Killian awoke the next morning with his nose buried in Emma's hair, he inhaled the sweet scent of her hair and sighed contently. Emma shifted in her sleep and Killian came to a horrifying realization. He was hard, very hard, possibly the hardest he had ever been in his life and at possibly the worst time.
"Oh no, why boner? Why now?" he thought as he tried to detangled himself from Emma without waking her up.
"What'reyoudoing?" she mumbled, still half asleep. Killian tilted his hips away from her so she wouldn't feel it rubbing against her.
"Nothing, just go back to sleep Swan. I'm going to hop in the shower," he got off the bed and tried to keep his back to her so that she wouldn't see the way his sweat pants were tented. He relaxed slightly once he barricaded himself in the bathroom and turned on the shower to take care of himself. This definitely wasn't the first time he'd had to do this (he'd had some dreams of Emma that had gotten a bit too vivid over the years) but never had it been this intense. Having her there next to him, legs tangled together and blonde hair draped over his face added a new layer of realness to his fantasies. Once he had taken care of himself and finished the rest of his shower he nervously went back into the room to find Emma thankfully in a fresh pair of jeans.
"Hey I went and got some breakfast and snacks for when we get back on the road," she pointed at the bagel with cream cheese and coffee she set on the bedside table.
"Thanks Swan," he said and took a bite of his bagel, "So what do you want to do? Should we check out the city or get straight back on the road?"
"I want to see the big arch thing but I think we should focus on making tracks. We still have a lot of road to cover and we need to make it in time for your orientation," she said as she repacked her bag.
"Too right Swan, well let's not dilly dally," Killian took a long sip of coffee, "Let's hit the road as they say."
"All right you do an idiot check and I'll check out downstairs and we'll meet by the bug?" Emma suggested, zipping up her bag.
"Can do!" he saluted at her, Emma rolled her eyes at him and walked out of the room taking her bag with her.
Killian did a quick sweep of the room, keeping an eye out for small easily forgettable things like chargers or toothbrushes before grabbing his own bag and meeting Emma at her car.
"Did we forget anything?" Emma asked as he got into the car.
"Nope, now let's hit the road!" he said excitedly plugging the AUX cord into his phone and bringing up his playlist.
They made a quick stop for pictures at the Gateway Arch to take pictures and grab some sandwiches to have later before they got back on the road. They passed what seemed to be corn field after corn field, the big blue sky stretched above them seemingly endless.
"Who is eating this much corn?" Emma said after their third round of "I Spy" resulted in the answer 'corn'.
"I have no bloody clue, I thought America was known more for the fields of grain?" Killian asked leaning his head against the window his eyelids feeling heavy.
"Hey stay with me, if you fall asleep I'll nod off too from the sheer boredom and then I'll drive into a corn field and we'll be lost forever," Emma slapped him lightly on the shoulder.
"All right all right, I'll try just stop beating me!" Killian said.
"Oh come on I've hit you harder than that before," Emma turned to look at him, "Remember Victor Wale's homecoming after party junior year?"
"Oh yeah! Swan we are never getting you that drunk ever again or at least not on tequila," Killian reminisced.
"Hey you were just as drunk as me!" Emma said.
"True but I never punched someone and then threatened to bite them if they tried to take away the bottle of Cuervo," Killian raised an eyebrow at her.
"You just won't let that go will you?" Emma asked bitterly.
"You threatened to BITE ME! Would you let it go if the tables had been turned?" Killian asked her.
Emma stuck her tongue out at him and turned back towards the road with a huff.
"Mature Swan, real mature. You truly embody all the grace and maturity of a young woman spreading her wings and entering the realm of higher education," Killian sassed.
"You know when you sass me like that it makes the thought of not seeing your obnoxious ass everyday a lot easier," Emma rolled her eyes.
"You don't mean that," Killian said, dropping the sarcastic tone.
"No, of course not," Emma sighed. "You're important to me you piece of shit, of course I'm going to miss you. You're my person."
"You're my person too Swan, also I don't mean to alarm you but there is a gas station coming up that appears to have dinosaurs made of scrap metal out front," Killian pointed.
"You want to stop and look at the dinosaurs don't you?" Emma asked flicking on her blinker.
"Like you don't," Killian said unbuckling his seat belt and getting out of the car when she parked, "They're scrap metal dinosaurs Emma!"
Emma laughed and took out her phone to take pictures, "Go stand by the and give me your best Velociraptor face."
Killian obliged, drawing his arms up and barring his teeth for the camera, Emma snapped a few pictures laughing hysterically. Killian smiled to himself he loved making Emma laugh, he loved the way her laugh just burst out of her and her head fell back like her joy was too much to be contained by her body. After Neal she didn't laugh like that as much and Killian took it as a personal accomplishment when he made Emma laugh like that again.
"Ok hold on let me get in there!" Emma said and rushed forward and held her phone out to take a selfie. Killian draped his arm around her shoulder and Emma leaned her head against his shoulder, grinning widely for the camera. Killian had to physically stop himself from kissing her, she was so close to him her lips a few mere inches away from his own.
"Oh that's a good one!" Emma said reviewing the pictures she just took, "Come on, we shouldn't linger for long otherwise we'll never get to California."
