A/N: Hellooo!! So, I don't really like this chapter because it's mostly a filler/build-up to the next one, and I don't think I wrote it very well. But it's not that long so you won't have to put up with it for ages. Haha
~Leah~
Now that Aria was almost five months old, we were finally able to let her sleep in the nursery that we'd set up for her. And I'm not gonna lie...not being in the exact same room as Aria anymore felt like there was a huge load lifted off our backs. Even though we loved her so much, it felt so good to have our own space again...and the fact that it opened up way more opportunities for Harry and I to get intimate didn't exactly hurt, either.
And that wasn't the only thing. Me and Harry's second anniversary was coming up in a few days.
The time has gone by so fast. Two years with this man that I love. I could barely even fathom it. And you can bet that I was racking the shit out of my brain trying to figure out what I should do for him.
I mean, last year was okay...but I couldn't exactly just buy a new set of lingerie and offer him sex every year, could I? I mean, Harry can get horny as fuck – but I'm pretty sure that would very quickly get boring even for him.
It was the exact same issue as last year. I had no fucking idea what to get him. Nothing had changed – he still had pretty much everything that could possibly be gifted to him. I really needed to think outside of the box and do something meaningful – something that really showed him how much I loved him.
Late that morning, I walked into the bedroom with Aria to see Harry hunched over my dresser seemingly inspecting something. I felt my brows furrow in slight confusion as I slowly made my way over to him.
As I approached the dresser, I noticed he was rummaging through my jewellery box – and he was apparently so invested in it that he didn't even realize I was behind him.
"Harry?" I slowly addressed him which made him jump a little and turn around with slightly wide eyes, "What are you doing?"
"Erm..." he bit his lip and slipped one of his hands behind his back, "I just, er...I was looking for one of my rings. I couldn't find it, so I was wondering if I put it in your jewellery box by mistake."
"Oh. Okay..." I was still frowning a little, "did you find it?"
"Nope. Must've misplaced it. Oh well. I have plenty anyway," he cleared his throat and quickly shut my jewellery box, "anyway, love, I gotta get going."
"Oh, you're going somewhere?" I asked him with raised eyebrows.
"Yeah. I've got an appearance on Graham Norton coming up," his hand that he'd been holding behind his back went straight into his jeans' pocket as he walked away from my dresser, "so me and Jeffrey have to meet up with some designers and help me decide what to wear on the show."
"Oh, alright..." I frowned a little, "when did you find out that you were gonna be on the show?"
"Couple weeks ago," he replied as he picked up his jacket from where it was thrown on the bed.
I was puzzled. "Did...you tell me that? I don't remember you telling me."
"Of course I did, darling."
"Okay..." I began to nod slowly, "I must've forgotten. Anyway, have fun."
"I'll try to. It can get exhausting very quickly," he told me with a chuckle as he threw his jacket over his shoulder.
He then walked back over to me and placed his fingers under my chin – pulling my face closer to him and kissing me tenderly.
"Be back later," he told me with a smile as he pulled away.
"Sure," I smiled back at him.
"Try not to give your mum a hard time, eh?" He looked at Aria with another loving smile before kissing her on the cheek, "Bye-bye, sweet girl."
Aria looked up at him as she sat on my hip and smiled before letting out a strange but happy noise – causing Harry to chuckle again as he straightened his jacket out.
"If I finish early enough, I'll pick Piper up from school, okay?" He told me, "If I can't make it, I'll let you know."
"Okay, honey."
"I love you," he gave me a doting smile as he picked up his keys from his bedside table, "I'll see you soon."
"Bye, Harry..." I was left still feeling quite baffled as he rushed out of the bedroom and hurried down the hall.
As I heard his footsteps going down the stairs, I made my way over to the bedroom window where there was a good view of the driveway. A few moments later, I saw Harry emerge from the front door – his hand still buried in his pocket as he walked over to his car. I continued to watch him as he got in his car, started it up and disappeared down the street.
That was weird...
Harry's hardly ever in a hurry like that. Unless he was already running late for this meeting with Jeffrey and these designers...but he usually makes sure he's right on time for those types of things, so...that was kind of far-fetched as well.
I momentarily wondered if he was up to something, but I decided to just let him be. After all...I suppose even he can't always be perfectly on time for everything.
