Emma's birthday surprise for Killian turned out to be tickets to a private gig, for one of his favorite current bands. It had taken her months to finalize her plans, as she'd reached out to numerous management teams, in an attempt to find one that would be performing somewhere close to LA. She knew that Killian preferred the smaller, more intimate gigs, over their usual tour dates. So, it had felt like Christmas had come early, when a month after her initial call she had received a reply, letting her know that an event had been scheduled for the weekend of Killian's birthday.

"Emma, this is incredible," he praised, as they made their way over to the small bar along the back wall, to grab some drinks, before taking their seats. Emma had made sure to reserve their usual table for the evening, so that they could enjoy the performance together, without disrupting others around them. "You really didn't need to go to all of this trouble for me."

"Don't be stupid," she chided. "You're my best friend. I had to come up with something special for you. How else would I be deemed worthy enough to keep that title?"

He chuckled, as he leaned down to press a kiss to her bare shoulder, before a startled declaration of, "Killian?" had his head shooting back up again.

Killian could feel Emma's frustration as it coursed through her body, while he smiled politely at the group of women stood between the two of them, and the bar. "Ashley," he greeted. "I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"Me either," she replied, with excitement coloring her tone, and sparkling behind her eyes. "I thought you were just planning to stay home this weekend?"

"We were," Killian rushed to assure her. He wasn't sure why. He could hear Emma's unspoken, you don't owe her an explanation ringing through his mind, even as he offered one. "But, Emma wanted to do something special to celebrate."

"Of course. Your birthday. I completely forgot." Ashley's eyes briefly flicked over to Emma, before settling back on Killian once more. Emma would have been more annoyed by the easy dismissal, but she couldn't exactly blame the girl. Even dressed casually, in a dark purple button-down, and a pair of dark wash jeans, Killian still looked better than everyone else in the room. "Did you want to join us?"

"We have our own table," Emma interjected, as she finally caught the bartender's eye, to place their order. "But thanks anyway."

Ashley looked a little shocked at Emma's clipped reply, but she shook it off quickly. "Of course. Well, enjoy the performance," she offered, as her friends led her away, in the direction of their own seats.

Killian cringed a little at the awkward exchange, before pushing his way through the crowd to rejoin Emma, who was already at the bar. "Sorry about that," he mumbled.

"Don't be," she chuckled. "Trust me to pick a place to celebrate your birthday, that your biggest fan just happens to already be at."

"Well, if it's any consolation, it looks like her table is on the other side of the room," Killian chuckled.

He slipped the bartender a fifty before Emma could get her wallet out, and turned to head for the small table they always used, with his best friend glaring at the back of his head, the entire way over.

"So, I'm gonna need more details about that new role," Killian teased, as they waited for the band to take to the stage. He was grateful that Emma always planned ahead, because they were close enough to have a great view of the stage, but tucked away from the main bulk of the room, which would give them the perfect opportunity to talk, without disrupting the people around them.

"This is your birthday treat," Emma protested. "Can't work talk wait until tomorrow?"

"Nope. That is also part of my gift. I wanna know everything."

Emma spent the next twenty-minutes detailing the script her agent had sent her for the movie, and how she had instantly fallen in love with it. She knew it wasn't an award-winning piece, but the screenplay had blockbuster hit written all over it. Her agent had originally suggested that Emma audition for the role of supporting actress, and Emma had been more than happy for the arrangements to be made for it.

But, when she'd gotten into the room, and had come face-to-face with the legendary director himself, she was certain she'd blown her chances.

"I swear," she told Killian, "I have never been so terrified in my entire life." Her best friend chuckled a little at the thought of Emma turning into one of the fangirls they'd often encountered, around Steven Spielberg. She was usually the cool, calm, and collected one, in their partnership. "I managed to get the lines out for them, but I was certain they'd laugh at me, when I was out of that room. I mean, my voice had gone all high-pitched and squeaky, and I looked like I'd just run a marathon, with the amount of sweat I was producing."

Killian snorted out another laugh, before stating, "Real sexy, Ems… But, you clearly impressed them."

"Yeah. I still have no idea how," she whispered in awe. "When my agent called to say that they'd offered me the lead role, I thought he was playing some kind of cruel trick on me. Or worse, that I was imagining the entire bloody thing. It didn't feel real until all of the contracts started coming through for signing."

Killian pulled Emma into his side, to press a kiss into her perfectly wavy hair. "I'm so proud of you, Ems. And I can't wait to see that script, when we get back home."

She didn't have time to say anything else, as their host for the evening was making his way on stage, ready to introduce the band.

The band put on a wonderful show, that had Killian grinning widely throughout the evening. Emma wasn't too fussed about their music. She would listen to it often, because Killian usually had something playing either in his trailer, in the car, or at home. But it wasn't the kind of music she'd actively seek out, to listen to.

That night, she simply enjoyed watching her best friend, as he took in the show.

When he didn't think anyone was watching, Killian would sing along to his favorite songs, just low enough for Emma to be the only one in the room to hear him. He'd clap and cheer loudly in all the right places, and she was pretty sure she could feel his leg bouncing, to the beat of the music, underneath their table.

Every so often he would lean in to whisper something to her, about the song that was being played. Small things like where he was when he first heard it, or a memory he always thought of, because that song happened to be playing in the background. (Such as the time when the two of them had woken with a craving for French toast, but didn't actually have any bread in the apartment. Instead of going out to buy some, Killian had found some sachets of dried yeast in the cupboard, from Milah's past bakery experiments, and they had attempted to bake their own. Emma laughed when she realized that the next song the band played was the one that had also been playing in Killian's car that morning, when they'd finally given up their attempts at baking, and had decided to go out for breakfast instead).

Every few songs he'd drop a kiss to her shoulder, and whisper his thanks for everything she'd done for him, that night. He'd tell her how lucky he was to have her as his friend, and how much he loved her.

Emma would run a gentle hand though his hair, and smile softly down at her tipsy friend. It was her silent way of assuring him she felt the same, even if speaking the words were no longer possible for her.

Because those three small words meant something completely different for Emma, than they did for Killian.

Thanks for reading.

I don't normally make these requests but if you've seen this update, and gotten an alert for it, would you mind letting me know? FFN seems to be having issues and I'm trying to track if it's working as it should be or not, before putting everything out, as then I have readers messaging me to say they've missed updates.