Sunday morning arrived with sunlight too bright for the willowy curtains covering Killian's broad bedroom windows to block. Emma yanked a pillow over her head in a desperate bid to stave off waking for another few minutes. She didn't need to turn to know Killian wasn't with her. Even if she hadn't crashed at his house enough to know he woke disturbingly early in the morning, the lack of heat at her back would have been signal enough that she was alone.

She stretched and debated the merits of allowing herself to drift back to sleep versus getting up in search of coffee. She had the three hour commute back to Portland, but there was nothing pulling her back in any particular hurry. So she lingered, curling her toes in the soft sheets and wondering if she should feel awkward about everything that transpired.

It wasn't like they had really thought it through; the rum had done much of the thinking for them. There were a million ways it could have gone – could still go – all pear-shaped. But it hadn't. Sex with Killian had been light and fun, two friends teasing and challenging one another, pulling enjoyment from one another and giving as much in return. She felt content, and sated, and a million miles from the usual knot in the pit of her stomach she had during mornings after. If she were willing to be an introspective woman, she'd wonder at that instead. However, she knew that path was a dangerous one and she was choosing to just let herself have this.

At that, she sat up and kicked back the sheets, scanning the room for her clothes to find Killian had piled them in the chair in the corner of the room. Of course he did, she thought with a laugh. Throwing her shirt on, she dug around his dresser and found a pair of his pajama pants. She pulled them on, rolling the waistband a couple times in an effort to keep them from falling down her hips, and went out in search of coffee.

She found Killian sitting at the kitchen island with a cup of coffee in one hand as he poked at the tablet screen in front of him. She made her way to the counter, pulling a mug from the cabinet overhead, and poured herself a cup as well. Before she could step back to join him, he came up behind her, winding an arm around her waist as he pressed in. She smiled and ran her free hand along his arm.

"Hey," he whispered.

"Hey, yourself," she said back, resting her head back against his shoulder.

"Nice pajamas," he teased, fingering the waistband of the pants she wore.

Emma turned and grinned up at him. "I thought you might like them."

He laughed and leaned in, giving her a brief kiss before making his way back to his seat. "There's bacon in the oven, if you want any," he called over his shoulder.

She groaned and pulled the oven door open. "Bless you," she said as she leaned over and inhaled. Grabbing the plate he'd left out for her, she picked up four strips before following him back to the island and settling into the stool next to him.

They sat quietly as Emma worked her way through her bacon and eventually poured them both a second cup of coffee. Killian continued to scroll through his tablet, turning it to her on occasion to share some of the ridiculous photos Robin and Will posted the night before as well as an article about sunset tours at the Observatory.

"Is that your way of saying you'd like to go?" she asked as she sipped at the last of her coffee.

He smiled as he stood up and cleared their plates. "You willing to take a Thursday evening off the world of stakeouts to accompany me?"

"I'll see if I can pencil you in," she replied with a wink.

After piling everything into the dishwasher, he turned to her. "What time do you need to head out?" he asked.

Emma sighed and looked at the time on her phone. "As much as I'd like to spend the day lounging in front of the fireplace here, I've still got some trace work to do before I go into the office tomorrow."

Killian nodded as wiped his hand on a dish towel before making his way back over to her. She stood as he approached, stepping into his space. "We should do that again some time," she teased. He settled his hands on her hips, slipping his fingertips below the rolled waistband as his thumbs stroked her hipbones. "And what, exactly, is that, Swan?" he asked with a nudge of his nose along hers.

She huffed and twined her arms around his neck, threading her fingers through the ends of his hair. "If I have to remind you –"

He cut her off with a nip to her neck. "Was it that?" he asked.

Before she could respond, he shifted so one leg slid between hers as he pressed her back again the fridge. "Maybe it was this?" He punctuated the question a roll of his hips, grazing just to the side of where she wanted him. "Or maybe," he continued, "it was this." He pulled back and flicked at the top few buttons of her shirt, moving his fingers to roll a now exposed nipple. She sighed and arched into the touch.

"But if you have to go, Swan," he said, stepping back and turning towards the hall.

"Jerk," she muttered.

He laughed. "I was only going to suggest you join me in the shower, love. Move things along, as it were." He gave a little wave as he continued down hall to his bedroom, stripping off his t-shirt as he went.

Emma shook her head. "I might like this new side of you," she called after him, hurrying to open the last of the buttons on her shirt and rolling it off before she raced after him.


When panic hadn't set in while she was wrapped up in Killian's sheets, Emma fully expected it would be her companion on her drive home. She'd fucked Killian Jones, and was pretty sure she planned to do it again. Both were facts that should have sent her into a tailspin. This was one of her closest friends, a man who'd knew some of the worst parts of her past, who was witness to a good many of them, and had once been an embarrassingly recurrent role in some of her more vivid fantasies.

