That week apart may as well have been an eternity as far as Killian was concerned. Seeing her standing here, holding a mug of coffee nearly caused him to falter, but he held firm—thoughts of dragging her against him and reminding her of all she was missing were pushed to the back of his mind. He came here to talk, and goddammit he deserved some answers.

Emma's eyes were wide, and she opened her mouth only to close it again soundlessly. Finally, as though unsure what else to do, she simply stepped back and allowed him to pass into the room. Killian swept into the apartment and made a beeline for the living room, pacing around the small space. Emma approached cautiously and perched on the arm of her sofa.

"What do you want to talk about?" She asked.

Killian scoffed, and then let all of the questions that had been rolling around in his head the last week spill out. "A great many things, love. I want to know what you've been doing this past week. I want to know why you pushed me away." His voice was steadily rising, completely at odds with his stillness. "I want to know who the bloody hell Neal is. I want to know why the fuck you're so scared of what I feel for you—and what I know you feel for me." Killian crossed his arms over his chest, clenching his fist tight until his nails bit into the palms of his hands. "I needs answers, Emma."

Emma was sitting stock still, white-knuckling her coffee mug. "I... I don't know what to tell you." She shook her head, "You're asking too much!"

Killian threw his hands in the air. "Bloody hell I am, Emma! This past week has been the worst sort of torture, and I can't keep going on like this without knowing why. Why on god's green earth are we putting ourselves through this." Emma was shaking, her eyes glued to her coffee mug. Killian was doing everything he could to rein in the anger boiling in his blood, he fought to keep his voice steady as he continued. "Emma, look at me." He waited until she looked up at him through thick lashes. "Please, love. Let me in." He took one step toward her, his hand reaching out for only a moment before falling back to his side. He knew he was asking so much, but all he could do was hope. Hope that this past week had been as terrible for her as it had been for him. So terrible that she was willing to begin breaking down the walls she'd built around herself.

Emma set her mug on the coffee table and rubbed her hands over her face. "I don't know where to begin."

Hope like lightening on a dark summer sky burst in Killian's chest. "Tell me who Neal is."

Emma slid down off the arm of the couch onto the cushion, and Killian sat beside her, angled toward her body. She let out a long, tense breath, eyes closed. She was silent for so long, Killian was beginning to worry that she wasn't going to say anything at all. But then she began. "I met Neal shortly after I aged out of the foster system. He was a whirlwind. He was larger than life. And I loved him. Or at least I thought I did. And more importantly, I thought he loved me." Emma laughed, a dry huff. "Turns out I was wrong. He told me he was my family, and right up until the moment he left, I believed him. We were together for 3 years while I was in college, and we lived together for about a year and a half of that."

Killian tried to keep his face completely passive, but he was surprised by how much it hurt for him to hear that she had loved another so freely, and had shared her life and her home with him. And to know that that same man had stripped her of her confidence in relationships was a hard pill to swallow.

"When things were good, they were great," Emma continued. "He would take me on wonderful dates, and I'd come home to dinner on the table or some sort of present. But he would also disappear for a few days at a time. He'd never tell me where he'd been, but he'd always come back with some sort of lavish gift for me, apologies spilling from his lips." She shook her head. "I was so young and so stupid, and I wanted to have a home and be loved so badly that I overlooked even the most obvious signs." Emma paused, running her hand through her hair. "One day, while he was away at class, I found a false bottom in one of his dresser drawers. It was filled with drugs. I confronted him about it when he got home, and he gave me this long story about how he had to provide me with a good life, and dealing drugs was the only way how. I was so hurt and confused, I stormed out. When I got home the next day, Neal was gone. And so was everything else. He took all of our valuable belongings, he cleaned out my bank account, and stole my credit cards." Emma shrugged her shoulders. "And I haven't really had a steady boyfriend since. At least not until you." She said the last part so quietly, it was barely above a whisper.

Killian sucked in a sharp breath when Emma referred to him as her boyfriend. It was the first time she'd said it or anything even remotely close to it. The way his heart was pounding with joy in his chest with in direct conflict with the rage flowing through him for this Neal character. What kind of piece of shit does that to somebody? "You deserve so much more than what he gave to you, Emma." He stepped forward, cupping her cheek in the palm of his hand. "What he gave you wasn't love. Because if he felt even a fraction of what I feel for you, he never could have done those things. And he never could have left." Emma closed her eyes and leaned into his hand, tears silently falling down her face. Killian swiped at them with his thumb.

"I'm sorry, Killian." Emma whispered. Her breathing hitched and that's all Killian needed to propel him forward. He wrapped his arms around her and tucked her body into his chest, pressing his lips against the top of her head.

"It's okay, love." Killian repeated the words into her hair over and over as she cried, his hands stroking up and down her back.

After a few moments, she quieted down and pushed away from his chest. When Killian made a grab for her, she stepped back. "Wait." She held her hands up in front of her. "This is important and I have to get it out." Emma took a deep breath, steadying herself, before looking into his eyes. "I missed you this week, Killian. I tried so hard not to, but I did. It was torture for me, too. And I just needed you to know that."

Killian's heart thumped in his chest, each beat more joyous than the last. He reached for her again.

"Hold on, I'm not done." She grabbed his outstretched hand in hers. "I'm not saying I'm going to be cured overnight, but I want to try." Emma stepped into him until she was pressed flush against his body. "I want to try with you."

Emma's words severed Killian's final hold on his self control, and he crushed his mouth to hers, pouring all of his missing and loving into this connection. Her arms instantly wrapped around his neck, and he hoisted her up until her legs were locked around his waist. She clung to him like she never wanted to let go. Killian knew they weren't fixed entirely, but goddamn if this wasn't a good start. Killian dragged his mouth away to grin down at her. "Does this mean I'm finally officially your boyfriend?"

Emma laughed and hid her face in his chest. "If that's what you want."

Killian put his thumb under her chin and tipped her face up to his. "I want to know what you want, Emma."

She looked up at him, emotions swirling behind her eyes. "Yes, that's what I want."

"Thank god," Killian said as he brought his mouth down to hers again, devouring her. He had missed the taste and feel of her lips, and now he drank from her like a dying man.

"Killian, take me to bed. I need you."

Her words sent jolts of electricity through his entire body, and he latched his hands around her ass and carried her straight to the bedroom. When he deposited her on the bed, he took care undressing her, dragging his lips along her skin as he went. He knew she wasn't ready to hear the words, but he needed to show her how much he cared. He needed to show her what love really meant. Using his lips, tongue, and fingers, he drove her up over the edge again and again until she was panting and begging for him.

"Killian, please!"

And finally, he covered her body with his and slowly slid into her, inch by inch, until he was fully buried inside her. He savored the feeling of her wrapped around him for a long moment before he began to move. He went agonizingly slowly, watching her face as her pleasure mounted, wanting to draw out this moment forever. Killian rocked into her over and over again, her legs locked around his waist, until suddenly she bowed beneath him, her back arching away from the bed. Her cries filled his head, until he was drunk on the sound of her pleasure. As her body clenched around him, Killian found his release, emptying himself in her.

He rolled onto his back, dragging her with him so that she was splayed across his chest, their legs tangled together. As their breathing slowly began to steady, Killian thought, This is exactly where I'm supposed to be.