Part of my Follower Milestone Fic Collection. Inspired by the Parks and Rec Episode- The Fight. Tell me your thoughts- I love hearing from you!
The place is crammed with people, there's music blasting from the speakers with the bass thumping in the background, and drinks being passed around from the bar- just another Happy Hour at the Rabbit Hole. But since tonight happens to be David and Mary Margaret's engagement part, it seems like the whole town is in attendance.
She swirls her straw around her drink, as she stands by the bar table with Ruby, her best friend. Her eyes can't help but glance to the entrance of the club every couple of minutes. If she's being honest, she's only half paying attention to her conversation with Ruby. She almost spits out her drink when she hears, "You need to get laid, Swan."
"Excuse me?" She faces Ruby, shocked at the words that just came out of her mouth. She sputters out, "You said-what?"
Ruby rolls her eyes and playfully chides Emma for being so obvious that she wasn't listening to a word that was being said. "Well if you were paying attention to our conversation…."
"Okay, fine. You got me- I'm a little distracted." She resigns to the fact and Ruby tilts her head to the right giving her a look that says I told you so. As she takes a long sip of her drink (and boy is it strong), she starts to wonder what's taking him so long. When she left the office earlier, she stopped by his door and offered to wait for him. A purely platonic gesture on her part, which ended with her walking out of the office- her hair mussed and lips swollen from a quick makeout session and him telling her that he would just meet her here at the party.
"What's got you so distracted? Come on Ems, you know you can tell Mama Red everything!"
They may have been the same age, but Ruby always looked after her like the older sister she never had since they were assigned to the same group home, all those years ago. Sometimes she wished she could be more like Ruby- carefree, spunky, and confident. Ruby had no problem saying whatever the hell she was thinking and she didn't give a damn who knew it. She knew what she wanted and she said so- no excuses, no hesitation. Perhaps if she were more like her friend, her life might be easier right now.
"Just a long day at work." She tries to pass it off, but Ruby knows her too well and pulls away her drink before Emma has a chance to take another sip.
Holding the drink out of her reach, Ruby shakes her head no back at her. "You can have the drink back once you tell me the truth as to what's going on." She arches her eyebrow, challenging Emma- your move.
Damn Ruby. The girl was like a wolf- she could sniff out a lie better than anyone. She inwardly groans- there's no way to get out of this. "There might be a guy…."
Her words trail off- she knows that Ruby's going to ask for all the details anyways, so hopefully she's given enough so that she can get her drink back. Where is he?
"WHAT?!" Ruby's also already loud to begin with, but get a couple drinks in her and well- Emma's just lucky that the bar tonight seems to match her friend in volume so no one pays them any mind.
"Gimme!" Emma leans forward over the table to reach back for her drink. Ruby gives it back, not before taking a sip, claiming it as part of Ruby tax.
Ruby tax was this thing between her and Ruby since they were young kids and it's sustained its presence in their lives just as long as this friendship has. Emma rolls her eyes at Ruby who gestures her hands in an alright spill manner.
Ruby's probably her oldest and closest friend, so if there was anyone she would want to talk to about this- it would be the brunette sitting across the table from her. But since it's so new and so wonderful being in their little bubble, her and Killian have promised to just keep this revelation to themselves. Sneaking kisses around the office, exchanging love notes, flirty texts hinting at future bedroom activities-it's really amazing that they haven't been caught yet.
"Okay, so as you know, there hasn't really been a guy since the whole shitshow with Walsh. But anyways, I took your advice and started putting myself out there-"
But before she can finish her thoughts, loud cheers erupt from the other side of the bar. She can feel butterflies fluttering in the pit of her stomach and a small smile graces her lips- he's here. Even though they haven't been dating for awhile, the connection they've had with one another was instantaneous. And since they've gotten together, the spark between them has only gotten stronger. She jokes with him one night about that and he teases her saying that this between them is like watching fireworks-every kiss just keeps getting better. He tells her this with a coy, nervous smile, and she can't help but push him onto the bed for just one more make out session. She cranes her neck to the side past the crowd and finds Killian giving the Merry Men (her nickname for his group of guy friends) manly hugs and slaps on the back, before he jokingly jumps on David's back.
