***Author's Note: I am very easily inspired by music and as I began writing this story, I quickly associated some of my favorite songs with the story that I want to tell. I currently have an ongoing list of songs, a soundtrack for the story so to speak, and two of those songs are featured in this Chapter. First one is Love Action performed by The Human League which has also inspired the title of this Chapter and the second is Till We Ain't Strangers Anymore performed by Jon Bon Jovi and Leann Rimes. If you would like to know some of the other songs that I have correlated with this story, let me know and I can add them into the notes before each chapter. As always, enjoy and share your thoughts! I would really appreciate any questions or concerns.***
Emma groans as the radio blares from the hotel alarm clock. She reaches to turn it off and then rolls over putting a pillow over her face. She really does not want to get out of bed. She finally got back to the hotel at half past midnight and she is so exhausted that she goes straight to sleep. Less groggy now, she thinks back to last night and of Killian and the bar. She likes that she found a place to hang out.
When living in New York, whenever she wanted to relax and have a drink, she and Ruby had a place that they would frequent. They are friends with the owner, know all of the bartenders by name, and have even made friends with many of the familiar faces they saw regularly. It will be nice to have a place like that here in Seattle and Killian seemed genuinely nice enough. The owner though, Emma is still unsure about. If she were to guess based on last night's encounter, the woman is a real piece of work. But Emma did fall into the woman probably causing her to get hurt in the process, so maybe the cold reaction is warranted. Not one to really judge someone based on a first impression anyway, let alone the brief one that they had, she thinks that she will go back to Regina's tonight to properly introduce herself.
She stretches and gets out of bed. Her body is sore and her muscles feel tight even though her feet are feeling much better. She wonders how long she will be able to stand on them today before they start to hurt again. She is dreading the day already but heads to the bathroom to shower and get ready for work.
She is able to find a parking spot on the second floor this time and even though it is a small win, she takes it as a good omen for the rest of the day. She makes it to the Key Arena a bit early so she finds a place to sit and pulls out her phone. She sees a text message from Ruby telling her that she misses her and reminding Emma that she really needs to call her soon so they can catch up. She quickly sends a message back telling Ruby about the long day that she worked yesterday purposely omitting the part about Regina's and Killian. The last thing that she needs is for Ruby to blow up her phone asking for details of her night out. She tells her friend that she will call her on Saturday because she will not have to work and they can talk for longer. Ruby replies with a good time to call her along with a kissing emoji. Emma sends one back and puts her phone back in her pocket.
Minutes later, she receives her work assignment and she finds that she is assigned to the same duties as yesterday but in a different part of the arena. She sees that they are handing out hand towels and walks over to see why. She grabs one and decides to ask an older woman that is at the bin next to her. "Hi, I was wondering if you might know, will we need these for something?"
It is evident that the woman is a veteran to this job when she answers. "Oh Sweetheart, grab more than one! And do it quickly while you still can because they go fast. We stack them up and stand on them. It makes these darn floors more bearable. It isn't an anti-fatigue mat by any means but it does okay."
"Oh, great. Thanks." Emma says to the woman and reaches in to grab four more towels. After the night she had last night, she is not going to take any chances.
She makes it to her post and soon realizes that the towels really do make a world of difference. It is still painful standing for so long but it is definitely much easier than it had been the day before. She is even able to enjoy the competition today. She enjoys it so much in fact, that by the end of the day, she has a specific team that she is rooting for to win. They are just beginning the last match of the night when Emma pulls out her phone to check the time. It is only 8pm which means that they could possibly get out of there earlier than she is expecting to. The two teams that are playing now will be competing for a spot in the semi-finals and Emma suspects that even if this match takes longer than the others had, they would be finished before 10pm and that guarantees that she will make it over to the bar before the kitchen is shut down for the night.
As she predicts, the competition is over just a few minutes after 9pm and she is more than grateful for that. She is so tired and even though her feet do not hurt nearly as badly as they did yesterday, they are still very sore. Her calves also hurt and her lower back is killing her. She returns the towels and heads out of the building. The night air is cool and having the fresh air hit her face after a long day inside feels nice. By the time she makes it over to the street where the parking garage and the bar is, she feels more refreshed.
