"Swan. Swan. Swan. Swan! Swan!"

Emma cringed and pulled the phone from her ear. Thumbing at the volume as laughter continued in the background on the other side of the call, she brought the phone back towards herself with no small amount of trepidation.

"Yes, Killian?"

Elsa snorted beside her as he cried, "Swan!" again. "Why aren't you here yet? Liam's beginning to think you perhaps don't like him."

She laughed and pointed for Elsa to turn right into the parking lot of The Gull. "He just got there today. You two can't possibly have had your fill of brotherly bonding, or whatever it is you repressed Brits do when getting together."

"You've no idea," he groaned. "It's dreadful. He keeps making me drink. I need someone to distract him or my liver may not survive."

She bit back a laugh and rolled her eyes as Elsa pulled into one of the open parking spaces. "Put Liam on, you idiot." There was a series of muffled sounds followed by the rattle of what had to be one of them dropping the phone on the bar.

"Emma!" Liam boomed after another few moments. "Please tell me I get to see your lovely face before the jet lag does me in."

Emma smiled as Elsa cut the engine. "By the sounds of it, I'm not sure you need me, unless it's as a designated driver."

"We can always use another pretty face."

"Is that your way of saying Tink is already tired of your bullshit?" she asked as she and Elsa slipped from her car, pushing the doors closed behind them as quietly as they could.

"I wouldn't say that."

Emma could hear the smile pulling at the corner of his mouth with those words. "Uh huh," she replied. She grinned despite herself as she weaved with Elsa between the parked cars, passing Killian's GTO on the way to the entrance. "I'll see what I can do about getting to your neck of the woods sometime tonight."

"You'd honestly leave me here all alone with this drunken oaf? I thought you loved me, Emma Swan."

"Bye, Liam," was her only answer as she swiped at her phone to end the call.

Elsa glanced over as Emma pulled open the door. "What's with the subterfuge?"

"More fun this way."

Stepping inside, Emma could see both Joneses at the end of the bar. Killian was swatting at Liam in a pathetic attempt to take back his phone while Liam nearly fell off his stool in his attempt to angle his arm from Killian's reach.

"Boys!" she shouted loud enough to cause Liam to drop Killian's phone. "I don't think Tink has ever done anything to deserve the two of you acting like children at the end of her bar."

"Finally!" Tink yelled. "I was getting desperate enough to call David out here." She winked at Emma before turning and pulling down one of the whiskey bottles from the shelves lining the back of the bar.

Liam scrambled off his stool and took three large strides over to where they stood, wrapping Emma in a tight hug and spinning her around. She laughed and lifted her feet to allow the spin, genuinely happy to see him not through a screen for the first time in years. When he finally put her down, she turned and introduced Elsa to him.

In what she knew was a genetic incapacity to turn down the charm, Liam looped Elsa's arm through his and led her off in the direction of Tink and the drinks that were already waiting for them. She was about to follow, and give shit to Liam for leaving her behind, when Killian's hand slid along her elbow.

"Hey," he whispered, turning her towards him, one hip swaying into her space.

She smiled. It had been a week since she'd seen him. Her current cases had all seemed to hit at the same time, leaving her to spend most nights that week tailing three of them while the background work for a fourth was taking more effort than she anticipated. At least one of her open bail skips had panned out, so there was the consolation of that check cashed.

But now, here in this bar, she wanted to close the last bit of distance between them, pull Killian in that last inch or two. She wanted to breathe in the scent of him at the crook of his neck, to kiss along his stubbled jaw and close in on his smiling lips. She wanted to say fuck it to the fact they had an audience. She wanted to say fuck it to pact in general.

She wanted him, plain and simple.

She looked up to find Killian grinning down at her, his eyes bright and his eyebrow quirked as his tongue poked at the corner of his mouth. She'd almost bet he knew what she was thinking and was goading her to act. She reached out and curled her hand in the open collar of his shirt, pulling him to her ever so slightly, only to be interrupted by a glass dangling in front of her face.

