The first Monday Lucas had been a little disturbed to see his living quarters being rearranged. He knew it was bound to happen, but it still bothered him. It took Cavan walking him through everything and explaining why it made sense, for him to accept the new positions. That evening they had browsed furniture so that Cavan would have more storage space in the bedroom. They turned the second, smaller bedroom into a proper little office so that Lucas wouldn't 'ruin his back' at the dining room table.
The furniture had arrived on the Saturday and they'd spent the day with Fletcher setting it up, whilst Bonnie yelled instructions from the manual.
It felt like it all happened so fast.
Staring in at the blue painted walls and the single bed pushed up into the far corner of the room, Cavan suddenly felt like an intruder to his old life. He was a young man yet everything about that bedroom was screaming 'pre-teen!' to him. He still had his oldest band posters tacked up alongside his bed, an old stereo on his desk along with a CD rack and a bookshelf crammed with all his old favourites. He didn't need to take any of those to Lucas's house.
Their house.
It was part of a life that he was partially leaving behind. Eventually his mum would either donate them or box them up and put them in the attic. Maybe after Christmas.
Running a hand over the old wood of his desk, Cavan let out a sigh. There were so many memories in this room; the sleepover's he'd had with Arthur and Sophie watching horror movies well past their bed times, that time when he was twelve and had a girl -Chloe or something -in his room and had nearly kissed her but chickened out at the last minute. The time he'd beaten Jean at last at Rocket League.
There were still photos pinned on his noticeboard; faded and discoloured, the corners slightly curling, but still there. He smiled thinly, smoothing a thumb over the images.
On the bed there were two boxes. The last two boxes he would be taking back to his new home. Maybe one day he would come back for the rest and find a space for them but not right now. For now, they would remain here, locked in the bubble of nostalgia in his childhood bedroom. Stacking the two boxes, one on top of the other, Cavan lifted them up and walked out of his bedroom. Edging his way across the landing he made his way to the top of the staircase and began to descend carefully.
Lucas and Camilla were having tea in the kitchen. It was still surprising when Cavan saw them talking so amicably with one another. He was merely glad that one of his parents like his boyfriend. Upon catching sight of Cavan in the doorway, Lucas turned and smirked up at the younger man.
"Done already?" he asked, eyeing the two stacked boxes. He sipped his tea.
Cavan nodded, "This is it. Anything else isn't detrimental."
Camilla sighed softly with a smile. "Well I hope I get invited over for dinner once you've settled in properly."
"Of course, Mama!" Cavan rolled his eyes.
Lucas chuckled, "You're more than welcome, Camilla. It really is quite different with all of Cavan's ... belongings, lying around. I hardly recognise the place."
"Cavan," Camilla warned teasingly. "Are you messing up Lucas's home?"
Cavan's mouth dropped open. "Why do you two always gang-up on me when you get together?" he protested.
Lucas smirked, "Your reactions are too fun not to."
"Mean."
Camilla grinned. "Now I see why you call him 'brat'."
"Hey!" Cavan protested, "That says more about your parenting style than it does about me!"
"Hmm true," Camilla sipped her tea thoughtfully before shrugging. "We'll blame your father! Case closed."
Lucas snickered as he drank his tea. Cavan rolled his eyes but wasn’t able to hold back his smile. Draining the last of his tea, Lucas stood up and grabbed his car keys from the table. “Thank you for the tea, Camilla. We’ll have a proper house-warming party at the end of the month.”
“Just try not to forget about me!” she moaned comically.
Cavan felt his cheeks flush as Lucas chuckled. They made their way towards the front door. Camilla saw them out and waved from the front door as Lucas backed out of the driveway and onto the main road.
Friday PM
Cavan was stretched out along the sofa and reading through one of the ‘vampire beach’ saga, when a knock came from the front door. Glancing at the clock on the wall, he frowned. It was too early for Lucas to be home. Rolling off the sofa, he padded to the front door and peered through the peep-hole. He saw a tuft of red hair on the other side. He beckoned Bonnie in as soon as he opened the door. “What’re you doing? Aren’t you meant to be on bed rest?”
“Eurgh!” Bonnie grunted as she waddled into the hallway, cradling her swollen stomach. “Shut up you. I didn’t drag this bump all the way here just to get a lecture from you.”
Cavan held his hands up in surrender. “Well what can I say? I don’t want to be blamed for you getting pregnant mess all over the floor?”
