Chapter Text
It was early, but the sun was already up. A strip of sunshine fell through the curtains of the bedroom, right in Alex’s face, causing the man to wake up. With a groan he sat up in bed. He rubbed his eyes and yawned. He tried to ignore the pounding in his head while attempting to recall last nights’ activities. With one eye still closed, he took a look at the other person in the bed.
Next to him, Miles lay asleep on his stomach, mouth open, snoring peacefully. His pajama clad upper body stuck out from under the covers. Alex pulled the covers over him and tucked him in.
When he looked at the other side of the bed, he suddenly remembered last night pretty well. He quickly got up and tiptoed towards the crib next to his and Miles’ bed. Carefully, he peeked around it, to take a look. He let out a relieved breath. Their 4-month-old daughter, Rosie, was fast asleep. She, like Miles, was snoring peacefully, her thin lips pressed together as her chest rose and fell in an steady rhythm.
This hadn’t been the case last night… Rosie had been up all night. Crying and screaming. Both Miles and Alex had no idea what she wanted. Desperately, they had tried all kinds of different approaches.
They had cradled her in their arms…
“Al, you’re holding her wrong,” Miles sighed.
“I am not holding her wrong!” Alex replied, slightly offended.
Miles groaned and attempted to move Rosie in Alex’s arms. Lifting her slightly, Alex automatically adjusted his arm, allowing her head to rest on the inside of his elbow. She looked up at them with tear glazed eyes, making little noises only she herself could understand. And, eventually, she had closed her eyes.
“See?” Miles whispered overjoyed.
And Rosie did lay still for a moment… until she started to squirm in Alex’s arms again. Her small hands gripped onto Alex’s shirt desperately as she grimaced.
“No, no, no, go back to sleep, love,” Alex pleaded softly.
Instead, Rosie opened her eyes, tears welling up in them. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, before a high pitched wail left her lips.
“Oh, little one,” Miles sighed. He stretched his arms out and Alex placed Rosie in Miles’ arms. “What’s wrong then?” He proceeded to walk around the room with her, softly shushing her.
He took her head in his hand and planted the other one under her bum. He held her in front of him, before resting her against his chest and shoulder. He patted her back a few times, whispering a soft “Is it a burp, perhaps?”
Rosie slowly got quieter, hiccupping every now and then. And suddenly, she let out a loud burp. Miles gasped, his mouth opened in surprise. When he locked eyes with Alex, they both bursted out in laughter.
“There’s a good girl,” Miles laughed. “Was that it then?” He crossed the room again and placed Rosie back in her crib. She whimpered when Miles let go of her, but then closed her eyes. Miles pulled the covers over her small body and kissed her forehead.
Relieved, Alex sat back on the bed, dragging his hands over his face. Miles threw his hands up in the air to celebrate the small victory, before quickly turning the lights off and flopping down next to his boyfriend.
“Goodnight,” he whispered, planting a little kiss on the tip of his nose.
“Goodnight, Miles.”
Merely a few seconds later, little, muttering noises came from Rosie’s crib, before loud cries filled the bedroom again…
…they swung her…
“I’ve got an idea,” Alex yawned.
He put the bed light on and grabbed Rosie’s pacifier from the nightstand, hooking the ring on it around his finger. He took the crying baby out of her crib and carried her across the room. He squatted and placed her in the swing seat. Immediately, Rosie quit crying. Wide eyed and confused, she stared at Alex.
“‘s okay,” he cooed as he put the pacifier in her mouth. He waited a bit before giving the swing seat a little push. Slowly, Rosie swung back and forth. Her confusion subsided and she started to giggle, the pacifier almost falling from her lips.
Miles squatted down next to Alex. “You like that, eh?” He laughed, tickling her under her chin. Rosie squealed happily, causing the pacifier to tumble down from her mouth. She didn’t seem to care as she clapped her hands happily and smiled even wider when Miles gave the swing another push.
“She’s so cute,” Alex whispered.
Miles hummed in agreement. “Al, don’t get me wrong, I’m happy you got her to stop crying. And, she is the cutest thing, I’d love to continue this, but… it’s 4am.”
Alex gave him an apologetic smile. “She’s even more awake then before, isn’t she?”
Miles laughed shortly. “She is.” With that, he stopped the swing seat. Rosie immediately gave him a look. It could be interpreted as a grumpy one... Miles took the girl out of the swing seat and carried her back to her crib.
“It’s been enough now,” he spoke to her, strictly. “It’s time to go to sleep, whether you want to or not.” He put her back in her crib and tucked her in. She protested, but he ignored her (they learned at this parent-thing that you can’t always give in) and crawled back into bed.
