#callum and rory are soulmates

[whump-it]

@pepperonyscience look! It's the giant seat pad that Rory bought for Callum to use in his study at home. Except he loves it so much that he took it to work and it's now in his office at the hospital.

[whump-it]

I'm not crying! You're crying!!!

Oh I love this. I love this beyond all reason. That chapter is also one of my favourites. This is Callum and Rory in their forties. They're greying at the temples. They're carrying the weight of their pasts but they're carrying it together and it's in such capable hands.

Look at them! Look how strong and beautiful they are. Look how comfortable they are. Yes Callum's tired. Yes Rory is stressed out. But they're not afraid of making mistakes with one another. Not at all.

Morning Boa? If you're reading this, I need you to know how much this drawing means to me!!!

Platovember Day 8: Trust

Today features one of my favorite moments ever from one of my favorite pieces ever. Enter: @whump-it‘s Callum and Rory. Platovember would never be complete without these two. The scene comes from this chapter and I picked it specifically for today because everything here completely embodies what I see in the trust and bond between Callum and Rory.

[whump-tr0pes]

Honor Bound/The Collection Box AU collab - part 1

Omg folks, @whump-it is letting me use her darling boy Callum for this AU. We had this idea to make a short collab featuring Isaac, Sam, and Callum as an adult. If you haven’t read her Collection Box series, it’s a box boy AU where people can donate themselves to an Appointed Person where they can then be Selected by anyone who wants them. Anyone. You have no more rights, no protection, no documentation. 

Callum donated himself when he was around 20. He was selected by some dick who made Callum call him Master Hayden, and then proceeded to torture him for 3 years before Rory (Callum’s Appointed Person and soulmate) was finally able to get him back. Years later Callum is a doctor, and uses his training and authority to help other Donations.

In this universe, Sam themself is a Donation. Isaac (and Vera, mentioned) are a duo that goes around saving Donations from abusive Selectors. It just so happens that Sam may not have been of age when they Donated themself... or were Donated by someone else. Now they’re injured, confused, and just want to be back with their Selector... or they might pay the price. 

Cw: underage whump (not shown, but talked about and aftermath shown)

~

Isaac panted as he carried the young kid through the emergency room doors. Kid. They had to be eighteen at the most. And from the marks on their body, Isaac could tell the kid had been in that basement for a long time.

Years. This could have been years, and we failed to save them.

The kid whimpered softly and pulled away from Isaac’s grip. “Please,” they whispered. “N-no…”

“Shh,” Isaac murmured to them as he carried them to the front desk. The nurse’s eyes went wide and he shot up out of his chair when he saw the kid lying limp in Isaac’s arms. A moment later, the nurse’s eyes narrowed. His mouth pressed into a thin line.

“We don’t treat Donations here,” the nurse said with a hint of disgust in his voice. His nose wrinkled at the smell that permeated the kid’s clothes, the smell of sickness and damp and blood.

Isaac’s lip curled. “They’re not a, a fucking, Donation,” he hissed. “Do they look like they’re of age? Do they look like they’re old enough to donate?”

The nurse glanced at the kid, his eyes lingering for a moment longer on the marks on their throat, their arm held tight against their chest, twisted at an unnatural angle. The tears and grime that stained their face and matted their hair. The way they cried piteously for their Selector.

“Please,” the kid sobbed. “Please, please, take me back. He’ll… please take me back, I can’t be gone for this long. He… he’s going to, to punish me, and I can’t, I can’t, I c-can’t… please…”

Isaac’s arms ached from holding the kid. Vera was still in the car in the parking lot, keeping it running. Keeping an eye out. Ready to drive away without Isaac if the Programme showed up. That was the risk he was willing to take, if it meant this fucking kid got the care they needed to survive.

“We can’t treat them,” the nurse said, his voice shaking. He held out his hands, half-beseeching, half-guiding Isaac towards the doors. “I’m sorry. You’ll just have to—”

“Is Dr. Callum here today?” Isaac gasped, leaning in closer. “Please. Is he here? We were told that… um…” He pulled the kid close against his chest as they writhed in his grip, mewling softly. “Hey, shh, you’re alright,” he soothed. He turned back to the nurse. “Please. Please. We were told he treats, um, victims of the Programme. Please. This kid is gonna die without medical attention and I know we won’t get it anywhere else…”

The nurse sniffed. “Dr. Callum is off today,” he said unsteadily. He gestured towards the door with a glare at the kid in Isaac’s arms.

“No, please,” Isaac whimpered. “Look at them. Look. They’re not old enough to donate. This was… this was torture, of a kid. Can’t you see that? Can’t you just…? Please…?”

The nurse slowly shook his head and set his jaw. “Sorry,” he said through his teeth. “I can’t. I—”

“Brian?” came a voice to Isaac’s right. Isaac’s head snapped up. The voice belonged to a tall man in green scrubs and curly, almost-gold hair that he had combed away from his face. He approached Isaac with his hands out, his eyes fixed on the kid. “What’s this?”

“D-Doctor—” The nurse cut himself off and pressed his lips together. “Um. Doctor. I, um… t-told him we couldn’t—”

“Please,” Isaac whimpered, on the edge of desperation. “Please, are you… are you Dr. Callum? Please, I… they…” Isaac lifted the kid in his arms, and they cried out raggedly. “Please. We… we just dragged them out of a fucking basement. They’re not a Donation. They’re too fucking young. They—”

“Brian,” the doctor interrupted. “Take room three off the board and open up a chart.”

The nurse ducked his head and shot the kid a look of disgust. “Yes, sir,” the nurse muttered.

The doctor guided Isaac back through the doors of the emergency room and turned a corner. “In here,” the doctor said softly.

Isaac laid the kid down as gently as he could on the hospital bed. They wailed and clutched at his shirt.

“Please!” they screamed. “Please take me back! If I’m gone and he finds out he’ll… please, please, I have to be good, I have to be good!”

The doctor took a step back, his eyes sliding shut for a moment. He dragged his hand through his hair, rubbing at a spot on the right side of his head. He drew in a deep breath and blew it out. He pulled the curtain shut and got to work.

“Are you Dr. Callum?” Isaac asked desperately. “We were told to ask for you. That you… um…” Isaac trailed off as the doctor stepped close to him and Isaac noticed a ring of scars around the doctor’s neck. Exactly like the ones the kid had. “Oh,” he said softly.

“Yes,” the doctor said steadily, his voice deep and even. His eyes wrinkled at the corners, and they carried a piercing heaviness that made Isaac feel completely exposed. Isaac shifted uncomfortably. “I’m Dr. Callum,” the doctor said. “You heard right, I do treat Programme victims here.”

“So you’ll—”

“Yes.” Dr. Callum quickly stripped the kid of their clothes. Isaac turned away at the sight of the bruises that littered their chest and abdomen.

“Oh, god,” Isaac whimpered. He leaned against the cabinet, feeling sick.

