Shared Pain

Chapter 1

His arm was securely wrapped around Emma's waist and the blonde hummed as she enjoyed the sun tingling her skin. She rested her head on Killian's shoulder and smiled.

She moved her hand to his chest and smirked. "Maybe tonight we can find some time to.." Killian kissed Emma before she could even finish the sentence.

"Perhaps," he replied smugly. "If I'm not too tired from work."

Emma smiled and sighed contently. She enjoyed the few moments she had with Killian. He was often working and they barely spent any time together.

When Killian wasn't working, he wanted to spend his time with the kids, but they were all out with their friends at the moment, so for the first time in weeks Emma and Killian had a real peaceful moment together.

Emma saw a woman jogging towards them from afar and her smile faded away. She recognized the woman, even from many feet away. She saw the perfectly curved, toned woman running toward them.

The woman stopped running just a few feet away and smiled brightly. "Hi, Emma, right?" She inquired, genuinely interested and Emma nodded slowly.

"Regina?" She asked. She knew she'd remembered the name correctly. Emma was great with names.

The brunette nodded beaming and smiled at the couple. "And I believe this is your husband? I'd shake your hand, but I'm sweaty from my workout."

Killian chuckled softly and nodded slowly. "That's alright. You two know each other?" His tone was confused as he'd never seen the woman around before.

"Well, not really. I moved in two weeks ago down the street, 108, and we met briefly at the gym last week. You guys are 96, right?" Regina asked with a sincere smile.

Emma nodded curtly and looked at Killian, who checked out the brunette and not even subtle. Frankly, Emma didn't blame him, because Regina was a gorgeous woman.

"Anyway, I should probably continue my run. It was nice talking to you and Emma, I hope to see you in the gym again," she said enthusiastically and waved briefly before she continued her lap.

Killian followed her with his eyes, before he quickly averted his eyes back to Emma. "She seems nice," he said.

Emma didn't respond to the man. She was alright with him checking out other women, if she'd had the courage she'd have done it too, but she still felt like he was acting distant lately.

He looked at his watch and released Emma. "I have to go to work, I didn't know it was this late already. Bye," he muttered before he pecked Emma's lips and hurried to their house, leaving Emma dumbfounded.

She sighed softly and groaned in frustration as she saw her husband getting in the car and leaving their house in the distance.

So much for their romantic walk.

It had been nice to finally have some time alone with Killian, but it hadn't been nearly as nice as she'd expected. Emma loved the man with all her heart, but she wondered whether that love came from both sides.

Emma exhaled loudly again, before she continued her walk home with her hands balled in her pockets. Killian always ran off and he didn't seem to mind the lack of effort he put in their relationship.

A few minutes later, she entered her house. Her empty house. She'd expected Killian to have some more time off from work, but apparently he didn't have time.

She scanned her hall and tossed her jacket in the corner. Nobody was going to complain that it was there anyway.

Did she feel neglected? Perhaps a little bit. It wasn't just that they hadn't slept together in over three months, it was that Killian really seemed as though he didn't care about their relationship anymore.