So when all she experienced was a bit of traffic and her usual Storybrooke to Portland solo karaoke routine, she assumed it would come on later.

Only later never happened.

Her week and the one that followed were much the same as most. There was the usual slew of skip tracing and the paperwork that came with, the occasional night out with Elsa, the marathon phone conversations with Mary Margaret, and the regular banter with Killian via text and Twitter. If she didn't know any better, it was almost like she hadn't slept with him.

Except she had, and now mixed between the odd forwarding of a news clip and the usual teasing about her coffee intake, her weird hours, or occasional fake dates were texts from him that bordered on salacious. And she liked it. May have even encouraged it. Killian seemed to know how to wind her up and leave a thrum of want beneath her skin. Like now. She should have been walking out the door and instead she was standing in front of her bedroom mirror taking photos of herself to send him.

Let's see it, Swan.

See what? She heard her phone buzz again as she worked to get the last of the pins into her hair.

I want to see the little number you've got on to keep him occupied.

She took a shot of her foot wrapped in a spiked, strappy heel and sent that.

"Who are you texting?"

Emma jumped and almost tripped on said heels. She turned to find Elsa leaning in her doorway, a smile forming at the corner of her mouth.

"No one," she replied and busied herself with readjusting the straps of her dress. Her phone buzzed again and she saw Elsa's smile morph into a smirk in the mirror.

Emma glanced down at the phone to read Killian's reply. Nice. But I have to imagine you're wearing more than a pair of shoes out. Unless…

She could almost see the play of his tongue against his top lip that had to come with that message. Knowing full well that Elsa was watching her and she'd pay a price later, she replied, Don't you have work to do?

Done for the day. Not all of us keep vampire hours. Now stop stalling.

She took a close cropped photo of her shoulder, capturing the strap of her dress down to where it joined the fabric curving over her breast, and hit send. Pretending not to notice Elsa's arched eyebrow at the proceedings, she finished applying her lipstick.

"It's nothing, Els."

"Bullshit." Elsa lunged to grab the phone off her dresser as it vibrated again. Emma cut her off at the pass, putting her back between Elsa and the phone.

Getting warmer. Though that is a nice view. Feel free to send it again later. Perhaps with a glimpse of what's underneath.

Emma grinned and shoved her phone in her purse. "I've got to go. I'm already late." She slid past Elsa and picked up her coat off the back of the couch as she made her way to the front door.

"Don't think for one minute that I believe that little back and forth was for the benefit of the skip you are about to meet," Elsa called after her.

Emma groaned as the door shut behind her. Pulling out her phone as she went down the stairs, she fired off one last message to Killian. Remind me to kill you later.


In the end, she was fifteen minutes late for the date.

Luckily, it worked to her advantage as the mark was on his second drink by the time she arrived. When the host let them know their table was ready, her short skirt provided enough distraction for Emma to cuff and lead him out all without having sit through any dull conversation. She would remind herself to thank Killian, but was pretty sure he'd be insufferable if she did.

All of which was how she found herself climbing the last of the stairs to her apartment, balancing her shoes, purse, and a celebratory pizza in one hand as she rooted around for her keys with the other. And completely unaware of the man sitting at her front door.

"Oh, love, I don't think you should have removed those shoes."

She jumped, nearly dumping the pizza and the contents of her purse on the floor. "Wha–?" She looked up to find Killian on the floor, propped up against her door with his legs crossed in front of him and a cat ate the canary expression on his face.

"Movie night is on Friday," was her nonsensical reply.

"So?" he asked, pushing himself up with one hand.

"That's two days from now," she continued, still not processing him standing before her.

"Pizza's getting cold, Swan." He titled his chin towards her hands. "Planning to let us inside?"

She skirted past him and gave him a pointed look. "And when did you get so bossy about what I wore?"

He smiled and crowded her up against the wall, taking the pizza and her shoes from her hand. "Since I found you quite like when I tell you what to do." He dropped a kiss to her collarbone and stepped back, giving her space to let them into her apartment.

Once Emma opened the door, she dumped her coat and purse on the table by the door before moving to allow him in. She made her way to the living room as he closed the door behind them.

"So you just happened to be in the neighborhood?" she asked.

Killian shrugged and slid the pizza onto the coffee table as he dropped her shoes to the floor. "I had a meeting with a client at a site in Bristol, thought I'd take advantage and stop to see you on my way home."

She smiled as he sat down on the couch, toeing off his shoes in the process. "An hour away? In the wrong direction?" she asked, watching him pull his tie loose. She straddled his lap when he finished, grabbing both ends of the opened tie and pulling him in for a kiss.

