Okay my darling readers, brace yourselfs. My grandfather has had a lot of testing done today and he's been really tired so it's left me with a lot of writing time. This chapter probably should have been two but I just couldn't stop. Enjoy.
Emma never thought so many people could fit inside their apartment but sure enough people were crammed in from wall to wall. Emma managed to work her way outside and onto the balcony they hardly used just to get some fresh air into her lungs. The air was cool as it brushed her face, she was lost in the moment, clutching her drink, she didn't register that someone had joined her outside, "Hey, Emma!" Her drink nearly spilt.
"Rapunzel, right?" She smiled at the girl Killian had introduced her to the other night.
"Punz, is just fine. I just saw you out here and wanted to make sure you were okay. You look a little green."
"Oh, I'm fine." She smiled to try and prove it to her, "It's just too many people in one small area for my liking. But, hey, it isn't me we're celebrating."
"From what Killian told us, we should be celebrating you! The way you caught some terrible man after he broke into you apartment in the dead of night! That's so scary!"
"I didn't do anything about that actually, it was all Killian. He was the one who knocked him out. I don't know what would have happened if he hadn't been here." Emma said sadly.
"Interesting, normally Killian Jones boasts about the smallest of things, I would have thought I'd hear the full story from him."
"Guess he just left some things out."
"I guess he did." Emma watched as Rapunzel rested a hand on her still flat stomach and Emma absentmindedly place her hand on her own suddenly feeling very hallow inside.
Emma excused herself and darted back inside the apartment making a b-line for the bathroom but rather ran smack into someone.
"Emma, love, what's wrong?" Killian asked tilting her head so she'd look at him. He'd been keeping a rather close eye on her since everything had happened and usually Emma found it profoundly annoying but right now she needed him.
"There's too many people in here." She told him though she could hardly hear herself speak. Blood felt like it was going to start pouring out of her ears, she felt dizzy, and her mouth was much too dry.
"Wait for me outside. I'll grab our coats and join you in a moment." He told her and watched her till she vanished on the other side of the door. He grabbed what he needed and quickly told Ruby they'd be stepping out for a bit.
They walked down the sidewalk together, neither knowing who was leading the way or where exactly there were going. Killian kept a hand light on her back to catch her just incase she tumbled. They walked a while longer until a great idea crossed Killian's mind and he led Emma to the nearest subway station. They stood pressed together in the crowded car, a few people left at the next stop but still Emma remained glued to his side. He didn't say a word until he felt the need to inform her the next stop they'd be getting off. It was only when they were above ground again did she finally speak, "Where are we going, Jones?" She asked.
"Now, if I told you, what fun would that be?" A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
She didn't say anything back so he stuck his hand out, wiggling his fingers begging for her to take them. She look from his hand to his face then back to the hand as if she didn't fully trust it, "Come on, Swan, where's your sense of adventure?"
A smile cracked upon her face and the second their hands where clasped he took off running, pulling her behind him until she finally was at his pace. Emma knew she was in the heart of the city but she could quite tell where. They ran along the backs of huge buildings until Killian stopped abruptly at one of them, taking a key card from his pocket and opening a huge metal door for her ushering her inside, "Tell me, Swan, have you ever seen Wicked?" He asked as he let the door fall closed behind him.
She took in the surroundings, people rushing about from place to place, actors and actresses in intricate costumes and then she could see a large curtain where she could image hundreds of people on the other side, "Are we?" She breathed out.
"Broadway? Yes, love, we are."
"I tell you I felt there were too many people in our apartment so you bring me to frickin' Broadway? Are you nuts?!"
"Probably but that's besides the point. I'm going to assume you haven't seen this play before and since everything was running a bit behind when I left due to some wardrobe issues, they should be getting ready to do the number Defy Gravity which is truly a sight to see." He held his hand out for her to take once again and pulled her over to a stairwell. She climbed with him, upwards and upwards until they were finally up in the rafters where a few of the light crew were standing. Killian waved to a few of them and walked behind Emma along the narrow planks of wood, "This song they are about to preform is just before intermission. After it's done we can leave but you really should see this." He told her once they were at the center of the rafters.
Emma leaned forward slightly to take in the scene unfolding below her. Killian stood directly behind her so he could act quickly in case she leaned too far (he of all people knew how unstable these blasted rails could be at times).
While Killian was busy worrying about her safety, Emma couldn't remember a time when she didn't have another thought in her brain. She just let the music flood her ears, and the lyrics flow around her and she lost herself for just a moment, she forgot everything that could have been bothering her and she found herself leaning back into Killian. He smiled down at her wanting to wrap her up tight but not willing to risk ruining the situation, he rather just started to sing along with the actress below until the end of the song when he tug at Emma's sleeve to tell her they could leave.
