#onceuponaprincessworld

Killian’s phone vibrates from his pants pocket for the second time since he’s been at The Rabbit Hole that evening, but he continues to ignore it. What could possibly be more important than hanging out with his best friend at their favorite bar anyhow?

“Aren’t you gonna answer that?”

“It can wait,” Killian says, waving off her question and taking a swig of his rum. 

“It might be important.”

Killian glances up at her from over the rim of his tumbler.

More important than being with you? 

Unlikely.

His phone vibrates once more, but he still doesn’t move to retrieve it.

She cocks her brow, giving that castigating look. A look that tells him he should answer his phone. 

So he sighs and reluctantly digs it out, seeing three text messages from the same person. 

Unknown: Hey Killian. It’s Tina. David gave me your number. I hope you don’t mind.

He groans.

Yes, I do mind. Bloody hell, Dave, why did you have to give her my number?

Unknown: Are you free tonight?

Definitely not.

Unknown: You can come over if you want.

He’s never even been on a single date with Tina. 

Killian thinks about how he will politely decline.

“Who is it? If it’s David, I swear, he better either be in jail or the hospital if he’s interrupting our evening.”

Killian’s cheeks heat with blush, and he has to suppress the smile threatening his lips.

She said our evening .

Killian scratches behind his ear, reluctant to tell her the texts are from some woman David’s trying to set him up with. “Uh, it’s… it’s no one.” 

Emma grins, clearly not buying it. “Doesn’t seem like no one. You’re blushing.”

Not for the reasons you probably think.

He chuckles nervously. “Truly, it’s no one important.”

Emma cocks her head to the side. 

Damn her for knowing him so well. For being able to tell when someone is lying to her. Tina is really no one important to him—he barely knows her, if at all. He spoke to her one time, and that was when David introduced her to him. They chatted for all of ten seconds. So he’s not exactly lying to Emma. But she thinks he’s blushing over the person sending him the texts. She doesn't know she is the one he is blushing over.

He's about to slip his phone into his pocket, but before he can, Emma grabs his arm with one hand and steals the device with her other one. She's so quick and smooth, he doesn’t have time to stop her.

Killian gulps as she checks his phone.

Her eyes light up with amusement when she sees the messages from Tina and reads them out loud. Then she looks up at him, raising her brow. “Why didn’t you tell me you had a girlfriend?”

Killian reaches over the table and plucks the phone from her hands with a heavy sigh. “She’s not my girlfriend. Your brother is trying to set me up with her.”

She picks up her strawberry daiquiri, knitting her brows in confusion. “Sounds like you’ve already hooked up with her.” She brings the glass to her lips, taking a sip as he watches her intently.

“We haven't even been on one date.”

She nods, lowering her drink as she swallows. “So, are you going over to her place?”

He wishes he could read minds right now because he can’t tell if she’s asking about Tina because she’s just curious or if she's asking because she’s jealous. 

Definitely the first option, he thinks.

He shakes his head. “Of course not.” A small smile plays at his lips. “Why would I go to her place when I’m already with my favorite person in the entire world?”

Emma’s cheeks paint with blush as she sets her drink down and crosses her arms on the tabletop. “Because obviously you’d be getting laid.”

“Well, you know me, Emma. I’m too much of a gentleman to just go over to a woman’s home who I barely know and get my rocks off.”

She smirks and teases him playfully. “I know. So are you at least going to ask her on a date?”

He stares at Emma for a moment, trying to figure out how to properly answer her question without baring his soul to her. So he settles on a flat-out lie. “I haven’t decided yet.”

He hates this. 

He hates not being able to tell his best friend he’s madly in love with her.

And he’d nearly blurted it out over an intense game of Mario Kart a few days ago. 

“Fuck me!” Emma whines after losing another round against him and nearly throwing the controller across the room (she probably would have if David hadn’t plucked it from her hands).

Killian is busy trying to recover from her expletives and how her words had shot straight through him. He knows he should just keep his mouth shut, because, for one... her brother is in the room and two… well, he would very much like to take her up on that offer. No actually, he doesn’t want that, and that’s the problem. He wants so much more than that. He’s had so many fantasies about being with Emma, but they all involve things like taking her out on a proper date, holding her hand, kissing her, making love to her. So no, he doesn’t want to fuck her. He wants a future with her, one which involves being more than her best friend. Gods, he wants so much more than that. But he’s not willing to give up any less than what he already has. So, instead of revealing his true feelings, he covers them up with a playful quip. “Is that an invitation, love?”

The look she gives him makes his heartbeat quicken, one corner of her lips curving up into a shy smirk, her cheeks reddening as he feels David’s stare burning into him.

“Why? You offering?” she retorts.

Killian stares at his best friend in shock, his mouth slightly agape. “Maybe I a — ” 

Before he can finish his reply, David threatens him with a deadly glare and cuts him off. “No, it’s not an invitation and no, he’s not offering,” he answers for both of them.

And that is one of the other reasons why Killian hasn’t had the guts to tell Emma how he really feels. Okay, it’s the main reason. Because not only could it destroy his friendship with her, but also his friendship with her brother. 

Emma scowls at David and snatches the controller from his hands. “Who died and made you king?”

David mimics her in a whiny voice and Emma retaliates by shoving him in the arm. 

“Ow!” He rubs the spot where she'd hit him, and sticks his tongue out at her. “Brat.”

She does it back. “Dork.”

Killian chuckles . He's always thouroughly entertained by their little sibling squabbles. 

“One more game, Jones?” Emma asks him.

And that was that. They played another round, which she won, and neither of them spoke of the words exchanged that night.

Which makes tonight pretty awkward, considering it’s the first time Killian’s actually been alone with Emma since then. Well, if you consider sitting together in a booth at a crowded bar, alone. So to dial down the awkward tension between them, Killian keeps the drinks coming so the alcohol will ease the nerves in his stomach. 

But the problem with alcohol is the effects it has.

The first one is giggliness.

Emma is adorable when she’s sober, but when she’s drunk, she is extra adorable. She can’t say three words in a row without giggling. 

That effect, mixed with the second one, is bound to lead to things he’s not sure he’s prepared for. Especially not while they’re drunk.

Oversharing.

Not that they don’t already know everything there is to know about each other, but when he’s trying to keep his biggest secret from his best friend… well, that presents quite the problem when he’s drunk. At least he still has enough presence of mind to know how much to overshare. 

“Must be nice to have women throwing themselves at you, Jones. I swear, if it wasn’t for my vibrator, I’d probably have cobwebs!” she exclaims over the noisy bar chatter. 

