Heartbeats || H.S. [ONGOING]

{twenty-six}

As Anne let her go, Niko was once again pulled into a hug, but by Harry this time. He wrapped her up so tight she could have choked on his cologne, his presence, his everything.

"I love you so much, Niko. You hear me?" He whispered only loud enough for her to hear.

"Uh-huh," she breathed, trying to nod her head, though his iron clad hold on her wouldn't allow it. He pulled away, only enough to plant a hardened kiss on her mouth.

"Daddy?" Avery asked from behind them.

Harry pulled away immediately to find both of his children staring at the two of them. Niko's fingers came up to her lips as if they were caught doing something bad.

"Dad, do you love Niko?" Jackson asked, sounding so incredibly grown up in that moment.

"Uh... buddy..." Harry said, looking torn.

"You kissed her," Jackson pointed out. Harry looked over at Niko and then back to his son.

"That means you love her, right? Grown-ups kiss when they love each other, right?" Jackson asked him.

"Right," Harry finally answered.

"So, do you love Niko?" Jackson asked him again.

"I do, buddy," Harry admitted to his children, right then and there.

"I love Niko too," Avery said happily.

"Come here, baby. You too, mate," Harry said to his children.

They both crawled up on his lap as he sat down in his chair again. Harry was almost lost behind his children, they had gotten so big.

"I want to tell you something," he said to them and they looked at him, contently waiting for him to speak.

"Niko and Daddy... we fell in love," Harry told his children.

There was something incredibly endearing about the way Harry talked in the third person with his kids.

"Like you loved Mom before?" Jackson asked, knitting his eyebrows together in question.

"Yes, like I loved Mum before," Harry confirmed with a nod.

"Is Niko going to be our new mommy?" Avery asked hopefully, looking up at Niko.

"Niko won't be your new mummy. You already have a mummy, love. But Niko will always be your friend. She and Daddy are just going to be more than friends," Harry explained to her.

Niko quickly realized this whole telling the children was going to be harder than she first anticipated. She supposed it was a bit hard for a seven-year-old and a nine-year-old to comprehend the complexities of love.

"I love Niko very much," Harry told them.

"You do?" Avery asked, smiling up at her dad.

"I do. Daddy wants to spend the rest of his life with Niko," Harry told his daughter.

Niko's heart beat wildly in her chest as she stared at Harry, though his attention was fully on his children.

"I want to spend the rest of my life with Niko too," Avery said happily, throwing her arms up in the air.

"Me too," Jackson chimed in.

"Oh," they heard Anne coo as she pressed her hands to her mouth, watching her son and her grandchildren.

Niko's eyes immediately welled with tears. Those kids were killing her with cuteness.

"Can Niko come live at our house?" Avery asked Harry hopefully.