Chapter 6.
I'm a horrible, horrible person and I know it. I apologise for being so late with this, but I had a bout of writer's block. Hopefully it won't return! Enjoy this!
"Mom? Is that you?" Henry asks quietly as Emma enters her apartment.
"Yeah, kid." She replies, putting her laptop case on the deep purple couch. "How was school?"
"Good. I got invited over to Grace's tomorrow. Is it okay if I go?" He asks, shuffling into the kitchen while Emma slumps down onto the couch and takes off her boots.
"Of course." She smiles. "Just make sure you bring your phone and be home by eight. Okay?"
"Great. I'll go call her." He says, sprinting off into his room. Seconds later, Emma hears him babbling on the phone to Grace. She smiles. Henry didn't have many friends, but Grace was the only one that seemed to like spending time with Henry. They were almost joined at the hip, and Emma was grateful for that. Most weekends, Henry spent the days at Grace's, who only lives three blocks away. Her dad, Jeff, was about Emma's age, and they were friends. They bonded over their kids and being young, single, working parents. Jeff was a CEO of a big retail business in the city that he inherited from his father. He never liked all the business, but it allowed him the freedom to take charge of his own hours, giving him a lot more time to spend with Grace. He didn't like the money either, he lived in an apartment that was virtually the same as Emma's, while he could afford a place that would rival Killian Jones' apartment.
It was Friday night, and Emma realised that, for once, she was home in time to catch the newest episode of Hawaii Five-0. Propping her feet upon the oakwood table, she relaxed into the back of the couch, remote in her hand, flicking the channels to CBS. She caught one advertisement before the show began. The show started, and Emma slowly began drooling over the sheer beauty of Steve McGarrett and Danny Williams. During the first commercial, she walked to the kitchen and made a hot chocolate. Henry was still in his room, so Emma figured that if he wanted some, he would come out. Still, she made sure she left enough ingredients for her son.
Emma sat down on the couch again as the show came back on. She smiled at the fact that she has an hour to watch one of her favourite shows.
She remembered having an argument with Jones the day before about which cop show was the best. Emma hands-down voted for Hawaii Five-0, while the writer preferred Criminal Minds.
"Crazier unsubs." He says, justifying his answer. "And JJ. Come on, Swan. Don't pretend you don't swoon over Derek Morgan just a little."
"Got a little man crush there, buddy?" Emma quips laughing, ducking under the crime scene tape at their latest crime scene.
"Please. Morgan ain't got nothin' on me." He winks at Emma and she rolls her eyes at the gesture.
"Keep telling yourself that, Jones." She sniggers, nodding her head.
He had continued their argument after they returned to the precinct, and then David and Graham got in on the action.
"Hell no!" David argued. "CSI is the mother of all cop shows, and therefore, the best."
"Haha. No." Killian says cockily. "Criminal Minds beats everything."
"Guys! Stop arguing." Graham chimes in. "Brooklyn Nine-Nine is the best."
"That doesn't count! It's a comedy, not a police drama!" Killian replies, slightly raising his voice.
"It still involves cops. It counts." Graham tells him.
Jamie and Robin enter the discussion then, both favouring NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles respectively.
Rory enters the conversation then, picking Chicago PD.
"That only just started, Beauty." Her fiancé, Phillip joined in. "It's too early to tell if it's the best yet."
"Excuse me," she begins, challenging him, "have you seen the show? Awesome city, loads of action, and a lot of hot guys." She smiles innocently, clearly winding Phillip up. "What's your favourite?"
"Criminal Minds, obviously." He scoffs.
"Yes!" Killian shouts. "That's two for Criminal Minds."
Emma rolls her eyes at the exuberant writer. He really did love to win.
Unfortunately for him, he wasn't about to. His over-enthusiastic attitude attracted the attention of the Evil Regal herself.
"Detectives." She addresses calmly. "Mr. Jones." She scowls, and Killian visibly gulps, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. "I'm sure you are not arguing about television shows when you should be solving murders." She tells them, almost whispering. When nobody answers her, she says, "that's what I thought." Before returning to her office, she turns and faces the group once more. "Oh, and the best police drama is Castle. Everybody knows that."
Most of the congregation's eyes widen, except for Robin, who just smiles brightly, before realising what he was doing. Emma narrowed her eyes at the detective, wondering what prompted the smile.
"Gods, Milah! I've told you a million times, I will have the book done when it's done, okay?!" Killian Jones shouted into the phone as he paced across his office floor.