Killian shudders at the images her confession is supplying him with. He’s certainly not imagining her using said vibrator. And he’s fairly certain she wouldn’t have to worry about cobwebs if she didn’t have a vibrator. Emma could have any man she wanted. He’s one of them. “I’m definitely not getting laid as often as you make it sound,” he retorts with a chuckle. “Or as much as I’d like to.”

“Please!” she snorts. “You could have your cock licked by every woman at this bar with a snap of your fingers if you wanted to.”

Testing her theory, he snaps his fingers and looks around. “Where are they, love?” Not that he has any interest to get his cock licked by anyone at this bar. Or anyone, really. Anyone except the gorgeous blonde sitting across from him with the most beautiful emerald green eyes he’s ever seen and a smile that sets his heart on fire as she bursts out laughing.

“You’re ridiculous.”

“I’m just being honest,” he says before draining the last of his rum.

She taps her empty glass with her nails. “One more round?”

He nods and raises his hand to summon the server.

“But first, I have to pee. My bladder is about to burst.” She rises from the booth, and he follows her with his eyes as she makes her way to the restrooms. 

~*~

Emma’s a bit lightheaded as she leaves the ladies' room, but not nearly as much as she’s led on. She was hoping to drop hints to Killian without repelling him. But she’s afraid she’s completely failing. How does one exactly go about telling her best friend of five years she’s completely in love with him? 

She has no fucking clue.

“I told you, Emma, you should try it!” Mary Margaret screeches through the phone. 

Emma pulls the device away from her ear, lest she go half-deaf by the sheer volume of her sister-in-law’s voice. “And I told you, I’m not doing that,” she protests, leaning back against the wall of the corridor outside the restrooms.

“Why not? You’ll be able to see how interested he is without having to tell him how you feel to his face.”

“But what if he's not?”

“Oh Emma, do you really not know your best friend? He’s interested, trust me!”

“Has he said anything to you or David?”

“Of course not. But that doesn’t mean he’s not interested in you. It just means he’s not interested in getting clocked in the face by your brother.”

“And if you’re wrong? Then what?”

Mary Margaret sighs. “If I’m wrong—which I’m definitely not—then you can just tell him you meant to send the text to someone else.”

“But who? I just told him I have an exclusive relationship with my vibrator.”

“Then maybe one of your past flings? I don’t know, Emma, you’ll come up with something. But I’m like one hundred and ten percent sure you won’t have to.”

Emma sighs in exasperation and defeat. “Fine, but if this ends badly, I’m only blaming you.”

She can almost hear her sister-in-law’s grin from the other line, even though she can’t see her. “Fine. If I’m wrong, I'll take full responsibility. In fact, if I’m wrong, I’ll buy you grilled cheese sandwiches every day for an entire year.”

Hmmm, that does sound appealing.“With onion rings?”

“I’ll buy you the whole freaking menu at Granny’s if you want.”

“Okay,” Emma laughs. “And if you’re right, what do you want?”

“If I’m right, I will already have everything I could possibly want.”

“And what’s that?”

“Well, besides your brother, obviously, the knowledge that you and Killian will live happily ever after, of course.” 

Emma’s heart warms at her sister-in-law’s sentiment. If only love could be that simple. Just offer her heart to Killian and receive his in return. But this isn’t some fairytale or romance novel where the heroine rides off into the sunset with her handsome hero. This is real life. “Okay.” Suddenly the idea of what she’s about to do makes her heart flitter in panic. “So I’m actually doing this?”

“You’re doing this. And you won’t regret it. Now put on your big girl pants and go get your man.”

After they end the call, Emma lowers the phone from her ear and with shaky hands, pulls up her text conversations with Killian. She sucks in a deep breath and releases it slowly, her breath wobbly. Gnawing on her bottom lip, she types a text with shaky fingers, erases it, retypes it and repeats that cycle three more times before she’s satisfied with the message. At first, she didn’t want to send anything to Killian that she wouldn’t be able to defend and say it was meant for someone else. But then she thought, screw it. She can blame it on the alcohol. 

For years, she’s been wanting to tell her best friend how she really feels about him, and when she finally scrounged up the courage to tell Mary Margaret, her sister-in-law suggested this hair-brained scheme she came up with after watching these trending Tik Tok videos of women sending their boyfriends or husbands dirty texts in public and recording their reactions. Since Killian isn’t her boyfriend or husband, Mary Margaret thought it would be a great idea to find out whether he likes her or not. Or rather, prove to a stubborn Emma he’s secretly in love with her.

Well, she’s about to find out. Here goes nothing...

She peers around the corner of the hallway entrance and does a quick check to make sure he didn't leave and go into the men's room or something. When she spots him across the room, still sitting at their booth, she sends off the text. Then she quickly pulls up the camera on her phone and starts recording, her heart pounding. It’s pounding so loud she can hear it in her ears over the loud music and boisterous bar chatter.

His phone lights up on the table and he sets down his tumbler to pick up the device.

Emma watches him with bated breath, hoping and praying this wasn’t a mistake. Hoping his reaction won’t be the same reaction he had when he received those texts from Tina. Emma had done her best to hide her emotions when she saw that skank’s text messages. She had to swallow her words and shove down her jealousy, but when she remembered that look of irritation written all over Killian’s face as he read those texts, she realized why he was irritated. Needless to say, she was relieved beyond belief. 

Through her phone, Emma watches as Killian’s mouth falls open, his eyes big and wide as he stares at his screen.

Emma has no idea what he’s thinking right now, but she really wishes she did. Is he happy, excited, turned on? Or is he pissed off, disappointed, disgusted? She’s usually pretty good at reading her best friend, but right now it’s like trying to read a blank page.

He lifts his head and looks toward the restrooms, so she quickly retreats inside the hallway, keeping her phone in place so it’s still recording him. She presses her back against the wall, as though the opposite wall is closing in on her, and she’s trying to draw in as much air into her lungs before she’s suffocated to death. 

Shit, shit, shit. 

What if Mary Margaret’s plan didn’t work? What if Emma scared him away?

Cautiously and carefully, she turns her head and looks around the corner again.

To her utter horror, Killian is not in the booth.

Fuck, fuck, fuck! Why did she send him the text?

In panic mode, Emma brings her hand back and stops recording as she flattens against the wall again and contemplates shooting Killian another text saying she sent the text by mistake. 

She starts typing out a message.

Emma: Sorry, that text was for someone else. Ooops, my bad.

But then she sees the text she'd sent and realizes she made it impossible to say it wasn’t meant for him because of what the text said.