She walks up to the entrance of the bar and pulls on the door lightly, careful this time that someone might be on the other side. When she senses no resistance, she pulls it open wider and walks in. Killian is right. The atmosphere in the bar tonight is entirely different from last night. There are not very many empty seats at the bar and the tables are all nearly full. There is a DJ on stage that is orchestrating the karaoke event and a man that is singing a 90's country hit. Killian and Regina are both behind the bar tonight but they do not seem to be super busy at the moment. They are talking with a man and a woman sitting directly in front of them. Killian looks up and sees her in the doorway and yells from the bar, "Hey, Emma!" Then he comes around the bar and walks over to her. "You made it."
She smiles at Killian and looks up to see that Regina is looking in their direction now. She regards Emma for a second before going back to the conversation she is having. Emma turns back to Killian. "Yeah...well, you made it sound like it was going to be so amazing. I hope that I'm not going to be disappointed." She teases.
"Oh, don't you worry, I rarely disappoint. Come on over to the bar." He walks in that direction but turns to make sure Emma is following him. "Did you want something to drink?" He asks with a smile once he is behind the bar once again.
"Sure." Emma shrugs. "Same as yesterday?"
"You got it." He pours the drink and hands it to her. Then he interrupts Regina and the conversation that she is having, "Regina, you remember Emma from yesterday." It is more of a statement than a question.
The man and woman sitting there turn towards Emma as well and this makes her feel very self-conscious for a second.
Regina subconsciously rubs at her wrist that still happens to be sore. She smiles tightly. "Mhm...pretty impossible to forget if you ask me."
Emma is about to apologize again when Killian introduces her to the others. "Robin, Marian, this is Emma. She is new to the city."
Marian who is sitting closer to Emma turns her body so that she could reach out her hand. Emma shakes it. "It's nice to meet you Emma. Welcome to Seattle. This is my husband Robin but everyone calls him Rob. He and I went to school with Regina so we've all been friends forever."
Then Robin reaches around his wife to extends his hand as well. "What brings you to the Emerald City, Emma?"
She hates this particular question and she sees from the corner of her eye that Killian is smirking at her. "I was just passing through. I haven't decided if this is where I want to stay.
"Oh, so you're like a vagabond? That sounds very exciting!" Marian says.
Emma shrugs and replies. "Something like that, I guess." She notices that the whole time they are having this conversation Regina seems completely uninterested. So much for properly reintroducing myself. She pulls out her phone to check the time before asking Killian if she could order something to eat.
Killian smiles at her. "Ah, and you actually made it on time today," he jests. "What will you have? Do you need a menu?"
Emma shakes her head. "Nah, I will just take the burger again. With cheese…"
"And no ketchup, right?" Regina adds before Emma can finish her order. Emma nods to confirm and when she does, Regina turns and goes into the kitchen.
Emma sighs audibly. "Man, I don't think she likes me very much." Emma does not realize that she has spoken aloud until she hears Robin chuckling.
"Don't be offended Emma. Regina doesn't like anyone, really. But I'll tell you what, once you get under her skin, she is the most loyal person that you will ever meet." Both Marian and Killian nod in agreement and Emma smiles feeling a little bit reassured. "So, tell us Emma, do you sing? I think that Killy is looking for a duet partner tonight."
Marian shoves Robin and he laughs. "Oh, stop it Rob! Emma, don't you let these boys bother you with all of their horsing around. They are hooligans. And Killian is always looking for a duet partner but everyone knows that he will only sing with Gill."
They are all laughing now and Emma feels lighter and more at ease than she has in a long time. They continue to chat and Emma learns that Marian runs a daycare that she has set up out of their home and that they have a 3-year old boy named Roland. Robin is a botany professor and lectures at a local community college. He also teaches a children's archery class every other weekend. Killian tells her about the time Robin tried to teach him how to use a bow and how sore his arm was the next day. They are all laughing again when they hear the DJ's voice through the speakers. "Killian Quinn. You're up!" Both Marian and Robin cheer as Killian enthusiastically make his way up to the stage.
When he gets on the platform and grabs the mic, and everyone is patiently waiting for the music to start. When it does, the bar erupts in cheers and applause. Emma laughs to herself because she is not at all surprised at Killian's song choice.
Killian starts dancing in place to the music and Robin says to his wife, "Darling, let's move up to that front table to support our friend. He's about to make a fool of himself again."
Marian gets up and turns to Emma. "Would you like to join us? It looks like there is plenty of space at the table."
Emma declines. "I still have food coming so I should probably wait for it here. I'll eat and then maybe find you guys afterwards."
The couple turns and leaves Emma. She turns her chair so that she could watch Killian belt out the words to the 80's classic.
