He finds her sitting out on a long forgotten bench adorning his property, having dropped her shield along with the sun.
He gives her a curious look, joining her, and says softly, "You shut up your windows, lock fair daylight out, and make yourself an artificial night."
She turns to him, wearing a gentle smile that doesn't quite reach her contradicting eyes. "Quoting human literature at me is hardly effective," she mutters, keenly avoiding his gaze.
"Romeo and Juliet," he specifies, staring off into the blackness, "Quite the star-crossed lovers, you know."
Another facade of a smile. "You're hardly Romeo."
He has to smirk at this, leaning back into the familiarity of their friendly banter, "I'm not under that impression - I'm pulling words out of his father's mouth."
He can see her relaxing as well, letting go of the recent tension that has plagued them. "Well, not quite as romantic, but alright," she jokes, the corners of her lips twitching slightly.
"I could quote Romeo, if that's how you feel," he says carefully, moving his hand so that his fingers are entwined with hers.
He can feel her tense once again at his unexpected display, and he runs his pale thumb over her tiny one.
"Do you know why doctors don't take their patients' pulses with their own thumbs?" She continues to stare away from him, knowing that he will answer his own question. "There is a vein in the thumb that is large enough to give off a pulse. They'd be feeling their own pulse, not the patient's," he pauses, as if for dramatic effect, and runs his finger over hers again, "Right now, your pulse is racing."
She lets out a shaky sigh, allowing him to pull her closer, allowing him to all but suffocate her with his presence.
Allowing him to touch his lips lightly to her own, despite the fact that the fates are not aligned. He pulls away, scrutinizing her as only he could after kissing.
"Here's much to do with hate," he whispers, "but more with love."
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A/N: Yes, yes, I'm quoting Shakespeare, how cliched of me. But I love that line, I have to admit it - not that enjoying his plays is anything to regret, but, as I mentioned, it is a bit cliche.
Anyway, I haven't vanished from the fandom! Hurrah!
