Summary: You're a grown man, Jones, he told himself. A birthday isn't that big of a deal anymore anyway.
Note: This is a little bitty sequel to my fic "The Favor." I had a few things that I couldn't work into that story, and I wanted to write a little follow-up, so here we are. I appreciate so much all the reblogs, messages, likes, etc., so I hope you like this one, too.
Note the second: If you're one of the few that's been waiting, you know, four months for an update to "A Ghost in Me," that is like 99 percent written and will probably be updated this week. Look at me, being all productive and shit.
It wasn't the best birthday Killian had ever had, but it wasn't the worst, either.
On the plus side, he was pretty sure he'd aced his history exam, he was actually off work for the entire weekend and he knew that Emma had baked him a batch of his favorite chocolate chip cookies. On the downside, a winter storm was settling in, it was cold as hell, he had dropped his cell phone and cracked the screen … and worst of all, his girlfriend was stuck in Bumfuck, Massachusetts, working a case on his birthday.
He really was so proud of her success as a bail bondsperson, but he couldn't help but be just a little disappointed that her work took her away this weekend. He sighed. You're a grown man, Jones, he told himself. A birthday isn't that big of a deal anymore anyway.
He trudged into their apartment building, thinking fondly of his birthday plans, which had included spending the entire weekend with her on his couch or hers wrapped up in comfy blankets (preferably naked), watching movies, eating chocolate chip cookies and doing other enjoyable activities.
Not for the first time, he thought that one of them should just get a nice TV in their bedroom, so they could just skip the couch altogether. Or both of them should. Or — his preference — they could just move in together once his lease was up in another two months. These were thoughts he mostly kept to himself, though.
Emma had surprised them both by settling pretty comfortably into their relationship, but he reminded himself often how easily spooked she had been. If she knew what he truly wanted — marriage, a home together, eventually kids — he was a little afraid he might end up with nothing again. Only recently had he actually started telling her he loved her out loud, for fear of scaring her away. He was 99 percent sure that she loved him, too, though she'd never said it. And he wouldn't push her. There was nothing he wouldn't do for her, so waiting until she was ready wasn't that much to ask. Maybe it was silly to be so sure after only six months together, but he was. Hell, he'd known the moment he met her that Emma Swan was unlike any woman he'd ever known. It hadn't taken long for him to fall, hard.
Killian pulled his coat off as he headed for the stairs, sighing as he felt the building's heat slowly thawing him out. As he neared the top floor, he was considering the merits of eating cookies for dinner and wondering if he could get Emma to engage in a little phone sex while she was on her stakeout. Setting his coat and bag on the floor, he pulled out his keys, fumbling and dropping them when he heard Emma's voice behind him.
"I thought you'd never get home! I was afraid you were snowed in at school."
He smiled and knelt to pick up his keys. "Love, I thought you were on your way to —" Turning and standing in one move, he froze at the sight of his girlfriend leaning in her doorway, looking gorgeous as usual and wearing his old Van Halen T-shirt.
Wearing only his old Van Halen T-shirt.
He slowly looked her over, from the bright eyes and big smile to the blonde tresses curling over her shoulders, lower, to where the T-shirt skimmed the top of her thighs, and down her long, toned legs to her perfect, bare feet.
"Happy Birthday, Killian," she said in a low voice. "Do you want the good news or bad news first?"
"Uh …" He couldn't seem to form words at the moment, too focused on her fingers, which were now playfully toying with the hem of the T-shirt, giving him a quick glimpse that heightened his suspicions that she wasn't wearing a stitch underneath. His entire body tightened, breath quickening as he imagined dropping to his knees and burying his face between her thighs, devouring her until she couldn't stand on her own.
When he didn't answer, she laughed. "Okay, bad news first. I ordered you the perfect birthday gift online, but it's stuck somewhere in that big winter storm and won't be here until at least Monday."
His eyes returned to her face, heart warming as he saw how disappointed she looked. As if there was anything she could give him that was better than having her here with him. He stepped closer, slipping a hand under the T-shirt to cup her bare bottom and shooting her a grin. "I assume the good news is that your flight was canceled. And also that you appear to be wearing nothing under this shirt?"
"Hmmm." She twisted her arms around his neck and tugged him into a slow, deep kiss before pulling away. "I canceled my flight. I can catch bad guys any day, but your birthday is only once a year. I thought I'd surprise you. Since your gift won't be here for a couple days, I wanted to give you something else to tide you over."
She'd canceled her trip, just to spend his birthday with him. Killian ducked his head and kissed her neck, fingers slipping between her legs, drawing a gasp from her. He grinned against her skin, but before he could do anything else, Emma pulled away, eyebrows raising as she pushed him — a little harder than was strictly necessary, not that he was complaining — against the wall beside her door.
"Huh-uh," she said firmly, shaking her head. She smirked at him and rubbed his hard length through his jeans. She popped the button and had him unzipped and in her hand almost before he could take another breath.
"Um, Swan, not that I don't appreciate where this is going, but …" He trailed off as she moved his jacket to his feet and knelt down on it. He would deny it forever, but there may have been just the slightest squeak in his voice as he continued. "I … maybe we should take this inside?"
"Nope." She tugged his boxers further down, stroking him in a most distracting way.
