Sweetened || HS AU

• thirty-six •

this song will make sense at the end!
plus, I've been obsessed w it lately!!

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| Jailen |

Harry was insane.

I knew that but now I was completely convinced.

I stared at the WELCOME TO LAKE HAYDEN sign staring back at us as my daughter screeched excitedly beside me.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!" Harry yelled and I could hear the smile in his tone.

I turned towards him and sure enough, he was smiling. Crinkles on the sides of his eyes, cheeks high as the corners of his lips practically met his eyes, teeth on full display with his arms spread wide above his head.

"You bought me a sign?!" Hayden clapped excitedly, jumping up and down.

"Oh-" Harry cleared his throat and I wanted to laugh at how quickly his smile dropped but I was still dumbfounded. Harry lowered his hands and shook his head, "No, munchkin. I brought you an Island."

I choked on my saliva. No fucking way. Hayden fell silent, her arms dropping to her sides as she turned to look at the sign. Then she spun in a circle, slowly taking in her surroundings before she faced Harry again.

She looked up at him, her eyes widening into saucers as she lunged towards Harry with more excited screeching leaving her little body as Harry lifted her into his arms and spun her around.

"Do you like it?" He asked her.

"I love it!" She yelled and I was worried my baby was going to lose her voice if she kept screaming.

I shook my head, chuckling as I tried to wrap my head around this, "Why?"

"Why what?" He said, putting Hayden on the ground again and taking a step closer to me. I kept my eyes on Hayden as she wandered off to look at some of the many flowers decorating the walkway.

"Why did you buy her an island, Harry?" I couldn't help the feeling of panic settling in my stomach. There's no doubt that this was expensive and the fact that Harry had this much money lying around made me feel queasy.

"Because she said she wanted to go to the beach," He shrugged as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

I scoffed, my face twisting in confusion, "There's four fucking beaches near my apartment, Harry!"

"But none of them are hers!" He grinned, nonchalantly as he shrugged and closed the space between us. He didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around my neck, pulling me in and resting his head on top of mine, "Relax. You're not relaxing. This is supposed to be a vacation."

"I don't know, Harry. This feels weird." I admitted, keeping a close eye on our daughter as she picked a flower from each bush, creating her bouquet. Then, I looked around us. Nothing but trees and water for miles and miles, which did nothing to soothe my nerves.

"This place has about 50 guards surrounding the borders. Each one is well-armed and well-trained. The security system is programmed to only our faces, so the moment they sense anyone who isn't us, I will be alerted immediately. There are cameras covering every square inch of this place, sweetie. We're fine. You and Hayden are fine." He assured me.

Still, I frowned, hating myself for being so skeptical about something so good, "And what happens if she grows tired of this when she's older?"

"Then her ownership is canceled and all the money I spent on this goes into her bank account," he said, pulling away so that we were eye to eye, "Trust me, baby. There isn't one risk I haven't considered, but I can guarantee I've figured everything out."

—

He didn't figure everything out.

And maybe that was partially my fault. Maybe.

But if he had told me where we were going, I would've told him to make sure Hayden had all of her snacks.

So, when we finally made our way inside, Hayden decided that she was ready for her daily lunch - which usually consisted of grilled cheese, orange slices, and animal crackers - only to find that we had none of those things, not even the ingredients to make it, she threw a fit.

Not just any fit, no. This was one of those tantrums where the kids were nearly inconsolable. One where you just had to wait it out.

"Hayden," I deadpanned because this isn't the first time this has happened. I made the mistake more times than I cared to admit, so I knew exactly what was going to happen when she realized that we couldn't make her favorite foods, "I need you to get a little serious."

Harry, however, was in full panic mode. He was running around the kitchen like a chicken with its head cut off, trying his best to offer Hayden snacks that he picked out and I felt a little bad because she didn't want any of them. Her cries only got louder with every snack he presented to her.

Still, I couldn't help my giggle when he stopped and stared at her with pleading eyes, "S'il vous plaît, munchkin, how can I make this better?"

"No!" Hayden yelled through tears and I rolled my lips into my mouth to keep from laughing.

"Yes!" Harry sighed. He looked at me for some sort of help but I just shrugged.

"What do you want me to do about this?"

"You're no help."

"I would've told you to make sure you had this stuff if you had told me where we were going. But nooo, you wanted to play." I cackled.

Harry groaned, "Je ne sais pas qui est le plus enfantin, you or her! Can you just help me, baby? Please?"

I stared at him, a smile on my face as my heart skipped a few beats when he smiled with the realization that I had figured out a solution. Or at least a distraction until he could figure it out.

"Only because you asked so nicely," I made my way over to our daughter who was still crying in the middle of the floor, "Hey, bug, come on," I kneeled so that we were face to face and put my hands on her arms, "Wanna go to the beach?"

She nodded, still sobbing loudly.

I shrugged, "Well, you gotta stop crying. How are you gonna go to the beach with tears? There's already enough water there."

She giggled a bit and I knew she had almost forgotten about that grilled cheese. She wiped her face as best as she could and sighed dramatically.

"We done?" I asked, smiling when she nodded, "See, high five?"

She high-fived me and I lifted her into my arms. I looked at Harry, my smile only widening when I noticed this smile on his face, his eyes wide with adoration.

"You're so good at being a mommy," he said, shaking his head in what seemed like disbelief.

I couldn't help the blush that crept its way onto my face at his compliment. But I brushed it off, clearing my throat, "Of course I am."

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Genuinely, why are they so fucking cute???
do yall sense the tension or should I try harder?