~𝟱𝟲~

                                    

                                          
(Third person, Lee Know's perspective)
Lee Know stood frozen in the kitchen long after Ava had disappeared up the stairs and into her room. His skin tingled where she had kissed him. He brought his hand up to let his fingertips touch the spot her lips had met his skin, and the touch elicited a shuddering sigh from him, a shiver running through his body. I shouldn't be the one melting right now, and yet here I am, reeling from something as simple as a peck on the cheek, he thought to himself. 
He ran a hand through his hair, trying to get his thoughts back together again. His attention was quickly drawn back up to the stairs, Ava standing there in a simple T-shirt and shorts, but still making his heart flutter. Like she always had. He never really noticed, too busy thinking of other things or focusing on making conversation. But the feeling got stronger and stronger every time he looked at her. Since the beginning of their friendship, it had been there. He never acknowledged it, but now that the truth was staring him in the face, he couldn't help but reminisce. 
"You ready to go?" he asked Ava as she got to him. She nodded slightly, her messy bun bobbing along with her head.
They walked out the sliding door, onto the sand and towards the ocean. They started walking next to the water, the soft sounds of the waves filling the comfortable silence between them. As they walked, Lee Know intentionally brushed his hand against Ava's, chasing the tingly feeling that spread through his body whenever their skin met. Until he slowly slipped his hand into hers, interlacing their fingers. 
Her hand just felt so right in his, like it was meant to be there. He didn't believe in soulmates or fate; he never had. But Ava was pushing his boundaries and making his eyes open up to things he had never even thought about. 
It startled Lee Know when Ava spoke, her sentence breaking the silence around them. But her voice still managed to sooth him.
"I'm sorry you have to hide this. Because of me."
It took Lee Know a moment to register the full weight of Ava's words, but when he did, he immediately answered.
"If it makes you happy, I'll do it in a heartbeat."
Insecurity rushed through him as he realised the full meaning of the words that left his mouth, but Ava didn't seem bothered by it, smiling up at him.
"Gosh, how did I end up here?" she asked with a sigh, looking at the sand as they kept walking. 
"You went with your gut. You made a decision even thought it was hard for you. And then you met us and... well, I guess the rest is history."
"And how the hell did I end up with such amazing friends?" she asked.
"I guess that just happened. Like most friendships do."
"And how did I end up falling for a man, even while being battered and broken?"
"Now that I don't know, but I do know that I'll be by your side on this journey. This journey of healing. I'll be there with you, every step of the way."
Lee Know stopped as he said that, pulling Ava to stand in front of him, taking both her hands. Ava smiled up at him, her eyes glossy. She sniffled and brushed a hand over her eyes, catching the wetness before it could slip over her cheeks. 
"Oh, come on. Don't get all emotional on me," Lee Know said.
Ava laughed at him and he chuckled. Her laughter was infectious. It made fleeting brushes of warmth dance along his skin to hear it, and it made his heart leap to be able to share in that laughter.
They started walking again, the air filled with silence. Ava brushed her thumb against Lee Know's hand, sending tingles up his spine. Memories filled his mind. Memories of them together. The first time they trained together. The time she attached the wire to his jacket on the undercover mission and he watched her work. The time he saved her from falling out the window when she saved the suspect. The time she cleaned his wounds. The time he brought her inside after the guy strangled her.