A/N: Happy Valentine's Day lovelies! The second part of this will be up later tonight, but please peruse this in the meantime. :)
There was a ding and the elevator doors opened. Emma stepped inside and moved to press her floor when she heard a muffled "Wait!". She stifled a groan before moving to hold the doors. She peered down the hall and saw a mummy coming towards her. Well, not a mummy exactly but someone covered in a significant amount of pearly white bandages. The person was limping but obviously making an effort to move quickly. Emma felt mildly chagrined for feeling annoyed at having to hold the door. Obviously, this person was in dire need of some kindness.
The mummy/person finally made it to the elevator and shuffled inside. "Thank you. I really appreciate you waiting for me." The voice coming from behind the bandaging was obviously male and obviously foreign. Emma wasn't great at the accent thing but she guessed his was Irish.
She nodded back at him and went to select her floor. "Which floor are you on?" She smiled, hoping that her eyes weren't too pitying as she took in his condition. Half of his head was wrapped in bandages. Black hair was sticking out in between and only one of his brilliant blue eyes was uncovered. He had on a neck brace and one arm from shoulder to the tips of his fingers was in a hard cast. From his movements, Emma would guess his ribs were wrapped as well and he had a walking boot on one foot. On the half of his body that wasn't bandaged or covered, his skin was alarmingly pink and shiny. Emma was dying to know how he gotten in this state but she didn't make a practice of conversing with strangers.
"I'm on the fifth floor." Emma went ahead and pressed the button before standing back to wait. The man saw that she had only pressed the one button, and his unobscured eyebrow raised. "You also live on the fifth floor?"
Emma fought the urge to roll her eyes at the attempt at small talk but said, "Yep. It was a surprise to me too."
"Oh! How long have you been living here?" He was looking at her in earnest and Emma had to wonder if he was on drugs or just naturally this friendly. She hoped it was the drugs.
"I moved in last week." She focused back on the doors as they cheerily dinged their arrival. Emma wanted to sprint away and disappear inside her apartment but she forced herself to wait and hold the doors for him.
He shuffled out of the elevator and looked at her with something that was probably supposed to be a smile. With all the bandaging it was hard to tell, but she smiled back just to be safe. "I normally like to be the one holding doors open, but obviously I need the help. Thank you."
"It's nothing, really. I was coming here anyway."
The man barked out a laugh and then grimaced. Emma's hunch about the wrapped ribs grew, as she looked at him worriedly. He was holding out his hand to her. "I'm Killian, by the way. If you need something I'm just down the hall. Although, I don't know how much help I can offer for the next few weeks so far." His mouth twisted again and Emma guessed he was going for a self-depreciating grin.
Emma hated getting to know her neighbors. She moved around too much to usually make it worth the introduction, but she found herself extending her hand to gingerly shake his. "I'm Emma. It's nice to meet you. I'll try not to need anything, but if you need something, I'm also just down the hall too."
It was impossible to mistake his smile this time, and Emma didn't know if it was just the influence of the impending holiday, but she could've sworn his eye was shining brighter. "Emma. Pleasure to meet you." He looked at her for another moment before releasing her hand and moving down the hall.
Emma found herself watching his progress down the hall and shook her head once before moving away. Still, she glanced one more time down the hall as she unlocked her door. She was surprised to see the man, Killian, standing in front of his door, watching her. She felt a blush rise in her cheeks at getting caught and raised her hand to wave before stepping inside her apartment. She closed the door behind her while raising a hand to her cheek. She couldn't decide what was more embarrassing: getting caught catching him watching her, or actually blushing. It was this damn holiday influencing her, definitely not the attractive, if not slightly terrifying, gaze of her neighbor.
She moved into her kitchen and started putting away her groceries. Mary Margaret, Ruby, and Regina were coming over soon and she needed to focus on starting dinner. They took turns hosting Galentine's Day each year and Emma had drawn the short straw this year.
It wasn't that she was bitter about this particular holiday; anything that involved ladies supporting and celebrating ladies was something Emma could immediately get behind. No, it was her friends' insistence on either bemoaning their tragic love lives or reveling in their fortunate relationships at their annual get together that rankled Emma. But they were all completely beyond her control or reason, and would be here soon.
Emma swallowed her misgivings about the upcoming dinner and started bustling around the kitchen to starting preparing dinner. She was making lasagna (as per tradition) and once it had started baking, she settled down at her island with some paperwork. She was working a big case and the details were getting mangled in her head. She spread all the details she had across the counter's surface and was trying to make sense of it when there was a buzz from her intercom. Emma glanced at the clock on the wall and realized she had lost track of time. She bounded over to intercom and pressed the call button. "Yeah?"
"It's us!" Ruby shouted. With the added crackle of static, Emma winced away from the speaker but hit the button to let them up. She gathered up her papers, with a sigh. She hadn't made any headway yet but knew better than to try to focus on work once her friends got here. She set everything aside and made her way over to the door, anticipating her friends' knock. Sure enough, there was a knock and Emma swung open the door for her friends. They each were holding a bag from the liquor store (also per tradition, the guests supplied the booze).
