A/N: So in typical me fashion, I do not even remotely have the time to be starting a new fic BUT inspiration struck this weekend and I just had to write this. In case the description wasn't clear, here are the key touchstones: This is an AU where the Enchanted Forest doesn't exist but Emma has magic as do many of the other Once characters and they all live in Storybrooke. Killian moves to town and knows nothing about magic so Emma gets the double fun of falling in love and then having to find a way to tell him without freaking him out. Hope you all enjoy and thanks for reading!

Closing her eyes by the open kitchen window in her small, comfortable home, Emma Swan allowed herself to soak in the last of the summer sun. There were a few weeks at most left of temperatures this mild and skies this blue, and as such she wanted to relish every second that she could. Soon enough there would be a chill in the air again, and while Emma loved fall, there was just something about a summer in Storybrooke that was hard to say goodbye too.

On this particular morning the gentle breeze off the coast brought with it the sweet smell of blossoms from her garden and the subtle melodies of the wind chime she and her son Henry had crafted together a few years back. All the while the sound of this old house's weather vane creaked in a familiar way and the birds chirped a mellow sounding song, probably knowing that they'd have little time left in Storybrooke this year. All in all it was a charming, soothing atmosphere and it was made totally perfect by the familiar thump, thump, thump from upstairs that signaled Henry was moving about and getting ready for his first day back at school.

The return of their school year routine was a welcome change for Emma. It had been a long summer in some ways, but it had also been a magical one filled with days at the beach with her kid, barbeques with her friends, and quiet nights out on the front porch watching the fireflies twinkle in the twilight. Yet even with all the fun and the precious moments with her son, there was that underlying feeling that it was time to get back to reality. Summer might be a lovely distraction, but there were things Emma and Henry both had to get back to now that autumn was returning.

This feeling of having so much to do was one that Emma was well versed in. As a single Mom she'd always had to take on double the work to provide for Henry and there had never been a moment when she resented that. But there was this growing sense in the back of Emma's mind that something was missing, or rather someone. What would it be like to have a partner in all of this, Emma wondered. Someone not only to love her but who loved her son too, and who could help her navigate the ever-lengthening list of trials and triumphs facing a young boy Henry's age.

Emma knew that she didn't need anybody, and for the longest time she thought she didn't want a man either, but recently her dreams had been plagued with this sort of longing for someone she'd never even met. He was always the same in each dream but Emma never really remembered much about him in the morning aside from the freeing feeling of her hand in his and the sensation that with him her heart was safe and she was destined for an even more beautiful life than the one she had…

"Come on, Emma," she chastised herself aloud, shaking her head and stepping away from the window, closing it with the flick of her wrist. "You're driving yourself crazy over nothing."

That was really the truth, she reasoned with herself. Emma had nothing to want for in any way. She'd built a home here for her and her son, started a business she loved that helped keep her and Henry comfortably provided for, and she found her people – the ones who were more her family than the people who'd given her up years ago. Most importantly, Emma had found her place to belong with a loving community who accepted her and her magic. After a lifetime spent in hiding and worrying that someone would find out about her gifts and try to take them away or lock her up, Emma couldn't express how grateful she was for that. Here in Storybrooke she was safe and she had the chance at a really good life for her and her son.

It was actually Henry who'd gotten them here at all, and though Henry wasn't overtly magical in any obvious ways, her son did have one gift: the occasional scarily accurate vision. They usually came to Henry in his dreams somehow, and one of the first was his plea at the age of four that they go to Maine. Emma was flabbergasted. How did he even know what Maine was? But then he handed her his coloring for the day and she saw it was a detailed map, a map that ended up leading them here, to the small, sleepy, supernaturally-inclined town of Storybrooke. All it took was crossing the town line for Emma to know Henry was onto something, and they'd never left again, calling this place home from that point on.

But even if Emma rationally knew that she had more than she'd ever dreamed possible, the feeling that there might be more out there still remained. The only thing she was missing in life was romantic love, and as the years past, she watched nearly all of her friends find their special someone. Call it a soul mate or a true love or what have you, but one by one her friends found their partner to have and to hold for better or worse and Emma was left here wondering if that would ever be in the cards for her.

"It doesn't matter if it is," Emma muttered to herself as she added the final flourishes to Henry's favorite breakfast (pancakes with funny faces) with a little magical assistance. "I'm perfectly happy as is. Everything's fine. No, everything's great."

