Killian's pencil swept over the page in long, elegant strokes as he tried his best to simulate the effortless flow of the silk gown he was envisioning in his mind. The bodice of the dress was a faux wrap, and while he knew that the idea itself was a little contrite, he was hoping that the colour and overall style of the gown would help to set him apart.
The lamp that hung over his desk began to flicker, – damned fluorescent bulbs – which told him that it had been burning for too long and it was probably time for him to go home. He checked his watch and saw that the time was 10:46.
(Shit. He should probably try to work on his time management.)
He packed up his work and loaded it into his satchel. On his way out of his office, he switched off the lights and went to catch the elevator. He was greeted at the lifts by Ms. Swan, his boss and the head of the label.
"Evening, Jones. Another late night? I hope you were working on your fall designs." She told him absently as she scrolled through her smartphone, no doubt answering emails to some foreign business partner.
"You know me, Swan," he joked as he leaned in a little bit closer, "I could go all night."
Emma sighed at his overt flirtation as the doors to the elevator opened and they both stepped inside. She tried her damnedest to ignore the butterflies that fluttered about in the pit of her stomach. Fighting the urge to smile, she cleared her throat before offering a retort. "You ought to be careful with that mouth of yours, Jones. One of these days it may end up costing you your job."
"Come on, Swan, there's no need to deny it—you like it when I talk dirty to you." He looked at her with a wry smile and she tore her eyes away from her phone for a moment, only to shoot him a withering glare, although he could see a sparkle in her eyes.
"Killian, I don't know how many times I have to tell you: as long as you work for me, there will be nothing between us. Now, if you'll excuse me," she pushed him back just as the elevator doors opened in the lobby of the building, "this is my stop."
He stepped back and let her exit the elevator and once she'd stepped out, he followed behind her, watching her hips sway as she pushed through the revolving doors and stood on the sidewalk to hail a cab. She tried flagging over one, and then another, but both taxis flew past her without even so much as a passing glance.
"Emma, Emma, Emma," he started casually as he came up behind her, both hands in his pockets, "you won't be able to resist my charms forever." He held his arm up, and when a cab stopped in front of him, he opened the door for her and cocked his head in the direction of the open door.
Emma raised an eyebrow at the gesture but got into the cab anyway, eager to go home and get out of her stilettos. When Killian closed the door behind her, he tapped on the window, urging her to lower the glass. She did, only opening it just enough to hear him say, "See you tomorrow, Ms. Swan."
She nodded to him in a wordless goodbye as she rolled her window back up and gave the cabbie her address.
(And no, she didn't think about him after that at all.)
Killian jumped out of bed in a hurry – shit, it's already 8:45? How did that happen?
He barely had time to run a comb through his hair and jump into a pair of jeans on his way out of the door.
He knew that he could take his time if he wanted to – he was the best designer she had, she'd never fire him – but it was bad form to be tardy, and bad form was something for which Killian Jones did not stand.
He jogged briskly down the sidewalk and stopped briefly at Starbuck's, because, honestly, how could he be expected to start his day without a little caffeine? When he finally got to the office, he ducked into the conference room silently and took an open seat just as Ms. Swan began the meeting.
"Okay, people," she sighed as she turned to face the room full of her employees, her blonde ponytail swaying behind her head as she looked about the room at the people seated at the table in front of her. "It's time for you all to show me your summer designs. You know that we have to get our lookbook together by mid-August, so you better show me something good."
The designers pulled out their sketchbooks, and Emma walked around the table, leafing through each one briefly and offering a, 'more draping,' or 'less cleavage' or a 'you're not serious with that, are you?' When she finally made it around to Killian, he handed her his book proudly and she tried to stay focused on his work, not the way that her fingers brushed his as she accepted the drawing pad from him.
Emma stared at each sketch with a raised eyebrow before returning the book to him with a slight frown and a shake of her head. "I don't know, Jones."
He raised an incredulous brow at her and took the book back, turning to the sketch he was most proud of: an evening gown with full-length sleeves and an eye-catching slit. "You don't know about this?"
