DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THESE CHARACTERS. THEY BELONG TO THE OUAT (ONCE UPON A TIME) CREATORS.
Cellphones and Killian Jones…they're just a perfect combination, aren't they?
In the first part of their conversation, the words italicized (in quotations) represent the person—or Killian—on the other end while the underlined words, in the same area, represent what is being emphasized :) I hope that makes sense…
Please, read and enjoy!
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Chapter One
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As she organized and gathered together a large pile of various papers in the back office, Emma felt her phone jump and vibrate in her jacket pocket. Without looking at the caller id, she removed it and flipped it open, her tone neutral when she spoke. "Hello?"
"Emma?" the other person inquired curiously; his tone exceedingly audible in her ear.
Recognizing who it was immediately, she couldn't help the smile that crawled onto her face. Trying to push down the giddy butterflies that had, unexpectedly, began to bump around in her stomach at the sound of his voice, she tapped the desk she was standing next to and attempted to regain her composure. "Yes, Killian…?"
There was a brief pause before he continued. "How did you know that it was me, love?"
"Well, I've heard you talk before," she acknowledged semi-sarcastically, her head shaking from side-to-side while her eyes took on a brighter shade. She had to admit, giving him a phone was probably the best thing she did all week. His cute naivety at how the "device"—as he calls it—works was definitely making her day, so far, which had been busy from the moment she had gotten in…and that was only an hour ago. Paperwork, she briefly thought to herself as she looked at what lay in front of her, will definitely be the death of me…
Realizing that she didn't finish, she then hurriedly added to her statement. "And your tone is very…I don't know, distinct."
"Oh, it is, is it?"
She could tell that he was smiling because of how he had said it, which made her blush involuntary. "You know what I meant…You sound how you would if you were here with me in person…somewhat."
"Aye, I sound the same but more…distinctive…"
Closing her eyes at his playful manner, she managed to hold back her laughter. "Moving on…"
"Of course, lass," he acknowledged with a grin. "But you have obviously taken a liking to me if you automatically knew that it was I on this...talking device…"
Grabbing the stack of unsorted papers with one hand, she wrestled with the edges, so she wouldn't get one of those dreaded paper cuts, before replying to his usual flirtations. "I knew it was you because," she suddenly paused, her mind drawing a blank. The honest reason as to why she had stopped was due to the complicated fact that she didn't want to sound too…too corny. She knew it was him because of how he had made her feel but if she told him that…she was afraid that something bad or weird would happen in the long run. I mean, look at my track record with all the guys I've been with…they're all basically dead…
Wiping away the images that had appeared in her mind, she licked her lips. "I, uh, saw your name pop up on my screen...I've explained all of this to you when I gave you the phone or the "device", remember?"
"True, but we both know that you're lying right now, lass…about you seeing my name..."
Widening her eyes before rolling them in exasperation, she deflected by changing the subject. Finally, getting the papers how she wanted them, she switched the phone over to her other hand and picked them up, easily placing them into the crook of her right arm as she moved from the smaller room to the main one. "What do you want?"
There was a moment of silence before he spoke again. "Does there have to be a crisis in order for me to talk to you, love?"
Thrown off by what he had said, she accidentally loosened her grip, causing some of the stack to fall to the floor in a loud thump. Groaning in frustration, Emma pressed the ones that she was still holding to her chest, so she would be able to bend down for the others, but when her hair slipped over her shoulders and into her face, blocking the majority of her view, she found herself awkwardly patting the floor instead of recovering what she had lost. Irritated, she tossed her blonde strands back with a simple head movement before awkwardly answering him. "Um, no, there doesn't have to be. But I am a bit preoccupied at the moment, so, could we talk some other time? Like…later today?"
Catching the change in her voice and thinking that he was bothering her, he hesitated. "…I…apologize if I offended you, Emma. I was only teasing you earlier…"
"No, Killian," she began, immediately feeling bad when she realized how he must've taken it. Recovering the papers, she stood up and placed them onto one of the tables before wiping the sweat from her brow. "I'm just tired. It has nothing to do with you."
"Are you sure?"
"Yep…"
"Theeeeen," he trailed off, his tone lightening up. "We can carry on with some normal and approved pleasantries?"
"Meaning?" she asked, now furrowing her brows.