"You're doing it again, Mom."

Henry's voice from the doorway made Emma jump and her hand fly to her chest. She felt her heart beating rapidly from her son's surprise appearance and when she looked over she found him grinning from ear to ear. Henry looked mighty pleased at having caught her talking to herself out loud, and Emma shook her head smiling at him before nodding towards the counter for him to take a seat.

"And you're cutting it close. You've only got fifteen minutes before the bus gets here," Emma tossed back.

Henry meanwhile chuckled like his mother was so silly for thinking that a problem and Emma bit back another smile. It was always good to hear Henry's laugh because it served as a reminder for Emma that he was happy and knew he was loved. Those were two gifts she'd sworn to give her child when she'd found out so many years ago that she was pregnant. Emma hadn't had enough chances to laugh when she was growing up in the system, but Henry never had to worry about that. Not as long as he had her.

"Can I make the cocoa?" Henry asked, already moving around to the teakettle Emma had set but waiting for her go ahead. At ten years old he was starting to be able to do so much more than he had as a little boy, but Emma still required him to check in with her on most things first.

"Sure can, but be careful. It's -,"

"Super hot, I know. I've had cocoa before, Mom."

Emma shook her head again, keeping one eye on her son's careful mixing of the cocoa and his addition of whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon. He made it the exact way she had for years, and she smiled at how good he was at doing this. They made for a well-oiled machine, and between her bringing the pancakes to the table and Henry bringing the cocoa they were making good time.

"So how are you feeling about today?" Emma asked after they both dug into their pancakes.

"It's gonna be the best! I've been waiting a long time for it to come," Henry said with another huge smile, but Emma wondered at the light in her son's eyes. Henry liked school fine, but Emma wouldn't classify him as overly eager for it usually. Today though her son was practically bouncing around from some sort of excited energy.

"Oh yeah? I thought we had a pretty great summer," Emma said, hoping Henry would confirm that sentiment. She prided herself on having a pretty good read on people, and as far as she could tell Henry had been really pleased with the summer activities she'd lined up. Emma worked hard to see that he wasn't cooped up in the café with her all day, and though it had been a slightly difficult balancing act of shuffling him to camp and getting the right days off, it would all be worth it if Henry had enjoyed himself. Thankfully he gave her a big smile and assurances she was right.

"The greatest! Well until next year anyway. Next summer is going to be totally awesome. But it's time for a change, and today change is finally coming." Henry said the strange words with conviction and Emma felt herself questioning just what could be this desirable in Henry's eyes. From what she remembered about fifth grade she'd learned how to multiply and divide and about basic geography. Was she missing something? Were they giving ten year olds extra recess these days or something?

"Fifth grade's a pretty cool year," Emma acquiesced, hoping to try and figure out what part Henry was so thrilled for. "You finally get Mary Margaret as a teacher."

Mary Margaret Nolan was one of those best friends turned family that Emma cared so deeply about and who Henry considered an aunt of sorts. She was a teacher at the local school, but her involvement in town and her ties to their fellow neighbors ran deeper than that of a mere schoolteacher. When Emma first came to town, she'd been Mary Margaret Blanchard, another magically inclined person with an affinity for animals and a deep love for anyone in trouble and needing a helping hand. She had been incredibly welcoming to Emma and Henry when they got to town and that kindness was repaid two years later when a new vet came to open up shop in town.

Doctor David Nolan needed only one five minute interlude to know Mary Margaret was the one for him and he'd been one of the first men in Emma's life to prove that good guys were out there who could see past the potions and spells to the person underneath. He hadn't lost any of his love for Mary Margaret when he found out her secret, instead he'd fallen that much more swiftly for Emma's pixie-haired friend, and now the two of them were married and talking about starting the family the two of them so badly wanted. They were, in a word, adorable, and the first pillar of hope for Emma that true love might be a thing after all.

"Yeah that'll be pretty neat," Henry agreed, digging back into his pancakes and pulling Emma from her sudden tumble down memory lane. Emma noticed though that her son seemed distracted by something too. His eyes kept glancing out to the street, but they had a few minutes before the bus would get here and as far as Emma could see there was nothing out of the ordinary going on right now outside.

"What are you up to Henry?" Emma asked, knowing to trust her gut when it came to her kid and that right now it was saying something was up. Immediately Henry fidgeted, giving himself away even as he fibbed to her.

"Nothing! I'm just excited."

