I am so happy you guys like this AU, and I'm going to give you a spoiler that isn't really one but there's already questions about it, so I don't want to lead you on in any way; while this fic is definitely going to have a happy ending, Emma is not going to miraculously get her sight back. Thank you for reading, and enjoy the new chapter!
A week has passed since Killian made the delivery of Walsh's bouquet that Emma had kept against her better judgment because it smelled so wonderful, but she didn't mention it at work and Walsh never asked her if she liked it.
She wonders if it had gotten Killian in trouble, but she guesses he can handle it so she doesn't pop by to check even though it would give her a perfect excuse to talk to him.
It would be a lie to say that she doesn't think about him more than she should, but she figures that if he felt the same he would at least wait for her in front of his shop and say hello when she passes by it in the morning and the afternoon.
Elsa thinks she should go buy another flower from Killian, but Emma resists even though she's tempted every time she finds herself on his street.
Speaking of Killian's street, Emma is just turning onto it when she hears running footsteps behind her, and she braces herself for impact because it wouldn't be the first time for somebody in a hurry to run into her and knock her off balance, but this time that doesn't happen at all.
Whomever was running catches up to her and grabs her bag, tugging on it hard enough for the chain to dig painfully into Emma's shoulder.
"Let it go!" She yells and hits the offender with her cane, pulling on her bag and refusing to give up because she knows how overwhelming it is to stand in endless queues when you lose your valet and all your documents with it.
"Hey, leave her alone!" A woman exclaims and a few other people join in, Emma's attacker shoving her before he runs away and leaving her sitting on the pavement more stunned than hurt.
"Are you alright?" An older gentleman asks her and lays his hand on her shoulder, making her flinch involuntarily although she can sense that he's just trying to help her.
"I'm fine", she says with an apologetic smile and hugs her bag close. "Can somebody hand me my cane?"
Emma knows her cheeks are burning and that pisses her off because she shouldn't feel embarrassed; it's not her fault she almost got robbed and lost her cane in the process.
At least she got to keep her bag and managed to whack her attacker a few times too, teaching him a lesson he's not likely to forget.
"Swan", Killian's voice comes from somewhere to her left and her head turns in his direction even though it makes no difference to her if she's facing him or not.
It makes a difference to him.
"Lass, what happened?"
"She got attacked", one of the good Samaritans supplies and Emma fights the urge to roll her eyes.
"I'm fine."
"She got knocked over."
"I asked Emma", Killian says sharply and nudges her hand with the handle of her cane. "Can you stand, love?"
"Of course", Emma says and smiles in Killian's direction, thankful that he's not like the others and reaching out her free hand that he instantly takes and easily pulls her to her feet.
"Would you like to come into my shop for a bit?" He asks her, his warm, calloused fingers still holding hers, and Emma can't find it in herself to deny his invitation.
"I have to call my boss and tell him I'll be late", she says and trails her fingers up his arm until she reaches his elbow, then tells him to lead the way.
Killian opens the door of his shop and carefully leads her into the back room, but even though he's infinitely patient and gentle with her, he doesn't make her feel like an invalid.
He makes her feel cared for, and she is so overwhelmed that she lets him take her coat and hang it somewhere away from the wooden table he helped her sit behind.
"I'll make tea while you call your boss", Killian says and she listens to him move around as she fishes her phone out of her bag and explains to Jerry what has happened.
"He says I don't have to come to work today", Emma announces and turns toward the sound of a spoon clinking against a mug.
"No less than what I expected. Do you take sugar with your tea?"
"You're assuming I want tea", she says and Killian stops stirring.
"I am sorry. I'm going to blame the fact that I'm British; my mother believed that there's nothing that tea can't fix", Killian says and she tries really hard not to smile, but it's impossible because she knows he's smiling too.
"Maybe I'll have some, then. One spoon of sugar", she says and a few minutes later Killian sets a mug on the table in front of her, then hovers uncertainly next to her until she finds it and wraps her fingers around the spoon, stirring the sugar in.
"You're quite impressive, Swan", Killian tells her and she tilts her head back and lifts her eyebrow in his direction, feeling the warmth of his body acutely where he's leaning on the table next to her. "I've seen those muggers at work a few times, and yet you managed to hold onto your bag."
"I have an advantage over other victims", Emma says and tilts her head toward the place where she had left her cane. "I always have a weapon at the ready."
"You hit him?"
"Repeatedly."
"That's a good girl", Killian says and Emma takes a sip of her tea because she doesn't want him to see that she doesn't mind one bit being called a good girl.
"I like the tea", she tells him, her hand brushing his hip when she sets the mug on the table and she's so physically aware of Killian that it's getting a little difficult to focus on the conversation at hand.
"And that surprises you?"
"I'm not a fan", Emma says after a beat and traces her finger up and down the mug handle.
"What do you prefer, then?" Killian asks, a hint of amusement in his voice, and for the first time Emma wonders what he looks like.
She knows that today he's wearing a soft woolen sweater and jeans, but beyond that and the way his hand feels in hers, she's in the complete dark.
Literally and figuratively.
