Calum really liked watching Michael draw, it was one of the few times they'd left the house since arriving and they ended up at the park where Michael started drawing the squirrels.

His style was scratchy with several extra lines going off into no where but Calum kind of liked it, it seemed unique although he hadn't met very many people who drew for fun. He also liked the way Michael looked when he drew.

His eyebrows would furrow and his lip jutted out slightly in concentration, he would mutter quietly to keep up conversation but you could tell he was half assing each reply by the amount of words that left his mouth. He rarely looked up at Calum during the entire time, he'd pause a few times and stare off as he thought. Calum decided that Michael was probably looking at a squirrel he couldn't see.

Eventually Michael got fed up with sketching furry little creatures and the pair headed for a cafe that Calum favoured whenever he got a chance to be home, which wasn't as often as he'd like.

"We should go somewhere tonight," Michael mused, looking up past the buildings on either side of the street to the small bird drifting across the light grey sky.

"Can't." Calum sighed, breath coming out in a small puff against the chilling air. Michael glanced at him for a second before getting preoccupied by something off to his right. "I would, but I'm visiting my sister tonight."

Michael frowned a little, but he understood. It was hard not to, even for Michael who didn't have any siblings or close cousins. The conversation dissolved into a silence that got broke up by common background noises that were never really appreciated. Their footsteps were different, Michael's were displaced, he'd trip on the cracked sidewalk everyone and a while, it probably didn't help that he tended to drag his feet and kick loose stone around as he kept pace. Whereas Calum's footsteps sounded practiced, careful and confident, but they also sounded like Calum was ready, ready to take off running or maybe just spread his wings and fly. The image of Calum with iridescent wings sprouting from his back didn't seem unusual in the slightest to Michael in fact, it seemed like something he'd draw.

His thoughts were split though, he liked the sound of their steps together despite them being out of sync and without proper rhythm. But he also liked Calum's hands a lot, he realized. His long fingers matched his height and a speck of black caught his attention. Did he mention Calum's hands were warm? Much warmer than his own.

Maybe it was weird that Michael had grabbed Calum's hand as they walked through the crowded streets but he was mesmerized by the shape and the way his fingers tapped absently at Calum's thigh as he walked. It was this kind of stuff, this kind of detail that tended to catch Michael's eye.

Always the small things.

Calum didn't mind, he actually laced their fingers together and acted as if it was a regular occurrence. Michael was a little astonished at the gesture but didn't say anything in case it broke the spell.

They say at a small table near the window and we're still mulling over what to get when Michael received a text. He had a hard time wrestling his phone from his pocket with one hand but after a few sparse complaints, he read the screen and the corners of his mouth dragged down.

He let out a quiet hum and let his fingers escape Calum's, he stood and muttered about making a call when Calum began getting up.

"Hi, what can I get you today?" A polite lady asked, smiling down at Calum with her pencil poised. He looked at Michael, who'd taken up a seat on the bench across the street. The pale boy kicked the pavement underneath his feet as he listened to whatever the person was saying.

Calum looked back at the lady with a charming smile, he picked out what he'd be drinking but he really didn't know how Michael took his coffee, or if even even drank coffee. He settled on getting Michael some Red Rose brand tea--or as his mother liked to call it; the tea of amateurs--the kind of tea that people bought when they knew someone drank tea but didn't care enough to actually find the brand they liked. His father would buy Red Rose when he was asked to go out and get more tea.

Michael returned with an even bigger frown than what he left with and Calum decided that it was inappropriate to grab Michael's hand as soon as he sat down.

"Uh," Michael began, adding some milk to his newly arrived tea absently. He was quiet for a few seconds afterwords as if he wasn't quite sure how to word what he wanted to say.

He took a long drink of tea before sigh fell off his lips, he looked out the window for a few slow moments.

Suddenly a broad smile found its way to his lips and he raised his cup of tea into the air as if to propose a toast, "So my plane leaves tonight."

His cheery tone dissolved and Calum could tell Michael didn't feel like wording his disappointment at the sudden news, the words felt like weight on both of them. Calum didn't know what to say in reply so they sat in a stifling silence.