Work Text:
From the day his daughter was born, Luke knew he was in for it. He had always wanted kids, but he did not know just how much he would love having his own. Watching her little eyes light up when she saw him, or the way she would follow him around the house made his heart jump. But now that she was a teenager, those same actions usually meant she wanted something.
Stella sat smiling in front of her father, who was standing at their kitchen counter drinking the protein smoothie she made for him after his run and Luke looks back at her, suspicious. "What do you want kid?" he asks, making her face drop.
"Can I not just want to spend time with my father?" she asks.
"You can, but I know you better than that", Luke retorts while washing his cup.
Stella sighs, "Fine. I'm out of, like, everything. I need to go shopping".
He looks back at her, "Everything?"
"Yeah, like hair products, facial cleanser, deodorant. Stuff like that", she answers.
Luke thought for a moment. "Ok, I'll take you shopping, but nothing crazy expensive".
When they finally get to the store, Luke and Stella go their separate ways. Luke heads to the pharmacy to pick up some painkillers, while Stella starts grabbing hair products. As he walks towards the shampoo aisle with a bottle of Advil and the benzoyl peroxide gel Stella had asked him for, he is stopped in his tracks. Standing before him is his 15 year old daughter smiling and giggling with a boy he's never seen before.
Luke was not stupid. He knew Stella was at the age where she would begin dating. He would not be surprised if she already had. If he remembers correctly, he was on his third girlfriend by the time he was her age. But as much as he knew he could not stop it, that did not mean he had to like it.
He lets out a cough to get the attention of the two teenagers, "Hey Stella, who's this?" he asks, trying his hardest to give her a calm smile.
"Just a friend from school, but he needs to go now" Stella smiles at the young boy and he nods back at her.
"It was nice to meet you, Mr. Alvez", he says before walking away.
Stella quickly turns and begins to head down the aisle to grab the hair gel she needed and Luke follows closely behind her.
"Slow down kid", he says almost laughing. Stella stops and looks at him, with a puppy dog stare.
"Please don't turn this into a thing", she says and Luke almost laughs again.
"Honey, I promise I won't", he takes a deep breath "although, I would like to know if he's your boyfriend".
Stella smiles shyly, "no—not yet at least".
Luke kisses the top of her head, "alright, lets finish the rest of your list".
After a solid hour and a half, a surprisingly not too hefty receipt, and 2 iced coffees, the father and daughter were finally on their way home. Stella's phone is connected to the cars Bluetooth, and as a Selena song blares through the speaker, she gets a notification. Luke's eyes flick over to his daughter, who is blushing at her phone, and his heart does a little jump. If he thought he was in for it before, he was definitely not ready for this.