the loud knock on the door startled calum in his deep slumber. the boy was buried down in the middle of tangled sheets and a white duvet. the black hair on his head was tussled and he licked his plump lips as he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

he reached for his phone and saw that the time was 11:36 am, so maybe it wasn't so odd that someone was knocking on his apartment door.

there was yet another knock being heard, so the slim boy slid out of his bed, only wearing boxers, and made his way towards the door. 

with a yawn, calum opened the door and his heart started beating a little bit faster than before when placing his eyes on the pale beauty with those piercing green eyes and that colorful red hair.

"mikey?" calum said and rubbed his eyes to see if he was actually there.

"hi pretty boy" michael breathed out and calum noticed how he was panting.

"why are you panting?" he asked.

"because i ran" michael answered and the warm smile he sported never once left his dark pink lips. calum loved those lips.

"why?"

"because i wanted to come here as fast as possible" michael said and smiled towards calum. the darker boy saw the glimpse in those green eyes and he nodded.

"oh, okay" calum said and took michael's hand in his, starting to drag him over to his bedroom but the older boy stopped him.

"no no, not like that" michael said and he almost cooed at the sigh of the beautiful younger boy frowning in confusion.

"then what?" calum whispered out and michael smiled assuringly.

"come here," the red haired said and tugged at calum's hand to make the younger boy stumble into his chest.

calum's brown eyes were big and curious, confusion written all over them, but michael only smiled because the younger boy was just so amazingly beautiful.

"i didn't come here for some hopeless bang to then take off," michael explained.

"then what are you here for?" calum asked, his quiet voice slightly raspy as he had just woken up.

michael hummed at the beauty in front of him and placed his hands gently on calum's face. he brushed his fingers back and forth, feeling the younger boy's soft skin of his cheeks brush against his fingers.

"i came here to tell you that you're beautiful," michael started and calum's heart may have picked up its pace.

"i came here to tell you that you're the prettiest boy i have ever met. your beauty strikes me every time i look at you and sometimes i just have to stop and stare because; how can you be real?"

calum looked deeply into michael's dresden green eyes. he bit he inside of his lip to keep himself from smiling bashfully, while his cheeks were already coloring his tanned cheeks in a pretty rosy color.

"i came here to tell you that you mean the world to me. always have, always will. you make me lie awake late at night because all i think of is you. how your hands comb through my hair as you pretty lips work against mine, and how you always mumble nonsense before you wake up in the mornings.

"i think about how you always smile when i call you my baby boy," calum smiled, "and i think about how i can live without food, water, even god damn oxygen, because you're everything i need to stay alive. as long as you are by my side, i don't need anything else in this world"

michael spoke with such care and emotion, and calum looked at him like he was the finest diamond in the whole wide world.

michael leaned in closer to calum's face and breathed in his smell before brushing his thumb over calum's bottom lip. he placed his forehead against the younger one's and spoke gently again,

"i only need you, because i'm so trulyamazinglyunbelievably in love with you, calum hood. always have, always will"

calum was speechless as he held onto michael for dear life. he was afraid that everything that just happened would only be a dream and he'd suddenly wake up in his bed, cold and alone.

calum buried his nose into michael's neck and breathed in and out heavily, happy tears leaning over the edges of his eyes, and a glowing smile spread on his plump lips.

calum pulled away from the embrace to look into michael's pretty emerald eyes that he seemed to never get enough of. he let the tip of his pointer finger trace every feature on michael's face before leaning in and kissing him softly.

michael kissed back but stayed quiet, quite anxious for calum's answer. he had no need to be though, both boys loved each other more than they could ever imagine.

calum pulled away from the kiss after a while and watched michael's face as the pale boy had his eyes closed and his dark pink lips parted.

"it took you forever" calum breathed out and michael opened his eyes to look at the tanned boy with furrowed eyebrows.

"what?" michael whispered out, his voice so soft, calum thought that would probably be the sound cotton would make if it could speak.

"it took you years to say it out loud to me, but i don't care, because you finally did" calum spoke and the smile on his face almost made michael's knees go weak.

"i'm sorry i'm too thick headed, and i'm sorry i made you wait so long, but i have always loved you and i have grown so unbelievably used to that feeling, it's just something i can't live without anymore"

the sincerity and pure infatuation that was shown on michael's face was more than enough for calum to believe the pale boy for the rest of his life.

"i love you too. always have, always will" calum whispered out and michael noticeably relaxed, his whole body spreading light over the apartment as his happiness shone.

"fuck, i love you so much" michael said and hugged calum so tight, not even air could pass.

he picked the tanned boy up and calum wrapped his legs and arms around michael, giggling when the pale boy spun him around like a small ballerina.

michael whispered small 'i love you's after every soft kiss he placed on calum's neck and face. calum giggled softly into michael's neck, the tingly feeling of pure love was making every inch of his whole body smile.

"what made you come to terms?" calum whispered as he twirled his fingers into michael's colored hair.

michael chuckled and shook his head like what he was about to say was just unbelievably ridiculous. "luke did. luke is in love and he told me i am too, but i already knew that. i've always known that"

calum smiled and kissed michael sweetly before pulling away again. "so luke won't be alone now, right?" he asked. his blond friend meant the world to him and he'd never want luke to feel less important.

"no," michael said and shook his head, "he's so much in love with an amazing ashton, that i don't think he'll ever be alone"

"i'm happy for him," calum whispered and smiled as he put his forehead on michael's, "i'm happy for us too"

"i am as well," michael responded and was just about to lean in for yet another lip-lock but pulled away, "i almost forgot"

calum frowned as michael put him down on the floor. he watched the pale boy dig around in his back pocket until he grinned and pulled something out. his hand was covering it from anyone's sight and calum was confused.

"do you remember when we were 8 and i went to the arcade with you and your mother?" michael asked and calum slowly nodded his head.

"do you remember how i played that stupid game in the far back of the arcade because i really wanted that spider-man key ring?" calum nodded again.

"i spent all my last tokens on that game and i never got anything until the last time. i was so excited and you were grinning so big that i had won, but then when i saw the prize, i nearly cried"

"you won that ring" calum whispered and michael nodded, chuckling softly.

"i won that stupid silver and blue plastic ring and i was so mad, but your mom calmed me down and told me that i should take very good care of that ring. i should hold onto it my whole life and when i finally found someone i was sure i wanted to spend my future with, i should thread this ring on that very person's finger"

michael smiled at calum before opening his closed hand and calum smiled adoringly when seeing the small silver and blue plastic ring in the middle of michael's palm.

"i'd like to thread this ring onto your finger, because you are positively the one person i want to spend my whole future with" michael spoke softly and his lips had a beautiful smiled painted on them.

calum grinned, he may have looked like a mad man, but he didn't care, he just nodded excitedly and reached his hand out towards michael.

the pale beauty took it and thread the ring onto calum's little finger since the ring was too small to fit on any other finger.

calum didn't mind. it was original, it was cute, and it was so michael.

michael brought calum's hand up to his lips and placed a sweet kiss on the ring before pulling calum in for a sweet, gentle, soft, and beautiful kiss on the lips that screamed one thing and one thing only; true love.

- -

thanks for reading, ily :)

((if you're malum af, check out my malum story '1980s'))