Title: Accidentally in Love
Author: Steph
Rating: PG
Pairing: Killian/Emma
Characters: Killian, Emma, Belle, David, Mary Margaret, Robin.
Category: Romance/Humor/Drama
Disclaimer: I do this out of a love for this couple. No infringement is intended.
Spoilers: Nope!
Summary: Emma Swan needs to be married by 30 in order to receive the money from her trust fund and save her failing business. Killian Jones is the thief who just tried to rob her store. The two strike a deal: Killian will pretend to marry Emma and she won't send him to jail.
Note: Thanks for your responses to the last part and for reading! And thanks for the input about how often to update! The consensus was to keep it at every 2-3 days, so I'll stick with that. Hope you enjoy this part! -Steph
…Accidentally in Love: Part 6/12...
~Of course I trust you.~
The DJ stood in the middle of the dance floor and gestured at Emma and Killian. "And now, for the first time as husband and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Jones."
Emma smiled, as she slipped her hand into Killian's. Mrs. Jones. She liked the sound of that, even though she knew would choose to be Swan-Jones if this were the real thing.
They took their place in the center of the dance floor, the eyes of their guests upon them. Emma met Killian's gaze, as Ed Sheeran's 'Thinking Out Loud' filled the air.
"I know this should feel weird, but it doesn't," she said.
Killian nodded. Holding Emma in his arms felt completely natural, like he had been waiting his whole life to do it. He vowed in that moment to allow himself to enjoy this day with Emma. Despite their feelings for each other, he knew they could never be more. So, if this was the only chance he'd ever get to call Emma Swan his, then he was going to make the most of it.
He smiled down at her. "These last few weeks, Emma…they've been the happiest of my life."
"Mine too. I never expected this, Killian." She took a deep breath. "When this started, I had a goal in mind and you were simply the guy to help me reach that goal. And you were so irritating, I could barely stand it!"
Killian chuckled. "I rather enjoyed annoying you, love."
Emma's expression grew serious. "But somewhere along the line, things became real between us."
"Did that frighten you? Considering your history, I would expect it to."
Emma nodded. "It did. I kept denying there was more and pushing my feelings aside."
"What changed?"
"We spent that day together and I realized there was so much more to you. And then I met your eyes before I started walking down the aisle and I knew you'd be there for me like you said would. I knew you wouldn't let me down. For the first time since Neal, I knew I could trust another man with my heart."
Killian swallowed hard. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her, but she wasn't seeing the situation realistically. After the wedding, he'd have to set her straight and then he'd be the one breaking her heart this time.
Emma placed her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, as they swayed back and forth. Killian rested his cheek against her soft hair, knowing he would never get to feel her this close again.
The song slowly ended and Killian reluctantly released his hold on Emma, but kept their hands interlocked.
They returned to their table and took their spots beside Robin and Belle. They had no sooner sat down when they heard the clinking of a fork against a glass. Robin smirked as he tapped the glass repeatedly and then the guests joined in.
Emma smiled, as she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Killian's lips. They both thought about deepening the kiss for a moment, but decided they had given their family and friends enough of a show the last two days.
They parted, but their hands remained joined beneath the table. A moment later, Belle stood up, her glass in her hand.
"I would like to make a toast to my best friend and business partner," she said, her eyes focused on Emma. "Emma, you are the strongest woman I know and I am so blessed to have you in my life. I am so happy that you found someone to spend the rest of your life with. I can see how happy Killian makes you and that is all I have ever wanted for you. I wish you all the best as you begin your lives together."
Belle bent down and gave Emma a hug. Then she sat down and whispered in her ear. "So, are you ready to admit you fell for him yet?"
Emma chuckled softly. "Is it really that obvious?"
Belle nodded. "About as obvious as it is that he fell for you, too." Belle smiled at Emma. "I meant every word of that speech. I know this wedding isn't real, but I can see that the way you feel for each other is. You positively light up every time he's near you. I am so happy for you, Emma."
