Sorry for being late. I'm finally back from my road trip so the updates should be regular now!

A lot's happening in this chapter, but bear with me.

I appreciate all of your lovely reviews! They really do motivate me to keep on writing this story :)

Chapter 10

The wedding was beautiful.

Liam and Elsa had flown back to Ireland along with Killian and the few office employees they had invited (though Killian suspected the fact that his first class ticket was right beside Emma was of someone's doing).

The sexual tension between Emma and Killian was still present – unintentional arm brushes, heated glances, parted lips, and quickened heartbeats. But Killian maintained his distance and allowed himself to get to know her better. To drop his flirty remarks and smirks and to instead smile at the little quips she told him or listen to her likes and dislikes and her opinions on politics, religion, burgers, tv shows, coffee, extravagant weddings, flowers, basically everything and anything. Due to the wedding arrangements and Elsa's insistent on having Emma present every time, Killian and Emma got to work together a lot - in office and out of office.

Elsa and Liam got married in the same church in Ireland where the Jones parents had. Killian and Belle stood beside Liam at the best man position whereas Elsa's bubbly sister Anna stood beside her. As both of them recited their beautiful vows and sealed the promises with a kiss after being announced husband and wife, Emma looked over at Killian and caught him blinking rapidly in order to not let the tears fall as he grinned widely and clapped loudly.

Can't take my eyes off played softly as Liam and Elsa were lost in their own dance which involved Liam hugging her waist as Elsa placed her hands on his chest and them swaying slightly. Mary Margaret and David were also dancing along with David's friend Kristoff and his wife Anna.

Emma was smiling to herself as she looked over the happy couples. They all truly looked like they were in love. Something Emma had once experienced but since had run from the name of it. She knows she will never have this – a man who loves her and won't ever leave. She found herself looking at Killian more often than usual the day, imagining that maybe - but shutting herself off before she thought something else. She blamed the atmosphere of the wedding for her increased yearning of Killian (though she would never admit she yearns).

Emma was about to take off her heels when a hand appeared in front of her.

"Would you care for a dance, love?" Killian asked, an eyebrow ticked up in question.

Since the day Emma had lied to him that she felt nothing towards him, things between them had surprisingly been quite okay. They spent all day and quite a big part of the night together the past two weeks, lost in office work as well as wedding work. They had talked endlessly sitting on the floor of Killian's office with pizza and beers, and although the sexual tension was ever present between the two, a new kind of peace and friendship had formed between them.

"My feet are killing me" Emma complained, her hand clutching her heel.

"I won't let you fall, Swan" Killian held her palm in his hand, rubbing soothing circles on it with his thumb as Emma took it and stood up.

They approached the dance floor and earned an angry glare from David (who then got a smack on his shoulder from his wife), and a wink from Liam. They stood in front of each other as the song changed to Thinking Out Loud and Emma admitted, "I don't know how to dance whatever this dance is Killian"

"Just follow me" he smiled, taking a step forward and circling her waist as the fingers of his other hand laced hers. Emma brought her other hand on his shoulder and took a step forward as well, her heels giving her the extra height to have her be on eye's height with him. Killian started moving lightly, guiding Emma along with him who occasionally stepped on his feet and apologized endlessly for it. Towards the end of the song Emma had picked up the flow of the dance and was following Killian's lead comfortably.

"I'm actually getting a hang of this" she smiled, her back arching down as Killian let her upper body fall down, his grip tight on her back as he lowered her.

"It seems you're a natural, love" Killian said, bringing her back up and letting a breath out as Emma's face was inches apart from him. Emma gazed into his eyes, their noses almost brushing, the sound of the music as well as the people in the room all non-existent. Emma looked down at his lips and breathed in, pressing her fingers into his shoulders.

"Killian" a voice makes him flinch and Emma stepped away from him, her hands dropping to her side as Killian curses inwardly so bloody close. Emma fought back the blush that was creeping on her cheeks as she had lost herself in the moment, once again.

He turns towards the little man in front of him, his eyes burning with anger as if he would burn the man alive, "Pan" he offers a fake smile.

"Oh don't be so happy to see me" the man sneers, and runs his gaze over Emma.

"You must be..?" he starts and Emma introduces herself, shaking the man's hand.

"I'm Jones Consolidated's first investor. If not for me, this company wouldn't exist" Pan says as a matter of factly.

"Sure" Killian replies sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"How's your alcohol problem, Hook?"

"Hook?" Emma blurts out and curses as both men turn to look at her, a faint blush creeping Killian.

"Do tell the lovely lady, Hook?" Pan smirks but once Killian doesn't say anything he continues, "I've known the boys since they were young. My full name is Peter Pan, as in the Disney movie character so Killian used to pretend to be Captain Hook, his other little girl friend pretended to be Tinkerbelle and he used to roam around with a hook in his hand all day long"

Emma smiled widely, "That's so cute!" She imagined a little dark haired, blue-eyed boy, running around with a hook in his hand, probably yelling "Arrgggg" or something the way kids do.

