Not Like Him [Michael Jackson x Fem Reader]
Summary: Pregnant with you and your husbandās second child, tensions boil over when youāve had enough of him spending so much time away from his family more than usual.
Warnings: fluff, angst, fluff, angst, fluff, angst, fluff, angst :)
A/N: This wasnāt suppose to be that long fr lol, but I love writing cute little family stuff. Not proof read. Thank you for reading. -J
You and Michael were just 18 years old when he decided he wanted to marry you. Three years later during the production of āOff The Wallā, you'd unexpectedly give him the greatest gift in the world, his son. Born July 1st, 1979 was Michael Esco David Jackson. When you presented the name to Michael, although he agreed to it, he spent the first month after he was born making sure you were actually okay with it. For Michael, his brothers were a source of strength, comfort, and guidance and you knew that. And if his son were to ever ask him the origins of his name, he could tell him he was named after some legends.
Only 6 months into his birth, he would gain several nicknames. Baby E, Baby Esco, Baby Esky, Junior. And sure enough, Jackie seemed to be his favorite uncle. So for the most part the family ended up calling him either Esco or Baby Esco and it stuck.
"Baby are you sure?" Michael asks as he sits behind you in a warm bath, rubbing your back and shoulders.
"Boy if you ask me that again, I'm gonna have an attitude." you playfully say as you lean your head back against his shoulder. "Yes, I'm sure. I know how much your brothers mean to you and you know how much they mean to me too."
"I just don't want to leave your input and your side of the family out." He presses his lips to your shoulder, giving it a tender kiss.
"As many kids as you want, they won't be left out. There will be room for everyone."
"So we can actually have 18 ki-,"
"No." you chuckle softly as you turn your head to look him in his eyes. "6. 7 maybe if you're good."
"I think I can settle for that."
"Waaaaaaaaaaay down the line though."
Nerves were high between the both of you. At only 20 years old, you were both so young to be parents. But one irresponsible night lead to another and you quickly learned that your husband was terrible at pulling out quickly. Nonetheless, Michael made sure that you knew he was going to be a father and continue to be a devoted husband to you no matter what.
Safe to say, way down the line didn't make it very far. Now, with the impending release of āThrillerā, you were pregnant with you and Michael's second child. But that wasn't really the issue. You had been watching your husband drift away for a couple months now, not out of love, just away. You knew that the pressure Joseph had him under was to blame, but that's never kept him so distant. You knew he was stressed, but honestly, when was Michael never stressed? Even when he was having a good time, the stress always lingered.
When he found out you were pregnant, he moved the two of you out of his family home in an instant. You had longed witnessed the tension, the arguments, the passive aggressiveness between him and his father since you started dating him. He needed an out for the both ofĀ you and he took it. He moved the two of you into an estate about the same size and within the neighborhood so that he could keep the family close by.
An attentive father from the very start, it was like he was now running on autopilot when he interacted with either of you. It's been 3 months since the three of you have sat down for dinner as family. It's been 3 months since he's stopped tucking Esco into bed. 3 months since he's last held you in bed. He dare never forget to tell you that he loves you though. And when your son looked into your eyes with a face like his father's and asked you where his he was in his tiny little voice, how could you tell him that he simply did not have the time?
But Michael didn't see it that way. To him, he was going through the motions like a busy husband and father should. He was still next to you every morning you opened your eyes, but not for long. He made an appearance at breakfast, but only to grab two things off his plate and the glass of orange juice before making his way into the family studio. When he stepped out of the studio, he spent an hour max between you and Esco before he was tucked away again.
Today was suppose to be a family day, literally, yet you've never felt more alone. You lay on the big plush sectional in the family den, watching through the glass as your little ray of sunshine ran around in his swim trunks with his cousins. You smile to yourself, cheek resting on the back of your hand, as Jermaine picks him up, flipping him upside before spinning him around. His joyful squeals can be heard from a mile away.
Your happiness was soon replaced by a mild irritation that was growing stronger by the second. Here every single member of the Jackson's and your family was, but Michael. Like usual, he was tucked away in that fucking studio working himself to death for the completion of his 2nd album. Janet and Latoya tried to get you to come back outside, but you just gave them the excuse that you were a little tired from the summer heat. You leave the side door open just incase they need you.
