Thank you so much for all your wonderful feedback, and if you've recovered from the new episode, here's some more fluffiness. I hope you enjoy, and you can expect the next chapter on Wednesday.
Emma spends a night of fitful sleep because she had made the mistake of checking the meaning of red chrysanthemum last night and found that it generally mean love, and even though it's clear that Killian hadn't meant it for her to take it literally, he had made his intentions when she is concerned quite clear nonetheless.
And there is no doubt that the ball is in her court now, and she has to decide what to do with it.
The thing is, even though she likes Killian very much, Emma doesn't know a lot about him beyond the fact that he sells flowers for a living, can bake apple pie and smells really, really nice.
There must be a fault to him, and she hopes that once it is revealed, it won't be a deal-breaker.
"But that's the point, isn't it? Letting yourself get to know him better", Emma argues his case while she waits for milk to warm so that she can pour it over her cereal, shaking her head because she's not usually prone to talking to herself.
She can't remember when was that last time she was scared of something so much, and there have been countless things in the past ten years that scared her, and that still scare her.
Like trying to cook anything more complicated than scrambled eggs, for example.
And yet, just the memory of deep timbre of Killian's voice when he says her name jumbles her thoughts, and she finds herself tempted with the idea of taking a leap of faith and seeing what happens.
Nobody says she has to date Killian, but she is tired of being alone and she had enjoyed spending time with him even back when they were just talking through her door.
Emma breezes out of her apartment feeling lighter just for making a decision of not shooting down Killian's advances, and decides to stop by his shop to get some kind of a potted plant for her office too; the gloxinia is not blooming anymore but she trusts Killian that it is just a matter of time until it happens again.
"Good morning", she calls upon entering and smiles at the direction of his answering greeting.
"Let me just finish this thing", Killian says and Emma carefully picks her way to him, leaning against the worn wooden table and asking him what's he doing. "It's supposed to be a flower arrangement but it keeps listing to one side."
He sounds frustrated, but she realizes that she's not at all sorry that she came.
"Can I help?" Emma asks and faces him, thinking that he must be giving her an assessing look and patiently waiting for him to make up his mind.
"As a matter of fact, you can", he says and slides his thumb under her hand, leading it to the stems and telling her to hold them just so while he ties everything off. "Thank you, love."
"What would you have done without me?" She asks him with a teasing smile when his fingers brush hers and warmth surges through her veins because she is acutely aware of how close they are standing, her arm brushing against his and his ocean scent filling her nose even with all the flowers surrounding them.
"I suppose I would have managed, but this is much quicker", he tells her and she nods, then asks him if he grows these flowers himself.
"Some of them, I do", he answers and softly curses under his breath, then there's the sound of a string being broken, which Emma imagines Killian had done with his teeth and the warmth she feels grows impossible to ignore.
"Done?"
"Done", Killian says and he sounds oddly relieved, making her wonder if she had done something to make him uncomfortable.
It's an unpleasant thought that he easily squashes with his heartfelt gratitude.
"Would you like to come out this weekend and see my hothouses?" He asks her and his voice doesn't catch on the word "see" like it seems to with other sighted people, and Emma's respect for him grows tenfold.
"Where exactly are your hothouses?"
"About twenty minutes out of the city. I'd come to get you, of course", Killian says and all the warmth Emma had been feeling instantly dissipates.
"Thanks for the offer, but I can't", she says curtly and pointedly touches her watch, Killian's hand touching hers and his warm fingers holding on to stop her from running away.
"You really don't like cars, then", Killian states and her panic at the memory of screaming metal before her world went dark lessens just from the contact with his skin, his thumb idly tracing her knuckles.
Emma is used to people touching her without her consent, trying to guide her places and help her even when she doesn't ask for it, but she had been sorely missing touches that only mean to soothe and comfort.
"I avoid them at all costs", Emma tells him and he squeezes her hand, but doesn't inquire as to the reason for her aversion. "I should get to work."
"You should", Killian agrees but still doesn't release her hand.
"I was thinking about getting a potted plant for my office", she says, suddenly remembering her reason for coming in and Killian goes back to tracing her index finger with the tip of his calloused one.
"Anything in particular you wish to get?"
"Surprise me?"
"I shall bring it to you around noon", Killian says and she tells him the address and the number of her office. "In the interest of full disclosure, I have to admit that I've seen you going into the City Hall a few times."
"I was wondering if you watched me walk away", she admits and feels his shrug when he tells her that she's hard to miss.
"Because of the cane?"
"Because you're beautiful", he says, and he sounds surprised that she's not aware of that fact.
"I haven't seen myself in a while, but if you say so…"
"Trust my 20/20 vision", he tells her and she smiles, then pulls her hand from his and tells him that she really has to go now if she doesn't want to be late. "I'll see you soon, love."
She's already entering the Hall when she realizes that she hadn't paid him for the flower he's going to deliver, too thrown by his compliments and the way he had held her hand.
Her skin is still tingling when she sits behind her computer and she ends up counting down the minutes until his arrival.
Killian chooses gardenia for a few reasons; it smells nice, its meaning is that the person receiving it is lovely, and he thinks Emma is going to welcome the challenge of caring for it without feeling overwhelmed.
Seeing Emma help him so eagerly when he was struggling makes him feel awful because it was the perfect opportunity to tell her about his missing hand and because it was painfully clear that people rarely ask for or accept her help, just assuming that she wouldn't be able to do anything.
