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Short summary:
Michael and Ashton are navigating life in their twenties as Forster caretakers of five kids aged six to seventeen. It's exhausting, stressful, but extremely rewarding and Michael wouldn't change it for the world. But when they're suddenly faced with having to take care of a newborn baby their whole world turns into a complete mess.
It's disaster Mashton dads with a side of Lierra and cool Uncle Cal.
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Michael would be lying if he said that he never regretted his life decisions.
Sitting at his kitchen table at 5:30am, he greatly regretted everything that had lead him there. It was too early to be up, and definitely way too early to write a stupid to-do list.
Standing at the stove infront of him was one of the things that made it all more bearable though. Ashton was systematically toasting bread, spreading butter, cutting apples and packing lunchboxes like it was his job.
Which is was.
Sort of.
Small footsteps on the stairs brought Michaels sleepy attention to the real reason why getting up at 5:30 every morning was worth it after all.
"I won!!!," Levi yelled while he slid on his socks over the kitchen tiles and collided with Ashton's side, who wrapped an arm around the six year old boy in a side hug. With the other hand he was still packing lunches.
"Not fair," Maya pouted, who entered the kitchen a few seconds later, "You had a headstart."
"Both of you," Michael said, "We said no running on the stairs."
"He started," Maya muttered and slid into the booth next to Michael.
"I don't want to hear it," Michael scolded his eight year old forster child, "Do you have soccer practice today or is it still cancelled?"
"No, today is practice," Maya nodded, "Can I hang out with Lily before?"
"Let me figure out the logistics with Ash and I'll get back to you, okay?," Michael asked and jotted MAYA- SOCCER 3PM (LILY?) on the paper.
After he sat down the pen, he used his free hand to gently smooth down Mayas wild blonde curls before drawing her in for a side hug.
"Did you have a good night?," he asked and Maya nodded.
"Good. Cereal or toast?," Michael smiled.
"Cereal," Maya smiled.
Michael poured the cereal in a bowl and added milk while he watched Ashton crouch down in front of Levi and place a kiss on his brown curls before handing him a plate with a toast on it.
"Mike can help you with the peanut butter, okay?," he asked and straightened back up.
"I'll try to get the teens to move," Ashton huffed fondly and Michael waved him off while he spread peanut butter on his youngest toast.
Not ten minutes after Ashton had returned to the kitchen, two of "the teens" entered the room.
"Morning Henry, Morning Elay," Michael smiled at the fourteen and fifteen year old entering the kitchen.
"Morning."
"Hey."
"What a beautiful day to be alive," Michael grinned, happy to tease his forster kids who, like him, were nowhere near morning people.
"Don't act like you're a morning person," Elay muttered while they slid into the seat next to Michael.
"We know you're not," Henry added and promptly rested his head on the table top and closed his eyes.
"Hey champ," Ashton said, "No more sleep." Ashton started gently pocking Henrys shoulder until Henry raised his head to glare at him. Ashton swiflty placed a bowl where his head had been resting.
"Mike?," Elay asked quietly, while Ashton and Henry were playfully bickering now.
"Yeah?," Michael sat the pen down and turned his full attention to Elay.
"My black binder is starting to fall apart," they mumbled unhappily.
"Ah, shit," Michael swore, "is it fixable?"
"I tried sewing it but I'm shit at it," Elay said.
"Alright, lay it out for me. I'll see what I can do," Michael said.
Elay nodded small.
"Don't worry, darling. When it's unfixable, we'll get you a new one. As long as you're with us, I'll make sure you always have a binder, okay? I promise," he smiled.
"Thanks, Mike," Elay sounded relived.
"'Course," Michael smiled.
Elay leant their head against his shoulder for a second, a gesture Michael knew Elay liked to do instead of giving hugs. Michaels heart warmed.
"Heyyyy nerds," Sarah, the eldest, announced upon entering the kitchen. She had her backpack slung over her shoulder and strode over to Ashton before placing a piece of paper infront of him and asking, "Can you sign this?"
"What is it?," Ashton asked.
"Bullshit," Sarah said flatly.
"Swear jar!," Maya and Levi yelled.
"It's a reprimand," Ashton glanced at Michael.
"Yeah," Sarah said while digging out a quater and making a point of staring Maya down while dropping it in the swear jar, "Wanna know what for?! Remeber how I told you we have a new PE teacher? He told me to change in the boys changing room. He said he didn't care that my old teacher let me change in a seperate room and that I would not get special treatment. So I told him that I don't want special treatment, I want respectful treatment. And that I wouldn't change in the boys changing room. So now I have a reprimand for "refusing to partake in PE class" yesterday."
"I am not signing this," Ashton said, "you did nothing wrong."
"Oh I know," Sarah put her hands on her hips, "I am going to the principle today and hopefully have her give him a reprimand. I'd just like to have this signed as a backup. But usually Principle Witman is a bad bitc- ...boss and on my side with this."
"Fine," Ashton sighed and grabbed Michaels pen, "But if she's not AT LEAST giving him a reprimand I am going to have a talk with her. Also, if she doesn't do anything about the changing room situation, I'll-"
"It'll be fine, Ash," Sarah said, "Mrs Witman will take care of it, I'm sure." She grabbed the signed paper from Ashton.
"I just hate when people are unfair to you," he crossed his arms over his chest and frowned, "They mess with you, they mess with me."
"Okay papa bear," Sarah chuckled, but her eyes were soft when she gently squeezed Ashtons shoulder.
"Tiana is waiting outside to pick me up. See you later, freaks!" And with that, she was gone.
"Okay, hobbits, it's almost six! Go on, brush your teeth," Ashton ushered them up the stairs, "I'll be right there to help you, Levi!"
Michael scribbled down the last few things on the days to-do-list while Ashton started cleaning away the dishes.
"Alright," Michael looked at the list, "So.. Maya will spend the afternoon with Lily at Sierra and Luke's. I will pick her up from school after her classes end and drop her off with them since Lilys science club is on a field trip and she gets off school earlier today. Honestly, I'm so happy Maya and Lily are in the same class and best fiends."
Ashton huffed fondly while drying off the last bit of dishes. "Because we get free babysitting?," he asked.