Well that last part at least was true, but Emma considered her son for another moment, searching his wide, telling eyes for a sign of what might really be going on his brilliant (often scheming) mind. Emma didn't get any closer to answers though, and she was easily distracted when Henry jumped off his stool and hugged her tight to him. She immediately moved her hands around him to hug back tight, resting her cheek on the crown of his head.

"I love you, Mom."

Emma closed her eyes, soaking this moment in. Since becoming a parent, Emma had felt the passing of time so much more keenly and she knew this moment was precious. Henry would only be a little boy for so long and an 'I love you' from her son was one of the sweetest things Emma would ever hear. Soon enough they'd be knocking on the door of teenage angst and rebellion, but for now, Henry was still her little helper and biggest cheerleader.

"I love you too, kid. More than words can ever say," Emma promised.

"To the moon and back?" Henry asked and Emma laughed shaking her head at the familiar question that stemmed from one of Henry's favorite books as a toddler.

"Way, way farther," Emma confirmed.

Henry smiled at that and he looked like he was going to say something else when the sound the old school bus could be heard at the end of the street. This sent her son sprinting from the table with his plate and mug to put them in the sink and. Then he grabbed his bag and headed to the door at full speed.

"See you later, Mom!"

"Are you sure you have everything?" Emma asked, trailing him and acknowledging that this was getting harder every year. Henry had always been fast, but now he was edging her out speed wise and she barely got to the doorway by the time he was at the front door.

"Yup!" he replied, throwing on his shoes as fast as he could before standing back up and trying to get gone with one last quick hug.

"You got your lunch and your snack and -," Henry rolled his eyes and Emma knew exactly where he'd learned that move from. She should probably work on reigning in her own personal tendency for that action, but she couldn't help it and there were arguably worse things she could pass down to her son.

"I've got everything, Mom. Now stop worrying. Everything is going to work out exactly like it should. Trust me."

That was an interesting way for Henry to put it, and Emma found herself thinking how much older and wiser her son sometimes was than the average child. How many ten year olds were thinking in such philosophically sound ways? Emma doubted there were many and she waved after him as he got on the bus. Her heart clenched the moment she heard the excited sounds of his peers at Henry's arrival and she watched the bus as far as she could before it turned the corner to another street.

As Emma turned away from where the bus had disappeared something caught her attention from the corner of her eye. It was the house next door, a property that had long been vacant and that hadn't been taken care of to the best of standards. For years the paint had been chipping and the lawns had been overrun with weeds and unwanted brush that only ever got cut if she got fed up with the eyesore and trimmed them herself. Now though things looked clean and crisp.

That's weird, Emma thought to herself. Mrs. Hubbard didn't mention finding a new tenant or sprucing up the place when I saw her last week.

As Emma was about to step forward and do some snooping though, her phone alarm rang, reminding her that she didn't have the luxury of investigating right now. Actually, she was very much in danger of being late and she couldn't afford to do that. So instead of checking out the house next door, Emma ran back inside and grabbed the last of the things she would need for work today before heading out on her brief but enjoyable walk from their house to her work.

Just as Emma expected, there were a number of familiar faces lining her trip to the Stay a Spell Café that Emma owned and ran with another of her best friends, Ruby. All of these neighbors were friendly and many of them promised to stop by the café later, which Emma truly appreciated. She would never turn down more business, and a full day's work was Emma's favorite kind. It made her feel useful in a way nothing else ever could, and it gave her a chance to try some new recipes that she might otherwise not get to.

When she first arrived in Storybrooke Emma hadn't in any way been a professional chef. Though she'd found a joy in cooking for her and Henry, Emma worked in an office from nine to five hating every second of it but needing the stable income to keep a roof over her and Henry's heads. It wasn't until she arrived in Storybrooke that Emma realized there was more to her future than settling. She found her calling in feeding people truly comforting food, and thanks to Storybrooke's already special ties to the magical world, she got to mix in a little magic sometimes too for the people in town. Her hope in doing so was to help people, and up to this point she and Ruby had been very successful in that endeavor.

"Hey, Emma!"

Another call for her attention came from across the way and Emma turned to find her friend Belle waving her over. Emma was always happy to see her friend though she was slightly surprised that Belle wasn't already at her bookshop starting her day. Usually Emma past by the store on her way to work and Belle was already surrounded by her beloved stacks of books. This was an anomaly and Emma just hoped nothing was wrong to change her friend's typical routine.