"Perhaps it's been two weeks since I've seen you and I've been hard since you sent the photo of those shoes," he said when they finally broke apart. He licked at his lips before dipping his head to trace his tongue along her neck, moving to suck at a spot just behind her ear. He pulled her earlobe between his teeth as he moved his hands up her thighs, slipping his hands beneath her dress and curling his fingers in the waist of her underwear. Emma moaned when he tugged on the fabric and let go of his tie, moving her hands to his shoulders to grind herself against his lap. He released her ear and whispered, "Perhaps I thought you wouldn't mind if I stopped by to see if you were amenable to helping me out with that."

Emma pulled back and grinned down at him. "Perhaps."

Killian shifted one hand from under her dress to skim along a strap. He plucked at it as he gave a small nod with his chin. "I believe you promised me a look underneath."

Emma laughed. "I did no such thing," she huffed, but moved her hands to both straps, sliding them down her arms. He ran his finger down between her breasts as she did, hooking a finger in the gathered fabric and pulling it the rest of the way to expose her to him.

His eyebrow did that jumping thing it did when he was amused and she had to bite her lip to keep her grin under control.

"No bra, Swan?" he teased. "Must be a tick inconvenient when you have to give chase."

She intercepted his hands as they moved to touch her, threading her fingers between his and pushing them back towards his chest. "Helps keep them from running in the first place," she taunted as she leaned in.

He hummed, blowing a whisper of breath across her lips.

"Pizza's getting cold," she said, echoing his earlier statement as she moved off his lap to stand in front of him. She pulled to have him follow and he shifted to tug her off balance before standing.

"Let it." He grinned as he stepped into her space. Unwinding his hands from hers, he grabbed at her waist and pulled her over his shoulder with a laugh.


It was still dark when she woke. She took a breath and felt Killian's fingers run along her breastbone.

"What time is it?" she asked, stretching and tangling her legs with his.

"Early," he whispered as he dragged his fingernails back across her nipple. He pressed against the still tender flesh and she sighed, arching into him. He traced a pattern along the underside of her breast before trailing down to stroke her stomach.

"Killian," she moaned. She reached back to card her fingers in his hair, angling his head so that his nose was buried in her neck. He took her cue and began kissing along her shoulder to her spine, working his fingers down between her folds as he did. She tightened her grip and was about to cry out again when she heard the sound of the front door closing and quiet footsteps in the hallway.

They both froze until they heard Elsa shut her bedroom door. Killian stared to move his hand to her hip but Emma reached down and pressed him back between her legs. "Don't have to stop," she said as she rubbed her clit with both of their fingers. Biting her lip to steady her breath a moment, she continued, "Just need to be quiet. Think you're capable of that, tiger?"

"Oh, Swan." He chuckled as he kissed her ear. "I can be a church mouse should the situation call for it." He slid his fingers down to circle at her entrance, pushing two inside with a sharp thrust. "Question is can you?" He crooked his fingers as he finished the question, and she hiccupped when she tried to strangle her answering cry.

"That's not how David tells it," she panted, grinding back against him and enjoying the low hum he gave as she did.

"Not one of my finer years," he said in a hushed tone while continuing to stroke within her. "Like to think I've learnt something about discretion since then."

She shifted her neck so that he could see her smirk. "I don't think he was able to look Ruby in the eye until months after you two broke up."

He grinned back and pressed his cock between her ass. "Conversation for another time, love?" Emma gave another sigh as he thrust against her and then turned to face him, causing his fingers to slip from her. She pushed against his shoulder, nudging him onto his back as she straddled him. She rested a finger on his lips as she heard Elsa padding around again, and reached to grab a condom with her free hand.

Tearing at the package, she leaned back and rolled it down his cock, wrapping her hand around it once it was in place and giving a few pumps. Then lining him up at her entrance, she sank down on him, slowly taking him in inch by inch. She glanced up to find Killian staring at himself sliding into her, biting down on his lip as he met her with a few shallow thrusts of his own.

"Fuck, love. I could watch that all day. Seeing you wrap around my cock, feeling how you pull me in. Seeing how wet I am when I slide out, knowing that I do that to you."

Emma shuddered and bit her lip again as she placed her hands on his chest. "Church mouse, remember?" she whispered.

Then shifting her knees, she gave a few tentative thrusts, trying to establish a rhythm for them. Killian gripped her hips as she did and she righted herself above him, letting him take control of her movements and their pace. She moved her hands down his stomach and along her thighs before bringing them up to cup her own breasts. She locked eyes with him and she rolled her nipples between her fingers, allowing a soft moan as she did.

