This was originally written for the Captain Swan Secret Santa on Tumblr for rhaini. If I'd had more time this could have easily been turned into multiple chapters. Happy holidays!

The characters belong to Kitsis and Horowitz but I'm taking them out to have a Merry Christmas.

The first year Emma hadn't really noticed him. Well, she had noticed him, anyone with eyes would have noticed the dark-haired, blue-eyed god of a man sitting in the corner of the Starbucks brooding over a laptop. That had been it, though. She had just moved to Boston, it had been Christmas Day, and she had been continuing a tradition she had started years before, when she had discovered the coffee chain was one of the few places that didn't close for the holiday. Other than the cursory glance she had given to the few others in the lobby she hadn't looked at them twice and ordered her hot chocolate, setting her laptop up at a table and losing herself in work and refills until the store closed at eight, ushering her out into the cold, snowy night. Emma had been wrapping her scarf around her neck when she saw the man leaving as well, shoulders hunched against the wind, but hadn't thought much of it. She had seen all sorts in the years she'd avoided Christmas at the coffee chain, he was just another background character in the charade that was her life.

The second year Emma had learned his name. He had arrived after she had, brushing the snow from his inky hair, causing it to stick up in quills of disarray. Emma had already claimed the table she'd used the year before, her first hot chocolate of the day half drunk, cooling quickly, the research for her latest bounty filling her screen and had looked up to see the new arrival. Once she realized it was the same guy from the year before she quickly averted her eyes to her computer, if they made eye contact he might have decided to sit with her and she didn't want that. She'd stupidly forgotten her headphones and she wasn't the type of person to force others to listen to her music on top of the forced holiday cheer piped into the lobby so she concentrated on the tapping of her keys, letting the other noises fade to the background. Her attention had eventually been grabbed by his name being called out across the lobby. 'Killian' was an unusual name, definitely not one she'd expected but she realized it suited him. When he grabbed his drink he headed to the chair in the corner, the one he had been in the year before, and as he passed her he winked. She had avoided looking over to that corner the rest of the day.

The third year Emma had learned his order and that he had an accent. Emma hadn't been paying attention, she had been trying to ignore the guilt she had felt about cancelling on Mary Margaret and David. They had invited her to spend Christmas with them and she had said yes initially but as the day closed in she had wondered more and more what the hell she had agreed to. There was a reason she spent Christmas at Starbucks, and not only because she usually had no one to celebrate with. Christmases in her past hadn't exactly been full of warmth and cheer. For the most part they had been lonely and downright depressing if she was honest with herself. She'd only had one good Christmas that she could remember but her foster mother had been found unfit to care for her before the new year and even the good memory of that Christmas was tainted by the ugliness that had followed. So it was almost expected that she had grabbed the wrong drink. Her name had been called and by the tone of the barista it hadn't been the first time. Emma had grabbed the first cup she'd seen, taken a sip, and almost spit out the mouthful of bitter black coffee onto the floor. With a grimace she had swallowed and turned to complain that they had her order completely wrong when a warm, rough hand had pulled the cup from her grasp. The guy, THE guy, was smiling down at her, blue eyes dancing, and gently admonished her for taking another man's drink. Killian then proceeded to pick up the cup with her name on it and took a drink, eyes widening and lightly shuddering when he swallowed. His question about cinnamon in her hot chocolate led to spending the whole day in conversation, sitting at the table that had been hers for two years running. They had avoided talking about why they had spent the past three Christmases alone in Starbucks, instead talking about trivial nonsense and when they were kicked out at closing they hadn't exchanged numbers, somehow knowing it would be too much, too personal. That didn't stop Emma from trying to find him on Facebook later that night, just to see if the stories he had told her about his life matched up, but Killian happened to be one of those rare people who didn't seem to have any social media accounts. She tried to convince herself that she wasn't disappointed.

The fourth year, well, the fourth year Emma learned she was out of her damn mind.

As she stepped into the warm lobby of the Starbucks she breathed out a sigh of relief that she had gotten there first. The relief turned to mild worry because it was already noon and what if he wouldn't show up this year, that he'd finally found something worthy to spend Christmas with? She was distracted the entire time she was in line and barely got her own order to the cashier right. There was still a chance to not go through with her monumentally stupid plan, to just suck it up, plaster a smile on her face for the rest of her day, and field questions left and right about being alone on Christmas. As she grabbed her wallet to pay she let out a frustrated sigh and realized she'd already made up her mind about what she was going to do.

"Wait, is your name Emma?"

Emma looked up at the girl who had asked, not the cashier but another barista standing behind her.

"Um, yeah…"

"Hot chocolate with cinnamon and extra whip?" The girl asked and not so subtly nudging the poor cashier aside.

"Yeah…?"