She's so engrossed in the scene in front of her that she misses the knowing look that passes Ruby's eyes as she looks over from the scene involving the newly arrived guest back to Emma sitting beside her.
"Ahem." Her head snaps back at hearing Ruby clear her throat and she meets her friend's concerned look.
"Refill?" Ruby's voice rings purely of innocence as she gestures that she's heading to the bar for more drinks.
Emma hands Ruby her glass, giving her a smile in thanks. She's never been like this before- not with any of her previous boyfriends. With every new relationship, there's always the honeymoon period, but because of her past, she's always kept her wits about her- never letting any guy get too close. But with Killian, it's different. They started off as friends (he moved here right after she and Walsh broke up) and she couldn't be happier about that because she definitely wasn't ready to jump into any type of relationship back then.
They work in the same office- Storybrooke Town Council. Their individual office doors face one another, so they do spend a lot of time together. He's a regular visitor to her office- always stopping by every morning greeting her and asking her how her coffee is. They'll make some small talk about how they spent their evening before he bids her a good day and makes his way to his office across the hall. She'll stretch her legs around lunch time and pass by his door, knocking on the door panel (she might have startled him the first couple of times when she used to barge in there) and they'll grab lunch together in the courtyard.
When he first moved here, she felt bad for him- knowing how difficult it is to get acclimated in a small town where everyone already knows one another. Their little lunch routine that started when he first got here has stayed, with the addition of the two of them now sharing flirty smiles, teasing glances, and holding hands under the table. All completely professional.
Her musings come to a halt when she feels his hand on her back. Her body's senses are tingling in his close presence, her fingers are itching to grab his hand and pull him closer to her. Her lips are buzzing in memory of the last kiss they shared- last night as he pressed her body against the door, the wine flowing through their bodies, as their lips devoured one another.
"Swan." His voice brings chills down her body and makes her heart beat faster. His smile- it's the one he has only for her makes her want to jump into his arms and pepper kisses all over his face, while nestled in his arms.
"Jones. You're late." It's a true test of her patience and her will power because right now she can't greet him with a kiss. She files it in the back of her mind that she's going to make it up to him later and so will he.
"Or perhaps darling, I'm just in time?" Damn him. The bastard knows what this low, gravelly voice of his does to her. His lips curl into a smile as he leans forward, closing the amount of space between them. It's still a respectable distance, but this tension between them sizzles the closer they get to one another. His tongue is quite talented (she's been acquainted with it first hand), but right now as it slowly traces his lips, it's causing the heat pooling between her legs to begin to throb. He arches an eyebrow, his eyes darken slightly with a hint of desire, and she knows exactly what he's thinking.
"Come over tonight. We need to talk." Before she can ask him what's going on, she's interrupted.
"OH! Hey Killian!" At the sound of Ruby's voice, Emma and Killian both obviously startled by the interruption both lean away from one another, increasing the amount of distance between them so it's definitely respectable.
"Hey- you're back! Ruby's back! Look Jones, it's Ruby!" Her voice squeaks and internally she's burying her face in her hands in shame. She's not very good at this whole sneaking around, and she knows that Ruby's going to see right through this act and piece it all together.
"Glad you could make it, Killian." Ruby gives no indication to what she walked in on and Emma's puzzled because of the lack of reaction from her very...responsive friend. Instead, Ruby begins talking to Killian about whether or not it's warm enough to take his boat out for some sailing.
While no one may know that they're dating, it makes Emma happy to know that Ruby and Killian get along. If her and Killian ever got to the point where they were ready to be public, it's important that her best friend likes him. She learned that mistake the last time- Ruby hated Walsh, hated the man from the moment she met him to the moment that he broke up with Emma- and some more time after that...and probably still to this day.
