Petty and Proud  

Micah sat on Callum's kitchen counter, swinging his legs like a child while he tapped away on his phone. His damp curls had started to dry, fluffy and unruly, and the oversized sweatshirt Callum had lent him practically swallowed his frame. The sleeves hung past his hands, the hem resting against the tops of his borrowed shorts. 

And Callum couldn't stop staring. 

Micah caught him. 

Their eyes met for a brief moment, and then Micah blushed—actually blushed—and looked away, stuffing his free hand into the sleeve of the sweatshirt. Callum bit back a smile, feeling the warmth creeping into his own face. 

Fuck, he's adorable.

He forced himself to move, picking up Micah's wet clothes from the counter and heading toward the guest bathroom, where his washer and dryer were located. He barely used them—most of his laundry was handled by a cleaning service—but they worked well enough. 

As he measured out detergent, he heard Micah say, "I should call Damian." 

Callum's movements stilled. 

There was nothing wrong with Micah calling his boyfriend. It was expected. Normal. Callum shouldn't feel any type of way about it. 

And yet. 

"Are you going to tell him where you are?" he asked, keeping his voice carefully neutral. 

Micah hummed. "I tell Damian everything." 

Callum clenched his jaw. 

Of course you do. 

Micah was just that loyal. Always had been, in every lifetime. The difference was—back then, Ashur's loyalty had belonged to him. His secrets, his fears, the quiet, vulnerable parts of himself—Caelan had been the only one privy to them. 

Now, in this life, Damian had taken that place. Did Micah tell Damian everything about him, too? About the dreams? About the way his name slipped through Micah's subconscious like an old habit? Had Damian heard Micah whisper "Caelan" in the dark?

The thought made Callum grip the detergent bottle too tightly. His mind drifted. His name used to be the only one on Micah's lips. Once upon a time, the man standing before him had belonged only to him. If things had been different in this life—if it was him Micah had met first instead of Damian—would things still be this way? 

Would Micah still be his? 

A stupid thought. Selfish. Petty.

"Hey, babe," Micah was saying. 

Callum's shoulders tensed. His fingers flexed against the washer door, the plastic cool under his palms. He shouldn't be listening, but how could he not? The words slipped out of Micah so easily, like second nature, like muscle memory. Callum wanted to be the one on the receiving end of that kind of intimacy. 

"I'm not back home. I'm actually at Callum's place."

Callum couldn't help but hope Damian was seething at that. He wanted Damian to know that when Micah needed someone, he hadn't called his boyfriend. He hadn't asked Damian to book him a flight or wire him money. 

He had walked miles through the rain to Callum's house. 

That meant something, didn't it? 

The longer Micah talked, the more Callum noticed the shift in his voice—softer, warmer. Reserved for Damian. Callum hated it. Hated how natural it sounded, how Damian got that version of Micah when all he ever got was the push and pull of their past connection and the 'will they, won't they' of their recent one.

Yes, it was childish. Yes, it was stupid, but Callum wanted— needed—  Damian to know he was the one Micah had turned to.

Callum sighed, closing the detergent compartment with more force than necessary. He pressed start on the washer and was about to leave when— 

Two soft hands pressed into his back. 

"This is a robbery, y'see," Micah said in a fake, gruff voice. "Gimme your laptop." 

Micah's fingers pressed deeper into his skin, warm even through the fabric of his shirt. Callum's brain short-circuited. He could feel the heat of him, the playful press of his hands—was Micah always this touchy? He cleared his throat, forcing himself to focus on anything other than the way his heart was suddenly pounding like a teenager with a crush.

"My laptop?" Callum chuckled, leaning slightly into the touch before turning his head. "I don't have any Aphrodite x Male Player porn on there if that's what you're wondering." 

A loud smack landed on his back. "Noooo!" Micah groaned, his voice muffled in the sleeves of Callum's sweatshirt. "That's not what I'm asking for!" 

Callum turned, grinning at the sight of Micah's red face buried in fabric. "It's late, you should go to bed."

"I'm not tired," Micah pouted and buried his face further into the neckline of his sweatshirt.

Callum bit down on his lower lip. So cute. "Stil, you should sleep. Did Damian ask you to do something for him?"

Micah shook his head, "Nuh-uh."

