Hanna was curled up on a dark leather couch with a glass of wine in her hand. Aria was to the left of her, and the two women were having a nice, quiet evening in together. Madelyn, Chloe and Caden were out with Ezra, but neither Aria nor Hanna knew where they were.
"I haven't had a night like this in so long," Aria sighed happily. She readjusted her feet, which were lying over Hanna's lap, and smiled. "It feels so good."
Hanna nodded. "I know. Me and Caleb haven't had a night without Maddie for ages."
"I love Chloe and Caden so much, but it wold be nice to have an evening alone. They're both just so loud and outgoing!" Aria let out a hiccup in amongst her laughs. She stared down at her glass of red, glare at it for a moment, and then decided she'd had enough so put it on the wooden table beside her. "So, have you decided what you're going to do about the job?"
The blonde groaned and shook her head slowly. "Nope." She took a long sip of her drink and finished it, so handed it to Aria, who proceeded to put it by her own on the table. "I really don't think I'll be able to do the job well enough."
"But Han, Kyra obviously saw some potential in you otherwise she wouldn't have asked you," the small brunette replied. Hanna shrugged, unconvinced. She'd had this exact conversation with Caleb just hours earlier, and it had been just as unhelpful as this one was turning out to be. "I'm sure you'll do great, anyway."
"I'm pretty certain Kyra has high expectations and I just can't fulfil them. It wouldn't be fair to her if I took the job. Not after her last designer quit on her."
Aria wasn't sure what to say. It was clear Hanna had her mind pretty set on not taking the job, and Hanna could definitely be stubborn at times — as she had learned through their years of being friends — so the brunette didn't know what else to say to her friend. The two women sat watching the rest of The Notebook in silence. For the first time since watching the movie 10 years ago, Hanna didn't cry. She may have teared up when Noah and Allie died at the end, but no tears actually fell.
When the blond looked over and saw Aria raw-eyed and red-nosed, she wandered why she wasn't crying. There had never been a time when Hanna had not cried at her favorite movie. How odd.
Aria sniffled and rubbed her nose before standing up and clearing her throat. As she shuffled over to the kitchen, with the two wine glasses in hand, she asked, "Do you want something to eat?"
Hanna took a moment to think. She didn't feel hungry. But Hanna never ever said no to food. Although, just thinking about it was making her feel nauseous. After a big lunch which was made up of a meaty burger with fries and onion rings, followed by a huge chocolate sundae, Hanna had no room left for anymore food. "I'm good."
"Are you sure? I can make something light," Aria suggested. She had her head buried in the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water for herself. Without verbally asking, she held up one for Hanna, with her left eyebrow raised, and Hanna nodded. Aria threw it across the adjoining living room straight onto the couch.
"I'm not hungry."
Late that evening, Ezra burst through the door with a very excitable Madelyn and Chloe. His son, Caden, was fast asleep in his arms and Hanna couldn't help but sigh to herself. Caden was hands down the cutest little boy Hanna had ever seen — although that was in a close tie with Spencer and Toby's twin boys, Ethan and Dylan, who were equally as cute.
The two toddlers ran through the lounge and started grabbing at anything: magazines, books, toys. For a minute, Hanna and Aria stood back in amazement as neither had ever seen their daughters in such a state. When that minute was up, they both jumped into action and got a firm hold of each little girl.
Madelyn was caught up in Hanna's arms, but was wriggling to be set free. She was kicking her mother's legs, laughing and giggling hysterically. "Go, go!" she exclaimed, trying to break Hanna's hold. The blond heaved her daughter in her arms and forced her way through to the bedroom she'd been staying in. As she did so, Hanna could hear Aria attempting to do the same with Chloe.
Hanna forcefully laid Maddie down on the bed and turned around to quickly grab some pyjamas. 10 seconds later, she turned back to find the two-year-old rooting through her expensive Givenchy purse. "Madelyn Ava, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Hanna yelled, making the infant jump. She bent down and picked Madelyn up, reattempting to get her into bed. This time, Hanna made sure she didn't let go.
