((Sophie aka fivesecondsofsheeran has a hot brother pass it on

-Mel))

Calum's twisting, turning, practically writhing in the sheets and arching off the bed. They scrunch their nose, whispering out a quiet, "Fuck," and flipping onto their stomach again.

Their skin feels tight, like they've just washed it, and their legs burn when they rub together. Hairs catch on other hairs, pulling and poking, stabbing until Calum's whimpering again.

It's happened before, of course it has, but Calum's always gotten through it alone. They've pulled together, acting like everything was normal and fine. This time, though, they don't have any obligations. There's no reason for Calum to get out of bed, so they don't.

Michael's off coddling Ashton like he's a baby, something that Ashton's surprisingly accepting of, while Luke's made himself a blanket fort in the living room in an attempt to forget all of the drama. Calum considers joining him, but their feet feel too big and their shoulders too broad and their legs too long.

It's impossible to explain. Calum had waken up that morning, ready to file a police report against the police (or something like that), but when they'd stood up, everything felt too small. They felt huge, too tall, like they'd grown a foot overnight.

Calum frowns, trying to make the itching under their skin stop, but they can't. They burrow further into the blankets, squeezing their eyes shut and cursing quietly again. Just as they're about to try and fall back asleep, the door creaks open.

Calum pushes the blanket back enough to glare at whoever's coming in. Their glare falls almost instantly when Luke stumbles in, looking startled and scared out of his mind. His eyes are wide and his face is pale, hands shaking almost uncontrollably. He closes the door behind him gently, while Calum sighs and holds their arm out expectantly. Luke trips his way over to the bed and worms into the blanket, sighing in relief when Calum's arm wraps around his waist.

Calum presses a kiss to Luke's forehead, then sets his face back into the pillow. Luke ducks forward and burrows his face into Calum's neck.

"What's wrong, Luke?" Calum sighs, because there's obviously something wrong and Luke isn't about to bring it up.

"You're not-" Luke pulls back enough to look at Calum's bare chest with a frown. "You're not wearing a tag, I- I don't-"

"They," Calum cuts off his stuttering. "I don't fucking know either, Luke, it's been a rough day for me."

Luke glances at the clock next to the bed. "It's nine in the morning."

Calum sighs in annoyance, because they're really not in the mood for Luke right now. "I'm aware. Sometimes this stuff gets hard, okay? There's no- there's not a clear distinction between girl and guy and neither. It's a struggle."

"Oh," Luke says quietly. He presses his nose against Calum's collarbone again and sighs heavily.

Calum lets the silence go on for a few minutes, then he groans and moves so their lips are pressed to Luke's head. "I'm sorry, it's just frustrating. Just use the neutral pronouns for today, I guess."

"It's okay," Luke whispers. Calum tugs him closer, pressing a few quick kisses to Luke's forehead before laying their head on the pillow again. The itching and burning goes away with Luke so close.

"What'd you want to talk about, Lukey?" Calum tries. Luke tenses up again, then squirms in an attempt to make himself smaller. He brings his legs up, something he only does when he feels attacked, and throws his arms around Calum's neck.

Calum can practically feel the nerves radiating off of him. They rub their hands up and down Luke's back slowly, trying to soothe him enough that he'll start talking. Eventually, Luke stops fidgeting with his fingers and squirming around and just melts against Calum's chest.

"I'm- I worry," Luke admits quietly. Calum hums in response, because Luke always worries. They know Luke worries. "Ash- Ash is, Ash isn't doing too well, is he?"

Calum sighs and leans their cheek against the top of Luke's head. "I don't really know, honestly. He hasn't said much to me. I think he's upset I got arrested."

Luke makes a soft sort of whining noise in the back of his throat. "You did the right thing, though!" He's shaking again, and Calum can practically feel his cheeks heating up with blush. They nod, running their fingers along Luke's spine again until he calms down a little. Luke huffs in frustration and pushes his face further into Calum's neck.

"Just let him," Calum decides. "If Ashton wants to hide away with Michael, I'm not going to argue. At least he's not alone."

Luke doesn't respond, just shifts until his lips are pressed to the side of Calum's neck, nipping at the skin there gently. Calum hums in surprise, hand stuttering along Luke's back, but quickly regains their composure and smiles slightly.

"I want to cuddle with Ash," Luke mumbles in the most grumpy tone Calum's ever heard.

They scoff and stall their hand long enough to pinch Luke's side. "What, am I not enough for you?"

"You're too soft and squishy," Luke reaches up to squeeze Calum's cheeks like he's proving a point, pulling away from their neck long enough to flash them a grin.

Calum rolls their eyes and ducks down to press a kiss to Luke's forehead again. "Rude." Luke giggles and kisses their neck again.

****

There had been a unanimous decision that Ashton should spend at least a week being babied by the three of them. He fought Calum and Luke for a while, but eventually gave in and allowed himself to be cuddled and kissed as gently as possible.

With Ashton on temporary leave from being band dad, Michael steps up and handles Calum's court date. Which probably isn't the best decision, considering the first thing he does is frame Calum's mugshot and hang it in the kitchen.

"You take a good picture," he explains. "It's really the best mugshot I've ever seen. Even with the black eye."

Calum does have to admit, it's a pretty good picture. He looks angry and bitter, practically the stone cold face of rebellion. He's not sure how he'd gotten a black eye, but it's bruised dark and swollen shut in the picture. It's still a bit puffy and various hues of green and purple, a week later. Michael puts an ice cream sandwich on it in leu of an ice pack. Calum hopes Ashton feels better soon, no matter how selfish that seems, because Michael is not the best band dad.

He does, however, mark Calum's court date on the calendar and halfway listen during the millions of meetings Calum's forced into with their management and record label. He concludes that Calum's being charged with assault against a police officer, and could get up to three months in prison, or a pretty big fine. He talks with the lawyer while Calum presses the part of his black eye that throbs.

Finally, when they get home, Michael lays on top of Calum on the couch and says, "Alright, criminal, you have to go to court in two weeks. Make yourself cute."

Calum presses his mouth to Michael's shoulder. "I don't have to, I already am."

Michael ducks down with a giant grin and a mumbled, "I know, babe," then presses their mouths together clumsily.

((A/N

Awkward endings niCE

Question: what are your names and how are you??

Answer: my name is actually Sam lol pLOT TWIST, even though I usually go by Mel (???). I'm pretty fucking great today, I bought a new bandeau and apparently I have a girlfriend so that's cool nice nice

-Mel))