"Darling, anyone could come along and —" He broke off with a groan as she slowly licked him, swirling her tongue around the tip while she continued to stroke him at the base. "Bloody hell."
"Jones, I love that you're a gentleman, but sometimes a girl doesn't want a gentleman, she wants …"
"A pirate?" He raised an eyebrow at her, enjoying the flush that spread across her face. His girl had quite the pirate fetish, a fact they'd both discovered by accident when he dressed as one for Halloween. They engaged in a rousing game of Pirate and Princess that night, hot enough that he was surprised they hadn't ignited the entire building.
"Right," she said, batting her eyes at him. "So shut up, Captain, and let me take care of you."
He watched as she took him in her mouth, tongue teasing the underside of his cock, and he was done arguing. Damn, the woman had an amazing mouth, and she knew all his secrets, everything he loved, and used that knowledge to full effect. Curling one hand into her hair, he hit the wall behind him with the other fist, determined to keep his hips still. He was still a gentleman, dammit.
He groaned again as she released him and looked up. "Better hurry up," she purred. "Our neighbor could be home any minute. What on earth would he think of seeing me sucking you off right in the hallway?"
"Fuck," he cursed harshly as she took him in again, hot, wet mouth sucking and licking just right. Their only neighbor on the floor right now, Will Scarlet, was a complete prat who flirted with Emma all the time. She found the moron funny, for some reason, but Killian couldn't stand him. He was strangely aroused by the danger of getting caught, of that asshole coming up the stairs and seeing Killian have what he never could.
"Fuck," he said again, tugging at her hair. She moaned around his cock, and he couldn't stop himself from thrusting into her mouth. God, he loved her. "Swan, you're so fantastic." She was amazing, brilliant, beautiful, and he told her over and over as he got closer. "Sweetheart, I'm close. I'm … I just —"
She looked up at him and winked — she fucking winked — taking him even deeper with another moan, and he had to bite his lip to stop himself from shouting as he came.
He was the luckiest man on the eastern seaboard.
He leaned partly against the wall, trying to catch his breath as his beautiful goddess of a girlfriend stood, wiping her mouth and sending him a brilliant smile while tugging his pants up.
"Damn, woman," he finally managed, putting his arms around her and nuzzling his nose into hers. "What's gotten into you?"
She shrugged with a grin. "Since your present is going to be late, I thought I'd try to make it a special birthday by giving you all the things you like. Lasagna for dinner, welcome-home BJ, Naked Movie Night …"
"Cookies?"
"Cookies, yes," she giggled. "Besides, to be honest, I've wanted to do that since the first day we met."
"Aye?"
"Mmmm-hmmm." She slipped her hands under his sweatshirt and dragged her nails lightly against his back. "You were out here all wet and almost naked and unfairly attractive, and I wanted like hell to see what you had under that towel. And you did offer me the chance to show off my blowjob skills."
"I remember," he said, brushing his lips over hers. "For the record, love, you're second to none. Though I am a little surprised you wanted to do it out here. We're lucky Scarlet hasn't gotten home yet."
She laughed, stepping back and waving him into her apartment. He grabbed his coat and bag, dumping them inside her door before pulling it closed. "I'm not an exhibitionist, Jones. Will left a couple hours ago," she said. "I knew he wouldn't be back. He's either off to see his girlfriend or snowed in at the airport by now."
"That dolt has a girlfriend?"
"Um, sort of." Emma was in the kitchen, opening the oven door. "Actually, she sounds like kind of a bitch, but he loves her, so he's trying to work things out. You'd know this if you would actually speak to him instead of growling every time he comes around."
His interest in Will Scarlet's love life, very low to begin with, plummeted to less than zero when she bent over to look in the oven, giving him a fantastic view.
"Looking good," she said, and he had to agree, moving toward her quickly. "We can probably eat in half an —"
Slamming the oven door shut, he turned Emma and pulled her into a kiss. "I wonder, darling," he said, lifting her onto the counter, "how many times I can make you come apart in the next thirty minutes?"
"You need a TV in here," he said much later, as they lay twined together in her bed, eating cookies and watching Netflix on her MacBook.
She nodded. "Maybe we could just put yours in here."
He froze, cookie halfway to his mouth. "Mine?"
"Mmmm-hmmm." She wasn't looking at him, instead keeping her eyes on the screen. She was an open book to him, though, and he knew she wasn't watching it any more than he was. "Your lease is up in a couple months, and you're here practically all the time anyway. You should move in."
When he didn't answer, too shocked to say anything, she finally looked at him. She licked her lips, looking unsure, then said in a forced sing-song tone, "We could get a dog together."
He finally managed to find his voice. "Yes. Yes. Hell yes, we should move in together. And you don't have to bribe me with a dog. You're all I need, Swan. You know I love you. I wanted to suggest it myself, but I was trying to sort out the best way to bring it up."
She smiled brightly, a sight that never ceased to warm him. "I want to," she said. "And I want you to know that … I love you, Killian. I'm sorry it took me so long to say."
He dropped the cookie, using both hands to pull her into a hard kiss. He'd known, of course he'd known, but to hear the words from her was the greatest gift he could have ever received.
After a moment she pulled away and frowned. "But we are getting a dog," she said seriously.
Best. Birthday. Ever.