Nathan yawned, feeling around the bed.
When his hand hit the empty sheets, he opened his eyes quickly and raised his eyebrows in surprise.
After a moment, he sat up in the bed, leaning back against the headboard and yawning quietly.
It wasn't long before Haley hurried out of the connecting bathroom, putting an earring into her ear, stepping over to her walk-in closet quickly.
"What time is it?" He asked, rubbing his eyes, looking over at the nightstand next to the side of the bed that he was laying on, sighing when his phone wasn't there.
"You left it charging in the kitchen," Haley informed him, humming and walking out with shoes. "It's 7:45."
"Aren't you supposed to-"
"Yes," She replied quickly, shaking her head and sitting down on the end of the bed, beginning to put her heels on.
He took in her outfit, letting out a deep breath. Damn she looked great in a pencil skirt. Her hair was pulled up into a neat bun on top of her head, leaving her tan neck exposed to him.
It didn't take him long to escape from the blankets and slide into the seat behind her easily, his arms wrapping around her.
"This is the reason I'm running late. You kept me up last night," She said, tapping his forearms.
Nathan ignored her commented, leaning his head down to kiss her neck, his eyes fluttering shut.
The past two months of their relationship had been nothing short of incredible. Of course, he couldn't expect anything but that from Haley.
They'd really clicked and fell into a natural system.
Things were occasionally a little rough, especially because he lived in North Carolina and she lived in Arizona.
Thankfully, he had plenty of opportunities to travel to Arizona for his job.
She'd come to Charlotte a couple of times too.
They'd started the conversation multiple times, but each time it had ended with them deciding to put it off until she finished the school year.
"Nathan..." Haley hummed out, tilting her head back until it connected with his shoulder, closing her eyes. "Put a shirt on, please." She laughed, tapping on his chin until he met her mouth in a searing kiss that she'd think about all day.
He laughed, nudging his nose against her's.
This morning seemed very familiar... Probably because almost the exact same thing had happened the day before.
"I really don't have time," She said, finally standing up and turning to look at him.
"Call in sick," He mumbled, grabbing onto her hand and shaking his head.
"I'm afraid that my sick days are dwindling because of you," She laughed, running her fingers through his hair.
"Quit," He suggested, humming softly.
"Great idea," She laughed, shaking her head. "You have stuff to do in Phoenix today anyways, so don't talk me into staying when you're just going to leave."
He nodded, following after her as she hurried out of the room.
He followed her into the kitchen, where she grabbed an apple to eat on her drive, before she pretty much propelled herself to him, giving him a kiss that ended far too early.
"Alright, I have to go!" She said, hurrying towards the front door. "I love you, bye!"
Nathan raised his eyebrows at her words.
Haley paused at the front door, squeezing her eyes shut and shaking her head at herself. She pulled a face, before heading out the door.
Somehow they'd gone the whole two months of their relationship without saying that to each other.
Of course, they weren't exactly a shock to him... But he knew that probably wasn't her preferred way to say it.
He hurried to the door, pulling it open and poking his head outside, sighing since she was already gone.
He pushed his hand through his hair, letting out a deep breath. He walked into the kitchen, grabbing his phone and then heading back into the living room and taking a seat.
A grin formed on his face at the sudden realization that Haley had told him she loved him. And there was something special about how casually she said it... Like it wasn't even a thought. Not to mention, she loved him.
He loved her, of course. Now that she'd said it, he didn't understand why it had seemed like a big deal to say it. She definitely knew he felt the same. How could he not?
She was Haley, and that was enough explanation for him.
He glanced at his phone, letting out a deep breath when it started vibrating.
Clay.
He picked up the phone, humming softly. "Clayton."
"Nathan," Clay responded, chuckling quietly. "Just checking in. You remember your meeting today, right?"
"All of the sudden I feel like you're my boss, when I thought we were equal," Nathan chuckled, rolling his eyes.
"Wait, no!" Clay said quickly, laughing. "I didn't mean for it to seem like that... I just know how smothered by Haley you get that your brain kinda..."
Nathan rolled his eyes, grinning slightly as he trailed off.