"I mean, Luke and Sierra do too," Michael argued.
"That's fair," Ashton nodded, "I agree though. It's nice having the kids be best friends... like we always talked about."
"So I'll pick up Maya from school and then drop her off with Lierra before heading home. Sarah will come home from school around that time, Elay has theater practice after school so she's staying until four, at which time she heads back here with Henry, who's got baseball practice today. Can you pick up groceries on your way home?," Michael went over the schedule of the day.
"Yep," Ashton smiled, "Will do. And I'll pick Levi up from after-school-care on my way home, too."
"Yeah, thank you. Alright," Michael sighed and heaved himself up, "Off to a new day."
He stepped up to Ashton, who was still leaning against the counter. Ashton reached out and drew Michael closer until he was flushed against him with his hands around his waist. Michael put his arms around Ashton's neck.
"Every day a new adventure," he smiled small and pressed a kiss to Michaels lips.
"We did take our motto to heart, didn't we? Most days are a complete mess," Michael mumbled.
"Sure did," Ashton nodded, "Wouldn't change it for the world though."
"Neither would I," Michael smiled.
They shared a few more gentle kisses before Michael eventually broke away.
"I have to get to work," Michael mumbled, "and you have kids to get to school."
Ashton nodded and stole one last kiss.
"I love you," he smiled, "see you tonight."
"Love you too," Michael turned around to grab his back, "See you."
Michael and Ashton had worked their routine out perfectly. They'd wake up the kids and have breakfast together. Then Michael would head out to work at 6a.m. while Ashton got the kids ready and dropped them off at school before he headed to work. Michael would pick up the kids after work around 3pm and wrangle homework and after school activities. Ashton would be home from work between 5 and 6 and they'd cook together and have a family dinner.
It was stressful. And it was a lot. But it was incredibly rewarding, and everything they'd dreamed off since the beginning.
Ashton and Michael had met in college and quickly befriended each other due to their similarities of a) both wanting to become social workers and b) both being kicked out of their parents homes after they came out as queer.
It took them a while to figure out they were idiots in love but ended up together eventually. Inevitable as Luke, who had been Ashton's roommate, loved to repeat.
In their last year of college they started dreaming about building a care system for LGBTQ youth. They soon realized that two twenty-somethings alone couldn't change a whole system and instead became forster caretakers and build this small loving home in a tiny New York flat where they could give their forsterkids a safe space.
Their kids all had different backgrounds and histories, only the older teens were all LGBTQ kids.
There had been a few kids coming and going but six year old Levi, eight year old Maya, fifteen year old Elay, sixteen year old Henry and seventeen year old Sarah had been with Michael and Ashton for a while now.
Maya had been there the longest. She'd joined Ashton and Michael two years ago as a shy, scared 6 year old, taken from her mother because of neglect. And even though Michael would be happy for Maya if she'd finally get adopted into a permanent family, his heart still broke thinking about how she might be taken from him one day. Maya was his baby.
Sarah had been next, at then 15, when she had been kicked out of home by her parents after coming out as trans. Sarah was now about to turn seventeen and Michael and Ashton were beyond proud of her and how far she had come over the last two years.
Shortly after, Henry was assigned to them. He had been kicked out by his single dad because he came out as gay. Henry had warmed up to them over the nine month he'd been with them now.
Elay had been brought to them in a horrible state. They'd been beaten by their alcoholic father and finally managed to run away from home and get help after months of abuse. Despite all of that, Elay had trusted Michael from the beginning and they shared a special bond Michael cherished a lot.
Levi was the newest, at six years old, he had been abandoned by his mother. Handed over to authorities because she was unfit to raise him. Levi had latched onto Ashton immediately and Levi and Maya were inseperable now. Levi was the other kid Michael would have a hard time letting go again.
In conclusion, the current household Clifford - Irwin was Michaels favorite place. He loved all their forster kids and was grateful every day that he was able to make their life's a little less shitty.
Michael went about his day as he had planned it in the morning and was in the car with Maya about to drop her off with Luke and Sierra when he got a call that would turn his whole world upside down.
"Hey Sarah, what's up?," Michael picked up.
"Mike," Sarah sounded distraught and static through the speakers of the car, "There's a baby at our front door."
"What do you mean there's a baby at our front door??," Michael asked irritated and honked at someone swerving in front of him without using the turn signal.
"Literally what I said," Sarah snapped, "Someone left a baby in front of our apartment complex and there's a letter that says Clifford/ Irwin."
"What the fuck," Michael said flatly.
"Fuck," Maya nodded agreeing from her elevated place in her kiddie seat on the passanger side.
"Well, what does the letter say??," Michael asked and swerved lanes without using his turn signal. He got honked at.
"I don't know!," Sarah whined, "Not my name, not my letter!" She repeated one of the Clifford/ Irwin House rules.
"Okay, listen, darling," he calmed down, "Is the baby okay?"
"It's breathing," Sarah muttered, "Can't say anything more specific. I hope it's sleeping and not unconscious."
"Alright, what's it in?," Michael asked.
"A car seat," Sarah said.
"Okay. Take the car seat up into the apartment. I'll drop Maya off with her friend and then I'll be home in ten minutes. Can you do that?," he asked.
"Yep," Sarah said, "but what if the baby wakes up?"
"Sarah, love," he sighed, "The fuck do I know. I never had babies."
"This is great," Sarah muttered, "Guess Google will help me."
"Thanks darling," Michael said, "I'll hurry up, I promise."
"Yeah, okay. See you in a minute, Mike."
"See you!," Michael hung up.
"You have to put two quarters into the swear jar," Maya glared once Michael hung up.
"Swearing is allowed in appropriate situations," Michael muttered.
"Is now appropriate?," she asked.
"If this is what it looks like- absolutely yes," he said.
"Okay. Fuck fucking fuck," Maya smiled.
"Maya. Jesus," Michael said flatly, "Alright, appropriate situation is over now."
When Michael entered his apartment 15 minutes later, it turned out to be exactly what it looked like.
Sarah was sitting at the kitchen table and was staring at the car seat sitting on top of the table.
