A Friendship Made From Love

One

Emma sighed and lowered her head into her hands. Not having a fairy-tale villain for weeks had allowed her to see how much petty crime actually took place in Storybrooke. It was past midnight and the sheriff was still doing paperwork. This was what it was always like for her now. Regina and Robin had Henry, her parents were happy looking after their new-born. Belle and Ruby were probably together having fun. But Emma. Emma worked. There was only one person she didn't know the whereabouts of.

"You look tired." She looked up to the sound of his voice. Killian stood, leaning against the door frame of the sheriff's office holding out a cup of coffee with his right hand.

"Thanks." She said sarcastically but took the cup. Despite the tiredness, she suddenly didn't feel so bad. He smiled down at her and moved to sit on the edge of her desk.

"You know I didn't mean it like that, Swan." Emma crossed her legs on the chair and lowered her gaze to the work in front of her. She

The station was quiet. All she could hear was the sound of the prisoners snoring in the cells and Killian lightly tapping his hook on the desk leg. This wasn't an unusual sound for Emma to work with. He often came and sat here to keep her company on late nights. Ever since their time travel adventure they had be getting closer and closer. And with Elsa gone, Killian felt like Emma's only friend... that wasn't related to her, of course.

"You don't have to be here; I won't be long." She told him, watching as his hook stopped tapping. He was acting different tonight. Distant.

"I don't mind. I'll help with the filing." The blonde chuckled quietly before rolling her eyes. He said this every night but Emma doubted he knew what it even was.

Half an hour later, she was done. Killian was still here, listening to her rant about work and making sure she didn't fall asleep before she had finished. Emma got up from the desk with a sigh of relief.

"Done." She exclaimed and spent not even 5 seconds tidying up her desk. She quickly walked out without looking back. The former pirate hurried along after her. She felt like she would go insane if she stayed in there any longer.

The night air hit her as soon she opened the door. It was dark and cold out but she didn't mind. It had just turned one o'clock and the shops on the main road looked deserted. She liked it like this. It allowed her to think of everything without feeling like the walls were losing in on her. And she thought it sometimes felt nice to feel like it was her against the town. Emma pulled her tanned leather jacket around her and started to walk.

"You do know your apartment is the other way, right?" She jumped at the sound of her friend. Emma had forgotten he was even there. "Sorry, didn't mean to make you jump." Turning around, she noticed Killian was smiling at her. It was a tired smile, one she hadn't seen before. He looked vulnerable, almost lost.

"I was in a world of my own." She took a few steps towards him. He hadn't moved from the station door. "I was just going to go for a walk before I go home. You know, so I'm not inside for so long."

He nodded before moving past her. "I'll leave you to it."

Emma watched him make his way to the docks. She sighed as he turned the corner. After a few minutes she had ended up back at her parent's apartment. As much as she loved this place, and them, she really wanted to get out of here. As soon as she opened the door, she was greeted with a toy fire engine tripping her up. "What the hell." She hissed, trying not to wake up her family. She sat up off the floor and leaned against the door, with her sore knees tucked under her chin. The frustration and stress of this town was finally starting to get to her. This wasn't how the lost girl was meant to feel. She had a home now, a family. So why did she feel like she was alone?

She allowed a tear to roll down a cheek before standing up with huff and wiping it away. She was okay, Emma told herself, she was just tired. She climbed the loft stairs to her room and got changed in the dark. 1:24am and she was finally in bed. It only took 2 minutes for the tiredness to take over and for her to fall in to a deep, dreamless sleep.

Unfortunately, this couldn't be said for everyone in Storybrooke. Killian Jones lay awake on his ship. No matter how long he lay there on which position he lay in, sleep wouldn't take him. He sighed and sat up to drink some water. He knew what was wrong but he didn't want to admit it, not even to himself. Taking a breath he walked up the stairs to the deck of his ship. He often found the night reassuring. Laying on his deck, he stared at the stars. It reminded him of when he was a pirate. The good days where he was with Milah.

After a while of gazing at the stars, Killian finally felt his eyelids shutting. Though sleep finally came upon him, his night wasn't as peaceful and as dreamless as his friends.