Chapter Text
Mike groaned.
“No, Lacy, you can't paint the whole house purple” The little girl looked at him and pouted slightly.
“Can I at least braid your hair?” she asked while fidgeting with the hem of her shirt.
“Only if you promise not to dye it any crazy colour”
“Yes! Thank you, Mike. You're the best!” She jumped from the couch straight into his arms and hugged him. Mike chuckled softly. “What kind of hairstyle do you want?” Lacy ran her fingers through his dark curls. “I think you would look amazing with a braid and a yellow scrunchie. Now sit.” Lacy ordered. She sat on the couch with Mike leaning his back against it.
“So,” Mike started “did something fun happen at school today?” Mike moved his head to lock eyes with Lacy.
“Yeah! Maddie called Lara a witch and then Lara called her ugly. Mrs. Bailey made them apologize to each other and had a really long conversation with them.” Lacy giggled. “Oh! And Noah told me he likes Liam, he was a little red so I think he has a crush on him”
“And this is the thing you consider ‘fun’?” Mike smiled, confusion visible on his face.
“Yeah!” Lacy said and began brushing his hair.
The thing about Mike was that he liked kids. He really really liked kids. He appreciated them and the way they saw the world. He never thought he would end up being a babysitter, but he didn’t regret it. Lacy was cheerful, sometimes had too much energy for Mike to handle and yet he truly loved spending time with her. Lacy was braiding his hair and talking about school when Mike heard a soft noise.
“Mike? Are you there?”
“Yes, Ollie, I am.” A boy, even smaller than Lacy, came into the living room holding a green blanket in one hand and rubbing his eyes with the other one. He sat next to Mike and leaned onto him.
“Why are you here?” Mike asked, putting a hand around Ollie. Ollie was a shy kid. He never played with other children at the playground and always hid behind Mike’s legs when someone approached him. He was a total opposite of his older sister. Lacy was loud and loved making new friends, while Oliver sat in his room all day and played with his toy trains.
“I had a bad dream” muffled the boy into Mike’s shoulder. Mike ruffled Ollie's hair and hugged him tight. Mike hated when Ollie had bad dreams. It reminded him of Will, but, of course, it wasn't the same. It couldn't be. Ollie has never been kidnapped by an evil being from another world. When Ollie has bad dreams he always looks for Mike and his soft hugs. And Mike never complains, he does everything to make sure the boy feels safe again.
“Do you want to tell me about your dream, Ollie?”
“Later, now I want to keep hugging you” Lacy stopped branding Mike’s hair and looked at her brother.
“Just don't fall asleep here, okay?” Mike was drawing circles with his hand on Ollie's back.
“Okay” Ollie replied and wrapped his arms around Mike. He picked up the green blanket Ollie brought and wrapped him in it.
“Mike? I finished your hair.” Lacy smiled at him and held a mirror behind him so he could see.
“Thank you, Lacy, it's beautiful.” When he said that, Lady's eyes lightened. “Do you want to watch something now?”
“Yeah! Do you know where the remote is?” She began searching for it right after asking. “Okay! Here, turn the TV on, please. I hope we will find something fun to watch.”
Mike chuckled softly. He was still sitting on the floor in front of the couch. He wanted to move but waking up Ollie wouldn't be good, he told Ollie not to fall asleep, but he had problems with sleeping, so Mike stayed on the floor. Lucy sat on his right and hugged him. The couch was completely abandoned now.
Minutes passed and Mike could hear that Lacy’s breath became softer, he knew she’ll be asleep by the next two minutes. He decided to turn the TV off. He stared down at Ollie under a green blanket on his left and then at Lacy on his right who was drooling on his shirt. He smiled to himself. The dim light of the living room was making him sleepy, even though he shouldn’t, he closed his eyes.
