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0nlythrowharrybeaux · 11 months

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Young American - Part 19^

This one's a bit sad as it's going into Y/N's family a bit, but it ends well! I hope you guys like it.

SERIES MASTERLIST

Warnings: family drama, death/grief, toxic family dynamic, mentions of miscarriage

WC: 8.7K

Leaving England was honestly one of the saddest things that Y/N ever had to do. She had taken to Harry’s family so well that she almost felt like she was saying goodbye to her own family. And the kids… Archie cried when he said goodbye to her and Harry, but she assured him that she’d be back to visit soon, which Harry echoed as he kissed his nephew on the head. And well, saying goodbye to his sister, grandmother, and mother was just as tearful. Harry was the one doing the comforting, as he was a little more accustomed to saying goodbye this way. It made him really happy that it was hard for her to also leave his family, they really were amazing people and he was glad that she felt the same way about them.

The flight back felt even longer than the one they took to England, maybe because they were both sad to go. But when they arrived they were happy to see Julie waiting for them at the arrivals terminal.

“Welcome back!” She smiled happily and hugged Y/N and Harry tightly, “I missed you guys. How was it?” She asked immediately and she started to talking to her about it all. Harry was smiling from the back seat, just listening to her saying praise after praise about his family. Thankfully, they had the weekend to recover from their journey, so as soon as they got in they had a shower and they knocked out in Y/N’s room.

Harry woke up close to dinner time and carefully unwrapped himself from her body to go get some water.

“Hey.” Harry grumbled softly as he walked into the kitchen to see Julie leaned on the counter eating some dinner.

“Are you guys hungry? I didn’t know if I should wake you.” Julie said and Harry shook his head.

“Y/N is still out and I’m just thirsty.” He explained and she nodded.

“I’m glad things went really well.”

“Yeah, I mean, I knew it’d be good, but it just brought a lot of stuff up…I’m sure she’ll talk to you about it when you guys have some private time, but ummm…we discussed getting to meet her father soon hopefully.”

“Oh my dear brother…” she sighed with a smile, “Has she warned you properly?” Julie asked and he smiled.

“Oh yeah…she already told me that he’d probably hate me for the next decade… but ummm, whether he likes me or not, I don’t want to go behind his back, I want him to know that I’m going to propose to her.” He said and she smiled.

“Well, whether he admits it or not, he’d appreciate you letting him know. But please, for the love of god, don’t ask him for permission. That’s so sexist.” She said and he smiled.

“I think the only person I should be asking for permission to marry Y/N is Y/N.” He said and she nodded, “My gran gave me her ring.” He said and Julie pouted with endearment.

“Really?”

“Yeah, you’ve no idea how huge of a deal that is. After my grandad passed she said she wanted to be buried with it, didn’t want to part with it ever. But after seeing the way we are she wants me to propose with it.” He smiled.

“That’s so sweet of her. Do you know when you’re going to do it?”

“Not yet. She was talking about possibly going to see her parents for her birthday. So sometime after then.” He said, “Obviously, I may need your help sorting some details out.”

“Yeah, of course.” She smiled, “You know, I’m really happy things went so well with your family. That they were so welcoming and lovely her.”

“They really loved her.” He hummed fondly. “And well I think she’d thrive there, you should’ve seen her.” He smiled and Julie pouted with endearment.

“I can only imagine…I can’t wait until she tells me everything.” She said and Harry smiled.

“Well let me see if Y/N’s hungry, what’d you make?”

“Just butter pasta with fresh parm.”

“Well, I’ll definitely be back.” He said and she smiled as he hurried off. He was quiet as he made his way back into the bedroom and cozied back up beside Y/N as she stirred awake. “Where’d you go?” She asked softly and Harry smiled at her rapidly blinking eyes and slightly pouty lips. He leaned down and pecked her quickly, making her smile.

“To get some water. Want dinner? Julie made buttery, cheesy pasta.” He said and she nodded. “Want me to bring it?”

“I’ll get up. Let’s just stay here for a second.” She said before she yawned and he mimicked her yawn as she nuzzled her face into his neck. “Remember when you slept over that time after the halloween party?”

“Course I do.” He said lowly.

“You asked me to sleep with you because it was hard for you to fall asleep in new places.” She recalled, “That’s when I started to like you. It was cute and it made me worry about you from then on.” She confessed and he smiled before he kissed her cheek.

“I liked you after you forgave me but told me you didn’t want to be friends.” He said and she laughed softly.

“What? Why?”

“I don’t know… I guess I just found it so attractive that you respected yourself enough not to cave just with an apology.”

“Well I’ve had a lot of chances to practice that…” she sighed and he smiled, “Also, I kind of wanted you to grovel a little…and you were about to weren’t you?”

“I definitely was about to.” He chuckled as he recalled the moment.

“And why didn’t you?” she asked and Harry smiled.

