A/N Follower Appreciation Prompt: 'we were snuggling in our underwear when my roommate came home early from vacation now you have to try and sneak down the fire escape while i distract them with really terrible small talk' au

I kind of changed the prompt a bit to fit my needs.

This is a companion to both Chapter 5, Chapter 8, and Chapter 10.

Here is the chronological order of these separate pieces: (1) Chapter 10: Keeping the Secret, (2) Chapter 8: Where Their Hearts Lie, (3) Chapter 5: The Right Time, (4) Chapter 11: Secrets Told.

This is it, the conclusion to not only this verse, but my follower prompts. Thank you all for you patience! I have one more random prompt to finish and then I should be able to get back to Learning to Love (Again)!

Requested by in-spirational. I hope you enjoy this! Please let me know what you think!

This is unbeta'ed. All mistakes are mine.

We will rate this one "M" as well. (Not too bad, but still just to be safe)

Killian's lips left soft kisses down the length of her neck as she shoved her hands into his hair pulling lightly. He loves me. A giggle escaped her as his fingertips brushed the underside of her breast and she pushed herself further into his embrace. I love him. She felt him smile against her skin and a lightness settled into her chest. Love. After their fight the night before, the one over the date Ruby had set up for her, they'd fallen into bed and lost themselves in each other, lost themselves in their confessions. Then, this morning they decided that leaving the bed was just something neither one wanted to do.

She tilted her head to allow him better access as he made his way down her throat to her shoulder, his fingers trailed down her belly softly. She inhaled sharply, her eyes closing as her hands moved from his hair to his shoulders. She never wanted to leave the comfort of his arms. Fingers skimmed the elastic of her panties as he nuzzled his nose between her breasts. A sigh escaped and she flexed her fingers into the bare skin of his back.

"Killian." The words came out as a whine and she felt him chuckle against her.

"You taste so bloody good, Emma. You always do." He whispered the words into her skin before moving to press his lips into her abdomen.

Her hands tangled in his hair once more while goosebumps formed on her skin. "Killian, please."

He settled his chin on her stomach, a smirk on his face. "Is there something you wanted, love?"

She rolled her eyes, hands clenched in his hair. "You know damn well what I…"

The front door of the apartment slammed closed and her eyes widened. There was only one person that could be. Ruby.

Killian tilted his head, an eyebrow arched in her direction. "Are we expecting some company I was not aware of?"

She shook her head, her blonde locks hitting her cheeks lightly. "No. Ruby was supposed to be gone all weekend. Maybe she decided to come back early?"

She gulped, biting her bottom lip. He needed to leave. The last thing she wanted was for Ruby to find out about their relationship by walking in on them.

"Killian." His eyes hardened at her whispered voice. "You need to go, you…"

He pulled himself off of her, his movements tense and jerky. "I thought we were past this, Emma." He flung the words in her direction, his voice sharp. "Last night you said you were going to tell her, that we were done with all of this hiding." His legs slipped into his jeans and he pulled them up to button them without wasting time on his underwear.

"We are!" She reached next to her and pulled a shirt over her head before standing up and making her way to him.

She pressed her hand on his bare chest gently and felt his heart beating rapidly beneath. How was she going to make him understand that she had every intention of talking to Ruby, just not with him here. His eyes never once left her face, his jaw clenched several times and she leaned forward to press her nose into his chest.

"I'm telling her, Killian. I just can't do it with you here. This is my mess. Let me clean it up." She kissed the skin in front of her and felt him exhale.

"I should be here, love." He kissed the hair on top of her head and she felt herself relax.

It wasn't a shock that he wanted to be here to support her, he always wanted to be there for her. Only, this was her mistake. Ruby was her friend and it was her idea to keep their relationship a secret, she needed to handle this on her own.

She shook her head. "I know you want to be here and I think I love you even more for that, but Ruby will take it better coming from me."

His arms wound their way around her waist, squeezing lightly. "As you wish, love. As you wish."

Shutting the bedroom door, Emma tucked her hair behind her ear. She'd left Killian in the room with the plan to exit out of the fire escape so Ruby would see him and a promise to call him later that evening to let him know how things went. Not that she expected things to go well, she had been lying to Ruby for over eight months and her friend had every right to be angry.

"Hey!" Ruby came bounding into the living room, her hands holding a bag of chips and a can of pepsi as she took a seat on the couch.

"Hey. I thought you were going to be out of town all weekend?" Emma asked, taking a seat next to her friend.

Ruby shrugged her shoulders and popped a chip into her mouth. "Change of plans. Why did you have big plans? Oh! How was your date with Walsh?"