"Forget about anything but her?" He laughed, "Well, had I been able to convince her to skip work today, this phone call probably would've been helpful. But I did remember my meeting today. It's at ten o'clock, which means I should get there are nine-thirty."
"Okay, good," Clay responded. "When are you coming home?"
"Well, I'm flying to Florida on Sunday night then I'm heading back to Charlotte on Wednesday," Nathan said, leaning back against the couch.
"And then?" Clay asked him, raising his eyebrows.
"On Friday, I'm flying to Toronto," He said, chuckling quietly.
"You are crazy, Nathan. You might as well just sell your apartment and move in with Quinn and me. It's pretty much a waste having it," Clay chuckled, rolling his eyes. "You know that we have other people that can take some of this off of you. Do you to hire a new person?"
"No, I like it," Nathan said quickly, clearing his throat. "Listen, I have to talk to you about something actually-"
"Oh, shit. Logan is crying," He said quickly, cutting him off. "Quinn's taking some pictures, so it's just me. I have to go."
"You're good," Nathan dismissed, hanging up the phone and letting out a sigh.
He ran his hand through his hair, clearing his throat and standing up, heading back into Haley's room to get ready.
xxxx
Nathan knocked lightly on the door frame that entered Haley's classroom, poking his head in and smiling slightly at her.
She glanced up at him from her desk, raising her eyebrows when she noticed who it was. "Hey, what are you doing here?" She asked him, a smile forming on her face.
"Thought I'd bring you some lunch," He informed her, holding up the brown paper bag with food in it.
"A man after my heart," She laughed, gesturing for him to enter. "Come in. I'm just doing some grading. I only have a little while but I'll take what I can get with you."
"That's fine," He hummed, walking over and setting the bag on her desk. He grabbed a chair that was sitting off to the side of the whiteboard, placing it next to her desk and smiling.
"You're the sweetest," She hummed, reaching over and grabbing his hand. "Thank you."
"I do what I can," He laughed, raising her hand up and pressing a kiss to her knuckles.
"And you look good," She informed him, leaning backwards so she could take in his appearance again.
He laughed, glancing down. He had not changed out of his suit from his meeting yet.
He met her eyes, winking at her and letting out a deep breath, grabbing his lunch out of the bag.
After eating for a few minutes and making small talk, Nathan cleared his throat and looked at her.
He dreaded what he was about to do.
"So, I kinda have to talk to you about something..." He began, clearing his throat, reaching over and grabbing her hand.
Haley's smile fell, instead her bottom lip wedged between her teeth, eyebrows raising.
She waited for him to speak, and just when he was about to, she cut him off.
"Is this about this morning? Because, we can just forget it if it was too soon..." She said, clearing her throat.
"What?" He asked her, raising his eyebrows. "Oh, right. This morning. No. Well, I do want to talk about that, but after I talk about this..."
"Okay..." She said slowly, her eyes glancing down at their joined hands.
"I have to leave tonight," He informed her, clearing his throat.
"Stop," She said, dropping his hand and pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Haley, come on..." He said, sighing softly. "I'm sorry."
"It's fine," She said, letting out a deep breath.
It wasn't fine. She said the words but she didn't mean them, and he knew that. He was supposed to be here another five days. He'd just gotten there on Friday, and it was only Tuesday.
"Haley..." He sighed, brushing his hand through his hair. "It's just... I have to go to California to work out a shoe deal that's having an issue."
"Can't someone else do it?" She asked him, shaking her head and looking at him.
Nathan paused, his eyes drifting to the ground.
He wasn't sure how to answer that question. Yeah, probably someone else could do it. But this was his job. And he would've done it before they'd gotten back together, and he felt obligated to continue doing it.
"Someone else can do it," She confirmed her own question, letting out a frustrated sigh. "But you're Nathan Scott. You want to do things on your own, and you want it done the way you want it done."
"Hey, don't be like that," He said softly, grabbing her hand again. "It's my job, Haley."
"Yeah, well sometimes you need to get your priorities straight, Nathan," She said, looking at him and shaking her head.