“I ummm…I wanted to show you that I could be different. I feel like I hadn’t needed to prove myself to anyone in a long while and ummm…I want to prove myself to you. And I guess it felt good to try and find myself again, even if it was just to get on your good side at first. But then I just…continued down that path for me.” He said softly before kissing her cheek again, “And look at us now…”

“Yeah, look at us.” She hummed happily.

*********

In the weeks that followed there was plenty of discussion about the future. Harry was starting to plan his proposal. He wanted it to be something intimate and clearly personal. He knew that Y/N wouldn’t really care about when or how he did it, but he still wanted to put some thought into it. Meanwhile, Y/N was thinking very seriously about her future with Harry and what she wanted life to look like with him, so she was at the doctor right now for her annual check up with one question on her mind.

“Everything is looking great! As always, if we find any irregularities in your bloodwork we’ll give you a call. Is there anything you have questions about?” Her doctor asked.

“Ummm, yeah actually. So as you know, I got the implant almost 2 years ago now. Umm…and I was wondering what needs to be done to take it out? Or like does it cause any delay in pregnancy?” She asked.

“Oh!” Dr. Ramirez smiled at her, “Are you having any issues with the implant or just planning for the future?” She asked.

“No issues, just planning ahead. My partner and I are starting to talk about the future and about the implications of that…and well, honestly, we keep talking about kids.” She said and Dr. Ramirez smiled, “I think we’re both very eager, so I just wanted to plan ahead if needed.” She explained.

“Yeah, understandably so! So really, we can remove it at any time, it’s the same way we got it in.” She shared and Y/N nodded, “And with it out you can pregnant at anytime so long as it’s the right time.” She explained, “You shouldn’t experience any issues or delays.” She assured her with a smile, “And I mean, if this is something you guys are wanting to get working on quickly we can also check on your reproductive health more closely if you want.” She reminded.

“Oh, perfect! Yeah, I think that would be good. Obviously, I think I need to discuss it with him before we proceed with any appointments or procedures, but it’s good to know.” She nodded and Dr. Ramirez smiled.

“Of course. Just call back if you need to schedule something. It was good to see you.” She smiled kindly before showing herself out. Y/N proceeded to get dressed and was soon heading off to Harry’s place. He had a huge chest/torso piece he had started today and had been at the shop working on this guy from 10am to about 4:30pm, so he had a short day because of that, and well, she’d had left her doctors appointments at 3 that day. But she’d been able to get her eye exam done and her full physical, she figured it was best to try and get everything done in one day if possible to avoid taking multiple days off. As soon as she found a parking spot down the street she grabbed her bag and headed over to his building door, thankfully someone was coming out and she had been able to make it in without having to call Harry. When she got down the hall she heard some muffled swanky music from outside of the door and she smiled before she knocked and second later Harry was opening the door with a big smile.

“Hello, my love!” He greeted her enthusiastically as he led her inside, “How were your appointments?” He asked as she slipped out of her shoes as he grabbed her bag.

“Pretty good actually.” She said and he pecked her lips quickly, “Good.” He hummed before he hurried off to the bedroom to put her bag down. He seemed to be in a really great mood for some reason. When he came back he went straight into the kitchen. He seemed really on task. “So what’s got you all…whatever is going on?”

“What do you mean?” He looked at her with some confusion.

“You just seem really diligent.” She giggled as she came into the kitchen.

“Oh! I bought these like “focus” gummies and they’re working really well. Too well I think. I feel like I’ve had caffeine injected into my blood stream.” He chuckled and she giggled along, “I got in around 5 and I did all my laundry, I changed the bed sheets, I cleaned the bathroom, and then had a shower. And now I’m making dinner!” He said cheerfully and she laughed at just how cracked out he seemed.

“You’ve had a busy day.”

“Definitely.” He chuckled.

Harry then started telling her about the tattoo he was doing on this guy and how he’d been trying to get in with him in England for years and just couldn’t seem to make it work. The man was littered in tattoos apparently and had left his chest and torso opened because he’d been wanting that to be saved for him. Then the man had lost his job and had to use his saved up money to hold him over. And he had been trying to save up again for it and had just recently made it all up. Harry wanted to do everything perfectly since the man was investing a couple thousand on this custom piece by Harry. Obviously, he knew the elements he wanted in it, but he wanted Harry to do his spin on it and to customize it to his own body. They’d been planning for weeks. This was one of those instances where Harry charged a price for his work on the design and then charged the tattooing sessions by the hour so that the guy could decide just how long he wanted to take - obviously there was a range that Harry would give the clients based on how little or how much it could be. But the man just really wanted it to be perfectly executed and thankfully his first session had gone really well. That was their dinner conversation as Harry just shared his vision in between bites.

“I can’t wait to see how it looks on him! Did you take a picture today?”

“Yeah, I’ll show you later. S’on my phone.” He assured, “And what about you? Anything exciting at the doctors?” He asked as he set their dishes in the sink.