"Could we stay? For the rest of the show, I mean, I really liked it."
"If you want to. But it's intermission, why don't we grab us some snacks and see if we can find some better seats."
After ten minutes, Killian led Emma through the sea of people with skill that she'd never seen before. It was even more impressive that he was doing with while holding two sodas and a bag of popcorn. Emma held onto the back of his jacket while she carried a box of red licorice and junior mints in her other hand. He led them over a red velvet rope and up a staircase, "Jones, should we be up here?" Emma hissed as she followed close behind.
"Scared, Swan?" He winked.
"No. But, I am a law enforcement officer; I don't need to be in trouble with said law! We don't even have tickets!"
"Well, you should probably a good thing you're with someone who works here then." He grinned and opened a door for her to go into.
It was an empty viewing box with just a few seats, "Pick a chair, any chair!" He beamed and sat next to her giving her a quick summary of what had happened in the show so far so she wasn't totally lost.
When it was all over and their containers discarded in a trash bin as if no one had been there, they blended into the crowd of people leaving the theater and emptying out onto the street and Killian pointed them in the direction of the subway.
Emma took a seat while Killian stood next to her and he asked her how she enjoyed the performance. "I almost see why you get as many women as you do, Jones." Emma laughed, "Take a girl out to see a show like that and you could just charm them right out of their pants."
Killian leaned down and Emma could feel his eyes looking at her from head to toe, "Your theory must be flawed, love, yours are still on." That earned him an eye roll, "But I am happy that you enjoyed yourself."
"I did, thanks for the date, Jones."
"Date?" He raised an eyebrow as if he didn't follow her.
"Yeah. You said the only way I'd get you to the station to file the report is if you took me on a date. This is me saying that you for it." She explained.
"Emma Swan," He slid into the seat that had recently been vacated beside her, "That was no date. That was merely me attempting to get your mind off things for a few hours and I'm thrilled that I could but it was no date."
"Oh," Emma felt a blush rising to her cheeks, "I just thought you'd want to make good on our deal so I thought this counted as our date." She confessed.
"I'd love to make good on our deal but it wouldn't be good form of me to press the matter when you already have so much filling your mind." He leaned away from her a little, "But, now you have this idea in your head that what we just did is my idea of a date and you couldn't be more wrong."
That earned him the smallest of smiles from her, "If you are free tomorrow at seven and are feeling up to it, I'd like to show you what a true Killian Jones style date consists of. But, if you're not, I fully understand and will not bring up the matter again."
"Seven?" She asked acting like she was thinking so hard about something.
"Yes, love."
"I think that could work." She grinned.
"Good."
"Yeah." And with that Emma changed the subject, "And who knew Killian Jones could sing!?"
"The shower head?" He answered with a shrug and they both started to laugh.
"Emma! What in the heck are you doing in there?" Mary Margaret asked the following day as she went into the kitchen to place a dish in the sink. She couldn't see into Emma's room but she heard things being thrown about.
"I have a date." Emma barely let the words leave her lips and Mary Margaret was standing in her door way.
"And why am I just now hearing about this!?" She tried acting all offended.
"Because I just found out about it last night. And I'm not trying to sound like one of those girls but honestly, I cannot find a single thing to wear that wouldn't make me look like either a high class hooker or a stuffy lawyer."
Mary Margaret loosened up and pulled Emma by the arm out of her room, "Come on, we can raid my closet too and find you something. Do you know where he is taken you? I'm assuming it's a he but it could be a she. I wouldn't judge regardless of the gender but you should tell me so I –"
"It's a he, Mary Margaret. And I don't know where we are going." Emma told her.
"Well, we need to find you something that you can either dress up or dress down and then when he comes to pick you up because I'm guessing he is picking you up because that is the gentlemanly thing to do, you could ask him then. From there we can add little touches to perfect your outfit to the correct setting."
"You're putting way too much thought into this." Emma said as she flopped down ungracefully onto the bed, "Can't you just find me something that would work in both settings?"
"Fine, fine, take all the fun out of it." With that she handed Emma five different gowns and hurried her off to the bathroom to try them on.
Emma flicked the light on and suddenly remembered why she was so jealous of her upper three roommates; their bathroom was huge compared to the one she and Killian shared. She hung the hangers on the shower rod and picked out the first slipping it on:
Dress One: Red, form fitting with no sleeves or straps and had a very plunging neckline. It was nice but she wanted to actually have a conversation with Killian this evening and not just have him staring at her chest.
Dress Two: A lavender color that had a fitted top with a sweetheart neckline but then poofed outward. It wasn't so bad if not for the damned poofy sleeves that Emma was just dying to rip off.
Dress Three: Black with gold accents that had a more square neckline and hit her right at the knee with sleeves down to her wrists and a golden belt that hung nicely from her waist. So far this one was winning.