"Well, maybe one day you could take me?" Emma chokes on her drink at Ruby's suggestion (again, she wasn't really paying attention to the conversation next to her, wrapped in her own thoughts, until now). Killian also chokes on his drink, meeting Ruby's hopeful (and genuine) smile awaiting a response.
Killian clears his throat, trying to regain his composure and buy some time, so he replies with a shrug. "Sure."
One word and it's enough to bring out the green eyed monster in Emma. She's never been the jealous type, but the excitement in her stomach has now been replaced with a sinking feeling. She tunes out the rest of their conversation (upset at herself for being upset in the first place) and goes back to twirling her straw in her drink. She stares at the ice cubes circling around her drink, trying hard not to grind her teeth in frustration.
Perhaps if they were public and out in the open with their relationship, things like this wouldn't happen. But right now, they just can't be like that. Her proposal for the new children's activity center for Storybrooke's group home is in the process of being reviewed before they continue with the plans. The first person who has to approve the idea is Killian Jones (her secret boyfriend) who also happens to be her boss. Dammnit. That's definitely going to be considered by the mayor a "conflict of interest."
She can't imagine it going over well if her and Killian are publicly dating. Storybrooke is a small, but very opinionated town. Mayor Mills will most certainly shut down the proposal and her and Killian's jobs could be in jeopardy. Regina will most certainly call into question their work ethic, and she can already hear the accusations that the Evil Queen (the mayor has earned herself quite the reputation) will spew at here- specifically calling Emma out for sleeping with her boss to get her projects approved.
She has a tendency to get lost in her head, let her thoughts run rampant and push her into a state of confusion, but since Killian's arrival to their town, he's been the one to calm her down. But since they are only supposed to work colleagues and he's busy talking to Ruby about god knows what- what is even going on- she settles on walking over to the bar to grab a refill and clear her head.
"Anyone up for a refill?" Thankfully her voice doesn't come across as shaky as she grabs their attention. They both shake their heads and she immediately stands up from the table, brushing past them on her way to the bar before they can pull her into their conversation
While he's happy that he's finally getting a chance to talk to Ruby (he knows how important she is to Emma), he's distracted by the thought that Emma's left the table. He could sense that there was something wrong with his Swan- her voice seemed off, her eyes distracted by her inner musings, her body rigid as she headed to the bar. He nods when it seems appropriate, but he's squirming in his seat trying to get a glance of Emma by the bar.
"Seriously?" He looks over, knowing he's been caught by the grin that has appeared on Ruby's face.
He tries covering it up, but his attempts are futile. "Just keeping an eye out for the happy soon to be groom, lass! My apologies."
"Hmmm, whatever helps you sleep at night, Killian." Ruby shakes her head at him, amusement dancing in her eyes, and he's now squirming in his seat for a different reason. Thankfully, Ruby's taken pity on him and she goes back to talking about her crush on his mate, Victor. He likes Ruby and he definitely thinks she could be a good match for his friend. Victor's a stubborn bastard who definitely needs a woman like Ruby- the lad wouldn't know what hit him!
It's getting harder to hide his feelings for Emma whenever they're in public and Storybrooke isn't that big to begin with. He just wants to be able to greet his girlfriend with a kiss- is that too much to ask for? But he can't because of Storybrooke being so bloody small and the news would spread before he even pulled away from their kiss. He can't even take her out on a proper date because someone might see them. All of the sneaking around is making him stressed, but being with Emma is probably the happiest he's been in a long time. His heart is so full of love for this woman who has managed to turn his life upside down. He hasn't smiled this much since he was a young lad and he knows it's all because of his Swan. He wants to be with her officially- let everyone know that he's the luckiest bastard alive because this beautiful woman has chosen to be with him.
Moving to Storybrooke was a haste decision made to escape his past. His original plan when accepting the job for the town council was to stay for a couple of months and work on the projects assigned to him, and then move on to the next town. After his first day, he had a feeling that his original plan was going to be scrapped when he met the beautiful blonde who worked in the office across his.