“Ummm, not exciting, but there was something I did want to talk to you about.” She said and he hummed as he then went over to the “living room” area where she was now getting comfy on his couch and he made his way over and sat right beside her.

“OK, what about?” He asked her as he tugged at her pant leg to get her to drape her legs over his lap and she smiled as she rearranged herself so that his hand was running up and down her thigh as he looked at her, waiting for her to continue.

“So ummm…” she paused and glanced down at his hands for a second, she wasn’t sure why she was so nervous to talk to him about this when they talked about it constantly now, “Well, you know we’ve been planning for the future more actively now and one thing that kind of keeps coming up in the discussion seems to be about kids.” She said and he smiled and nodded, “And so I just asked about the implant that I have and when I can remove it and whatnot-”

“Oh? What did the doctor say?” He cut in and she shrugged.

“Just whenever, there shouldn’t be any issues where you have to wait ages to get pregnant or something. She said it can be pretty quick.” She shared and he smiled, “And ummm, well she also said that if we, well if I was interested in seeing how my reproductive health is we could make an appointment. Obviously, surface level everything is fine, we did that today. But I think she meant like internally and all. I don’t know why I feel so nervous about talking about this.” She giggled softly and he squeezed her thigh just a bit.

“Maybe because it kind of feels like it’s becoming more real? I have goosebumps, look!” He said showing her his arm and she chuckled.

“So what do you think?” She asked him a bit nervously.

“Well, what do you think?” He turned it around on her, “Like I just want to do whatever you’re happy with, babe.” He said and she bit her lip.

“Umm…I mean, I would definitely like to see how things are internally. Just to make sure there are no foreseeable issues, you know?” She said and he nodded, “And I mean, you’re more than welcome to come along! Like if you have questions or something…?” She said and he nodded.

“Yeah, I’d love to if you want me to.” He assured and she nodded.

“And I mean…I know we’re still kind of planning ahead for everything else and all, but ummm, if you…wanted to just get started with kids I’m not…opposed to that?” She said and he was grinning even wider now.

“Are you sure?” He asked and she giggled nervously.

“Yeah, I am. Like…obviously, I think right now might not be ideal since we’re just starting to really get settled at work and well. But I mean, once we get engaged I don’t see why we can’t just…see what happens.” She shrugged nervously and he bit on his lip to tone down his smile.

“Baby…” he said and she hummed, “This is really great news.” He said and she smiled.

“Yeah?” She asked and he nodded, “Good! I was a little nervous to bring that up.” She sighed and he smiled, “I just ummm…I don’t know, like things just feel really right with us. Especially after meeting your family. Like…I don’t know, but like I would want that for our baby or babies, you know? To like have them around and be in our lives as much as possible.” She explained.

“So are you saying we’d move to England?” He asked with a smirk and she bit her lip and shrugged.

“I uh…I think I am.” She said with a surprised chuckle, “Yeah.” She nodded after thinking about it for a second and he was just looking at her with the biggest smile on his face, “What?”

“Nothing, I just didn’t think I would feel this happy about us possibly moving over there.” He confessed and Y/N smiled, “Baby, we’re gonna be such great parents…” Harry said to her happily and she giggled.

“I think we would be too.” She agreed with a small giggle.

“Baby?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I just…hold you for a moment?” He asked and she smiled and nodded. She quickly straddled his lap and they just embraced each other for a moment. For a while Harry had been feeling like he’d never get to have these experiences in life because he himself had been so lost. He felt like he had gone down the wrong path, like he’d never meet someone who would love him and respect him enough to build a life with him. And as he looked back he saw just how unprepared he had been before, mentally and emotionally. But now he was more confident than ever that he was ready to build his future with Y/N. This person in his arms was his life partner, undoubtedly so. Everything about her was perfect for him, she made him want to be his best and he loved that about her. He was absolutely in love with her and if it weren’t for his promise to just talk to her parents about their relationship first he would’ve just asked her to marry him right now. “I love you. I love you so much.” He said softly and she smiled.

“I love you too, H. So, so much.” She responded.

“I think we need to just talk to your parents soon because…I don’t want to wait to ask you to marry me.” He said and she giggled.

“I mean…you can ask whenever you want…” she hummed. She was feeling rather impatient, “But umm… it’s a long weekend. Maybe we can take a drive up for Sunday and Monday?”

“Really?” He asked as he pulled back to look into her eyes and she nodded.

“Yeah. I mean…depending on how that goes I may or may not want them around for my birthday.” She giggled and he chuckled.

“True…then ummm, let’s plan for the weekend then.” He said and she hummed before leaning in to kiss his lips softly and slowly. She didn’t care what her dad said anymore, all that mattered was her happiness now.

