A/N: Thanks so much for the follows, favorites and reviews, they really mean a lot to me :) This chapter is pretty much solid fluff, hope you enjoy!
Emma's hand is in his as they walk through Central Park after dinner, Liam and Isobel walking beside them and the girls running around ahead. It's been the best birthday he's had in years and Killian is glad to have his brother back in his life. He realized just how much he's missed talking to him and playing with his nieces and laughing as Isobel complains lightheartedly about her husband.
Killian has enjoyed catching up with his brother, but the day was made even more enjoyable with Emma by his side. They hadn't had much time (any time actually) to get accustomed to dating, to knowing each other on a more intimate level but while they've been practically forced into acting like a couple today nothing felt forced between them.
Emma has been surprisingly responsive to his affections throughout the day, a far cry from the woman who would sneer at him in the office if they ever crossed paths. Killian thinks about what he knows of Emma, her lack of family and her fear of being used and played by him and he instinctively squeezes her hand tighter as they walk. Emma's laugh pulls him out of his thoughts and he looks over at her to see her smiling, talking to Isobel as Liam chases after his daughters and lifts them up in the air, Ellie giggling and Anna tugging on her dad's sweater to go next.
She seems to glow with happiness, her cheeks slightly flushed and her eyes sparkling and he wonders how there was ever a time he didn't see her this way. They stop near Liam's hotel and say their goodbyes for the night, Liam, Isobel and the girls all wishing Killian a happy birthday once again before heading up to their hotel room. He and Emma walk slowly back to his apartment, laughing about the embarrassing stories Liam had told over dinner of Killian as a child. Emma hums with a smile before sobering up and he knows what's coming.
'What happened between you two?' She asks and he feels her hold his hand a little tighter as she waits for his response.
'Liam disapproved of my lifestyle out here, and at first it just started with him teasing me about late nights and partying but then it became more serious and he was genuinely worried about me. I thought he was being ridiculous to be honest, that he was uptight and boring now that he had settled down. The last time Liam, Isobel and the kids came to visit was over a year ago and I ruined it.' Killian explains, inhaling as they cross the street before continuing, avoiding looking over at Emma despite her encouraging hold on his hand.
'I had a hangover the whole day I spent with Anna and Ellie and Liam knew. Then I lied and said I had to work but I just went out to a bar and got drunk. I came back home with a woman I didn't even know the name of but Liam and the kids were still at the apartment. Isobel took them back to their hotel but Liam stayed, yelling at me that the girls just wanted to see their uncle and that I cared more about getting laid than the family. We had talked on the phone since then, but it always came back to the same thing. A few months ago Liam blew up at me, saying he dreads the phone ringing because he worries its bad news about me. I told him that he should stop caring about me and maybe we'd both be better off and we hadn't spoken again until a few weeks ago.' They reach his apartment building but he hangs back, not wanting to assume she wants to go back up with him.
'That's why you wanted me to come today, to show Liam that you had stability in your life.' Emma says quietly and he wonders what she thinks of him. She never exactly held him in high regard before but he had hoped this weekend had changed that.
'Isobel said Liam was worried you had gone off the trails to spite him.' Emma adds and he chuckles quietly.
'Of course the bloody git made it about himself.' He says with a shake of his head but he smiles anyway. 'I'm just glad we're speaking again. Despite how much he nags and complains I know he does it to protect me.' Emma nods and smiles and he sees a genuine care in her eyes for him, although there is a hint of something else there too, perhaps sadness.
'Would you like to come back up, maybe actually have some coffee this time?' Killian asks with a grin and Emma bites her lip and looks up at him through her lashes, testing his restraint of waiting until they're in the apartment to kiss her.
It's Emma that caves first when they make it back inside, wrapping her arms around his waist beneath his jacket and kissing him with a muffled hum of pleasure. Kissing her is unlike anyone else; there is no battle to prove who kisses better or who is more dominant, it's just natural.
Emma breaks away and hides behind her hair as if embarrassed by her hasty behaviour, although she runs her tongue along her lips appreciatively and his stomach flips. Killian brushes the hair away from her face, smiling when she looks up at him with a shy smile of her own and he knows it's been a long time since he felt this kind of connection when he looks into someone's eyes.
