Hooks and Poison Apples

Something To Dwell On

"Depends on yer definition of a thimble."

Harry closed the distance between their lips again, his hand reaching up to rest against the side of her face, his fingers lightly trailing through her hair. Evie felt herself swept up like a shell on the shore, her eyes falling closed at the gentle sensation of his lips against hers. She kissed him back, her hand that was still in his tightening its grip.

"And I do believe," Harry drawled barely above a whisper, smiling cheekily against her lips, "that ye did say ye had a hundred or so to give me."

He went to kiss her again but his comment had shaken Evie out of her shell shock. The enchantment of his tender and intimates gestures disintegrated into glitter and dust, the full weight of what Harry had done - of what she had done - crashing down on her like a mighty wave against a crumbling cliff.

What am I doing? I just kissed-

She pulled away abruptly, moving up into a sitting position, her hair swooshing around her in a wave of blue. She looked back at Harry just in time to see a flash of hurt in his eyes.

She wasn't sure what startled her more. Was it the kiss itself or that flicker of hurt that told her that it had meant something to him?

"That... that isn't what I meant and you know it!" Evie said quickly, nearly stumbling over her words. "A thimble is something you put on your finger so you don't prick it when you're sewing! It's not a... not a-"

"Kiss?" Harry said lightly.

Evie nodded, too flustered to bring herself to say the word. What did he think he was doing kissing her out of the blue? What was she doing kissing him back? And since when was a thimble a kiss?

Unbidden, the memory of her first sword fight with Harry in the Hooks Inlet and Shack washed over her like a shock of cold water.

"Is this deal one all the customers get offered?" Evie asked, tilting her head. "It's a wonder you're still in business. What do you get if you win?"

"How about we keep it a surprise for when I win?" He said coyly.

"Hmm, I don't think so," Evie replied, crossing her arms.

She was not foolish enough to go into a wager she knew she would most likely lose, not knowing what was at stake.

"Alright then, a thimble."

Oh, there was no way he had meant...

Evie jumped to her feet, her movements rocking the boat. She pointed a finger accusingly at the pirate, backing away to put distance between them. She needed to get away from him, even if it was only by a small measurement. Having those dark eyes watching her so intently and from so close was almost overbearing, if she wasn't careful she could easily find herself drowning in them.

"Explain the thimble thing, right now!" Evie demanded.

Harry sat up, his arm crossed and legs still stretched out. He looked relaxed and calm, but Evie was able to see past his nonchalant defences. The way his jaw was clenched ever so slightly, the alertness in his eyes as he watched her reaction, the way his right hand twitched as though wanting to clutch the handle of his fake hook that he usually held - a small act of comfort she had come to realise. It was these little things and more, small kinks in his armour, that told her he was anxious, no matter how well he hid it. He wasn't sure what to make of her reaction.

"It's a kiss. Don't ye remember the story of Peter Pan and Wendy?" Evie didn't miss the utter disdain in which he said the names. "Peter didn't know what a kiss was when Wendy wanted to give him one. So instead, she gave him a thimble to represent it."