Chapter Text
"Please, mommy!" the almost 4-year-old begged in the middle of the candy aisle.
"One candy bar, Allison," you smiled, shaking your head. Your daughter squealed before running over to the little candy section at the end of the aisle, still within your sight.
You scanned the shelves, looking for the sugar for your daughter's birthday cake. You found it, bending down slightly to pick it up and put it in your cart. As you were standing back upright, someone bumped into you.
"Oh, shit. I'm so sorry," the man apologized, looking over at you and pausing before saying in amazement, "Y/N?"
"Hi, Alex," you said, smiling shyly.
"Oh my God, it's been forever since I've seen you!"
"That tends to happen when you break up with someone," you mumbled quietly.
"Yeah, about that..." he cleared his throat, "I'm sorry that was so unexpected. Honestly, I don't know what I was thinking."
"It's okay," you shrugged, "Not the most unexpected thing that's ever happened to me, I suppose."
"What do you mean?" Just as you were about to answer, Allison came running back to you.
"I got one!" she shouted happily.
You smiled at her excitement and pointed to the cart, "Put it in, babe." She put her candy bar in the basket before trotting back over to you and lifting her arms up. You swiftly picked her up and held her on your side as Alex watched.
"Who's this?" he asked, smiling.
"Tell him who you are," you told Allison.
"Allison Alexandria Y/L/N!" she giggled, hiding her face in your neck.
"It was nice to meet you, Allison! I'm Alex," he smiled again. You noticed he was looking at her intently and decided it was probably best you ended the conversation now.
"Listen, Alex, I don't mean to cut this reunion short, but we really need to get going," you told him.
"Oh, yeah, sure," he said quickly. You put Allison in the cart's seat and starting walking away when Alex stopped you, "Hey, um, Y/N... Would you maybe be interested in getting coffee sometimes? You know, so we can catch up?"
You looked at him for a moment before nodding slowly, "Sure, Alex."
He grinned, "Starbucks at noon tomorrow?"
"I'll see you there," you said, walking off to finish your shopping.
~
The next afternoon, your mother came over to watch Allison while you were at work.
On your lunch break, you drove to the coffee shop. You were about 5 minutes early and were actually very surprised to see Alex already sitting at a table when you walked in with two coffee cups sitting on the table.
"Hey!" he smiled when he saw you.
"Hi," you smiled back, sitting down across from him.
"What's been going on? What's it like having a kid?"
"Nothing really," you shrugged, "It's been fun – a huge change – but fun."
He paused, thinking about the wording of his next question, "So... Is her, uh... Is her dad around?"
"Nah," you sighed, "He left before I could tell him, but it was obvious he wouldn't have stuck around anyway."
"Good, you don't deserve someone who doesn't care about you," he told you, making you feel slightly uneasy about everything. You looked down at your watch.
"Shit," you mumbled, "I have to get back to work." You stood up and Alex followed suit, walking you to your car.
"Do you want to hang out again on Saturday?" he asked seemingly nervously.
"I can't on Saturday, Allison's birthday party is at 2," you answered before making a split second decision, "But you're welcome to drop by if you'd like."
"I'll see you on Saturday then," he smiled and nodded as you got into your car, "It was nice seeing you again, Y/N."
You looked up at him and gave him a genuine smile, "You too, Alex," and drove away.
~
When Saturday finally came around, Allison had just fallen asleep for her nap about three hours before her party. You were surprised when you heard a knock at the door and put down the mixer you were using to mix the cake batter. You wiped off your hands and trotted to the door, opening it to see Alex holding a present.
"You didn't have to bring anything, you know. What are you doing here so early?" you asked, motioning for him to come inside.
"I'm not going to come to a birthday party and not bring a present," he chuckled, "Just wanted to see if I could help with anything, I guess. I can come back later if you want."
"No," you shook your head, "It's okay. I was just making the cake." You led him to the kitchen where he sat on a bar stool across from you at the counter.
"Do you always make her cakes?" he asked.
You chuckled quietly, "I'm her mom. Isn't that what I'm supposed to do?"
He smiled, "I suppose. I never knew you could bake."
"I couldn't when I met you, but I figured since I have a daughter now, I didn't want to always have to take her to fast food places, so I learned to cook," you smiled proudly. Just as you put the cake batter in the pan, you heard a small voice coming from the end of the hallway.
"Mommy," Allison sniffled, holding her teddy bear tightly in her hand. You set the bowl back down on the counter, spinning around to look at her.
"What's wrong, baby?" you asked softly, picking her up and holding her closely.
"I had a bad dream," she mumbled into your neck.
"Mommy's still a little busy, but I'll come sing you back to sleep in a few minutes, okay?"
"I can do it," Alex offered, standing up.