They eventually separate and Killian goes to make coffee while Emma gets comfortable on the sofa (he notices she's a lot more at ease now than she was last night). She quietly takes a call when her phone rings and he grins when he hears her whine her friend's name before telling them to not wait up for her.
'Sorry that was just my roommate being nosy.' Emma sighs as she takes the mug of coffee he offers her.
'She doesn't approve of you.' Emma adds and Killian raises his eyebrows in surprise.
'What exactly does she have against me?' He asks casually, placing his own mug on the coffee table until it cools down a little.
'I may have complained about you once or twice.' Emma shrugs and Killian frowns. Somewhere between all their kisses and shared smiles this weekend he had forgotten that they hadn't started on the best of terms. Emma seems to notice his expression and puts her mug down beside his.
'I think we both made some assumptions about each other that weren't exactly fair.' She says softly and he nods.
'Aye, I suppose we did. And I should apologize for something else as well. I said that you were only given your job at random, but truthfully you got it on merit. I was angry and jealous when I said that and I knew it would hurt you. I see how hard you work and I know how much it means to you. So I'm sorry for that, Emma.' Killian tells her, surprised to see that she is smiling.
'I figured as much. I told the receptionist you had an STD so I guess we're even.' Emma laughs and he gasps in fake offense.
'What if Jessica had been my soulmate, Swan? How would you have felt keeping us apart like that?' Killian responds, failing to hide his grin as Emma laughs again.
'You really believe in soulmates?' She asks and he thinks about the question more seriously than the simple joke she had presented it as.
'I'm open to the idea.' He replies, reaching for his coffee and taking a drink to avoid seeing her reaction. He can hear her hum thoughtfully as she shifts on the couch beside him.
'Well, if soulmates were real surely fate would find a way for you and Jessica to be together then.' Emma continues and he tightens his grip on the mug.
'And yet I'm here with you.' He can see Emma swallow but she doesn't look away and the desire to kiss her burns up again inside him, but then Emma clears her throat and the moment passes.
'So when does your brother fly back home?' Emma asks, leaning forward to get her coffee and tuck her legs up on the sofa.
'Their flight leaves tomorrow evening, sometime around 6 I think. He wasn't here for very long but maybe now we're speaking again we'll see each other at Christmas. I've wanted to go back to England for a while now so perhaps I can go visit next time.' Killian realizes how much he's going to miss Liam and he fights off the wave of sadness he feels.
'It's nice that you have that. I've always wondered what it would be like to have a family you make plans with for the holidays. A few years back I spent Christmas with my friend from high school and her grandmother. They were lovely and welcoming but I felt like I was intruding; they weren't my family.' Emma admits, a look of nostalgia on her face as she stares into her mug.
'Christmas has never really been a great time for me either, not since moving here anyway. Neither I nor my brother could afford to see each other so I usually spend Christmas alone. The one year I didn't was when the family down the hall wanted to use my oven and felt sorry for me.' Killian chuckles. Emma rests her hand on his thigh and he inhales, trying not to look too affected by her touch.
She puts her mug on the table and gently takes his away too, moving so that she is straddling him. He feels himself flush at the sudden intimate position they're in and he hesitantly rests his hands on her hips as she looks at him. He's seen her wear this expression before, when she's deep in thought at her desk but this time he can see her up close and he can't take his eyes off her.
'I hated you because you reminded me of how alone I felt. You were with all these different women and it reminded me that I had no one. I never imagined that we had that in common.' Emma murmurs and he clenches his jaw as her eyes drift down to his lips for a second.
'Slightly ironic that perhaps we wouldn't have felt so alone if we had just gotten to know one another sooner.' Killian replies, not waiting for a response before leaning forward to capture her lips. Emma's hands travel into his hair and he groans at the sensation of her fingers running through it.
Emma pulls her lips away from his but lingers only inches away, the closeness of her lips to his causing them to tingle with anticipation.