"Happy Galentine's Day, Emma!" Ruby shouted. She moved forward to hug Emma before making herself at home inside.
Emma looked at Mary Margaret and Regina. "How much did you let her drink on the way here?" They both laughed before hugging her too and moving inside.
"That's not fair!" Ruby protested. Emma put her hands on her hips and raised her eyebrows. "The answer is none! I'm just excited to see you. You've been all MIA since you moved in here."
"She was this giggly since we picked her up," Regina said as she put down her bag. "She really is just excited to see your new place."
Emma smiled at her friend. "You know I'm just kidding, Ruby. So, what do you think?" She held up her hands, an invitation for Ruby to go explore. Predictably, Ruby clapped her hands together in excitement and rushed off to inspect the rest of the place. They all laughed at her antics and followed behind her.
"It definitely is a step up from your last place," Mary Margaret said. "That one made me want to call the health department on your behalf."
"Wasn't there mold on the walls in that place?" Regina asked. They had reached Emma's bedroom and were turning on the spot to take it all in.
"Too be fair to the last place, almost all of my apartments have had mold on the walls." Emma said, trying not to sound too defensive.
"Which was not good for your health!" Ruby called from the closet. Emma had no idea what Ruby expected to find in there; she knew Emma's wardrobe better than Emma did.
"This place though? Very nice," Regina commented with approval. She lived in a posh part of town in what most people would call a manor, but what she called a "sophisticated townhouse", to which Emma usually snorted. Now, hearing Regina compliment her apartment, Emma was outrageously pleased.
"I agree, it's really nice, Emma. You've even decorated it beyond your normal stark, institutional design style." Mary Margaret piped in, a smile on her face. "That promotion to sheriff really did include a nice pay raise, huh?"
Emma found herself fighting off a blush and failing for the second time that day. "Yeah, it did. Which was why I decided to make it look like I lived here, rather than just someone lived here."
"Well, I'm severely disappointed," Ruby declared as she emerged from the closet, some clothes hanging in her hands. "You are not wearing our agreed upon outfit for tonight."
Emma groaned. "Ruby, we did not agree to that outfit. You told me I had to wear that outfit upon pain of death and I told you it wasn't happening." Mary Margaret and Regina laughed. "Besides, it's just you guys. Is it really mandatory to dress up?"
"Yes! If you can't dress up for your oldest and dearest friends on the day we celebrate our friendship, then who can you dress up for?" Ruby's eyes were blazing and Emma knew she was fighting a lost cause.
She kept fighting anyway though, because she was Emma after all. "I think you know I love you, even if I'm not wearing a dress and heels."
"No, Emma, I don't know that. I need a constant visual reminder that you love me and our friendship. So you're gonna go change and then we'll open the wine." She threw the dress she had picked out at Emma and then grabbed Mary Margaret's and Regina's arms to tow them out of the room. "You can join us when you're presentable," she called over her shoulder.
Emma grumbled a few rude comments under her breath as she changed. She fished out a pair of heels from under her bed and spritzed some perfume against her neck. Emma knew better than to go back out there without finishing her look, otherwise Ruby would just drag Emma back in here and finish the job herself. Emma walked out into the living room and held out her hands and pivoted in a small circle. She looked at Ruby, "Well? Do I pass inspection, oh dear and wonderful friend?"
Ruby smiled at her innocently and batted her lashes dramatically. "You do, finally. Was that too hard?" Emma snorted rather than responding but was rewarded with a glass of wine anyway.
The oven's timer went off and Emma went to retrieve the lasagna. Mary Margaret had started setting the table and Regina had made a salad while Emma had been changing. Ruby refilled everyone's drinks before they sat down to eat. Emma couldn't help but look around at her friends and feel weirdly grown up. Which was maybe a strange thing for a woman in her late twenties to feel, but she did nonetheless.
Ruby had launched into story about her shift at the diner she worked at on the weekends that mainly revolved around her meeting some doctor type last weekend and going to dinner with him after her shift. It had apparently been "amazing" and "so serendipitous" even before he had asked to take her dinner tomorrow night, "On Valentine's Day, guys! Isn't that amazing?" Emma was truly happy for her friend but couldn't help laughing at how dramatic her life was. If Ruby's life didn't becoming a successful rom-com, Emma would lose all faith in Hollywood.
Mary Margaret chimed in with her plans for Valentine's dinner with David, her boyfriend of basically forever. She was expecting him to propose anytime now and couldn't help but share her theories about why she thought it was finally going to happen tomorrow. Ruby joined in enthusiastically with her enthusiasm. Regina just shared a raised eyebrow and a smirk with Emma; they had similar feelings about their friends' and this holiday.
Emma took a drink of her wine before standing up to start clearing the dishes they had finished. She was rinsing the plates and handing them off to Regina while Mary Margaret and Ruby brought the rest of the dinner dishes into the kitchen, when there was a knock at her door. She looked up to see her confusion mirrored on her friends' faces.
