I'm back with a quick one-shot. It's super fluffy and pretty vague, but I thought it was a cute idea, so I hope you enjoy (:
"It's a beautiful day for some baseball." An announcer called over a loudspeaker as the Scott family of four made their way through the stands of North Carolina State University to attend the Championship baseball game against Virginia State.
Jamie, Nathan and Haley's oldest son, who was now seven, was especially excited for the game. He had been counting the seconds until they arrived at the stadium. His three year old sister, Lydia, was definitely not as enthusiastic- nor was Haley.
"Nathan, I have absolutely no idea what is going on right now." Haley complained as she fell back against the stadium seat, gently rubbing her five month pregnant baby bump.
Nathan glanced over at his wife and chuckled, "All you have to know is that the players are trying to hit the ball and run to the bases in order to get to home base and score."
Haley rolled her eyes, "I know that, but like what does it mean when someone gets walked?"
"It means that they walk 'cross the bases, Mommy!" Lydia exclaimed from her spot in Nathan's arms. Jamie peeled his gaze away from the player at bat, and rolled his eyes.
"No, Lydia. When someone gets walked it means that they get four balls instead of three strikes, or getting a hit, and then they get on base for free." He explained matter-of-factly, as Haley looked up at Nathan with a small grin.
"I like 'basset-ball better." Lydia announced, looking up at her Dad as he gave her a proud smile.
"Me too, Lyd." Haley agreed with a flirtatious smile directed towards her husband who wore a proud smirk upon his face.
"I like basketball and baseball." Jamie clarified, turning his attention back towards the hitter who had just made contact with the ball, resulting in a fly ball.
"Yay! Look Daddy! He caught it! Did 'ya see?" Lydia squealed excitedly, clapping her small hands together, as Jamie let out a groan.
"Lydia, you aren't supposed to cheer for the other team! You don't want them to catch it because now we just got an out!" Jamie clarified.
Lydia let out a small huff, and pulled her pink baseball cap lower on her head to hide her pout as her parents chuckled.
Leave it to Lydia Scott to work her dramatics.
Haley's gaze stayed glued to her husband next to her, in his tight black t-shirt, and blue hat. She almost licked her lips at the way his muscles clung to the tight fabric-
Focus Haley. She silently reprimanded herself.
Lydia clung tightly to Nathan as she tried to focus on the game, but Haley could tell she would start becoming antsy very soon. On the right of Nathan, was Jamie, who was intently watching the game.
He donned a white baseball jersey, and a red hat. He was absolutely adorable.
"Picture time!" She suddenly announced with a boisterous smile.
"Pick-cha!" Lydia squealed excitedly. She definitely got her love of attention from Nathan.
"Mo-om!" Jamie groaned. "Another one?"
"Yes another one! I want to get one with the grass and dirt behind you."
Jamie snickered, "You mean the field?"
Haley waved her hand absent mindedly, "Yeah, yeah, that. Now hurry! Smile." She advised.
Nathan chuckled silently to himself as he slightly turned towards his wife and smirked at her iPhone lens, while securing Lydia on his lap.
"Aww! You guys are just so cute!" Haley gushed and snapped away happily.
"Let's take a selfie." Nathan suggested with a jovial grin, and pulled out his iPhone, leaning closer to Haley and smiling widely as she placed a kiss on his cheek and he documented it on camera.
"You guys are totally weird." Jamie muttered, shaking his head, laughing quietly.
"Momma, I'm bored." Lydia pouted after settling back into Nathan's lap.
"We just got here!" Jamie argued.
Nathan turned towards his son and gave him a stern look, "Jaime, be nice."
"Sorry." He mumbled slightly.
Haley frowned at her daughter, then turned towards her bag to pull out Lydia's favorite stuffed animal, Myrta Moose- one that Nathan had gotten her a few years ago. She's still attached to it practically every waking minute.
"Nice." Nathan smirked, clearly impressed with his wife's mothering skills.
"I always come prepared." She gave him a discreet wink, followed by a small smile.