“C’mon,” he murmured, holding the covers up for Alex to crawl next to him. He curled up against Miles’ chest and wrapped his arms around him. Miles sighed and pulled the covers over them.
…but after about 10 minutes…
Rosie was still crying. She had been crying for quite some time now and both Alex and Miles were still wide awake. Hearing your own child crying like this was heartbreaking, but they both wanted to hold on.
“She’ll get tired eventually and stop,” Miles whispered. “That’s what they said at the parent thingy.”
Alex nodded against his chest. “I know, but—”
Miles tightened his grip on Alex. “I know…” He said. “It doesn’t feel right, does it?”
They lay still for a while, Rosie’s desperate cries and screams only growing louder and louder.
Alex suddenly sat up. “I can’t do this, I really can’t.” He threw the covers off and jumped up, walking towards the crib again. He hoisted Rosie up in his arms and placed her against his chest.
“Shh, baby. It’s okay, you’re okay,” he kept repeating. He continuously stroking her back to soothe her and occasionally he would plant a kiss on her cheek. Miles stood in front of him, stroking the short, blonde hair on Rosie’s head.
Slowly she began to calm down, until eventually her eyes and face weren’t puffy anymore. Still, she was wide awake.
“You know Mi,” Alex began, while he sat down in bed. “I think she just isn’t tired.”
Miles fell down on the bed and lay on his stomach, propping himself up on his elbows. “I think you’re right.”
Alex rested his back against the headboard and brought his knees up. Carefully he lay Rosie against his thighs. She blinked a few times and then the tinniest grin formed on her lips.
“Oh, look at you… Yes, little one, you won alright. You’ve kept your dads up, you did it.” Rosie’s grin only grew wider, and so did Alex’s. He tried to tickle her, but she grabbed onto his fingers instead. Alex lifted his arms, causing Rosie to stretch her arms too, which made her laugh hysterically. Alex lifted her on his fingers and Rosie kicked her feet in the air. Slowly he let her down again and Alex looked at Miles, his eyes glimmering. In Miles eyes, it seemed like they were doing some sort of contest on who was the cutest... and they were both winning.
Alex continued to play with Rosie; booping her nose, rubbing their noses together, peek-a-boo, smooching her cheek… and after watching them for a while, Miles tore his gaze away and stepped out of the bed. As he walked towards his guitar, Alex gave him a questioning look.
“Look, if we’re gonna stay up, might as well try to write some songs.” Miles, too, rested his back against the headboard. “Album isn’t gonna write itself, you know,” he explained.
Alex simply nodded, focusing his attention on his daughter again while Miles strummed his guitar softly, muttering whatever came to mind. Rosie responded to it rather enthusiastically, snapping her head in Miles direction constantly.
…and that did it.
“Are you gonna sing us a song?” Miles asked her with a laugh. “Do so! Sing for us, my little Rose.” She simply giggled and waved her arms around while she babbled along.
“Oh, Rosie, you’re gonna be a rockstar, just like your dads…”
Alex shook his head at Miles’ ridiculousness, until suddenly, Miles started to play a rather familiar tune.
“‘Want her, have her.’”
“Miles…”
“‘4 months, have gone now but, Rosie, I can’t relate to the late night games that you play.’”
Rosie turned her head back to Alex, her eyelashes fluttering while she yawned and stretched.
“Miles, keep going,” Alex urged.
“Are you serious? I’m clearly boring her, so I—”
“—might get her to fall asleep,” Alex finished for him. Miles looked at him, wide eyed, understanding what he meant. Immediately, he continued singing. When Alex joined in, Rosie closed her eyes and by the time the song was over, she was asleep.
“I can’t believe that did it…” Miles whispered. “That parent workshop thing was such a waste of money…”
Careful not to wake her, both men stood up. Miles returned his guitar to its place, while Alex scooped Rosie up in his arms and put her in her crib. Thankfully, she stayed asleep. Alex tiptoed back to the bed and lay next to Miles, their tiredness leading them to sleep quickly.
Alex drew the curtains closed, locking the sunlight out of their bedroom, for now. He looked at Rosie one last time, before Miles’ voice piped up from the bed. “Get over here before you wake her,” he groaned softly. “Also, it’s cold here without you.” Alex grinned to himself and went back to bed, curling his body around Miles', pressing his chest to the other man’s back.
“We’re good parents, Mi,” he whispered.
Miles turned around in Alex’s grip, swinging his arm around the man’s waist. He pressed a quick peck to Alex’s lips. They lay like that for a while, pressed together, occasionally kissing, before falling back into a deep sleep.