Calum's sick. Well, okay, maybe that's not right because he feels fine physically. It's just, Ashton's baking cupcakes in the middle of the kitchen and Michael's been singing the same fucking One Direction song for the past hour.

Calum's bedroom is on the lower floor, right next to the kitchen, so he can't even escape. There's a loud clatter in the other room, followed by Michael laughing hysterically, and Calum starts to wonder if throwing himself bodily out the window would be dramatic.

"Ah, fuck," Ashton's saying when Calum steps into the kitchen. There's pots and pans all over the floor, but Ashton's making no move to pick them up. Michael's sitting on the counter with a giant grin on his face, and Calum really doesn't want to know what happened.

"I'm going to Luke's," Calum announces. He's thought about it, there's pretty much no other place he can go to escape. He doesn't even know where Luke lives.

"No!" Ashton yells immediately. "No, not yet! We're making cupcakes!"

Calum glances between Ashton and where Michael's scooping frosting out of a bowl with his fingers. He's not sure what Ashton means by we. Ashton glances over and huffs when he notices Michael's pink fingers, marching over to snatched the bowl away. Michael pouts.

"You making cupcakes does not involve me," Calum reminds him patiently.

"No," Ashton's eyeing Michael and Calum's uncomfortable. "We're making cupcakes for Luke. To apologize because, you know, we kind of fucked up the double date last night."

"You did," Calum agrees, crossing his arms over his chest. Ashton manages to look a bit shameful, cheeks tinting pink and eyes flicking down to the floor between Calum's feet. Calum's phone dings before he can say anything else, so he pulls it out of his back pocket to find a message from Luke, quickly followed by three more in quick succession.

Hey, I'm coming over in a few.

If that's okay?

I hope that's okay because I have nothing else to do.

Calum?? Is it okay???

Calum really can't help the fond smile that creeps onto his lips. He types out an agreement and shoves the phone back into his pocket. By the time he looks back up, Ashton's standing in between Michael's legs and sucking pink frosting off his fingers.

"Jesus!" Calum yells. Ashton glances over with Michael's fingers still halfway down his throat and raises his eyebrows. "Can you guys do that on your own time?"

"I own one third of this kitchen," Ashton points out, pulling off of Michael's hand with a pop. "Mikey owns another third, and you're standing in your third. None of this goes against the house rules."

"It's a communal space!" Calum argues. Michael ignores both of them and loops his legs around Ashton's waist, tugging him close enough that he can start thumbing the excess flour off of Ashton's jaw. "Next time you guys are fucking, I'm going to stand in your bedroom because I own a third of it!"

"Nice," Michael perks up then and looks over with hopeful eyes. "Do you like watching, Cal?"

Ashton shrugs a bit. "I'm into it."

Calum sighs in exasperation and throws his hands up, letting them slap back down to his thighs. "I hate both of you, fuck off."

"Fuck on," Michael corrects. He punctuates the statement by digging his heels into Ashton's lower back to drag him even closer, grinding the two of them together and forcing a small gasp from Ashton.

"Stop being overly sexual!" Calum yells at them, but it falls on deaf ears. Michael's started licking sugar off Ashton's cheek. Calum feels like throwing up. He turns around and marches into the living room to get away from them.

"You should fuck me on this counter," Michael mumbles quietly. "Would icing work as lube?"

"I don't know, but I could lick it out of you any-"

"Luke's coming over!" Calum yells, cutting Ashton off abruptly. There's a small thudding noise, a groan of pain from Ashton, and a curse from Michael, before the oven door opens. Calum smirks to himself, he's successfully broken them up, afterall, and flops down onto the couch to wait for Luke.

Luke, of course, knocks on the door politely. Calum yells for his and Ashton starts swearing from the kitchen, sending Michael into a fit of giggles. The front door opens and closes, but it takes a minute for Luke to shuffle into the living room. He's taken his shoes off and his cheeks are flushed dark pink.

"You two aren't fucking in there, are you?" Calum yells, patting the spot next to him on the couch for Luke.

"Only one of them," Luke says queitly, sliding under Calum's arm and pressing up against his side. Michael let's out an exaggerated moan from the kitchen and Calum scoffs in disgust.

"Mike- Michael!" Ashton yells. Luke pulls his legs up and tucks them under the rest of his body, leaning further into Calum. There's another thud from the kitchen, followed by Ashton shrieking, "If you don't stop fucking getting yourself off with the icing, I'll edge you! I will, don't fucking test me!"

"Sorry," Michael says in a small, barely audible voice.

"Ugh, god," Calum groans. "Will they ever learn to keep their kinky shit to themselves?" He glances at Luke, but the younger boy is just staring up at him with big blue eyes, pink lips dropped open in surprise. Calum sighs and glances back to the television, even though it's turned off. "Recent studies say no."

"What's that?" Luke asks. Calum glances back down at him in time to see Luke's eyebrows furrow in confusion. His nose scrunches up a little when he looks down at his lap.

"What's what?" Calum asks.

"Ashton said-" Luke starts and Calum feels like the breath has been punched out of him. He feels like screaming at Ashton for corrupting Luke, again. "Ashton said that he would edge him? What is that?"

"Uh," Calum glances towards the door to the kitchen, but Michael and Ashton are surprisingly quiet, for once. Calum hates them. "Um, it's when- like, when you get someone really close to an orgasm, but you don't let them come. I think you do it a few times before you actually let them come."

"Oh," Luke says abruptly, clasping his hands together, fingers tangled and knuckles white. Calum waits, but he doesn't start praying, just looks quietly down at his hands. After a couple seconds, he looks back up at Calum's mouth, avoiding his eyes. "We can do that."

It's such a Luke way of asking for something, it kind of startles a laugh out of Calum. Luke has a way of saying things so it sounds like he's demanding them politely. It makes Calum grin.

"Slow down, baby," he presses a kiss to Luke's forehead and hums. "Let's get you through more than two orgasms before we start taking them away from you."

Luke looks up with a pout at that, raising his eyebrows again and stating up at Calum with big eyes. "Soon though, right?"

Calum considers it, eventually nodding in agreement. "Yeah, Lukey, soon as I think you're ready."

Luke seems content with that answer, because he cuddles back into Calum's chest and sighs happily.

Unfortunately, Ashton and Michael find their way in after a while, while Ashton's wiping pink frosting from the corner of his mouth. Calum feels disgusted.

"Luke isn't eating any of your cupcakes," Calum warns.

Ashton looks genuinely hurt, so Michael wraps an arm around his waist and pulls him close. "Good, more for us."

"No offense," Calum adds. "Just- you know. You guys were fucking in there. And Michael had his fingers and probably his ass in the icing."

"He's got us there," Michael says with a nod. Ashton frowns though, face dropping and shoulders slumping. Calum feels a little bad, but mostly grossed out, still.

Luke seems to notice Ashton's disappointed expression, because he sits up abruptly, pushing away from Calum, and quietly says, "I'll have one, it's okay."

Ashton perks up significantly. "Really? We didn't fuck around until they were in the oven, so they're clean, I swear."

"Yeah," Luke nods. "I love cupcakes. My mom used to make them all the time, but- well, you know."

"That's okay," Ashton squirms out of Michael's grip and flops down on the couch next to Luke, pushing their thighs together and setting the back of his hand on Luke's knee. "I'll make you cupcakes, Luke. They have pink frosting, so you know they're as gay as you, and we're okay with that."

Luke hesitates, flicking his eyes between Michael and Calum, before linking his fingers with Ashton's. "Thank you."

((Happy holidays!!!

-Mel))