the moment you knew | dad(to be) austin x reader
pairing: austin x fem!reader
summary: you weren’t sure if you were ready to start a family with austin…until you watched him interact with his friend’s baby
warnings/notes: no warnings, just austin with a baby fluff. this is my first writing piece (other than papers for uni) in years so take it easy on me. i would love to make this into a little mini series, following y/n and austin through starting their family, so if anyone is interested lmk!! thank you sm for reading, hope you enjoy :)
words: 2.1k
It was no secret Austin wanted to be a father. After 4 years of marriage, and many more years before dating, the subject was brought up often by him. Whether it was a casual remark about how cute you would look pregnant or a detour into the baby clothes section of any store you visited together, he was very obvious about his desire for children with you.
You wanted children as well, especially with him, but there was something holding you back from making it a reality. Being a few years his junior, you knew you had the time to wait until the timing felt right to begin that journey with him. He understood this and felt exactly the same way, you should be completely ready before embarking on such a life-alterning path.
It was the day you went to meet Austin’s friend Ashley’s daughter for the first time since she was born during the midst of the pandemic and the filming of ‘Elvis’, when you finally felt that last shred of apprehension melt away. From the moment he woke up that morning, he was absolutely giddy with excitement. He spent the morning running around the house trying to complete all his daily tasks so you could leave as soon as possible. Of course he was excited to see Ashley, but you could tell there was just as much anticipation to meet his new ‘tiny best friend’ as he so sweetly referred to her.
The drive from your place to Ashley’s was just over an hour, and the whole way he was buzzing with nervous-excitement. This nervous-excitment manifested in Austin not being able to stop rambling,
“I wonder what she’ll look like…I mean I know I’ve seen tons of pictures of her but she’ll probably look different now, don’t you think? I mean, babies grow so fast and it’s been a couple weeks since I last got a picture or FaceTimed them.” He looked over at you, one hand on the steering wheel and the other between yours rested in your lap. His question so genuine and his excitement so apparent you couldn’t help the smile that spread across you face when you met his eyes,
“Babies do grow fast but I’m sure she’ll still look the same.” You brought your intertwined hands up to your mouth to press a quick kiss to the back of his hand, “You know, it’s very sweet, and irrationally attractive, that you’re so excited to meet her Aus.” He softly chuckled under his breath with a shake of his head, removing his hand from between yours to squeeze your thigh.
…
As Austin pulled into Ashley’s driveway, you too started to get excited to meet the baby and see your friend after so long apart. You sent a quick ‘here!’ text as you unbuckled your seatbelt after the car was safely in park. You got out and Austin followed suit, closing his door and rounding the front of the car to take your hand,
“Ready baby?” You asked him, interlocking your fingers and falling in stride together. He beamed at you, his blue-eyes sparkling,
“So ready.” You came to a halt when you reached the door and you raised your free hand to knock when you saw Ashley through a small window walking up to let the two of you in. You couldn’t help the smile that spread across your face as you waved wildly at her. She jogged the last of the distance, waving back enthusiastically, and flung the door open,
“Oh my god, hi!” She threw one arm around your neck and the other around Austin’s middle, pulling you both into a group hug, “I’m so happy you two are finally here!” She pulled away from you both to embrace just you. You spoke into her hair as you wrapped your arms around her middle,
“Oh, I missed you so much. How have you been Ash?” After the many years you had spent with Austin, you and Ashley had become fairly close almost immediately after meeting the first time. Nowhere near as close as her and Austin, but there was definitely a sisterly bond there,
“I’ve been so good, even better now that my favourite people are here!” She pulled back, and took a step over to Austin who wrapped her in the biggest hug, speaking softly to her as they rock back and forth in their embrace. You gave them their space, it was clear this was an emotional reunion for the two of them, though you did grab phone from your bag to take a sneaky picture to show the two of them later.
As you locked your phone and put it back in your bag a shrill, happy scream and babble of a baby made you snap your head back to the door. You looked over at Austin, who was taking a step back from Ashley to peer in the door too. Ashley laughed as she looked between the two of you,
“Ah yes, Jupiter has recently found out she can make that sound and she does it 24/7. Used to scare the shit out of me every time, but now I’m finally getting used to it,” She laughed again, shaking her head softly in amusement, “You ready to head inside and meet her?” You nodded excitedly and followed Ashley as she led back you through the foyer, toward the living room.
As always, her home was extremely well decorated, with tall ceilings and nice furniture, but there was organized mess everywhere–a highchair pushed against the wall and blocks on the floor–that let you know there was a little one roaming around. Austin slipped an arm around your waist as you entered the living room to find Jupiter standing, with the help of the coffee table, with her back to you. You felt Austin’s sharp inhale, as his chest was against your back, when his eyes landed on the little girl,
“Jupiter, what are you making all that noise for silly girl? I told you, I was just going to answer the door and I would be back.” Ashley bent down, swept Jupiter into her arms, making her giggle wildly, and set her on her hip facing you and Austin. “Now say hi to your Uncle Austin and Auntie y/n.” She pointed to you and Austin. Jupiter looked away from her mother, following the direction of her point, and her eyes fell on your first. You were immediately taken with how beautiful she was in person, all the photos you had received and blurry FaceTimes since her birth were nothing compared to her in the flesh. She was all big cheeks and stunning blue eyes, you think she can’t get any sweeter and then a semi-toothless smile spread over her little face. You couldn’t help but to take a step toward her, Austin’s arm dropping from around you.
