This story was written for flirtyhook, who requested a wedding AU, with Captain Swan as the best man and maid of honor!

Robin ducked his head into the bedroom. "Perhaps it's too late to say this, but I hope this wasn't too much to ask."

Killian shrugged as he stuffed his suit into his suit carrier. "I don't know what you're on about, mate."

"Don't try to—" Robin tried to continue, but just then, Roland came barreling into the room.

"Uncle Killian, can I show you my new video game?" He waved his Nintendo.

"Maybe in the car, yeah? I need to finish packing. That sound okay?" Roland nodded happily before darting back out of the room.

"As I was saying," Robin said, picking up where he'd been interrupted, "don't try to pretend you don't know what I'm talking about."

"Your wedding is tomorrow," Killian reminded him. "I'm not going to back out. I'm not a coward."

"I didn't say you were. I guess I'm trying to say thanks, and to ask if there's any way I can make it any easier."

Killian shook his head. "You could have said thanks by not inviting her, her parents, or her bloody husband."

"They're still my family," Robin reminded him gently. "They're still Roland's family. I still see them all the time, and you know as well as I do that I'd be a fool to risk offending them by not inviting them at all. Anything else I can do to make it easier?"

"I don't know, mate." He paused. "Hot bridesmaids?" Robin frowned thoughtfully. "Not a one?"

"Well, not exactly." He leaned against the doorframe. "There's her older sister, Zelena, who's prone to extreme bouts of jealousy … and she's bringing a date. There's her younger sister, Mary Margaret, who's probably the opposite of your type—and married."

"Doesn't she have three bridesmaids?"

Robin nodded. "Yes, but … well, I don't think it would be a good idea."

He was intrigued. "Out with it, mate. Is she single at least?"

"Well, yeah, but—"

"Then at least I can ask the lass for a dance at the reception," he said with a wink.

Robin opened his mouth to reply, but then his cell phone rang. "Hello, darling," he said as he answered. "Yes, I'm at Killian's; we'll be on our way soon. Nope, Phillip and Aurora are going to pick Will up. All right, we'll see you in an hour or so."

"I'm all set, actually," he said as Robin hung up. "Shall we?"

"Yes, let's head out." Robin paused. "Look, are you sure you're okay?"

"Of course I'm okay. It's your wedding, mate; I've been looking forward to this."

He really couldn't be happier for his friend; Robin had been through the wringer and deserved the happiness he'd found with Regina.

It was just that Killian couldn't help but feel a little sorry for himself. Weddings were like that. If you weren't in a perfect place in your personal life, there was always a tinge of envy and sadness; having your married ex present didn't help. And so while he couldn't begrudge Robin his happy ending, it was just a reminder that he had lost his own, in so many ways.

An hour later, they arrived at the wedding venue. It was a lovely little inn, with a courtyard with gazebo for the ceremony, a chic lounge for cocktails, and a rustic ballroom for dinner and dancing.

"Oi, whose idea was it to have this bloody affair outdoors?" Will asked as he stepped out of Phillip's car. Aurora climbed out of the front passenger's seat, looking incredibly cross. Killian couldn't blame her; Will was one of his good friends, and it could be difficult to spend an hour in the car with him.

"Mine." Regina strode over; she'd been standing in front of a old, bright yellow Volkswagen Beetle, talking with a group of women that Killian assumed were her bridesmaids. "I hope that's not a problem."

"Course not," Will said quickly, sensing imminent danger. Regina Mills might be head over heels in love with their best friend, but she was still the wrong person to cross."I just love the great outdoors."

"Nice recovery," Killian said before greeting Regina with a hug. "How are you holding up? Excited?"

"Yes, although I'm ready to just be married," she said, smiling a little. Regina was never the type of person to exude happiness, even if she happened to be ecstatic. She quickly hugged Will before greeting Phillip and Aurora, at which point, she took Robin's hand. "Thanks for coming. I know it's cold out."

"It's supposed to be much warmer tomorrow," Robin reassured her.

"If it's too cold, will the ceremony be in the ballroom?" Aurora asked.

Regina rolled her eyes, but Robin calmly replied, "We'll have to see, but as I said, we should be okay. For now, though, we'll all keep our hats and gloves on." He held up one gloved hand and wiggled his fingers.

"Where's Roland?" Regina asked.