He still can remember how unenthused he was on his first day. He had been to a dozen towns like this one- why should this be any different? On his way to his office, he saw a beautiful woman, trying to juggle her coffee cup as well as her purse and a bunch of binders, all packed with papers and tabs as she opened her office. With as flustered as she was, he was surprised that she noticed him- the new guy (most people tend to shy away from newcomers). She gave him a soft, sweet smile, and he felt his cheeks heat up. (As he settled into his new office, he was already longing for her to smile at him again).
At meetings, he would meet her gaze and they would make funny faces at one another, trying to get the other one to laugh and break character. Their lunches consisted of her telling him about Storybrooke and it's little oddities as well as filling him in on who was who in the town- who to watch out for, who to befriend, where to go for the best food. He would share with her the different places he had traveled to for work and tell her about his brother, Liam, who was back in Ireland, along with his wife, Elsa. She hated her vegetables and would sneak them into his food whenever she thought he wasn't looking. He pretended not to notice, relishing in the little grin she made after every transfer. He knew that she must have feelings for him too- their flirting wasn't one sided, but it wasn't until the deadline for his transfer that he had affirmation that she truly did feel the same way as him.
He was finishing up some paperwork when he heard a knock on his door. He looked up, surprised to see Emma shyly standing there, her hands in her pockets.
"Lunchtime already, lass?"
"Not quite. Can we talk?" He gestured for her to sit down in the chair across from his desk. She fiddled with her hands in her lap, biting her lip out of nervousness. He leaned back, giving her all the time she needed.
"You should stay in Storybrooke. Don't take the next project. Stay here." She pleaded with him, her voice soft, but strong, as she looked him in the eye.
"Yeah?" He smiled at her and raised his eyebrow, waiting to hear what else she had to say.
"Yeah. I mean, Storybrooke's a great town. Great people- you've made friends here. What are you gonna do? Keep moving from town to town? Stay here. Help us build something great here." She ended her passionate speech by giving him a smile, which took him back to his first day here.
"I already told them I'm not leaving. I'm...uh...staying. In Storybrooke." He admitted to her, looking her directly in the eye, his grin matching hers. "Storybrooke's growing on me."
"That's good to hear. I think you'll find that Storybrooke likes you too."
The meaning of their words was not lost on either of them. Her eyes slowly drift to his lips before returning to his eyes, a light pink blush gracing her cheeks. He holds her gaze in his, hoping that she understands that she's a huge reason (the reason) why he's chosen to stay.
Working for the town council has been great, except for one thing- he can't date someone within his department. There's no written rule, but the mayor has made it explicitly clear that it's frowned upon and that she won't tolerate it. But this thing between him and Emma- it's more important to him than the job and he's told her time and time again that he would leave and find a new one if it meant being able to be with her. She's stubborn- one of the endearing traits about her that made him fall in love with her- and she tells him that she can't ask him to do that.
Which brings him back to tonight- he's in a crowded bar, the drinks and food are plentiful, and the band is about to play. He looks over to the bar, his eyes widen, his heart quickens, and he finds that he's having a hard time swallowing. Some bloke seems to be chatting it up with Emma and she doesn't look repulsed or annoyed. In fact, she's smiling and laughing and it makes his eyes blaze with jealousy. In a perfect world, what he really wants to do at this party is dance with his girlfriend and give her as many proper kisses as he sees fit. Instead, he's stuck in this corner, brooding and sulking from a far. He knows it and judging from Ruby's raised eyebrow and her arms folded across her chest, she knows it too.
"Wait a minute. Are you jealous?' Her question is purely rhetorical- they both know the answer. His jaw clenches with jealousy as he sees the bloody bastard hand Emma her drink, followed by him whispering something in her ear that causes her to laugh and roll her eyes at him.
"So you know." His words come out steely, his eyes solely focused on the what's going on at the bar.
"I mean- she didn't tell me. But from hanging out with both of you all night, I'd have to be blind not to have figured out what's going on." Ruby tilts her head, challenging him to prove her otherwise. "You're not exactly good at this whole "keeping it subtle" thing." She nudges his elbow, drawing him to look at her.
"No, I am not." He admits to his downfall.
