I really should be working on my thesis paper but I wrote this instead- whoops.
. . .
"...and don't forget, Sawyer can't eat anything with peanuts. Oh! And, she needs her favorite stuffed animal- the pink bear- or she won't be able to sleep-"
"Luke, would you relax? I can take care of her."
"I didn't say you couldn't," the older Scott brother interjected. "I'm just saying, I think it would be better if Haley helped you."
Nathan sighed. He certainly wouldn't be opposed to spending time with Haley James, but the mere insinuation that he couldn't babysit his one-year-old niece alone was insulting.
"I can do it," he protested weakly. The more he thought about it, however, the more he wanted Haley to come; not because he couldn't handle watching Sawyer on his own, but because he genuinely enjoyed spending time with her. If he was being honest, his feelings for the beautiful blonde ventured far past friendship.
Since his move from Charlotte to Tree Hill a few months back, Nathan developed quite the crush on his brother's best friend. Her sweet southern-town smile made him feel right at home. Nathan almost didn't mind having to retire from the NBA far too early in his career if it meant meeting her.
Sure, he was still slightly harboring in the bitterness of his knee injury, but being near Lucas and his family (and of course, Haley), served as a great reminder that there was more to life than playing basketball.
"I know you can," Lucas continued, "Haley's just going to drop by later and check in. I figured you might want the company beyond a one-year-old."
He tried to smirk discreetly; Nathan's crush on Haley wasn't necessarily a secret, but he also didn't want Lucas to know just how serious it was. The feelings were still new to Nathan himself, and he wasn't exactly sure what to do with them just yet. Haley wasn't like the other girls he'd been with. She was a different song- his favorite song. She made his heart beat to a tempo he hadn't known existed, but he wanted to get drunk on the chorus and get stuck between her notes.
"O-kay," he muttered lamely, "that's cool- I mean, that-that's totally fine."
Lucas studied his brother with his infamous squint. "If you really don't want her to come, I can just text her-"
"No, don't-" Nathan's voice jumped an octave.
Lucas continued to squint, "uh, okay then."
The awkwardness was soon interrupted by Peyton, who came down the stairs carrying a wide-eyed, bouncing Sawyer. Nathan always thought she looked like Lucas, but in her mother's arms, it was almost scary how much the little girl resembled Peyton- right down to the same curly blonde hair and dark green eyes.
"Hey, Nate! Thanks for babysitting tonight," she greeted him with a quick kiss on the cheek and laughed along as Sawyer reached out to touch the scruff on his stubble-lined chin.
"Sure, it's no problem. Definitely a perk of moving here is to spend extra time with this cutie," he grinned and gently lifted Sawyer out of Peyton's grasp.
"And here I was thinking it was to be closer to your favorite sister-in-law," she quipped.
"Lucky for you, you're my only sister-in-law."
Peyton rolled her eyes, and Lucas wrapped a comforting arm around his wife. "Don't worry, babe, at this rate, Nathan won't ever have another sister-in-law."
"If I wasn't holding your daughter right now, I'd deck you," Nathan taunted with a teasing grin.
"I told you we should've just asked Haley to watch her," Lucas mumbled to Peyton.
Her laugh echoed through the hallway, "you boys will never grow up, will you?"
"Nope," Nathan's grin widened when Sawyer started pressing sloppy kisses on his neck.
"Well, we better get out of here or we'll miss our reservation," Peyton announced. "We should be back around ten. I left her food on the kitchen counter, you probably will need to just heat it up, but not too hot-,"
Nathan mockingly groaned. "I know, I know. Your husband already gave me the speech. I promise I can handle this. Just go, and have a good time. You guys deserve it."
Peyton released a reluctant breath and smiled, "okay. Thank you," she then reached out towards Sawyer and kissed the top of her head. "Mommy and Daddy love you, baby. Be a good girl."
Sawyer mumbled a mess of letters under her breath, causing her parents to smile. Lucas kissed his daughter's cheek once more before Nathan shuffled them both out the door.
"Your parents are crazy, Sawyer. Crazy!" He said shaking his head and looking down at the doe-eyed child. "Your Uncle Nathan can totally handle this."
"Okay, your Uncle Nathan totally cannot handle this," Nathan sighed in utter defeat as Sawyer, once again, scooped clumps of spaghetti with her hands and chucked it at the wall. Red sauce was now splattered all over the kitchen floor and walls and smeared across Sawyer's face. Nathan turned his back for one second to get a glass of water and she somehow got spaghetti tangled in her hair. It was a complete disaster.