***
"So, it's basically the exact same problem as last year," I was telling Ashley on the phone as I tried to feed Aria her banana puree, "I have no idea what to get him."
"Well, your idea last year worked out perfectly fine, didn't it?"
"Ash," I paused to give Aria a smile as she took in a spoonful of banana, "I can't just keep relying on sex as an anniversary present."
"Why not? Easiest way to keep your man happy," she joked with a chuckle.
"Very funny," I rolled my eyes, "seriously Ash, I wanna give him something special. Something...more meaningful."
"Well, why are you asking me? I don't know what would be special to Harry anywhere near as much as you."
"Well, what did you do for my brother when you had your first anniversary?"
"I bought him a saucepan set that he had his eye on for the longest time."
"That's not very helpful."
"Leah, what else do you want me to say?"
"Ashley, please just work with me for a second," I sighed "if Aidan already had everything material that he could possibly want, what would you get him for a present?"
"Uh...fuck," Ashley muttered, "um...I don't know...I guess I'd try to, like, make him something?"
"Make him something?"
"Yeah. I don't know...try and make a craft, or...draw a picture...I don't fucking know Leah, okay?"
"No, you're good," I began to nod slowly as I eased another spoonful into Aria's mouth, "you're onto something."
"Am I?"
"Yep," I began to smile, "thanks for your help."
"I, uh...don't see how that was any help, but okay. I'll roll with it," she said with a chuckle.
"I gotta go," I told her, "Aria's almost finished this food, but most of it is all over her face instead of inside her tummy."
Ashley laughed. "Duty calls, then. Better clean that girl up."
"Will do," I said with a smile, "thanks again, Ash. I'll see you later."
~Harry~
"Mum?" I tried to speak up when I heard her answer my call, "Mum, are you there?"
"Yes, Harry," she replied, "what is it, love?"
"I, er..." I began to smile, "I have some news that I thought you might like to hear."
"Yes?"
"So..." I began slowly, "me and Leah's second anniversary is coming up really soon. In a few days, actually."
"Oh my God, already? Where has the time gone?" I heard her chuckle.
"I know. It's crazy," I replied with a smile, "And...you know...it seems like the right time, mum, so I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna ask Leah to marry me."
I heard my mum gasp loudly over the phone which made me chuckle.
"Are you serious?" She asked me.
"I am," I said without hesitation, "I love her, mum. I want to be with her for the rest of my life."
There was a short pause before she suddenly screamed with excitement at the top of her lungs – making me hold the phone away from my ear a little and laugh.
"Oh Harry, that's so exciting!" She squealed, "I'm so happy for you, darling!"
I was already smiling again. "Thanks, mum."
"When is this happening?" She asked me straight away, "Are you gonna do it on the anniversary day?"
"Yeah. Wouldn't want to do it any other way."
"Have you bought a ring?!"
"That's...what I'm about to do right now," I told her as I looked up at the string of shops towering above me, "got no idea what the hell I'm doing, but I'm gonna roll with it."
My mother chuckled. "It's not hard, darling. As long as you know Leah's ring size, you should be fine. You do have her ring size, right?"
"Yeah," My smile grew as I slipped my free hand into my jeans' pocket, "I do."
As soon as I found what I was looking for, I quickly pulled it out of my pocket and held it up to the sun.
"I pinched one of Leah's normal rings out of her jewellery box this morning," I continued, "she almost caught me, and I have no idea if she actually believed the bullshit that came out of my mouth when I tried to explain myself – but the main thing is that I have it."
"Oh, you cheeky boy," I could tell she was smiling which made me chuckle, "right, you should be all set, then. But don't make too big a fuss of the ring, darling. You know her well enough to know what she'd like. But I'm sure whichever one you end up getting her, she'll absolutely love it anyway."
"I hope so," I bit my lip, "well, I just wanted to share the good news. But I gotta go. Please don't let Leah find out. I want it to be a surprise."
"Of course, Harry."
"And don't tell Gemma, either," I said sternly.
"What? Why?"
"Because I know what she's like. She'll get too excited and call Leah almost straight away if she finds out. You know I'm right, mum."
I heard her let out a long sigh. "I suppose you're right. Alright, I won't tell a soul. Not even your sister. Promise."
"Thank you," I broke out a relieved smile, "not long to go. It's only a few days that you need to keep it to yourself."
