Broken Descent (Bruno Mars)

Invaluable

Many months later, Bruno and his hooligans were in the middle of the tour. It was summer time. Before the show one evening, he was lounging on the couch of the dressing room. Charlotte, now seven months old, was sitting up in his lap. The TV was on but only Charlotte was paying attention to it. Bruno was too busy watching her as she laughed at the cartoons on the screen. He noticed how she started to learn and understand more about the world around her. The older she got, the more Bruno fell in love. She was now sitting up on her own. Soon enough, she'd been crawling and talking.

Charlotte was cracking up.

"Aww..." Bruno said, holding her hips and kissing each side of her cheeks.

The saying "They grow up so fast" really began to resonate with Bruno. He held his hand firmly against her chest. Bruno held both of her little hands with just one of his. Charlotte began to yawn, reminding Bruno to check the time. It was just about time for him to return to the stage to put on another great show.

"Time for bed," Bruno said, standing up.

He stood in front of her pack and play, holding her for a bit. She smiled at him and he smiled back. Bruno kissed her right on the nose, making her giggle. Charlotte opened her mouth and put it on his nose.

"Hey," he laughed. "Are you eating my nose?"

Charlotte couldn't stop smiling. Before setting her down, he gave her a kiss again. Her eyes started to close immediately.

"Good night, Charlotte. I love you."

Fast asleep, she still had a slight smile.

"I'll never get tired looking at that little face," he whispered.

Bruno joined the band backstage, about to perform. Even since Charlotte, he had a newfound energy on while performing. His happiness shone beyond the lights on stage and the smile on his face. It was louder than the heavy bass and his drum solos. A human being so small, who depended on her dad so much, for everything, gave him so much life.

After another great show, Phil approached Bruno at one of the refreshment tables in the back. They would be staying in the city a second night and had the next day free. Bruno especially was excited for it.

"Hey bro," Phil said. "We should all go out tonight and go to a club. We're in New York...might as well. I can't believe how long it's been."

"Umm..."

"C'mon it's been so long. We've barely got out since Charlotte...and I know you. I know a part of you is dying to go out and party."

"Mmmm..."

"She's going to fine. She's just sleeping. We can get Ryan to watch her."

Bruno hesitated.

"Alright," Phil commanded. "We're going out. You don't have the choice anymore."

Bruno and the Hooligans went out to a club and to his own slight surprise; he was having a great time. He went to the bar to get just one more drink before returning to his friends. His days of getting completely wasted were gone. He decided to set a good example; he had to. It was toward the end of the night. Bruno was thinking about heading back to the hotel. As a relatively new dad on a nationwide tour, he was on a crazy sleep schedule.

"Damn, Kameron," grunted. "Check out that girl over there. How big you guys think those are?"

The rest of the Hooligans stared, except for Bruno.

"Alright fellas," he said a bit loudly. "That's enough."

They all continued to pass stares, except this time it was toward Bruno. It seemed out of character for him; it was his old character.

"What?" Kam said.

"I'm just saying you guys should be a little more respectful."

Phil thought for just a few seconds. "Ah man," he grinned. "I know what's goin' on. Bruno's a changed man, now. He's thinking like Dad."

"Awww..." the rest of them echoed.

"Well she is someone's daughter...just think about that," Bruno said. "That's all I'm sayin'."

Walking back to the hotel room, Phil put his hand on Bruno's shoulder to keep himself from falling over. It was just them at this point.

"Hey man I didn't mean to tease you before. I like this new version of you. I really do. Your priorities are in check now, and it's great. You're not drinking as much as you used to. You're way less of a douche. I didn't mean to embarrass you or anything."

"Naw I'm not ashamed."

Bruno and Phil went their separate rooms. Ryan was there, looking down into the crib.

"Hey," Bruno said, moving to stand beside him. She was awake, but quiet. "How was she?"

"She keeps waking up, Bruno. I tried everything. Sorry."

"It's okay," Bruno replied.

Bruno bounced her around for a bit. She grew to be restless.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Charlotte's lips began to quiver. Bruno gave her a kiss, sighed, and set her back down in her crib.

"Well one day," Bruno smiled again, "one day you're going to come home crying and you're gonna be able to tell me what's wrong. You're gonna tell me all about how some asshole of a guy said something that upset chu...or didn't see just how amazing you are and broke up with you. This world won't always be good to you, my little sweetheart, but Daddy promises to beat up anyone who hurts you, because you're amazing just the way you are."

Bruno got lost in her as she drifted off to sleep. She gave a little smirk, shortly before completely falling asleep. That smile meant everything to him.

"Night, night, peanut."

The next day was completely free for everyone. The group split up for part of the day. They couldn't all decide on one restaurant to eat at. Bruno, Charlotte, Phil, and Eric sat at a restaurant in Manhattan. The press had been trying to take pictures all day and Bruno tried his best to hide her, or at least keep her at a distance. When the waitress came by for the first time, it was clear that she was a fan. By the time she gave them the check, there was a huge note on the receipt

I was adopted...when I was a kid...because of reasons I don't want to reveal...but I think you should know that even though my parents were my "adoptive" parents, it didn't make too much of a difference in the end. The only important thing was that they loved me. It must be hard doing it in the public eye and balancing your career and raising a child, but I promise that what you're doing for her has a priceless value.