Taking Back Neverland—pt. 3

CS Genre: AU (actors who "hate" each other)

Emma shivered as she stuck her key in the lock and turned. It had been quite the day; she was fairly certain she was never going to be dry or warm again.

She pushed the door open with a weary sigh, surprised to find the lights on and a very chipper Ruby sitting at her table.

"Hi Emma!" Ruby said, saluting her with a glass of red wine, "how was your first day of filming?"

Emma side-eyed her "friend". Hard. "Ruby, it's 3:45 in the morning. Why are you here? And why are you so dressed up?"

Ruby grinned wider. "Well…I'm dressed up because I had a date tonight."

Emma glanced at her, curious about the slight hesitation in her friend's voice. She'd never been shy about giving details (usually far more than Emma wanted) about her romantic life. "Really? You didn't mention it to me. Who with?"

Ruby blushed. Actually blushed. "Well, I wasn't sure how you'd take it."

"Now I'm intrigued. Who is this mystery man?"

"Graham."

"Graham Humbert? My former costar?"

Ruby nodded, her face betraying an odd mixture of chagrin and something that, for lack of a better word, might be called dreaminess. "You see, I happened to run into him in the coffee shop the other day, and we started talking about you, and one thing led to another, and the next thing you know he was admitting that he'd always had a thing for me, and…I don't know. He's cute and he's sweet and he's a gentleman, and…don't be mad Emma! I know you dated a time or two."

Emma grinned, crossing her legs and taking another sip of her wine. "Mad? Why would I be mad? You know Graham and I are just friends. And, yeah, I saw the way he used to look at you when you'd visit me on set. I say it's about time the two of you gave it a shot."

"Really?" Ruby asked, with a ghost of a smile.

"Absolutely! Now, how about my first question. Why the hell are you here in my apartment at 3 freaking 45 in the morning?"

Ruby grinned. "Because I know you. I know you'd just ignore my texts, and then I'd have to wait until tomorrow at least to hear how things went on set!"

Emma sighed, slipped off her boots and took a seat across from Ruby at the kitchen table. She gestured toward the wine bottle Ruby had sitting on the table, and her friend obligingly filled a glass and slid it her way. "How was my first day of filming?" she asked after taking a healthy swig. "I just spent a good eight hours, at least filming the most uncomfortable, physically demanding scene of my career—and that's saying something considering I used to play a bail-bonds woman."

Ruby clucked her tongue in sympathy. "Lots of running and fighting?"

Emma shook her head. "More like swimming and drowning. It was the scene in the opening act where Anna jumps into the sea to try to get everyone to stop fighting. For some reason, Regina decided she had a thing about realism. Made us film the scene in the actual ocean."

"At this time of year?" Ruby asked, eyes widening. "It must be freezing!"

"You're telling me," Emma groused, shivering once more. "After the first fifteen or so takes I think I stopped feeling my feet. Well, at least if Regina was going for wet and cold and miserable, that scene is going to be a rousing success."

"Well at least tell me the payoff was equally worth it!" Ruby said with a smirk. "How did Killian do with the whole concerned/relieved looks thing? And…how did you manage to avoid swooning working with him in that ultra-sexy pirate get up all day long? Does that shirt they have him wear even have buttons? And those tight leather pants. Yum!"

Emma rolled her eyes. "He's a fantastic actor; true professional. I'll give him that. He totally sold the whole 'The thought of her dying totally freaks me out, but it shouldn't because I'm a pirate who's out for himself and I absolutely don't have real feelings for her' thing to a T."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Emma! I didn't ask about his acting! I asked what he's like!"

Emma thought back to the day just passed. Truth be told, he was…nothing like she'd expected. He was ridiculously good looking, that she only needed eyes to see, but somehow those looks didn't translate into an overly elevated opinion of himself.

Oh, yeah, he teased; he flirted; he made exaggerated comments about how 'devilishly handsome' he was, but it only took Emma an hour or two of working with him to realize most of it was nothing but a mask. There was a…depth and humility in Killian Jones that Emma never would have expected.

It surprised the hell out of her, but she actually enjoyed the time they spent together on set. He was a generous scene partner, checking to make sure she was comfortable, making stupid jokes to break the tension, even singing from time to time. (And…she'd never admit it, but she loved that voice of his.)

He'd been incredibly gallant today, really. While she dived off the ship set into the cold ocean over and over and over again, he was always there as soon as the director shouted "cut"—sometimes with an oversized blanket in hand, other times with a steaming cup of coffee. Always with a sympathetic grin.

The gestures…well, they actually warmed her more than the hot beverages, to be honest.

"Hello! Earth to Emma!" Ruby said, waving a perfectly manicured hand in front of her face. "I think I lost you there!"

Emma blinked. "Sorry, what was the question again."

Ruby grinned. "Killian. What's he like? How is it to work with him? How have you managed not to swoon working with him?"

Emma rolled her eyes. "Ruby he's not that good looking!"

Ruby merely gave her a look.

"Okay, maybe he is, but I can handle myself around handsome men," Emma said. "Working with him is…nice. He seems like a great guy. But we both know how much 'seems like' can be deceiving."

Ruby reached over and squeezed Emma's hand. "Emma…sometimes things are exactly as they seem."

"Maybe," Emma said, glancing aside, "but I'd much rather not test it. It's good enough for me to know we'll get along on set. That's all it's going to be."

Ruby got to her feet. "Look, I know it's late and you're tired and you probably want nothing more than to curl up in bed and finally get warm, so I'll get out of your hair." She took a step toward Emma's door, and then turned back toward her. "Just…don't let what Walsh and Neal and everyone else did to you keep you from something that could be a really good thing. There really is such a thing as a great guy."

Notes:

-Happy Friday! Sorry about no update last week; my computer stopped working on my and I was also sick, so it was kind of the perfect storm.

-This story is taking much longer to tell than I had anticipated! There will probably be several more updates to come.

-HIATUS ANNOUNCEMENT: I'm planning to be out of town for the next couple of weeks, so likely there won't be another update for three weeks.