ficlet: not like most guys
Prompt: Han/Eli - mirror
Eli steps into the bathroom after cleaning up the kitchen from dinner to find Hannah standing naked in the middle of the room, just out of the shower and staring at her reflection. Her hands rest on the swell of her stomach, and Eli can't help smiling, until he looks at her face. Her brow is creased, her expression critical, and he frowns as he steps towards her.
"Han? What's wrong?"
She sighs. "I don't know. I mean, it's silly."
"Tell me," he murmurs.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm excited about having a baby, but I just keep thinking... I'm gonna get bigger and bigger, and then after he's born, what if I can't go back to how I was before?" She sighs again, shaking her head. "I thought I was past all of those body image issues, but I've heard all of these stories about how husbands don't want their wives anymore after they give birth, they cheat, or they leave -"
"Hannah," Eli says softly. "Really? As long as we've been together, as many times as I've told you, over and over again, that I love you no matter what you look like? That's never going to change."
"I know," she says, sniffling quietly. "I know it's stupid, but it's like being pregnant has suddenly brought back a lot of my insecurities."
Eli moves to stand behind her, meeting her eyes in the mirror as his hands come around to rest on her stomach.
"There has never been a moment where I haven't thought you were the most beautiful woman in the world. Never. When I saw you outside the Bureau that first time, when I found you in that basement, our first date, waking up to you that morning after you spent the night with me the first time, the first time we made love, the first time I saw you on our wedding day. For all of our firsts, and for every second and third and infinite time after, you have always been beautiful to me, and you always will be."
Hannah smiles, her eyes shining, and Eli kisses her shoulder, his hands rubbing over her stomach.
"And how could you think you're not beautiful to me now? You're having my baby. That's our little boy in there, made of you and me, made out of how much we love each other. You're letting me become a father, and I get to see you become a mother, and nobody else can give me that, because there's nobody else I want that with more than you."
Hannah sniffles, closing her eyes as she tips her head against Eli's.
"And besides," he continues, making her laugh softly. "You're not beautiful just because of how you look. You're smart, and you're funny, and you're sweet, and you're one of the strongest people I know. You are amazing, babe, in so many ways, and I love you for each and every one of those ways."
"Okay," she says, laughing again. "Okay, okay, okay."
"Don't question my love for you," he says, the corner of his mouth rising. "I'll spend a week proving to you how wrong you are. Remember, I'm not like most guys."
"And I'm grateful for that every single day," she says quietly, turning her head to look at him.
His smile widens as he tightens his grip on her, and she turns to face him, sliding her arms around his neck as she kisses him. She hugs him when it breaks, hiding her face against his neck, and he lifts his hand to the back of her head, stroking her hair as he whispers, "I love you," against her shoulder.
Eli steps into the bathroom after cleaning up the kitchen from dinner to find Hannah standing naked in the middle of the room, just out of the shower and staring at her reflection. Her hands rest on the swell of her stomach, and Eli can't help smiling, until he looks at her face. Her brow is creased, her expression critical, and he frowns as he steps towards her.
"Han? What's wrong?"
She sighs. "I don't know. I mean, it's silly."
"Tell me," he murmurs.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm excited about having a baby, but I just keep thinking... I'm gonna get bigger and bigger, and then after he's born, what if I can't go back to how I was before?" She sighs again, shaking her head. "I thought I was past all of those body image issues, but I've heard all of these stories about how husbands don't want their wives anymore after they give birth, they cheat, or they leave -"
"Hannah," Eli says softly. "Really? As long as we've been together, as many times as I've told you, over and over again, that I love you no matter what you look like? That's never going to change."
"I know," she says, sniffling quietly. "I know it's stupid, but it's like being pregnant has suddenly brought back a lot of my insecurities."
Eli moves to stand behind her, meeting her eyes in the mirror as his hands come around to rest on her stomach.
"There has never been a moment where I haven't thought you were the most beautiful woman in the world. Never. When I saw you outside the Bureau that first time, when I found you in that basement, our first date, waking up to you that morning after you spent the night with me the first time, the first time we made love, the first time I saw you on our wedding day. For all of our firsts, and for every second and third and infinite time after, you have always been beautiful to me, and you always will be."
Hannah smiles, her eyes shining, and Eli kisses her shoulder, his hands rubbing over her stomach.
"And how could you think you're not beautiful to me now? You're having my baby. That's our little boy in there, made of you and me, made out of how much we love each other. You're letting me become a father, and I get to see you become a mother, and nobody else can give me that, because there's nobody else I want that with more than you."
Hannah sniffles, closing her eyes as she tips her head against Eli's.
"And besides," he continues, making her laugh softly. "You're not beautiful just because of how you look. You're smart, and you're funny, and you're sweet, and you're one of the strongest people I know. You are amazing, babe, in so many ways, and I love you for each and every one of those ways."
"Okay," she says, laughing again. "Okay, okay, okay."
"Don't question my love for you," he says, the corner of his mouth rising. "I'll spend a week proving to you how wrong you are. Remember, I'm not like most guys."
"And I'm grateful for that every single day," she says quietly, turning her head to look at him.
His smile widens as he tightens his grip on her, and she turns to face him, sliding her arms around his neck as she kisses him. She hugs him when it breaks, hiding her face against his neck, and he lifts his hand to the back of her head, stroking her hair as he whispers, "I love you," against her shoulder.