A/N: I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update this one, I hope to kick myself into gear soon. This little one-shot was written as a present on Tumblr.
As always, I don't own anything. Please enjoy and review.
It was meant to be a couple of days, a week at most. But here they were, four months later and Emma Swan was still in his apartment, crowding both his home and his thoughts.
He slides open his phone and searches for the text that started it all, the one that would change his life forever.
Killian, I need a favor – my sister's coming to town for a couple of days for work and she's not going to get a lot of sleep with Leo crying. Any chance she can stay with you?
Killian had replied in the affirmative and hadn't given it much thought after that, too busy cooing over the little lad that night. He had a spare room and was in the process of finding another room mate that wouldn't completely irritate him so what would it matter if it was used for a couple of days?
He had put clean sheets on the spare bed then stayed up most of the working on some schematics, unaware of the storm that was about to blow into his life.
Killian stumbles out of bed, bleary eyed, to answer the impatient knocking on his door. He would initially blame his staring on the fact he had just awoken but the truth was, his early morning visitor simply stuns him.
"You Killian?" The woman asks as he racks his mind as to why a beautiful woman would be looking for him so early in the morning.
"That I am, lass, how can I be of service?"
She seems to be resisting the urge to roll her eyes and Killian bites back a smile, enjoying the fact he could rile her up.
"David said you were willing to put me up while I'm in town."
Realisation dawns on Killian that this was in fact David's – his best friend's – sister and he had spent practically the entirety of their exchange checking her out.
He quickly pulls the door fully open and ushers her inside, "Of course, I apologise, I'm afraid I spent much too long working on projects last night."
He forces his eyes away from her dark wash jeans as she walks past and gestures past his kitchen, "Spare bedroom's right down there, make yourself comfortable."
She nods and takes her bags to her room, Killian leaning his head against his kitchen cupboard, calling himself ten kinds of fool.
He's pulled on a shirt and is pouring himself a generous cup of coffee – ignoring the trembling in his left hand – when she returns, laptop in hand. She rejects his offer of a drink and asks for his wifi password. She may not look much like her brother, but they are both very much straight to the point.
"Are you just going to keep staring at me or do you actually have work to do?" She asks, not tearing her eyes away from her screen.
"I was considering, lass, that I don't even know your name yet."
"It's Emma," she replies distractedly, "Emma Swan."
He notes the different surname but doesn't remark on it, wondering how much he'll be able to learn, "And what are you in town for?"
Emma's eyes flick over to him in annoyance but he merely arches a brow, "Some guy decided to jump bail and hide here, giving me the chance to visit my family."
"You're a bail bondsman," he says with awe, and a little lust – the fact she could likely take him down is a massive turn on and probably is some sort of indicator as to why he's single.
"Bailbondsperson," she corrects firmly. Killian swears he falls for her right there and then.
She drifts in and out of the apartment – Killian having lent her his spare keys – and he watches her progress with interest. When she's there, the apartment almost seems too small, like Emma brings an energy with her that cannot be contained by the space. When she's out and about, hunting down a crook, it's almost too quiet and Killian has to blast his music to find any peace.
But he slowly picks things up. She likes her first coffee black but it gets sweeter as the day goes on. She usually has a hot cocoa with cinnamon in the evening – much like Mary Margaret, he observes – and she isn't very chatty. She prefers leather jackets and looks absolutely stunning in her red one, it bringing out a faint blush to her cheeks and colour to her lips.
He learns from David that his family fostered her before eventually adopting her and that she was roommates with Mary Margaret for some time – bonding over their use of cinnamon on their cocoa – before introducing David and Mary Margaret.
He's quite sure he's learnt more than she wanted, she certainly has taken steps to resist disclosing anything personal, but she's something of an open book. He can understand pain and loss all too well.
Despite her tough exterior, he knows he intrigues her, or at the very least, she's semi-interested.
It's the third morning when she finally delves into his life, observing him as he stumbles into the kitchen, "So what is it you do anyway?"
"Finally cracked did you, Swan? Ready to learn all the mysteries of my life?" She rolls her eyes and his tone would have been flirtier if he hadn't yawned halfway through, "I'm an engineer, love, for ships specifically. I usually get a little lost in my projects and forget the time."
He reaches for a mug but it drops out of his hand and shatters onto the floor, Killian cursing like the sailor he used to be. Emma's there in an instant, helping him to pick up the pieces, freezing when their hands brush.