"It's already been paid for by tall, dark Americano," Amber, according to her nametag, said with a wistful sigh.

"Who?"

Glancing around the lobby, where the only other person there was one of their co-workers cleaning up an already pristine condiment bar, Emma turned back to see Amber dropping her hand from her headset with a sheepish grin and a blush working its way across her face.

"British guy, dark hair, blue eyes, Amber's crushtomer," the cashier, Elise according to her nametag, said with a shrug ignoring the squawk of protest from Amber. "He's a regular, nice guy and he tips well. Apparently he paid for your drink earlier when Amber made sure to be on register when he came in."

Amber's blush deepened and she walked away to start Emma's drink. Despite the humor of the situation, and ignoring the curious and jealous glances Amber kept sending her, Emma couldn't help but wonder if maybe her plan might actually work. She refused to dwell on the fact that Killian had remembered her order from one sip of it a year ago, or her name, or banking on the fact that she would be there at all.

"Is he still here?" Emma asked, trying not to sound too curious or hopeful.

"Amber says yes," Elise said with a smirk, her head tilted slightly as she listened to her headset. "Apparently he winked at her when he got a phone call and went outside to take it."

"Elise!" Amber squealed, cheeks, ears and neck a bright crimson.

"That's what you get for setting me up on that stupid blind date that I didn't ask for," Elise drawled, her smirk turning into a polite grin as she focused back on Emma. "We'll have your drink ready in a moment."

Stepping away from the counter, confused and very amused, Emma pulled out her phone and saw two texts from Mary Margaret, one from David, and a missed call from Ruby. The ones from Mary Margaret and David were easy to answer, mostly last minute things she needed to pick up on her way to their house. The voicemail from Ruby was a little trickier, mainly because Emma could barely understand her through all the squeals but mostly because she wasn't entirely sure how to answer it without blowing the cover story she was still in the process of securing.

"You seem quite vexed for such a joyous holiday," an accented voice rumbled in her ear.

"Shit!" Emma flinched, completely surprised anyone could get that close to her without her noticing.

"Sorry, love, I didn't mean to startle you!"

Killian stepped to her side as she stepped back, putting much needed space between them. He was grinning at her with only a hint of guilt in his eyes. She looked him over putting on a mask of annoyance but she was really cataloguing everything that seemed to have changed in the year since she'd seen him last.

His hair was longer, falling gently across his forehead after he absently ran his hands through it as his grin widened while she looked at him. The five o'clock shadow of years past was more three days' scruff but nicely groomed. Even his clothes were nicer, nothing fancy, but his black jeans and light blue dress shirt under a navy blazer were higher quality than the things she'd seen him in on the last two Christmases. Not that she'd paid any attention to any of that before. At all.

"You bought me a hot chocolate," Emma said bluntly, wincing internally at her less than smooth opening line.

"That I did," Killian tilted his head, his grin softening as he watched her.

"Why?" She prodded, eyes widening, and then giving him a sheepish smile to counteract how rude she was being. "I mean thank you, but how did you even know I'd be here today?"

"I didn't. Let's say I made an educated guess that you would be," Killian answered with a shrug.

Before Emma could suss out the meaning of his statement their names were being called out across the lobby. She trailed behind him as she watched Amber hand him his drink with a smile that Emma could only describe as flirty. A flame of irritation danced up her spine but she quickly tamped it down, she had no reason to be upset. Continuing to tell herself that she was able to keep from snatching her hot chocolate out of Amber's hand and even produce a semblance of a smile.

"No laptop today?" Killian's question dragged her attention back to him.

"Oh, uh, no," suddenly Emma wasn't sure she was prepared to bring up what she had gone there to do in the first place. "I'm actually on my way to a Christmas thing at my friends' house. It's a party, kind of, other people will be stopping by, I think, and I'm pretty sure they're doing it because of me. Well, not entirely because of me but enough that I have to go or I'll just feel guilty about not going."

She snapped her mouth shut when she caught sight of Killian's raised eyebrows, cup halfway to his mouth, and a million questions in his eyes. With a deep breath she figured she might as well get it over with as quickly as possible. Rip off the proverbial Band-Aid as it were.

"My friends, who are great and mean well, have been inviting me to spend Christmas with them for a couple years. I've been able to avoid it but this year they made it into a party type thing which is nice and I said I would go. But then they also decided it would be a great opportunity to set me up with this guy 'I just have to meet'," Emma couldn't meet Killian's eyes as she said the next part so settled on staring at the red cup in her hand. "I may have told them that I'm bringing someone and I was wondering, well more like hoping, that you'd be willing to help a girl out?"

Nothing. Killian hadn't even lowered his cup from where it was hovering below his chin. Emma couldn't bring herself to look at him again. She didn't need to see him looking at her like she was certifiably nuts, or worse, with pity.

