"Asher." Cailen whispered even though he knew Asher couldn't hear him anymore.
Cailen was tempted to just stay there but he knew if he did, he probably wouldn't be able to move in the morning. So instead of risking that, Cailen very carefully and very awkwardly swung his legs around, maneuvering Ezekiel's so they wrapped around his waist and stood, holding the boy by his thighs.
Ezekiel didn't even stir, not loosening his grip either, as Cailen hobbled down the hall and kicked open the door to their room.
Asher was waiting for them in the bed, grinning at Cailen innocently.
"You got him?" Asher asked around a chuckle, watching the duo carefully in case Cailen really didn't have him.
"Yes, no thanks to you." Cailen gritted out, shooting his husband a glare as he made his way to the bed, noticing Loki had curled up at the end and had already fallen asleep.
"He's not that heavy." Asher chuckled as Cailen slowly lowered himself on the bed, swinging Ezekiel's legs over, then his own.
"Yeah, this coming from the guy who can carry a full grown man out of a burning building and stop to roast a marshmallow on the way." Cailen grumbled, making Asher throw his hand over his mouth to stifle a laugh.
"What?" Asher asked, still laughing.
"I don't know, it's late, I'm tired, don't judge me." Cailen said wiggling himself until he was laying down with Ezekiel half on top of him.
Asher laughed to himself, scooting over until he was nearly pressed against Cailen, being stopped by the boy's legs between them.
"This is cute, by the way." Asher told him, pressing a kiss to Cailen's cheek.
"Yeah, adorable." Cailen grumbled. "He's like a portable heater, I don't know if I'll make it through the night." Cailen said honestly, already feeling himself starting to sweat.
Asher chuckled, dropping his head onto Cailen's shoulder and kissing the skin there before snuggling up to him even further, wrapping an arm as far as he could around Ezekiel and Cailen.
"Really? Are you trying to kill me?" Cailen asked.
Asher only hummed in response, not making an attempt to give Cailen some space as the room fell quiet.
Although Cailen was dying of heat, he found that he didn't mind and that yeah, it was kind of cute but Cailen couldn't stop thinking about the reason Ezekiel was in their bed, clinging onto him in his sleep.
"We have to talk to him, Cai." Asher said quietly as if reading Cailen's thoughts.
"I know." Cailen replied, just as quiet, the heat making him sleepy. "Tomorrow, we've got all day." He added.
Asher hummed again in response and Cailen knew that neither of them would be awake much longer.
"We'll figure this out." Cailen mumbled to no one in particular because he could already hear soft snores coming from Asher, the man already asleep and eventually Cailen followed.
*****
Although Cailen fell asleep in an overly full bed, he woke up to a completely empty one the next morning.
The sheets were cold so everyone had left a while ago- how long ago, Cailen wasn't sure.
The sun was pouring in through the windows though and he couldn't remember the last time he had gotten up after the sun. Even on weekends, he was required to get up early because Ezekiel was always up early so they had to be up early.
He honestly couldn't wait for the phase where Ezekiel would like to sleep in till noon.
Cailen was supposed to have gotten up several hours ago, he saw as he looked at his phone, but seeing as how it was nearly noon, someone had turned off his alarm. Not that he was complaining.
When Cailen crawled out of bed, feeling the most rested he's felt in a long time, he quickly threw on a pajama and headed out to find everyone, stopping in the toilet on the way.
As he headed into the living room, he could hear the familiar strum of a guitar, though it was hesitant and the strums were very spaced out.
Cailen couldn't help but smile when he entered the living room because he saw Ezekiel sitting on a chair, a guitar that was way too big for him in his lap, his arms stretched over the top of the guitar and the other arm stretched down the neck of the guitar as his fingers tried to hold a chord.
Noah sat infront of him on the floor, instructing him through the chords, reaching out to move his fingers for him and chuckling when Ezekiel's fingers were just barely long enough to make the stretch.
No one noticed him come in because Noah and Ezekiel were too busy trying to strum out a chord with Ezekiel's short arms and Asher sat on the couch watching them with his back to Cailen.
It was a sight he wouldn't mind waking up to everyday- Ezekiel getting along with their friends, a smile on his face with Asher obviously trying to hide his amusement.
Cailen came up beside Asher where he sat at the end of the couch, leaning against the arm rest. He bent down beside him, slipping his arms under his arm and kissing his cheek.
Asher turned to him, a smile on his face before leaning in to kiss Cailen properly, lingering there for a moment before pulling away and smiling at Cailen again.
"You turned off my alarm." Cailen mumbled, trying to seem disappointed about that but unable to succeed.
"Thought you could use a sleep in." Asher explained, pecking Cailen's lips again.
"Thank you." Cailen mumbled, kissing Asher’s chin before turning to watch the guitar lesson going on.