Killian held the sketch up in front of Emma's face and she rolled her eyes before pulling her glasses out of the breast pocket of her blazer and perching them on the bridge of your nose. She took the sketchbook from his hand and held it in front of her face while she scrutinized it with a furrowed brow. She shook her head and heaved a sigh as she handed the book back to him.
"These drawings, they just don't grab me like the looks you gave me for spring and summer."
He huffed at that and closed the notebook before muttering under his breath, "Come over to my place sometime, sweetheart. I'll grab you anyway you want."
Emma, who had been walking back over to her seat at the head of the table, stopped in her tracks and turned around to look at Killian, a scowl firmly in place over her features. "What did you just say?"
He didn't think that she'd heard him, so he figured that maybe he'd be able to play it off with a shrug. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Swan."
She made disgusted face as she shook her head at him. "That's Ms. Swan – but actually, you know what? You can call me whatever you like. You're fired."
Killian's eyebrows shot up in disbelief as he watched Emma walk away and resume her seat in front of the crowd. "Excuse me?" He asked, standing up and leaning his palms on the table in front of him.
Without looking up from the sketchbook she was examining, Emma waved him off with a flourish of her wrist. "You heard me: we're done here. Have a nice life."
His blood began to boil as he clenched his jaw, nostrils flaring with every angry breath he drew. "You'll regret this, Swan," he promised as he grabbed his sketchbook and left to go clear out his office.
Months had passed since Emma had dismissed Killian.
She didn't think about it often. Only when she was at work and walked by his empty office or when she was at home, looking over work from her remaining designers and only sometimes when she was alone in her office.
(Okay, so maybe she thought of him more than she let on…)
She'd heard through the grapevine that he'd scored some coveted job over at Regal Designs, working for the dragon lady herself, Regina Mills. A disgusted shiver rolled down Emma's spine at the thought of her best designer pumping out sketches for one of her competitors.
Only, he wasn't her designer anymore. He wasn't her anything.
Killian sat in his office busily looking over a few errant sketches when there was a light rapping at his door. Without looking up from his work, he called for whomever it was to enter.
"Hey, Jones," Killian looked up to see his co-worker and assistant to the boss, August Booth, poking his head into the office, eyebrows raised expectantly.
"Yes, August?" Killian asked, sighing as he spread the sketches out on the top of his desk in front of him. He stood from his chair and looked down at the sheets in front of him, hoping (for some reason) that a change in angle might spark his creativity.
"Regina wants to see you." August smirked when Killian snapped his head up immediately. "Ah, I see I've got your attention now," August joked as she leaned against the open doorway.
"Don't be an arse, Booth, what does she want?" Killian asked, his hands resting on his hips as he waited for an answer.
August shrugged and pushed off of the doorjamb, walking back in the direction from which he'd come. "Go see her and find out."
Killian gritted his teeth as he followed August back to Regina's office. Once they'd arrived, August resumed his seat at the desk outside of Regina's door and pushed a button on the phone that sat on his desk, leaning forward so that he could be heard clearly.
"Ms. Mills, I've got Killian Jones out here, as requested." He released the button and leaned back in his chair as Regina's voice came out in a curt response.
"Send him in."
August bit his lip against a smile when he saw the way that Killian swallowed thickly before wiping his sweaty palms on his jeans. "Well? You heard the lady." August prompted the other man, nodding his head in the direction of Regina's closed office door.
Killian rolled his neck and shoulders before walking up to Regina's door and knocking lightly. He'd never been one to fear authority, but after he'd misread his relationship – for complete lack of a better word – with Emma so badly, he was nervous around his new boss. He didn't want to fuck it up again.
"Come in," her voice drew him out of his thoughts and he gripped the handle to the door tightly, inwardly cursing himself as his clammy hands slid against the cool metal.
"Uh–" he cut himself off to clear his throat, "you wanted to see me, Ms. Mills?"