He groaned audibly when Sawyer picked up the bowl and dumped it right over her head. If he wasn't worried about cleaning-up, he would have laughed. It was kind of cute.
"Oh, Sawyer, no, honey. Don't do that," he begged softly. Nathan couldn't yell at her even if he wanted to. As tough as he looked on the outside, he was a big mush on the inside, especially when it came to his niece.
Sawyer was giggling wildly, almost as if she knew she was torturing him.
"You think this is funny, huh?" Nathan couldn't help but laugh along with her. It was kind of funny; here he was, thinking it would be easy, yet the kitchen, and Sawyer, were now completely covered in pasta sauce- and he'd only been here for less than an hour!
"You are so lucky you're cute, kid," Nathan said as he grabbed for some paper towels. Sawyer gave him a toothless smile.
"Oh, wow. What happened in here?"
Nathan jumped slightly at the sound of a feminine voice. It was Haley. Shit, he cursed silently. So much for trying to show everyone that he could handle babysitting alone.
Haley's giggles resonated through the kitchen. Sawyer turned in her highchair and threw her hands in the air, clearly recognizing her, and inadvertently flinging more spaghetti across the kitchen.
"Looks like she mastered the art of playing with her food," Nathan sighed in embarrassment but the sound of Haley's laughter tugged at his lips and he couldn't help but smile. She could brighten even the darkest room.
And damn, he nearly licked his lips. She looked beautiful, even in a simple pair of ripped jeans and beige tank-top. Her honey-blonde hair framed her perfect face in loose curls; his fingers itched to reach out and touch them…
"I can see that," Haley smiled and scrunched her nose at him. He had to remind himself to breathe.
For a moment, he forgot how to think.
"Oh, Sawyer-girl," Haley said, "are you being bad for Uncle Nathan?"
Sawyer squealed excitedly when Haley picked her up out of the high-chair, transferring sauce to her clothes. "You need a bath, huh?"
Nathan stood by the sink, transfixed by Haley. She was such a natural with kids. It made his heart start to sing again.
"I-uh, I can do that."
Haley looked over at Nathan and smiled. He too was covered in spaghetti sauce. His hair was sticking up in every direction; either Sawyer was pulling on it or he raked his fingers through it in a fit of frustration. It was simultaneously adorable and sexy.
"Looks like you might need one, too," Haley teased as she wiped a smidge of sauce off of his forehead. She couldn't help but notice how good he smelled, even if his spicy cologne was now mixed with a twinge of oregano and tomato.
"Thanks," he laughed quietly, "I'm sure I look like a mess."
"Just be lucky it wasn't poop."
He scrunched his face with disgust, imagining the nightmare of poop-covered walls.
Haley's laughter increased at the look on his face. She felt bad for him; it was obvious he was flustered.
"Seriously, Nathan, don't worry about this. It happens. I'll clean up down here and you can get her started in the bath."
He released a heavy sigh of relief, "thanks, Hales. I owe you one."
She felt her skin flush a deep shade of pink. A lot of people call her Hales, but no one says it as huskily as Nathan Scott does.
She carefully traded Sawyer to his arms and noticed the way his biceps clung to his tight grey t-shirt. Lord, this man would be the death of her.
"Come on, angel. Let's get you cleaned up, okay?" He said gently. Sawyer simply blinked in response as he began the trek to the bathroom. Inwardly, Nathan couldn't stop berating himself for looking like a total clown in front of Haley. All he wanted to do was impress her. So much for that, he chided.
As the tub slowly filled with luke-warm water, Nathan carefully rid Sawyer of her clothes, mentally noting to throw them in the washing machine. He prayed the sauce stain would get out of the pink butterfly shirt. Hopefully Haley could help him with that. She was good at everything.
"You know, Sawyer," Nathan started to speak, "I don't know if you know this but you're really lucky to have your Aunt Haley in your life. She's amazing." His words were flowing out of his mouth as fast as the water was flowing from the faucet; "Your mom and dad are pretty great, too, but Haley, she's special. If you grow up with her as a role model, I know you'll be just as kind and smart as she is."
Sawyer loudly babbled over him, ignoring every word he said. Nathan laughed; maybe he really didn't understand one-year-olds afterall.
"Alright, you. Time to wash that sauce off your cute face," he announced while quickly checking the bath temperature with this knuckles. Satisfied that it wasn't too hot, Nathan plopped Sawyer into the tub and gave her a bath toy. He hoped it would distract her while he scrubbed her clean.
Sawyer, however, had zero interest in the plastic crab and threw it to the other side of the tub. Water splashed up and hit Nathan square in the face.