"A few days is very long when you know your son is trying to get married," she huffed, "but it's fine."
I chuckled. "You're the best. Right, I'll talk to you later. Love you."
"I love you too, darling."
The call ended, and I put my phone away before taking a deep breath and looking down at Leah's ring sitting in the palm of my hand once again.
Come on, Harry. You can do this. It's just a fucking ring.
But it has to look perfect...
I won't settle for anything less.
***
~Leah~
I've got it.
I've fucking got it.
Well, I kind of do.
So, what's the purpose of an anniversary? To celebrate your love. To celebrate the first moment you decided to commit to each other. To tell your partner how much you love them. A lot of couples do that through expensive gifts, but you don't actually have to do it that way. You can do it any way you like.
So I asked myself the question: How do I tell Harry how much I love him?
I was stuck for a very long time. But I think I've figured it out now.
I can't do words. I can never express what I'm thinking properly. I mean, I can to an extent – but going right into my deepest thoughts and bringing them out into spoken words? Nope. Absolutely not. Every time I try, I end up a fumbling, muttering mess.
Definitely not romantic.
That's when the thought of what Harry did for me last year crossed my mind. When he wrote that song – that beautiful song – just for me. That was the way he had chosen to express his love for me...because maybe he wasn't very good with spoken words either, and turned his thoughts into music instead. And it was wonderful. I mean...that's why he's so successful.
I wasn't poetic. I definitely wasn't a songwriter. But I'm passionate, and my feelings and emotions are powerful. I'm...expressive. And that was all I needed to do what I wanted to do.
But if I do this, Harry is gonna think it's either really nice and romantic, or just super fucking cheesy. And I was really hoping it was the former – because anything else would just be plain embarrassing.
But...I'm going to write a love letter. For Harry.
Honestly, when the thought first crossed my mind, I initially cringed at myself. Like, who the hell writes love letters these days? But since I'm never able to openly tell Harry how much he means to me, well, then...maybe I could write it down instead.
After I had put Aria down for her afternoon nap, I took to the desk that Harry usually uses for his laptop and set a few pieces of paper down on top of it. I sat down with a pen and took a deep breath; trying to clear my mind as I began to think about what to possibly write.
There were so many things I wanted to say to Harry that I was never able to. So, now was the time to tell him. And to do it, I ordered myself to stop thinking completely, and just fucking write.
***
"Hi mummy!" Piper had run out onto the porch where I was trying to relax which instantly made me jump.
"Oh, Jesus!" I held my hand over my heart and took a deep breath before smiling at her, "Hello, sweetpea. You're home. How was school?"
"Good!" She beamed at me.
"Did Harry pick you up?"
"Yep!"
"Where's he gone?"
"I don't know," she shrugged, "he ran up the stairs really fast when we came in. Maybe he needed to go wees."
I laughed. "Maybe."
"Mummy, where's Ari? Is she awake?"
"She was still asleep last time I checked, but why don't you check on her again for me?" My smile grew, "I think she's due to wake up soon. If she is, let me know and I'll give her a feed."
"Okay! Sure!" Piper nodded and grinned before she ran back inside – causing me to chuckle fondly as I followed her.
"Don't forget to be quiet when you go to the nursery, okay?" I reminded her.
"I will!" She promised before disappearing back down to the second floor.
After she left, I ended up making my way down as well towards our bedroom. It was honestly so strange of him to just run upstairs without saying hello to me, but maybe Piper was right. Maybe he was just busting to go toilet or something.
As I approached the master bedroom, I saw that the door was already halfway open – meaning that Harry must've gone inside already. Curious, I poked my head through the door's opening; and my eyes widened when I saw that Harry was opening and closing several of the drawers inside the bedroom. When I saw him doing that, I began to panic a little.
Fuck! What the hell is he doing?
My letter for him is in my bedside drawer..!
I quickly darted my eyes towards my bedside table – wondering if he hadn't touched it yet or if he had already gone through it.
But, then again...why the hell is he going through all the drawers in the first place?
First my jewellery box, and now this..?
I quietly knocked on the door, and I thought I heard him curse under his breath before quickly shutting the drawer of his shirts that he was delving through.
"What are you doing now, Harry?" I lightly frowned as I entered the bedroom.
"Hello, darling," Harry turned around and leaned back against the drawers before smiling at me, "How was your day?"