She shoved a few sheets of paper into a dossier and pushed it off to the side as she looked at Killian over the rim of the reading glasses that sat on her nose. She smiled – he was always unsure about her smile, was it supposed to be welcoming or terrifying? – and moved the glasses from her nose past her forehead and into her hair as a makeshift headband.
"Yes, I did," the tone in her voice was saccharine, which only served to set Killian even further on-edge. "Please," she gestured to the two chairs in front of her desk, "take a seat."
Killian nodded and sat in front of her, crossing one leg over the other as he sat back in the plush armchair. There were a few seconds of silence between the two of them before Regina finally got to her point.
"As I'm sure you are well aware, the Met Gala is this Sunday night." She shifted forward in her seat and clasped her hands together as she leaned her weight onto her elbows.
Killian was cognisant of the upcoming gathering and was very much looking forward to skipping it. Big parties were never really his style. That, and he didn't want to run into—
"I trust you'll be in attendance," Regina cut into his thoughts and he remembered that he was supposed to be having a conversation with her.
"Actually no," he gave a shake of his head and shifted in his seat, finding her unwavering glare to be a little more than disconcerting. "I have plans for that night." A lie, sure, but Regina didn't have to know that.
"Cancel them."
"What?" She'd spoken the words so abruptly and tersely that Killian was sure he'd misheard her.
"Cancel your plans. You're going to the gala with me. As my date."
He uncrossed his legs and leaned forward in his chair, still trying to wrap his head around what she was saying. "I'm what?"
"Listen, Jones," she started with a sigh, leaning back in her chair and levelling her shoulders, "my boyfriend cancelled on me. I can't be the only one there without a date, and you're my employee, so that kind of means that you have to do what I say."
Regaining some of his confidence, Killian leaned forward in his chair and rested his elbows on his knees. "What's in it for me?"
Regina smirked and shook her head with a chuckle. "Whatever you want."
"Alright, give me the next two weekends off, and you've got a deal."
Regina pursed her lips as if she were thinking it over before she stood from her chair and extended her hand to Killian. "Deal."
Emma was sitting at the vanity in her bedroom as her best friend and neighbour, Ruby, touched up her makeup.
"Gosh, Em, we're gonna have such a great time tonight."
"Are we?" Emma returned dryly, closing her eyes so that Ruby could apply her eyeliner.
"Why wouldn't we?" Ruby asked as she swiped the makeup onto Emma's eyelids, making sure to keep her hand steady as she created the desired winged effect.
"Because," Emma started, but paused so that she could pout her lips as Ruby applied her lip gloss. When Ruby finished, Emma pursed her lips and rubbed them together before checking her reflection in the mirror. "I might see him there."
Ruby's eyebrows went up when she heard the apprehension in Emma's voice. "Oh, you mean Mr. Endless Flirtation? The one who made you lose your cool?"
"Yes, him," Emma sighed and rolled her eyes, fighting a smile at Ruby's immature giggles.
"What do you think you'd say to him?"
Emma swallowed hard as she thought of a response to her friend's question. What would she say to him? Maybe he was still angry at her for having fired him? Maybe he would totally snub her and pretend he didn't see her?
"I don't know, Ruby," she sighed and got up to go put on her dress. "I'm sure something will come to me."
It was around 6:30 when Killian knocked on the door to Regina's apartment.
He was instructed to pick her up and he'd asked the cabbie to keep the meter running while he ran inside to fetch her.
Standing in the hallway outside of her apartment, Killian adjusted his tie, feeling oddly at-ease with what he was about to do. He had expected that he'd be nervous or reluctant, but as he waited for his boss to open the door, he felt a little excited for what the night may have in store for them.
He was pulled from his thoughts when Regina opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. Her eyes roved over the outfit he'd chosen to wear—a classic black tux with a matching vest and bowtie. He didn't need her to tell him, he knew he looked good.
And, of course, Regina was right on his level, if not looking even better than he was. The gown she'd selected was floor length with a bit of a train in the back, and the deep red, wine colour was an excellent complement to her fair skin and the colour of her painted lips. The dress was cinched at the waist, which gave the illusion of an hour glass figure, and before he realized what he was doing, Killian reached out a hand to feel the fabric of her belt.