"Are we expecting someone else?" Regina asked.
Emma shook her head but went to answer the door anyway. Standing on the other side was her bandage-covered neighbor. "Hey! Killian!" Emma winced as she realized the wine was starting to hit her.
"Hello, Emma. Sorry, I can hear you have people over, but I came to ask a favor?" His face had been slightly pink before in the elevator but now his complexion was a deep red. Emma nodded and he went on, "I can't get my meds open and I didn't know if you would mind helping me? It's the arm cast that is giving me trouble. Well, that and the eye patch. I can hold the bottle in the casted hand but then my depth perception is too off to properly wrangle it open." Emma smiled, finding his obvious embarrassment over his predicament totally endearing. She held out her hand to take his medication from him. "Sorry, I really tried for about a half hour before I admitted defeat. I really don't like to disturb people."
"Killian. It's not a problem. While I would love to know what happened to necessitate all this medication, you're definitely not disturbing me. Here," she said. She had popped open the lid effortlessly and handed it back to him. "What medication are you taking?"
"It's Vicodin, I think, for the pain. The nurse told me the morphine would start to lose effect around now so I didn't want to put off taking some of this for too long."
"Vicodin? Don't you need to take these with a meal? Have you eaten?" Emma recognized her inner Mary Margaret coming out, but found that she was genuinely concerned. She rationalized that any normal person wouldn't want their neighbor to die of drug overdose if they could do something to help. "We just finished eating, but you're welcome to come in and eat something."
"Oh no, that's not necessary, Emma. I appreciate your help with opening my pain meds enormously but I can see you have company." He raised a hand to wave behind her. "I don't want to keep you." Emma turned to see Ruby, Regina, and Mary Margaret standing near the entrance to the kitchen with shit-eating grins on all of their faces. She rolled her eyes, already anticipating the discussion that would follow this interaction.
Mary Margaret waved back, "Just hang on, one minute. We'll make you a plate to take with you. Emma made a divine lasagna and I'm sure she would be happy to share." She disappeared back into the kitchen and Emma heard her opening cupboards.
Ruby strode forward to stand beside Emma. "It's too bad you're not supposed to mix alcohol and Vicodin, or we would also send a bottle of wine with you." Emma had seen many a man crumble under the cat-caught-the-canary smile Ruby was giving Killian, but he simply smiled.
"That is too bad. I can tell you the only thing I want more after the day I've had is a bottle of rum."
Regina had moved forward toward the door too. "So what kind of day have you had?" Emma winced. The only person on the planet more blunt than Emma was Regina.
But again Killian wasn't fazed. "A really shitty one." They all laughed so he went on, "I'm a firefighter and things went poorly today. Burns are fairly normal on the job but some debris fell on me and I was pinned under it for a fair amount of time. The bandages are hiding the worst of the burns." His non-broken arm came up to scratch behind his ear, clearly uncomfortable with the topic. He cleared his throat. "Um, but yeah, I also apparently broke my arm in several places and had hairline fractures on some ribs and my ankle. The neck brace is just a precaution since I hit my head as well."
"Okay, now I'm really sorry we can't give you some hard liquor," Ruby said. Regina nodded as Mary Margaret came out from the kitchen. She had several tupperware containers stacked on top of each other and was wrestling them into a plastic bag.
"You all have been more than kind. I think I can forgive you for excluding it." His blue eye winked at them as he said it and Ruby giggled.
Emma was smiling herself as she took the bag from Mary Margaret to help her. Together they got the food situated and Mary Margaret smiled at Killian. "We hope you feel better soon. Great to meet you!" She then walked back to the kitchen, grabbing Ruby and Regina as she went. They called half-hearted goodbyes themselves, before they were all out of sight.
Emma rolled her eyes and shared a smile with Killian. Her friends were never as subtle as they thought they were. She handed the bag of food to Killian. "I would apologize for them, but it wouldn't be in the spirit of the day. So instead, I'm just going to say, they mean well."
Killian laughed shortly, trying not to rock his body too much. "I can see they do. You have no need to apologize, I assure you. Had this situation been reversed, however, you would probably be seeking legal counsel against me. Then, I would be needing to apologize profusely to you."
"I'm sure your friends would mean well, too."
"Oh definitely, they would. But that doesn't mean they still aren't assholes." Emma laughed at that and Killian smiled at her. "Okay, I won't keep you any longer, although I have enjoyed this immensely. Have a good night, Emma."
"You too, Killian." He saluted her and turned to move down the hall. "And hey? This wasn't a bother, so if you do need anything else, don't hesitate, okay?"
He nodded, giving her one last smile before shuffling away. Emma shut the door behind her and turned to see her friends standing in a line with their arms crossed, those shit-eating grins back on their faces.
Ruby, of course, spoke first. "Oh Lucy! Have you got some 'splaining to do."