"Good morning!"
"Wow, someone's up early today," Emma chuckled.
Her voice rang out so clearly over the line that with his eyes shut, Killian could almost pretend she was lying in bed beside him – and that she wasn't four thousand miles away.
"Yeah, well, a friend of mine is planning to travel today, so I thought that maybe calling earlier would be beneficial to her, instead of trying to call while she's on a plane or jet-lagged."
"Oh, really? And which friend would this be?" she teased.
"Just some random woman who once threw a book at me in France."
Emma snorted out a laugh, and Killian brought his hand up to run through his hair. It was getting a little longer now, so he would need to make an appointment to have it cut before he returned to work on Monday evening.
"She sounds like fun. Maybe you could introduce me to her sometime."
"It would be my honor," Killian assured her.
"Good. And until then, maybe you could get her to give you some geography lessons," Emma said, and Killian's brow creased with his confusion. "That way, you might learn that France is only about ninety minutes away from London, so you really didn't need to wake up at four am just to place this call."
"Busted," he muttered to himself, as he peeled his eyes open to squint at the red numbers displayed on the clock beside his bed.
"I appreciate your concern though, even if I do think you're a bit of an idiot," Emma teased. "Why don't you get some more sleep, Killian? I have a flight booked from Nice to Paris in an hour, and then only twenty minutes to kill before my flight back to London. It'll still be early morning for you when I land. We can talk then. I'm not going straight back to Cambridge now anyway."
"When do you start school?" he murmured, because Killian had been certain the reason Emma was returning that afternoon was to make sure she arrived at school on time. If she was planning to spend her Sunday evening in London, he doubted she would be at school the very next day.
"The first Monday of October," she explained. "We're a little behind you guys."
"So, what are you gonna do for the rest of the month?" he asked, stifling a yawn with his fist. He then reached down to run his fingers through Lily's soft fur. She hadn't been too happy with him about the early morning alarm call, so after giving him a look that clearly communicated she thought he was insane, Lily had turned her back on him before settling down to sleep again.
"Why don't we discuss this a little later, after you've had some more sleep?" Emma suggested gently. Killian hummed, and his friend must have taken that as his agreement because she said, "Sleep well, Killian Jones."
"Text me when you land," he mumbled into the phone. "Both times."
"I will," she assured him. "Talk soon."
Killian wasn't entirely sure if she was the one to disconnect the call or if he did. He was fast asleep before the device had left his fingers.
When he woke again, it was daylight outside, and there were two messages from Emma waiting for him on his phone. Killian heaved himself out of bed, padded through to the kitchen to feed Lily, then got started making some breakfast before he opened them up to read.
The first was a picture of Emma standing in front of a sign at Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris. The second was another photo of her, this time at Heathrow. Killian had spent plenty of time at both airports in the past, so he knew the scenery well, but it was the face of his new friend he found himself longing for the most.
He took a moment to pour himself a glass of orange juice and butter his toast before he sat down on the couch and pulled up Emma's number. It was almost ten am in New York City, which meant that it should be closing in on three pm in London. Killian hesitated for a brief moment before hitting the small button shaped like a video camera.
The phone rang once… twice… three times… and suddenly cut off halfway through the fourth. Killian held his breath for a moment as he waited for the call to connect. The instant it did, all of the air in his body seemed to rush out.
"Hey, stranger. I see you decided to keep the stubble."
Killian raised his free hand to scrub it over the hair now covering his chin. "Yeah, I, uh… I'm not sure the network will let me keep it, but I figured I'd see how long I could get away with it before they made me shave."
"Trust me, if they care about their ratings, they'll let you keep it," she chuckled, her face bouncing around a little in the frame.
"Where are you?" Killian asked, happy to steer the conversation away from himself.
For a moment, the image moved away from Emma's radiant face to show a complete rotation of the room she was sitting in before she came back into focus.
"In a hotel in London. Now that I've finished writing my stuff, I have to share it with my label to see what they think of everything. I have far more here than I need for an album, but I'm still not optimistic they'll deem any of these songs good enough to fill one."