"The lad fell asleep in the car," Killian said. "Shall we wake him?"

"Yeah, Dr. Hopper—that's our officiant over there—wants to get the rehearsal done soon because of the cold. And we've got to get out of here anyway; there's another wedding tonight."

"I'll get him," Will said, before heading over to Robin's car.

"So, who are these fine people?" An older woman had approached their group. Killian didn't need an introduction; her incredible resemblance to Regina made it clear that she was Cora Mills, mother of the bride.

"Mother, this is Phillip, one of the groomsmen, and his fiancée Aurora. Will's the other groomsman—he went to get Roland. And this is Killian, Robin's best man."

"How lovely to finally meet all of you," Cora said warmly. Killian quickly raised an eyebrow at Robin before Cora turned to him to shake his hand; Robin had spoken at length about how manipulative his future mother-in-law was, but this woman just seemed friendly.

"Hey, Regina?" one of the bridesmaids called out, over by the Beetle.

"Will you excuse us?" the bride asked politely, before heading over in that direction, Robin in tow.

"So, how do you know the groom?" Cora asked Phillip.

"All of us went to university together, in London," he replied. "That's also where Aurora and I met."

"How lovely." Cora smiled and turned to Killian. "So, you must be the one who was engaged to Roland's aunt."

"Uh, yes." It wasn't as though he didn't expect anyone to know about that, but it seemed awkward that she was bringing it up.

"I think it's just awful that Robin insisted on inviting those people," Cora continued. "I was so surprised when my daughter told me that he'd also made you his best man. You'd have thought he'd done one or the other."

Phillip cleared his throat awkwardly before excusing himself, dragging Aurora with him. "Well, he didn't make me his best man," Killian replied, trying to keep his voice as even as possible. "He asked me to do him that favor, and I was honored. As for the guest list, Milah and her family are still Roland's family, and they're still Robin's family. It's not as though he and Marian divorced."

"Well, be that as it may—" Cora continued, but mercifully, Robin interrupted.

"Sorry, but we need to rehearse now. Something's come up, and Emma has to leave."

Cora looked offended—but also a little as though she enjoyed being offended. "What sort of maid of honor up and leaves the wedding rehearsal?" she asked. "This is what happens when you ask people like that to be in the wedding party."

"Come on, Killian." Robin pulled him away, not bothering to respond.

"Holy hell, mate," Killian said once they were out of earshot.

"Don't I know it," Robin replied. "And you thought our old in-laws were bad." Milah and Marian's parents had always been disapproving, but they'd at least been very polite about it.

"Okay, places everyone!" A petite blonde woman was practically bouncing to get their attention, waving a clipboard over her head. "Let's line you all up! Robin, you're going first, so you stand right here." She checked her clipboard. "Now I need Phillip and Zelena. Great, now, Will and Mary Margaret right behind them. Perfect! Now, Emma and Killian?"

With that, he moved into position directly behind Will, who was glancing at Mary Margaret's left hand, adorned with a wedding ring, with disappointment. He held out his left arm automatically, and turned to look as he felt his bridesmaid take his arm.

She had long, braided blonde hair, and her bright green eyes flicked to his face—twice; she did a double take—before she stared resolutely at the back of Mary Margaret's head. She was tall—almost his height—but he realized she was wearing heels. Although her figure was disguised by her puffy winter coat, she was bloody beautiful. Clearly, whatever the reason was that Robin hadn't been keen on the two of them hooking up, it had nothing to do with her physical appearance.

"It's nice to meet you," he said, his mouth suddenly dry.

"Sure," she said coolly, still looking ahead.

"I'm Killian."

"I heard."

Ah. Perhaps it was her attitude? "Here's hoping for some real spring weather tomorrow."

"Yeah, here's hoping."

There was a twinge of something in her voice. "Um, are you all right?"

"I'm freezing." The twinge was still there.

"That's not what I meant." But then the planner was playing some classical music on an ancient boombox, and she'd begun to direct the rehearsal.

He kept an eye on the planner as Robin began his walk down the aisle. "What's upsetting you?"

"I usually save tragic backstories for the fourth or fifth date," she said wryly.

"I take it from your tone that you don't typically get that far," he ventured.

"Nope." She popped the "p" with finality.

"I don't either." Robin had reached the gazebo, and now Phillip and his bridesmaid began to walk.

