Chapter 26: Killian
Killian awoke in a tangle of blonde hair and a sea of confusion. His head throbbed, his throat ached, his stomach rolled and his bladder insisted he get up right this minute.
He extricated himself from the bed, sliding out from under a tangle of her limbs, fairly certain Emma would not be pleased to wake up and find out she had used him as both a pillow and blanket for the night. She mumbled his name sleepily, arms reaching out blindly for him and he nearly said to hell with his bladder and climbed back into bed with her, but baser desires won out.
With an inaudible groan he turned away from her and made his way to the bathroom and took care of the most pressing need first. Then he brushed his teeth, glad to get rid of the chalky feeling in his mouth. Killian splashed cold water on his face and slapped his cheeks trying to bring some life back into his hungover form. Almost as an afterthought he grabbed a spare toothbrush from under the sink and left it on the counter should she wake up and find it.
He padded quietly to the kitchen, started the coffee pot and ushered Brinkley outside to do his morning business. "I appreciate the privacy last night." He told his dog who usually ended up on the bed with him each night.
Slipping quietly back inside he opened the fridge finding it woefully bare of the necessary greasy ingredients that would bring him back to a normal state. The coffee pot hissed, indicating it was done.
He filled a mug to the top with dark liquid and brought it to his nose inhaling deeply. Just the rich scent of the beans made him feel a little better.
"Hi." She said, almost shyly.
Killian sat the mug on the counter and turned to face Emma, unsure of how the interaction would go. She stood in the doorway to the kitchen, hair pulled up into a messy bun, the strap of her tank top slipping off her shoulder. She looked so sleepy and adorable he had to physically restrain himself from gathering her into his arms. First, an apology would be in order.
His fingers scratched awkwardly behind his ear and he shifted his weight from foot to foot. "Emma, I'm sorry-"
He was cut off when she strode across the kitchen, pressing her finger to his lips. "Don't."
He fought to ignore how her finger felt pressed against his lips. "But I-"
Her finger pressed harder against his lips. "Do I need to find another way to shut you up, Jones?" She said with a glint in her eye.
Shocked, his lips closed and when she was sure he wasn't going to try to apologize again, she took her finger away. He felt the loss immediately.
"You need your truck and grease, so I think you should go shower and I'm going to run home to do the same. I'll be back in an hour and then we'll get you a nice greasy breakfast okay?" Emma said taking a step back.
"You could shower here. I have a guest bathroom." The words were out before he could stop them. Of course she wanted to go home and shower, get a change of clothes and whatever beauty products she needed.
"Okay." She said simply. "Thanks for the toothbrush by the way."
Killian led her to the linen closet forever grateful that Beverly had left a dozen or so trial sized samples of shampoo, conditioner and body wash, all in feminine or neutral fragrances. He held the basket of samples out to her.
She took them from him, giving him a curious look. "You're prepared."
"Beverly." He explained, handing her a towel. "What about clothes?"
Emma paused for a second. "Can I borrow a t-shirt?"
"Of course. Come on." He led her back into his bedroom, pulling open the closet doors and gesturing for her to take her pick.
She grabbed one blindly, selecting his red Foo Fighters shirt. "Thanks, I'll be quick." She said, turning and leaving him standing there.
His fingers came up to scratch the scruff on his face, blinking stupidly as he tried to piece together what has just happened in his hungover state. Not wanting to keep her waiting, he quickly grabbed something to wear from his closet and headed into the master bath. He had no idea what the water pressure would be like or how the hot water heater would handle two showers so he opted to take a cold and quick one, wanting to ensure Emma was comfortable.
He only managed to refold the blanket she had draped over him last night and straighten the pillows on the couch when the guest bathroom door swung open and Emma emerged. Her hair was still wet, wrapped up in another messy bun with a few tendrils of curls escaping it. Her face was bare and she had tucked the hem of his shirt into her shorts on one side to combat the length. The desire to kiss her was going to slowly drive him crazy.
"You ready?" She asked, picking up her keys and phone from his coffee table.
"Yes. Where are we going?" He asked, following her out the door and offering a warning to Brinkley to be good.
"It's a secret." She teased him, unlocking the passenger side door for him to get in.
Killian was even more confused when she headed in the opposite direction of his truck. Eventually she pulled over in front of a small restaurant. "Ocean Side." She said. "The pancakes will make you feel human again, I promise."
Killian just nodded and followed her into the restaurant, fighting to keep the confusion off his face when she reached for his hand. Once they were seated she kept their entwined hands on the table.
His free hand came up to rub at his scruff. Did something happen last night he didn't remember? Although he didn't mind, where was this affectionate side of Emma coming from?
"Penny for your thoughts." She asked but the waitress saved him, coming by at that moment to take their order. He opened his mouth to speak, but Emma was already on it.
"Coffee. Large. Black with one sugar for him. Orange juice for me. Two pancake stacks with bacon,one blueberry. One...chocolate chip?" She said, raising an eyebrow at him to confirm if that would work for him.
"What the lady said." Killian replied to the waitress who finished jotting down their order and said it would be out shortly. His eyes turned back to Emma. "You know how I take my coffee?"
