Her Smile

Then she smiled at him, and his heart pretty much stopped.

Because when she smiled, it affected her entire being.

Her eyes got a slight twinkle in them, momentarily at least, whatever be the situation. An almost unnoticeable touch of pink graced her cheeks. The corners of her eyes crinkled, softening her expression. A bit of the tension in her shoulders left her. Subconsciously, she fidgeted with her fingers.

He noticed all of this. He noticed how all of this together changed the air around her, almost imperceptibly.

But most of all, it was the smile itself. The way her mouth curved upwards, a hint of the shyness inherent in her. The way that curve accentuated her entire face. The way that curve seemed to make everything around him brighter and better. The curve, that smile, had the power to stop his heart or make it race at will.

He loved the way a smile changed the entire aura around her. He loved the way she looked at him if he was the one who had been lucky enough to make her smile. At the same time, it burned him something cruel on the insides if she turned that look and that smile on anyone else.

He loved the hold that smile had on his heart, whatever that said about him. He loved the warmth that spread in his body when he saw that smile. He loved that he could make her smile, even in the most tense situation.

Then she smiled again, and this time, his heart began thundering a mile a minute.

He freakin' loved that smile.