Irritation flashed across Killian's eyes a moment before he schooled his expression. Emma turned to find Liam wrapping his free arm around Killian's shoulder while holding a drink out to her.

"I rescued it for you," Liam said. "Elsa was threatening to drink it for you, if you didn't stop, I believe her words were, canoodling with my little brother here."

"Oi!" Killian shouted, elbowing Liam.

"Is that so?" she said, looking over Liam's shoulder and sticking her tongue out at both Elsa and Tink, who were offering her twin tiny waves from the bar. She knocked back the contents in one quick swallow and put the glass back in Liam's hand. "Why don't you make yourself useful and get that refilled for me."

Liam laughed and let go of Killian as he turned back to the bar, wagging the empty glass at Tink.


It took Killian less than an hour to work the two of them into the small hallway leading to The Gull's bathrooms. Emma hitched her leg up to wrap around his hip as he gripped the back of her thigh and kissed his way down neck and across her collarbone.

"Killian," she whined, slipping another button of his shirt open and threading her fingers through his chest hair.

He groaned against her skin before pulling back and smiling down at her. He rested his forehead against her own and whispered, "'Lo there."

She reached up and tugged at the strand of hair that fell over his ear, his left dimple deepening as she did. "Your brother," she started, but became distracted by the way the dim light of the hall reflected on the patch of skin just below his ear and had to trace the shadow with her lips.

"Aye," he grunted as she nipped at the same spot. "But you were sitting there, looking like you needed to be kissed, and –"

"Yeah?" she asked, snaking a hand beneath his rolled up shirt sleeve, scratching at his bicep.

"You know how I like your hair up," he said, twisting the end of her ponytail around a finger, tilting her head back and further exposing her neck to him. "And maybe I've been wanting to kiss you since you walked out my door last weekend," he said and kissed at the hollow of her throat.

"Yeah?" she repeated, rolling her hips up and into his. Her skin was heated everywhere he was pressed to her and the want inside her curled deeper with each twitch of his cock against her belly. And maybe it was the two and a half drinks flowing through her blood stream, but she wanted him to tell her more. She wanted to know she affected him as much as he did her. Even if it was something she shouldn't was, was so much more than what they had promised one another.

Killian smiled as he let go of her hair and thumbed at her chin. "Aye, love."

Emma was leaning back in, her lips just brushing his when she heard a whoop followed by Elsa's bright laugh from the front of the bar. "That can't be good," she said against his lips, smiling at the sound.

"How badly do you think she's beaten him this time?"

"Elsa?" She blinked. "At darts? One of us should probably go make sure she doesn't make him drink more shots just for challenging her in the first place."

Killian laughed and left a kiss to her throat. "Fair point. So you'll do the honors then?" he asked, not pulling back but instead nuzzling between her breasts.

She rolled her eyes. "I would, but someone would need to let go of me so I can intervene."

He whined but slowly lowered her leg, only to nose at one breast as his hand cupped the other.

She moaned, arching into him as he massaged his palm against her clothed nipple. "You're making it hard to go."

"I know," he murmured, lifting his head to place another kiss to the juncture where her neck met her shoulder.

She put her hand on his shoulder and pushed gently, giving herself enough room to slip from between him and the wall.

"I take it you'll need a minute before joining me?" she called before she turned to re-enter the main room of the bar. He was smirking at her as he slumped against the wall, giving her a small wave off. She ducked back towards Elsa before she was tempted to turn back and wipe the smirk off his face.


In the end, Elsa ended up as their designated driver. Despite her threats of commandeering Emma's drinks, she had paced herself while the rest of them tore through the better part of the bottle of whiskey Tink offered them. They left Emma's car in the parking lot and piled into Killian's GTO, Killian claiming shot gun in order to help direct Elsa back to his house. Emma suspected he also wanted to keep an eye on his baby while she was under someone else's control.

Emma curled in the back next to Liam, resting her head on his arm and drifting off with the hum of the engine and Liam's quiet snores. She was woken a few minutes later by Elsa's low whistle as they pulled into Killian's driveway.