"Killian, you and I both know that you never meet deadlines. The press release is tomorrow and we need a release date!" His ex-wife's muffled voice said into his ear. "Plus, you have a meeting today with your cover artist, and you need to actually know what's going on in the book before you decide on cover art."
"I know what I'm doing, Milah. I have been doing this for close to ten years now."
"You better. Or I'll make sure this book never makes it to print." Click.
Killian wrapped his hand tighter around the phone, threatening to crush it. Why did he ever marry that woman?
He walked over to his laptop, and pulled up the drafts for the Nikki Heat cover art. There were three options, and judging by the pictures, Emma wasn't going to appreciate any of them. In fact, he presumed the golden-haired detective was going to murder him when she saw them. He decided on the second option, a silhouette of Nikki on a background of flames.
After that, he pulled up the twentieth chapter of his book. He knew he'd be finished in well under a month, considering he only had ten more chapters to go. He may be one for procrastinating, but the Nikki Heat novel is really easy to write, the words flowing from his brain to his keys. His fingers continue to flurry over the keyboard as he drafted the next chapter. He kept the Swan girl in his mind all the time. He lost track of time as more words appeared on his screen. Before he knew it, it was one a.m, and he had been writing for five hours. He decided to shut down his laptop for the night and go to bed.
But when he took out his headphones, he heard some...unsavoury sounds coming from his sister's room. Realising what was going on, he ran out the door, carrying his laptop case and a jacket. He had no idea why he let his sister and her boyfriend stay with him. Their apartment had burned down several weeks ago, and Tink had asked Killian to let her and Neal stay with him until they found a new apartment. Two, three weeks, tops, she had said. But now she had been living with him for two months, and he missed having his own space. He prayed that she found- no, started looking for a place within the week. He hailed down a cab on the curb, and gave the cabbie an address.
They stood at her door, Her coat in her hand, his hand on the small of her back. She was still smiling from the concert.
"I had a great time tonight, Snow." David told her, smiling as she was.
"I did, too. I don't think I've had that much fun in ages." She laughs.
"Then we need to get you out of the morgue more often." He says.
"I guess we do." She replies.
They stand in silence for a few seconds before Mary-Margaret says, "I better go. Thanks for tonight, David. I really did have a great time."
"Good." He grins. "I'll see you at work, then."
She smiles and nods, repeating in her head; Please kiss me. Please kiss me.
And he did. On the cheek.
"Goodnight, Snow White." He says, smiling.
"Goodnight, Charming."
She slipped inside the door, pressing her back against the wooden frame. She was smiling like an idiot, reliving the night. They danced, they laughed, they had fun. And she wanted to go out with him again.
She put on some music and danced around her apartment, singing along. She spun and twirled, her dress flowing out with the draught. She stopped when there was a knock on the door.
Expecting a neighbour or a friend, she opened it. David stood on the other side, hands in his pocket.
Mary-Margaret smiled. "David? What are you doing back?"
He sighed, his eyes softening. "I couldn't wait 'til the next date." He says simply, stepping forward and placing a heated kiss on her mouth, which the petite woman reciprocated. She smiled into the kiss as he shut the door behind them.
Knock knock knock.
"Sweet Mother of God, who is it now?" Ruby shouted, pulling away from her companion.
"Leave it." He tells her, pulling her mouth to his.
She relaxes into his touch, his hands running up and down her back. She sighs as his tongue probes her mouth.
Knock Knock Knock.
Ruby groans, pulling away again. Her lips were swollen slightly, red from the tugging and wrestling they had just endured. Her eyes fall closed as her head is thrown back, exposing her slender porcelain neck to the man in front of her, who takes advantage of the new position, clamping his mouth to her skin, most definitely leaving a mark. His teeth grazed her as she clung onto him tighter.
Knock Knock Knock.
"Doesn't sound like they're going away." She observes, her eyes flicking to the door.
"Fine." He says, releasing her.
She stands, fixing the straps of her tank top so that they hang on her shoulders properly.
She pulls open the door, expecting to see her nosey neighbour. Instead, she sees someone she never anticipated at this hour.
"Victor." She half-whispers, seeing the blond medical examiner on the other side of the door. He was soaked to the skin, the water turning his blond locks into a light brown shade. Water dripped off his nose and chin, and his eyelashes glistened in the light. His eyes were soft, longing shown in his face. His mouth twitches, threatening to smile.
"Ruby? Who is it?" The other man calls from the living room.