"Oh, you know, lass," he started, matter-of-factly. "The standard greetings two civilized adults have when they're interested in getting better acquainted with one another…?"
Tilting her head to one side, she found herself smiling. "Is that your way of asking me how my day is going?"
"Aye, Swan."
That simple statement literally melted her heart. He had a way of doing that…
Clearing her throat and placing her free hand on her hip, she again fought her emotions by maintaining the conversation. "That's sweet, but you literally saw me a couple of hours ago at the Diner…before I left, saying that I had stuff to do…"
"Many things could've happened between then and now, love," he responded with a chuckle.
Nodding her head, she was inclined to agree. "That's true, especially in this town, but um," she paused, thinking about what else to say as she wandered about the room. "Nothing really exciting has happened…I mean, I'm just organizing a few things and sorting through what appears to be," she said, moving back towards the desk she had just plopped the papers onto in order to spare a glance at them. "…countless records of some kind…"
"Ahh," he said in a casual, charming tone. "Then you're in the Sheriff's Station?"
Confused, she responded with a noticeable question in her voice. "…Yeeesss…?"
"Well, that's nice to know…"
"Why?"
"No reason other than the fact that I'm heading there at this very moment…"
Eyes widening, she turned to face the front door, her heart thumping. "Um," she began, moving towards it in curiosity. "Is there any particular reason why you're doing that?" Peeking through the glass, when she got there, Emma easily spotted him. He was standing more than five feet away from the building, dangling what appeared to be a medium-sized, wicker basket on his hook, and when he saw her, Killian gave her a friendly finger wave before continuing in her direction; his movements relaxed and effortless.
Still on the phone, she playfully commented about their situation. "Should I be worried about this, Killian? Stalking doesn't happen to be one of your secret pastimes, right?"
Closing the gap between them, she saw the grin he flashed her way. "Only if they're the person that I have romantic intentions for…" he then visibly froze, immediately catching and understanding what he had just said. "Oh, bloody hell. Ignore that, lass. The entire dialogue just registered…"
"Oh good," she commented through a few giggles. "Then I don't have to tell you how creepy it all sounded, despite the lovely sentiment that was attached to it?"
"Thanks, lass," he replied when resumed walking. "I hope you're in the mood for some company."
"Do I have a choice?"
"You always have a choice with me, love."
Giving him a thoughtful moment of silence, she feigned indifference. "Well, uh, I guess I can take a break."
"Good," he promptly stated, happily lifting the basket he was carrying. "Because I brought you something…"
Pushing the door open, she watched as he got closer, excitement beginning to bubble inside her veins at his presence. Letting him enter the room ahead of her, she hung up the phone and tried to peek into the basket from behind, but couldn't see anything because the opening was covered with a well-placed cloth. "What is it?"
Looking over his shoulder at her, while walking over to the closest desk, he gave her a telling smile. "Given that you only had a cup of coffee at the Diner this morning," he started, carefully placing both his phone and what he had brought down onto the table. "I thought that we could have breakfast together."
Whisking the cloth away, he stood aside to reveal the meal he had concealed. Inside, there were two plates and some utensils and they were covered by several containers, which had been strategically placed in order to fit perfectly in the basket—most likely by somebody else—and each dish held something different. There were: scrambled eggs, four English muffins, a few slices of bacon, two bunches of grapes, small bottles of orange juice and a handful of strawberries.
Her stomach grumbled at the sight of real food and when she moved over to stand beside him, to help him remove the containers from the basket, she put her cellphone back into her pocket and gave him a sideways look. "I am starving but…you do know that it's passed noon, right? So, technically…this isn't really 'breakfast'…"
"You're very observant, darling, but I'm sure the food won't mind if we eat it later than expected," he readily answered, his charming wit coming into effect. "Plus, all you had was a caffeinated drink and that doesn't really qualify, by any means, as a good meal."
"Says the guy who believes that a flask is great for any occasion…?"
Eyes twinkling, he raised a brow. "True, but…I'm very versatile when it comes to the social requirements of dating, Swan."
Blinking back in surprise, she flashed him an unreadable expression while trying to open the container of eggs and muffins. "Who said that this was a date?"
"This does," he said, suddenly reaching into his leather coat's pocket, after considering her words, to pull out a short stemmed red rose.
