#ballum headcanons

[ballumbois]

What if Ben and Cal are cuddling and watching a film together with subtitles on and Callum has the film on mute so that they can both sort of experience the film in the same way?

[goldenballum]

I'm really not over Callum signing I love you into Bens back so I decided to write more because why not

Callum didn't really think about it when he first signed I love you onto Bens back. He just needed him to know

But then Callum started doing it more often

It only started with I love you every so often

But then when they haven't seen each other all day, it's an 'I miss you' and Ben ilkng

Then it's an 'I want you' and Ben quickly dragging him to the bedroom, going as slow as they like

An 'stay' when Callum has a bad day and just wants Ben next to him

They'll be sat on the sofa, just cuddling, having time to themselves and callum will write 'tea?' Or 'something to eat?' On his back

One day Ben is home alone and Callum comes home to find Ben crying, breaking down again. Callum hugs him and signs 'are you okay' on his back just in case Ben wanted to talk about it. Ben says 'yes now that you're here' and they lay on the sofa for hours, Bens head on Callums chest, feeling the steady beat of Callums heart

When Bens in a mood, Callum tries to make him laugh, drawing a frowny fave when Bens back is turned so Ben can turn around and see Callums fake angry face. He draws funny pictures at any given moment just to see a smile on his face. Even if Ben can't guess some of them

And when they're sat there, in the quiet, after a long day at work, Callum signs 'chicken pasta?' Into Bens back and Ben just smiles back

[dingletragedy]

Care to share some Ballum first holiday headcanons😏

as soon as they step off that plane they become the most affectionate, loved-up, sickeningly romantic couple you’ll ever meet. they do all the typically, cheesy couple things you’re supposed to do on holiday - write their initials in loopy letters on the sand, by matching leather anklets, kiss each other stupid under the palm trees.

it’s only the first night when find themselves in a cocktail-induced state, which of course leads to some questionable drunken decisions. including callum all but throwing ben into the hotel pool in dead of night. and then stripping himself of his shirt before jumping in to join ben. they’d tried to drown each other a few times before things got inevitably heated. callum with Ben up against the side of the pool; lips to neck, the moon was casting a soft glow over them. callum had been babbling on about how though it was romantic, the way the moon had chosen this exact spot to shine on; as if they deserved all the light in the world. only his romantics were interrupted by someone on a balcony above; completely thrashing their moment by calling security on them. soon enough they were legging it from the pool in fits of giggles, half-naked and too worked-up to know what to do with themselves.

every evening without fail they go for a walk along the beach at sunset. sometimes they’re a few glasses of sangria deep and pushing each other in the sand, dipping their toes in the water, or doing things that are most likely deemed inappropriate. other times they’re drunk on something else entirely, love. and there’s tears in ben’s eyes as callum grips his hand tight, callum’s smile brighter than the sinking sun as ben squeezes right back.

callum finds his love for photography. he takes photos of literally everything, every meal, every sunset, every sunrise, and ben finds it stupidly endearing. well, that is until the camera gets pointed I’m his direction, which is about every ten minutes. in the first three days alone callum posts nine photos on instagram, four of ben, two of them together and three of the beach - each with a ridiculously cheesy caption. and if Ben screenshots each and every post, puts them in his folder named ‘C💙’ well nobody has to know, right?

one night they stay in, order pizza and drink a load of cheap wine. it’s ben’s favourite night. they laugh till their stomachs ache, taking it in turns to pronounce silly spanish sentence. they kiss until their lips numb, strawberry lace lips like honey bee stings. they embrace until there’s no beginning or end, sunset shaping their body as one. it’s just ben, callum, a minimal hotel room and a hundred possibilities deeper than the sea.

on their last day callum spends a whole 60 minutes in a tacky, little beach store choosing a gift to take home for lexi. by the times he’s down he’s brought magnets, toys, flip-flops, sweets and even a bat and ball (for when we take her to brighton for the weekend, of course). he comes out of the store with this massive bag, things from lola and jay too, even kathy, and ben just shakes his head because how the hell are we going to fit all if this in the suitcase, callum?

[adhdreid]

Can you please do the affair coming out/aftermath?

