#singlefather!5sos

[hoodthekiwi]

SingleFather!Luke and the rest of the boys were sitting in a booth at Calum’s favorite restaurant for dinner. It was nice for him to take a break from being a dad and see the boys. He didn’t get to see them as much considering he had to work and take care of Lana, but he made sure to text them about the daily activities. So the times that he did get to spend with them were always a joy.  As usual the boys were always interested to know what was happening in his life. “So… Hows the whole father thing going?” Michael asked from across the table, taking a fry off Luke’s plate. “Why do you ask me this every time? I literally tell you about everything that happens to me or Lala.” He laughed and pushed the plate towards his red haired friend. Lana was currently at her grandmother, Luke’s mum’s house. And as much as he missed having his daughter by his side, he didn’t have to worry about anyone–Michael–teaching his little princess swear words.–”I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU TAUGHT MY DAUGHTER TO SAY FUCK MICHAEL SHE IS 8 YEARS OLD!” “IM SORRY! I TRIPPED ON THE STAIR AND IT JUST CAME OUT!”–again.  “So do you guys think you can make it to Lana’s Graduation?” Luke asked. “Isn’t she like 11?” Calum asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Yeah, that’s why she’s graduating” He answered back confused as to why Calum was confused. “At 11?” Calum asked again “Dude she’s graduating from primary school, not totally graduating.” Michael said before punching him in the arm. “Ohh, that makes more sense. When is it?” Calum laughed as Luke glared at him, taking out his phone to check. “Next week Saturday at the school, and then we’re having a family dinner at mum’s that you’re all invited to.” he said smiling, Lana was growing up so quickly and Luke was excited to celebrate ever single achievement she accomplished. (A/N: lol that was shit)

[hoodthekiwi]

Dahlia was just four years old when SingleFather!Calum had gotten custody of her. It was after the messy divorce between him and his ex. and he was scared shitless. How the hell did he end up with her? It wasn’t that he didn’t love her, that little girl was his entire world. But Calum had no parenting skills whatsoever. He didn’t even know how to change her diaper property. The few times that his–now–ex-wife let him do it, he was wrong. I mean how could someone possibly put on a diaper backwards, inside out, and sideways. He didn’t know, but somehow he had done it. Multiple times. How was it possible to be that bad at parenting, yet the judge still gave him full custody of Dahlia. ~~~~~ He was late. Here he was trying to figure out how to put the little sneakers that Michael had bought her a few weeks ago, on her little feet. Dahlia kept squirming and Calum couldn’t get her legs to stop kicking and  get the damn shoe on her tiny little feet. He was supposed to leave 6 minutes ago for Mali’s welcome home party, but because she wouldn’t calm down, they couldn’t leave yet. “Dahl, we’re late. Can you please cooperate and let daddy put your shoes on?” he asked looking at her. Dahlia had her signature pout on her lips, the one she inherited from Calum. It was clear that she didn’t want to go out, she wanted to stay home and play with the new toys they had bought today. They were going to be pretty late, considering they were supposed to be at the family dinner 15 minutes ago. But he figured they’d understand, he wasn’t necessarily known for being prompt. When he finally got her shoes on and the backpack with all the stuff they’d need for the night packed in the car, they were on their way to the Hood household. Mali was visiting from London and she couldn’t wait to see her niece. It had been so long since Calum had seen his sister that his daughter probably didn’t even remember; Dahlia couldn’t have been more than a few months old then. When Calum rang the doorbell he was confused, it was pitch black inside. Usually when Mali came back there would be a huge celebration, the lights would all be on and there would be music playing that could be heard from a mile away. The door opened and Lana, Luke’s daughter, appeared. “Hi Lala!” Dahlia screamed as soon as she recognized the older girl. Calum was confused, sure the boys always came to the Hood’s parties, but they hadn’t even mentioned it to him the last time he’d seen them.  As they walked in the lights flickered on and everyone yelled “Surprise!”. Surprise? Surprise for wha–OH. How had he completely forgot that today was his birthday? He thought the dinner was going to be a small welcome home party for Mali. So Calum was a little embarrassed when he realized that he was wearing his old, faded, Santa Cruz singlet he found at the back of his closet buried under a mountain of clothes. Dahlia, on the other hand was excited, she always loved parties, even if she didn’t quite understand what was happening. As the night went on Calum found that something was missing, his daughter was no where to be found. And neither was Michael. That was never a good sign. But before he could even think about what they could be up to, his head was being smashed into a giant sheet of vanilla cake and frosting by, you guessed it, Michael. As Calum wiped the frosting from in front of his eyes he made eye contact with his daughter, who shrieked and started running. “I’m gonna get you!” He shouted racing after her and and attacking her face with kisses. “Did you know about the party?” he questioned wiping the frosting from her cheeks. She nodded before giggling, “Happy Birthday Daddy.” and kissing him on the cheek.

