Settle Down | J.P.
tension between you and James is on the rise as you reach the last couple weeks of your pregnancy, and insecurity starts getting the best of your husband — dad!farmer!james x mom!reader fluff, hurt/comfort
warnings: reader is quite pregnant, jealousy, worries of cheating (irrational fear here, of course), relationship insecurity, body insecurity, and it gets pretty suggestive at the end
words: 3.7k
Harry ran as quickly as his little legs could take him through the field, over to his dad and the new farmhand so he could invite them in for lemonade you had just made with the kids.
You watched the adorable sight from inside while holding your 18 month-old against your chest. It was hard to manoeuvre while heavily pregnant but Ivy loves being held, and it’s so hard saying no to your little girl.
Harry ran inside first, sporting a proud grin and announcing that he had done as you asked. Since you couldn’t bend down to kiss him, you patted your son on his head and poured him a glass of the lemonade you promised him for calling over the men inside.
Your son happily gulped down the drink and held out his glass, asking for a refill. You smiled and obliged his request. As you poured once again, James strode in while making an exaggerated expression of disappointment.
“You’re supposed to be resting.” He reminded you, as if you could forget.
“I didn’t strain myself making the lemonade, and I got a helper to pass on the message to you boys outside.”
James tousled Harry’s hair, letting him know he was proud. “Good boy, helping your mama.”
“I made the lemonade too!” Harry beamed, liquid rimming his mouth from his forceful downing of the drink.
“Yes, you did!” You turned to James, smiling smugly. “See, it’s basically rest.”
He frowned, disapproving of your decision to keep up with small tasks when your doctor has recommended that you spend most of your time resting until the new baby comes.
“I’m not worried, Jamie.”
“Well, I am.” He told you, gently taking Ivy from your arms and holding her with significantly less effort than it takes you to do the same thing. “I’m your husband, so it’s my job to worry about you. Please go relax upstairs. I can’t relax if you don’t.”
“I can’t see the barn or the field when I’m in bed. I get sad without that view.”
Flattery would not work on James in this scenario, but you could see that it was definitely helping. His face softened and hints of a smile were almost peeking out.
Interrupting your little moment, Jack, the new farmhand walked through the front door.
You turned away from James so you could pour the younger man some lemonade, but he interjected.
“I can get that, Miss Potter. I’m the one working for you, no need to put yourself out in your condition.” Jack said, reaching for the lemonade and an empty glass on the counter.
You heard James muttering an angry “Missus” under his breath, but you chose to ignore it.
Other than the title, Jack was right. He was preaching exactly what you had been upset with James for bothering you about. But you could only be mad at James, since he was your husband and his lectures were constant.
“Isn’t it good, Dad?” Harry asked happily, looking up at his father.
“It’s amazing, Haz.” He said, really to both you and Harry.
Then the new farmhand spoke up with his own testimony to the beverage. “It’s the best I’ve ever had.”
James noticed you looked flattered at the pair of compliments—he hoped you gave his own a little bit more weight—and guzzled down the rest of his drink.
“Alright, love, let’s get you settled back upstairs.” Your husband said, a hand gesturing up to your bedroom, but not for anything fun.
“I think I’ll sit outside for a bit.” You countered. “That way I can still relax like you want me to, but I still spend time with the kids as they run around out there.”
Although James couldn’t theoretically object to that, he knew if he gave you a little bit of leeway by accepting this proposal, you’d go even further with it and that did nothing but stress James out.
You two just stared at each other in a silent standoff, seeing who would budge first. You crossed your arms, and with that, James knew you weren’t wavering any time soon. Your husband sighed, then agreed that you could lounge around outside on the condition that you stayed on the porch swing for a majority of the time.
Satisfied with that, you took your son’s hand and waddled out to the porch, James following while carrying Ivy out so she could sit with you as well.
Your husband tucked Ivy and Harry against your sides, then went back to work out in the field while Jack went over to the barn.
“Mummy, I want to work out there!” Harry exclaimed after a couple minutes of calm cloud gazing.
“You don’t want to stay here and keep me company?”
Harry looked slightly conflicted, and you were sure much of the concern that your young son had for you had been placed there by James. It was sometimes nice to have your husband worried about you, but it felt bittersweet to have Harry do the same when he had much better things to occupy his innocent mind.