"Because I'm not sure how I'd feel if you guys had cam sex with my laptop."

"Callum!" Micah squeaked.

Callum smirked. It was an unhinged thing to say but he knew he'd get a reaction out of Micah. And, seeing the young man so flustered, it was definitely worth it.

"All he told me was to stay safe," Micah clarified, pulling his sleeves away from his face as his blush subsided. "And that he has a present for me."

That part made Callum feel a little sour. Damian wasn't the only one who could get gifts for Micah. He just wasn't sure Micah would be comfortable with Callum showering him with gifts.

He bit back a sigh. Pesky, jealous thoughts.

"So, what do you want my laptop for?" He asked.

Micah peeked up, looking even more embarrassed. "The deadline for my game jam is kinda… today and I have a lot of debugging to do, so…" 

Callum gave him a look. 

Micah groaned again. "Don't look at me like that! I've been depressed! Productivity is merely an afterthought." 

Callum's smile faded slightly. 

Right. Micah was here because he wasn't okay. 

He didn't want to bring down the mood so he raised a brow, arms crossing. "Depressed, but still capable of robbing me, huh?" 

Micah scoffed, dramatically waving a hand. "Depressed people still need to commit crime, Callum. I had to keep myself occupied somehow." 

"Ah, of course." Callum smirked. "A noble cause. But you know you can use my PC. You probably saw it on your way out of my room." 

Micah wrinkled his nose. "Thanks, but it's kinda weird to debug my shitty game on a device that's more expensive than everything I own combined. What if I give it a virus?" 

Callum chuckled. "I believe there are anti-viruses for that." 

Another smack to his chest. 

Yeah, Callum really liked how touchy Micah was being. 

"You get the point!" Micah huffed. "Anyway, I'd prefer a laptop." 

Callum sighed, walking past Micah to get the device from his room. "Fine. But your game isn't shitty." 

Micah deadpanned, "You haven't seen it." 

Callum smirked. "So, let me see it." 

Micah's face did something unreadable. 

"I can help you debug it," Callum added. 

Micah hesitated. 

"I know you said it wouldn't feel like yours if you didn't do all the work yourself," Callum hurried to add, rubbing the back of his neck. "But technically, you're done. I'd just be… an editor." He grabbed his laptop from the shelf. "And a test player?" 

Micah's blush deepened. 

Callum knew Micah had already promised to let him play the game, but he still didn't want to push. 

Then, softly, Micah said, "Okay, Mr. Pierce." 

Callum sighed, feigning exasperation. "Reverting to old habits, Micah? We've been over this—it's just Callum." 

Micah smirked, and for a split second, he looked exactly like Ashur when he was up to something. 

"Well, Just Callum," he said, crossing his arms. "Less yapping, more coding." 

Callum pinched him. 

Micah squealed, bursting into laughter. 

Callum couldn't help but grin as he handed Micah the laptop. 

Micah took it, narrowing his eyes. "This thing better not be tracked by the FBI or something." 

Callum smirked. "If it is, you'd be the prime suspect now. We'd have to hack into a the government database and wipe your records." 

Micah sighed dramatically. "Oh great, so now I'm stealing and hacking. I really need to rethink my life choices." 

"It's a slippery slope," Callum agreed, watching as Micah powered on the device. "One day you're debugging games, the next you're an internationally wanted cybercriminal." 

Micah snorted. "Honestly? At this point, it'd be nice to be wanted for something other than being a tragedy magnet." 

Seeing Micah happy, seeing him laugh again; it made Callum's heart feel full. Knowing he was the reason why Micah was happy; his heart wanted to do a triple backflip out of his chest.

And he was going to make sure Micah stayed happy. Gently, so as not to startle him, he took Micah's hand. "You're wanted, Micah. I enjoy your company," Heavens above, was being sincere usually so embarrassing? "Uh… I'm glad you're here."

Micah's green eyes lit up like fire under the moonlight. Then they turned sly, cheeky. Then, without warning, he pinched Callum's shoulder.

"That was pay back!" He announced, scampering off in a trail of giggles.

"Brat," Callum ground out but he was smiling.

It wasn't fair. Micah Liu had to stop playing around him like this. If he became addicted to that laugh, Callum didn't know what he'd do.