Art for Love (and Other Monsters) by @captainstudmuffin - read it here!
She isn’t aware of how close she’s gotten to Killian until she turns and can feel the heat emanating from him. Her breath catches and she hates herself a little bit for being unable to control it.
(Hates herself a little more when it becomes evident on his face that he’d noticed and can’t be bothered to hide it.)
“I, ah…suppose I should get to bed as well,” he says, smile verging on something akin to shyness as he reaches up to scratch behind his ear again.
“Thank you for the ointment.”
“You’re welcome. Goodnight, Killian.” She steps back into the safety of her room and away from the uncertainty that resides beyond it.
He hesitates only a moment before following after her, reaching for her but not quite touching her. “Swan?”
Killian stares at her a second more, but instead of replying, he glances down and slips his hand into the pocket of his coat to produce something for her. Something that makes her stomach somersault thrice over – a sprig of bright blue Forget-Me-Nots.
“Goodnight, Emma,” he says, holding them out to her.
She takes them gingerly from his grasp, fingertips lightly brushing against his as her cheeks warm to the same rosey hue staining the tips of his ears. He turns then, casting a final glance in her direction before he rounds the corner at the end of the hall and leaves her standing there, flabbergasted, holding flowers she’s not quite sure what to do with. A dull, aching warmth pulls at her side, a feeling only overshadowed by the confused and conflicted feelings circling in her chest. He’s long gone by the time she gathers her bearings enough to close her door, and yet, somehow, he lingers.
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