"So, when do I get to meet your partner?" Killian asked casually, as he pulled on his t-shirt.
He'd let Emma sleep for an hour, in his arms, until he'd decided it was probably time to wake her. He knew that he'd kept her awake for most of the evening, and that she could probably do with a few extra hours of sleep, as a result of that. But, he didn't want to leave her too long, just in case an emergency came up, and she was needed.
"David?" she asked, as she hunted through her desk for the spare brush she kept in there, to try and tame her hair. "He has the weekend off," Emma explained. "His mother's in town visiting, so he wanted to be home for that. She's been sick recently, and he's been covering enough for me, so, taking his shift was the least I could do."
Killian made his way over to the desk his button-down had been thrown over, and as he picked it up, he crouched down to get a good look at the pictures his shirt had been covering. There was one of a man and woman he didn't recognize, stood together on their wedding day, smiling widely for the camera. Just behind that was one of a small baby, wearing a blue onesie that read Mommy's Little Miracle. And to the left of that was one of Emma and Ruby, with the two people from the first image, in some kind of club, (if the dark lighting of the shot was anything to judge by).
"This is David, I presume?" he asked, nodding his head to the pictures on the desk.
"Yeah," Emma called back.
"He's handsome," Killian pressed.
"He's also happily married," Emma threw back at him, smirking slightly. "And he's like a brother to me. So… you really have nothing to worry about."
"Am I that obvious?" he sighed, as he finished buttoning his shirt, and turned to search for his jacket. He found it a couple of feet away, crumpled up on the floor.
"A little," she chuckled. "But, let's be honest… if anyone here has anything to worry about, it's me."
Killian scoffed at that statement, as he made his way through to Emma's office, for the very first time. "You have nothing to worry about," he assured her, pulling her back into his chest, for a hug. "You're the most beautiful girl in the world to me, remember?" He punctuated his statement with a sweet kiss to Emma's neck.
She giggled a little at the way his stubble tickled her, before reluctantly pushing him away. "Do me a favor and go and unlock the door, Casanova?"
"Your wish is my command." Killian bowed for added effect, making Emma giggle once more, before he left the room to head back to the front entrance. He loved the sound of her laugh, and Killian promised himself to make it his mission to hear it as often as possible, that weekend.
When the door was unlocked, he made his way back to Emma's office, to watch as she began her usual routine for the day. Emma took some time to show him some of the paperwork she had been working on, and how the filing system worked to comply with state law. She offered him a small tour around the evidence room the station had, and showed Killian some of the more interesting items that were housed in it. She even explained their system for logging calls, before placing one from her cell, to the Station, to give Killian the chance to answer the phone himself.
"You need a new coffee maker," he grimaced, as he attempted to sip from the mug she'd made for them, later that morning. "This stuff is vile."
"I think this one's older than me," Emma mused. "I guess I've been drinking it for so long, I don't really notice how awful it is."
"I'm never gonna complain about the coffee on set again," Killian mumbled.
Emma giggled a little at his dramatics, before closing the file she'd been working on. "Do you maybe wanna head to Granny's, for a spot of early lunch? That's the best place for coffee in town."
"Sure," Killian agreed, tipping the poor excuse for a drink into the nearest plant pot, as soon as Emma had turned her back. "As long as it's not gonna cause any problems for you?"
"It'll be fine," she assured him. "Besides, no offence, Killian, but I doubt anybody else in this town is gonna know who you are."
Emma was glad that they had decided to head to the small café when they did. She knew the town well enough to know that ten am, on a Saturday morning, was one of its quietest times, before the lunch rush began and the place became too packed to sit in. It was her favourite time to visit, because it often gave her the time to just sit and eat with Ruby for a while, before her friend became too busy to say more than a passing 'hi' and 'bye.'
It would also give Emma the best chance to avoid the Storybrooke gossip mill.
While she wasn't ashamed of Killian, she also wasn't quite ready for the entire town to know she was dating again. There was no way that kind of news wouldn't make it back to Neal and his father. And she certainly wasn't ready for either of them to pop her happy little bubble, just yet.
Thankfully, when she and Killian entered the small diner, hand-in-hand, there were only two other customers inside of it.
Emma had been expecting to see Archie there. He usually timed his sessions to make sure he'd arrive just before the rush began, much like she did. He gave her a small head-bob, to acknowledge her arrival, before turning his attention back to his newspaper. The other person was Mr. Clarke, who was almost at the end of his own lunch and paper, and not at all bothered by the tinkling of the bell over the door.