"You know you're worrying over nothing, right?" he asked. "Your music is beautiful, Emma. It takes you on a complete journey from start to end. You'd have to be meeting with some absolute idiots for them to reject anything."
Emma chuckled slightly at his words, and he could tell from the way she avoided meeting his eyes that she was flattered by what he'd said.
"Thanks, but I think you might be just a teeny tiny bit biased here."
Killian simply shrugged his shoulders before a thought suddenly occurred to him.
"Wait - Do you have a lawyer representing your interests, Emmy? Someone who can look at all the documents you get to make sure you're not being screwed over before you sign them?"
"I do, actually," she reassured him. "When I got the contract, I took it to one of the music professors at uni and showed it to him. He put me in touch with some entertainment law specialists who could help. Legal fees ate up a big chunk of the advance they gave me, but I figured it was better this way than going in blind, right?"
"Definitely," Killian agreed, because he'd seen what happened in the entertainment industry when you didn't have a decent lawyer in your corner, fighting for what you deserved. Thankfully, his mother had learned from an early age just how important that was. It was one of the rare life lessons she'd passed on to her children. "And, uh… I know this is gonna sound awkward, so I'm just gonna make this statement and then move past it," he said, reaching up to scratch behind his ear.
"Okay," Emma chuckled, frowning a little at the look he was sure had worked its way onto his face.
"If you ever need a loan for legal fees, I can send you money. Don't let yourself be negotiated out of what you deserve because you don't have the money to fight your own corner."
Emma opened her mouth to say something, but before she could speak, Killian plunged on.
"So, how long do you think you'll spend in London? Do you have a place to pack up before you head back to school?"
"Only about a week or so," Emma said, allowing him to change the subject, for which Killian was endlessly grateful.
He had a feeling that his friend would likely never come to him to ask for help if she needed it, but at least now she knew where she could turn if she ever found herself backed into a corner.
"Then it's on to Cambridge. I've been renting this tiny flat over the Post Office for the summer, so I don't really have much to pack up. One of the perks of being a foster kid is that you learn just how little material possessions are actually needed to live your life."
Killian's heart clenched painfully as he took a quick look around his apartment. He'd always prided himself on being very minimalistic in his décor tastes, compared to his mother, who hoarded anything and everything from her past. As his eyes lingered on trinkets he'd picked up during his travels and the books scattered over his coffee table, he found himself wondering if his things would even fit in Emma's tiny home.
"So you, uh… you stay on campus during term time?" he asked, giving himself a little shake to clear away the melancholy thoughts that had suddenly returned.
"Yeah. It just feels easier that way," she explained. "Plus, being a whole former ward of the state thing means I get grants and such to help with housing if I stay on campus. It makes more sense this way."
"I get that," he agreed, because even though he'd grown up living a much more privileged life than Emma had, Killian had spoken to many people during his time at Yale who had waxed lyrical about the time they spent in campus housing.
"You've never even stepped foot in a dorm room before, have you?" Emma teased gently.
Killian scrubbed a harsh hand down his face as he cast his mind back to his time spent at school. He couldn't remember doing so, but if he were being brutally honest with himself, he couldn't really remember much about that time in his life. After all, it had been decades ago. "Do, uh… does a frat house count?"
Emma snorted out a laugh that crinkled her face beautifully, and Killian was back to hating the distance between them again. Emma was the kind of person who laughed with her whole body. The kind of person who wouldn't have hesitated to reach out and touch him as she did. Normally, Killian disliked spending time with those kinds of people. He didn't like having his personal space invaded with so little thought or care for his own preferences. But with Emma, things were different. It never felt like she was forcing herself into his space. Instead, it felt like she was sharing it with him.
"I should have known you were a frat boy," she sniggered. "Although, I assume that if you weren't lying to me last week, then you weren't the kind of stereotypical frat boy the movies like to show."
Killian could feel the heat flooding his face as he recalled a few of the different depictions of fraternities he'd seen in movies and TV shows recently. "Yeah, that, uh… that wasn't really me," he agreed. "I mean, I had a couple of girlfriends while I was in school, but I certainly wasn't the type of person to get drunk every night and take a different girl back to my room."