~K&E~K&E~K&E~K&E~
They got back onto the highway and continued talking back and forth but Killian eventually nodded off while they sat in a comfortable silence, his head leaning against his shoulder. Emma smiled softly when he snored every so often, once he mumbled something under his breath that Emma didn't catch. She let her mind wander back to the scrap metal dinosaurs and how good it felt to lean on him while taking pictures. He was solid and dependable, just as he always had been throughout the course of their friendship
Except now it was growing harder and harder not to acknowledge a familiar feeling that was trapped in her heart. One that might want more than friendship with him, she felt electrified and also calm around him, her body hummed with energy and yet she slept deeply and peacefully in his arms the night before. She remembered the shiver down her spine that happened whenever he put his arm around her and drew her flush against his body, and the way electricity sparked when she caught him glance down at her lips. Emma shook herself from her thoughts, it was no use thinking about Killian that way anyways; they were going to different colleges and into different careers. It would never work with the temptation of new beautiful college girls all around him at Santa Barbara, if they were to actually get together it would be over by Halloween and she refused to lose her best friend all because of a crush.
The roar of a motorcycle engine caught her attention and Emma looked in the rearview window to see the motorcyclist dressed in all black leather, grey bushy beard flying in the wind, coming up fast behind her. She moved into the right lane to let him pass her, she turned her head as he roared past her window and Emma gasped with surprise and happiness.
"Killian wake up!" she poked him in the ribs, he grunted and snored on, "WAKE UP YOU GOON!"
"What?" Killian blinked blearily and looked around.
"LOOOOOOOOK!" Emma pointed to the motorcycle in front of them
"It's a motorbike Swan, we see them all the time," Killian said, his grumpy turtle face coming out in full force.
"Look harder! At his bag!" Emma said practically jumping in her seat.
"Oh my god," Killian's eyes widened, "Is that..."
"A corgi wearing goggles while riding with his owner? You bet it is!" Emma practically shouted with excitement.
"This is the best part of the trip, calling it now Swan, nothing will top this," Killian slapped his knee.
"Not even the scrap metal dinosaurs?" Emma asked.
"They come in a close second," Killian said.
"Oh and going on this potentially life changing adventure slash road trip with me barely makes the top three?" Emma chuckled.
"Hey that is my favorite part of this trip, taking it with you. I'm talking about the best moments along the way," Killian placed a hand on her shoulder. Emma felt the heat rise in her face and shrugged off his hand.
"You big softie," she shook her head in his direction.
"Only around you love," he answered back before turning up the radio. They continued to drive through fields of corn and flat plaines, singing along to the mix Killian had made until the sun fell and they were in the middle of nowhere between Tulsa and Oklahoma City.
"My ass is going to fall off if we don't find somewhere to stay soon," Emma said shifting uncomfortably in her seat.
"Here there's a motel off the next exit that has moderately good reviews, want to check it out?" Killian asked looking up from his phone.
"Sure, because if I have to drive all the way to Oklahoma City I will not survive," Emma sighed as she pulled off the freeway and found the motel with ease.
"Can you do most of the talking to the people? I'm exhausted," she asked parking the car in front of the motel.
"Of course," Killian smiled and walked into the lobby.
~K&E~K&E~K&E~K&E~
Killian tried not to feel disappointed when he got the room with two queen sized beds instead of the single queen, while he wanted nothing more than to fall asleep with Emma in his arms again he was a gentleman first and foremost.
He pulled Emma down the hall to their room by the hand, "Come on love, just a few more steps and then you can lay down."
He entered the keycard into the lock and opened the door, Emma walked in ahead of him and collapsed face down on one of the beds, a muffled groaning sound absorbed by the pillow.
"You okay?" he chuckled setting her bag down at the end of her bed.
"No, my back is fucking killing me," Emma whined, she turned her head and looked at him sitting on the other bed, "How's your back rub?"
"Ummm" Killian felt his breath catch in his throat, "I can take care of myself, I mean I can relieve some tension... in my back I mean" he scratched his ear.
"Can you come hear and give me one? I swear I have knots on knots and I can't move," Emma asked and placed her face down in the pillow with a whine.
Killian sighed and looked to the sky, asking for help from every deity he could think of to not embarrass himself before he sat next to Emma on her bed. He tentatively put his hands on her shoulders and used his fingers to try to ease the knots out of her back.
"Ohh right there," Emma moaned softly and Killian swallowed thickly, feeling his blood rush downwards.
"Could you go a little lower?" Emma asked and Killian swore he had to be dreaming as his hands traveled lower, the edge of her bra just beneath his fingertips.
"Umm, what do you want me to do with-" he poked at the clasp, not sure what her answer would be.
"Umm actually I feel much better," Emma sat up; her cheeks pink and eyes downcast, "Thanks."
"My pleasure," Killian blurted out, "I mean you're welcome" he cleared his throat.
"I'm going to go change and brush my teeth," Emma tucked a lock of hair behind her ears and headed towards the bathroom.
Killian flopped back onto his bed his face in his hands, god he was so stupid why did he think even for a second that Emma would let him take off her bra? This was real life and she was his best friend, not some cliched porn movie.
"You know what it's really weird that they have a picture of a sailboat in here considering Oklahoma is a landlocked state," Emma said as she walked back into the room.
"Yeah and I don't think we passed a lake or river anywhere near here," Killian looked at the picture hanging between the beds.
"Motels are weird," Emma said getting into her own bed. Killian tried to school his face so it wouldn't show his disappointment as he got under his own covers.
"Good night Swan," he turned to switch off the light, her blonde hair practically glowing still in the dark.
"Night," he heard her murmur before she turned away from him. Killian sighed and closed his eyes, knowing that he would not be falling asleep anytime soon.