#soft!mike

soft afternoons...

warnings: fluff, dad!mike, children& family life, mentions of addiction/recovery, afab! reader

wordcount: ~1.870

author's note: the song i kept hearing as possibly one mike is strumming on the guitar at the end (besides his normal random riffs and his own songs) is edie breckwell & new bohemians - what i am...

i just want this. the kids. the porch. the lemonade. mike. the soft kisses. the guitar. the healing. wahhhh ToT i love you mike,

this is one of my many love letters to you..

❧ ☀︎☁︎ ༄🍃

there's the rowdy noises of play outside, as you open the door... he's sitting out on the porch, watching them, shadows of the leaves dancing in the sunlight across his face.

you bring out the cold glasses of lemonade, calling the two little ones over with a grin. setting the tray down, you wrap your arms around him, nuzzling in to scent his ponytail for a moment. you feel more than hear the soft hum he makes, as little footsteps and giggles approach.

you hand out the glasses, one for your babygirl, only around 4, and one for the boy, 6 and a half. you have to stop them from immediately running back out into the yard with their glasses, telling them to stay here and drink. mike reminds them to tell their mama "thank you," and they both immediately mumble it, sheepish and half-distracted already.

the youngest, bella, is tugging on her daddy's shirt, whining for him over and over again. he's laughing, reaching out to gently pat her hair for a moment. "what is it, baby?" he asks gently, that familiar twinkle in his eye...

she starts proudly telling him some stuff her and her brother accomplished in the yard in their excavations. he's laughing again; "i know, babygirl. i saw the whole thing." as she bounced around animatedly, acting out the adventures for him.

her brother chimes in, correcting her on some parts and teasing her, both of them getting a bit rowdy but not overly so. they're just so full of energy, so young. he proudly shows his dad a trinket they found while out exploring and mike takes it in his hands, examining it with wonder. "well, would you look at that?" he grins wide, giving mike jr. a proud little hair ruffle and pulling him in for a little side hug. "maybe we'll take it over to the pawn shop later and see how much it's worth?" he teases, and the boy immediately shakes his head in exasperated disbelief. "no way daddy, we couldn't get nothing!" and mike gently tugs him by the back of the neck. "oh, you'd be surprised! these things usually go for about 50 bucks." and mike jr. examines it closer, before mike lets him take it and pull away. "really?" he exclaims, his sister leaning in for a closer look at it now. mike laughs, sharing their awe. "hell yeah! awesome find, little dude."

you smile and shake your head, setting the glasses of lemonade down for you and your husband as the kids are already halfway through theirs. you knew a pawn shop trip also means mike may or may not spoil junior with a cd player or a new guitar.

the item was definitely a unique find though. deserving of a little treat, maybe, hehe. although mike never really needed an excuse to spoil the little ones.

the boy was buzzing with excitement.

"want me to hang onto it so you don't lose it?" mike asked, and he nodded and gave the item back to his daddy. bella started whining again, sipping up her juice quick, thirsty after all that running around. "daddy i want the money, i want it! i found it first!"

"you did not!" mike jr. protested.

mike shook his head, taking a small moment to lean into your hand braced at his shoulder in a small thank you before sipping his lemonade.

"i dunno... i think daddy should get the money, since he's driving you all the way to the pawn shop." mike teased them, poking at their little bellies for a moment as they squirmed away. "nooo!"

you grinned and started running after them with tickly hands, seeing that they were both done with their drinks, and they were about to keep pestering their daddy.

"daddy'll take you both to the pawn shop, and you two will split the money, huh?"

"aww, but that's not fairrrr!" they practically said in unison, but they were too busy giggling and running away to really be upset. junior already challenging his sister to see who could go find another one first, both of them climbing back up the old hill in the yard again.

you made your way back up the porch steps, the glass in the kids cups melting slowly all by itself. you looked up and caught mike's eyes, hearing his sigh of contentment.

as soon as you got close, he makes a cheeky noise and grabs you by the hips and tucks you in fast, making you yelp. his hands settle on your waist your butt... and he looks up at you with utter reverence and devotion. his lips placing soft kisses on your tummy as his eyes never left yours.

