Lazy mornings.
The TM prompt for this week kind of inspired this fic (somehow...), so it just begged to be written. And it's Michael being silly, which is very rare nowadays, and it'll give an insight to his 'previous life.'
The feeling of fingers tracing a line up and down his spine, so slowly that it almost tickled, caused Michael to open his eyes from the deep sleep he had been in. Even if he was still exhausted and sore, a small lazy smile started to grow on his face. "What are you doing...?" he mumbled as he buried his face in the pillow.
Lauren, who was taking her time in waking him up, smiled at the way he suddenly groaned softly as her fingers passed over a sensitive spot. "Sorry, baby, but you need to get up."
"Why?" Not wanting to get up just yet, Michael just continued to bury his face in the pillow, making his complains sound muffled. "I don't have to work today..."
"No, but my dad wants to meet us for lunch, remember?"
Another groan, this time to complain rather than to show how much he was liking the feeling of her hands along his back, was heard. "You mean he wants to meet you for lunch." Sighing, he lifted himself up using his elbows. "I'm just the tag-along."
"C'mon, he wants to have lunch with you, too."
"Yeah, since he's so thrilled that the 'criminal' his only daughter has as a fiancé got her pregnant."
Lauren sighed at that, her hands still passing absently over his back. "He just...worries. You would, too, if you had a daughter." She smirked and placed one hand over her stomach. "Who knows, maybe the kiddo here will be a little girl and you'll get to deal with a daughter."
"Ah, see, that'd be different."
"How so?"
Michael sat up then and kissed her lips before laying back down again so his head could be on her lap. Smiling, he turned towards his side so he could kiss her belly, which was already showing a small bump. "If I have a daughter she won't date until I say so. And it'll be a long, long time until then."
At that, Lauren let out a small laugh before grinning down at him, caressing the back of his neck. "Right. My father used to say the same thing, you know, and look what happened."
The smile on Michael's face disappeared momentarily as he turned to look up at her. "Hey, don't scare me like that. Besides," he gave her a smug smile before turning to rest her hand on her belly, his thumb already caressing it, "the kiddo and I had a little talk, and he already told me he'd be a boy, so we have nothing to worry about."
"Uh-huh. So we'll be having a boy?"
"Mm-hmm. And we don't have to worry about dating, or her teenage hormones later on how her mother had them-"
"Hey!" Laughing, she swatted playfully at his shoulder. "Last I knew you fell in love with those teenage hormones of mine."
Michael grinned playfully, even if he tried to keep a straight face. "I did. Yeah, I did, I just don't want to have to deal with them again. Once was enough." Pretending to scoff, Lauren poked at his side and gently pushed him off her lap as he chuckled so she could get up to get ready. As she moved around the room, looking for something to wear for lunch, Michael just sat there, staring at her with a smile on his face that he knew if anybody of his friends would see they would tease him merciless for it. Here he was, twenty-four years old, and he was going to be a father. A father to a baby he and the woman he loved more than anything had created. Suddenly he felt such pride in that that he only smiled wider. "We're going to be parents, Laur."
Lauren turned to look at him at that, grinning almost immediately at the look of pure happiness on his face. Stopping her search in their closet, she walked over to him and kissed his lips as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "We're going to be parents, Michael," she repeated in a whisper, a wide grin on her face. "You don't think it's too soon?"
"Soon?" Securing his hold on her by wrapping his arms a little tighter around her waist, he chuckled. "No, I don't think it's too soon. We've been together for, what, seven years? Lived together for almost two." He placed a soft kiss on her forehead, followed by another one on the tip of her nose, and then another one on her lips. As he kissed her lips he lingered, not wanting to let the kiss go until he proved his point. "And I love you. I think the timing is perfect."
Lauren smiled at him, moving her hands up so she could pass her hands over his hair. As she passed her fingers over his head, though, the feeling of the long scar behind his left ear made her smile fall slightly. Even if they were happy, and even if they had everything they could have ever wanted, there was always the risk of Michael getting hurt. Now that there was a baby in the mix, the thought of someone hurting their son just to get back at Michael made her stomach tighten. "What about..."
At once, Michael's brow furrowed slightly, concerned. "What about, what?"
"Your...job. We can't keep living like this with a baby, Michael." The concern on Michael's face turned into confusion then, not exactly understanding what she meant. Sighing, Lauren sat on his lap. "Your job. Stephen hurt you once, really badly, and-"
"Lauren..."
"No, let me finish. Please." She waited until he nodded, and she continued, "Anybody could hurt you again, you've just been lucky no one has."
