Chapter 28 – Alone

Till now I always got by on my own
I never really cared until I met you
And now it chills me to the bone
How do I get you alone

Alone, Heart

Emma Swan woke up again to the sound of knocks on her front door. She padded towards the door and she opened it to find the same guy as the day before. He winked as he handed her a bouquet of buttercups and a hot cocoa with cinnamon. "Have a nice day, sweetheart." He said and left, not giving her time to tip him.

Another parchment was attached to the flowers.

Thank you for a lovely evening, Swan. Yours, Killian.
PS: I hope you like buttercups, princess.

She smiled as she sipped her cocoa.

It was almost impossible for Killian and Emma to find time together for several days. She had a new case that involved late night stakeouts and time outside the city and he was still embarked on his quest to get Thomas, pulling double shifts of his own on the weekend. They did try to spend time together as he accompanied her one night to her stakeout, only to find out there were doing a poor job of actually keeping an eye on the house as they were busy whispering sweet nothings at each other and sharing heated kisses.

He sent her flowers each morning and Emma would wake up to the same delivery guy winking at her carrying a bouquet of yellow roses, or calla lilies. She did not have enough place in her apartment, but she continued to purchase vases to put the flowers in, smiling each time her eyes saw them or re read the little parchments with silly notes he'd sent her.

Killian smiled as he looked at his phone screen on Thursday afternoon. Mac looked at him.

"Good news?" He asked.

"Emma caught the guy. Finally." Killian said proudly.

"Does this mean you are finally going to get your third date?" Mac asked smiling. "You know what they say about third dates."

Killian scratched behind his ear, clearly nervous at the prospect. "I don't know, mate." He sighed. "I don't want to rush into anything."

Mac raised an eyebrow at him, "Killian, taking things slow is just bullshit when it comes to the two of you and you know it. What is it? Why are you holding back?" He looked at Killian intently and then sighed. "You think she's going to run away from you again?"

Killian fell silent as he averted his eyes. Mac sighed again, running a hand through his hair, "Killian, she went to find you at a bar and let you pretty much grope her in front of your entire squad. Whatever happened in the past, I can assure you, she has no intentions of running away from you. She's as gone as you are, mate."

Killian looked at him confused. Mac smirked at him. "Ask Vinnie. He says she giggles everytime she gets your flowers."

"Emma Swan doesn't giggle." Killian said.

"Apparently, when it comes to you, she does." Mac replied.

Killian pondered for a second before looking at Mac, "I think I need to talk to your wife." He said cryptically.

/-/

The next morning, Emma opened the door to find the delivery guy holding a bouquet of red roses with a small parchment tied to it.

Have dinner with me tonight? My place, 8.30? Yours, Killian

Killian's phone beeped and he smiled as he read the text.

E: I'll be there.

She knocked on his door at 8.30, holding a bottle of red wine and trying not to be nervous about the dinner. But all her thoughts vanished when he answered the door barefoot, wearing faded jeans and a green t-shirt. She was suddenly glad she had not dressed up and opted for comfortable jeans, a blue sweater and black boots. But it was the sight of his left arm what had her smiling.

"I was wondering where that had gone." She said as she pointed to his old brace and his hook.

He blushed, scratching behind his ear as he let her into the apartment. "I hope you don't mind." He said sheepishly. "Sometimes it's more comfortable to use around the house. The hand is great, but I've been using this for centuries…" He trailed off, slightly embarrassed and she got closer, grabbing his hook and pulling him to her for a welcoming kiss, placing his hook at her lower back.

"I've actually missed it…" She confessed smiling at him, "And I've missed you." She said and he smiled at her and leaned into another kiss.

"Come in, Swan." He said as he grabbed her hand, "Dinner is almost ready." He said as they walked into his kitchen.

He had set up a couple of plates on the kitchen aisle, a lit candle and a single red rose in the tall vase sitting in the middle. There was a basket of bread and a delicious smell coming from the stove.

"That smells great." She said as she removed her jacket. "Can I help?"

"Do you want to open the wine and pour us a glass? I have it covered here." He said. "There's garlic bread on the basket if you want some."

"You made garlic bread?" She asked marveled as she opened the wine and poured them both a glass. "Can you actually cook?" She said as she handed him a glass and took a sip of the other one.

"Heavens, no." He said. "You can thank Laura, Mac's wife, for all of this. She and her grandmother Maria, actually made the bread, the sea fish salsa that is heating over there and the tiramisu we'll have for dessert." He admitted taking a sip from his wine. "I only had to make the pasta and put this all together." He motioned with his hook, a goofy grin on his face.

