Luke placed the eggs on the pieces of bread and bacon, putting some herbs on before sending the plate of eggs benedicts out of the kitchen and watching one of the waitresses carry it out to the restaurant.

Luke grabbed another order from Alexander before starting to make the batter to some kind of pastry the restaurant was famous for on their breakfast menu.

Luke was anxious and excited to see Calum today since after so long, and him being stuck at work while the clock was ticking unbearably slow was not helping Luke's nerves at all.

I slim hand was suddenly in front of Luke's eyes and a finger belonging to the hand dipped down to the batter Luke was working on.

"Hey, no!" Like said and pushed the hand away. He looked up and pouted, locking eyes with the light brunette girl and sighing loudly.

"Don't touch this, I don't know where your hand has been"

"My hands are clean" the brunette girl spoke and dipped her finger in the batter once again.

"Lexi, stop it" Luke sighed and pushed his friend's hand away, making her pout.

"Luke, I just stayed up all night writing my English essay that was due today and then got here at 8 AM to serve bratty business men and women. I need some sugar, there's no other way I'm gonna make it through otherwise"

Luke looked at Lexi before pouring the batter onto a baking pan and handed the leftovers in the bowl to her. She grinned and took it, finding a spoon before jumping up on a clean space on the counter and started eating.

"You know, you shouldn't be allowed to complain because I work and I have a four year old son that need attention and food almost every hour of the day. College is nothing compared to that" Luke said as he placed the pan in the oven. Lexi scoffed.

"First; you never even went to college so you don't know how it is" Lexi said and pointed the spoon at Luke, making som batter drop on the floor and she grimaced. "Second; your kid is a sweetheart, he never does anything to cross you. He's like a teddy bear, he's nothing for you to use as an excuse. The fact that you are a father is cool though, I respect that, so we can share the rest of the sugar"

"Fine" Luke said and picked up a spoon before walking over and dipping it in the bowl. "How's college anyway? Am I missing a lot of great parties?" Luke asked and looked up to see Lexi shake her head frantically.

"You'd think that college have these great parties and that's what it's all about, but no, that's only in movies" she said and the look on her face was actually surprised, making Luke chuckle.

"There's just exams and essays and assignments and soon death I think. It's a hell hole, that's what it is" Lexi whined.

"You're exaggerating" Luke said and scraped some more batter from the bowl and put it in his mouth before walking over to the oven to check on the baking batter.

"Well, 'exaggerate' is my middle name, so" Lexi said and shrugged. Luke snorted before taking out the fully baked base of the pastry and let it cool off before Alexander could keep working on it.

Luke stepped back to stretch his arms over his head and yawning long and loud, rubbing the back of his hands over his eyes before blinking to get his sight back.

"What's with all the yawning?" Lexi asked as she put the bowl by the dishes and looked up at Luke with furrowed eyebrows.

"I was up pretty light last night. I only got like 4 hours of sleep" Luke grumbled.

"Why?"

"Because I was up texting with-" Luke started but cut himself off.

"I had to put Leon to bed numerous of times because he had nightmares" he said instead but rolled his eyes when seeing Lexi wearing a big smirk on her face.

"Midnight texting? Lucas Hemmings, tell me more" she sing sang and Luke shook his head.

"No, absolutely not. I heard you plague Tim about how he should text that girl he was interested in and he told me the text ended up being a novel. I'm not telling because you will snoop" Luke said as sternly as he could, which was not sternly at all.

"Come on! I just want to know who it is and what you have" she said and winked, making Luke roll his eyes again. "I won't interfere, I just want to hear some gossip about you"

"Gossip, really?" Luke asked and Lexi nodded her head, making Luke sigh before deciding to just tell her.

"His name is Ashton-"

"Ashton. Fascinating name," Lexi spoke and Luke raised one eyebrow up, "Sorry, continue"

So Luke continued and told Lexi about how he had met Ashton and how he has a daughter that was a great friends with Leon. He told her about how they had met up for their kids play date and how he had met him at the restaurant yesterday and Ashton had walked him home.

Lexi was grinning widely and Luke almost felt uncomfortable after a while.

"He seems adorable," Lexi spoke after a while, smiling big, "And hot"

"He is" Luke said and smiled proudly because Luke was texting and hanging out with a very hot guy.

"Have you guys done anything yet?" Lexi asked and Luke furrowed his eyebrows.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean it as in; have you guys done anything yet?" she repeated, looking at Luke like she was sending him some secret message.

"He kissed my cheek yesterday" Luke said while shrugging carelessly, though the blush on his cheeks gave him away.

"Oh, you're still on the Disney princess fairytale level" Lexi spoke and nodded her head understandingly, only making Luke even more confused.

"Disney princess fairytale--- You know what, never mind" Luke said and waved his hand in dismissal before taking another order he saw was getting in.

"Why are you still taking orders?" Lexi asked as she jumped down from the counter and fixed her waitress apron.