"Uh oh big man!" you hear Jackie yell when he sees Esco attempting to pick up a basketball with his tiny hands. Siggy, Jackie's oldest at 5 years olds, walks over to what his little mind considers an extension of him and helps. He places the ball in Esco's hands and helps him hold it. The two awkward walk around like that for a bit before he gets distracted by one of his aunts, his little feet stomping over in excitement.
You continue to watch as the family interacts, sad not out of jealousy, but because you miss your husband so fucking bad. Janet is chasing him back and forth now, but when he makes eye contact with you he stops dead in his tracks. He turns and looks at you, cheesing harder than ever as he waves. And when you wave back, he waves with two hands, bouncing up and down slightly.
This instantly improves your mood and you sit up, motioning for him to come over and he takes off like a rocket, Janet rubbing his head gently and handing him a juice box before he goes. He throws himself into your arms at full force, choking on his juice slightly and you respond by patting and rubbing his back.
"Slow down there, Boogie." you say, leaning down to kiss his forehead as he twirls himself around comfortably between your legs, sipping on his juice box still. Boogie was the nickname Michael had given him because the moment he could stand on two feet, just like his father, he was grooving.
"Mama." he simply says, his voice a crackling a little and you can only hope that's he's not getting a summer cold.
"Hm?" you respond, your arms wrapped around his little frame, chin resting ever so lightly on top of his head.
"Daddy." he simply says again.
You smiled as you stood in the courtyard of your new home, watching mama Katherine, your husband and your mother from afar. He holds year old baby Esco in his arms, stomach down, like a football, gently swaying him from side to side. He giggles and kicks his feet as your mother tickles and softly pinches his chubby legs, his arms occasionally flailing and grabbing Michael's. Inside, your father and Joseph continue to walk through the house.
"I hope you're prepared to keep up with Mike's crazy ass spending habits." Tito laughs as he stands next to you with his hands shoved in his pocket, also looking towards the affectionate display. Whatever Michael is saying has the two ladies cracking up a storm. His humor and silliness was a major attraction for you. And you grin when you remember him telling you he sure hopes y'all's kids are funny.
"He's already started by buying us a house that's the same size as the one a few streets down." you answer. "As if he's planning seriously for those 18 kids he wants."
"And is still a baby his damn self."
"You were in his shoes once, Toriano." you raise an eyebrow, nudging him with your shoulders.
"Do as I say, not as I do." Tito replies and you both bust out laughing. "He's gonna kill me for telling you this, but I got to."
"I remember when Mike was scared as shit to make the first move on you." Tito begins. "And this was after y'all had already been dating for like a year. He came into Jermaine's room in fucking shambles because he thought he couldn't handle you."
"I mean he was fucking panicking." he continues. "2 years later he marries you. 4 years later you both bless me with one of my nephews."
"When you have a good group of brothers behind you, I'm sure it's easy for your confidence to grow." you say back. "He speaks fondly of all of you any chance that he gets. It's why I wanted to name Esco what I named him."
"Jermaine is very jealous by the way." Tito laughs. "He said y'all gave his nephew an extra middle name just not to make it his."
"This ain't our last kid. He'll get over it."
"Heywatchadoin!" Michael playfully says to Esco when he walks back into bedroom and sees him standing in his crib. Esco squeals and jumps up and down before plopping himself on his back. "Woah-,"
"I swear he gets so excited when you walk into the room." you smile as you watch Michael walk over and pick him up. He can't throw himself into his father's grasp fast enough, his little arms locking around his neck and resting his head on his shoulder. Michael carries him over, sitting down on the edge of the bed before laying on his side and setting him between the two of you.
He leans back comfortably against Michael who props himself up on his elbow. You lean forward, tickling Esco on the bottom of his foot and he kicks his feet and squeals. When you pull your hand away he reaches for it, pulling it right back as he plays with your fingers, fascinated by the beautiful wedding ring that adorns one of them. You stop him when he tries to pull it off, grabbing his nose instead.