"Okay, that's not fair," He said quickly, scowling at her. "This morning, I asked you to stay, you said you couldn't, and I didn't push it."
"That's different," Haley said quickly, pulling her hand back and crossing her arms.
"How so?" He responded, a feeling of irritation suddenly overcoming him.
"Because I only needed to be gone for a few hours. I won't see you for a few weeks now."
This wasn't fair. He understood her frustration, because he was upset about it too. But she wasn't being fair to him. It was he job, and he loved his job. His world revolved around it, up until a few months ago. Yeah, it sucked that they wouldn't be able to see each other, but he'd understand if it was the other way around... Probably.
"I'm really sorry, Haley," He said softly, shaking his head. "I have nothing else to say but that. I don't want to go, I'd much rather stay with you."
"But you can stay with me, Nathan! You're choosing to go," She argued, looking away from him and letting out a sigh.
"My flight leaves at eight, so we still have time," He said softly, clearing his throat.
She pushed her food away from her, picking up her pen and pulling the stack of papers out of her drawer once again.
"What? Now you're going to ignore me?" He asked her, raising his eyebrows.
"I'm not ignoring you, Nathan," She said, glancing at him. "I just have nothing else to say."
"I told you how much I love to travel, Haley..." He trailed off, clearing his throat.
"Yep," She responded, turning her eyes back to the papers.
"And you know how much I love my job..." He trailed off.
"For some reason, I thought eventually I'd out weigh those two," She said softly, shaking her head.
He shut his mouth, any response that had formed on his tongue was now muted. This wasn't fair to either of them now. No matter what, he'd let himself down.
If he didn't go, he'd worry and stress about someone less experienced than him running a big deal for one of his clients. But if he did... He'd hurt Haley.
"It's fine, Nathan," Haley said, glancing at him. "I can see the battle going on in your head, and I concede. Just go."
He frowned at her, letting out a deep breath. "Haley... I.."
"No. I don't want to talk about it anymore. I need to get back to work. Can you take this stuff to my house and put it in the fridge?" She asked him, raising her eyebrows.
Nathan felt like he'd been kicked in the gut at her words. It was stupid but... She usually just said home.
Can you take this home and put it in the fridge?
He'd much rather hear that phrase come out of her mouth than the one that did. It hurt a little.
But he was hurting her, so why wouldn't she hurt him a little back?
He stood up slowly, leaning down and kissing her head, gathering up her food and placing it back into the bag.
After a moment, he sat back down and looked at her. "Haley, please..."
"Look, Nathan, it sucks but... It doesn't matter. It's your job and you like it, so you should do it. My opinion is irrelevant in the matter. I know you, and I know that this is important to you," She said quickly, looking at him and shaking her head.
"Your words aren't matching your tone or your body language," He said quietly, clearing his throat.
"Well, I guess I should've expected it because when I stayed the long weekend at your apartment a couple weeks ago, you'd left before I even woke up Monday morning. So we spent two days together, when we could've spent most of Monday together because I purposely booked an overnight flight so I could spend the whole day with you, even though I'd be really tired for school the next day."
His eyes moved to the ground, a feeling of shame overwhelming him.
"And, last time you came here, you cut your trip a day early too because some Football player was having an emergency in Houston," She said, clearing her throat.
He let out a sigh, shaking his head and squeezing his eyes shut.
It wasn't supposed to be like this. Their schedules were busy, and it was terrible living so far apart, because like she said... They probably wouldn't see each other for a few weeks now.
But it was a problem for the end of the school year, right?
"So, what exactly are you saying, Haley?" He asked her quietly, raising his eyebrows and looking at her.
"I'm just saying that it's your job, and I understand, but I'd like it if you took me into consideration," She said quietly, shaking her head.
"I do!" He argued, clearing his throat. "I promise that I do, Haley..."
Haley looked at him, tapping her pen on her desk lightly, shrugging her shoulders.
"Hey," He said quickly, reaching his hand out and grabbing onto hers. "Please, don't be upset with me... I'm just... Well, you know that I'm busy."
"Yep," She replied, nodding at him.
"Come on, Hales... This isn't fair," He said softly, brushing his thumb along her knuckles.