Emma felt tears welling up in her eyes. "Thank you, Belle."
Killian leaned forward, noticing the tear slip down Emma's cheek.
"What's the matter, love? Are you okay?" he asked, his voice laced with concern.
Emma nodded. "I'm fine. I'm just really happy right now."
Killian managed a smile.
The reception went on and soon it was time to cut the cake.
Emma threw Killian a warning look as they approached it. "Don't even think about smashing that cake in my face."
"Emma, I wouldn't dream of marring the beautiful face of my bride."
Emma eyed him suspiciously as they cut the cake together. True to his word, he carefully placed the cake into her mouth. When it was Emma's turn, she brought the cake up to his mouth and then her eyes sparkled mischievously as she smashed it into his face. Killian's eyes widened for a moment, but then he started laughing along with Emma and their guests.
She reached her finger up and dragged it along his jaw, then popped it into her mouth. "Hmmm, you're delicious."
"You have no idea," he said, as he reached out and wrapped his arms around her.
He pulled her to him, crashing his lips into hers and initiating a kiss between them for the first time. Emma giggled as the frosting tickled her lips, but she had to admit he tasted damn good.
When they parted, he reached up and caressed her face, as he stared at her lovingly. He used his thumb to slowly wipe the frosting from her lips.
Without warning, he felt his own tears build in his eyes. The wedding was nearly over. He realized that would probably be the last time he ever kissed her.
Emma noticed the emotion overtake him and reached up to cup his face, her thumb stroking his cheek. "Hey, are you okay?"
He nodded, as he swallowed around the lump in his throat. "You aren't the only one who's happy, you know."
Emma smiled at him, as her parents suddenly appeared by their side.
"Emma, this has been the most wonderful day," her mother said.
Her father nodded. "It couldn't have been any better."
Emma hugged her parents and then bobbed her head. "I have you two to thank for that, especially you, Mom. You pulled all of this together in just a few weeks and you made it so special. Thank you."
Mary Margaret smiled. "I'm just so glad you found someone to make you happy, Emma."
David looked at Killian. "I trust that you'll take care of my little girl. She gave her heart to you and that is the greatest gift."
Killian felt his throat begin to burn, as David extended his hand. Killian slipped his into it and nodded.
….
~A man unwilling to fight for what he wants, deserves what he gets.~
After the wedding ended, Killian and Emma made their way up to her childhood bedroom hand-in-hand. Her parents had wanted to give them a honeymoon to Paris, but Emma felt too guilty to accept anything more from them. Although spending time with Killian in the most romantic city in the world was very hard to resist.
Emma made an excuse that Killian had to get back to work in Manhattan the following morning so they would have to wait a few months to take their honeymoon. Her mother had then insisted they spend their wedding night there. Unable to come up with another excuse quickly, Emma had agreed.
At the time, she knew their fake marriage wasn't to be consummated, so she figured it didn't really matter. She'd sleep on the bed and Killian could sleep on the couch in her large former bedroom.
But now things had changed between them and she wondered if something more could happen between them that night.
She closed the door behind her and met Killian's eyes, as she bit at her lower lip. His eyes scanned her room and he chuckled softly.
"Nice Justin Timberlake posters," he said, gesturing to those that lined her walls.
Emma laughed. "My parents haven't really changed my room since I moved out."
The lighthearted moment slowly turned into an awkward silence. Emma moved toward him, closing the distance between them. Their eyes met and she slowly began to lift her lips to his, but his hand on her cheek stopped her.
"Emma, we need to talk."
Emma laughed nervously. "Uh oh, don't tell me the honeymoon is over already."
Emma waited for him to laugh too, but his expression remained serious. Her laugh slowly subsided.
"What is it, Killian?"
He licked at his lips anxiously before beginning. "This thing between us…to say it caught me off-guard would be a massive understatement."
Emma nodded. "Me too. Killian, you're the biggest surprise of my life."
"Emma."