"Because that's kind of our job" Luke said and turned to Lexi with a humorous expression. She rolled her eyes.

"No, I mean why are you still working? You know your shift ended 11 minutes ago, right?"

"No it didn't," Luke said and glanced at the clock with furrowed eyebrows. "My shift ends at 1"

"It say on the board in the hallway that your shift ends 11 and May is taking over after you" And just like that, May stepped into the kitchen with her blonde hair and blue streaks, grinning big at all of them.

"Oh, then I can go home?" Luke asked and Lexi chuckled before grabbing a plate.

"That's kind of what you do after you end work for the day" she said before waving a goodbye and turned to get to the restaurant to serve the food.

Luke fist bumped the air discretely before walking over to his phone that was charging in the corner of the kitchen. He checked the screen and saw he had one missed call from Ashton and raised his eyebrows up in surprise.

"Bye guys" Luke mumbled to the people in the kitchen before walking out and over to the changing rooms. He quickly undressed and then dressed in normal jeans and t-shirt before calling Ashton back.

"Hey Luke" a voice answered only after two beeps.

"Hi," Luke breathed out and he almost felt a bit pathetic as he was smiling big when hearing Ashton's happy voice speak to him through his phone. "You called?"

"Yeah! I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

"No no, it's totally fine. I end work now anyway" Luke assured.

"Oh good! So I have something to ask you and If you can't do it, just say no. You don't have to do anything I ask you for" Ashton rambled on and Luke grew a bit confused.

"What is it?"

"So, I'm working late today and my mom is also working late so no one can pick Peach up from preschool, so I was wondering if you maybe could pick her up and kind of have her at your place and then I'd come pick her up straight after work?" Ashton asked and his voice was unsure in the end.

"Yeah, of course. No problems" Luke answered simply, shrugging his shoulders even though Ashton couldn't see him.

"Really? Oh thank you Luke, I owe you! I'll pay you for sure"

"No, don't pay me Ashton. It's just fun, there's no problems at all" Luke said and chuckled but stopped when thinking of one slight obstacle, "Unless you don't mind your daughter hanging out with my friends while she's at my place?"

Luke bit his lip in wait for an answer and smiled soon after when hearing Ashton laugh lightly.

"If your friends are anything close as you and Leon, it's more than okay that my daughter is with them" Ashton spoke.

Luke smiled at Ashton's words as he made his way out of the restaurant.

"Okay, so I'll pick her up when I pick up Leon and she'll eat with us. Is there anything she's allergic to or something like that?" Luke asked and silently waved goodbye to Lexi and shielded the phone so Ashton wouldn't hear when she yelled some inappropriate words laced with Luke and Ashton's names, making some of the guests in the restaurant frown.

"Um yeah, she's allergic to nectarines, kiwi fruits and well, peaches"

Luke took in what Ashton said and laughed soon after.

"Are you laughing at my daughter's allergies?" Ashton asked but the sound of his voice gave away playfulness.

"I'm sorry," Luke said and chuckled softly as his laughter had died down, "It's just-- Is she really allergic to peaches?"

"Yes," Ashton sighed, "I named her before I knew anything about the allergies, so don't make fun of me"

"I'm not making fun of you, I think it's sweet," Luke said but quickly added, "and humorous" with a light laugh.

"Fine, ha-ha" Ashton spoke and Luke smiled so big his cheeks hurt. "I'll pick her up later then?"

"Yeah, perfect" Luke answered while he walked home calmly, thinking about how he and Ashton had walked the exact same way, holding hands.

"Great! I'll call the preschool and let them know. Thank you so much Luke, really. I owe you" Ashton said and Luke unintentionally licked his lips. The fathers said their goodbyes just before Luke walked into his apartment.

Luke had a tingly feeling inside his stomach after that. For whatever reason, he didn't know.

**

"What time is it now?" Michael groaned and looked up at Luke from his seat. Luke and Michael were in the airport waiting for Calum to arrive. But it wasn't any surprise for the two boys that the plane was delayed.

"You asked my 10 seconds ago, what do you think the time is?" Luke sighed.

"Well then, obviously it's ten seconds over 3:36" Michael sasses and Luke looked at him tiredly.

"You annoy me" Luke mumbled.

"That's why we're best friends" Michael said back.

Luke hummed and yawned before placing his head on Michael's shoulder and closed his eyes for a quick nap but just as he relaxed, Michael stood up quickly, making Luke fall down on the floor.

"What are you doing-"

"Cal!"

Luke snapped his head around and saw Calum struggling to make his way through the people while carrying a big bag.

Luke stood up in a flash and stood grinning widely beside Michael. Calum reached them and for a few seconds, the three boys only stood and looked at each other giddily before throwing them self at each other and embracing everyone in a big hug.

They pulled away from the hug and Luke took a moment to just inspect Calum. It has only been a bit less than a month since they last saw each other but that is a long time for the three best friends to be held apart.

