Chapter Twenty Four: Overnight Compromises
After several attempts, Emma had managed to get the 100 year old tv to provide comforting background noise, and was now tucked under an itchy blanket, scrolling through her phone. She tried to stretch out her legs, already tired of the way her skirt was restricting her movement and debating whether it would be easier to just take it off.
The heavy knock on the door made her jump, and she sat up a little straighter. Despite everything, the dim lighting in the room and the creaks and groans of the building had her very on edge.
'It's me Swan, let me in'.
She breathed a sigh of relief as she climbed up and opened the door.
Killian marched through, his coat covered in thick snowflakes and a large bag in his right hand.
'I had to go to three places before I could get anything, snow storms make people crazy' he said, placing the bag on the side and rubbing his hands together in an attempt to warm up.
'Well at least you found something' said Emma, quickly shutting the door to try and keep what little warmth was in the room.
'Yep' said Killian, shirking off his wet jacket and tossing it into one of the corners, 'so, I got one large pepperoni pizza, some doritos, and two hot chocolates, with cinnamon of course. I didn't know exactly what you liked food wise so I just went for the safe options'.
'Thanks' said Emma, suddenly realising she was starving, 'pepperoni is actually my favourite'.
'What are you watching?' he says, pointing at the ancient looking TV in the corner.
'Well, it's got four channels, so your options are the news, a quiz show, something in black and white or an episode of Law and Order from 20 years ago' said Emma, sitting back on the bed.
'Anything but the news, I'm already depressed enough' he sighed, falling into the rickety armchair and opening the pizza box, breathing in the comforting smell.
Emma switched the channel to the quiz show, and turned her attention to the food. Surprisingly, it was a really good pizza and immediately she was starting to feel better about their current situation.
'What is F in the NATO phonetic alphabet?' the host asked.
'Foxtrot' Killian said, his mouth full of pizza.
The contestant also got the question right.
'Which president had a daughter who had a shade of blue named after her' the host continued.
'Roosevelt' said Killian.
'You like quizzes?' she asked.
'Oh yeah, I am a wealth of useless information' he grinned.
'And for a bonus point, what was her name?' The host said.
'Alice' said Emma.
'And it seems you are too' he said, a grin slowly forming as he glanced down at the pizza box, 'I tell you what, the first person to get ten right gets the last piece'.
'You're on' grinned Emma, turning the volume up.
'Are you guys nearly done? We better get moving soon or we are going to be stuck here!' called Regina, gazing out the window at the snow that was already covering the ground outside.
The streets were busy; people were rushing in every direction, skidding a little on the ice as they tried to make it home before it got too heavy.
'Ruby's just gone upstairs, but we're done in here' said Will, emerging from the kitchen and putting the last of the cleaning supplies away.
A few moments later, Ruby walked through the swing doors, frowning, with a small stack of envelopes in her hand.
'Everything okay?' asked Regina, turning her attention from the two young girls that had started a snowball fight much to the dismay of their parents.
'No, apparently on Granny's trip into town she forgot to go to the post office. And you see if she doesn't get these cheques posted today then they won't arrive on time and she'll get a fine' said Ruby, glancing at her watch, 'do you think it will still be open?'.
'If it is open, it won't be for much longer' said Regina, frowning.
'Well I'm happy to try, if you need someone to go,' said Robin, stepping forward.
'That's really sweet of you' said Ruby, 'but I think if you don't drive you will miss it'.
She slowly turned her gaze to Regina, who narrowed her eyes, 'so what you are saying is you need me to go'.
'Well, I mean you are the only one who brought your car' said Ruby, tentatively, 'so will you do it? Please'.
'Alright fine' grumbled Regina, her mouth set into a line, 'but I better get going then'.
'I'll come with you' said Robin, before quickly adding, 'if you want'.
'Sure' said Regina, taking the letters from Ruby, 'Will, do you want a lift as well? I can take you home after'.
'Ummm' said Will, gazing out the window, 'Errr…no, it's fine, I'll walk back'.
'Are you sure?' said Regina, frowning, 'it's pretty heavy out there'.
'He'll be fine' said Ruby, quickly, 'I'll lend him one of Granny's big coats'.
Robin shot Will a look, but for once his friend seemed to be avoiding his gaze.
'Okay, well, let's go' said Regina, putting on her coat, 'see you tomorrow, assuming we can leave our houses by then!'.
'Bye' said Ruby, and Regina turned too quickly to see the smug smile on her face.
It took them an extra ten minutes to drive across town to the post office, despite the fact they seemed to be the only people crazy enough to be driving in this weather. Regina steered her Mercedes at a snail's pace, taking care to avoid particularly icy patches or any children who slid into their path. She only realised once the handbrake was on and the car definitely wasn't moving that she had been clenching her jaw the whole way there.