"Damn."

Emma couldn't see Killian's face from her position behind him, but she knew he'd have a broad grin and a bit of red seeping across his cheeks at Elsa's appreciation.

Throwing the car in park, she caught Emma's eye in the rearview mirror. "No wonder you spend more time here than our apartment."

Liam turned and arched his brow at her but said nothing.

Emma grunted and slipped from the car. "I like the view," she mumbled.

"Uh huh," Elsa said as she swung her arm over Emma's shoulder. "Do I get a brief tour before we fall over from exhaustion?"


Emma stepped out of the guest bathroom to find Killian leaning up against the wall across from the door.

"Hello, again," he said, reaching out and lacing his fingers through hers. He tugged her down the hall and to the living room, falling back into the couch and pulling her with him.

She straddled his lap and circled her arms around his neck, leaning in and looking down at him. Killian ran his hands up her bare legs as he returned her smile. "You should come to bed with me." His fingers skated along the hem of her sleep shorts and he trailed a series of kisses along her collarbone.

"I'm pretty sure Elsa will notice if I don't come back to the room," she replied, threading her fingers in the hair curled at the nape of his neck, pulling him closer as his teeth worried at her skin.

Kissing a slow path up her neck and to her ear, he whispered, "You sure I can't convince you?" He slipped his hands up to her waist, pushing them below her loose tank top and ghosting his thumbs along curve of the underside of her breasts.

"Killian," she warned, though it sounded far too breathy to her ears.

Tracing up the sides before looping back down and circling her nipples, he swiped against them as they tightened and she arched into his touch.

"Maybe just a little while?" he coaxed, moving to palm her fully, squeezing and pressing before returning to teasing touches with his fingertips. "A week is too long." He pinched and rolled her nipples, hardening them further and building a warmth that spread out from the base of her spine. "And I spent the morning with some rather distracting thoughts about laying you out on my desk."

Emma hummed in interest, feeling the heat pool lower. Her hips shifted, brushing her against him as he thrust up, leaving her with little doubt as to the direction of those thoughts.

Killian kissed at the hollow of her throat, swirling his tongue around the knob of bone there before moving up along her neck. "Indeed, love," he whispered against her ear. "We took all sorts of advantage of my newly cleaned desk." He pulled her earlobe between his teeth and tugged. "Your pretty pale skin contrasted so nicely with the dark wood. I was spreading you open, watching you take every last inch of me in, over and over while your breasts swayed with each thrust." He stroked her breasts again, pressing them up towards her chin. "Do you know how beautiful your breasts look when I fuck you? I'd like to watch them in the mirror across from my desk as I bend you over it."

"Killian," she whined again, knowing if she didn't get up soon, she'd end up fucking him right on the couch, Elsa and Liam be damned.

"Yes, love," he drawled. "You were pleading just like that. Begging me to let you come. You were positively indecent."

"Liam and Elsa are just down the hall," she protested.

"And?" he asked, moving his hands from her breasts to her hips, guiding her movements down into him as he rutted against her. "I think you like that, the idea you could be caught."

"Says the man who's narrating his fantasy of fucking me in his office." She grinned and shifted, lining his erection along her clit, arching again as the sensations running up her spine deepened.

"You've no idea. Was so hard, almost as hard as I am now. Wanted to call you, to hear your voice so I could jerk myself off."

"Why didn't you?"

Killian stopped for a moment and glanced up at her, a smirk playing at the corners of his mouth. "Wasn't sure it would be welcome."

Emma laughed, burying her face in the crook of his neck to muffle the sound. "Not that I should encourage you," she said, "but you could probably talk me into all sorts of things."

He growled and chased after lips, catching the bottom one between his and pulling before letting it go and kissing her fully. She opened her mouth to him and his tongue swept along hers, tangling them together.

When he broke away, he stayed close, his lips barely leaving hers. "You sure you won't come to bed with me, love?"