Her mouth opens and closes, failing to form words. Instead, she steps outside onto the steps outside, the rain falling onto her head and shoulders.
"Wha-what are you doing here?" She asks him.
"I don't exactly know." He admits.
She nods. They stand facing each other for a while, her eyes staring into his.
With each raindrop, Ruby's hair sticks to her head more, her mascara runs more and her black jeans and top gets more wet.
Cars pass, seconds tick by and they don't move. Ruby is now as soaked as Victor is, droplets of water clinging to her skin.
She speaks. "Are you okay?"
He smiles gently. "Slightly better, now."
"Victor." She whispers. She knows she's in love with the man, in all his stupidity and geniusness. The question was, and had been ever since she met him, did he love her the same way she loved him? He was a notorious womanizer, and Ruby wasn't even sure why she fell for him. "We can't."
His eyes fell shut, heartbroken. "Because of the guy inside? Or is it me?"
She shakes her head. "Both?" She sighs. "We work together."
"That hasn't stopped people in the past, has it?" He was right. It hadn't.
"What changed, Victor?" She asks. "This morning, you were pursuing Mary-Margaret, and now you're here on my doorstep at two a.m?"
"She told me something. Mary-Margaret, I mean." Ruby's breath hitched in her throat. He knew. "She said-uh-"
"I know. What she said."
"Is it true?" He asks.
"It could be." She whispers, shuffling her feet.
He lets out a sigh of relief. He steps forward, closing the distance between them. His hand finds her flawless face, and she doesn't flinch at his touch. Instead, she looks up at him, her eyes locking onto his. Her heart flutters in anticipation. His eyes flicker to her lips.
He completely closes the remaining distance, placing his mouth on hers. She sighs into the kiss, completely losing herself in him. There's something about the sound of the rain, the feeling of their dripping wet bodies pressed together and the distinctive taste of him makes her never want to wake up.
His hand cradles her head, the other arm linking around her waist. Her hands are on his waist, pulling him closer. Thunder sounds overhead, still not pulling them out of their trance.
The door opens, Ruby's companion standing inside, staring at the pair. He grabs his jacket and runs out, storming past the two. They don't even notice.
Victor pulls away, looking the woman in the eyes. "I'm an idiot."
Ruby's brow furrows. "Why?"
"I should have done this sooner." He tells her, bringing her face back to his.
She pulls away after a few blissful seconds. "We're soaking. We should go inside before we get hypothermia."
He smiles. "After you."
The next morning, two couples wake up happily in each others' arms.
"Regina?" Robin calls out into the apartment, shutting the door behind him. He has her coffee in his hand, his jacket in the other. "Are you here?"
"Just a second!" She shouts from the back. True to her word, a second later she emerges, a smile spreading across her face, making her seem infinitely more beautiful to Robin. His face always lights up when she enters a room.
He hands his girlfriend her coffee, placing a kiss to her head. "Morning."
"Good morning." She smiles, sipping her coffee. "You ready to go?"
"Someone's eager." He laughs.
"I've waited for this for a long time." She answers.
"Then let's not make you wait any more." He tells her, opening her front door. "Milady."
She smiles at him, exiting the apartment.
They drive to the other side of town, parking at Robin's apartment.
"You ready?" Robin asks as they step out of the car.
"Definitely." She smiles.
They climb the stairs to the fifth floor, where Robin lives. He opens the door, revealing a beautifully furnished, two-bedroom apartment.
"Roland?" Robin asks the room. "Will you come here for a second?"
"Daddy!" He shouts, rushing out of his bedroom.
"Hey, buddy." He smiles. "There's someone here I'd like you to meet."
The child looks over at the strange woman, who is smiling like an idiot at the kid and his father.
"This," Robin begins, "is Regina."
"Hi." The child greets, extending his hand. "I'm Roland."
"It's very nice to meet you, Roland." Regina says, taking his hand and shaking it slightly.
"Are you my daddy's girlfriend?" He asks nonchalantly.
Regina chuckles as Robin smiles at the boy. "Yes, yes I am."
"Good." Roland smiles in reply. "He looks happy."
"Yes, he does." She answers, grinning up at the detective.
"It was nice meeting you, Regina!" He shouts, running off to his bedroom.
"You too!" She shouts after him. "That went well." She sighs. "He's a great kid."
"He is." Robin answers, wrapping his arms around Regina. "And he seems to like you."
Regina smiles. "I guess he does."
Robin places a kiss on her lips.
Hope you liked it! Review/Follow/Favourite? Whatevs. :3