"Because I'm good at what I do."
"Yeah, but you were also good at what you did when Stephen hurt you." She shook her head. "He was trying to get you out of the picture so he could move forward, and God knows that you have enemies because of the people you work for. What if they went after you? Or the baby?"
"...oh." It'd be a lie to say that he hadn't thought of that before, but he had been dumb enough to just ignore the thought. Now, though, with Lauren sitting on his lap and waiting for an answer it made it hard for him to just ignore the conversation. "Then...we'll start over."
This time it was Lauren's turn to be confused. "What?"
"I'll quit. I'll talk to Jack, and Sonny, and...I'll quit."
"You think it's that easy?"
Michael shrugged. "I've no reason to keep working for them; I've worked for them for a little over ten years. I could just...retire. We'll move out of the city, and we'll start over."
"Michael..."
"We have the money, Laur. That's what I've been working so hard for - for you and our family." He smiled, his hand going back to her belly. "Now we have our family, so let's just...ditch this place. I'll get some boring job," he joked, already his playful grin returning, "you can get another boring job if you really wanted to, we'll get the picket fence, and a minivan if you wanted to, and we'll be...normal."
Laughing lightly, Lauren kissed him again, mostly in relief, and hugged him. "I love you."
"I love you too," he answered, smiling. Kissing her temple, he sighed. "C'mon, you'll be late for lunch."
Lauren stood up and waited for Michael to get up, but at once he returned back to his spot on the bed. Fighting the urge to grin, she shook her head and put her hands on her hips. "What are you doing?"
"Do I really have to go to lunch? How about you tell him something came up? He'll be happy, I'll be happy, and everyone wins."
"Not everyone, Michael." She smirked and started to walk over to the closet. "The kiddo wants you there, too."
"...uh-huh. I'm guessing he told you?"
"He did. You're not the only one who talks with him, you know."
Sighing loudly after a moment, Michael started to sit up. Lauren had already made her way out to the bathroom to shower, and Michael just smiled when he heard her starting to sing as she did so. Somehow, when she did that, it just brightened up his day because hearing her there, so happy, reassured him that they'd be okay. That he'd be okay. That they'd be...normal.
Not wanting to waste any time, he got out of bed quickly and rushed over to the bathroom so he could shower with her. They'd probably be a little late for lunch, but he'd just take the blame for it; it'd be definitely worth it.
The feeling of fingers tracing a line up and down his spine, so slowly that it almost tickled, caused Michael to open his eyes from the deep sleep he had been in. Even if he was still exhausted and sore, a small lazy smile started to grow on his face. "What are you doing...?" he mumbled as he buried his face in the pillow.
Lauren, who was taking her time in waking him up, smiled at the way he suddenly groaned softly as her fingers passed over a sensitive spot. "Sorry, baby, but you need to get up."
"Why?" Not wanting to get up just yet, Michael just continued to bury his face in the pillow, making his complains sound muffled. "I don't have to work today..."
"No, but my dad wants to meet us for lunch, remember?"
Another groan, this time to complain rather than to show how much he was liking the feeling of her hands along his back, was heard. "You mean he wants to meet you for lunch." Sighing, he lifted himself up using his elbows. "I'm just the tag-along."
"C'mon, he wants to have lunch with you, too."
"Yeah, since he's so thrilled that the 'criminal' his only daughter has as a fiancé got her pregnant."
Lauren sighed at that, her hands still passing absently over his back. "He just...worries. You would, too, if you had a daughter." She smirked and placed one hand over her stomach. "Who knows, maybe the kiddo here will be a little girl and you'll get to deal with a daughter."
"Ah, see, that'd be different."
"How so?"
Michael sat up then and kissed her lips before laying back down again so his head could be on her lap. Smiling, he turned towards his side so he could kiss her belly, which was already showing a small bump. "If I have a daughter she won't date until I say so. And it'll be a long, long time until then."
At that, Lauren let out a small laugh before grinning down at him, caressing the back of his neck. "Right. My father used to say the same thing, you know, and look what happened."
The smile on Michael's face disappeared momentarily as he turned to look up at her. "Hey, don't scare me like that. Besides," he gave her a smug smile before turning to rest her hand on her belly, his thumb already caressing it, "the kiddo and I had a little talk, and he already told me he'd be a boy, so we have nothing to worry about."
"Uh-huh. So we'll be having a boy?"
"Mm-hmm. And we don't have to worry about dating, or her teenage hormones later on how her mother had them-"
"Hey!" Laughing, she swatted playfully at his shoulder. "Last I knew you fell in love with those teenage hormones of mine."