'But surely you felt something with those other women.' Emma whispers, as if questioning his interest in her despite their intimate activity.
'Not like this, not like with you.' Killian admits, not caring that he revealed more than he intended. She makes a strange noise of surprise before kissing him quick and hard once more. He feels so hot that his jeans feel suffocating and his skin prickles all over but he embraces the heat of Emma's skin as she slides her hands under his shirt to touch his chest.
He shifts so that they slide down the sofa and Emma is beneath him, their lips barely parting as they move. Emma wraps her legs around him as her hands move back into his hair and her soft noises of appreciation stokes the desire burning in his chest. He pulls away from her to breathe for a moment, smiling as she slowly opens her eyes and chews on her swollen bottom lip as their eyes meet.
'I don't know how I'm going to cope at work on Monday not being able to do this whenever I please.' Killian jokes, making Emma roll her eyes and grin.
'You need to practice some restraint, Jones.' She replies, teasing him as she squeezes her thighs tighter around him, a smug look on her face as he groans. She rises up to kiss him slowly and he relishes in this moment while he can.
'You make it difficult, Swan.' Killian jokes, closing his eyes when she tucks her head into his neck and laughs softly. They remain in each other's arms for a while, sharing kisses and random thoughts before they both groan with discomfort at the cramped space on the sofa. He's surprised at how Emma fluctuates between flirting and kissing to seeming shy and self-conscious but he puts it down to her being just as stunned by their connection as he is. He suggests watching a movie and she smiles, pulling the blanket from the armchair and getting comfortable beside him. She gasps in surprise when he wraps his arm around her waist and tugs her closer and he enjoys the way she wriggles in his arms and pulls the blanket over him too.
'I find it hard to believe Killian Jones spends his Saturday nights curled up on the sofa watching movies.' Emma teases. Killian laughs gently and plays with the curl of her hair that is tickling his arm.
'It appears Liam's endless complaining paid off and I'm less of the party man I used to be.' He replies, meaning it as a joke but realizing the truth to his words all the same. They're silent for a while when the movie starts but Killian isn't really paying attention while his thoughts are elsewhere.
'Can I ask you something?' Emma says suddenly and he feels his heart jump for no explainable reason.
'Sure, lass.' He replies softly, hoping her relaxed demeanor means it's nothing too heavy.
'Are we in a relationship now?' Killian is both relieved and surprised by the question. He shifts so he can see her better before answering.
'Well I had assumed our amorous activities were evident enough, Swan.' He teases, brushing the hair away from her face to kiss her cheek.
'Yes, I consider this a relationship. I'm not entirely sure where you stand but I know that for me, this is real.' Killian continues, smiling when he feels her lace their fingers together beneath the blanket.
'I feel the same.' Emma replies almost timidly before grinning.
'You forgot to open my present earlier.' She says before kissing him quickly on the lips and getting up to retrieve the gift bag from the coat closet. Emma is apologizing for something, the bad gift bag he assumes by the way she's holding it, but he barely hears her words as she comes back over, making herself comfortable again as she waits for him to open it.
He grins and dips his hand into the scrunched up tissue paper filling the bag and pulls out a long black case, knowing before he opens it that it's a very expensive paint set. He also noticed a couple of brushes and pencils in the bag and he finds himself feeling emotional over the gifts.
'Emma you don't know how much I appreciate these, thank you.' Killian smiles, putting his arm around her shoulders to pull her in for a hug. They spent the rest of the night cuddled on the sofa, pretending to watch movies while actually being more focused on each other's lips. His brother always used to preach about how he might be happier if he tried establishing real connections with people and he has to admit that Liam was right (or he can stubbornly think that it's just Emma he has a connection with, but maybe it's a little of both).
Emma looks over at Killian regularly as they wait for their food to arrive in the restaurant. Anna and Ellie are busy with the activity packs the waitress gave them and are both off in their own world of creativity, leaving the adults some time to talk together. Killian offered to take them out for lunch before they leave for the airport but Emma knows in his mind he's counting the minutes he has left with his brother.
