The first New Years Eve/Day in Boston.
"I wanna see the fireworks!" Their already-sleepy daughter whines - despite the fact that she'd almost been falling asleep on the sofa.
"You're gonna be too tired, baby, and we already went to see the fireworks a few days ago." April replies, running her hand through Harriet's hair.
"But I wanna!"
She sighs at that, shooting a glance to Jackson, who definitely won't be able to say no to the adorable pout that their daughter is currently sporting. They both know that Harriet has inherited their stubborn streaks, and that the only way they were going to get her to agree to go to bed for the night was to come up with a compromise.
"Okay, how about, you go to sleep now, and we'll wake you up in a few hours so you can watch them. Deal?" Jackson suggests. It's still a good four hours until midnight, and he figures at least then she'll get some quality sleep tonight. They'd much rather she nap in her bed than on the sofa, distracted by the sounds of the TV.
Harriet perks up a little at that, "K. You promise you'll wake me?"
"We promise." He assures, standing up once Harriet tiredly moves from the sofa, "Come on, I'll tuck you in."
April waits patiently for him to come back, and it seems like she's fallen asleep in record time, given how quickly the bedtime routine seems to go.
"See, I knew she was going to be out like a light soon."
"Guess she does take after me." He shrugs, sitting back down on the couch next to April, with very little space between the two of them. He throws his arm around the back of the sofa, giving her room to snuggle up to him as usual.
She looks at him and smiles, and he can't help but lean in to kiss her - quickly, at first, before deepening it and pulling her onto his lap.
"You're getting a little ahead of yourself. It's not time yet." She chuckles against his lips, not actually wanting to pull away as her hand rests on the nape of his neck, enjoying the feel of his growing curls there.
"Gotta sneak my kisses in now before the little monster wakes up." He banters, kissing her a few more times before she has to create some distance between them.
"Mhm, well, how about I give you a rain check for when she's asleep again? Maybe you'll even get lucky."
"I'm already the luckiest." He says warmly, and the way that he looks at her almost takes her breath away, "but definitely not opposed to that."
They take a few moments to centre themselves again (because he would've gladly taken her there and then, but they know thats not the smartest idea when their daughter could interrupt at any given moment). Instead, they spend the next few hours just enjoying one another's company and flitting through some of the specials that are on TV, before changing to the ball drop as it gets closer and closer to midnight.
With fifteen minutes to spare, they slowly but surely head to their daughter's room to get her as promised. "Hattie, sweetheart, the fireworks are gonna start in a minute."
She rubs her eyes, still half-asleep, as her parents give her a few moments to wake up.
They stick a coat on Harriet over her onesie pyjamas, with Jackson still carrying her, as the countdown on the TV begins. That seems to wake her up a lot more, as she claps excitedly in anticipation and squeals when the New Year officially comes around.
"Happy New Year!"
"Happy New Year, baby."
Harriet watches in wide-eyed fascination after they make their way outside to the end of the yard, not wanting the show to end, whilst April and Jackson wave to and acknowledge a few of their neighbours. They both know that getting their daughter back to sleep after this was probably going to be a struggle, but it was more than worth it to see the gleeful look on her face.
Once the show was over and they made their way back indoors, Harriet jumped down from her father's grasped and wiggled her way out of her coat, clearly still wired from the show. They end up having to read to her for a good half an hour before she starts to drift back off to sleep again - but not without a little protest first. When they were sure that she was definitely asleep, they quietly slipped out of the room and turned the light off, breathing a sigh of relief afterward, before making their way to their own bedroom and closing the door behind them.
"You still ready for that rain check?" April asks, undressing herself until she's left only in her bra and underwear, as Jackson sits at the end of the bed and joins her in stripping down to his boxers.
"You know, we're the luckiest too." She says, feeling rather sappy and emotional for a moment as she rests her forehead against his, their noses nuzzling against one another's. "I can't believe we got to spend the New Year like this, as a family."
"And we'll get to spend every year like this from now on. I can promise you that." He responds, still in awe that this is their life now, "I love you so much."
"I love you too."
He pulls her closer towards him at that, both falling backwards on the bed as she squeals, and they spend time getting lost in one another, starting the new year as one - like it was always meant to be.