"Holy shit," Michael swore and carefully approached the baby. It was tiny. The rosy infant was dressed in a onesie and a woolen hat and a blanket was draped over it's legs.
"Here's the letter," Sarah slid over an envelope.
I heard about your Forster family through a friend. Believe me when I say I am doing this because I have no other choice. I've messed with the wrong people and this is the only way to keep Elena safe.
I'll be leaving the country immediately. Please keep my Elena safe.
Michael read over the note two, three times. He kept looking for any clues that this was a joke.
Then for any clues whoever the infant on his kitchen table was.
"I don't get it," he eventually muttered and looked up from the letter to stare at Sarah.
"What does it say?," the teen asked.
"Basically nothing," Michael shook his head, "This doesn't make any sense."
"Whatcha gonna do about this?," she gestured to the car seat.
Michael shook his head and sat down on a kitchen chair.
"Fuuuuck I have no idea," he sighed and tipped his head back. The baby strated gurgling and Michael sat up alarmed.
"No, no," he panicked, "c'mon, go back to sleep!"
He started rocking the car seat and it seemed to help for now. The baby went quiet again.
"I'm gonna call Vanessa," he announced and pulled up the contact of their social worker. The young woman had become a family friend after working with Michael, Ashton and their forster kids for years now.
"Hi Vanessa? Uh this is Michael Clifford," he was still rocking the carrier with one hand, not letting the infant out of sight.
"Oh hey Mike! What's up?," Vanessa asked cheerily.
"Listen, someone left a baby on our doorstep," Michael got straight to the point.
Silence.
"Come again?," she asked.
"Someone," Michael said slowly, "Left. A baby. Infront of. Our. Door."
"Mike, what the hell?," Vanessa swore.
"I have no fucking clue," Michael said desperately, "But now there is a fucking baby in my kitchen and I have no fucking idea what to do."
"Okay shit," Vanessa recovered from her shock, "Was there anything indicating who the baby is?"
"Yep, there was a letter. Her name is Elena, no last name was given. The mother said she's in trouble and leaving the country. Apparently she heard we're a Forster family and dropped her off with us. That's all the information I have on her."
"Okay fuck," Michael heard typing from the other end of the line, "Mike, I'm going to try to find out who the baby is. There's gotta be a clue somewhere. Can you send me a photo of the letter?"
"Yeah, I'll do that. But believe me, there are no clues."
"Okay. Well, I'll also try to find a spot for her in a family with expertise in handling babies. But I am gonna be honest, Mike, that might take a while. Protocol is that the baby needs to be checked over by a doctor. And I'll need to notify the police."
"Really?," Michael huffed, "The fucking cops?"
"Mike...," Vanessa tried.
"No, c'mon Vanessa. I am a gay man forstering kids with my partner, another gay man, and currently home with my Forster child who is a black trans teen. The cops will love that. Totally not gonna try to make this something it's not," Michael spat out.
"Mike," Vanessa said calmly, "I am sorry but I don't have a choice. If there's any way you can take the baby to a doctor now, I could notify the police to meet you there. The kids don't have to be involved."
Michael let out a long sigh. "I'll try to organize something, okay? Can you give me fifteen minutes to figure out child logistics and I'll call you back?"
"Yeah, that works," Vanessa said, "I'll see how far I can come until then."
"Okay. Later," Michael hung up.
"Not the cops," Sarah sighed.
"No, I won't let them come here, I promise," Michael said softly. "But that means I have to take the baby to be check over by a doctor. Like, now. Levi and Maya are taken care of until dinner, but Henry and Elay will be home around four.."
"That's alright, Mike. I got this. We're all old enough to look after ourselves anyway," Sarah smiled.
"Thanks, darling," Michael smiled and let out a long breath. "Now how the hell am I gonna explain this to Ash?!"
Michael decided to send Ashton a text asking him to call him asap.
He then called Vanessa to let her know which doctor he'd be taking the baby to. Vanessa promised to meet him there and tackle the police.
Just when he was done being questioned by the police and the doctor was still checking Elena, his phone started ringing and Ashton's Name flashed across the screen. Michael took a deep breath.
"Hey babe," he picked up the call.
"Hey! What's up? Is everything alright?," Ashton sounded worried.
"No," Michael mumbled. He took another breath.
"Listen, Ash, this will sound mental. But someone left a baby in front of our door this morning."
"What??!"
"Yeah. Sarah found her."
"I don't understand..," Ashton sounded confused.
"Believe me, neither do I," Michael said.
"You're not... not pranking me, right?," Ashton asked hesitantly.
"No," Michael mumbled, "I fucking wish I was."
"O-okay? And what now?," Ashton asked.
"I'm at the doctor's, the baby needs to be checked over. The cops are here too. I don't know what's happening, really. This makes no sense," Michael rambled.
"Hey, okay," Ashton cut in, "Listen, babe, I have one last appointment today and it's about to start. I'll see if I can get off work after that so I'm home earlier. I'll call you then, yeah?"
"Yeah, alright," Michael mumbled.
"Okay. Love you. We'll talk later. Hang in there," Ashton said and hung up.
Michael sighed and slipped the phone back into his pocket before stepping back out of the doctor's office to where Vanessa was talking to a police officer filling out paperwork.
"Mike!," Vanessa yelled and waved him over.
"Mike," she started once he was standing next to her, "Remeber how I said earlier that it'll be hard finding a spot for her?"
"I don't like where this is going," Michael muttered.
"Please Michael," Vanessa whined, "I don't know where else to place her right now! It'll only be for a couple nights. Three nights max."
Michael closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"Fine. If it's the only option," he muttered.
"Thank you. Thank you thank you thank you," Vanessa said, "I promise it won't be for long."
"I hope so," Michael huffed, "Because I don't know shit about babies."
Elena was cleared by the doctor a few minutes later and Michael struggled to reinstall the car seat in their minivan. Vanessa told him to keep in contact before she drove off back to the office and Michael drove back home where three noisy teenagers waited for him.
"Oh my god, so it's true," Elay stared at the car seat Michael was carrying in.
"Why would I be lying about this, you potato?," Sarah huffed.
"Is it staying?," Henry asked.