Nope, she definitely can’t talk her way out of that one.

Before she can erase the message and type out how sorry she is, her phone is being slipped from her hands.

She’s about to lose her shit when she looks up and gasps as her eyes meet vivid blue ones. 

Killian’s looking at her with a hungry—no, primal—stare.

And just like that, all of her oncoming anger melts away.

Emma can’t move. She can’t speak, she can’t even breathe. This man has impaired her ability to do anything other than stare back at him, waiting for him to speak. Her stomach is clenching and her heart is racing under the heaviness of his stare.

She doesn’t even give two flying fucks when he slips her phone into his pocket.

Finally, after what feels like an eternity, he leans into her space and murmurs in her ear. “You said I could have any woman in the bar licking my cock at a snap of my fingers...” His voice is decadent and drops an octave when he speaks again. “What if I told you, you could have one man licking your pussy at the snap of yours?”

She gulps hard and just stares at him in shock. He’s joking, right? But she’s known him for five years and can’t detect a single trace of mocking in his words. 

Without breaking her challenging stare, she lifts her hand. 

And snaps her fingers.

Without hesitation or any preconceived thought, Killian takes her hand in his and leads her into the ladies' room, locking the door behind them. He backs her against the sink and draws her into his arms, a wave of desire so profound sweeping through her, it leaves her trembling in his muscular arms, clinging to his body like a lifeline. When he lifts her up and sets her on the edge of the sink, their mouths find each other, their lips moving with a need that burns like a fire inside them both. She slides her arms around his neck, her lips fused to his, her tongue swirling and exploring his mouth as her breasts are pressed deliciously against his chest. 

Killian holds her flush against him, his tongue mingling with hers in a sensual ballet of lips and flesh that leaves them both panting. She moans softly into his mouth as he rubs at her back, squeezing one of her ass cheeks in his free hand. 

She can’t believe she’s actually kissing Killian. Her best friend. And he is every bit the kisser she knew he would be. His tongue flicks against hers so expertly and he’s groaning, his guttural sounds vibrating through her, shivers running down her spine, her skin tingling all over. Her stomach is coiled in anticipation at the thought of that same tongue on her pussy.

Oh God.

She needs that tongue on her like she needs air to breathe. As much alcohol as she’s had, the only thing fogging her mind is the lust and pleasure coursing through her veins. She’s now drunk on something else entirely. And it’s on the man who is currently breaking the kiss and leaving her a panting, breathless mess as he slides his lips over her jawline and down her neck, the scruff on his chin scratching her so deliciously. 

As she’s still trying to recover from that kiss—as if she could—she’s so glad she wore a dress tonight. As he leaves a trail of kisses along her collarbone, he pulls the straps down her arms, yanks down the top of her dress and pushes her black, lacy bra cups out of the way, exposing her breasts. As he’s admiring her naked breasts in wonderment, as he's squeezing them in his firm hands, making her nipples harden, she's admiring him and blushing profusely.

Fuck.

When he caresses a hard bud with his lips, Emma moans, and when he draws the same nipple into his mouth, she runs her hands through his hair, enjoying how soft and warm his mouth is against her sensitive skin, a breath exploding between her lips. He kisses his way to her other breast, giving the same treatment. She can feel how hard he is through his jeans, and it’s making her so much wetter than she already was. To her relief, he’s grabbing her dress and hauling it up her legs, seeking access she’s definitely willing to grant him. She helps him move the hem of her dress to her stomach, exposing her black, lacy thong. He leaves bruising kisses on her lower belly and inner thighs as he slides her panties off. 

When he’s on his knees and his gorgeous face is between her thighs, he looks up at her, those intense blue eyes stealing her breath as he gently slides his lips up her leg, giving her time to push him away if she desired. A completely unnecessary precaution. 

She leans back, gripping the edge of the sink as she drapes one leg over his shoulder and pushes him to her.

The soft, warm air of his chuckles hits her glistening folds and sends a shiver up her spine. “Patience, love.” He presses gentle kisses to her nub, her folds, and noses her slit, breathing in slowly, taking in her unique scent. Emma’s incapable of being patient, though; she can almost feel his tongue on her as he wraps his arms around her, urging her to lean back a little more so he has full access to her. 

Finally, his tongue hits her flesh, taking a thorough exploration between her folds until he finds exactly what he’s searching for. She dips her head back, hitting the back of it against the mirror, her hands clutching at the top of his head for purchase. Her eyelids fall shut, soft moans pouring from her mouth as his tongue works so skillfully on her bundle of nerves. She opens her eyes so she can watch him as he licks her good and hard, and she lifts one of her legs to the edge of the counter so she’s spread out like a feast before him. She tugs gently on his hair, urging him closer and she can tell he doesn’t mind, because he's growling and puckering his lips, drawing her clit into his soft, warm mouth, making her tremble. It’s the most erotic thing she’s ever witnessed, and she’s wondering who’s enjoying this more, him or her. 

When he glances up, his eyes are boring into hers, and she can feel him smiling against her folds when he sees how wrecked she is with her best friend’s tongue between her legs. Those sparkling blue eyes are piercing through her soul and she can’t find the strength to tear her gaze from his. It’s so fucking hot watching him eating her out. Watching him take his sweet time bringing her close to the very edge before pulling away and then bringing her back. It’s like watching the waves of the ocean moving in and lapping the shoreline before ebbing away. His tongue lapping her up and then withdrawing. In and out, in and out, over and over, increasing in intensity and speed each time, until she’s a complete mess, until she’s arching her back and fisting tufts of his hair and tugging him closer, begging for him to finish her off.

“Killian… please…” she moans breathlessly, helpless against the mirror and completely at his mercy.

The alcohol certainly doesn’t help; it had made her incredibly more horny. Meaning every inch of her is more sensitive. So, Killian suckling on her clit and lapping her up as if his life depends on it is bound to push her over the edge and make her crumble into a million pieces very soon.

And he does so effortlessly.

God, he does.

“Killian!” Emma screams, hoping the loud music and chatter of the bar are drowning out her sounds of ecstasy as she falls apart. She falls so hard, she’s thankful Killian’s hands are gripping her thighs, holding her in place, because otherwise she’d be on the floor right now. Literally.

When she comes back to reality, her body is still twitching. Killian is pressing soft, wet kisses to her nub and each of her thighs, and there’s fire in his eyes as he rises and sucks her essence off his fingers. 

She can taste herself on his lips when he kisses her. And she melts again, arousal shooting through her once more. But as airy as she feels, she somehow musters the strength to push him back, fumble for his belt, tug down his pants and sink to her knees.

