before setting the wooden spatula aside. "I think it's almost done."

Calum didn't answer that verbally. Instead, he hummed, smiling at Luke who suddenly got shy and began fiddling with the hem of his shirt. With a chuckle, Calum reached out an arm, fingertips brushing over Luke's tattoo sleeve. "Do they all have meanings?"

"Most of them do," Luke answered, running a hand over his tattooed arm as someone would do if they were cold. "Um, not this one though." He gestured to a small one of an ice-cream. "My local tattoo parlour was having a walk-in day, or whatever you call it, but you could only get one of their ice-cream tattoos done. So, why not, right?" Luke shrugged. He was smiling softly, and when he looked back up at Calum, his breath hitched when he saw how intensely Calum was looking at him. He was actually listening to what Luke was saying.

"I- I think it's done," Luke quickly said, turning to grab a kitchen towel.

He heard Calum chuckle but thought nothing of it as the two of them turned off the fire drained out the spaghetti.

Once they had all four plates prepared, Luke called down his daughters while Calum turned on the tv and got out the DVDs he had brought.

"I just brought a few because I wasn't sure what they'd like," he explained, setting them down on the coffee table beside their food.

The girls came rushing down, excited that they were going to get to watch tv and eat.

"I think we should watch this!" Charlotte exclaimed, grabbing the Coraline DVD, but Shael shook her head.

"No, we've seen that before and it's scary!" she pouted, reaching for The Princess and the Frog. "Can we watch this one?"

Calum and Luke watched amusedly (and quite fondly) as the two of them came to a compromise on How To Train Your Dragon. Shael handed Calum the DVD and he put it in before the four of them settled down on the couch, the two girls between Luke and Calum.

As the opening scene started, Calum snuck a glance at Luke, but was surprised to find Luke already looking over at him. The blond blushed, head turning downwards, but that just made Calum smile wider as he resumed watching the movie.

------

The girls had fallen asleep halfway through the second movie (which happened to be Aladdin), and after tucking them into bed, Luke had sat back down on the couch beside Calum and they decided to watch another movie.

This time, though, Luke was sitting right beside Calum, and Calum wasn't shy about wrapping an arm around Luke's shoulders. He didn't want to push any boundaries, but he thought that that would be alright.

When Luke's head found its way onto Calum's chest half an hour into the movie, Calum was positive that it was alright. He rested his cheek atop Luke's head, ignoring how happy he felt having Luke so close to him. He hadn't felt this way for a while and it was refreshing, for lack of a better term.

The two of them didn't say much, but it was fine. They were both content with each other's company, and besides, they would have plenty time for talking. They had so much time.

When the movie ended, Calum figured it was about time he went home. He wanted to help Luke do the dishes, but Luke refused.

"That's where I draw the line," he chuckled, moving away from Calum, and stretched all while yawning. "Thank you, though. Again."

"You don't really need to thank me, but you're welcome," Calum answered, shrugging. "I had a good time."

"So did I."

Luke was still relatively close to Calum, as their legs were touching, but neither of them wanted to move. Rather, Luke had another thing in mind. Their brief conversation had died out, the only sound coming from the credits of the movie.

Luke pulled his leg up onto the couch, turning so that he was sitting sideways and facing Calum. He inched his hand closer, taking Calum's into his which elicited a smile from the brunet. "I really appreciate this, Calum," he murmured, running his thumb over the back of Calum's hand. "I know I've thanked you, like, a hundred times already, but I'm serious. Thanks for not getting mad and for understanding."

Calum smiled softly. Luke's girls obviously meant so much to him if this little action on Calum's part was triggering this much of a response from Luke. "Yeah, of course Luke. I wouldn't get mad at you for something like this."

At that, Luke smiled, teeth coming to bite at his lower lip. Calum took a breath and took a chance, lifting his hand up to Luke's cheek, causing the blond to blush. And then, finally, he began leaning in. He was scared Luke wouldn't reciprocate the action, but to his biggest relief, he did.

Luke's lips met his softly, slowly, and Calum was considering deepening the kiss but he liked it the way it was.

However, it was over much too fast, leaving Calum wanting more. He was debating pulling Luke back in for more, but it seemed like Luke was already ahead of him. Once again, they kissed softly, Luke pulling away before it could lead to anything more.

Calum wasn't complaining. He would take what he could get and he didn't want Luke to be uncomfortable, but he couldn't help but want Luke.

He knew he had to wait, though. There was clearly a lot he didn't know about Luke, but oh, how eager he was to learn it all.

a/n: shitty chapter is shitty