seventeen
Rummaging through the spare bedroom's – now Milton's bedroom – wardrobe, Cal grumbles to himself as he pulls another clear plastic storage box from it's depths, roughly pushing it across the carpet out of the way as he continues to search within the dark space on his hands and knees.
Aldric, having heard the sounds of heavy items being dragged across the room, sends a confused look to the boy seated on the couch with his feet propped up on a pillow, and decides to go investigate.
"I'll be right back, sweetheart. I think I better check on the husband."
Milton nods, not really listening as he watches animated cartoons dance across the television screen.
The bright colours and squeaky voices both confusing him and drawing him in.
He knew it was supposed to be a kid's show, but he was far too curious about the adventures of the tiny dog to complain about Aldric's choice in tv.
Making sure Milton is okay, Aldric steps away from the lounge and to the spare bedroom. Popping his head around the doorway with an eyebrow raised in amusement.
Amongst the piles of blankets, spare pillows and a random blue suitcase, is his mate. Well, the jean-clad backside of his mate.
"What on earth are you looking for, my love?" Aldric chuckles, stepping into the room and taking a seat on Milton's bed.
Jumping, Cal's mop of curly blond hair pops up from the depths of the wardrobe, cheeks flushed red as he blinks at his husband.
"Oh, sorry. I didn't hear you come in."
Al shakes his head. "No need to say sorry, I just came in to check that you were okay. Milton and I were getting worried."
Milton wasn't worried. His cold had somewhat left him with blocked ears, the sounds Callum moving around hidden beneath the silly theme song playing on the television.
Callum frowns. "Is he okay?"
Sliding off the bed, Aldric pushes a plastic bin out of the way, shuffling on his knees until he's close enough to wrap his arms around his love and bring him into a tight squeeze.
"My love, he's perfectly content on the couch watching cartoons. I doubt the boy even knew they existed until today."
It made both their hearts ache to know in all his sixteen years of life, Milton had never really watched tv, but now that he's in their care, they would make sure he would get to experience all the things he's missed out on.
Callum huffs into his husband's t-shirt, taking in his earthy scent as he tilts his head to look up at the man. Even with both of them on their knees Callum was a bit shorter than his mate. Something he both adored and pouted about.
"So, what are you looking for?"
"My teaching stuff."
Aldric pressed a kiss to the soft curls on Callum's head. "Your teaching stuff?"
Cal hums in response. "I know I had some speech flashcards somewhere. They had pictures of how to move your mouth to make the correct sounds."
Aldric smiles sadly, tucking his love's face against his shirt to hide his pained expression. He loved that he was trying anything and everything to help Milton communicate, but he had a feeling the flashcards wouldn't help much. Milton's problems were more complicated then that.
Voice muffled, Cal pulls at his love's shirt, "I think I had some simple sign language guides too. I thought we could help Milton learn a few words. I know – I know he's been struggling without being able to talk."
Aldric sighs. "It's sweet for you to care so much, but... please remember that you alone can't fix everything."
His husband bites his lisp, fingers digging into the back of Aldric's shirt. The stab of pain at his words forces his own harsh words to the tip of his tongue, but he swallows them down just a quickly.
Aldric's right. There's no way he can miraculously fix the small human cosied up on their couch. Flash cards or not, it isn't that simple.
"I know," Cal whispers, nosing his love. "I just – I feel useless."
"Useless?"
Callum nods, releasing his husband to sit back on his haunches, his hands habitually twisting and pulling at his fingers. Aldric also sits back, resting an elbow on the nearby tub as he glances over his love with concern.
How could he feel useless? The man was up every morning tending to Milton, making him bottles and feeding him snacks. Even with Aldric helping, Cal is the one that carries the boy the most, holds him the most, presses kisses to his sweet brown hair the most.
"My love, what is it that's making you feel useless?"
Callum's lip wobbles. He didn't want to cry. Not over this.
"I can't – it's not," he gasps out a frustrated breath. "I don't know."
Silence envelopes the two, Callum's brows furrowed deeply as his eyes wander across the stacks of boxes. Aldric watches his mate with sad eyes of his own, taking in the bitter scent of sadness leeching from his skin and his unfocused eyes. He didn't want to push.
The fear that if he said too much too soon his love would snap and crumble into a thousand pieces, much like he did in the past.
He wasn't sure he could handle that again.
"Well," Aldric pats the top of the nearest box. "Need a hand looking for those flashcards?"
Cal nods with a quick calming breath, hair falling in his face as he grabs the nearest box and unclips the lid to gently toss it aside. Aldric does the same, eyebrows rising at the sight of glitter shakers, glue sticks and an assortment of other messy craft objects.
"Did you pack the whole art room in here?"
His love cracks a smile, albeit a small one, leaning forward to take a peek. "Glitter and six-year-olds don't really mix well. When I... left, Jen brought the box here. Said the kids had gotten their hands into it and she needed a place to hide them."
Al chuckles. "So, she brought it to our apartment?"
Cal shrugs. "I think she was worried the packhouse pups would find it if she stashed it in one of the main rooms."
A fair assumption to make considering the cheekiness of some of the young pups running around.