"Aht aht." you say. "You take my ring, I take your nose."
He finds this so amusing that he throws his head back like an old man in laughter, hitting Michael in his bottom lip.
"Oop." you cover your mouth, trying not to laugh too much.
"Head big as hell.." Michael mumbles as he rubs his bottom lip that is throbbing slightly. "Must of gotten it from his grandpa..."
Within the next hour both of your boys are asleep. Michael lays flat on his back, snoring. Baby Esco is also flat on his back, on his father, fast asleep. You yawn before getting up and stretching, slowly and carefully lifting him up and setting him down in his crib and kissing his forehead. You crawl back into the bed next to your husband, kissing the side of his face before reaching over to turn the lamp off. Just when you thought you're also going to get to finally rest, the phone rings.
"I know you' fuckin' lyin." you mumble to yourself and you can already hear baby Esco stirring in his crib.
"Whoever just woke my baby up.." Michael says lowly as he's also stirred awake. "Is gonna have to answer to me personally.."
Latoya gasps dramatically and bounces Esco in his arms as she points in the direction of his father who is making his way into his dressing room. Michael's sweaty and exhausted, but the adrenaline after shows always kept him going. You sit there and watch in amusement at his excitement as you continue your conversation with Katherine. The closer Michael gets, the louder and more excited Esco responds.
"Who is that?!" she asks, still pointing at Michael. "Is that your daddy? Hm?"
He looks up at her, still giggling as he grabs her shirt and hides his face before popping it back out. She laughs that high pitched laugh and you can't help but snicker to yourself.
"That boy really loves his father." Katherine says to you warmly, her hand resting over yours.
"Trust me I know." you sigh out contently. "I think he can tell when someone has a pure heart. He's such a happy baby."
Michael smiles at him, stopping to wipe the sweat off of him with a towel before throwing it over his shoulder. He does a little spin before taking Esco out of Latoya's arms and hugging him, showering him with kisses. He wraps his arms around Michael, clinging to him and finally yawns. His father brought him so much peace that after terrorizing everyone for most of the show, he was finally ready to go to sleep.
He walks over to you and his mother, giving the both of you a kiss on the cheek, baby Esco falling into a deeper slumber by the second. You urged Michael to keep him awake because you knew that there would be hell to pay in the middle of the night if he didn't.
You lay comfortably on your side on the floor, eyes on the TV as Esco leans back against you, his little fingers playing with the necklace Michael got you a few weeks ago. When he makes a noise that somewhere between confusion and amazement you grin, grabbing his hands and giving them a kiss before running your fingers through his hair.
When Michael stumbles through the front door, with him he has some roses in his hands, a teddy bear for Esco, and a few bags full of groceries that you asked him to bring home. He sets everything down, but the two gifts, in the kitchen. When he makes his way into the sunken in living room, he immediately gets on his knees next to the both of you, apologetic.
"I know I'm few hours later than I said I would be..." he sighs out. "I'm sorry baby." He leans over to kiss Esco on the top of his head before setting the decent sized teddy bear down in front of him. Esco immediately leans over onto it, rubbing his hands across to determine whether or not he likes the texture. Michael hands you the roses and leans forward to kiss you softly.
"I'm like really sorry." he says again. "I just got-,"
"What are you apologizing for?" you ask as you stare up into his eyes, damn near falling in love with him all over again.
"I hate leaving you and Esco here alone all day while I'm busy." he admits. "I feel guilty."
"You shouldn't feel guilty for showing up and providing." you say, sitting up and kissing him again, watching Esco entertain his new teddy bear out the corner of your eye. "Even when you're at your absolute end, you're here and present."
You didn't even notice that some of the family had gathered to keep you company until your husband's voice snaps you out of your memories like clockwork. And while you thought you would happy, you just ended up even more irritated instead by the words coming out of his mouth.
"Aw come on Mike!" Randy throws his arms up at the door. "Just have a burger or something man. You've been locked away all day. We haven't seen you for more than 15 minutes at a time."
"Seriously Michael." Janet agrees, also sticking her head out the door.