"No, it's not," She said simply, shrugging her shoulders.
"It's not like I want to leave," He attempted to assure her.
But he could tell she didn't buy it.
"I know," She replied flatly, offering him another shoulder shrug.
"You're upset," He said softly.
No shit, Sherlock. Of course she's upset. How could she not be upset with him? Apparently he had a track record for this and had not even noticed.
"Do what you have to do, Nathan. It's your career," She said simply, giving his hand a light squeeze.
"I'll make it up to you..." He trailed off, nodding at her.
"Yep," She replied, clearing her throat.
She was mad. Oh, boy was she mad. He could see how tense her shoulders were and the fire in her eyes.
But she was at work so she was being very professional.
He opened his mouth to say something, but the bell that signaled lunch was over rang.
"I'll see you," She told him, nodding at him, her eyes turning back to her papers.
Nathan stood up slowly, leaning down and pressing a soft kiss to her forehead, grabbing the food and hurrying out before her students came in.
xxxx
When he heard the front door open and close, he winced at the conversation that was going to happen.
Thankfully, he'd already packed his bag so Haley wouldn't have to watch him do it.
He'd made sure to clean up every single mess he made for the rest of the day, leaving her house completely spotless.
The last thing he needed to do was upset her more.
He felt guilt ridden. He shouldn't be leaving her...
Had he not already agreed to go before speaking to her, he wouldn't have left.
This kind of put a damper on the whole 'I love you' she dropped this morning.
"Hey baby," He said once she entered the bedroom, removing his suitcase from the bed and placing it on the ground.
Her eyes moved to the suitcase, before up to his eyes. Her gaze was intense, as if she was challenging him to stay rather than to go because she knew he wouldn't.
"How was your day?" He asked her when she didn't respond.
Wrong question. She looked at him like she was going to hurdle the heels she'd just removed from her feet at him.
"Right," He said, clearing his throat and shoving his hands into his pocket. "Well, I, uh... Thought maybe I could make you dinner tonight before I go?"
"Sure," She mumbled, setting the shoes in their rightful spot in her closet.
He sighed, pushing his hand through his hair and taking a seat at the end of the bed. He watched her grab some clothes off the racks in her closet, her eyes glancing over at him.
She grabbed the door handle of the closet, pulling it shut.
He let out another sigh. She was pissed at him. So pissed that of course she wasn't going to change in front of him.
Not that he blamed her.
When she walked out, she was now wearing jeans and a loose shirt.
"Haley," He said quietly, clearing his throat when her eyes darted to his.
"Nathan, I'm trying not to be upset with you right now but the more you talk to me, the less it's working. I've been dealing with bratty high school students that don't know why I was in such a terrible mood all afternoon, and weren't very considerate to it. So I don't need to hear anymore of your apologies, because they aren't helping."
He cleared his throat, rubbing his neck. "I, uh, I was just going to say that I think your shirt is on backwards."
Haley glanced down, letting out a frustrated sigh, tugging her arms into her shirt and flipping it around quickly.
"But... I know that I suck," He told her, nodding slowly.
Her hard glare softened slightly, shaking her head. "No, Nathan," She said, shrugging her shoulders. "I'm just really upset with you right now, and I just... This is harder than I thought it was going to be."
He let out a deep breath, pushing his hand through his hair. "What do you want me to do, Haley? Do you want me to cancel and stay so we can fight about this?"
"No, I wanted you to think about me before you even agreed to leaving," She said simply.
"I'm always thinking about you," He said quietly, standing up and looking down at her.
She sighed, shaking her head and avoiding his eyes. "This isn't working..." She said, shrugging her shoulders.
If his heart wasn't pounding before, it definitely was now. It was ringing in his ears. He couldn't believe the words that had just left her mouth.
"What?" He asked her, his hand shooting up to take her face gently and make her look at him. "What do you mean by that?"
She offered him a small smile, standing on her toes and kissing him. "I'm sorry for how that sounded. I didn't mean that we aren't working, I just mean... This situation isn't working."
She let out a deep breath, before speaking again. "I love you, Nathan," She whispered, resting her hand on his chest.