He doesn’t go through with the wedding. How can he, when every fiber of his being is screaming that it’s not right, that this life he’s made for himself is not the one he wants to live- especially not for the rest of his life.

Ben doesn’t speak to him for three days in the lead-up to the wedding. Whether it’s out of anger, or to protect himself from getting hurt, Callum isn’t sure. But if anything, it just solidifies his confidence in what he decides to do. He misses Ben more than anything, wants nothing more than to hold him in his arms. That aching in his chest is stronger than any feeling he has ever held for Whitney, if he’s honest.

She’s already in her wedding dress when he comes to speak to her. She yelps when he walks into the room, yelling for him to leave so he doesn’t see her before she walks down the aisle- but he stands his ground, sits her down so he can say his piece. He tells her that he loves her- really, he does. But that he also loves somebody else, and that there’s a whole side of him that he’s never allowed himself to explore. And that he can’t marry her, not only because he has feelings for Ben, but because he’s betrayed her- and she deserves somebody so much better. 

Whitney is angry, at first. She screams, sobs, slaps him across the face. Asks him how long this has been going on behind her back. Callum is patient with her, taking her anger and doing his best not to shout back. Holding her while she cries. They sit together for a long while, and Whitney goes from anger, to sadness, to a sniffling- but much calmer- acceptance. She isn’t okay with it, Callum can tell. He’s hurt her deeply, and it will take a long time for her to heal. But she understands, at least in some small way. 

He brings Tiffany to her, and confronts the wedding guests himself. He doesn’t bother with lies, he’s had too many of those in the past few months- so he tells them the truth. Not the whole truth, of course, because some of it just isn’t theirs to know. But he tells them that there isn’t going to be a wedding, and that he likes blokes, and if anyone has an issue with that they’re free to leave his life. He pretends to ignore Stuart as he walks out the door. 

There’s an empty chair beside Jay. Callum tries not to stare at it as he talks. There’s a knowing look in Jay’s eyes, though, and he finds comfort in it. 

Bianca is the first to accost him. She slaps him, too, and he can see just where Whitney gets it from. He stutters an apology, but she just hisses at him that she always knew Whitney deserved better, one long finger pointing at him, inches from his face. 

The next is Jay. He doesn’t say anything, just hugs him, which takes Callum by surprise. A pat on the back, and a smile, and he’s gone without a word.

One by one, guests approach him and either express their disdain for what he’s done to Whitney, or their sympathy for him. Mick and Linda tut and scold him, but there’s no malice behind it- just affection and sadness. Tina just smiles. 

It takes him twenty one hours to go find Ben. Not that he counts them. There’s anxiety rippling through him as he knocks on Ben’s door, his heart in his throat as he lays eyes on him for the first time since everything became public. 

But his anxiety is all for nothing, of course. Ben’s heard all about what happened at the wedding from Jay, had his phone blown up by Whitney and then an unknown number that he strongly suspected was Tiffany. The moment he sees Callum, after all the heartache he’d felt during the last few days of thinking he wasn’t going to call off the wedding- he’s bridging the gap between them and kissing Callum, who’s finally his alone.

send me ballum prompts and i’ll write some headcanons

[bisexualballum]

Manifesting the shit out of Callum being terrified while he confesses to Ben, babbling abt how sorry he is and how he totally understands if Ben wants to break up, telling Ben he should break up with Callum bc he deserves it, only for Ben to pull him in for a bone crushing hug and say "I'm so sorry you had to go through that"

[benhalfway]

cause the suns out... ben, callum and jay going on a lads holiday hc’s 💞

omg gemma STOP ur spoiling me !!! 💘

okay so lads holiday is somewhere pool side, like magaluf. jay pronounces it funny and gets teased for it the entire way there

it’s not a stag, but they do the Men T-Shirts (the ones with their nicknames on). except they don’t have nicknames so they read “ginger”, “halfway” and “bne” because jay hasn’t heard of proofreading. 

jay brown said third wheel rights and he LOVES IT. totally the kind of guy to be in the back of every. single. cute couples pic they try and take. for the whole week. because he’s “just so happy look at bens happy little FACE”.

feel like with their collective 5 braincells, 2 when they’re drunk, they badly fuck up the hotel bookings and end up in a room with 3 single beds. 