"Hey Belle. How are you doing?"

"I'm good. I just dropped Chip off to see David. He's been picky with his food and David said he'd take a look."

There it was, a reason for the break in routine that though not great, gave Emma some comfort. Emma knew Belle's cat would be in good hands with David and now Emma could relax again. It was foolish of her to get worked up over a small hiccup in the norm, but Emma still had some lingering fears that she could someday lose this life she loved so dearly. Too much change from their routine always felt like a threat to her, but Emma was working on that cynical instinct, and maybe someday she'd be as hopeful as everyone was else that things would always work out okay in the end.

"How's Henry doing with the first day back?" Belle asked, helping Emma wade further out of her worried thoughts.

"He's on the bus as we speak and he was a little more excited than I expected to be honest." Belle laughed at Emma's confession, no doubt seeing Emma's skepticism for someone being so thrilled over school.

"Give him a week, then he'll be all about summer again," Belle replied lightly. "Anyway I just wanted to see that you guys are still coming for dinner tonight. I got that shipment in from Savannah over the weekend and I think I might have figured out what to do for Old MacDonald and his wife."

This was so typical of Belle, finding a way to make their weekly dinners amongst the friends a more productive get together. Emma appreciated her friend's drive to help their community though, and though Belle wasn't as confident in her magic on an individual level as Emma was, she was brilliant and knew almost everything there was to know about magic in cultures around the world.

Before coming here, Emma's knowledge of her powers and magic in general had been pretty much non-existent. Everything she knew she'd learned from Harry Potter, and since that was a fictional story, it wasn't actually that helpful. She didn't need a wand like the people in that world did, she'd never met a goblin or a dragon, and there definitely hadn't been a safety net in the form of magical school for her to make sense of her powers.

Luckily Belle and the rest of her friends here were far more aware of magic and its limits thanks to their growing up here. There was a lot of good that could be done with their powers, but there were also rules, rules Emma hadn't needed to know back in the days when she was tamping down every flare up of her magic and denying that she was different at all. Now she knew that she was unique and that even in a town that harbored plenty of magical people she was exceptionally strong. It was a long journey to accepting that fact, but Emma was sure in herself now and she embraced who she was despite the years of hating what she then saw as a curse.

"We wouldn't miss it. Henry's been talking about your mac and cheese all weekend. We're figuring out some of the harvest festival stuff tonight too right?" Emma asked, knowing that Belle was just as invested in town activities as Mary Margaret was.

"Absolutely! I didn't buy all those fake gourds for nothing. We've got lots of painting ahead of us and a solid amount of wine for those of us old enough to drink." Emma laughed at Belle's plans and then said her goodbyes to her friend, heading to the café and sneaking in just under the wire.

"There you are! I thought you might actually be late for once, but as usual I stand corrected," Ruby taunted from behind the counter as Emma came around and dropped her bag in back.

"There's always tomorrow," Emma joked, grabbing ahold of her favorite apron and feeling the last of her lingering uneasiness fall away. It was almost impossible for Emma to feel any kind of negativity in this place. This was a home away from home, and she'd worked hard to get the vibe in here just right.

"As if. We could both live to be a hundred and I still don't think I'd see that day."

"Did I miss anything this morning?" Emma asked, taking in the customers currently sitting in the shop and Ruby shook her head.

"Nothing major. Tiny came in with a headache, so I added a hint of passionflower and willow bark to his usual tea. Then the Jensen's were looking a little tense so I really pushed those brownies of yours on them. Nothing cures a lovers spat or makes someone open to forgiveness like those brownies."

"I wouldn't know, and I doubt you would either," Emma said noticing the moment her friend's thoughts shifted to her own husband, Graham.

Graham was the local sheriff and had been a longtime resident of Storybrooke, but it wasn't until a few years ago that he'd gathered the courage to ask Ruby out. Emma and her friends then all had a front row seat to a whirlwind romance that ended with the two of them married after dating two months and moving in together in half that time. In the years since Emma never saw either of them angry with the other and that was saying something. Ruby had a huge personality and could get combative at times, but Graham had what Ruby called 'the touch' that calmed her in even the worst of times. Emma didn't know if there was truth to that, but she did know they made a great couple and that they both complimented each other in an almost uncanny way.

"Good point. But I do know they're great for creating a moment, if you know what I mean…" Ruby said with a wink and a suggestive tone.