Before he could respond, she'd giving him a light push away from her, crossing her arms again. "I'm not breaking up with you, not even a little bit. We just need to figure something else out, because this is too hard."
He sat down on her bed slowly, letting out a deep sigh. "My job is really important to me, Haley..."
"I know," She responded, shrugging her shoulders. "And I don't want to change that, Nathan. I just wish things weren't so hard. I wish I saw you more often."
"I do too," He said, smiling up at her. "Please understand, Haley... Please."
She looked at him, biting down on her bottom lip.
"Come on, Hales..." He begged, reaching forward and uncrossing her arms so that he could take one of her hands in his own. "Understand."
"I just don't want to be last place, Nathan," She told him, letting out a deep breath.
"Last place?" He asked, shaking his head quickly. "You could never be last place."
"Well you made me feel like it today," She informed him, shrugging her shoulders, tugging her hand away, wrapping her arms around herself defensively,
He stood up quickly at her words, staring down at her and shaking his head.
How could she ever think that? Last place?
"Are you kidding me?" He asked her quickly, staring down at her with wide eyes. "You're first place."
"Then why aren't you staying here, Nathan?" She asked him, shifting on her feet.
"Because I can't. But if I can, I'll come back," He said quickly, clearing his throat. "Maybe it will only take a day to figure out."
"I hope so," She offered him unenthusiastically, shrugging.
He let out a sigh, cautiously reaching his hand up, grabbing her chin with his pointer finger and thumb, forcing her to look up at him. "Haley..."
When she met his eyes, Nathan felt even more guilty than he had before. He was an idiot, that's for sure. He could see the sadness in her eyes. He felt the same sadness, because he truthfully didn't want to be leaving her either.
He tilted his head down, ghosting his lips over hers quickly. "Forgive me."
"I will," She assured him, sighing softly. "I just hate when you leave. The whole long distance thing is worse than I thought it would be. And I just didn't know you'd be so... Busy."
"You have a job that's five days a week, Haley," He reminded her, clearing his throat.
"In the same place. Your job takes you from Florida, to Canada, to Utah all in one week," She said, biting her lip.
It really wasn't fair to her to try to compare their jobs, because it was just going to make her feel worse, which he definitely didn't want to do.
And she was right. He'd been doing this job as a mostly single guy (give or take a few short relationships scattered in there) for years and now he wasn't single.
"I'll figure it out," He said, kissing her forehead and letting out a deep breath. "Do you think you can spend the next few hours with me without trying to kill me?"
Haley rested her hands on his sides, standing on her toes and kissing him delicately and briefly.
When she parted, she wrapped her arms around him and rested her forehead agains his shoulder.
Nathan let out a sigh, wrapping his arms around her as well, closing his eyes. "For what it's worth... I'll miss you."
"I know," She mumbled, pressing a light kiss to his shoulder.
He rubbed his hands up and down her back lightly, clearing his throat. "And I promise, next time... I won't do this. I promise."
"Okay," She responded, biting her lip lightly.
He knew she didn't believe him, but he was telling the truth. He really didn't realize that this was a pattern, but apparently it was.
"And I'm going to come back... If you want me to, that is?" He said, raising his eyebrows and looking down at her.
"If you can, I'd love to have you," She said quietly, clearing her throat.
"I'm going to work out the deal in one, two days tops and then I'm going to come back and spend the rest of the week with you. No work," He said, kissing her forehead. "Okay?"
"No work? At all?" She questioned him, raising her eyebrows suspiciously.
"Maybe a little when you're not home, but once you're home, I'm going to be all yours," He said, clearing his throat. "And I promise to do whatever it takes to make it up to you."
She smiled slightly at him, standing on her toes and kissing him again. "Okay, I'm going to hold you to it, Scott."
He nodded at her. He wouldn't expect any less. But he had to hold his word on this one, or else she'd be hurt again.
In what seemed like minutes, although it was actually a few hours, there were standing in the familiar airport scene once again.
Haley was hugging Nathan tightly. So tight that he almost couldn't breathe.