"So, how do you know Regina?"

"Not in the correct way, apparently."

He recalled Cora's comment. "Not a sister?" he asked.

Emma chuckled. "Something like that." Will and Mary Margaret began to walk. "We were roommates. Which of Robin's friends are you?"

"The one who was supposed to be his brother-in-law," he replied.

"Ah. You're that one." Now, the planner was gesturing for them to walk. "Go slow; I'm wearing goddamn heels."

"So why are you really upset?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Because I just found out I can't stay for the rehearsal dinner."

"Why not?"

"Because I just can't. I don't want to talk about it. I already feel like the world's biggest jackass."

He couldn't press further, as they had arrived at the gazebo. He stepped off to the right to stand in front of Will, but as soon as Emma had taken her place in front of Mary Margaret, he caught her gaze and raised his eyebrows at her; she blushed.

Next came Roland, sans rings (since this was just the rehearsal), followed by Regina escorted by her mother. Killian tried to get himself into the right wedding day mindset, as practice for the following day. He smiled at Regina, telling himself that she was the most beautiful woman in the world, and that if he'd had one wish, it would have been to wish for this wedding day for her and Robin. He made sure to avoid looking at Roland, who was standing where the chairs would be, knowing that tomorrow, Roland would be seated with his aunt and grandparents. For now, Aurora kept an eye on the lad. He spent some time beaming at the back of Robin's head as the officiant droned on and on about discovering love after tragedy.

But he kept finding himself stealing glances at Emma. She pursed her lips every few moments, and shivered in the cold, swaying back and forth in her heels. She looked distracted and unhappy; he thought about prying during the rehearsal dinner, before he remembered she had to leave. Her gaze never left the bride and groom.

He did wonder why Robin had said going after her might not be a good idea. Clearly, she played her cards close to the chest. But why? That was a little easier to read. There was certainly a bit of a chip on her shoulder—he suspected that simply being a former roommate wasn't enough for Cora to refer to her as a person like that. Perhaps her tragic backstory was something people often shamed her for, and as such, she had her walls up.

He inexplicably desperately wanted to scale them.

Soon, the rehearsal ceremony ended, and it was time to practice recessing. Killian took Emma's arm again—her left arm, this time, and they made their way back down the aisle. "Well, hopefully it'll be that lovely tomorrow," he said.

"Hopefully it'll be warm tomorrow," she grumbled.

"That goes without saying. Will you be all right?"

"If it's this cold? Yeah, but—"

"No," he corrected her gently. They reached the end of the aisle, and moved off to the side, as directed by the planner. "I mean tonight."

She was surprised. "What?"

"Clearly, you're upset about something—whatever it is that's forced you to change your plans this evening. Will you be all right?"

She cocked her head momentarily. "Hm. You're different." And then she promptly walked over to Regina to say goodbye before hurrying to the yellow Beetle.

She was different, too.

Fortunately, to everyone's relief, the day of the wedding arrived with beautifully warm spring weather. Killian briefly wondered if Regina had used some sort of magic to ensure that her wedding day was flawless. But then again, Regina Mills would have proudly walked down the aisle in pouring, freezing rain.

He spent the afternoon with Robin, Will, and Phillip, getting dressed. They'd booked several rooms at the inn; each of the bridesmaids had their own, while Regina had slept in the room she and Robin would share on their wedding night. Meanwhile, Robin had bunked with Will in his room the night before. Phillip and Aurora of course had their own room, and Killian was happily babysitting Roland. The ladies had taken over the bridal suite, while the men got together in Will's room to prepare.

After they'd dressed, shared some whiskey, and taken some photographs together, they found themselves ushered by the bubbly wedding planner to that same spot behind the hedge, where they could greet guests.

And, of course, the first guests he encountered were Milah, her husband, and her parents.

"Oh, uh, hi," she said awkwardly. "It's nice to see you, Killian."

"Milah." He didn't mean to sound so unfriendly. But he wouldn't lie; it wasn't nice to see her. Seeing her always hurt.

"You remember my husband, Robert." It wasn't a question, nor should it have been. Of course he remembered the man she'd left him for.

"Of course." He couldn't bring himself to shake the fellow's hand. "Pleasure to see you." At that moment, Emma had just wandered nearby, her eyes trained on her cell phone. "I'm so sorry, will you excuse me? I need to speak to the maid of honor." He quickly turned around and had to avoid running towards her.