"Just give me like 30 more minutes!" Michael says to them as he walks backwards to retreat to his studio once again. You finally reach a breaking point as you abruptly get up from your seat and excuse yourself from the few family members in the den, brushing past Randy and Janet that are still standing in the door.
You're quick and heavy on your feet despite being 6 months pregnant. A few eyes follow you across the backyard and they already know that you're on a mission. They don't blame you. Nope. Not one bit. He's so focused on the studio door in front of him, he doesn't even hear that you're catching up to him. And when he swings the door open, he expects it to close behind him shortly thereafter, but it doesn't. He looks over his shoulder before turning fully around when he realizes that it's you.
"Oh sorry sweethe-," he begins, but you immediately cut him off by slamming the door behind you.
"Why are you the only one not out there?" you ask, trying not to raise your voice immediately, tears wanting to form in your eyes. A hand rests on your hip, another on the door handle as you stare him dead in his face.
"I'm working." he simply says.
"On the ONE day that the family decides that everyone shouldn't be? You are literally the ONLY ONE, Michael."
"Not everyone is working on producing-,"
"Michael Joseph Jackson, I promise you that I will cut everything in this motherfucking house OFF."
"Will you calm down?" he says with a calmness that almost makes you turn into a wild animal. He literally cannot be this dense right now, but he is. "I did the same thing during āOff The Wallā and nobody said anything."
"You did the same-," you hysterically repeat before laughing to yourself so you genuinely don't lose your mind.
"No. NO." you say through a clenched jaw. "During āOff The Wallā you were present. During āOff The Wallā everyone still got to spend time with you. During āOff The Wallā you were still paying attention to your fucking family."
"During and after āOff The Wallā." you continue, dragging out your words. "I was able to see my husband and my son was able to see his father."
"Baby what are you talking about?" he asks in genuine confusion.
"Yeah I'm about to fuck this whole place up." you say at the height of your pregnant emotions.
"Okay." Michael takes a seat on the edge of the table behind him, running his hands down his face. "Are you serious or is this your-,"
"I'll smack the fire right out your mouth boy." you say with an attitude.
"I really wish you'd tell me what the problem is." he says, starting to get irritated as well. "āThrillerā is set to be released before the end of this year. I. Am. Working."
"Go ahead and keep prioritizing business over family." You don't really have the energy to fight with him and you're really thinking about crying, but you don't want to break now.
"I'm literally still here!" Michael yells slightly. "You have infinite access to me! I'm still taking care of OUR son. I change his diapers, I feed him, I make sure he has whatever he needs! Every damn day!"
"You just like your damn daddy thinking doing simple shit makes up for lost time." the words slip out of your mouth faster than you can catch them and you both freeze and just stare at each other. "Michael I-,"
"I'm just like my damn daddy huh?" he asks you and you can hear the cry in his throat. The last thing Michael wanted to be was like his father. Sure. Joseph provided everything that his children needed, but he wasn't a father. He wasn't the father they needed him to be. And when Michael married and bred you, he promised that Esco would know what it was like to be loved unconditionally for who he was and not whatever talent he could possess. Hearing these words come out of your mouth, even though you knew it was far from the truth, broke him.
"I'm just like my damn daddy..." Michael repeats as he wipes his mouth, chuckling quietly to himself as he walks past you.
"Michael.." you grab his arm and he stops and looks into your eyes and beyond your soul.
"I'm just like my damn daddy." he says to you. "I'm just like my damn daddy..."
"I didn't mean it like th-,"
"So then what the fuck did you mean? Huh?"
"Michael I just.." you begin, your voice cracking. "I just miss you. Esco is always asking about you. The night after you won your grammy.. you just-,"
"I busted my ass day and night for that album just for them to play in my face and give me one grammy." he says through gritted teeth. "They won't get the chance to disrespect me again? You hear me?"
"So you're willing to neglect your fam-,"
"IM NOT NEGLEC-," he stops himself when he looks down at your stomach, not wanting to stress you or the baby out. "I'm not neglecting my family. This album has to be it. It has to be. The world doesn't look at us past our skin color and what we have to offer."
