Heartbeats (H.S.) [ONGOING]

{thirty-one}

After their shower, when Harry went into the bedroom to get dressed, Niko stood in front of the enormous bathroom mirror completely naked, analyzing and picking out the flaws that covered her skin or lay hidden below.

Honestly, she needed to remind herself that the only thing flawed was her brain. It was absolutely ridiculous. So she put on a few pounds — it wasn't the end of the world. She needed to remember that.

Harry walked into the bathroom fully clothed, sending Niko a questioning look.

"Baby, are you going to get dressed or are you just going to stand there admiring your gorgeous body all day?" He asked, smirking at her through the mirror, his eyes focused on her nakedness.

"I wouldn't use the word 'admiring'," she said, sending him an unimpressed look.

"Are you still on that? I told you I would buy you new clothes. We can go right now," he told her enthusiastically.

"Harry, that's not the point. I don't just want to update my wardrobe to a new size every time I gain weight. I want to be able to lose the weight," she told him with a huff.

"First of all, we went running this morning, so it's not like you're sitting around moping about it. You're doing something. And secondly, what weight?" He asked, wrapping his arms around her as he stood behind her.

"My stomach is definitely not as flat as it used to be," she whined, her eyebrows furrowing as she watched his hands slide across it.

"Pssh. It looks fine to me," Harry scoffed as his fingers dug gently into the flesh, which tickled a bit, causing her to wiggle in his arms. But he continued to do it as his eyebrows furrowed deeply.

"Baby. What are you doing?" Niko giggled, squirming a little more as she watched him through the mirror. He looked concerned and it immediately concerned her.

"Baby, what?" She asked, her smile fading in an instant.

"Uh..." He breathed, looking up at her in the mirror as his hands stilled.

"What?" She asked, feeling even more self-conscious with his reaction.

He bit his lip and stepped back, unwinding his arms from around her. He put his hand to his forehead seconds later, looking as if he were thinking deeply.

"Harry..." Niko said, crossing her arms over her chest. He was making her feel extremely vulnerable and she hated it.

"Um... your stomach... it's hard," he told her.

"Were you expecting more fat? I'm sorry to disappoint," she scoffed sarcastically, getting annoyed with him.

"Baby, no," he said, looking into her eyes apologetically.

With a huff, Niko quickly walked out of the bathroom to get dressed. She didn't want to be naked for another second. Harry was acting really strange and it was starting to piss her off.