A/N: I cannot believe the reception I've gotten on this story! You all are so kind in all of your reviews, and I'm you all are so invested in the story!
For your listening pleasure for this chapter, I suggest 'Love Me Harder' by Ariana Grande, 'Nightrider' by Espen Lind, and 'Dreams' by Bastille & Gabrielle Aplin.
Enjoy!
A week or so passed, and Killian was getting ready for their next game. They'd made it pretty far—only two games away from the Championship. Killian knew they could do it—the boys had been decimating all of the other teams they were playing.
He was just trying not to be distracted by Emma. Oh, Emma.
The two spent a lot more time together, since finals were coming up and they knew between the games and studying, there wasn't much time for anything else. Getting to know Emma better made Killian realize how alike they truly were, which in turn made their bond only stronger.
"Killian, you almost ready?" Jefferson's voice called. Killian took one last look in the mirror before meeting his friend at the door.
"Yeah, I think so." Killian grinned, bumping his fist against Jefferson's. He grabbed his bag and followed his roommate to their main door.
"God, I'm so excited. This team isn't supposed to be all that good."
"And you're excited about that?" Killian laughed as he locked up their apartment.
"A little, yeah. Means I can score more."
"That is true."
"And, we can make Victor sub for Graham again. It's hilarious trying to watch him play goalie." Jefferson smiled.
"Again, true." Killian chuckled, skipping down the steps.
"So, uh, how's Emma?"
"She's good. She's been studying, though, for finals. I don't know that she'll be at the game tonight."
"She has to—she's our good luck charm!" Jefferson cried.
"I know, I know. But, I'm not going to force her to come to games. We can win on our own." Killian smiled, "And, who knows? She said she might come out even just to get out of the dorm."
"Are you two… What are you two, exactly?"
"We haven't really put a label on it, to be honest." Killian shrugged.
"Not even like, dating, or something?"
"Nope."
"Wow."
"Yeah, I know." Killian spoke with a breathy smile, "It's a bit of a change for me."
"You really love her, don't you?" Jefferson grinned.
"I do." Killian spoke without hesitation, "I do love her."
"Have you told her?"
"I mean, I kind of told her when I kissed her, but it was different."
"And, does David know? He'll probably demand that you're beheaded." Jefferson teased, making Killian laugh.
"I don't know where I stand with him. Ruby and Mary like me at least, but David is like a brother to Emma." Killian sighed, "I was waiting for her to maybe speak with him."
"Well, regardless, I think you know what you're doing." Jefferson offered, "You seem really happy, Killian."
"I am really happy." He grinned as they walked by the stands. He glanced up to see Emma, who waved to him. He blew her a kiss in return, earning a roll of those deep, green eyes.
He was in so deep.
Well into the game, the Lost Boys were up by a landslide, so Killian decided to call it quits for the rest of the game, taking a seat on the bench. He grabbed his bottle of Gatorade and drank a large portion of it before setting it beside him.
He was entirely relaxed, until he heard a familiar voice in the stands.
"—Please, just go away." Emma's voice pleaded. Killian turned at the sound of her distress, noticing a guy trying to talk to her. He looked to be too close, making his Emma uncomfortable and clearly upset.
"Babe—"
That was all Killian needed before he was storming up the bleachers towards Emma. Once he reached her, he hurried to step in front of her.
The man standing before him had scruffy, mousy brown hair and matching eyes. He wasn't any taller than Killian, but was a little stockier than him. This had to be that ex-boyfriend of Emma's.
"Stay away from Emma." Killian warned.
"Killian—" Emma tried protesting, only to be interrupted.
"Why should I? She and I used to be very, very close." The man (Neal, was it?) replied with a grin.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't punch you right now." Killian threatened.
"Emma still wants to be with me—right, Emma?"
Emma shook her head, and Killian put an arm out to further protect her when Neal took a step closer.
"I wouldn't come any closer if I were you." Killian warned.
"Or what?"
"I don't think you'd like to know the consequences." Killian spoke with a poisonous smile, "Now, I think you ought to leave."
