muke

03

03

probably the only-almost-twenty-year-old who still panicked when he misplaced daniel; his stuffed animal.

     michael's fingers trembled as they hovered over his phone screen. the rest of the boys nodded, encouraging him to proceed. so michael began typing.

     'i have some free time today at about 2:30 ish'

     he tapped send and a few minutes later, he got his reply.

     '2:30 it is. don't be late'

     michael looked up and smiled at the boys, tossing his phone on the couch.

     "you have to help me choose what to wear!"

     the green haired boy- man squealed. ashton laughed and the four of them ran into the small walk-in closet.

     ashton suggested that michael should go for his daily look which consisted of black skinny jeans and a band t-shirt. on the other hand, calum thought that michael should go for the "bad boy" look but luke thought that michael should just be himself and choose whatever he wanted, whatever he felt like wearing.

     michael put on a white v-neck and black skinny jeans along with his black boots. the three other boys howled and whistled (there may have been some barks) causing michael to laugh and mouth 'shut up'.

     ashton put on his fedora and smiled at michael.

     "you ready?"

     michael nodded and linked arms with ashton as they both skipped out of the tour bus like the idiots they are. calum laughed behind them and yelled,

     "our two eldest band members are idiots!"

    which michael playfully scoffed at while he stuck up his middle finger. Yeah, he was totally mature.

     "speak for yourself!"

    calum grinned and shut the door. he jumped on the couch and heard an 'ow! what the fuck!' under him from a red-faced luke. calum laughed and stayed put in his spot, sticking his tongue out at luke. he rolled his eyes at calum.

     "you've been doing this since we were in high school. i'm surprised you haven't broken my ribs yet"

---

     on the way to walmart, michael babbled on about his daughter and if she was there, he would probably freak out and just smile and wave, but then a second later michael changed his mind and talked about how carter would take it if he asked to hug their little girl, to talk to her, to dye her hair- and ashton let out a chuckle at that- so did michael because they both knew that carter would never let michael dye their daughter's hair.

     michael froze once he saw the walmart logo in the distance. he turned around and began walking back to the tour bus.

     "i can't do this"

     ashton sighed because he knew something like this would happen. he knew that michael still had pain inside of him when he thought of carter, but ashton also knew that michael was ready for this day- he had always been ready. ashton didn't even know how michael survived almost four years of their 'break'. even with all his anxiety attacks and all his sleepless nights. ashton knew he wouldn't be able to get this far if he was michael and he sure as hell wasn't going to let michael back down now. it was almost 2:30, they had no time to waste.

     ashton grabbed michael's shoulders and turned him around so that they were facing each other.

     "do you want to see your daughter or not?"

    ashton asked carefully and slowly, watching michael's every move and every reaction. michael gulped and nodded, staring at the logo again. ashton grunted and motioned him to hurry up.

     the two boys- men soon arrived at the small cafe that carter had reffered to in the text message. ashton lightly shoved the taller boy inside of the shop as he let out a sigh.

     michael swore he felt his heart rate quicken when he saw a little girl and carter sitting down at a small table near the back of the cafe. he began yanking on ashton's wrist, his eyes wide and his eyebrows furrowed together as tightly as possible. ashton sighed and looked michael seriously in the eyes.

     "you are going to do just fine, mike. all you have to do is breathe."

     michael acknowledged ashton's advice, finding it simple which meant it could work. so michael walked towards the table with two seats and a bench (currently the one carter and the little girl were sat) as ashton walked confidently behind him. he knew that michael was afraid of facing carter and his daughter but ashton also knew that michael had been longing to see his daughter for a long time now. it was kind of suspicious, how carter would just text him out of flipping nowhere, asking for him to show up at some cafe. in a way ashton was worried- worried that this time, michael would take things to heart.

     as the two of them sat down, michael and his daughter laughed loudly at each other. carter and ashton were confused as fuck, wondering why michael wasn't crying- or at least frowning like he always was.

     "so you're my dad."

   her tone of voice sounded stern when she declared it as a fact instead of a question which caused michael to gulp.

     "y-yeah. i'm your dad"

     the four-year-old cracked a grin as her tiny fist flew in the air.

     "yay! i'm not the only kid in my class who's dad-less anymore!"

     she dramatically placed her hand on her forehead and leaned on carter's shoulder. the three adults laughed, provoking her to sit up because now she knew that she had their full attention. the four year old pointed to michael's hair and then pointed to a part of her hair that was highlighted green.

     "we are matching!"

     she squealed, jumping up and down on her seat. michael chuckled and nodded at his daughter, glancing at carter more than a few times. soon, carter caught him staring and she suggested that ashton and her daughter go to the register and order a small snack so that she could have a talk with michael. when the two were alone, carter sat up in her seat as she opened her mouth to speak.

      michael beat her to it though as he talked fast and quietly when he was nervous.

     "what's her name?"

     carter groaned as her hand ran through her hair. she frowned and avoided eye contact with michael.

     "her name is mikey"

     michael couldn't help but tear up. his daughter had inherited his nickname, and if that wasn't the most adorable thing ever, michael didn't know what was.

{ omfg sorry for not updating in a while i feel awful. i hope this chapter wasn't that bad lol i worked hard on it that's why it took a while to update.

ok so on the side is a gif of michael and calum being fuckin cuties aw aw aw }