The next weekend, Killian found himself curled up on Emma's couch again, watching some movie that Emma put on. Emma had curled into his arms and was currently falling asleep with her head on his chest, her hand holding his arm, where his prosthetic ended, lightly. He rubbed her hip gently, hoping to soothe her to sleep.
When she called him and asked him to come over and hang out with her, he could hear that something was wrong in her voice. He knew it had probably been a particularly rough day at work, that she likely had a child who hit close to home.
Killian didn't push her to talk when he showed up. He just offered her a bag of chinese takeout and a bottle of the rum he knew she used to like. She gave him a tentative smile as they settled onto her couch to eat.
He told her a story about a ridiculous essay one of his students had submitted, hoping he would get a smile out of her. She laughed with him, some of the pain rolling off her. The tension in her shoulders easing slightly.
Now, he sat holding her close, as she slept soundly in his arms. He wanted her to feel safe, and he could tell that she must have felt safe enough with him to want his comfort instead of her brother's or best friend's.
He ended up falling asleep for a few hours, with her cradled against his chest, and the next thing he knew Emma was tugging at his arm gently to wake him up.
"Killian.. Killian wake up.." She spoke softly, her voice tired.
He blinked at her slightly. "Swan? Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, just come to bed with me.. It's late, and we're tired.. I don't want you driving home this late.. And the couch isn't somewhere we should be sleeping.." She offered her hand.
Killian took her hand. "Are you sure, Love? I don't want to overstep my bounds. I don't mind sleeping on the couch."
Emma shook her head. "I'm sure. I want you to hold me while I sleep.. And this couch sucks, you and I both know that."
He let her lead him to her bedroom. "Do you mind if I.. Um, take my hand off?" He asked softly.
"Of course not, I know you hate sleeping in that thing." She said as she moved to her closet. She changed quickly then dug out a pair of Killian's old pajama pants for him. "Here, you don't have to sleep in those jeans."
"Thank you, Love.." He said softly, changing into the pajamas before taking off his prosthetic and climbing into bed with her.
Emma let him lay down before she immediately went into his arms, laying her head on his chest. "Thank you for coming tonight.. And for staying. I needed it." She said softly.
Killian pressed a kiss to the crown of her head. "I'm always here for you, Emma. Even if all you need is a hug." He whispered. "I'll be here in the morning, go back to sleep.."
She yawned a little and easily fell back asleep in his arms. Killian waited until he was sure she was asleep before letting himself join her. When he woke the next morning, he had blonde hair in his face, and half of her body on top of his.
He missed waking up with Emma in his arms. Awake, Emma was never overly cuddly, but when she slept with him she always ended up as close as she could possibly get. He pressed a kiss to her head and untangled himself from her so he could go make them some breakfast.
He made the batter for pancakes, but decided to let Emma sleep for a bit longer, realizing how early it really was, so he started to tidy up her living room and kitchen. Once he'd made a few batches of the pancakes, a pot of coffee and some bacon he found in her fridge, he was about to go wake her up when she padded into the room, her glasses and what Killian knew to be one of his old sweatshirts, on.
"Morning, Love.. I made you breakfast as a thank you." Killian smiled softly.
Emma smiled at him and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Thank you, you didn't have to do that.. I honestly expected you to be gone. But, I'm not sure what you're thanking me for, I owe you the thank you."
"I wanted to thank you for letting me in. I'm not going anywhere, Swan. I'm always here for you. I know you had a rough day yesterday, and I'm not going to push you to tell me about it, but I want you to know I'm here. Always." He played with a stray curl of hers.
She nodded. "I.. I know that now. I've pushed you away a few times since you've been back, but you're still there when I need someone.. You even offered to sleep on that absolutely awful couch last night if I didn't want you with me."
"And I would have, Love. Your happiness is most important to me.. And I'll be honest, I've missed holding you in my arms while we sleep.." He shrugged. "Anyways, I made your favorite pancakes. Sit, and I'll get you a cup of coffee. Do you still take it the same way?"
She nodded. "Yeah, thanks, Jones." She smiled as she sat at the table, pulling out her phone to check for messages from work. She finally took a bite of the pancakes and practically moaned at the taste.
"Damn. I will never understand how you do it, Killian, these are delicious." Emma said as she shoved another bite into her mouth.
Killian chuckled softly, placing the cup of coffee in front of her. "If I told anyone my secret I'd be worthless." He sat next to her with his own plate. "I'm glad they're still as good as you remembered.. You still have all of the ingredients I needed."
"Killian, can I ask you something?" Emma asked after a moment.
"Aye, Love.. Anything."
She bit her lip. "Will you.. Um.. Will you.. Have dinner with me? Like um.. Like as a date?" She knew it wasn't like herself to be so nervous, but she was laying her heart out there for him again and it terrified her. But it also made her happy at the possibility she'll have her Killian back.
Killian took her hand in his. "I'd be honored to have dinner with you, Swan. As long as you allow me to plan the evening?" He gave her a smile.
Emma nodded and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I can plan a date, Killian." She frowned, "But, I'd like that.. I'm sorry I'm being so weird.."
He shook his head, and wrapped his arm around her. "It's alright, Love.. I understand that this is a big step in our new relationship.. But, I couldn't be happier to take you out for dinner. I've got a lot this week at work, some event I've got to go to, how about this weekend?"
She brushed her fingers through the hair that had fallen over his forehead. "That's fine.. I can do that.. Thank you for breakfast, and for staying last night.. I know I was kind of needy, but it means a lot that you stayed."
"You don't have to keep thanking me, Emma.. But, I could tell you had a rough day, Love.. That you probably had a new case that hit close to home, and I understand. I just wanted you to know you're not alone anymore." He trailed his stump over her thigh gently.
She took his stump in her hand. "It's all red and irritated.." She frowned. "Have you not been taking it off?"
Killian moved back into his chair. "Um, not like I used to.. I'm scared to teach without it on.." He admitted.
"Killian.. You need to let it breathe if it's bothering you.. That brace has always given you trouble.." She took a sip of her coffee.
He shook his head. "It doesn't matter, Swan.. My students don't want to look at this.. It's ugly, and it's fine.." He sighed.
When they were dating, Killian hated taking off his brace except when he was sleeping. It caused more than one argument between the two over the years. Emma couldn't care less about him missing a hand, but it was still a sore spot for Killian. Now, Emma was grateful he was being so open with her about it, but she knew those insecurities were still very present.
They quickly did the dishes, and Killian changed back into his clothes, leaving his brace off for the drive back to his house, finally getting more comfortable without it around Emma. She walked him to the door and stopped him before he could go.
"Wait.. Can I ask you something?" She asked nervously.
Killian stopped, and turned to her. "Of course, Swan.. Anything.."
Emma looked up at him nervously. "Can we keep this pretty quiet for now? I just.. I don't want to make it a big deal before you and I know what this really is."
Killian brushed his thumb over her cheek. "Aye, Love. I understand, this is big enough on its own. We'll keep it quiet until we're both ready to tell everyone about it."
She pressed a chaste kiss to his cheek. "Good."
Killian gave her a soft smile. "I'll see you soon, Swan." He said before he headed home.