***
Meredith and David Collins came home later than expected. They left their kids with Mike, a twenty-year-old college student. At first, they were a little sceptical, because, who wouldn’t be. Mr. and Mrs. Collins met up with Mike before letting him stay with the kids, but as soon as they saw him they knew he would be perfect. He was awkward at first, then he started answering their questions.
He wasn’t like those jocks who just wanted money and would just watch TV all the time when being with the kids. Mike talked about him babysitting his younger sister and how he loved children. He spoke with passion and was gesturing at nothing in particular and that was when Mr. and Mrs. Collins fell in love with him. He met Lacy and Oliver two weeks later. And they also fell in love with him. Then they begged their parents to have Mike as babysitter and, of course, they agreed. Because Mike Wheeler was amazing.
So when Meredith and David Collin walked through the door and saw the kids and Mike asleep on the floor they smiled at each other. When Meredith was going to wake Mike up, Ollie flinched. Her smile dropped, but then Mike pulled him to his chest, fully awake now, and told him he was safe. Ollie went back to sleep easily after that. Mike looked around the room and locked eyes with Meredith. She stepped into the living room and picked Lacy up. The girl groaned.
“Hi, Mike” Meredith was safe and warm. David was also safe, the whole house was safe.
“Hello, Mrs. Collins” Mike rubbed his eyes with a Lacy-free hand. “How was your date?”
“I told you to call me Meredith, but answering your question it was really nice” she smiled at him. “Come on, let’s take the kids to bed. David, can you take Ollie?” David was leaning against the doorframe.
“No, I got it” Mike said.
“Yeah?” David was ready to take Ollie from him.
“Yeah.” Mike didn’t want to risk waking up Ollie, he had so many bad dreams that Mike was happy he slept.
“Okay, do you want tea, Mike?” Davis asked, walking to the kitchen.
“If that wouldn’t be a problem.”
“Of course.”
In Mike’s arms Ollie shifted. He quickly went to put Ollie in bed. He was tugged in the blanket and Mike was ready to leave when he felt a small pull on his sleeve.
“Will you come back?” Ollie couldn’t keep his eyes open anymore.
“Yeah, always” The boy smiled and fell asleep again.
***
When Mike walked over to the couple, David handed him a blue mug filled with hot tea, Meredith was already drinking from an orange one.
“Thank you for today, Mike,” Meredith said.
“You are helping us so much, can we do something for you in return?” David asked.
Mike turned a little red, “Could I have next Friday and weekend off? I’m planning a date for my boyfriend and then we will probably visit our parents.” Mike wasn't hiding the fact that he was dating a man. It once slipped in a conversation and he was terrified that Meredith and David would fire him. They didn't care about that at all. Turns out, that in New York you won't get beaten up for being in a homosexual relationship, at least Mike hasn't experienced that yet.
“Yes, of course! I hope your date will be nice.” Mike was really happy that David and Meredith came with Lacy and Oliver. He loved the family dearly, so he asked about the date. “Oh, it was amazing! David took me to a really nice restaurant!” Meredith began to speak and Mike could feel a smile appearing on his lips.
***
“Jesus,” Mike muttered into the mattress. “I don't know why I'm still doing this”
“Because you love them,” Will replied. He was drawing something, the sketchbook laying on his knees.
“Unfortunately” Will led his hand into Mike curls and started massaging his scalp. He let out a small breath.
“You're like a cat,” Will giggled. “Black cat, that would spend the whole day laying in the sunny spot.”
“Would you still love me if I was a cat?”
“I think I would love you even more than now” Mike gave him a look. His eyebrows were knitted together and a little pout appeared on his face. “I'm joking, love.” Will kissed the top of Mike's head and hugged him, abandoning the sketchbook. “I love you. You look gorgeous with the braid.”
“Yeah, I love you too, so much,” Mike pressed his forehead to Will's shoulder. Will smelled like home — vanilla perfume and laundry detergent. Mike loved how Will smelled. “I think I'm gonna sleep, will you cuddle with me?”
“Of course”