After what felt like years of trying to get the reluctant toddler to sleep, Hanna dragged herself into the Fitz's living room. Aria, who was looking shattered, sat on the same couch she'd sat on with hanna earlier, and Ezra sat on the chair opposite. Aria was glaring at her husband. Clearly she'd asked the question Hanna was wandering.
"Why would you take them to an ice-cream parlour this late at night?" the brunette suddenly spat. She had her arms crossed over her chest, and Hanna was subtly slid in and joined her on the couch.
Ezra was looking rather sheepish, and it almost made Hanna laugh. In a quiet and embarrassed voice, the former teacher mumbled, "Well they both wanted ice-cream and wouldn't give up until I said yes. What else was I supposed to do with them?"
"Take them to a park, maybe?" Hanna piped up. She was just as angry at Aria.
"I tried that! They just kept begging to go, so I gave in. It's easier to give in!" The two women were giving Ezra death glares, and he was even feeling intimated. "You should try having all three of the at once! It's tough. And there were two of them asking and they even gave me their pouty face."
Aria tutted. "Ezra, did you see the state of them when you all came inside? They were tearing the place up!"
"It's just a sugar rush. It was always going to die down eventually."
"Yeah, eventually," the blonde muttered. "Madelyn has never been that bad before. What kind of ice-cream did you give her?"
Ezra shrugged and looked away. "It was a birthday cake one or something."
Hanna and Aria simultaneously rolled their eyes at each other. "You're insane," Hanna said.
The next morning, Hanna awoke to a very tired Madelyn. It was like she was hungover: she couldn't be bothered to do anything; she kept pointing to her head as if it were hurting. Hanna didn't sympathise with the two-year-old. "You shouldn't have asked Uncle Ezra to let you have it then," was all she kept replying with. Madelyn didn't like that answer and groaned loudly.
"Mama," she cried as Hanna viciously shoved a top over her head. "Stop! Ouch!"
"Madelyn, be quiet," the mother said firmly. She continued with what she was doing and then moved onto putting the skirt on. She pulled it up, asking Madelyn to wriggle into it as she did so. Hanna didn't have the time to undo and redo all the buttons up. After finishing with the toddler's clothes, Hanna grabbed the hair brush and tried to detangle Maddie's blonde curls. Madelyn was not a fan, and began pulling away. "Stop it, Maddie! You need your hair brushed."
"No," Madelyn replied. She gave a big pull and ran across the bedroom, giggling. Hanna sighed, before getting up from her crouching position to follow the young girl. Madelyn darted back, and started making a game out of it. Hanna was no where near as amused as she was. In fact, Hanna was ready to just give up.
"Stop being such a diva and come here Madelyn," she said, almost pleading. "I need to do your hair!"
"No," Maddie repeated.
"Don't say no to me." Hanna tried to grab her daughter's arm, but she wasn't fast enough and Madelyn raced away. Despite being two, that little girl could definitely run. "Madelyn, if you don't come here now, I'll tell Daddy you're being bad and he'll tell you off."
Maddie suddenly stopped and her head perked up. Her jaw trembled and a look of nerves washed over her. Hanna didn't know why she didn't use that tactic sooner. Madelyn adored her father, and would do whatever he said whenever he said it. She looked up to that mad more than Hanna could have ever imagined. And Madelyn's worst fear was to be told off by Caleb. "Daddy," she wailed.
The blonde felt bad: she didn't mean to make her daughter cry, she just wanted her to do what she wanted. "Oh baby," Hanna sighed. She crept over to her and engulfed Madelyn in a hug. "I won't tell Daddy if you let me brush your hair, okay?"
"K," the small child gulped.
Once she was obedient, it didn't take long for Maddie's hair to be sorted. Hanna decided she wanted to braid it, and got the long front strands of her hair and pulled it back into a braid. The toddler was now as happy as ever and ran down the hallway the second Hanna opened the door. Hanna followed, but was slowed down by the amount of luggage she was heaving: 3 suitcases, a heavy purse, Madelyn's carry-on bag, and her laptop.
"Are you okay? Do you need some help?" Aria asked as she saw her friend struggle.
