"We're making pretty good time!" Emma leaned on the bug and looked at the map as they stood in the restaurant parking lot, "Wait, why did you mark Roswell? That'll take us like 3 and half hours out of our way."
"I know Swan but consider this… aliens," Killian said.
"You can not be serious," Emma deadpanned.
"I most certainly am serious!" Killian looked offended, "Come on Swan you can't tell me you're not just a little bit curious about extraterrestrial visits."
"You want me to drive an extra three hours just to see a kitschy alien museum?" Emma raised an eyebrow at him.
"It'll be worth it I promise!" Killian was practically begging, "Besides you said we're making great time. We have plenty of time to check out kitschy alien museums and anything else you want to see."
"Like the Grand Canyon?" Emma asked hopefully.
"Of course! We couldn't miss a chance to see that," Killian said.
"Ok fine, we can stop in Roswell and see the aliens. Are you happy Mulder?"
"Ecstatic, now are you ready to hit the road Scully?" he smirked at her and opened her door. Emma rolled her eyes but smiled and kissed him on the cheek before sitting in the driver's seat. Killian's smirk transformed into a full on smile as he jogged around the bug to get into his seat. He leaned over in his seat and kissed her properly.
"Thank you," he said once they broke the kiss and Emma knew he didn't just mean the alien museum.
"Anytime," she smiled back at him and put the bug into gear, Killian plugged the AUX cord into his phone and they hit the road still reveling in the tentative newness of this relationship.
"I still cannot believe you have a playlist dedicated to songs about aliens on your phone," Emma said as they finally got to Roswell, they could already see the aliens and UFOs decorating the local businesses.
"Don't act like you aren't at least slightly impressed," Killian said over the sound of the Doctor Who theme song.
"I'm impressed that no one in high school figured out that you are a gigantic fucking nerd," she looked over at him, "It must have been that face of yours, no one would suspect someone that hot to be that nerdy."
"You think I'm hot?" he turned to her, a surprised expression on his face.
"Well I have eyes," Emma blushed and turned back tot he road, she could feel his eyes still on her, "Just look at the map, are we close to the museum yet?" she reached out and pushed his head around so it faced forward. Killian smirked and looked down at his phone and pointed her in the direction of the museum.
Emma parked outside of the museum and they walked up to the ticket booth where a bored looking teenager handed them their tickets and showed them inside. Emma had to admit, it was kind of cool looking at all the 'proof' of the alien encounter and government cover up plus the place had air conditioning and it was roasting outside.
"So you believe in aliens yet?" Killian whispered to her halfway through the museum.
"Hey I've always believed in aliens, just in the sense that it's ridiculous to think that Earth is the only planet in the entire universe that's able to sustain life. I just don't believe that aliens would spend all that time and energy to come to Earth just to fuck with its inhabitants and leave, you know what I mean?" Emma explained.
"Okay but consider this Swan, aliens have developed a technology to move at the speed of light so maybe it only takes them a millisecond to get to Earth and then back to their home planet, so it's not as much of an effort to get here. Maybe we're getting all the rebellious teenaged aliens who like to pull pranks on unsuspecting humans?"
"Okay but consider this Jones," she got up onto tiptoe to whisper in his ear, "You're a fucking dork."
"Oh now that's just mean," Killian pouted at her, "The aliens are going to abduct you for being a non-believer."
"I'll take my chances," she said before moving onto the next exhibit. Emma's eye wandered to a row of aliens leaning against the wall, a plan half forming in her mind as she crossed the room and hid between the aliens and waited for Killian to come into the room. She tried to remain silent when she saw him enter the room and look around. Once he drew closer to the wall of aliens she pressed herself further against the wall, trying to keep out of sight, until he passed right in front of her and Emma shot out her arm and grabbed him by the arm. Killian screamed and jumped back knocking into the display on the opposite wall and clutching his chest.
"That wasn't funny!" he panted when emma came out of her hiding place laughing.
"Oh come on it's a little funny," Emma chuckled. Killian grumbled but put his arm around her shoulders.
"So you can't do that again," he mumbled and kept her glued to his side throughout the rest of the museum.
"Are you getting hungry?" she asked as they neared the end. Killian rumbling stomach answered her question for him.
"How about we grab some lunch and then go on to Albuquerque?" he suggested.
"Sounds good to me," she smiled and they made their way towards the museum gift shop and asked the cashier for a good place to eat.
"There's a great Mexican place around the corner," they recommended, "Or there's a kind of dive-y diner a few blocks from here that has some awesome food."
Killian and Emma exchanged looks, neither of them wanting to have a redo of The Saddest Breakfast at The Saddest Diner Of All Time from that morning.
"I could go for some tacos," Emma shrugged.
"Lead the way," Killian said as he followed her out of the museum and down the street until they found the small Mexican restaurant. Mariachi music blared as they opened the door and the smell of roasting pork filled their nostrils as they found an empty table, they must have missed the lunch rush since the place was quiet.
