Here, Kitty, Kitty

The Tricky Path

Over a week had passed since Cassie's night in Dragon Hall, a week since she found out there were other VK's that shared her curse, and a week since her 'chat' with Harry in Maleficent's castle. Truthfully, for Cassie, it somehow felt longer than that. After all, she'd been run ragged since the evening she returned to the ship.

When Helena had called her while she was in Mal's old room with Harry, the little cat had frantically climbed off of his lap, praying that Helena couldn't tell what had just gone down when she poked her head out through the double doors. Thankfully, as far as Cassie could tell, the queen was none the wiser.

Looking back over her shoulder, Cassie eyed Harry, her fingers twisting together in front of her. "I have to go," she muttered, gesturing towards the staircase.

He ran a hand through his hair and gave a short nod. "Okay."

Cassie lingered in the doorway. Hesitantly, she offered, "I can heal you. If you want." The scratches along his cheek weren't too deep, but they'd be unbearably itchy during the slow healing process. His back, however, would cause the most discomfort, especially if he rolled over during his sleep.

"No need," he mumbled, leaning back on his hands. "What doesn't kill ye' makes ye' stronger, an' all that."

Cassie's brows furrowed. "Who told you that?"

Harry paused and gnawed on the inside of his cheek, clearly weighing whether or not it was something she deserved to know. "Dad did."

At this, Cassie's nose wrinkled in displeasure. "He's an asshole." It passed through her lips before she had a chance to contain it, and for a second, she wondered if she'd pissed him off.

As it turned out, he wasn't bothered. "Aye, he is," he chuckled.

After a second of consideration, Cassie took slow steps towards him and said, "My dad used to say, 'some go this way, and some go that way. But as for me, I prefer the short cut'." Standing in front of the pirate, a long sigh escaped her. "He had a thing for taking the easy way out." Gently, she tapped the area just below the scratches on his face. "How about it? You wanna go the long way? Or do you wanna take the shortcut?"

He hummed, peering up at the little cat, pondering her offer. Then his lips twitched. "Whichever way gets ye'r mouth on me quicker."

Rolling her eyes, Cassie kneeled beside him on the bed, hoping to conceal the momentary curl of her lips. "Stay still, Hook."

Maybe healing him had taken a little longer than it should have. It wasn't like that time he'd been unconscious in Uma's ship, where she'd been running on very little sleep and a frightening urgency to ensure he woke up. It was different. She wasn't healing him because her life depended on it, and he wasn't forcing her to for some sadistic kind of pleasure. His wounds weren't enough to bind him to his bed or prevent him from carrying out his daily tasks. Healing him in Maleficent's tower was a simple peace offering, of sorts. And maybe there was something quite amusingly curious about helping him in the very room where they'd once tried to kill each other. It was like one big 'fuck you' to all the agony that had been caused between the four walls.

Harry was, well, almost concerningly receptive to Cassie's healing. His head lulled to the side, eyes closed, as his chest moved slowly, seemingly content to let her get on with it. If he hadn't been sitting upright and balancing on his hands, she'd have assumed he'd fallen asleep somehow. It wasn't until she perched herself behind him to get to the scratches around his shoulders that he made a sound. Not one of pain or discomfort, but a low hum, like he was enjoying himself. Initially, Cassie worried she'd hurt him, until a breathy 'keep going' encouraged her. So she'd continued, albeit a little unsettled by the fluttering in her lower stomach.