He exhaled deeply. This wasn't going to be easy, either.
"Come on, Sawy," he coaxed, "maybe after we take a bath we can watch a movie. What do you think?"
He took her quiet babbling as a response for 'yes,' and grabbed the No Tears shampoo on the ledge. "Hmm, this stuff smells pretty good," he mused aloud. It was a mix of strawberry and vanilla.
He squirted a hearty amount into his palms and rubbed it into her wet curls, scrubbing away the bits of spaghetti. Kids were definitely a lot of work but he was surprised by how much he was enjoying something as mundane and trivial as bath time. Sawyer was relatively pleasant except for the occasional splash of water.
"I think one day I'd like to give you a cousin." Again, he surprised himself with his words, but it was true. The older he got, the more he found himself wanting this- settling down. Kids. Maybe a dog. And definitely a wife.
His smile tilted as his imagination ran through a set of pastel clouds; he pictured coming home to Haley in a house like this, with a white picket fence. A little girl running over to him with two different shoes on; a grinning boy attached to Haley's hip.
He quickly shook his head. What was he thinking? He and Haley were just friends. Never in a million years would he have dreamed of something like this. He never was the type to settle down. Never wanted to. But it was all changing now…
"Na-Na," Sawyer blurted. Her tiny hands paddled the water and once again, splashed a bunch of water up towards Nathan. This time, his shirt got soaked through.
"Well, it needed to be washed anyway," he mumbled and quickly discarded it over his head. Wearing a shirt covered in stains was one thing, but he wasn't about to walk around in wet clothes.
Unknown to Nathan, Haley was standing in the doorway, watching the entire scene unfold. She found it wildly endearing watching Nathan interact with his niece. Sure, he was new to this but that's what made it so sweet. He was so smitten with Sawyer- and, oh my God, he just took his shirt off!
If her jaw was on hinges, it'd fall straight to the floor. Drops of bath water were dripping down his skin and her eyes were glued to the way the muscles rippled in his back. Her mind started to conjure much filthier images, including one of them naked together in the tub, but she remembered there was a one-year-old in the room and rid herself of the thoughts just as quickly as they appeared.
She knew that if she saw herself in the mirror, her face would be as red as a ruby. Still, she couldn't peel her gaze away from his shirtless body.
"There we go," Nathan cooed, "now let's dry you off."
Haley watched Nathan lift Sawyer out of the bath water and wrap a duck-towel around her. The little girl clung to his chest and Haley felt a surge of jealousy boil through her blood.
"Oh, hey," Nathan turned slightly and smiled at Haley standing in the doorway. Her hair was now up in a bun, exposing the creamy skin of her neck. His lips begged for a taste.
"Hi," Haley's voice was quieter than she intended. Her eyes still hadn't found his face and were now, instead, tracing the contours of his sculpted abs.
Nathan followed her gaze and remembered he was sans a shirt; he couldn't tell if it made her uncomfortable or if she was blatantly checking him out. Either way, he knew it was his opportunity to impress her.
"Sawyer went a little splash-happy in the bath," he explained, pointing to his sopping wet shirt thrown on the bathroom tile. He'd have to clean that up later, too. Ugh.
"I saw," Haley laughed. "You're so good with her."
"Really?"
"Of course. She loves you," she smiled and walked over to them. Sawyer reached out her tiny hand and grasped for Haley's index finger. Her other hand was latched firmly to Nathan's neck.
"I love her too," he gave them both a dopey smile, "even when she makes a mess of me."
Haley playfully swatted at his chest. "You can probably borrow one of Luke's shirts when we wash yours."
"Nah," he started to flex the arm that wasn't holding Sawyer, "Luke's too puny. I'd rip right through his shirt."
Haley's brown eyes bulged comically and Nathan had to bite his lip to keep from laughing.
"Seriously, look at these arms," he smirked and curled his bicep. "Tell her, Sawyer. I'm much stronger than your Dad."
Sawyer blinked and looked between Nathan and Haley, completely unfazed by their burning chemistry. Starting to feel a little sleepy, she rested her head between the crux of Nathan's neck and yawned.
"Well, I guess that answers that," Haley teased.
Nathan pouted, "come on, Sawyer. I thought you were on my team! You're supposed to make me look good."
"I don't think you need much help when it comes to looking good," Haley decided to be bold and flirt back. Despite the sugary coating to her words, she was inwardly shaking. Only Nathan could turn her bones to liquid.
He winked at her, "I could say the same thing about you, Haley James."
Her face flushed a bright pink as she realized her hand was still squeezing his bicep.