“Is their, umm, S-Selector still alive?” Dr. Callum said.

Isaac noticed the doctor’s hands shaking. Then he noticed the twin scars on the backs of the doctor’s hands, and shuddered. “Y-yes,” he said with a shiver. I couldn’t get to him fast enough, and the fucker got away.

“I’ll need the address,” Dr. Callum said, his voice stronger as he covered the kid with a blanket.

Isaac’s brow furrowed. “Why?”

“Because,” Dr. Callum said heavily. “I have a friend to whom I need to make a call.”

~

just ask to be tagged! this won’t be a long one, but it’ll be fun! 

@pepperonyscience

[takaraphoenix]

1, 6, 15, 17, 23, 41 aand 44 please

Thanks for playing! <3

1. What was the first fandom you got involved in?

The first I got involved in? Not wrote, but just... involved. Mh. It’s gotta be One Piece, that’s where I discovered fanart and fanfiction for the first time. First fic I ever read was some self-insert love-triangle between a Mary-Sue and Luffy and Ace and I absolutely loved it because the mere fact that here, for free, I just got to read about my favorite characters and my favorite anime was absolutely mindblowing.

6. List your OTP from each fandom you’ve been involved in.

Holy effing shit this one alone will take A LONG TIME. Okay. Cutting this short to actually involved in, as in I actively read or wrote in that fandom, not every time a ship caught my fancy. And only one OTP per fandom, the top OTP.

Also, alphabetical order.

Ace of Diamond: Miyuki Kazuya/Sawamura Eijun

Arrowverse: Mick Rory/Leonard Snart/Barry Allen

Avatar - Legend of Korra: Iroh II/Bolin (I never really got into TLA when it came to fanfiction)

Ben 10: Rook Blonko/Ben Tennyson (HIGHLY UNTERRATED SHIP!)

Beyblade: Yuriy Iwanov/Rei Kon (my second-ever fandom where I actually got active as a writer! ;^;)

Card Captor Sakura: Spinel Sun/Keroberos

Charmed: Cole Turner/Phoebe Halliwell

Chicago Fire: Kelly Severide/Matt Casey

Danny Phantom: Danny Phantom/Danny Fenton (...and here, you can see exhibit A as to how I got into selfcest)

Death Note: Yagami Light/L

Descendants: Prince Pen/Carlos de Vil

Detective Conan: Kuroba Kaito/Kudou Shinichi

Digimon: Motomiya Daisuke/Takaishi Takeru

Dragon Prince: Soren/Callum

Entourage: Ariel Gold/Eric Murphy

Eureka: Nathan Stark/Jack Carter

Fairy Tail: Loke/Lucy Heartfilia (it’s my OTP, but it’s not the ship I was reading xD)

Fast and the Furious: Dominic Toretto/Brian O’Conner

Free!: Yamazaki Sousuke/Nanase Haruka

Glee: David Karofsky/Kurt Hummel/Noah Puckerman

Grimm: Eddie Monroe/Nick Burckhardt

Haikyuu!!: Kozume Kenma/Hinata Shouyou

Harry Potter: Fred & George Weasley/Harry Potter

Heroes: Gabriel Gray/Peter Petrelli

Hetalia Axis Powers: France/Germany

Hunger Games: Cato/Peeta Mellark

Imposters: Richard Evans/Ezra Bloom

Inuyasha: Kouga/Inuyasha

Jungle Book: Shere Khan/Bagheera

How to Train Your Dragon/Rise of the Guardians: Hiccup Haddock/Jack Frost

Killjoys: Prima Dezz/Johnny Jaqobis

Kim Possible: Shego/Kim Possible

Kingdom Hearts: Axel/Sora

Kuroko no Basuke: Takao Kazunari/Kuroko Tetsuya

Lord of the Rings: Gimli/Legolas

Lucifer: Mazikeen Smith/Chloe Decker

MacGyver: Jack Dalton/Angus MacGyver

Magi Legend of the Labyrinth: Sinbad/Alibaba Saluja

Marvel: it’s a tie between Loki/Tony Stark and Bucky Barnes/Tony Stark

Maze Runner: Newt/Thomas

Merlin: Gwaine/Merlin

Miraculous Ladybug: Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Adrien Agreste

Musketeers: Porthos/Athos/Aramis/D’Artagnan

One Piece: Trafalgar Law/Monkey D. Luffy

Percy Jackson: Nico di Angelo/Percy Jackson

Pitch Perfect: Kommissar/Beca Mitchell

Prince of Stride: Suwa Reiji/Fujiwara Takeru

Psych; Carlton Lassiter/Shawn Spencer

Ranma 1/2: Ryoga Hibiki/Ranma Saotome

Riverdale: Jughead Jones/Archie Andrews

Road to El Dorado: Tulio/Miguel

Royal Pains: Boris Küster von Jürgens-Ratenicz/Henry Lawson

Sailor Moon: Kou Seiya/Tsukino Usagi tied with Tenoh Haruka/Tsukino Usagi

Scrubs: Percival Cox/JD Dorian

Shadowhunters: Magnus Bane/Jace Herondale

Sky High: Warren Peace/Will Stronghold

Sleeping Beauty: Maleficent/Aurora

Smallville: Oliver Queen/Clark Kent

Teen Wolf: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski

Transformers: Ironhide/William Lennox/Sam Witwicky

Trollhunters: Draal/Jim Lake

Twilight: Edward Cullen/Jacob Black

Vampire Academy: Mason Ashford/Christian Ozera

Voltron: Takashi Shirogane/Keith Kogane/Lance McClain

Wicked: Elphaba Thropp/Glinda of the Arduennas

Young Justice: Roy Harper/Dick Grayson

Yu-Gi-Oh!: Kaiba Seto/Jonouchi Katsuya (the first ever ship I wrote for!!!)

15. Is there an obscure ship which you love?

I mean. 75% of the ships I love are “obscure”. I... I always find the very obvious mainstream ships... boring. I mean, sometimes I find them nice in canon, but mostly I find canon to provide enough about them that I don’t really need fandom to get more of it, you know? Or, which also often happens, I find the mainstream ships have more of a very strong friendship-dynamic, or even a sibling-dynamic in some cases, and I just can’t really find it in myself to want to see them in a romantic way.

So, if I have to pick an, as in one, obscure ship, I will have to go with my top OTP. Jagnus. Jace and Magnus literally lived together, in both the show-canon and the book-canon, yet somehow it is an “obscure” ship. I mean, not somehow, we all know why. It’s the unwritten fandom rule of “canon mlm shall NEVER EVER BE BROKEN UP HOW DARE YOU SHIP ONE WITH SOMEONE ELSE”. You have no idea how often that rule has come between me and my OTP. Basically every time there is a canon mlm ship, really.

