(Ik Harry isn't in this fic but I love him and this picture)

***

They'd been having the same discussion for three days.

None of them could ever come up with a good answer for what to do with Calum.

"He can't stay in hiding for the rest of his life, it's not good for anyone."

Michael shook his head. "But we can't just let him be free, who know what he'll do? We can't let him blow our cover,"

"What if he doesn't? We can make sure he's on our side,"

Luke always argued to let him be free, hoping and trusting that Calum would do the right thing. Michael took the opposite side, saying they had to be completely sure he was with them before they let him so far as the back yard without supervision, and Ashton was someplace in between. He understood both sides. He knew they couldn't keep things like this forever, but there was a lot at stake if they were wrong with the timing.

Right now, the three were in the kitchen, having a hushed conversation while Calum watched a TV show he really liked in the den. He kept looking in at them, wondering when someone would come back and sit with him. After his meltdown the other day, he was more clingy than usual, which no one minded at all. Calum knew things would never truly be normal again, but he was hoping to acclimate to his new normal, with his three almost boyfriends.

"How will we know? Maybe he's just trying to play the long game and waiting for us to trust him,"

Luke scoffed.

"Look him in the eyes and tell me you think that cute bean is capable of being so devious." Michael rolled his eyes. "Exactly, he's not like that. He's too precious and good to play us like that,"

"So then you expect him to be able to Help us if he's so precious and good?" Michael countered, leaning on the kitchen island. "This was our issue in the beginning, he might be too good to go along with this. That's what he's been warring over this whole time, I don't know anymore,"

Ashton sighed.

"You were the one pushing so hard for this at the start, saying that he was meant to be," he accused. "Now you're saying you don't think he can be one of us?"

Michael blinked, trying to come up with something.

"That's a whole separate discussion," Luke cut in. "We're talking about what to do with him, not if we even think he can be one of us. That's something we would have needed to think about weeks ago. We're too far in this, it's all or nothing now,"

"Nothing? As in..." Michael gulped. That didn't sit well with him.

"If you guys really don't think he can be one of us, what choice do we have?" Luke shrugged. He knew neither of them would want to get rid of Calum. They were all too attached to him, they would never. They all knew it too, but Luke knew this discussion was getting ridiculous. They needed to be safe, but also needed to think about Calum's wellbeing too. "Keeping him sequestered in here isn't good for him, we need to figure out how we can let him out safely,"

"Sequestered," Michael sniggered. "What the fuck is that?"

Ashton growled, punching him hard in the arm.

"Don't make fun of Lukey," he snapped.

"Ash!" a shocked voice gasped from the doorway. "Did you just hit Mikey?"

Ashton stuttered over his words as Michael clutched his arm, writhing in pain.

"Ouch, that hurt, Ashy," he whined, smirking as Calum rushed over to him, pulling his shirt sleeve up to look at the red area.

"You need ice," he said, going to the freezer and digging around for a bag of peas. The whole time his back was turned, Michael taunted Ashton, knowing the man was getting angry. They schooled their expressions when Calum turned back around. Calum pressed the bag to the spot on Michaels arm, apologizing when Michael winced. "Is that better?"

"Yeah, it is now," Michael winked at him, causing Calum's face to heat up.

"I was only defending—" Ashton cut himself off when Calum sent a glare his direction. He'd never seen the little pixie angry, and it was definitely something new.

"Mikey, why don't you and me sit down and watch Parks and Rec for a bit, you should rest,"

"I'm fine, baby, really, it—" Calum took the bag away and poked the area, raising his eyebrows when Michael winced again.

"Exactly. You're coming with me," He grabbed Michael's hand on his uninjured arm and pulled him towards the den. "Lukey, come join us," and then he sent a scathing look to Ashton whose jaw dropped. Luke only watched amusedly as Calum decided what was going on. He shrugged at Ash and joined his other boyfriends.

"It's not fair, Mikey was mean to you and now he gets to cuddle with Cally," Ashton grumbled as he followed Luke into the den. Luke shrugged.

"You'll get your chance. He's really snuggly lately," Luke dismissed.

They sat down for a while to watch Calum's show. Whenever Ashton opened his mouth, Calum would glare at him and snuggle more into Michael, who would gloat, sending Ashton smirks and taunting winks.

Ashton needed to come up with a way to win him over. There was only one thing he could think of. It was risky, and they'd discussed it with "no" being the final vote. It hadn't been brought back up again, but since Ashton had been the deciding no, he knew it would pass if they'd voted on it again.