"I gotta make sure my son sees that you can get anything you want as long as you work for it." he continues. "And you wanna know what makes me different from Joseph?"
"Michael I know you're not like him." you say as the tears start falling.
"Esco can call me dad. Esco can come to me crying about the silliest thing and I won't make fun of him and I'd never put my hands on him." he says, ignoring what you just said. He presses his nose firmly against the side of your face incase you can't hear him. "Esco will always know what it's like to feel a fathers love. Esco will get to take part in all his interests and not have any pressure on his back. Esco will get to celebrate birthdays, holidays, and whatever else.."
"So before you tell me that I'm just like my damn daddy."Ā he chuckles on the side of your face. "Consider the way I was brought up then and then consider the way Esco is being brought up now. I'll NEVER be like Joseph. NEVER."
With those words said, he respectfully pulls his arm away from you and walks through the studio door, leaving you with your thoughts and his words. Everyone is shocked and happy to see him leave as quickly as he entered, but those faces are quickly replaced with looks of concern when they see the look on his face and the way he's walking.
"You alright?" Marlon tries to stop him, but he just pushes right past him and keeps going. The only voice he doesn't have the heart to ignore is the one little one that screams daddy as he walks by. He stops and turns around, forcing a smile to appear on his face when he makes eye contact with Esco who caught him through the den door. He turns and walks in that direction instead, not saying a single word to anyone else in the room.
In one quick motion he scoops him up into his arms, giving him a tight hug before carrying him into the main part of the house.
"Daddy done with work?" Esco asks and Michael simply nods before giving him a kiss on his temple and rubbing his back.
A mixture of yours and his family start to grow extremely worried when they don't see you exit the studio after about 10 minutes. Rebbie and Latoya take the initiative to make the first move and both frown when they find you on the studio sofa in tears. And once you finally calm down and explain the conversation, everyone has different opinions.
"No." Latoya disagrees with Rebbie. "He knew damn well what she was talking about. He took her words and spun them out of proportion. With that attitude he was acting just like his damn daddy."
"Now I do think it's fair to consider Michael's workload and work ethic." Rebbie says. "I think this is all just a big misunderstanding. You girls know. You know when Michael gets in the zone there's no taking him out of it."
"When Michael decided to have a family, he decided to make some sacrifices. And I'm not saying he should sacrifice his entire career.. but..."
"I think that as Michael continues to gain his independence, he needs a little more structure." Rebbie sighs as she rubs your back while you sit there silently, just listening to what they both have to say. "He's so use to doing everything on a schedule.. Joseph's schedule at that."
"I should of never said he was like him.." you interject.
"Well he sure was acting like it..." Latoya mumbles as she rolls her eyes and runs a hand through her hair. "I'm trying to give him some grace, but it sucks to watch the man you love slowly fade away not only in his physical presence, but mentally too."
Inside the house, Michael paced around with Esco in his arms as he tried to determine what his next move would be. He was hot, but couldn't outwardly show it. He didn't want to.
"You sure are getting heavy boy." Michael says to him as they stand in the middle of living room, staring out the window as everyone continues in the festivities outside.
"Big, strong!" he squeals. "Like uncle Esco and uncle Randy!"
"That's right." Michael chuckles.
"Mike." Marlon calls for him as he walks through a side door, Jermaine trailing behind him. A few of Esco's cousins come scrambling behind them as well, asking Michael if he can please let him come back outside and play. Michael sets him down, watching as he runs off towards the group. He slips his little hand into Stacee's as they dart out the door, the sound of children's screams and laughter filling the air.
"You gonna keep ignoring us or what?" Jermaine asks with an eyebrow raised.
"What does everyone want from me?" Michael asks as he faces the two of him, a hard look on his face.
"What are you going on about?" Marlon asks.
"Oh so we're all just gonna stand here in and play the question game now, huh?" Michael shifts his stance slightly.
"What the fuck is your problem?" Marlon asks again.
"No what's everyone else's problem?" Michael asks. "What do y'all want? What does everyone want from me? Tell me."
"Are you really standing in front of us getting mad because everyone wants to spend some time with you?"