"That's good to hear."
He let that statement hang between them for a moment as he reached out to take a bite from his now tepid toast and chewed it thoughtfully. When he'd finished swallowing it down, Killian asked, "Does Cambridge not have its own sororities for you to join?"
"No. Sororities and fraternities aren't a thing here. We prefer to focus on studying instead of encouraging students to get drunk and do stupid things."
"That's not what all fraternities and sororities are like," Killian protested.
"I'll have to take your word for it," she said, and the frame bounced a little more as she appeared to settle herself more comfortably on the bed.
Emma let him finish his first slice of toast before she asked, "Are you looking forward to going back to work? I know most people dread returning after a holiday, but you seem to really enjoy what you do. At least, you make it look like you do on camera."
Killian chuckled awkwardly as he reached up to scratch behind his ear. "I am, actually. I, uh… it's gonna get busy around here pretty quickly because we have a presidential election next month, but I love it. I love the unpredictableness that comes in these final few weeks before Americans go to the polls, and I love seeing democracy in action. There's really nothing better than getting to be a part of that."
Emma sat in silence for a moment before she finally said, "Wow. I think you just made your passion for your job sound romantic. That's pretty impressive considering it involves a whole lot of politics."
Killian blushed furiously and was endlessly grateful for the distraction Lily caused as she hopped up onto the sofa beside him and leaned over to lick the side of his face.
Emma giggled as she watched his expression morph into one of resignation while Lily licked away the crumbs and butter she could obviously sense before finally settling herself down across his lap.
"Maybe I should be jealous of Lily," she said after a moment. "I have a feeling you'd never let me lick the side of your face like that."
Killian's head tilted to the side for a moment as he considered the idea. It had a slight appeal to it - he wasn't gonna lie about that - but he could definitely think of other places he'd rather she lick.
His face must have flushed at the images flashing behind his eyes because Emma released a wicked giggle before she said, "Your mind just went somewhere entirely inappropriate, didn't it?"
"Yeah. A little."
Her snort of laughter was a beautiful thing to witness, and Killian once again hated that he wasn't seeing it in person.
"I'll keep that mind," she told him cryptically, before she suddenly asked, "So, what are your plans for Sunday? The day's just starting for you, right?"
"Yeah, it is. I'm gonna head into the office for a while. I need to take some clean clothes in for when I'm on-air, then I want to finish reviewing last week's headlines to make sure I'm up to date on where the issues currently stand. Later tonight, I have dinner with my mom. But other than that, I plan to be as lazy as possible."
"I hope ATSL knows they're paying you an awful lot of money to spend most of your day being lazy."
Killian chuckled lightly at Emma's words as he reached for his glass of orange juice. "Wait until they close the polls on election night and see if you still think I'm lazy then."
"I will hold you to that," she promised, before suddenly adding, "I hope you're planning to take that new tie into work with you. You're depriving us all of the opportunity to see how well it will make your eyes pop on screen if you don't."
"I'll, uh… I'll take it with me," he promised. "But I like my black ties. They're simple, and they get the job done."
"They're also over-used and unimaginative," Emma threw out.
"Then maybe I'll save it for election night," he teased. "Put on a show for the biggest night of the year - politically speaking, of course."
"I'm holding you to that," she threatened, and Killian was pretty sure Emma wasn't going to forget this conversation anytime soon.
The office was a little busier that afternoon as he made his way through the newsroom, calling out greetings to his staff as he passed. Lily was in her element, weaving between desks to receive all the scratches and kisses bestowed upon her. Killian left her to it as he made his way over to his office.