'So how do you keep it professional at work? Does your boss even know? I remember you mentioning she was a piece of work when you first started, Killian.' Liam jokes as he reaches for a breadstick.
Killian meets her eyes and she shrugs subtly, giving him the floor to answer this time (she had already answered the questions about how they met and their first date, which she had tried to keep as truthful as possible).
'Regina doesn't know. She's in a relationship with the creative director so she can't exactly complain about co-workers dating but we decided it was best if she didn't know. She would purposely keep us separated if she did.' Killian snorts and Emma tries not to look surprised. She wasn't blind; she could see there was something between Regina and Robin but she didn't know the rumours were true.
'Our work is usually quite different so we don't really have to worry about crossing paths at work.' Emma adds, making Liam laugh.
'I remember when Killian first started his job and he complained about you getting the position he wanted. I guess now the two of you are in all kinds of positions together.' Liam grins, earning him a shove from his wife and a scowl as she nods to the children, who remain unfazed by the mature comment they didn't understand. Emma feels her cheeks warm as she looks down at the table, flushing even more when Killian wiggles beside her and clears his throat.
Emma has never been more relieved for their food to arrive and is glad for the change of focus once everyone starts eating. Liam is insistent on grilling Killian about various aspects of his life but at least none of it includes Emma and she can listen to the conversation without feeling the mild panic that sets in when she has to come up with something to tell them about her relationship with Killian.
It's only when the conversation steers towards their next get-together that Emma starts to feel awkward again.
'Yeah, well we'd love to have you over for Christmas. There's plenty of room for you both in the guest room and it will be nice to have the whole family together for the holidays, especially with Izzie's sister visiting too.' Liam smiles and Emma feels her forehead prickle with panic. Sure, Killian had mentioned wanting to visit Liam for Christmas but it definitely hadn't been a package deal with her coming too.
Killian's hand suddenly rests on her thigh under the table and she knows he's trying to calm her.
'I'd love to come back for Christmas. I'm not sure if Regina will give us both time off but I'm sure we can work something out.' Killian replies, looking over at her with a smile that's entirely for show. There's a pleading look in his eyes and she rests her hand over his.
'Of course, I would love to spend Christmas with everyone, thank you.' Emma replies politely. Isobel comes back from the restroom with the girls and Killian pays the bill despite Liam's protests. She slides out of the booth to leave and almost jumps when Anna slips her small hand in hers, her skin still damp from washing her hands.
They all go back to the hotel room and Killian helps carry the suitcases down to the cab until it's all packed in the boot and they're ready to go. Emma can see Killian wants to talk to his brother so says goodbye to Isobel and the girls to give them some privacy.
'It was lovely to meet you, Emma.' Isobel says and she hugs her warmly.
'You too. Killian has such a wonderful family.' Emma replies, laughing when Ellie tugs on her sweater for her own hug. Emma picks her up and the little girl wraps her arms around her neck tightly. Anna wants a hug too so she kneels down to hug them both, feeling surprisingly teary as Anna mutters 'bye-bye' rather sadly.
Liam comes over then, smiling at her before hugging her too.
'Thank you.' He says quietly and she doesn't need to ask.
She puts her arm around Killian as they watch the cab drive off, waving at the girls through the back window. Emma bites her lip and rests her head on his shoulder, feeling emotional as if she was saying goodbye to her own family and not people she's only known for a couple of days.
They stand on the sidewalk for a while after the cab disappears down the street until she shivers and Killian squeezes her shoulder.
'Come on, love.' He murmurs, taking her hand and leading her back to his apartment. As Killian opens the door and she smells the familiar scent of his home she realizes that she's practically spent her whole weekend here and that tomorrow they would return to work. They hadn't discussed how this change in their relationship will affect their work, besides the conversation with Liam earlier.
She's distracted from her worried thoughts when she notices Killian head straight to the kitchen and begins looking through the cupboards with intent.
'What are you doing?' Emma asks as she watches him pull out a bag of sugar.