She shook her head. "No, please, I need to say this. After Neal broke my heart, I swore off relationships for good. I wasn't about to risk my heart being broken again. And then you came along and you turned out to be everything I was sure you weren't when we first met. You were funny and smart and caring and supportive. Somehow, someway, you opened my heart to love again, Killian. I fell in love with you."
Killian furiously blinked back tears. She wasn't making this any easier.
"And I you," he whispered. "The truth is, I swore off love too after Milah broke my heart. And then I met you. You were like a breath of fresh air. There aren't many women that I can't instantly charm, but you were different. You challenged me and you woke up parts of myself that I thought were dead."
Emma took his hands in hers. "Killian, we pretended for so long and then it suddenly became real. Now, we don't have to pretend anymore. I don't have to feel guilty for lying to my parents anymore."
Killian shook his head. "Love, it's not that simple."
"Of course, it is. We don't even have to avoid my parents now. We don't have to pretend to get divorced in a couple of months. I can collect my trust fund and my parents never have to know about our ruse. We can just be together and see where this takes us. And if one day we decide to truly get married, then we can do it just the two of us."
"Emma, you haven't thought this through."
Emma felt her heart begin to beat faster. She became alarmed by the look in his eyes and the tone of his voice. He pulled back and broke contact with her.
"Killian, what are you talking about?"
He swallowed hard and whispered. "Emma, we can never really be together."
Emma felt like she'd been punched in the gut.
She shook her head back and forth. "What are you talking about? Of course we can."
"You've forgotten that your parents don't know who I really am. They believe I'm a stockbroker whose parents work for the Queen."
Emma nodded, as she breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, I see your point. If we're going to make this work, then my parents have to learn of our ruse eventually and find out your true identity. We'll just have to give it a bit of time so I can be sure that my trust fund won't be revoked. Then we'll tell them the truth."
"They'll be furious with you."
"I'm sure they will, but in time, they'll forgive me. All they really want is for me to be happy and they'll see that I finally am because of you."
Killian shook his head. "They may be able to forgive your deception, Emma, but they'll never be able to accept the true Killian Jones."
Emma's brow furrowed. "What do you mean? They already love you, Killian."
"They don't know me. They don't know that I was raised poor by a single mother. They don't know I'm a thief."
"Those things don't matter. You've shown them the real you. You've shown them how caring and supportive you are. That wasn't pretend."
Killian sighed heavily. "Emma, you told me yourself that your parents swore they would never allow you to be with a man who didn't descend from good breeding. I'm about as far away from that as you can get. And when they learn I'm a thief, they're going to believe I only want you for your money. They'll never accept me."
Emma shook her head. "I know that's not true and I'll make them see it too. They were just trying to protect me. But who I am with is my choice. And I choose you, Killian."
He moved his gaze to the ground. "Emma."
"I love you," she whispered, her voice now quivering.
"I love you, too," he replied softly, as he forced himself to meet her eyes. "But it's not enough."
Emma sucked in a breath and shook her head back and forth furiously, as she began to feel desperate. "Listen to me, please. If my parents can't accept you, if they can't accept us, then that's their problem."
Killian shook his head sharply. "No, I can't come between you and your parents. You'll resent me, Emma. Perhaps not now, but one day, you will look at me and you'll realize I'm the reason you have no relationship with them and you will resent me. And that will be the beginning of the end for us. We won't be able to survive it. It's better to end things right now before they go too far and get too painful."
Emma's eyes widened. "Go too far? I just told you I love you, Killian! And you said it back! Things have already gone too far. And do you want to talk about pain? I opened myself up to you. I let myself trust you. If you do this to me now, my heart won't recover this time."
Killian squeezed his eyes closed, the pain in her own eyes too much to bear. "I am trying to do the right thing."
"Look at me," she said in a harsh whisper. "Open your damn eyes and look at me." He met her gaze, as her voice emerged shakily, "Was it all a lie? Did you ever have real feelings for me? Or was I just your Get Out of Jail Free card? Now that you got what you wanted you don't need me anymore."
