Ronan felt his heart race unexpectedly as Leia's warm words washed over him. There was a strange flutter in his chest. A foreign feeling, which he couldn't explain. It was difficult to say why his body reacted the way it did; he only knew that something about her presence stirred emotions he wasn't ready to name.
Before he could second-guess himself, his body moved on instinct. Leaning in, he pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek.
Leia froze, her blinking ceasing altogether. Slowly, she tilted her head to look at him with her widened eyes. One hand rose to touch the spot where his lips had been, while the other curled into a soft, nervous fist at her side.
"Th-That's… I should go," Ronan stammered, then turned and swiftly disappeared down the hallway, leaving Leia behind in stunned silence.
Once inside the quiet of his hotel suite, he dropped onto a chair with a heavy thud, his breath uneven. Pressing a trembling hand to his mouth, he muttered to himself, "Why did I do that?"
