Rules of Friendship | 18+

𝘌𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘶𝘦 ♡

𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦

➵➵➵➵➵➵➵♡➵➵➵➵➵➵➵
𝘕𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳

Graduation Day and the stadium was packed.

But all I could focus on was my girlfriend and my daughter, who had been approved to walk across the stage with us. Three months ago, Serenity gave birth to a healthy baby girl, who we named Mia Grace. She was the best thing to happen to me other than her mother. Every day I wake up to my baby girl on my chest while Serenity sleeps at my side and I swear I'm the luckiest man on this goddamn planet. Nothing, and I mean nothing, tops that feeling.

"Here's daddy," Serenity's smile was massive when she walked up to me, Mia gave her a smile, or what we could assume was a smile, she was still learning to move everything. Serenity was glowing, literally, motherhood was the most beautiful thing that I've ever witnessed with my best friend. Serenity fell into motherhood with such grace, she always knew what Mia wanted, even if it meant that it was me that our daughter wanted, not her mother.

"Hey baby," I wrapped an arm around Serenity's waist after I took Mia from her, kissing my daughter's head before placing a kiss on my girlfriend's mouth. "Is my perfect sunshine giving you trouble?"

Serenity playfully rolls her eyes, tickling Mia's feet and causing her to erupt in a fit of giggles. Like I said, she's a natural. "It's not fair you have your daddy wrapped around your finger," Serenity teases as she smiles at the perfect creation we made, "It was supposed to work in my favor, not against it."

The laugh that erupted out of me was genuine, and I loved the look that Serenity gave me when she heard it like she couldn't believe she had brought that sound out of me. Her hand was on Mia's little foot as she gazed at me like I was the only person in the world that mattered to her, other than our sweet daughter.

Before Serenity could say anything, she squealed, Bucky's arms banded around her hips as he lifted her up, spinning her around. "Do not fret," Bucky laughed, holding Serenity dangling in the air, "Uncle Bucky is here to save the day!" Mila giggled, her fist in her hand and I inwardly cringed at the saliva spilling over her fingers. But Bucky didn't seem to care as he set Serenity down, taking Mia from me and bouncing her around while he went to find Sam.

Everyone says being young parents is hard, but I wouldn't want anything else, with anyone else.

My arm slid around Serenity's waist and she smiled up at me, laying her head on my shoulder. "Grandma's said they have this weekend covered," I murmured against Serenity's hair, "We're able to take a little baby-free trip up north if you want. As a graduation celebration."

"We've never been away from Mia for that long."

"I know," I leaned down to kiss Serenity's forehead. "But I see how tired you are baby, it's okay to ask for help and to take a break. I wouldn't suggest it if I didn't think you needed it."

A tired sigh left Serenity's mouth as she leaned against me again. My hand traced the shape of her spine over the silky fabric of the graduation gown. I knew she was scared to leave Mia alone, but she also knew she needed a break or she was going to collapse. Serenity was on Dean's list, so not only was she busting her ass in motherhood, she was doing it academically too. There wasn't a day that went by that I wasn't amazed by the tenacity Serenity showed to things. Not only was she a phenomenal girlfriend, she was a great friend, and an even more amazing mother. So I knew I won her over when I kissed the top of her ear, feeling her shoulders sag as an "Okay." Left her lips.

Bucky brought Mia over to us again and Serenity smiled, reaching for our daughter.

Mia was a perfect mixture of Serenity and I. She had the brightest blonde hair and deep blue eyes that had a gray tone to them. She inherited my long lashes and Serenity's beautiful freckles. I thought I was obsessed with them on Serenity, but seeing them on my daughter made me fall in love with the detail all over again.

Serenity leaned back on my chest again and I wrapped my arms around her waist from behind, watching the way our daughter looked up at us with such awe. We were moments away from graduating college, yet both of us would agree that having Mia was the best thing that's ever happened to us. "We're really lucky Mia," Serenity whispered, dragging one of her fingers over the apple of Mia's cheek, "Your daddy loves us so much," I smiled listening to Serenity speak, "So much so that he's willing to let me stay home with you for a year while he works."

That was more of a selfish desire, although I had gotten a great job at an architecture firm in the city. I'd be making enough money for us to comfortably live for at least two years, if not more. But I craved to come home and see my girlfriend and my baby doing whatever they had planned that day. I craved the squeals of excitement that echoed around the house when I walked through the door each day. It started when Serenity was pregnant on the days that she didn't have late classes, and I became obsessed with the feeling.

I kissed Serenity's temple before I leaned down to kiss Mia's as the announcer told us to take our seats.

Serenity cradled Mia in her lap as she sat to my left, smiling at the girl beside her who had a two-month-old in her lap. It was nice to have such a strong community around us, we weren't alone in this. And as soon as Serenity hit the halfway point in her pregnancy, we joined a group on campus, and made friends, but also had a midwife come in and walk us through the steps we needed to take. That made this whole experience a lot less stressful.

Well, that and having our mothers both be nurses on the Labor and Delivery floor.

We sat for over an hour as names were called and they walked up on stage to her their diplomas. I had taken Mia when she got fussy from exhaustion and gently rocked her until she fell asleep on my shoulder, her face smooshed as Serenity continuously wiped down her forehead to make sure she wasn't getting hot.

When our row was called to line up, I shifted Mia slightly so I could still take Serenity's hand, smiling when my girl grinned at me.

We stood at the base of the stairs as a family entering their next stage of life. I squeezed Serenity's fingers when her name was called and she quickly leaned up to kiss me, then kissed Mia before she walked across the stage to accept her diploma for theater, her smile was wide as she posed for a picture, walking off the stage after.

My name was called after and I shifted Mia slightly as I stepped onto the stage, the crowd clapping when they saw Mia, just like they had when any of the babies crossed the stage. I took my diploma, shook the Dean's hand, and posed for a photo, before accepting a stuffed bobcat, our mascot, for Mia.

When I descended the stage, Serenity was watching me with tears in her eyes. "What's wrong baby?" Panic instantly flared in my chest as I tossed everything into one hand, shifting Mia a little more before I pulled her into my side, wiping down her tears. "What's making you cry?"

"I just can't belive how far we've come," Serenity whispered, "Fifteen-year-old me wouldn't have guessed we'd be walking across the college stage with our baby. It's a dream come true."

I smiled, leaning down to brush my mouth against hers as I whispered, "And I'd break all of the rules of friendship again if it meant being by your side."

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