"Hey guys," Ruby called out, as she made her way through from the backroom, to stand before them. "How are you finding sleepy Storybrooke?" she asked Killian.
"It's nice. Quiet and picturesque. A little like home. I like it here."
Emma and Ruby shared a look that clearly said they thought he was insane, before Ruby asked, "Coffee or Cocoa?"
"Cocoa, please," Emma replied, sliding onto one of the stools at the counter. "Killian?"
"Coffee for me, please. The stuff Emma was trying to pass off as coffee at the station was dreadful. I need something strong to wash the taste of that away."
Ruby nodded her head in understanding, and was turning for the coffee machine before he had finished speaking. "I've been telling them to get a new one for years now. I swear, she and David have lead stomachs."
"We're just not a picky as you two are," Emma chuckled, reaching over the counter for one of the menus she knew were stored there. "It's not the fanciest food in the world, but Granny's an excellent home cook," she explained, as she handed it over for Killian to browse.
"Damn straight I am," Granny called out, from the kitchen.
"She also has ears like a wolf," Emma teased, as the older woman came bustling out of the kitchen, with a towel slung over one shoulder, and her glasses askew.
"Well now, who is this handsome lad?" she asked, leaning against the counter to get a better look at Killian.
"Um, Granny, this is Killian. Killian this is Granny," Emma introduced.
"It's nice to meet you, Killian." The older woman offered her hand for shaking, and like the gentleman he was, Killian didn't hesitate to take it.
"It's lovely to meet you too," he told her. "Emma and Ruby both speak so highly of you."
"Do they now?" she asked, looking between the two sheepish girls at the counter. "I'd like to say the same of you, but neither one of them has ever mentioned you before."
Emma started choking a little on the cocoa Ruby had sat in front of her, and Killian turned his attention away from Granny, and back to his girlfriend. When her face had finally returned to its natural color, and she was no longer gulping in air, he turned back to face the older woman.
"That would be my fault," he explained. "Our relationship's pretty new, and I kind of sprung this visit on her, this weekend."
Emma slid a hand on to his thigh, to give it a grateful squeeze. She hadn't been deliberately keeping their relationship a secret. She just liked knowing that only the three of them were truly aware of the situation.
"And where are you visiting from?" Granny asked. "The accent doesn't sound local."
"Ha." Killian chuckled nervously, as he brought a hand up to scratch behind his ear. "I'm originally from Ireland, but I'm up in Vancouver for work right now."
Granny nodded to show that she'd heard him, before she asked the inevitable, "And what do you do for work, Killian?"
"You know what?" Ruby jumped in, "I think that's enough of the third degree today. You're gonna scare poor Killian away. How about we show him why everyone raves about your lasagna instead?" she asked.
Granny looked between the three people gathered around the counter, before she turned on her heels to head back into the kitchen. "It was nice to meet you, Killian," she called over her shoulder.
Emma had a feeling that Granny would raise the issue again, when Killian had left town.
The rest of their lunch passed by without incident. Granny remained in the kitchen, making preparations for the afternoon rush, and only poked her head out to say goodbye, when Emma and Killian left. Ruby spent most of her shift asking how they'd spent their morning, and texting Victor, to make plans for the night ahead.
"Did you maybe wanna go out this evening?" Emma asked, as they made their way back through the station, flicking the lights on once more. She'd planned for the two of them to binge something on Netflix, when they got back to her apartment. Emma loved the idea of just curling up in Killian's arms, on her sofa, with a takeaway. But, after hearing Ruby speak about her date for the night, she was worried that after a boring day at work, Killian would want to do more than spend a boring night at home with her.
"Aren't you on call?" he worried. Killian didn't much care how they spent their evening. All he cared about was spending it with Emma. He just didn't want it to happen at the expense of her job.
"Yeah, but you've seen this town. There won't be much to deal with if anything goes wrong. And, as long as I don't drink too much, it'll be fine."
"Then, I would love to take you out this evening," Killian replied, pulling her into his arms.
"Technically, I'd be the one taking you out," Emma argued, as she slid her hands over his shoulders, to play with the hair at the nape of his neck. "I mean, I'm the only one of us with any knowledge of this town."
"Semantics," he teased, leaning in to press the sweetest of kisses to her lips. When he pulled back, it was with a heavy sigh. But they both knew anything more than that would lead to even less work being achieved that day.
"Is there anything else you wanna see before I get started on these reports?" Emma asked, worrying her bottom lip. "I don't want you to get bored."
"I can keep myself entertained, don't worry," he promised her. "But… I do have the perfect idea of how to do so."