People were staring now, making Killian nervous that Neal would do something to provoke him, to get a reaction.
"Oh, yeah? Seriously, what are you going to do? Stand in my way?"
"I am in your way, mate. Afraid you won't be getting near my Emma."
Neal's mouth made an 'o' before he broke into a short burst of laughs.
"I'm sorry—your Emma? Emma, you're dating this guy?" Neal laughed, pointing to Killian, "Please, you know you can do better than him."
"Like who? You?" Emma spoke with a sharp laugh.
"Emma, stay out of this, love." Killian spoke softly.
"So, this is the boyfriend, hm? Should have figured that out, seeing how often you come to these games." Neal said, causing Emma's eyes to widen, "That's right, I know you've been coming to the games. Every home game since the beginning of the season. And, for who? Not for your friend, who you said you were coming for—no, you were coming for this burn out."
That was the last straw. Killian nearly lunged at him before Emma was tugging him back. The boys down by the bench started realizing there was an issue in the stands, so Graham and Jefferson came to their aid.
"Hey, what's going on here?" Jefferson asked protectively.
"This bastard won't leave Emma alone." Killian spat, "But, he's about to get a face full of my fist."
"Killian, c'mon, be the better man." Graham said, nudging his arm, "Let's get back to the game."
Killian shot Neal one last glare before the man scampered off like a dog with its tail between its legs.
"Come sit with me on the bench, okay, love?" Killian asked a still shell-shocked Emma. She offered a nod and latched onto his arm as he led her down to the benches. He set a clean towel down for her to sit on, and sat beside her.
"Are you okay, love?" Killian asked, lifting her chin with his index finger. Tears had finally fallen from their place, causing Killian to sigh.
"Love, I promise I will not let him near you ever again." Killian spoke softly, wiping at her tears, "Okay?"
Emma nodded, leaning into Killian's touch when he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
The game finished soon afterwards, and the boys had another resounding win. Killian could tell Emma was still upset, so he opted out of partying with the boys. He brought her back to his apartment, and she made some cocoa while he changed.
"Mm, that smells amazing, love." Killian grinned, setting a hand on her waist.
"Thanks." Emma replied softly. Killian pressed a kiss to the back of her head, his lips lingering a few moments.
"I won't let anyone hurt you, Emma. I cross my heart." Killian whispered, "Would you like to stay the night tonight? I can sleep on the couch, you could take my bed."
She turned to face him, her eyebrows furrowed. Killian kept his hand on her waist, gently rubbing his thumb up and down soothingly.
"Oh, Killian, I couldn't just take your bed." She shook her head, "I'll be, um, fine."
"No, I saw how upset you were. I promise it'd be okay." Killian offered.
"I don't have anything to wear for sleeping."
"No worries, you could borrow a jersey or something." Killian replied, "Please, Emma? I'd rather know you were safe."
Emma offered a split-second smile before leaning into his arms.
"Thank you."
"Always, Emma." Killian replied softly, "Now, what do you say we put on some pajamas, drink our hot cocoa and watch some nasty reality program?"
Emma giggled at that, pressing a kiss to his chest.
"Okay."
Killian took her arm and led her into his room, allowing her to sit on the edge of his bed while he searched for a clean shirt.
"Here, you can use my away jersey. It's clean, I promise." Killian grinned, handing it to her, "Do you need sweats or something?"
"No, this is fine. Mind if I change in your bathroom?"
"No, how dare you ask that, Emma?" Killian teased, "Of course, love."
She rolled her eyes with a smile as she slipped off his bed, taking the jersey from his hands before pressing a kiss to his cheek and sauntering by. He watched her leave, leaning back a little to make sure she got to the bathroom alright. Er, at least that's what he told himself.
He walked into the living area and grabbed the remote from the top of the TV before plopping onto the couch. Killian made himself comfortable, laying the length of the couch. He smiled at his comfort, turning on the TV and flipping channels.
"You're hogging the couch, Jones." Emma teased, causing Killian to glance up.