Emma pulled back to study his face. His eyes seemed clear of the haze that clouded them when they left the bar. She chewed on her lip as he offered her a small smile.

"But your brother and Elsa," she sighed.

"Aye."

After a moment, she answered, "Ask me again when we haven't been drinking."

Killian nodded and leaned up to kiss her forehead. He nudged her to stand, following her up and twining his hand in one of her own. He drew her down the hall towards the spare bedrooms. When they reached the door to the room she was sharing with Elsa he stopped and she almost tripped into him. He steadied her with his free hand on her shoulder.

"Know this isn't a whim, Emma." He thumbed at the frayed collar of her tank top. "Tonight out was fun, but I spent so much of it wanting." He moved a hand up to cup her chin, his other squeezing the hand it held. "And I think you did too."

She watched him hesitate for a moment and then he leaned in and brushed his lips against hers.

"Sleep well," he whispered before stepping back, squeezing her hand once more before letting go and heading back towards his bedroom.


She managed to slip into the bedroom, quietly shutting the door only to trip over the boots she left lying on the floor earlier.

"Emma?"

She sank down on the bed and shuffled under the covers. She could sort of make out Elsa squinting at her in the dim moonlight. Emma took a few deep breaths, wondering what, if anything, she wanted to tell her.

"I think Killian just asked me out," she blurted out, tucking one of the extra pillows to her chest.

"What?" Elsa scrambled to prop herself her elbow.

"Shhh!"

"What?" Elsa repeated, barely above a whisper this time.

Glad she couldn't really see her eyes, Emma barreled on. "Actually, he asked me to bed."

Elsa squeaked. "No offense, Emma, but why are you in here then?"

She buried her head in the pillow crushed to her chest, avoiding looking at Elsa as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. "He asked me to bed knowing full well you and his brother were just down the hall."

"And?"

Emma took a deep breath in. "Will you kill me if I admit we've been sleeping together for the last six months?"

"Emma Swan! I knew it!" she whisper shouted, hitting her arm in emphasis.

Emma closed her eyes, wondering what her chances were of Elsa falling back asleep without talking about this further. None. She knew her chances were none.

"Emma," she started, pulling the pillow down from her face. "So why is it you are in here with me?"

"I don't know," she sighed. "It's too much, maybe? It isn't what we agreed to."

"What did you agree to?"

Emma flipped over, staring up at the ceiling. "Some no strings fun. That's all it's supposed to be."

Elsa seemed to be waiting for her to continue. When she didn't, she finally asked, "Do you want it to be something more?"

She focused on the pounding of her pulse as it throbbed behind her ear. She knew what she wanted, just couldn't seem to form the words. Working to steady the thrum in her head, she murmured, "I'm scared."

Elsa wrapped an arm around her, pulling herself close to Emma, resting her head on her shoulder.

"I'm fairly certain that this is one case where you have nothing to worry about."


When Emma woke the next morning, Elsa was still asleep, snoring lightly beside her. Emma slipped from bed and grabbed her robe, not tying it closed as she tiptoed from the room.

She found Liam stretched out on the living room couch, his attention on a soccer match playing on the television. Killian was leaning against the kitchen counter wearing just a pair of sleep pants, coffee mug perched in one hand as he swiped through his phone. He glanced up as she approached, offering her a small smile as he pocketed the phone.

"Morning, love" he greeted, his smile widening as she cradled herself between his thighs.

"Hi," she whispered, resting one hand in his bare chest and wrapping the other around his coffee mug. She slipped it from his hand and took a sip.

He raised an eyebrow at her, but took the opportunity to settle his hands on her hips, his fingers sliding along the skin above the waistband of her shorts. She hummed and took another sip of coffee before putting the mug down on the counter behind him. She brought her hand up to scratch at the nape of his neck and was stepping onto the balls of her feet when Liam's shouting at the television interrupted.

Killian looked over her shoulder. "Ref still unable to see more than five feet from the end of his nose?" he called.