At precisely noon Killian locks up his shop and carries the pot with a beautiful white gardenia to the City Hall, where the security guys just wave him in; he takes the stairs two at a time, then hesitates when he realizes that whomever is Emma sharing her office with is going to see his prosthetic hand and undoubtedly ask Emma about it.
Still, there's nothing he can do about it and it's going to be a relief to have it out in the open, so Killian shifts the pot in his arms and knocks on Emma's door, carefully opening the door and poking his head in.
"I have a delivery for Emma Swan", he says with a grin and Emma beams at him, getting up and going to the window sill to show him where to put the pot.
"Elsa, come meet Killian", she says and a slender, blonde-haired woman crosses the office, her hand extended; Killian shakes it and realizes that Elsa is blind too, but he doesn't have time to dwell on it.
"Nice to meet you", Elsa says and tells him in an exaggerated whisper that Emma had never been very interested in flowers before she met had met him.
"Elsa!"
"You know it's true."
"I always loved flowers."
"Uh-huh", Elsa says and goes back behind her desk, the pink blush on Emma's cheeks deepening.
"Don't listen to her. What did you bring me?" She asks and reaches out her hands when he sets the pot down, her fingers gently exploring the blooms before she leans down to smell them.
"It's a gardenia", Killian tells her and wonders if Elsa is typing it into the language of flowers dot com even as Emma tells him that she likes it very much.
"I forgot to pay you."
"Don't worry about it, love."
"Can I take you to lunch instead? There's a diner close by-"
"Granny's?"
"You know it?"
"I eat there every day", Killian tells her and she takes his breath away, her eyes so bright and alive that it's hard to believe she can't see anything at all.
"I only eat there on weekends", Emma says and shrugs on her coat, slips her phone and valet into its deep pockets and takes her cane. "I'll be back in an hour."
"Take your time", Elsa says with a giggle and Emma rolls her eyes, then waves Killian ahead of her and out of the office.
The sky looks white and the air leaves their mouths in puffs as they walk the short distance to Granny's, but Killian doesn't notice because Emma had boldly asks him if he would mind being her sighted guide, which he agrees to by entwining his fingers with hers.
"That's not how you do it", she says mildly and slides her hand up his arm, wrapping her fingers around his elbow and telling him not to worry and to just keep walking as he would without her holding onto him.
"What if there's a step?"
"You just pause a little before it and I'll feel if it's up or down by the way your body moves", Emma tells him and he puts that theory to the test at Granny's entrance, which they maneuver smoothly.
"It seems like we make quite the team", Killian says once they are seated in a corner booth and Emma tilts her head to the side as if assessing him, then smoothes her hair behind her ear and smiles a cute little smile that endears her to him even more.
"You did much better than most people do", she tells him and he's mesmerized by the way her pretty mouth moves, his hand resting close to hers on the table because he's itching to hold hers again but he doesn't want to seem too forceful.
Granny greets them with her usual efficiency and gives Killian a warning look that's completely lost on Emma, then walks away to get their orders as Killian drums his fingers against the table in exasperation, slightly offended that she thinks he would ever hurt Emma.
Emma's small hand covers his, her graceful fingers pale next to his tanned ones and he looks up at her green eyes, the sudden realization of the amount of trouble he's in making him chuckle.
"What?" She asks with an uncertain smile and he reassures her with a touch, turning her hand over and sliding his thumb over her pulse point.
"Granny can give me as many warning looks as she wants; it's up to you to decide how much time you want to spend with me", Killian tells her and Emma's eyes widen a little.
"I was in a car accident when I was eighteen", Emma says out of the blue and squeezes his hand as if wanting to make sure he won't let go. "It's the reason I'm blind."
"Were you driving?" Killian asks her softly, and it's clear that she hadn't expected that question by the way her eyebrows go up.
"No", she answers, and that single nearly-whispered word is enough to show him the depth of her pain and the damage that goes beyond the obvious without him knowing the whole story.
"I'm sorry, love."
"I didn't tell you this to have you pity me", she says sharply and slips her hand from his just as Granny nears their table with the plates, and he wonders if Emma had heard her coming before Killian's brain had registered seeing her approach.
"Enjoy", Granny says and they both thank her, Killian making a point not to meet her eyes.
"I don't pity you, lass", Killian says as if they weren't interrupted and captures Emma's hand again, well aware of the fact that she's pulling back even though she's still sitting across from him. "I think you're bloody brilliant, and I won't mind walking wherever you want us to go."
Emma does her best to look nonchalant, but her eyes give her away, the relief and surprise and the desire to run all evident in their fathomless depths, but she doesn't go anywhere, her fingers squeezing his before she lets go and they focus on their respective plates.
The subject of Emma's accident is not mentioned again, and although they don't talk much for the rest of their lunch aside from praising Granny's food, there seems to be a deeper connection between them than it had existed just yesterday.
Before they go their separate ways Killian asks Emma if he can text her sometime, feeling like a foolish teenager for phrasing it like that, and Emma's lips quirk up at the corners as she rattles off her phone number and tells him to keep his messages PG rated in case people overhear her listening to them.
"I will do my very best", he says and Emma laughs, gives him a little wave and walks back in the direction of her office, and this time he doesn't deny himself the urge to follow her with his eyes until she's out of sight.
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