The pair managed to fight through the biting wind and snow right to the doorstep, but just as they arrived the clerk flipped over the open sign.
'Oh you are kidding!' cursed Robin, knocking on the glass, 'wait please, we just need to post some letters'.
Leroy, famous for his bad attitude, merely scowled at them through the door and pointed at the closed sign with one chubby finger.
'Please Leroy mate, it will take two seconds' said Robin, knocking on the door again.
'Closed' he yelled, pointing at the sign.
Regina stepped forward, her head held high and her face set, 'Leroy, you better let us in, because last time I checked, your funding comes from the mayor doesn't it? So, you wouldn't want to upset her, would you?'.
Leroy scowled at her, but moments later, he opened the door and grudgingly allowed them in. Regina entered first, not even glancing at him as she strutted to the counter, the snow cascading from her coat onto the floor.
As Robin walked through the door behind her, Leroy muttered, 'so what are you, her newest lap dog?'.
Frowning, he was just about to retort when Regina interrupted them both.
'I'm waiting' she snapped, and Leroy shuffled off to get things sorted for her.
'Which French Explorer discovered Prince Edward Island?'.
'Jacques Cartier' yelled Emma, immediately.
She was now sitting on the edge of the bed leant forward to get closer to the TV, while Killian had brought his chair a few inches closer to the screen.
They had quickly worked out that both of them were immensely competitive and with Emma's correct answer, they were now tied 9 all. They both sat with bated breath as the host prepared to read the final question, Killian's fingers tapped along the arm of the chair.
'Which famous American Novel begins with the line A few miles South of Soledad, the Salinas River drops in close to the hillside bank and runs deep and green' asked the host.
'East of Eden' said Killian, immediately, a smug smile on his face.
'Nope, it's of Mice and Men' said Emma, sounding equally as confident.
They both waited with bated breath for the host to reveal the answer, shooting each other sideways glances.
'And the answer is, Of Mice and Men'.
Emma cheered and Killian groaned, leaning back in his chair. Emma triumphantly grabbed the slice of pizza and took a huge bite.
'It's a good thing I let you win, because it's probably cold anyway' said Killian casually.
'Don't be bitter, it doesn't suit you' said Emma, smugly, 'you have to admit we'd make a killer pub quiz team'.
'We would' agreed Killian, grudgingly, 'how'd you get so good anyway?'.
'I've always been good at remembering facts, plus I watched loads of quiz shows as a kid' said Emma, who's pizza was cold but she wasn't going to admit that, 'what about you?'.
'We watched a lot as kids too, and I always had to beat Liam so I got very good at memorising useless facts' said Killian.
His face dropped slightly at the mention of his brother, and he glanced down at his phone.
'I might have a shower,' he said standing up, 'unless you wanted to…'.
'No, no, you go ahead. I'm pretty sure I saw like 6 spiders in the bathroom anyway' said Emma, shuddering.
'Right, sounds lovely' he said, scrunching up his nose.
Leroy was only too happy to rush their letters through as quickly as humanly possible. He assured them, rather grudgingly, that even if the post didn't go today, the receipt with the postage date would be enough to get Granny out of any hot water.
'Anything else I can do for you, your majesty?' snarked Leroy.
Regina snatched the receipt from his hand and headed for the door, before Robin said, 'wait, I don't think it's safe to drive any more'.
'No, I'll be fine, I can do it' said Regina, gazing through the door.
'Your car isn't exactly a Land Rover, and you were gripping the wheel so tight on the way here your fingers went white' he said, gently.
'No I wasn't' she snapped, 'and how exactly am I supposed to get home if I can't drive'.
'I'm happy to walk you'.
'It's the other side of town, it would take 30 minutes to walk there on a good day!' she said, her voice getting louder.
'Okay, well my house is a 5 minute walk from here, you are welcome to come and wait out the storm' he said.
'Are you crazy? You want me to walk in that?' she snapped, lowering her voice as she realised Leroy was staring at her.
'It's either that or freeze to death in your car overnight!' said Robin, keeping his tone level, 'seriously, it's not far and it's your best option right now'.
Regina dropped her eyes, and then looked out the window at the snow that was setting in fast.
'I'm sorry, you are, where?!'.
'In a hotel with Killian' said Emma, talking in a low voice.
'Wait, where is he now?'.
'Taking a shower' said Emma, wincing at how loud Ruby was shrieking down the phone.
'So go join him!'.
'Okay, maybe this wasn't the best idea, coming to you for advice'.
'No, come on, give me another chance!' said Ruby, sounding a little calmer, 'what did you want to ask?'.
'Promise me you will not scream'.
'Promise' said Ruby, although Emma didn't believe her for a second.
'There's only one bed, and we are stuck here overnight because we have to go back to Augusta in the morning'.
'Shut. Up'.