Holy hell.

His cock is glorious.

Thick and throbbing, pointing at her, almost beckoning her forward. 

“Snap your fingers,” she says, smirking up at him. 

He manages a grin and doesn’t argue. 

When he snaps his fingers, she wraps her hand around his stiff length and strokes him slowly, a deep, soft moan escaping her lips. He feels fucking amazing in her hand. 

He draws in a sharp breath when she kisses his velvety tip. Then she leans in and licks up his entire length, making him gasp. 

“Good… Gods… Emma.”

His thick shaft is glistening with her saliva, and Killian bites his lower lip as he looks at her, trying to hold back the urge to lose himself too soon. She smiles, encouraged by his palpable excitement, and wraps her wet lips around his cock. The tip of him slides easily into her mouth, and she sucks on him greedily, bobbing her head a few times before removing her hand, grabbing his hips and taking him in deeper. Killian lets out a deep, guttural groan, reaching down to cup her cheeks in his hands. Emma hums gently around him while allowing his cock to slide back and forth past her lips, not enough to escape her mouth, but enough to build up some friction. 

“Fu-uck! That feels incredible, love…” he groans, his voice completely wrecked.

The sounds of his breathing grow louder with each passing minute. Her arousal builds inside her again while she takes him deep, letting his belled tip almost slip free from her mouth before taking him in again. She can’t refrain from smiling around his cock, knowing she’s subjecting him to the same torture he put her through. 

Emma massages his balls in her fingers and increases her speed, taking him into her mouth deeper and faster and harder. Killian’s hands are threading through her hair and he’s groaning loudly, thrusting his hips, seeking release. And she’s finally ready to give it to him. She moans around him and takes his perfect buttcheek in her free hand, taking him roughly, letting him fuck her mouth until his hot seed is spurting down her throat and he’s gripping her hair tightly and his legs are shaking.

“Gods, Emma… that was…”

The knock on the bathroom door pulls them both back to reality. Emma quickly swallows his cum down her throat and licks her lips as she rises. They reassemble themselves quicker than they would’ve preferred. They right their clothes, tame their hair and walk out of the restroom like everything’s perfectly normal, ignoring the looks they’re getting from the female patron who’s outside the door waiting to use the restroom. 

Killian and Emma are laughing as he pays their tab and they’re still giggling as they stumble out of the bar.

They take an uber to Killian’s apartment and the keys he drops on the floor is only the beginning of the trail they leave behind as they make their way to his bedroom. A jacket, one shoe, Killian’s sweater, another shoe, another jacket, her bra, her dress, her wet panties… they don’t even break the kiss to fling their clothes to the floor, and their lips are still connected when they make it to the room and fall into Killian’s bed.

Emma can’t believe that after five years she’s finally making love to this man, making love several times in several different positions, and when they’re both completely sapped, their heads are falling against the pillows and he’s kissing the back of her hand and asking her on a date.

~*~

Once they're not both in bed or out on their first official date (they wait until they go back to her place to begin any more enjoyable activities this time), Emma finally gets to watch the video of Killian’s reaction to the dirty text she’d sent him two days prior. 

And what she sees fills her with so much happiness, she can’t stop smiling.

And when she uploads the video on Tik Tok, it goes viral.

~*~

Killian sighs heavily into his hands. He’s such an idiot. He needs to just man up and tell Emma how he feels. But if it were really that easy, then he would’ve done it five years ago, right?

The sound of his phone vibrating against the table drags him from his reverie and he lifts his face from his hands and picks up his phone. 

It’s a text message from Emma.

Emma: I have a confession. I didn’t actually have to pee. All that talk of licking your cock made me so wet. Made it difficult to sit across from you instead of crawling underneath the table and licking your cock.

Killian groans, his cock actually twitching when he reads her text.

Fuck.

He’s completely stunned. He doesn’t even know how to react or feel about her text. Is she serious? Is she joking? Is it the alcohol?

A million questions race through his mind and when he’s finally able to peel his eyes from his phone screen, he looks across the bar toward the restrooms. He’s half expecting to find her watching him from a distance to catch his reaction but she’s nowhere in sight. He looks at his phone again and reads her text again. A slow smile creeps across his lips at the thought of Emma crawling underneath the table to suck him off.

Bloody hell.

Suddenly he feels very warm and grabs the drink menu to fan himself. Did they turn on the heat in here?

He blows out a laden breath and slips the phone into his pocket, trying to recover from how turned on he is. The thought of Emma’s sweet, pink lips wrapped around his hard, aching cock makes him painfully hard. And he’s pretty sure his arousal is written all over his face. But he also wonders what this means. 

Was she sending him an invitation?

Does she want him to take action? Is she wanting him to meet her in the restroom? 

He’s not sure, but he’s not about to let this opportunity slip from his fingers. Killian sets down the menu, drags a hand through his hair and gets up before he can talk himself out of it.

Fuck.

Is he actually going to the ladies’ room to get his dick sucked?

Nah, while the thought of having Emma’s mouth on his cock is awfully enticing, he has other ideas in mind.

As he approaches the hallway, he can see Emma on her phone. He suddenly becomes nervous and completely terrified. 

Holy hell.

Is he actually doing this?

He keeps moving his feet, breaking through his stubborn wall of fear that’s held him back all this time. He breaks through the wall of anxiety and nerves that have weighed him down. 

He takes another deep breath, steps into her space and snatches the phone from her hand, hoping and praying this isn’t a huge mistake.

If it was a mistake, then it was the best mistake he’s ever made. Because not only does he get to be with his best friend—the woman of his dreams—but her brother doesn’t completely hate him. David wasn't happy at first, but he’s slowly getting used to the idea of his best buddy dating his sister.

And Mary Margaret is overjoyed. But she's been acting very peculiar ever since he began dating Emma. Every time they meet Mary Margaret and David for lunch, the petite brunette always says without fail, “Guess what time it is?” After Emma shakes her head and rolls her eyes, Mary Margaret always has the same answer to her own question: “It’s time for you to buy your own grilled cheese sandwich and onion rings.”

Which is strange because, being the gentleman his mum raised him to be, he always foots the bill whenever he takes Emma out to eat.

What's even more puzzling is that Mary Margaret suddenly stops saying it after a year.

David's wife sure is an odd one.

Tagging:  @itsfabianadocarmo @ilovemesomekillianjones @onceuponaprincessworld @teamhook @resident-of-storybrooke @searchingwardrobes @gingerchangeling @lfh1226-linda @xsajx @artistic-writer @kmomof4 @hollyethecurious @superchocovian

Killian: If I was home, you could be full of me.