"You know what? Never mind, this was a horrible idea. Thank you for the hot chocolate and… yeah."

Emma tried to smile but it felt like more of a grimace. A quick glance at the girls behind the counter revealed that they were watching her with wide eyes, even the one who had been manning the drive-thru window. She wanted to make a break for her car, take a pill to forget the last five minutes, even move to the North Pole if it meant she would never have to deal with what she'd just done to herself. At least she wasn't a regular at this Starbucks, she happily got her hot chocolate from the hipster coffee shop, where she definitely was a regular, as soon as they reopened after the holiday. She felt a little sad that she'd ruined everything but what did it matter, it wasn't as if she really knew the guy at all.

Before she could even take a step towards the door Killian's voice stopped her.

"Jones."

She was so surprised by what he said her eyes snapped up to his without hesitation. He was drinking from his cup, a smile hiding behind the lid, eyes dancing with mirth.

"Jones?"

"Well, if we're to do this properly we should probably know a bit more about each other than just our first names and what we order at Starbucks," Killian said with a shrug.

"I know stuff about you. Like, you'd rather have an Americano over a regular brewed coffee and either way you take it black and, um, you work outdoors?" Emma sighed, knowing she was just proving his point and avoiding the bigger implications it had. "Swan, my last name is Swan."

"Pleasure to meet you, Swan," Killian bowed slightly, aiming a wink up at her. "So, are we to leave for this party right away or am I allowed to finish my drink?"

"You can finish it in the car," Emma shook her head ruefully. "I can't believe you're agreeing to this. You are agreeing right? This is you agreeing?"

"Yes, Swan, this is me agreeing. Shall we?"

Killian swept out his arm, opening the path to the door. Emma rolled her eyes and tried to keep her thoughts from running away from her. She had no idea why he had agreed to go with her. Well, she had a small inkling she knew why but refused to give it legs to stand on. No use in getting her hopes up when she didn't even know what she wanted in the first place, especially when she hadn't exactly been forthcoming with everything she needed from him.

Stepping out of the toasty Starbucks into the cold, biting Boston winter was like dumping a bucket of ice water over her head. Emma suddenly felt the urge to turn around and confess everything to Killian; that she went to the Starbucks on Christmas to be around people without actually being with people, that she had cancelled on David and Mary Margaret the year before partially because she had been looking forward to seeing him again, that she had randomly tried to find him on Facebook throughout the year with the hope that he'd gotten a wild hair and joined the masses. She considered it for all of five seconds, up until the moment his arm draped over her shoulders and tucked her into his side.

"What are you doing?" Emma asked, trying to step out of his embrace and failing when he tightened his grip.

"Getting into character," he answered easily.

"Character?" She looked up at him and he was watching her with a raised eyebrow.

"I have a feeling that I will be required to act as more than just a random man you've decided to take pity on and bring home like a lost puppy. If I'm to hazard a guess you'll be needing me to behave as though we've known each other for a while and even perhaps gone on a few dates. I also believe that we'll have to be very convincing because your friends will see right through the charade in an instant."

Emma opened her mouth to refute everything he had said but found that she couldn't. He knew, somehow he had figured out what she had been planning and it pissed her off.

"How? Never mind," she bit out, finally stepping out from under his arm and immediately missing his warmth and the woodsy scent of his cologne. "I don't pity you and I definitely don't think you're anything remotely like a lost puppy. If you don't want to do this that's fine, we can go our separate ways. Merry Christmas, Jones."

He grabbed her elbow before she even had a chance to take a step.

"I never said I didn't want to do this," he dropped her arm when she looked pointedly at his hand and immediately scratched nervously behind his ear. "You're something of an open book, love. That's how I knew what you weren't quite telling me and that what you feel for me is far from pity."

"I don't feel anything for you," Emma was glad it was so cold outside, her blush barely heated her cheeks and if he noticed it she would just blame the redness on the temperature.

"Perhaps you should, it would make this whole thing considerably more easy and far more enjoyable," Killian bit his lower lip and wagged his eyebrows at her, rocking back on his heels.

"Hmph. Just get in the car Jones, we have a stop to make before we make the drive out there."

"As you wish. Which vessel is yours then Swan?"

Emma's steps had faltered at the quote. It couldn't possibly be an intentional quote if he had no idea that it was her favorite movie. Everyone loved The Princess Bride, Killian was just capitalizing on the opportunity to use it. There was no way he could possibly imply the underlying meaning of the phrase. She pointed a less than steady hand at her car.

"That one. Don't worry she's safer than she looks," Emma said with pride.

He looked between her and the yellow VW Bug skeptically, "I'll take your word for it, Swan. I hope you don't mind me sending out farewell texts to those near and dear to me while you drive us to wherever it is we're going."

