#yes i picked house number 4 bc it Feels Right™

[harryseyebrows]

Confetti Mouth

Here’s the newest installment of the Hazoff verse! I spent way too much time on pinterest earlier and ended up nailing down the visuals for all of the interiors and exteriors from the time the twins are born all the way until pre-baby 4. So, this is Harry and Jeff going to see their second house that they upgrade to when the boys are roughly 4 (The Twins) and 3 (River). 2.2k of gross fluff with some inappropriate language, but that’s about it. Edited by me. 

If Harry was suspicious when Jeff told him that the kids were at his mom’s house for the day and that he had something planned for them, he never showed it. He didn’t question it when Jeff loaded him into the car and jumped on the highway. He still didn’t question it when they were still on the road forty-five minutes later. He just sat quietly in the passenger seat, a small smile on his face, while he hummed along with the radio. Jeff kept one hand on the wheel and the other resting in Harry’s over the center console.

Jeff was giddy the entire time, but he had to keep it concealed so he didn’t give anything away, even though Harry seemed dead-set on remaining oblivious to everything, likely pleased to have a day of relative peace and quiet without the kids. Still, Jeff was practically vibrating in his seat.

He had made that same drive a few times, the first being his initial look at the house, after being in correspondence with the realtor for a few weeks. Keeping it a secret from Harry had been a feat, working exclusively in incognito tabs, only taking phone calls on his lunch break at work so Harry wouldn’t be able to overhear. He had gone to visit the house a few more times, to check on different renovations and to simply just look at it, standing in the empty living room, trying to picture all of their furniture inside of it, visualizing how it would fill the space, how it would look with his family in it.

Though, a part of him has felt odd about not involving Harry in the process. Buying a house is a pretty big deal, and Harry had been so hands-on with the first one, really passionate about making sure that everything was near-perfect, that Jeff isn’t sure how he’ll react to being edged out of the initial decision. However, Jeff is pretty confident that he knows Harry’s tastes by now, so hopefully it will be a good surprise.

Pulling onto the quiet residential street, Harry is still sitting in his seat, looking out the window and evidently feeling very amicable. Jeff hopes it lasts.

He pulls into the driveway of 649 Hillsea Ave and cuts the engine. Harry’s smile gains a nervous quality, thinning a bit as he eyes Jeff suspiciously.

“Do you wanna get out?” Jeff asks.

“Why? Are we visiting someone?”

Jeff just shakes his head and hops out of the car, moving around to open Harry’s door for him and help him down.

“What is this?” Harry asks, nerves finally starting to fully manifest, his voice flinty getting louder.

Jeff can’t answer him, too full-up on joy and excitement. He’s afraid that if he opens his mouth, confetti is going to fly out, or something equally ridiculous.

“Seriously, Jeff, can you fucking say something? You’re freaking me out.”

Jeff nods his head in the direction of the realtor’s sign on the front yard, with the “SOLD” sign sitting proudly on top.

Harry turns and whips back around, his eyes wide, face turning pink. “What is this?” he whispers.

Jeff clears his throat, a lump suddenly forming. “It’s your’s. Well, our’s, if you want it.” He wiggles his fingers in a poor imitation of jazz-hands, “Surprise?”

Harry rakes a hand through his own hair, lip starting to tremble dangerously. His voice cracks. “What?”

“I know it seemed like a pipe dream, getting a bigger house. But that was a couple years ago. And we haven’t really talked about it since. But I’ve worked out all the finances and with my new position at work… we can do it. Well, I went ahead and did it, actually. And I wanted to surprise you.” Jeff closes the gap between them and wraps an arm around Harry’s shoulders. He’s relieved when Harry melts into him.

“I-- I don’t know what to say.” Harry says into Jeff’s shoulder. Before Jeff can respond, he continues. “Jeff. This house… it has two balconies.” He lifts his head like he’s double-checking, biting his lip like he’s hesitating. His eyes are asking, Can we really afford this?