"Are you sure?" you asked skeptically. He nodded and took Allison from your arms. Much to your surprise, she didn't argue or try to get down or hold onto you tighter – she just let him take her back to her room. "Second door on the left!" you called out so he knew which room to take her to. Alex sat on the rocking chair in Allison's bedroom, holding her in his lap.
"What does Mommy normally sing to you?" he asked her.
"Daydream," she answered sleepily.
"I'm not sure I know that one," he chuckled lightly, "How does it go?"
She shrugged, "She said Daddy wrote it for her before I was born, but she doesn't like to talk about it cause it makes her sad." Alex's breath caught in his throat.
He cleared his throat quietly, "Does it go 'I wish you could see your face right now cause you're grinning like a fool and we're sitting on your kitchen floor on a Tuesday afternoon'?" She smiled and nodded, laying her head on his shoulder. He grinned at her and finished the song. She was fast asleep by the time he was done, so he put her on her bed under the blanket and kissed her forehead before leaving the room.
As he was walking back to the kitchen, his thoughts were everywhere. Allison was his daughter and he knew it. He thought he could see the resemblance the first time he saw her, but he couldn't just come out and say it. She was a lot like him now that he thought about it; She was a bit reserved when meeting someone for the first time, but she became very comfortable around them not long after. She had his facial structure and his eyes – she even had the same dark brown colored hair that he did when he was a kid.
He walked into the kitchen and said, "Hey, Y/N...?"
"Yeah?" you responded, looking at him.
"Is Allison mine...?" he asked you with a look of confusion on his face. You paused, your eyes widening and he shouted, "She is mine! And you didn't think to tell me?! And you lied to me about it!" You quickly grabbed Alex's hand and took him outside to the front porch so you wouldn't wake Allison up.
"I tried to tell you, Alex!" you shot back, "But every time I did, you would just brush me off like I never even said anything!"
"Oh, so this is my fault?!"
"Don't you dare put words in my mouth, Alexander! I never said this was your fault!"
"Well, you're sure making it seem that way!"
"You know what? I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry I didn't tell you that I was pregnant, I'm sorry I went four years without telling you about her, and I'm sorry that this is how you found out! But she doesn't know and I'm not about to let you just come into her life after four years and pretend everything is going to be fine!"
"And how do you know it won't be, huh? How do you know she won't be happy?"
"I'm sorry, I didn't realize she would be completely fine with being told that her dad is all of a sudden here to be a part of her life! But I guess you know way more about her than I do, don't you?" Alex looked as if he'd just been punched in the face while you took a breath to calm yourself down before continuing in a softer tone, "I was wrong for not telling you, Alex, and I know that, but I couldn't let her be constantly put in the spotlight with your career. You're always on tour and I wanted her to have a stable family to grow up with whether that included her father or not."
"She's still my daughter, Y/N!" he exclaimed quietly, "I had a right to know!"
"I know you did and I'm sorry – really, I am – but I knew you would have given up your career and I couldn't let you do that."
"I know breaking up with you because of touring was bad, but not telling me I have a daughter was completely out of line, Y/N. I deserved to know about her."
"Well, what do you want me to do, Alex, go back in time and tell you I'm pregnant?" you asked sarcastically, walking back into the house.
He followed closely behind you and closed the door, "What I want you to do is take me back!"
You froze just before you reached the kitchen, "After all this? You're the one wanting me to take you back?"
"I love you, Y/N; I never stopped loving you and I never will," he said, now standing right in front of you. You stared at his eyes before glancing at his lips. He smiled and took your face in his hands, kissing you. He pulled away when you heard Allison again.
"Are you guys gonna get married?" the little girl asked curiously.
"Maybe someday," Alex smiled down at her.
"Does that mean I'm gonna have a daddy?" she looked up at you hopefully.
"Allison," you said carefully, "I think we need to have a talk."
You took her hand and walked to the couch in the living room, sitting her down beside you as Alex knelt down on the floor in front of her.
"Remember what I told you when you asked me why I always sing that song to you?"
She nodded, "You said Daddy wrote it."
You paused, not really sure what to say next, but decided to just say it, "Alex wrote that song for Mommy."
"So Alex is my daddy...?" she asked, scrunching her nose. You nodded and she looked at him, then back at you, "Is that why I look like him?"
You chuckled lightly, "Yes, that's why you look like him."
She looked at him with the most serious expression and said, "You must not be very good if you only have one song." You instantly let out a loud laugh, covering your mouth.
"You think that's funny?" he asked you, smirking. You shook your head, still smiling. He whispered something in Allison's ear and they both looked at you with mischievous grins.
"What are you-" was all you got out before they started tickling you. You let out a loud squeak and began laughing.
When everything had calmed down, what Allison did next amazed you. She looked at Alex for a moment before getting off the couch and hugging him.
"I love you, Daddy," you heard her whisper.
You bit your lip to keep yourself from crying as Alex smiled and whispered back, "I love you too, Allison."
~
Song mentioned: "A Daydream Away" by All Time Low