With Hearts to Hear| ✔

|28|

Rachel changed in the bathroom, whilst Killian changed in the living room. There had once been a time where she would have paid no mind to her mother's fretting considering they had both seen each other naked, multiple times— hence Diana.

However, over the last two years she had grown enough to respect her mothers and even her stepfather's rules and household, as they had learnt to respect Rachel's boundaries. It helped that she didn't have to live with them anymore.

That aside, there was a part of her that was nervous about Killian seeing her body. Pregnancy had changed her, a lot. Diana was the greatest thing she had ever done, and she was glad that her body had been the temple that had brought her into the world, but it didn't mean she wasn't also a little self-conscious about the ways that it had made her entirely different.

She made quick work of changing into the floral cotton nightgown that her mother had lent her. Rachel was almost certain that her mother had chosen it for the fact it went all the way down to her ankles and looked like the most grandmotherly smock she could find.

When she returned, Killian was still in the process of changing. He had gotten rid of the soaked slacks and replaced them with a pair of chequered sleep pants that were leaning on the smaller side. (Not that Rachel would complain, his shapely butt perfectly defined by the material.)

His skin golden and scarred on his broad back and shoulders, dimples on his lower back and muscles rippling with each slight movement he made. Her foot scuffed against the floor, mouth hung open, the sight of his bare skin flustering her like some pre-pubescent teen.

"I'm sorry, I didn't—" She spluttered, choking on words. She wasn't entirely sure what she was trying to say, because she definitely wasn't sorry to be reminded of how utterly gorgeous, he was.

"Am I making you nervous?" Killian chuckled, spinning around to meet her gaze. He was slightly relieved that he was not the only one behaving like this was the first time they had met all over again. He couldn't believe that he could still stutter and flustered just by taking his shirt off.

Then again, she was standing in front of him in what was probably the world's least sexy nightgown, and yet he felt the same.

"I'd offer to put a shirt on, but I kind of enjoy not feeling like I'm being hugged by a boa constrictor." Killian chuckled bashfully.

Only Rachel was far more distracted by the view of his chest— he had softened in the 2 years she had not seen him, though it had not made him any less of a fine specimen. She also noticed he had a few more scars and marks than she remembered, she wondered what he had been doing to cause those.

"Oh, sweet Santoshi, help me." Rachel couldn't help the prayer that escaped her in a quick mumble in her native tongue. She knew that if he kept staring at her the way he was right then, she would be drawn to him like a magnet and she would have to kiss him.

Instead, she cleared her throat, looking directly into his eyes, willing herself not to get distracted by looking anywhere else.

"You know we need to talk."

"I know." Killian sighed, the playfulness leaving him as the heaviness of the evening settled around him.

As much he was loving being with Rachel again and meeting their daughter, it did not change the fact that they still had plenty to reconcile. They could not simply jump straight into playing happy families without first talking about what had happened, or what would happen.

"I just— I don't want to make the same mistake again." Rachel murmured, though Killian heard her like a tolling bell in the night— loud, clear and foreboding. Rachel sighed, melting into the sofa with an unguarded defeat. "I don't want us to rush into things only for us to realise we've messed things up when it's too late..."