Of course she had to roll her eyes as she heard the low whistle of her neighbor, Killian Jones, as he saw her leave for her "date." He was sitting out on the front steps of their shotgun bungalow, as usual. She swore he and Indy, his dog, spent more time on the front porch than they did inside his actual apartment.

"So, Swan, what's tonight's crime? Bank fraud? Breaking and entering? Do these men even appreciate that they get ten minutes of a date with you before you take them down?"

Not answering the second part of his question, she leaned down to pet Indy. "Oh the best kind; non payment of child support." Scratching behind Indy's ears she started talking to the dog. "Bet you'd be a good bail bonds dog, wouldn't you boy? I could let you chase them down for me. I'd never break another heal."

Killian watched longingly, half tempted to commit a crime just to get ten minutes of a date with her. He'd been living next to Emma Swan for two years and the closest he'd gotten was sharing takeout food while they watched TV. He took what he could get, but two years and he was desperate for more.

"Night, Killian."

"Night, Swan. Go get 'em."

"I always do."


Emma awoke the next morning half dead. If there was one perk to the paper thin walls of the bungalow it was that she could hear when Killian got up on Saturday mornings to go walk Indy. She could give herself 10 more minutes, and then meet him on the stoop, where without fail he would greet her with a much needed coffee and if she were truly lucky, doughnuts.

She threw on yoga pants and a sweatshirt, and went to wait for him on the steps.

Hearing Indy's bark, she looked up, and as usual, Killian took her breath away. How she ended up with sex walking for a next door neighbor she'll never know, but that was the only way to describe Killian Jones. He had let Indy off the leash and the dog was at her side in a flash. Scratching behind his ears, she waited for Killian to catch up.

Eying him as he got closer, she could make out the two take away cups of coffee, but no bag of doughnuts.

Her face fell.

"Morning, Swan. Here's your coffee." He sat down next to her.

"Thanks." She tried to hide the disappointment from her voice.

"2AM. You're usually not that late. Did you decide to spend some quality time with the fellow before you took him in? Lucky man."

She groaned. "I really don't want to talk about it. It was a rough night. He ran. Of course he ran. And then it took forever to process him at the jail. Almost not worth the bond."

She took a long sip of the coffee, trying to be grateful and not disappointed.

As she stared into the front yard in silence, she noticed him pull a paper bakery bag out of his pocket.

Her face lit up. It was the look he was hoping for.

"POCKET DOUGHNUTS."

"There's a glazed, a Boston Creme, and a sprinkles. One of them is for me please, Swan. You do have to share."


Emma got home from the grocery store and spotted Killian on the steps, but not alone. He was unlocking the door with a blonde woman at his side.

"This is a first," thought Emma. She slowed down as she walked up to the bungalow, in order to avoid an awkward situation of being introduced. Waiting until she was sure they were both inside, she finally made her way up to the door and into her apartment.

Having paper thin walls had its downside. As she unloaded her groceries she heard the muffled conversation, but more than that she heard the laughter. Both from Killian and his guest.

Really, she shouldn't have been surprised. What should have surprised her was that this was the first time. Killian was gorgeous and smart, funny, with a good job. Of course women would be throwing themselves at him. She should have been questioning why he'd never had female guests over before.

The more she listened, the more she started to think about where the night was heading. Never one to have much imagination, she wasn't sure what to do when it started running wild. Her mind took her to the inevitable conclusion of the night, and she knew, she KNEW she could not listen to Killian Jones have sex. Grabbing the bottle of wine she'd just purchased, she ran out the door, letting it slam behind her.


"This is all your fault you know?" Her friend Ruby was not going to beat around the bush.

"RUBY!"

"What, Mary Margaret? You know I'm right."

Emma felt like if she didn't interject soon, her two best friends would start talking about her as though she weren't even in the room.

"What do you mean it's all my fault? And wait, what do you mean, it?"

"You don't want to listen to Killian have sex. Why do you think that is?"

"He's my friend. It would be weird."

Ruby rolled her eyes.

"Emma, I'm going to tell you this one time. You. Like. Killian. You don't want to listen to him have sex because it will upset you that he's not having sex with you. You didn't want to meet the woman on the stoop because you didn't want to have to play nice with the woman who is going to make you share your toy. Honestly, I shouldn't have to explain this to you. But if I waited for you to get there it would take us another two years."

Mary Margaret was kinder in her explanation. "Emma, you don't let people in. Killian likes you. Well, he more than likes you. We can all see it, but you don't pay attention. You keep him at arm's length. Of course he was bound to get to the point where he needed to move on."

As she listened to Mary Margaret and Ruby, both the wine and the realization that her friends were speaking the truth started to hit her.

"Oh god, I'm going to be sick."


Emma returned home the next morning looking much worse for the wear. Wine had never been her friend when consuming large quantities. Nor had facing her feelings.

The last thing (or maybe the first thing) she wanted to see was Killian sitting on the stoop. She wasn't sure whether she should keep walking, or sit and join him. Deciding to face the inevitable, she sat.

"Hi."

"Morning, Swan. Another rough night?"

"You could say that. Mary Margaret, Ruby and I drank all the wine. It was not pretty. You?"

"I had a great night. My friend, Tink, from college was in town. Wanted to tell me she was getting married and ask if I would come to the wedding.

Emma did her best to school her reaction.

"Oh, that's great. Wait, that's great right? You're happy for her?"

"Yeah, she and her fiance, Pete, were my best mates. Couldn't be happier. About bloody time actually."

Emma sat silently. All of her anguish the previous night was for nothing. He hadn't brought a woman home. But now she couldn't escape her feelings. She knew there was more than friendship between her and her neighbor.

"So, Swan. What do you say. Will you be my date for the wedding? Or will I need to go out and hold up a liquor store, and then skip my court date for that to happen?"

Nothing had changed. He wasn't going to stop jokingly asking her out. But now she decided to listen to Ruby and take a chance. She smiled and knocked his shoulder with hers.

"I can't promise I won't try to arrest you 10 minutes into the ceremony, but we can give it a shot."


A/N - I wanted to write a short drabble from a prompt, but I couldn't find a prompt that inspired me. So I gave myself a prompt. Pocket doughnuts. (If you don't know what pocket doughnuts are, look it up!)