She raised a brow in question as Killian fiddled with his phone, before handing it over to her. He then jogged round to stand in front of the height chart, on the wall by the door.
"Take my picture for me? I wanna send it to my brother, and tell him I've been arrested?"
Emma couldn't help the giggle that left her at the excited bounce he put behind his words. "If you're gonna do that, you're gonna have to do it right," she told him, pulling out the small board they used to list the details of the individuals they arrested.
"See. This is why you're perfect for me," Killian teased, as he watched her fill out the board, before handing it over to him.
Emma took a couple of pictures from each angle, so that Killian could choose the best ones to send to his brother, before she closed out of the app. She was just about to hand the phone over to him, when she noticed his choice of wallpaper.
Killian had set it to one of the very first photo op they'd shared together, all those months ago. It was the same picture Emma used as her profile picture on Facebook, and as her lock screen on her own phone.
"It's still my favourite," he whispered, as he watched her stare at his phone for the longest moment. "You looked so beautiful that day. There was no way I'd have ever been able to forget about you, Emma."
Emma's hand trembled as she locked the phone, and passed the small device back to Killian.
She was too emotional to say anything in reply.
While Killian busied himself sending the pictures she'd taken to his brother, with a demand for bail money, Emma attempted to finish the paperwork she had sitting on her desk.
It was a little hard for her to focus, however, with Killian sat in her office, looking like he was modeling some kind of new casualwear line, with the way he was draped across his chair.
When she finally slammed shut the file on the first case she'd been working on, over an hour had passed, and Emma was losing her patience.
"How about we call it a day?" she asked.
"Isn't it a bit early for that?" Killian wondered, locking his phone and slipping it onto the desk between them.
Emma glanced back to the clock on her computer screen once more, and cringed. It really was too early for them to leave, but she wasn't entirely sure she'd be able to concentrate on anything else for the rest of the day either. Staying would just lead to more frustration, for both of them.
"I'm the Sheriff," she reasoned, "Who's gonna stop me?"
Killian righted himself in his seat, before he leaned forward to meet Emma's eyes. "I don't wanna get you into any trouble," he told her. "I know I kinda sprung this visit on you, and you didn't get any time to make plans for it. But, the last thing I wanna do, while I'm here, is damage the reputation you have in town."
"You won't," Emma assured him, reaching forward to cup his right cheek. She was touched at just how much Killian seemed to care about the smaller things in her life. Neal wouldn't have hesitated to demand she take the afternoon off, on the rare occasions where he had made plans for the two of them. "As long as I'm reachable at all times, I don't need to be here. But, if it's okay with you, I'd like to just do a quick patrol around the town, to make sure everything's okay?"
"Of course," he agreed, standing up to stretch out the kinks that had worked their way into his muscles, from being sat in such an uncomfortable chair, for so long. Of course, Killian would never tell Emma that. "You okay?" he asked, as he noticed her eyes glaze over slightly.
Emma shook her head firmly to clear it, before croaking out a, "Yep. Fine." She turned around to start gathering up her stuff, and mumbled, "Does he have to look like a freaking god with everything he does?" into her bag.
Killian's chuckles came from much closer than she had expected, as he wrapped his arms around her waist, to pulled her back into his chest. "Trust me, Love. I've been feeling the same way about you, all day."
The sweet kiss he placed to her neck had Emma melting back into his embrace.
A quick drive around the town showed that everything was as it was supposed to be, so Emma didn't hesitate to turn the car around, and head home.
The moment she had the door to her apartment shut behind the two of them, she pounced, pushing herself up onto her toes, as she pulled Killian's head down to meet her lips.
Killian returned her kisses fiercely, as he backed his girlfriend into the door, with the force of his passion. "How long do we have until Ruby returns?" he asked, as Emma broke free of his mouth, to begin nipping her way across his collar bone, and up behind his ear.
"A couple of hours," she whispered, before biting down gently on the lobe. She quickly sucked it into her mouth, to soothe the sting with her tongue, as Killian rocked his hips into hers.
"I wonder how many times I can make you come before she does?" he pondered, as he hoisted his giggling girlfriend up, into his arms, to carry her through the loft and back to her bedroom.
"Hey," Ruby greeted, as she made her way through the door later that evening. A quick scan of the apartment showed her roommate missing, so she asked, "Where's Emma?"
"She got a call about a missing dog?" Killian explained, just as confused by the content of the call as he was amused by it. Unfortunately, at the time it had come through, he'd been busy trying to wring orgasm number four from his girlfriend's exhausted, and hyper-sensitive, body. So, it had been less amusing to him then.