And this in no way or shape means to criticize those who only ship canon and are content with it, you do you, but I do find the lack of creativity in shipping in fandom where there is a canon mlm ship... really damn boring. Fandoms without canon mlm representation have the wildest constellations of ships, have a far broader variety of content, but when there is canon mlm, the majority of a fandom tends to just happily sit down with it and hug it and prefer not to be creative with the content and the shipping. And as a certified multishipper, I don’t really get that - like, even if you like the canon, you could have multiple ships?

17. Who was your first OTP and are they still your favourite?

My first OTP was Shere Khan/Bagheera, because gods do I love Jungle Cubs. And while other ships I interact more with have pushed it off the throne, if I see any form of Sheregheera content, I am immediately sucked in, no questions asked, no hesitation. I am utterly in love with this very rare, small, very obscure actually, ship and I will always love it and it still is one of my favorites.

23. Name a fic you’ve written that you’re especially fond of & explain why you like it.

Ooof. Interesting one. I’ve done a variety of PJO fics I’m particularly fond of in previous versions of such a question, so let’s go with something else this time. “The Lost Soulmarks”. It’s, at this point, probably my own personal most reread story. I just reread it the other night, actually. It just - it hits all of the right spots in what I want from a fic. Very often, I write to please my readers, with “What do my followers like most?” in my mind at least to a certain degree, but some things are absolutely self-indulgent. And I should really write more absolutely self-indulgent fics because those are the ones I myself keep coming back to. It has ABO-verse, it has soulmates, it’s Jace-centric, with lots of love, misunderstandings but not the kind where one of them is to blame but rather where it’s due to the circumstances, it’s really emotionally painful, but pays off in the end. It’s... seriously those are all the things I love.

41. List and link to 5 fanfics you are currently reading:

Uuuhm so like five WIPs where I am desperately waiting for updates?

Shadowhunters, Jagnus: “Non-Fat Frappuccino With Extra Whipped Cream” by @kimmycup - it’s my top OTP and my best friend gave it to me but now she is slowly murdering me with the wait for part 2

Shadowhunters, Jimon: “Strings” by annhamilton - I looove this story, only recently discovered it and fell in love with it and am now not-quite-patiently waiting for the next chapter

Avengers, WinterIron: “(Iron Is A) Star Killer” by RayShippouUchiha - a fic I read... a while ago and recently rediscovered with the latest update and am now desperately waiting for more!

Avengers, WinterIron: “An Unempty Nest” by gryvon - same as the one above, I read this a while ago and forgot about it and recently rediscovered it for myself and still love it

Avengers, Steve/Bucky/Tony/Tony: “Second Chance (at happiness)” by SailorChibi - I got this fic recommended and devoured it in one sitting and have since then checked nearly daily for updates because I greatly enjoy it!

44. What ship do you feel needs more attention?

*bangs potts and pans together* JAGNUS JAGNUS JAGNUS SERIOUSLY THEY LIVED TOGETHER. THEY LITERALLY WERE ROOMMATES. IN ANY OTHER FANDOM THAT’D HAVE TAKEN OFF LIKE NOTHING ELSE. THE PARALLELS BETWEEN THEM!! LET. MY. GOLDEN. EYED. BOYS. FIND. HAPPINESS. IN. EACH. OTHER.

Fanfiction Ask Game

[whump-it]

What if........Callum was the AP and Rory and BP?

Rory would be in a state of huge stress. He'd be upset and swearing and trying not to cry. And he would absolutely tell Callum his reasons for wanting to donate.

Callum would be very different to the Callum we know. He wouldn't be terrified of swearing. He wouldn't adhere to rules in the blind faith that it would stop him being hurt.

Callum would spend time calming Rory down. No doubt at some point during the conversation, Rory's stomach would rumble and Callum would offer to get him lunch. And that's a sure fire way to Rory's heart.

There would be immediate trust between them. And Callum would spend days and days with Rory. Then he'd spend his nights there too. The idea of Rory leaving is devastating to them both.

Callum would ask Rory's permission to Select him himself.

Rory would say yes.

[whump-it]

Dream; Callum Remembers

@haro-whumps @grizzlie70   @castielamigos-whump-side-blog @iaminamoodymoodtoday @burtlederp @untilthepainstarts @my-whumpy-little-heart @moose-teeth @pepperonyscience @faewhump @slaintetowhump @whump-tr0pes @spookyboywhump @finder-of-rings @liliability @whumpfigure @girlwithacoolcat @tears-and-lilies

I don't think there's any CW's here. This is Callum at the very very very start of his healing with Rory. I made myself cry writing the part after the dream.

Callum stood in his room and held on to his teddy tightly in one hand.  He squeezed its matted and crusted paw tighter each time that he heard a noise from beyond the closed door.  A clatter or a tap running.  A mutter of something that he couldn't quite make out.  He knew that if he stood here for long enough in someone else's room, wearing someone else's clothes, that Rory would eventually come and get him.  He always did. 

Callum both anticipated and dreaded it each and every morning. 

Everything was strange and new and every morning the only thing that felt right was the fact that his teddy was near him.  His first thought every day was that Master Hayden didn't know where he was and that was unbearable.  Unthinkable.  It was painfully wrong.  He woke to a bone deep and aching fear that no amount of atonement could make up for this absence.  And then the feeling ebbed.  The desperate ache to run in any direction because that would surely bring him closer to his Master leeched away. 

Slowly he remembered what Rory had been telling him every day.  That Master Hayden wasn't going to get him.  That he was safe. 

That what had been done to him had been wrong. 

Remembering it wasn't the same as believing it.  But it was close enough for now.

Callum took a breath in, closed his eyes, held it, and then released it.  While he did so, he tucked one of his teddy's paws into the back pocket of the jeans that Rory had leant him.  Today they were going to go and buy him his own clothes.  Even wearing the jeans and jumper that Rory had leant him as well felt strange after three years in shorts.  Sometimes in nothing at all.  He was still all too aware of the touch of the cloth on his arms and legs but he had taken to curling Rory's big blue cable knit jumper around himself so much that Rory had laughed and said that he needed one of his own.  And so the shopping trip had become set in stone whilst the jumper became an all encompassing safety net that could cover and embrace and shelter. 

It smelled good too.  It smelled of a flicker of a memory that he had no access to but he knew that it was nice.  He wanted to remember and that shocked him.

With his teddy safe and the jumper on for yet another day, Callum forced himself to the bedroom door and opened it in one rapid movement, determined to be out before Rory had to come and get him.  He was getting clothes.  He had an idea of a memory.  He wanted to get himself out of his room on his own.  With one more deep breath in and released back out, he forced himself across the room and out. He found Rory in the kitchen, clattering about and putting away the washing up from the night before.