ben drunkenly trying to squish himself in alongside callum asif he fits in his single properly himself, let alone alongside another fully grown man.’

jay so drunk he doesn’t even make it to the bed, sleeps in the bath and then wonders why his back hurts. 

callum is the kind of boy to bring a book on every holiday he ever goes on. picture it. callum. a pool. a lilo. a cocktail with a bloody umbrella. a trashy novel. twilight… breaking dawn. ben and jay fighting over a pool noodle in the background. the world is as it should be.

ben burns like a peach (”thats not the saying, ben”) and its a two man mission to put on sun lotion and after care. jay holds him down and callum rubs it in. a noise complaint from the neighbouring holidayers. 

DRINK ! ALL ! DAY !

callum has a certain level of drunk in which he CRIES about how much he loves mick carter. will spend at least an hour telling random spanish waiters some of micks greatest moments. ben is amazed at the sheer depths his boyfriend goes to 

“no callum you cannot keep the random street cat. i don’t care if he’s so cute the answer’s no. we already have stuart that’s enough”

only in the airport home do they realise they haven’t got lexi a present. she gets a small cuddly dragon from duty free. point callum. 

also see : callum waking up in the middle of his quarantine with ben. no pool in sight. :(

[ballumsecretvalentine]

BALLUM HEADCANONS

some random ballum headcanons for the lovely @starsdah-b  

i hope you have a wonderful valentines whatever you do and i hope you enjoy these!

lots of love xo

since getting back together properly, the two somehow unconsciously agree that they need to find time to become comfortable as a couple again especially as everything has been so messy recently

this does not go to plan; the two can hardly keep their hands off each other and once back together, they just fit, like a key in a lock

the mitchell household is pretty quiet now; ben struggled to bring himself to stay there by himself. no sharon. no dennis. no phil. no louise. no baby peggy. he managed one night before he found himself standing outside callum’s flat in the middle of the night realising what an idiot he was.

callum couldn’t deny that when ben turned up at god knows what hour, but how could he say no? taking ben into his arms, he drags him into the bedroom and makes sure he has a good night’s sleep. ben stays there for a week before he goes back home

after their reunion, the two spend the whole weekend together, getting used to each other’s company again, just being in each other’s arms. complete bliss.

one of the main thing’s callum missed while being away and being apart from ben was lexi. of course Callum missed Ben, but lexi was just as important to him. yes, she could be a little madam at times and would ask for the most ludicrous things but one look at those puppy dog eyes and callum would melt.

lexi missed callum too, her daddy seemed just as happy when he was with callum when he was with her. selfishly, this also meant that her daddy was more likely to say yes to certain things and she really likes callum and sometimes wishes her daddy would share him a bit more.

sometimes callum will catch ben staring across the room, he’ll have this little glimmer in his eye, or his eyes will lock onto to callum and suddenly that hard shell completely disappears, and he becomes so soft, so vulnerable. that’s the ben he fell in love with.

callum hasn’t said ‘I love you’ again, it’s like he’s afraid ben will run again. they’ll be at the flat – eating dinner, watching a film, just being together and callum will go to say it, blurt it out and has to stop himself. he wishes he didn’t.

it’s a few days after their reunion, callum came round just to drop something off but kathy had persuaded him to stay for dinner (missing callum just as much as everyone else), a few hours later and callum is still playing with lexi when ben finally admits to himself. he loves callum. he’s in love with him. and he couldn’t care less if he never felt anything again.

whenever he can, callum will do his best to visit ben at work. he knows how terrible ben is at eating enough when he’s working. He makes sure that when ben’s staying with him for a few nights, to make a packed lunch, even though ben manages to forget it every single time which gives callum an excuse to go and see him (not that he needs an excuse)

their first ‘proper’ date after getting back together isn’t any that special, callum suggested cooking for ben (chicken pasta, anyone?) but ben insists he wants to do something for callum

the only problem is that ben doesn’t want to just do anything. callum is special, someone ben couldn’t imagine his life without, and he deserves more than ben can give

flowers, gifts, cards, chocolates, a fancy dinner, weekend away – ben racks his brain trying to decide what to do, almost everything doesn’t seem good enough. but then he sees callum in the café, being perfect all on his own and realises he doesn’t need all that fancy shit. all the two need is each other (no matter how cheesy that sounds) and he ends up cooking callum a small and simple dinner, just the two of them, how it should be

ben has been wearing his glasses a lot more recently, especially after callum mentioned how much he liked him in glasses. It goes unnoticed for a little while, much to ben’s annoyance. but as soon as callum does notice it, and realise ben only started wearing them again because of callum, he couldn’t hide his happiness.

