2

Putting on the headphones hanging off of the microphone, Daniel gives a thumbs up to his father.

♫♪♪

The beat he just created rings through the headset.

(Sunflower - Post Malone, Swae Lee)

~♫♪♪~

Ayy, ayy, ayy, ayy

Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh

Ayy, ayy

Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh

Needless to say, I keep her in check

She was a bad-bad, nevertheless

Callin' it quits now, baby, I'm a wreck

Crash at my place, baby, you're a wreck

Needless to say, I'm keeping her in check

She was all bad-bad, nevertheless

Callin' it quits now, baby, I'm a wreck

Crash at my place, baby, you're a wreck

Thinkin' in a bad way, losin' your grip

Screamin' at my face, baby, don't trip

Someone took a big L, don't know how that felt

Lookin' at you sideways, party on tilt

Ooh-ooh-ooh

Some things you just can't refuse

She wanna ride me like a cruise

And I'm not tryna lose

Then you're left in the dust

Unless I stuck by ya

You're the sunflower

I think your love would be too much

Or you'll be left in the dust

Unless I stuck by ya

You're the sunflower

You're the sunflower

Every time I'm leavin' on you

You don't make it easy, no

Wish I could be there for you

Give me a reason to, oh

Every time I'm walkin' out

I can hear you tellin' me to turn around

Fightin' for my trust and you won't back down

Even if we gotta risk it all right now, oh

I know you're scared of the unknown

You don't wanna be alone

I know I always come and go

But it's out of my control

And you'll be left in the dust

Unless I stuck by ya

You're the sunflower

I think your love would be too much

Or you'll be left in the dust

Unless I stuck by ya

You're the sunflower

You're the sunflower

~♫♪♪~

"Hmmm..." Daniel hums, deep in thought with his eyes closed. Opening it, he looks into his Dad's eyes. "Let's do the last part again." He says before noticing his Dad's raised eyebrow. "Uh... Starting from 'every time I'm leaving on you." After receiving a nod from his Dad, he focuses on singing once more.

Meanwhile, Dad turns around and faces Mom. "What the hell?" He asks with pure confusion. Which is understandable, seeing as how his son that hasn't contacted them in months came to his front door, gave them both emotional hugs, then went to the studio, whipped up a song from god knows where, and started doing something that nobody ever thought he'd do... Sing.

"I'm just as confused as you, Hun." Mom says with a sigh. Her eyes never left Daniel since he started singing. "But I'm happy for him." She says as the brightest smile graced her lips, blinding Dad in the process.

"Hm." Dad grunts before turning back to the booth, hearing the song coming to an end. He stops the recording, folds his arms and nods at Daniel, who took the headset off and exited the booth.

"Hm... Replay the first recording Pah." Daniel says with a frown on his face. Not wasting time, Dad plays the first recording.

~♫♪♪~

...

You're the sunflower!

~♫♪♪~

"Yeah, I messed up in the first recording at the end. I couldn't change the tone my voice quick enough at the start..." Daniel says and his Dad plays the second recording.

~~~

Seeing both her husband and son so serious, Mom smiles softly before silently exiting the studio to finish her cooking.

---

"No, Pah. Why the hell did you put a bass sound there?! It won't go with the vibe of the song."

an Hour later, Mom hears the voices of her beloved quite clearly from the soundproofed studio.

"What the fuck is the vibe you're trying to create here?!" Dad's voice responds to Daniel's.

"Listen to the lyrics!"

"Shut up!" Unable to take it anymore, Mom roars at the top of her lungs instantly muting the two voices.

"Haah." She sighs while wiping her hands dry after finishing the food. "Those two..." She mutters, but smiles after hearing no sound exiting the studio after a while.

"Mah!"

The smile quickly gets erased from her face after hearing Daniel call her. Rubbing her temples, she takes off the apron before calmly walking towards the studio, ignoring the continuous cries for her from Daniel.

Opening the door with a small smile, Mom's calm voice echoes throughout the two men's ears.

"Hun, please get off of Daniel." She says watching as Dad, who was on Daniel's back on the floor pinning his arm, let go of Daniel and get up. "And Daniel sweetie, don't provoke your father."

Daniel grunts in indignation, but still gets up and stands next to his father. "Yes, Mah..." He mutters with his head down.

"Now finish up the song, dinner's done." Saying her peace, Mom leaves.

Seeing the door close behind Mom's back, Daniel and Dad rush towards the computer, both excited for the final of the song. Although the latter won't admit it.

During the hour that Daniel and co. were in the studio, Daniel did many rerecords, adlibs, editing the song... All with his father's input. So the rushed song was something both looked forward to.

"Ready?" Daniel asks his father, who nods at his question. Both of them put on headphones and Daniel pressed play.

"..." They sat in silence. Eyes closed while fully immersed in the song.

"Amazing..." Daniel finally breaks the silence, slowly removing his headphone.

"It is." Dad replies, holding eye contact with his son. Silence descends upon them once more, this time an awkward one. "Son..." He breaks the silence with his gruff voice. "You broke your mother's heart with the actions you chose." His words caused Daniel to look at the floor. "I don't know what's gotten into you. Why you wanted to make your own song. But all that doesn't matter. What matters is that you don't make the same mistake." He finishes, giving his son time to reply, but it never came.

*Sigh*

Releasing a sigh through his nostrils, he stood up, gave a slight pat on his son's shoulder. "I'm gonna wash up for dinner." He announces and leaves, shutting the door behind him.

*Drip*

a Tear rolls down Daniel's cheek, hitting the tiled floor beneath him. "It's not only Mah that I hurt... What a fucking dick." He mutters, cursing the previous Daniel, although he knows that if he was in this world from the start, he probably would have done the same.

---

After cleaning himself up, Daniel joined the dinner but nothing wash spoken except some small talk from his mother, which he responded in kind, but made little effort to continue the conversation.

---

"Goodnight, Mah and Pah." Daniel gave both of them a light hug before walking back to his house in the dark, his smile stiff, still thinking back to what he did to his family. Even though it wasn't him, he still can't stop himself from blaming himself.

Back at the house, Mom turns towards her husband. "What did you guys talk about in the studio? He's been down ever since I saw him at the table."

Sighing, something he did too much today, Dad looks at the small back of his son in the distance. "Nothing." He says before squeezing Mom's hand. "I'll finish up the dishes, you go ahead and prepare for bed." He walks inside, leaving a frowning Mom outside.

Slowly, Mom walks back inside and locks the door before walking in the direction of her bedroom, passing the studio in the process, causing her to stop and peek inside.

a Lightly lit room, the lights dimmed when Daniel was busy recording.

Entering the room, she picks up the headphone next to the PC screen and puts it on. Pressing play, the recording, which was still open on the PC, started playing.

---

"Hmm..." Dad hums in contentment, looking at the clean dishes and tabletops. Wiping his hands on his pants, he walks through the hallway leading to his bedroom, only for his attention to be caught by the open door of the studio. He walks to it intending to close the door. "Why not close the door, Dani-" His muttering gets stuck in his throat as his sight locks onto the figure of his wife... Crying with the headphone covering her ears, a wide smile on her face.

"Just don't make the same mistake, Daniel." He lets out a silent breath before continuing to his bedroom.