Emma: That is undoubtedly the worst pick-up line you’ve ever used.

“She’s right, you know?”

“Huh?”

“Emma. She’s right.”

Killian closes out his phone and drops it to his lap, adjusting himself in his seat and pulling at his shorts to make them a little longer. “Are you reading my texts?”

Robin shrugs. “We’re sitting close, and you are holding your phone in a pretty obvious way.”

“Didn’t take you for the nosy type.”

“Didn’t take you for the type to not be able to flirt with your wife.”

Killian chuckles and leans his head back. “Locksley, there are about a million jokes I could make about your single status right now.”

“How do you know I’m single?”

He turns his head to the side and lifts his glasses off his face. “Are you not?”

“Oh, no, I am, but I wanted to fuck with you.”

“What about your date with – ”

“There’s possibility there, but I’m not sure. I don’t…I know I eventually have to get back out there, that it’s been practically forever, but no one’s ever made me feel like Marian did.”

Killian swallows and reaches over to clasp Robin’s shoulder. He gets it in a roundabout way. He can’t imagine losing Emma. He won’t let himself think of that fear too much, but the moments that he does allow the thoughts to creep in are the moments that make him have the slightest bit of understanding of Rob. He never thought he’d be able to move on from Milah, but he did. To have to move on from Emma though…

“You’re doing your best, mate.”

Robin huffs. “I don’t believe that for a second.”

“Well, you should.”

“How’s the kid?” Robin asks. Okay, so they’re done with that conversation then. “Still adorable?”

“Didn’t you see him before we left?”

“Yeah, but I really want to change the subject.”

Killian sighs and picks his phone up again, clicking on Emma’s messages and going to the pictures she’s been sending him while he’s been gone. It’s been multiple pictures and videos every day for two weeks, which is longer than they ever go away from each other, and he’s desperately clinging to these small snippets of Jace.

And Emma.

“Emma took Addy, Lucy, and Jace to the zoo yesterday. I think Ariel and Morgan joined them. Apparently Jace loved all of the animals in the water.” Killian swipes over to a picture of Emma holding Jace in front of the penguin exhibit before swiping over to a picture of Emma holding Jace while he wails in front of a group of monkeys. “And then hated everything else.”

“Sounds about right. Has Emma recovered from being in charge of all of those kids?”

“She’s probably never going to talk to Liam and Elsa again.”

Robin laughs and leans forward to stretch out, moving his right arm in a few circles. “How long are we going to leave Scarlet to run around scarring all of the kids on the beach?”

“How long until we have to go to practice?”

“Two hours.”

“Then we give him another hour to even out those awful tan lines, and then we haul his ass out of here and get rid of his Speedo as soon as humanly possible.”

“I like the way you think.”

-/-

His phone is ringing.

Why is his phone ringing?

That is his phone ringing, right?

The tell-tale sound keeps going off, and Killian slowly opens his eyes and rolls over in bed until he’s fumbling for his phone, pulling it off the charger and sliding his finger across the screen.

“Hello?”

“Did I wake you?”

“Emma?”

“Oh shit. I did wake you. I’m sorry. Go back to bed.”

And then the phone line goes dead.

What the hell?

Killian sits up and straightens his back against the headboard before hitting Emma’s contact. It rings twice before she answers.

“I said go back to bed.”

“Swan, what the hell is going on?”

Emma sighs. It’s long and low, and Killian swears he can feel it in his bones three thousand miles away. “It’s nothing. Really.”

“It’s three in the morning. It can’t be nothing.”

“It’s technically six for me.”

“But it’s three for me.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m an asshole for waking you up.”

“No,” Killian corrects, putting his phone on speaker and dropping it to his lap while he starts stretching out his arms. If he’s this stiff later, he’s going to be goddamn awful on the mound tonight. “You’re not. Now, why’d you call? You’re never up this early.”

“I can be up this early.”

“Only when I drag you out of bed.”

Emma huffs, and then all of the sudden his phone is ringing again until he’s tapping at it and Emma’s face is suddenly in front of him.

“Hey, beautiful.”

“Are you even looking at my face?”

“I am,” he tells her. her hair is pulled back into a bun, flyaway pieces framing her face, and she’s got bags under her eyes he doesn’t think he’s ever seen. Her eyes are also red, either from lack of sleep or crying. Or both. God, he hopes it’s simply because she’s tired. “You’re beautiful.”

“You’re a liar who has some major bedhead.”

“Well, I was asleep, love.” Emma scrunches her nose up before wiping her eyes while yawning. “Sweetheart, as much as I love this conversation, I wish you would tell me what’s wrong.”

“What makes you think something is wrong?”

“I feel like I’m going in circles here, Swan. Help me out.”

Emma groans and falls back against the couch. He misses that couch far more than he ever thought he would. He also misses the woman having some kind of break down on top of it.

“I need you to come home,” she finally mumbles. “I am an independent woman who has always done fantastic on my own. I can do things on my own. I really can. But twenty-nine, if you aren’t home within the next twenty-four hours, I’m going to lose my damn mind.”

“You and I both know it’s going to be a little longer than that.”

“Fuck off.”

“Swan.”

“No, I mean it. Jace is regressing. Like, with his sleep, and I’m going crazy. Because, of course, he doesn’t just wake up and soothe himself back to sleep. He cries, and because I’m not a monster, I get up to make sure he’s okay. But I’m so tired. It’s like he’s a newborn again except less breakable, and sometimes I wonder why the hell we wanted to be parents when we both knew that our schedules are batshit crazy.”

“Is he asleep now?”

“Yep.”

“And you didn’t feel like going back to sleep, too?”

“I wanted to talk to you.”

“Emma,” Killian sighs. He sinks back down onto the mattress, pulling the blankets up over him and propping his head in his hand while he looks at his phone. All he wants is to wrap his arms around her, but he can’t do that. Not yet. “I miss you, love. You’re not alone in that.”

“Which makes me feel far less pathetic.”

“I don’t think missing your partner makes you pathetic.”

“Calling me your partner makes us sound like we’re in business together.”

“Is lover better?”

“Oh my God,” Emma mumbles. “You’re the worst.”

“And yet you’re the one missing me.”

“Yeah, I am.” Emma blinks at him, small, beautiful smile on her face. “I don’t know. I feel like I should be used to not spending all of our time together. I mean, no offense, but I like our breaks. We need them to stay sane. But this is a really long one, and I need someone to help me with our kid. I’m also really horny, which is a word I absolutely despise, and I miss your face.”