********

Harry felt like he was going to throw up as they were about 15 minutes away from her parents house. They had just planned on lunch at their house and if things went well then they’d find a place to stay over night and if not, they’d just drive back to LA. Of course, they were both hoping that things would go well, but it wasn’t really up to them to set the tone of the day. He had even dressed up a little bit to give a better impression, but he still felt really nervous. Even more so when they parked along the side walk. Y/N’s childhood home was nice. It wasn’t huge, but it looked spacious. They had a nice garden up front and it looked inviting enough.

“Deep breaths, baby.” She said to him and he nodded and inhaled slowly.

“Right…right.” He said softly before turning to her. “I’m ready, lets just go.” He said and she nodded.

“Before we do that, I just need you to know that no matter how that goes, I love you. I want to build a life with you. And I choose you today and will continue to choose you for the rest of my life.” She said to him with a soft and reassuring smile and he returned her encouraging gesture, “Now we can go!” She said and they got out of the car. Harry had bought flowers and had even brought a good bottle of scotch for her dad. They only waited a few seconds after ringing the doorbell before her mom opened it up.

“Hey, you two!” She said happily and hugged Y/N and then Harry, “Your dad seemed really calm, so I think we’re looking good. He didn’t come out because he didn’t want to seem too eager.” She said quietly to them and they both nodded and smiled before looking at each other.

“These are for you.” Harry said.

“Oh, thank you. They’re lovely.” Marcia said to Harry as she hugged him quickly.

“I’m glad you liked them.” He said to her. She had been a bit more communicative with Y/N and well, Harry was around a lot so they’d greet each other and whatnot, but she was still quite guarded.

“And grandma?” Y/N asked.

“She ummm, she made other plans with her church group, sweetheart. I’m sorry.” She said to her and to Harry. Y/N just nodded but decided to not show her disappointment.

“It’s alright. You can just tell her Harry and I got her these.” She said with the other bouquet in her hand and Marcia nodded.

“Well, let’s head on to the patio. We set up a little seating area outside, like we’ve always wanted to.” She said as she guided them through, “You can leave the flowers and scotch here if you like.” She said as she patted on the kitchen counter, so they set the things down as she guided them to the back door, “We also redid the bathroom upstairs.” She said and then smiled at Y/N. “Oh, that’s nice! When did you do that?”

“About a month or two ago?” She said and then opened up the backdoor to lead them outside.

“Nice.” She hummed and then glanced outside, “Oh, it’s so cute, mom!” Y/N exclaimed with a smile.

“Really? You guys like it?” She asked of the little picnic style table that had been set up. She had these little cushions on the wooden bench and even a spot for an umbrella if they ever needed shade.

“Yeah, it’s lovely!” Harry agreed with a smile, “Even have a little garden going.” He noted as he walked around to see the flowers in long planters along the fence.

“Yeah, I needed a relaxing hobby.” Marica shared and he smiled as he nodded in understanding.

“Are you liking it so far?” He asked her and she shrugged.

“I mean the potting was fun!” She said and made them giggle, “One of my friends encouraged me to get rose bushes and she said she’d teach me about pruning. We’ll see how I fair there.” She said and they both chuckled, “Alright, I’m gonna go grab your dad.” She said to Y/N.

“Do you need help with bringing anything out?” Harry asked.

“Maybe just some glasses? I made some strawberry lemonade, the pitcher’s in the fridge.” She said and then glanced to Y/N.

“Yeah, we’ve got it.” She assured and so they followed her back inside and she headed off to get Daniel, Y/N’s father, while she and Harry just grabbed the glasses and lemonade before making their way out. They sat down, expecting them to come out right away, but it was about a minute or two before she turned to Harry with a nervous smile and he just grabbed her hand.

“S’alright.” He assured her and she rolled her lips together nervously.

“She’s so nervous. She’s talking to me about her renovations like I’m the neighbor or something…” she sighed, “Something’s not right.” Y/N said to him and he looked a bit concerned.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’m sure…she hasn’t been this awkward on the phone or anything. Something is definitely up.” She concluded as she glanced around. Everything seemed so quiet and undisturbed…even when she had greeted them at the door, her mom had been quiet, almost as if she did not want to disturb anyone with the noise and then it dawned on her. “Baby, I don’t think my dad knew we were coming.” She said to him and he frowned.

“I think she just said yes without saying anything to him.” She explained with even more nerves. Suddenly the door to the backyard swung open and her dad came out with a slight frown as her mom trailed after him.

“Daniel, please don’t be upset, I asked them to come.” She said, but they both heard it as he stopped before them and Y/N could hardly speak as he eyed her over and then looked Harry over before glancing back to Y/N.

“Bringing another winner home to meet us.” He said with some snark and Y/N frowned.

“Dad, please don’t be like that.” Y/N pleaded softly and he shook his head.

“You know what I’m going to say to you about this. About him.” He said not even sparing a glance at Harry, almost as if he didn’t want to acknowledge his existence, “I don’t know why you think that showing up here means I’m going to change my mind. I won’t.” He said simply and she felt her eyes start to well up.