"Ha ha, keep it up buddy and I'll make sure to leave you stranded on the side of the road," she spoke a little louder as she climbed in the car and reached over to unlock the passenger door.

"You wouldn't dare, not on Christmas!" Killian said, mock scandalized as he dropped into the seat and shut his door.

"Try me," she challenged as she started the car.

They didn't go far, just a few blocks over to a Walgreens. Killian followed her down the aisles as she grabbed the items Mary Margaret had forgotten, making comments about the poor employees and the fantastic deals on the marked down decorations. She tried to act annoyed but after a badly timed joke and a glare from the one other customer in the store she couldn't hold in her laughter any more. Not even when she caught him looking at her with something she would have called fondness if she knew him better.

"Alright, Swan, we've done the dirty work. Are we now headed to this dreaded party where we can enjoy the fruit of our labors?" Killian asked as soon as they were back on the road.

"Yeah, it's about a twenty minute drive so we have time to iron out the details," she tapped her fingers on the steering wheel, fighting the urge to glance over at him. "So, um, I'm twenty-eight, I'm a bail bonds agent, I live alone, I don't have any pets, and I moved to Boston from Tallahassee four years ago."

"Hmm, right. I'm thirty-one, I own a boating tour company, I also live alone but I do have a dog, I've been in Boston for about seven years now, I'm a Virgo and is it too much of a cliche to say I like long walks on the beach?"

Emma huffed out a laugh, rolling her eyes and letting go of some of the tension in her shoulders.

"You own a business and you have a dog? Where do you find the time to stop in at Starbucks every morning?"

"Know my coffee habits do you?"

"No, but Amber sure does. Apparently you're her 'crushtomer'," Emma said in a breathy voice, batting her eyelashes at him.

"Eyes on the road, Swan," Killian admonished, blushing slightly. "Amber has been dotting the 'i' in my name with a heart for the past three months. I'm quite aware she's taken a shine to me."

"Not interested?"

"Not remotely. She's a lovely lass but I overheard her talking about getting a fake ID and that's just a touch too young for me. I also believe that one of the lads who works with her is finally working up the courage to ask her out."

"Ooo, caught up in all the Starbucks gossip, are you?" Emma grinned, interested despite herselfl.

"I find that Elise is a wealth of information. Her girlfriend, Jamie, is one of the secretaries for my company. Elise stops by after her shift, mostly to have lunch with Jamie, but also to keep me up to date on the latest goings on at the store. Our workplace stories are far less interesting."

"If I didn't already have a standing order at Your Roasted I might consider watching the drama for myself. It's probably cheaper than my cable bill."

"Is that why I've only ever seen you on Christmas? You prefer that pretentious little coffee shop over a huge conglomerate?" He sounds offended but she can see his smile out of the corner of her eye.

"They use Ghirardelli chocolate for their hot chocolate," she answered matter of factly.

"I see, it's all about the quality with you, love."

"Why settle for something that's just okay when I know that I can get something that's amazing?"

"Why indeed?"

Emma didn't have an answer for that. She could feel his unwavering gaze on her and suspected he was asking about more than just her hot chocolate preference.

"So, um, what's your dog's name?"

"Roger, a glorious buffoon of a hound but she's quite the gal," Killian said warmly.

"You named your girl dog Roger?" Emma wasn't one to judge but it crept into her voice all the same.

"Her full name is Jolly Roger Jewel of the Seas but it's quite the mouthful to call out at the dog park."

"Jolly Roger… Jewel of the Seas? What the hell kind of a name is that for a dog?" Emma asked incredulous.

"Apparently the more ridiculous the name on the pedigree the less likely it will be repeated by another owner. It all has to do with show dogs and breeders and kennels which I could have cared less about but figured I'd have some fun with it," he shrugged and pulled out his phone. "There she is the great lump."

Emma took a quick peek at the screen he was holding by her face. From what she could tell it was a big furry black thing with a pink tongue lolling out of it's mouth, seemingly smiling a doggy grin at the camera. She had to stop herself from grabbing his phone out of his hand to get a better look.

"She's adorable and ginormous! What is she? And why don't you call her Jewel or even Jolly?"

"She's a Newfoundland and while I adore her she has proven over time that she's not nearly dainty enough for Jewel nor willing to answer to Jolly, even when she was a puppy. It didn't help that my roommate at the time kept calling her Roger behind my back and that's the one that stuck," he sighed, tucking his phone back in his pocket. "So you're a dog person but not enough of one to have one of your own?"

"I can't, landlord doesn't allow pets even though some of the other tenants don't quite follow the rules. I will someday, when I have a yard and the poor thing won't be locked up in an apartment while I'm working," Emma gave a sigh of her own, wondering if she'd ever get to a place in her life where she could have a dog and a house with a yard to keep said dog.