Bonnie cocked an eyebrow. “Pregnant mess?”
“Lucas’s words, not mine.”
Rolling her eyes, Bonnie made her way into the living room and settled on the sofa. “That man needs to read any of the childcare books Fletcher bought him.”
Cavan sat in the armchair beside her. “Yeah well … it makes him uncomfortable.”
Stretching her legs out, Bonnie sighed. “I cannot wait for my due date. This kid had better be really damn cute.”
Cavan’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “You getting a bit edgy?”
“Just a bit. Fletcher is running around like a headless chicken and making sure we have everything and all I can do is watch box-sets and plod around my flat. It’s boring!”
“You know I live here too,” Cavan stated. “It’s not a huge effort for me to walk down the hall.”
She shot him a glare.
“Tea?”
“Please.”
Cavan escaped to the kitchen and tried to take his time preparing two mugs of tea. Since living with Lucas he’d gotten into the habit of having at least three cups a day. Carrying the two mugs into the living room, he handed one to Bonnie before reclining back in the armchair. The redhead sipped at her tea, her large brown eyes roaming around the room.
“It’s cosier in here,” she remarked. “Feels more like a home.”
“Really?”
He looked around at the living room; moving his own things in had taken most of the month and it took almost every other evening to organise everything on the way that would suit them both. For example, Cavan had brought two brightly coloured beanbag chairs that sat happily in the corner until company came over. Accompanied with the thick throw blanket from his bed slung over the back of the sofa, and a few stand-up photo-frames propped up on the once barren shelves, he had to concede that it did indeed feel more ‘homely’.
“So is Lucas okay with all these changes?” Bonnie teased as she sipped at her tea.
Cavan nodded, “He was very tetchy at first.”
“I can imagine! He really doesn’t like it when people touch his stuff. It was one of the reasons his past relationships didn’t last long.” Cavan made a non-committal noise. “So how has it been living here?”
“It’s been good. Still need to find a job though, but Rodrick said if I like, I can come to the school first thing Monday. Even if it’s temporary it would be nice not to feel like a sponge.”
“I’m sure Lucas doesn’t mind,” Bonnie placated. “Trust me, he has the money saved up. He doesn’t mind.”
“It’s more for me,” the young man shrugged. “I can’t just do nothing. Even if I teach as a teaching assistant or something for a year, it’ll help me get on my feet.”
Bonnie nodded in agreement. “That’s true. I hate that I’m on maternity leave. I do miss my job and seeing other people during the day. Being at home gets so boring!”
“Well you know where I am. Just bang on the walls and I’ll come running with some tea!”
“And ice cream?”
“Well of course! What am I?�
��
Bonnie cackled, nearly spilling her tea. She winced, her hand shooting up to caress her stomach.
Cavan was on his feet. “Are you okay? Shit, do I need to call an ambulance?”
Bonnie waved him off. “No, no. It’s just a kick.” She exhaled heavily and set her mug down, choosing instead to rub her hands gently over her stomach. “Jesus I can’t wait until this kid is out of me. I hate feeling so swollen and heavy. It’s a wonder Fletcher even wants to have sex with me anymore.”
Cavan choked on air; his eyes wide. “Bonnie!”
“What? You do realise I got laid to get this baby in here, right?” she stated blandly. “It didn’t just get posted through my vagina.”
“Jesus Christ!” Cavan jumped away from the sofa; hands clamped over his ears. “Must you be so explicit?!”
“You live with Lucas. I can hear you two when you fuck.”
Turning slowly, Cavan tried to see if she was exaggerating. After-all, there were two doors between their flat and Bonnie’s. His insides squirmed. He never really needed to think about the neighbours.
Bonnie started to laugh. “Oh, you should see your face!”
Cavan was about to retort when the sound of a key in the lock stopped him. Moments later, Lucas walked into the living-room looking a little dishevelled from work, which really only meant he’d taken off his tie and had rolled up his sleeves and cocked an eyebrow at Bonnie. “I take it she’s not in labour?” he asked drily.
Cavan shook his head as he padded over to the older man, “I want to say ‘I wish’ but I feel like it’s a little harsh.”
“Hm,” Lucas turned his full attention to Cavan and smirked. “Hello beautiful.”
“Hello handsome.” Cavan dipped his head so they he could steal a slow, tender kiss from the older man. “Do you want some tea?”
“I’d love some.”