"Nope," Hanna stammered. "I'm good." She dropped all the bags on the floor and let out a breath of relief. "Are you still alright to look after Maddie again while I'm out?"
The brunette nodded and grinned. Hearing her name, Madelyn came bounding over and stopped at Aria's feet. Aria rubbed the top of Maddie's head and said, "We'll have lot's of fun, won't we? But this time, we won't let Uncle Ezra look after you!"
"Unc Ez," Maddie exclaimed. She was jumping up and down and had a huge grin on her face. She then turned to her mom and waved. "Bye Mama."
"Okay then," Hanna laughed. "I guess I'm not wanted." She bent down and kissed her daughter's forehead. "Bye bye, bug. Mommy loves you!"
Almost an hour later, a typical yellow New York cab pulled up outside of Kyra's store. Before even opening the door of the car, Hanna's hands were sweating and she could feel her heart thumping in her chest. She was so nervous. She had no idea how Kyra would react to what she was going to tell her. She had no idea whether Kyra would ever forgive her. Everything was so unpredictable.
"Hanna, you're back," Kyra said as Hanna walked through the door. It taken a good 5 minutes — and the cab driver asking twice for Hanna to leave — before Hanna finally bucked the courage to go inside. "What happened the other day? I never heard from you after you suddenly left."
The blonde felt her cheeks burn. "Yeah, um, I'm sorry about that."
"It's fine. Is everything okay?" Kyra had a warm smile on her face, which was not helping Hanna's guilt. Hanna looked away, avoiding her college friend's contact. "Hanna?"
"I need to, uh, kind of, uh, tell you something," she stuttered. "It's about the, um, job."
Kyra's eyes widened and her smile faded in a matter of seconds. "Go on," she said slowly. Hanna nodded, although didn't carry on. She picked at the slightly ripped edge of her purse, making the rip worse. "Are you going to say anything?"
"Right! Oh yeah. So, I…uh, kind of, um, can't do it." Hanna's words came out unintentionally like a question. She shot a quick glance at Kyra, who looked dumbfounded.
"Can't do what?" she asked, although the answer was pretty obvious. And she knew it.
"The job," the blonde mumbled. Why was Kyra making her spell it out? It was hard enough as it was, without having to explain everything simply. Hanna just wanted to say it and leave; get it over with. "I'm so sorry."
Kyra started slowly nodding. "And why can't you do the job anymore? You seemed pretty happy with it when I asked you."
"Well, I just…I don't know. When you were showing me around the other day, it just hit me: all the work, the preciseness of every gown. I'm not a wedding dress designer. I never have been, I never want to be. It's just not what I ever set out to do." Hanna saw the hurt in her friend's eyes and immediately regretted being so blunt. "I didn't mean to upset you. I thought that when I took the job, I'd be able to get my head around it and just…well do it. But I can't. And it was wrong of me to take up your offer. I'm so sorry, Ky."
When Kyra didn't answer, Hanna decided it would be best if she just left, so tried to subtly back out of the store. The fresh air hit her the second the door opened and she couldn't help but breathe a breath of relief. At least that's over with, she thought to herself.
A cab suddenly pulled up, clearly seeing Hanna standing on the edge of the sidewalk. She took no time hopping in and telling the driver where to go, and as he started moving the car, Hanna pulled out her phone. She wandered who to tell first: Caleb or Aria. Obviously it would be Caleb.
I did it. No more job in New York, she typed. As she clicked send, Hanna felt a small feeling of sadness. She had been quite excited to move to New York again. Her college years had been spent buried deep inside projects and assignments and work — she'd had no time to take in the Big Apple.
It didn't take long for a reply to come from Caleb. Hanna's phone buzzed in her lap and as pulled it up, she read the text. Are you okay?
Was she okay? She didn't know. Of course she was upset about not being able to move anymore, but it wasn't like Hanna was desperate for the job.
I guess I'm okay. I miss u babe. Can't wait to see u later.
Shortly after sending her final text, the cab pulled up outside the Fitz's apartment block and dropped Hanna off. She thanked the driver through the window and proceeded to walk inside. She gave an acknowledging nod to the doorman as she passed through and carried on through to the elevator, which was actually working, unlike many times before.