"Don't worry- neither is she." Ruby offers him a smile.
"Our situation is complicated." He offers her the reason that he and Emma have been saying as a mantra in their heads for why they can't be together, officially.
"Bullshit. You can uncomplicate it." She challenges him, waiting for his answer.
"I bloodly well am trying to!" He tells her exasperatedly before running his hands, tugging on his hair in aggravation.
"Killian, you strike me as a man of action. Which is good-because my best friend is probably the most selfless person out there. She won't do anything for herself- she'll do everything she possibly can for others, but for herself, she's too selfless. She doesn't want to ask too much." Ruby's words are as honest and as spot on as one can be when describing Emma Swan.
"So one piece of advice. A man unwilling to fight, deserves what he gets." She looks him in the eye as she tells him this, and it's just the push he needs.
He gets up from the table, searching for where Emma is and he sees her walking towards the dancefloor with that bloke. He quickly rushes over to her, his hand catching her arm, grabbing her attention. He doesn't bloody care about the bastard standing next to Emma- he takes both of her hands in his.
Before she can even mutter a word, he tilts her head back and catches her lips with his. He quickly eases her into the kiss, his mouth moving against hers, as he can feel her hands tighten around him. He dips her, his tongue seeking entrance into her mouth, which she quickly grants. Her moans are swallowed by his mouth covering hers, and her arms loop themselves around his neck, her fingers fisting tightly the hair on the nape of his neck, drawing him even closer to her.
He pulls away, just a fraction of the distance to take a breath, and she grabs the lapels of his jacket, fusing their mouths back together, this time her tongue pushing its way past his lips, sliding along his- relentless and hot. His body molded back to hers as her gasps of desire are met by his growls of want. As the need for air suprasses their need for one another, they both pull away, still holding each other close- their lips tingling from that kiss.
She's still holding onto his jacket as her shallow breaths linger between them. His heartbeat is racing after a kiss like that, his arms still encircling her waist holding her against him, and he presses his forehead against hers as he tries to calm himself.
Though he can still hear the music playing in the background (in addition to the thumping of his heart ringing in his ears), he's pretty sure all eyes are on him and Emma right now.
"What was that?" Her voice is shaky, as she pulls back to look up at him.
"It's a promise." He swallows deeply- his gaze on her, her eyes full of hope and a hint of uncertainty. "A promise that I am yours. That nothing- not a job, not some rule, is more important than you are to me."
"Killian…you love your job. I can't ask you to do this." She wants to be with him more than anything, but she can't bear the thought that one day he might regret making this decision and end up resenting her.
"You're not, Emma." He looks at her with a twinkle in his eye, and a smile starting to unfurl from his lips. "How can you ask me to do something that's already been done?"
A gasp of surprise escapes her. "What have you done?" She keeps her eyes on him, panic starting to unfold behind her pupils.
He takes a breath and braces himself for the onslaught that may arise after he's revealed what he's done to her. "I was late to the party because I had to stop by HR and drop off my papers for a transfer."
Her mouth opens in protest and he places a finger on her lips, to quiet her so he can finish. "A transfer to a different department here in Storybrooke." He winces slightly in preparation for her berating, but he's slightly knocked off balance by Emma jumping into his arms.
She wraps her arms around Killian's neck, her fingers dancing across his cheek as she lowers her voice and shifts closer to him. "You did that for me?"
"Emma. I did it for us. I did it because that's the right thing to do." His eyes flutter shut as she touches her lips to his. Teasing him with the softness of her touch, she whimpers as she struggles to move and be even closer to him. He buries his hand into her soft hair, tugging her nearer, his mouth becoming insistent.
A whistle from their side brought them back to reality, as they hesitantly pulled away from one another. Coming face to face with Ruby, both of their faces tinged bright red, as they also realized where they were.
Ruby gestures to the rest of the bar, all grinning widely at Emma and Killian, "Alright, so who bet on tonight's date?"
She glanced back at the two, whose mouths were dropped due to surprise, "Seriously? You guys are HORRIBLE at this whole sneaking around thing."