"It was good," I smiled back at him, "nice and relaxing. How did it go with Jeffrey?"
Harry's eyebrows furrowed a little. "What do you mean?"
My frown deepened. "Your...meeting? With the designers?"
"Oh!" Harry cleared his throat and chuckled softly, "Sorry. Had a complete blank there. Yeah, it was good. We, erm...we got a lot done."
"That's good," I decided to step a little closer to my bedside table to make sure he had no chance of getting at my letter, "did you figure out what you wanted to wear?"
"Pretty much."
"So, when's the show?"
"Erm..." Harry bit his lip, "I can't quite remember."
"It's, uh..." I hesitated, "It's not on our anniversary, is it?"
"No!" Harry immediately shook his head, "No, of course not. Absolutely not. Wouldn't even go if that was the case."
"Okay...good," I smiled at him again, "just double checking. So...what exactly are you doing, again? Why are you going through all the drawers?"
"I..." he hesitated, "I was looking for a shirt."
"What?" I began to giggle, "Harry, you have so many shirts. Why do you need to go through all the drawers to find one?"
"I was looking for a particular shirt."
What is going on right now?
Why is he acting so weird..?
"You're losing quite a few things lately," I told him, "first the ring, now one of your shirts?"
"Mummy!" Piper suddenly came running into our room, "Mummy, Ari's awake! She's hungry now!"
"I'll feed her," Harry, for some reason, seemed grateful that he had an excuse to leave the room, "Piper, can you help me get a bottle ready for your sister, love?"
"Uh-huh!" Piper grinned and nodded excitedly before following Harry to the nursery so that he could let Aria out of her cot.
I was left standing there with a look of total bewilderment on my face. Harry was honestly being so weird today, and I didn't even know why. He's been so...awkward, and standoffish...even nervous, for the whole day.
Maybe it was nerves about going on Graham Norton. Or maybe it was even anniversary nerves. Maybe he was struggling to figure out what to do like I was. I mean, even I still felt like I still hadn't done enough, but...my letter came from the heart, and hopefully Harry sees that.
I decided not to think about it too much – and after looking around the master bedroom once, I shrugged and eventually decided to follow Harry and Piper downstairs.
***
~Harry~
It was the middle of the night. Leah was sound asleep, but I couldn't even close my eyes for five seconds straight. My mind was just constantly buzzing with so much shit.
It was actually going to happen. I had the ring, I had the day I was going to do it. I was actually going to propose to Leah – and it was only a few days away.
I wasn't having any second thoughts. I don't think I've ever wanted something as badly as I want this.
But why the fuck am I so anxious?
After stifling a groan, I pushed the bedsheets off my body and sat up on the side of the bed. I rubbed my hands over my face and let out a long sigh before rising to my feet as slowly and quietly as I could so that I didn't wake up Leah.
I silently paced across the room towards the set of drawers that I was rummaging through when Leah caught me earlier today. I was honestly so disappointed with myself for how I handled that whole ordeal – so thank fuck I was able to get out and feed Aria before it got any more awkward.
It's not like I was doing it on purpose. The whole idea of asking Leah to marry me sent butterflies raging through my stomach. And since I'd been thinking about it all day today, every time Leah came into the room I would break out into nerves and start rambling like a kid trying to talk to his crush. I fucking hated it.
I very carefully pulled out the drawer in the middle of the dresser so that it would make as little sound as possible. It was the drawer that was packed with my shirts – and I had very meticulously tucked the little velvet box containing the ring I bought for Leah all the way at the back of the drawer – underneath at least three shirts.
I reached to the back of the drawer and unearthed the box mostly by feeling around for it. When I got it, I walked over to the window furthest away from the bed and pushed one of the curtains aside only slightly so that a minute gleam of moonlight would dimly light up a small area around me. I held the ring box up as close to the light as I could, and began to slowly open it.
And there it was. The ring I ended up choosing for her.
£65,000 pounds, and it still didn't feel anywhere near good enough.
I just wish I could get rid of some if not all of these fucking nerves. I just didn't get it...both Aidan and my mum have been telling me that Leah would say yes. So why the hell am I so fucking nervous?
I love her so much...
I really don't want to fuck this up.
A/N: Bruh I've been in a relationship for over three years and my fictional character is out here about to be proposed to before me. What a joke 🤣🤣