“Dad, just give us a chance.” She appealed earnestly and he sighed and shook his head.

“I don’t want anything to do with you while you’re off in LA wasting your life like Julie. When you have come into some reason we can talk, but I’m not doing this.” He said before he started to turn around and head back inside. Marcia stopped before him and spoke to him softly with tears running down her cheeks and Harry just sighed before deciding to speak up.

“Sir, I’m Harry, I’m sorry if we interrupted your day. We wanted to come because we just wanted to let you know that we’re planning to get married.” Harry said and this made Y/N’s dad freeze before he turned back around and he and Marcia both gave Harry their undivided attention.

“Well you don’t have my blessing.” He said simply and Harry sighed as Y/N grabbed his hand and he smiled softly at her before turning back to her parents.

“That’s alright, I didn’t expect it. But I will still ask Y/N to marry me, I just wanted you to be aware that it was happening.” Harry explained, “I can see that you’re not seeing eye to eye right now, but family is important. And well, whether you’re speaking or not, Y/N is your daughter and I’m sure you love her and I know she loves you regardless and I just wanted you to know that I love her too. Very much. We make each other happy and we want to make that commitment to each other. And well, it would mean the world to have your support. It truly would!” He smiled at them, “But if that’s not possible, alright then. We just wanted you to know what’s going on with us.” He finished with a nod and then he glanced to Y/N who was tense and squeezing Harry’s hand hard. She glanced into his eyes with her tearful eyes and he smiled at her and she relaxed a bit and smiled back softly, “Let’s go then.” He said to her and she held in her tears and disappointment and nodded.

“Yeah.” She said quietly and just grabbed her purse from the bench. “It really does look nice out here, mom.” She offered a final compliment as her mom’s tears fell quietly. Her dad didn’t even spare them a glance as they walked past him and she shook her head. “We’ll show ourselves out.” She said softly and pulled Harry back to the backdoor.

“Goodbye, Marcia and Daniel, it was lovely to see you.” Harry said before he and Y/N headed back inside as soon as they closed the door they could hear her parents starting to argue. Harry frowned as Y/N instantly broke down, he pulled her into his chest and held her close.

“I’ve got you, love. I’ve got you.” He assured as she sobbed. Because of the way they were standing she was facing the fridge and as she cried and just absentmindedly looked in that direction she noticed something. She moved out of Harry’s hold and made her way around the counter and she frowned as she grabbed the item that had captured her attention from the fridge with shaky hands as another sob broke from her body, “Baby, what is it?” Harry asked immediately as he hurried over and she turned around and showed him the paper. He didn’t expect to see a program insert of who he assumed was her grandmother with a “In loving memory” message at the bottom.

“They never said anything to me.” She whispered with so much shock and hurt.

“Oh my god…I’m so sorry.” Harry said quietly as she walked back into his arms for a few moments.

“Get me out of here. I just want you to take me home.” She whimpered and he nodded.

“OK, baby.” Harry agreed before guiding her back to the front door and to their car, the photo still clutched in her hand.

“Julie’s gonna be so hurt and furious…should I call her now or wait until we get home?” Y/N cried as she and Harry got buckled in.

“Baby, I love Julie, but you just need to worry about you right now. You just found out too.” He said and she exhaled shakily and nodded. As she let that sink in she started to cry harder.

“Baby, just drive. Go somewhere else, I can’t be here.” She sobbed and he nodded and started her car and took off. He made a few random turns and got them to a library parking lot. As soon as he parked he reached for her hand and she took it and squeezed as she inhaled shakily.

She was so angry. She wanted to scream out of frustration and hurt. How could they not have even bothered to give them a call…that was the most absurd thing! That was Julie’s mother…they didn’t think she’d want to know? Even if they were estranged! She was quite literally shocked at this discovery. She wasn’t even sure what to feel. She got out of the car and just breathed deep and paced a few times. Harry walked out as well and he rounded the car.

“Baby, is there anything I can do?” He asked her and she shook her head.

“I just…I just need a minute.” She choked on her tears and he nodded and decided to just go back over to sit in her car. He knew what it was like to get news like this…he hated it when people would tell him that it was alright or that he’d be OK. Yeah, he knew he would be eventually, but he didn’t need to hear that in the moment. He just needed to process and make his mind up about what he felt then. And as much as he wanted to hold her and comfort her, if she needed some space, she needed space. He knew that she’d come to him if she needed him. She proceeded to just walk up to the library and then back to the car several times as Harry just kept a close eye on her.

Harry tried not to judge, but he didn’t understand how anyone could treat their own family this way. He was angry at her parents, even at her grandmother, for shutting her out this way. He’d understand if she was a criminal or was doing horrific things, but she was just expressing herself! He couldn’t see why this was so awful to them that they refused to talk to her. What about the way that they lived and treated people made them better than her, or him, or Julie? If anything, in his eyes they were the awful people, not her or him. From what he could see they were obstinate, self-righteous, and too proud. There was no way that a rational human being couldn’t see or be aware that something had gone too far. And this feud they created with Y/N, their daughter, it had gone too fucking far. It made Harry want to yell at them and berate them for hurting her like that. For shutting her out and denying her of something every person deserves, love, from their own family.