"Only for a couple nights until something else can be arranged," Michael said, "we're not qualified to look after babies."
Elay huffed. "A lot of people who have babies are not qualified for that."
Michaels mouth twitched into a smile.
"Preach," Sarah muttered.
"C'mon, hobbits," Michael ushered them out of the way, "let me put her in the bedroom so you don't wake her up."
Michaels phone started ringing just when he was closing the bedroom door behind him.
"Hey Ash," Michael picked up. Elay and Henry had gone to their rooms and only Sarah lingered in the hallway.
"Hey," Ashton said, "I just left work. I'm at the supermarket now. How's it going over there?"
"Shitty," Michael mumbled and sank down on the kitchen bench, "I have so many questions."
"Have you called Vanessa?," Ashton asked. His voice sounded muffled and Michael knew Ashton probably had his phone jammed between his shoulder and ear so he could use both his hands for more efficient grocery shopping.
"Of course I've called her!," Michael snapped, "Dude that's the first thing I did. She met me and the cops at the doctor's."
"Okay," Ashton answered calmly, "And what does she say?"
"She says they have no idea when or where there is an open spot right now so I'd be best if we could hold onto her for the time being."
"Fucking hell," Ashton mumbled under his breath, "Like she's not a human being."
"Right?," Michael muttered, "But the system is what it is."
"So, what? She thinks we can handle a newborn?," he huffs, "We don't know shit about babies!"
"I know, Ash," Michael's voice got irritated again, "Fucking hell, I don't know. But as long as we have her, at least she's safe and has a roof over her head."
"Shit, okay. I'm heading to the baby section," there was shuffling on the other side of the line, "So what do we need? Diapers? Fuck Mike there are thousands of brands and sizes."
Ashton let out a long breath.
"Do they say ages on them? Doctor said she's about six weeks," Michael asked.
"Uh, yeah. Some do. Is off-brand okay? And formula?," Ashton asked.
"Off brand diapers will do. Go by age again for formula," Michael held up a hand to silence Sarah who was now wildly gesturing.
"Okay. Anything else?," Ashton asked.
"Well, we don't have shit. Think we can make a bed out of an old toddler bed? We have a change of clothes and a bottle. What, Sarah?"
"The baby woke up," she frowned.
"Sounds okay. Listen, I'll pick up Levi and come home now," Ashton said, "If we figure we need something else, we can always run to the neighborhood store again. Hopefully it'll only be for a night or two."
"Okay, yeah," Michael mumbled while he followed Sarah, "See you soon."
"Yeah. Love you," Ashton said and hung up.
Ashton came home twenty minutes later while Michael still tried to calm the crying baby down.
"Hey," Ashton mumbled upon entering the bedroom and came straight over to Michael's side.
"I don't know what's wrong," Michael frowned, "she's been crying since we got off the phone."
"Maybe she's hungry. Here, let me take her for a while," he carefully took the baby from Michael and started rocking her.
"Should I try making formula?," Michael asked.
"Yeah, maybe. Worth a try," Ashton nodded.
By the time Michael had the bottle ready, Ashton had managed to calm the crying baby down. He was standing at the window with her and talking in a soft hushed voice. Michael knew Elena wouldn't understand what Ashton said but he still felt a warm and fuzzy feeling spreading through his chest upon seeing Ashton with her.
"Here," he stepped up to Ashton and handed over the bottle. Ashton took a few tries to get Elena to latch on to the bottle but then she was happily sucking away.
Michael let out a long breath and leant his forehead against Ashton's shoulder.
"Sorry you had to handle this alone," Ashton mumbled.
"It's alright," Michael looked up, "it's just a lot to wrap my head around. This is a complete fucking mess."
Ashton nodded and leant in to press a kiss to Michaels lips.
The doorbell went off.
"What's that? Another baby?," Ashton barely surpressed his grin.
"Too fucking early to joke about that," Michael glared at him, "that'd be Luke dropping Maya off."
Michael turned to get the door. "Thinking about it, Luke's basically a baby."
He heard Ashton huff out a quiet laugh before he shut the bedroom door and went to open the apartment door.
"Hey," Luke beamed, flanked by Maya and Lily.
"Hi Mike," Maya grinned and wrapped her arms around Michaels torso, hugging him.
"Hey darling," Michael smiled and buried his hand in her wild blonde locks, brushing through them, "Hi, Luke, hey Lily. How's it going?"
"Great," Lily beamed a gappy smile at him. She looked so much like Luke it sometimes hurt Michaels brain to look at her.
And then it clicked in Michael's head. Luke had done this before. Luke could help them.
"Actually, Luke, do you wanna come in for a moment?," he asked and stepped aside to let Maya in.
"Sorry mate, Sierra is waiting -," he started but Michael stopped him.
"Please," he said intently, "code red." Luke frowned and looked at Michael for a second before softly nudging Lily forward. "Lils, you get five more minutes with Maya, okay? But then we're leaving."
Lily nodded viciously and promptly disappeared past Michael into the apartment.
"So?," Luke asked quietly while kicking off his shoes. Michael motioned for him to follow and they made their way to Michael and Ashton's bedroom where Ashton was sitting on the bed next to the car seat Elena was dozing in.
"What the fuck," Luke mumbled flatly when he caught sight of the baby, "where the hell did you get that?"
"Luke that's just rude," Ashton frowned.
Luke put his hands up, still staring at the infant. "Seriously, though? I can't keep up."
"Someone left her on our doorstep this morning. As long as there's no room for her in a family with experience with babies, we need to look after her. But we have no fucking clue how," Michael explained quietly.
"Oh my god," Luke breathed softly, and carefully approached the gurgling baby.
"Do you know who she is?," Luke asked quietly.
"We know she's called Elena. And that she's six weeks old. Police and child protection service are working on finding her parents but I see little hope in that," Michael explained.
"Jesus Christ," Luke muttered under his breath.
"Yeah, and now we're responsible for a tiny human being and we have never done this before and we are kinda a little lost," Ashton muttered.
"I don't even know how to hold a baby. Or change diapers," Michael stressed.
"Hey, okay, don't stress out," Luke soothed, "I can show you a few things, yeah?"
