AN: Happy Birthday Mona ( o-u-a-timer)! This is a little silly Halloween fluff written by KG ( king-killian-jones) and Amy ( zengoalie). This is totally unbeta'd so any and all mistakes are ours :)
Emma didn't want to be here, shivering and stuck at the end of a long queue.
She hated being scared, and didn't understand the novelty of paying to enter a building designed specifically to terrify people.
I especially don't want to wait in line for a freaking hour.
She scowled down at the carved pumpkin that sat on along the walkway. This was dumb; she needed to remember not to agree to Ruby's suggestions when she was exhausted.
"Come on, Emma!" Ruby dragged her toward the entrance of the haunted house, "It'll be fun! You'll see!"
"Ruby," she whined, "I don't like being scared."
"Just remember it's not real, and you'll be fine."
Emma highly doubted that. She was a jumpy person - her brother David learned the hard way to scare her from a distance when they were teenagers.
"You punched me, Emma," he gasped for breath, clutching his stomach.
"I didn't mean to," she pleaded, "You scared me on purpose! Why did you scare me?"
"Well I wasn't expecting to get punched."
There was no way this could end well.
Killian was lurking.
He couldn't believe he let Whale talk him into helping out with his haunted house for the third year in a row.
It was done in a large, private residence with a ridiculous maze in the backyard. Each room represented a new vision of horror for the fools who thought this was a bloody good time.
It was utter bollocks, if you asked him.
But, Whale was one of his long-time friends, and he needed more "actors." Killian had insisted on no stage make-up, which left him the job of lurking in all black through the maze to scare unsuspecting idiots. He scratched at the back of his neck, sweating in the hot outfit.
The next group of victims ran into his view, chased by the deafening roar of the chainsaw. He crouched waiting in his hiding spot until the last person passed. Killian crept forward and tapped the man's shoulder before the poor sod screamed like a girl. He proceeded to thrust his way in front of his girl companion, in a full-blown run, leaving her in his dust.
Bloody bad form, mate.
He sighed and crept back to his corner, awaiting his next unsuspecting wretch.
The sound of the chainsaw kicking to life and alerted Killian that his quarry was about to be forced towards his section of the maze. He tensed, readying himself to poke or prod another terrified fool.
A dark haired woman stumbled away from Will and his saw, blundering right by Killian's hidden nook. A flash of blonde hair followed fast on the brunette's heels, snapping his attention to her and her tense posture. She was ripe for the picking; perfect to scare the daylights out of.
He slid in behind them as they grabbed onto each other for support. The black sheets draped along the path allowed him to be invisible to them. The dim black light provided just enough illumination for him to see her face, and he stopped dead in his tracks.
Bloody hell she was enchanting.
He drew closer, intending to brush her hair aside from her shoulder, perhaps just a gentle fright would be best for this one.
He leaned in close to whisper into her ear, "Hello beautiful."
Emma was miserable as they made their way into the maze.
She had managed to laugh off most of the haunted house, only losing her cool when someone jumped out of nowhere.
I have a feeling there will be plenty of that in here.
She made Ruby go first, and that tactic seemed to work quite well for Emma as they rounded the first few corners.
A motion sensor spider dropped on Ruby's head. Her squeal was very un-Ruby-like as she swatted it away and scooted along the path. Emma tried not to laugh - she really did - but Ruby's rush to get away from the spider ran her right into another trap. A man dressed all in black jumped out and grabbed at her, eliciting another high-pitched screech.
Emma followed along behind her clutching her side in laughter from Ruby's ridiculous display.
"Shut up," Ruby hissed, "I hate fucking spiders."
"It was fake, Rubs." Her chuckles died immediately as they rounded the next corner. There was a distinct exhaust smell and a long hallway that stretched in front of them with low lights on the ground every few yards.
"This can't be good," Ruby murmured.
As they took their first steps down the hall, a chainsaw churned to life behind them. They turned to see a tall man with a mask holding the saw high over his head and screamed in unison before dashing down the hall at full speed.
The masked man chased after them while he revved his chainsaw. The smell of burning gasoline added to the terrifying realness of the saw behind them.
There isn't an actual chain on it, dumbass - she scolded herself as they made it to the end of the hallway and the sound of the chainsaw died behind them.
The next path was particularly dark, only an occasional black light lit the way and a black cloth was draped on both walls. Emma felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end - she knew someone had to be lurking.
She felt a gentle brush of her hair and screamed as a someone's breath ghosted across her skin, "Hello beautiful."
Emma's gut reaction kicked in - she was already on high alert thanks to the masked maniac - her right elbow slammed into the stomach of the would-be-assailant; an immediate grunt burst out of the poor idiot. She jumped back, bumping into Ruby and raised her fists to provide a second smackdown if required.
Barely visible in the dark corridor she could make out a figure dressed all in black - complete with black ski-mask - doubled over in pain and leaning against the wall.
"Bloody hell," an accented male voice gasped. The figure sank down onto his knees. Emma began to feel a twinge of guilt. Had she injured some poor kid who was volunteering for this haunted maze? Ruby began to yank her away, to continue down the corridor, but she felt the need to go back and check on the fallen aggressor. Who, if she really thought back on it, wasn't really aggressive.
"Uh - hi," she mumbled, "Sorry about that, I'm - uh - not good at being surprised," she rambled. "You could ask my brother," she paused, unsure of what to say as the man continued to gasp for breath.