Once inside, he headed straight through to the small dressing room at the back of the space to hang up the suits and shirts he'd picked out for the next couple of weeks. When his arms were free, he dug into his bag and pulled out a few rolled-up pairs of socks and a couple of pairs of clean underwear. He rarely needed either, but with the election cycle looming over them all, he knew that now was the time to make sure his drawers were well stocked. When everything was neatly tucked away, Killian opened the top drawer in the dresser and began replacing the ties he'd removed for cleaning before his vacation. The drawer had room for plenty, but Killian had only ever kept nine inside of it before – all matte black in color. He would probably never say it out loud, but he often wore the same one for an entire week in a row. It was always good to have plenty available, though - just to be safe. He'd lost count of how many had gone missing between the office and the dry cleaners, and he'd dunked his fair share in sodas or mustard before. This time, however, instead of placing nine black ties in three neat rows, Killian set out eight of his usual favorites before reaching into his bag for the one colored tie he'd tucked safely into an inner pocket. The bold teal blue of the silk looked odd nestled between all of its black counterparts. Yet, somehow, it also managed to look like it belonged there.
Happy that everything was in its rightful place once more, Killian was just about to shut the drawer when he stopped suddenly, his hands braced against the wooden front. After a moment of quiet contemplation, he reached into his pocket for his phone, pulled it out, and took a quick picture of the arrangement. He then pushed the drawer closed with a snap as he shrugged off his bag, hung it on the coat rack just outside the dressing room door, and dropped down into his desk chair.
As promised, it's here and ready for use!
Killian attached the picture he'd just taken to his message and hit send, then set his phone down on his desk while he booted up his computer.
It took Emma a moment to respond. By the time his phone vibrated with her reply, Killian had finished reviewing his emails, and Lily had made her way back into the space to curl up on the bed under the window.
Good.
If I'm gonna be awake until 2 am every morning watching you work, I'd better see it sometime soon, Jones!
2 am?
Don't be ridiculous.
Wait until it's uploaded to YouTube or something.
I'm a student, Killian, 2 am isn't terribly late for me.
But I'm serious.
I'd better see that tie sometime soon, or I might just have to fly over and forcefully put it on you.
I'm not entirely sure that's the threat you think it is.
He pushed back from his computer slightly as he waited for Emma's reply to come through, his phone still held tightly in his hands.
Oh, I dunno.
Do you really wanna be the guy who ruins my academic career?
Who potentially ruins my actual shot at the career of my dreams?
Do you?
Just wear the damned tie, Jones!
Wow!
The guilt trip is strong there!
I promise I'll wear it eventually.
Just give me some time to pluck up the courage to do so.
Thank you!
And who knows, if you do, maybe I'll come to New York sometime soon, and we can do something more enjoyable with it ;-)
Killian swallowed hard as images began swarming his mind, filling his imagination with graphic details of just how much fun that could be.
He hadn't expected this. While the tension had always been there, bubbling away under the surface of every encounter they had shared, he hadn't expected it to still be so present with such a large distance between the two of them. He hadn't expected Emma to bring it up again – not after she'd explicitly told him that she didn't want a relationship with him. And he certainly hadn't expected his traitorous cock to react so strongly to the mere suggestion of sex with her again.
Sorry.
Too much?
"Shit!" he cursed, as he stared down at the new message lighting up his screen. He hadn't meant to worry her. He'd just gotten caught up in fantasies of what could have been if they'd lived closer to each other.
Honestly – not enough!
I miss you, Emmy.
Killian hesitated for a brief moment before he hit send on his reply. He didn't want to come across as too bold or desperate, but he didn't want to lie to her either.
The three little dots that appeared in the corner of his screen seemed to taunt him. They disappeared and reappeared three times with no sign of a message, and Killian was just starting to consider typing up an apology of his own when his phone finally vibrated in his hand.
Well, maybe when you get home tonight, we could do something about that.
I miss you too, Jones.
Killian didn't have too long to dwell on his relief. The moment he'd finished reading, there was a knock on his office door.
"Got a free moment, Jones?" Ashley called out, as she poked her head around the frame.
"Sure," Killian agreed, quickly typing out his final message for Emma before he locked his phone and set it face-down on his desk.
I can't wait!
After a productive afternoon in the office, Killian headed home to take a quick shower and swap his t-shirt for a green checked shirt before he made the short walk over to his mother's apartment with Lily at his side.