“Oh!”  Rory jumped when he caught sight of Callum out the corner of his eye.  “You’re up.  I didn’t...I mean I was going to do this last night.  I really was.  Time just kinda...”  Rory wafted one hand around, a spatula clutched in it, dripping water on to the floor.  Callum smiled small, just a tiny hint.  It was still too early and he was still too unsure if this was ok.  If it was an ok thing to do, to laugh at Rory for not cleaning up.  To be apologised to instead of being the one doing the apologising. Rory trailed off and scratched at the back of his neck, grimacing at the water that he'd forgotten was still on his hand.  "You're so much better than I am at tidy.  I'm working on it.  I'm a work in progress!"  Callum shuffled a little where he stood, words a little caught up in his throat.   His heart told him in an instant that he should tell Rory that he was a perfect work of art just the way that he was.   His brain dammed up the flow and stopped it behind a concrete wall of nervousness and years old pain.   Years in which honesty might well be the best policy, but in which it hurt and bled and broke him. 

“What should I...should I...umm...”  Callum shuffled a little closer to Rory, a little closer to his energy and warmth and that something that was pulling at him to be just that bit nearer.  That bit more within an invisible aura.  Rory put the spatula down and Callum shifted unconsciously closer again.  No implement meant less chance of pain and although he had received nothing but kindness and compassion here, surely it could all come to a swift and agonising end.  But his body and his mind and that strange pull moved him closer and closer to Rory until he was close enough to feel arms come up and around him, drawing him into Rory’s chest. 

They stood and breathed in and out. Breathed one another for a long moment. And Callum held on, held on and let himself turn away from doubt and press up into the certainty that always ebbed back into his brain each day. It took a little less time every day.

"Big day today huh?" Rory mumbled into the curls at the base of Callum's neck before pulling back. Callum smiled again, shy and flushing pink at the pleasure of doing something for himself but also at the terror of it.

"Yeah," Callum whispered the word before clearing his throat to try again. "You...umm... will you stay with me? Near me I mean. I don't...I can't pay..."

"Sweetheart, I'm paying."

"I uh... no I...I...I know I don't have anything. I meant I've forgotten. How things work. In shops. No. That's not quite it. It's more.. " he took a deep and slightly shaky breath in. "I'm nervous." Gently and slowly, Rory pulled back and away from him.

"I'll be right with you."

With the washing up done, breakfast eaten, and the promise of support safely tucked away, they left the apartment. Rory glanced nervously at their neighbour's front door as they passed, speeding up a little as he went. Callum wanted to ask but he didn't dare upset the balance on such a big and nerve wracking day. Through the course of the day, all of his energy and focus stayed on shopping and on Rory. On staying close and always keeping him in his line of sight. And it had been more tiring and harder than he'd anticipated. They had agreed that he didn't need to use the changing rooms, preferring instead to hide himself away from the glaring lights and mirrors. Preferring instead to hold clothes up to his body and look to Rory for approval. He found himself instinctively drawn to blue tones, following in line with his love of Rory's blue jumper. Of blue butterflies. On the way home, when Rory spotted a beautiful blue velvet trunk with black leather and studded corners and ducked into the shop to buy it and present it to him, he had cried. Tears of joy and exhaustion. Of nervousness and panic. It had a catch and a tiny padlock and it was in his control when that lock could be unlocked. It was overwhelming.

Rory held him tightly in the street while he sobbed his heart out. Then he told him that there was no way he was cooking for them. Not after such a busy and big day. Callum nodded into Rory's shoulder and let himself be led home, hand in hand, to take-out and Netflix and a vodka for Rory before he collapsed, tired and unsteady and asleep before his head hit the pillow.

A knock at the door and he giggled.  The sound had a familiarity to it.  It rolled over him and he thought that maybe his eyes flickered open.  Or shut.  But Rory was there and he had food and drink with him. 

"I'm not breaking the rules," Rory said.  Laughed.  "It only says I have to feed you."

Warm.

Content.

Rory was everything.

"I could stay," Callum breathed out.  Wrists cuffed.  His space, his box, he felt safe.  "I want to be here forever."

"Eat," Rory raised a fork of food to Callum's lips.  "And stay.  Don't go.  Don't go."

Laughter, laughter, food and drink and security. 

And home. 

"I don't think I was meant to leave," Callum said, stood outside the Locality.  No cars.  No sound.  He laughed out loud when a blue butterfly landed on Rory's nose. 

Rory sneezed.

Callum woke with a jolt that sent his teddy tumbling out of his bed.  It hit the floor and he tipped himself out after it, snatching it up and hugging it to his chest. 

That was the memory that Rory's jumper had been picking and picking at.  That was what caught his breath and stole it away when he hadn't known why. 

He scrambled up from the floor in a messy hurry, tumbling from hands to feet in a lurch towards the door.  Grabbed at the handle and wrenched it down, letting it slip from his grip and spring back up with a bang.  There was no way that he could get out of the room fast enough.  His steps, which were usually so measured and careful from years of trying not to trip over his chained and cuffed ankles, paid no heed to their locked-up history.  He stopped himself at Rory's door, not wanting to slam through out and frighten him.  He pushed the handle softly, gently, his measured and careful entry into Rory's room a complete contrast to the cluttered way that he had excited his own.  Every moment closer to him felt like gravity.  It had its own speed.  Its own time.

The door hushed over the carpet, announcing his arrival on his behalf.  The sound woke Rory and he blinked into the darkness, picked out Callum's silhouette, and pushed himself blearily onto one elbow.

"Is everything ok?" Rory asked, his voice husky and sleep laden.  "Do you need something?"

Callum walked to the side of the bed closest to him and the door, the side that Rory didn't sleep on incase he needed to come in on the rare nights that he tried to sleep in his own bed, and knelt on the mattress.  The pressure of his weight tipped Rory closer to him.  Tipped him closer to Rory.

The motion was easy.  A slide deeper into one another's orbit.  Gravity again and on their side as though the universe knew what to do.  Rory reached out a hand, not to stop himself from rolling but to touch Callum.  To bring him contact.

"Are you ok?" Rory whispered, asking again.

"You fed me," Callum said.  Rory blinked up at him.  "In the box.  You got in with me and fed me didn't you.  Didn't you.  I can't have got that wrong because I just remembered it in a dream and I get it.  I got it.  I...I get it..."  Rory shifted up and closer to Callum, letting the covers drop and pool around them.  He climbed his hands up Callum's sides to his shoulders, listening as he moved.  Not daring to interrupt quite yet.

"...I remember it.  I know why... why... things... the familiarity of it all.  The feeling...safe... and..."

"And you,"  Rory whispered the words next to Callum's lips and pushed himself cheek to cheek.

"And you,"  Callum echoed.  He raised his hands, encircled the warm skin and gentle press of the other half of his entire existence.  "I was never meant to leave you,"  Rory hiccuped into the crook of Callum's neck, where the scars around his throat melted into nothing but smooth skin.

"I think about it a lot,"  he murmured, muffled by Callum's neck and new-found certainty.  Almost silenced by the dam of love and adoration that caught up in his throat when he tried to speak.

"I want to think about it a lot too,"  Callum held on tighter.  "It's been there for so long and I don't want to forget it again.  I don't want to forget you again.   Please don't let me forget you again."

