"Matt, don't you want your daddy to hold you instead?" Luke tried, growing a bit frustrated when his son only tugged on the hem of Michael's sweater, asking in a small voice to be picked up. Michael was already struggling with Mazie in his arms; he didn't think that he could carry two moving children at once, but Mazie and Matthew both wanted to be held by him instead of Luke.
"I'm sorry, Luke..." Michael hesitated, glancing down at Matthew before adding, "Why don't you just pick him up? I'm sure he won't struggle when he knows it's just you."
"No, he will," Luke sighed, running some fingers through his dark blond hair as he met the gaze of his daughter in Michael's arms, "Here, give me Mazie, then you can hold Matt."
Michael stepped closer to Luke and helped him get Mazie into his arms, then he bent down to pick Matthew up under his armpits. The brown haired boy balanced Matthew in his arms triumphantly, but then looked over to see that Mazie was struggling against her father.
"Shit, what did you do to make them hate you?" Michael sighed, glancing around the parking lot of the animal shelter. People who walked by watched them struggle with the two children sympathetically, to which Michael would scowl at.
"Don't cuss in front of my kids," Luke scolded, giving Michael an annoyed glance before setting Mazie down on the floor and tightly holding onto her little fist, "Maybe they're just annoyed with me because I've been so busy with work that I haven't been able to spend as much time with them as I used to. But how am I supposed to fix that when they seem to hate me right now?"
"How about skipping work one night when I'm babysitting? The four of us can have a night all to ourselves and hopefully fix this problem," Michael suggested as they began to walk into the animal shelter. Matthew's small hands tugged on the flimsy collar of Michael's sweater, bringing it further down and exposing his collarbones. Luke noticed the pale skin almost instantly, but swallowed hard and glanced away to open the door for his kids and Michael.
"Not a bad idea, Mike," Luke murmured, deep in thought before the strong scent of dog drifted into their nostrils. At first, Luke wrinkled his nose with disgust, but then he watched as Michael excitedly walked further in, and a smile appeared on his lips before following the teenager further into the shelter.
Michael and Matthew stood in front of the area of golden retrievers while Luke led Mazie towards the Shiba Inus, just so they could get a head-start in picking out their dog. There were only two Shiba Inus, and a couple was already playing with one. So, Luke asked an employee to help them out with the only other Shiba Inu in the cage.
Luke got to hold the dog first, smiling widely as the cute puppy wiggled around in his grip. Once Michael caught a glimpse of Luke holding the dog, he and Matthew walked over, and Luke looked up as Michael stood by his side.
"Do you want to hold her?" Luke questioned, checking with the employee that it would be okay. Michael nodded enthusiastically after putting Matthew down and stepped closer to Luke so the blond could carefully place the dog in Michael's arms. When they glanced up at each other, neither one of them expected for their faces to be so close to each other's.
Luke cleared his throat and stepped back, giving Michael space as he looked down to Matthew and Mazie, "How would you guys like to get some ice cream after this?"
"Yes please, Daddy!" Mazie exclaimed, eagerness clear on her cute features at the mention of ice cream. Meanwhile, Michael was holding the puppy close to his face, stroking her back and smiling lightly down at her.
"How old is she?" Michael questioned the employee, who was standing a bit too close to Michael's side for Luke's liking.
"Hm, I'm pretty sure she's around four or five months old," The employee informed, leaning closer to Michael's personal space so he could scratch the top of the puppy's head. Michael just smiled innocently the whole time, but not before his eyes caught sight of the name tag that the employee was wearing; his name was Ethan.
"She's perfect," Michael murmured, letting the puppy lick his fingers before he looked up at Luke with pleading eyes, "Are you going to get this one? Please tell me you'll get her."
"Yeah, if we both like her, then sure," Luke smiled at Michael before reaching down to take Matthew's and Mazie's hands so they could follow Ethan to the lobby, where people could pay for whatever animal they wanted.
The entire time Luke figured out the price with Ethan, Michael was on his knees on the floor to Matthew and Mazie's height. He was holding the puppy in his arms while the two twins stared in awe, then Matthew was brave enough to reach out and let the puppy sniff his fingers.
"Just like Mummy's doggy," Matthew informed Michael as the puppy licked Matthew's fingers. Luke noticeably stiffened at that and glanced down, biting down on his lower lip before letting his hand rest on top of Matthew's dark blond hair.
"Not like your mum's dog, Matt," Luke corrected, avoiding eye contact with Michael as he quickly looked back to the employee behind the counter. "Are we good to go?"
"Yup," Ethan replied, giving Michael a small goodbye wave before Luke bent down to collect Mazie in his arms. She didn't do much struggling since Luke had offered ice cream, so Luke grasped Matthew's hand as well and began to walk away. However, when he glanced back, he was surprised to see that Michael had risen to his full height and lingered behind to interact with Ethan.
"Do you know what you guys are going to name her?" Ethan was asking. He had walked around the counter and was stroking the puppy's head, causing a light smile to ghost on Michael's lips.
"Not yet. She's not exactly mine anyways; I just babysit his kids," Michael explained briefly, taking a chance to glance up at Ethan. The boy was a lot taller than Michael but had a young expression, with beautiful brown eyes, deep dimples when he smiled, and shaggy dark blond hair that was swept across his forehead. He had an eyebrow piercing much like Michael, but he also had a tongue piercing that Michael caught a glimpse of when he talked.
