Memories

Chapter 17

It was a welcome sight for the bartenders' at The Rabbit Hole to see Emma and Killian walk through the door and take their usual seats at the bar. It had been months since they had last seen them, and they had missed the added security that came with having the Sheriff as a regular. A round was quickly ordered and disappeared almost as quickly as it arrived.

Killian could tell that something was up with his best friend. While it was no secret that she enjoyed a stiff drink at the end of the day, it had been a while since he had seen her knock them back at such a quick pace.

"I kissed Regina." The Sheriff muttered as the burn of her third whiskey shot attacked the back of her throat. She suddenly felt a whole lot lighter, she'd been bottling everything up for days now and she was ready to burst at the seams.

"We're gonna need another round over here!" Killian yelled to the bartender before sliding his own drink over to the blonde woman, knowing that she needed it way more than he did at the moment.

"Thanks." Emma smiled shyly as she sipped on the rum, not enjoying the taste quite as much as the whiskey, but she wasn't about to turn down a drink.

"So...how was it?" Hook asked after a few moments of content silence, although he wagered that he already knew the answer. He knew what the answer would have been before the accident and what it was now. From the outside looking in, it seemed like Emma's feelings towards the brunette had somehow resurfaced; the truth was that they had never left in the first place.

"Amazing, breath-taking, perfect and...a huge mistake." The Sheriff face planted into her hands, as she thought back to how insanely embarrassed she had felt after Regina sprinted away from her.

"Aye, that's usually how kissing an ex makes you feel." The pirate chuckled knowingly, as fresh drinks were placed in front of them.

"Tink again?" Emma lifted her head slightly, to glare at the one-handed man, secretly glad that she wasn't the only one with a messed up relationship with their ex.

"We're here to talk about your love life, not mine, love...but yes." Hook nodded ashamedly, before downing his drink.

"I don't know what to do Killian...When I think about kissing her, I get these butterflies in my stomach and my skin feels like someone set it on fire." The blonde sat up properly and nursed her drink. She wished that she could go back to that night, run after Regina, and finally have the guts to tell the brunette how she felt.

"I sense a but comin' right about now," Killian muttered as Emma stared down at her drink in silence.

"But...she ran away. She pushed me off her, said sorry and then ran!" She exclaimed, before leaning her head on Killian's shoulder.  "And to make things worse, she can't even look at me anymore. She's been working late, and on the rare occasion she is home when I am, she hides herself away in her office until I give up and go to bed!" She explained, earning a grunt from the pirate.

"That sucks, but I get it." Hook shrugged, nodding to himself mostly. He knew what the brunette was going through, he'd seen it hundreds of times... on the faces of his crew when they'd make port, and even on Milah's face the first time their lips met.

"You get it? Okay, I'll bite." Emma chuckled at her best friend as she pushed herself off him, and bumped their shoulders together. "What is it you get exactly, Killian?"

"How it feels to be a cheater." He shrugged before sipping on his drink, offering up no more information.

"Huh?"

"She kissed you, while she's in-" Hook rolled his eyes, ready to state the obvious when Emma suddenly interrupted him, with a loud groan.

"A relationship with Ruby! Fuck this stupid brain of mine! God, I feel like a child!" Emma hit her head gently, before face planting on the bar.