Work Text:
Emma Swan was exhausted. She had chased a skip from Boston to San Diego where she then spent two days waiting him out as he hid in some flea bag motel near the San Diego airport. Normally, she wouldn’t have chased a guy down like this (someone who skipped town to the other side of the country - she didn’t really have the extra funds to put toward last minute plane tickets), but he was a BIG pay out. A pay out so big not only would she make back what she spent on the plane tickets and car rental, she would also be able to breathe a little easier for at least 4-6 months.
But it also meant she had been awake for almost 56 hours when she dragged herself through airport security and to her flight. And she almost cried when she heard the announcement as she walked up.
Sorry ladies and gentleman, this flight is overbooked. We are asking passengers to volunteer to take another flight for a compensated….
Emma groan. Getting a voucher would help her out a lot. The money could be put toward an actual vacation for herself, her first real vacation…
So after a minute of debating she approached the counter to speak to the attendant.
Twenty minutes later she was rushing through the terminal to get to her new gate. Seemed luck was on her side after all. Not only was she able to be rebooked on a direct (goodbye two hour lay over in Denver), but the airline gave her a $500 voucher and upgraded her to first class.
Relieved and ready to nap for the next 5 hours, Emma took her window seat, downed the offered glass of champagne, put her large eye mask on that covered half of her face, and promptly fell asleep before half of the passengers had even boarded- including her seatmate.
-
Killian Jones was exhausted. He had flown into LAX on a red eye, spent the entire day closing a deal that would benefit his and his brother’s company greatly, but forcing him to miss his original flight to Boston. He had to rebook, but his new flight meant first taking a commuter flight down to San Diego Airport. That flight had not taken off on time, making him late to his connecting flight to Boston. Luckily, they had held the plane for him, understanding that the connection was a little late coming in and he was able to make it (even if it meant running through the terminal and stepping on board slightly out of breath).
Flustered and annoyed, he quickly took his seat in first class. Glancing briefly at the person sitting next to him, he could only see her long blonde hair a mess around her shoulders, spilling out from under her sweatshirt hood and blocking most of her face. Her head rolled to the left toward the window, but he could tell she was wearing one of those large black-out sleep masks and was already sound asleep.
Once the plane had taken off and the seat belt sign had been turned off, Killian quietly took out his laptop, careful not to wake his seat mate, in order to finish some work up. After about an hour, the flight attended had come around to give out drinks and food, but the woman next to him was still sound asleep. Every once in a while, Killian would catch himself glancing over to her, wondering what she looked like under the mask and all that hair.
Was she attractive? How old was she? What color were her eyes? What did her voice sound like? Her laugh? Would she blush if he compliment her?
Woah, Jones, he chastised himself. Maybe you need to get laid soon.
Somewhere around the hour and a half mark, the woman next to him finally moved. But not to wake up. No. Instead she groaned softly and shifted in her seat to face toward him, but as she moved, her arm fell across the divider between them, her hand landing on his thigh.
Killian froze.
What do I do? He thought.
He didn’t want to move her arm and wake her up. The poor woman seemed exhausted and he really didn’t want her to feel embarrassed for an honest mistake. So did he leave her hand there, her palm flat against the inside of his thigh? He didn’t even know her name and she was dangerously close to…
Stop it, Killian.
Unsure what to do, Killian tried to put all his focus on the word document on his computer. And not on this woman’s hand.
Half an hour later, Killian closed his laptop and rubbed his eyes. Finally, he had finished his work. Maybe he should try to get some sleep, too.
But just as he was about to drift off, the woman’s hand twitched and moved, brushing against his…
Killian quickly tried to stand up, momentarily forgetting he had a seat belt on making him fall back into the seat. Throwing the buckle off and exiting his seat, he made his way to the bathroom that was thankfully unoccupied.
Slamming the door behind him and throwing the lock into place. He took a deep breath. It was an innocent mistake, but he couldn’t help the fact that he was straining against his zipper now.
How could some blonde hair and a feather light touch get him so worked up? Yes, she smelled divine, something light and floral- he had gotten a whiff when she had shifted closer to him in her seat, but he didn’t know anything about her, didn’t even know what she looked like other than soft pink lips, pale porcelain skin…
He took a few moments to get himself in order, splashing some water on his face, before opening the door to return to his seat.
“Mr. Jones?” The flight attendant caught his attention as he stepped out of the tiny stall. He turned to look at her with a puzzled expression. “Would you and your girlfriend like something to eat and drink? I didn’t want disturb you both earlier, you looked so peaceful.”
“Uh,” He should correct her, but honestly what was the point. “Yes, please. Some coffee and waters, and whatever you have small to eat. Thank you.”
“Right away, sir.”
He turned to make his way back to his seat when his heart skipped a beat. His seatmate was awake, and mask free. And she was quite possibly the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
“You’re awake.” He said quietly to her as he took his seat, buckling his seatbelt. The blonde next to him looked up and blinked a few times before opening her mouth.
“Uh, yeah. I’m so sorry if I was snoring or stealing the armrest or whatever. I am exhausted. Do you know which one of these buttons is the call button I could really use a….”
“Here are your coffees and snacks and bottles of water.” The flight attendant appeared from nowhere handing them the drinks and snacks. His seatmate looked confused, but eagerly accepted the offerings before throwing a questioning look in Killian’s direction.
“I thought you could use some coffee and something to eat, I didn’t mean to overstep. I’ll call her back if there was something else you wanted.”
“No! No, I… this was exactly what I wanted.” She looked a little stunned for a moment before saying sincerely, “Thank you.”
“Not a bother at all.” He scratched behind his ear before they both took a moment to sip their coffees. “I’m Killian Jones, be the way.” He said offering his hand.
“Emma Swan,” She smiled, taking it.
-
Emma and Killian ended up talking the rest of the 2 hours and 12 minutes of the flight.
And 1 year later, when Emma fell asleep on their flight to the Caribbean (a flight she insisted on paying for to use up her $500 voucher), her hand on Killian’s thigh, Killian couldn’t help to look down at it and imagine what the diamond ring he currently had hidden in his carry on would look like on her finger.