"When you're in love, you know you're in love, no matter what you try to do. You might as well resign yourself, to what you're going through…"
"Don't be fooled, he has been singing that song almost every other week since we started having our karaoke nights so he's had plenty of practice." Regina says.
Emma turns to see that Regina is back with her burger and fries. She sets it down in front of her. Emma laughs at her comment about Killian. "Thank you…and I didn't get a chance to tell you yesterday but your burgers are delicious. I haven't been able to think about anything else." She embellishes a bit on that last part hoping to inch her way over to the other woman's good side.
This time, Regina's smile is more genuine. "Thank you. It's my father's recipe. He makes them much better that I do but I think that these are okay." Regina seems like a completely different person to Emma just then as she is talking about her father. "Is there anything else that I can get for you?" Regina asks.
Emma shakes her head but Regina grabs a glass from the cooler, fills a glass with ice and water, and sets it down for her anyway. Then she leans back on the counter watching Killian as he finishes up the last chorus of his song.
"I love your love action, lust's just a distraction, no talking-just looking, watching your love action."
Killian tops off his performance by adding in a few dance moves and everyone is clapping. He takes a bow and exits off the stage going back behind the bar. He sees that Regina is back and asks "How'd I do, boss? You do know that I'm the reason that these people keep coming back here, right? I think that you need to give me a raise." Then he put his hand up as if he's waiting for a high five.
Regina smiles and pats him lightly on the cheek instead. "You're such a ham, Killian. But, I love that about you so don't ever change."
Emma watches this exchange and wonders to herself if there is something more going on between them. Regina may very well be the person Killian stayed in Seattle for. This piqued her curiosity and Emma thinks that she can casually ask him about it later.
The DJ announces that he's going to take a fifteen minute smoke break and everyone in the bar starts to shuffle around. Some head to the restrooms but most of the people go up to the bar to order more drinks. Killian and Regina are quick at serving everyone and before long, everyone is back at their tables.
Regina is busy cleaning dirty glasses when the DJ is back and announcing the next karaoke singer. "Let's see, who do we have next on the list? Does everyone have their drinks filled? If you don't, you're gonna have to wait until after this one because we have Killian Quinn and Regina Gainer up next!"
As everyone is once again cheering, Regina groans, "Killian! I told you that I am not really feeling it tonight."
"C'mon, Love. Just one. Robin and Marian are here and they hardly come out anymore."
She thinks about this and realizes that he is right. "UGH...Fine! But I'm not singing anything that you choose!"
Killian puts both of his hands up in surrender. "Alright, you pick the song, my queen." He says and he winks at Emma as he follows Regina out of the bar and up towards the stage.
Emma knows that she most definitely does not want to miss this one so she turns once again so that she has a good view of the two of them.
Regina and Killian are talking to the DJ and having him check for songs that they both know and when they finally agree on one, she takes the DJ's mic while Killian grabs the one that is on the stand. The music starts and Emma recognizes it. Marian and Robin are still up front and Robin whistles loudly before they start the song.
Killian starts singing. "It might be hard to be lovers, but it's harder to be friends. Baby pull down the covers, it's time you let me in. Maybe light a couple candles, I'll just go ahead and lock the door. If you just talk to me baby, 'til we ain't strangers anymore."
And then Regina sings, "lay your head on my pillow, I sit beside you on the bed. Don't you think it's time we say, some things we haven't said. It ain't too late to get back to that place, back to where we thought it was before. Why don't you look at me, 'til we ain't strangers anymore."
The song is slow and sweet and once Regina starts singing, Emma's eyes widen in surprise. "Whoa, shit." Killian has a good singing voice but Regina's is incredible. Emma likes the song a lot to begin with but Killian and Regina's version of it is fantastic and possibly her new favorite. She even sings along when her favorite part comes up.
"It's hard to find forgiveness, when we just turn out the light. It's hard to say you're sorry, when you can't tell wrong from right. It would be so easy, to spend your whole damn life just keeping score."
"So let's get down to it baby, there ain't no need to lie."
"Tell me who you think you see, when you look into my eyes."
"Let's put our two hearts back together and we'll leave the broken pieces on the floor."
"Make love with me baby, 'til we ain't strangers anymore."
Emma gets a little lost in the moment and in the song, not registering that they are finished until everyone is applauding and cheering again. Killian grabs Regina's hand and takes a bow with her. Then they walk off of the stage still holding hands. There has to be a story there, Emma thinks again, before she turns back to finish her dinner.