"Don't stress? Easy for you to say! You've done this twice already! And it's not just that," Michael mumbled miserably, the stress of the day finally catching up with him, "we also have five other kids to look after."
"Mike," Luke took a step toward Michael and waited for Michael to look at him, "Hey. Listen, you've got this. Let me just call Sierra to let her know Lily and me will be late and didn't get murdered and then I will show you a few things that'll make it easier to handle the baby. And if you want to, we can take Maya tonight. Lily and her haven't had a sleepover in a while anyway. We could take Levi too."
"No, that's alright," Ashton said softly, "Levi is downright exhausted after a field trip. He'll pass out soon, I think. If you could take Maya though, that'd be amazing."
"Of course," Luke nodded, "I'mma call Sierra quickly. I'll be right back."
While Luke was in the hallway on the phone, Elena started crying again. Michael went over to the car seat and picked her up as careful as possible.
"What the fuck are you doing!," Luke hissed and hurried over to Michael's side, "Fucking hell mate, support the head!" He took the baby from Michael in one swift motion and placed her on his shoulder.
"Dude I have never done this before!," Michael stressed.
"C'mon, Mike! Everyone knows you need to support a baby's head!"
"Not true!," Michael snapped and looked at Ashton who had reentered the room.
"I knew," Ashton shrugged.
"Why is she crying?," Michael brushed it off.
"I don't know! What did you do before I got here?," Luke asked.
"I fed her a bottle," Ashton looked uncertain.
"Okay. Get me a towel. An old one. One that she can vomit on," Luke instructed. Ashton looked bewildered but went off to get a towel.
The two men watched in awe as Luke handled the baby like a pro and gently burped her before putting her back down.
Luke showed them a couple more basic things and then they were left to their own devices for the night.
"Do you think that's okay?," Michael asked quietly and eyed the makeshift cot they had built out of an old toddler bed and pointains of blankets in the corner of their bedroom.
"She can't fall out," Ashton shrugged, "and she's warm. Looks okay to me."
Michael stared at the sleeping baby.
"Dude, we're so bad at this," Michael muttered.
"Come on," Ashton snug an arm around Michaels waist and drew him closer, "that's not true. I think we managed okay for now."
Michael smiled and wrapped his arms around Ashton's shoulders, his fingers playing with the hair in his neck.
Ashton leant in and placed a soft kiss on Michaels lips.
The first night was a struggle. Elena kept waking them up every other hour. Most of the time, Michael and Ashton couldn't figure out what Elena was crying about. It took them up to an hour to calm her down, much to the dismay of the other members of the household.
In the early morning hours, Michael decided he was done trying to sleep. He picked up the crying baby and went into the kitchen where he put her in the car seat and prepared a bottle of formula for Elena and a coffee for himself. Ashton followed a few minutes later.
"Hey babe," he stepped up behind Michael and wrapped his arms around the younger man.
"Hey," Michael mumbled, "Go back to sleep. I got it."
Ashton dropped a kiss to the base of Michaels neck and rested his cheek in the crook of his neck.
"I'd rather stay right here," he mumbled back.
Michael smiled to himself and finished preparing the formula and two cups of coffee. He then turned around so his back was against the counter and his front was pressed against Ashton.
As if Ashton had only been waiting for this, he instantly attached his lips to Michaels. Michael happily followed Ashton's lead.
The morning kisses were cut short by Michael having to stifle a yawn.
Ashton smiled.
"Rough night," he nodded.
"Fucking horrible," Michael mumbled.
"At least it's Saturday, so no work," Ashton argued.
"And no school. So kids home all day," Michael reminded him.
"We'll manage," Ashton dropped a kiss on Michaels forehead, "We always do."
They did manage to put Elena back to sleep and cuddled up on the couch to watch TV. Ashton fell asleep on Michaels chest for a while until Levi came wandering down the stairs.
"Hey buddy," Michael smiled at the sleepy boy, "Good morning."
Levi promptly climbed on the couch and snuggled up to Michaels other side where he fell asleep again.
Elena decided she'd had enough sleep around 8am and disturbed their little bubble of sleepy cuddles. Ashton got up to get her and Michael took Levi to the kitchen where he started preparing breakfast while Levi rambled to him about a dream he'd had.
Ashton came in not much later with Elena in one arm and his vibrating phone in the other hand. Ashton held it out to Michael, careful not to wake the sleeping baby again. Luke's name flashed across Ashton's phone.
"Hey Luke, it's Mike," Michael answered and flipped a pancake.
"You sound cheery! How's the night been?," Luke asked.
"Horrible," Michael smiled, "absolutely horrible. I'm gonna put you on speaker so Ash can hear you."
"Look," Lukes voice sounded distorted through the speakers, "Sierra had a good idea."
"She usually does," Ashton nodded and gently rocked Elena.
"You can have our old travel cot. It's easy to set up and will do for the time being. We can also borrow you some onesies and basic baby supplies," Luke explained.
"Luke, that would be amazing," Ashton smiled relieved.
"Yeah. Do you wanna come over for brunch?," Michael asked.
"Sounds good. We'll bring the kids and the baby stuff," Luke said, "Do you already know how long she's gonna stay with you?"
"Only until Tuesday, hopefully," Michael sighed and wished it to be true, "Vanessa promised to find a family until then."
The second night was worse than the first.
Even though Luke and Sierra had shown them tricks to calm Elena down, and ways to tell what she needed, or what she was upset about, they were still overwhelmed to say the least.
On the third night, Ashton and Michael were dead tired, the teens annoyed. Levi had crawled into their bed after being woken up for the third time and started crying every time Elena woke them up.
Michael was yet again standing in the quiet living room and bouncing a crying baby in his arms at two am. Ashton had been up an hour ago and fed Elena. Michael had been up another hour before to change her diaper. There was no obvious reason for her to be crying again.
Michael tried to steady his shaking hands but he had long stopped wiping his wet cheeks. A soft hiccup would slip past his lips occasionally but they mixed in with Elena's and so it didn't matter.
Michael saw a shadow appear in the hallway and then Ashton stepped into the dim light of the living room. Without a word, he came over, took Elena from him and drew him closer against his chest.
