Thanks for being patient with these updates.
"So, let me see if I'm understanding this right," Ruby began, waving her toothbrush around wildly. "Killian Jones, arguably one of the hottest men in the world, invited you back to his hotel room last night. For what would have most definitely been hours of hot sex. And you turned him down?"
Emma groaned into her pillow. She was really starting to wish she hadn't said anything.
"Yes, okay? I turned him down. But it was the right thing to do."
Ruby nodded her head but didn't look convinced. "You keep telling yourself that, Ems."
"Ugh. Why does he have to be so fucking sexy?" Emma asked. "It makes doing the right thing that much harder." She pulled herself up to a sitting position on the bed, before casting a look around the room she and Ruby were sharing. Thankfully, it wouldn't take them long to pack their things that morning, but the idea of checking out of the hotel, and returning to Storybrooke, was not one that she enjoyed.
While Ruby finished up in the bathroom, humming some kind of random tune to herself, Emma grabbed for her phone to check her messages. The one from Killian, that sat on her screen, had her smiling giddily to herself.
"Ruby?" she called out, waiting for her friend to stop humming before she continued, "You wanna grab some breakfast with Killian?"
Ruby poked her head around the bathroom doorframe to look over at Emma.
"I dunno. Do I?" she asked. Emma raised a brow in question and her friend continued, "If you guys are gonna be all smoochy and gross then I'll pass. I want food on my plate, not vomit."
"We're not gonna be all smoochy and gross." Emma seemed a little offended at the suggestion.
"Then count me in." Ruby disappeared again to finish whatever it was she was doing, before she yelled back, "But you're paying."
Emma fired off a quick message to Killian, before she hauled herself out of bed to get ready for the day, and finish packing her stuff.
"So, where are we meeting Killian?" Ruby asked. They'd checked out of their room a few moments before, and left their bags at the concierge desk, just in case Killian had decided to pick a restaurant miles away from the building.
"I have no idea," Emma replied, pulling out her phone to message him. She stopped in her tracks when she saw his message already waiting for her.
You look beautiful this morning, Sheriff.
"Um… I think he's already here," she told Ruby, showing her friend the message on her screen.
"Ugh. You two are gonna be having eye-sex over the pancakes," she sighed, straightening up to look around the lobby of the hotel.
Emma threw her friend the dirtiest look she could muster, without any heat behind it, before tapping out a reply to Killian's message.
Thanks.
You do too.
You must be one hell of a sheriff.
I was sure you hadn't spotted me yet.
Oh, I haven't.
But you always look incredible.
"I think I just lost my appetite," Ruby groaned, reading over her friend's shoulder.
"That's a shame. I hear this place does an amazing eggs benedict," Killian threw out, startling both women as he approached them from behind.
Emma turned so quickly, Ruby reached for her arm, a little worried her friend might lose her balance.
"Wow. Okay. Yeah. I was right," she mumbled, her eyes moving up and down Killian's body. At his raised brow, she hurried on to clarify, "You look so fucking good. Like good enough to eat."
Ruby snorted from the left of her, and Killian did his best to smother his own chuckle.
"Thank you, Emma." He took a small step forward, bringing him within touching distance of her, and Ruby decided that was her cue to step back and avert her eyes. "Did you sleep well?" he asked, reaching out a hand to play with her hair.
"I did, thanks. Did you?" she asked, unconsciously stepping closer to him.
"It was a little restless."
Emma's heart quickened at the way Killian's eyes darkened. She knew exactly what he was trying to say.
Killian took a moment to appreciate the look of lust that filled her emerald-eyes, before he forced his own to soften. He moved his hand to brush the back of his fingers down her face, before leaning in to press a soft kiss to her lips.
"Soon," he promised, on a whisper, before straightening up and declaring, "Okay, I'm famished. Shall we go grab a table?"
"Yes please," Ruby chimed in, already heading for the hotel restaurant.
When the three of them were comfortably seated, with coffee in front of them, Ruby turned her attention to Killian.
"Are you not worried about being noticed here?" she asked. It was something that had been on her mind since she'd seen him in the lobby.
"Not really," Killian replied absentmindedly. "Most of the fans will have already left to return to work, and I can't say I'd be devastated if any of them caught me enjoying breakfast with two beautiful women. It's not like I have a wife at home I'm hiding from."
Emma choked on the mouthful of coffee she was trying to swallow and Killian's eyes widened in shock.
"Shit. I didn't mean that the way it came out," he offered, his hand hovering over her back, unsure of what he could do in that moment to help.
It took Emma a few minutes to stop coughing, and a little longer to make eye-contact with him again.
"It's okay," she offered. "I didn't take it personally."
The look on Killian's face said that he could clearly see that she had, and suddenly their pleasant atmosphere was gone.
"I'm gonna pop to the restroom," Ruby mumbled, practically running for the exit.
Kilian and Emma sat in an uncomfortable silence for the longest moment, before Emma let out a heavy sigh.
"Maybe this isn't such a good idea," she mumbled, facing the table. She couldn't bear to face him just then.
"What do you mean?" Killian asked, his tone hardening.
"You just made a very common joke… and look what happened. Maybe this isn't going to work and we should just quit before one of us gets hurt too badly." Emma didn't add the unspoken belief that she would be the one of them to end up hurting.