Sunday night dinners had become something of a ritual for the little family his mother had managed to collect over the years. With his older sisters moving out of state to live their lives and his brother and father dead, Killian had been all Alice Jones really had left, so he'd always tried his best to stay as close to her as he could. Unfortunately, his choice of profession didn't make that easy, and that was where his friends had stepped in. While he was gone, they would continue the weekly tradition, making sure that Alice never spent a Sunday evening alone.
Normally, Killian would look forward to a night spent with the people he loved most in the world, but this time, things were a little different. He was ashamed to admit that he'd considered calling his mother to say he was too tired to attend before he'd dismissed the idea completely. It was one thing to lie to his mother - it was a whole other issue to lie to his mother in order to have some sort of sexual encounter with a woman who was currently thousands of miles away. Killian wasn't sure he'd ever be able to look her in the eye again if he'd blown off dinner for what would essentially be his own hand.
The moment he let himself into his mother's apartment, Killian was greeted by the sound of boisterous laughter and friendly chatter. He unclipped Lily's leash, allowing her to announce their presence while he pulled out his phone to check the notifications on it. When he'd texted Emma to let her know he was leaving for dinner, she'd simply told him to have fun. Logically, he knew she was probably remaining silent so as not to distract him from spending time with his family and friends, but there was still a small part of him that couldn't help hating the silence between the two of them.
The smile that worked its way onto Killian's face at the sight of the crowded living room was genuine as he watched his friends make a huge fuss of the energetic springer spaniel bouncing from person to person for attention.
"I'm gonna have to carry her home at this rate," he chuckled, drawing everyone's eyes his way.
"Are we supposed to feel sorry for you?" August demanded, before he turned his attention back down to Lily to say, "Because we don't, do we, Lills? No, we don't. No, we don't!"
Killian was thankfully accosted by Mary-Margaret before he could offer August any kind of retort.
"Hey, handsome," she greeted, pulling him down to her so that she could press a kiss to his cheek. "How was your vacation?"
"It was good, thanks," he told her, as he followed her around the back of the sofa, clapping a hand to his mother's boyfriend's shoulder in greeting, and one to David's, before he took his usual seat beside August. "It was a lovely little village, and I'm already itching to book another week or two there."
"Really? It was that good?" Mary-Margaret asked, sharing a look with her husband. "Where did you go again? I might have to look into booking us a vacation there too."
Killian wasn't entirely sure why, but the thought of his friends visiting Peillon, of them discovering the charming little village where he'd met Emma, made his stomach lurch.
"Uh, it was a place close to Nice," he said, deliberately keeping things as vague as possible without telling an outright lie. "I'll find the information for you when I get back."
"Brilliant. We haven't been to Europe in years," she mused, turning her full attention back to David, whose resigned face clearly showed that he understood his wife would be dragging him all across the continent for the next few years.
"How have you been keeping, Jeff?" Killian asked, raising his head to meet his mother's boyfriend's gaze.
"Oh, can't complain too much," Jeff dismissed easily, waving away his concerns.
Killian nodded his head in understanding and fell silent. While he didn't begrudge his mother dating other men – his father had been dead for over three decades, and he never wanted to see her lonely – Killian always found it awkward being around the man he knew his mother was sleeping with. There was just something about finding out that your seventy-four-year-old mother had a better sex life than you did that made things incredibly difficult at times.
The sound of the elevator arriving at the apartment caught Lily's attention before anyone else's. Killian watched as her tan and white tail flicked through the air while she trotted off down the hall, ready to greet the one person missing from their group.
While everyone else was distracted, he slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out his phone. Killian took a discreet shot of the group of people gathered around the coffee table and attached it to a message that simply read,
Is it wrong that I wish you were here?
Emma's response came through just as Regina made her way into the lounge, loudly proclaiming, "It's okay! I'm here! We can finally get this night started."
A picture of a generic hotel room filled his screen, with Emma's long, bare legs stretched out over the white sheets on the bed. Killian thought he could see a hint of yellow lace in the bottom corner, but he didn't want to risk drawing attention to himself by zooming in on it. So instead, he chose to focus on her words.
No - because I wish you were here too!
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