Thank you to all of you for leaving me such wonderful feedback; your reviews really make my day. And to answer Tricia's question, my great-grandmother was blind, and a pretty kick-ass lady all around. Enjoy, and I hope you come back in two days for the next chapter!
Emma gets ambushed during lunch break; Elsa is out of the office and Walsh comes in without knocking, leaning against Emma's desk and casually asking her if she got any more flowers in the past week or so.
"I got a sunflower on Thursday", she tells him even though she knows what he's angling at, and her lips quirk into a smile when she remembers Killian's explanation for giving her that particular flower.
"I was thinking about something more impressive than that", Walsh says and she fights the urge to roll her eyes because his flowers would've been dull and impersonal if there wasn't for Killian's thoughtfulness in picking the ones that smelled the best.
"There was a bouquet without any kind of a note attached to it about a week ago", she tells him and resists the urge to lie that she had thrown it into the trash.
"You wouldn't be able to read it anyway", Walsh says and he sounds both defensive and annoyed, and Emma can't believe she used to think he's a decent guy.
"You sent the flowers?" She asks calmly and levels him with the coldest stare she can muster, hoping that her gaze is not completely off-base.
"I did."
"Thank you", Emma tells him curtly and turns back toward her keyboard, not caring even a tiny bit if she's being rude.
"Did you like them?" Walsh asks uncertainly and she doesn't want to tell him that they were lovely because it wasn't through any effort of his own.
"I wouldn't know. I can't see, you know", she says without turning her head to face him, wondering why is she suddenly feeling so pissed; Walsh is not the first person who treated her like she's somehow less and he probably won't be the last.
"Who gave you the sunflower you liked?" He asks and she doesn't appreciate his tone one bit.
"It's none of your business", she tells him sharply just a moment before Elsa breezes back into the office.
There's a sound of bodies colliding and Elsa cries out in pain while Walsh curses and asks her if she's alright.
"Fine, just a bit winded. I didn't know you were here", Elsa says and Emma tells Walsh that it would be best if he left them to it, then carefully makes her way to where Elsa is standing and reaches out, her hand encountering her friend's shoulder.
"What happened?"
The door closes with a little more force than necessary and Elsa reassures Emma that she's alright.
"Since when does he hang out with you during his break?"
"He just came to ask me if I liked his stupid flowers", Emma says and takes the paper bag with her sandwich from Elsa, then sits in a spare chair next to her desk.
"He sent you flowers?" Elsa asks, surprise coloring her voice, and Emma is silent while she unwraps her sandwich and takes a bite of it.
"It's a long story."
"We've got time."
Emma debates it for a full minute while she chews, afraid to open up and yet feeling like she should take this opening because if she doesn't, Elsa might stop trying all-together.
"Remember when Killian gave me the iris?"
"Of course. He's hopeful you're going to be besties."
"I told Walsh where I got it and he called Killian and ordered a bouquet. He wanted it to be pretty", Emma says and Elsa huffs sympathetically. "Killian made sure it was beautiful but also that it smelled really good."
"Seems like he hopes for more than friendship."
"He gave me a sunflower on Thursday", Emma says wistfully and she has to make a conscious effort not to get lost in the memory of that evening.
"And then?"
"I said I'd see him around and he said he'd show up at my door again if too long passes without us running into each other."
"You're lucky", Elsa says softly, and Emma frowns a little at the note of sadness in Elsa's voice until she remembers that Elsa has been single since they've met, just like Emma.
It seems like her aloneness wasn't self-imposed the way Emma's was.
"I guess I am", Emma says noncommittally, but she knows that Elsa is right.
Still, she doesn't stop by Killian's shop on her way from work because she's sorely late on grocery shopping and she still has to get home first to write up a list of the things she needs.
The grocery store she frequents is right between her building and Killian's shop, and it's owned by a guy named Leroy who, despite his gruff voice and manners always seems happy to take Emma's list and gather all the things for her.
While he does that, Emma handpicks her fruit, smelling the apples and oranges and making sure everything is as fresh as possible.
"Hello, Swan", Killian says from behind her and she juggles the apples she's holding, only just managing not to drop them all. "Sorry, love. Didn't mean to startle you."
"What are you doing here?" Emma asks, her eyes narrowing suspiciously because her first thought is that he'd followed her here.
"I ran out of cinnamon", Killian tells her and she feels even more ill at ease.
"You ran out of cinnamon."
"For apple pie?" He tells her like it's a question and Emma does her best not to gape at him, but judging by his chuckle, she's not very successful. "I am not only a florist, but an occasional baker too."
"Oh. Okay", Emma says, feeling stupid because it seems clear now that Killian had never meant them to be more than friends.
"Also not gay", he tells her, accurately figuring out the reason for her deflating.
"Your girlfriend must be the luckiest girl in the world", the words escape Emma's mouth before she can stop them and then she stands there blushing and wishing she could just turn on her heel and walk away.
"I don't have a girlfriend", Killian tells her softly, and there's something raw in his voice, something that makes Emma think about Neal for the first time in years and she mentally shakes herself, pushing those thoughts away.