"Um, we should, uh, probably get her to sleep."
"Yeah," Nathan rubbed soothing circles on Sawyer's back, sharing a smile with Haley when he felt her hand fall on top of his.
They stood there for several minutes, both silently wishing for this moment to be their reality. It was only when Sawyer started to fuss when they broke their intense gaze.
Nathan soon followed Haley out of the bathroom and across the hall to Sawyer's room. He shuffled Sawyer to his other hip and watched Haley grab a pair of pajama's from the wooden dresser.
He smiled when she picked the ones with basketballs.
"Here, I'll take her," she whispered.
Nathan passed Sawyer to Haley, who started to sing softly as she changed the one-year-old into her pj's for the night.
He was, once again, enraptured by how easy it was for Haley to do this; she'd be such a good mother one day.
"You're a natural," he said softly.
"Thanks," Haley craned her neck and smiled at him, "I've had a lot of practice."
He furrowed his brow; he knew she didn't have kids.
"I've been an aunt since I was fourteen," she clarified.
"Oh right," Nathan whispered, "I still can't believe you're one of seven."
"I don't know how my parents did it," Haley finished changing Sawyer and rocked her softly in her arms before placing her in her crib.
Once Sawyer sprawled out across the blanket, Nathan gently caressed her cheek, lulling her to sleep. Haley hummed a soft tune and watched Sawyer's eyes slowly close. They stood and watched her sleep for a few seconds until Nathan grabbed Haley's hand and led her to the living room.
"So you're really not going to put a shirt on, huh?"
Nathan looked down at his shirtless form and shrugged, "I'm sure I could maybe find a sweatshirt if you want me to-,"
"No! I mean," she blushed, "it's fine."
A cocky smirk blossomed across his lips; "oh, so you like that I'm shirtless?"
"I'm not opposed to it," she tried to act nonchalant but failed miserably.
Nathan chuckled at her bashfulness and fell back onto the couch, motioning for Haley to join him. She slowly sank onto the cushion next to him, but carefully avoided touching his skin as if it would set her on fire.
"Hales," Nathan laughed.
"Hmm?"
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah," she bit her lip.
"Okay," his smile still playfully taunted her. "Thank you for being here tonight. I don't really know what I would have done without you."
"Oh," her cheeks were red again, "it was no problem. I love spending time with Sawyer. And you for that matter."
Nathan smiled and reached out to push a tendril of hair behind her ear. She shuddered beneath his touch.
"Me too," his bright blue eyes collided with her large brown gaze.
"I heard what you said to Sawyer in the bath. About wanting to have kids someday. Is that true?"
Nathan's eyes fell to his lap as if admitting it would be a sin, "yeah. It's true."
Her fingers reached out to cup his cheek, "you're going to be a great dad one day, Nathan."
"What if I'm not?," he admitted, "I mean, I couldn't even get Sawyer to eat her dinner without making a mess. My own brother knew that I couldn't handle it-"
"Hey, listen to me," Haley continued to cup his cheek, "you have nothing to worry about, okay?"
He nodded softly, "thank you. And for what it's worth, you're going to be the best mom."
Her smile was soft, "thanks."
"Do you want to be? A mom, I mean."
She nodded, "more than anything. I just want to find someone to share it with first, you know?"
"Yeah, I know what you mean," Nathan grinned. "Did you hear what else I said to Sawyer?"
"Uhm, no. I don't think so. What was it?"
"That she's really lucky to have you. And so am I, Hales. I-," he licked his lips, suddenly at a loss for words. "I like you. More than like you actually, and I think- well, I spent all of tonight dreaming about what a life with you would be like. And I want that. I'm not saying this to scare you or pressure you- at least, I hope I'm not- but I want to try it. I want to take you out on a date and see where this can lead because I think you're beautiful and incredible and smart and -"
"Nathan," she beamed, cutting him off from his ramble, "I like you, too."
"You do?"
"Isn't it obvious?" She laughed, pointing to her hand resting on his naked chest again.
"I was hoping," he grinned, leaning closer to her lips.
"And I'm hoping you shut up and kiss me already," she taunted him with a crooked eyebrow and playful smirk.
"Say no more," he whispered and pulled her closer to his chest. Their lips touched softly but moved to a steady and seductive rhythm. As the kiss increased in momentum, Haley shifted onto her knees and straddled his waist. He smirked against her lips as her hands kneaded his bare shoulders. His tongue had just started to slip through her lips when they heard Lucas' voice shout in panic.
"Uh, Peyton- the babysitters are making out!"