"If you get through this, you and me, we're going to be something special."
Lily sat on the side of her bed, twisting the covers in her hands. She was due to go home today and Iain had offered to take her. But now nerves were starting to kick in. They hadn't discussed what he had said while she was unconscious, and although she was thrilled that he felt the same way she did, she just didn't know how to make sense of it.
A gentle tap on the door pulled her from her thoughts and she looked up, smiling shyly when she saw Iain leaning against the doorframe, arms folded, smiling fondly at her.
"Hey Chuckles, ready to go?"
Lily nodded and went to pick up her bag. But before she could wrap her hand around the handle of the holdall, Iain quickly took it off her, sliding it over his shoulder.
"I can carry that," Lily objected quietly.
"I know you can, but I want to. Now," he said with a grin, "May I escort you to my car?"
Lily nodded, hesitantly walking closer to Iain so he could wrap an arm lightly around her waist, mindful of the injuries she was still recovering from. Lily tried to tell herself that it was because she hadn't had to do much walking lately, and he just wanted to help her balance. However, by the way he was gently stroking her hip, she felt his actions were telling her differently.
The journey home was a quiet one, with Lily lightly dozing, and Iain thinking about the conversation that he was hoping to have with her; sooner rather than later.
Before long, he had pulled into a parking space in the car park under the building which housed her flat. Gently waking her up, she got out the car, but found herself unwilling to walk across the open space to the lift. She looked repeatedly left and right, listening for the sound of any moving car that could suddenly come flying around the corner.
Iain stood in front of her, holding her hands in his and bending down until his eyes were level with hers.
"Hey, Lily, it's okay. It's just a few steps to the lift. It's right over there, see?"
Lily let her eyes flicker over to where the lift was, before bringing her gaze back to Iain, nodding once.
Iain took her left hand in his, standing slightly behind her and wrapping his right arm around her shoulder.
"Now," he said, "We are going to walk over there, nice and slowly. There are no other cars around, and you are perfectly safe."
Lily nodded, and together they walked the few feet over to the lift, Iain smiling at her as the lift doors shut, taking them up to her flat.
Once they were in her flat, and seated on the sofa with a cup of tea that Iain had made for them, he ran a hand through his hair, before bringing it down to gently hold Lily's.
"So," he began, "I think we need to talk about what I said at the hospital."
Lily bit her lip, nodding without saying anything.
"I know you heard me say it, but I want to say it again. I don't want you to ever be in any doubt about the way I feel about you. I really think we could be something special. Do you feel the same way?"
"I do," Lily replied, "But, well..."
Iain frowned as she let her sentence trail off.
"But what?" he asked gently.
"We'll, I'm just not good with any sort of relationship. I don't have many friends, I never had a particularly close family, and I haven't had many, well, romantic relationships. I don't know how to act around people, and I don't want to ruin our friendship by being bad at a relationship."
"Look," Iain sighed, "I won't lie to you. I know you, and I know that you don't always feel like talking to people and forming relationships with them is something that comes naturally to you. But I feel like we do alright. We talk to each other, and we have a laugh, and whenever I've had trouble with Gem, for example, you're the only person I ever go to for advice."
"Really?" she asked.
"Really. I like you for who you are, and I would hope that, in some ways, I have proven that over the time that we've been friends."
Lily nodded. "You have, and I do want this, but it's not just being able to talk to people, either. I don't really know how the physical side of it works. I mean," she added on hurriedly, "I know how it works, but I just don't have that instinct for what is appropriate at what time."
Iain let go of her hand, turning his body so it was fully facing her.
"Okay," he said, "Let's try something. I don't think it's that you don't have any instincts; I think you just don't trust them. You trust in medicine, and science, and facts. This is just too open to interpretation. Am I right?" He paused as she nodded, a confused look on her face. "Okay, so what is your instinct telling you to do now? Don't overthink it, don't worry about it, just do it. I'm not going to think any worse of you if your instinct is different to mine."
With that, he fell silent as he waited for Lily to make a decision. Very slowly, she slid closer to Iain, until their hips were touching, and leant into him, wrapping her arms around his waist and tucking her head under his chin.
"You see? Your instincts are spot on," Iain said. "That's exactly what I would've done."
Lily lifted her head and smiled at him in thanks. This time, Iain acted on his instincts. Her cupped her face with his hand, leant forward and placed a gentle kiss on Lily's lips. Pulling back before she had chance to respond, he kept their faces close together, smiling when Lily pressed her lips back against his.
As they continued to kiss, neither in any rush to pull back, both of them knew at this moment that Iain was right.
They were going to be something special.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed it! Feel free to leave a review!