"Something tells me you want a house with a yard for more than just the chance at getting a dog, love," Killian said softly.

Emma stiffened, not willing to go down that road, "Look, we're not going to have that conversation."

"What conversation?" He asked, his confusion apparent.

"The one where I tell you my sad little story and you tell me one of your own, or try to make me feel better. Let's just, not do that okay?"

He didn't need to know that she didn't have anyone outside of the friends who would be at the party they were on their way to. She didn't want to see the pity or sympathy in his eyes when he found out she was an orphan, abandoned time and again by nearly everyone she'd gotten close to. Most of all she didn't think she'd be able to stand him finding out about her time in Phoenix and what had gotten her there. It was better to just keep it locked away and focus on making it through the party.

"Your friends, hosting the party, they're married, yeah?"

There was a hesitance in his question, one that she hated hearing, knowing it was because of her. She gave him a soft smile, one that showed she wasn't entirely a lost cause.

"Yes, Mary Margaret and David have been married for five, no, six years. They moved out of the city last year when Mary Margaret got a teaching job at this fancy private school."

They passed the rest of the time going over who would be at the party and sharing small facts about themselves. Yet despite her insistence in avoiding heavy topics she realized they made their way into the conversation anyway.

He'd come over from England for school after never ending encouragement and nagging from his older brother. It was his brother's death that made him stay. Getting Roger was an idea he had with a girlfriend he'd been planning to propose to, until he found out she was still married instead of divorced like he had thought. He had gone through with getting Roger anyway and he said it was the best decision he'd ever made.

In turn Emma told him about meeting Mary Margaret and how her and David had become the closest thing to family she'd ever had. She complained that Boston had some of the coldest winters she'd ever experienced in all the places she'd lived, even worse than Minnesota. Killian had argued that it was probably because she'd come from the warmer climes of Tallahassee straight into the New England winter.

Before Emma was really ready she was turning onto the street where Mary Margaret and David's house was, slowing her Bug to a crawl as she kept an eye out for any available spots.

"How long, love?"

"Hmm?" She responded, distracted by her search.

"How long has our dalliance been going on?"

"Our what? I thought your degree was in business not eighteenth century English," she laughed and then whooped in triumph as she spied a car pulling away from the curb only a few houses away from where they were headed.

"Just because I know how to turn a phrase does not mean I shall be ridiculed for it," Killian said, broadening his vowels and trilling his r's.

"I'll just have to ridicule you about something else then, won't I?" Emma grinned as she turned off the engine and quiet descended in the car. With a deep breath she continued, "But to answer your question I may have started mentioning you back around Thanksgiving."

"Thanksgiving? You've given this a lot of thought, haven't you Swan?" He looked at her appreciatively.

"I had to make it believable," she left out that she also kind of wanted it to be real.

"Did you mention me by name?"

"Of course, I wasn't about to pull a Jan and call my fake date George Glass," she quipped, belatedly realizing what she'd just admitted.

"I like the confidence, love. What would have happened if I hadn't been there today or if I'd refused to participate in this charade?" He asked as he turned in his seat to watch her.

"I would have had to make up a story about how the guy I was fake seeing had decided we were better as fake friends and then I would have had to spend the rest of the party fending off the real advances of the guy I was hoping to avoid in the first place," she said with a shrug, twisting in her own seat to mirror him.

"Then you should consider yourself lucky that I was so willing to help out a damsel in distress."

"Luck has nothing to do with it and I can save myself, thank you very much."

"Of that I have no doubt," Killian said quietly.

Emma didn't have a chance to reply. A blur of color darted past her back window and suddenly there were perfectly manicured nails tapping on the glass by Killian's head. He jumped in surprise, nearly strangling himself on the seat belt, causing Emma to snort out a laugh and silently thank Ruby for her impeccable timing.

It was easy, to take Killian's hand as they trailed behind Ruby who was talking a mile a minute about how Mulan's flight back to San Francisco had been delayed as she led the way to the house. Emma recognized some of the cars lining the street and her hand tightened reflexively in Killian's when she spotted Mary Margaret's cousin Regina's car, suddenly remembering the forgotten bags from Walgreens that had the sparkling cider Regina had requested.

"What is it, love?" He murmured in her ear, voice kept low to keep from interrupting Ruby's monologue.

"This day just got a lot more complicated and we forgot the crap from Walgreens," she muttered. Raising her voice she cut across Ruby's description of Mulan's custom carry-on, "Hey, I left the stuff Mary Margaret made me get in my car. We'll just go back and grab it..."