"Mr. Tanner?" Ruby chuckled, as she dropped down on the other side of the couch Killian was sat on. At the nod of his head, she explained, "I thought so. The dog gets out about once a month, and Emma has to track her down. We don't really have an animal control here, and the shelter's already understaffed, so they call Emma." After a moment of thought she added, "They actually call Emma for pretty much anything that goes wrong in this town."
"Makes sense," Killian snorted. He'd heard a few of Emma's tales about her more exciting days, and none of them were what he'd class as true police work.
"Hey, Ruby," he began suddenly. "You don't mind me being here, do you? It's just occurred to me that in surprising Emma, the way I did, I've kinda imposed myself on you too."
"Of course not," she assured him. "I'm glad you did turn up. Emma told me about how you suggested seeing each other, outside of the conventions, on the flight back from Vegas. But, she was so worried you'd either change your mind, or had just said it to make her happy, that she never would have taken the initiative to come to you. At least this way, she can see how serious you are about her."
"Of course I am," he scoffed. "I don't understand why she can't see just how crazy I am about her."
"Has she told you about her parents?" Ruby asked, twisting in her seat to face Killian at the other end.
"Yeah," he confirmed, mirroring her position.
"Well, when you spend all of your life, growing up thinking your parents didn't even love you enough to care if you lived or died, that kinda knocks a person's confidence. She bounced through the foster system, believing she'd never been good enough for a real family, and being picked on by the other kids, because she was always the outsider. It's hard to shake a lifetime of those feelings."
"I get that. I guess I'll just have to keep making sure she knows how much she's loved." Killian had been aiming for a light and breezy tone, but it definitely didn't come across that way.
"Do you?" Ruby asked, fixing him with an intense stare. "Love her?" she clarified, at his confused brow quirk.
"Um…" Killian brought his hand up to scratch nervously behind him ear, searching for some kind of response. He didn't want to lie to Emma's best friend. But he also didn't want to discuss it with Ruby, before he'd had a chance to speak with Emma about it. "I think that's probably a discussion Emma and I need to have, before you and I do," he eventually settled on.
Ruby nodded her understanding, before standing up and stretching a little. "You're good for her," she offered. "You make Emma smile in a way that we haven't seen for a long time. As long as that doesn't change, you're always welcome here, Killian."
She had intended to leave their conversation at that point, but stopped when he asked quietly, "Was he really all that bad?"
Killian did his best to never think about the fiancé he'd stolen Emma away from. He didn't much like the thought of imagining his girlfriend with someone else, let alone the idea that if they'd met a year later, she would have been a married woman, by then. Occasionally his thoughts slipped to the lucky guy who'd been with her before him, and he often found himself wondering just how bad their relationship really had been, for everyone to be so happy Emma had moved on.
"He wasn't that bad," Ruby sighed. "I mean, he didn't beat her, or abuse her, or anything like that. He just… he wasn't right for her. And instead of walking away, he used her. Loving people doesn't come easy to Emma. It takes her a while to warm up to someone, and even longer to trust them enough to care for them. Neal was the first guy to show an interest in her, beyond wanting to get his dick wet. He pursued her, and at the time, he was really sweet about it. Once Emma gave him that chance, I think she fell for him quickly. And I do believe they both loved each other, at one point. But, over time, they fell out of love, and instead of breaking things off, they just carried on as normal. Emma was too scared to kick him out, because she didn't want to be alone again. And Neal didn't end things because… well, why would he?" Her laugh was a little bitter, and Killian could understand why. He'd heard her stories before. "Neal moved in here and did nothing. Emma worked; she paid all of their bills; she cooked all of their meals; and did all the grocery shopping. She kept the apartment clean and tidy, and even did all of the laundry. Neal had an easy life, and he wasn't willing to give it up."
"So… why did she kick him out?" Killian asked. He'd heard Emma's brief explanation, but he had a feeling Ruby's would give him a little more information about his girlfriend.
This time, Ruby's laugh was a little lighter, as she cocked a brow in his direction. "You mean, besides the fact that she was falling hard and fast for you?" Killian nodded his head sheepishly and Ruby added, "Because he implied that someone like you would never be interested in someone like her."
"Fuck me," Killian sighed, as he flopped back into the sofa cushions.
Suddenly, Emma's self-doubts and lack of confidence made so much more sense to him.
The one person she'd put her love and trust into had not only abused that trust, by cheating on her; but he'd also picked on those very same doubts and insecurities she already had.
Neal had used Killian as a way to hurt the woman he claimed to have loved. And, in the process, he'd created doubts in Emma that she would never be good enough for someone like him.
Thanks for reading.