Rory pulled at him, pulled him down into the warmth of the covers and his embrace.  Pulled him into safety.  Held him down and pressed against him so tightly that if he could have, then he would have made their very atoms bind together so securely that nothing would split them apart again.

"I'm so so sorry that I let you go," he said.

"No sorry's.  None.  Not now.   Not when I feel like I've found you again.  Pl...please?  No sorry's?"

"I love you,"  Rory said, louder this time.  Callum stilled where he lay, pressed up so firmly against his very life.  Rory held his breath.  Waited to feel regret once again, feel it's awful fingers crawling up his body from toes to scalp where it could wrap him up and suffocate him.

"I love you,"  Callum said.  Firmly.  "I love you."

[whump-it]

AH! Congrats on a hundred followers!!! What would Rory and Callum think about all the people that love their story?

They just... utter confusion! Much blushing from Callum. He'd sink slowly down on the couch until he was practically hidden behind blankets and cushions, with Haz tucked in with him.

Rory would reach a hand in and grope around until he finds Callum's hand, then squeeze it tightly and say "see, that's how much I love him. All that amount from all those people."

[whump-it]

Would Rory want children? What's his sexuality?

Rory doesn't want children, but he really does want to be an uncle. And as it turns out, he's an incredibly good uncle. Kids love him because he's a a quiet disaster and they find it hilarious that he accidentally swears and often messes things up.

If he sat and thought about it, Rory would come up with grey ace biromantic. When Callum turned up at Rory's facility it was like BOOM there's my person. That's the only person. He did try a few dates here and there during the three years Callum was with Hayden but none of it made him happy. He wasn't happy. He was kind and caring but none of them were Callum.

With Callum he has everything and more and it's so strong and so special that just having Callum there is enough. They've never had sex with each other, but they hug and kiss and hold one another.

[whump-it]

Callum and Rory’s Floor Picnic

No TWs here.  I don’t even know what this is.  It didn’t turn out like I wanted.  I kept trying.  I kept trying and thought about not posting it but I’ve decided that it needs to be out here and away from me for now.  Because otherwise I’m going to keep picking at it and delete it entirely.  Sorry for the rubbish-ness.

@haro-whumps @grizzlie70 @castielamigos-whump-side-blog @comfortforthepain @shameless-whumper @iaminamoodymoodtoday @kawaiiloverofanimu @burtlederp @untilthepainstarts @my-whumpy-little-heart @moose-teeth @pepperonyscience @faewhump @saphemme @slaintetowhump @whump-tr0pes

“Is that my blanket?” Rory asked, looking confused. “I didn’t know I had a picnic blanket.”

“Well that’s because you don’t” Callum said, as he pushed the coffee table back and started to spread the blanket out on the floor.

“Did you buy it?” Rory said, attempting to nudge the creases out of one corner with one foot and making it worse as he went.

“Nope” Callum said, sitting back on his heels. “I borrowed it.”

“I should’ve known,” Rory said with a small laugh. “It’s not blue and you’d have definitely picked blue. Whose is it?”

“Alyaa’s,”

“Oh ok,” Rory frowned slightly. He liked his neighbour well enough. She’d been kind enough not to leave him stood on his own when they’d been at a party together but he just couldn’t shake his discomfort that something was not quite right. Not since he’d seen her just ducking back into her apartment when he’d brought Callum home. He knew she had been watching him. Watching them. And he couldn’t seem to shake the feeling that she still was. It didn’t help that he knew he’d turned up drunk at her door once, after Callum had been selected and taken away, but there was very little else that he could recall about that incident. And she didn’t seem inclined to want to talk to him about it. In fact she didn’t seem inclined to even look him in the eye.

But Callum adored spending time with her and Rory was beyond grateful to her for the letting him. Callum had come on in great strides since he’d started visiting her, huge leaps forward in his communication. And he certainly couldn’t wait to try the chocolate cake that Callum had brought home with him a few days earlier and refused to let him eat until picnic day.

“I got us something to drink,” Callum said, interrupting his thoughts and his blanket nudging.

“Sounds promising,” Rory said. Callum pressed his hands to his knees and pushed himself up off the floor, surveying his with the blanket with a smile and a satisfied nod, before a blush crept up from his chest, settling high on his cheek bones.

“I love blankets,” he said quietly. Rory watched him flush and fidget where he was stood in the middle of the blanket and smiled at him.

“Yeah, I know you do bud,” he said quietly, watching the red across Callum’s cheekbones darken. “If you ever want more you know that you only have to ask right? You can always ask me anything.”

Callum nodded, a small and slightly aborted movement.

“I know, it’s just… it’s not something that comes naturally to me.” He looked up and met Rory’s eye. Looked nervous and hot and unsure. The crimson creep of nervousness across his skin highlighted the trace of scars that ringed around his neck in little dots and lines. Marks that he hadn’t yet told Rory about. So many marks that Rory didn’t know the history of.

“Questions should come naturally though,” Rory said, holding out a hand for Callum to hold while he stepped forward in a lunge to get off the blanket, not wanting to ruin the perfection that he had given it. “That’s an ok thing for you to do.” Rory twisted their fingers together and squeezed Callum’s hand in his own.

“I know,” Callum muttered, looking at the carpet, looking at their hands. Nothing was safer than being with Rory. Aside from when he’d still had his mum on his side, Rory was the safest thing in the whole world.

“Where’s your teddy?” Rory asked, casting a quick glance around the room and not seeing Callum’s teddy anywhere.

“Umm… he’s in… he’s on my bed,” Callum said, quietly, nervously. “I thought I’d see how it felt if he was in a different room to me?”

“Ok?” Rory’s reply came out phrased as a question. He frowned just slightly. “And how’s that working out for you?”

“Umm…I…” Callum gave a squeeze of his fingers around Rory’s. “… yeah it’s not going so great. I miss him. Sorry.” Callum whispered, his voice trailing off as he gave one more squeeze with his hand before taking a deep breath in and out. He had a blanket. He had cake. He’d bought them a drink. He didn’t want to let his old panic wash in over him and steal his confidence and his breath and his words away.

“No,” Rory said firmly. “No sorrys, not on floor picnic day. You go grab him and I’ll get whatever it is you’ve bought for us to drink.” He let go of Callum’s hand and started to walk towards the kitchen when he realised that Callum hadn’t moved yet. Turning on the spot he went straight back to him and pressed one hand to either side of Callum’s face.

“It’s a no-tree picnic and Haz is invited,” Rory murmured quietly. “And for the record, you’re doing great.” Callum nodded slightly, eyes fluttering closed while he let himself feel the press of Rory’s hands to his face. The calming sense of grounding that they brought with their touch.