She looks up at him, through long lashes, green eyes so much more entrancing up close. A shutter is pulled down over whatever vulnerability she may have showed as she pulls back, forcing a smile, "I hope you didn't like that one."
"I'm used to it by now," he says airily, attempting to hide the bitterness.
"Do you mind me asking what happened?" She asks, with a nod to his scarred appendage.
Killian unconsciously cradles his hand closer, phantom pain flaring at the memory.
"Boating accident, it's worse in the mornings," he says shortly, "Now I build them rather than sail them."
She nods and moves to place the shards in the bin, Killian glad that she doesn't pry further nor offer any condolences. If there's one thing he's sure about, it's that he doesn't want Emma Swan's pity.
They settle into a strange dance around each other after what he dubs 'the incident' and he doesn't know if he's relived or disappointed when she finally catches up with the deadbeat. Her flight leaves tomorrow so she is spending the evening with her family, enjoying time with her nephew before the growth spurts start.
David had invited him along but he had no intention of intruding upon family time, knowing how precious it could be. So instead he mopes in his quiet apartment, plucking random strings on his side guitar.
He perks up too much when he hears the lock in the door – he knows it – and attempts to settle himself down as she wanders into the room.
"How's the family?"
"Good," she says with a slight smile, "Leo's growing up so fast."
Emma toes off her boots and flops on the other end of the couch, "You could have come, you know."
Killian looks up questioningly as she continues, "To David and Mary Margaret's, they missed you."
His gaze goes back to his guitar, strumming his nerves away, "I didn't want to be in the way."
"You wouldn't have been."
Her voice is soft and gentle and he cannot help but look over, returning her small smile.
She edges closer, looking as eager as he's ever seen her, "So, what are you playing?"
"Nothing in particular," he says, starting one of the first tunes he'd learnt. Liam had taught him this one and they'd both end up shouting the lyrics.
"Is that Pokemon?" She asks curiously as Killian freezes, a flush spreading over his cheeks.
"I used to watch that with David," she says with a wistful smile, "I'm actually excited to show it to Leo, although David says he has to be present for it."
"I may have some episodes lying around if you want a childhood flashback," the flush spreads further over his cheeks and he can't actually believe that Killian Jones – typically suave – is inviting an incredibly attractive girl to watch Pokemon with him.
"Get some popcorn and you've got a deal."
Killian couldn't smile any wider.
When he actually had to go to his workplace, his co-workers had asked him what the matter was and even David was concerned. Mary Margaret simply made him a cocoa and told him not to lose hope.
On the eleventh day without Emma Swan, he gets a message from an unknown number, lazily checking it.
Jones – it's Emma. I was accepted into the Police Academy and I could use a place to stay. Your room still free?
He'd never replied faster in his life.
Killian tosses his phone onto his bed, finding no satisfaction in the soft 'thump'. He resolves to himself that today is the day, no more dancing around the issue – he'll find out whether or not Emma wants to go out with him and David will have to – hopefully – accept that his sister makes her own decisions.
He heard Emma come home some time ago, after another exhausting day of being a rookie. She's seated at the kitchen island sipping at her cocoa, hair loose, uniform rumpled, tiredness etched on her features. He's not sure if she's ever looked so beautiful.
"Swan-" he starts before he's cut off.
"Jones, I've had a long day," she says, "So you can save your innuendoes."
"Actually, Emma," he says with a gulp, "I had planned on disregarding my plethora of innuendos and toning down my oozing charm to simply gauge your interest in dinner."
She stares at him incredulously, spinning on her stool, "Months of flirting and you think the best time to ask me on a date is when I'm tired and smelly from chasing a guy and tackling him into a dumpster?"
Killian notes to ask about that story later and says lamely, "Basically, yes."
Emma sighs, "You can plan it, I need a shower and a nap."
He ends up taking her to the screening of the new Pokemon movie, something she tells him is adorable despite the screaming children. The new series is nothing like they remember and they spend most of their dinner complaining about the changes to their precious childhood show.
More importantly, they laugh and smile and kiss deeper than first date etiquette would dictate.
They convert Emma's room into a study and gym when it becomes obvious she's only using it for clothes storage and Killian keeps the text message saved, thankful for the idiot who actually thought he could outrun Emma Swan.
A/N: Sorry again for my lack of updates, I was a couple of thousand words into an AU when I lost interest - but I plan on attempting to finish it. Then I want to write either an Arrow AU or a Thor AU, I haven't decided yet (but I want to get around to both).
I hope you have a wonderful Christmas (or a wonderful day if you don't celebrate),
Adrina Stark.