13. one battle

Prompt: ''I've seen the way you look at me when you think I don't notice.''

A/N: Modern AU.

There he was again. The black leather a stark contrast to the gentle colors of the diner. The dark tousled hair a distraction she stubbornly refused to call welcome. The voice with an English accent that sounded impossibly smooth for someone just ordering coffee. But the eyes were, without a doubt, the worst part. It had only been days since he'd started coming to Granny's, but every single time that he did she could feel his blue eyes burning into her with the heat of blue fire.

Emma was tired of pretending to ignore it. If he was planning to keep coming here, which it seemed like he was, she needed to confront this. So when she set a steaming mug on the counter in front of him, she didn't turn her back to him like she usually did. Instead, she crossed her arms and looked directly into the eyes that had prompted this moment.

''I've seen the way you look at me when you think I don't notice.'' Her voice was strict, but the words she'd chosen didn't quite convey the business-like tone she was going for.

He smirked, an infuriating reaction really, because she was the one who was supposed to be in control here and her accusation definitely hadn't been intended to make him smile.

(Although it was quite a nice smile.)

(Focus.)

''You appear to be implying that I was trying to hide it, which I most certainly was not.'' He put emphasis on the last word, both eyebrows raised with his gaze still intently on her. It remained that way even while he took a careful sip of the hot coffee.

Emma was taken aback by his answer. She hadn't quite expected him to say that. Then again, he didn't seem like the type to let himself appear anything but overtly self-confident.

''You picked the wrong woman to stare at. It's a waste of time, for both of us.'' She fixed him with a stern glance, and spoke nothing but what she believed to be the full and honest truth. She wasn't looking for a relationship. Not even a one-night stand, honestly. There was only one love she had room for in her life, and that was Henry. She was working her ass of just to provide for her baby boy. No way in hell did she have the time (or courage) for any romantic kind of love.

''Can't say I regret my decision, love.''

She wasn't sure why he was so determined about this, but she did know exactly how to scare pretty much any guy away. She leaned in, shifting her weight to rest on her arms on the counter.

''I have a kid. Ready to run yet?'' Maybe this was an attempt at making him give up. Or maybe this was a challenge.

''I'm afraid I'm not that easy to get rid of. And I have a feeling that's not actually what you want to do,'' he said while moving just a few inches towards her, his undeniably handsome features now dangerously close to her. She drew a sharp breath. Alright, so leaning in had been a terrible idea. And offering the challenge an even worse one, because he grabbed it with both hands.

But Emma Swan had never been one to back away from a challenge. The problem was that she didn't know the same thing applied to Killian Jones.

''Oh really? You think you know me so well?'' She responded with sarcasm and a thin smile.

''No. But I'd like to.'' This was the first time there was no underlying tone of pure flirting in his voice. His blue eyes displayed an ocean of honesty. Which made this the first time she lost the upper hand. The first time she actually believed that he might be a threat to the rules she'd set for herself.

She turned around after a moment of lingering there, unable to come up with any words to lift the tension. But even with her back turned to him and focused on the trivial task of cleaning the coffee machine, she could still feel his eyes on her, and practically see his satisfied grin.

He'd won this battle. But something told her that this was merely the beginning, that this challenge would turn into a full-on, unspoken war. What the reward of winning the battle would be, she wasn't really sure of. Even in a conversation consisting of so few sentences, he had managed to surprise her more than once. All she knew was that he would be back, and she would be ready for it.

He'd won one battle. She wouldn't lose the war.