"Anyways, goodbye" Pan wiggled his eyebrows and walked off, Killian muttering "bloody demon" after him.

"Let's eat Captain Hook" Emma joked as Killian rolled his eyes, laughing along with her.

Once the wedding was over and Liam and Elsa had bid farewell to their guests in a "Just Married" Rolls Royce on their way to the airport for their honeymoon, Killian sat on the stairs outside the church. The last of the guests were taking the provided taxis to reach their hotels as Killian watched Emma talk to David and Belle.

"Hi" a soft voice spoke beside him as Mary Margaret sat down. Killian considered her sort of a friend, or older sister. She just had the motherly, older sister type of feeling to her.

David was already married to Mary Margaret when he met her, her kind smile and loving eyes instantly making Killian like her. She knows about Milah's murder and was one of the few who didn't ask him to rise from his days on the yacht wasting himself in alcohol and women. She had instead given him a hope speech about things getting better and someone being out there for him which had annoyed the fuck out of him but had left him feeling slightly hopeful. Until the moment he had another nightmare of Milah dying and he retorted back to his rum.

"Hello, m'lady" Killian said, smiling as she rolled her eyes.

"That makes me feel so old Killian!" she complained, "The wedding was beautiful"

"Aye, it was" he agreed, smiling as he remembered his brother, a bit drunk and yelling praises of him handling the company so well to anyone and everyone.

"Killian, if you don't mind me asking, what's going on with you and Emma?" she asked, her eyes focused on him as Killian gazed at Emma who was leaning onto David for support.

"I don't bloody know. All I know is that I can't get her off my mind" he blurted out, looking at the woman beside him who smiled at him, "which I don't understand because I've known the woman for merely a month!"

Mary Margaret laughed, "You know David and I fell in love the moment we saw each other. For some people it takes one moment and for others it takes several to realize their love, but they all have the same happy ending"

"You mean the moment he thought you were a thief and tried to punch you?" Killian joked, smiling as Mary Margaret laughed again, "I'm not talking about love. I mean, I surely do fancy her"

"Whatever you want to name it. All I wanted to say was that, I know Emma as well as I know you. You both have a lot of pain and sadness in your hearts due to your pasts. Just be careful" she said, running a soothing arm over his shoulder.

"She's bloody stubborn" he complained, remembering the way she had told him the night in the nightclub meant nothing to her when it clearly did.

"Oh yes she is! She's afraid to get hurt so she has all these walls built. I mean, even when its obvious she has feelings for someone she wouldn't admit it to herself even. According to her, feeling nothing is better than feeling anything" Mary Margaret said, shaking her head in disapproval.

"I gathered as much that she's been hurt by someone she loved"

"Yes, that's her story to tell you though. You should know that it will be hard to get her to open up, but if you truly love her, oh sorry, fancy her you need to stick around. Take it one step at a time. After all, if true love was easy, we'd all have it" Mary Margaret smiled, a glint of hope in her eyes.

"Aye, I understand. I'm in this for the long haul" Killian stated and smiled as Emma, Belle, and David joined the two.

"What's going on?" Belle asked as she sat in front of the duo.

"Oh nothing! Just talking about how if true love was easy, we'd all have it" Mary Margaret smirked as she noticed Emma and Killian glancing at each other with rather panicked expressions.

"Our car is here" David announced as a Mercedes pulled in front of them, "Shall we?" he offered his hand to help Mary Margaret up. Belle stood up beside Emma to follow the couple.

"Killian, are you coming?" Mary Margaret asked.

"Not quite yet. I was planning to visit the house once" he replied, stretching his arms in front of him.

"The house?" Emma asked, looking between her friend and Killian.

"Aye, my family house" he replied.

"They still have the house they grew up in here. No one lives there though" David added and Emma nodded.

"You should go with him!" Mary Margaret squealed, "Honestly Emma, it's a beautiful house you should see it once, if Killian would be fine with it"

Killian stared at Mary Margaret who smiled playfully at him, "Of course Swan. Should you want to see the dwelling Liam and I grew up in"

Emma stared between her friends and Killian (though Killian was a friend too now, just a friend). Did she really want to go with Killian all alone when she had almost kissed him not hours ago? She was really tired but she was really curious as well. She wanted to know more about him, about his past. As selfish as it sounds since she didn't offer anything about her past in return. She didn't want to, couldn't open those doors.

"Of course" she replied and couldn't help the smile that took over her face as she saw Killian's whole-hearted smile.

