My heart belongs to a pirate
"At the risk of incurring the Saviour's ire for taking you away from work when you're not done yet, Swan, I believe 3:45pm is far past your lunch time, is it not?"
She merely grumbles a handful of unintelligible words in response, which he, having had enough practice facing her common overworked-and-starved mood, quickly deciphers as meaning something along the lines of 'yeah, well, what's new about that'.
"And, am I wrong in assuming you haven't had a bite since our hurried breakfast by your lovely yellow metal contraption this morning?"
Emma sighs, knowing this is one battle she's already lost before he even asks her to grab lunch with him. "No, you'd be right." As always, she adds to herself, sending him an apologetic smile before turning to face the preposterously ancient computer in her desk at the station. They really need to use the Sheriff's budget to get some actual, functional technology around these parts.
"I'm just finishing up these regulation forms for Miner's day this Saturday. You know if I don't do this, David certainly won't, what with Neal learning to walk, plus Mary Margaret doesn't want him to miss out on any big moments, and I get that. But then if I don't do this, then it will be me having to deal with the chaos of a disorganised fair, and I am not having another blackout because a certain Leroy was using the lack of official paperwork as an excuse for going around sticking his pick axe everywhere, all drunk and disorderly, as per usual."
"I get that, Swan. I really do," he replies, placing an understanding, warm hand on her shoulder and massaging lightly, Emma having to bite back a low moan at how soothing his touch feels. "How many more forms 'til you can treat yourself to lunch with me, love?" He asks with a tempting waggle of his left eyebrow.
"Not many more, actually. Just about four…"
Both Killian's eyebrows go up to his hairline in a fraction of a second, watching her in disbelief before she can even think of trying to fool him, her all-knowing pirate.
"…teen."
"Bloody hell, love," he sighs. Emma feels him kneeling beside her chair before she looks back at him, all concerned frown and pleading lips. "Well, I propose the following: you come with me to get that grilled cheese you so adore at Granny's, and I'll come back here with you to help with the basted forms. What do you say, darling?"
Darling? Well, that's a new one. It rolls off his tongue in such an easy, comfy way tough, that she can't find it in her to think it strange sounding. If anything, it sounds quite perfect if she's being honest with herself.
"Alright, you win. But only if you get me some onion rings to go with the grilled cheese."
"Onion rings?" Killian fixes her with an adorably confused look. "Can't say I know exactly what those are. Some sort of food snack?"
"How on earth have you never tried onion rings before?!"
She sounds almost offended by his blatant display of junk food ignorance, and he's torn between explaining himself or apologising first.
"Uh, well, in my defence, Henry always insists we order fries when we go for a bite after sailing. It's not like I've had much of a choice in the matter, Swan."
"Henry, that little traitor…" Emma mutters under her breath, shaking her head. "This gotta be Regina's doing, she is just the kind of person to have some sort of crazy rule against onion rings in her son's eating habits. You know, nutritional value wise, fries are no better," she says as she grabs her jacket from the coat rack by her office door, grabbing his hook with her right hand and pulling him along in her wake.
"I guess we're on our way to remedy that travesty of a notion then?"
"Right you are again, sailor." She checks her watch before throwing him a smirk over her shoulder, determinedly hurrying her pace, Killian stumbling over his feet with the sudden tug on his hook before he falls into step beside her. "We're picking Henry up from school in fifteen minutes, and then we're all having Granny's amazing onion rings."
After a quick jog that rewards Killian unexpected pins and needles piercing his chest from within, along with a painful realisation that, probably due to all the pizza and sandwiches he's been feeding on during his outings with Emma lately, he might be very much in danger of getting out of shape, they get to the bus stop where Henry should be arriving in around seven minutes - plenty of time to spare if anyone asks him.
"What's the matter, old man?" Emma teases, watching with glinting amusement in her eyes the way he clutches his ribs, his face scrunched up in mild discomfort, and his ragged breaths. "Can't handle a little running?"
"Not only I can handle it, Swan," he punctuates her name with a half-hearted scowl, "but I assure you, I can carry on all the way to where you parked your car."
A very unladylike snort leaves her nostrils and throat before she can even think of holding it back.
"Really? You mean that ridiculously long distance, all the way from here to the corner?"
She earns herself a heavily black-lined eye roll for that, which he definitely picked up from her own antics.
"Whatevs."
And that, he most definitely did not pick up from her.
(She guesses Henry is to blame again, most likely.)
"Just- follow me to your car, would you, love? I got something for you this morning and, since we've a few minutes to spare until Henry gets here, I believe this is as good a time as any to give it to you."
"Oh, god. Is this what I get for trusting you with my car keys? You're going around driving on your own?" She pinches the bridge of her nose, already imagining the not-so-pleasant call she's going to get from madam mayor once she finds out. "I thought David and I had already established you behind a wheel is a moving hazard."
"I hope by that you only mean a car's wheel. And, actually, I did not, Swan," he tells her, his exasperated tone emphasised by a petulant tilt of his head. "I merely left your gift there so I could give it to you later. And is that really all you heard from what I said?"
"You know if I didn't trust you on the helm, I wouldn't let you take Henry sailing every week. And no, it isn't, darling." Killian startles a little at the new endearment echoing his own words from earlier, and she can't resist giving him a kiss on the cheek when he's looking at her like a surprised, wide-eyed puppy. "But you didn't have to get me anything. What's the occasion?"
"The occasion, love, is that these past weeks by your side have been the happiest I've had in more time than I can count," he says, lacing their fingers together and leading her towards the bug. "I walked past this shop on my way to see Belle in the library, and there was a particular article of clothing on display that caught my eye."
Killian brings them to a halt before the car, taking the keys out of his jacket pocket and walking over to open the door to the passenger side. Biting her lip while trying to reign in a light flutter that takes over her heart at his sweet gesture, she watches as he comes back with a small package wrapped in light purple tissue paper, presenting it to her with a small bow she finds completely ridiculous, and maybe a whole lot cute.
Emma does a little jumpy thing (she absolutely does not let out a small squeak to top her silliness with a cherry) before eagerly tearing the wrapping open, finding inside a black top with a mended heart printed on the front, as well as the words my heart belongs to a pirate.
"I- uh, I realise you may find it a bit too much, and I will admit it's a bit silly… but I thought, at the very least, it- erm, it would make you laugh," Killian stutters when she holds out the shirt in front of her eyes, staring at it in a deafeningly long silence that makes him promptly regret assuming she would be ready for something like that. "Emma, love, please, just say something, anything."
"Killian…" Emma heaves out a sigh before turning her eyes to him. "It's lovely, thank you so much. I loved it!" Her voice sounds suspiciously unsteady, but he makes no comment as she throws her arms around his neck and presses a kiss to the underside of his jaw. "Thank you."
Holding her firmly to his chest, Killian closes his eyes and allows himself to breathe for the first time since she opened the package. "I'm glad you liked it, love."
"You're kidding? I really loved it! This is so sweet of you," she beams at him, and Killian vows if a silly garment is all it takes to get her to look that happy, he will gladly buy her a new item of clothing every day of his life. "I guess I should put it on later, though. If Henry saw me wearing this he would tease us mercilessly until the end of time."
"Aye," he chuckles, "he'd likely hold this over our heads for a long time, indeed."
After neatly folding the top and leaving it on the driver's seat to be picked up later, Emma slips her arms through his as they starting walking back to the bus stop to get Henry.
"Hm, I wonder who he got that from…" Emma rests her chin on his shoulder, watching the innocent shake of his head with a knowing grin.
"I haven't the slightest clue as to what you're referring, love."