"What are you doing?" She asked, not annoyed, but audibly confused.
"Ah, it's velvet…" he muttered to no one in particular as he swept his fingers over the soft material.
"Hands off the merchandise, pal," Regina swatted Killian's hand away from her torso and lifted the A-line skirt of her dress daintily before leading him to the elevators. "Any more of that, and you'll find yourself with more than just the next two weekends off."
She chuckled airily as she pressed the 'down' button and he smiled to himself as they waited to descend. This night was going to be fun.
Upon arriving at the event, (and after walking what felt like a mile of red carpet) Emma made a beeline for the bar and got herself a glass of champagne. She wasn't sure if she was going to see Killian tonight, but, if she had to, she'd be doing it with a decent buzz.
She'd brought Ruby along as her plus one, but the brunette had spotted some old friends the minute they'd walked into the venue and scurried off to catch up with them.
Emma sat at the bar as the party commenced around her. She traced a finger around the rim of her glass, her eyes unfocused as she fell deeper into her thoughts.
After a few moments, the chatter around her picked up and she lifted her head toward the entrance of the ballroom to see Killian walking in – with Regina on his arm.
Emma felt an uncomfortable pang of discomfort sliver in the pit of her stomach as she slid further back onto her stool and crossed her legs, subconsciously trying to make herself as small as possible.
Why did it even matter to her that he had a girlfriend? She'd made it clear to him that nothing would ever happen between them, so how did she miss that memo?
She decided to get up from the bar and try to seclude herself at a table or maybe in some dark corner of the ballroom. Daintily hoping off of her stool and reaching back to grab her drink, Emma straightened her gown before lifting the front of it to allow her more range of motion. She was making decent progress (considering her choice of footwear) when she heard her name being called.
"Why, Emma Swan," it was Regina.
Emma stood motionless for a few moments before pasting a one-dimensional smile on her face and turning to face her frenemy. "Regina," Emma cooed as she walked over to the brunette and brushed a light kiss over each of her cheeks, "how nice to see you."
Regina gave a sickly-sweet smile and nodded her head to the right, where her arm was linked with Killian's. "I believe you know my date." She bit back a smile at the light flush that crept up Emma's cheeks.
"Hello, Swan," Killian greeted her with a nod of his head and a polite smile. "Lovely to see you again."
Emma nodded absently and gripped her drink just a little tighter. "Likewise, Killian."
They stared at each other for a brief, intense moment before Regina spotted someone else that she knew. "Oh! Is that Sidney?" She turned back to Emma with faux-penitence on her face. "So sorry to cut things short, darling, but we'll catch up later. Ciao." She then walked around Emma and pulled Killian along to follow her.
It took everything that Emma had in her not to turn her head and watch him walk away.
Killian was having an okay time with Regina. The night wasn't nearly as dreadful as he'd feared, but something about their earlier exchange with Emma had left him feeling awkward about this whole thing.
Sure, he and Regina weren't actually a couple, and Emma had also made her feelings for him abundantly clear, but he still couldn't help but feel as though seeing Emma again had reignited whatever spark he'd felt for her.
He realized he was looking for her at various points throughout the evening, craning his neck to scan the room and find her at the bar, or talking to friends, and he just couldn't take his eyes off of her.
The gown that she wore was floor-length and it was covered in gold sequins. The neckline rested just beneath her collarbone, but the back dipped all the way down to the middle of her spine. The cap sleeves of the gown allowed her to show off her toned arms, and he found himself wishing that he could reach out that graze his fingers along those very arms.
He was pulled back into the conversation when Regina elbowed him sharply in the ribs, a fake laugh stumbling out of her throat. "Killian," she spoke his name sharply, indicating to him that he was supposed to be paying attention, "Sidney here was just asking you what you do for a living."
"Oh. Apologies, mate," he started, offering a polite smile, "I work for Regina. I'm a designer at her label."