“Go on then,” Rory said, letting go and gently guiding Callum with his hands, turning him in the direction of his room. He watched Callum go then moved himself, into the kitchen to get a couple of glasses out of a cupboard then into the fridge to find out what Callum had bought for them to drink. He found two large bottles of real ginger ale and smiled to himself, the evidence of Callum’s friendship with their neighbour showing through with food and drink. He took them out and tucked them to his chest with one arm while he picked up the glasses with his free hand to take them back to the living room where he put them on the coffee table.

“Umm…” Rory turned at the increasingly familiar sound of Callum’s uncertainty. He was stood looking at the bottles and glasses on the table, his mud and blood crusted teddy clutched tightly in his hands. Twisted up a little in his grip.

“You ok?” Rory asked.

“Uh…umm… there’s…” Callum nodded slightly in the direction of the drinks. “… your table is… there’s condensation and I don’t know h… how to get the marks off…off…umm…off the t… table.”

Rory stayed where he was and forced the time to think and not just react upon himself. His instincts screamed at him to just tell Callum, reassure him that it didn’t matter. That his coffee table was disaster zone covered in drink rings and take away stains and a small dip beginning to form in the wood of it where he always rested his feet up on it. He took a few breaths in and out and considered just how much he didn’t know yet. Too much. There was too much that he didn’t know.

“Well,” Rory said, stringing the word out, buying himself time. “How are you with putting pizza in the oven?“

"I can do that,” Callum said, speaking down at the teddy twisted up between his hands. “I can do that for you.”

“For me?” Callum looked up. Shy, but smiling. A small uptick of the corners of his mouth.

“For us,” Callum said. “Umm… can I ask?” At that, Rory moved. Towards Callum.

“Always,” he said.

“We’ve got pizza and ginger ale and cake but…umm… is that all?” Rory couldn’t keep the laugh back at that.

“No picnic would be complete with just that,” he said. “I’ve got crisps and cheese twists in the cupboard by the sink. And I’ve stashed some dips at the back of the fridge to go with some veg sticks. You see!? I can be food-organised when it matters.”

Callum fidgeted about where he stood.

“It matters?” he whispered.

“It matters,” Rory said, touching at Callum’s fingers with his, avoiding the teddy while he did so. “So you go do the pizza, give it ten minutes, and I’ll get everything else out.” Below his fingers, Callum’s tight and twisting grip on his teddy slackened off a little and if he thought he could get away with it then Rory would have cried at just how much comfort Callum had been denied. At just what he’d had to do to get even one kind touch or word. He let Callum back away and followed him to the kitchen, bustling around getting things out of the fridge while Callum put the pizza in to cook and set the timer. They occupied themselves in comfortable silence while the timer ran down, both content to work side by side until a rhythmic beeping announced that their food was ready.

“I can’t remember the last time that I ate pizza,” Callum said quietly, putting on oven mitts and taking the food out of the oven then sliding the pizza on to a plate.  He turned to find Rory stood holding a knife out to him, ready for him to cut the pizza with. He couldn’t help but stiffen a little at the sight of it, his breathing rate hitching up, pulse quickening. 

“Oh!”  Rory’s gaze bounced from the knife that he was pointing at Callum up to Callums panic striken face, then back down to the knife again.  “Aw shit!  Umm…shit!  I didn’t think.”  He shoved the knife down on the counter top with a bang.  “Oh sweetheart no, I’m so sorry I just…I didn’t think at all.  I just didn’t think.”  He pushed himself into Callum’s space, pulled his shivering body flush to his own, used one hand to bring Callum’s head down to his shoulder where he could rest it there.  He could feel Calum’s lips moving on his neck, could feel the small tingles of breath that were irregualr enough to tell him that Callum was whispering something. 

“I can’t hear you bud,” Rory said, stroking up and down slowly over the line of Callum’s spine.  When Callum answered it was muffled by his continued press into Rory, but loud enough that he could make it out.

“Just that you shouldn’t have to say sorry.  It’s normal to be able to pass someone a knife without…”  Callum sighed, a shaky breath in and a slightly less shaky one back out.

“Without worrying?” Rory tried finishing the sentence for him.  Callum nodded into his neck and then backed up, eased himself away from Rory slowly. 

“No sorrys on floor picnic day right?” Callum said with a small and uncertain smile.

“No sorrys,” Rory agreed.  “Should I…?”  He gestured to the knife.

“Umm…yeah.  If you don’t mind I’ll just take the rest of the food through and get it all laid out?”

“Sounds like a plan,” Rory said, still not picking up the knife, waiting instead for Callum to leave the room.  He watched as Callum gathered everything up, arms always close in to himself, hands together and managing to balance everything perfectly.  As soon as he was out of eyesight, Rory picked up the knife and got to work, slicing up the pizza and wondering just how much time Callum had spent on the wrong end of a knife to make him react that way.  To being so terrified of the blade.  He cut quickly and quietly, straining to hear what Callum was doing.  Listening for any sounds of sniffing or crying.  But all he could hear was shuffling and the ocassional comment directed at Haz about things being in the right place.  Satisfied that Callum was coping, Rory picked up the platter with the pizza on and took it through, handing it to Callum so that he could put it where he wanted it to go.

“Looking good,” Rory said, as he waved a hand across the scene in front of him.  Callum put the pizza platter down and glanced up, with a shy sort of smile from under his blonde curls.  Rory didn’t think that he’d ever seen anything nicer than that in his whole life.  Rory knelt next to him, then tucked his legs to one side and started helping himself to the food.  When he noticed Callum wasn’t eating yet, he paused and reached out to run his fingers through Callum’s hair.  “You should eat too.”  He went back to picking up various bits of food, while he watched out of the corner of his eye to check that Callum was following suit.  When he saw that he was he relaxed a bit more.  He reached out between mouthfuls and picked up the glass of ginger ale that was closest to him and took a swig of it.

“Ok!” Rory said.  “So Alyaa recommended this to you yeah?”

“Yeah,” Callum said.  “She says it’s the best one.”

“She sure likes her ginger ale on the spicy side!”

“Oh…umm…is it…is it…not good?”  Callum asked quietly.

“No I like it!”  Rory frowned and put the glass back, wiped his fingers on his jeans and reached to take hold of Callum’s hands.  “Cal, it was just a casual observation.  That’s all.  Nothing else.  I promise you.  But do you think you could try something for me?”

Callum looked up at Rory, his eyes danced about and didn’t want to focus on any one thing.  Rory let go of one hand and pressed his palm to his face, brought Callum’s attention back.

“If you think you can manage it, then please try not to worry about the little things that I say.  Most of the time I talk rubbish anyway, you know that,”  Rory spoke quietly.  “You don’t have to second guess everything that I say.  I promise you that there is no hidden agenda here.  No games.  No tricks.  Ok?”

“Umm…”  Callum hesitated over his reply and twisted Haz by the paw this way and that.  “It’s…the thing is that it was always…with Master Hayden…it was always a guessing game.  I never knew if he meant what he said.  I was very confused a lot of the time.”  He reached up, still holding on to Haz and rubbed and poked at his right temple.  At the area that had taken so much damage over the years.  At the part that the doctors wanted to keep such a close eye on.