"I think I follow," Emma countered, looking down at their schedule for today. They had a few orders to be made and picked up through the day but there was nothing too out of the common way. Some people had standing lunch requests, while others were for special occasions, but Emma didn't have any doubts that it would all come together once she could get Ruby back in a work-oriented mind space.

"Do you though? I mean really Emma, when's the last time you got laid?"

Emma's eyes flew back up to Ruby's and she fought against the urge to shush her friend. The only thing that would achieve was riling Ruby up further, and from what Emma could tell none of their neighbors had heard Ruby's less than appropriate inquiries. Instead she tried to hurl a withering gaze at her long time bestie and hoped that would prompt a laugh and a change of subject. Unfortunately Ruby was like a dog with a bone this morning.

"You know all you have to do is say the word and I can get one of Graham's friends here to take you on a date. They ask about you. Heck all the single men in this town ask about you."

"Well they can ask all they want, but your answer better be 'she's not interested thanks,"" Emma threatened. The last thing she needed was one of Ruby's set ups. The last time she'd tried was years ago and it had all gone pretty damn horribly because the guy totally believed Ruby's jokes about how desperate Emma was.

"Oh I get it. You're still waiting on the dream guy," Ruby quipped and Emma groaned. Seriously? Why did she tell her friend anything? It always just came back to bite her in the butt like it was right now.

"There is no guy, dreamy or otherwise, Ruby. So why don't you focus your attentions on someone more interested, like Elsa. Elsa would love for you to set her up. Start with her."

As if she'd willed her friend into appearing, Emma and Ruby turned to the tinkling of the bell above to door to see their friend Elsa who was out of breath and leaning against the glass so strangely. Right beside her was her sister Anna, who though not magical herself was just as much a part of their clique as the rest of them. The two of them made quite a sight right now and Emma and Ruby were both waiting for some kind of explanation to their unanticipated visit.

"Jeez, what's with you two?" Ruby asked after a minute and Elsa looked about to fill them in when Anna rushed to give the details.

"There's a hot British guy!" she proclaimed so the whole café filled with people could here her.

"Yeah, Anna, there are lots of them," Emma joked. "There's more than a few million Brits in the world at last count."

"Very funny," Anna replied. "I meant here in Storybrooke."

"Oh well that is interesting," Ruby said, warming to the idea so much more now that the proximity issue was sorted out. She leaned against the counter, clearly desperate for more details.

"What's he doing here?" Emma asked, unsure of why this was really newsworthy even as this sense of something like foreboding tingled at her spine. This was a familiar restlessness, and if she'd had more time to dwell on it she'd admit it was an awful lot like the sensation she'd had this morning by the window.

"Moving next door to you actually," Elsa announced with a clear sense of joy. "He just made it official and I made a heck of a commission."

"What?!" Emma and Ruby yelled but with vastly different tones at the news.

Emma could hear the delight in her friend's tone but her reaction was very different. How was she just getting a new neighbor like that with no warning? What did she know about this guy? What did anyone know about him? As a mother she had to be cautious and vigilant and as their neighbor this stranger would be close to her son and Emma didn't trust people she didn't know. She'd never been good at that thanks to her past. But at the same time there was this little voice in the back of her head that chastised her.

Give the man a chance, Emma. You haven't even met him yet.

"He used to be a reporter back in New York," Anna said, sitting at the counter looking totally pleased with her bit of gossip. She was always a fan of a good story, and this definitely made for one even if Anna already had her own guy waiting for her at home. "He said something about working the crime beat."

"How would you know that?" Elsa asked and Anna shrugged.

"You just told me," Anna reminded her.

"Oh right."

"So how did he end up in Storybrooke?" Emma asked, genuinely curious. She never would have ended up here if it weren't for Henry, and she was truly fascinated at how some guy from another country who was a big time writer in the city would ever end up here.

"He didn't say. But he did say he's working on a book and needed a change," Elsa proclaimed, and Emma's mind wandered back to all that talk of change she'd had with Henry this morning. Apparently that need for something different was going around.

"Oh my God that's him!" Anna yelled, her finger pointing outside and Elsa groaned.

"You didn't even see him Anna you couldn't possibly… oh wait it is him!" Elsa said, moving to the window with her sister to gape at the poor unsuspecting man. Emma meanwhile stood totally still, not liking the idea of spying on someone like a teenage girl with a crazy crush, but Ruby didn't give her a choice, pulling her by the hand to the window.