Killian tried to listen as Sidney went on about workplace romances never working out, but he couldn't bring himself to give a damn what the other man was saying. "Um, I hate to cut in, but I think I need a drink." He excused himself from the conversation and walked over to the bar where Emma had settled, her back to him as he approached her.
"Mind if I sit next to you?"
Emma stiffened when she heard Killian's voice behind her, but she kept her face neutral and shook her head in reply. "Go ahead."
"So, how has your evening been so far, Swan?" Killian asked as he reached for a glass of champagne from the pretty redhead behind the bar. He gave her a wink and a nod in thanks as he lifted the glass from her dainty hand.
Emma didn't know how to answer his question. In truth, she hadn't really been all that much of an active participant in the night's festivities. Not since she saw him and Regina together.
"It's been fun," she lied, not caring that he could already see through her seemingly-light-hearted tone.
"Hm," he mused as he took a sip from his drink, "you don't look like you've been having very much fun…" He turned his head so that he was facing her instead of the bar. "What's the matter?"
Emma rolled her eyes and kept them trained on her third – or was it fourth? – glass of champagne. The bubbles in the drink swirled around as she held the glass in her hand. She watched as they rose to the surface and dissipated in an endless cycle.
"Shouldn't you be off with your girlfriend?" She didn't mean for the question to have such a biting tone, but she couldn't help it. She'd had four glasses of champagne by now and her filter had left her somewhere between the third and fourth.
Killian's brow creased at Emma's question, and he needed to take a moment try and figure out what she meant. "My… girlfriend?" Wait, did she mean Regina? He laughed louder than he should have at that and shook his head. He was just about to clarify his relationship with his boss when a spark of mischief lit in his eyes.
"Well, Swan," he turned his head back, facing the bar as he drummed his fingertips over the polished wood's surface, "we haven't exactly put a label on our relationship yet. We're trying to see where it goes."
"How lovely for the two of you," Emma deadpanned as she finished her drink, signalling to the bartender that she was ready for another.
"Do I detect a note of jealousy, there, Emma?"
A new drink was set down in front of her but she didn't pick it up, she simply looked at it for a few moments before she spoke again, her voice barely above a whisper. "I'm happy for you."
"Is that so?" He remarked, turning to face her yet again. "The tone in your voice suggests that you aren't very happy about anything right now." All traces of humour had left his voice, and when she look up at him, his blue eyes reflected a measure of sincerity that she'd never seen in them before.
"Forget it," she dismissed the discussion and slid off of her stool, making a beeline for the exit.
She'd just made it out of the ballroom when she felt his hand close around her wrist.
"Emma, what's going on?"
She yanked her hand away from his and looked up at him, her face reddening as she tried to find the right words to say. "I don't know." She mumbled as she began pacing the floor. "I really don't have a clue. It's just – when you worked for me, you were all over me. Throwing innuendoes and making flirtatious comments and everything, and then I fired you, and I'm still sorry about that, but I just – I couldn't let anyone see how badly you affected me."
Killian's jaw threatened to drop at Emma's confession, but he held himself together as she went on.
"And now I come to this stupid party, hoping to see you so that I could tell you—" She cut herself off and ran a hand through her hair.
"So that you could tell me what?" He insisted, wanting to know what she'd been about to say.
"That doesn't matter." She dismissed his query with a wave of her hand, "I was nervous to see you again. I felt guilty, and giddy, and excited, and then I saw you walk in with Regina. What is with that, by the way? Do you have some kind of kink for authority? I guess that would make sense, right?" She barked out a sardonic laugh as she continued to walk back and forth in the empty hallway.
"Emma, Regina and I—"
"Please," she started, holding up a hand to silence him, "spare me the dirty details."
"We're not a couple."
Emma stopped pacing and looked at Killian, her arms crossed over her chest. "Yes, I know, you're aren't labelling your relationship." She spoke with an angry edge to her voice, which caused Killian to chuckle lightly.
"We aren't anything at all. I made that up."
She looked at him with an obviously confused expression on her face. "Wh- but- you just said…"
"I know what I said, Swan. I was merely trying to get a rise out of you, and it worked. Like a charm, I might add."