"You don't both need to go do you?" Ruby asked innocently. Unfortunately the gleam in her eye was anything but. "Killian you're coming with me and we'll meet you at the house. Okay?"

Ruby linked her arm through Killian's and practically dragged him down the street with her. He shot Emma a panicked look and she could do nothing but shrug her shoulders and pray that he could hold his own for a minute or two. She had to keep herself from sprinting back to her car and then up to the house.

By the time she made it to the front door of the house she had worked herself into a near panic. Her stupid idea could have imploded by now. Ruby was an expert at prodding a person until they spilled all their dirty little secrets, she'd eventually wheedled almost all of Emma's out within a month of meeting her. Regina was even worse, she was suspicious of everyone and their motives and had a knack for finding weaknesses and exploiting them. Emma didn't even want to think about what questions David would be asking Killian in the guise of looking out for her well being.

She calmly opened the door, despite wanting to kick it in, grab Killian, and high tail it back to the Starbucks where the outside world didn't have to exist if she didn't want it to. The living room was empty, not in itself strange since most times everyone gathered in the kitchen or dining room if there wasn't some sort of game on. Emma could hear voices drifting through the house, a good number of them from the sound of it. A chorus of laughter compelled her to finally close the door and move deeper into the house.

"... I never would have guessed that a drink as sweet as hot chocolate would be her favorite," Killian's voice reached her as she came to a stop just outside the doorway to the kitchen.

"What was she doing at a Starbucks?" Regina's voice sounded suspicious. "She always complains about their hot chocolate."

"It might not be her first option but considering that Your Roasted was closed for the holiday I believe she had no other choice," Killian answered smoothly.

"Wait, when exactly did you meet?" Mary Margaret's voice was almost lost in a volley of laughter coming from the direction of the dining room.

Emma closed her eyes, praying that Killian would choose any day other than the Christmas from the year before. The one where she had said she had caught a cold and cancelled spending Christmas with them.

"Well," Killian dragged out the word, she could almost imagine him scratching nervously behind his ear. "I guess I would say we officially met two years ago, although I had noticed her the year before that. Unfortunately, her discerning taste in hot chocolate prevented me from getting to know her sooner."

"You know, there's this magical thing called Facebook that might have helped with that," Ruby said sardonically.

"I'm sure it would have if I had one. I got rid of it after a particularly nasty break-up and haven't regretted it since. Well, until now."

On that statement alone, Emma wished she had joined the conversation sooner. She would have been able to watch him as he said it, carefully looking to find the lie and hoping she didn't find one. Instead she was lurking in the shadowy corner straining to hear more.

"You know, you don't have to wait for a formal invitation to join in."

"Shit! Don't do that!" Emma gasped, turning to glare at David who was grinning widely at her.

"Can't help it when you're hiding out here instead of making Mary Margaret very happy you finally brought the cups," David said, nodding at the bag in her hand.

"How she forgot to get them is beyond me. What the hell has everyone been drinking out of in the meantime? Not her mother's precious stemware I hope?"

"Oh, we had some already," David shrugged. "I think she just wanted to make sure we didn't run out. A few more people showed up than we were planning for."

"Then I guess it's a good thing I brought some more wine too," Emma said distractedly, the voices in the kitchen had all but stopped.

"Come on," David said, grabbing the bag. "Let's intervene before they start really digging their claws into your boyfriend."

"He's not my…" Emma broke off suddenly aware that she almost blew her own story.

"Okay, not quite at the labels yet, I get it. Then let's go save the guy you've been seeing for the past five weeks and decided to bring along to the Christmas party where everyone will be watching every move between you two along with being more thorough than the Spanish Inquisition when it comes to figuring out his motives!" He said cheerily.

"Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition," she mumbled, once again kicking herself for her ridiculously stupid plan.

"That's the spirit!"

David placed his hands on her shoulders and propelled her into the kitchen where five pairs of eyes swiveled to look at her. Regina's husband Robin was also standing at the island counter where most of the food had been set up. With a slight push David dropped his hands and walked over to the table where the drinks were, pulling out her purchases from the bag.

"Emma! Did you get lost on your way back from the car? I know it's not as easy to navigate as those well planned Boston roads but I see you've managed," Ruby trilled slinging her arm around Killian's shoulders. "Has she impressed you with her navigation skills yet? Who needs gps when you have Emma Swan at your side?"

"I think he'd be more impressed if he wasn't a navigator himself," Emma said, rounding the island to give Mary Margaret a hug and reaching for the bowl of olives simultaneously. "Merry Christmas, thanks for the invite."

"You know you're always welcome," Mary Margaret said with a squeeze. "We were just getting to know Killian a little better."