“I’m kidding, honey.” You unwrapped your arm from around his side and helped him off the swing. “Go ask your dad if he has anything you can do. He’ll put you to work in no time.”
That was apparently all the boy needed to hear, since he ran off towards his father as soon as the words left your mouth.
You turned to the little girl on your other side and took her little hand in yours since you couldn’t let her sit on your lap in your condition.
“Well, it’s just you and me, princess.”
She looked at you and pouted softly. You could already tell she was a busybody like the rest of the family, and that she would much rather be playing or walking around the farm than sitting on the porch.
“I know, Ivy. I’m bored too, but we’ll get through it. Look at the boys out there.”
You two sat on the porch swing, rocking slightly, for what felt like hours—it was really more like thirty minutes. Ivy’s been babbling for a while, and that’s been the only thing keeping you sane.
Then you noticed Jack walking over towards the house, holding something in a closed fist.
“Hi, Miss Potter.” The twenty year-old began.
“Hi, Jack.” You smiled. “What have you got there?”
“I was cleaning out the hayloft, and I found this old bracelet up there.”
He held out his hand, showing off a dainty piece of jewelry. It was definitely weathered, but it wasn’t necessarily dirty, and you could still see it was silver with a few pearls decorating it.
“Oh, that’s lovely.” You commented. “Isn’t that pretty, honey?”
Your daughter repeated the word ‘pretty’ in the adorable way she does when copying you. Then you brought your attention back to the farmhand.
“I’m not sure how it got there, I’ve never seen it before. Maybe a bird brought it in. I’ll ask James if he recognises it too.”
“Do you want me to bring it over to him?”
“No, that’s alright.” You replied. “If you could bring it inside and put it in a bowl by the sink, though, that would be great. And feel free to get yourself a drink from the kitchen, too.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He shot you a smile as he headed inside the house, politely wiping his boots on the mat before entering and walking around.
You turned towards your daughter, curling her soft hair around your finger as she snuggled up against your hip.
“See that? We’ve got treasure on this farm, baby. We’ve got pearls growing out of the ground.”
Her smile mirrored yours and you thought her expression was so damn adorable even though you knew she didn’t understand at all what you were talking about.
Jack walked out of the house, the quiet creak of the front door interrupting you giggling over your daughter babbling about the farm and wherever else her mind was going.
“All done, Miss Potter.” He reported.
“Thank you, Jack.”
“Thank you!” Ivy spoke up, happily repeating after you.
You fawned over your own daughter, cheering her on for speaking, and while using such sweet manners at that. Jack joined in as well, telling the baby she did such a good job.
Unbeknownst to you, your husband was watching from across the property, a judging expression on his face as he observed you and the young new farmhand being so friendly.
Of course James trusted you. Of course James was glad you were feeling happy after all you’ve been through with this tiring pregnancy. And of course James knew he was better company than some farmhand who was barely older than a high-schooler.
But he knows that you’re smiling at Jack and looking more giddy than you have with James for the past few weeks. He was young, charming, and quite fit. How could James not feel at least a little bit jealous and insecure?
And though James hated seeing it, he was absolutely not going to make a scene. But he was going to do something about it.
“Hey, Haz?” He called to the boy picking—and snacking on—cherry tomatoes.
Harry shot up, a smile on his face and a small tomato in his cheek.
“Can you come here for a second, mate? Bring the basket, please.”
Your son walked over to his dad, carrying over his haul.
“You’re doing so well picking the tomatoes, but I’m worried we’ll have nothing left over if I keep you on the job.” James joked, and the young boy smiled, knowing exactly what his dad meant. “New task for you, go entertain your mum, alright? Keep her company? She can’t do much to play with you, but I’m sure she’d love to hear a story. Think you can do that?”
Harry nodded and darted off to where you and Ivy were sitting on the porch, both enjoying Jack’s animal impressions that he had been putting on to impress the little girl at your side.
He climbed up onto the swing with you again, and you welcomed him with open arms. Well, one open arm, since you were holding Ivy close to you with the other.
“Oh, look whose boredom has been cured!” You teased, allowing him to sit right next to you.
“Daddy said I gotta keep you company.” He informed you happily.
“Did he, now? Well, that’s perfect ‘cause I was just starting to miss you.”
Jack took this reunion as his cue to leave, going back to his work in the barn with barely any acknowledgement as he left.