He flashed her a surprisingly boyish smile and walked closer to her, taking one of her hands in his. "I don't know how to say this, Emma, but, I like you. A lot. And I'm sorry about making you have to fire me. If I'd known my charms were so effective, I would have gone easier on you. I guess what I'm trying to say is—"
She cut him off my grabbing him by the lapels of his jacket and crashing her lips into his.
He was stunned by her brazen move, but reacted anyway, wrapping his arms around her waist and reciprocating with equal vigour. He groaned into the kiss when she wrapped her arms around his neck and held him even closer as he backed her into the wall and ran his hands up and down her sides.
She broke the kiss and rested her forehead against his while they both tried to catch their breath. "I've wanted to do that for a long, long time," she confessed, chuckling giddily when he smiled and claimed her lips once more.
This time their kiss was slow and lazy and they held each other close and he moved his lips away from hers and kissed her jaw, moving even lower down to nip lightly at the hollow of her throat. She pulled his mouth up to hers again and fused their lips together, sighing happily when his hand fell to her hip and gripped it tightly.
He broke away first this time, peppering kisses all over her face, brushing his lips over her forehead, her cheeks, her chin, and anywhere else he could reach.
When he spoke, his voice was heavy and strained. "Emma, we have to stop. I've wanted you for so long that I can't be held liable for my actions if we don't go back to the party now."
"Well, you'd better head in first, I'd hate for anyone to get the wrong idea…" She blushed and looked down at her shoes as he advanced on her yet again.
"In this case, darling, the wrong idea would be perfectly correct."
She sighed and walked back toward the ballroom. "Don't follow me. Wait five minutes and say you had to go to the bathroom or something."
He sighed and leaned up against the wall, letting her walk away and muttering an "as you wish" under his breath even though she was already out of earshot.
The next Monday, Emma sat in her office, working diligently on some papers that needed to be filled out and ready to ship to Milan in two hours. There was a knock on her office door and she lifted her head to see her assistant Mary Margaret looking at her with a sheepish smile on her face.
"Ms. Swan, there's someone here to see you," she told Emma in a honeyed, sing-song voice.
Before Emma could ask who was out there, Killian squeezed past Mary Margaret and into the office, a broad smile on this face. "Pardon me, darling," he said to the petite brunette, "but I require no introduction."
Mary Margaret rolled her eyes and closed Emma's office door, leaving her and Killian with some privacy.
Once the door clicked shut, he crossed Emma's office and stood in front of her desk. He smiled down at her before leaning over to plant a soft a kiss on her lips.
Emma allowed him to kiss her and tried not to enjoy it too much before she pulled away and pushed him back with a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Killian, we need to talk."
He sighed and sat down in one of the chairs in front of her desk, running a hand over his hair as he turned his face toward the ceiling. "I've found when a woman says that, I'm rarely in for a pleasant conversation."
Emma bit back a laugh at that and rolled her eyes. "Don't be so dramatic. I just need to know where we stand."
He looked at her, one eyebrow raised, and his demeanour shifted. "What are you saying?"
She stood from her chair and walked around her desk, standing in front of him and leaning back against the solid structure as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I would like very much see what we have between us, if that's okay with you."
Killian rose from his seat and rested his hands on her hips, giving her a patient smile and a slight shake of his head before kissing her lightly on the forehead.
"I would like that very much," he replied and kissed her tenderly when she smiled up at him.
"You know," she leaned back so that she could look him in the eye, "you didn't answer my question last night."
He knitted his brow in confusion as he tried to remember what she was talking about. "Question?"
"Yes," she insisted with a small chuckle, "I asked you if you have a thing for authoritative women."
He let out a deep, bellowing laugh at that and wrapped him arms around her tightly. "I don't know about all that, but I will say that I'm not opposed to letting a woman take control."
A glimmer of something sinister sparkled in his eyes and she shook her head at him.
"That's good to know." She replied with a smile as his lips claimed hers once again.