"I'll just go check on our boy and then we can keep looking together." Aldric stands from his spot, wriggling his toes in his socks as he quickly steps out and ventures to the lounge area.
Milton is fast asleep, head tilted off to the side at an uncomfortable angle, a tiny bubble of snot poking from his nose.
Grinning, Aldric very carefully moves him to lie on the couch properly, tucking a cushion under his head and a blanket over his small frame.
He places some of the other throw cushions on the floor in front of the couch, just in case the little human somehow manages to roll off onto the ground – not that Milton had the energy to be able to launch himself that far.
Brushing the messy brown hair from his sleeping face, Aldric makes his way back into the spare room, taking a breath before entering.
His love still sits on the floor, loose cream cardigan slipping from a shoulder as he goes through another box, pulling out a stack of cards.
"What's that?" Aldric says from the doorframe.
Cal hums, thumbing the cards with a sad smile. "Get well cards from the school."
His husband frowns as he lifts a hand to scratch at his crooked nose.
As if today wasn't hard enough. His mate is already teetering on the edge of bawling his eyes out or bursting at the seams. Revisiting the past..
. maybe it would have been better if he had pulled him away from the boxes rather than encourage him to look through them.
"I didn't know you'd kept them."
He steps further into the room, stepping over the growing piles of stuff to take a seat beside his love, gently pulling the man to sit back in between his legs.
"Of course I kept them." Cal whispers, tracing a crudely drawn stick figure with yellow hair.
Aldric leans down, pressing his nose to his love's neck, hands wrapping around his waist and sneaking beneath his t-shirt to brush against the soft skin of his stomach.
He didn't have the words. He'd never really been great at words, but the pain that his husband went through... what they both went through, made him wish he did.
Callum sinks into the hold, swallowing back the lump in his throat. He didn't want to cry today. It was a good day. Milton was happy, content even. The doctor was happy with the state of his small cold, and they'd had a wonderful experience at the centre with the wolves.
Yet he felt restless, like he was standing at the edge of a storm, watching the clouds roll in and waiting for the first crack of thunder.
"What can I do to help, my love?" Aldric hums against his shoulder, face still resting in the crook of his mate's neck where his sweet scent is strongest.
Every brush of his nose against the soft skin triggers his husband's scent glands, the tainted bitterness easing as Cal sinks even further into his arms with a barely concealed whine.
Aldric's arms wrap around him tighter, a hand leaving its place on Callum's stomach to gently pull the cards from his grasp and put them back in the box filled with workbooks and teaching texts before returning to the warmth of Cal's skin.
"Just hold me." Callum sighs, his own hands reaching to grasp onto his mate's, inadvertently hugging himself in the process.
A soft rumble vibrates through Aldric's chest as he does what he's told, placing a kiss to his little husband's cheek.
Milton wakes to the sound of dishes clattering in the kitchen followed by a quiet 'shit'. Blearily he opens his eyes, blinking slowly as the loungeroom takes a moment to come back into focus, his face squished into the pillow beneath his head.
Sitting up, he uses both arms to push himself up, wincing a little at the staring against his muscles, but still managing to get himself upright.
"Milton? Are you awake?"
The boy doesn't even have time to come up with some sort of response before Callum is in view, kneeling beside the couch with a smile.
The man's eyes look a little red around the edges making Milton frown, but it's quickly replaced by a smile when the man produces a little pinch of something gooey in his hand.
"Did you want to try some cookie dough?"
Milton nods, not really sure what exactly the stuff is, but the little bits of chocolate are enough for him to say yes, mouth opening wide. Callum laughs, gently popping it in and watching as pure delight brightens Milton's face.
He kind of chews at it, the soft texture melting in his mouth as he sucks at it with a happy hum.
"Al and I thought we could make you some cookies to try. We can dip them in milk to soften them when they're cooked."
Milton hums again, voice caught in his throat as he hesitantly reaches his arms up to the man, cheeks flushing pink as he asks to be picked up.
Callum smiles, eagerly taking Milton into his arms and carrying him to the kitchen where his husband is rolling cookie dough into little balls and placing them on a tray. He takes a seat at the kitchen bench, setting Milton on his lap and resting against his chest.
"I thought we were making them together." Aldric asks, smiling at the two.
Cal chuckles, drumming his fingers on the stone as he holds Milton securely. "Moral support counts as helping."
His husband scowls playfully. "I'll make sure to mention that next time you need help with the washing."
The two continue to banter, Milton watching the rhythmic motion of Al rolling dough in his large hands and placing them gently on the tray, lining them up in perfect rows.
Cal sneaks him a mouth full of raw dough every few minutes, Milton happily opening his mouth to be fed each mouth full as the men tease each other.
He doesn't really focus on their conversation as such, their voices becoming white noise as he contently sucks on the little chocolate chips in his mouth, their laughter making his little human heart flutter in joy.
Was this what it felt like to be part of a family? To feel included yet not have to actively participate in conversation?
Milton hums gently to himself in content, leaning back into Callum's chest as another little bite sized glob of dough is softly pressed against his lips.
He opens his mouth once again, smiling up at the man who does the same, pressing a sweet kiss to the top of his brow.
Surely, this is what family meant, 'cause Milton couldn't think of anything better than this.