"I'll be back day after tomorrow," He whispered, rubbing her back lightly.
"I know... I'm just going to miss you," She said, offering a small laugh that didn't seem genuine at all.
He smiled at her, leaning down and kissing her lightly. "I'll call you when I land," He said softly.
"You better," She responded, smoothing her hand over his shirt.
"I wish you could come with me," He mumbled, nodding at her.
"Me too. I wish you weren't leaving," She replied dryly, clearing her throat.
"I know," He said, kissing her cheek and letting out a deep breath. "See you soon?"
"See you soon," She responded, tapping him on the chest.
Nathan felt a tug at his heart as he turned around. He really felt like he was leaving a piece of him. And not only was it a piece, it was the best part of him. The one that he loved the most, and he hated leaving it behind.
He took a few steps, turning around after a moment and looking at her. "Hey, Haley?"
"Yeah?" She asked him, raising her eyebrows.
"I never got the chance to say this but... I love you too," He told her, grinning at her.
A wide smile soon formed on her face, and she rushed forward, wrapping her arms around him and kissing him deeply.
He held her close, lifting her off the ground for a moment then setting her down.
"I love you"
They whispered to each other at the same time, before Haley pushed on his chest, telling him that he needed to leave.
xxxx
Nathan ran his hand through his hair, checking the time on his watch.
He'd just pulled his rental car into Haley's driveway once again after a long day and a half of being away and haggling a shoe deal.
Something that had put him in a terrible mood.
But that was all about to be okay, because he was finally back with Haley again.
Well... He would be in a few hours when she got off work and came home.
He got out of the car quickly, walking around to the trunk and lifting his suitcase out, letting out a deep breath.
He walked over to her garage, typing in the numbers that would spell 'L-U-K-E' and taking a step back while the garage opened up.
He offered a little eye roll and a smile at the code, shaking her head.
When he'd asked her why it was that, she shrugged and told him that Luke did it when he helped her move in and it was easy for her and everyone else to remember.
He chuckled quietly, rolling his eyes again at all of the boxes that filled the garage. If she'd clean it up a little bit then maybe she'd be able to park her car in it.
Nathan let out a sigh, closing the garage and heading inside her house.
He took off his shoes by the garage door, wheeling his suitcase through the livingroom and down the hall to her bedroom, abandoning it by the door.
He walked into the kitchen, smiling at the note that was on the fridge.
'Nathan-
I have a meeting that goes until 4:30 today. I'll pick up dinner on the way home, but eat whatever you want. Clothes are optional.
Love you!
Haley'
He laughed, taking it off the fridge and shoving it into his pocket.
He ran his hand through his hair, walking into the living room once again, sitting down on the couch.
His phone started ringing and he let out a deep breath. Quinn. She'd called him every hour all day, the only escape was the plane ride.
"Did you talk to her yet?" Quinn asked quickly before he even had a chance to say anything.
"I just got here, so no. But she has a meeting so she won't be home until a little bit later," He said, letting out a sigh.
"Nathan, just text her and ask her," Quinn begged into the phone. "I'm dying to hear what she's going to say."
"Okay, Quinn, here's what I want you to do. I want you to tell Clay to come home and watch Logan for a little while, then go out and do something fun because you're stuck at home and driving me crazy," Nathan grumbled, shaking his head.
"Will you just let me know after you talk to her?" Quinn replied, letting out a sigh.
"Look, I'm not going to say yes because I probably won't. I'm sure you'll hear about it from her. Bye, Quinn," He laughed, hanging up the phone and letting out a sigh.
At around 5 o'clock, the front door opened and closed, causing Nathan to sit up quickly from the light sleep he'd fallen into on the couch, looking at Haley and wiping any sleep from his eyes.
"Clothes, hm? A bold choice," She laughed, setting down the take out bag in her hands, walking over to him quickly, leaning down and kissing him.
"I meant to start stripping but I fell asleep," He laughed, rubbing his hand down his face. "Your couch is comfy."
"I know," She whispered, sitting down on the edge of the couch, wrapping her arms around his neck, kissing him again.
He smiled, pulling back after a moment and raising his eyebrows at her.