Killian's mouth dropped open and he shook his head. "No, Emma, that's not what this is about. I didn't use you. My feelings for you are true."
Emma laughed bitterly, as she roughly wiped at the tears cascading down her cheeks with her knuckles. "I was actually hoping you'd say I was right. I think it would actually hurt less. I could lump you in with Neal as another man who never loved me, who took what he wanted, and then threw me aside. You see, it's easy to hurt someone you don't really love. But you say your feelings are true. You say they're real and, yet, you're choosing to stomp all over my heart anyway. You love me and you're choosing to cause me pain. That hurts far more than anything Neal could have ever done to me."
Killian felt like she'd stabbed him in the heart. It was killing him to hurt her like this. He wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms and hold her tight. He wanted to make her understand, but everything he said made it worse.
He sucked in a ragged breath. "Do you think this is easy for me, Emma? You don't think I want to be with you more than anything in this world? Because I do. I'd give everything up to be with you, but it won't change who I am. Whether you believe it or not, I am trying to protect you. That's what love is. You put the other person first, you sacrifice for them. I won't be the reason you lose your family. I can't be. I lost my mother, father, and brother. I know what it feels like to be alone. I have no one, Emma, and I won't let that happen to you, too."
Emma tightened her jaw, as she replied in a sharp whisper. "You're wrong, Killian. You weren't alone anymore. You had me." She paused and then added. "And one day you're going to realize you just made the biggest mistake of your life, but it's going to be too late."
With that, she turned away from him and headed into her bathroom, slamming the door shut behind her.
"Emma!" he called after her, but was met with silence.
Emma pressed herself against the door and slowly slid down to the ground. She pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her head on the skirt of her wedding dress, as she cried.
She wondered how the best day of her life had turned into the worst.
…
~There's not a day that will go by that I won't think of you.~
Emma emerged from the bathroom more than an hour later. She waited until she thought he was asleep. Killian had closed his eyes when he heard the door open and pretended to be asleep on the couch.
They had both proceeded to lie awake staring at the ceiling for hours, sleep only coming from sheer exhaustion. Emma woke first and got ready. When she came out of the bathroom and found him awake, she didn't say a word to him. He went about getting ready and found her sitting on the bed when he came out of the bathroom.
She headed toward the door in silence, her hand on the knob when his voice stopped her.
"Emma, please. We need to talk."
She spun around to face him.
"I think everything there was to say was said last night, don't you?" she replied sharply.
"I don't want things to end like this between us."
"Really? You could've fooled me."
Killian thought they would go back to the original plan. He would disappear from her life now that he had fulfilled his end of the deal. But as he lay awake all night, the mere thought of never seeing Emma again tore him apart.
"I…I don't want to lose you. I still want you in my life, Emma. I can't imagine never seeing you again. I hope we can remain friends."
Emma laughed bitterly. "Did you really just give me the 'I want to stay friends' speech? Seriously? I can't even look at you without feeling pain. Like physical pain. I can't see you again after this, Killian. I have to find a way to move on and I won't be able to do that if you stay in my life. We're going to go say goodbye to my parents and then I never want to see you again."
Killian felt the air leave his lungs. He opened his mouth to respond, but no words came out. Emma opened the door and walked out into the hall. He stood rooted to his spot for a long moment, but then slowly followed her. She stopped at the top of the stairs and held her hand out to him.
"Take my hand," she ordered.
"What?" he asked, surprised that she'd want to have any physical contact with him.
"Take my hand," she repeated through gritted teeth. "We're supposed to be newlyweds. We need to act like it for a few more minutes."
Killian nodded and slipped his hand into hers, savoring the feel of her one last time. They descended the stairs and were promptly met with her parents standing in the foyer.
Mary Margaret smiled. "How are the newlyweds?"
Emma plastered on a smile. "Great."
"Wonderful," Killian added, his eyes rooted to the floor.