[hoodthekiwi]

With the help of Luke, SingleFather!Michael buckled Stella and Danny into their carseats. He was getting ready to take them to his parent’s house for their annual Clifford Christmas party, which was basically, the band, their parents, his parents, his parent’s siblings, their kids, their kids significant others, and some friends. It wasn’t extravagant but there were a lot of people so they made sure that everyone was having a good time. He hoped this year that everyone would be happy to see him, not everyone in his family was familiar with what had recently happened to him. He wondered what they would think of him bringing his two new(ish)borns to the christmas party, surely they wondered where he was at thanksgiving and why he didn’t show up. When Michael got there he was relieved to find out he was actually quite early, it gave him time to settle back at home, bring his kids in, help set up, and relax with a beer. A single beer because he couldn’t be drunk, he had kids to take care of. When Michael’s extended family arrived they didn’t even notice the kids (rude), but when they did they were shocked, he told them what happened and most were understanding; but he could tell by the facial expressions of some that they were shocked, maybe even disgusted. He didn’t know and he honestly didn’t care that much, all he needed was his band and his parents. and his kids of course. The dinner went relatively well, only once did Stella scream bloody murder, but he fixed that pretty quickly, changing her diaper and giving her some milk to drink. Danny on the other hand slept through the entire thing, just like Michael could’ve if he didn’t have to actually participate in life. After almost everyone left and it was just him and his parents, they had a talk. He talked about what specifically happened, well not too specific, but he explained that it wasn’t her fault and that he didn’t blame her for not telling him or not wanting them. At first he didn’t want them either but now, after having taken care of them for a little while, they had grown on him, his day revolved around his kids, and it was honestly something he could see himself doing for the rest of his life or up until they didn’t need him to anymore.

[hoodthekiwi]

SingleFather!Luke remembers his 15th birthday, he remembers Ashton picking him, Calum, and Michael up and going to the beach. He remembers his mom not being super happy that her son wasn’t going to spend the day with his family but he promised he was going to be home for dinner. It was a great day, they actually got Michael to go to the beach with them, the sun was out, and he had a lot of fun with his friends. He remembers getting home and his mom inviting his friends to stay for dinner with them. His birthday wasn’t exceptionally exciting, but he got to spend the day with his loved ones. Tomorrow was Lana’s 15th birthday. He couldn’t believe she had gotten so old, he remembers dropping her off for her first sleepover and not being able to sleep himself because he didn’t know if his daughter was okay, did she have dinner? Did she get to sleep at a reasonable time? What if she had a nightmare. When Luke picked her up the next day, she was fine, she was sad she had to leave her friend’s house but he was happy she was with him. Back to her birthday, he wasn’t sure if she wanted to go with her friends, like he did, or spend time with her dad. (hint: he wanted it to be one of their daddy-daughter days) When he picked her up from school that day he braced himself for what she was going to say, “Dad? You know how it’s my birthday tomorrow? Do you think I can go with my friends? I promise I’ll be back for dinner.” There it was, the worst thing that she could say but he couldn’t complain, he did the same exact thing when he was her age., “Sure honey, just make sure you’re back in time to eat dinner. And cake, you know i’ll eat it even if you’re not back.” he joked. Luke really liked cake. Luke still really likes cake. “Thanks dad, you’re the best.” Luke drove home listening to Lana talk about the project she had to do for her english class that she wasn’t looking forward to. They had dinner like usual and went their separate ways to bed. When Luke got up the next day at 9, knowing it was a Saturday and he didn’t need to take Lana to school today. But when he got up she was gone, and he didn’t even get to wish her a happy birthday. Luke spent the day bored out of his mind, calling his friends, and his mom, complaining on how Lana didn’t want to spend the day with her dad but with her friends instead. They all gave him the same answer, “So did you, Luke.” When Lana came home it was already 5:45, he didn’t have much time to spend with her, but he would take what he could get. “Hi daddy, sorry I kinda lost track of time but we can have our annual daddy-daughter day tomorrow.” “That sounds great honey. I made lasagne for dinner. and the cake is in the fridge isn’t gonna eat itself.” As Lana told him about her day, he wasn’t happy she was getting older, he wanted her to forever be his little girl forever. But Luke knew that whenever Lana needed someone, he would be the first one she’d go to.