"Myrta!" Lydia squealed contently, and grabbed her plush animal, giving it a giant hug.
"Hey dad!" Jaime called out, getting Nathan's attention.
"Yeah bud?"
"Do you think we could catch a foul ball?" He asked with a hopeful smile.
Nathan quickly glanced out at the field, surveying his surroundings. "Definitely."
"Babe, there better not be any baseballs flying over here and hit us…" Haley warned.
"Don't worry, Hales. I got you covered." Nathan smirked, causing a familiar stirring of butterflies to dance in Haley's lower abdomen. Even after nine years of marriage, Nathan's infamous smirk still made her swoon.
"Yeah, Mom! I brought my baseball glove, just incase." Jaime announced, slightly waving his brown leather glove in the air, smiling in triumph.
"Okay, good. You'll have to catch it if it comes flying this way." Haley advised as she began rubbing her slightly raised baby bump. She was extremely excited because it was now obvious she was expecting, whereas the last few months, it was questionable to strangers.
"You feeling okay, baby?" Nathan asked softly, noticing Haley's movement.
Haley glanced over at him and smiled appreciatively. He always took such good care of her and the kids- especially during pregnancy.
She often jokes that he becomes neurotic, which is usually her job.
"Yeah, baby is just being a little active." She explained with a reassuring smile. Nathan and Haley decided that since they already had a boy and girl, they wanted to wait to find out the gender. As long as the baby is healthy, that's all they cared about. Although, Jaime wants a brother, and Lydia begged for a sister. She didn't understand the 'You can't pick the gender' part, no matter how many times her parents tried explaining it.
"Baby!" Lydia squealed as she wiggled in Nathan's arms, facing Haley, then leaning down to place her tiny hands on her mother's belly.
"Be gentle, Lyd." Nathan commanded softly.
"I know, Daddy." Lydia promised with her dimpled smile. Haley chuckled at her daughter and looked down when she heard her small, raspy voice.
"Is baby, 'hungwee?" She asked with her giant brown eyes.
Nathan and Haley shared a small laugh. Lydia still had a difficult time pronouncing some words.
"I don't know if baby is, but I am." Haley answered, looking into Nathan's blue eyes.
"I'm 'hungwee, too, Mama!" Lydia whined.
"Me three!" Jamie chimed in from the edge of his seat.
"Okay rascals, what would you like?" Nathan questioned while pulling out his wallet from his back pocket of his jeans.
"Cotton candy!" Lydia shouted joyfully.
Haley glanced at Nathan with a disapproving look, "Sweetie, I don't think that's a good idea. It's too much sugar-" She protested lightly.
Lydia's lower lip began to quiver when she looked up at Nathan as tears glossed over her large brown eyes.
Nathan cursed inwardly. It was impossible to say no to that face. Looking back at his wife, he shrugged with a relentful smile. Mouthing a quick 'sorry' directed towards Haley, he gave Lydia reassuring smile.
"You can get it but you have to share it, okay Princess?"
"O-tay Daddy! Thank you!" Lydia giggled then pressed a sloppy kiss upon his cheek, causing him to chuckle loudly.
Despite Haley's slight dismay, she couldn't help but think how adorable their relationship was. Truthfully, she probably would gave in eventually too after looking at Lydia's infamous puppy-dog face. Although, she did have stronger willpower than Nathan. Nathan was a complete sucker for his girls- hell, even Jamie.
Haley knew she had to nip-it-in-the-bud before their children became spoiled, but there's nothing wrong with wanting your kids happy, right?
"What about you Jame?" Nathan asked his son.
"Hmm, can I get peanuts?"
Suddenly, a young vendor in a lime green shirt approached the stands.
"Cracker Jacks! Get your Cracker Jacks here!" He called out over the loud cheers.
Nathan glanced over at his wife and smirked knowingly as he pulled out a five dollar bill and waved over to the vendor.
"I'd like to buy some Cracker Jacks please." Nathan announced.