"You guys are all being ridiculous, you realize that right?" Emma asked, looking at her friends instead of staring outside as they did.

"Maybe," Ruby said. "But he does make for quite a view."

Emma was about to say that Ruby was lucky Graham hadn't heard that when she had the sudden urge to look outside. It felt like this call from deep inside, and when her gaze landed on the one stranger along Main Street she froze. There was a split second when she felt trapped in this sliver of time and then there was a rush of awareness and recognition aimed at a man she had most definitely never met before.

Holy shit! Emma thought to herself as she took him in, totally unprepared for the sheer attractiveness of this man. He was dressed in all black with shades shielding his eyes from the summer sun, and with the dark hair and the shadow of a beard, he had this almost bad boy vibe going. Emma hadn't realized that was a turn on for her, but from the zinging sense of lust that shot through her she clearly had some interest in it.

"What you said," Elsa agreed and Emma realized she must have said that choice expletive aloud. She felt a blush creep over her cheeks but her eyes stayed fixed on the stranger.

A part of Emma didn't like that she'd given so much of herself away with her comments, and she was just about to turn away when he took of his sunglasses and she caught sight of the blue of his eyes. Once again Emma was captivated by a complete stranger and she felt like she'd looked into those impossibly blue pools countless times. Her hand raised of it's own volition as if to reach for the glass and then there was this moment of clarity when Emma just knew he was going to look this way and she jumped from the window and out of sight. Unfortunately she hadn't given her friends the heads up and they stood there still staring when he caught them.

"Oh crap," Elsa muttered and Anna started giggling uncontrollably.

"What do we do?"

"Just smile and wave ladies. Smile and wave," Ruby counseled.

"Aw shucks he's going into the grocers," Anna lamented. "I was kind of hoping he'd come in here."

So was I, Emma though to herself, but just as quickly she pushed the thought aside. She should not be foisting any kind of hopes on this man. That was a stupid idea to be sure, and she couldn't think that way, no matter how good looking he was.

"I could go get him if you guys want," Elsa offered and Emma's heart clenched in her chest at the prospect.

"No worries friends. All we have to do is have Emma be a good neighbor and bring some treats over to him tonight when she gets home. Then he'll have to come back."

The idea of such a scheme made Emma's stomach twist into knots. Custom dictated in this small town that she should do exactly that, but how was she going to when the simple thought of speaking to this man made her heart pound and her hands sweat? She was a wreck over a one-sided moment right now. How would she handle actually having to string words together in his presence?

"Oh good idea!" Elsa agreed, clapping her hands together. "I'm sure Killian would love for Emma to welcome him to town."

"Killian?" Emma asked, only just realizing that she hadn't even asked the name of this intriguing but dangerous man. As she said it though, she noted how easily it fell from her lips, like she'd said it a million times though she'd never met anyone with that name before.

"Yeah," Elsa said with a grin. "Killian Jones."

His name hung out there between them all for a while and Emma tried to think of a way to change the subject but she came up empty. She was too distracted by her frenzied feelings and shaking hands to be her normal self, and she could only hope that her friends either didn't realize or took pity on her. When Ruby finally insisted they had more work to get to today and that they'd see Elsa and Anna tonight at dinner, Emma was so thankful. But one look at her friend and partner told Emma that this topic of conversation was far from over. As soon as the door closed behind the others, Emma's suspicions were confirmed.

"Oh this is going to be so fun," Ruby professed with a wicked gleam in her eyes.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Emma muttered unconvincingly.

"Sure you don't, Emma. Sure you don't."

With that Ruby showed a little mercy and let Emma throw herself into her work for the day, only bringing up her handsome new neighbor a handful of times. But with every minute that past Emma felt the harrowing weight of one clear fact: at some point she was going to have to talk to Killian Jones and she could only hope she was in better shape to do so when that time came than she was right now.

Post-Note: So this chapter was clearly all from Emma's POV (because I wanted to build a little bit of the universe this fic will require) but next chapter we'll see Killian's POV. As with most of my other stories this one will jump back and forth between the two of their perspectives so we can see all of the adorableness from both sides. I'm also having CS meet in the next installment if all goes to plan and I am so excited to write another fluff filled fic where these two idiots fall in love. Like I said before I'm not totally sure where this fic is headed, but I do hope you guys enjoyed and I would love to hear what you guys think! Thanks again and hope you all have a great rest of your day!