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

(Thursday, March 12th, 2020)

(Thursday, March 12th, 2020)

Michael sat on his flight back to Australia to finish off the last leg of the tour. He put his sock-clad feet under his own body as he leant against the window, his eyes looking out at the many dark clouds below him.

He always liked traveling early in the morning because the cities below him would illuminate the clouds to the most beautiful colors. Everything seemed at peace.

Everything was not at peace.

Luke dialed Ashton's number as fast as he could as he began sweaty in fear. A groggy voiced tried to answer, only to be cut off by the blonde.

"They're coming! Fuck, Ashton!"
Ash's eyes barely stayed open as his right arm hung over the bed. "Hm? Who's coming?"

"I'm in fucking labor!"
The brunette quickly bolted up, his head going numb. "What? Now?!"

Luke groaned out as another shot of pain ricocheted through his system.

"Oh, my God. Okay, okay. Take breaths, yeah? Let me get the girls, I'll be over there in five." Ashton pulled on the dirty sweatpants that laid on the floor, running into the closed bedroom door in his fast hurry. "When did it start?"

"I woke up half an hour ago—," he breathed in deeply as he bent over in pain, "—I'm dying."

"You're not dying, where are you?" Ashton leant down over Ivona's bed first, shaking her awake.

Her bright eyes flickered open, confused as to why her father was disturbing her sleep at six in the morning.

She quickly caught on, seeing the rush in Ash's eyes and the phone pressed to his ear. She got out of bed, her light blue nightgown swishing with every step as she hopped to Bella's bed, getting her up as well.

Ashton rushed down their stairs, tripping over the boxes of unpacked items. They only just moved into their new house and everything was stressing him out. The four girls coming early was not something he needed at this moment.

"I'm still in my bedroom," he croaked out a sob, "It hurts."

"We'll get you nice and medicated soon." He grabbed his keys, his two girls following behind him like ducklings. Ashton buckled them into their car seats before rushing to pull out of their driveway. "Let me call the hospital so they're ready for you, okay? I'm two minutes away, I promise."

Luke wiped at his forehead as he pushed his phone away. He could feel sweat all over his body as he began to lose feeling in his fingertips. He felt awful. It was worse than his strike of pneumonia at twelve, or mono of sixteen. It was worse than his broken nose at eight, or snapped elbow at ten. It was as if all the pain he has ever experienced was shooting through his body and squeezing his oversized torso.

He used all the power he could to push his hands off of his bed, quickly falling into a step and grabbing the golden door knob to keep balance. He continued these shaking and painful steps all the way to the last step of the long stairs.

He was out of breath and crying by the time Ashton rushed in.

His best friend came to his side, holding him up—one hand on his lower back, another under his very large bump. "Let's get you to the car, they have everything ready. Your doctor is on her way there now."

There was something comforting in Luke's mind that he had Ashton—a man whom's been through the almost same exact surgery—at his side.

"Really hurts," he gasped out two words.