baby, I'll show you the world [muke af]

(Thursday, December 26th, 2019)

(Thursday, December 26th, 2019)

Calum spotted his family first. There eyes were plastered on the 'Arrivals' screen to their left as Ashton pointed out the cities. It was always a time for a life-lesson in his book. Bella turned her head for a second, catching sight of her father.

She yelled his name, running away from Ashton and into Cal's arms. He dropped his bags, kneeling on the ground and catching her in a hug. He held her close, rocking her back and forth as he kissed her cheek repeatedly.

Ivona and Ashton held hands in the crowded airport as they slowly made their way over. Cal pulled Iv into the hug, kissing both of his girls as much as he could. He never thought he'd be a family man, but, hell, he was wrong. It was getting harder and harder to spend more than a few hours away from the joys of his life—which includes Ashton.

Calum finally stood up, pecking at his boyfriend's lips. "I missed you all so much," he said, "I'm so sorry my flight was fucked."

Bella covered the giggle leaving her mouth. "Bad word," she whispered.

Ivona began giggling, too. Cal reached down, grabbing both of them in his strong arms and pulling them to his side and onto his hips. They wrapped their arms around his neck, holding on to their father they haven't seen in almost a month.

Ashton leant down, grabbing his luggage bag. He wasn't sure why he even brought a luggage bag, he'd be leaving again tonight. "It's okay," he responded, trying to hide the sad look.
It was hard for Ashton, it was really hard. He was raising two girls practically by himself, he was trying to stay happy when he was still recovering over the loss of their child. He wasn't okay and he didn't want to go through it all by himself.

Cal leant down, pretending to drop the girls before bringing them back up.

Michael collapsed onto his knees in front of Luke after a five-minute hug. He put his hands on Luke's stomach, gasping at the large bump. "Twenty-three weeks?"

Luke nodded. "I guess now we know how big quadruplets are in the second semester."

Mike rubbed his thumbs over the top then down to the bottom. "So many," he said. He pressed his lips to Luke's stomach. "This is amazing."

The blonde winced as one of them—the one at the top, most likely to be named Mel—began to bother him once more. He put his own hand where she was practically running a marathon. 'This one," he said, poking at the skin, "Does not like going outside. At all."

Michael laughed. "She's just like me." He stood up again, grabbing his bag and holding Luke's hand. He started leading them towards the Hood-Irwins.

Later in the night, Calum and Ashton lay collapsed on their bed. Cal crawled on top of his boyfriend, kissing his bare torso. "I'm sorry, Sweetie."

Ashton shook his head as he tried to stop crying. "I know you are, I'm just upset." He covered his face with his hands, he was embarrassed to be so weak. "Not at you, just everything."

Calum trailed his lips up closer to Ash's collarbones, trying to remind him how loved he truly is. "I know it's hard, I miss you guys so much. It mentally and physically hurts me. But, Boo, this is my job. I have to do this."

Ashton let his hands fall down to Cal's head, playing with the hair at the top. "Couldn't you have just gotten a studio here in LA and just did that kind of stuff? It's so fucking hard being away from you, Cal."

Calum's fingers drew circles in Ashton's biceps. "I crave adventure, you know that. This is what I'm going to be doing every single day until Michael's career calms down a bit."

Ash let out a sob again. "It's so hard without you." He cried more than he can ever remember crying. "You mean the world to me."

Calum couldn't take his crying, it broke his heart. Not just broke, it shattered and ripped apart every aspect of his heart. "I love you, Ash, you know that. We'll have that long break when Mike is recording soon, yeah? I'll make sure my flights don't get delayed 24 hours so that I'm able to see you guys for more than 12 hours, yeah?"

Ashton nodded, trying to suck in the cries. "I'm sorry."

Cal sat up, straddling his waist. He kissed over his chin, then cheekbones, then the tip of his nose. "No, no, no. Nothing to apologize about. I love you so much. So, so much. You're raising our girls so well. You're doing everything so well. I promise, I'll be able to help you one day, with everything."

Ashton turned his head, seeing it was half past 11. "You need to go, you're going to miss your flight." He turned back to the love of his life, resting his hands on his strong cheekbones. "I love you, too, Cally."

Michael kissed Luke's big belly. "I love you," he moved up, "And you," then to the left, "And you," then to the top, "You need to stop pissing off Luke, but I love you, too." Luke laughed as he grabbed Michael's chin, puling him up towards himself. Mike kissed his lover, "I love you, too."

Luke wrapped his arms around Michael's neck and he never wanted to let go. "You're going to be back soon, right?"

"January 9th," he said with a smile. "Only two weeks and I'll see all of you." He rubbed Luke's stomach once more, not feeling any movement.

Luke swore that whenever he laid down, they'd go straight to sleep, too. Michael couldn't fathom the thought that the babies were sleeping and blinking and moving. That's amazing.

Mike turned to Taco whom was laying on Mike's pillow. "You protect my hubby, okay?"

Taco looked at Michael, letting out a hiss as she began fluffing up.

"Holy shit, she protects you too well." Michael jumped up as Taco stood up, taking slow steps towards Mike. "Okay, I've gotta get going. Get some sleep, hopefully I'll be on the east coast by the time you wake up."

Luke pet Taco, pushing her fur down as she relaxed. She curled to Luke's side, falling back into her own sleep. All cats do is sleep—all day, all night. Michael wanted that life.

"Be safe, I love you."

Michael leant down, kissing Luke once more. "Love you more." He grabbed his bag, pushing it over his shoulders. "Head to sleep soon, don't worry too much."
Luke nodded, trying not to tear up as Michael began to leave. He turned off their bedroom light, blowing Luke a huge kiss from the door.
Twenty minutes later, Michael received a text.

From / Lukey

i miss you

(a/n) i am literally everyone in this chapter rn ok. had a very stressful weekend w canceled flights and delayed flights and ugh. i love flying and traveling when everything goes right, which is rare.