Calum was smiling big, his teeth extra white against his tan skin. He had a new tattoo showing on his skin and his hair had almost lost the blonde streak Luke last saw Calum have. The rest of his hair was black and its perfectly messy style.

He wore a sleeveless shirt with random holes in it, and a pair of ripped jeans.

"You know," Luke spoke up after a while, "You study to be a cop but you dress like a criminal"

Calum laughed and rolled his eyes. "You shouldn't insult a soon to be police man, I can beat you up easily now"

"He has a kid, don't go there" Michael said and smiled before engaging the boys in a hug again.

"That's right. Let's get out of here so I can meet Leon! I've missed that little animal" Calum said and picked up the bag and hug it around his shoulder effortlessly. Calum is stronger after his studies, that's for sure.

The three best friends happily walked out of the airport and over to Michael's car. Luke and Michael talked about what they've been up to but there was nothing interesting really, so they just listened to Calum's news and stories.

Luke was interested in everything Calum said because everything he had experienced was out of the ordinary for both Luke and Michael.

Calum was excited when telling his stories, making Luke smile because it made him happy when being back to their trio again.

"Okay, here we go" Michael said as he pulled up outside the preschool. Calum scrambled out of the car right away, making Luke laugh.

"Sometimes I think we scare some of the kids when we come to get Leon together" Luke spoke truthfully.

"I hope so, after those small assholes teased Leon I fucking hope to-"

"Michael, they're four. Just give them a sour candy and they'll hate you for life" Luke spoke up and Michael scoffed.

Calum was walking ahead of them, excited to see his "nephew" like he called Leon. Luke didn't mind since Michael and Calum was basically his brothers.

They entered the small school building and one of the teachers smiled when seeing Luke, telling him she'd dress the toddlers and sent them on their way.

A short three minutes after, Leon came strutting out and stopped in his tracks to then come running over to Calum while yelling happily.

"Hey bestie" Calum said and hugged Leon tight before picking him up and smiling big at him. Leon threw his small arms around Calum's neck and nuzzled his head in the crook of it.

Luke wasn't sure if his son was crying or not, but he knew it was all from happiness anyways. Leon had been talking about Calum coming home for weeks, and now that he finally got to see him again probably made him the happiest kid.

Luke tore his eyes away from the group hug Leon, Michael and Calum shared when he felt a small hand pat his leg. He looked down and smiled widely when seeing Peach shyly look up at him.

"Hello cutie" Luke said and crouched down to Peach's level. She smiled at his compliment and stepped forward to hug Luke.

Luke felt all warm inside by the act and hugged back, holding her close as he picked her up and sat her on his hip as he turned to look at the others.

"Who's this?" Michael said as he walked over to Luke and Peach, not bothering to engage in the conversation Leon and Calum shared about Lego.

"What's your name?" Luke said as he looked down a bit so see Peach's head leaning on his shoulder.

"Peach" she answered and smiled at Michael.

"Like Princess Peach?" he asked enthusiastically. Even though Peach may not have understood the reference, she nodded and smiled big while Michael cooed.

"You have pretty hair" she said and reached out to touch Michael's hair. She reached out two arms and Luke smiled before handing the small girl over to his friend. Michael gladly took her in his arms and smiled big.

"Thank you, you have pretty everything" he said and Peach giggled.

They made their way out and over to the car, and only then did Calum realize they had an extra child with them.

"Luke, you brought an extra kid. This isn't Target, you can't take two and pay for one" Calum said and Luke rolled his eyes as he fixed the seat belts on the toddlers car seats.

"Who's daughter even is this?" Michael asked soon after. "Because you're not stealing, right?"

"My dad is Ashton" Peach said proudly.

"Who's Ashton?" Calum asked and looked at between the toddlers and Luke.

"Dad's boyfriend" Leon answered while playing with the seatbelt and Luke almost choked on his spit as he swallowed down in surprise.

"Dad's boyfriend? Really?" Michael asked and gave Luke a look of 'why haven't you told me' laced with 'you better tell me about the sex'. Luke rolled his eyes.

"He's not my boyfriend. Where did you even get that from?" Luke asked and looked at his son. Leon looked up and smiled.

"From Peach" he said and Luke turned to look at an equally big smiling Peach.

"And where did you get that from?" Luke asked.

"From grandma. She told daddy that he should make you his boyfriend" she said and clapped her hands happily.

Luke raised his eyes in surprise and could feel his cheeks turn slightly pink as a bashful smile crept up on his face. He tried to hide it but there was no use.

"You have a lot of explaining to do when we get home, young man" Calum said jokingly and laughed when seeing Luke's blushing face before sitting down in the car and driving home to the Hemmings'.

•••

i was supposed to post this yesterday but i fell asleep while writing it. a depressing sight, really. and it was way too long so i had to split it up to two chapters.

btw, lexi is played by !!

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