"I didn't actually go." Her voice was a soft murmur as she bit her lip.

Ruby turned toward Emma, her features full of disappointment. "Ems. Why didn't you go? How are you going to find your prince charming if you refuse to even date? It's…"

Emma rolled her eyes as Ruby launched into the speech she'd heard a thousand times. It wasn't that she was tired of hearing it, it was just that she had already found her…. well Killian wasn't really a prince, a smile formed, he was more like a pirate but still. She'd found him. She loved him.

She just needed to tell Ruby this, needed to explain to her friend that she didn't need a date because she had one. But how? Ruby was her best friend, practically her sister. Maybe she should've waited for Killian to be here, maybe she should just tell her. Kind of like pulling off a bandaid, fast and easy…

"I'm dating Killian." The words were whispered between them before she even had a chance to change her mind.

Ruby stopped speaking, her eyes widening as confusion took over her features. "I'm sorry. I think I just heard you say you were dating Killian. As in Killian Jones, my ex Killian Jones?"

She bit her lip, tears pooled in her lids. "I'm so…"

Ruby held her hand up to stop her from speaking. Her head tilted to the side. "No. Stop. You just told me your dating my ex, but that is impossible because you are my best friend and you would have told me."

Emma reached out to place her hand on Ruby's knee only to have her jerk it away. Her gaze fell to the floor, ashamed. "I didn't tell you at first because I didn't want to hurt you and then there was just never a good time and…"

"How long?" Ruby interrupted, her voice sharp.

Emma raised her head to meet her friends eyes. "Eight months."

Ruby stood, the bag of chips falling to the floor, and Emma felt the palms of her hand begin to sweat. She was a horrible friend, a horrible person.

"Eight months, Emma?" Ruby paced the room in front of her. "You've been dating him for eight months and you didn't trust me enough to tell me?"

Emma opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out. Trust? Her eyebrows furrowed. What did trust have to do with this? Of course she trusted her, of course…

"I didn't want to hurt you Ruby." Her voice shook as she spoke.

Ruby stopped in the middle of the room, her eyes locking on Emma's. "Hurt me? Killian and I broke up over a year ago. I've moved on, several times over. I don't care about you dating him, I care that you lied to me for months. Months, Emma. I thought we were friends, I thought we told each other everything, I…"

The tears in Emma's eyes fell as she stood up and walked toward Ruby, only for Ruby to step away from her, a look of betrayal on her face. "Please, Ruby we are friends. Best friends. I didn't know what to do. I only did what I thought was best…"

"So you thought it was best to lie to me? Thanks, Emma. Nice to know how much I mean to you." Ruby backed up toward the door.

Emma's heart shattered in her chest. She knew this wasn't going to be easy, but she never expected this. She never expected Ruby to feel to hurt.

"Ruby, I don't know what to do. How can I make this better?" The tears were rolling down her cheeks now as she hiccuped the words.

Ruby stopped backing up, her hands clenching at her sides. "Right now, I don't think you can do anything. I'm going to go stay with Granny for awhile. Maybe in a couple of weeks we can talk."

Emma nodded her head. If she understood anything, it was the need to be alone, to process things on her own. This was her fault and she had no choice but to deal with it.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She stood in the middle of the hallway, unsure of what else to say.

Ruby opened the door, her eyes catching Emma's. "I know. I just need some time."

The door slammed shut as Emma crumpled to the floor, her body racked with sobs. She'd hurt the one person who had been there for her through everything and even though she knew Killian was worth all of this, it didn't make it better.

A moment later, strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her toward a hard chest. She knew from the scent it was Killian, that somehow he hadn't left, somehow he knew she would need him.

"I've got you, my love. I'm here." His hands ran the length of her spin as he pressed light kisses into her hair.

She nodded, her arms finding his waist as she rested her head on his chest. This was exactly where she wanted to be.

"All you alright, love?" He cupped her cheeks and forced her to look at him.

She shrugged. Things may be rough right now, but she had to believe they would work out. Eventually, Ruby would want to talk to her and things would go back to normal. Until then, she had Killian.

"No, but you're here and that is what matters."

He smiled and kissed her nose. "Aye and I've no plans to be anywhere else. I love you, Emma Swan."

She smiled as he wiped her cheeks free of tears. "I love you, too."

She cuddled back into his chest, taking the comfort that he offered freely. She might not have went about their relationship the correct way, but being honest with Ruby meant that they no longer had to hide. She could focus on the future.

She could focus on their future.

Thank you for reading! Please leave a review if you feel up to it!