"Emma… look at me," Killian begged. He waited until she raised her head, and locked her eyes on his, before he continued. "I want this. I want you. And I do trustyou. Maybe I shouldn't? But I do. I'm pretty sure if you were only interested in sleeping with me, you'd have gotten what you wanted last night and I'd have never heard from you again. If this is going to work between us… you need to forgive yourself. Because I've forgiven you."
Emma's eyes watered slightly at just how much faith he was putting in her.
Killian was right too.
Emma had spent so long hating the look she'd put on his face, the last time they were together, that she hadn't completely forgiven herself for causing it.
"I'm not good at this," she confessed. "I don't want to hurt you again. I couldn't live with myself if I did."
"Oh, Emma." Killian gathered her into his arms, and took it as a positive sign that she didn't fight to get away from him. "I trust that you won't hurt me again. Just as I hope that you'll trust that I don't want to hurt you. I want a chance to be in your life. Don't end this before it's truly begun."
Emma nodded into Killian's chest, and allowed him to hold her until her tears had dried.
"Come on, let's go find Ruby," he told her, when she finally pulled back with a small smile.
It didn't take them long to work out where Ruby had run off to.
Emma's friend had always been partial to Starbucks, so the one closest to the hotel seemed like the safest place to look first.
"Hey Ruby, sorry we chased you away," Emma apologized as she slid down into the free seat opposite her friend.
"You didn't," Ruby reassured her. "Are you guys okay?" She looked awkwardly between Emma and Killian, who had headed straight for the counter to grab some more coffee and breakfast treats. "I wanted to give you some time alone. I was gonna message and let you know where I was."
"I think so." Emma paused for a moment before turning back to her friend. "Ruby, do you think I'm too damaged for a healthy relationship?"
"Of course not," Ruby scoffed. "What on Earth gave you that idea?"
Emma raised a brow at her friend, that screamed look at me, but Ruby wasn't buying it.
"You might not have had a conventional start in life, Emma, but neither did I. We're not damaged goods. Growing up without our parents doesn't mean we're not capable of love. We're just… special," she finally settled on. "That love we missed out on as kids – we'll find it one day, Ems. I mean, I ended up with Granny… and Lord knows she loves us both fiercely enough to make up for what we missed out on." Ruby paused before she delivered her final words on the subject, hoping they would make the greatest impact. "Maybe Killian will be that person to love you, the way you deserve to be loved."
Although their day hadn't gotten off to the best start, Killian fully intended to make up for it. He had an early-evening flight back to Vancouver, and Emma and Ruby's own would be departing a few hours before his. So, he intended to make the most of what little time they had left together.
He'd spent a few hours after his date with Emma, the night before, trying to think of something the three of them could do together for the day. Something that wouldn't involve them all sitting inside a casino, or that would make Ruby feel like a third wheel.
It was James, on the concierge desk that morning, that finally gave Killian his winning plan for the day.
"You really didn't need to do this," Emma sighed, as she leaned back into his arms. It wasn't the first time she'd used that phrase, and Killian suspected it wouldn't be the last either.
With James's help, Killian had booked three tickets for them to take a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon, before landing to enjoy the Sky Walk that had been built over the Canyon. Killian knew it would take up most of their time together that day, but he also knew it would leave all three of them with memories they'd never forget.
"I know I didn't," Killian reassured her. "But we couldn't come to Vegas and not see the canyon. There has to be a law about that somewhere."
Emma chuckled as she turned in his arms, bringing her own up to loop around his neck. "Thank you for today."
Killian brought his forehead down to rest against her own, as he pulled her in tighter, before dropping his lips down to cover Emma's. Their kiss was slow and sweet, nothing too explicit given the amount of people that were walking the path around them. But it was just enough for them both to convey the emotion they felt in that moment.
As Emma pulled away to join Ruby, who had given them some space in favor of admiring the views, Killian took the opportunity to watch her. Emma had dressed simply for the day, in a pair of dark jeans; a sleeveless, one-shouldered, black top; and a pair of black ankle boots. But she looked absolutely stunning, as she stood looking out over the canyon. The sun caught her hair, making it shimmer and glow, as she threw her head back to laugh at whatever ruby had said. Killian watched the way she gesticulated wildly as she spoke, her hands almost telling a story of their own.
And he'd be lying if he said he didn't admire the way her jeans stretched over her backside as she leaned further out, to try to spot whatever it was Ruby had pointed out to her.
He definitely needed another very cold shower when he got home that evening.
Killian wasn't sure what came over him in that moment, but as Emma turned slightly, her face in profile, to point out something else to Ruby, he pulled out his phone to take a couple of pictures of her, to remember their weekend. They'd had a few professional shots taken when their helicopter landed, but Killian wanted something more personal, for his own memories.
He also wasn't entirely sure what possessed him to pick his favorite image of Emma, her face darkened slightly by the shadows of the Canyon, with dark sunglasses covering her eyes, and attach it to a tweet that simply read;
Thanks for a wonderful weekend, Vegas. We enjoyed making new memories.
Emma's look here is based on Jen's look for the 94th Running of the Indianapolis 500 in May 2010.
Thanks for reading.