although callum seems the most in love and romantic between the two, ben is proper soppy about callum; something that recently he’d been trying to learn to love

he started to actually make breakfast for once, left these sweet notes around the flat and even bought callum flowers (he managed to buy callum’sfavourites, something ben was very proud of)

this sudden surge of romantic gestures makes callum think ben’s up to something (probably not good and very illegal) but when he asks, ben just smiles, gives him a quick peck on the cheek and tells him its what callum deserves

when lexi decides she must have a pet, callum is only too quick to agree that every little girl deserves one (especially as ben already said no to a pony) and much to ben’s annoyance, callum decides he’ll take lexi to one of the animal shelters to pick out a perfect pooch.

she chooses a little yorkshire terrier, who’s a little on the slim side and calls it poppy. ben’s still in a sulk when callum brings home lexi and poppy and is seemingly trying to ignore the trio

this plan fails miserably when lexi comes blundering in, poppy in her arms and running up to show her daddy the best present she’s ever been given and telling him how happy she is

callum comes in after, to see ben playing with lexi and poppy, knowing he did the right thing and wondering how he could have ever been unhappy

ben is constantly second guessing his worth, but this is something both he and callum are trying to get him to overcome. callum always making sure to tell ben how special he is, how he is good enough, how much he and everyone around them treasures ben, how important ben is to lexi

ben doesn’t want it to all be on callum though; he does his best to listen and to try to value himself, even after everything he’s done

there are times when callum still feels like he’s struggling. a quick memory, a flicker of lights, the hustle and bustle of the street, being constantly tired. at first, he just brushes it off, like has always has. he always thought he could handle it. but it had been getting worse, he feels like he can’t breathe most days and that’s when ben started to notice

this is when callum sits ben down and talks to him about the army and what happened to him and how he feels now, he does it properly, not leaving any detail out. its complete agony, but then it’s done and ben’s holding him, giving him light and soft kisses, telling callum that it’ll all be alright and he finally feels relief

[ballumfresh]

Poorly Ben and concerned & caring Callum looking after him headcannons please

Ben absolutely refuses to admit he’s sick, it doesn't matter if he’s hanging over the toilet retching If Callum tries to say he’s not well Ben will throw fucking hands over it.

“I’ve never felt better babe. I’m fine. Just a cold innit.”

As such whenever Ben is poorly Callum has to take care of him without actually making it seem like he’s taking care of him. It’s utterly ridiculous. 

Ben has a cold and Callum offers him honey and lemon? GOd no! Ben will sooner pour it down the sink than even sniff it “I’m not Sick Cal, stop mothering me”

Callum makes himself a cup of honey and lemon for his own nonexistent cold and offers it to Ben because he got the level of honey to lemon wrong and it’s too sweet for him? of course Ben will drink it, he’s just doing Callum a favour so he doesn’t waste a perfectly good drink.

Honestly, Callum prefers Lexi being sick because at least he doesn’t have to trick her into doing things that will make her feel better. He’s a step off covering a day and night nurse capsule in peanut butter and giving it to Ben like he’s a dog he’s trying to give meds rather than his fully grown adult boyfriend.

Ben knows he’s ridiculous but he just doesn’t like to admit he’s sick, and admitting that he’s being a child about being sick is even worse so even though he knows that Callum suggesting they take a bath together, or have a lay-in, is just his way of tricking him into combating whatever illness he’s got he won’t mention it.

Callum will check his temperature with lingering kisses to Bens forehead and claim he’s cold even when he’s sweating through the 2 blankets thrown over them because Ben’s still shivering.