Killian has to bite his cheek to keep from bursting out into laughter. He shouldn’t laugh. It’s not funny. He feels the exact same way Emma feels. This swing used to be one of his favorites. He loves being out west, but that was before he had someone – two someone’s – waiting for him back home like he does now.

“When I get home, you can stare at my face as much as you want. You can stare at it when I’m the one who’s up with Jace. You can stare at it when I’m fucking you until you can’t breathe. You can stare at me as I do the dishes and clean up all the stuff Jace spills. You can stare at my face when it’s your literal job to stare at my face and tell the world when I’m sucking it up. Whatever you want, you can have.”

“I like the sound of you doing the dishes. That may be the sexiest thing you’ve ever said.”

He scoffs before flashing his teeth. “I know you had meetings at home, which is why you two couldn’t travel with us, but next time the trip is this long, I’m not leaving you and Jace behind. You two should have seen Will at the beach yesterday.”

“I got the picture. I saw enough to know that Belle is a very lucky woman.” Her mouth flattens into a straight line. “If you ever tell Will that, I will murder you.”

Killian yawns. He tries to stop it, but it’s pretty much a hopeless task. “I promise I would never try to inflate Scarlet’s ego like that.”

“We would never hear the end of it.”

He yawns again. Dammit.

“Killian.”

“What?”

“Go back to bed.”

“No, no, I’m fine. I’m happy to talk to you.”

“It’s three in the morning for you. I shouldn’t have called. Go back to bed. I’ll call you before the game tonight, okay? I’ll facetime with Jace so you can see him.”

“Good. We all know I only really want to talk to him anyway.”

“You carry a child in your body for nine months, have it destroy your vagina, and then your husband likes the kid better than he likes you. Is it all worth it?”

“Aye,” Killian sighs, his smile widening at simply the thought of his family. “You know you’re my number one, sweetheart. Jace is simply our number one. Together.”

“Well, as long as I’m beating the kid out.”

He huffs and closes his eyes before blinking them back open. “I love you, Swan. I hope you get some sleep and that Jace gets his act together.”

“I love you, too. See you in four days.”

“Three and half.”

“Semantics.”

“Yeah, but the good kind here. I’m trying to get home to you. I promise.”

-/-

His shoulder hurts when he pitches that night.

More than it has and more than it should, and after the fourth inning, he asks to leave the game, calling Archie and getting a massage and praying that things get better.

The next day, it’s much less stiff, and sitting on the plane to San Francisco only bothers him a little bit.

But it doesn’t matter. None of it matters because they’re traveling to the last city they have to go to before he can go home.

To his bed.

To Jace.

To Emma.

They sweep the Giants, which feels fucking fantastic after losing to the Dodgers, and the more time he spends here, the more it feels wrong to be here without Emma. This was where a lot of things started for them. They kissed for the first time in the stands, and he swears his entire world stopped in that moment before starting again, his heart beating at a slightly different rate.

So when they get on their chartered plane and take off from the tarmac, Killian lets out a sigh of relief and tries to get some sleep so he won’t be beyond exhausted.

He obviously doesn’t sleep.

He feels every minute of the damn plane ride, ends up getting his computer out and going through the files his accountant sent him, which really doesn’t help how long the plane ride is, but eventually he sees the lights of Manhattan and feels his heart in his chest.

This is the best job in the world. Truly. But damn is it hard sometimes.

“You want to go get dinner?” Will asks him as they grab their bags from the overheads.

“It’s two in the morning, Scarlet.”

“I can guarantee half of the restaurants in the city are open.”

“I kind of want to get home, mate. Don’t you?”

Will shrugs. “Belle is in Detroit with an author. I think I could go for about two pizzas just for me.”

Killian hooks his backpack around his shoulders. “Maybe tomorrow. Call and I’ll see if we can come meet you for lunch.”

“I’m pretty sure you two will be otherwise occupied.”

“Don’t be gross.”

“I meant with your kid. Look whose mind was in the gutter.”

Killian rolls his eyes. “Call tomorrow around noon. We’ll go get pizza with you.”

“Can I come to the house in my pajamas and we order in?”

He claps his hand on Will’s shoulder. “Even better.”

The car ride back to the brownstone takes exactly twenty-three minutes. He shouldn’t know that. He definitely shouldn’t have kept track, but the anticipation of being home is enough to have his leg shaking up and down. He’s been away before. Hell, he’s spent half of the past twelve years on the road, but wanting to be home this time has been different.

Jace has apparently been hellish for Emma. She’s exhausted between taking care of him and working and worrying about Killian and the team.

She deserves some help other than David stopping by with Chinese takeout once.

Killian’s quiet as he pads into the kitchen from the garage, flicking on the lights and dropping his bags to the ground. He’ll get them in the morning when he does laundry. Slowly, he moves to the stairs and walks up them until he gets to the top floor. Jace’s room is open, the kid fast asleep in his crib, and while Killian wants to hold him, he dares not wake him up and mess up his sleep schedule any more than it’s already messed up. If he’s asleep right now, it’s pretty much a miracle.

Miracles shouldn’t be awoken.

His bedroom door, however, isn’t open, and when Killian cracks it open, it creaks. He’ll have to fix that tomorrow…which is later today. He’ll fix it at some point.

Emma’s face is buried in her pillow, her body stretched out over almost half of the bed, and Killian has to stifle his laugh. She’s never going to be someone who stays on her side of the bed.

She’s also about to have the shit scared out of her because that happens every damn time he comes home.

“Swan,” Killian whispers, taking the gentle approach. She doesn’t move, so he moves to climb into bed, the mattress dipping under his weight before he pushes at her shoulder. “Emma, sweetheart, wake up.”

Suddenly, she jolts, falling backward and catching herself at the edge of the mattress with her eyes wider than he’s ever seen them. “What the fuck?”

“Ah, just how I like to be greeted when I come home.”

“Shut up. My heart is going to leave my body.”

“That’s not possible.”

“It’s about to be possible.”

He doesn’t bother holding in his chuckle now, laughing as he leans forward to wrap his arms around Emma, pushing her down to the mattress before climbing on top of her. Neither of them move, her chest still quickly moving up and down, and he waits for her to calm down.

Damn. It feels good to be home.

Emma reaches up to tuck his hair behind his ear, her mouth softly curling at the corners. “That was the longest road trip in existence. I’m still not entirely sure you’re here.”

“I’m here. You’re not having some kind of awful hallucination.”