"Is that Mommy?" Hanna heard Aria say as she shoved her key in the lock. The blonde opened the door and let it swing as she burst in and gave her daughter a hug.
"Mama!" Madelyn exclaimed. She could barely breathe through Hanna's jacket, but managed to let out a muffle exclamation. Hanna kissed the top of her blonde locks as the toddler ran off to play again.
Aria smiled and stood up from the couch, where it looked like she had been reading to Madelyn and Chloe. She wandered over to her friend, who was now shutting the front door. "How did it go?" the brunette asked. Her tone of voice was sympathetic, which Hanna didn't like. She'd never been one for liking it when people felt sorry for her.
Hanna shrugged and dropped her purse by the couch. "It was okay. She seemed surprised. And upset. But that's what I was expecting."
"Oh Han," Aria sighed. She stroked the blonde's arm and smiled. "We won't get to have any playdates now you're not moving here!"
"What a shame," Hanna teased, laughing. The petite brunette gave a fake death glare, but laughed along too. "I should probably make sure all my stuff is gone from the bedroom." She headed through to the guest room and took a quick glance around. Once happy everything of hers or Madelyn's had was one, she joined the others back in the living room.
"Are you sure you don't want me to drive you to the airport? I'm happy to do it," Aria said as the blonde arrived. She really didn't want Hanna to go again as she never saw her 4 best friends. It had been so nice to finally spend time with one of them again; she never wanted it to end. "Ezra will be fine here with the kids. Well kind of. I hope. Just let me drive you?"
Hanna raised her eyebrow, reluctant to disrupt anything Aria had planned. "I can just call a cab. It's fine."
"Han, let me drive you to the stupid airport."
3 hours later, Aria was wrapping her short arms around Hanna's back. The two women, along with Madelyn at their feet, were in the middle of the airport. Hanna and Maddie were due to go through the security, but the hug was taking longer than anticipated.
"I'm going to miss you," Hanna said as she rested her head on Aria's shoulder. "These past few days have been amazing."
"I'm going to miss you to!" Aria replied.
Hanna pulled back and started flapping her hand in front of her face. "God, I'm going to cry." She let out an uneasy laugh and smiled at her best friend. "We only live, like, 3 hours apart. We should really see each other more often."
"I'll come and visit Rosewood soon!" Aria exclaimed loudly. Hanna chuckled and grabbed her daughter's hand. Madelyn was rather droopy: she had not been happy when she was dragged away from her own best friend, Chloe, and had cried the whole way to the airport, and most of the time they were queuing to hand over the luggage. "Bye, Maddie. I love you!"
After dragging Maddie around DutyFree, and having to wait for what felt like hours to board, Hanna was now sitting next to her daughter in unusually comfy airplane seats. She took a sip of soda and helped Maddie with her water, and then stared out of the window. The beautiful colors of the sky shone brightly across the clouds. It was so photogenic Hanna couldn't help but snap a shot on her IPhone.
"Mama, Mama," Madelyn said, poking her mom's arm. Hanna looked down and saw the toddler pointing at her phone. "Me pay?"
"You want to play on Mommy's phone?"
Madelyn nodded excitedly and beamed. "Yep."
Hanna could hardly say no. Madelyn had been so upset earlier, but she had suddenly perked up, and if she were to not allow her to play on the phone, it would only go and upset her again. Hanna would rather not have a screaming fit in the middle of the flight.
"Fine," the blonde sighed. She clicked on the specially-downloaded-apps-for-Maddie folder and tapped on her favorite game. "But you have to promise you'll be very careful with it, okay? Mommy's phone is expensive."
"Poms," Madelyn replied, already beginning to be engrossed it the game. Hanna took that as her saying "promise" and turned back to the window. But every so often, she'd warily look out of the corner of her eye just to check everything was fine.
A/N — ooh so this is kinda long, right? well it is for me anyway.
would y'all like longer chapters in the future? let me know!
i hope everyone liked this chapter! so hanna is officially not taking the job! haleb aren't moving to new york aw :(( or are they ;))
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