Jeff grins. His cheeks are going to start hurting soon, he’s smiling so much. “Do you wanna see the inside?”

Harry nods, a smile of his own starting to creep onto his face.

Jeff wiggles the fresh key out of his jeans pocket and presses it into Harry’s open palm, letting him do the honors.

It’s more than satisfying, watching Harry’s jaw literally drop after only stepping into the foyer. All of the walls are white for now, because Jeff wanted Harry to have a completely blank canvas to work with, so everything is bright and clean, amplified by the natural light that all of the windows provide. If Jeff is being honest, the door and windows sold this house to him; everything about the house is beautiful, but they’re the features that he loves the most.

This will be their first two-story house, and the big staircase is hard to miss in the front hall, all dark wood and simple trim. All of the rooms are empty for now, long expanses of deep hickory hardwood floors flanking the foyer, a living room to the right and a dining room to the left.

Harry looks like he’s floating as he moves, stepping slowly and making the floors creak satisfyingly, like the crunch of a good loaf of bread. Apparently the house was built in the thirties and has great bones. All the floors are original but have been sanded and refinished. Jeff follows silently while Harry explores, watching as he drags his fingers over built-ins and door frames, his green eyes making sweeping arcs as he surveys everything from the bottom to the top.

They make their way to the kitchen, where the island is bigger than their entire current kitchen. The countertops are a dark granite with white cabinets, paired with a neutral, small-tiled backsplash. The range is huge, and it even has a big brushed stainless steel hood.

Harry inhales sharply. “Jeffrey, there’s a pot filler.”

“Yeah, I know,” Jeff snorts. “I had it installed.”

Harry is on him in a second, wrapping a leg nearly around one of Jeff’s hips, clinging like his life depends on it. “God,” he breathes out. “I’m so sorry I’ve been so weird and quiet, I love it. Everything. I love you.” He loosens his hold marginally so he can lean back and kiss all over Jeff’s face.

“How can you love everything if you’ve only seen part of the first floor? We still haven’t done upstairs and the backyard,” Jeff says. Harry pinches him. “Oh, yeah. And I guess I like you too.”

They poke around downstairs for a few more minutes. Jeff shows Harry the half-bath and all of the closets. Harry starts verbally planning all of the storage racks he’s going to get from Ikea and Jeff nods away, pleased that Harry seems much more enthused now. It was a lot to take in at first, so Jeff doesn’t blame him for being a bit shocked, but having outwardly happy and excited Harry is far superior.

On the upstairs landing, while peering down the hallway, Harry tentatively asks, “How many bedrooms does it have?”

“Four, including the master. There’s an office, though. If we wanted another bedroom, for whatever. Or, like.. I already talked to a builder. We could either do some shifting with the current structure or add on to the downstairs.” Jeff says it as mildly as possible. The boys are a handful already, and while it’s on the table -- having another baby someday -- it’s not something they really talk about in the present.

Harry’s face remains pleasant, though. “You’ve put a lot of thought into this. I feel kinda bad, that you had to do it all by yourself.”

“It was no problem. You take care of the kids most of the time, so the least I could do is get you a nice house.”

Harry’s cheeks turn bright pink. “Our house is nice. I mean-- well, the one we’re currently living in.”

“It is. I’m gonna miss it.”

“But?”

“But this is good. Don’t you think?”

“Yeah,” Harry exhales. “Of course. It’s gorgeous. And now the boys will be able to have their own rooms,” he pauses, “It was time.”

“As long as you’re happy, I’m happy.”

Harry ducks his head, bashful, like they haven’t been married for years now. “You’re being very sweet today.”

“Am I not sweet everyday?”

“Hm. No comment.”

Jeff pinches Harry’s butt when he turns on his heel to head down the hall, and is rewarded with a very undignified yelp.