Emma's mouth dropped open in surprise. She looked as if she was going to say something but when she tried to, she seemed unable to form the basic levels of communication, and when he offered it to her, it took her a few moments to actually reach out and accept it from him. The same butterflies she had felt at the beginning of his call began to, once again, swarm inside of her stomach, creating tiny spirals of powerful tingles in the lower part of her back. Pretty sure that she was blushing, she took the stem in her finger tips and twirled it.
"…Granny was rather gracious in making all of this for you, lass," he suddenly interjected, changing the subject as he popped the lid off of the strawberries in order to grab a ripe one. Acknowledging Emma by fully turning towards her, he gave her a grin. "But it didn't come cheap…"
"Mm," she said, finally regaining her ability to speak. "Then we better eat and enjoy it while we still can."
"My thoughts exactly, Swan."
Brushing a few things away or off of the desk, she made herself comfortable by first leaning then sitting down on its surface, and while the rose rested contently in her lap, she wiggled her feet to-and-fro, causing her to, occasionally, bump into the side of the table with a loud thump. Picking up a slice of bacon, she noticed that he was staring at her.
"What?" she prodded, trying to ignore the warmth that had suddenly began to nip at the back of her neck.
"Nothing, lass," he gently stated with a meaningful smile before looking away, his eyesight falling directly onto his cell. "But I have to say that it's a good thing that you got me this device, love…"
"Oh?"
Nodding his head, he finally took a bite out of the strawberry he had been holding before answering her. "Because now, we can communicate whenever we feel the need to talk or…be around one another, in a manner of speaking…"
Swallowing hard, she tentatively asked the question that would, otherwise, burn the back of her throat. "And…how often do you feel the need to talk or be around me?"
Giving her one of the most sincere and loving looks she had ever seen, she watched him as he delivered a soulful confession. "Well, I think about you all the time, love, so…I guess we'll be talking every day for lengthy periods of time."
Meeting his gaze, Emma could feel what little defenses she had left begin to strip away as her heart pounded madly in her ears. Putting the residual sliver of bacon down onto one of the plastic lids, she grabbed the rose and scouted off of the table so she could properly show him how she felt. Taking the few necessary steps to get to him, she leaned into his side and gently pressed her lips into his cheek, her eyes closing at the feel of his skin against hers.
It took him a few seconds to understand what was going on, but when he did, he turned his head into hers and replaced the cheek she was kissing with his mouth. Surprised but not enough to withdraw, Emma brought a free hand up to his face to hold him there, sensuously rubbing her thumb over his strong jawline.
Pulling away to hover her lips over his, she gave him a tender smile. "I don't know how the flower counts as a date but...thanks. Thanks for the break, the food, the company, all of your romantic gestures annnnd…" she trailed off; pausing to lift her rose up in appreciation before continuing on. "...thanks for the afternoon date..."
The corner of his mouth tugged at her words, bringing a cheerful light into his eyes. "Anytime, love, anytime," he whispered, bringing his forehead to softly rest against hers before turning and reaching down for a plump strawberry, which he then offered to her with the same happy expression on his face. "Care for a piece of fruit, my love?"
Looking at the tip of the berry, she generously accepted his offer by opening her mouth. "Yes, please."
"Don't get used to this, lass," he teased after slowly bringing it to her lips and then watching her take a nibble.
"Oh please, you know you like it," she countered with a raised brow, using her nimble fingers to take the strawberry out of his control.
Carrying on with their playful banter, he then referred to a particular part in their cellular conversation. "I can say the same thing about you becoming rather fond of my voice, in person or no…"
"Here we go again," she said, shaking her head with wide, lively eyes. "You're making me sorry that I ever mentioned it."
At the sound of his laughter, her heart fluttered in her chest, making it difficult for her to catch her breath at the mere sight of it. And as they both began to fill their plates with the delicious looking food, Emma could feel her previous worries about being afraid of, well…commitment, start to fade away.
If something lay in wait for them, she had a feeling that they would be able to overcome it, like they usually do, but…in the meantime…she was going to try to not let her past emotions complicate her new feelings…
It was time that she did something for herself and right now, she was going to indulge in a little breakfast-slash-lunch with the man who had brought new meaning into her life.
FIN
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Yay! Thanks for reading!