Chapter Text
'CUDDLE BUDDIES
Profesional cuddlers:
We cuddle, we snuggle and we brighten up your day.
Give us a call, we're available 24/7. '
Calum blinked up at his screen for a couple of seconds before groaning and dropping his head in his hands. What was he doing? What had his life really become?
Dropping back onto his bed, he sighed. Eight months ago, coming to New York, full scholarship in the music program of his dreams had seemed surreal. More than anything a kid from the suburbs of Sydney can dream of.
But fast forward to now, he was starting to think maybe he knew why kids from the suburbs didn't usually make it in classical music. To put it lightly, it was brutal. Kids from all around the world had bleed their hearts and souls to be there, and they were beasts. Completely focused, never falling behind, never missing a note.
To Calum, it had been overwhelming. Back home he was used to being the best, mostly due to the fact that no one around lived and breathed classical musical like he did. He was the best cello player at the official Orchestra of Sydney, which had albeit been the reason for his teachers recommending him for the NYC's program of revival for the classical arts. But that never made him feel bigger than anyone, and it surely didn't stop him from goofing around and having fun. Ultimately because his teachers had never been shy to joking, always kind whenever he'd mess up, always willing to give advice. Australians were usually good natured and he'd been rightfully brought up in that environment.
It was different in the States. Teachers expected their students to know more than them, to impress them and rediscover their craft while playing songs that were centuries old. There was no tolerance for humor, mistakes or questions. There was just flawless performances and nano second answers to questions he had never formulated to himself.
So needless to say, two weeks in he had already been marked as the weak link. And in a room full of prodigies who can only talk about themselves, Calum hadn't really found it easy to make friends.
It had taken three months and walking into the wrong rehearsal room for him to finally meet someone. NYC's musical department was one of the largest campuses, so no one could blame him when he'd walked in, flushed and sweaty from the summer heat, already apologizing for his tardiness, into room 609. He'd stop mid rant when he realized the studio was mostly empty, except for a shirtless man, dripping with sweat and drumsticks held midair, as if Calum had frozen him.
Big hazel eyes stared him down, as the man put his sticks down on his drumkit. Taking in his surroundings, he'd realized he interrupted a drummer in the middle of his private rehearsals and he was sure his face had gone to tones of red he didn't even know he could produce. He was mid turn, about to bolt out of the room when the man had shouted "Hey!".
After ponting to the brunette's ripped Green Day shirt, complimenting his musical taste and introducing himself, the rest was history.
Meeting Ashton had really been he highlight of his whole year, but that didn't mean he'd gotten the hang of everything else. It just seemed to him that he was a small kite in a big hurricane of sheet music and developing legends.
One day when he'd been particularly down Ashton had suggested the cuddle service, explaining that after his breakup with his girlfriend, he really couldn't cope with being alone and had hired their services. It had turned out the best experience of his life and it had helped him to face many things he hadn't been able to deal with until that moment. And because of that, he'd been able to get his girlfriend back, so he was promoting the hell out of it.
When he'd mentioned it, Calum caught himself thinking, that no matter how hard it got, he would never stoop so low as to hire someone to hug him through the night. He just would never.
That's why he felt so distressed at the moment. Because, Ashton was on a weekend holiday retreat with Bryana, and he was all alone in this huge city he simultaneously loved and hated. If he didn't have someone to hold him through the night, his thoughts were going to go to places he wouldn't be able to come back from. And since he felt ashamed to ask the few numbers he had in his phone book, he finally caved and gave into the idea of hiring someone.
Slowly, he pulled himself up right, trying to steady his breathing and blinking back the tears. The number was right there. He could it, he could hire a stranger, they would hold him, tell him it was okay and they'd be on their way. It wasn't even like hiring a hooker, and this definitely wouldn't be like pretty woman. It wasn't supposed to be like pretty woman either way. And why was he even thinking about pretty woman, for Christ's sake?
Shaking his head, he tried getting rid of all those thoughts before grabbing his phone from the nightstand. With trembling hands, he dialed the number and held his breathe. After two agonizing rings a soothing voice came through from the other line.
"Cuddle buddies, how can I help you?"