'So, there's a gross old armchair but it looks super uncomfy' said Emma, 'so, do I offer to sleep in the chair? Or the floor? Or do I make him sleep on the floor?'.
'So, no sharing the bed?'.
'It feels like a big deal, you know' said Emma, standing up and starting to slowly pace the small room, 'I mean, the last person I shared a bed with like that was Neal'.
'It doesn't have to be a big deal, if you don't make it a big deal. I mean, you've shared a bed with me before, and Regina'.
'But that's not the same, we are just friends'.
'And isn't that what you and Killian are, or have I missed something? Maybe this will be a good chance to figure out how you feel about him anyway'.
Emma heard the creak of the pipes subsiding as the water shut off, 'look I've got to go Ruby'.
'I want to hear every detail when you get home'.
'Bye Ruby'.
'Ciao'.
A few minutes later, Killian emerged from the shower, his hair damp and a towel draped over his shoulders. He had put his suit trousers back on but the rest of the ensemble suit was draped over his arm.
'How was the shower?' asked Emma, keeping her eyes firmly on his face.
'I would not recommend it unless you want to be even colder than it already is in here' he shivered, tossing his tie onto the chair.
'Ooh, hard pass' said Emma, turning her attention back to flicking through TV channels.
'Um, I'm guessing you didn't bring anything to sleep in, so, if you want to borrow my shirt then, you're welcome to it' said Killian, his eyes cast down on the black shirt he had been wearing earlier as he placed it on the bed next to her.
Emma looked over at him, and couldn't help but trace her eyes down over his bare chest, 'thank you'. She snapped her eyes away and tentatively picked up the shirt, 'I'm just going to go and get changed'.
'Okay,' said Killian, still looking anywhere but at her, 'I'll set up on the floor'.
'You don't have to do that' said Emma, before she could stop herself, 'I don't mind sharing if you don't'.
'If you are sure,' said Killian, his eyes meeting hers for the first time.
She nodded, suddenly realising that she was very sure.
'Is it much further?' yelled Regina, bracing herself against the wind.
Her whole body felt frozen and stiff and she was finding it hard to keep moving down what felt like a completely endless track. The woods were providing much less shelter than she had hoped for.
Robin, who was a few paces ahead, turned to her and yelled, 'a few more minutes I promise, are you okay?'.
'I'm cold' she yelled back, before realising how feeble it sounded.
Robin stopped and waited for her to catch up, 'stick behind me'.
As they continued down the path, she realised that he was blocking a little of the storm from her and taking the brunt of it. Just as she was about to give up hope they arrived on his doorstep. He ushered her inside and into the porch, quickly closing the door behind them.
She had been fighting the wind for such a long time that the respite actually made her a little unsteady on her feet as she shook off the worst of the snow.
'You're shaking' he said, helping her take off her soaking coat, 'go and have a shower, try to warm up, and I'll light the fire'.
'I'm fine' she snapped, 'plus, you're shivering as much as I am, you go first'.
'No, you' he said firmly, 'there are towels in the cupboard and I'll find you some clothes you can wear'.
'Robin…' she started, but her chattering teeth left her protests hollow.
'Regina if you keep arguing with me we are both going to freeze to death now go' he said, sternly.
She scowled at him, before turning and slowly heading up the stairs.
'First door on the left' he called after her, before heading straight for the fireplace.
When Emma emerged from the bathroom, Killian was sitting upright in the bed watching some black and white movie and spinning his ring on his finger. While his shirt fell to around her mid thigh, it didn't stop her from feeling very self conscious in it.
'You were right, this is uncomfortable' said Emma, pulling at the stiff collar.
'And you said I was being dramatic' he grinned, his gaze tracing the buttons down the middle of the shirt, 'it does look much better on you though'.
Tentatively, she made her way over and climbed into bed. She settled on the edge about as far away from him as she could manage.
'What are you watching?' she asked, trying to alleviate some of the awkwardness.
'Some film noir thing, you know, those ones where you can't trust anyone' he said.
They watched quietly as the woman on the screen scurried through an alleyway that was dancing with shadows. She broke into a run as footsteps echoed through the narrow space. Emma had never understood why these people didn't just avoid the alleyways.
'I asked you a question on the drive up here Swan' said Killian, suddenly.
'What question?' Emma asks, shifting uncomfortably.
'Why are you doing this?' he asked, spinning his ring on his finger, 'you had no obligation to drive me up. I could have caught the train, more than that, if you and Fiona hadn't done all this research and found out how to appeal with the board, then I wouldn't be here. And you would be at home, with a hot chocolate with cinnamon rather than in this crummy motel with me. So why are you helping me?'.
Finally turning to face her, his eyes bore into hers and as much as she wanted to look away she couldn't.
She paused for a moment or two, and finally said simply, 'because that's what friends do'.