"Sounded more like you were giving him the third degree," she pulled out of Mary Margaret's embrace, popped an olive in her mouth, and looked at Killian. "Did you want anything to drink?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to be a horrible host. We have beer, wine, eggnog and the appropriate add ins, hot mulled cider, and of course water or soda if you're the DD," Mary Margaret said as she moved towards the table.

"A hot mulled cider does sound nice and I wouldn't be remiss if you added a splash or two of rum to it," Killian gave Mary Margaret a wink. "But first I must excuse myself and ask where the bathroom is?"

"I'll show you," Emma said quickly, avoiding the eyes still watching her. "It's right through here."

Emma led Killian back the way she had come, veering down a hallway. When she was sure they were out of earshot and that only he was following her she came to a stop, turning to look at him. He was looking at her warily, as though he expected her to be upset.

"I'm so sorry that Ruby dragged you into that," she whispered. "They were nice to you right? I swear if they weren't they'll regret it."

"Don't work yourself into a dither, Swan. Your friends were the epitome of niceness, although... Regina?" He waited for her nod that he had the name right before continuing. "Yes, well I can see why you weren't entirely pleased she was here."

"It's not that I don't like her, but there's a lot of history between her and Mary Margaret and while Mary Margaret can forgive and forget, I'm not that nice. It's been a bit better since she married Robin but she still has her moments. Sorry, you probably don't care about any of this at all. The bathrooms that second door on the left," Emma moved to walk back to the kitchen when Killian stopped her with a gentle touch on her arm.

"I do care, Emma," Killian's gaze was intense, blue eyes practically glowing in the dim hallway. "Your friends are important to you. I wouldn't want you to dismiss that because you think I wouldn't care."

"Killian," she murmured, if only to keep an awkward silence from descending but somehow she knew it wouldn't.

"Don't worry, love, by the night's end your friends won't have reason to doubt us."

Killian smiled and pulled his hand away. Emma hadn't even noticed that he'd kept it on her arm. He was closing the bathroom door before she came back to herself, confused and a little more hopeful than she had been earlier in the day.

He had been right. The rest of the day had gone by in a blur of food, drink, talking, teasing and only a few more instances of interrogation from her friends. It was only after Emma had absently pulled a chocolate chip cookie from his hand, warning him about the walnuts in it and replacing it with a handful of gingersnaps, that the questions had stopped. She belatedly realized that not only did she know about his allergy but also that he wouldn't stop at just one gingersnap. When she had looked at Killian he was watching her with an odd look on his face, chewing thoughtfully on one of the cookies.

Everything had been going great. Killian had seemed to have made instant friends with Robin and David and the few other guys in the dining room, none of which were the mystery man Mary Margaret had wanted her to meet. The women had stayed around the food, picking at it as they talked and Emma had felt good, almost content, and she wondered how much of it was spending the holiday with people she loved and how much of it was because she was spending it with Killian.

The whole thing had almost come crashing down around them as they were leaving. They had bundled back up in their coats and Killian was laden with foil wrapped plates filled with leftover food and the last of the gingersnaps. Emma had stopped in the doorway to thank Mary Margaret again and she had felt Killian step up beside her, most likely to add in his own sentiments.

"Finally! I thought I'd have to start walking around with it on a stick to get someone to kiss around here!" Ruby exclaimed, a slight slur to her words from the wine she'd been drinking all day.

"What?" Emma knew exactly what Ruby meant, she didn't have to look up to know there was a sprig of mistletoe above her and Killian's head. She wasn't about to make it easy on Ruby or let Killian know how much she wanted to keep a stupid tradition alive at that moment.

"I believe she's referring to the mistletoe, love," Killian murmured with a low voice in her ear. She could feel his nose lightly nuzzling her temple, sending a shiver down her spine.

Emma slowly tilted her head up to look at the lintel where the innocent looking plant was hanging from a cheery red ribbon. Killian's nose had dragged delicately down her cheek until his mouth was hovering near hers, breath hot on her lips. Her eyes had slid shut of their own volition, unable to stand looking at him in the eye at that moment. As his lips pressed gently to hers she forgot where she was, forgot that her friends were watching, and lost herself in the moment.

His lips were slightly chapped. Emma didn't know if it was from the cold air or if they were constantly in that state because of his job. She could taste cinnamon and ginger, a heady combination that had her opening her mouth a bit more and letting a small moan slip out. Suddenly Killian pulled away and reality slammed back into place. The sound of Ruby wolf whistling and David grumbling filtered into her awareness and a hot blush climbed her cheeks.

She wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out. She wanted to know what Killian was thinking about. She needed to know if he had felt it too, that there was something there. The thing that had seemingly eluded her until the moment Killian's lips had met hers, contentment and unadulterated happiness. Most of all she wanted to ignore everything and everyone and get back to kissing him, decency be damned. Then she made the mistake of looking at Killian.