He’ll lure Ben into taking naps, something that really isn’t that difficult when all Callum has to do is sit on the sofa and pat his side and Ben will be there, like a cat coming for a cuddle, head pillowed on his thigh or shoulder practically purring as Callum runs fingers through his hair. Sometimes Ben will murmur out soft thank yous before he falls asleep that let Callum know Ben is fully aware that Callum didn’t just fancy soup for lunch and is actively trying to take care of him without making it seem like that.

just!! all the cuddles, Ben is tactile when he’s feeling well, if Callums managed to trick him to staying in when he’s sick then he’ll spend the entire time wrapped around Callum, using him as a hot water bottle.

[yorit1]

Ben crashing Callum's date

Ben is sitting at the bar at the Prince Albert. He is talking to his mum, she is trying to cheer him up since Ben has been down the last few days. Callum is sitting a few tables away talking to a mate. He also seems a little sad but Ben doesn't want to approach him. Callum deserves better than him, what happened yesterday proved it more than ever. It was a fact that Callum was too good for Ben. Even though it was for the best it still hurt so much. Suddenly this person walks up to Callum and calls him by his name, it's clear that he is here for a date with Callum. by the look on Callum’s face, it was probably his brother that set him up. 

Ben walks over closer to listen to what they are saying. 

“It looks like you aren't over your ex.” The guy said. Callum was quiet he looked sad and thoughtful at the same time. 

Ben thought it was the perfect time to pull up a chair and sit down at the table with them. 

“Who are you?” the date asked.

“The ex,” Ben said in a firm tone. The guy looked like he was intimidated by him.

“Ben what are you doing, we are broken up,” Callum said brokenly.

“You think that him here ill make you happy. You deserve better than him. you can do better than that there.”

“I was just sitting here when he came over. you broke up with me so I can date who I like and say if I want to date him or not. even if I don't want to it is my choice.” Callum said. “Sorry, I'm not in the space to be dating now.” He said to his date. 

“That's okay I'll leave you twos to it.” The guy said and hightailed it out of here. 

“Ben you have to figure out what you want. You brake up with me. then we have sex, you tell me someones dead, accuse me of grassing. Now you once again just crash a meeting I have. I told you I love you but I don't know what you want from me right now. I need some space. Please let me think.” Callum said and then left the bar.  

Ben looked as Callum left and started to think about why everything always goes badly in his life. He was hoping that One day he can sort things out with Callum. 

[sunsetsover]

Thoughts on Callum slowly discovering the freedom of being able to initiate physical contact with Ben (in private initially) and the comfort he finds in it? Like coming home and finding Ben there, lying on the couch and he realises he can just lie down, with his head on Ben's chest, if he wants.

please this is so sweet to even think about i’m so soft….. i could probably ramble abt this forever but let me try and be coherent 

callum is very tactile. it’s something he’s always kind of known about himself, despite never really being in a place where he experienced much physical affection - not at home, not at school, certainly not in the army. he hadn’t even really had a proper relationship before whitney, so by the time he’d met her he felt kind of awkward about the whole thing. he didn’t really know how to touch anyone, especially not a woman. he didn’t know how to be touched.

and yes, him and whitney were physically affectionate, and it was nice. but it also always felt a little bit off, somehow. like a picture on a wall that’s not quite hung straight. a shirt that doesn’t quite fit you properly.

so by the time ben comes along, callum is massively, massively touch starved - and he doesn’t even realize it, is the thing, because he has whitney. because she gives him everything he needs. or at least that’s what he’s convinced himself.

but then ben touched him that night in the park - and it was barely even a touch, truth be told - but it was enough to have every wall callum had ever built around That part of him turn to sand, rendering them completely useless. it was enough to have him craving. to have him suddenly realizing what it is that he’s been missing.

and there was a long and messy road between then and now - now, where they’ve been dating for a few months, where everything is good and steady between them, where every touch still sets callum’s skin alight.

but the thing is, callum can tell ben is holding back - not because he wants to, but for callum’s benefit. he’s said all along that it’s up to him to dictate the pace of their relationship, including the physical aspects of it. which is something callum has been incredibly thankful for, but…. he’s starting to feel antsy now. because ben touches him (when they’re alone and in private, because callum still isn’t ready for PDA yet) but it’s almost always light and fleeting and cautious - like he’s trying not to overwhelm callum. which was nice at first, but now it’s starting to drive him mad.