Pausing, Calum thought, he could just hang up. Get over the moment of weakness and face the rest of the night alone. He could do it. But the idea of spending one more second alone, brought a fresh pang of hurt to his heart and really, he couldn't bear it. Before his thought process could spiral out of control, the calm voice repeated itself.
"Um, yeah. I-, I need someone to-" He cut himself off because really, how was he going to phrase this?
Chuckling softly, the man on the other line interjected. "Sir, do you need someone to cuddle you?"
Shit, it was now or never. "Yeah. I-uh, I do." His voice came out so small, and he really hoped the man on the other side wouldn't pick up on how desperate he was.
Unfortunately for him, he did, and in an impossibly soother tone the voice asked him for his name and address, if he had any preferences on which gender and then proceeded to remind him the experience was to be purely platonic, never going into a sexual service. At that Calum had sputtered, hastily saying that had never even crossed his mind, but the voice had only laughed quietly, sounding a little embarrassed while apologizing. He hadn't meant to make Calum uncomfortable, but it was part of his job to remind the clients of this.
After establishing the price, the voice had bid him goodbye, thanking him for contacting them and wishing him the best of luck. His cuddle buddy would arrive in twenty minutes and he was to stay as long as Calum needed him.
He'd been pacing around his apartment, trying to make the small place look somewhat decent through the amount of music sheets and albums that were scattered around. He wasn't proud of how messy his apartment looked, but in the past few weeks there had been so many assignments and lectures, that he would only come home to sleep and then was out by six in the morning. Maybe that's why he was at this breaking point right now.
His thoughts were stopped by the sound of the intercom buzzing. He held his breathe, going over and willing his voice to stay firm while saying hello. Through the speakers, a thickly accented raspy voice spoke. "Calum? I'm your cuddle buddy, reporting for duty."
The way he said it made the brunette release the breathe he was holding, feeling something close to relief spreading through his chest and making him laugh. He didn't know why, but this guy's voice just made him feel a little more at ease.
"Yeah, that's me. I'll buzz you in."
"Thank God dude, it's freezing balls out here." The guy said, giggling at his own words before letting himself in.
A couple minutes later, there was a knock on the door and Calum realized he hadn't moved from his spot next to the intercom, lost in his own head. He practically ran to the door, yanking it open to reveal his "cuddle buddy".
The first thing he noticed was the smile. A big, goofy good natured smile framed by the reddest lips he'd ever seen. Sparkling green eyes seem to just add up to the picture perfectly, along with flushed cheeks, stubble and bright red hair that was partially concealed by a beanie.
Was he supposed to be attracted to his cuddle buddy? Because, fuck, if this wasn't the hottest guy he'd ever seen. And how was he supposed to cope when the guy came in wrapped from head to toe in winter clothes that seemed to frame him in equal amounts of cute and hot?
He must have seemed to be having some sort of second thoughts because the guy moved a tiny bit closer, putting a tentative hand on Calum's shoulder before letting out a soft "You know, it works better, if you let me in."
Calum's eyes widened at a comical rate, and his hand smacked his own forehead before stepping back and letting the guy in. Shit! He had to get it together.
"God I'm so sorry. I- this-" He groaned, closing the door behind him and turning around.
The guy was taking off his coat, a fond smile playing on his lips as he struggled to release one arm out of the huge winter jacket he'd brought.
"It's okay, I know this is a really weird thing."
Letting out a laugh of relief, Calum walked towards him, helping him out of the rest of his jacket while complying. "Yeah, I'm sorry to make you come down this late. Or early. God, I can't even talk anymore."
The boy turned around, staring at him kindly while taking back the jacket from the brunette's hands. "That's okay Calum. I'm Michael by the way."
Michael . Somehow that name suited perfectly with the guy, and Calum found himself smiling at that thought. It was probably the first time he'd genuinely smiled in a few weeks.
"It's nice to meet you, Michael."
He stretched out his hand, and Michael scoffed, rolling his eyes before tossing the jacket onto the couch next to him and pulling Calum in for a warm hug.
And the thing is, it should have felt weird. Hugging this stranger (hot stranger, but stranger nonetheless) should have felt like the most uncomfortable moment of his life. And yet, he found, the more he stayed in Michael's arms, the more he felt at home.