“Good,” she laughs before pushing up to press her mouth into his. As always, it’s magic to be with her, to feel the softness of her lips and her skin pressing into the roughness of his beard that grew out a little too much while he was on the road. He’s tired, his body beyond exhausted, but there’s nothing else he’d rather be doing than lying in his bed kissing his wife after not being able to do that for weeks. “Your beard is long.”

“I’ll shave it tomorrow,” he promises, mouth still ghosting over hers.

“I kind of like it.”

“The shave can wait.”

“But it does itch.”

“I’m getting mixed signals here, love.”

“I,” she starts as his lips trail to her jawline in search of the spot that always riles her up. “I-I mostly just want you.”

“Mhm, I like that answer.”

His next few movements are anything but graceful. They’re slow and clumsy, and he fumbles with the damn drawstring on Emma’s pajama bottoms that she had tied far too tightly. She can’t stop laughing at him, the sound bouncing around the walls of their bedroom, and he swears when he pushes inside of her that she’s saying something about a stain on the t-shirt that’s now in a pile of clothes at the foot of the bed.

“Are you delusional?” he asks as he starts to get into a rhythm that’s comfortable for the both of them.

“I told you I wasn’t getting a lot of sleep.” Her nails scratch along his back, and she loops her calf around his ass, pushing him further into her. “Neither were you.”

“We can go to sleep after this.”

“Ah, my favorite part of sex – the sleeping afterward.”

It’s Killian’s turn to laugh as he kisses Emma, the sound getting caught up with her. They’re both delusional, both too tired to be doing this, but it feels so damn good to be connected with her like this.

It’s coming home in every single way.

“Did you see Jace?” Emma asks sometime later as her head rests on his chest, the sweat there dried.

“Aye, I saw him. Thought it best not to wake him though.”

“I would have murdered you.”

“Oh, I know you bloody would have. That was the first thought I had.”

“You know me so well.”

He runs his hand down her back until his fingers are tapping along her ass. “I know better than to wake a baby. I’ve been doing this dad thing for a few months. I think I’ve got the hang of it.”

“You just majorly jinxed us.”

“Maybe so.”

Emma sighs and turns her cheek from his chest. He feels her press a kiss to his collarbone, and he leaves one on her hairline in response.

“What time do you have to go to practice tomorrow?”

“I’m not. I’m going to run on the treadmill here. What time do you have to go into work?”

“Five.”

“And how long do you think we’ll have before Jace wakes us up?”

“Somewhere between an hour, if this past week has been any indication, or four hours if he’s miraculously back to normal now that you’re home.”

“So we best get our sleep while we can then.”

“Yes,” Emma groans, falling off of him and flopping back onto the mattress, her hair getting tangled and a ridiculous smile on her face. “That is exactly what I was thinking.” She sits up and immediately leans over to press her mouth into his. “Glad you’re home, Jones.”

“Glad to be home, darling.” He kisses her again, holding onto her a bit tighter when she attempts to fall away from him and back to the mattress. “I’ll get the kid when he wakes up.”

“I have never loved you more than I do in this moment.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. I love you. Let’s get some sleep.”

“Love you, too, twenty-nine.”

“Oh, Will is coming over for pizza tomorrow.”

Emma groans. “As long as he isn’t wearing a speedo, I don’t care.”

-/-

-/-

Slowly, she takes a deep breath, letting her shoulders fall further than necessary before downing the rest of her glass. 

After she flags down the bartender, Ruby suddenly turns her attention back towards Emma. 

“What’s got you so down, Em?” Ruby asks, wrapping her arm around Emma’s shoulders. “We’re supposed to be having fun, getting your mind off of everything that’s been stressing you out.” 

“Well, obviously it’s not working.”

The bartender sets another glass in front of her and she snatches it up immediately, taking a long sip of it before setting it back down on the bar, leaning back on the barstool. 

“What’s’a matter with her?” Belle asks, turning back towards the two of them.

“She’s just a party pooper, is all,” Ruby replies, trying to hide the smile on her face with the martini glass, but it does not work. 

“I don’t need to stay here and put up with this, you know,” she says, pulling her phone off the bar and sliding it into her pocket as she steps off of the barstool. 

“Wait, where are you going?” Belle asks, but neither of them move to follow her. 

“Relax,” Emma breathes, putting her hands out to stop her friends from moving. “I just need to use the bathroom.”

She feels her phone buzz a few times while she washes her hands, forgetting that the bathroom has much better service than the bar, but she decides to leave her notifications go until she gets back to her seat. 

When she opens the door, he’s standing there, his eyes on the floor in front of him as he leans back against the wall, arms crossed over his chest and one leg crossed over the other. He’s in dark blue jeans and a black button-down, which he has unsurprisingly opted not to button past his sternum. 

“Hello, darling,” he drawls, slowly pulling his eyes up from the floor to meet hers. The corner of his lips pulls up into a smile as he asks, “Care to go halfsies on a baby?” 

“Killian,” she groans, wrapping her arms around his neck as she nuzzles into his shoulder. “You can’t use that as a pick-up line when we’re already married. Besides, you’re supposed to be at home with our son right now anyway.” 

“Just your luck then, love,” he mumbles, pressing his lips against the line of her jaw as he pulls her closer to him. “David called and asked if Mary Margaret would be able to watch her, her baby fever was kicking pretty high.” 

“And so you decided that, instead of a quiet night at home without your three-month-old son, you decided...” 

“To come and surprise my wife on her night out? Aye.” He presses a soft kiss to her cheek, keeping his face pressed there. His voice vibrates against her skin, adding to the scratchy tickle of his stubble against her. “Besides, somehow I knew you would be worried about my first night home alone as a father.” 

“And how was it?” She pulls her face away from Killian’s chest, leaning back far enough to look at him as she runs her thumbs against the nape of his neck. 

He chuckles softly, leaning his head forward to press his forehead against hers as he looks down at the ground. “Our boy and I were doing quite well, thank you very much,” he replies. “Though we both missed you dearly.” 

On the plus side he fit in well with her small group of friends. Ruby, who she met in gym class and had become something like her best girlfriend. The raven haired teen thought he was funny and good to look at, and it didn’t hurt that she had her eyes for his friend, Victor. Even Graham, who helped her find her English class and who she started to consider as a friend,  though he was okay, and he was never easy to accept new people.

Eventually, they started to see each other outside of school as well. He took her to all of his favorite places around Storybrooke - Granny’s for milkshakes and onion rings, the movies because “Come on Swan, they’re playing a Harry Potter marathon,” and the docks to watch the boats. “They are ships, Swan.”