and callum isn’t exactly sure what to do about it. it’s not like he can sit ben down and go ‘i really appreciate you being considerate, but i’d really like it if you could stop tiptoeing around me now’, is it? (i mean he could, but as if he ever would lmao)

so he thinks about it. he thinks about it a lot. and then he comes to the realization that he doesn’t necessarily need to wait for ben to be the one to initiate it. he can initiate it himself. he can touch ben, if he wants to. he can touch his boyfriend; can hold his hand and stroke his hair and pull him into a hug just because.

problem is, that’s a lot easier said than done.

for a little while, callum just kind of hopes that ben will just Know somehow. that he’ll figure it out. which ofc is silly and unrealistic and callum quickly realizes once again that if he wants anything to change between them, he’s going to have to take matters into his own hands (literally)

and he overthinks it at first and tries to like… plan it out. as though that’s how it works. as if holding your boyfriend’s hand is something you plan out ahead of time.

but eventually he manages to scrape together enough courage to just kinda…. stroke the tips of his fingers along the back of ben’s hand one day when they’re sat together at home. thankfully ben cottons on pretty quickly and turns his hand over, but he doesn’t do anything more than that - just holding out his hand for callum to take, if he wants to. it’s on him, still. so callum presses their palms together and links their fingers and ben smiles at him and pulls their joined hands into his lap. he doesn’t make a big deal out of it. callum’s glad.

after that, callum is a little emboldened. it’s still hard for him, but he starts taking ben’s hand without asking for permission, or running his hands through ben’s hair as he listens to him talk, or putting his arm around ben’s shoulders while they’re sat together on the couch. 

(which is something that ben particularly likes, because he kinda likes feeling small next to callum (though he’d die before he’d ever admit it), and after it has become almost a habit for them, ben starts leaning back into him, yknow? allowing himself to be held. and one night in particular callum does it and ben kinda half turns and presses his back into callum’s chest. by the end of the evening they’re full on cuddling, ben in between callum’s legs with his arms wrapped around his waist, and it’s so warm and safe and callum has never get more content in his life. the solid feeling of ben’s masculine body pressed against him - holding him - fills him with something he’s never experienced before in his life; something he can’t quite put words to, but it’s good, whatever it is.)

it gets easier after that. ben seems to realize, too, that callum isn’t gonna spook every time he tries to touch him, so he stops holding himself back as much - he’s mindful still, but he also stops tiptoeing around callum so much, which is exactly what he had wanted (and it turns out he is just as touchy as callum is lmao). and it makes callum feel better u know! more confident! knowing he’s not alone in this. knowing ben wants to touch him just as much.

and it’s when he sees ben lying on the couch, fiddling with the tv remote that he gets hit with this overwhelming surge of just… happiness. knowing he can go over and touch ben if he wants to. that he doesn’t have to hide it anymore, he doesn’t have to bury it, pretend he doesn’t want it.

so that’s exactly what he does - walks over to the couch and lays himself down on top of ben, presses his ear into his chest and listens to his heart beating. one of ben’s hands comes to settle between his shoulder blades, thumb absentmindedly rubbing at his skin through his shirt as he continues looking for something to watch. once he’s found something that satisfies him, ben drops the remote and brings his other arm around callum, presses a kiss to the top of his head, shifts callum’s weight between his hips slightly and settles in.

callum has to close his eyes for a moment and take a breath just so he can take it all in. thanks his lucky stars that he has this, because he never thought he would. he never thought he’d get here. and he’s so fucking glad he is.

💞💞💞

[ballumbois]

oh my goodness this is adorable!

thank you so much for blessing me with this wonderful piece of writing xxxx

What if Ben and Cal are cuddling and watching a film together with subtitles on and Callum has the film on mute so that they can both sort of experience the film in the same way?

[goldenballum]

Headcanons for Lexi forgetting that Callum has sore/broken ribs from the his kidnapping.