Ashton was holding Elena with one arm and running a hand up and down Michaels back in a soothing manner while Michael quietly cried into Ashton's shirt.
"Why are we doing this?," Michael asked shakily and eventually drew away. Elena had finally calmed down too.
"We don't know how to do this. We have five other kids to look after. That's the third time tonight she's been crying for no goddamn reason. I'm so," Michaels voice was thick with tears again, " I'm so tired."
"Me too," Ashton mumbled, "me too, babe."
Michael stubbornly wiped his cheeks dry with the sleeve of his sweater.
"I don't know what she wants. It's frustrating. I.. I want to give her what she needs but how the fuck am I supposed to know what the fuck she's crying for."
"It's only one more night," Ashton mumbled, "we got this."
"I don't know," Michael shook his head, "I'm exhausted."
"I know," Ashton nodded, "C'mon. Let's go back to bed."
Morning came and Elena actually let the family sleep through the last 2½ hours before Michael's alarm went off at 5:30, because he had forgotten to shut it off. Today was Memorial Day, so no work.
Now that Michael had had a bit of rest, the whole situation wasn't as bad anymore. He picked Elena up and changed her.
She was watching him the whole time and Michael couldn't resist the urge to boop her tiny nose once he was done. Elenas mouth tugged up into a smile and she let out happy gurgles.
Michaels heart fucking melted right out of his chest.
Even though it was exhausting and extremely frustrating to look after the newborn, Michael couldn't deny that he had grown a bit attached to the tiny girl that had been left on their doorstep. Some weird protective instinct had kicked in and the fucking button nose and big eyes didntyhelp the matter one bit. Michael tried not to linger on it though, since Elena would be moving on to another family very soon.
Since it was Memorial weekend, the kids had no school today, even though it was a Monday. Michael and Ashton prepared food and called everyone down to have a family breakfast.
After that, the teens retreated back to their rooms while Ashton and Michael played games with Maya and Levi. Maya got bored after a while and wanted to draw with her colored pencils instead, so Michael got up to do some laundry while Ashton got started on helping Levi with his homework.
Michaels phone started vibrating on the washing machine and he frowned when he saw the name flashing across the screen.
"Hey Vanessa," Michael secured the phone between his ear and shoulder so he had both hands to bring over a stack of washed laundry to the kitchen table for sorting and folding.
"Hey Mike, how's it going?," Vanessa asked cheerily.
"Good so far," Michael answered and mouthed 'Vanessa' at Ashton, "Better that expected."
"Good to hear," she said, "Mike, listen, I'm calling because of Elena's transfer tomorrow."
"Yeah, I figured," Michael said.
"So, there was an emergency today. The spot that was supposed to be Elena's was taken up by another infant for who we had no Backup. I'm really really sorry, Michael, and I understand that it's stressful and inconvenient for Ashton and you but.. is there any way Elena could stay with you for another couple of days?"
"What the hell," Michael said flatly.
"I'm sorry, Mike," Vanessa said again, "I wouldn't ask you if there was another way."
"I, uhh," Michael stuttered. His eyes flicked up to Ashton but the older man was busy explaining a math problem to Levi.
"Y-yeah. Yes, okay, we can somehow make that work, yeah," he eventually said, "fuck, you owe us. I swear."
"God, Mike," Vanessa let out a relieved breath, "You're a lifesaver. Thanks! And tell Ashton I say thank you too. I'll call you as soon as I have an update on the situation, okay? I promise we'll find a solution very soon."
"What are we supposed to do with her when Ash and I go to work tomorrow, though?," Michael asked.
"I'll organize a spot at daycare for her. That's the least I can do for you," Vanessa said, "I'll text you the datils later."
"Yeah, okay," Michael said, "Bye Vanessa."
"Bye Mike!"
Michael hung up and slowly lowered his phone.
"Alright?," Ashton asked after a moment. Michael slowly looked up at Ashton.
"Uhh," he said softly, "there was an emergency. Elena's spot isn't open anymore. We...," he scratched his chin nervously, "I kinda agreed to us taking care of her for another couple of days?"
"Oh," Ashton sounded surprised, "Okay?"
"Sorry, I should've asked you-," Michael rushed out.
"No!," Ashton cut him off, "No, Mike, hey. It's okay. Of course we'll take care of her. There's no other solution right now and we're not about to chuck her out on the street."
"Yeah, that's what I thought," Michael mumbled, "The teens will hate us though."
Ashton waved him off. "I think they secretly love the baby."
Michael hummed. "She is cute. Just fucking annoying and frustrating half of the time."
Elena was scheduled to stay with them for another week. The week flew by in the blink of an eye. Michael and Ashton had worked out a routine with Elena and by now Michael thought he could hear slight differences in Elena's crying which told him what she was crying about.
Maybe that was wishful thinking though.
Despite all the night terrors, the other kids in the Clifford/ Irwin household loved Elena and took every opportunity they got to fuss about her. Sarah would even volunteer to give her a bottle at least once a day.
On Friday night, Michael found himself lost in his thoughts and torn between his head and his heart. Elena would finally be transferred to another family on Monday, after staying with them for almost two weeks.
Michael tried his best to push that thought away stay rational. The rational thing was to let Elena move on to a family who knew how to take care of her. But in some moments, Michael just couldn't think about her leaving his little family again.
In the quiet moments when Elena was happy and sleepy and holding his pointer finger with her tiny fist. Or when Ashton softly rocked her sang her to sleep. Or when Elay played peekaboo with her, or when Sarah had come down the stairs on the third day and announced that she'd crocheted a "dope ass Beanie" for Elena, which ended up being a vibrant green frog face bucket heat. Or when he had walked into the living room last night and found Ashton asleep on the couch with Elena on his chest and he about fucking lost it because it was just too fucking cute.
Michael didn't mean to ask the question but it slipped past his lips before he could stop it.
"Do you think they'll take good care of her?"
It was way too late to have these conversations. In fact, it was nearing three a.m. and his brain was partly fogged over from sleep. He was in their small living room, curled up on the ancient couch they had been able to keep after Ashton's grandma had passed. Michaels head was resting against Ashton's shoulder while Ashton had an arm wrapped around Michael. In his other arm he was holding the sleeping Elena. Michael couldn't keep his eyes off her face, so peaceful when she was sleeping. Her tiny nose kept scrunching up and she let out soft noises in her sleep.