"Hey, why don't we all go to the park?"

All three heads turned to look at Ashton astonished.

"Really? We can go? I can go outside?" Calum's eyes held a hopeful sparkle, and Ashton was so happy to get something other than a glare from him.

"I don't see why not," he shrugged. "It's a beautiful day out,"

"Oh my god, yes, p-please!" He scrambled away from Michael and hopped over to Ashton, giving him a hug. "I want to, please!"

"Okay, okay, Cally, calm down," he laughed, looking at Luke's amused face and Michael's expressionless one. Michael still didn't agree with this. "But baby, before we go, we've got a lot of rules, very important ones I need you to listen to." Calum nodded so quickly Ashton thought his head was going to fly off. "Oh my god, you're adorable right now, but I need you to calm down when we tell you what's going to happen, okay? If you don't listen or do something wrong, not only will you never get the chance to go anywhere ever again, things are going to change around here and you won't like what happens," Ashton raised an eyebrow at him and he visibly deflated a bit and nodded.

"I understand. I'll do whatever you want, please, I swear I'll be good," he held his hands under his chin and looked at Ashton with a pleading look that made his heart flip.

"Okay, deal. You go get changed into something comfortable and we'll get some snacks ready. Maybe we can have a little picnic or something,"

Calum lit up again and he nodded, skipping away to do exactly as Ashton said.

"Really?" Michael said flatly as soon as Calum was gone. "You needed his attention so badly you told him he could leave?!"

Ashton shrugged.

"It's not good to keep him here. You can make whatever rules you want for him, he's going to listen. Did you see how obedient he was just now? He's not going to do anything," Ashton insisted.

Luke smiled, looking at Michael.

"You know, we don't have to go too long, even just for an hour, test the waters, see how he does. We can start small, going someplace not too crowded, and make sure he'll be okay."

Michael pursed his lips, still unconvinced.

"Mikey, this will be good. And I have the perfect plan, trust me, it'll all work out."

"Fine, I'm trusting you though," he looked at both of them. "I'm not losing either of you, so don't make me do something I might regret,"

Ashton nodded. He understood.

***

"Okay, Cal, here are the rules,"

The four of them were piled into Ashton's Dodge Durango, driving to someplace Ashton had decided would be good for Calum's first outing.

Calum was practically vibrating in his seat in the back, next to Luke who was watching him with a fond smile. Calum felt like a new person, like he was finally getting to do the one thing he'd wanted for his entire life. The fresh air purified his soul, made him feel lighter. He couldn't believe he was finally getting to go out! He was grateful to Ashton for giving him the chance.

"Calum, are you listening? This is important," Michael looked back at him, making sure he was actually paying attention. If he messed up, it was over.

"Yes, I am. Sorry," he looked down at his lap. He was excited, but he couldn't get too crazy, otherwise he knew he'd be back in his room without any company for a long time. He couldn't ruin his chance.

"Rule one, obviously, you have to listen to us, if we tell you to do something, you do it," Michael told him.

"Okay," Calum nodded. That was simple, he didn't mind listening to what people told him. He didn't really like making decisions anyway, it stressed him out.

"Good boy, number two, you're not allowed to yell or scream to attract people's attention. You don't want to be taken away from us do you?" Ashton asked, smiling when Calum shook his head in fear. "Good, then don't talk to anyone either, unless we give you permission."

"Yes, Ashton." Calum could remember that.

"Last thing, for now," Luke said. He pulled something metal from his pocket, showing Calum a pair of handcuffs. Where had those come from? "If you try to run, look like you're going to escape, or breathe in a way we don't like, we won't hesitate to connect you to one of us." Calum's breath caught in his throat. They were serious. But so was he, he liked being with them, he wasn't going to leave. He really just wanted to go somewhere, he wasn't going to mess it up. "You're going to hold one of our hands the entire time, just as a precaution. As long as you're okay with it," he said after seeing Calum's eyes widen.

"That's o-okay," he nodded, blushing. He cuddled with them all the time, why did the thought of holding their hands make him turn into a mushy pile of feelings?

"This is a test, Calum. It's pass or fail, to see if you really can do it, can be with us. Do you think you're ready for this?" Ashton asked him seriously.

"Yes, I do. I-I want it,"

"Okay. Then let's go,"

***

Who has faith in my lil bb Calum that he can pass the test?? He's getting to be much more comfortable!! Thoughts??

~ashtonfortherwin