"Oh, okay. I wasn't sure how you two knew each other or anything," Ethan shuffled his feet and then hesitated before adding, "Do you think maybe I could get your number? I'd love to get to know you better."
"Wrong order, buddy. You're supposed to ask me for my name before my number," Michael grinned teasingly, flattered that the employee liked him, but his grin faded and he shook his head slowly. "Sorry, but I've got my hopes up for someone else."
"Michael, let's go," Luke called out tensely, his jaw locked. Michael glanced over to Luke and the twins before looking back to Ethan, giving him an apologetic smile before approaching the blond. He clipped the leash on the puppy's collar that Luke had bought and set her down so he could pick up Matthew, and with his free hand, Luke held the small of Michael's back to lead him out of the animal shelter.
"Why were you talking to him?" Luke asked once they were all settled in the car; the kids in the backseat and the dog in Michael's lap in the passenger's seat.
"It's a social skill called 'being friendly,' maybe you should try it sometime," Michael answered back with a sarcastic tone of voice, raising his eyebrows as he glanced over at Luke.
"He was being a little too friendly, I think," Luke grumbled, his teeth grinding together as he pulled out of his parking spot. Michael frowned as he scratched behind the puppy's ears, listening to her content pants.
"What's your problem, Luke?"
"My problem? I don't have a problem. That guy was just checking you out the entire time you were talking to him. His fuc- freaking eyes all over you. I didn't like it."
"This is rich; you getting jealous," Michael faked a laugh and sent daggers in Luke's direction, "I don't get it. You're getting jealous over a random ass guy who paid attention to me for five minutes, yet you're with hoes whom you find at the supermarket."
"Watch your fucking language," Luke growled low enough for only Michael to hear, "I don't know what you're referring to, anyway."
"Ashton and I went to the supermarket a couple days ago, but I stayed in the car. I saw you leaving and bitching about how you didn't have an umbrella, then some lady came up to you. You two hugged and shared her umbrella," Michael could see that Luke was frowning, so he quickly added, "I-I didn't mean or want to see you there, but the point is, I did, and with someone else nonetheless."
"For Pete's sake, sweets, she's a parent I know from preschool. Her daughter and Mazie are best friends," Luke face-palmed dramatically as he stopped at a stop sign, then he looked over to Michael, "You're one piece of work, Michael Clifford."
"I don't mean to be," Michael sighed, cupping the puppy's face to make her maintain eye contact with him, "Oh, sweet puppy, you would never do something like this to me, would you?"
The puppy yipped once in return, causing Michael to giggle. He leaned down to press kisses all over her face, smiling as she licked his face.
"Amber," Luke suddenly piped up, stealing another glance in Michael's direction, "Call her Amber."
"Amber?" Michael repeated, which made the puppy bark. The brown haired boy smiled and cooed, "Aw, baby, you like that name, don't you? Amber? Such a pretty name for a pretty face like yours."
"Do you want to get ice cream with us, or should I drop you off at your place?" Luke asked curiously once he was stopped at a red light, taking his hand off the steering wheel. Unlike Michael, he drove with only one hand on the steering wheel and that made Michael cautious because it gave you less control of the vehicle.
Michael quickly checked his phone and shrugged, his tongue darting out to wet his dark pink lips slowly. "Um, I've still got some time before I need to go home. Ash wants me to go with him to a study group with a ton of guys I don't know, so I'm kind of procrastinating on going to that."
"Why is he making you go when you're not even in the class?" Luke asked, a frown overtaking his expression. Michael shrugged, looking down to Amber as Luke continued, "You shouldn't have to go if you don't want to. Why don't you tell Ashton that you'll skip out on it and keep spending time with me and the kids? And Amber, of course."
Amber barked at the sound of her name, causing both Michael and Luke to smile. The younger boy cooed at her, "Good girl, Amber. But I don't know, Luke. Ash really wants me there, and as his best friend I'm kind of required to be there for him. One of the downsides to having a best friend, but I love him anyway."
"Well, I'm sure he won't mind if you're just a little late," Luke grinned as he made the left turn into Ralph's parking lot, "because I'm making it so you have to get ice cream with us, without a choice."
"Kidnapping?" Michael teased, getting out of the car at the same time as Luke, "This is a whole new low, Hemmings."
The tall blond just smirked at Michael across the backseat, since they had both opened the car doors across from each other to help one of the twins out of their seat. Michael balanced Mazie on his hip and kept a tight grip on Amber's leash, then listened to Luke lock the car before they walked around to stand in front of each other.
"I don't know how I'm going to balance around two kids and a dog by myself," Luke muttered as they got in line. Michael overheard and frowned to himself a bit, but then he nudged Luke's shoulder with his own.
"Hey, you're not alone here. You've got me, whenever you need me," Michael reminded gently, shooting Luke a beam that could brighten anyone's day.
"And I'm so grateful for you," Luke replied, smiling lightly back at the shorter boy.
--
a/n, are any of you old enough to drive? and if you can, do you drive with one hand or two?
ok plus when do you get your license where you live? here it's 16 so i'm lit enough to drive blessedt