Her cheeks flushed. "You know how I take my hot chocolate." She countered, avoiding the question.
"Touché." Just as he was about to ask her for the details of last night again the waitress came by again, dropping off their drinks. He took it as a sign to not bring up that topic.
He sipped the coffee. It was a strong brew, the caffeine flooding to his bloodstream and clearing away the cobwebs of his mind. "Did Brinkley need to go out last night?" He asked.
Emma nodded. "He did. He was very patient with me for having no idea what the hell I was doing." She gave him a small smile.
"I think he has a crush on you." Killian said seriously. "He'd be pissed at me for telling you."
Emma laughed. "Your dog. Has a crush on me? Get out."
"I'm quite serious love. You introduced him to a new show, he protected you from ponies. You took care of me last night and took him out to do his business. That's all it takes." Killian took a long drink of his coffee.
"What about his owner?" Emma asked with a shy smile on her face and Killian nearly choked on his coffee.
He felt his face redden, even the tips of his ears heated up. "His owner? Ah, yes well you see that's much more complicated than puppy crushes, you see. He ah, um. Perhaps he fancies you." He figured it was best to just say it.
She grinned. "Good."
"Good?" He echoed, confused.
"Yes. Good." Emma said simply.
He wanted to ask for clarification but their breakfast showed up, the sweet scent of chocolate chips wafted up to him, intermingled with the smell of butter, baked goods and bacon. Oh, bacon. He practically started salivating at the sight of it, mildly disgusted with himself that even the grease looked good enough to eat.
He watched as she cut off a corner of her pancake, swirling it through the copious amounts of syrup on the plate before popping it in her mouth, sighing sweetly. "That good, huh?"
Her eyes widened when she realized he had been watching her. "Yep. Try it."
Killian sliced off his own bite of pancake, stabbing a piece of bacon on the fork as well and brought it to his lips. She hadn't been lying, it was delicious. The pancake was perfectly fluffy with just the right amount of chocolate chips not to be overwhelming. Buttery, soft and sweet, it contrasted perfectly against the crisp, salty bacon. "Very good."
They ate in silence, both nearly clearing their plates before Emma spoke again. "So did you sleep okay?" She asked.
Killian nearly choked on his pancake. "I did. You?" He dared to ask.
"Yeah, you're bed is really comfortable. Good suggestion to move there." She said, that glint in her eye again.
"Emma-" he started.
"Refill?" The waitress asked pointing at his empty coffee mug.
"Nah, just the check please." Emma answered for him.
The waitress returned with it promptly and Killian half expected an argument from Emma when he offered to pay but she simply smiled and told him the next one was on her.
The drive to the main drag where he was truck was parked was pretty quiet. Killian was becoming increasingly frustrated that he couldn't remember the previous evening as well as he would have liked and had no idea why Emma was being so open with him.
She pulled into the parking space next to his truck. He had parked on a side street, but still a metered space and he wondered how large of a parking ticket fine he was looking at. As though she read his mind, she turned to look at him and said "I called Will the other night. You don't have a ticket."
He grabbed her hand and squeezed it. "Thank you Emma. For everything."
She shrugged. "Will said you owe him a beer. He'll be here this weekend. You can make it up to him then."
"And you?" He asked, voice full of warmth that she was so willing to call in favors for him. "What do I owe you?"
"Hmmm." She tapped her thumb against her lip. "Scallops." She said finally.
"Scallops?" He repeated blinking at her.
Emma laughed. "They were really good. I want you to make them again. Next Tuesday at my place maybe? Seven?"
"I can do that." He answered slowly.
"Good. It's a date." She said grinning at him before her smile slipped a little. "Will you be okay today?"
It took him a few seconds to realize what she meant. He felt his face flush. "I won't be drowning myself in beer and rum today, if that's what you mean. I think I'll run some errands and take Brinkley to the pet store today."
Emma leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his cheek so fast he almost wasn't sure if he imagined it. "Stay out of trouble today."
-/-
"I feel as though I should apologize for my behavior the last time I was here." He said, sliding into the barstool in front of Ruby. He had avoided bars and alcohol in general for the past couple of days.
Ruby laughed. "You have nothing to apologize for. I wish all my drunk customers were like you." When Killian frowned she continued. "You sat quietly in the corner, politely asked for more beer and rum, told me I had great taste in beer selections and asked for Emma once. Oh, and you gave me a decent tip."
"Still, it wasn't good form-"
"Killian. We all go through shit. We all have bad days and days where the bottom of the bottle is where we want to be. I'm a bartender. You wouldn't believe the shit I see and hear. You also know I'm incredibly nosy so I asked Emma what it was about. She told me, well I kind of forced it out of her but whatever. I'm not going to judge you for getting drunk over the death of an immediate family member. You know I'm here if you ever wanna talk right? Small towns are like families, Killian. Don't think you're not a part of it."
His mouth opened and closed a few times but no sound came out. He was touched by her words. "Thank you." He said finally.