Jermaine asks. "You know how hard it is to get ahold of you outside rehearsals?"
"We absolutely do need you."
"No, wait. Hold on. What do you mean by that?" Marlon asks. "Cause I know you're not implying what I think you are. So tell me, my twin, what do you mean by that?"
Michael stands there and continues looking at the both of them without saying anything because he is implying exactly what Marlon thinks he is. Which is crazy because that's not even the context of the situation.
"Riiiiight. You think this is about business." Marlon continues with an irritated smirk on his face. "Because I'm sure when your wife marched in there after you, it was about business. Right?"
"Joseph has you so hardwired that now even when we delegate family time, you still can't separate business from leisure." Jermaine adds. "Everyone has spent the entire day with each other except for you. It's 4 in the afternoon and we've all been up since 8. How much have we seen of you?"
"I think the three of us should go for a long drive." Marlon suggests. "Don't you think so Jermaine?"
"Michael honey, I'm fine." you say to him as you run your fingers through his hair before cupping underneath his chin. This is the 6th time he's stepped out of the booth within the last hour and a half to check on you. You had long offered to leave the studio to give him his space, but he insisted on having you right underneath him.
"You sure? Can I get you anything? Hungry? Thirsty?" he asks with pure devotion in his eyes. He rubbed every part of your aching body, offering you temporary relief.
"Michael. At this rate you're not gonna get through Workin' Day and Night before the sun goes down." You run your finger along his jawline and he grabs your hand and kisses it before pressing it to his cheek. "And I'm not gonna sit here and listen to you tell me that I must be seeing some other guy instead of you."
"Ahahaha." he laughs. "You got jokes."
"I learn from only the funniest man on the planet."
"Ooo don't let Marlon hear you say that."
He kisses you slowly and tenderly, tuning out all thee other bodies in the room before standing up from kneeling and stretches. He rubs your stomach and smiles to himself as he takes a few sips of water before stepping back into the booth.
You smile wide as you stand stage side with your mother and your mother-in law as you watch Michael prance around the stage with two year old baby Esco in his arms, his hold and strong firm as he bounces him up and down to the beat of the music. If the crowd wasn't lively already, they were when Randy decided to come scoop him up from stage side.You admire your husband and his brother's work ethic as even with Esco moving around between their grasps, they never missed a beat.
"She's says that workin'." Michael sings into the mic, changing up the lyrics slightly, as he looks at his son who is as giddy as can be in his arms. "Is what a man's suppose to do."Ā
"And I say it ain't right.." he continues, his smile growing wider and wider at his son's happiness. "If I can't give sweet love to her."
Marlon is right off Michael's shoulder as they continue moving and Esco reaches out for him. Michael passes him off with ease, pinching his cheek gently as he continues to sing. Marlon carries him around now, alternating between carrying him at waist and shoulder level and even in the air. When he needs to use his entire body, he places him on Jackie's shoulders.
His hands make their way around Jackie's forehead as he hangs on for dear life, giggling the entire time while his favorite uncle continues to dance. You wipe the happy tears away from your eyes when you feel your motherās warm embrace around you.
āYou know.ā she begins in your ear over the music. āAs your father and I watched you grow, I prayed that youād find someone to love you the same way your father loves me.ā
āNow I didnāt think youād still be so young, but.ā she continues. āIām glad itās him.ā Your motherās words leave you speechless and all you can do is turn around to hug her.
Michael has no choice but to go with his brothers because he knows they won't leave him alone. Jermaine tells everyone that they're "simply going to the store" and will be back in a bit. Michael sits up front with Marlon, Jermaine in the back, but middle seat as they drive off. They reassured Bill that they would be fine.
By the time they had gotten back, the sun was setting, much to everyone's irritation. But, Michael needed the very long conversation. He was still in a piss poor mood when the three of them returned, but he had a better understanding of what the issue was. However, things would remain awkward between the two of you for the remainder of the of the evening even as the both of you continued to interact with the rest of the family.