Michael grinned playfully, even if he tried to keep a straight face. "I did. Yeah, I did, I just don't want to have to deal with them again. Once was enough." Pretending to scoff, Lauren poked at his side and gently pushed him off her lap as he chuckled so she could get up to get ready. As she moved around the room, looking for something to wear for lunch, Michael just sat there, staring at her with a smile on his face that he knew if anybody of his friends would see they would tease him merciless for it. Here he was, twenty-four years old, and he was going to be a father. A father to a baby he and the woman he loved more than anything had created. Suddenly he felt such pride in that that he only smiled wider. "We're going to be parents, Laur."
Lauren turned to look at him at that, grinning almost immediately at the look of pure happiness on his face. Stopping her search in their closet, she walked over to him and kissed his lips as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "We're going to be parents, Michael," she repeated in a whisper, a wide grin on her face. "You don't think it's too soon?"
"Soon?" Securing his hold on her by wrapping his arms a little tighter around her waist, he chuckled. "No, I don't think it's too soon. We've been together for, what, seven years? Lived together for almost two." He placed a soft kiss on her forehead, followed by another one on the tip of her nose, and then another one on her lips. As he kissed her lips he lingered, not wanting to let the kiss go until he proved his point. "And I love you. I think the timing is perfect."
Lauren smiled at him, moving her hands up so she could pass her hands over his hair. As she passed her fingers over his head, though, the feeling of the long scar behind his left ear made her smile fall slightly. Even if they were happy, and even if they had everything they could have ever wanted, there was always the risk of Michael getting hurt. Now that there was a baby in the mix, the thought of someone hurting their son just to get back at Michael made her stomach tighten. "What about..."
At once, Michael's brow furrowed slightly, concerned. "What about, what?"
"Your...job. We can't keep living like this with a baby, Michael." The concern on Michael's face turned into confusion then, not exactly understanding what she meant. Sighing, Lauren sat on his lap. "Your job. Stephen hurt you once, really badly, and-"
"Lauren..."
"No, let me finish. Please." She waited until he nodded, and she continued, "Anybody could hurt you again, you've just been lucky no one has."
"Because I'm good at what I do."
"Yeah, but you were also good at what you did when Stephen hurt you." She shook her head. "He was trying to get you out of the picture so he could move forward, and God knows that you have enemies because of the people you work for. What if they went after you? Or the baby?"
"...oh." It'd be a lie to say that he hadn't thought of that before, but he had been dumb enough to just ignore the thought. Now, though, with Lauren sitting on his lap and waiting for an answer it made it hard for him to just ignore the conversation. "Then...we'll start over."
This time it was Lauren's turn to be confused. "What?"
"I'll quit. I'll talk to Jack, and Sonny, and...I'll quit."
"You think it's that easy?"
Michael shrugged. "I've no reason to keep working for them; I've worked for them for a little over ten years. I could just...retire. We'll move out of the city, and we'll start over."
"Michael..."
"We have the money, Laur. That's what I've been working so hard for - for you and our family." He smiled, his hand going back to her belly. "Now we have our family, so let's just...ditch this place. I'll get some boring job," he joked, already his playful grin returning, "you can get another boring job if you really wanted to, we'll get the picket fence, and a minivan if you wanted to, and we'll be...normal."
Laughing lightly, Lauren kissed him again, mostly in relief, and hugged him. "I love you."
"I love you too," he answered, smiling. Kissing her temple, he sighed. "C'mon, you'll be late for lunch."
Lauren stood up and waited for Michael to get up, but at once he returned back to his spot on the bed. Fighting the urge to grin, she shook her head and put her hands on her hips. "What are you doing?"
"Do I really have to go to lunch? How about you tell him something came up? He'll be happy, I'll be happy, and everyone wins."
"Not everyone, Michael." She smirked and started to walk over to the closet. "The kiddo wants you there, too."
"...uh-huh. I'm guessing he told you?"
"He did. You're not the only one who talks with him, you know."
Sighing loudly after a moment, Michael started to sit up. Lauren had already made her way out to the bathroom to shower, and Michael just smiled when he heard her starting to sing as she did so. Somehow, when she did that, it just brightened up his day because hearing her there, so happy, reassured him that they'd be okay. That he'd be okay. That they'd be...normal.
Not wanting to waste any time, he got out of bed quickly and rushed over to the bathroom so he could shower with her. They'd probably be a little late for lunch, but he'd just take the blame for it; it'd be definitely worth it.