This is a mess but it is what it is

It wasn’t anyone's fault, its just that Callum hadn't healed fully yet. Its only been a week so he was still sore

Ben forgets all the time and every time Callum winces, you see the guilt straight away and Callum just wants to take it away straight away

And now living at the Mitchell's with Lexi around, he does get more bumps to his ribs, but he doesn't mind

Lexi always runs up to his to say 'hi' when he comes home, whether its with Ben or just by himself. She runs at force and he winces, but she says sorry straight away and honestly he could never be mad at her

They'll be at the park, throwing a frisbee and Lexi accidentally hits Callum in the ribs. She's defiantly Ben's daughter as she comes running up saying 'sorry, sorry sorry' but again, he couldn't stay mad at her

Callum will be watching tv and both Ben comes curling into Callum's side, just wanting some closeness and Lexi comes up and jumps inbetween them, just catching his ribs. 'Lexi what have I told you about Callum's ribs, be careful' 'Ben its alright, they dont hurt that much, plus she just wants to cuddle her dad'

'And you Callum, daddy always says cuddles makes you feel better so I'm trying to make you both feel better'

Callum thinks he could get us to the domestic family life as long as he has Ben and Lexi by his side

[dingletragedy]

Please do head canons with ballum and Lexi interactions!!

i absolutely can!!! this was so fun to do, and now i’m really soft go this little trio

lexi is a literal ray of sunshine, an angel, anyone who’s met her will tell you that. but the forst time ben introduces callum to her as his boyfriend it’s a different story. she closes off from him, and he really tries, asks her about all the things he’s heard kids like these days and even offers her a bag of sweets but still, nothing. it’s only when ben’s in the kitchen that she talks to him, and says exactly what callum wasn’t expecting. “i don’t want you to hurt my daddy. everybody hurts him and he gets sad sometimes. i don’t like it when daddy is sad.”

after callum has reassured her that he definitely will not hurt her daddy, she throws her arms around him, and they’re best friends all of a sudden.

when ben and callum go for a romantic weekend away callum insists that they buy lexi a present. ben argues that she has enough crap at home but callum can’t resists buying her the cutest little giraffe. he’d obviously been listening to her bang on about her school trip to the zoo, where she saw the giraffes and just couldn’t believe they were real. it means the world to ben that callum cares about his daughter enough to know what her favourite animals is.

lexi cries when they arrive home with the present in tow, and she never ever lets go of that thing. not until she’s at least 12. it’s her special teddy.

no one knows it, it’s a talent he’s kept hidden for years, but callum can draw. like really, really draw. and paint. all of it. ben only learns this when he comes home from work to see callum and lexi painting in the living room - she’s telling him what to draw and then filling in the lines with the brightest of colours. she pushes ben out of the room, tells him it’s a surprise and he hasn’t to go away for another 20 minutes. he returns to a very pleased looking callum and ben and the most beautiful drawing of the three of them. (oh, and the giraffe).

lexi comes home from school one friday with something in her bag. something she won’t let either of the boys see and makes grandma kathy hide it for her. they finally get to see what it is on sunday. father’s day. she’d made a card at school. it’s not unusual for ben, he’s had what feels like hundreds of handmade cards over the years. but this one, it’s different. it’s not only wishing her daddy a happy father’s day, but her “two daddies.” and that’s the first time ben sees callum cry over a children’s handmade card.

lexi demands that both ben and callum read her a bedtime story at night, together. she gets bored of reading the books they’ve brought her in no time, instead asking them to make stories up. and they absolutely have to do funny voices. it’s ben’s favourite time of day, him and callum sat by lexis bed and callum does an impression of a princess and lexi giggles her head off.

one time they tell her the story of them, just slightly more child friendly than the reality. callum’s got tears in his eyes by the time they’ve done, and lexi to. and then as her eyes are fluttering shut, she whispers: “they must have really really been in love.”

[adhdreid]

Ben comforting Callum when he is very sensitive and emotional.

i love these boys with all of my heart 

Callum is a massive softie. He always has been, and as far as he intends his life to go, he always will be. Things get to him easily, and all too often he finds himself aching over one thing or another. 

The first time he gets upset like that around Ben, it’s almost trivial. They’re watching TV together, collapsed into the sofa cushions, when a Dogs Trust advert comes onscreen. Callum has to bite his lip to stop himself from bursting into tears- but it doesn’t work, and he soon finds himself crying at the sight of the abandoned and dogs neglected animals on the TV. 