“I won’t make you guess,” Rory said, moving back away from Callum to lean up against the couch but pulling Callum with him.  He spread his legs to make a space for him to fit into and wrapped his arms around him.  Callum tensed for the briefest of moments before settling back against Rorys front, letting the solid and reassuring warmth of him settle him.  He could feel Rory rubbing his head back and for against his hair, in a move that always calmed them both.  It took away the fright of seeing the knife earlier.  It released the pressure of the feeling that he might always have to guess and second guess.  And guess again.  Callum smiled when he felt Rory pressing little kisses into his hair, tickling at his scalp and making him tingle.

“There’s so much that happened and I think…I think…I think I want to start to tell you,” Callum said before he remembered his manners, so deeply ingrained within.  “Please.”

“You can tell me anything you want and any time you want to,” Rory muttered into Callums hair.  He hoped that Callum couldn’t feel the up tick in his heart rate where his chest pressed up to his back.  Because Callum speaking about what had happened to him was so important, but Rory’s gut twisted on the guilt that it was all his fault that any of this had happened in the first place.  The same twisted awful feeling that his gut had thrown his way on the day that Callum had left with Hayden.  Callum wriggled and Rory loosened his grip around him, allowing Callum to turn in the spot that he was sat in.  Allowed him to face Rory with a knee either side of his hips and his face tucked in up against Rory’s neck.  Another comfort move that they had crafted without so much as asking one another. 

“I want to say thank you,” Callum spoke into Rory’s skin, raising goosebumps as he did so.  “I want to…I’m…I’m so happy that you don’t work for the Programme now.  I know that I ruined it for you and I’m so so sorry but…but…”  Rory flung his arms around Callum’s back and held him tightly, cutting Callum off as he spoke with a wheeze from where Rory had grasped on so tightly.

“I couldn’t have stayed there,” Rory said, holding on to Callum as tightly as he could.  “I couldn’t leave you here every day to go there.  I, no, you didn’t ruin anything.  You never ruin anything.  You make everything better.  You make ME better.”  Rory heard the hitched couple of breaths that Callum took.  He raised a hand to slide his fingers through the back of Callum’s hair, stroked and played with it until his breathing eased back down again.

“I might…ummm…I might talk about some scars soon?  If that’s ok?  Please?”  Callum asked, still tucked up under Rory’s ear where he couldn’t be seen. 

“I will listen to everything that you want to say.  I promise.”

“Thank you,” Callum whispered.  Rory stroked his fingers through Callum’s hair over and over, and shook his head.

“You never need to thank me for this.  I want to listen to everything that you’ve got to say.  It’s literally the most important thing in the world to me.  I mean that.  There’s nothing that is more important.”  Callum shifted on his lap and Rory let his arms loosen again to give him room to pull back a little.  He only moved enough to let his cheek brush up against Rory’s, the tips of their noses met gently and their foreheads connected.

“Is it more important than Alyaa’s chocolate cake?” Callum asked with a small smile.  Rory smiled and let out a small laugh.  He knew exactly what Callum was doing.  He deflected when he felt that he’d gone too far.  He had started to do it within a few weeks of coming home, a newly developed nervous habit which often also consisted of jokes at his own expense about his time with Hayden that made Rory wince.  He knew that it was too soon, and he felt sure that Callum knew it too but he was trying so hard, throwing ideas and recovery attempts around like confetti.  Rory didn’t have the heart to stop for as long as it continued to be harmless.

“The cake is a close second,” Rory said, playing along.  He knew that Callum loved it.  He knew that Callum wanted to make him happy.  He also knew that Callum had no idea how happy he made him just by being there and doing nothing at all, no matter how many times he tried to tell him.  He felt Callum’s smile, felt it through the skin of his forehead.  And then he lost it again as Callm pushed himself up and away, going to the kitchen to pick up the cake and to find a knife on his own which Rory knew would be the easiest thing for him to do.  To have the full amount of control over it.  Like an tremor before an earthquake, Callum had eased enough pressure to keep things steady for the time being. 

While he watched him cutting huge slices of cake, while he took the plate that was offered to him, Rory couldn’t help but wonder when the full scale disaster would hit.  And just how much of a relief effort woulf be needed to pull his sweetheart through it.

[whump-it]

Ah! Look at them! Thank you so much for this. I love it! Callum's so happy and clearly telling a story and Rory's just looking at him like "that's my soulmate!"

Hello! I think you said sketch requests are still open? If so, is there any chance of a Rory and Callum one please? Just being happy and chilled out!

I like to think that Callum's wrists are absolutely ruined

[whump-it]

Is it weird that sometimes I think about Rory and Callum and feel a bit tearful at how, no matter what, their lives have to be lived together.

Soft soulmate boys who have been through hard hard things. And their softness for one another never dims.

[whump-it]

Callum, is there any place you'd love to go to with Rory? Maybe somewhere like disneyland, or maybe a trip to another country?

And Rory, would you take him there?

"Oh! I hadn't really thought about Disney but I bet it's fun there. I don't know about the rides though." He blushes and edges just a little closer to Rory. "It sounds silly but...I uh... I'd like to go somewhere where there's clear streams and ducks. That would suit me really well. I like clear water. Clear and running water so it's free."

Rory pushes back and ducks his head to rub his temple against Callum's temple.

"I'd take him anywhere he wanted to go. It's hard at the moment because he doesn't have a passport still but we're working on it. And when we get that? Well we'll be straight on Google and booking a holiday." He presses a quick kiss to Callum's cheek before settling back on his next to him. "Anywhere he wants to go."

[whump-it]

For truth serum Rory (intended to be set post-Callum’s rescue but you can change that if you’d like!), if you had the power to go back in time and change one event that’s happened in your life, whether it be tweaking the details or changing it entirely, what would it be, what exactly would you do, and why? And a bit of a twist in the same vein: what if you could save this ability to use any time later on, but you couldn’t apply it before this point in time? Would you save it or use it now?

"Here's what I'd do. The day that Callum came to Donate himself? I'd be on my lunch break. Just Rory. Not AP Rory. No rules when you're on your lunch break. I'd be sitting outside eating my sub sandwich and he'd walk up. He'd sit down next to me and we'd talk. We'd talk and talk and talk and he wouldn't Donate. He'd let me help him find somewhere he could stay safely, somewhere he could keep his important papers. And then we'd meet for coffees and lunch and we'd keep meeting. We'd meet up all the damn time and we'd know how we need to be close. We need to be around each other. And it'd happen slowly without any pain instead of like slamming into a brick wall after three years of torture. And he'll meet Alyaa in the hallway of our building."

"If I can't it before now? So Cal still has to... he still lives those three years? That's... that hurts. I want to save it. He might need it one day. He's so special and he's been through hell but look at him. He's here and he's him and he's coping. He went through all of that and he's still the most wonderful thing on this planet. I'm saving it for him."