Noah had just placed Ezekiel's fingers in a new spot that Ezekiel was now using to strum away with. Noah turned to them now, offering Cailen a weak smile that confused Cailen.
Noah was a happy guy, always. No matter the situation, he always looked for the bright side, never letting anything get to him and always pushed through with a bright smile.
If he was having trouble getting out a smile, something might be seriously wrong. Noah returned his attention to the guitar, reaching out to adjust one of Ezekiel's fingers that was slipping and making the chord sound off.
"What's wrong?" Cailen asked, turning back to Asher.
Asher sighed, his attention on his friend.
"Camille threw him out last night." Asher explained in a hushed tone. "He's staying with Wil at your mom's but Wil has band rehearsals, Matthew and Hazel are busy with Aariyah and he doesn't want to be alone." Asher spoke with sympathy in his voice as he regarded his friend.
"What?" Cailen asked in shock, turning back to the blonde Scot.
Now that Cailen was really looking, he could see just how upset Noah was. Any normal person probably wouldn't be able to pick up on it but for anyone who knew Noah, you'd be able to tell.
His shoulders were slumped and his hair a right mess. There was no gleeful glint to his blue eyes or warmth to his smile and his laugh when Ezekiel slipped on a chord was forced and doesn’t make you laugh as well like it normally did.
Cailen detached himself from Asher, shuffling over behind Noah.
Noah noticed the movement, glancing over to see Cailen making his way over to him. He obviously knew Cailen now knew because he hung his head in a sort of shame and started picking at his nails.
Cailen kneeled behind him, throwing an arm over his shoulder and down the front of his chest, hooking his chin over the blonde's shoulder and pulling him close into a half hug.
Noah willingly leaned back into him, leaning his head against Cailen's while letting out a sigh.
Cailen held him a bit tighter, seeing how defeated Noah really was when he heard a small sniffle come from the man.
"Do you want something to eat?" Cailen offered, knowing Noah loved food more than life itself.
Noah shook his head, shocking Cailen into a frown.
"I'm sure we have a beer in the fridge somewhere." Cailen said instead, the man was Scottish after all, but Noah just shook his head again, really making Cailen frown and feel a small ache in his chest for his friend.
It hurt to see Noah so down. It was something he wasn't used to seeing.
"What now, Noah?" Ezekiel asked, completely oblivious to the mood of the blonde man teaching him guitar.
Noah took in a deep breath, pulling away from Cailen and reaching out for the boy's fingers.
"This," Noah said as he moved Ezekiel's fingers around. "Is an 'F'. Strum from here to here." Noah instructed, pointing to two strings.
Ezekiel did as told, strumming the guitar even though it looked incredibly awkward for him to do.
It sounded a bit off at first but after a few strums and Noah adjusting his fingers again, it actually sounded alright.
Noah leaned back again into Cailen, Cailen immediately throwing his arm over him again.
"I just want a distraction." Noah explained honestly.
"Well, a distraction we can provide." Cailen said cheerfully, kissing Noah's temple quickly before standing upright.
Cailen noticed that Noah didn't even try to wipe off the kiss jokingly and he knew that things were bad. He supposed he shouldn't be surprised. They were in a serious relationship for a little over a year, had moved in together right after New Year's and Cailen thought they might actually last forever.
But he supposed things happened and maybe they just weren't meant to last. All he could do now was be here for his friend.
They ended up heading to the park after Ezekiel complained that his fingers were starting to hurt from trying to stretch them over the strings.
Noah seemed to stick to Ezekiel, the child apparently a good distraction when all he wanted to do was run around and chase birds again, often dragging Noah along behind him.
Cailen felt horrible for his friend. He knew that he had really loved Camille and even though he would smile and laugh along with Ezekiel, Cailen could tell it was all for show.
He only hoped Noah got what he wanted and was distracted long enough until Ezekiel complained about being hungry and they decided to stop at a little restaurant for something to eat.
"You know, he's actually pretty good." Noah spoke quietly from across the table.
Asher had taken Ezekiel to the toilet to wash up before he ate, leaving the two of them alone.
Cailen had planned to use this time to see how he was doing, but if Noah didn't want to talk about it, he wasn't going to push.
"Who is good?" Cailen asked. "And at what?" He added with an overly exaggerated confused expression.
He may have been playing up his facial expressions all day, acting extra silly to cheer up the blonde, but he wasn't so sure it was working.
"Zeke, at guitar." Noah clarified. " He picked it up really fast, and he's only eight." Noah said, sounding impressed.
"Yeah, how did that happen?" Cailen inquired.
"He saw my guitar and asked about it, and yeah... It just kind of happened." Noah shrugged.
"Oh, gosh." Cailen groaned. "You're converting him into a music nut, aren't you? I'm going to have to buy a guitar or drum set and have to tell him to shut up ten times an hour." Cailen complained.
Noah actually cracked a smile at this which Cailen took as a win.