Dress Four: Midnight blue with thicker straps and a neckline that showed just enough cleavage but enough to not be too much of a distraction. It stopped just above her knee and seemed to hug her in all the right places but still flowed at the same time. This dress was clearly the winner.
Dress Five: Didn't stand a chance.
"Oh, Emma! You look amazing!"
"Emma always looks amazing, what's different now?" Ruby called from downstairs as she closed the front door.
"Emma has a date tonight and we just found the perfect dress! Come see!" Ruby then ran up the stairs and took in Emma for herself.
"She's right, Ems, you look hot!" Ruby smiled.
"It's a little cold out though. Maybe you should add some leggings and, oh, I have this lovely black beaded shawl that would go great with this!" Mary Margaret told Emma.
"Yeah. No shawl. I have just the thing though." Ruby told them as she ducked into her room.
"What's wrong with my shawl?" Mary Margaret asked clearly put off.
"She isn't wearing a shawl, Mary! We need her to look like Emma not like a blond version of you." Ruby told her while she hunted through her closet.
"What's wrong with me!?" Mary Margaret demanded to know.
"Alright, enough, we need to focus on getting Emma ready for her date and not about your seriously lacking sense of style."
"HEY! I did pick out her dress!"
"Fair enough, I'll give you that one. It is a very pretty dress." Ruby agreed and handed Emma a black leather jacket.
Emma slipped it on and it fit like a glove, "It's totally you! You can keep that if you want. I hardly wear it anymore."
"Thanks, Ruby. I'm gonna go find some leggings now. He should be here around seven so."
"Wait! What are you doing with your hair?" Mary Margaret asked.
"Leaving it how it is now. I don't really want to fuss with it."
"Oh no, honey." Ruby smiled and escorted her back to the bathroom while Mary Margaret fetched her leggings and a pair of heels.
"I'm thinking straighten it all and pulling it back into a really sleek pony tale." Ruby said as she plugged in the devise.
"I don't really have a say in this do I?"
"That depends. What were you going to say?"
"That I'd like to not mess with my hair."
"You're right, you have no say. Now sit." Ruby pointed to the edge of the tub and only let her move to put the leggings on when Mary Margaret came back with them. The only time they listened to anything Emma said was when she reminded them of where she'd been scalped and that they needed to watch it and cover it up. As she let them heat and comb her hair she was suddenly feeling very thankful she'd decided to do her own make up first.
A half an hour later all three women emerged from the bathroom. Ruby fixed Emma's dress up while Mary Margaret took in the full sight of her, "Emma, he isn't going to know what hit him!" She squeaked.
"Speaking of him, who is him? Do we know him?" Ruby asked.
"Did you meet him at the party last night? Oh my gosh! Is it David's friend Graham? I saw him looking at you pretty much all night!" Mary Margaret nudged her in the side.
"He couldn't have been looking at her all night. She and Killian stepped out for a while and didn't come back till nearly everyone left. Way to bail by the way!"
"Okay, fine, not Graham. So, who is it, Emma!"
Emma resembled a fish gulping for air, not knowing if she wanted to tell them. She was hoping to leave and catch Killian outside but he blew that plan right out of the water, "Emma! Lass, are you ready to go?" He called just as he stepped into the apartment.
Emma ignored the looks the two women were giving her and hurried down the stairs. She grabbed Killian's hand and pulled him to the door with her, "Thanks for all your help! Talk to you later!" She hollered as she closed the door while both screamed, "EMMA!"
They briskly walked away from the apartment still hand in hand, "Let me guess. You didn't tell them?"
"Told them I had a date, just not with who. I didn't feel like having a Mary Margaret freak out before leaving."
"So, you'll have one when you go back. And the wrath of Ruby too."
"No, we will have it." She corrected him.
"Sneaky little devil, you are, Swan." He stopped walking for a moment and stepped in front of her. Hand still in hers, he leaned in and pressed a kiss to her check, "You look breathtaking, love." Emma felt a light blush fall over her checks and her knees suddenly felt like they didn't want to support her anymore, "I wanted to tell you when you came down stairs but you yanked me out of the door before I had the chance." He told her as they started walking again.
"Thanks." She gave his hand a small squeeze, "So, where are we going on this Killian Jones style date?" She asked trying to keep herself from getting anymore affected by him. It was only a date to make good on a deal after all.
"Just you wait, Swan."
So much reading, I know! But I wanted to get something with all of the girls in there and I might even do some KillianxDavid bonding time here soon. I will be getting to EmmaxBaby things here shortly to answer all lingering questions. This was just something fluffy that I really needed to write.
I also added another little one shot to my Fitting In story for any of you who'd like to give it a read.
As always, I love reading your reviews :) And thank you to those who follow and favorite :)
NL