(A/N Check out the tag SingleFather!Luke for more about Lana and Luke)

[hoodthekiwi]

Before you came along, SingleFather!Ashton took care of his kids Penelope and Alex by himself, with the exception of Luke helping on occasion. He took them to school, sports practices, dance practices, everything, by himself. He had to coordinate his life around his children’s. Not that he hated that, he loved that his kids had clubs and hobbies, but Ashton had forgotten to make time for himself. He and his late wife would usually split the errands they needed to do, usually Ashton would pick up the kids and take them to practices, while she would do the grocery shopping and all the coordinating of schedules. She would plan their week so he knew what he had to do for each day, and he never realized how much he relied on that calendar in the kitchen, until it was blank, he never realized that the schedule was so important until he didn’t know it. He didn’t know how to function without her. He had no idea how he would survive, eventually he got his kids to write their own schedules and he would work around their schedules. Ashton had no idea how they were supposed to tour again, he had to take care of his kids, he didn’t want to leave them with his mom and have them grow up without him there. He didn’t want that for his kids because it sucked and he was going to be the best dad for his kids. When you two started dating, you could tell Ashton was on a schedule, he knew when he had to leave a certain place in order to get another place at the right time. He knew when his kids had practice and he knew that this Sunday was not a good day for a date because Penny had a dance recital. and when you started to take some of the load, like dropping one or both of the kids off at their respected places, he didn’t know what to do. He had completely forgotten what he liked to do, what he was like prior to the kids, what he even liked anymore. Ashton started drumming again, finally having time to dust off the drum kit in the garage and just start playing. He invited Calum, Luke, and Michael over to what he called an, “overdue mandatory band practice.” He loved playing music, loved listening to music, loved writing music, he still loves all those things but ever since his ex wife passed he had been taking care of his kids all alone. Leaving no time for himself.  But with you by his side, taking some of his responsibilities, he finally had time to enjoy himself and life. 

[hoodthekiwi]

SingleFather!Calum could remember Dahlia’s first words like she had said  them yesterday. He was still married then, he remembers he and his ex being the best couple, they were each others other half. That was until he found out and everything fell apart. He couldn’t believe what she did, couldn’t believe that anyone who loved someone as much as he thought she did, would throw it all away. He thought they were happy, sure he had to go on tour, but he would call them every night, FaceTime whenever he had the chance, and try to fly home to be with them when there was an extended break. She wasn’t so happy. They had grown distant, the band had gotten busy, and she stopped answering, he didn’t know all of this would create a domino effect. His once happy marriage was slowly falling apart and there was nothing he could do. It was when he came back for a visit to mend their relationship that he found them. In their bed. She claimed it was a one time thing but he knew her like the back of his hand, and he could tell she was lying before she even had time to defend herself. They both knew it was over then. That was the end, there was no going back to the way things were before. He went to Dahlia’s room, packed some clothes for her, told her they were going to stay at grandma’s house for a while, and grabbed his suitcase, which was sitting at the front door, where he left it when he arrived just 2 minutes prior. Right after he got Dahlia fastened into hear carseat was when she came running out; yelling about how he couldn’t just take their daughter, “Dahlia is as much mine as she is your’s Calum, you cannot take my baby away from me.” But he wouldn’t have it, he was taking Dahlia because her mother had the audacity to cheat on him in his own house, while their child was playing in her room. “No, I have lost all my respect for you. Our daughter was in the house and you go and cheat on me. How could you, I gave you everything you asked for, and you didn’t even have the curtesy to tell me something was wrong. So no I am not leaving her with you because, as you said, she is mine as much as yours and I don’t think it’s safe for her here. Now if you would move we are leaving.” That day was a mess, when he got to his mothers he collapsed, he told her everything, from pulling into the driveway and seeing someone parked in his usual spot, to seeing Dahlia’s mother and him standing in the driveway as he drove off. Everything was so vivid for him, it was one of the best and worst days of his life. “Da….da?” Dahlia was looking straight at him. “Dada?” Did Dahlia just talk. Dahlia just spoke. “YES! Dahlia thats right, I’m your dad.” he didn’t think it was possible to smile today but here he was, at his parents house, sitting with his daughter in his lap, and internally freaking out because he always knew she was and would forever be a daddy’s girl. 