They got their chips and salsa and dug in, "That is already noticeably better than anything we could have gotten in Storybrooke," Killian said as he loaded up another chip with the fresh and spicy salsa. Their tacos were met with a similar enthusiasm from the both of them.
"Oh my god," Emma licked a speck of salsa from the corner of her lip, "These might be the best tacos I've ever had."
"I concur," Killian leaned back in his chair, rubbing his belly in satisfaction, looking very much like a cat lounging in a patch of sun.
Emma tossed her napkin at him, "Don't get too comfortable, it's getting late and I'd like to make it to Albuquerque before it gets too dark out."
"All right, all right, let's go pay and get back on the road," he got up and stretched, the hem of his t-shirt rising to reveal that strip of skin Emma wanted to get acquainted with. "See something you like Swan?"
"Just come on," Emma pushed him towards the cash register, ignoring the warmth in the cheeks and his satisfied smile. They paid for their meal and got back into the bug, soon back on the highway towards Albuquerque and Killian's road trip playlist blaring from her speakers. Cacti and tumbleweeds streaked passed their windows on the three hour drive up to the next city, thankfully they found a hotel outside the city just as the sky turned a brilliant orange with the incoming sunset.
Emma's back protested the full day of driving when she tried to get out of the car, "Don't worry love, I'll just go check us in and you can just relax here," Killian offered.
"Sure, here's the paper with my dad's card info," Emma dug the slip out of her bag and gave it to him. She watched him walk into the lobby and slowly tried to get out of the car and stand for a bit, her back protested a bit but once she was out of the cramped car and able to stretch it helped.
"Feeling better?" Killian asked as he approached her.
"Much," Emma opened the trunk so they could get their suitcases, "How's the room situation?"
"They only had double queens left, but apparently our room has a nice view," he shrugged and looked up at the steadily darkening sky, "Which I'm sure we'll have appreciate tomorrow."
Emma handed him his bag and he lead her to the room, Emma dropped her bag near one of the beds and fell face first onto it.
"Back still hurting?" Killian asked as he sat next to her, Emma just nodded.
"Want to retry that back rub?" she asked into the pillow.
"I can do that," Killian sat up eagerly and swept her blonde hair over to the side, exposing her neck to his fingers. Emma moaned as he started working out the knots in her neck and shoulders, his hands slowly and steadily drifting downward along either side of her spine. Once he got to the band of her bra he stopped letting her decide if he should continue or not.
"Did I say to stop?' she turned and looked at him.
"Well there seems to be something impeding my ability to give you the best back rub I can," he lightly tapped the clasp of her bra through her tank top.
"Well we can't have that can we?" Emma said and reached around to unclasp the offending item and pull it off she tossed the bra onto the other bed. She saw Killian's shocked expression as she laid her head back down, "Killian you've seen me without a bra before, you can take the scandalized expression off your face."
"Well I don't think I'll ever get over the sight of you without one," Killian whispered in her ear, his hands lazily tracing nonsense patterns on her back before he resumed his work on her knots. Emma couldn't help the loud moan she let out when he finally eased a knot that was in the center of her back and impossible for her to reach.
"You know Emma," Killian said as he was kneading at her hips just above her jeans, "During swim season nothing quite helped my back like a good hot shower."
"You don't say?" Emma smirked at him.
"I do say," Killian grinned at her, "Go ahead, it'll make you feel loads better."
Emma lifted herself to her elbows, "You're not going to join me?"
"Not if you don't want me to," he scratched behind his ear, "I understand if you just want to take this slow until we figure out what we want to do."
Emma looked at him, her eyes dancing all over his face to see if he was bluffing or only telling her what she wanted to hear, but she could only find sincerity. She pushed herself off the bed into a standing position and held her hand out to him.
"I want you to," she whispered. Killian looked from her hand to her face and back to her hand before placing his hand in hers and standing up. They walked together into the bathroom stripping each others clothes off branding each other with their lips and hands. They stumbled into the shower, Killian turned on the water before surging back at Emma and capturing her lips with his. He pulled her under the spray, water cascading over the both of them as their hands explored each others bodies. She came undone in his arms, her face buried in his neck and hands squeezing his biceps. Killian withdrew his fingers from her folds and just held her as she caught her breath until the hot water ran out and they quickly got out of the shower.
"Feeling better?" he asked as she wrapped a towel around her.
"I feel fantastic. But it's my turn to make sure you feel good," she smiled and lead them back out of the bathroom and onto the bed. She giggled as they both fell back onto the bed, dragging Killian on top of her; his lips finding her mouth, her cheek, her jaw, and her neck as her laughter turned into soft moans. They still had a lot to think about with their future, whether it was together or apart, but for that moment they relished in what had been a perfect day.