"I bet they will," Ashton mumbled and dropped a kiss to Michaels forehead.
Michael eyes slowly glided shut and he let out a long sigh.
"I kinda don't want to give her away," he mumbled, almost wishing Ashton wouldn't hear him.
But Ashton did.
"We have to," Ashton mumbled, "it's what's best for all of us."
Michael nodded after a moment. "Yeah. I guess we do."
"Believe me," Ashton hummed, "I've grown attached to her too. But there's no way for us to keep her unless we adopt her."
Michael stilled for a moment and then blinked his sleepy emerald eyes open. He turned his head to be able to look at Ashton with big eyes.
"No," Ashton huffed and turned his face away, "Mike, no. We're not doing this right now. Go to sleep."
Michael's eyes slid shut again and he cuddled closer to Ashton's side.
"I love you," Michael mumbled.
"I love you too," Ashton assured him.
***
Saturday passed uneventful and Michael found himself in the kitchen with Ashton after they had put Maya, Levi and Elena to bed.
"Can I use your laptop for a second?," Michael asked, already reaching for Ashton's laptop.
"Yeah, 'course," Ashton mumbled.
Michael opened the laptop and unlocked it. The browser had been left open by Ashton and Michaels heart skipped a beat when he realized what Ashton had been looking up on Google.
"Ash?," Michael asked softly while a warm feeling spread through his chest.
"Yeah?," Ashton was still busy cleaning out the dishwasher.
Michael didn't know what to say. His heart was beating fast and his head started spinning.
At the lack of an answer, Ashton turned around and frowned upon seeing Michael scanning over the laptop screen.
"What?!," Ashton asked again, panic lacing his voice while he dropped the towel and came over to look at what Michael had found on his laptop.
Once he was at Michaels side and glanced at the screen, he visibly relaxed.
"Oh," he said softly.
Michael turned his head to glance up at Ashton.
"After that reaction from you I wonder what you thought I had found?," Michael teased.
"Uh," Ashton blushed a bit, "Your birthday present."
"Ohh," Michael grinned, "Good to know. I'll do some more digging in your browser history then."
"Mike, noooo c'mon," Ashton whined, "it's a surprise."
"Okay can we go back to where you've been looking up the requirements for adopting a child?," Michael asked instead.
"I.. yeah," Ashton shrugged, "You.. I mean, the way you reacted last night after I blurted it out... I figured you'd want to.."
"I want to?," Michael chuckled, "I'm not the one looking up how to adopt!"
Ashton rolled his eyes. "C'mon, Mike. Have you seen her? How the fuck can you not fall in love with her. She's the cutest thing on the planet," he started defending himself.
"And the most annoying, at times," Michael muttered.
"True," Ashton wrinkled his nose, "anyway, it was just... out of curiosity. Nothing serious. I just read up on some shit because I realized I have no clue how adoption would work for us."
"Okay," Michael looked back at the screen, "let's see." He scootched over on the kitchen bench and Ashton hesitantly sat down in the empty spot.
"You must be a U.S. Citizen," Michael read out, "Check."
"If you are unmarried, you must be at least 25 years old. Check. If you are married, you must jointly adopt the child, and your spouse must also be either a U.S. citizen or in legal status in the United States...," Michael trailed off, "wait... Can we adopt a child together without being married then, or, like, can only one of us adopt the child then?"
Ashton frowned at the screen. "Don't know," he mumbled.
Michael turned back to the screen and continued reading.
"You must meet certain requirements that will determine your suitability as a prospective adoptive parent, including criminal background checks, fingerprinting, and a home study," Michael read aloud, "Well that should be a piece of cake since we had that done to become Forster caretakers."
Ashton nodded.
Michael let out a long breath and looked at Ashton.
Ashton looked back and held his gaze.
"We're crazy to consider this," Michael whispered.
"We definitely are," Ashton mumbled back.
"We shouldn't decide right now," Michael mumbled.
"No, definitely not," Ashton shook his head.
"Okay," Michael said, "Maybe I could ask Vanessa about this too. She should know details and shit."
"Good idea," Ashton nodded.
"And I'll also ask her about the marriage thing," Michael remembered.
Ashton hesitated.
"What?," Michael asked.
"Marry me," Ashton whispered.
Michael laughed softly. "I already said yes, you moron," he chuckled, "Remeber how we got engaged two years ago?"
"Exactly," Ashton said, "Two years ago. Let's get to it."
"Wow, romance never dies," Michael playfully rolled his eyes.
"I'm just saying," Ashton pouted, "I finally want to call you my husband."
"Aww," Michael cooed and leaned up to press a soft kiss to Ashton's lips. "Okay," he whispered against Ashton's lips, "if we do this, we'll get married first so we can do it right from the start."
Ashton smiled and leant back in to seal their lips together.
***
"We're insane," Ashton sighed and leant back in the kitchen chair.
"I know," Michael nodded, "but we're in too deep."
The kitchen was lit dimly and the house was quiet at this late hour.
"Like, yeah, it's fucking scary. And maybe we're biting off more than we can chew. But... could you imagine not doing it? Giving her away forever?"
Ashton stared at the tabletop for a very long moment and Michael heart started feeling heavy when finally, Ashton softly shook his head.
"We've always talked about wanting kids someday. What if this is the universe sending us a sign that now is someday?," Ashton spoke softly, "I want to do this. I want to figure this out with you. You, and me, and Ellie."
Michael looked back at Ashton whose eyes were soft and full of love and his heart beat right out of his chest.
"I love you," Michael mumbled, "I love you. And I'm ready for this new chapter with you."
There was shuffling at the door and then it softly clicked open. Someone came in, shut the door again and kicked off shoes before Sarah appeared in the doorframe.
"Hey," she said quietly.
"Hi," Michael smiled, "had a good dinner party?"
"Yeah, the food was so fucking good and Lola's new place is really cozy" Sarah smiled, "what are you two doing up so late?"
Ashton softly shook his head.
"Thinking," he said.