[hoodthekiwi]

SingleFather!Luke remembers bringing his daughter, Lana, to her first day of first second grade. It was a very emotional day for both of them. Lana because she was going to be at an entirely new school, and Luke because he was nervous for her. What if she didn’t make friends, what if she forgot her lunch, what if she gets bullied. Luke was worried but he knew there was nothing he could do. As Luke went to work after dropping his daughter off he was lonely, usually Lana would come to work and sit in his office, and if he had to talk to someone she would go to her uncle Ashton’s office down the hall where (if he wasn’t busy) they would play board games or take her nap. But here he was, first day of not having Lana with him, missing her dearly and leaving his work early so he could pick her up right when the school day finished. He was excited to see his baby again, and when he saw her exit the front doors his face lit up and a smile appeared. Lana ran into his arms and gave him a big hug. “Hi daddy! I missed you!” She said into his chest. “Hi baby girl, I missed you too. What’d you do today?” He said as he grabbed her bag off her back so she didn’t have to hold it. Today we made names tags, decorated our cubbies, and I even made a friend! She’s really nice! Can we go home and make spaghetti for dinner?“ She pleaded. Sometimes Luke forgets that he isn’t actually her biological father and that all the antics she has actually do come from him. As they ate their dinner Lana talked m about her day and how she was so excited to go back tomorrow to hang out with her fiends. Luke was happy that she didn’t seem to have any of the problems he envisioned but he knew that tomorrow morning would feel terrible, it would feel like he was abandoning his child. But Luke knew he had to do this for her sake, and he wanted be very best for her.

(A/N Read SingleFather!Luke for more about Lana and Luke)

[hoodthekiwi]

SingleFather!Ashton remembers being called in the principals office for something his son had done. When he arrived he saw you sitting with Alex who kept rolling his eyes. “Alex you can’t keep doing this to your dad. You told me you would stop acting up. And this is the last time, they called your dad too so he should be here any minute.” He heard you say. Before putting his hand on your shoulder causing you to turn around where he welcomed you into a hug. “What do you mean this is the last time hun? Has this happened before? What happened? Why is he here?” He asked “Yes Ashton this has happened before but for some reason they called me both times instead of you.” You replied before the principals office. He was a short old man who didn’t look particularly happy about this impromptu meeting. “Mr. And Mrs. Irwin, I am sorry we are having this meeting today but I cannot dismiss your son’s behavior. Alex has began to disrupt class with rude remarks and unnecessary commentary.” The principal stated. As the meeting came to a close, you could tell Alex didn’t care, he just wanted to get out of here. Alex was excused from school for the rest of of day and when you got back to your house, Ashton’s car was already parked, meaning he and Alex had gotten back a little sooner than you. You walked in and immediately heard Ashton lecturing Alex about being rude and not listening in class, you joined in when Alex started to talk back. As you tried to comfort him, he said something Ashton hoped he would never say. “Why do you care, you’re not my mother.” That hurt. And Alex could even tell he went to far when he spoke again. “Mum, I’m sorry. You know I don’t mean that. You are my mum. I’m sorry I’m not listening, it’s just, I’m having a hard time at school and making jokes makes it a little more bearable. I promise I’ll try to focus more. I’m sorry mummy I didn’t mean it it’s just really hard right now.” This was the first time in 10 years had called you mummy, the last time being when he was 6. And at 16, Alex being able to own up to his mistakes, was finally growing up.