The two of you assisted in giving y'all's three year old a bath before bed, not exchanging more than a few sentences at a time. After Michael put him to bed, he joined you in bed, scooting over to give you a kiss on your cheek before scooting back over to his side of the bed. You immediately turn around to face him, grabbing him and pulling him back to you before pressing your lips against his.
A slow and heated kiss is shared, but itās left at just that. The following morning when the sun rises and you open your eyes, youāre slightly startled to see Michael still next to you when he hasnāt been in so many months. At some point in the night the two of found your way into a cuddle and so you find yourself completely snug against his chest. He looks so peaceful when he sleeps and the guilt of what you said yesterday immediately hits you like a brick.
You take the opportunity to slowly sneak out of the bed, taking a shower and freshening yourself up for the day. When you check on Esco, heās just now opening and rubbing the sleep out his eyes. He turns around slightly still on his stomach and still rubbing his eyes as he looks at you.
āMama?ā he questions, more for himself while he still canāt see. And when he realizes that it is in fact you, his mood changes from still sleepy to excited. āGāmorning mama!ā He yawns as he crawls out of his bed and walks over to you, one of his stuffed animals by his side.
āGood morning cutie pie!ā you say happily as he slips his hand inside of yours. Walking to the top of the stairs, he holds your hand even tighter before stopping completely.
āNeed to go slow.ā he reminds you. āCanāt hurt your belly.ā
āSo smart and caring just like your father.ā you praise him.
āDaddy is the best!ā he agrees as the two of you slowly make it down the stairs.
You wish you could take back what you said and you wish you would of approached Michael a different way about it, but itās in the past now. By the time he wakes up and makes his way down stairs, youāve already eaten and fed Esco. You almost forget the two of you even argued yesterday as you watch him continue to walk down the stairs. The post sleep look always fits him so perfectly.
āGood morning the loves of my life.ā he says groggily as he throws himself onto the soft carpet where Esco kneels, playing with some of his toys, the tv merely background noise.
āHi daddy!ā he says. āYou sleep too much.ā Michael just chuckles because he knows he actually doesnāt sleep enough.
āIām sorry.ā you say. āWe wanted to wait for you, but I didnāt know when youād get up.ā
Michael throws his arms around Esco, pulling him for a hug before he props himself up on his elbow next to him, letting him continue to play with his toys.
āDonāt ever wait on me to eat if youāre hungry sweetheart.ā Michael reminds you. āCan we talk actually?ā
You donāt even let him finish his question before you start nodding. He rises to his feet before grabbing both of your hands and helping you up. Walking just out of ear shot of baby Esco, you lean against the wall to the entrance of the dining room, looking up at Michael as he stands in front of you. And when he makes eye contact with you, you both say it at the same time.
āI shouldnāt have said what I did.ā you piggyback right off of him.
āDonāt apologize for it.ā he says, honestly. āI needed to hear it. Did I want to? Ehh, not really. But I needed to.ā
āNo, Michael. Listen to me.ā You place a finger firmly on his chest. āI was wrong and out of pocket. Youāre nothing like Joseph and I know you never will be.ā
āI know you didnāt mean it.ā Michael wipes away a tear from your eye before it can make its way too far down your face. āBut after some thinking and much needed conversation, I realized that maybe you werenāt all the way wrong.ā
āI donāt want you believing youāre anything like your father for a split second.ā you slide your hands up his chest before cupping both sides of his face. āMaybe I just got too spoiled when things were a little easier..ā
āNot at all.ā Michael is quick to defend you from yourself. āI donāt consider you spoiled. I think of it as you getting everything that you deserve. And baby you deserve so much.ā
āIām sorry that I havenāt been present with you and Esco.ā he continues. āThereās just so much push and Iām so use to always having to do something.. I just.. I donāt know. I guess I donāt know how to take a break.ā
āI know how much this means to you and I donāt want to take it away from you. We can wa-,ā
āDonāt ever say that to me again.ā Michael says seriously. āWait my ass. You and my children are my priority.ā
āBut this is your career.ā
āWhatās this career worth if I lose my family behind it?ā he asks you, bringing his face closer to yours. āIām building a legacy for not just myself, but for our future too. I donāt have anything, if I donāt have my family.ā