Killian gave a pointed roll of his hips, pulling her down to him roughly. Emma grinned and continued to play with her breasts, tipping her head back to give a silent cry as the sensations ran down her spine and settled between her thighs. She tried to adjust her angle to give her clit some friction when he grabbed her arms and flipped their positions. He slipped from her as he did but he quickly settled himself back between her legs and sank back in with a deep thrust.

Emma wrapped her legs around him, digging her heel into his ass as he gripped her wrists, pushing them above her head. He leaned in so that he dragged along her clit with each thrust of his punishing pace. The grin he gave when she caught his eye in the gleam from the streetlight was a challenging smirk, goading her to not cry out at the overload that was him against her clit, the head of his cock dragging along her walls, and the press of his chest on her own.

When she finally fell, she had to wrench her arm from his grasp to bite down on her fist in order to keep from shouting as her orgasm tore through her. When she came back to herself, she wasn't sure how much time elapsed, but Killian was wrapping his hand around that fist. He moved it to her side as he rested his forehead against her own.

"Hey," she whispered, running her free hand through his already ridiculously disheveled hair.

He smiled and rubbed his nose against hers. "And here I was simply aiming for some lazy, woken in the middle of the night sex."

She laughed, burying her head against his chest to muffle the sound.

He withdrew, peeling the condom away before rolling off the bed. "Think it's clear?" he asked with a nod towards her door.

She shook her head. "There's a trash bin by the closet." She pulled the duvet back over herself and watched him try not to trip as he made his way over.

He crawled back into bed to join her a moment later, and she turned so he could curl up behind her, his arm slung over her waist. "I'm going to have to leave in a couple of hours, I'll try not to wake you when I go," he said against her temple. She nodded and closed her eyes, burrowing against him and his warmth. "I'll be back Friday night, assuming that's still ok."

She nodded again, the heat of his skin and her boneless state making her feel slow and sleepy. She felt his lips against her head as she drifted back to sleep.


When she woke again, Killian was gone and there was clattering in the kitchen. Emma got up and pulled on the first sweater and pair leggings she found on her floor and went out to join Elsa in her breakfast foraging.

Elsa didn't say anything when Emma entered, just pushed a steaming coffee mug across the counter to her. Emma grunted her thanks and cradled her hands around it as she sat at the table, while Elsa picked a few bagels out of the bag on the counter, splitting and tossing them into the toaster.

After a few minutes of watching the toaster, she turned to Emma and asked, "Was that Killian who spent the night?"

Emma squinted at her.

Elsa rolled her eyes. "There was a pair of men's shoes by the couch when I got home and I thought I saw his car out front when I came in."

"And what were you doing sneaking in at 2 AM anyway?" Emma dodged.

"Nope. We aren't discussing me at the moment."

Emma huffed. "We aren't discussing anything until I've finished my coffee."

Elsa grabbed the bagels when they popped along with some cream cheese and the coffee carafe and joined her at the table. She refilled Emma's cup once she sat. Setting it back down, she sat back and crossed her arms, tilting her chin in a movement that clearly told Emma to stop stalling.

"It's not like that," she lied.

Elsa gave her a look that clearly said she wasn't buying it. "And why not?"

Emma picked up the milk carton and stared at the nutrition information panel. "Maybe it could have been, once," she said with a shrug. Putting the carton down, she looked over at Elsa. "We met not long after Neal left. I was a mess then. I'm frankly surprised we became friends given what a pain in the ass I was."

Elsa nodded as she opened the cream cheese packet and spread some over one of the bagels before passing it to Emma.

Emma nodded her thanks and continued, "By the time I thought I was ready again, he and Ruby were busy doing whatever it was they were doing and I met Walsh." She took a few sips of her coffee before finishing, "You know how that ended."

Elsa sighed and bit into her own bagel. When she finished chewing, she asked, "What does any of that have to do with now?"

"I don't know." She shrugged again. "I mean, if I couldn't make it work with August – one of the most easygoing guys in the world – what makes you think I can make it work with anyone?"

"You can't be serious." Elsa dropped her mug to the table and gave her an incredulous look. "You think you were the problem with you and August?"

Emma furrowed her eyebrows and stared at her own cooling coffee.

"I've heard you say a lot of bullshit over the years, Emma, but that takes the cake."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Elsa pushed her chair from the table and stood. "Look, I don't want to argue with you." Wrapping the uneaten portion of her bagel in a paper towel, she continued, "Especially when we both should be getting ready for work. But just promise me you won't write off the idea of being with Killian. You two work really well together. I'd kill for a relationship like that."

Emma sank down in her chair, tilting her head against the back as Elsa left the kitchen. She wiped her hand across her eyes and wished desperately to rewind a couple hours.