Author's note:

Anything in another language is purely google translate

Disclaimer: Désolé mais non.

Not the prettiest business

February 15 1717

He hasn't seen her in over a month and the pain at the loss hasn't lessoned. He's tried numbing it with alcohol but it's stopped working, he can't erase Emma from his mind and it's slowly killing him. The only way he can stop this ache in his chest is to see her and try to fix what he broke.

As he steps out of the he groans. He doesn't want to be here but Grandmaster Gold had summoned him for 'important business', and he couldn't refuse. He walks up the steps and knocks on the door, waiting for the ponce of a butler to answer the door, he always takes his sweet bloody time. When the door finally opens he's greeted by the butler, Albert spencer and Mr Gold.

"About time" Spencer sneers as Killian steps over the threshold.

"Good to see you too Al" he rolls his eyes "why was I asked to be here?"

"As you know, we've yet to find an interrogator" Gold begins "and since you worked closely with Felix, I thought you could replace him"

"Me?"

"Yes. Now are you up for the job or should we dispose of you and get someone else" he growls

"Aye. I can do it" he murmurs scrubbing his hand over his stubble.

"Good" Spencer pipes up "then you already have business. I caught an Assassin recently as she tried to break into the mansion"

"She?" he stares at Spencer, hoping it's not who he thinks it is.

"Indeed. She's in the drawing room, probably still unconscious. She put up quite the fight" he laughs.

"Right, well I'll go see to her then shall I?" he murmurs heading for the second floor, where the drawing room is.

"Oh and Jones… no need to be kind" Spencer smirks

He ignores him and continues, finding the door a moment later. His breath catches when he sees her, she's facing the other way but he knows it's her. Her blond hair falling down her back, the tips stained red with blood.

"No need to stand on ceremony mate" she murmurs, staring into the flames in front of her.

"I'm not going to hurt you Emma" he moves toward her, kneeling beside her to undo the bindings around her wrists

"Killian?" her brow furrows "what are you doing here?"

"They asked me to replace Felix…" he pauses as she gasps and places her freed hand on her side "you okay love?" he frowns

"Just a cracked rib, I'm fine" she frowns "even after my threat you're still freeing me?"

"You really think I'd let you die, love?"

"Giving our history, can you blame me for being uncertain" she smirks

He continues to untie her wrists and feet rubbing the rope burns gently to soothe them. It's an affectionate gesture that she doesn't seem comfortable with, staring at him with a furrowed brow. He studies her face for a moment noticing a scar on her eyebrow left behind by her encounter with Jefferson and fresh cut on her lip from Spencer. He sighs and pulls himself up, helping her to stand with him.

"We're going to need to get out of here quickly" he says as she grabs her wrist blades and sword.

"Preferably without an altercation" she murmurs pressing her hand to her side again.

"Aye… just please don't decide to knock me out"

"I have a feeling that if I knock you out in the guise of escaping they'll just kill you for incompetence" she sighs "no, it doesn't matter how we play it you're going to end up dead"

"So you're planning to kill me as soon as we escape then?"

"No. I was suggesting you get the hell away from them as fast as possible"

"Can I join you?" he questions, hoping she won't just let him fend for himself.

"You'd have to earn that Killian… but you can stay in one of the safe houses"

"Well we should probably get going then"

"Yeah"

She sighs and makes for the door, checking the hall is clear and continuing. He stays close behind the whole time, keeping his eyes on her the whole time.

/././././././././././././.

/./././././././././././.

They're sitting in the safe house on the other side to the mansion, she sent a messenger with a letter for Dr Whale now all they have to do is wait till he arrives. They made it out without a problem, didn't come across a single guard the whole way out. Her side hurts, a few cracked ribs may not be much but they are painful.

"Are you okay love?" Killian asks, hand her a glass of water. He hasn't left her side since they left the mansion and it's starting to irk her, especially since it's breaking her concentration.

"Can you please stop asking that, I'm trying to concentrate on this not hurting and I can't do that if you keep asking questions when you know the answer is no" she grumbles.

"Sorry, love" he sighs, casting his eyes downward.

They hear the front door slam, and Killian tenses.

"Hello?" victor yells

"In here Victor" she shouts back, gasping when it puts pressure on her side.

"Emma? Are you okay? I got a message that said I saw needed" he says moving to her side

"Cracked a rib on a job" she chuckles hurting her side

"That sounds like you" he sighs "Ruby's been worried about you. She said you haven't been to the sanctuary in a while" he says ignoring Killian.