They peruse the bedrooms, discussing how great the natural light is and plans for where they’re going to position beds and furniture for the boys’ rooms. The master bedroom is last, and Harry nearly cries when he walks in. When Jeff asks why, Harry thickly says, “It has crown molding,” like that’s some type of valid reason to be brought to tears. He supposes today has been an emotional day, so Jeff won’t give him shit for it.

The master is one of two rooms that gets a balcony; the other is a small sitting area near the upstairs landing, which is likely going to be overrun by the boys.

“Are we gonna put chairs out there? Oh, imagine having coffee out there in the morning? We need to do that, like, immediately. Which reminds me, when are we moving in?” Harry says all of this practically in one breath.

“Yes, we can do that,” Jeff laughs. “And I have everything arranged already. I just need you to figure out which days will work best for you and the kids, and then we can go from there.”

Harry’s nostrils flare and he gets that glint in his eyes, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly. “You are so getting laid tonight. Like, the most laid anyone has ever been laid. The ultimate laid.”

“Didn’t you know? That was the whole reason for this entire thing. I was angling for sex.”

“I’m not even mad.” Harry shrugs.

The master bathroom is absolutely enormous and Harry is apparently in love. Even as they’re walking back downstairs, he keeps talking about the glassed-in shower and the jacuzzi jet tub.

As soon as they step on the back deck, though, Harry goes quiet again. The entire backyard is all fenced-in, a huge expanse of perfectly green grass equipped with a stone patio, a swing set, and space for a garden. Most of it gets direct sunlight, but there’s a big oak tree that provides some shade. Jeff already has plans for putting up an standing umbrella, and maybe even a hammock. There are two smaller trees towards the back that should be able to support one, and he knows Harry would love it.

When he looks at Harry, he can tell exactly what he’s thinking, just by the expression on his face: soft, half-smiling, and a little bittersweet. He always looks like that when he’s either thinking of the kids or watching them play in real time. Jeff asked him once, why he looks like he’s caught between happy and a bit sad, to which Harry explained that he loves seeing the kids exactly as they are, but he’s already sad for the future, when they won’t be little anymore. Jeff is more of a “roll with the punches” type of guy, but he gets it.

Turning his attention to the yard again, Jeff can conjure up the same image he has been for weeks now. Jude and Eli on the swings, River trying to climb up the slide instead of going down it. All three of his boys running through the grass. Harry using the sit down mower to cut the lawn, having the boys take turns for a ride-along on his lap.

Jeff even dares another thought, one he only indulges in every now and again -- a fourth baby, boy or girl or whoever they want to be, because Jeff isn’t picky, crawling across a blanket while they have a family picnic. A fourth baby growing up with three older brothers who loves them and torments them in equal measure. A fourth baby who will only ever know this big, beautiful house, with plenty of room to play and grow. The house that they needed and wanted and everything in between.

Jeff is pulled out of his thoughts when Harry slips their fingers together, bumping shoulders.

“So, do you like it?” Jeff asks, feeling quite smug.

Harry narrows his eyes at him. “Don’t ask stupid questions, Jeffrey. I can take back what I said earlier.”

“Bullshit. There’s a pot filler in your new kitchen. I know that shit gets you going. You’ll only be punishing yourself.”

“Excuse me,” Harry scoffs. “That is… entirely not true.”

“You’re a shitty liar.”

“Honesty is the best policy, Jeffrey.”

“Well then can you be honest with me for a second? I promise I’m not fishing for anything. I just want to make sure that you’re really okay with all of this.”

“Of course. I’m so, so happy right now,” Harry reassures before smirking. “So happy that I thought about blowing you in the kitchen when you first showed it to me. Right by the stove, so I could keep an eye on my new appliance the entire time.”

“I knew it.”

Harry laughs and tugs on Jeff’s hand. “Come on. I wanna go look at that tub again.”

“Lead the way,” Jeff says. His cheeks do hurt from smiling.