His family wouldn’t ever dream of doing something like this to him or even to her! He was so mad, so fucking mad and he wanted to help make things right, but clearly her family wasn’t interested in that. He felt bad for Marcia, because she had been trying as of late, but she lied too. She kept something so big from Y/N and that was so wrong. Maybe, her grandmother didn’t care to see her or Julie, but they could’ve at least said something about the funeral. If her grandmother was dead she wouldn’t know that they had shown up to say goodbye or pay their respects. This was a level of fucked up that he couldn’t even understand to some extent. He sat there thinking and waiting on Y/N for nearly 20 minutes before she came back and just sat down in the passenger seat and she just let out a long, slow sigh before turning to him and clearing her throat.

“Let’s go home.” She said and he nodded.

“Do you want to stop for water or a snack?” He asked as he started to peel away towards the highway.

“Yeah, but when we’re out of the town.”

“OK.” He said and reached for her hand and she slotted their fingers together as he took off. She was quiet for about 15 minutes, just staring at the road straight ahead.

“Am I being crazy for never wanting anything to do with them again?” She asked him softly and he glanced to her briefly.

“At this moment, no. But that’s a big thing, love. And of course, this is your family and your experience, so however you want to move forward, I’m here for you. I have your back.” He clarified, “But just give it some more thought when you’re not as angry at them.” He suggested and she sighed.

“I’m always angry at them, H. Like how could anyone even think that doing this to someone is OK?!” She raised her voice and he shook his head.

“I don’t know, love. I’ve been thinking about it and trying to understand it myself and I just…I can’t.” He said simply.

“And the way my dad was behaving?! Such a fucking child!” She shook her head in disappointment. “You must hate them…”

“I don’t hate them. Like, I don’t know them, how could I? I’m sure there are really great parts of them too, but I just…I think you deserve better.” He said softly and she nodded.

“I do.” She agreed, “My family used to be like yours.” She shared, “We were all so tight knit and playful and fun…I don’t know what changed…” she said and he nodded as he listened. “Like, I’ve always been the same person! Always! I just wish I could shake them awake! They’re missing everything!” She said to him, “They’d rather miss my entire life than to just put their pride aside and wish me well. I can’t…accept that.” She confessed, “And I feel stupid for it, you know? Time and time again they have proven to me that they don’t care to understand me or love me despite our disagreements. Like I try to understand where they’re coming from or to be respectful of their nonsensical views and opinions, I keep my mouth shut! I just tough it out when they all gang up on me or talk shit about Julie…I shouldn’t have expected that they’d have a change of heart.” She shook her head, “I’m sorry for doing this to you, baby. I should’ve known better…or just…stuck up for you or at least said something-”

“Baby, I really wanted to do this. You warned me. Julie warned me…I think it was worth a shot. If anything I’m sorry for…insisting. Like…I just hoped that he’d at least be happy for you or feel grateful that you wanted him to know about what’s going on with you. If I had known that they were…” he trailed off, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. I’m glad we came because they never would’ve said anything about my grandma…” she said lowly and Harry sighed.

“How do you think Julie will take it?” Harry asked and Y/N sighed.

“I don’t know…I don’t think she’ll be too broken up about it. My grandma hasn’t spoken to her in years…how fucked up is that? Her own daughter!”

“I know…” he sighed sadly.

“Baby, when we have kids please promise me that you’ll never bring up the topic of them meeting my family.” She said and he glanced to her quickly before back to the road, “Like, if that were to happen I would want to come to that conclusion myself. I just…don’t want them around people like that. People who lie and neglect…who might treat them badly because of us.” She said and he nodded.

“I promise, my love. I promise.” He said to her. He knew he didn’t have kids with her yet, but just the idea of their hypothetical kids having an unpleasant experience with her family made him feel so angry and protective.

Y/N ended up falling asleep for about half the drive. She started getting nervous as they got closer and closer to home because she had no idea how she would even tell Julie what happened. She knew that Julie would know it was bad when they’d show up on the same day they left, so there was at least that. Y/N was basically trembling as she tried to key the door open.

“Here, my love, I’ve got it.” Harry assured her as he grabbed the keys from her and she thanked him quietly as he got the door open. As soon as they got inside they heard the TV on.

“Y/N, Harry?” She called out in question.

“Yeah, s’us!” Harry responded as he got his shoes off and Y/N as well. She soon appeared by the doorway with a small frown.

“I uh, I made some cinnamon rolls just in case. Your favorite.” She said to Y/N who was sniffling again as her tears started to fall, “Oh, come here, sweetie.” She said opening up her arms and Y/N hurried into them and she hugged her tight, “It’s alright. You’re home now, s’all that matters.” She assured softly and Y/N started to sob.