"I should go", she says abruptly because she can practically feel him getting under her skin and it's the last thing she needs or wants.
"Swan-"
"Thank you for the tea", Emma cuts him off and stands up, her leg bumping against his. "Can I have my coat back?"
"I'm not going to keep you here against your will", Killian says sharply and hands her the coat, which she quickly shrugs on before gathering her bag and cane, realizing too late that she hadn't paid enough attention to their route from the door.
"I'm gonna need your help", she says softly and Killian's hand brushes hers, showing her where his arm is so that she can take it.
"Do you want me to walk you home?" Killian asks as he leads her back to the entrance into his shop and Emma shakes her head because she just wants to be alone and away from his undoubtedly piercing gaze.
"I'm fine on my own", she says but she's not sure if she's trying to convince him, or herself.
Killian stands leaning against the doorway of his shop and follows Emma with his eyes as she walks away toward her apartment, her golden hair shining in the weak November sun, her red coat stained from where she had sat on the pavement before he came running.
His heart was slamming against his ribcage so hard he thought he might be having a heart attack at the ripe old age of thirty-one, but he was too focused on making sure she was okay to care.
The rest of his morning is spent trying to focus on work because there's a wedding tomorrow and he doesn't have even remotely enough arrangements.
Will comes in around noon to pick up the ones Killian had finished and gives him a look that makes it clear that he'd done a sub-par job with them.
"What's eating you, mate?" He asks and Killian squeezes his hand into a fist because he knows better than to confide in him.
"Nothing", Killian says in a tone that brooks no argument and relaxes his hand, cuts a length of string and starts on another arrangement.
"Suit yourself", Will tells him and leaves Killian to it, and he makes five more arrangements before his stomach reminds him that he had skipped lunch.
Granny looks at him disapprovingly as soon as he comes in and proceeds to tell him to be careful with Emma, which makes him choke on his soup.
"You know Emma?"
"She comes for lunch on Saturdays and Sundays", Granny says and hits Killian on the back, then hands him a glass of water when he keeps coughing. "I saw you with her today."
"I just made her tea. Which she didn't even drink in the end", Killian says and cringes at the note of bitterness that creeps into his voice.
"That girl has been through a lot, so you better think about what you're doing before you break her heart", Granny says and returns behind the counter before he can tell her that it's not Emma's heart that's in jeopardy here.
Still, Killian doesn't go straight home from work, picking a sunflower on impulse and walking to Emma's apartment, telling himself that he's going to give up and leave her in her fortress of solitude if she doesn't at least open the door tonight.
He knows she doesn't owe him anything, but he can't help feeling that there's something pulling them close, and he's embarrassed to admit it even to himself but making tea for her had made him happier than he'd been in a very long time.
"Killian?" Emma says his name through her door and he can't help smiling, but then it occurs to him that nobody else comes around and a profound wave of sadness washes over him, his arms practically aching with the need to hold her.
He wonders how long has it been since somebody just held her.
"Yes, it's me", he says and turns the stem of the flower in his hand.
"Another delivery? I thought Walsh gave up."
"I brought you a sunflower", Killian says lamely and listens to the creak of the floor as she shifts behind the door.
"Why?"
"Because I wanted to."
"Why?" She asks and he's pretty sure that both his and her future rides on what he's going to say next.
"Because you shouldn't have to do everything on your own."
"What's it to you?" Emma says but she doesn't sound defiant, only as tired as he feels.
"Maybe I don't want to do everything alone either", he says softly and there's a long pause during which neither of them moves, but it lasts so long that he's completely convinced that he'd blown it.
And then there's the sound of a key in a lock and the door slowly swings inward and reveals Emma, her gaze settling somewhere around his left shoulder when she holds out her hand.
"Can I have my flower?"
"Of course", he says and gives it to her, her pinky finger brushing along his as the sunflower changes hands, her gaze shifting to meet his. "Sunflowers don't smell like much, but my mother always said they were like little suns and I just… I guess I wanted you to have a sun in your apartment."
"Even if I can't see it?"
"You can still feel the warmth", he tells her softly and Emma's green eyes look even more beautiful than usual when she smiles and thanks him.
"It was a pleasure, love", he tells her and watches her come closer, her hand reaching out and encountering his left arm, his heart freezing inside his chest because this is not how he had wanted her to realize that he's missing a hand.
Emma just squeezes his bicep and steps back, a delicate blush coloring her cheeks and her eyelashes lowering to hide her eyes.
"See you around?" She asks, her hopeful smile piercing his heart as Granny's warning comes back to haunt him.
That girl has been through a lot, so you better think about what you're doing before you break her heart.
"Come by the shop whenever you like", he tells her with a smile, hoping she can hear it in his voice. "And if I don't see you for a few days you can expect another evening delivery."
"Is that a promise?" She asks in a teasing tone that he'd never heard her use before and he nods, then verbalizes his answer too.
"Yes, love, it is", he says and walks away backwards, Emma's little goodbye wave making him feel ten feet tall.
It's when he decides that whatever happens, he will sooner break his own heart than do anything that might hurt her.
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