*he looks over to where Callum is sitting, reading a book and looking like he might nod off.*

"The truth right now is that I'm going to go and cuddle him until he's asleep."

[whump-it]

Rory was Callum's AP and carries around a lot of guilt for being the person who allowed Hayden to Select Callum. He's also Callum's soulmate.

One of his official tags is Rory Linden; International Man of Disaster. His other is Rory is a quiet disaster.

He really wants someone to blame him for what happened to Callum but no one will. He became an AP to help people because his parents gently steered him away from being a firefighter due to his propensity for getting hurt.

His parents, his dad in particular, take great delight from winding him up, a past time which Callum and Alyaa will join in with once they're both recovered enough. There's a WhatsApp group started by Rory's dad called "Days Without An Accident; Rory Edition".

He's a complete sweetheart who nearly constantly says the wrong thing and does the wrong thing, all in the pursuit of doing the right thing!

If you go to my masterlist you'll find Rory Gets Belt looped which perfectly illustrates gotta disaster-ness!

I mean… He is dense but he wasn’t expecting this situation at I mean, he wasn't expecting this situation, and it can be challenging to deal with someone who has been through so much trauma, specially if you know nothing about them or the situation as whole. He just wanted a regular dog and somehow ordered one from the human trafficker... However he definetly needs to review his social circle smh

Thank you anon! I honestly agree, but I also enjoy gently mocking Tomas because he definitely doesn’t always think straight. 

But I’m really glad you think that :’) it makes me happy to know someone out there sympathises with him! 

No matter what, I would say that Tomas’s biggest strength is his resilience. Like getting Rowe was a HUGE shock for him, but he was never so foolish as to consider getting rid of him. He was like well, I work from home, this can work, I’ll make it work. And so far he’s done his best and now he cares for Rowe so so so much. And he may fuck up and scare Rowe or say the wrong thing, but he never gets exasperated or fed up when Rowe panics. He’s very patient and ultimately very very kind (and I love him)

And yes I agree lol. His sweet nature means people like Kasia can and do take complete advantage of him!! 

[whump-it]

Congrats on the follower milestone, you deserve every single one and more!! I don't have a specific question to ask, but would you mind just talking about some cute Callum and Rory recovery things? You can ramble or do whatever, I don't mind, was just wondering if you had any fluffy thoughts you could share :D thanks, hope you have a really nice day

Thank you so much for this lovely ask! I hope you had a good day too?

Soooooo... kinda turned into an essay!

Callum and Rory recovery cuteness

Callum's a quiet survivor. Quiet recovery. He doesn't rage and scream, and he very rarely wakes in a panic. It happens. But it's rare.

When he felt brave enough to let Rory take him out of the apartment, when he understood that Rory was his home and that Master Hayden wasn't coming for him and wasn't keeping tabs on him, they went for a walk and looked in some shop windows. It was a quiet street with local businesses and boutiques. And in the window of one was a blue velvet trunk with leather studded ages and a lock on the clasp. Callum had stopped and stared at it. Rory, deep in his now usual sense of panic and desperation to make things better, went straight in and bought it for Callum. Callum, upon being handed the huge bag containing his trunk, had burst into tears, slid down to the floor and thanked Rory over and over and over. What he wanted at that moment was for Rory to shut his fingers in the hinges of the trunk. Maybe slam it shut on his hands. Anything to take away the feeling that he was being given something but he hadn't felt ashamed and now he did feel ashamed and he was so so so confused that he felt sorry for himself which is definitely not allowed.

They had to go straight home.

That trunk is where Callum keeps everything that's special to him. As official BP, and with the system relating to him in a bit of a mess owing to his Selector being dead, he can't have a bank account or a passport or anything like that. So he keeps his money in his trunk. He knows exactly what's in there and he's given Rory a spare key to it. Rory gives him money every month and Alyaa pays him to clean her apartment because he hates taking money without earning it. What he doesn't know is that Rory puts the same amount of money aside in a little cash box every time he gives some to Callum. He also tries to match Alyaas contributions. Callum has no idea, but he's actually got double what he thinks he's got.

Rory uses what he likes to call "smoke and mirrors Cal, smoke and mirrors" to get Callum to do things that ordinarily would terrify him. He'll talk incessantly at him while holding his hands and walking slowly to the couch then sitting down and pulling Callum with him. He keeps talking, keeps talking keeps talking. Until before Callum knows it, he's been sitting on an actual piece of furniture without having to exchange pain for comfort.

Rory loves to kiss Callum. It makes him feel calm and relaxed and close to him. He'll often press his face against Callum's shoulder blade then turn it until he can press a kiss there. He'll kiss his temple right above where Hayden hurt him so many times. He'll kiss his forehead when Callum's sad or unsure or lost in a tangle of shame and imperfection. He'll kiss the corner of his mouth or the turn of his cupid's bow lip to tell him loud and clear and without words that he's there and Callum's there and comfort is something to be given freely and not earned. To start with, he'll only do this once he's done his "smoke and mirrors" trick, but as Callum heals and they grow together like the soulmates that they are, he's able to do it just whenever he feels like it. And Callum can too.

Rory adores his parents and with Callum's permission, he tells them what happened. He carries an immense load of guilt that he followed the rules and let Callum be taken away when his heart was telling him to keep him with him always. He wants so much for someone, anyone, to blame him. To place that burden upon him but no one will. But in a conversation with his dad Tony, he's the only one to tell Rory that yes, he messed up. But also that his determination to follow the rules set out for him and the love that brought him to Callum and got them back home is more than enough. That it's ok to make mistakes.

After The Bad Thing, they both need to heal in different ways. Rory comes out the other side of a trauma in a completely different way to Callum. Callum is calm. He finds strength. Rory breaks. And so they, and Alyaa, take Rory to be with his parents. He fights the entire healing process. He has never had to deal with anything like this before and her can't ride it out so he flails. His head is metaphorically under water more than its above. But when he finds moments of peace, it's in ways that neither he nor Callum thought would happen. Thanks to Rory's mum Brenda, the tree in the back garden is wrapped in crochet and Callum isn't terrified of being near it. He loves it. It's a calming place for him and so he draws Rory into it too, taking him there and pulling his head on to his lap, smoothing his hair until they both fall asleep.

And Haz... cleaned up and looking good. Haz is there with them.

@haro-whumps @grizzlie70 @castielamigos-whump-side-blog @iaminamoodymoodtoday @kawaiiloverofanimu @burtlederp @untilthepainstarts @my-whumpy-little-heart @moose-teeth @pepperonyscience @faewhump @saphemme @slaintetowhump @whump-tr0pes @spookyboywhump @finder-of-rings

[whump-it]

Watch "Coldplay - Green Eyes" on YouTube

@pepperonyscience @my-whumpy-little-heart

If Rory wrote a song about Callum, this would be it!!!!!!!