Whilst Cavan ducked back into the kitchen, Lucas went over to his sofa and swatted Bonnie’s legs. She pulled a face but shifted over so that there was room for him to sit down. “Aren’t you meant to be on bed rest?” he remarked.
“I was bored.”
Rolling his eyes, Lucas patted his lap. “Up here.”
Bonnie him a doting look before dragging her feet back into his lap. Lucas mentally thanked whatever God was out there for one, giving him strength and two, for Bonnie having worn socks, before he started to massage her feet. Even with lack of movement her ankles and feet had become swollen and painful. He may not do much by way of helping prepare for the baby itself, however he couldn’t let his best friend suffer entirely.
“Oh! That feels so good!”
“Careful now,” Lucas warned. “You’ll make Cavan jealous with noises like that.”
“She claims to have heard worse from us,” Cavan interjected as he came back into the living room and placed Lucas’s mug of tea on the coffee table.
“Is that so?”
“Oh, you’re not that bad,” Bonnie stated before shooting a mischievous grin over at Cavan. “He’s the one who could bring the roof down the way he goes on begging you.”
Cavan’s cheeks went red.
Lucas chuckled. “You’re a wicked woman.”
“You wouldn’t have me any other way.”
“I’d have you out of my flat, but I don’t get everything I want.”
Bonnie stuck her tongue out. Lucas tickled her feet in retaliation.
Once settled, Cavan shifted so that he was sat on the floor next to Lucas’s legs. “So, when exactly are you due?” he asked, eyeing the swollen stomach with apprehension.
“In about two months or so.” Bonnie sighed. “It already feels like a lifetime away.”
“I wouldn’t complain if I were you,” Lucas stated as he reclined back against the sofa. “You’ll miss peace and quiet once that little thing arrives, squawking it’s lungs out.”
“I’m giving birth to a child not a hippogriff!”
“Eurgh!” Lucas scowled. “I hate that I actually get that reference now!”
Cavan couldn’t help but laugh along with Bonnie. Lucas leaned over and swatted him upside the head. “Hey!” he whined. “What was that for?”
“For ruining my brain!”
Cavan rolled his eyes, “Hey now, if you’re allowed to lecture me about maths and science and all that other rubbish, then I’m allowed to lecture you about Harry Potter. It’s only fair, darling.”
“Okay boys, I think I should plod home. It won’t do me any favours for Fletcher to see I’ve left the nest.”
Cavan helped Bonnie off the sofa before walking her to the front door. “If you need me just text me or something okay?”
“Thanks love, I will.”
He watched until she was safely inside her own door before retreating inside his own flat. Lucas hadn’t moved from his spot on the sofa. “So is the Chinese off tonight?” he asked.
Lucas nodded, running a hand down his face. “Rodrick’s got an after-school meeting and Fletcher doesn’t like to leave Bonnie alone. Can’t say I blame him, really.”
“Would you be that over-protective with your own children?” Cavan asked. It was only a moment afterwards that he realised what he’d said. “I didn’t … I mean … shit!”
Lucas gave him a wan smile and patted the sofa beside him. Cavan hesitated before shifting across the room. He sank down into the cushions and felt his insides twist as Lucas entwined their fingers. Looking into his lover’s clear, grey eyes, Cavan swallowed thickly and waited for someone to say something, anything that would break the silence.
“Cavan, I need to ask you something. Maybe I should have done this before asking you to move-in with me but in all honesty, it didn’t cross my mind.”
“Oh um … okay.”
“Do you want to have children?”
“I –what?”
“Do you want to have children at some point in the future?”
Cavan felt his mouth work soundlessly. His mind was blank. He’d just been happy to be living with the man he loved. The most pressing matter on his mind had been finding a job to help Lucas financially. He hadn’t really been thinking beyond that point.
“I … I don’t know. I’ve not really thought about it. I mean I’m only twenty-one.”
“Hm,” Lucas said. “I didn’t really think of it at that age either. Not really.”
“Did you ever think that you would want to?”
Lucas shook his head slowly. “I don’t think I did. I found it hard enough to cope with a relationship. I suppose I felt as though I couldn’t have one without the other. In a way, I suppose, I was right.”
“Do you think … that’d change? Or …?”
“I don’t think so.” He sighed, squeezing Cavan’s hand tighter. “If you want to have children, I don’t want to be the reason that holds you back. You’re still young, you can have that life if you choose to.”
Cavan was baffled. He gaped at Lucas in an incredulous manner. “Are you trying to break up with me?”
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