“It’s not that.” She whimpered as she pulled back and Julie frowned.

“Is something wrong?” She asked and Y/N inhaled sharply.

“Grandma died.” She said softly and Julie shook her head as if she was trying to make sure that this was real.

“Wait what?!” She asked with a frown.

“Yeah, I ummm, I saw this on the fridge.” She said as she reached into the hoodie she was now wearing and handed the picture that had been on the fridge to her. Julie’s eyes did tear up and she pouted sadly as her finger ran over the image of her mother a few times. The funeral had been 2 weeks ago.

“You know, for the last month or so I’ve just…I’ve had a nagging feeling about her.” She said to Y/N and Harry with a sniffle, “I tried calling her a few times and it would just ring out and ring out…like I know she doesn’t want to speak to me, but I’d still leave her messages, you know? And your mom even texted me once to tell me that she would listen to them…and well, she’d apparently proceed to talk shit according Marcia,” she chuckled a bit through her tears, “But she would still listen.” She shared, “And I called again last week and your dad answered and told me to stop calling her. I knew something was wrong then.” She sighed.

“Are you OK?” Y/N asked and Julie nodded.

“Yeah. I tried, you know? And what else could I have done? I told her I loved her and that I missed her and that I wasn’t angry at her or had any bad feelings towards her every time I left a message. So she knew I was OK with her and well, that’s all I could do, you know?” She said, “I mean, I’m shocked that they didn’t even say anything though…that’s just absurd…” she sighed sadly.

“I know, they couldn’t even tell us about the funeral?” She said and Julie shook her head.

“Well, not much we can do now.” She sighed in disappointment. “Was it OK apart from that?” She asked her and Harry.

“Ummm, turns out my dad didn’t even know we were coming. My mom was just trying to get my dad to be a little more openminded I guess. He barely even looked at me and just said the same shit he always does.” Y/N shook her head.

“I did tell him though that we were getting married. He didn’t say anything, but he knows now.” Harry added and Julie nodded.

“Yeah, what he does with that information is up to him…” Julie concluded and Harry and Y/N nodded.

“Are you sure you’re OK?” Harry asked again and Julie sighed.

“I think so. I mean, I’m still a bit shocked, but it doesn’t feel like I thought it would, I guess…” she explained. “Let’s go eat the cinnamon rolls, yeah?” She asked and they agreed and went over to the kitchen. Y/N and Harry stayed standing because they’d been sitting for about 8 hours total today. “Look, my mom and I have always had a complicated relationship. I’m her only girl and have never really been the kind of daughter she wanted. Even as a kid, she was a bit more hard on me than my brothers. She always expected more from me and just didn’t seem to understand that I was constantly around boys so I wasn’t all the feminine as a kid. When I got into high school obviously, I started maturing a little more and like my brothers’ friends started to like me and other boys as well, but that jus made girls not like me, you know? Because in my mind I was just “one of the guys” as they say. Because sure, they’d flirt with me, but it was mostly teasing me and giving me a hard time. Girls started saying that I was just going around with the guys in the grade above me and being from a small town word got around and that just made her more angry at me. You know, she was all churchy and shit…she was embarrassed of me and those rumors…” she explained to Y/N and Harry as they all ate, “But then my senior year I got mixed up with one of your uncle’s college friends and he got me pregnant. I was 17, he was 18, so it wasn’t anything super bad or teetering on illegal so to speak…but I had a miscarriage. I had no idea I was even pregnant!” She shared, “Well until all that happened. And ummm, after that things just became what they were between us and they never got better. I was 20 when I moved transferred to school here. My boyfriend at the time went to USC.” She explained, “And ummm, yeah I just never went back. I was a lot more chaotic then, I wanted to kind of stick it to her and my dad.” She said with a slight chuckle, “Kind of fucked myself in that process, but ummm, I was a stupid kid. I had no idea what I was doing. I was careless and felt like I didn’t need to make things right with them. And like, not for forgiveness sake, but just so that we could at least be civil, you know?”

“Yeah.” Y/N nodded in understanding.

“I did try when I was older, but she gave me the cold shoulder as did your dad and your uncle Rob, so I just…stayed here.” She shrugged.

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m not! I mean granted, I could’ve handled things better, but I was young and inexperienced, how else would I be expected to act? She wasn’t a child though, she was my mother, a grown ass woman and she was acting worse than I was. They’re all so emotionally immature.” She said, “And as time went on and I tried to make amends with them they just didn’t care about my efforts. Even when I was sick and dying they never called! They never checked in… and I just…accepted the fact that I’d never get to say a proper goodbye to them. Like you know how bad things got.” She glanced to Y/N who nodded, “So I’ve been ready to just not get any form of closure, but not because she died first, you know?”

“Yeah.” Y/N sighed sadly.