-xxxxxx-

The mansion was huge. It had actual gates to go inside, followed by a short drive to a fountain. Killian took a few deep breaths before he unlocked the big metal lock, pushing the wooden doors and walking inside with Emma following him. He leaned and switched the light flick on, a crystal chandelier illuminating the room to Emma. It seemed like a living room, with ancient furniture and two adjacent wooden staircases going up and disappearing.

"The lights work?" Emma asked.

"Liam has someone clean up the house once a week" Killian informed her, touching the furniture lightly. Without pausing too long in the living room, he hurried towards the staircase and started climbing them as if he knew his destination. Emma took off her shoes in her hand and followed him.

Once they reached the top of the staircase, Emma was welcomed to a life-sized painting of a man and woman, and two boys. The woman was beautiful with deep blue eyes while the man was a handsome fellow with dark hair. The older boy had brown curly hair and looked like an obedient child with a slight smile and his spine straightened out. The younger boy looked trouble: his dark unruly hair sticking out from places, eyebrows lifted up and his dimples standing out in the smirk the boy had on.

"Even then your eyebrows were uncontrollable" Emma joked, touching Killian's baby face on the painting.

Killian ticked an eyebrow up in example and they both laughed, "Your mother is beautiful Killian" Emma whispered.

"Aye, she was" he said, pride evident in his voice, "She was amazing"

"You look like your father but you have your mother's eyes" Emma remarked, staring at the grown up Killian beside her.

"So I've been told" he replied, a strange tone to his voice.

"Just like Harry Potter!" Emma exclaimed.

"Harry Potter?"

"Oh my god! Don't tell me you don't know Harry Potter!"

"Is he some sort of a wizard?" Killian joked, enjoying the bewildered expression on Emma's face as how in the world did someone not know Harry Potter!

"Ya the wizard with the lightning mark and the two friends, you know"

"Of course I know, love" Killian smiled, it seems like Emma really enjoyed Harry Potter. He learns new things about this woman everyday.

"I got the entire bookcase as a Christmas gift once. It was usually socks at foster cares but one of my foster parent's rich aunt came home and was kind enough to gift everyone the books" Emma said, and it was Killian's time to be bewildered. They had talked quite a lot these past two weeks, but never had Emma shared her past or asked about Killian's. But she was now letting him peek into her childhood without even asking.

"I never read them. I like the classics more" Killian said.

"I know, you told me" Emma replied, smiling up to him, "Why don't Liam and Elsa live here?"

"This house does have some bad memories associated to it. Also, the large size is rather inconvenient" Killian replied.

"But this is where your childhood was spent" Emma said. She didn't know much about a good childhood, hers spent going from a foster care to another.

"Aye. But so did my mother die here and my father abandon us" he flatly stated.

"What? It was a car crash wasn't it?" Emma asked, confused. Everyone knew the Jones brothers were orphaned after their parents died in a tragic accident.

Killian laughed a spiteful laugh, "Oh no no no. That's just a story we tell others cause we don't want their pity. My mother died in her room, suffering for months from cancer before she finally died. I was so young I didn't even know what was happening. All I remember was that I was shaking her and asking her to wake up and she wouldn't. Liam was crying beside me and my father was sitting in a corner with a bottle of whiskey. We buried her beside her parents at their family house"

"Killian, I'm so sor-"

"And my father" Killian sneered, "He didn't say a word for days. Liam had to take over - take care of him and me. Soon after one day he randomly comes up to me and tells me he loves me. I haven't seen him since – I don't know if he's bloody alive or dead"

Killian chokes out a strangled noise as if the memory was stinging him, and Emma moves closer to him, lacing her fingers through his and resting her head on his shoulder.

"Liam took care of you" she said, a statement more than a question.

"Liam has always taken care of me. Since the day my mom died till this date. I owe him everything" Killian said, running his free hand through his hair.

"I don't even know who my parents are" Emma wondered, "I don't know what kind of people they are or how they look, what they do…"

Killian looked down at her, "Did you ever look for them?"

"For the longest time. After foster care, Neal, I just stopped. If they wanted to know me, they wouldn't have made it so hard for me to look. Then David and Mary Margaret came into my life and after meeting them and going to school, I just forgot about it, wanting to start fresh"

"Sometimes some things are best left as mysteries, love" Killian said, squeezing her hand.

"Agreed"

"Let's go Swan, its late" Killian said, whining a bit as Emma's head snapped up from its position on his shoulder.

"Is this all you wanted to see?" Emma asked, nodding towards the painting.

"Aye, I come here every time I'm in Ireland"

"Why don't you just take the painting home?" Emma asked.

"It feels right here" Killian replied, taking a last long look at it, "Seems a tour is due for you next time"

"Next time huh?"

Killian laughed as he wiggled his eyebrows in suggestion and turned around, relieved as Emma didn't pull her hand away from his. One step at a time Killian remembered Mary Margaret's words.

-xxxx-

Leave reviews please? :)