Hey guys, I'm back! Sorry I've been completely absent and I KNOW I have so many projects to finish up on here and why am I working on another new one shot? Well, I got inspired by some spoiler we got about a wedding over a year ago and life finally slowed down enough that I could finish this up. Certain details are AU now, but it was all canon when I originally wrote it.
Not gonna lie, it's a little scary to post stuff after being away for over a year, but hopefully you guys enjoy it!
Disclaimer: Once Upon a Time and its characters aren't mine, they belong to Adam and Eddy. Sometimes I just like to take them out to play.
Emma took one last look in the mirror, rushing so that she wouldn't be too late for the wedding. She was supposed to be meeting her parents in order to walk to the church together around one, but it was now clear that wouldn't be happening. Why had she decided to stay over on the Jolly Roger last night? Sure, she'd had great time during her night with Killian, but they'd both fallen into a deep sleep after some...enjoyable activities. Of course, neither had the foresight to set some sort of alarm. Therefore, Emma found herself rushing across town at 11, praying she would make it home, shower, and get herself dressed and made up in time. She didn't particularly want to go to the wedding, seeing how she still had a lot of hard feelings towards Rumplestiltskin, but she'd always liked Belle and they were all family, apparently.
As she headed to her parents' apartment, Emma found herself wondering if Killian would make an appearance at any point. The entire populace of Storybrooke seemed to have been invited to the wedding and the reception, even those who Rumple didn't care for. However, Emma had the feeling that even if he had been invited, it was unlikely he'd make an effort to attend a celebration for his sworn enemy. She found herself conflicted about this. On one hand, it was somewhat of a relief. Ever since they had broken the Wicked Witch's curse, the two of them had been dancing around their feelings for each other. Emma was well aware that Killian loved her and very, very small part of her realized that she had some kind of feelings for him as well. However, the fact that she may be falling in love with someone again was more than a little terrifying and she wasn't quite ready to put everything out there yet. Therefore, their relationship hadn't gone past absolutely mind-blowing sex. It would probably be easier if he just didn't show up. On the other hand, the part of her that reciprocated his feelings would be rather disappointed if he wasn't there.
"Emma!" Her mother's voice snapped her back to reality and out of her head. She was greeted by hugs from both of her parents before they headed in the direction of the church.
"You look absolutely gorgeous!" Snow gushed. "I told you that dress was going to look perfect."
"Thanks... and you were right," Emma admitted. She did actually love the deep purple dress that Snow had helped her choose a few weeks prior. The family walked quietly for a block before it was clear her mother was becoming uncomfortable with the silence.
"So what have you been up to this weekend?" Snow asked, trying to make small talk. Despite being a family unit now, conversation with her parents could still be incredibly hard to carry on and slightly awkward. Henry usually helped out in that department, but he was with Regina and meeting the Charmings at the ceremony.
"Ah, you know, worked a couple shifts at the station, watched some TV, started a new book, slept…" Emma trailed off. Of course she wasn't going to tell her parents that she'd actually spent half of the weekend on Hook's ship. "I'm just looking forward to next weekend since Henry is staying with me."
"We should do something this weekend, the four of us. Between everything Henry's had going on lately, your work schedule, and all of our preparation for the baby, we hardly see you anymore."
"Yeah, just let me know when you're around and we'll set it up," Emma agreed. The conversation fell into another lull. Luckily they were at the church.
After the ceremony concluded, everyone was invited to the reception, which was being held down by the docks. When Emma arrived, she scanned the crowd. The bride and groom had yet to arrive, Killian didn't appear to be there, and Henry was just arriving with Regina. She grabbed a drink from the open bar before turning around to see Henry rushing to greet her. The boy took a seat next to her, filling her in about his weekend and planning for the nights he'd be spending with her next week. About twenty minutes later, Belle and Rumple arrived, the band started playing, and the fun really began.
"Come on, Mom! Let's go dance with everyone!" Henry suggested.
"Gee Kid, I don't know. You know I'm not much a dancer."
"Mom, no one else out there can dance either, but everyone's having fun. Come on!" he begged.
"Alright, alright, you win!" Emma laughed as she followed him to the dance floor. With all the alcohol flowing and the joyfulness of the occasion, everyone was letting loose. Emma had to admit, she was enjoying herself.
More and more people trickled into the party as the evening wore on. Emma hated that she always found herself hoping that the pirate would be one of those latecomers, despite the fact that the logical part of her brain told her he wouldn't be. The logical part of her brain also told her that she shouldn't care so much.
"Hey, look who showed up!" Henry grinned as he looked toward the entrance. Emma followed his gaze and froze. Killian had decided to attend after all, and damn he looked fantastic. She felt someone nudge her and turned to see that Henry was trying to push her in Killian's direction. However, she didn't need to be pushed any further because he approached her first.
"Don't you clean up nicely," Emma commented.
"Thank you, love. You look rather stunning yourself." Emma couldn't help but blush a bit at his observation.
"Well, I think I'm gonna go look for Dad," Henry excused himself. Emma knew exactly what he was doing. She took a couple swigs from her glass, not at all prepared for the conversation about to occur. Ever since the curse had been broken, the two of them had done a phenomenal job of avoiding this kind of confrontation. Whenever they got together, they kept it to small talk and sex. She was about to speak, though she wasn't sure what to say, when a slower song began playing. Hook held his good hand out to Emma.
"What do you say, Swan? I'd be honored." Emma found herself looking down at the floor, trying not to blush yet again.
"Oh, alright," she conceded. Emma took his hand and he pulled her close to him. They swayed to the music in silence before Killian spoke up.
"So, we can't keep pretending we don't have anything to talk about, lass."
"Do we have to do this tonight?" Emma questioned, knowing the answer. They really couldn't keep avoiding where they stood with each other for much longer.
"We'll have to discuss it eventually, won't we? Besides, I don't know how much longer I can handle this 'friends with benefits' arrangement we've had since returning home." Emma didn't say anything for a moment, not wanting to concede to the fact that he was right.
"So tell me, Emma, what are we doing? I've made it perfectly clear how I feel about you. Ball's in your court, love."
"I don't know. I mean I do quite like the arrangement we have going on right now, but I could see more, maybe," Emma said noncommittally. She did like him and she knew this, but she didn't know if she was ready to admit that to him. Killian's face said that he was thinking, trying to sort out exactly what Emma's response had meant.
"I guess that yeah, I do like you and I guess that I see something more, but you know better than anyone how many walls I have up. The idea of anything more than sex is kind of terrifying, God, I can't believe I just told you all of that." Emma supposed she could always blame it on the alcohol, despite not having much.
"Love, if there's anyone who understands having walls up, it's me. I can take things as slow as you need." Now it was Emma's turn to think.
"I think I might like that," she finally smiled at him after a moment. She let her head fall to Killian's chest and suddenly, things felt a little more romantic and less like an awkward middle school dance. In fact, she didn't even want to pull away when the song ended.
"So does this mean we're courting now?" Killian asked.
"I don't know if that's the word I'd use, but yeah, I guess that maybe we are."
Thanks for reading - hope you enjoyed! Reviews are great :)