"You said that Mac's wife's grandmother did this?" Emma asked with a confused look. "What did I miss?"

He smirked, "Remember on our first date when I said Italian food is pretty much all I eat?" She nodded and he went to his fridge, opening the freezer compartment to show it full of neatly ordered packages. "That's because Laura and her family have been feeding me for years." He confessed. "When I arrived here and they found out I had no family, they kind of took me under their protection. They own the bakery and a couple of other places here in town and they kept inviting me over to their family meetings on the weekends and their reunions and it just happened."

She was listening intently and trying to make sense of it. "So what you are trying to say is…"

He looked at her biting his lower lip. "I kind of have an extended Italian family, Swan." He smirked. "One that is actually very keen on meeting you this Sunday."

His phone beeped and he checked it, moving to the stove afterwards to pour pasta over one of the pans. He set the phone next to the counter and looked at her.

"Sunday?" She asked.

"Yes… for our, erm, their Sunday family meeting. We meet at Maria's house after church for lunch."

"You go to church on Sundays?!" Emma almost choked on the wine.

He looked at her between amused and enraged. "Swan, of course I don't. Even I know when it's too much. I have gone for special celebrations, like weddings and first communions, but you and I both know that there are not enough rosaries I can pray in a lifetime to get repentance from my previous sins." He sighed. His phone beeped again and he checked it, and he moved to stir the pasta that was boiling.

Emma tried again to make sense of the information she had just heard. "Ok, so these people, Mac's family..."

"Mac's wife's family, Laura." Killian corrected.

"Ok, Laura's family… they want to meet me? "

"Well, when I called Laura to ask her for help with dinner for tonight and she told her grandmother that I was dating someone, they wanted to meet you and they asked me to take you on Sunday. And Henry, of course." He looked at her conflicted. "Emma, if this is too much, I can tell them off, it's just…"

She smiled at him. "You want me to meet them…" She realized then that whatever this thing on Sunday was, it was important for him. She sighed. "I'll have to talk to Regina about Henry, because it's her weekend with him, but I'd love to go."

His phone beeped again and Emma lost it. "What the hell is that?!"

Killian smiled, "Oh, that is Laura, she's texting me the instructions for finishing dinner." He said before he removed the pasta from the hot water and poured it over the salsa, stirring carefully.

"Come on, you are just boiling the pasta, you don't need a step by step walk-through for that." Emma said and Killian gave her a very serious look.

"Trust me, Swan, there is no more major crime than overcooking the pasta for this family."

"I'm starting to feel nervous about Sunday." Emma joked.

"Get Henry to come, it might help with your case…" He said. "I forgot to mention… they are very protective of me." He smirked as he laid down the plates in front of them. "And now, let's eat, love."

Dinner turned out to be a delicious, romantic experience for the both of them, especially when he brought up the dessert along with coffee and they just kissed all the way through it. She helped him with the dishes and they finally sat on his couch, his hand caressing her hair before moving to tickle her side. She hit his hand playfully, "Stop it, Hook!" She said before she realized it. Something went through his eyes but he hid it soon enough. She still looked at him wondering.

"Does it bother you?" She asked earnestly. "That I call you Hook sometimes?"

"Not anymore." He replied sincerely as he pulled her to him, caressing her face. "It used to… when I thought it was all you could see of me."

"You know that it's not all that I see, right Killian?" She asked.

"I know…" He said, pressing a soft kiss to her lips. "I know now that you do see me, Swan. So I don't have a problem with it." He pulled a little to smile at her. "You can call me anything you want, darling. Dashing rapscallion sex god will be my preference, if you are interested…" He joked and she rolled her eyes at him before pulling him to her and kissing him. He kissed her back with passion, his hand caressing her face.

Still, she could feel something was off, but she could not pinpoint what it was. He had invited her to his place and they were enjoying a nice quiet time together on his couch, but he was still not moving forward. It was almost as if he was… holding back.

She pulled away from him, her hand caressing his face. "Killian…" She started. "This is not just about taking it slow, is it? We've done this before but it's seems like… you're holding back." She said and he averted his eyes. "Killian…" She pleaded, "Talk to me."

"Swan, I – It's not the same as before. You and I, we are dating now. I – I have feelings for you Emma. Deep feelings." He sighed, trying to find a way to express himself. But he didn't have to. She could see it in his face. He was afraid she'd run away if he said too much, showed too much, too soon. She'd run away from him so many times that his first instinct was to hold back. And it broke her heart.