"I don't even know why I let you talk me into watching Italian League," Liam grumbled. "This is a bloody train wreck."

Emma rolled her eyes but stepped back to allow Killian to join his brother. He pressed a kiss against her temple before picking up his mug and walking towards the couch.

"There's an art to it. It's not my fault you have no appreciation."

She pulled another mug from the cabinet and poured herself cup as she watched Liam punch Killian's arm as he sat. She smiled when Killian turned back a moment to glance at her.

"I'm going to shower," she mouthed and nodded towards the bathroom.

He bit down on his lower lip in a manner that clearly spoke of wanting to join her. "Alone," she added, giving him a stern look.

He pouted and she grinned as she brought her mug to her lips, taking a sip before walking back down the hall.


Emma knew they should talk about Friday night. She was an adult and old enough to know that's what they should do. Even if talking about feelings made her itch, let alone talking about the complexity of what it was she felt for Killian. But because she was who she was, and it was what she did best, she let another week pass while she avoided the subject.

With Liam in town, it was easy enough to do. The long weekend at Killian's with Elsa was a blur of touring Liam around, dragging other friends out with them, and generally drinking and eating too much. Her mid-week routine of spending a few days working from Killian's house was also disrupted, much to Emma's chagrin at realizing she had near weekly routines that revolved around hunching over her laptop at Killian's dining room table.

Much less that she missed them terribly.

All of which was why she found herself sulking alone on Killian's couch in the midst of a party as she nursed a gin drink and watched Killian and Liam, despite the frigid temperature, have an argument out on the back deck.

"What do you think they're talking about?"

The couch dipped as Mary Margaret joined her, nodding towards where Killian and Liam stood. Killian looked to be pulling at the hair at the back of his neck as Liam gesticulated a bit wildly in emphasis of whatever it was that was annoying him.

Emma shrugged, letting her head fall to Mary Margaret's shoulder, the combination of the heat from the fireplace and the alcohol making her feel sluggish. Mary Margaret tilted her head to rest on hers and they continued to sit there, silently staring at the fire as the party swirled around them.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Mary Margaret asked after a while.

Emma tensed. "What's there to talk about?" she bit out reflexively.

Mary Margaret shifted to the side, shooting her a skeptical glare complete with pursed lips. Emma sighed.

"No need to get cagey," Mary Margaret said, reaching out to wrap one of Emma's hands in her own. "Just thought you might like someone to talk to about whatever it is that's going on between you and Killian."

Emma picked up her drink off the coffee table and polished off the remains. "Is it that obvious?" she asked.

Mary Margaret laughed and Emma glared, causing her to raise her arms in appeasement. She nudged Emma as she put her hands down and Emma nudged back with an eye roll.

"Can I ask for a rain check?" she asked, offering a weak smile.

"I'm here when you are ready," Mary Margaret said and picked up both their glasses, getting up from the couch as Killian slunk back inside and walked towards them. "Want another drink?" she asked as Killian slid into her vacated spot.

Emma smiled and nodded, settling against Killian as he pulled her back to him. She rested her head on his chest and looked up at him, earning a smile from him as he glanced down. "What's got Liam all in a huff?"

His smile turned wry. "Mind if we talk about it later, after everyone's left?"

She tried not to stiffen at his words, an echo of her own to Mary Margaret, but she must have anyway because he twisted a lock of her hair around his finger and whispered, "It's nothing to worry about, love. Liam is simply emphatic when he feels I've been an idiot. Elder brother and all." She hummed an understanding she didn't feel, but let Killian lull her with the steady smoothing of his hand up and down her arm.

She wasn't entirely sure when she fell asleep or how long she was out, but when she woke she could hear laughter and voices coming from around the dining table behind the couch. The noise level was quieter than before, so it must have been late enough for the number of guests to have dwindled. Killian was still with her, but had shifted so he was lengthwise along the cushions with her nestled in between his legs. She felt warm and languid, a combination of the fire and the way his hand lingered along her leg beneath the throw he must have covered them with.