"Save me," he said, interrupting.

"What?" She looked up at him with narrowed eyes.

"Pretend we're talking about something important."

"Like how you interrupted me while I was doing something important?"

"Please, I just need you to act like I'm supposed to be talking to you."

She must have been able to read the desperation on his face. "Okay. We're now talking about something important. Something wedding related."

"Yes, exactly. This is an important day."

"Right. Lots of important things going on. Those people you were talking to are gone now."

"Thank god." He covered his face with his hand. "Thank you."

"Isn't that Marian's family?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Oh, shit, sorry," she said quickly. She placed a hand on his arm. "I still can't believe Robin invited them."

"It's really fine," he said insistently. Before he could launch into his well-practiced speech he'd prepared, in case anyone commented on whether or not Robin should or shouldn't have invited his former in-laws, it occurred to him that Emma was all dressed up and ready to go.

It wasn't that she wasn't already a beautiful woman; he'd certainly noticed yesterday. But with flawless hair and makeup, and her figure no longer concealed by a bulky jacket, she was breath-taking. It was going to be difficult to focus on the bride. "Are you okay?" she asked, when he hadn't spoken in a few moments.

"Just fine, love." He cleared his throat. "Are you doing better today?" She sighed and looked away. "Fifth date if I want the tragic backstory?" he asked.

She bit her lip thoughtfully, but one of Regina's sisters called her back inside the building for a bride-related task, and he went back to greeting guests.

And soon, the real ceremony began. Just like the night before, they lined up in order, with Emma taking his arm, and now holding a bouquet in the other. "So if there are no tragic backstories till the fifth date, what happens on the first date?" he asked as Robin made his way down the aisle.

He was honestly a bit surprised that she answered. "Pop culture. Favorite TV shows. Which critically acclaimed movie you think is the most overrated."

"Classic books you hated in school," he ventured.

"No, that's second date material," she corrected him. Now Zelena and Phillip began to walk. "High school and whatnot. Nothing too deep, of course. Embarrassing stories."

"Sex on the third date," he suggested.

"Of course. Conversations at the bar or restaurant have to be a little awkward because you're both trying to leave and get back to someone's apartment."

"Of course." Will and Mary Margaret started to walk. "Fourth date?"

"Have sex and then talk about hopes and dreams. Just general enough that the person could theoretically be a part of your future, without explicitly saying so."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, you know, like, whether or not you see yourself getting married, or if you're planning to travel a lot."

"And then tragic backstories."

"Right." The planner gave them a nod, and they began to walk. Killian knew from booking a wedding photographer that he should smile widely as he walked down the aisle, so that Robin and Regina could see photos of all their friends excitedly entering the wedding ceremony. Thank goodness Milah had covered the cost of the forfeited deposit. He had been grateful, at least, that she'd returned the engagement ring and paid for all of the expenses for the canceled wedding.

He shook his head. He needed to focus.

At first, it was easy to let himself get caught up in the emotions he'd wanted to experience. He had an excellent view of Regina, who was practically glowing with happiness, and who was, without a doubt, the fairest bride he'd ever seen. He felt a swell of pride when Robin began reciting his vows, promising to weather the storms with Regina, whether they were as rich as royalty, or as poor as paupers. He felt his eyes grow wet as Regina swore to treat Roland as though he were her own son, and to always honor the memory of Marian, so that Robin never felt as though he had to choose between the two loves of his life.

But then his eyes met Emma's.

She was no longer swaying in her heels, instead looking absolutely radiant in the pale pink dress Regina had selected. She looked joyously happy as she looked on at Robin and Regina, and then she managed to look at him just as he was looking at her.

Her expression hardly changed; she was still grinning and crying (happily, of course). But there was something else in her expression. Curiosity? Interest? Desire?

He broke the gaze soon after that, and tried to focus on the beautiful wedding ceremony before him. But he kept stealing additional glances at Emma, and more often than not, she was looking at him as well.

Finally, Archie pronounced Robin and Regina husband and wife, and they all happily recessed to another part of the venue's grounds for photos. He wanted to say something to her as they walked, but he wasn't sure just what, and the photographer was trying to snap happy recessional photos. And so he just grinned as much as he could.

Part two will be up tomorrow evening! Hope you're enjoying the story so far!