“I know that you had a very different experience with her growing up. I mean, Dan was always her favorite.” Julie smiled, “He was her baby, he could do no wrong, so I know you were special to her and I can’t believe that she despite everything happening with you she wouldn’t have at least wanted to say goodbye. With you I think she felt like she was getting a do-over. She was so involved and spoiled you rotten!”

“Yeah, she did.” Y/N smiled through her tears and Harry rubbed her back soothingly.

“She was always so proud though, she never would’ve said that she was wrong about how she handled things when you came to live with me. But she did love you. You have to know that.”

“I do.” Y/N sniffled and Julie smiled as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

“Good. That’s all that matters.” She hummed with a small smile.

*******

The next few days were quite sad and slow for Y/N more than Julie. It was good that Julie had felt like she’d made her peace with her mother even before her passing. But Harry wasn’t sure what he could even do to help Y/N get through this. He knew it wasn’t just grief, it was betrayal and disappointment. It was her wrestling with the idea of what she’d said in the car, that she maybe wanted nothing to do with her parents again.

Harry was quiet as he made his way down the hall and to her room in case she was asleep. She’s been resting a lot, just sitting with her thoughts really. He knocked twice before he opened the door slowly and peeked inside.

“Hey, my love.” He smiled as he saw her rolled over to face the door.

“Hey.” She said quietly as he came inside and leaned back on the door to shut it. Then he went over and sat on the edge of her bed.

“How are you feeling today?” He asked her as he took her hand and gently played with her fingers.

“I’m alright.” She said quietly as she sat up against her headboard and he smiled.

“OK. How can I make you go from alright to good?” He asked her and she smiled a bit wider at his question.

“Well, ice cream for starters.” She said and he chuckled.

“OK, ice cream. I’ll definitely go grab some.” He assured, “Anything else?”

“Maybe a kiss.” She said and he smiled.

“I can definitely do that.” He said as he leaned in and kissed her lips gently before pulling back and pecking the tip of her nose and she smiled at him.

“Thank you.” She hummed happily, “So I’ve been thinking…” she started and he nodded, to let her know he was listening. “I think I just…need to distance myself from my parents. I talked to my mom this morning and she just…she didn’t understand why I was so upset at what she’d hidden from me and Julie. And obviously, my dad told her not to tell us, but still, she didn’t have to! She’s just so…stuck under him, you know? She doesn’t see how that’s hurtful. Like she almost can’t do anything without his approval, which is crazy because my dad isn’t crazy like that. I think that she’s just afraid to lose him too.” She sighed and Harry nodded in understanding, “But ummm…I don’t trust them. I don’t feel like they care about our relationship as a family. And I’m tired of feeling like…like it’s all my fault when it’s not.” She explained with some sadness, but her tone and facial expression reflected definitiveness.

“Yeah, it’s not.” He assured her.

“Fuck…s’just Julie and me now, I guess.” She sniffled sadly and Harry shook his head as he stood and reached in his pocket and pulled out the ring box he’d brought to show Julie, but he sat back on the bed and flicked open the little box and she looked into his eyes, “Baby, that’s your-”

“My gran’s.” He said with a soft smile and she sniffled, “I planned on doing this in the most romantic way, I swear, but…I just want you to know that it’s not just you and Julie. It’s me and my family too if you want that. I love you with my whole heart and I promise you that if you say yes I will make sure that I spend the rest of my life making sure you feel so loved and happy, as much as I can. And not just me, you’ll have a whole group of people in your new family who love you and accept you and who see just how incredibly wonderful and special you are.” He said to her and she just knelt up and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Of course it’s a yes.” She sniffled and he chuckled.

“I haven’t even asked yet!” He said and she giggled and pulled back to look in his eyes and she nodded, “Right!” He smiled, “Y/N, will you marry me?” He asked her with the biggest smile on his face and she nodded quickly.

“Yes. Yes. Yes! A million times yes.” She answered as she leaned in and their lips met as best as they could despite their smiles. “I love you. I love you so much.” She whispered happily and he smiled.

“I love you.” He responded. “Let’s get this on you.” He said of the ring and she smiled and nodded.

“Right!” She giggled and extended her left hand out to him and he slipped it onto her ring finger, it was actually a perfect fit. “Oh wow! S’perfect.” She said and he grinned as he looked into her eyes.

“Yeah?”

“Mhmm.” She nodded and he brought his hand up and kissed the back of it, “I complimented the ring when your gran had it on, I didn’t peer pressure her into handing it over, did I?” She asked with slight concern and he shook his head.

“No. I didn’t even ask her for it. She just saw how we were with each other and she insisted I propose with it.” He chuckled as his eyes welled up a bit as it hit him that they were engaged, “We’re gonna get married.” He said and she nodded as she sniffled.

“Yeah, my love. We’re getting married.” She smiled as she nuzzled her nose against his. She felt relief, this was a new beginning for them. It was just the start of their new life together.

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