Oh, god. She looked way, way too good in his jersey. Way too good.
Her already long legs were only exaggerated with the length of the shirt. It was just barely long enough to cover her underwear, making Killian's cheeks redden. What was it about her that made him so flustered?
"Mm, Swan, you look bloody ravishing." Killian grinned as she walked in front of the TV, before sitting on the edge of the couch. Killian rolled his eyes and grabbed her waist, tugging her down as she shrieked.
"You are so unbelievable." Emma huffed, leaning into his arms and relaxing.
"That is highly likely." Killian replied with an amused smile as he continued flipping channels.
"Bravo is 17."
"Hm?"
"You said you wanted to watch reality shows—Bravo is on channel 17." Emma smiled.
Killian chuckled, flipping to that channel and flopping the remote onto the floor. Emma turned in his arms so she was facing him before pressing a quick kiss to his lips. She nuzzled her head into his shirt, making Killian grin.
"Comfy?"
"Very." Emma mumbled, closing her eyes.
"Good. If you fall asleep, I'll bring you to my room, okay?"
"M'kay." Emma whispered.
Killian spent the rest of the night admiring his Swan—his lovely, lovely Swan—running his fingers through her hair until he felt her breath shift, and he knew she was asleep. He tried getting up to move her, but it was useless. She seemed comfortable anyways, so he decided to leave her.
He woke in the morning to the smell of coffee, opening one eye to see Emma gone. Killian sat up abruptly, glancing around to check his surroundings. People were talking quietly, and when he turned around, he saw Jefferson and Emma sitting at the counter, sipping at their coffee.
"Oh, look, the Beauty Queen is awake." Jefferson teased, "Get enough beauty sleep?"
"Hilarious, Hatter." Killian mumbled, "Bloody hilarious."
"Need some coffee?" Emma grinned.
"Gods, yes." He replied, tossing his legs over the side of the couch and sitting up. He stretched before rising to his feet and padding into the kitchen.
"When did you end up falling asleep last night?" Emma asked curiously before taking a long sip of her coffee.
"Mm, probably a little after one? I don't remember, to be honest." Killian replied, pouring himself a cup of the warm coffee. He put some sugar and cream into it before stirring it and leaning over the counter to press a kiss to Emma's lips.
"How'd you sleep?" Killian smiled as Jefferson rolled his eyes.
"Pretty well. You make a fairly nice pillow."
"Thank you?" Killian chuckled.
"Hey, um, would you guys mind if I take a shower before I leave?" Emma asked, looking between the two.
"Of course not." Killian smiled.
"Grace might have left some of her shampoo in there, if you want to use it. Or, you're welcome to use either of ours." Jefferson offered.
"Thank you. I think I'll actually go ahead and get that out of the way, if you don't mind."
"Not at all. Do what you have to do, love." Killian smiled, watching her walk into the bathroom.
"You know, you two looked adorable this morning when I woke up to get breakfast." Jefferson grinned.
"Adorable? Really, Jeff?" Killian chuckled, moving to sit in Emma's seat.
"What? You did. She was all cuddled close to you, and I could swear your breathing was in-sync."
"That's a little creepy, Jeff." Killian smiled, taking a sip of his coffee.
"You know what I meant. It was sweet." Jefferson spoke with a nudge to his arm.
"Is it weird that I'm worried about doing this?"
"Doing what?"
Killian sighed, swirling his coffee around his mug before answering.
"Dating Emma." Killian spoke softly, "She's been hurt before, and I… well, you know me. I do it by accident."
"You won't hurt her. Believe me." Jefferson replied, "You care a lot about her, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who could tell you that."
Killian smiled to his friend, knowing Jefferson was right.
"Thanks, Jeff."
"Of course." Jefferson smiled, wiggling his brow, "Now, I know you said you've changed, but I think I should leave you and Emma alone for a bit. Shower times can be fun, too—"
"Oh, god, Jeff, just stop." Killian chuckled, whacking his head, "You're ridiculous."
"But, you love me."
"Maybe."