"Killian…" She whispered. "I'm here. I won't go anywhere, not anymore. I'm sorry it took me so long to get to this point and I understand that your first instinct is to hold back because you're afraid I might get scared but… I don't want you to hold back, ever again. I might - I might not be able to express many things, Killian, but that does not mean I don't feel them." She said, her hand holding his hand and hook tightly as she reached for him.

She kissed him slowly, deeply, trying to convey her feelings on her kiss. Her need for him, for all of him: his feelings, his strength, his security. She tried to be the same for him.

"I- I don't just want you… Killian." She started. "I want to be with you… I- I want to wake up next to you and have breakfast together. I want to crawl next to you on the couch at night while we talk-" and that was as far as she could go because he had crushed his lips to hers, pulling her closer to him until she was sitting on his lap. She kissed him back as she moved her legs to straddle him, holding him closer to her. It was intoxicating, his scent, his presence, his passion. Him. But what was more intoxicating was how free she felt, how unafraid she was to show him what she wanted to have with him, what she had finally given the chance to daydream. A happy future. With him.

"I want to go sailing with you." She whispered in his ear as she bit his earlobe and she felt him tense underneath her. She smiled as she ground her hips against his, enjoying the feeling.

"I want to listen to how your day went; I want to tell you about my day…" She said as she trailed kisses down his jawline and he gasped, his hand reaching behind her shirt to caress her bare skin, leaving a hot trail wherever his fingertips had been. His hook pressed against her lower back, pulling her even closer to him.

"Gods, Emma, don't stop." He growled. "Please don't stop."

"I want you to make love to me each night…" She said against his lips before kissing him slowly, her body moving rhythmically with his.

He broke the kiss, and looked up at her, his blue eyes dark with lust but bright with hope and adoration. He was letting her in and it was mesmerizing. She wanted to get lost in his eyes and never come back.

"Swan…"He whispered, his eyes a promise of a different morning for the both of them, for the lost boys that had spent too much time in the shadows of loneliness and had finally found the light in each other. "Stay with me tonight…" He asked, he pleaded, he offered, he invited her to be part of something. Their something.

"Yes." She vowed and his hand reached for her face, bringing her down to seal that vow with a kiss.

"Let's move this to the bedroom, love." He smirked and she disentangled herself from him. The moment he was standing, he had grabbed her thighs again and pulled her to him, scooping her in his arms, embracing her tightly as her legs wrapped around his waist, her hands caressing his broad shoulders. He trailed kisses along her neck as he walked them to the bedroom.

"When I first saw you," He whispered against her neck, "When you pulled me out of those bodies, the first thing that came to my mind was how beautiful your green eyes were… like the reflection of the sun on high seas." He said as he carefully put her on the bed and his body hovered over hers, pressing her against the mattress. "You're so bloody beautiful, Emma. It's impossible not to look at you and be entranced by you." He kissed her fervently, his mouth moving against hers, his hand pressing her hips towards his hips. "That is why you bested me, love. I was so captivated by you, I couldn't even speak, let alone lie." He trailed kisses along her neck, her throat, her collarbone.

"I also kept that scarf because the way you tied it with your mouth drove me insane." She whispered as her hand lifted his shirt to take it off. He broke his kisses long enough to remove his shirt and then looked at her, his lustful eyes igniting a fire underneath her skin. "I wanted you to look at me like that while stripping me out of my clothes…" She confessed and his eyes darkened before a smirk appeared on his face.

"That can be arranged, love." He said as he lifted her from the bed to remove her sweater and shirt, his eyes never leaving hers and then he went lower and lower, his eyes still on her as he slowly removed her pants, tugging them with his hand, hook and mouth.

When he finally reached her face again, after moving back slowly, leaving kiss trails all along her body, he asked, his voice broken with lust. "Like that?"

She brought his face to hers, kissing him deeply, reaching to get rid of the remainder of their clothes.

"I wanted you to look at me like that while thrusting and pushing harder and faster inside of me." She whispered in his ear.

"Swan…" He groaned "Do you have any idea what you are doing to me, lass?" He asked, his eyes as dark as the night.

"The same you are doing to me…" She replied before her hands pulled him to her one more time, finally ready to commit to them. "Make love to me, Killian." She whispered against his lips and it was everything he needed to hear.

Late that night, as he kept her close to him, his arms embracing her tightly, his mouth pressing soft kisses on her shoulder blade, he dare to whisper his deepest desire.

"Stay forever?"

"I think I will." She said as she turned her head around to capture his lips in a kiss, before settling herself to sleep in his arms.

A/N: Not sure when I'll be able to have the next update... Work his getting very crazy!