'Making hot cocoa.' Killian smiles softly, finding a pot of cocoa powder next. She wordlessly helps him, getting out the milk from the fridge while he finds the salt. He measures the ingredients out seemingly based on memory and whisks them into a saucepan. There's a lull in activity while they wait for the mixture to be ready and Killian looks over at her, emotion clear in his eyes.
'I was dreading Liam coming over. I thought he would start criticizing me again, making me feel like a failure, but he didn't. Before they left he told me that he was proud of me, and I realized how stupid I had been to push him away.' Killian reveals as he gently stirs the contents of the saucepan.
'Well at least you're speaking again now, and you'll see him at Christmas.' Emma offers before realizing she gave him a perfect segue into their yet to be had conversation regarding the holidays.
'Emma, don't feel any pressure about that okay? Liam is after all under the impression we've been dating for 4 months already, and 6 by Christmas. We'll move at our own pace.' Killian says softly and she nods.
'Sure, but I guess our work issue is more immediate anyway. I think we should set guidelines.' Emma says firmly as she lifts off the magnetic notebook from the fridge, smiling when she sees that he wrote down Pop Tarts on his shopping list after she mentioned they were her guilty pleasure.
'Guidelines?' Killian asks curiously as she flips to a clear page and clicks the pen on the counter.
'Yes. I want this to work without either of us losing our job.' Or each other Emma adds silently in her mind.
'So guidelines, the first one is no kissing in the office.' She has to bite back her laugh when she sees Killian literally pout in disapproval.
'Number two, no distracting each other from work.' Emma says as she writes them down on.
'Number three, you're not allowed to wear those see-through blouses because they break the second rule for me.' Killian grins and despite the way she rolls her eyes and scowls she feels her cheeks flush.
'Fine, then number three B is that you're not allowed to wear that blue shirt that compliments your eyes and makes then ridiculously hard to ignore.' Emma replies, focusing on writing it down so she doesn't look at him.
'Number four, we see each other on our lunchbreak whenever we can.' Killian says more seriously this time as he stirs the hot cocoa mixture intently.
'Number five, we don't tell anybody else in the office about us.' Emma adds just as Killian reaches for two mugs and pours the hot cocoa into them.
'Do you have any cinnamon?' She asks and he looks up with mild surprise before smiling softly.
'Aye, second shelf on the left.'
Emma sprinkles the cinnamon over her hot cocoa, taking a small, experimental sip to test the taste. She's never had homemade hot cocoa before but she's glad her first taste is of Killian's. He managed to get the ingredients just right and she feels comforted by the small warmth of the drink already.
She looks up to compliment him but Killian is kissing her before she can speak. Despite the spontaneity of the kiss it's soft and slow and she's aware of every tilt of his head and brush of his tongue against hers.
'Number six, we always make time for this.' Killian whispers, licking his lips at the cinnamon he can taste from her mouth as he pulls away. Emma nods as he reaches up to the top shelf, pulling down a small bag of marshmallows and she laughs lightly.
She notices the tips of his ears are red as he sprinkles some marshmallows on the top of his hot cocoa and she steals one from the bag and eats it, earning her a fake frown of disapproval before Killian's smile breaks through and he laughs.
They curl up on the sofa under the blanket with their hot cocoa and watch some silly romantic comedy, criticizing the characters and plotline and predictable ending and laugh at the awkward extras in the background. Killian returns their mugs to the kitchen a little while later while she flicks through the movies on Netflix, but when he comes back he has a strange look on his face.
They decide on a horror movie next, one that they can also criticize the stupid decisions of the characters and the bad fake blood. They pause it while Killian goes to the bathroom and Emma follows the hunch she has and sneaks into the kitchen. Sure enough, there's two bullet points added in Killian's handwriting, the sixth one he mentioned earlier and a new one he hadn't.
Number seven, when you lose motivation remember that you'll get to be with Emma at the end of the day.
Emma clenches her jaw to stop the tears at prick her eyes, quickly returning to the couch and feigning tiredness as the reason her eyes are watery. Killian asks if she wants to go home but she shakes her head and curls into his side as they continue with the movie. Every brush of his fingers along her arm makes her stomach swoop and she wonders how she's ever going to restrain herself at work now that they know each other like this.