He was avoiding her gaze, instead focusing with a little too much intensity on thanking Mary Margaret and David again and repeating how nice it was to meet Ruby. Emma felt her stomach drop to her toes. She had misread everything, gotten her hopes up and just been let down, again.

She gave a semblance of a normal goodbye to everyone, if they suspected anything she figured she could blame it on being tired. When the door closed behind them Emma dropped the smile she had plastered on and silently led the way to the car. Killian was just as silent as he settled into his seat, staring straight out the windshield. Emma felt like crying, wondering what the hell she'd gotten wrong and not knowing how to fix it.

It wasn't until they were several blocks away from the Starbucks they had left so many hours before that Emma spoke up.

"Did you drive to Starbucks or do you need me to drop you off at your place?"

Killian looked over at her sharply. She wasn't sure if it was because she'd finally broken the silence or if it was because she sounded like she'd come down with a head cold in the time it had taken them to get back.

"Emma?"

"Starbucks, yes or no?" She said tiredly, ready to crawl in her bed and stay there until the new year.

"No, I walked there. I'm half a block down, by the Italian restaurant with the giant flag obscuring the window."

Emma nodded, not trusting her voice anymore. She knew the place, she loved their breadsticks and the butternut squash ravioli wasn't half bad.

In a few minutes they had reached their destination. There was nowhere to park, not surprising with how late it was, so Emma pulled up to the front of the restaurant and turned on her emergency flashers. She expected Killian to say a quick goodbye and disappear from her life for another year. Instead he unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned towards her, his hand gently turning her chin to look at him.

"What's wrong, love?" He asked quietly.

"Nothing. It's late, I'm tired, and I just want to go to sleep," she tried to meet his eyes but couldn't.

"No, there's something else. Did I do something, I mean, did I overstep my bounds earlier? I never meant to make you uncomfortable in front of your friends," she could hear the nervousness in his voice but still couldn't bring her eyes higher than his shoulder.

"I wasn't uncomfortable until you pulled away. I know you did this as some weird kind of favor but I thought maybe we..." Emma stopped, took a breath and started again. "You know what, nevermind. Thank you for doing this Killian, even if the guy never showed up. I'll see you around, I guess."

The dismissal was evident, at least she thought it was, but Killian hadn't moved. She chanced looking at him and was shocked to see him grinning widely at her.

"Emma Swan, we're going to have to work on our communication skills," Killian's eyes were dancing with mirth.

"What the hell are you talking about?" She was starting to get annoyed, especially as his grin softened and he brushed a lock of hair over her shoulder.

"I never told you why I bought you a hot chocolate today. I wanted to get in your good graces so when I asked you out to dinner you'd consider saying yes. I've been waiting a year for the chance to do so. Turns out pretending to be your fake date would end with a real kiss and set the bar ridiculously high for our second date."

"Second date? I don't remember asking," she sounded breathless, hell she could barely catch her breath as it was.

"That's because it's my turn," the grin disappeared and he was looking at her with a mixture of hope, trepidation, and a seriousness that made her thoughts stop in their tracks. "Will you go out with me again?"

Emma didn't answer, couldn't even if she wanted to. He had rendered her speechless, so she gave him the best answer she could in the moment.

She could feel his lips tilting up into a smile under hers. He still tasted of a faint trace of cinnamon and ginger and she chased it, leaning into him and reveling in the feel of his hand cradling the back of her head and the other dropping to her waist. It wasn't until a car alarm went off down the street that they broke apart, foreheads touching and breathing heavily.

"Is that a yes?" Killian asked cheekily.

"It's not a no," she said laughing and pulled back reluctantly.

"Can I persuade you to come up for a drink?" He threw in a wink but Emma knew he was only offering a drink, nothing more.

"Maybe next time. I don't have any plans on Saturday."

"Imagine that, neither do I!" He was back to grinning and Emma realized she was too.

"Then it's a date. Here."

Leaning over she popped open her glove box, barely stopping a flood of papers from dropping onto Killian's feet. She deftly plucked a business card out and slammed it shut, hiding the mess once again. Grabbing a pen from her cup holder she flipped the card over and scribbled her number on the back.

"Now you don't have to hope that I'll be a creature of habit and wait a year for me to show up," she handed him the card, letting her fingers trail over his.

"I'd gladly wait longer for a chance with you, Swan," he said as he tucked the card into his pocket. "I should go before an officer decides he needs to patrol down this sleepy avenue."

"That's probably a good idea," Emma sighed wistfully but sat back in her seat all the same, realizing she hadn't even unbuckled her seatbelt.

"Until Saturday, love," he said softly. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Killian."

The fifth year Emma learned that Killian wanted her to be his wife. Killian learned that she wanted it too.