"How was work? What was your meeting about?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.
"It was just kind of a sum up the semester so far kind of meeting," She informed him, brushing her hands through his hair. "Boring stuff, really. How was your shoe deal?"
"Didn't go great, but we closed it," He mumbled, kissing her again. "Happy to be back."
"Glad you kept your word," She said, smiling and kissing his cheek, standing up. "Are you hungry?"
"Starving," He said, standing up quickly, rubbing his eyes.
"Sleepy?" She asked him, raising her eyebrows.
"Very," He laughed, wrapping his arms around her and resting his chin on her head.
She smiled, stroking her hand up and down his back briefly, before pulling away. "Let's eat then, hm?"
"Yes," He said, following her to the kitchen.
After eating dinner quickly and fairly quietly, they found themselves back on the couch in the living room, Haley cuddled up next to Nathan, her foot lightly stroking his leg that was rested on the coffee table.
He let out a deep breath, resting his head back, staring up at the ceiling.
He had no idea how to start the conversation he wanted to have with her.
What if she got upset with him? He didn't want to fight anymore.
"So..." Haley began to speak, lifting her head off his shoulder, sitting up straight and letting out a deep breath. "I've been doing some thinking."
"Oh?" He asked her, raising his eyebrows and clearing her throat.
"This situation..." She gestured between the two of them, then around at her house. "It's not working anymore. I mean... It never really worked, us living on opposite sides of the country."
"Okay..." He trailed off, nodding and sitting up straighter as well.
"And clearly we're both in this for the long haul," She said, resting her hand on his leg, offering him a small smile. "I just don't think I can handle only seeing you every few weeks, Nathan. So I was thinking..." She bit down on her lip lightly, before speaking again. "I'd come to Charlotte over Spring Break and have a couple of job interviews set up."
What? She was suggested she moved to Charlotte?
"You want to move to Charlotte?" He vocalized his inner thoughts, raising his eyebrows.
"Well there's no way I can ask you to move here, not with Fortitude. I can teach anywhere, Nathan..." She said, shrugging her shoulders.
"Are you serious?" He asked her, grinning slightly. He started laughing, which caused her to knit her eyebrows together in confusion.
"I don't... Why are you laughing?" She asked him, shaking her head and smiling slightly.
"It's just funny... I was going to ask you to move in with me tonight too..." He said, shrugging his shoulders and grinning.
She laughed, raising her eyebrows. "Really?"
"Yeah, I mean... I guess we've both been doing some thinking and came to the same conclusion," He said, leaning forward and kissing her. "You don't have to do this though, Haley."
"Honey, there's nothing tying me to Arizona," She assured him, shaking her head quickly. "I was thinking of moving back to Tree Hill before all of this happened, but Charlotte is close enough, and it's where you live, so that's where I want to be," She said, kissing his cheek. "I love you, Nathan. And I'm sick of the traveling and the long distance."
"Me too," He mumbled, nodding at her and wrapping his arm around her shoulders once again.
"So you better be around during spring break. I'll probably still have to finish out the year here though," She said softly, tapping his chest.
"Of course," He said, clearing his throat. "Do you want to hear what I was going to offer if you decided to move in with me?"
"Absolutely," She hummed, grinning up at him.
"Well, I was going to cut back on traveling, especially during the summer when you'd be home all day," He hummed, leaning down and kissing her lightly. "And I was going to suggest we get a place of our own," He told her, shrugging his shoulders. "I like my apartment, but I want us to have a place."
She smiled brightly, kissing him again and brushing his hair back. "I love you, Nathan. I want nothing more than to move in with you. My home is wherever you are now," She said, winking at him.
He smiled, leaning down and kissing her one more time. "I love you too, Haley."
She hummed quietly, resting her head back on his shoulder, letting out a deep breath.
"I guess we finally found a good use for those boxes in the garage, hm?" He laughed, raising his eyebrows.
"Those damn boxes. If I hear one more work out of your mouth about them, I swear-"
"What are you going to do? Make our garage a mess with them?" He asked her, smirking slightly.
Haley laughed, stroking her hand over his face.
"I just might."