"Sure, that'll be four dollars sir." The vendor replied, and exchanged a large box of the caramel popcorn for the money.
"Thanks." Nathan grinned and turned back to Haley who wore a boisterous smile.
"But Dad, I wanted peanuts-" Jamie muttered once he noticed the box of cracker jacks in his father's hand.
"Yes, but your mother and I wanted these." Nathan smiled, still looking back at his wife who was smirking nostalgically.
Jamie looked over at his mother curiously. "Why?"
She couldn't help the fact her smile widened as she remembered the significance of cracker jacks with her husband.
"Well, you see, bud, Cracker Jacks are very important to me and Mommy."
"Why?" He repeated, now gaining Lydia's attention as well.
Once again, Nathan and Haley shared a sweet smile as they remembered the strong impact something as simple as Cracker Jacks had on their relationship.
It was their Junior year at Duke University. Nathan was the big man on campus- being the star of the Blue Devils basketball team, and being able to get any girl he wanted- he was definitely cocky.
Haley, however, was the shy, reserved, tutor who was unaffected by Nathan's presence. Sure he was attractive, but she wasn't the type to swoon like the other pathetic girls who threw themselves at him. Plus, she wasn't too fond of his 'I'm-better-than-you' attitude. She knew who he was- everyone did- but she doubted he knew who she was.
Not only did she know him from attending Duke, she knew him because he was her best friend, Lucas Scott's, estranged cousin. Although Nathan grew up in a town outside of Tree Hill, where Haley grew up, she knew all about him, considering all of Lucas's daily trash talk.
Somewhere along the lines, Nathan found himself in desperate need of tutoring, and stumbled into the tutoring center.
Haley immediately recognized him and wanted to roll her eyes. There was no way she would help him. Not after hearing all about his hazing he put Lucas through when they were kids.
Nathan couldn't understand why she was so adamant about tutoring him, and so he begged and pleaded until she finally gave in.
Haley was the type of person who always gave people the benefit of the doubt, and looking back now, she was glad she did.
On their first tutoring session, Nathan was late of course. Haley was pissed. She waited almost a half hour at a wooden table on the docks for him, and she was about to leave when he came stumbling over with two coffee's, and a box of cracker jacks.
"Breakfast of Champions." He smirked, and Haley remembered rolling her eyes.
He then pulled open the box of caramel popcorn and revealed a small prize. "Please be a cheat sheet…" He begged.
Tearing it open, he found a pink bracelet with an assortment of beads on it.
"Here, it's for you." He once again smirked, and Haley tried her best to ignore the butterflies in her stomach. "Don't say I never gave you anything."
The rest was history.
And now, it was their three year anniversary, a year after they graduated college, and they found themselves back at the same table overlooking the sunset reflecting on the water.
Nathan swallowed the nervous lump that resided in the back of his throat, as he took a seat across from his girlfriend and smiled.
"What?" She noticed his stare, and smiled softly back at him.
"I love you." He said with a serious look reflecting in his ocean blue eyes.
Haley laughed softly at his serious expression, "I love you, too."
"I want you to know how happy you have made me these past three years. I don't know where I'd be without you. You're the best thing that has ever happened to me." He said sincerely as he reached across the table, and gently grabbed her hand.
"Nathan…" Haley said with a reluctant smile, "What's going on?"
"Nothing." He shrugged, "I just wanted to tell you."
Haley giggled softly, "Okay, well you make me happy, too."
"So, I have a surprise for you." Nathan announced suddenly as he pulled out a small box of cracker jacks from his jean pocket.
Haley leaned slightly forward in order to get a closer look and let out a loud gasp as she saw the familiar box of caramel popcorn.
"Breakfast of champions, really babe?" She laughed when he tore off the top and threw a few pieces of the cracker jacks into his mouth, grinning widely.
Whenever they had the treat-which wasn't often-, they would always refer to it as breakfast of champions.
"What? I'm hungry." He shrugged. "You want some?"
Haley looked down at the box and smiled, "How can I say no?"