James, watching from across the property, didn’t even bother hiding his proud grin when he saw everything unfolding just as he had planned. He too went back to his work, only thinking about finishing for the day so he could go back inside with you and the kids—and no dumb farmhand.
Once James had done everything that he needed to do, he headed back over to the house, the whole family wearing matching smiles as he walked towards you.
“Hi, handsome.” You greeted him. “All done?”
“All done.” He replied. He then bent down to kiss you softly. “How are you feeling, lovie?”
“I’m great. Your little helper was doing such a good job keeping me and Ivy company.”
James proudly patted the top of Harry’s head. “That’s my boy.”
Harry grinned bashfully, happy for the validation that he had done well with the tasks he was given today.
“I’ll wash up and then I can make dinner, okay?”
“James—”
He cut you off, knowing exactly what your protest was before you could even start. “I’ll make dinner. Only reason I wouldn’t is if none of you were hungry.”
Shooting him a defeated glare, you stood up from the porch swing and took the kids inside with you, James trailing right behind you all.
“So what are you all hungry for?”
“Cheese sandwiches!” Harry said enthusiastically.
Of course he did.
Since you’ve been pregnant and taking more breaks lately—though you would never tell James you’ve been feeling slightly more tired since you’ve seen how serious he gets about your health—you’ve been making easier meals for the family. And Harry hasn’t been able to get enough of the extremely simple sandwiches you’ve been serving up.
James chuckled. “C’mon, it’s your mother that you need to go easy on, not me. What else do you want?”
But your little boy stuck with his choice, just as you knew he would.
“Sandwiches! The way Mummy makes them!”
James feigned shock and offense, jaw dropped and a hand to his heart.
“The way Mummy makes them? Is the way Daddy makes them not good enough?!”
“Mummy makes them the best!” Harry giggled, pointing at you.
You blew a kiss to your son as you sat your daughter in her high chair.
“Thank you, baby. You’re too nice to me.”
Harry lifted his little hand and mimed catching the kiss and pressing it to his cheek, mimicking what James does every time you blow him a kiss. It was so damn adorable, you blew another kiss just to watch him do it again, and it was just as cute the second time.
But all good things come to an end, and your attention was taken away from the boy by the sound of your front door opening and the sight of your new farmhand walking in.
“Sorry to interrupt, I just wanted to let you know that I’ve done all the work for the day, so I’ll be heading home.”
Good riddance, James thought. But you weren’t that mean.
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay for dinner?” You asked, walking over to the farmhand.
Before Jack could answer, James spoke up for him, eager to get the younger man out of your house.
“I’m sure he’s tired and just wants to get home, love.”
You turned to Jack and rested a reassuring hand on his bicep. You were worried about him not eating after a full day of working, but obviously James didn’t see it like that. James only noticed your hand on the young man’s arm, and he saw red. But of course, he couldn’t show it to you. James stood there, silently fuming and hoping that Jack would leave as soon as possible.
“Really, it’s nothing big.” You continued asking your farmhand if he wanted to stay a little longer. “James is making sandwiches, so it shouldn’t take long.”
James stepped in again, even though he tried not to. “Well it’ll take longer if we stand around talking about it.”
Sensing the start of some tension that he would rather avoid, Jack decided staying for dinner may not be the best idea.
“He’s right, Miss Potter. I should be getting going. Have a good night.”
You and the kids waved him goodbye as Jack headed out. James however, did not. But you chose to ignore that for the time being, telling yourself your husband was just eager to end his work day and spend time with his family.
From practically the second the door closed behind the farmhand, James seemed alright. James made dinner, played with the kids, and even took the lead with putting them to bed afterwards.
You were almost willing to look past it and just go to sleep, until James started acting oddly again, just as you were getting ready for bed.
The both of you were running through your normal bedtime routine—which was getting earlier and earlier now that James insisted you needed all the sleep you could get—and you had crawled into bed, getting comfortable.
You expected James to join you soon enough, so you picked up the book from your bedside table and waited as he finished up in the bathroom.
The door opened, and out walked your husband in his sleep pants and a tank top.
“Well, hello there, handsome.” You called, holding out a hand to invite him into bed with you.
“Hi, gorgeous.” James replied with a grin.
You thought he was coming to get into his side of the bed, but he stops at the foot of the bed and sits down on the floor instead.
Although it was more of a struggle than normal, you tried sitting up so you could get a better look at your husband, who was now beginning to lightly stretch on your carpet.