It was impossible for him to let go, finding the perfect spot to nest his head on the juncture between the red head's neck and shoulder. Letting his eyes flutter shut, he raveled in the feeling of Michael cradling him in his arms, and faintly wondered if this guy was that good of a hugger or if he was putting special effort into making him feel better. That thought was making him feel fuzzy inside and he couldn't even believe he was already this into a guy he had met not even four minutes ago. God he was embarrassing.
As if sensing his train of thoughts, Michael tightened his arms around him, tilting his head closer so that shaggy straight hair almost merged with dark brown curls.
"If you like my hugs, just wait till you see how fucking amazing my cuddles are."
God, this guy was going to be the death of him. Snorting, Calum had to duck his head further into Michael's neck to avoid showing the face splitting grin that was threatening to break out over the laugh bubbling in his throat.
He took a step back, laughing even more when he saw Michael pouting at the lost contact and led them to his bedroom. He couldn't wait to fall asleep cuddled next to this guy.
Waking up to an empty bed had been hard the next day.
The last thing he remembered was attaching his body to Michael's, hearing the boy telling a story about snapchatting his roommate passed out in front of a bowl of chips with k-pop playing in the back. All while carding his fingers through Calum's rebellious curls.
Starting conversation hadn't been as awkward as Calum thought.
Before any of the cuddling actually started, Michael had taken out a folded piece of paper from his pocket, apologetically handing it to the tawny boy while explaining it was a little contract he had to sign before he could provide the cuddle services.
Waving it off, he'd signed it, laughing when his eyes landed on the 'This service is strictly forbidden of sexual activities. Any attempts on this will be reported and result in the cuddler loosing his job and the customer facing charges.' Damn, the cuddle buddies weren't fooling around.
But once that and the payment was out of the way, Michal had suggested they'd start with laying down, and talking through Calum's day.
And before he knew it, he had his head on Michael's chest and his arms around his middle while the boy cradled his head in one of his hands and rubbed patterns onto his arms with the other one.
They'd bonded over being aussies trying to make it in the big city and Michael had listened attentively while Calum rambled about missing home, his family and his friends. He'd left out the part about the nervous breakdowns and insecurities because he really liked this guy, and if it was for one night, he didn't want him to know what a mess he was.
After a bit they'd started trading off embarassing stories and that's how Calum had fallen asleep, a smile on his lips and Michael's booming laugh in his ears.
So naturally, when the sun had hit his eyes and he reluctantly opened them, not finding pale white arms wrapped around him was like a bucket of cold water being dumped on his fragile heart.
He knew he had paid for it, knew that Michael was only doing his job. But somehow his stupid mind had forgotten that detail, and in the short amount of hours they'd been together he thought they had a connection, a bond of some sorts. And he hadn't felt that in so long , that it was even more depressing now that it was over.
It took him a long time to roll over, not wanting to see the other side empty, but when he did, something crinkled under his face. Lifting his head a bit, he picked up the piece of paper that was left on top of the pillow. Written in scrawny handwritting, it was a note.
Dear Calum,
Right now it's about five a.m and you've been asleep for a few minutes. I really hope our cuddle session helped you out a bit, because you're too pretty to look so sad. And don't worry so much, home is where your heart is, and if you're here, then try to put your heart where it belongs: in your music. You were chosen for that program because you were the best, so prove it to them. Prove it to yourself and dont be the one getting in the way of your dreams.
Fuck this is way too cheesy but yeah, I'm still getting the hand of these personalized notes.
It was great cuddling you and if you ever need us, our services are always available.
With cuddle (ha, I'm fucking hilarious),
Michael.
He didn't even try to contain the face splitting grin that had etched onto his face. Sighing, Calum toppled back onto his side, reading the note over and over again like a mantra.
Michael was a stranger and Michael didn't know him, but there was something about the feeling rising in his chest that told Calum, if not for himself, he'd try to get it together so one day, if he ever bumped into this extraordinary stranger, he'd get to tell him how he changed his life, and hell, maybe they'd even have a chance. Because this was a one night thing, and Calum would never need to call their services again.