Hey! Thank you to makayla_real_me for giving me the idea for this. Also, this is a part 2 to my imagine "Just Like You" so if you haven't read that, you might want to check it out before reading this :)
Enjoy!
*Y/n's POV*
It was a week after Dylan's eighteenth birthday, and during that short week, the idea of him moving out started to get more and more real. For days, Dylan had been packing clothes and other important things in a couple of suitcases. After a bit of debating and figuring everything out, Dylan had decided to stay with one of his friends in Los Angeles until he could get his own place. He wasn't taking all his belongings, but his bedroom slowly began to look empty, with bare walls and more unfilled space than ever. It was a little sad, although I tried to tell myself that it was good. He had to move out sometime, even if it was a little early.
The day before Dylan was going to leave, I was at home while Shawn was working. I walked up to Dylan's open doorway and looked around the room. It looked a lot different inside. Dylan was packing a few things into a backpack on his bed. "What're you up to?" I asked.
He turned around for a second and glanced at me. "Just packing some final stuff to take with me on the plane," he replied, "I feel like I've been packing forever."
I stepped into his room. "Do you want some help?"
"Yes, please. I could use some," he grinned, "I feel like I'm packing like way too much stuff."
I started helping him put small items like pieces for his guitar and some mementos in the bag. "Well, that's probably a good thing. You're definitely going to need more than what you would bring on a vacation."
"Yeah," Dylan agreed, "I want to make sure I'm not doing anything wrong or forgetting something."
"I think you're doing great so far," I said, continuing helping him pack. It was weird seeing empty spots in Dylan's bedroom where I could remember old toys and other things from his childhood being there.
Thinking of that suddenly made my eyes prickle like I was going to cry. I started to realize that maybe I wasn't as cool with Dylan leaving as I had thought I was. Almost every time anyone had mentioned him moving out, I had felt this pang of sadness, but until then, I didn't know why. But finally, I did. The thought of Dylan not being at home and living incredibly far away was making me not want him to leave. However, I couldn't tell Dylan that. I knew to let Dylan move out was the right thing and I didn't want to have him stay because of me, so I told myself to keep quiet and hoped that it wouldn't be too hard when he left.
The next day, Shawn and I were awake early to drive Dylan to the airport. Shawn was driving and I was next to him in the passenger seat. Dylan was sitting behind me. I couldn't believe it was actually the day Dylan was leaving. Time had flown by. My son was eighteen and moving away from me. I don't think I could have said that out loud without choking up. And I was still convinced to not make Dylan worry about me missing him, so I tried to not talk about it while we drove.
Shawn, though, didn't seem to be nearly as upset or worried as I was. He looked so calm like nothing was even happening. Like our son wasn't moving thousands of miles away. On a plane. By himself. I really needed to not think about it.
"Are you excited or are you nervous?" Shawn asked, glancing at Dylan in the rearview mirror.
Dylan shrugged. "I guess sort of both. I'm excited to be in LA again. I haven't been since that one year I came with you on tour. I was barely ten years old then."
"You're not nervous to go on a plane?" Shawn joked.
"There's no way I could be," Dylan shook his head, grinning, "I've traveled with you so many times, Dad, that being on a plane is as normal as waking up in the morning. Except it's usually not as comfy."
I laughed, "Me too, Dyl."
Soon, we arrived at the airport and began walking to the right gate. We were running a little late. After we took care of Dylan's luggage and got to the waiting area, his flight had already started boarding. "Are you sure you have everything you need?" I questioned. We were standing a few steps away from the check in desk.
"Yep. I have everything. I even double checked," Dylan replied. His hands were in his jacket pockets and he was carrying his backpack on his back.
"Okay," I nodded, "Are you sure you're going to be okay? You can still change your mind if you want to." I accidentally let some of my worries slip out, but it seemed like Dylan thought I was mostly joking.
"I'll be fine, Mom," he smiled, "I should probably get going. You know, so I can find my seat and get settled." Shawn and I both nodded and started to say our goodbyes. Shawn went first. He hugged Dylan tight and I could tell he was whispering any advice he could in Dylan's ear. He might've been able to stay calm and collected before, but once we were saying goodbye all his walls came down.
When it was my turn to say goodbye to Dylan, I couldn't help but want to hug him and never let go. But, I did anyway. "Call me or your dad anytime, okay?" I said, looking him in the eye, "I'll pick up no matter what."
Dylan nodded and mumbled, "Okay, Mom." We all exchanged "I love you"s before Dylan turned and walked away. Shawn's arm was around my shoulders as he walked through the doors and out of sight.
Until then, I hadn't cried at all. However, once Dylan was gone, I couldn't help it. Tears started to fall down my cheeks and I pressed my face against Shawn's chest. He squeezed me tighter and looked down at me. "Are you okay, hun?" he asked.
I shook my head slightly. "I'm trying to handle him leaving. I know it's good for him, but he's never done anything like this by himself before."
"I thought you were fine with it."
"I mean, I was at first," I told, "but it's been getting to me recently. I don't really want him to leave, even though I know he has to at some point. It's hard because I want him to achieve everything he wants to, but I have to let him leave in order for that to happen."
Shawn sighed and pulled me into a full hug. My cheek was pressed against his jacket and he leaned his head on mine. We stayed like that for a couple minutes and then started walking back to where we entered the airport. Shawn was holding my hand the whole way and when we got to the door, he lifted our hands up and planted a kiss on the back of mine. His lips were warm, making my hand tingle ever so slightly. "It'll be okay," he cooed as he pushed open the door. We walked into the cold air outside, heading to the car with one less person than before.
*Shawn's POV*
A couple of days after Dylan left for LA, I started to notice that Y/n wasn't acting normal. I mean, it wasn't really anything bad. She was just acting differently and not how she usually was.
Maybe it was that she didn't seem as happy as usual, which I expected with Dylan moving out. But really, it was more than that. I found her in Dylan's old room a couple times and she always looked so down. It didn't ease my mind when one time she was holding one of his old stuffed animals that he'd left behind. Another time I came across her looking at pictures of her, Dylan, and I together, some of them old and some of them recent. By then, I was sure. Y/n was seriously missing Dylan, and as someone who loved her more than anything and was always there for her to lean on, I had to make it easier for her somehow.
Until I had my perfect idea ready, I decided to give Y/n the next best thing: plenty of hugging and cuddling from me.
"Good morning beautiful," I grinned as I walked up behind Y/n in the kitchen. I wrapped my arms around her torso and pressed my lips against the back of her head.