“Jamie, what are you doing down there?”
“Just getting a quick workout in, love.” He said that like it was totally normal, but you thought otherwise. You knew your husband far too well to believe him about this.
“The workout you did all day outside wasn’t enough for you?” You tried approaching it gently, teasing him a bit, because you wanted to keep the mood light.
“No, I just figured I should try to get a bit more in shape.”
“You’re in shape.” You told him with a hundred percent honesty.
He basically shrugged off your response, which only concerned you more. James has always been fit, and even though he doesn’t work out the same way he used to before having kids, he still spent his days doing manual labour, which kept him in great shape.
“Jamie, could you get up, please?”
He stood up immediately, eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights. He sat down on the side of the bed, not breaking eye contact with you for a single second.
“Is everything okay?” He asks softly.
“That’s what I should be asking you, Jamie. What’s been going on with you lately?”
“What do you mean?”
The question was nonsense, and you both knew it. James had been acting differently than normal lately, and it was impossible to not notice. He was buying time for some reason, and you just wanted to figure out why.
“You know what I mean.” You told him with a defeated slump of your shoulders. “We’re too close for a lie like that to work on me. You’ve been watching me like a hawk, you’ve been irritable, and you seem like you’re trying to prove yourself for some reason. Talk to me, Jamie, please.”
James sighed, knowing there was no way he could, or reason he should, lie his way out of this. Being honest with his wife was far more valuable than his ego. And we’re talking about James Potter here, so that means a lot.
He shifted his form around so that he was face to face with you
“I’m worried I’m not good enough for you anymore, lovie.”
Your heart sank. James has been a little overbearing lately—for obvious reasons—and you’ve been letting him know how you felt, but you didn’t know he had been taking your criticism personally.
“James, I didn’t—”
“No, I know. It’s not your fault at all.” He interrupted you gently, taking your hands in his.
That was so like James. It was exactly what you loved about him—one of many reasons. Even when he was opening up about something that’s been on his mind, he was still trying to comfort you.
“I feel like we’re not as close right now as we usually are.” James continued. “And that’s no one’s fault, it’s just that the house is full of stress with the new baby coming soon, and we’re all adapting every day.”
You took a breath, knowing he was absolutely right. It’s no secret that the family has been full of all kinds of emotions as of late, but you and James haven’t really acknowledged the shifting of your relationship.
“I just can’t help but hurt a little when I see you with the farmhand and you’re gushing over him while he flexes his muscles and showers you with compliments. It reminds me of when we were younger, and I wonder if you would trade our life now for what it was like back then.”
You raised his hands, which were cradling yours, up to your lips and pressed a kiss to each hand.
“I’m sorry that I didn’t know how you felt.” You said softly. “It was nice back then, but it’s also pretty nice now, and I wouldn’t trade our life together for anything in the world.”
Your words seemed to have cheered your husband up a bit, as you saw a smile hit the corners of his lips.
“I promise I only have eyes for you, and you don’t need to do anything other than being your wonderful self to ensure that. I love you, even if I haven’t been showing it much lately. I’m sorry that I made you doubt our relationship, even in the slightest.”
You scanned his face, trying to read his emotions. Usually you were great at this, but tonight there was something a bit off, and you couldn’t quite tell what he was thinking.
Reassuring you that you two were okay, James nodded and leaned forward to press a kiss to your forehead.
“I love you too.” He promised, his hands falling to your hips. “I’m glad you still find me attractive.”
“You’re so attractive.” You leaned over—albeit slightly effortfully—and kissed his cheek as you spoke. “James Potter, you’re the sexiest person in the world.”
“No, definitely not.” He shook his head and bit the inside of his cheek.
This humility was unusual for James. Ever since you met, he’s been cocky and proud. He’s incredible in every way, and he knew it.
As he looked up at you and opened his mouth to speak again, you realised the sudden humble attitude was all an act.
“I’m probably second place. You’re definitely sexier.”
You bit back the grin that threatened you, but there was nothing you could do about the blush that flooded your cheeks. You shook your head and gestured to your body that was cloaked in a soft set of pink maternity pyjamas.
“Not like this, I’m not.”
James shook his head again and cupped your face in his hands so he could press a trail of kisses along your jaw. “I think you’re especially sexy like this. And if you weren’t ordered against any strenuous tasks, I’d prove it to you right now.”