"mmm..." he hummed deeply; in that voice of his that turned you to butter.

and you made a sigh that was more on the needy, side of content. your carded your fingers into his hair, gently taking out his ponytail as you felt the need to just play with it...! he hummed louder, more like a rumble now; and pulled you into his lap, making a soft noise of pleasure as you settled in and fit right there like a puzzle piece...

you combed your hands through his hair now, as his kisses went across your shoulder, collarbone and neck. chaste and sensual, but with an underlying desire marked by the possessive squeeze of your butt.

you giggled and rained kisses over his head, squishing your chest into his face for a moment. unable to help the cuteness affection around him.

before you both sighed in joy and just hugged and cuddled each other. his head on your shoulder and your head resting on his,

as you kept an eye on the kids in the distance. your kids.

"our kids..." mike whispered softly... pridefully.... as if he had read your mind... he didn't finish the sentence... just trembled a little as one of your hands moved to trace gentle circles on his back.

"it's all just so beautiful, isn't it?" you could hear the slight emotion in his voice and it made you tear up a bit too. it was just such a beautiful evening, the sun all golden. the air warm and fuzzy. then distant sounds of laughter and play.

"yeah..." you mewled softly... not wanting to speak too loud.

mike pulled back for a moment, reaching up to caress your cheek as he looked into your eyes. his other hand still on your hip, spanning a good deal of your body.

"thank you for giving me this life..."

you blinked for a moment, your throat feeling even tighter. the words hit you in the chest. they weren't what you were expecting to here.

you shook your head, carding your hands through again and circling them around so you could cup mike's jaw.

"no... thank you... you... this... us..." you tried to find the words, but their weren't any words that could express the beauty and miracle of appearing in his life and him wanting to keep you. him loving you.

he smiled softly, he chocolate eyes glimmering. he seemed to get it. gently, his thumb softly brushing your cheek, he brought you in for a gentle, but deeply meaning kiss.

your lips touched; and touched again. both of you savoring the feel of each other, and then the taste, as neither of you could help getting just that little bit closer, deeper. your heart raced and you felt that dizziness you always felt in his arms, beneath his charms.

"mine... you're mine... forever." you smiled and murmured against his lips... "and i'm never letting you go..."

he just looked you deep in the eyes for a long time. your foreheads touching. his hand on the nape of your neck.

then he let you adjust so that you could sit perched on his lap, and both of you could enjoy your lemonades like that.

the cicadas humming brightly all around.

۝؎؈؎۝

you come inside later, the little ones playing in the living room, watching tv, and monching away at their dinner. he's got a guitar in hand... softly playing... he's watching the kids.. and you're watching him... just entranced by how beautiful he is... reminiscing on all the times, the good and the bad... how far you've both come.. your heart trembles for a moment as you notice just how much healthier he looks. remembering the gray; sickly pallor from when you first met him. the light that was almost gone in his eyes; the struggle that had been clear in every aspect of his posture. how he still carried himself with such strength and dignity despite it all; but struggled so hard to let himself be vulnerable, to feel how much he was really hurt on the inside...

it took so long... the road wasn't easy... and you weren't able to help him through it alone... but he had fought... he'd fought for this future, this better life. to free and heal himself of such an difficult disease. he'd leaned on his friends for support. the help of counselors. and he'd leaned on and trusted you. you'd been the first person he was able to really come clean about the emotional problems he was having; and how deep it run. you were the one who talked him through it, who really sat there and listened instead of just letting him dismiss it as "all good" and "in the past."

and most of all, he'd leaned back into his music. his passion. his soul purpose. he'd found a. new band, a couple of new groups actually, to play with. he made songs on his own. he played for you. he played for the kids.

you watched him strum and touch the guitar with a suave artist's love... his eyes soft as he looked between you, and the little ones rowdy on the floor in front of the tv, watching their cartoons and eating dinner and listening to daddy play...

he just looked so... content. so full of life. the heaviness that once seemed to weigh him down seemed almost like a far away dream, now, looking at him.