"I'm intrigued," Sarah raised an eyebrow.
"We're about to do something really stupid," Michael said.
"Do continue," Sarah stepped into the kitchen and sat down on the edge of the bench.
"We're looking to adopt Elena," Ashton said.
Sarah grinned. "I can see where this is stupid but it's also really fucking cute."
"It's gonna be fucking tough," Michael rubbed his eyes, "but she's got us wrapped around her finger."
"I think you'll manage," Sarah said, "you're always making everything work. And you've got us for help and babysitting."
Michael smiled softly at her. "Thanks, darling. We appreciate that."
Sarah waved him off.
"So," Michael said quietly, "getting married?"
"Yeah, finally," Ashton grinned.
"What are you talking about?," Sarah asked irritated.
"Being married makes the whole adoption process a lot less complicated," Michael explained, "And since we've been engaged for two years now, we might as well."
"Ha," Sarah snorted, "Sooooo you'll have a shotgun wedding because there's a baby on the way? I feel like I'm in history class!"
"Shut up," Michael glared at her, "this is different."
"No, I know," Sarah still laughed, "It's still funny. But finally you two get married. Long overdue."
"Exactly my point," Ash grinned at Sarah.
"We'll get properly married later this year," Michael said, "right now we just go to the county and have a small ceremony. We'll have a real reception and big party and shit later."
"We'll need one witness each," Ashton threw in.
"Well, you'll have Luke," Michael said, "right? And I'll call up Cal."
"Hell yes!," Sarah raised her fist, "I love Uncle Cal. I haven't seen him in forever!"
"Yeah 'cause he's always touring with his band," Michael muttered.
"Isn't he touring Europe right now? How will he be able to attend our wedding?," Ashton asked.
"Oh, he'll be there," Michael waved him off, "he promised once to drop everything he's doing when I get married. He's my platonic soulmate, dude. Malum forever."
"Preach," Sarah muttered.
"I'm still sad him and Luke didn't end up together," Ashton said.
"Calums crush on Luke was pathetic," Michael rolled his eyes, "I had to endure him talking about Luke 24/7. At one point I threatened to ask the college housing administration to pair me with another roommate."
Ashton laughed.
"Well, we should try to schedule a time and date at the county soon," Ashton said.
Said and done. Michael found himself Infront of a county official two weeks later on a hot Saturday afternoon in early June. He was flanked on one side by Ashton and Luke, on the other side by Calum.
In a row of chairs behind him were Sarah, Elay, Henry, Maya, Lily, Levi, Sierra and Jamie, Luke's and Sierras youngest son, and Calums current girlfriend.
The wedding ceremony was quick and they went to a park with a small lake to celebrate the newly Weds. Calum and Luke had organized food and drinks and they sat together and talked and the kids played and swam and Michael couldn't have imagined a more perfect day for his wedding.
Once the paperwork was through, the real adoption process began. Ashton and Michael endured everything with angelic patience and their teenage kids helped them wherever they could.
Michael and Ashton tried to keep Levi and Maya out of the mess as much as possible but Maya eventually started asking questions and Michael tried to explain the whole situation to her as simple as possible over dinner one night.
"So, are you gonna be Ellie's dad now?," Maya asked small. She had gotten apple sauce all over the table top and Michael chuckled before he reached over to the paper napkins.
"Sweets, what have you done?," he laughed and wiped down the table and Maya's hands.
"It's so sticky," Maya scrunched up her little nose.
"Heyyy," Ashton came into the kitchen, "got any pancakes left?"
"Yeees," Maya pointed at the plate in the middle, "I left some for Levi and you!" She smiled proudly.
"Aww, thanks, baby," Ashton smiled at Maya and winked at Michael before he sat down next to Michael, "Levi will be very happy you thought of him when he gets home from his playdate."
"So are you gonna be Ellie's dads?," Maya asked again.
"Yeah," Michael nodded, "Ash and me are gonna be Ellie's dads soon."
Maya nodded and stuffed another piece of pancake in her mouth. Michael could see her thinking hard. He exchanged a look with Ashton.
"What's on your mind?," Michael asked softly, smoothing down her blonde curls.
Maya put her fork down and stared at her plate for a moment.
"Can you be my dads too?," she eventually asked softly.
Michaels breath caught in his throat and his heart fluttered.
"I-," he looked over at Ashton who wore a big smile on his face.
"Please," Maya begged, "I don't want to be brought to another home. I love you. I want to stay with you forever."
Michaels heart clenched in his chest and his instinct told him to wrap the small girl in his arms and promise her to never let her go again. But this wasn't a decision he could make alone.
Again, his eyes wandered over to Ashton and he raised a questioning eyebrow and the smile on Ashton's face said more than a thousand words.
"Maya, baby," Michael opened his arms and Maya immediately scootched over into them, "I promise you, we will never let them take you away from here if you don't want to."
"We love you," Ashton added, "so much. And we would be so honored to be your dads."
Maya clung closer to Michael.
"Levi has to stay with us, too," Maya mumbled small.
"We'll discuss that with him, okay?," Michael muttered and dropped a kiss to Maya's wild hair.
"Okay," Maya whispered, "Can I call you dad then, too?"
"Sweetie, you can call me whatever you want," he hugged her closer, "We love you, sunshine."
"Love you too, Dad," Maya mumbled.
________________________________
Hey my peeps!
God damnit this has taken me a ridiculous amount of tome to wrap up. Seriously, I've started this one shot in January. It's July.
But to be fair I've been doing a lot over the past six month. For example I went on a 4 weeks US Roadtrip in May/ June and it was amazing but didn't leave me any time to write.
ANYWAY: first of all: I hope you liked it. I fucking love writing DadSOS. And
Mashton was more than overdue.
Second of all: MICHAEL IS GONNA BE A DAD?!?!?!?! LIKE¿¿??¿ My brain is still processing that. 5Sos dad and uncle content I'm not ready 10/10 will cry.
But Tour starts soon and it's only 2 month until my show and I'm so excited!!!
Okay my party people, I have a few requests sitting in my inbox I'll now tend to. Hopefully they won't take me as long to write as this one. I will try to do better.
Until then all the love,
Marie :)