David nodded. "Good to hear. Marriage seems to agree with you both."
Emma moved to hug her parents. "Well, we have to be going. Killian has to get back to work in Manhattan. "
Mary Margaret shook her head. "Actually, there are a few things we need to discuss."
Emma took a deep breath. She had been waiting for her mother to bring up the trust fund. She didn't want to broach the subject for fear of arousing suspicion.
"Emma, as you know, you will be turning 30 in two days," Mary Margaret began. "Your grandmother set-up your trust fund so that you could claim it on your 30th birthday, providing you were married by then."
David smiled, as he patted Killian on the back. "So looks like you two found each other in the nick of time."
Killian nodded. "Aye, that we did."
Emma shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh, I had completely forgotten about that clause, Mom."
Mary Margaret chewed on her lip nervously. "Well, I'm afraid there were some stipulations associated with that clause that must also be met."
Emma's heart started to beat faster. "What kind of stipulations?"
David sighed. "The clause states that if marriage occurs less than six months prior to your 30th birthday, then you can only receive $100,000 immediately."
Emma's eyes widened and she met Killian's gaze. "The trust fund is $5 million."
Mary Margaret nodded. "That is correct. The clause stipulates that you will receive the rest of the money when you have been married six months."
Emma's mouth hung open in shock and Killian's expression mirrored hers. He recovered first. "So after six months, Emma will receive the full $5 million." He paused and then asked. "Hypothetically, what would happen if the marriage did not last six months?"
David shrugged. "Well, I know we don't need to worry about that, but the balance would revert to her dog, Dot."
Emma shook her head. "This is ridiculous. That money is legally mine. I shouldn't have to follow the ridiculous stipulations of a dead old woman."
Mary Margaret sighed. "I know, dear, but my hands are tied. We must abide by the rules set forth in the trust fund. I think your grandmother wanted to be certain that you wouldn't just marry in order to receive the money and then terminate the marriage. I know you would never do anything like that. The mere thought is ludicrous, but you know how your grandmother was."
Emma lowered her eyes to the ground, the guilt building up in her again at her mother's faith in her.
She took a deep breath and tried to collect her thoughts. The $100,000 would be enough to save her business. That wasn't the issue. The issue was having to pretend for another six months, especially considering what had just transpired between her and Killian.
She decided then that she and Killian would go their separate ways and only come together when necessary. She doubted that her grandmother had arranged for someone to check up on them to be sure they were living together.
Emma threw her hands up. "Fine. Whatever."
Mary Margaret smiled and hugged her. "None of this matters anyway. You and Killian are going to have the best six months together as husband and wife and then you'll get the rest of your money."
Emma nodded, said goodbye, then took Killian's hand in hers again as they left. Once outside, she freed her hand from his and marched to her car. He followed her and they sat in silence for a few long moments.
He finally broke it. "How do you wish to proceed? I realize you never want to see me again so…"
His voice trailed off. Emma stared straight ahead at the windshield, as she replied. "My parents already think you'll be spending most of your time in Manhattan until you move here, so they won't question if you're not around. If absolutely necessary, I will contact you so that you can put in an appearance. Then, six months from now, this will all be over. We'll be over…for good."
He swallowed hard. "I'll be there for you for whatever you need, Emma. I hope you know that, love."
"Don't call me that," she whispered, as she blinked back tears.
Killian sighed heavily, as she started the car. They drove the entire 15 minute trip to his apartment in silence. Emma stopped the car when they arrived in front of his apartment building.
He turned to her before getting out. "Goodbye, Emma," he said softly.
Emma didn't reply or turn to face him. He looked at her one last time, trying to memorize every inch of her face. He had no idea when he'd see her again.
She waited until he had gotten out of the car before she turned to look at his figure walking up the stairs into his building. She felt tears well up in her eyes as she wondered when she'd lay eyes on him again.
…
End of Part 6
Please don't hate me! Thanks for reading! ~Steph