"Emma, your stuff is ready!" Leroy calls from the other end of the store and Emma feels for her bag and puts her latest picks inside, then almost walks into Killian, his quick reflexes the only thing that prevents their collision.
"Sorry", she says and he assures her that it's fine, then falls into step beside her, heading toward the cash register too.
Emma is painfully aware of the heat of his body and more self-conscious than she had felt in a long time as she swings her cane from side to side, praying that she doesn't run into anything while he's watching.
It's silly, but she doesn't want him to know how simple things can be so difficult for her because she can't see.
"Would you like me to give you a ride home?" Killian asks as soon as Emma is done paying for her things and waves a packet of cinnamon at Leroy before he pockets it and lays a fiver on the counter. "Keep the change."
"Thank you, Killian, but I prefer to walk", Emma says, already opening the door leading out and holding it for him as he follows her out of the store.
"I thought we have already established that I'm not going to hurt you", Killian tells her and gently lays his hand on her arm to stop her. "At least let me carry your bag."
"I can carry my own bag", she says sharply, then bites her lip and starts walking again. "Sorry. I just don't like cars."
He can see that Emma is going to just walk away if he doesn't do something soon, and he wonders briefly what her beef is with cars but decides to leave it be for the moment.
"Swan, can you just stand still for a moment?" Killian jogs to catch up with her and she turns toward him with an expectant look on her beautiful face.
Her cheeks are rosy and she looks absolutely adorable with her red cap pulled down almost to her eyebrows, her golden hair cascading over her shoulders and curling slightly at the ends.
"I was going to stop by your apartment after the store", Killian says and walks backwards toward his car, quickly opening the door and getting out the single chrysanthemum he had laid out on the passenger seat earlier. "If you give me your bag, I'm going to give you another flower."
"You drive a hard bargain", Emma tells him and after a moment's hesitation holds out her bag which he manages to hang on his fake hand without her noticing, then tickles her cheek with the flower and basks in the warmth of her smile when she takes the stem.
He ignores the pang of guilt he feels at deceiving her, but the middle of the sidewalk is hardly a place to tell her about his missing hand.
"What is this? A marigold?"
"It's a chrysanthemum. Red", Killian says when they start walking again, Emma's fingers playing with the petals and her delicate eyebrow lifting at his answer.
"Doesn't smell all that nice", she remarks and he grins, wiggling his eyebrows and telling her that sometimes the meaning of the flower is important too.
"And what is the meaning of this one?"
"I'll leave that to you to find out", Killian says, and he's about to step off the sidewalk when Emma's cane shoots out and blocks his path.
"We can't go yet", she says and tilts her head back as if looking at him, her gaze only just missing his.
It's both slightly unnerving and absolutely endearing at the same time.
"Wasn't paying attention", Killian tells her and she smiles to herself, then confidently crosses the road when the tone of the beeping changes. "You are a marvel, Swan."
"Not really", she says with a small shrug and he catches himself wanting to uncover all her secrets and find out why is she alone.
There is no doubt in his mind that it is not her blindness holding her back, but a heartbreak she had not yet recovered from.
"Do you really know how to bake an apple pie?" Emma asks him after a few minutes of silence, and she sounds so eager he thinks he would learn even if he didn't already know.
"Yes I do."
"How come? I mean, you won't find a lot of guys who can say the same. Or girls, for that matter", she adds, and when he glances into her grocery bag he can plainly see that she's not big on cooking; there's fruit and cereal and a lot of microwave dinners.
"My mother believed that house chores and cooking shouldn't fall only on the woman; I know it's considered peculiar but I never thought much about it when I was growing up because she always made everything we did fun."
"She sounds nice", Emma says and he agrees, but even though he senses that there's another story there, he doesn't ask because they are coming upon Emma's building and she holds out her flower for him to hold while she fishes in her bag for the keys. "You are going to insist on seeing me up to my door, aren't you?"
"How did you know?"
"It's what a gentleman would do."
"I am always a gentleman", Killian agrees and follows Emma inside once she gets the door opened, and he does his very best not to watch the gentle sway of her hips as she climbs the stairs ahead of him.
He might be a gentleman, but he's also a red-blooded male and he is not entirely successful in that endeavor.
Emma unlocks her door and turns to him, holding out her hands for the bag and the flower, and Killian knows a moment of panic because Emma is going to know that his left hand isn't real as soon as she touches it, and it is the first time he makes the conscious decision to deceive her, giving her the flower first, then switching the bag to his right hand and passing that along too.
"Thank you", she says and sets the bag on the floor, then stands there with her flower and an uncertain half-smile pulling at her lips.
Her face is so easy to read; she thinks she's going to appear rude if she doesn't invite him in, but she clearly isn't ready for such a big leap of faith and he doesn't want to make her feel pressured in any way.
"It was my pleasure, love", he says and gently squeezes her shoulder, then bids her goodnight and walks away even though it is the last thing he wants to do.
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