WRITTEN IN THE SCARS

My arms are open

Summary:
Alex has shifted from rockstar to family man with no effort, not hiding himself and everyone around him that he likes it. Miles asks Alex a delicate question.

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Weeks passed by in LA and Miles was doing his best to adapted to his new life, taking one step at time, knowing that he had to be brave and prepare himself to reconnect with the world. I settled into the daily routine smoothly, ready to live like that for the rest of my life because I felt at ease instead of stuck in a rut as I had always said to everyone in the attempt to justify the fact that I was the only one in my band without a wife and kids. Our mums had just gone back to the hotel after spending half of the day with us and now we were relaxing on the couch before dinnertime, sitting next to each other with our legs stretched out on the coffee table in front of us. Haylee was on the carpet, stacking blocks, looking at her colored book and doing everything but watching the TV screen behind her. There was her favorite cartoon on, the one she kind of insisted to watch, but now she was facing us while playing by herself therefore Miles and I were the only ones looking at the colorful animals moving and singing on the TV screen.

"Al?" I heard Miles calling.

"What?" I answered, turning my sleepy face toward him.

"Nothing. I just wanted to check if you were still awake," Miles said eyeballing me. "If you are planning to take a nap let me know because one of us has to stay awake," he said stifling a yawn.

"Well, it wasn't my intention to fall asleep," I replied, blinking my eyes quickly a couple of times in the attempt to get out of my lethargic state. "She doesn't give a damn about the animals today and we have already watched this stuff countless times so it's getting a little boring."

"We should get rid of it".

"What's the plan?" I asked curiously and Miles looked briefly at Haylee before replying.

"I don't have a plan but I suppose that one of us has to distract her so we're gonna avoid the little bug start crying like two days ago," Miles said under his breath as if Haylee could really get the meaning of our conversation.

"Yes, the little bug is getting smarter with each passing day and it's a little bit scary," I replied under my breath with a chuckle but well, I really thought that raising a baby nowadays was a hard task and that our parents had been luckier than us.

"Yes, it's damn scary and I am relieved to have you around because, honestly, I don't think I would be that good without your help," Miles said in a sweet tone with a smile on his lips. My heart melted at the realization that he was happy and grateful to have me around and it made me feel proud of the fact that I was actually helping him and supporting him.

"You're an amazing dad, Mi. You always had this special feeling with babies, toddlers, kids... I always knew that you would be a great dad; she's gonna grow up happy and smart, making you feel proud."

"I hope so," Miles replied in a tone that hid some concern but the way his face lit up as he looked at Haylee it meant that he was glad he had the chance to be a father. He was obviously scared because it was a huge responsibility but I knew that he was at ease enough with kids to handle every situation with Haylee now and also in the future, when she would turn into a demanding and rebellious teenager causing the usual troubles.

We looked at each other for a moment and I soon realized that Miles was now kind of checking on me, letting his eyes wander on my body. Unfortunately, the glance he was giving me wasn't a lustful one; I knew all his glances very well -especially the lustful ones- therefore, I had an idea of what he was thinking about and I couldn't help but chuckle.