“Hi sweetheart, oh my god aren’t you just the cutest little baby ever?” You extended your hands in her direction, a silent invitation to hold her, as you cooed gently at the child. Jupiter momentarily looked between your hands and your face, not yet convinced of her safety with this stranger in her home. She turned her head toward her mom, a small frown overtaking her features, who looked at you and begins to speak,
“She’s so shy, don’t take it personal. That whole ‘pandemic baby’ thing is no joke,” You lightly laughed, “It’s alright baby, go see your Auntie.” Ashley spoke softly to her daughter and– after another moment of hesitation–Jupiter turned back to you and reached out for your hands, suddenly deciding that you were safe.
You hooked your hands under her small arms and lifted her gently from Ashley’s grasp, hitching her onto your hip and rocking side to side to prematurely calm any lasting insecurity she may have. She grabbed onto the neckline of your shirt, kicking her little legs at the rocking motion and looked up at you, face overtaken by a large smile once again. You realized that Austin was still standing back a few steps–having not yet closed the distance to see Jupiter–so you turned around to face him, eyes still on the little one,
“Aus, come here and see her. You were right about her looking different in pers-” You looked up at him and were shocked to see his eyes red-rimmed. Instantly concerned, you took a step in his direction and gave him your full attention, “ Are you alright?” He cleared his throat, smoothing a hand over his jaw to collect himself, before offering you a small smile and speaking,
“Yeah, I’m alright baby. Just- this is kind of crazy,” He looked to Ashley just beyond you, “She’s so perfect Ash. God, I’m just so in awe that you actually made her.” He sniffled once and Ashley was quick to walk over and wrap her arms around him, tears in her eyes as well. It was a tender moment between them, two lifelong friends who had been separated by forces outside of their control during one of the more important moments of their lives. All the emotions–love, admiration, sadness, happiness–were so raw that it made your breath hitch in your throat. You thought the moment couldn’t get any more meaningful, when the pair of them collected themselves and Austin finally made his way over to Jupiter. He placed a hand on the small of your back as he moved to stand in front of you, his head tilted down closer to the height Jupiter sat on your hip. She blinked up at him as he gazed at her, both in awe of each other, and instantly you could see the bond between them materialize. Without any coaxing, from her mother or Austin, she reached out for him and the look on his face when she did was what did it for you.
There was no doubt in your mind that Austin loved you, he reminded you–in big and small ways–every single day but the love radiating off him for this little girl was overwhelming to witness. It was felt it in every cell of your body, so deeply and profoundly that tears immediately sprang to your eyes. You looked between the two of them, completely enamoured with each other, as Jupiter was lifted from your grasp. Austin made his way over to the couch, his eyes never leaving hers, and sat. In that moment you thought before you could stop yourself, I want to have a baby with him so badly. You were momentarily disarmed by your own thought, but after a moment of quiet contemplation you realized that witnessing Austin so in his element, with a child that wasn’t even his, was the last push you had been needing all along. This realization, coupled with the the way he continued to interact with the little one in front of you, and the next comment from Ashley had you absolutely certain that it was time to revisit the ‘baby talk’ when you got home that evening.
“God y/n, he’s literally perfect with her. If this is how he is with my kid, he’s going to be absolutely infatuated with yours.” She spoke lowly as she passed by you, making her way over to the armchair beside the couch and sitting down. For a moment, you watched Austin lift Jupiter high up in the air and down again, the two of them laughing at each other, before you walked over and sat next to him. His eyes flicked to your face quickly, flashing his wide smile your way, before falling back to Jupiter who was now reaching out for his face. Before he could lift her up again, you leaned over and kissed the side of his head,
“I love you, so much.” You couldn’t help the assertion, you were absolutely overflowing with love for the man before you and excitement at the prospect of soon having this for yourself. He looked at you fully then, semi-confused at your sudden declaration but happy nonetheless,
“I love you more.” He leaned in to kiss you sweetly and Jupiter let out her signature scream the second your lips met. You both pulled away and laughed, Austin turning back to the baby and jokingly scolding her, “Excuse me little miss, I will kiss my girl if I so please!”
Jupiter laughed and reached out for Austin’s face again, happy to have his attention back. Austin leaned back against the couch, lifting Jupiter up with her hands pressed to his mouth, he pressed loud kisses to her tiny palms in an attempt to make her smile. In that moment, he was completely content to be surrounded by his favourite girls, and also entirely unaware of the way his life would change forever when he got home.
next part here!!