"What is up with you too?" she smiles "never mind…"

"Well I'm not going to be able to tend to your ribs with your robes still on Emma" he says dryly. She sighs and glares at him and she unbuckles her sashes. She glances at Killian, seeing his eyes widen as he realises what she has to do, then he turns his back to them. It's not the first time she's had to remove her robes to get treatment, she's not fond of it, but she's gotten used to it over the years.

"You okay there Killian?" she grins "you seem a bit flustered"

"I'm fine" he chokes out, still looking away. Victor raises an eyebrow and looks between them, shaking his head before he checks on her side and begins to wrap a bandage around her. He's not leering like he normally would, Ruby must have him wrapped her finger.

She laughs a little at him, causing her side to seize. She groans loudly and Killian looks out of the corner of his eye at her, a worried expression on his handsome features. "You should laugh when you're being patched up Emma" Victor says continuing to roll the bandage around her.

"Yes dad" she replies sarcastically

"How is he by the way" he asks pinning the bandage in place

"Oh you know how my adopted father is. He doesn't check in, I haven't heard from him in months. Not since he went to America" she sighs

"Yes well the Grandmaster is a busy man…"

"In America though?" she groans, re- donning her robes.

"You shouldn't do anything for a few weeks, rest up ok?" he says ignoring her complaint.

"Of course Doctor. Give Ruby my best" she calls after him.

Killian sits next to her and she faces him with a smirk. He's staring at her, confusion written across his face from the words she's exchanged with Victor.

"Adopted father?" his brow furrows

"Yeah my parents died when I was five" he frowns "the Grandmaster adopted me, trained me and I grew up as an Assassin"

"I'm sorry"

"I don't need pity Killian" she sighs. He looks at her imploringly, she can see him considering something.

"I lost my brother some years ago" he says suddenly "He was in the royal navy and was sent on a suicide mission, he was Captain of his own ship and I was his Lieutenant… he died in my arms"

She stares at him, not saying a word as his eyes well up with unshed tears. "I lost my mother long before that and my father just left without a word. Liam was all I had and when he died… long story short I joined the Templars, when I found out they had plans to get rid of the king and replace him with someone better"

She doesn't have any idea what to say. She doesn't know the loss of family that well, she can hardly remember anything about her parents, she wouldn't even have known about it if she wasn't told by someone else when she got older. And she wasn't alone after her parents died, she had the brotherhood. From the sounds of it, he had nothing.

She puts her hand over his and smiles softly at him, unable to do anything else to show she understands. He looks at her with something akin to hope in his sea blue eyes and she looks away, she doesn't want to see what she's seeing in his eyes. It's a dangerous business being an Assassin and she doesn't want a bond like that when there's a risk that one of them won't return one day.

She feels him shift beside her and she turns to look at him, just in time for his hand to go to her cheek and his lips to press to hers. She doesn't stop him, because no matter how much of a risk she knows it is, she can't deny the feeling curling low in her gut. Her hand goes to his hair as she returns the kiss fiercely, a passion burning between them.

Before the he has the chance to deepen the kiss further she pulls back and stands, the sudden movement sending pain shooting up her side. He stares up at her in confusion, his lips pick and swollen from the ferocity of their kiss.

She shakes her head and leaves the room, not willing to look back at the man she's left there. She shouldn't have let that happen, she doesn't want either of them to get hurt if the other doesn't return one day. She lays on the bed in the room she's allocated as hers and tries to remove the last twenty minutes from her memory to no avail.

She sighs and closes her eyes allowing herself to fall asleep even with the whirl of thoughts in her head.

/././././././././././

/././././././././././

His head is spinning and his lips are tingling. He doesn't understand why she broke the kiss but he saw in her eyes something he couldn't describe. But there's a passion between them and he knows there's more, he just has to find a way to bring it out, to expose whatever it is. He knows what it is now all he has to do is make her see it.

He feels it in his heart, in his blood, hell he can feel it in his pants. His body is humming and he understands what he's been feeling for months now. Love. He's in love with her and he has been for a while, he just didn't recognise it.

He smiles to himself as he walks to his room, falling onto his bed as soon as he enters. He thinks of the kiss they'd shared, touching his fingers to his lips remembering the passion she bestowed. He closes his eyes and the last thought before drifting off is the press of her lips to his.

First kiss! :P reviews? I hope you're all enjoying this :)