Killian seemed to be talking with Graham and Robin, but she kept her eyes closed, letting their voices wash over her as she stretched and snuggled further into him. His hand moved up her thigh as she did, coming to rest at the waist of her jeans. Emma turned her face into his chest and grinned, resting her own hand at his hip, rubbing her thumb along the soft flannel of his shirt. He tapped one finger against the button of her fly and she shifted as he slipped his hand down the seam of her jeans, coming to rest over center. He pressed down with the heel of his palm and she ground up into his hand in encouragement. Bringing one hand up to her face, he rested a finger on her lips in a silent request for her to keep quiet.

She listened as Killian kept talking about some match they'd watched earlier in the week, but she had trouble focusing on his words as he popped her fly and spread open her zipper. His fingers teased over her underwear, dipping down and resting at her clit, rubbing a few lazy circles before moving back up to trail along the edge of the lace. Ignoring the voice that told her she should stop him, she instead tried to twist and give him better access in the cramped space. She was rewarded with his fingers slipping beneath her underwear and teasing the soft, bare skin at her mound.

The moment he registered the bare skin, his chest hitched and fingers faltered before pushing down to her folds and finding them bare as well. She grinned to herself. She usually kept herself trim and neat, but he had made a passing comment some weeks back. It was a toss away thought breathed against her skin in the heat of the moment, him wondering what it would feel like to touch her like this. It left her curious and wanting enough to try it.

His free hand came down and squeezed her arm almost too tightly, and he chanced to whisper against her temple. "You are entirely unfair, Swan. And entirely too good for me."

She glanced up at him and found him staring at her with a fire in his eyes that made her wish the last of his guests had already left.

"Emma still asleep, mate?" Robin asked and she closed her eyes and settled back against him.

"Aye," he answered, his tone a forced sort of light as his fingers continued their exploration, brushing up and down along as much of her as he could reach.

She was having trouble keeping her breath steady, the sensation of the pads of his fingers dragging along her skin almost too much with no barrier between them. The sparks that ran from her core and through her spine were causing her hand to flex at his waist, gripping him as a way to focus on not making a sound. She wished desperately that she somewhere she should stretch out, to allow Killian to touch and tease as he wanted. Knowing that if this is what it felt like without him really even touching her, she might not survive the feel of his tongue pressed against her skin.

Killian continued to pick apart some play from the game, the details lost on her as he slipped a finger between her folds, dipping and thrusting shallowly into her entrance before moving back to her clit. He rolled and pinched her between his fingers, then swiped in broad circles before repeating the pattern, winding her straight up with what he knew would get her off.

She would have marveled at his ability to sound so calm as he touched her, but the unrelenting pace of how he was building her up narrowed her focus to how her hand was bunching and pulling at his tucked shirt. She about cried in triumph when she felt the first touch of her hand on the warm skin of his side, but caught herself with a bite of her lip. Her grasping at his skin seemed to cause him to redouble his efforts, pressing back into her as his thumb rolled against her clit. She bit down on the back of her hand as she came, using any focus she had to keep herself from arching and rolling with the wave of sensations pounding through her.

When she came back to herself, it was to the feel of Killian zipping her jeans back up and adjusting himself to sit up straighter. She heard him saying something about putting her to bed, but it didn't really register until she found him lifting her up off the couch and carrying her to his room.

He placed her on his bed and moved to join her.

"What are you doing?" she asked, but feeling too lazy and sated to really protest.

He grinned and crawled over to her, straddling her hips and gathering her hands in his. "Taking further advantage," he replied, waggling his eyebrows. He leaned up and pushed her arms above her head. He kissed her lightly, a simple brush of his lips across hers before he let go and sat up. He walked towards the windows and pulled the shades closed.

"Do me a favor and wait here," he said. "I'm going to see the last of our guests take their leave shortly."

She gave a small nod as he left the room, pulling the door shut behind him.

'Tomorrow,' she thought. 'Plenty of time to talk tomorrow.'