It doesn’t even take until the tears for Ben to notice. The moment the advert starts, he feels Callum tense up beside him, feels him shake slightly before he begins to cry. He chuckles, poking Callum in the side in teasing- “it aint even real, you wally,”- but he pulls him closer all the same, fingers stroking up and down his back to calm him down.

But sometimes, things are a little more serious than that. Even though he’d only been a chef, Callum had seen some awful things during his time in the Army. Emaciated civilians, horrifically wounded soldiers, the group of men and women he fed every day growing smaller. And some days the memories got too much for him- he’d hide from the world, want to spend the day under his duvet and not talk to anybody. 

Everybody else had always left him to it, maybe tell him to “see how you feel later” before leaving him in the dark, alone.

Not Ben, though. Admittedly he gets it wrong at first, gets angry and tries to yell at Callum to get him up. It doesn’t work- Callum merely mumbles at him to leave him alone, and rolls away from him. It’s only when he storms downstairs and speaks to his mum about the situation that he realises that Callum needs help, not scolding.  

So he comes back upstairs with a mug of hot chocolate, sits on the edge of the bed beside Callum, and strokes his hair. Speaks in a soft tone, tries to coax any sort of response out of him. Callum rolls back over to face him, and Ben can���t help but beam at the first sign of progress.

It takes a while for him to ease Callum into telling him what’s going on. He gets him to sit up, eventually, and sip at the hot chocolate that’s now more lukewarm than anything. They sit together, Callum in Ben’s arms, and talk about everything that’s bothering him that morning. 

Callum won’t be leaving bed today, and Ben can’t fix his problems. But that’s okay. Even if won’t solve everything going on in his head, it feels good to talk about it. Maybe next time, he’ll make it to the sofa.

send me some ballum prompts, and i’ll write some headcanons!

[bisexualballum]

Callum has literally so much potential sl wise jfc

His mum is absent

She could come back and try to start a relationship w/ Callum and Stuart

She could die and someone from her new life could contact Callum/Stuart

She might be a police officer now (or whatever profession Callum ends up in, bc police is starting to look unlikely lmao) and Callum could meet her through that but not realise until Stuart tells him

If she had kids after leaving Jonno they might to Walford and become friends w/ Callum before realising they share a mother (e.g. she could visit and then hear his last name or see Stuart and realises, keeps it a secret, it's a big drama, other ppl find out, etc. etc.

He was in the army

PTSD SL FFS

His army friends move to Walford and think that he's changed and are cunts abt it

They move to Walford and Callum pretends to be the way he used to be around them because he's scared of them thinking he's changed, which could upset Ben, Jay, Stuart, Mick, etc. Maybe he even hides his relationship w/ Ben from them, which would cause Ballum drama

His leg injury might flare up again after doing something to it, and maybe would need physio or even an operation

He does something heroic like saving someone from being hit by a car or something and brushes off praise saying he's not really a hero

He was fucking kidnapped!!

P T D S S L F F S

He becomes uneasy around the Taylors because they remind him of Keanu, maybe he has an outburst and that unease get exposed to them and so they get mad, tiff gets mad, whit gets mad, it's a mess, etc. etc. (this ones not that likely, Callum's way too forgiving to blame Keanu's family, but it is ee so nothing's out with the realm of possibility skfnsnsns)

Whitney's maybe kidnapping by Leo's mum does a number on him and brings back bad memories, and Ben gives him support/comfort

His dad was abusive

Phil/Ben does something that reminds Callum of his dad and he has a breakdown/panic attack and has a conversation w/ Ben about it, and they bond over having shitty dads again but this time more deeply

He and Ben discuss having kids and Callum is uneasy about it because he's afraid of being a bad dad like his own

Callum jokingly/offhandedly mentions something terrible about his childhood to Ben, Jay, and Lola that he doesnt realise is terrible, prompting a discussion

^all three would hopefully result in therapy of some kind lmao

Anyways ee should hire me as a writer djsjdjsjs jk

Theres prolly a ton more that I've missed so please add whatever you can think of!

[lightninghitsground]

I really want some sort of drunk evening where Jay tries to teach Callum how to wink properly, and Ben walks in on them and is all ‘No, no you don’t... leave the blink wink alone... it’s cute’