Nathan chuckled and before he handed her the box, he pulled out a red and white striped package. "Sweet! A prize."
"Whaddya' get?" Haley asked enthusiastically.
Nathan playfully rolled his eyes, "God, you're like a little kid." He laughed as Haley leaned over and punched him in the bicep, giving him a small pout.
"I like prizes." She mumbled.
Nathan smirked, and gently ripped the top of the small prize package. "Well I have a feeling you're going to love this one." He said softly, leaning over the table and handing Haley the package.
Haley laughed, and gently ripped the prize box out of his hands, but gasped loudly when she looked inside.
"Oh my god!" She breathed. "Nathan, what is this-?"
Nathan gave her his most adoring smile, as he slowly pulled out the diamond ring. "Don't say I never gave you anything." He winked, as a small tear of happiness slid down Haley's cheek.
"Haley James, I love you so much. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"
Haley nodded vigorously as a boisterous smile took over Nathan's features. "Wow, thank god the Cracker Jack prizes got a lot nicer, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to pull this off." He joked, as Haley giggled girlishly. After he slid the cushion cut ring onto her finger, she jumped off her seat and ran over to Nathan, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him feverishly.
"I love you so much! How did you do this?" She shrieked.
Nathan laughed and kissed her happily, "Were you surprised?"
"Yes! I can't believe this! We're engaged baby!"
Nathan chuckled, "I know. I'm so happy. I guess I picked the right Cracker Jack box…"
"Seriously, how did you do this?"
"I dunno, I got lucky. Crack Jack really stepped up with their prizes. Once I saw the ring in there, I figured I was entitled to engage you." Nathan joked.
"Nathan!" Haley whined, "Seriously, this was such a great idea! How did you do it?"
"I'll never tell my secrets." He smirked at her pout. "No, I just opened the box at home, cut open the prize box, took out the old prize, which was a tattoo or something, and replaced it with the ring, then resealed the box. Easy. I just wanted to surprise you and do something romantic. I'm sorry I never got on my knee… I can now, if you want- I just wanted to have the perfect proposal because I just love you so much and-"
Haley smiled at his rant, but cut him off with a searing kiss. "It was perfect, I loved it, and I love you, and I love this ring!" She whispered against his lips, kissing him passionately again.
"I love Cracker Jacks." Nathan smirked, "But don't worry, I love you more."
"So Dad asked you to marry him with Cracker Jacks because you had them on your first date? And that's where you got the pink bracelet you always wear?" Jamie questioned after Nathan recalled the history to their children.
Haley glanced down at her ring finger where her engagement ring, and wedding band were shining in the sun. "Yep, something like that." She smiled blissfully.
"Well what does 'Don't say I never gave you anything' mean?" He asked.
Nathan chuckled, "I was trying to win your mom with my charm, and it worked."
"Well let's see what charm you have left, Scott." Haley smiled flirtatiously at her husband, as he opened the box of cracker jacks and pulled out the prize package.
"Prize! Prize!" Lydia squealed excitedly, her eyes widening, when Nathan tore open the small packet and revealed a plastic four leaf clover charm.
"Sweet! I guess this means I'm getting lucky tonight." He smirked at his wife who merely blushed in response.
"What is it Daddy?" Lydia questioned.
"A four leaf clover which means good luck!" Nathan explained as he reached over and gave it to Haley. "Don't say I never gave you anything-"
"Well you have given me everything, so I'd never say that." Haley smiled. "If anything you should be saying that I never gave you anything-"
"Buy you have. You have given me an amazing life, along with tw- three beautiful children." Nathan reassured her with a wide smile and kissed her forehead.
Haley felt her eyes prickle with tears. Damn pregnancy hormones.
"You are still so charming, I love you Nathan Scott." She grinned through her tears.
"I love you too, Hales."
"Momma, can I have the charm please? Daddy never gaved' me anything from Cracker Jacks." She huffed, causing Nathan to chuckle as Haley placed the charm in Lydia's small palm.
"Okay, but don't say we never gave you anything."
Thanks for reading!