They were becoming fast friends, but that’s it, nothing more. Friends who spent all of their free time together or with their shared group of friends. And they liked hanging out with each other, and sharing their hopes and dreams and their pasts. Which was a first for Emma.

As the weather became colder, they spent all their time at Killian’s place. Emma’s foster parents were nice; Mary Margaret and David were doing their best to make her feel at home. But still, she liked to hang out at Killian’s house better. He lived with his big brother, Liam, who worked a lot, so it was usually the two of them. They watched movies, snuggling on the couch, doing their homework and having dinner together.

When Liam and his girlfriend  Elsa, were home, they all hung out together. They played board games or cooked. Her favorite pastime was watching Liam teasing Killian, like when he called him “little brother” and Killian corrected him, but he did so while smiling. She knew they cared a lot about each other because it was just the two of them.

To top it off, she didn’t feel like an intruder in their home; they always made sure she was comfortable and included. Emma felt at home there; she felt safe. She didn’t know why yet, but she was about to figure it out.  

During their Christmas break, she went to his house to hang out like usual. They were supposed to study as well since they had some math problems, and Emma could use his help for that. Math wasn’t her favorite subject.

Liam opened the door and welcomed her in.

“Hi Emma,” he greeted with a smile. “Killian is upstairs in his room. I will get him for you.”

“Thanks, Liam.” She moved to get her shoes off, hearing Liam calling from upstairs, “Killian, your girlfriend is here”.

She froze. Girlfriend? When did Killian got a girlfriend? Why hadn’t he said anything to her? Who was she? A sudden feeling of jealousy started taking over her. Did Ruby know? Was it Ruby? No, it couldn’t be. She was dating Victor.

Suddenly, she remembered an incident that happened at school before the break. Killian was on his way to his locker, and she went to surprise him when he stopped to talk to Tink, the cute blonde from history class who always wore mini skirts. Was she his girlfriend?

Just then Killian was coming down the stairs with a grin on his face.

“Hi love, I thought we could watch a movie or we could go out for a hot chocolate at Granny’s.”

Emma was still standing by the door, so he approached her and  touched her arm. “Swan, are you okay?”

She tried to smile and nod when the realisation hit her.

Liam was referring to her as his girlfriend.

She felt relief for a moment and then shock. Was she his girlfriend? Well sure, they spent all their time together, he always watched after her, she cared about him a lot, and yeah she loved him, but girlfriend? Realization hit her like a brick.

She loved him! She did love him. She was completely and totally in love with him.

Now that she’s able to admit it to herself, where does she go from here? She doesn’t know what to do.

She smiles at him and replies, “Yeah sure, let’s just watch a movie.” She spends the whole time thinking about it.

Killian senses she is distracted, but he knows sometimes she needs space before she can talk to him, and he accepts it.

By next week, she is still distracted and she keeps avoiding him.

He knows she went out with Ruby two days ago, because Victor came over to play video games and he told him. He even joked, asking him if they were having trouble in paradise. It’s not like they are a couple and they have to always be together or inform the other when one of them is having other plans, but they always talk about their plans.

He knows it’s just him she is avoiding. On the one hand, he is relieved she has her friend to talk to, but it still hurts that she doesn’t talk to him.

So he decides to confront her. He goes to her place, but she isn’t there. Her foster mom told him she went for a walk, so he knows there is only one place she could be.

It turns out, she is there, sitting on a bench by the lake, where he took her the first time they hung out, just the two of them, and he wanted to take her to all of his favorite places around town.

He stays for a moment admiring her from a distance, she is wearing a red coat and jeans, her hair is loose and she looks stunning. He takes a deep breath and starts walking towards her.

“Hey Swan, I thought I might find you here. Is everything alright?” he asks when he is at a hearing distance.

She jumps a bit at his voice. She was so lost in her thoughts, she didn’t heard him coming. She quickly recovers and answers.“Yeah, of course. Why wouldn’t it be?” She then gives him a fake smile.

“It’s just that we haven’t seen each other a lot this week and I have a feeling you are avoiding me” he admits, and there is a hint of pain in his voice.

She hurt him, but she doesn’t want to hurt him. She loves him, and she doesn’t know if he feels the same.

“Everything is fine, Jones. It’s just a bit busy with the holidays and stuff.”

“All right then,” he murmurs, and she knows he doesn’t believe her. He always was able to read her like an open book. “Are we still on for New Years?”

They had made plans some time ago. He and Liam would go to her place and spend New Year’s Eve with her family. And on New Years they would all share dinner together.

Her foster parents had invited them over after Thanksgiving when they found out that it would be just the two of them. Mary Margaret said with the time they spent together, it would be rude to separate them on such a holiday, and Liam had accepted their invitation since he wasn’t much of a cook.

“Yes, my foster parents are all over the preparations. You should see how many recipes Mary Margaret has searched through in order to find the perfect one for a New Year’s pie.”

“Okay. What do you want to do now?” he asks, afraid she prefers to stay there alone.

“Am I your girlfriend?” she blurts out, and manages to leave him speechless.

“Uh… hem…” he coughs. “Excuse me, Swan?”, he says while scratching behind his ear.

“It’s just that… nothing. Forget about it,” she says and turns around to get up and leave. But Killian is quicker and puts his hand on her arm before she does so.

“Emma, please don’t hide from me. Do you want to be my girlfriend?”  he asks with a shy smile and his heart is beating so fast he thinks it might explode.

“Liam called me your girlfriend the other day. So am I?”

“Do you want to be?”

She doesn’t meet his eyes, and instead she looks at her hands in her lap

“Because I would want nothing more than to be able to call you my girlfriend. To be able to kiss you as I’ve thought about so many times before. To hold your hand and hold you in my arms. You are so beautiful, Emma, inside and out, and…”

He doesn’t get to finish his thoughts before Emma leaps forward and kisses him. It takes him a moment to react, and he kisses her back, as he’s dreamt of doing so many times before.

When they break the kiss and  touch their foreheads together, he asks breathlessly. “So, what do you say Swan, am I your boyfriend?”

Her “Yes” is answered between kisses.

8 Years later:

They exchange vows at the very same lake where they shared their first kiss. Mary Margaret and David, her now adoptive parents are sitting near Liam and his wife, Elsa. Their friends are all there to witness this important moment of their lives.

After the minister pronounced them husband and wife, just before Killian bends his head to kiss her, he whispers, “Am I your husband, Swan?”

Her answer is once again swallowed by his kiss.

And she couldn’t be happier that she is madly in love with Killian Jones.