She moved away to serve a few customers before returning back to him. "Do you happen to know what type of beer the good officer drinks?" Killian asked nodding in the direction of Will.
"I do. He's a Dogfish IPA kind of guy." Ruby replied.
"Great, you send him one over on my tab. It seems I owe him a bit of a favor." Killian replied.
"No problem." Ruby replied, grabbing a beer and passing it to the server for that section. "Take this to Officer Scarlett courtesy of Killian Jones." She instructed.
"Could I bother you with another question?" Killian asked her.
"You're not bothering me, but yes." Ruby replied, shaking up two mixed drinks.
"Did Emma say anything to you about about me? Or about her and I?" He asked, cringing slightly. He couldn't believe he had resorted to middle school antics of getting information about the lass he liked.
Ruby's eyebrows shot up. "No. What's different?"
"She's been much more...open towards me since the night she came here to retrieve my inebriated self. It's as though something changed, but I don't know what it was. I don't recall any developments in our friendship…" Killian confessed.
Ruby frowned. "I don't know. She's been tight lipped about you since like the fourth of July. I haven't pressed her for info because she's been happy and you've still been around so I assumed the two were related and didn't want to rock the boat so to speak. You could just ask her."
It was Killian's turn to frown. "If you hadn't noticed, she can be a bit skittish."
Ruby laughed loudly. "Touché, Jones. You're playing outside tonight, yeah? She's working tonight too, serving out there actually. I can pose some innocent questions if you like."
Killian shook his head. "I'll just ask her myself. May I order a burger though? I'd like to eat before playing tonight."
-/-
He was in the middle of a song when he saw her for the first time that night. She was carrying an enormous tray of drinks to the large table closest to the stage. She glanced up at him after serving and he couldn't help but wink at her, watching the smile creep up on her face.
He caught her eye a few more times that night, each time being rewarded with a smile from her. When her shift ended she slid onto one of the open barstools of the outdoor bar, listening to him finish his set. The crowd asked for more songs and he indulged them in two more before finally being able to bid them all a goodnight and making his way over to where Emma was still sitting.
"Waiting for me?" He asked in a teasing tone, delighted at how her face lit up when he approached.
"Yep." She replied simply. She tilted her head back, smile still playing on his lips and inhaled deeply. "It's like the boardwalk is humming with excitement tonight. Do you feel it?"
Killian closed his eyes. The salty sea air was wafting in on warm summer breezes intermingling with the scent of foods. It was loud, voices competing over it each other, but he felt it too. The excitement slithered through the air like fog coming in. It reverberated through each step on the boardwalk, through each wind chime that let off its melody, it twinkled around each light illuminating the boardwalk. "I do." He replied, opening his eyes to look at her again.
"Everything is going to close soon, but do you want to walk around?" She asked.
"I'd like nothing more." He slid his guitar behind the bar with Ruby for safe keeping and took Emma's hand, leading her out of the restaurant and onto the street.
They wandered in and out of every store, looking at keychains and hoodies and everything else adorned with the name of the beach town. Emma tried on an extremely large floppy hat, sticking her tongue out at him when he laughed at the image. He responded with lime green sunglasses asking her if he could pull them off. She laughed so hard the store clerk glared at them until they left.
In another store she held up a woman's cropped top to him, laughing. "You know Swan, I think I could pull that off." He teased, grabbing something from the rack and holding it up to her. It was a black sundress, revealing more than it covered. Killian couldn't help but picture her in it, the flimsy material would barely cover the tops of her thighs, the back nonexistent and the neckline dangerously low. Unintentionally his tongue darted out to wet his lips.
"You couldn't handle me in that." The words were teasing but her eyes held a glint of challenge.
"Not in public at least." He answered honestly, pleased at how the smirk slipped from her face and her eyes darkened when his meaning became clear.
They wandered into a few more stores, Killian purchasing a bracelet made to look like a sailors knot. When the stores began to close, they made their way back up the boardwalk and onto the beach. It was still crowded, the excitement still flowed through the air.
Taking her hand Killian slid the bracelet onto her wrist. "You didn't have to buy me anything." Emma replied immediately.
"I know. I wanted to." He said.
Hand in hand they strolled the length of the beach and back, shoes carried in their free hands until the noise died down and the lights began to turn off, indicating that the town was shutting down for the evening.
Standing in front of her bug, Emma's fingers trailed over the bracelet. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." He replied automatically.
"So…" they both said at once, laughing once they realized neither knew how to end the evening.
"So I'll see you on Tuesday for scallops?" Emma asked.
"Aye, that you will. Think you can go that long without seeing me again?" He couldn't help but tease her.
"I'll survive." She said, coming up on tiptoe. "But maybe give me something to think about until then?" Her hands rested on his chest.
Killian's lips moved but no sound came out. He still hadn't asked her what happened that night at his condo, instead choosing to just enjoy his time with her. This was the first time she had brought up anything that had physically happened between them and he didn't know how to respond. "You couldn't handle it." He said finally, keeping it light and throwing her words back at her in case he was reading the situation wrong.
"Not likely." She replied, pulling his mouth to hers.