"Well then," he gritted out, "This seems the perfect place for you."
Ruby snickered behind her as the chainsaw came to life around the corner.
"Shit," he said as he attempted to stand.
Emma moved towards him, "Is there somewhere I could help you get?" offering him her hand for help, "Where you can - uh - you know, sit down… maybe?"
He grasped her proffered hand to rise and chuckled as she draped his arm around her shoulder - she remembered David had to sit down for at least ten minutes, and she was much stronger as an adult.
"Aye," his voice was much smoother now that he seemed to have caught his breath a bit, "Through those curtains is a door," he nodded to their left.
She helped him get through the door, Ruby following close behind.
Emma was free from the maze, and couldn't be more grateful. She took a deep breath and savored the fresh, open air for a moment as her victim sank into a nearby chair.
"If you don't like being scared, why did you come here, love?" he asked.
His voice drew her attention back to him, there was a light perched above him and his eyes were the only thing visible through his mask.
They were brilliant blue, and she could see the playful smile shining through even without his mouth in sight.
She suddenly wanted to see the rest of his face.
"Well, it's all Ruby's fault really -" she started before Ruby cut her off.
"Oh, no you don't Emma Swan -" But Emma stopped listening as the ski mask was pulled up. First a strong jawline came into view, riddled with the perfect amount of stubble. she gulped hard as she glanced back up to his eyes, now framed by dark eyebrows - one quirked playfully, clearly enjoying her perusal.
"You have a beautiful name, Emma," he said as he ran his hand through his messy hair. It looked soft and she wanted to help him fix it - she licked her lips and smirked as she watched his eyes dart down to watch. "I'm Killian Jones."
"I'm sorry about the elbow to the gut, Jones."
"You could go out to dinner with me, as a proper apology," he smiled wide and crossed his arms, settling back in the chair.
"And how exactly does you taking me out make it proper?" She laughed and shook her head, "That seems backwards."
He cringed as he rose from his seat and made his way into her space. His right hand came up to toy with a section of her curls, she leaned into his touch.
"I'd let you pay, if that made you feel better," he twirled her hair around his long fingers.
"Oh," Emma said sarcastically, "how gracious of you."
"I am a gentleman," he said as he dropped her hair and tucked it behind her ear; his touch lingered on her throat. She wondered if he could feel the increase in her pulse with the brush of his fingers along her neck.
"So you want to date me after I elbowed you in the gut?" Emma asked, flustered with how electric the pull of the chemistry between them appeared to be.
"Aye," he said with an honest smile.
"I-" she started before being interrupted.
"You guys know I'm still here, right?" Ruby said, hands on her hips and wolfish grin on her face.
Emma and Ruby tagged along for the customary Saturday night Denny's trip. The haunted house closed soon after Killian's blow to the gut, and the ladies fit in effortlessly with his friends. They couldn't resist teasing him about his unwarranted hit.
"Next time you can use the chainsaw mate," Will patted his stomach, "less chance of injury." Killian gave him a playful shove and drifted over towards Emma.
She leaned up against her yellow bug. The night was over too quickly for his taste. He smirked over to where Whale and Ruby were making out by his car.
Hands in her pockets, she laughed and rolled her eyes as she glanced in Ruby's direction.
"Can't take that girl anywhere," Emma ran her hand through her hair.
"You know this didn't count," he said as he stepped into her space - leaving a gap between them, but still trapping her against her car, "You still owe me that apology."
"Is that so?" she asked, a hint of challenge flashing in her eyes.
"Aye," he subconsciously licked his lips and grinned triumphantly as her eyes moved to watch. "Being made sport of in front of my mates isn't exactly my idea of a good time."
He turned to glare over at his friends, but all thoughts left his mind as she reached for his jacket collar and pulled him to her.
Her soft lips pressed to his and he responded by pinning her against the car. He used the leverage to deepen the kiss, she moaned into his mouth as their tongues met. The sound sent blood rushing south and he eagerly sank his hand into her hair, combing through the soft curls. Emma loosened her grip on the collar of his jacket, sliding it into the hair at the nape of his neck.
His left hand roamed along her hip, his thumb brushing the bare skin between her jeans and sweater. He was about to travel further up when the sound of cheering startled him to awareness.
He stopped the kiss and stepped back, sheepishly scratching at his ear.
"Oi, don't stop on our account, mate," Will piped up, while Rob whistled.
"Wooo! Go Emma!" Ruby howled.
Emma groaned and hid her face on his shoulder, clutching his jacket once more and not letting him go.
I won't bloody complain - he thought as her breath tickled his throat.
"So," he cleared his throat, "Dinner?"
He felt the puff of air as she snort-chuckled into his shoulder, "You don't give up, do you?"
"No, love," he said as he gently nudged her away from his shoulder so he could meet her eyes, "I do love a challenge."
"I'm not so sure you could handle it, Jones." Her eyelashes fluttered as she leaned closer to him; her lips only a breath away.
"I'm pretty sure you're the one who couldn't handle it, love," he said as his hand found its way back into her hair.
He closed the small distance between them and met her lips with a chaste kiss, not wanting to draw more taunting from their obnoxious audience.
He pulled back and smiled down at her, noting the blush that spread across her cheeks.
"So," she rested her hand against his chest, "dinner?"
He felt the dopey grin spread across his face, he was helpless to stop it. "It's a date."